I'm going to post my thoughts on the final Harry Potter book.
So consider yourself warned -- if you do not want any clues, information, insight, or spoilers, DO NOT read this blog entry. Of course, if are intending to read the book but still haven't, you've probably heard all of the spoilers by now anyway.
But, just in case, I'll give you time to shut this window or navigate to some other internet location before I share my thoughts...
You have until the count of 10...........
1
2
3 you'd better get going!
4
5
6 aren't you gone yet?
7
8 I mean it!
9
10 If you're not gone by now, don't say I didn't warn you about the spoilers!
First, I had planned to re-read book 6 before book 7 came out but I never got around to it. I wish I had. There were some crucial details that I just couldn't remember clearly from book 6 so after I finished book 7, I went back and re-read the last several chapters of book 6, then re-read the last several chapters of book 7. Everything clicked. And then, just for good measure, I spent a week and a half re-reading all 7 books. They're just that good!
One thing I noticed from re-reading all 7 books is how neatly so many things tied together in the end. I loved that it was Hagrid, riding Sirius' motorbike, that delivered Harry to Privet Drive in the first place...and that it was Hagrid, riding Sirius' motorbike, that took Harry away from Privet Drive for the last time. I love that Dumbledore's "put-outer" in book 1 (which reappears in at least one subsequent book before book 7) seems like such a small, trivial bit of magical technology, but ends up being very much more than that in helping Ron get back to Harry and Hermione. I loved that they used the basilisk fangs from book 2. I love that Griphook, the goblin that helps Harry at Gringotts in book 1, is the goblin who helps (is that a stretch?) Harry in book 7. I love that Dumbledore continues to play a very important role in Harry's quest.
I said in a previous post that I have a new favorite character. Three guesses who it is...OK, I'll just tell you. Molly Weasley. I absolutely love her at the end of book 7! I love that she has such strong maternal instincts and that she was not going to let anyone else hurt her family. While I do not condone the use of swear words, I have to admit that Molly's "battle cry" was contextual, strong, and I could see the motivation for it. Yea for Molly! A close second is Neville, the character who finally lives up to his potential. He turned out to be so strong! Go Neville!
I love that mothers are portrayed in such a strong light throughout the series. Lily and her love for Harry, Molly and her love for her family (and extended family, by which I mean Harry and Hermione), and even Narcissa and her love for Draco (that unloveable little twit!). I have to say that what Narcissa did, lying to Voldemort about whether Harry was alive or dead, was a brave thing. The Malfoys didn't redeem themselves, but that helped.
I love Fred and George and the comic relief they provide throughout the entire series. I was so sad at Fred's death. So very, very sad. But I had a feeling going in to the book that the Weasley family would not escape without tragedy. I really love Fred and George. They're fabulous comic characters.
The deaths came fast and some were very hard to accept. Hedwig's death hit me particularly hard. Come on -- Voldemort has already killed Harry's parents and brought about the deaths of Sirius and Dumbledore...and now he's going to kill Harry's pet? That's just cruel. So very cruel. And Dobby. Oh, sweet Dobby. Brave, sweet Dobby. And Lupin and Tonks. That broke my heart. But I'm glad that Harry, as we know through the epilogue, played an active part in Teddy's life. I am happy with the epilogue.
What really made me happy with the whole series, though, is that Harry did not kill Voldemort. Voldemort killed *himself* through the rebounding curse. I love that Harry didn't kill Voldemort, although he would be totally justified in doing so. I also am happy that Harry saved Draco...although I loved Ron's comment to Harry to the effect of, "If we die to save Draco, I'm going to kill you!" Even in a situation that is terribly dangerous, Harry acted with courage and valor and saved his enemy.
I felt bad for Snape, the way he died, although I was pretty sure he wouldn't survive the book. I thought it was very touching that the last thing he saw -- that he wanted to see -- before he died were Harry's eyes, which, as we know from all of the previous books, were Lily's eyes. The eyes of the woman he loved his whole life, reflected in the boy he despised but had risked his life and fought to protect (although begrudgingly!) for so many years.
My sisters and I were right about the horcruxes, although we weren't sure what the Ravenclaw item would be.
I loved the humor in this book -- loved when Amycus (?) spit on Professor McGonagall and Harry said, "You shouldn't have done that" and appears from under the Cloak! What a great line! Can't wait to see it in the movie -- kind of like, "go ahead, make my day." And when Ron and Hermione finally got together and she kissed him, and Harry reminds them that there is a war going on and could they save that for later? LOL! Lots of fun humor in this book, which was a welcome break from the tension.
