(4) Castles and Parades!

Disney 2024, Part 4: Tiana's Bayou and Space Mountain

Our Tuesday started off at Magic Kingdom!

(Castle pic by Chet Lee)

Karli booked us in the virtual queue for Tiana's Bayou, so Bill, Trent, Chet, and I went and rode that before breakfast!  Chet Lee was not a fan of Splash Mountain and argued that you get soaked on it.  I said you don't really get wet and that it's historically my favorite ride in the park... it's not usually on their list, but I'm grateful they rallied and joined me for it!  This was Trent's final day with us, and he said he wanted to do this ride and Space Mountain, both of which were high on my list - so yay!!  This pic is in the line on our way to the ride. lol

Chet videoing and me just loving the drop + Bill and Trent already kinda soaked in the front row. lol

No ragrets! lol  It was fun, and we were dry by the end of our breakfast at Gaston's!

Thanks to Melissa's disinterest and the Rider Swap option, I got to ride that one twice!  And thanks to shorter wait times on our first non-weekend and non-holiday park day, I also got to do Space Mountain (another favorite of mine that Chet has boycotted) that day!  They usually skip it, but Trent wanted to ride it, which made me happy!  Me, Bill, Karli, and Trent did that one!

Post-parade castle pic!

We were thankful to catch most of the parade in Magic Kingdom that afternoon... it was Parker's very favorite thing, bouncing on Chet's shoulders and smiling and waving at the characters (whilst Chet fanned himself with his Chet Wilson fan). lol

Round 2 of Tiana's Bayou (still adjusting to that new ride name).  It's all well done, though, and I like the look of all the flowers better than the briar patch!  I also appreciate the memory of Chet singing along to Almost There... I only saw that movie once, but he's got the lyrics down! =)

Another water ride for the day was the Jungle/Jingle Cruise... fun times!  At that point, I was stressing about rescheduling my CCU role play... a hot mess nightmare thanks to some miscommunication, but I got it done around 10:40 that night!

An adorable Parker Elizabeth ready for the Enchanted Tiki Room... one of Bill's favorites and one of the first things he and Melissa visited on their first Disney trip together!  Animatronic birds and tiki posts sing to you - it was odd, but I was happy to sit down and have AC. lol  Chet and I believe JEM would appreciate it! lol

Chet opted out of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, and now I know why.  Nothing there I really cared about, and it was so many stairs... up, up, up, down, up, up, down, up... ugh! lol

Catching the monorail over to Epcot in hopes of riding the Ratatouille ride!

Group pic with the "'oana ball!"

Tate was excited to ride Figment again, so that was our first Epcot ride.... then we grabbed a BBQ dinner at the America restaurant in the countries section (Italy required reservations).

A happy ending to "Pretzel Gate."  At that point, it was a little after 8pm and they decided to opt out of the long line for Ratatouille to get the kids to bed (and I had a role play set for 9:30, so I needed to get back, as well... I really wanted to see the Epcot fireworks show, but it didn't start until 9pm).

Epcot ball view from the Skyliner! ❤

The parks being less crowded + getting to do my fun rides I was fully prepared to miss + things feeling a little more familiar on my second visit to both of these parks made this the best day of the trip so far!

❤ ❤ ❤

(3) Thankful Thursday #214!

Disney 2024, Part 3: Cute Kids, Castle Pics, & Cinnamon Rolls

"Rejoice always,

pray continually,

give thanks in all circumstances."

~1 Cor. 15:57 

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  Seeing so much joy from Parker Elizabeth (with her fav unicorn on the Disney train) and Tate Haywood (with his cotton candy on the Skyliner)! ❤

2.  Their parents, Chet Lee and Karli Marie, who are *very high* on the list of my favorite people (this = us on the Magic Carpet ride)! ❤

3.  Getting to join the Wilsons and Weatherfords for this year's Disney trip (and getting soooo many fun new photos)!

4.  A fun Wednesday morning breakfast at Gaston's (known for their giant cinnamon rolls and crème brulee croissants)!

5.  Exploring more of Epcot on this trip - I've loved seeing the countries and different restaurants, the lake, the Epcot ball, and more fun rides than I'd expected there!

6.  This trip "totally redeeming itself" over the past couple days from my perspective! #dumbanddumber ;-)  More on that in my next post.

7.  Getting to ride Tiana's Bayou Adventure twice, in spite of the virtual queue being a real gamble and me being the only one in our group who really loves this ride!

#worthit

As you might imagine, I have much to say and MANY more photos to share... but the blogging will have to wait for the weekend, as tomorrow will be a very full day and we will be flying home on Friday!

I'm legitimately exhausted, but simultaneously excited and determined to make the most of my last day in the Disney parks tomorrow today (staying up past midnight to write this one)!  I feel genuinely grateful for the fun memories, the growing connections, and the ways God is using this week to change my perspective.  Happy Thursday, friends and fam!!

❤ ❤ ❤

(2) Vorld Ravelers!

Disney 2024, Part 2: Fireworks & Fast Passes

Okay, doing my best to write this quickly before going to bed tonight.   I regretted not doing a fuller blog recap of my 2015 trip, so I'm doing multiple posts to cover this week-long Florida extravaganza!

I adore this pic (taken from Trent's Apple Watch).

On my way to meet the group!  Quick pic of the Nemo section at our Art of Animation hotel, and a pic with Scar since the kids refused to humor me and take one. lol

We met at the Skyliner for our second Disney park day... it's one of the best new-to-me things at Disney - highly preferable to the crowded bus system!!

