Last Park Day

July 9th was the middle day... we didn't have to work, but we didn't have to leave yet.  So Rebecca and I decided to spend the day visiting our favourite spots, and saying goodbye to Disney.

We started the day, not at Disney, but Geocaching.  Geocaching involves finding a small container hidden somewhere.  There's always something hidden inside these geocaches, and Rebecca wanted to add something special.  This geocache was located just outside of The Commons.

  

After finding the geocache we drove to Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth one last time and went to recreate our Magical Moment during Orientation, when we were welcomed as new Epcot Cast Members.

 

  

We went to say our final goodbyes and thank you's to our managers and then said goodbye to backstage Epcot.  I don't think I'll ever have a reason (or excuse) to go back there again.

After Epcot, we headed to the Magic Kingdom for parades, rides, and shows.  In the evening we had reservations for a final dinner at Citricos.  It was delicious!  I had the chicken and a mango creme brulee!

After dinner it was back to the Magic Kingdom for a couple more rides (you know I had to max out Buzz Lightyear's again), and then our final Wishes.  The only problem was, after Wishes I didn't want to leave.  Then SpectroMagic started so we stayed for that, but Rebecca and I still didn't want to leave.  We stood by the Castle, took pictures, and were eventually dragged out by David and Ali.  It was so hard to leave.

After leaving our last park, we headed back to the Commons for a pool party, and packed to get ready to leave.  You have to be out of Commons by noon on Friday so there wasn't much time to prepare.  Packing was sad and lonely.  Heather had already moved into Patterson Court, so I was all alone in the apartment.  It looked so empty!  It would have been unbearable, but I knew there was still lots to look forward to in the upcoming weeks!

The Fourth of July

To be honest, I'm writing this 2 years later, so I don't really remember what I did July 2nd and 3rd.  There's no photos to look back on, so I'm just going to assume I was working.

July 4th is Independence Day in the US, and luckily I had it off!  Rebecca and I decided that this would be a great opportunity to view the amazing fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom.  So we got up very early to make sure we could get into the park!

We spent the day enjoying the park, and even got to see the newly opened Hall of Presidents!  We grabbed lots of snacks throughout the day, and even got to eat at the Chineese food place in Tomorrowland.  I'm always eager to see it open, because it's SO good!  Just check out my beef and broccoli, egg roll, and iced green tea... mmmm.

   

After grabbing our delicious dinner we decided to stake out a spot in front of the Castle for the fireworks.  People line up earlier than usual on holidays, this is the photo at 7:30pm, a full hour and a half before the show!

Fortunately, we were prepared with Disney trivia cards to keep us entertained during our long wait.  But the wait was definitely worth it!  The fireworks were amazing!  The show was almost 15 minutes, and fireworks were set off from several locations surrounding the Castle and Main Street USA.

When the fireworks ended, Rebecca and I made a run for the exit, because we knew that the Epcot fireworks would be starting only 45 minutes later and we wanted to see if we could make both shows.  We were lucky, and squeaked in just as Illuminations started.  Since the Independence Day fireworks followed Illuminations, we hadn't missed anything.  The fireworks at Epcot weren't quite as big as the ones at the Magic Kingdom, but they were all set up to highlight the American Adventure pavillion, which was really neat.  Definitely not something I've ever seen before!  I loved it!

Disney Graduation

June 25th was our Disney Graduation (and Graduation for anyone leaving in the Summer/Early Fall).  This meant Heather and Bryce were graduating too!  Disney organizes a bus to Graduation, but fortunately Bryce offered to drive us in!

Graduation is an awesome celebration!  There were artists ready to do your charicature, Mickey and Minnie there for pictures, flags from every country, a delicious breakfast, and of course... our ear hats!

 

Yep, my characture was me in a bikini, on a beach, with a guy drooling... very Disney (?!).

After Graduation was over we headed into the Magic Kingdom for a photo shoot, and to get our ear hats embroidered (they do it for free)!

