EPCOT and Back to Reality

Yesterday was the real last day of my trip with my husband. My apologies for not blogging, but the hotel connection wasn't working. So no Entrecard drops were done. Anyway back on topic. We headed to EPCOT yesterday. We were really looking forward to spending the day tasting different food and wine as it was the Food and Wine Festival. Apparently we were not the only ones. We first went to Soarin because if you don't do that ride immediately when entering EPCOT you may not get the chance and it really is one of my favorite rides in all of Disney World. I love feeling like I'm hang gliding above California. It's just such a beautiful experience. When we were through we grabbed a pastry in The Land and headed off toward the World Showcase.

We entered the Showcase and so were many other people. We casually walked around scoping out the different wines we wanted to taste and not to mention I needed to visit Japan because my girls were hoping for gifts from the cute toy store they have there. We did that and then decided we should think about eating so we headed back toward the food that looked the most appealing on our first walk through. As we walked back we couldn't believe the lines that were forming for the food and wine. It was crazy. We had come to EPCOT during this festival for the past few years and have never seen it this busy.

Well we thought that since the food booths were crazy we wouldn't have any trouble getting into the Japanese restaurant that we love. We were correct and had a fabulous meal. Honestly, I was stuffed, but still looking forward to some fabulous wine. Well too bad for me because it wasn't going to happen. We didn't want to spend our last day standing in line. These lines were seriously not moving. We decided to head back to the pool and have a nice relaxing swim. My husband actually hadn't even had a swim in the pool as he was busy with the convention so we enjoyed our swim. We then headed out for dinner and hung out at this Irish Pub in Downtown Disney. They had some awesome live music. We had a great time, but stayed out way too late. I honestly wanted to throw the alarm across the room when it went off this morning.

It's never as fun to head back home as it is to go on vacation, but in this case I was looking forward to seeing my girls. I missed the little buggers. They greeted us with big hugs and kisses and were all ready to head back to our house and to our dog. She had her own personal babysitter (my brother) because she's such a baby. She gets sick if she doesn't stay at home so she couldn't go stay with my mom. Anyway we got home with all the stuff we left with and I had to hit the laundry. It's still going. I should have gone to the grocery store, but I just didn't have the energy. Luckily after checking the frig and pantry we have plenty of stuff to get us through until tomorrow and then I will hit the grocery store and stock up.

All in all a great trip, but I am happy to be home to sleep in my own bed tonight. I look forward to my trip in April with my girls.

Another Day at the Pool

Okay my hubby had another day of conference stuff so I spent most of it at the pool. Why not it's gorgeous and in just a few days I'm going to be back in chilly New England. I heard it was dismal yesterday.

I do miss my girls. Though I know they are in the best hands. My mom is awesome and would do anything for them. They can be quite needy especially the older one and because she's at that fabulous tween age of 12 she won't necessarily tell you what she wants or if there is a problem. She actually believes that you can read her mind. I have tried to explain to her that I can't. I wish I could. It would save so much time. I've talked to the girls a couple times each day and they seem great, but it's hard to be away from them. Don't get me wrong I'm having a wonderful time with my husband. I just miss my girls.

Tonight we have to attend some cocktail party at the pool. I actually will be happy to be done with these conference people. I haven't seen so many people this drunk since college. I guess that's what happens when there is an open bar for 3 hours 3 nights in a row. My husband and I have turned in by midnight at the latest for the past few nights while hearing that most of these people are hanging out at the bar till it closed at 2. I guess we're getting old. Oh well I like my sleep.

Well tomorrow we go to EPCOT. It's the food and wine festival. We expect to have a very relaxed day there and I hope to eat at the Japanese restaurant. I love watching my food cooked in front of me. Well I'll let you know.

My Day at the Pool

Well today my husband had to attend his conference so I was basically on my own. I headed to DownTown Disney to do a little shopping as it is across from our hotel. Oh someone asked what hotel I'm in. We're staying at the Buena Vista Palace. This is not A vacation club hotel and no I would not recommend it. We are here because this is where the conference is being held. We will be staying at the Boardwalk when we head back in April with the children. I love staying at the hotels that are close to EPCOT. They are my favorite. I never get bored there. There is so much to see and do.

