Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

Wednesday started out as a slow day as well. Again, I had a lot of reading to do, but I did finish HP book 6 that morning, and I had well over 24 hrs to finish the final Harry Potter before the premiere!! But by about 4 that afternoon, we were ready to head to EPCOT!

It was great to see that familiar "golf ball" and Hannah was very excited to learn it was actually a ride--and it quickly became one of her favorite attractions!!

Whitney, Caleb, and I also rode Mission Space, which is one of Caleb's favorites! We started getting a little bored in line, so decided to download another handy little iPhone app--this one for finding Hidden Mickeys!! We've been obsessed ever since, pulling on the phone for clues in every line!

After that, we all headed over to the World Showcase to search for Hidden Mickeys around the world!
Of course, the shopping and food around the world showcase is fantastic as well! Caleb really wanted some orange chicken from China, and Daddy and I had some brats in Germany!!

Whitney and I found the coolest necklaces in Africa! These beads are made of recycled Disney brochures, sent to Uganda where women make this awesome jewelry. The coolest thing is that Disney gives these women 100% of the profit! The different colors of beads are said to represent different things. I bought a multicolored bracelet that represents all the Disney characters, and Whitney bought a white necklace which represents the dream of going to Disney World.

The World Showcase also offers tons of fantastic photo-ops! Needless to say, the rest of the crew was a little bored while Whit and I spent so much time perusing the African paper beads, so they were able to get some great shots!

As you can see, the kids enjoyed the shopping too! Hannah loved China, where she got a baby panda bear and a Chinese parasol! The lady that checked her out even personalized the parasol by writing Hannah's name in Chinese! She was thrilled! Caleb also looks pretty snazzy in his new Disney aviator sun glasses--Studly!

We were pretty worn out after staying till almost closing, but it really was a great day!

Tuesday - MGM (OH Snap, no, it's now called Disney Hollywood Studios)

Guest Blogger - Whitney

So Tuesday morning started off rather sl...owwww.lllyyyy... Taylor needed to put in some serious reading hours on her Harry Potter books in preparation for our visit to the premiere on Thursday night. And, I have been absolutely swamped with a class I'm taking for my master's degree. So, some of us read, some of us worked, some of us swam, and some of us watched countless hours of tv (golf).

After a leisurely morning at home (away from home) we packed our Disney junkie selves into the car and headed to what Disney loyalists all around the world still call MGM.

Oddly enough, the park pairings for the day went like this:

Caleb and Daddy (Bill) - Rock'n'Roller Coaster (1 hr 40 minute wait, No pictures~!), Great Movie Ride (an oldy but a goody), and Tower of Terror.

Whitney and Taylor - Tower of Terror x 2, Rock'n'Roller Coaster (with a special pass courtesy of the two freaky guys who thought we were smokin' hot... till they found out I was 29, but it was okay cause we were about to get on the ride!), Great Movie Ride, The Little Mermaid, and did some preliminary shopping (shopping at Disney always goes in phases, purchases are very rarely made early in the trip)

Rodney, Mom (Tammy), and Princess Hannah - Great Movie Ride, The Little Mermaid, New Toy Story Ride, Turkey Leg (this is a food item, not a ride), Muppets, and general sight seeing.

Hannah did ride Terror of Terror with me and Taylor the first time around, but let's just say it didn't go so well and she likely won't ride that again. "Not even when I'm a teenager!" She said. She did have more favorable opinions however, about the new Toy Story Ride....

Not so much the line....

After a short rain shower (hey, it is Florida afterall), we captured this picture in front of the Sorcerer Mickey hat in front of the Great Movie Ride. Look closely for the beautiful rainbow. At this point, Caleb had already run off to wait in a long line for Rock'n'Roller Coaster.

