Florida Vacation: Day Two

When our alarm went off I decided that no matter how much I wanted to get to the parks bright and early sleep was much more important. After waking up at 9 am and taking my time picking out warm weather clothes we were ready to go. There was of course the daily stop at Starbucks and check in to decide how we wanted the day to go. For some reason Starbucks in Florida just doesn't taste the same as in Oregon (maybe it is because they have a million Dunkin Doughnuts and only a few Starbucks). We decided that it was going to be all about the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for our first day. Getting to the Magic Kingdom was the easy part but from the car to the park was an epic quest. To give you an idea of what I mean we had to catch a tram, wait in line for tickets, catch a ferry to the main gate and then wait to go through security. I must say it was so worth it though!

 After all the must take photo opportunities we started our first portion of the day. We split into teams of two to explore the park and would meet up for lunch. Jay and Jim were one team since they both seemed to want to do all of the adrenaline type rides, Juanita and Carmella went to do their girl bonding which left Nina and I to see where the day would take us. Looking at the map we crossed off all the things we wanted to experience with Jay later and decided to do a loop with what was left. Our first stop was to Casey's Corner for a hot dog (this was partly because we were starving and partly because it reminded us of Kyle) after getting our yummy food we found the best spot to eat our snack with the most beautiful view.

After lunch we were just in time to catch our first parade and the whole time I could imagine the reactions of my nieces and nephews had they been there. That was my first pangs of home sickness and I started devising ways I could bring all my family on vacation here with me (if you are reading this guys don't get too excited it will be a while before I can afford to take 20 people).



Once the parade passed we started wandering toward Adventure land. On our way there we found where Merida (the Brave Princess) was taking photos with people and we got very excited because that is our niece Adelyn's new favorite princess but quickly realized we do not have the patience to wait two hours to take a photo. We did snap a cool picture of Cinderella's fountain though. I also found a very cool saying by Walt Disney that I am going to as a motto for this year.

After wandering around a bit more we came across the Liberty Belle and went on our Mark Twain adventure. It was such a relaxing and fun ride. The sun was warming us and we stood on the deck watching the world go by. It was a great time to talk, get to know each other better and talk about all the things going on in our lives.

Adventure Island had been calling our name the whole time we were on the Liberty Belle so we rushed to get on the raft. I have been to Disneyland many times over the years but this was my first time at Disney World so it was exciting to see all the little differences and similarities. I couldn't wait to get on the island because I love running around like a little kid pretending I am in Huck Finn (yes geek alert). Once there we made our way through all the tunnels, over bridges, climbed on everything and explored the fort.

As I was playing at the fort Jay sent me a text letting me know it was time for lunch. I have learned after almost three years of being with Jay that when he is hungry you better feed him quick. Nina and I left to meet everyone at the restaurant and it was just a comedy of errors after that. First we got stuck waiting for the raft for almost 20 minutes. Then we got stuck behind a parade and at this park when there is a parade there is no getting around it. Finally we got to the castle where we were meeting up I let Jay and Nina go on ahead while I took a quick smoke break (yes I am still trying to quit). I didn't think this was a big deal but when I started walking to the restaurant it happened again. Yes, another parade. At this point I started not liking parades very much and it didn't help that this was the same parade as the previous two. I was so happy when I finally made it to the restaurant and to top it off I was once again reminded how lucky I am to have Jay because he had ordered for me, it was exactly what I would have ordered and he even shared his fries! We shared our adventures of the day and checked in on what was next on the agenda. Nina, Jay and I decided we would head over to Hollywood Studios and Jim, Juanita and Carmella were going to stay at Magic Kingdom. When lunch was over and goodbyes were exchanged it was time to take the long trek back to the car so we could head to the next park. When we got to Hollywood Studios Jay's eyes got really big and he could hardly contain his excitement because he saw the Tower of Terror. It was settled before we even got through the gate that this ride was first on our list. We did manage to do all the photo opportunities and a few stores on the way there though. I found my favorite store too it is the Villain store and I found the cutest outfit for our first baby there!

Well here is the sad part. Once we got to the Tower of Terror the wait was four hour wait. We offered to wait or get one of the fast passes but Jay decided that we would come back when the park opened the next day so he could be the first in line so we could explore the park for the rest of the day. Our first stop was the tour of the movies ride. It was really funny to see a replica of the Chinese Mann when I lived next to the real thing for a year. It was a fun little ride and it was great to sit down for a minute.

Our next ride was one that I have always loved and makes the nerd girl inside me very happy. Star Tours!!! Best part about this ride (besides everything) is that Nina wore the glasses and posed for a photo in them.

One of the interesting things about being at the parks is that hunger comes on very quickly. We had reservations for a restaurant in the park so we took the long way there to take in all the sites we hadn't seen yet.









It was a very cool dinner because the restaurant had both a science fiction and drive thru theme. We sat is a car to eat dinner in front of a large screen that played previous for science fiction movies from the 50's. The food was good too and I had a glowing ice cube (one of my favorite souvenirs from the trip and is in my freezer). We did make it back to the town house after more shopping and all of us had very sore feet. Jay and I decided to take advantage of the hot tube on our back porch before bed. It was just what the doctor order.

It was such a wonderful second day and we set our alarm clock for bright and early the next morning.