There is so much to love in this series. I know the series has its critics, particularly religious critics. I'm not going to debate that. I will say that I found the entire good vs. evil, love vs. hate and fear, free will vs. force, self-sacrifice vs. self-serving, to be very much in step with my personal beliefs. Not that I believe in witchcraft and wizardry -- I don't -- but I believe very much that there are opposing forces in this world and I believe there is truly a battle going on for men's souls and it is up to us to choose which side we are on. Enough said.
I'm sorry to see the series end. J.K. Rowling has said that she may publish an encyclopedia with additional information, backstories on various characters, etc. I hope she does. But until then, I'll be happy with continuing to re-read the books, escaping my mostly mundane life with a little bit of magic.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
More Pictures from Day 2, EPCOT
A picture of the ball....although I think the wand and hand add a whimsical touch to it, I agree with the general consensus that they don't fit in with the futuristic/technological viewpoint of EPCOT Center.
Pin trading with a cast member -- the girls' favorite non-ride activity at WDW!
Cooling off in one of several cooling stations -- it felt really good!
Outside Test Track -- this is such a fun ride! Love the theming in the indoor waiting area! 
Outside the Finding Nemo ride, after our amazing dinner at Coral Reef.
Just candid shots of our beautiful girls, waiting for IllumiNations to start. 
First Day of School Pictures
I can't believe how fast these girls are growing up!! A is almost as tall as I am (and almost the same shoe size) and B is growing like a weed. Time needs to slow down....
The 2007-08 school year is underway....back to regular (crazy) schedules, homework, and all of the fun that goes along with it!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Disney Pics
For your viewing pleasure, here are two pictures from our trip -- EPCOT, Day 2. More coming!Meeting The Mouse himself in the Character Connection.
This was the day they started dismantling the wand and Mickey's hand around Spaceship Earth ("the big ball") at EPCOT Center. When we went back a few days later, it was more than half gone. I'm glad we got a picture before it was totally dismantled.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Day 2
Sorry this installment has taken so long…still waiting on pictures!! This is going to be long, so grab a snack and settle in!
Day 2 of the trip was Day 1 in the parks. As per guidance from the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (a must read if you’re going to WDW!), the Unofficial Guide’s planning website (www.touringplans.com) and Tour Guide Mike’s website (can’t remember the link), plus advice from a fabulous Disney World planning board (www.disboards.com), we knew that EPCOT was the park to do today.
We got up early, ate breakfast in the room, made sure we had everything we needed in the trusty backpack, and headed out the door. We only waited a few minutes for the bus to EPCOT and we were off! We arrived at EPCOT about 35 minutes before it opened, got right through the bag check line, and were almost at the front of the line for entrance.
We were there on the day they started dismantling the wand and Mickey’s arm from around the “ball” (Spaceship Earth). We got a picture of it that morning…I’m glad we did because when we went back on Friday those were more than 50% dismantled.
I don’t have my notes with me on what order we did the rides in, but I will tell you that we followed the touring plan pretty closely, only omitting rides we knew the girls wouldn’t like (Mission Space), rides that were closed (Spaceship Earth), and things the girls weren’t interested in seeing (Innovations – although I really want to go back and see this!). We also inserted an afternoon break (more on that later). Other than Soarin’ and Character Connection, the longest line we stood in was about 15 minutes, thanks to the touring plans and using FastPass on everything we could. Instead of doing a play-by-play, I’ll just tell you what we thought of the rides we did…
Soarin’ – the first ride we did. We loved it! It is really neat – love the smell of the oranges and the feeling of gliding through the air. This was B’s favorite ride.
TestTrack – DH did this one himself and really loved it. He convinced us all to go on it by the end of the week, as you will see on Day 6!
Finding Nemo – cute ride, very similar in nature to the “classic” Disney World rides. The theming in the waiting area is really fun – beachy, looks like you’re underwater in part of it.
Turtle Talk with Crush – very fun. The kids loved it. It was really neat how Crush interacted with the audience – very cool technology.
Character Connection – the girls told us before the trip that they weren’t interested in meeting characters…they told us before we got in the gates at EPCOT that they weren’t interested in meeting characters. And then B saw the Character Connection and we HAD to meet the characters! LOL We met, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. It was cute, although the 35 minute wait was a bit long (I thought).
