Sheri Niklewski - Memorial Weekend 2016 - Offsite

Introduction -

Participants: Me - Sheri (54), accountant and Disney World lover; Rich (56), senior buyer and a converted Disney World lover

When - Memorial Day weekend, 2016

How - personal vehicle from slightly northeast of Atlanta, GA

Where - offsite

Experience - Veterans with a brief dry spell lately

This is a trip report I didnt think I would write for a few years from now. Our last trip was for Thanksgiving, 2014. It was a great time and we had exciting news at the end of things in that my son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and grandson would be moving from Ohio to Maryland to the same town as my mother-in-law. Things were going great for everyone in our family.

And then 2015 came along with the following things happening in our lives

I lost three different jobs and was unemployed for seven long months
Our Disney annual passes expired while I was unemployed so we didnt renew
Our son and daughter-in-law announced that grandchild #3 would come in 2016

And then 2016 came along (and its still early) with the following things happening in our lives -

My car is terminal so will have to be replaced
We went to the NASCAR weekend race in February and stayed there for one night and returned home on Sunday after the final race. And found out we had a house fire (electrical short) and our four cats were inside the entire time. We lost two (they did not suffer - smoke inhalation while they were sleeping) but the other two were found in a week (inside and very scared) and have adjusted
We moved to a hotel for three weeks
We moved to a rental home until our real home is repaired (six month estimate)
I found a contract job that pays more money than I have made since moving to Georgia, the commute is about twenty minutes (a rarity in this area)

So we had a lot of bad things and a few good things and our lives were very topsy turvy since our last Disney World trip and while I wanted to go back, I just didnt think it would be possible. We went along with our new normal in the rental house, trying to get all the funds available for the repairs to the real house started (all covered by insurance but had to get bank approval for the contractor to have access to the money), getting the cats into a new routine (they adjusted better than we did), and both working full time jobs.

And then on May 16th, which was just two weeks from the Memorial Day weekend, Rich suggests that we go to Disney World for the holiday since we needed a break. I felt the timing was too tight to get tickets, fastpasses, and things we needed since we were on low clothing and supplies from the fire. Rich said he thought I could pull some Disney magic so we went back and forth with how we were going to pay for it and he fessed up that he had put our income tax refund into savings and it hadnt been touched. I gave him the price for two adult two day hoppers and he was amazed at the result and said for that amount of money, we could do annual passes. I responded that meant wed have to go back again a few times and the money would be gone right away so if we didnt go back, that would be wasted funds. I wanted to go badly but doing a Disney World trip spontaneously just isnt possible these days. On Thursday, May 19th, Rich finally said to get the annual passes and wed go back for at least July 4th and Labor Day. I thought it would be impossible to do everything in such a short time so I agreed to order the passes but if things didnt work out, wed just activate the passes over July 4th. I was calm, cool, and collected outside while my mind was racing inside. I really wanted to go back but thought it would be impossible.

I called Disney World and ordered the passes but had a bit of a problem. These were annual passes and I wanted our real home address assigned to them since we are not going to change our permanent address as we will be back in that house in the "near" future. So, that is the address on our driver's licenses and will remain there hopefully until the day I die. I would have loved to have the annual pass vouchers sent to the rental house but the Cast Member said that would require that address to be put into the system (not sure if this is true but it was just over a week for the trip so I didn't argue) and that picking up from Will Call would be a better way. That was my thought as well and it gave us choices if I couldn't get everything set up for Memorial Day and had to wait until July 4th. I was given the confirmation number and was told I could link that with the My Disney Experience to get everything else done.

I had checked on the My Disney Experience account. Prior to all the crap of the past few months, I was the controller of the account. But, I now had a new PC (all electronics were deemed unrecoverable) and all of my saved information is gone. I had recreated lots of things but never thought about Disney since I reasoned a trip would be impossible. I thought I knew my login and password and I typed those in and crossed my fingers. Yes! The account is there! But, with Rich's name and not mine. Sigh. But I added myself to "his" account and changed the email address to mine. So I can be in control of the account and do everything but it pops up as Rich Niklewski which unnerves me but heck, I'm the one in control. He has absolutely no idea of what goes on in planning a Disney vacation so it's kind of funny.

I linked the ticket confirmation number into the My Disney Experience account and then went looking for a plan of action for the two days we would be there. I knew we wouldn't arrive until around noon on Saturday and would have to stop at an offsite hotel to check in so I thought about doing Hollywood Studios around 2:00 for the first FastPass. There's not much left there but I wanted to see what is going on and how the removal of the hat was affecting the symmetry to the park (I'm glad to see the thing go) and what is going on with all the rebuilding. I was able to get FastPasses for 2:00 for Twilight Zone and then 3:30 for Rock N Roller Coaster. I knew the FastPass rules had recently changed so attempted to get Toy Story Mania for later but I couldn't and didn't really care as this was the point I was thinking, "I'm going back to Disney World!". I also asked Rich if maybe we could have lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine In and he agreed so attempted that. Nope, everything booked which is fine. That would have added another scheduled thing and since I was doing all this in one day just a week before we would leave, I didn't think a schedule was going to be in the picture. After the Studios, we'd do what we would normally do and go to Epcot for a nice walk around World Showcase.

Next up was Sunday and I know we'd be going to Animal Kingdom as there's no better place to just enjoy the day and animals and nature and while I wanted FastPasses, there are so many things to do without those required. I set up Everest at 12:40 even though I wanted the Safari first and then the Safari at 2:05 and then Kali River Rapids for the last one at 4:35. It was a later start than I wanted but it was only a week out so I just went with it. And then we'd finish the trip with Epcot and total relaxation.

I actually was able to tweak the plans quite a bit before we left and did get the Safari first but at 11:20 which was perfect. And I was able to move Kali River Rapids up closer to Everest. We'd fill in the time with Flights of Wonder and Rafiki's Planet Watch and the walking trails and be extremely happy with the day.

I kept trying to get Sci Fi for lunch but it wasn't going to happen so I just set it up for the July 4th weekend instead. Rich also said he would prefer Toy Story Mania instead of Twilight Zone (I also slugged him since Twilight Zone is my favorite) so attempted to get that moved around but nothing was available so that goes on the list for July 4th as well. I am very happy with what we have.

I knew staying onsite would not be happening this late in the game and I attempted to book our standard of the Baymont Inn but AARP and AAA rates were not available so I switched over to any other places where Wyndham Rewards could be earned and found a Ramada Inn that we've stayed at before. I was able to get a tower non-smoking two queen bed room for less than $80 (AAA) where the rack rate was $129 or at least that's what the website told me. I was just happy to get something close to the parks that wouldn't break the bank.

I also set up a reservation at a Days Inn in Valdosta for Friday night since we'll leave the rental after I get home from work Friday afternoon and drive the four hours there and then get up and do the other half Saturday morning. This has given us more time at Disney World and, for our habits, almost a full day.

All that was done within two days of us deciding to go to Disney World. I was exhausted from planning and doing and everything.

And then Rich decided on Friday to finally call a repair place for my car to get a second opinion. They could take it Saturday morning and now I needed to find a rental car and have it through the holiday weekend so we could drive it to Disney World. Needless to say, I was not that happy with having to pull off another miracle but I managed it and we will be driving a rental for the trip. My car is sitting two blocks away for the final result.

I also managed to do a bit more research into our FastPasses and found the tiering system is still in place for the Studios and Rich had said he'd rather do Toy Story Mania since that was a difficult one for us with paper FastPasses so we have only done it a few times. But, I needed to dump the Rock N Roller Coaster FastPass which was fine as we can do single riders there if we had the time to work it into our schedule. Of course, this late in the game, I didn't think I could get Toy Story Mania reserved but by working on it when I could, I did manage to get a FastPass for it and dropped Aerosmith.

The week before the holiday, I was content to concentrate on nothing but the trip and then I received the text from our son. My daughter-in-law had been having high blood pressure plus some other issues with the pregnancy but was attempting to make it to 39 weeks. This is a later in life pregnancy and she will be 40 in August but things had been going very well until the last few weeks. Things were fine but I was given the next grandchild's birthday and it's May 27th. This is going to be an interesting week for all those in Maryland as our granddaughter's last day of forced schooling is that same day (she is graduating high school) and she will have her ceremony June 2nd so her dad and stepmother are coming in from Ohio and bringing her two sisters. All four of those folks will be staying with my mother-in-law just a few minutes from my son's place in Maryland. All will attend the graduation and the baby will be included in things. I just kind of laughed and told my son to keep me informed because we are going to Disney World!

And, BTW - yes, it's "the baby". My son and daughter-in-law decided not to know the sex of the child since they already had one female and one male so this one is a tie breaker. They haven't even decided on a name yet.

We need a break and we're going to get one!

Day One (sort of) - Friday, May 27, 2016 - Happy birth and day!

We packed up last night with the little we needed (and had) for this trip. This past weekend, I had to do a Wal Mart run to get shorts for myself (I had one pair that I took to the races, all the others were in the bedroom which was the one room that got damaged but everything in there was totaled), a day bag for Rich (his was not damaged at all but everything, and I mean everything, that wasn't in the bedroom itself was boxed up and in storage somewhere waiting to come back home), and a small bag for me. I also picked up sunscreen and ponchos. Our poor Disney World yellow ponchos are in a box somewhere, sigh. The reason for both the sunscreen and ponchos was kind of funny and I'm noting it here for anyone reading this who stresses over the weather forecast a month before they leave. I'm doing all this in just a week. The forecast in that one week changed so often (every day), that we prepared for both options.

I have been driving the rental car for a week now and it's fine and maybe something I would consider buying if the second opinion came back negative. But it didn't and my Maxx will be repaired for a lesser cost than we first thought. I was happy about that and thought maybe things were looking up.