  

Next up, we headed to Le Cellier for lunch.  As always, I got the Prime Rib Burger.  I just really love the ketchup-relish.  I don't like ketchup, but to me, this stuff is like pure deliciousness.  Whenever I work a MID (which is pretty often) this is what I eat.  Then we went around the pavillion, saw the Canada Movie (cried) and took some pictures.

 

Following the photo shoot Rebecca, Lyndsay, and I went on a shopping trip to prepare for a Star Wars themed party.  The two already had a Star Wars cook book, and tons of recipes they wanted to try, so it was just time to get the ingredients.  We made a Star Wars cake, Yoda Soda, Wookie Cookies, Tie Fighter Ties, Princess Leah Buns, Light Saber Popcicles, and more, watched movies, and had a Star Wars Guess Who? tournament.  It was so much fun!

 

 



June 27th I worked an AM, and then went to a Candlelight Reunion Dinner at Trails End.  It was really amazing, because everyone was so kind!  They scheduled it before I left, so we could all say goodbye, paid for my dinner, and I even received a Tinkerbell figurine to remind me to "Let My Dreams Blossom", even when I return to Canada.  I'm really going to miss these people!

After dinner I met up with Lyndsay to start celebrating her birthday!  People didn't end up going out, so we stayed in, played DDR and Sing Star with a couple of friends. Just one comment: Craig is an awesome singer!

 

June 29th I was only supposed to work an AM, but I offered to extend because they needed someone to, and I'm starting to realise that I only have a few more days of work, so I might as well earn money while I can.  Heather was frustrated after work, so we went to my place to relax. We had everything girls need: popcicles, icing with smarties, and cheap wine.

 

The Middle of June

After every vacation there's always a period of work... that's really not that interesting, so I'll skip over that.  The only really interesting thing that happened was that a whole bunch of girls went on a cruise (with some of their boyfriends) and Rebecca came back engaged!  Andrew had proposed on the Disney Cruise... so romantic!

So June 14th was one of my first "days off" since my vacation.  Rebecca and I woke up relatively early and went for a nice swim in Patterson Court.  It's nice there because the pool is rectangular and good for swimming laps.

Then we headed off to the Grand Floridian for High Tea with Heather (to celebrate Rebecca's engagement of course!)  High Tea was fantastic!  We had our choice of tea (I went with a Princess Tea, of course), sandwhiches, champagne, and desserts!  I really felt like royalty.

       

After tea we went to the Magic Kingdom and made it just in time for the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Parade!  It was so much fun!  Then we headed off to Fantasyland where we were able to meet the Princesses and chat about our various Prince Charmings!  I was so excited to meet Cinderella!

Edit Afterward:  As of June 2011 Rebecca is married to Andrew, I married Rob (he proposed at Disney), and Heather and Jeremy are engaged (a Le Cellier proposal!)  So cute!

  

After visiting the Princesses, we continued to go on rides and enjoy the Magic Kingdom, and stayed for Spectro Magic and Wishes!  I got to see Cinderella again :)

  

June 15th was my second day off, and a pretty relaxing day.  I joined Alison and Rebecca for a nice meal at Sanaa again (this time lunch).  It was delicious, as usual.  I tried my mango burger again, with a mango smoothie.  I think I'm in love with this restaurant.  I know Le Cellier is popular, but I think I almost love Sanaa more!  After lunch I drove Rebecca to work, went home, and just relaxed.

June 16th I was scheduled for a MID, but was starting to get the feelings of a cold.  By the end of the morning shift I was let go for the PM (someone stayed for me), and I went home to sleep.

June 17th I had to call in sick because I was feeling horrible.  I managed to make it to Publix to buy a thermometer, popcicles, juice, and soup... and shortly after realized that I was running a pretty bad fever.

June 18th I was feeling a little better, but since I work with food I called in.  I wanted to be fully recovered so that I don't get anyone sick, and I don't get sick again.  This "sick" experience wasn't fun!

Rob's Last Visit

The first week of May all I really did was work.  I mean, you have to work sometime, that is what they brought me down to Florida for!

