Last Day with Dave and Cindy

Walking to Soarin early morning

      We woke up and took off for Epcot to go on Soarin. What a fun ride this is for us. It was a lovely walk. Chilly..but pretty. Dave looked up the temperature at home and discovered it was warmer at home than at Disney. Oh well..

No one around

   There were not many people up early yesterday, I think because of the chilly weather. It was a nice leisurely walk.... We decided to get a Fast Pass before we went on, so that we could go twice. Well, we walked right on the first ride and when we got off it was a really short wait for the second ride. We asked to sit up front and were surprised at the different perspective you have of the scenes sitting in two different areas.
  With four Fast Passes that we didn't need, Cindy looked for couples to give them to for a Magical Day. The first couple were happy to get them as was the second couple. Although they seemed unsure of what we were giving them...It felt good to make someone's day, maybe.....

Water jumping outside of Captain EO

  Cindy and Dave had never been to Captain EO , so we walked over to the theater to see how long a wait. NO problem.. walked right in. I like seeing a young Michale Jackson perform again. Although I forgot that water is sprayed at you.. ummmm..
  It was time for an early lunch to beat the crowd. We headed towards Italy. They opened in ten minutes so we had a short wait. It was well worth it. The pizza and salad was perfect. Although a little pricey at 60.00 for both of us with water and tip. But it was a lovely memory.
 

Yummy leftovers

      Feeling pretty full, but not stuffed we had a treat at Germany at the Werthers building. I had a chocolate cupcake. Russ had a chewy bar. Cindy had a chocolate covered pineapple slice, and I don't know what Dave had. Now we are stuffed.

At Norway's gift shop

  As we walked through the countries, we decided to take the boat ride at Norway. It had been awhile since I had been on it. I had forgotten some of it. Although, Cindy thought they had redone the ride.

Great picture of Cindy....

   Mexico was next 'cause Cindy buys real vanilla there. We hopped on their boat ride which is always fun.   
   Dave wanted to check out Coranado Springs for a shirt he thought might be there. It was a relaxing bus ride to a resort we had never been to before. It is a lovely place. It reminded me of Caribbean Beach Resort that Russ and I had stayed in a number of years ago.
   We made the decision to go back to Magic Kingdom to finish up some rides that we didn't do the day before. We rode on Thunder Mountain and visited the Tiki Room. Oh.. we just had to do Pirates of the Caribbean again. We were pooped by now, so we took a bus ride back to the Boardwalk. We were going into the pool after dinner,but again the sun went in and it got too cold. Boo...hoo...

Dave's taking a picture at Magic Kingdom.

  

The Tiki Room: too cute

We ate dinner on the Boardwalk. Again I was so hungry I didn't take pictures of the grilled chicken sandwich or the yummy nachos we ate.
   We visited The Screen Door gift shop and the Boardwalk gift shop before heading back to the room. Cindy and Dave came to the room for good-byes. They would be heading for the airport early the next day. They checked their flight and knew they could make it home with no problem. Thank goodness.
  We had wicked fun together. We hope to do it again soon..
  Today Russ and I are on our own.. I think we are walking to Hollywood Studio to do Toy Story Mania again.. I am still looking for some Mickey earrings that I had spotted there the first of the week. It should be warmer today...
  

A Fun Packed Day!!!

A little place to get coffee and a pastry

   I am sorry I didn't blog about our day last night.  I was so tired I could barely get into the bed.  We went to the hot tub with our jackets on to soothe our sore feet. Dave was the only one who change and hopped right in.
   We had another great day at Disney. Dave and Cindy led the way through a part of Boardwalk that we had never been before. There is a quiet pool there , too. It was so pretty.

Cindy outside the entrance to the cute room

   As we were walking by the pool area. we commented on how cute the rooms looked. Some people behind us asked if we wouldn't like to see them.. They were so nice and the room was really cute with a second floor for the master suite. It looked wicked cute.
    We decided to start the day at Hollywood Studio so that Dave could experience Toy Story Mania. It wasn't real busy there, but we got a Fast Pass so that we could go on twice. Smart, heh?
   Dave loved the ride. I didn't beat Russ ,but got a decent score of 9,.450 I beat that score at 105,230. So proud...
   Next the group wanted to do Tower of Terror. Well, I can't do that ride. I don't think I could handle the feeling of free falling in an elevator. No thank you.. They loved it...

Toy Story Mania

The gang heading to Tower of Terror

Perfect Halloween Character

   I just went through the gift shops to see what I might want to buy. It was really a relaxing time.  I took some cool pictures of the Halloween season.
  After the ride we started to go back to Toy Story Mania for our Fast Past when we spotted this candy shop.. ummm. Had to get some goodies. Russ and I got chocolate covered pretzels and Cindy and Dave shared a carrot whoopie pie. There goes our diet...

Tasted so good.

After our second ride on Toy Story, Cindy told us about a fab meal at Wilderness Lodge that they had had there before. It was all you could eat of ribs, chicken, and sausage. I had said good-bye to my diet for the day, so we headed over there.

Lobby of the Swan Hotel

 We went through the Swan hotel 'cause we had never been through the lobby. It was so pretty especially if you love swans.