Rich arraigned to take the afternoon off since his commute is not like mine and he wanted to make sure we weren't arriving in Valdosta at midnight with the holiday traffic (his commute back to the house is about an hour and a half since they have closed one lane of his major road back and while normal commuters know it, they just don't think about it until they see the "lane closed ahead" sign so they are typical Georgia drivers). My boss had asked me if I was working today and I replied in the affirmative and she asked when I would be leaving. I replied at the normal time of 5:00. She said, "but won't you hit traffic?" I said "probably" and she said I could take some time off but since I'm in a contract position, that meant I wouldn't get paid for it so I said I was fine. She suggested I work 7-4 which was a full day and I could leave earlier so I took her up on that.

So, when I pulled into the rental house driveway shortly after 4:15, everything was ready and Rich had the suitcases and his work laptop sitting in the garage to be put into the car. I think a case of beer was there as well. I went in and told Rich I was back and then started loading the rental car (Nissan Altima) and he started to shut down our personal laptop he's been using until he can get used to his new normal of being upstairs in a third bedroom all by himself. We used to have our PCs in one room facing each other and it was nice to be in the same room "working" so we are looking forward to that in the future again.

He did get the laptop closed up and we added a snack bag and cooler to the back of the car and were off before 4:30. I did pet Gus and Belle and told them we'd be back but kind of choked back a tear since the last time we left cats alone in a house, we came back and two of them were gone forever. Silent salute to Nemo and Meeko. But, we are off to Disney World.

Oh - and while at work, I logged into Facebook and saw that our daughter-in-law was at the hospital with grandchild #3 on the way. If you think that sounds funny that we didn't get a phone call about things, our instructions to Chris were very simple. They have so many people who were waiting for every single detail of the birth and we are not that kind of parent so we just wanted to know when the baby came, the sex and the name. That was all we needed to know we have #3 safely in the world.

Rich had picked up sandwiches from Wal Mart for our dinner as we knew from experience that south Georgia fast food along I75 is not fast and barely tastes like food and we didn't want the surly attitudes from the servers so we just needed to contend with the holiday traffic. It wasn't that bad and we had the usual hiccups at Spaghetti Junction (I85 and I285) and then again when we got off I675 and joined I75 for the rest of the trip. On a clear day, it would have taken four hours but we were in Valdosta and the Days Inn off Exit 5 before 9:30 so not a bad delay at all. There was one accident we saw and no overly anxious police cars so fairly smooth for the first "real" holiday of the year. Although the reason for the holiday is not something we choose to celebrate, just to remember the reason the holiday is here.

We did one bathroom break at the rest area around Macon and, of course, that's when the phone call came. Our granddaughter is in the world! Amara Mae Niklewski was born healthy and that's all we cared about. I was also texted photos of both of her older siblings holding her as well as one of just her. I think my son's family is complete now and everyone is very happy with things.

Check in at the Days Inn was very fast and friendly and while a lot of people wouldn't think Days Inn as "high quality", we prefer the chain because we have rarely found any of the places to not have a friendly staff and tonight was no different. We were tucked away in a decent clean room with a fridge so we quickly unloaded the essentials and relaxed for the rest of the night watching "encore" showings of Hawaii 5-0 and Blue Bloods (my favorite show). We did not communicate any news about Amara as we left the laptops in the car and our daughter-in-law had told everyone not to say anything about the baby until she posted something there. Yes, to us old folks, that sounds strange but when Mitchell was born almost ten years ago, Chandra had barely been able to catch her breath from the birth when some people in the family went out and announced things "for her". So, I caution all overly excited grandparents and others to simply wait and ask the parents of the child as to when you can let others know. All we cared about was Amara and her birth and that all members of the family were safe and sound.

I set the phone alarm for 7:00 after a very brief discussion on when we wanted to be at Disney World. Rich had mentioned earlier in the day that he had a supplier buddy whose sister worked at the Studios and she would be able to get us some FastPasses but we didn't know details. Rich was to text her (not call) when we got to the park tomorrow. We also had to check into the hotel although both of us knew a room would not be available and then we wanted to park at Epcot and then go from there to the Studios. So we had a full day even before we went on a ride. Oh well, at least we are on a vacation.

Day Two - Saturday, May 28, 2016 -

I had an unsettling night as my phone, with the alarm set, was across the room near the TV and the alarm clock was over on Rich's side of the bed so I couldn't do a time check when I woke up in the morning. I knew it wasnt 7:00 yet since the alarm hadn't gone off but had no idea how much longer until it did. So I tried to relax until the alarm went off and was successful.

Once things started happening, we were up, showered, dressed, checked out and had cinnamon rolls from the free breakfast offerings and packed up and on the road before 8:00. I just wanted to get to Disney World!

We would normally gas up at this stop since Georgia gas prices used to be cheaper than Florida but Rich correctly predicted it would be about the same so I had to listen to him gleefully tell me "I told you so!" shortly after we crossed the state line. He was driving again so I delved back into the supply of magazines since I finished the book I was reading on the way down and made progress on just about everything. Since the fire, all of our mail is being forwarded but, even though the rental house is just four miles from the real house, it all has to first go to the place in one county and then forwarded to the central place in the next county before it's delivered to the rental. Sounds strange but our real house is about a quarter of a mile from the county line and the rental house is about a quarter of a mile on the other side of the county line. The four mile distance is east to west but that half mile distance kills us on getting mail so I was reading things from two weeks ago.

I had $9.25 in one dollar bills and change so I was prepared for the tolls. We normally wouldnt have to think about this since both of our cars have Sunpasses (which are now good in the Peach Pass lanes in Georgia) but this wasn't one of our cars so we had to *gulp*, be a "commoner". It was kind of funny as we didn't see any signs telling us how much the first toll was so we just pulled up to the booth and Rich asked the attendant for the rate. He was pleasant about it but said, "why aren't there signs telling us how much you are going to rip us off for?" The attendant laughed a nd said she got that question (or something similar) a lot and then asked for the $3 which I had ready. We know Florida will eventually replace the attendants with cameras and we'll be sent a bill for tolls if we don't have a Sunpass but a simple sign now with the rate just a mile out from the toll booth would be nice.

On 429, I had the correct change in quarters for the $1.50 toll so we were able to use the "coins only" lane and toss in the six things needed. Once we were past this, I reflected to myself just how different this Disney trip would be to all the others we had taken in the past. Not anything negative but just different. The fire and the car problems gave us a speed bump in our lives and I think we could be on the down side of that bump but who knows. Stephen King once said that your life is like a short bookshelf and I expanded that by knowing how you "read" the books on the shelf and how you look forward to the next book or just have to go through the torture of "reading" the next one is how you live your life. So, the fire book is still being written but the Disney World trip of May, 2016 is being read right now!

We drove onto Disney property and I had to smile. I was back! And then the fun began. I thought we'd simply drive through out to Sherberth Road, make a right onto Highway 192 and the Ramada would be on the left somewhere. Um, no. We had gone quite a way when Rich suggested we turn around since there was no Ramada with a tower that we could see. I said that I had so many details in my mind in the short time I had before this trip that I couldn't remember anything anymore and almost reached for my phone and the navigation application but once we got turned around and started back towards Disney World, we found some businesses that had their addresses on signs so determined we should have turned left and not right when we came out Sherberth. I just wanted to get there and be told that our room wasn't ready and we'd have to come back and get the key after 4:00 so my mood was a bit testy.

There is a gate guard at this Ramada and Rich grumbled at this but I reminded him that at least we would know the entrance is monitored for who should be here and who shouldn't be here. It was about 11:30 or so (I don't wear a watch and I don't pull out my phone to check times very often) but we parked the rental car and I went to the front desk to "check in". Much to our surprise, a room was ready for us and it was on the top floor of the tower so all was good with that. We took the elevator up to check out the location and everything was good with the room. Ramada is in the same Wyndham Rewards program but it was a nicer place than Days Inn. Then back down to the car to bring up the luggage. I had seen luggage carts to the side of the check in desk so Rich grabbed one of them so it was a one trip move for us. Once we had everything unloaded, I asked Rich what he wanted to do - have a break in the room for a bit or just get going. I think I know my husband of 34 years very well as I thought he would say since we had to get to Epcot, pay for parking, then get the annual passes, then try to get the parking fee back, then walk through Epcot to the Studios and meet up with his pal's sister, that we should get going. So we did. Not a relaxing way to start a vacation but it beat sitting at a rental house waiting for our real house to get something done on it.

There are two ways to get from this Ramada to Disney World. One is to simply go out the front and make a right onto 192 and then get on World Drive to get there. The second way is to make a left onto a parallel road to 192 and then a right on another feeder road and then a left onto 192 and take Sherberth into Disney World. However, that feeder road was always jammed so we did World Drive every time. When staying offsite, always know your options.

Oh - I did pick up the free shuttle schedule for this Ramada. If you want to get to rope drop with the shuttle, you will have to take a cab. If you want an afternoon break, you will have to take a cab. I once again discourage anyone who thinks a free shuttle from an offsite place thinks it means the same level as Disney shuttles. Always ask for the offsite place to email you a copy of their free shuttle service schedule.

The Ramada's schedule was to depart the hotel for Magic Kingdom at 11:50 AM and for Epcot at 9:10 and 9:55 AM. Return times from Magic Kingdom were 8:00 and 11:00 PM and from Epcot at 9:00 and 10:00 PM. That was it.

We made it safely to the Epcot parking and paid the $20 for the day. We knew we could get that back once we had our annual passes in hand. We were directed to Discover 22 and, of course, the row before us was just about full so we had to go ALL the way down to the other side. Oh well, we will get some walking in this trip.