May 6th I worked an AM and then Rebecca, Alison and I had reservations  for Sanaa.  I fell in love.  The only reason we'd booked reservations is that one of our old managers, Brandon, left to work as an opening manager at Sanaa.  The restaurant features indian inspired dishes and is found in Kidani Villiages, the new Disney Vacation Club addition to the Animal Kingdom Resort.  From the restaurant lobby and most of the restaurant you have a view of the Savannah... ours was dampened a little since it was dark out, but it was still nice to know there were wild animals roaming about.

We started our meal off with delicious mango margaritas, and a traditional bread service with naan bread, and another bread that was kind of like a pita (you get to choose 3... we just chose 2 naan).  We also chose our 3 sauces: mango chutney, roasted red pepper hummus, and a garlic-lime pickle.  They were all delicious, but I definitely agree with our server, it's impossible to explain the taste of the pickle, because it takes your brain about 30 seconds just to understand what you're eating!  Such a complex flavour.  We then split an appetizer trio: samosas, duck rillette, and a rice pilaf.  It was incredible!  Finally we had our entrees.  Mine was a delicious beef short ribs, rice, and red wine curry chicken.  I also went for the trio for dessert, getting to try mango pudding, chocolate cake, and another cake... mmm.  I definitely reccommend Sanaa for anyone visiting the WDW resort who loves exotic food.  I'd definitely visit again!

For all our amazing and delicous pictures, click here.

May 7th I had a lucky extra day off!  Someone needed a trade, so of course I said yes! I used the day to clean, do laundry, and get ready for Rob's visit!

May 8th Rob arrived for his final visit!  After picking him up from the airport we went to Sanaa for lunch.  I loved it so much the first time I had to show Rob!  We had the bread trio, and then I tried the naan burger with mango chutney.  So delicious!  After leaving Sanaa we were so full we could burst, so we decided to go check in to our room at the All Star Movies resort.  It wasn't ready, but they gave us the keys, and said they would call us with the room number when it was ready.  So we went back to the Commons to relax until we could finally move in!  We were in the Dalmations section of the resort, which was really neat because everything was decorated with the 101 Dalmations theme in mind.

We didn't have much time to settle in, because we had to head to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue for dinner!  We were seeing the late show so we were able to watch Wishes from the beach and still make it to the show in plenty of time.  The perfect start to a vacation!  The Revue was amazing, it's an all you can eat, all you can drink menu including Sangria, beer, and wine!  Plus, it's a dinner show!  All the food is delicious, homestyle country meals like fried chicken, beans, and ribs, and the show is hilarious!  After the show they have buses there to all the resorts! It's perfect!  A wonderful night out!

May 9th was Rob's first visit to Seaworld!  We started the day out right with a trip to see the Stigrays, but then we saw it was dolphin feeding time!  Of course we got in line to feed the dolphins, since Rob had never pet or fed one before.  I took lots of nice pictures while Rob got to play (but I still fed them too), it was a wonderful experience!  Next we headed to the rollercoasters!  We saw that the new Manta ride was working and we couldn't resist!  It's a very unique coaster.  You sit down and then they rotate you forward so it's like you're flying.  We waited for the front... I haven't screamed like that in a long time!  After that we had to go on Kraken, followed by a walk to the beer building... but the beer building doesn't give free beer anymore!  It's tragic!

There was still a fair amount of time before the Shamu show, so we decided to pass time the old fashioned way... by playing!  I love the ropes and I always used to climb on them as a kid, so why not now?!  Rob definitely thought I was crazy, but we had a lot of fun.  I also realized how tiring it is to be a kid.  Those things aren't easy to climb!  We kept falling and it took a lot of strength... still... we mastered it!  Finally we saw the Shamu show.  It was amazing as always, I really love what they've done with the screens.  For people who haven't seen it they have four large screens which they can move side to side or rotate to make various shapes or for different effects.  It's really neat.  The whales also rock.  After the show we were pretty tired so we decided to call it a day.  We'd only seen a couple shows, but Rob was going to have a whole other day at the park and I didn't want him to run out of things to do!