Hannah and Caleb have decided that they want to collect the Disney pressed pennies during this trip. So, every time we get off a ride or even see one of these machines, we have to stop, cough up 51 cents and produce a perfectly pressed polished penny.
They even bought pretty pouches for perfectly pressed polished pennies (Tink for the princess and Sorcerer Mickey for the prince ((still no pics of Caleby, DANGIT 1 hr 40 minute wait time!)).

After reuniting at the very end of the night, Bill, Taylor, Caleb and I met up and rode Tower of Terror one last time. We think we might have been privy to one of the coolest Disney magic we have ever seen. During the last drop on the ride, the ghostly image of the little girl from the pre-show appeared to our left. In all the years we have been riding that ride (since the year it opened!)(and six times that night!) we have never, ever seen that. It was so freaky! And cool! And we left the park that evening still tingling with the excitement of a thrill we had never experienced before. That, folks, is what it's all about.

Blizzard Kingdom, Magic Beach

On Monday, Whit-Rod, Ca-nah, and Taylor all woke up early to be at Blizzard Beach at opening! We headed straight to Summit Plummet, the largest water slide in all eternity! Rodney had no fear and conquered the slope, while Caleb and Taylor tried the Slush Gusher.

Hannah loved Teamboat Springs, the family raft ride, and playing in Tikes Peak, the children's area. Hannah also made a friend name Semi who told us about her "Emotional Sickness" she got while riding Rockin' Roller Coaster!

All-in-all, we had a great time and were back at the hotel for lunch by 1:00!

After some much needed naps, we were up and ready for Magic Kingdom!! After riding The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean (twice!), Bill, Tammy, and Taylor decided to call it a night. The Doves however stayed till midnight!! They were able to get so much done, and even watch the fireworks!

It was a long and busy day, but well worth it!! Sorry for few pictures! We were having so much fun we forgot to take many pictures!

Our First Disney Stop: Animal Kingdom

Wow! What a CRAZY week! We are all really enjoying ourselves in the Sunshine State! We apologize for the infrequent updates, but the hotel internet has been a little faulty, and who would know it would pick back up during the craziest lightning storm ever! We just got in from EPCOT, and are seizing the opportunity to update our blog!

We'll pick back up with Sunday, when we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom! We have these nifty little iPhone apps which predict how crowded the parks will be each day, and for Sunday, it recommended Animal Kingdom. So we woke up eaaaarly on Sunday (6am Texas time!) and aimed to be at the park by opening!

Finally on the tram, it was beginning to feel like we were really there! You can see the excitement on Whit's face!!

Ready to put those Disney tickets (which have been on the refrigerator for months!) to good use!!

We got into the park and headed straight to Expedition Everest and were happy to find a 10 minute wait!!! This was by far Caleb's favorite ride of the day!

Then we headed over to Dinosaur! Hannah looks plenty cheerful in line, but she changed her mind pretty quickly! She was not a fan. Sadly, this was also the last that was seen of Whit's dear sunglasses, all because she failed to "gather all personal belongings".

Hannah cheered up once we headed over to Kilimanjaro Safaris! We saw lions, ostriches, hippos, and even rescued a baby elephant!

But our FAVORITE thing about Animal Kingdom is eating at Flame Tree! We love how you can wind way back to the back where it's nice and quiet with great views of Everest! Plus, it's GREAT barbeque! (mmmm, those beans!)

And Hannah's favorite attraction was definitely the Triceratops Spin in Dinorama. She could have stayed there all day if we'd let her!

Our iPhone app had really pulled through! We had done and seen everything we pleased by 3:00, and on our way back to the hotel for some quality pool time!!

FINALLY HERE!

Wow! What an exhausting 2 days!! Both crews set out on Friday morning for the very long and tedious drive to Florida. Whit-Rod (new nickname) and crew left at around 5am and drove to Pensacola beach. Bill, Tammy, and Taylor left at around 10:30am, and drove the 12 hrs to Milton, Fl (like I said--long, tedious, and exhausting!)

All packed up!