Rich took a phone photo of the rental car's license plate for future reference if needed. We live in Georgia, rented the car for a short time in Georgia but this car's license plates were from Massachusetts. When we saw the rental the first time, Rich, who was born in Pennsylvania and lived in Maryland for the first twenty years of his life, said, "Oh my gosh, you want us to be Yankees!" Yes, I think the stress of the past few months had overcome my husband.

When we reached the end of our row, we noted the place to remember on the long walk out and there was a tram waiting there with room for us to join the masses so we did. Not sure we will be doing this in the future though. We were comfortably seated and had moved over to let others join us in the row so sat back to relax and rest the feet for later. And we sat and let others join the tram. And we sat and listened to the tram conductor tell us what he thought was funny stuff. Then we sat some more and waited for others to finally listen to the conductor and get on the tram. And then we sat again because, well, I guess it was to wait for another tram to make it out to where we were and so we finally had to go. Rich kept tapping his wrist as if he had a watch on and I knew he just wanted to get going but unless we got off the tram and walked, we weren't going to go anywhere any sooner than when we did.

Then we had to face the ticket lines to get our annual passes. It wasn't that bad this late in the day and we were helped fairly quickly. The lady behind the glass was older and everything was set with our plastic annual passes that had all our FastPasses on it. I do like the My Disney Experience as you can do everything with one app either on your home PC or any PC or on your phone and it's all linked into the ticket or MagicBand. I had hoped to get MagicBands but we were told we needed to order those once we got back to the house. Not a problem as long as our FastPasses were valid. The lady also told us the Flower and Garden Festival was still going on and that surprised me as I didn't think in recent years it lasted until Memorial Day weekend so I hadn't prepared for anything. She also mentioned The Spinners would be performing that evening so we were up for that and she said that Annual Passholders could get special art near Club Cool and made sure we knew where that was. After the past few months, getting good customer service like this was what I needed so was a bit impressed with things. Of course, I was finally back at Disney World so I was dosed a little bit by pixie dust if only in my imagination.

Our focus was just doing a walk through of Epcot on our way to the Studios and I pointed out to Rich the "horrible" Starbucks sign on the Fountain View. He just laughed and said people get upset when things change and the signs are not that bad and didn't McDonald's have signs on their thinly disguised places just a few years ago? I had to agree with him and said the discussion boards were just explosive when the signs appeared. Neither Rich nor I drink coffee and I told him people complained when there was only NESCAFE and Starbucks is supposed to be better but some were still upset about the signs.

Once through the International Gateway entrance/exit (I'm back, I'm back!), we didn't really discuss taking the boat so just walked down to the Studios. I was wise enough to suggest a beverage since it was getting hot and I knew there wasn't a ton of shade and no benches along the walk and Rich decided on margaritas which were perfect for the walk. Rich also noticed there were no trash cans on the walk and he had something he wanted to throw away so had to grumbly put it in his pocket and mumbled something about how Disney used to have trash cans all around. It didn't help when we did get to the Studios and he didn't find a trashcan near the front gates either.

With the walk and everything that has been happening in our lives, I need a sit down before we braved the bag check and turnstiles. OK, I was just told I have grandchild #3 so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. And I'm glad I did because of what happened when we went to the bag check.

I reminded Rich about the body scanners and he said he knew and you all know what happened. He was "chosen". I kind of laughed and said I figured he would be so he dumped his change and car keys into the bin and then went through the scanner. He was not that happy but it could have been caused by the massive amount of change he carries and the fact that the car keys were not "ours". He sort of shrugged it off and it was no big deal. That time.

Once through the turnstiles, the average white male texted his business acquaintance's sister while we were on the way to bathroom breaks. Yes, the walk, the no benches, the no water (I didn't have a water bottle to bring with me), the no trash cans and no bathrooms were killers to us today. We are old farts, I guess. But, something to move towards for our future visits this year.

We regrouped from our respective visits and Rich already had received a reply to meet the sister outside of Toy Story Mania and to let her know when we got there. We figured we'd get the Toy Story Mania FastPass and that was fine even though we already had one for later in the day. It's an attraction we can do twice in a day.

Rich was given a description of what the sister was wearing once we were at Toy Story Mania and we quickly found each other. She asked how many in our party and replied "just the two of us". She had a stack of paper FastPasses in her hand and kind of chuckled and said she was giving us ten FastPasses for up to five people on each FastPass good for any attraction in the Studios for any time. I thought it was just for today but it turned out to be for the whole weekend so we were amazed. She thanked us for visiting Disney World and then went back to her job.

I am not naming the Cast Member as I don't want anyone to think they could "call her out" for this but Rich thinks it's just a good thing for Disney to do. And we could enjoy and let others enjoy as well and you'll see how we did that.

We already had FastPasses set up for Twilight Zone, Toy Story Mania, and Star Tours (made after Rich and I discussed the new Star Wars movie being included in the scenes so it would be different) and we just expected a couple of FastPasses for Toy Story Mania so we had to decide what to do. Rich was still a little concerned that our reserved FastPasses were not on the annual passes so he suggested we do Toy Story Mania since we were right there and it was "free". So in we went which was a total surprise for this trip as I was just happy to have a regular FastPass for the premium ride of the Studios.

We ended up being behind a guy with three small kids who seemed to be excited about going on the ride and I just didn't think. I was so beside myself with having the "free" FastPasses (no problems going through the line with those) that I assumed the family of four was with the older couple in front of them and continued on with my life.

And then the two older people were called for two extra people on the ride and the rest of us moved on. It was only when we reached the seater that my mind got back in gear. One male and three small kids. When the seater asked for how many in the party and the male said "four", the seater asked how old the kids were. All were under the age of seven so none of them could ride alone or with one another so the guy was screwed. I was going to speak up but Rich did it first.

He tapped the male on the shoulder and asked if he would mind if one of us took one of the kids in our party and one of us would join his party so he would be two adults and two kids and then it would be one adult and one kid. He looked surprised but quickly agreed and so did the Cast Member. We were all directed down to our spots and got it situated that the little girl would ride with me and then Rich would ride with one son and the male with the other son.

The four males would be in one "car" and the girl and I in the next one. I asked her if she had ridden Toy Story Mania before and she said no she only knew Buzz Lightyear. So I talked to her while we waited to board and I thought I would need to get her relaxed to ride with a total stranger but she was a pistol! She just talked about all kinds of things and she asked why the rows only sat two and if this was our turn and how she could see her brothers and, I'm sure she said the sky was blue and the grass was green but she was on quite a roll.

I was able to work in how the "guns" worked and how they were different from Buzz Lightyear and she latched onto it immediately so I didn't think I had anything to concern myself about. Once we boarded, we were facing her brother and Rich so I told her to "shoot" them and she did. I'm not sure her brother was in the same mood as she was and Rich later said the kid didn't talk all that much and then we were off.

In hindsight, I think this was just a Disney moment. We were given "free" FastPasses, decided to do Toy Story Mania and were able to help out a family who would have been turned away from the attraction because of the kids' ages. At the time, I was just enjoying every moment. I'm here and did something to help out someone else have a great vacation. Yeah, Disney moment for sure.

I did look out to make sure the little girl knew what she was doing with shooting and she was absolutely fine. We "competed" for a while and she laughed and had a good time through the entire thing. She was disappointed that she "lost" to me but I said it was her first time and she would improve and she agreed.

The dad of the family thanked us after the ride and we went our separate ways. We still didn't trust our real FastPasses and talked about what to do with all the "free" ones we had. Rich suggested asking three other people to go on attractions with us and I suggested just giving some away to others. We wouldn't make a decision until we knew our real FastPasses were good. Then we talked about what other attractions just the two of us could use the "free" ones on and came up with the Muppets, the Great Movie Ride and Rock N Roller Coaster with the latter being our first choice.

We were walking by the Animation Courtyard area and our son, Chris, had texted me about getting some cards of some sort for Disney Infinity for our grandson, Mitchell. It was for some toy chest extra or something. I had no idea what he was talking about at the time since I didn't think we'd be back here for quite a while and Chris had texted me about Disney Infinity ending so didn't know if they would even have something for it anymore. But, we were here now, we had some time and off we went. I had the place to look at but there was nothing laying around and Chris had said I needed to ask a Cast Member (I still had the original text from months ago) so I went up to the counter at the Animation Store and asked a Cast Member about it. She looked a bit confused but when I said it was a card for a toy chest, she knew what I was talking about and gave me one. I confessed I didn't know what the heck I was doing and she said she didn't really know either so she gave me a second one just in case. Hey, something for free at a theme park!

We were in our window for the real FastPass for Twilight Zone so made our way down Sunset Boulevard to see if the annual pass would work with what I had set up the week before. We were amazed when we got to the attraction as the line stretched all the way out to beyond the queue ropes. The Cast Member at the end of that long line said it would be about 30 minutes until we were riding our elevator so we joined the line and commented that the stand by line was non-existent so what was the problem? After about ten minutes slowly shuffling forward and listening to a kid behind us asking his parents why they weren't doing the stand by line (his mother explained that the FastPass line would be taken first and those people in the other line would have to wait), an announcement came on and said that only one elevator was working and that's the way things would be all day so the waits will be longer than they could keep up with. So we muddled through things and were finally on the elevator up and down. I told Rich we could have come back later in the day with the "free" FastPasses but we figured nothing would change so we kept the mentality that this is the way lines used to be at Disney World so we'd just adapt.