After a quick nap we started our hunt for Hidden Mickey's!  We found all of the Hidden Mickey's in all of the All Star Resorts using our Official Guide to Hidden Mickey's!.  It was quite a challenge!  Sometimes even the hints don't really describe where or what you're looking for.  Sometimes you think the Mickey is so obvious they couldn't possibly classify it as hidden, and sometimes it's just impossible to see!  After all of that, we were ready for a good night's sleep!

May 10th we were up early to check into the Boardwalk Villas!  Our room was ready (even at 8am) and so we moved in right away!  Then I dropped Rob off at Sea World and went in to work for 10 AM. I picked Rob up after work (he had fun!) and then we went to Boma (another first). It is such a good buffet featuring lots of American and African food, and some of the best deserts! We also went Hidden Mickey hunting around the Animal Kingdom Lodge and found them all, though we needed help for some, they were difficult! When we got home we had just enough time to walk over to Hollywood Studios (because you can do that from the Boardwalk) and see Fantasmic.  The entrance people thought I was crazy maingating someone when it was almost park closing, but it was worth it!  When else was Rob going to get to see his favourite show now that they only have it one or two nights a week?!

May 11th was our Magic Kingdom day!  The day started off excellently when we got to meet the Dapper Dans, and Rob even got his picture with them!  Then we started our long trek of going on rides to look for Hidden Mickey's.  They are not easy to find!  Some are pretty hidden, and can only be seen from certain views or positions in the car.  You miss them sometimes, too... so you end up going on rides more than once, just looking for the Mickey and ignoring most of the interesting parts of the ride.  My only other complaint about the Hidden Mickey hunt is that the book isn't organized how I'd like it.  It isn't planned out into sections or worlds, but rather it plans your day for you, and it doesn't do it how I would normally go around the park.  As a seasoned Disney veteran I have my own routine and I hate having to backtrack because I didn't know the other Hidden Mickey's in that land were at the end of the section!

And again, I have to mention how some Hidden Mickey's are ridiculous... like a mailbox that literally has Mickey's face on it in Toontown... that's not hidden!

And what's with this "Hidden Pluto"?

There are some good things about Hidden Mickey hunting!  Many Cast Members saw us with the book and offered to help.  The best was the custodial Cast Member in Tomorrowland.  He tried to help us find the oldest and most hidden Hidden Mickey, and when we couldn't find it he even got his manager involved and they offered us a any-use Fast Pass if we found it... which we did!  It was a Magical Moment I'll never forget!

I promise we did things other than hunt for Hidden Mickey's!  Since it was the Shuttle Launch day, we found the best spot to view the launch and watched with several other Cast Member's and Guests.  It wasn't much to see, just like a line of clouds (like any other jet or airplane) but it seemed farther away.  It was still really nice to see!  We also watched the 3-o'clock parade!

Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table was also on our agenda!  I'd booked this 6 months in advance to celebrate this amazing vacation (not knowing it would prevent us from seeing the shuttle launch up close).  We started off with an amazing picture with Cinderella and were taken upstairs for our even more delicious meal!  It was perfect and incredible.  The Fairy Godmother even sang a couple lines of her song directly to us!

After dinner we continued to look for Hidden Mickey's (somewhat reknewed after dinner), and then stayed around for SpectroMagic and Wishes!  After it all we were very tired, and went home to get some sleep!

May 12th we headed to Busch Gardens!  I underestimated the drive so we were a little later than I'd planned, but it didn't matter because the lines weren't huge.  The only downer for the day was that it kept raining, and by raining I mean pouring.  We ended up hiding in the que for Shiekra for over an hour!  So we left mid-afternoon, went to a Cracker Barrel, and headed home for the night.

May 13th was another busy day because we explored Universal Studios!  We even met Homer Simpson!  We managed to see all of both parks, and went on our favourite rides a couple of times!

