Sherrie’s blog

What a great way to start your day- with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. Maddie had a great time with the characters. It’s a nice breakfast buffet, too. Then we hit the park. Did Fantasyland first. The rides are great for little ones,and there’s a fun playground.

It surprized me that Maddie isn’t scared by dark rides at all, seemingly. She even went on Pirates and Haunted Mansion without protesting!

We ended our day with the fireworks “Wishes”. Spectacular-  We all loved it- and getting out of the park was much easier than we expected.

We started the day at the Magic Kingdom at the 9 am opening. Did lots of rides in just 2 1/2 hours. Got some text messages from Tom- they are on the road! I can’t wait to see Maddie! Finally we meet them back at Port Orleans Riverside to help them get checked in. Maddie is adorable. We chased her around the lobby.
After everyone was settled in, we headed to Epcot by car. Maddie loved the Nemo ride and wanted to go again, so we did. We tried all the boat rides with her- the Land, Mexico, and Norway. She was really good and loved all of them. Ate dinner at the San Angel Inn in Mexico. It was quite cold when we got done, so we got a churro from the counter service Mexican place and went back to the room. Tomorrow, we hit the MK with Maddie and the group for our character breakfast with Pooh!

It rained off and on, but we finally ventured out at 5:30. This is Disney, darn it,and we weren’t about to stay in our hotel room. Went to Epcot in search of food at World Showcase. By then it was pouring rain. What to do? We are on the Quick Service Dining Plan- prepaid- which means we should eat at counter-service places. They generally have outdoor seating- not fun in the rain. But we found shelter in Norway under a roof they have over their seating area. The food was great. We had sandwiches with really good bread and a marvelous fish chowder, with pastries for dessert that were to die for. The rain finally stopped. We did a couple of rides- Mission Space, the Green (chicken) team, and Test Track. Also did The Living Seas With Nemo and Friends and decided Maddie would love it. Then we left- worn out but full and happy

We started out yesterday with a plan- we would see the 4 Disney parks at Walt Disney World in 2 days- from an adult perspective. Since Tom, Chris And Maddie will arrive tomorrow, our little 2 year old granddaughter will be our focus once she arrives. Also, there’s one extra place thrown into the mix- which brings me to..
Gatorland. In operation since 1949, this was our first stop yesterday. I was expecting something like a tourist trap, but it was more than that. A Combination zoo and road-side attraction, it had plenty of gators alright! We saw 3 shows. The alligators refused to jump for the jumparoo, but the alligator wrestling and the up-close shows were great. I hated the taste of alligator meat, though. It most definitely doesn’t taste like chicken!
Disney Studios was next up yesterday afternoon. You gotta love the off-season! Very few lines of any kind, despite a cheerleading competition here at WDW. The only line was a 50 minute wait for the new Toy Story Midway Mania attraction. Biut it was worth it! What fun with the 3-D glasses on shooting at midway games with a Toy Story theme. Bonus- I didn’t suck at it.
We then took the Disney bus to the Magic Kingdom for extra-magic hours. Got 9 rides and dinner done in about 5 hours-sweet!
Today we ventured to Animal Kingdom in a light drizzle. Did Everest (scary! But amazing. And the Kilamanjaro Safaris. Since it was very early in the morning (Morning Extra Magic Hours), lots of animals were out and very active. We saw two great shows- Finding Nemo the Musical and The Lion King. When we came out, the drizzle was turning into real rain, so we came back to Port Orleans Riverside for lunch (love the meal plan!) and a nap- well Dave is snoring but as you can tell, I’m not:-) Will try for Epcot (park 4)this evening if not too soggy! Tomorrow, little Maddie and her parents and grandma Marie arrive-yay!

We arrived at Port Orleans Riverside this afternoon for an 8 night stay. Tomorrow, Dave and I are going to try a uniquely Central Florida attraction-Gatorland. Yikes. But then, it’s off to Disney Parks in the afternoon- whew! Will add pictures when we get home. On Tuesday, Tom, Chris, and Maddie are driving up with Chris’ mom Marie from the Fort Myers area. I can’t wait to see Maddie’s reaction to everything. At two, she’ll be much more aware of things than when she was last here at 7 months. Plus, she’ll be so cute as a Disney Princess!

President Obama’s  inaugural address to the nation was both inspiring and a wake-up call. I’m so grateful I’ve lived to see this day, when America lived up to the promise of equal opportunity for all. He has some enormous challenges from war to the tanking economy, but seems to be able to get the country enthused again. I only hope we can rally around him as a nation to forge a new start!

I started Weight Watchers (again!) 2 weeks ago. I am pleased to say that tracking your food intake and increasing your exercise still works! I’m determined to get the extra weight off and keep it off once and for all this time. Not only will I look and feel better, but also will keep my blood pressure and cholesterol in check.

So, high 5’s and way to go, me!

Now that he’s 3, it’s so much more possible to take little Nicholas on adventures with Grammy and Grandpa. We took him downtown to Energy Solutions Arena to see the Walking With Dinosaurs live show, which featured life-sized walking dinosaurs. He was so good, but we had to leave at intermission when the dinosaurs started making him nervous. I think his favorite part was riding the Trax train and chicken nuggets at McDonalds! We can’t wait to have more adventures with our adorable grandkids (see you in 2 weeks, Madeline!)

We had the Simpson clan over for a barbecue on Saturday, August 23rd. Nearly everyone was there.

Janet and Sue