Once we finally exited and I didn't scream or anything, we saw the stand by line was something like 140 minutes so glad it only took those thirty long minutes. I tried to enjoy myself with seeing the queue and appreciating the little things and that's when it hit me. I don't think I'll ever take Disney World for granted again. We've been so many times and have seen so many things and have gone on a ton of attractions with varied results. We've been here during slow times and crowded times, we've been here just the two of us, I've been solo, we've been with lots of family. We've done the parks with a wheelchair and with a stroller so we are well versed. The only thing we haven't ever done is Disney World with a baby in diapers but that might change now with Amara on the planet  So, I think I had come to a place where I went to Disney World to escape real life but had come to know the parks so much that I didn't really see the little things. So I enjoyed this time in a slow moving line because (1) Disney had much to keep me entertained with their theming (2) I was informed on what was going on by the Disney people (3) I knew I would get on the attraction eventually. So, for those who complain about a slow moving line or a break down or not being able to ride a favorite - just think about not being there for years and having life events happen that you cannot control either.

Now that we knew our real FastPasses would work, we thought about how many of the "free" ones we needed and how many we could give away. Since we were close to Rock N Roller Coaster, we wanted to use one there since the tiering system in this park doesn't allow riding Toy Story Mania and seeing Aerosmith in the same day so that took care of one and we already had used one for Toy Story Mania and we decided we'd keep the Star Tours "real" FastPass and then use the "free" ones for The Great Movie Ride and Muppets. There really wasn't anything else to hold our interest and I suggested we do the "real" FastPass for Toy Story Mania but Rich said we had already done it but I mentioned we hadn't ridden together. We had a fantastic time with the other family but it would be nice to "compete" against each other. He said he would think about it. So, we had ten FastPasses, used one for Toy Story Mania and then were using another one for Rock N Roller Coaster and needed maybe three more before the end of the day. We had five left to give away.

But Aerosmith was calling our names so we quickly went for that limo ride and, again, I didn't feel the normal anticipation or thrills I have in the past. I'm not sure if it was because of the "free" FastPasses and total freedom at this park or all the crap we've been through this year has just numbed me. And we were seated in the very last row so I saw all the curves and the twists and all that. In retrospect, I think that was it for this ride - I could see everything so nothing was left to the imagination. I'd rather be in the front seat so I have no idea where I'm going.

After our two big thrill rides, a beer was sorely needed and Rich said the Fairfax Fare wasn't that crowded so we hopped in line to get the suds. I didn't think we'd be able to find a spot to sit at in the seating area that is shared with the other establishments but a family was clearing out and we waited until they were done and then sat on one bench so we left the rest of the table open for others. But there were enough tables and we used the time to talk about those extra "free" FastPasses. Rich said he would like to give them to families who had smaller children so they could get onto Toy Story Mania since that's the most difficult attraction to get onto easily these days. I didn't disagree at all so we sat there, slowly sipping and people watching. We saw a couple of possibles but by the time we discussed them, they were done with their meals and on their way. Yes, my husband and I can just sit and have a conversation and not be rushed at Disney World.

We finally got up for our next adventure which we decided would be the Muppets with the "free" FastPass and then to our "real" FastPass of Star Tours at 4:00. On the way up Sunset Boulevard, we took notice of the families and tried to find one with small children but maybe because of the thrill rides down this way, we didn't see any. Once onto Hollywood Boulevard, we saw a family that seemed quite excited to be at the Studios so Rich went up to talk to them about the "free" FastPasses.

This was something we never anticipated doing so not that prepared and that's why Rich was doing it. He's the type of guy who is asked for directions and how to use the DC Metro (happened several times while we lived there), he's been asked how to get Disney FastPasses back in the paper days, he's been asked for driving directions at gas stations, he's been asked in Wal Marts where to find things. He has that kind of face. Me? I grew up in a city and a hard city so I tend to gnarl at people so even if I'm smiling, it gets sensed. So Rich is the approacher.

Once Rich reached the family (I think there was seven), he asked if they could use a "free" FastPass for the day or if they were set for what they wanted. He approached the female of the group who seemed to be in control of things and she stopped and he explained what we had and offered her two of the "free" FastPasses so maybe the entire family could have a second or first ride on Toy Story Mania. The woman listened and her family kind of just stared at us but after Rich explained everything, the woman broke out into the biggest smile and said "thank you so much!!!!!" The entire family relaxed as she then explained to them what she had just received. So, this was a nice way to pass on our good fortune to someone else. I just hoped we could do the same with the other three "free" FastPasses.

Next up for us was Muppets with the "free" PastPass and when we handed it to the Cast Member, she grinned and said we really didn't need it since it was a walk on but we explained we didn't really need it either so she kept it. We hadn't seen this film for a few years and I let Rich take us into the theatre and he had us near the back which is not my preferred section since I like turning around at the end but we managed to see everything we needed and if the wait time is that short in future visits, we'll take a swing by here without a FastPass and get to see Waldo and friends again. Sure wish ABC could have just redone the Muppets TV show the way it used to be instead of what they did this time around. Sometimes a half hour of total fluff is what in needed in real life.

Our window for our real FastPass for Star Tours was open so we went there and had a nice ride with a couple of new scenes and BB-8 for our guide. We are both glad that technology with this attraction has made it into one where you don't know what scenes you will get and that it can be updated seamlessly. Of course, C3PO and R2D2 were the only ones who understood BB-8 but I guess that's what happens when the people involved are alphanumeric. Upon exit of the attraction, the gift shop was mobbed so we forwent looking for new things for Chris and his family, the Star Wars fans. I am sure by the time Amara hits her teens, she will have seen all the Star Wars movies in order and with her entire family. At least twice.

After the attractions, I wanted to see what had been closed at the Studios to make room for Star Wars land. I knew some of the attractions that were closed and was dismayed to see Studio Catering Company gone but gone it is and hopefully will be replaced with the same style seating as there was a ton of room and most of it covered so it was a nice break in the day for us. But, there can be no improvements without change so we look forward to the next few years of something different.

I also was texted a few times and the results were special. Amara and my daughter-in-law, Chandra, were still in the hospital (some complications but all were slowly resolved - not with Amara but an almost 40 year old woman had some difficulties with even a tiny child but all will be good) and we were sent photos of our granddaughter, Marlie, who just turned 18 with her little sister and then another one with our grandson, Mitchell, almost ten who is now a big brother and he was smiling as he held his baby sister and then one of Amara herself. We have three grandkids at different stages of their lives so our world is going to be different but exciting for at least another 20 years.

But, back to Disney World after realizing that once you have a child, your whole life will be changed forever and then changed again, and again, and again, and again. We decided to do the Great Movie Ride with a "free" FastPass since we rarely do that attraction and I had heard the closing montage had changed and it was "free". The ending had changed with new clips put in and we both wished this could be spruced up a bit with more recent things in the static displays. We also noticed that Turner Classic Movies channel is sponsoring this now (TCM) and Robert Osborne does the lead in. I love that channel and now will only record movies that are uncut and without commercials. We had to switch to a new TV provider with the rental house so we get HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax with the price (sounds good but the service stinks) so I've recorded a ton of movies to watch in the summer. Chris did an adventure a few years ago where he watched all of the AFI top 100 films and reviewed them all. Wonder if I could do the same with just this attraction?

Rich finally gave in and said we could do Toy Story Mania again with a "free" FastPass so we headed over there. On the way, Rich saw a family of four sitting on a bench towards Toy Story Mania so stopped to offer them one of the "free" FastPasses. This was the challenging one as it was man, woman, and two younger girls who were just chilling on the bench. Rich asked the guy if they were set with FastPasses or would want one for another ride somewhere as these were good for any ride at any time. Maybe the dad was a bit put off or something or maybe he was from another country but no one really moved on the bench and the guy listened and then asked how much it would cost. Rich and I both just smiled and said it cost nothing, we had gotten it for nothing and we couldn't use it. Then the guy relaxed a bit and took it. I think he was still a bit confused by what it was and hope he used it for his two little girls to have more fun that day.

Onto our second round of Toy Story Mania of the day and, of course, Rich won our round. He's been playing real video games (the kind found at physical arcades) since the day I met him 35 years ago and he's quite good. My hand/eye coordination is lousy and the only video game I could ever "control" was Frogger back on an Atari when Chris was still in diapers. There are things more important in life. Yep, I can tell myself that until I die and it makes me feel better.

Now we looked at what we had left to do and it really was nothing. We had two "free" FastPasses but we really didn't want to repeat anything so we decided to head out to Epcot and look for a family just entering to give out the last two "free" FastPasses. I was feeling the effects of a Disney vacation so left Rich to sift through all those coming into the Studios and he found a family of over five in the group and approached the female. I think there were four kids and a male and maybe an older woman. Later, Rich said he heard the kids saying something about Toy Story Mania and didn't think they had FastPasses for it. He approached the younger female and told her how we had the "free" FastPasses and we had used what we wanted to use so we had the two extra and asked if she wanted them.

OK - yep, Disney Moment. At least two in this day. Once the woman realized what he was saying and heard "FastPass" and the kids heard "Toy Story Mania", there were smiles and the woman even hugged Rich and yelled "thank you!". She then rushed over to the male and the older female and explained things and we wished them a happy time there. She said "we will have a great time now!"

We had a great time with the "free" FastPasses and gave out what we couldn't use. We would have never stayed this long at The Studios but were able to do so because of a business contact who casually suggested it. That's the way the Magic should work. We had no idea of what we were getting or anything. It was just something that happened. That's why I get a bit annoyed with some who think there should be ribbons and bows on a trip "because it's Disney". You can make your own ribbons and bows or you can just completely fall into a basket and share it with others. But don't expect that basket every time.

And our basket had run out of ribbons and bows as when we started towards the boat to take us to Epcot, we realized it was closing up and getting ready to leave and there wasn't another one in sight. So, we decided to walk to Epcot which, for me, was not a good idea. Florida can be very hot and humid in May, did you know that? And that there are no water fountains or benches on this walk? I hadn't brought a water bottle as I didn't have any extra one in the rental house so I was pretty much dead by the time we made it to the International Gateway. Note to self for the July 4th weekend.