Living with the Land – very interesting. This is where we saw watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other melons growing on trees and growing suspended from the ceiling. It was really neat! And 9 pound lemons – they were huge! We enjoyed this ride. It was one of the few that we did twice.
Cool Station – tried different Coke products, some good and some not. I had been warned at Beverly (Italian drink) so I didn’t try it, but DH did. Other than that, they were all pretty good. The girls liked a German drink that tasted like cola but with orange flavoring. I liked the watermelon flavored one from China.
We had lunch at Sunshine Seasons. The food was great and the servings were HUGE. I highly recommend using the Disney Dining Plan! The food was all really good. Especially the desserts! B and I had roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and baby carrots and DH and A had something from the Asian station. For dessert we had fruit tarts, chocolate mousse cake, and something else that I can’t remember. LOL
Next we headed to the different countries but only made it through a few of them before deciding we were ready for a break. We went back to the hotel to swim and rest for a while. We enjoyed the flower-shaped Hippy Dip pool at the hotel. This 2 hour break was just what we needed to recharge. We headed back for our dinner reservation at Coral Reef. This restaurant is so cool – a huge aquarium takes up the entire length of the restaurant so we saw giant turtles, sharks, and all sorts of sea creatures, plus divers. The food was absolutely incredible, other than my appetizer (a salad). A had the lobster soup appetizer and she loved it. DH had shrimp cocktail and said it was good. For dinner, M, A, and B all had grilled mahi mahi and they loved it. I had a steak – oh my goodness, it was the best steak I have ever eaten. And then dessert. M, A, and I all had the cheesecake. It was, by far, the lightest and best cheesecake I have ever eaten. It had a raspberry sauce and a drizzled sugar decoration. I finished the entire thing! SO yummy. B got a “make your own sundae” that came with vanilla bean ice cream (also yummy), with hot fudge sauce, sprinkles, and M&Ms. That was fun.
After dinner we headed back to visit the different countries. I wish we had more time to spend there…and I wish we weren’t so full from dinner – there were some foods I wanted to sample but we were just too stuffed! We stopped for a while to watch a concert by an Abba-type group (SO fun – the girls and I love Abba) and then continued touring. The roses and other landscaping were beautiful. But even at 8 p.m. it was darn hot. We found our spot to settle in and watch Illuminations. Even though it wasn’t the spot I wanted, it was a good viewing location. We really enjoyed the show…and headed out of the park and back to the hotel to crash and sleep very soundly!
Our initial impression, from this first day in the parks, was that the touring plans really do work, especially if you omit the things you don’t want to do and add in the things you do want to do. We didn’t get to see everything EPCOT had to offer, but we did see everything we wanted to see. Again, it would have been nice to spend more time in the countries but we can do that on another trip! We also realized the importance of that afternoon break. For some reason, swimming for a little while (or just laying down in the air conditioned room for a little while) really recharges your batteries so you can make it through the rest of the day. We were glad we took the advice to take a break every afternoon.
Oh – the girls really, really got into pin trading which would prove to be almost an obsession for them over the rest of the trip. LOL They traded pins with lots of difference Disney Cast Members and figured out quickly which pins they wanted and the etiquette of pin trading. I bought them each another trading set, plus a birthstone Tinkerbell pin, and they each ended up buying another trading set with their own money, plus a couple other pins with their own money. By the end of the trip I was pretty tired of looking at pins, but they both ended up with a beautiful collection, including some collector pins that can’t be bought in the parks. Not too bad!
Next installment…Disney MGM Studios and our first “Dream” experience!
Day 2 of the trip was Day 1 in the parks. As per guidance from the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (a must read if you’re going to WDW!), the Unofficial Guide’s planning website (www.touringplans.com) and Tour Guide Mike’s website (can’t remember the link), plus advice from a fabulous Disney World planning board (www.disboards.com), we knew that EPCOT was the park to do today.
We got up early, ate breakfast in the room, made sure we had everything we needed in the trusty backpack, and headed out the door. We only waited a few minutes for the bus to EPCOT and we were off! We arrived at EPCOT about 35 minutes before it opened, got right through the bag check line, and were almost at the front of the line for entrance.
We were there on the day they started dismantling the wand and Mickey’s arm from around the “ball” (Spaceship Earth). We got a picture of it that morning…I’m glad we did because when we went back on Friday those were more than 50% dismantled.
