Sunday, December 18, 2016

Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail - A Picture only Blog


          All of these trees were beautiful, I wish I had better camera skills to do them justice.  There were 15 trees by where I think the buses used to drop off people.  They were so cleverly decorated. As a bonus there were Christmas songs playing in background, and it was snowing!!! Disney is amazing, they can make it snow in Florida, even when the weather is in the 80's LOL
Mickey and Minnie tree

Alice in Wonderland tree


Beauty and the Beast tree


Cinderella tree


101 Dalmatians tree


The Princess and the Frog tree


Frozen tree


The Jungle Book tree


Mary Poppins tree


Villains tree


Lilo and Stitch tree


Tangled tree


Muppets tree


Mulan tree


The Little Mermaid tree



Sunday, December 11, 2016

Toy Story Mania Birthday


          Another year around the sun has passed.  I turned (gulp) 48 years old this weekend, and because of moving I felt all those years.  After unloading the truck, and finding the floor, I decided enough was enough.  It was time to celebrate birthday at Disney.  First was lunch at Chevy’s Mexican Restaurant.  I haven’t had their chips and salsa since Staci was an infant.  They were delicious as I remembered.  Afterwards it was off to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  For the first time, I got to park my own car and ride the tram.  It was kind of cool to show my annual passholder band and just get told to have a great day as they waved me through. No parking fees for me now.  The tram was fun and arrived quickly.  It dropped us off at the entrance.
  I am used to hiking from the resort bus stops LOL the giant tree out in front of the park was beautiful. Once through bag check I guess I looked suspicious because of course I get randomly picked to go through metal detectors.  I seem to always get randomly picked LOL finally I was in my element.  The décor at Hollywood Studios was glamorous of course.  Star garlands and lights lined the streets and Christmas music was heard all over the park.  We only had one fast pass for the day, so we just leisurely strolled around.  My son had not been there in years, so it was special for me to have him there with me that night.  Staci and I always go, and he always declined.  He even got into the spirit and wore a Donald Duck shirt and got one of the lighted necklaces to wear.  We explored and window shopped until it was time for our ride.  I had scored four fast passes for Toy Story Mania!!!
  Staci and I had been on it only once a few years ago, and my son and mom had never been on.  I was so happy to get passes for it.  For those who have not gotten to experience this treat, it is great.  For the ride guests wear 3D glasses, and ride in a 4-person car, that spins around from game to game.  The games are reminiscent of classic carnival midway games.  The ride que is filled with life size games that take a person back to the toys of their childhood.  Mr. Potato Head, View Master, Barrel of Monkeys, and Etch-a-Sketch were a few.
Lee and I took one car side, and Staci and my mom took the other seats.  The shooters had a string attached that you just pulled back on to shoot your targets.  The first game was a practice round to learn what to do.  In it you threw virtual pies.  Next up was Hamm & Eggs where Hamm and Buttercup invite you to knock down both moving and stationary barnyard animal targets using hardboiled eggs.  Then on to Rex & Trixie’s Dino Darts to pop balloons in front of a bubbling volcano in this game starring Rex and Trixie. After that was the Green Army Men Shoot Camp where players tossed baseballs to break plates at a green army men firing range. Next up was Buzz Lightyear’s Flying Tossers where he urged players to toss rings and make them land atop the Little Green Men.
 Finally, to score major points it was time for Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery where you shoot suction-cup-tipped darts at a variety of mine-cart targets in this game inspired by the “Woody’s Roundup” television show.  I scored 92,000 points, which I thought was good until I saw Lee had scored over 140,000 points LOL.  We all left laughing, smiling, and happy.  They all loved the game, which made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  In addition to the warm fuzzies my old body was aching as so were theirs so we decided to call it an early night.  We stopped for a Frozen lollipop for Staci on the way out to the trams, and then made it back home, only getting lost once LOL.  Ten minutes after we got back home there was a knock at the door. Not expecting anybody, so nervously opened door, and lo and behold a gorgeous yummy Edible Arrangement from my friends RJ and Megan.  It was a perfect ending to the day.  I had a great birthday.



disclaimer:  I took none of these pics, all were borrowed from google LOL I was having too much fun strolling around, and did not take a single picture.