previous posts
epic disney world!!
a magical day.
two worlds.

Thursday morning was a slow start for us. We slept in, took our time getting ready, and then, when we were finally on our way out the door, the rain came down with a fierceness. THEN, a friend of mine, Joey, who used to live in Chicago but had relocated to Orlando wanted to have lunch with us. So we hung around the resort and waited for them.

We played in the arcade while we waited for Joey and the gang. With our package, we got some free play time, but Falandos and I went ahead and splurged for a bit more. I’d never done that before–I feel like Aidan plays enough video games that it’s stupid to go to freaking DISNEY WORLD and play more, but because we were waiting and it was rainy, we both went for it. Aidan racked up the tickets.

aidan playing fruit ninja

We had a great lunch, catching up, making new friends, hanging out. I’m not a huge Hollywood Studios geek, so I didn’t mind not getting to the parks super early in the morning. (Really, the only reason to do that is to get on Toy Story Midway Mania, which Aidan and I both said wasn’t a “must do”, and for Tower of Terror, which gets a resounding HELL TO THE NO from Aidan.)

lunch with friends and family

We got to Hollywood Studios and the clouds were looking crazy ominous. We made our way to the Animation building and proceeded to spend hours inside, meeting characters, drawing pictures, and people watching!

By the time we got out of there, the rain had cleared up! It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather and low crowds. We rode the Great Movie Ride, went on the Backstage Tour, and saw Muppet Vision 3D. Then, it was time for dinner at 50s Prime Time Cafe.

cutest mommy ever!

aidan finishing up his drawing before diving into that big ole pile of friend chicken

My mom said this was her favorite meal out of the three table service restaurants. The food was yummy, the atmosphere was fun, and we LOVED when Falandos got reamed out by “Mama.”

After dinner, we enjoyed the outside some more. The crowds were pretty non-existent. Aidan and I rode Star Tours three times in a row with barely any wait. He even got to be the Rebel Spy on one of the “flights”!

We finished off our night in the gift shops, of course!

When we got back to the resort, Aidan wanted to use up the last of his arcade points. He did and hit a lucky jackpot on one of the machines and got a TON of tickets! He got to pick out bunch of little cheap toys and candy, which made him pretty happy.

It was a low key day, but it was really fun, relaxing, and fulfilling. We all had an awesome time. 🙂

previous posts:
epic disney world!!
a magical day.

Our second day at Disney World consisted of a trip to Epcot! It looked to be another wishy washy weather day, so once again, we all lugged along our ponchos and raincoats. I even brought my umbrella.

We started the day in The Land, where I got us Fast Passes for Soarin’. Then we went on Living with the Land, which my mom thought was really cool. Living With the Land is a favorite of mine because I love hearing about all the food they grow there, and the research they’re doing. And seeing everything growing is also really cool.

We walked around and did things as we were exploring–saw Captain EO, went into one of the Innovations buildings, and met some characters at the Character Spot. Now, back in MY day, the Character Spot had loads of characters to meet, even though it still felt rushed. But now, there are fewer characters, so the line goes quicker, but I was disappointed that Goofy wasn’t there, or Donald Duck, like they used to be.

But I wasn’t that disappointed. We still had fun with Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto, who were all sweet.

Of course, we tasted the sodas at Club Cool. I got video of Falandos tasting the infamous Beverly, but my camera would NOT FOCUS so I didn’t upload it. The the rain caught up to us. It poured for quite a while, and we hung out under the awning at Club Cool until it let it. Then we made our way to World Showcase. We stopped in some countries along the way, and we also ate at the America Pavilion because that’s easy. The rain had let up enough for us to sit outside and enjoy our lunch.

We played in some of the stores in the countries, but we didn’t have a lot of time to really explore. I remember last time I was there with Adam, we found places in the countries that we’d never seen before.

I had to take a photo from the bridge over the lagoon. I was so used to seeing this particular section of the park in February, when it looks like this:

That it was neat to see it all green and lush in June:

We made our way back to Future World, where we took pictures and Aidan and I got Fast Passess for Mission Space. Then we headed to The Land again, because I do like the pavillion even though it can get crazy in there. Plus, it was time to redeem our Soarin’ FPs!

Soarin’ is when one of my favorite moments of the ENTIRE trip happened. We took off, and I glanced over at my mom. I have NEVER seen such a look of pure awe and joy on her face in my life. It was ADORABLE. On the other hand, Falandos looked like he wanted to poop his pants, and his reactions were cracking up the little girls on the other side of him. Riding Soarin’ with them was definitely one of the Top Five moments of my trip. I’ll never forget the look on her face.

The rain started full force, so when it came time for our FPs to be redeemed, Aidan and I braved the elements and went over while my mom and Falandos stayed in The Land and watched that Circle of Life movie and people watched. Aidan and I had a blast, splashing in puddles and walking barefoot. The rain had scared a lot of people away, and plus, Epcot is so spread out that walking barefoot feels really good and liberating. I’d NEVER walk barefoot in Magic Kingdom–I’d get my toes crushed in a heartbeat.

By the time Aidan and I made it back, it was time to check in for dinner at The Garden Grill! 🙂 I was really excited for this because this was my mom’s time to FINALLY meet Chip & Dale, her favorites!!

Here she is with Dale. So cute! 🙂

I also adore this picture of Aidan, Chip, and Falandos!

We had a wonderful dinner, and then we just randomly explored a bit more. Rode Spaceship Earth, went to some shops, and then ended up catching part of Illuminations. We were on our way out the park, but the fireworks started and well, if you leave in the middle of fireworks at Disney World, there is something very strange about you. So we didn’t get to see the huge display with the Earth and stuff, but we saw the high, loud stuff and that was just fine.

aidan sitting with my mom during the fireworks

My mom said that Epcot was her favorite of the parks, and that Soarin’ was her favorite attraction. Despite the rain, it really was a pleasant and relaxing day. 🙂