I grabbed a bench while Rich went to Guest Relations to get the $20 parking fee back. I thought he was having a problem as the transaction took longer than I expected and was ready to go over there to see what was up but my body told me to stay put and rest a bit more so I did. He finally came back with the $20 and said the Cast Member was from Alpharetta, GA which is where Rich works so they had a chat about that area for a bit.

We entered Epcot and Rich was sure he would get scanned again but didn't. He was still not happy with having to do that this morning but I told him it was random and no one really knew how they picked people and he grumbled something about "profiling" and I replied that the "profile" must then be for average white guys with greying hair and he did not appreciate that at all.

With food needed, we decided to check out the Flower and Garden Festival kiosks that were set up around World Showcase and while Rich saw a thing or two he liked, I didn't see anything so we decided to get something later after the next Spinners show so we grabbed a table at the outside Liberty Inn seating area and got a few beers for the show. Once the American Gardens Theater was opened, we went in and got pretty good seats but we're not ones who need to be up front or in the middle. We just don't want tall people sitting in front of us since we are not the tallest people in the world. Fortunately, no one did the "oh here's a seat right here and the show just started so I'll take my time getting to the seats and I'll sit right in front of these short people who just got relaxed since the show already started". That's a pet peeve of mine at any show. If the thing has already started, find a seat quickly so you don't disturb people who got there before the start and now have to adjust while the show is going on.

The Spinners did a terrific show and there's only one original member left but that didn't detract from things at all. We decided we'd come back for the last show of the night after getting food and walking around World Showcase. My feet had gotten a nice rest during the show so I thought I could handle a walk around once. We ended up at Lotus Blossom Caf where I got the pot stickers and Rich had the orange chicken. This was just what we needed after the long and hot day and sat inside and under cover and were away from the evil sun for a while. After our meal, Rich decided to cool off even further by getting a margarita in Mexico while I opted for a beer a little later. At the time, we didn't know this would be Rich's last margarita at this stand in Mexico as it is now removed to make way for the new Frozen stuff in Norway. I figure a margarita stand would fit right in with Frozen stuff because margaritas are frozen, right?

Before the stop for the margarita, we had something disturbing happen. This is the Flower and Garden Festival so there were a lot of displays of various outdoor gardens and plants and things. This is why the Festival is here - for people to understand and learn more about flowers and gardens. Maybe this happened because it was Saturday night and locals were here and beer and other alcoholic beverages were flowing if you had the funds to pay for them but Rich and I stopped to see a garden with various stages of peppers and it ranged from mild to superhot and some were berry sized. We had a good time since I get my buffalo wings naked and Rich is more like "almost burning hot" so we found a plant I would like and he found one he would like and we had several in between so we had a good laugh with how our food tastes are so different but somehow we make it work.

As we were joking about our tastes, some idiot guy came along with three of his buddies and saw what we were looking at and started saying things like "hey, I'll bet I could eat the hottest of these things and not be affected!" and garbage like that. I figured he was just a loud mouth so ignored him until he reached up and took a couple of the peppers off the bush and then popped them into his mouth! I couldn't remain silent so said "You had to do that, didn't you? I hope you are soooooooo proud of yourself". The stupid little smile on his face disappeared and his buddies stopped laughing. I wanted to say more like, "these plants are here to educate us, not to feed you" but refrained. Rich later said he was on edge because he thought the guy would react more than he did but he and his buddies basically left with their heads down. Another guest came up to me and thanked me for saying something and not anything nasty and that the guy was embarrassed to be called out in front of his buddies like that.

We wanted to see the Spinners again but decided at this point that we needed to leave the park and get some rest back at the hotel. We hadn't even unpacked yet since we left quickly in order to meet the Cast Member at the Studios so we hadn't really had any down time at all today.

We wanted to pick up the Annual Passholder print we were told about earlier today so stopped by the place near Club Cool to get that done. I hadn't read any of the literature about the Festival or our Passholder benefits so we were in the dark on what to do. First, a nice female Cast Member at the door to the place asked to see our Annual Passes and also a photo ID. That was a bit surprising as the Pass is usually fine and dandy but I guess these were special prints or something. We handed everything over and she scanned them and laughed and said that Rich had my pass and I had his even though the Cast Member this morning had written our names on the backs of the Passes so we figured she knew what she was doing but everything worked so we didn't think it was a big deal. This Cast Member said if we order Magic Bands, we might want to switch cards to get all that straightened out. Then we were let into the building and there was another female Cast Member (where are all the male ones?) with some boxes on a table and she was sitting behind the table. We walked up and she just looked at us and Rich stammered, "what do we do?" We were clueless. She asked us which prints we needed. We just blinked and said "we don't have any". So she then gave us each three prints and we left. We had no idea what just happened and after we got out of the building, I told Rich this place had better security than the front turnstiles where he was scanned today.

Sidenote - after we got back to the room, I found the information in the Flower and Garden Passport we were given earlier in the day. "Each month during the 2016 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, collect one of three special edition prints drawn by legendary artist Don "Ducky" Williams. March 2-31 Donald Duck, April 1-30 Goofy, May 1-30 Mickey Mouse. Pick up the relevant print per month just behind Club Cool during the Festival. Don't forget to bring your Photo ID and Annual Pass or MagicBand. Supplies are limited. One print per Passholder per month. Each Passholder must be present to receive print." If the first Cast Member hadn't told us about this, we would have never known so more pixie dust on this unexpected trip and we each had all three prints. These will go in a special place once we are back in the real house as I am not putting anything up in the rental and we lost some of our Disney art in the fire and in the putting out of the fire.

We exited Epcot and wanted to get on the tram to save at least my feet from walking but it was too full and there wasn't another in sight so we decided to slowly walk all the way back to the car. We just walked and found Massachusetts plates and tumbled into the car. Once in the room, I texted Chris that we were ready to do our fantasy NASCAR draft and then hopped into the shower for a rinse off which felt wonderful. Then we did the draft and since I'm in last place, I could get my stuff done quickly and then stretch out and relax and take in the surroundings.

We are in a king bed room in the tower of the Ramada. Since we were given a room on the top floor, we can see out beyond Highway 192 so a decent view and we can see what 192 looks like before we leave the room. We could also hear and/or see a lot of the Disney nighttime stuff and what I had to research was a huge Ferris wheel. It turns out it's the Orlando Eye and that's new for us so a nice evening just chilling in the room and for me to realize Disney trips can happen again after all the bad and good things in our lives. That's a nice feeling from a vacation.

Oh - one more thing about the hotel itself. There is a coffee maker in the room which we put up on a shelf in the closet area because neither one of us drinks coffee. Cups are provided and Rich saw these cardboard things also near the cups. It turns out there are coffee cup holders so the person who is drinking the coffee doesn't get hot or warm hands. I had to laugh. If you are the one making the coffee and drinking it, don't you know it's hot? So I guess coffee drinkers want to have hot coffee in paper cups they can throw away but don't want to have their hands be hot. I guess that's just me since my mother-in-law, who has to have coffee a lot and especially in the morning first thing, just takes her own mug with her so she doesn't have to deal with paper cups. As a non-coffee drinker, I find coffee drinkers amusing sometimes.

No alarm was set for the next morning although we did have Animal Kingdom and FastPasses set up. We were into total relaxing for the time being.

Day Three - Sunday, May 29, 2016 -

And relax we did as we didn't wake up until after 9 and it was much needed by both of us. Rich has been dealing with some many aspects of the fire and the aftermath and I've been trying to get the rental house into something we can both live in but not have anything of our own in there so it's not really a home, it's just a house. We've lived in rental houses before we bought our first one but those were homes as everything inside was ours. With this rental house, all the furniture, the linens, and the kitchenware is also rented. We own our limited clothing supply and the cat food dishes and litter boxes but that's about it. I'm glad the insurance company was able to do what they did but we want a home back and it'll be a while until we get that. So, off to our adventure which is needed to take away all that other crap from our lives.

We discussed just parking at Epcot since that's where we will end up tonight but decided it wouldn't be worth the time with our later awakening so Rich drove us to Animal Kingdom after having to realize which way to go once on World Drive since it wasn't to Epcot which was quite funny. The sign said to Animal Kingdom and he was confused because it was going the opposite way from that Kingdom. I smiled a bit and told him that roads can curve and I'm sure Disney knew what they were doing when the signs were put up. Once on Osceola Parkway, he was more comfortable. I think we need to stop doing this offsite stuff so we can take Disney transportation before my husband has completely woken up.

Our parking at Animal Kingdom was back in Giraffe 45 so not an easy walk to the front but we are ones that don't have to be there at rope drop so it's our choice. Once at the bag check, I was told to go to another line as I had a small bag and they had a line just for that. Rich, with his day bag, had to go through the regular line and I tensed in case Rich was chosen to be scanned but he wasn't so I relaxed but he made it through before I did with my "small bag". And then my pass didn't work at the entrance turnstiles. After the third attempt and the questions of "are you using the same finger on the scan?" and a reply of "yes", another Cast Member was called over and I moved to the side and then back over and redid the finger scan while the second Cast Member (a male this time) reset things. Not sure if this is because of what we found out yesterday with our passes being switched or what but everything was fine and we continued on.

On the entrance in, we received *gasp* a phone call! Rich was the only one with a phone today and he refuses to have different dial tones for his contacts so we had no idea who it was. We figured everyone knew where we were as it just happened two weeks ago but it was disturbing. Rich moved over to the side and took the call and it was - his mother. OK - my mother-in-law is the most wonderful woman in the world. Rich talks to her every other week but this trip was in such a hurry, she didn't know. She's the person that if she meets you once, you are an acquaintance. If you meet her a second time, you are a friend. And if you stay in her house, you are considered family. She's amazing.