Wilderness Lodge

   Wilderness Lodge is such a pretty resort. I love the Pacific Northwest decor. Dave and Cindy had never been over by the villas, so we showed them around the place.
  Cindy was wicked disappointed in our lunch, since Whispering Canyon did not have the same menu that they had before. However, we had a lovely meal. Cindy's was too spicy, though.
  We took a boat ride to Magic Kingdom. What a great place. It was decorated with Fall and Halloween decor. So pretty.
  We wanted to go on  Splash Mountain.. Well, let's say the gang wanted to go on that ride. I was very skeptical. However, I decided I'd give it a try.. Well, we got a Fast Pass.. my heart was beating hard... or hardly beating. Not sure which.. When we got in line to go in, we were told there was a problem with the ride... Yeah!!! Reprieve!! They were disappointed.
  We went over to the new section of Fantasy Land. As we were leaving a gal stopped us to take a survey. I asked her if Spectro Magic was going to come back soon.. She said she thinks it will be back by the end of the year. So good to hear that...

Entrance to the new part

 
We went on The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Wicked fun.. The gang decided to take the train back to Splash Mountain to see if it was working.. Well, it was..So I "sucked it up" and went down the flume.. It wasn't that bad.. I am so brave..
   We were tired. My fee and knee was howling on the way back to the room.  Cindy needed to change 'cause she got wet the most from Splash Mountain. Dave was pretty wet, too. Russ and I were behind them and didn't fare too badly.

Pineapple Whip

  We had down on the Boardwalk. Just a quick hot dog 'cause we had had Pineapples Whips at Magic Kingdom before we left there. Those whips are filling, but oh so good.  I know my sister, Chris, will appreciate these pictures.  Cindy had a pineapple and orange whip. It was even better.

Goofy in the ceiling

  To end the day we went by bus to Downtown Disney. I got my Mickey sink drain to replace the one that looks so bad at home.  Dave and Cindy got a Donald Duck that was black and white to remember their Disney Cruise since that's all they saw was black and white...
  We were bushed... We dragged ourselves to the room after soothing our feet in the hot tub. Today we head to Soarin at Epcot. We are going to take it slower with more breaks.. Cindy and Dave leave tomorrow morning.. HOpe they can get out.. I am not sure about airplane travel with the aftermath of the storm..

We love Disney!

   Here are some more pictures of our day.. I'll try and blog tonight.

Meeting of the minds

Eating hot dogs

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First Day at Disney

   We made it to Disney without " a hitch". The weather was beautiful.... It really has been a great week weather wise. I know the north is gearing up for a category one hurricane: Sandy. I believe it is not going to hit Maine directly. Whew!!!
   However, my brother in New Jersey is sweating it, I'm sure. I will be praying for them...

We made it!!

   I love driving to Disney and seeing the entrance as we pass under it.. Knowing we are there...
   We were to meet our friends Dave and Cindy at Boardwalk. They had just been on a Disney Cruise. They found us in the lobby. First question we asked was, "How was the cruise?"
   They both said it was really bad due to Hurricane Sandy. The cruise ship could not dock at any port because of the storm... The water had huge waves that caused everything to sway back and forth.. I felt so bad for them.. We are determined to make the next few days way more fun.


Check out the person in pink. Russ is in front of them.

     We headed for Mt. Everest first. Everyone loves to ride this roller coaster except me... I said I would be the photographer. I did a great job. Check out the picture and see if you can find Cindy, Dave, and Russ.  I did a great job..


The Giraffe

    Next we went on the Kilimanjaro ride.  We saw tons of animals. We walked practically right on this ride. I think we saw more animals up really up close than every before. I got fewer pictures of animal butts  this time.. I must be getting better at taking pictures.




A rhino right beside the truck

 


    
   It's a really cool ride. You get to rest after alot of walking and enjoy the animals of Africa.

Underwater hippos

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We decided to eat lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue. The food was healthy and delicious. We had the turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with fruit. Ummmm.. good.


  

The Muppets in 3-D

        Cindy and Dave took us to the 3-D Muppet Show. It was hilarious. We had never seen it before. It was at Hollywood Studios. We would go again 'cause we laughed so hard. We saw a t-shirt with the dirty old men on it from the Muppet Show. I should have bought it.

Too funny

 We decided to get some groceries at Goodings Market. I love that store. The food looks so yummy. However, we had superior self control and did not pick up anything that wasn't healthy. I am not counting the orange chocolate coconut  treat.

Dave had a 2/3 of a pound hamburger. We had 1/3 of a pound. 

  Dinner was at Fuddruckers which was next door to Goodings Market. We ate good there. The burgers are excellent and you get to add pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions at the condiment bar. 

Dave and Cindy

   We decided to go to Epcot and check out Soarin, but it was wicked busy. There was a 70 minute wait. We met some friends from home: Helen and Eddie. They were with their daughter and her husband. It's a small world, isn't it?
   We watched a group from Canada play for a while . They were in kilts. Wicked good group. I might be able to put up a video tomorrow night. I keep getting kicked off tonight. Must be alot of people using the Wi-Fi at Boardwalk.
  It was a great day. We are looking forward to  tomorrow. More beautiful weather. Sorry everyone in the Northeast. I heard I-95 was closed all the way North.. I think I'll put  my feet in bed. Ahhhh.....
  Toy Story Mania and Soarin tomorrow.. rest my little feet... tomorrow is another day....