The famous Epcot ball, or as Parker calls it, the "Oana Ball" (she leaves the M out of Moana). lol  Karli bought matching pink ears for her and Parker, but Parker saw the mini-crown on my headband and wanted it, so we switched for this photo. lol

The lakes of Epcot are a big draw for my introvert self... I love walking by water wherever I see it.  Also, Eric (the photographer that took our group pic above) got a selfie of himself and the other photographer on my phone, and that made me happy!

Giant checkers at our hotel, and me and the guys riding Guardians of the Galaxy yesterday!  Super fun ride!!  (We did a Disney "rider swap" thing where Karli and Melissa watch the kids as we wait in an extra long line, then they ride in the Lightning Lane as we watch them.  I'm gradually learning the system - they all come every year, so they've got it down!)

The Wilsons brought sandwiches for us for lunch (from Donetta's house) yesterday.  We found a cute little shady lunch spot outside near the Encanto performance.  Parker was happily sitting by me until I wanted a photo. lol

Meeting Mulan... the kids and Bill didn't wanna join us for this pic, which kinda makes it funnier to me!  Thankfully, they all hopped in for the top pic in this post with the cool Chinese ceiling above us!

Stopping by a German bakery for some caramel treats before heading to Magic Kingdom!

Our standing-room-only, super crowded bus ride to Magic Kingdom.  I mentioned to Chettles that he and I would be the first through the windshield if that bus had a wreck, to which he replied, "Well, we'd get a free trip!!" lol #notenoughcomfort

A "Minnie Van" (Disney's version of Uber) in front of us. =)

Thanks to the time change, the fireworks show started at 8pm!  It's Chet Lee's FAVORITE thing the way the Vegas fountains are mine, so I loved seeing Tate and Parker watching it with him this time around. ❤

Karli was kind enough to make these fun shirts for all of us!  Sadly, the glittery vinyl she used for the girls was a bit more flaky, so by the end of the night, I lost the T and part of my W, inspiring this "Vorld Ravelers" post title (said in a Russian accent). =)

Girls pic by the giant Christmas tree as we walked back to the bus at night + a selfie with the castle and random late fireworks going off behind me! =)

They're filming a Christmas special, so there were a few random bouts of finale-style fireworks a while after the real show ended... fun!

We had Pecos Bill nachos for dinner then rode Pirates then watched the fireworks then grabbed my first Dole Whip (yum!) then rode the Magic Carpets and a couple more rides after the fireworks.  We walked over 21,000 steps and it was a late night and tiring day for all of us!

This morning, we were up bright and early to take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios... this is the mass chaos crowd lining up at the park entrance.  They'd told me it is usually less crowded on weekdays, but since this was a holiday Monday, that rule did not apply!  (Happy Veterans' Day - thankful for all who serve!!)

Tate pulling a Jace move and going with a mohawk for today + Parker checking out her reflection on the Skyliner. lol

After standing in line for 30+ minutes for a stalled Tower of Terror ride (still haven't gotten to ride that one, even after psyching myself up to do it today)... we had lunch reservations at Prime Time Cafe, a '50s style throwback where I have fun memories with my fam!  Our waitress, Rachel, was entertaining, and I enjoyed my chicken caesar salad and chocolate peanut butter cake!!

My posed candid with the balloon bouquet and Chet accidentally matching our restaurant! lol

In an ill-advised but fun move, we did two Lightning Lane rounds of the Rockin' Roller Coaster right after lunch!  (Someone in front of us threw up after exiting the ride, and I felt lots of empathy for them - so rough to have motion sickness issues, especially right after a meal.)  But we were fine, and I'm so happy to have these pics! lol  (We could download these free since we bought the Lightning Lane pass for this ride).

Other ride pics that were not free = the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (they came in late to the app, but so happy to see them there), the Buzz Lightyear ride, and the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster!

Here we are today on the Toy Story ride... Parker wanted to ride with me and GiGi, and Tate wanted his dad and Uncle Trent... fun!

A little playground after the aquarium ride! =)

Rockin' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, a green tree in Star Wars world, and Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway ride!

Group pic before leaving Hollywood Studios

We did Soarin and a couple more rides at Epcot, then Trent and Bill and Melissa stayed there a while, but the Wilson fam and I came back early (around 6pm).  As you might expect and can probably tell from these posts so far, it's been *a lot* of walking and constant activity and stimulation, and after what Chet deemed "Pretzel-Gate," we all appreciated a low-key night with some extra downtime.  I grabbed a slice of pizza at my hotel and came back to the room early and had a quiet night of photo editing, TV watching, school catch-up, and blogging. #noragrets #yesplease

On my way back to the hotel, I walked by a couple firepits where kids were roasting marshmallows for s'mores, and that made me happy!  So we have hot and humid summer weather and lots of swimmers + cute fall-themed activities + full-blown Christmas in the park.  "The changing of all seasons at once."

Tomorrow will be Trent's last day with us before flying back to New York.  I'm glad I've gotten to know him and the Weatherford fam a bit better here!  We'll be starting the day with breakfast at Gaston's (famous for their cinnamon rolls) and riding as much as we can in Magic Kingdom before he has to leave.  My feet are currently a bit angry with me, so wish me luck as I navigate three more days with tons of walking!  That's all for now.  Happy Monday, and make it a great week ahead!!

❤ ❤ ❤