Matt had meetings to attend in the mornings and our evenings involved conference functions too, but we utilized the free time available to us to explore DisneyWorld and also fit in some good relaxing moments by the pool/lake/beach a couple of days, too.
Character sightings included:
Beauty
Cinderella
Mary Poppins
Donald Duck
We spent 8 hours at Magic Kingdom one day. 4 hours one afternoon followed by another 4 hours that night since they were open until 3 a.m.! (We left at 1 a.m.) Yes, it was a late night for us, but we were still feeling West Coast time at that point.
(I think this photo of the two of us was taken around 12:45 a.m.)
After Matt's morning meetings one day we were "on our own" for lunch and the afternoon so we took a bus to Downtown Disney, explored that area, had our late lunch, and had a relaxing time. Then later that day the work conference held an evening event at SeaWorld. We watched the Whale and Dolphin show, had a great buffet dinner meal, and then they let us loose on the three best amusement park rides - the Manta(ray), the Kraken, and Journey to Atlantis. Remember, we just enjoyed a terrific meal...
We decided to go on the newest ride to the park first, the Manta. Matt and I were able to get seated in the first row. You sit in the seat and the ride clamps down snugly over your shoulders down to your waist and then it also secures your ankles. Once everyone is secured, they "turn it on" and the coaster takes your seats and you go horizontal so you are now seated but looking at the ground. Oh my! If you put out your arms it literally felt like you were flying. What a thrill that coaster ride was - you climb 5 stories high and then you pull some g's doing corkscrews, loops, climbs and dives. Being in the front row was terrific - I could see out and everything. Its quite the rush. We had such a great time, we decided to do it again. This time, though, Matt and I were in the second row so all I was able to see this time around were the feet of the people in front of me a good portion of the ride. Not. A. Good. Thing. For. Me. Let's just say I came off the ride feeling pretty green. While we moseyed back over to where the next roller coaster was located (the Kraken) - I called it quits and sat down to take some deep breaths, drink some water, and get my wits about me again. I started feeling better so I took a short walk to explore a bit more of the park while waiting for Matt to complete his 2 rounds of fun on the Kraken. I thought I was feeling pretty good again when I met up with Matt and then after a few minutes a new round of nausea hit me and...yep...let's just say I fertilized their flower bed. Ha! Oh well! At least I felt better afterwards. I REALLY really wanted to try the water ride called Journey to Atlantis, but after fertilizing the flowers Matt and I both decided we'd better not push my luck. :) Here are a few photos below of the Whale and Dolphin show we enjoyed that night. All in all it was a FUN night (despite the fertilization moment).
We had one free day to explore, so we chose a park hopper pass and went to Animal Kingdom, Epcot, took a short nap, had dinner at California Grill to celebrate our 5th anniversary, and then went back to Magic Kingdom to finish off our day. The morning started out with a good dose of rain which meant our morning at Animal Kingdom was soggy, but it was still fun. The photo of the giraffe below was taken during the safari tour they have there. It was really great. The highlight for me was seeing the baby elephants splashing and playing in the water less than 20 yards from the vehicle we were in. The tour guide said it was quite a rare sight to see them playing like that - the elephants loved the rain - so I was grateful for the wetness that morning just to soak in those breathtaking awesome moments of watching those huge beasts experiencing pure joy. (I was so enthralled in the moment I forgot to capture a picture or video of the elephants. Oops!)
From Animal Kingdom we went to Epcot. We enjoyed the sights and experiences at that park, too. The flower and garden show was featured during our time there and they had some amazing Disney sculptures all around the park. I captured just a few here...(there were so many more and all were so great!).
Prince Charming and Cinderella
Lightning McQueen
(I just HAD to take this photo for Jay to see)
We also got to see and experience both the Magic Kingdom fireworks show and Epcot's Illuminations fireworks show during stay. (My favorite of the two was Magic Kingdom's show.)
Yes, we missed the boys and thought of them lots, especially seeing so many little ones when we were out and about at the various Disney theme parks. But it was a good "break" for all of us, I think. It felt great to rejuvenate our marriage (our 5th anniversary was on March 18 so we "celebrated" that milestone there). We also enjoyed some good rest and relaxation from the normal busy-ness of life here at home (me more than Matt since he had work meetings to attend). Just soaking in the sun alone (poolside or on the beach by the lake) seemed to boost both our spirits having experienced such a cold, wet winter and spring here in the Pacific NW this year.
All in all, it was a terrific trip. Again, a big shout of thanks out to our parents for taking such great care of our two boys. We know they are in a more challenging, hands-on stage of life right now so your gift of time and love was deeply felt by ALL of us. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
(*I plan to add some video clips to this blog post. I'll be coming back to add them later.)
2 comments:
Have fun!!!!
So glad that you had this wonderful opportunity to get away together!
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