OUR LIFE IN 3D

We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day at our house…

So if I haven’t lost you all yet are you ready for another few dozen family pics?

The final day of our Valentine’s getaway was, of course, Valentine’s Day Sunday.  For whatever reason we opted to spend that day at the Magic Kingdom theme park (shoot me in the head).

It was crazy packed that day with lots of people off the following day!

But we did our usual routine again and got there scary-early so we could hop on some great rides before the rest of the world arrived.

Yes we got there about 45 minutes before opening so we were right up front when they opened the gates..

AND

Got to hear this opening number again to entertain and build excitement for the early bird crowds while they pack the front gates patiently wait for the gates to open:

The early start actually gave us time for a family, pre-planned prayer to the Disney gods to have a Magical day; to get on some great rides with no waiting, for a sunny warm day, and for the kids to not get cranky for the long rigorous day ahead.

The Disney gods did not disappoint!

And it worked!

We took a minute to take a souvenir shot at the customary spot so that every one can get a picture of us for Christmas..

Then we ALL hustled our way over to some of the rides with the historically long wait-times that we did not have a Fast Pass for.

First was the great Jungle Cruise with the comical river boat guide and then over to our 2nd fav. roller coaster there, Big Thunder Mountain. Then back over to the Pirates of the Caribbean  before any lines formed to slow our mojo.

Never waited in line once!

Then we raced over to Tomorrowland for our first Fast Pass with Tomorrowland Speedway…. for the kids!

Yes, this was my favorite ride the one time I came to Disney as a kid.

Then we had some time to kill until our next Fast Pass, Peter Pan’s Flight.

This ride has an incredibly long wait times historically.  And the girls didn’t have any interest to see any of the Disney Princesses this trip so we hob-knobbed around in the Liberty Square / Fantasyland areas and took in a couple of old favorite rides, like the humorous Haunted Mansion and the timeless It’s a Small World attractions.

We found a few good carnival rides too to put smiles on our faces…

And I did see MY favorite Disney Princess getting in a bit of a spat with my alter-ego while we were there…

Yes, I have a dream!

By then the park was getting packed! And a lot of standing in-line was making my feet hurt and my whole Magical attitude go south.

I prayed for a way to get off my feet. What I wouldn’t give to go on a train ride, to hear the whistle blow, put my feet up, and go someplace else mentally for 30 minutes…. hmmmm

I rode that train just long enough until the time for our last Fast Pass, and where we have a Star on their walk-of-fame for the now, almost famous, commercial we made for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train:

And that about wrapped up our day at the Magic Kingdom.

Going back to the beginning, keep in mind it was Valentine’s Day. When we made our reservations, about 2 months out, we could not get a single table reserved for dinner IN the Magic Kingdom. So we had to hop the tram to run us over to the closest hotel, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.

Never been there!

This resort was at the last stop on the round-trip Disney tram but we made our 6:15 dinner reservations. We found this lovely hotel and vestibule, complete with a live jazz band playing to the open air hotel lobby from the third floor.

Nice!

And if this lobby was any indication of our Valentine’s dinner we were in for a very special Valentines’ Day dinner; all of us!

The dinner was outstanding!

Yes, it was still on the Disney meal plan, even in a hotel restaurant. The kids loved it. Mom loved it. I tried to embarrass Mom by proposing again on one knee beside our table,  an anniversary of sorts as I proposed for the first time on Valentine’s Day several years back.

Well, she didn’t fall for it this time and I got up without any round of applause or anything.

My perceptive 7-year-old though, never missing a beat, took one bite out of her dinner roll and held it up for my Valentine that evening…

This kid is pretty smart!

We finished our meal, hit the tram, found our shuttle bus to our hotel, staggered in to check-out for the following morning and wrapped up our Valentine’s Day celebration away from home.

One thing about where we stayed on this trip.

We stayed at one of Disney’s Value Resorts this time, the Disney All-Star Movie resort.

We were just there to shower and sleep and were not to impressed with Moderate priced level last time. And this hotel and our room was every bit as nice, or nicer than the last venture at the Caribbean Resort. The only down side was this hotel, being one of the value branch, was attractive to all the large groups visiting Disney and so there was a lot of laughing outside and doors slamming as they went from room to room.

All in all though the All-Star Movie resort did put on a good show!

One last thing,  we visited Disney Springs for the first time, on the night of our arrival as well as the day of our departure. This is not a theme park but a big outside mall, full of all the big brand names a place like Disney World can attract, whether retail or dining. No rides there, just great shops and eats.

Like this $50 Rice Krispy treat:

NOT on the meal plan!

Still… our girls did find some way to have some magical fun and meet some new friends…

It appears Skylar just likes warm lots of hugs now!

Yes, that is a painting on a wall she is hugging!

Crazy girl…

Thanks for taking a trip with my family to Disney World!

I wanted to get this last post in as I have some potentially sad and damaging news to broadcast next.

It appears I may have to spend some time behind bars in mid April.

I need to start passing the hat to earn my release……