I don’t have my notes with me on what order we did the rides in, but I will tell you that we followed the touring plan pretty closely, only omitting rides we knew the girls wouldn’t like (Mission Space), rides that were closed (Spaceship Earth), and things the girls weren’t interested in seeing (Innovations – although I really want to go back and see this!). We also inserted an afternoon break (more on that later). Other than Soarin’ and Character Connection, the longest line we stood in was about 15 minutes, thanks to the touring plans and using FastPass on everything we could. Instead of doing a play-by-play, I’ll just tell you what we thought of the rides we did…
Soarin’ – the first ride we did. We loved it! It is really neat – love the smell of the oranges and the feeling of gliding through the air. This was B’s favorite ride.
TestTrack – DH did this one himself and really loved it. He convinced us all to go on it by the end of the week, as you will see on Day 6!
Finding Nemo – cute ride, very similar in nature to the “classic” Disney World rides. The theming in the waiting area is really fun – beachy, looks like you’re underwater in part of it.
Turtle Talk with Crush – very fun. The kids loved it. It was really neat how Crush interacted with the audience – very cool technology.
Character Connection – the girls told us before the trip that they weren’t interested in meeting characters…they told us before we got in the gates at EPCOT that they weren’t interested in meeting characters. And then B saw the Character Connection and we HAD to meet the characters! LOL We met, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. It was cute, although the 35 minute wait was a bit long (I thought).
Living with the Land – very interesting. This is where we saw watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other melons growing on trees and growing suspended from the ceiling. It was really neat! And 9 pound lemons – they were huge! We enjoyed this ride. It was one of the few that we did twice.
Cool Station – tried different Coke products, some good and some not. I had been warned at Beverly (Italian drink) so I didn’t try it, but DH did. Other than that, they were all pretty good. The girls liked a German drink that tasted like cola but with orange flavoring. I liked the watermelon flavored one from China.
We had lunch at Sunshine Seasons. The food was great and the servings were HUGE. I highly recommend using the Disney Dining Plan! The food was all really good. Especially the desserts! B and I had roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and baby carrots and DH and A had something from the Asian station. For dessert we had fruit tarts, chocolate mousse cake, and something else that I can’t remember. LOL
Next we headed to the different countries but only made it through a few of them before deciding we were ready for a break. We went back to the hotel to swim and rest for a while. We enjoyed the flower-shaped Hippy Dip pool at the hotel. This 2 hour break was just what we needed to recharge. We headed back for our dinner reservation at Coral Reef. This restaurant is so cool – a huge aquarium takes up the entire length of the restaurant so we saw giant turtles, sharks, and all sorts of sea creatures, plus divers. The food was absolutely incredible, other than my appetizer (a salad). A had the lobster soup appetizer and she loved it. DH had shrimp cocktail and said it was good. For dinner, M, A, and B all had grilled mahi mahi and they loved it. I had a steak – oh my goodness, it was the best steak I have ever eaten. And then dessert. M, A, and I all had the cheesecake. It was, by far, the lightest and best cheesecake I have ever eaten. It had a raspberry sauce and a drizzled sugar decoration. I finished the entire thing! SO yummy. B got a “make your own sundae” that came with vanilla bean ice cream (also yummy), with hot fudge sauce, sprinkles, and M&Ms. That was fun.
After dinner we headed back to visit the different countries. I wish we had more time to spend there…and I wish we weren’t so full from dinner – there were some foods I wanted to sample but we were just too stuffed! We stopped for a while to watch a concert by an Abba-type group (SO fun – the girls and I love Abba) and then continued touring. The roses and other landscaping were beautiful. But even at 8 p.m. it was darn hot. We found our spot to settle in and watch Illuminations. Even though it wasn’t the spot I wanted, it was a good viewing location. We really enjoyed the show…and headed out of the park and back to the hotel to crash and sleep very soundly!
Our initial impression, from this first day in the parks, was that the touring plans really do work, especially if you omit the things you don’t want to do and add in the things you do want to do. We didn’t get to see everything EPCOT had to offer, but we did see everything we wanted to see. Again, it would have been nice to spend more time in the countries but we can do that on another trip! We also realized the importance of that afternoon break. For some reason, swimming for a little while (or just laying down in the air conditioned room for a little while) really recharges your batteries so you can make it through the rest of the day. We were glad we took the advice to take a break every afternoon.