And finally, after another 7hrs of driving today, we reached Marriott's Grande Vista Resort...

And shortly after the Doves arrived!!

We spent the afternoon down at the pool, and even had dinner poolside. Caleb, Hannah, and Taylor walked to the great play room at the hotel lobby, and Hannah asked "Is this the Tower of Terror??".....isn't she in for a surprise! ;)

Still doesn't feel quite real that we are here! Maybe once we pass through the archway that says "Welcome To Walt Disney World" it will be a little more realistic.

So happy to be here and feeling more relaxed already!! Plan is to be at Animal Kingdom at opening!!!

Now to get some sleep!

Goodnight Neverland!

Once Upon a Time: Our Disney History

Welcome Aboard--Bienvenidos Abordo

Welcome to our family blog for our Disney vacation, Summer 2011! For most of us, this will be our first trip in 4 years, and we are all very excited! In our family, if you're talkin' Disney, 4 years is just too long!

So where does our Disney Story begin?

22 years ago, my parents, Bill and Tammy, visited WDW with some friends for the first time. Needless to say, they fell in love with the Disney experience, and returned within a year with the entire family. Since then, we have been traveling from Texas to Orlando as often as possible, adding to our collection of Disney Home Videos, Mickey Mouse beach towels, and of course thousands of memories!! Our family has grown considerably, along with the Disney parks themselves, and this year my parents will be returning with their 2 daughters, a son in law, and 2 grandchildren.

This Year's Disney Cast:

Bill

Age: 56

Occupation: Physician

Trip to Disney: #19

Last Disney Trip: 2008 (30th anniversary)

Most looking forward to: sitting with Tammy and enjoying our memories.

Tammy

Age: 52

Occupation: Art Teacher

Trip to Disney: #20

Last Disney Trip: 2010 (with 3 sisters)

Excited to: Return to Magic Kingdom and find our family brick, purchased in 1994!

Taylor

Age: 20

Occupation: Student (Go Frogs!)/Ride Enthusiast

Trip to Disney: #16

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Dream Job at Disney: getting to be Tinkerbell and fly from the top of Cinderella Castle every night!

Whitney

Age: 29

Occupation: Middle School Science Teacher

Trip to Disney: #12

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Favorite Disney touch: the way the sidewalks twinkle as you walk towards the exit after Illuminations at Epcot.

Rodney

Age: 30

Occupation: Pilot

Trip to Disney: #4

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Most excited about: watching Caleb loose his britches when he tries Summit Plummet for the first time!

Caleb

Age: 11

Occupation: Ninja

Trip to Disney: #4

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Most looking forward to: Finally being tall enough for Space Mountain and Rockin' Roller Coaster

Hannah

Age: 5

Occupation: Princess

Trip to Disney: #2

Last Disney Trip: 2007

Most looking forward to: her appointment at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique (but shhhhh! she doesn't know it yet!!)

And our Honorary Cast Members:

Zachary and Hunter

(unable to attend due to pursuit of their own passions and dreams, like any true mouseketeer)

Zach will be traveling to L.A. as well as working in DFW, working on his career as a singer/songwriter, and Hunter will be performing in Cyrano de Burgerac, part of Dallas Shakespeare in the Park. We are so sad that they won't be joining us on this trip, but thrilled to know that they are both doing what they love!!

Second Star on the Right, and Straight on Till Morning

So, tomorrow, July 8, begins our journey to the Happiest Place on Earth. The Dove family will be departing from Kingwood, Tx early in the morning, and Bill, Tammy, and Taylor will be leaving Denison, Tx at around 10:30 am. The plan is to take 2 days to drive, and meet in Orlando on the afternoon of Saturday the 9th.

The hope is to write a little on this blog every day (hopefully), so that our friends and family can keep up with us during our 2 week stay in Orlando. We are so excited about this trip, and hope that you'll check back to see what we're up to!!

See ya' real soon!

Taylor