Okay back on topic. I got some Christmas shopping done after I got lost in the World of Disney Store. That is the biggest Disney store I've ever been in and you would think I would learn, but no I get lost every time. I did however get a few Christmas gifts for the girls. They will love them.

I headed back in time to meet hubby for lunch at the pool then changed into my bathing suit and sat back and enjoyed reading An Echo of the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. If you have never read one of her books get one as fast as you can and pick up Outlander as it is the first book in the series. The hero Jamie makes you forget who Edward from Twilight is. I had a fabulous afternoon reading and enjoying the sunshine.

My husband returned from his classes and he had convention parties to attend. I went with him. Okay I'm actually horrified at the way many of these people behave at these parties. The married men are all scoping out the younger women and these women are more than happy to oblige. My personal thought they all look like a bunch of crazy drunken teenagers who need to grow up. Enough said on that. Just remember to check on your hubbies when they head out of town for these conferences. Mine is currently reading his book next to me as I type this up. He's a very good boy.

Expedition Everest and Me

Today started much better than yesterday. There were no rude people in the halls so thanks for that. We decided to take our time and head into Animal Kingdom for a little while.

We arrived at the park and it was surprisingly not that crowded. We are so used to coming when these places have people everywhere. Not to say there weren't people. There seem to be plenty of Yankee fans eyeballing the Red Sox shirt I had on today. Not that I care. I love my team and despise the Yankees. Anyway back to the park. The first ride we chose to go on was Dinosaur. Mostly because I have never gone on it. We have been here several times with the girls, but never got on. My 12 year old went with my husband once and I stress the once. She hated it. Of course she's a girl and dinosaurs have never really interested her and well the ride is dark and scary. My youngest has no desire to go on it and after going on it myself I will not encourage it. No good can come from scaring my 8 year old. She could choose to boycott the rest of the vacation. Needless to say I went on it and well it was cool, but probably won't do it again.

Next we headed in the direction of the big scary mountain known as Expedition Everest. I have been able to avoid this ride for the past couple of trips, but today I wasn't so lucky. You see my 8 year old is not a big ride kinda girl so I usually hang out with her while my husband and the 12 year old go. I have never minded as I am not a big roller coaster girl myself. Well today he wanted me to go and there was only a 5 minute wait so I went. Of course my biggest fear with this ride is that we will get stuck on the way up the mountain. I have seen the ride stuck there before and ever since I have had no desire to go on it. It also didn't help that my 12 year old didn't like it and said she would never go on again. Anyway, we went and it really wasn't as bad as I thought. I just get myself all worked up. However, if you don't want to go backwards, in the dark down a hill you may want to pass. That was the worst part. It also banged me around a bit and I wasn't as smart as my husband who braced his head on the back because he knew what was coming. I would consider going on this again though it was not my favorite part of the day.

The best part of the day was the Festival of the Lion King. I have seen this many times before and I honestly could see it 100 more. It is just so much fun. The music is awesome and the performers are amazing. They have this one girl who is dressed like a bird and they hook her on a wire and she goes flying around the room. Honestly amazing every time.

Well tomorrow I'm on my own as hubby is headed to classes all day. Sounds like a great day to hang out by the pool and read. I am really looking forward to just enjoying the sunshine. I hope the clouds that have been hanging around disburse.

The Rude Wake Up and Hollywood Studios

The first morning of our vacation didn't start all that fabulously. Not that I should complain about anything being down here in the sunshine state on vacation. However, my husband and I were rudely awakened by people in the hallway. They were slamming doors and talking loudly at 5:00 AM. We thought we would get to sleep in, but no that was not in the cards. Neither of us could fall back to sleep and all I could think of was how rude it was. Seriously what is wrong with people. If I was moving in a hallway in a hotel that early I would be as quiet as possible. Well I guess some people weren't taught manners. Oh well we're still on vacation or I am at least. He'll have work later in the week.

We went to Hollywood Studios today. This is my favorite Disney park. I just love everything about it. As soon as we got there today we headed straight for the Toy Story Mania ride. If you have never heard of it let me tell you it is so much fun. You play carnival games in 4D. I found myself laughing and smiling well after we were through. We got a fast pass so we could go on again later.