Oh – the girls really, really got into pin trading which would prove to be almost an obsession for them over the rest of the trip. LOL They traded pins with lots of difference Disney Cast Members and figured out quickly which pins they wanted and the etiquette of pin trading. I bought them each another trading set, plus a birthstone Tinkerbell pin, and they each ended up buying another trading set with their own money, plus a couple other pins with their own money. By the end of the trip I was pretty tired of looking at pins, but they both ended up with a beautiful collection, including some collector pins that can’t be bought in the parks. Not too bad!
Next installment…Disney MGM Studios and our first “Dream” experience!
Monday, August 6, 2007
First Day of School
As hard as it is to believe, today is the first day of school where we live. So soon! It seems like summer vacation is getting shorter and shorter every year. I must admit, though, that A and B are both definitely ready to get back to school. They spent last week arguing and picking fights with each other. They’ve only had each other as playmates most of the summer and they finally got tired of each other’s company. LOL It was bound to happen!
I couldn’t believe how grown up and beautiful A looked this morning. It’s hard to believe she’s as old as she is! She’s excited about this school year…lots of opportunities for her and she’s going to do great. B looks adorable with her new haircut, and I think we made the right choice with her teacher this year…hopefully she’ll be kept challenged and engaged this year.
I know I’ve been promising pictures – but it’s been really busy and we haven’t gotten them downloaded from the camera yet. I’ll try again to do some of that tonight!
I couldn’t believe how grown up and beautiful A looked this morning. It’s hard to believe she’s as old as she is! She’s excited about this school year…lots of opportunities for her and she’s going to do great. B looks adorable with her new haircut, and I think we made the right choice with her teacher this year…hopefully she’ll be kept challenged and engaged this year.
I know I’ve been promising pictures – but it’s been really busy and we haven’t gotten them downloaded from the camera yet. I’ll try again to do some of that tonight!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Day 1
There are no pictures to accompany Day 1, so here goes…
Day 1 – Time for a Road Trip!
We planned to leave between 2 and 3 p.m., after church…arrive in Orlando around 8 – 9 p.m., and get to bed early. “The best laid plans…”. I ended up having to go to a meeting after church that lasted an hour and 45 minutes! (So much for it being a “short” meeting.) I didn’t even get home until after 2:00. I ran around quickly packing my suitcase and making sure everything else was packed, then we loaded up the van and headed out. Things were looking good until we hit traffic between here and there and it took over an hour to go 10 miles! UGH! Fortunately the DVD player was working and the entertainment helped keep everyone entertained and relatively happy. We never did figure out what caused the slowdown, but by the time we got through the slowdown it was time for something to eat….dining establishment mistake #1 of our trip!
We stopped at Burger King. That was a big mistake (but as you will see in a later installment, we apparently don’t learn from our mistakes). They were out of catsup. What? How is that possible? How is B supposed to eat chicken fries and onion rings without catsup? And how can it take 20 minutes to order and get your food in a fast food establishment? Doesn’t 20 minutes make it “slow food” instead of “fast food”? It was freezing cold in that place so after spending 20 minutes just to get our food, we decided to resume our journey and just eat in the car.
I expected to see a big sign welcoming us to Florida…after all, most state borders I’ve been through are quite visibly marked. We saw one small sign announcing that we were in Florida…so small that we almost missed it! We stopped to get gas and for some reason the DVD player decided to quit working. Not good for our sanity! So no more movies…with about two hours to go. This made for two very unhappy kiddos. The rest of the drive was quite uneventful, other than the girls asking us every 5 minutes if the DVD player was working yet. We saw the spire of the Orlando Temple from the road we were on. It would have been nice to see it up close but it was late and dark and we were all getting pretty antsy and were ready to be done driving. We could also see some of the Disney World fireworks which added to the building sense of anticipation and excitement. We expected to be able to see Disney World from the freeway but I have to say that I was pleased we couldn’t see it – it made it seem like it was more secluded and not right in the middle of everything. We followed the signs and before too long we were pulling up in front of our hotel, Disney’s Pop Century Resort (at 10:30 p.m.). Had I not know that all of the parks were nearby I would have thought we were staying off-site…one thing I really loved about everywhere we went at WDW was that you can’t see the parks until you’re right there…things seem hidden and secluded and the trees and flowers are beautiful. It really gave you the feeling that you were on vacation in a secluded place, and not in the middle of a huge, busy city.