Mt.Dora Festival

   We started out early this morning for Mt. Dora. It was about an hour and half away from Land O'Lakes. Phillis and Cary went ,but Mom felt it would be too much for her. She was right.   After we had been there a couple hours, the place became packed with people.
   We found a great parking place so we didn't have to walk too far which was good since Cary has a bad leg. He did really well though walking around. He stopped a few times to give his leg a rest.


This was the festival  before all the people showed up.

     It was a huge festival.  The crafts were really creative. I couldn't take pictures of the crafts of course, but there was one tent that had exploding boxes. The gal was selling them for twenty dollars each. They were each decorated with  a theme in mind.
   Another tent had cigar boxes that had been repurposed with crafty themes. There was one that was a wedding box. Quite nice.What's in a box


Old-fashioned popcorn making

    We got to watch old-fashioned popcorn making on the corner of one the many streets of vendors. It was very interesting. The huge vat was heated with a flame underneath. The oil and quite alot of salt was added and then the popcorn. The man just kept stirring and stirring until it started popping.


A hot job to do....

   It was fun to watch how they got the huge amount of popcorn from one vat to the other. Well.... they just lift it up and it goes in the other vat. Well done.

   I bought a shaby chic picture frame and a shell night light. We went into a few of the many shops behind the tents. Wicked cute. One was an antique shop. Way too expensive for me.. There were some marbles that I thought that Mom would be interested in. There were about 50 of them. H wanted 35 dollars for them. I don't think so...
  We ate lunch at the Saucy Spoon. I was so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of the food, but it was yummy.



Cary checked out this golf cart.

    We were getting tired of fighting the crowds, so we started to head back to the car. Cary spotted this cool golf cart. He talked to the man selling them. It was a cute little thing. But Cary said he wasn't interested in buying 'cause it was refurbished.



Way too croweded.

 It was time to go back to the car and head home.  We had had a great day.  We were all very tired. It was loads of fun.
   Tomorrow we head for Disney. We spend Sunday through Thursday there. Excited to be going back again. Thanks to Phillis and Cary for a great time in Tampa, Florida.

More Shopping.. with Phillis

   We had another great day in Land O' Lakes with  my sister, Phillis. She took us to another junkie place called Deb's Whistle Stop Depot. It was wicked cute. I saw a glass cloche, but I was afraid that it would get broken before I got it home.


I love this head,but it was way too much money for me.

    We walked out back and there was another shop of plants and garden items. This too was wicked cute. There were some really nice plants that I would have loved to take home, but wait....it will be November when I get back. Not planting season.. So we bought a cute bushel basket and some brackets to put plant boxes on our deck next spring.
  Russ walked out back and saw a pond like area. It looked creepy.. He asked if anything creepy crawly was in it.. The girl said there was, but they didn't bother them..Whew!!


A healthy buffet

  


We went to a fabulous place for lunch. It's called Sweet Tomatoes. It was a salad buffet .  You put your salad together and then after you paid for it; you went on to pick up breads, soups, and dessert. We loved it. 


Great produce here.

    Phillis took us to the Fresh Market. It's a really cool place that has just about everything you can image for yumminess. Mom bought pumpkin whoopie pies. She is saving them for breakfast, I think. They look delicious.


Great looking candy.

   I didn't buy anything because I was stuffed: thank goodness. It was too tempting.
   Tomorrow we are planning on going to Mt. Dora to the craft festival. It depends on the weather and how we are feeling in the morning.
   Check back to see what happens. Cross your fingers for good weather.....

Dade City Shopping



Dade City Courthouse





Great find for Phillis



   We started our day with heading to Dade City to do some "junkin". Phillis knew all the great places. We found some great stuff. I found another Mickey for my collection and a nice flower arrangement.  Phillis found and excellent picture for her diningroom. Mom found marbles for her collection, a rock, a doll, a Minnie Mouse,and chair for her doll collection.



Another Mickey for my collection



  We were a little hot, tired, and hungry when Phillis suggested we eat at Mollie Kyles Cafe. The food was excellent.



This will great on my hutch.



  We had potato soup, and chicken salad sandwiches. We were refreshed and ready to head to Betty's Cakes. Phillis said that John Travolta goes to the one in Ocala and has the cakes delivered to his home there. Here are some pics of some of the cakes we saw there.



We just had to have a slice of one of Betty's cakes. It was a day off from dieting. You wouldn't believe how good each bite was of my chocolate cake. Russ had raspberry lemonade, and Mom and Phillis had creamsicle cupcakes. Ummmm ... so good.


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A wedding cake



Mom and Phillis's cupcakes



Russ's piece of cake



My huge piece..ummm .. good







We ended the day with a trip to Publix which is a great supermarket. We got salad fixings for dinner since we ate some much for lunch. It was perfect. It was a great day with lots of memories.
Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.