Friday Photo

Here's a 40th birthday photo from our trip. That's me in the 2nd row with my youngest daughter, Presley. She's a happy screamer, so it's lots of fun to ride Thunder Mountain Railroad with her! In the first row are my oldest daughter Reagan and my cousin Camille. (Daddy was taking the photo.)

We're Back!

Truly, I have never been so sad to leave Walt Disney World as I was for this visit. I had a pretty fabulous 40th birthday extravaganza, and it was especially hard to leave our room at the Grand Floridian Resort. Still, I'm glad to  be back home, and I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed--although, the beds at the GF are a pretty good substitution for the Bowles Mattress I am accustomed to sleeping on (my dad worked for the company for many years until his retirement last year...I'm pretty spoiled when it comes to mattresses).

It's nearly impossible for me to put our entire trip report into one post, so over the next few days, I will be posting on various aspects of the trip. Below, I offer a general outline of our schedule for the week, simply to put things into context. I hope to have a budget update up soon, as well as posts on food, resort comparisons, and the general ups and downs (yes, there were a few) of the trip. Right now, I am sooo tired, and all I can think about is rest.

Schedule

• Fri., 9/16, left Nashville for Atlanta, where we spent the night with family


• Sat.. 9/17, drove in to Lake Buena Vista, arriving around 3:00 p.m.; picked up our park tickets at Downtown Disney and met my cousin Camille there (she's in the College Program at WDW); had dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, did a little shopping/prep, and then checked into the All-Star Sports Resort


• Sun., 9/18, spent the day at the Magic Kingdom; ate at Tortuga Tavern


• Mon., 9/19, spent the day at Epcot; ate at Sunshine Seasons and snacked in the World Showcase


• Tues., 9/20, Reagan and I spent the morning at Animal Kingdom (YES program) while Presley and Daddy went back to the MK; we met up at Flame Tree BBQ for lunch and stayed at AK until around 4, then headed to the Studios for the rest of the day


• Wed., 9/21, spent the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and got to see my friend Claire perform in Disney Junior show; ate at ABC Commissary and Studio Catering Co., as well as snacks from the Writer's Stop


• Thurs., 9/22, slept in a bit, packed up our room, and headed to the Grand Floridian; had brunch at Kona Cafe and tea at the Garden View Tea Lounge; had dinner off-site and did some shopping (including the Cast Connection store with my cousin); thoroughly enjoyed our first night at the Grand Floridian


• Fri., 9/23, my 40th birthday; spent the morning at MK and had lunch with my CM friend Conny at Casey's Corner; Dapper Dans sang "Happy Birthday" to me; hopped to Epcot for afternoon/evening; celebrated b-day at Les Chefs de France, where the French waitstaff sang "Happy Birthday" to me in French; stayed for a bit of EMH and had to take a bus back to the GF--bummer


• Sat., 9/24, reluctantly packed up and left WDW for Georgia, arriving at our destination by around 5:30 p.m.


• Sun., 9/25, left our family as they departed for church, arriving back home in Nashville by 2:00 p.m.

There you have it--the skeleton of our trip. I'll "flesh it out" in future posts. Goodnight for now!

Friday Photo

Nothing like a hearty breakfast to start the day of the first leg of our trip. And look who decided to show up in the pancakes!

I'll do my best to post throughout the trip, but it is my intention to squeeze every last bit of fun out of this trip, so I might not "work" as much as I typically do on a WDW vacation. It is, after all, my 40th birthday extravaganza!!! Adios, dear readers. See you in about a week!