But since we had no pressing needs with her, we were concerned. And this is my mother-in-law (80 in August). Rich had two rifles in our real house that he wanted to have "evaluated" by someone on cleaning them. They received no fire or water damage but heavy smoke damage so everything had to be examined. I had no idea. I have fired rifles under the instruction of my father and father-in-law but these rifles were, um, from a long time ago. Rich had taken them from the real house to his mother in Gatlinburg when the visited for a short weekend and she had taken them to a classmate of Rich's who he hasn't seen since high school (he's 56) and got them all cleaned. She just wanted to tell him that. After our hearts went back to a normal rhythm, we were able to continue on. We both thought it was something to do with our daughter-in-law or newest granddaughter. We did talk about how what you do on vacation to make sure your entire family knows about it. A mind numbing five or so minutes. And a wake-up call for us since when the fire happened, the fire department had no way to contact us and the only person they could find was my mother-in-law via the internet. So they called her hundreds of miles away and she, my son, and my granddaughter all called us which we couldn't hear because we were sitting watching a race.

The first FastPass was for the Safari and we were early for it but headed back to Africa as we knew we could easily go out to Rafiki's Planet Watch and pass some time with pigs and goats so we boarded our Wildlife Express train and made the journey. I enjoyed the mural at Conservation Station while Rich headed towards the static displays inside. Rich's idea of art is a sports card or a comic book so he went off to look at one of his favorite things in the world - insects and more creepy crawlies and we met up at a few new displays. We think one was about Zootopia but since we haven't seen it yet, we weren't sure. We looked at the other static displays and tried to learn new things about all these creatures. Chip and Dale had been out before we entered the building and Rafiki was doing his thing inside so a very enjoyable time. We also got to see some of the presentation on snakes and since I'm not a big fan of the creepy things, I just stood in the back while Rich enjoyed. He came back and was laughing as the presenter was explaining the difference between a venomous snake and a non-venomous one (the triangular head means more than likely venomous) but the question put forth to the child was "how do you know this snake is not poisonous?". The child replied, "because you are holding it."

And then for our favorite part - Affection Section which is a petting area with goats and pigs and sheep and other animals. Rich tends to go to the goats and tells them that once we win the lottery, we'll get a farm and have lots of the goat's brothers and sisters there. I go towards the pigs and they aren't like true farm pigs - these are hairy. But, my pigs were behind the ropes so I couldn't really pet them. Then one of the pigs was called back for a show that would be starting over to the side of the Affection Section. We had never seen the show so, since we were done with our pettings, we wandered over there for my pig fix. Yes, it's silly but Charlotte's Web is one of my favorite books, cartoon, and movie so I'm, um, attracted to pigs and yeah, sometimes Rich qualifies as one of those.

We went over to watch the show and we both thought it would be a cutsie little ten or fifteen minute thing and then we could do our Safari FastPass as that was going to be running out since we spent so much time with our goat and pig friends at Affection Section. But when we were walking in to take some bench seats, the Cast Member said that it would be a half hour show and if you wanted refreshments and a bathroom break first, you should get it now. I had to ask Rich to pull out his phone as I had forgotten mine today and check the time while I did some mental math (difficult for this accountant) as to when we could take the train back and get onto the Safari. After consulting, we decided we needed to leave and did so reluctantly.

The train back to Harambe was nice again and we really like this pleasant diversion back to where animals are animals but they are a bit free to wander and there are things to be learned. We had avoided Rafiki's Planet Watch for years because of what others had said about it. I am so glad we finally didn't listen to others and experienced it for ourselves. Now it's a "can't miss" because of what we like, not what others don't like.

We had a quick trip back to the Safari and our FastPasses were once again hand scanned at the entrance to the queue. It's a very confusing entrance here with the FastPass and Stand By queues and the FastPass queue, in our opinion, seems to stretch out so far compared to the rest but we adjusted and got our Passes scanned and then went through the long queue to finally get to the stroller parking area which always slows things down. At most queues, strollers are parked at the entrance but with this one, you almost get to the entrance to ride vehicles and the kids need to get out, the stroller folded up and passed off and the bags, etc. need to be stowed by the parents. There are signs but a lot of folks either don't understand it or ignore it so once at the stroller parking area, there is a pause while a family has to do what they need to do. But all was well and no big deal as I'm sure the animals were still going to be on the Safari when we got there.

We also had an "encounter" while in line. We had reached the stroller drop off area and we were behind a family and the father was eating an orange which is no big deal. He had a quarter of a rind in his hand and he just dropped it into the bushes. I rolled my eyes but the woman behind me spoke up and told the man to pick up his trash and the parks had plenty of cans for that purpose. He looked back at her and said "it's biodegradable so no big deal." She responded, "well, since it's biodegradable YOU eat it!" The man picked up the rind and put it into a trash can. I guess we should be lucky he put the plastic bag that contained the oranges into his pocket.

Once onto the jeep, we were seated behind the driver and there were two females in our row and neither one looked very happy. We think they were mother and daughter but not quite sure. Rich doesn't like to sit behind the driver, he likes to be more back so the cab isn't in the way of viewing the animals but today, he liked getting the driver's air conditioning so all was good.

Our driver was more educational than entertaining but that was good for us as we like to hear things about the animals instead of storylines. But the best part was when we got to the ostriches and the younger female started muttering that she hated ostriches and they better not get close. She even talked to the driver about it and he said not to worry as he would stop if one did approach because it was their territory. None did get near the jeep and when we went through that area, we didn't see any and the woman relaxed and then we turned a bend and two ostriches were coming from the right. I was on the right and the woman was on the left so I said I would protect her and we all had a laugh. I'm five feet nothing and she was taller than me so she relaxed just slightly and then was fine when we moved forward.

After our educational and entertaining Safari, we did the Gorilla trail (we noticed that's what the Safari guides are calling it now instead of the more proper name) since it was right there and we had time. This is not my favorite trail at Animal Kingdom as I prefer the tiger one with all the attention to detail in the theming. I'm also not a huge fan of watching monkeys and gorillas but I do find it fascinating to watch the humans watching the primates.

During the walk, Chris texted me that Amara and Chandra were home from the hospital but I didn't see the text or hear the tone because my phone was back in the room. He didn't think to text Rich since it was about "baby stuff". I did look once back in the room and asked Chris how they came up with the name Amara and he responded with "from Supernatural" which is a show we've never seen. Turns out that person is, well, not a nice person and the name is associated with darkness. But, from a previous conversation I had with Chandra and she mentioned a potential name and I said I had had an aunt with that name and she wasn't so nice, Chandra responded with "if we thought about every single person with every single name, we wouldn't be able to name the baby". Again, this is why others than the parents of the child should just butt out. They just liked the name and after reading more about it, it also means everlasting. So, our new granddaughter is everlasting darkness, hehehehehehe.

Next up was our FastPass for Expedition Everest so we left Africa for Asia and the trek there. We walked by the new area for eating at Animal Kingdom - Harambe Market- and made a mental note to go back later and check it out. I checked the times guide and thought Flights of Wonder at 2:30 made a good bet for after our journey to meet the Yeti and then we discussed Amara and the naming ceremony that will be happening next month. Not a formal religious ceremony for various reasons but something that my son's family wants to do to welcome Amara into the family the way our family is. She's a Niklewski and you can't get any more screwed up than that!

We joined the FastPass line at Expedition Everest and had an interesting family in front of us. The clock over the entrance said 1:05 which was the actual time. I guess the male of the party thought that's how long they would be standing in the line - an hour and five minutes. He and the female of the party stopped and loudly discussed how they wouldn't make their lunch seating which was at 2:30. Of course, they wouldn't let anyone around them as they discussed and the two kids with them also blocked the entrance. So we got to listen to them debate if they could go on the ride and still make the lunch since they would have to leave the area and walk to wherever they were eating, blah, blah, blah. The female said things would be fine but the male didn't think so since he was sure they would be in the line for a longer time than just an hour. They finally moved up and asked the Cast Member if it would take longer than the hour and five minutes posted. The look on the Cast Member's face was kind of funny when he realized they had mistaken the normal clock for a posted wait time. Of course, the time had changed during the discussion so now the male thought the wait time was an hour and ten minutes. I don't know how the Cast Members do it because this one very politely explained it was a regular clock and since the family had FastPasses, they wouldn't have to wait more than it would take them to go through the line with no delays. The male of the family then said, "so we can make our 2:30 lunch seating?" and the Cast Member cheerfully replied, "oh, for sure!" so the family put up their tickets for entry and were denied. The Cast Member looked at what was going on and then asked the family at what time did their window for the attraction open. 1:25 was the answer. So the Cast Member then had to explain how FastPasses worked but at least he pulled the family over to the side so the crowd that had built behind the family could go past with their valid FastPasses.

Rich and I had a chuckle about the family but realize that FastPasses and how they work can be confusing for some. Since we hadn't been to Disney World for a while, I even had to read up to see if there were any changes from a few years ago but most people don't think about things like that if they view Disney World as just another theme park. But at least that family was able to have a Cast Member explain things to them.

After we found and escaped from the Yeti, it was time for a beer so we had our Beer Hunt of 2016 to complete. Let's just say that I am not an adventurous beer drinker but Rich is so he's more open to trying different things while I stick to Bud Lite and am happy. However, Rich is the cheap one so if that new beer is more expensive, Bud is just fine with him. We went to our normal place which is a kiosk outside of the Flame Tree BBQ eating area and we thought we'd also pick up a soft pretzel at another kiosk for a snack. This has become our routine while at Animal Kingdom when we need a break or have some time to kill. For today, it was the latter as we wanted something before the 2:30 Flights of Wonder show. So off we went. And were dismayed to see, with our pretzel in hand, that our kiosk only had Safari Amber now! Rich didn't want the pay the higher price and I wasn't sure I would like the different brew. Rich suggested we look at Flame Tree BBQ but the lines were too long there for just a couple of drinks so we decided to suck it up and do the Safari Amber. I wondered if maybe the entire park only had that beer to fit with the theme but Rich, of course, said it wasn't to fit the theme but to get more money out of the guests. He said it must have cost Anheuser-Busch a pretty penny to lose the beer revenue if Disney changed providers for Animal Kingdom. We have since learned Safari Amber is an Anheuser-Busch product so Disney did not change sponsors. But we lamented the loss of the Bud Lite.