Then, in the evening we decided we were up for a challenge.  Rather than going out for dinner, we thought we'd go out for a treat.  I'd heard about this legendary "Kitchen Sink" sold at the Beaches and Cream ice cream shop at the Beach Club, so we went to check it out.  Eight scoops of ice cream, a can of whipcream, and all the toppings.  Sounds like a challenge, but not too bad.  That's 4 scoops of ice cream and a bit of whip cream each.  Little did we know "all the toppings" included peanut butter, oreos, brownie, reeces peanut butter cups, shortbread, pineapple, m&m's, and more!  It was quite a challenge to tackle.  Even worse, once they've made it they sound the alarm and announce that "TWO" people are going to eat it... eek!  If you can eat it by yourself in an hour, it's free.  Rob and I made some nice dents, but sooner (rather than later) we felt sick.  Very sick.  We pushed through, but it was no use.  The Kitchen Sink definitely beat us!

May 14th started with Hidden Mickey Hunting around the Boardwalk.  We went through the three resorts (the Boardwalk, Beach Club, and Yacht Club) and wound up at the Big River Grille & Brewing Works for lunch.  This is the only microbrewery on Disney property, and I knew Rob would love it!  Lunch was delicious, and Rob got a testing flight to sample all of the delicious beers.  I think he chose the middle one, though I can't remember which beer it was.

In the evening we dressed up and headed over to the Contemporary Resort for the famed California Grill Restaurant.  The restaurant is at the very top of the resort, and is one of the most beautiful places to watch a sunset on Disney property.  Plus, it has a fantastic view of the fireworks over Cinderella Castle (if you're lucky enough to be sitting at a table near the window).  We were just that lucky!  I was a little worried that our reservation was too early for fireworks, but with a full three course meal the fireworks came right at dessert!  The fireworks were just as good as the food, and after our meal we went out on the balcony to view the water parade (always a favourite) before heading back to the Boardwalk.

May 15th we got up early to visit Animal Kingdom, go on some of our favourite rides, look for Hidden Mickey's, and eat at our favourite restaurants.  The Yak & Yeti quick service is still one of my favourite places to eat!  Once we'd completed our Hidden Mickey hunt we decided to head to Epcot for more Mickey's and Extra Magic Hours (EMH).  I really don't know how people do this.  I'll admit, by this point we were pretty exhausted with the hunt for Mickey's.  Many of the Mickey's were starting to look similar, and so the thrill just wasn't there.  But still, attending EMH was grueling... the day was so long.  I think that for Guests and CM's they really are Extra Tragic Hours.  We went on a couple of rides and then walked home to get some sleep.  While we were there we did pictures with the some of the Flower & Garden Festival attractions!  They were just being set up for the festival which begins later this month.

May 16th we went to Hollywood Studios for our final Mickey hunting adventure, and more! We had reservations at one of my favourite restaurants: the 50's Prime Time Cafe. I always love that restaurant because the food is delicious, and the servers are hilarious. I don't think there's anywhere else where servers are allowed to enforce manners. Rob was shocked when our server (who was hilarious) asked us to set the table, and kept threatening him not to put his elbows on it! The day was also exciting because we got to watch a friend of mine in the American Idol Experience! His family wasn't there so we got to sit in the VIP/Family section... I was so proud! Unfortunately, he didn't make it through to the finals... but we did get to see Fantasmic!

May 17th we had to leave the Boardwalk Villas, but it wasn't too sad because we were moving up to the Grand Floridian!  This is a place I've always wanted to stay, but I don't think I'd want to pay the un-discounted prices!  It was definitely worthwhile for one day, though!  When we checked in we were given a room with a balcony overlooking one of the main pools.  We relaxed on the balcony with some beer and wine before heading to the pool ourselves.  We had a "rough" day of relaxing by the pool and in a hammock overlooking the lagoon.  It was paradise.

For dinner we headed to 1900 Parkfare, Cinderella character dining!  We got to meet Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, and Anastasia.  It was so much fun!  After dinner we were hoping to catch Wishes, but it was cancelled due to poor weather.

May 18th I had to leave this fantasy world, drive Rob back to the airport, and work a PM. I felt so out of it at work, and just wished I was back lounging by the pool with Rob!

If you'd like to see all of our pictures click on the numbers below!

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If you'd like to find all the Hidden Mickey's we found, check out these photo albums!

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