Disney World 2012

So I have fallin down on my promise to write 2 post's a month. I have a little excuse as you know from my last post I have been incredibly busy with my new position.  So continue to have faith in me that I will keep this going and will do my best to continue to write.

Anyways I went to Disney World at the end of March with the David W. Butler Marching Band where my husband Josh is the Band Director and had a blast! Here is a recap of the crazy busy 3 days we were there.

Day 1:

Well I should say night one, we left at roughly 9pm thursday March 29th via charter bus. We arrived in Orlando at 8ish friday morning.  We met our tour guide at the Golden Corral to get our tickets and set out for the day.  We had hopper passes and let the kids go off to the parks by them selves as long as they checked in with a chaperone.  So Josh and I and 2 chaperones headed to the Magic Kingdom.  I felt just like a kid again walking around the corner and seeing Cinderella's Castle!

After that lovely photo op we headed to space mountain to get a fast pass. Have you heard of these?  If the line for a popular ride is long you grab this and it holds your spot in line so you can go ride something else. First stop the Haunted Mansion, Josh's favorite ride! We felt like kids again, it was awesome!  We then headed to Adventureland!  We hit up the Enchanted Tiki Room, the Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Treehouse and Pirates of the Carribean.

Josh on Jungle Cruise

View at the top of the tree house

After that we headed to space mountain the catch our spot in line. I remember not being so sure of this ride when I was younger, it was my first roller coaster and I almost didn't ride it. This time I was like "Let's do this!" Well then we are placed in the front car, it was still fun but much more intense in the dark with few people in front of you. Note Josh's face on the ride, needless to say he loved it!

I love Josh's face in this photo.

Next we made a stop at the hall of presidents, Josh is a history buff and loved this animatronic show on the history of the nation and our Presidents. I have to admit, not being a history buff my self, it was pretty cool!

We ended day 1 at Disney with the Wishes Night Time Spectacular Fireworks show over Cinderella's Castle! It was truly magical, I could have watched it for hours!

Day 2:

Epcot!! 

First stop we got fast passes for Soarin', the most popular ride in Epcot and while we waited for our time to get back in line we checked out Iternational Flower and Garden Show. It's amazing what they can do with greenery and flowers.

Next we head to the Test Track, another way to get through line quickly at disney is to go in the single rider line, thats what we did here. We were in and out in 10 minutes. At the end we had a photo op in a Chevy Camaro!

We then headed to Mission Space. I was un sure of this one because I have claustrophobic tendencies. But Josh said I would be fine, so I trusted him. Also this ride gives you options, basically the ride spins around super fast to get a g-force effect, however you can choose orange for an intense ride or green for a milder version, we chose green. And it was just right, you really feel like you are performing a space mission without getting nauseous. Here are Josh's kids after the ride.

We then headed to Soarin' to use our fast passes.  This was my favorite ride, I was told it would be. It's a simulator where you feel like you are hang gliding over beautiful landscapes.  It feels so real you forget you are on a ride. I wish I could have taken photos to better explain this. This is a must do if you go to disney world.

After mission space we headed to Spaceship Earth. Josh was reluctant at first because all he remembered was that it was boring. But by the end when we "saw our future" he loved it!

Now it's time to head backstage and get ready for the parade. I was so proud to witness this moment, it's not everyday your husband's marching band gets to march through Epcot. It was also really cool to go behind the scenes at Disney, they were really strict about no cameras though. So we meet our bus backstage to get the kids dressed and ready. Josh is ready to warm up the band and right then a storm comes out of nowhere, but the craziest thing is before it started to pour the wind picked up all this dirt and was flying it around, it was a mess. Right as the rain came we got the band back on the bus.  At this point all we can do is wait out the storm. An hour later we decide to go ahead and march when there is just a little drizzle. So they head out into the park.

I will never forget the moment their name was called over the PA system, it gave me chills. So proud to be a band directors wife! ;)

So after we get back to the bus and the band changes we have the rest of the afternoon in the park.  We decide to check out the rest of the world ;).  Stopped in and visited Canada with a tour guided by Martin Short. Visited some shops and things in other countries.  I like a quick trip around the world, hehe.

We ended our second day with the Illuminations: Reflections of Earth Light Show.

Good Bye Epcot

Day 3:

Animal Kingdom!
This is my favorite of the parks. It's the park where I hold most of my memories from the trip when I was little. It's when my love of giraffes was solidified, on Kilimanjaro's Safari a Giraffe came right up to our Jeep, like an inch from my face. They are by far one of God's most beautiful most interesting creations.

So, knowing we only had half of the day to spend here me and another mom immediately went and got a fast pass for Kilimanjaro's Safari, Josh and a different mom went to ride Expedition Everest. After that we met up and while we waited for our time to come up we went under the "Tree of Life" to see "It's tough to be a bug" in 3D by the characters from A Bugs Life.  This I also saw when I was little but I think they definitely upped the scare factor since then. It was cute but when Grass Hopper comes out there were kids screaming and even I got a little frightened.

Anyways now we are off to Kilimanjaro's Safari! Our guide wasn't as into the story line of catching poachers as I remember the one being when I was little. It was still fun to see all of the animals especially the Giraffes, and we saw several, not as close as when I was little. The pictures speak for them selves.

So after Kilimanjaro's Safari it was time to leave Animal Kingdom, next time I am able to go I am spending much longer here, we missed a lot.

Good Bye Animal Kingdom

Anyways, we decide to head to the Rain Forest Cafe for lunch, but not the one in animal kingdom because I thought it would be much too busy, I had the brilliant idea to catch the bus and head to the one at Down Town Disney.  There is a note of sarcasm here because in hindsight I would not advise doing this if you do not have your own personal mode of transportation.  There is not a bus that goes directly from the parks to downtown disney, you have to catch one to a hotel and then to downtown disney.  It took us over an hour to get there, they still took our reservation even though we were late, and we ended up having a great meal. It just took much too long to do, and it turns out people in the band didn't have any trouble getting seated at the rain forest cafe in animal kingdom.

So after this interesting trek we head to finish our last day at MGM Studios, oops I mean
Hollywood Studios!

Ok so you need a back story here too. When i went to Disney when I was little we tried to ride Tower of Terror 3 times! Due to either technical difficulties and the park closing we did not succeed in riding it. So even though as I get older I am becoming less of a dare devil I was determined to ride it this trip. The photo taken on the ride explains how I much I enjoyed it. But hey, at least I can check it off my bucket list ;)

After this we rode Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller coaster, after it I was done with rides. So josh rode another ride, we saw the little mermaid show, we shopped around a little, ate dinner and then it was time to wait in line to get good seats for Fantasmic! This was by far my favorite light show out of all the evening light shows the park held. Because it is in an Amphitheater you can sit and see more. It was amazing!

After this it was time to go home and our Disney trip came to an end....

One last flower and garden sculpture

Good Bye Hollywood Studios

I had a great time! I am so thankful I get the opportunity to go on these trips with Josh and the bands of David W. Butler High School. I love seeing him in his Band Director role, it's amazing to witness when someone truly answers their calling and are doing what they were meant to do.

Good Bye Disney World :(

I hope ya'll enjoyed more details about our Disney World trip last march!

Until next time (hopefully it won't be another 5 months til I write again(.