We took our beers over to the seating area of the Flame Tree BBQ and hoped no one would say anything since we didn't have food because our pretzel was eaten during the start of the Beer Hunt of 2016. It would continue before Flights of Wonder though, silly us. But we relaxed and drank the beers in the nice confines of what I think is a great relaxing place at Animal Kingdom. We like the ibises and the ducks and the very large seating areas all behind the Flame Tree. I don't think most people realize just how large the seating area is and that there are different areas and themes to the many pavilions. You can sit by the water and see Expedition Everest across the lake and hear the screams of the guests visiting the Yeti, or you can sit by a little concrete pool and visit with the water life, or you can sit under a pavilion that's themed mostly by animals and the things they eat - we call the pavilions "death houses". Also, most of the pavilions are stocked with condiments, napkins, and utensils in case you didn't pick something up. And while others are looking for inside and air conditioning, we like the openness of this seating area since it's basically all in the shade either by a roof over the pavilion or by the many trees around. Very relaxing for us.

Except for a family who sat at the table next to us. One person was getting the food and sent a late teenage female and another older female to get a table. Since we were just two people at a table on our own, they asked if they could borrow a chair and that got a conversation started. They seemed very nice and very hot and welcomed the coolness of the shaded area. Once the entire party was together, they kept the conversation to themselves but I heard the late teenager complain that her spray on tan was running and it wasn't very comfortable. It wasn't spray on sunscreen, it was spray on tan. Why anyone would want to do that on such a hot day just to look tanner is beyond me. My thought was that if it was uncomfortable, she should just go to the rest room and remove it from her body. But, I don't wear makeup at all and I don't tour Disney World to look like I'm in style, I dress for comfort. To each his own, I guess. I just thought with the temps that she would have thought twice about spraying something all over her body and walking around all day.

We still had time before Flights of Wonder so we continued the Beer Hunt of 2016 by walking over to the Harambe Market to see about their beer selections and also to check out what was on the menus. While the food choices got a "maybe" out of both of us, the beer selection was Safari Amber so no go there. Rich suggested Flame Tree BBQ wouldn't be that crowded now so we walked back there and had to go past the Flights of Wonder stage again and there now was a line forming so we were amazed. Maybe I should stop saying how wonderful the show is in these trip reports and on the discussion boards as it used to play to half full crowds. Rich's prediction on the conditions at Flame Tree were not true as the lines were still too long for us to stand in for two beers. He finally conceded to the Safari Ambers again (I wasn't a big fan of it and Rich summed it up perfectly later - it didn't taste very good on such a hot day as it wasn't refreshing enough) so we went back to that kiosk for a couple so we could take them into Flights of Wonder. By this time, I think we had worn tracks into the pavement but at least we could sit down and see a wonderful show.

By the time we finally made it back to Caravan Stage, the owl presentation outside had finished up and the line had slowly moved into the theatre. We have our favorite seats so while most people stayed on the ground level and filled in those benches, we went to the bleachers and went up higher. This way, we shorter people can see the entire stage and the arrival of Guano Joe. Also, since this show lets in people after the start (which is a pet peeve of mine), those latecomers will usually grab a place on the ground level or, if they do use the bleachers, won't climb all the way up to where we are. Yes, we've seen the show that many times, I know how the others guests will act.

This was the first time we've seen the show with the "roof" over the theatre. We're not sure what it does or if it was necessary to change the show with the enclosure over the birds' heads but it was, as usual, a great show and we relaxed and didn't think about life for a while. That's what a vacation should be all about and we really needed this one.

We had time to kill before our FastPass for Kali River Rapids so Rich suggested my favorite trail here - the Maharajah Jungle Trek. I'd rather see tigers than gorillas and the theming here is just so much better. It also seems quieter but maybe that's because the Pangani Trail comes almost immediately after you exit the Safari so most people do the trail without realizing what they are doing so it's more attended because of that. Our walk along the trail was highlighted by having a lot of prairie dogs out and about and we noticed that even though a lot were walking or running around, there was always one who would stop and "stand guard". We marveled that even though it appeared a bunch of them were playing, there was always a guard and they changed every so often. We also talked about how there was no netting over this trail so how does Disney keep out flying predators? Very nice walk and I was able to point out some of the theming to Rich. If I could recommend a tour for Disney to install, it would be to go on the trails at Animal Kingdom at some time before the park opens and explain the theming and what it means to the story of the animals. That one, I would pay for and even get up early for.

Oh - on the way to the trail, we noticed that the Yak & Yeti Quality Beverage place had Bud Lite! The Great Beer Hunt of 2016 was mercifully over.

We were in our window for Kali River Rapids and since it was so hot, we both hoped for the big wet. We were glad we had FastPasses as it was in the high heat of the afternoon and the stand by line was not moving all that much. I always get a bit concerned about the other families in "our" raft. We've been with people who have to wear ponchos, who are afraid of getting wet, who wear hair protectors, etc. Today, we wanted to get be absolutely soaked. This was also the first time we'd be going without the inside round place to put your valuables to stay "dry". We checked out the free lockers but decided we'd be fine just taking our small across the shoulder bag (me) and the day bag (Rich) with us. Since we had driven, the only things we had taken in with us that could possibly get damaged with water were our phones but we knew how to position the bags so if we did get the big wet, "we" would get the water and not the bags. I also had a couple of zipper bags for the phones but we decided to just wing it.

We had very nice families on "our" raft and just about everyone wanted to get wet, including us. While we didn't get the big wet (that was on the other side of the raft and it was funny watching them getting it), the entire ride was cooling enough for us. We did get some wet and didn't slosh off the ride so that was nice. I always schedule this now for our last FastPass of the day in case we need to dry off a bit. On the way to the exit, we saw It's Tough to be a Bug had a five minute wait which is a walk on since it takes five minutes just to walk through the queue so we did that stand by. We've seen this many times so know all the "tricks" but what makes it fun for us is the reactions to the first timers which you can hear all over the theatre. However, this time, Rich was cracking up at the three women to his right. Especially at the end when they practically screamed when the bugs exited before we did. He later said he didn't want to say anything to them after we were allowed to leave because he thought he would laugh in their faces. But they enjoyed it a lot and were talking about everything all the way out that long exit area.

And see, that's why after being away for so long (long for us), I will never take Disney World for granted again. It's not the buildings or the attractions or the shows. It's the people you see and encounter all over the place. We were doing a lot of our "usuals" but the experience is so different every time - because of the people.

But we had the long walk to the car now and then the drive over to Epcot. Rich had a change of clothing if he needed it after Kali River Rapids but everything stayed in the bag.

We thought we'd be able to "park at will" (poor Will) at Epcot but there were still Cast Members directing us to a spot. And we were, once again, all the way out in Create 53. So we did another slow walk to the front as we didn't want another slow moving tram. I sort of wished we had stayed back in the car and driven away but hindsight is always 20/20.

As we went to the bag lines, I was sure Rich would be fine. But, er, no, he wasn't. Yep, he was "selected" again. I am not going to say the words he used but, well, one of them involved something even George Carlin couldn't get said on most of the channels on TV these days. And a word Rich doesn't use at all but, well, he was, um, ticked off. And he brought out the P word - "profiling". I tried to reason with him that a normal middle aged average white man had nothing to think about "profiling" but he was still ticked off so I decided to just stop and ask myself if I wanted to continue on with him in his mental condition right now.

He later said that he was concerned about the fact that I had been with him every time this trip and I was never even noticed at all. So, in his mind, it was only males and white ones so the "profiling" thing was flipped. Yes, I tried to reason with him that it was random and there was no way to figure out just who got pulled aside and it just happened to be an unlucky one this time. Rich is the most unbiased person I know so I know there have been people of every race, creed and color asked to go through the scanners but on this trip, to Rich, it appeared to only be him. But, I know my husband and I knew he'd be OK after the fury passed (his fury lasts maybe five minutes) but I wanted him to stop and think about how stupid he was being in front of lots of guests who wanted to have a good time and didn't have to go through the scanners.

So, I stopped and let him go through the turnstiles himself and then had him go off and wait for me. I could see him calming down and then went through on my own but decided to keep my wifely distance from him in that I would just keep silent and see which way the wind turned with his mood.

I let him decide which way we went around World Showcase by saying "whatever you want to do". He decided on a margarita in Mexico which I didn't want but he did so I sat away from him while he stood in line. He was still not happy as he came back with the drink and complained about having four people and a stroller in the line while getting one drink. So I kept my mouth shut and we continued on. We wanted to see the Spinners again but had time before the show and Rich suggested a beer for me back in America so I could get good old American Bud Lite. He was getting over his mood but I replied, "whatever you want to do" so we walked that way and I managed to get a Bud Lite so we could sit down in an area for the Flower and Garden Festival and just take a break. I knew Rich would get over his mood so wanted a huge time out and got it.