We then found ourselves starving so we ate at The SciFi Diner. I love this place. It may be because I'm a little bit of a scifi geek, but it's so much fun to eat at a place that is set up like the old drive-in theaters. The tables are even made to look like cars and they show all the crazy old Scifi movies that are just so ridiculous you can't help, but laugh. The food was great so I can not recommend this place enough. Everything about it is fun.

Next we went to the American Idol Experience. We loved it. Three contestants are chosen to perform at each show. There are several shows throughout the day and the winner of each show performs in the finale and the winner of that is given a special golden ticket to move to the front of the line at a real American Idol Audition. The show was fabulous. It felt like the real show and we were in the audience. The stage is the same and they have judges that seem to have the same personalities as the judges from the show. At the end of the performance we get to pick the winner. I'm happy to say that the guy we picked won this show and moved on to the finale. Again we went to see another of these shows and because we didn't have the children we could do whatever we wanted and we wanted to see American Idol. Again the one we chose moved on to the finale. We didn't see the finale, but I'm sure it was great both of the performers we saw were really talented.

We also went on the backlot tour which is fun. It's cool to see all the behind the scenes stuff. I enjoyed this.

It was nice to just be able to walk around at our own pace and just do what we wanted. No one was whining and no one was complaining. We left when we were ready. It was a very relaxing and fun day so just because the day started off rocky we didn't let it ruin our day. Not sure what we'll be doing tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll blog about it.

A Trip to Disney with No Kids

Today my husband and I traveled down to Orlando, Florida with out the kids. It's business (wink, wink) for my husband. We left drippy and cold Massachusetts to come to sunny, warm Florida. Oh did I mention we have no kids. My mother is nice enough to watch them for a whole week for me. My mother is awesome.

My girls were thrilled to go to grandma's house, but they would have loved to come with us down here. I would have actually loved to have taken them, but to be honest I don't want them to miss school unless absolutely necessary. Last year they missed three days to go to Disney and they had so much homework to take on the trip and then when they got home they totally melted down. So yes we had a great trip but then I was dealing with two drama queens. Anyway we will be taking them in April as we are Vacation Club members (totally recommend this by the way).

My husband really is on business it just doesn't start until Wednesday. We get to go to Hollywood Studios tomorrow. I love Hollywood Studios. It is my favorite Disney Park. Will blog about it tomorrow.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire Assistant

Well I just got back from the movies with my 12 year old. We went to see Cirque du Freak: The Vampire Assistant with 4 of her friends. I was the only mom. They were awesome and had the best time. They were so cute getting their ICEEs, popcorn and candy even though it was the day after Halloween. None of them remembered to bring their candy. Well my daughter did because I told her there was no way I was paying for candy not after the haul she got last night.

They picked their seats and giggled through the previews and then were as good as gold through the movie. It was a good movie not Emmy winning or anything, but it greatly entertained five 12 year old girls.

For moms who don't know anything about this movie it's about a boy named Darren not sure the age, but I'm thinking middle school. He's a fairly happy kid popular and gets good grades the only thing is his best friend, Steve, is a trouble maker. They end up going to see this Cirque de Freak show that has come to town. Steve recognizes one of the Freaks as a Vampire and he wants to be one as he has a crummy life. Darren is much more interested in the Vampire's pet spider. Anyway Darren ends up stealing the spider and when Steve finds out he gets bit by her and in order to save Steve's life from the spider bit Darren makes a deal with the Vampire to become his assistant in exchange for the antidote. Darren is then forced to leave home and his family to go live with the Cirque as he is now a freak.

We meet some very interesting characters in this and some of them may be disturbing to some children. I looked away a few times. Sensitive children should not see this. But the majority was fine and the fight scenes were not all that bad. There were definitely some very funny scenes that had the girls really laughing. I do feel this movie is for older tweens. I did not take my 8 year old and I'm glad I didn't she would not have liked it. She'll probably see it when it comes out on DVD, but there really is a difference between seeing a movie in the theater and in your own home.

I would definitely recommend this movie for kids who are really into the vampire thing. It gives a different take than you see in Twilight. The girls truly loved it and left the theater hoping for a sequel and had plans to read all the books as soon as possible. The Cirque du Freak books are written by Darren Shan and definitely worth checking out. There are 12 in all. The first 3 now come in a special movie edition. This is on my daughters Christmas list now. That's what I love about movies based on books especially a series of books. There's more to discover and I love anything that will get my daughter to read.