The hotel looked like it would be a fun place to stay – there was a lot to see but we were tired and ready to get settled in. We got checked in quickly (I think the cast member who helped us at check-in was either a bit loopy or very hyperactive!). As the girls and I were waiting for DH to unload our luggage, a cast member came up to us with two gift baskets (one for each of the girls) with signed notes from Mickey Mouse himself. The girls were very excited. They each got some Disney goodies (LOVE the Mickie rice crispie treats), a trading pin lanyard and pin set (and so the obsession begins), a hat, a water bottle carrying strap, and a Disney plushie (Crush for B and Minnie Mouse for A). It was such a magical touch and a wonderful way to start our vacation.
We got settled in our room and I pulled out my trusty touring plans and my planning notebook and got everything ready for the next day’s adventure…alarm set for bright and early so we could be at EPCOT when it opened…the girls and DH fell asleep quickly but I didn’t sleep much at all…not from excitement, but because I just can’t sleep in hotels. All too early, the alarm went off and it was time to get our Disney adventure started!
Coming next…EPCOT, Day 2!
Day 1 – Time for a Road Trip!
We planned to leave between 2 and 3 p.m., after church…arrive in Orlando around 8 – 9 p.m., and get to bed early. “The best laid plans…”. I ended up having to go to a meeting after church that lasted an hour and 45 minutes! (So much for it being a “short” meeting.) I didn’t even get home until after 2:00. I ran around quickly packing my suitcase and making sure everything else was packed, then we loaded up the van and headed out. Things were looking good until we hit traffic between here and there and it took over an hour to go 10 miles! UGH! Fortunately the DVD player was working and the entertainment helped keep everyone entertained and relatively happy. We never did figure out what caused the slowdown, but by the time we got through the slowdown it was time for something to eat….dining establishment mistake #1 of our trip!
We stopped at Burger King. That was a big mistake (but as you will see in a later installment, we apparently don’t learn from our mistakes). They were out of catsup. What? How is that possible? How is B supposed to eat chicken fries and onion rings without catsup? And how can it take 20 minutes to order and get your food in a fast food establishment? Doesn’t 20 minutes make it “slow food” instead of “fast food”? It was freezing cold in that place so after spending 20 minutes just to get our food, we decided to resume our journey and just eat in the car.
I expected to see a big sign welcoming us to Florida…after all, most state borders I’ve been through are quite visibly marked. We saw one small sign announcing that we were in Florida…so small that we almost missed it! We stopped to get gas and for some reason the DVD player decided to quit working. Not good for our sanity! So no more movies…with about two hours to go. This made for two very unhappy kiddos. The rest of the drive was quite uneventful, other than the girls asking us every 5 minutes if the DVD player was working yet. We saw the spire of the Orlando Temple from the road we were on. It would have been nice to see it up close but it was late and dark and we were all getting pretty antsy and were ready to be done driving. We could also see some of the Disney World fireworks which added to the building sense of anticipation and excitement. We expected to be able to see Disney World from the freeway but I have to say that I was pleased we couldn’t see it – it made it seem like it was more secluded and not right in the middle of everything. We followed the signs and before too long we were pulling up in front of our hotel, Disney’s Pop Century Resort (at 10:30 p.m.). Had I not know that all of the parks were nearby I would have thought we were staying off-site…one thing I really loved about everywhere we went at WDW was that you can’t see the parks until you’re right there…things seem hidden and secluded and the trees and flowers are beautiful. It really gave you the feeling that you were on vacation in a secluded place, and not in the middle of a huge, busy city.
The hotel looked like it would be a fun place to stay – there was a lot to see but we were tired and ready to get settled in. We got checked in quickly (I think the cast member who helped us at check-in was either a bit loopy or very hyperactive!). As the girls and I were waiting for DH to unload our luggage, a cast member came up to us with two gift baskets (one for each of the girls) with signed notes from Mickey Mouse himself. The girls were very excited. They each got some Disney goodies (LOVE the Mickie rice crispie treats), a trading pin lanyard and pin set (and so the obsession begins), a hat, a water bottle carrying strap, and a Disney plushie (Crush for B and Minnie Mouse for A). It was such a magical touch and a wonderful way to start our vacation.
We got settled in our room and I pulled out my trusty touring plans and my planning notebook and got everything ready for the next day’s adventure…alarm set for bright and early so we could be at EPCOT when it opened…the girls and DH fell asleep quickly but I didn’t sleep much at all…not from excitement, but because I just can’t sleep in hotels. All too early, the alarm went off and it was time to get our Disney adventure started!
Coming next…EPCOT, Day 2!
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