The area was nice and had picnic tables so we sat at the end of one and there was lots of activity around us and we were able to get all the frustrations over the scanning at least put to the side. I reminded him that that security was random but he said it appeared to be "randomly" focused at him so I let it drop. After our break, we went to Germany so he could get a braut and while we were walking towards America we heard the Spinners performing and we had wanted to see them again but it was the same show as last night so it wasn't something we wanted to repeat. Plus, it seemed like, since it was a holiday weekend Sunday night, there were a lot of locals and, well, boisterous people around and we both had had a bit of a stress in the past hour, that we decided to end the day and the vacation. We were hot and tired and a bit grumpy (him at the scanning, me at him) so this was a good call.

I stopped at the bathroom in the United Kingdom to wash down one last time. I take a washcloth in a plastic bag and use that throughout the day to wash down so I did a thorough job at the sinks and felt much better but still not all that great. Disney World can be hot in May, trust me and I live in Georgia. Of course, we hadn't been here for quite a while so all the walking maybe had something to do with that and my advancing age and lack of exercise had nothing to do with it.

While I was doing all that, Rich had wandered down to see Alberta Bound which was performing this weekend and had some former members of Off Kilter in the band so he was happy. We walked to the front of Epcot and thought maybe we could do Spaceship Earth for our grandson, Mitchell, since that was his favorite on his only (so far) trip to Disney World. But, the line was still queued much heavier for our liking so we passed and walked all the way back to the car. By this time, we were both beat and still a bit at odds so it seemed to take forever. It was still fairly early and Rich proposed a trip to Target to get some supplies we would need on the way home tomorrow and all I wanted was an air conditioned car so I said it was fine with me.

We were going back to the room and watch the Charlotte NASCAR race so it would be a relaxing evening. I let Rich enter Target himself so I could be by myself and he could work out that grumpiness of his own by himself. I think it worked quite well. He said Target was absolutely mobbed so glad I wasn't with him. But, he got what was needed and we headed back to the room and an end to our quick but needed vacation.

As we eased our aching bodies onto the bed and went to watch the race which was already in progress, the reception for the race, on national TV and not a cable channel was horrible and kept fuzzing out so while we could "watch" the race, it wasn't an enjoyable time. So, we managed to get everything packed up since the race, which is the longest one of the season, was completely dominated by Martin Truex, Jr. and he's not on either one of our fantasy teams so we kind of just zoned out with the lousy reception.

Unfortunately, we had to set an alarm for the next morning so we could get back to the rental house and Gus and Belle. I was nervous about leaving them alone for the weekend since the last time we did that, we lost two of them but I was sure figurative lightening wouldn't strike again but it was still in the back of our minds since we love our cats and they are our children. So, alarm set for 8:00 AM but if we woke up earlier, we'd get going earlier.

Day Four - Monday, May 30, 2016 - Memorial Day - a day to remember sacrifices made for our country

The alarm did go off but I was awake shortly before that and I think so was Rich but neither one of us wanted to move our tired bodies. We got cleaned up and packed and then checked out of the hotel, grabbed a few items for a later breakfast on the road and were pulling out before 9:00. It's been a while for a vacation but we still have our system going for traveling and work very well together.

Rich is the kind of person who always has to have background noise of some sort so the radio is always on in any car he drives. I like to drive in quiet but we compromise so the radio was going this morning and we both commented on something that happened quite often. The DJs would wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day. Neither one of us feels like today should be something to be happy about except for having a day off of work. We've been blessed with having many family members serve in the military but none have given their life in the line of duty so we choose to honor the others who have fallen. Morbid, I know for a Disney trip report, but it was our thoughts for the morning.

The real excitement of the day, though, was all the speeders on the roads. While Rich and I don't adhere to the posted 70 MPH speed limit on the interstates, the most we will do is 74 and we have the cruise control on for that. So, we were safe and sound from all the police officers we saw throughout the drive. The excitement was watching the other drivers would who be speeding along and then have to put on the brakes once they saw a cop on the side of the road. More than likely, that cop already knew the driver was speeding from another device other than one in his/her car and it would be too late but people were in a hurry today. And the potential consequences were evident with a couple of accidents we saw on the way back as well. I guess, since I'm a practical person, if I were going 500 miles in a day, I'd figure out just how much time I would save by doing 80 instead of "only" 74 and I don't think it would make up enough time for getting stopped for a ticket or, worse, for being in an accident. But, north Florida and south Georgia got some revenue today.

We stopped at Wendy's for lunch and I realized I was finally hungry for the first time this weekend. I think I've developed an aversion to the outdoors these days  We made it back to the rental house around 5:30 and didn't see any cats so I hunted them down and they both seemed confused. So we made it up to them as much as they would let us during the evening with lots of pettings and kitty talk. I think we thought about them a heck of a lot more than they did of us. But I think the real reason they weren't in a good mood was the air conditioning was out and we don't know how long. Rich was able to do something so we had some relief but it was still hot in the house (we later found out the unit will probably need to be replaced but I highly doubt anyone will do that while we are here since we are temporary residents).

And we did have good news on the way back. Rich called the place where we took my car to have a second opinion and it can be fixed for a heck of a decent price so at least I won't have to replace my beloved Maxx. We returned the rental car after hours on Tuesday so all that was taken care of. Now, we can look forward to a July 4th weekend trip!

Final Thoughts and Observations -

I will usually close out a trip report with the good, the bad, and the ugly but I start out with the bad and end on the good since that's how life should be treated. Get the bad out of the way and remember the good stuff.

The not so great (no use using the word bad, right?) - the two guest encounters, one by me and one by another guest, to people who just thought about appeasing themselves and not what other guests would see with their actions. That guy with the peppers at Epcot who just plucked them off the bush and the guy in the line at Animal Kingdom who just threw his orange rind in the bush (what's up with bushes?). I guess my thought is, you should treat anyplace you are visiting as your home. Would you want someone just for fun to pick peppers off a plant you had in your house? Would you throw an orange rind into your bushes just because it's biodegradable?

Rich being scanned twice and his reaction to the second scan. I think he has a valid point though since I was with him each time we went through each turnstile and I was never even glanced at. His attitude after the second scan was totally unacceptable to me and he knows it and says he will be calmer the next time it happens and he's sure it will on the next trip.

The OK stuff -

I hadn't realized the Flower and Garden Festival was going on so hadn't researched its many aspects or even thought about the food kiosks but this Festival just gets an OK from us. We learn some things but with our real house, the backyard is hopeless for anything but a creepy crawlie refuge and I'm sure they have having fun right now with us being gone. Once we are back, we might think about setting up a rock garden for slimy things and having water available for birds to drop by and Rich has suggested bat nests since we have so many trees and there is a little bit of swamp area behind our fence. But, that won't happen until next spring since we won't be back there until at least October.

The Spinners were OK and a nice surprise since we didn't realize the Festival was still going on. Rich was whistling their tunes for a while after the visit. It wasn't "stand on your feet and sing along" stuff though so just OK.

Having the rental car was OK since the trip didn't tax our vehicle and we now know Maxx will be back with us. But, the rental car had a "keyless" ignition system so while you needed the fob thing for it, you didn't insert a key and then turn on the engine. You just pressed a button. Plus, it had Massachusetts license plates so we had to remember that each time we got in it. Just OK and something I don't think we want to do in the future.

The Good stuff -

We really enjoyed the Ramada so it'll be a place we will book in the future for offsite visits. In fact, we booked it for the July 4th weekend already although no tower rooms were available so we're in the back portion but that's fine with us. The drive to the parks is not bad and there are two ways to get onto the property even though we just used World Drive this trip. There is a gate guard so parking passes are needed and I like that someone at least has a presence to those not staying there. The room was clean and comfortable and, except for the lousy reception for the race Sunday night, everything was just fine.

I was able to get this entire trip planned with hotel, FastPasses, and Annual Passes in just two days by sitting at my desktop at home. I really like the My Disney Experience and the ability to change around FastPasses was very good. With our touring style, we know what park we will be in on what day with such short trips and we just like to wind down at Epcot with walks around World Showcase at night so reserving three FastPasses in a park on a certain day is not a problem with just the two of us. I do think the Experience can be improved, though, and it would be nice to be able to reserve three FastPasses during a day but having them split over two parks providing your tickets could handle it. That should be something Disney could do. I'd love to be able to reserve Toy Story Mania and Twilight Zone at the Studios and then have Mission:Space reserved at Epcot but it's not possible now. So, it's just a good thing.

Riding with the other family on Toy Story Mania and having that family being able to ride instead of being turned away because of the kids' ages and needing to ride with each other. I'm glad Rich spoke up and things were resolved and they had a good time. It wasn't what they expected but at least they were able to ride. I know it's buried in the literature Disney gives out but it might be nice for the Cast Member at the entrance to a ride to pull aside a family like this and explain what will happen before they board. If we hadn't been there, I think the family would have a more negative opinion about Disney World right now. So, just a good thing.

The Excellent stuff -

The Cast member who gave us the Annual Passes. She explained everything that was going on at Epcot during that weekend, and we would have never known about the special prints except for her. It didn't take her any longer to talk to us as she was doing this while she was filing out the tickets (maybe that's why the tickets were switched) and getting our info entered into the system. Having that kind of customer service being one of the first things to happen on a trip just makes the entire vacation start out very well.

The "free" FastPasses could not be beat and Rich has thanked his supplier for the treat and he's passed that onto his sister. We didn't ask for it at all and passed on what we couldn't use so others could have a better time. And no, Rich will not ask his supplier for this for our next trip or any other future trips. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and totally unexpected.

And the most excellent thing of the trip even though she was not near Florida was the birth of Amara Mae Niklewski. Since I'm writing this so late, we've been to her naming ceremony and it was absolutely beautiful. My daughter-in-law wrote the entire thing and based it on various religions and beliefs she and my son share. The officiant was so pleased with what was written that he asked to borrow it for his church when members want to have a more open ceremony. Amara's older sister and brother just dote on her so she was born into a family that will always love her. And one day, she will be at Disney World!