Our Week - The One with Another Birthday Celebration for Me

We had a great week, and I was finally able to wrap up my birthday celebrations!  Here’s the recap!

Monday, April 18

The kids were off of school for Easter Monday, but Brian had to work, so it was just the three of us.  We woke up to more rain Monday morning, so we had a slow morning at home, and then I had another physical therapy appointment for my neck at 11.  I felt bad having to drag the kids there, but there’s never any waiting there, and the appointments are quick, so it wasn’t too bad.  The kids brought stuff along to entertain themselves, and they were as good as gold for the entire appointment.

By the time we left my appointment, it was lunchtime, so we swung through the Chick-Fil-A drive-through and brought it home.  After lunch, the kids pulled everything out of the eggs from their egg hunt, sorted all of it, and got it put away, and I got the Easter baskets and eggs put away until next year.

After a quick sweep of the house, we prepped for school on Tuesday, and then they played video games for a bit before it was time to get Olivia to dance class.  Public schools weren’t out Monday, so the kids still had their after-school activities, and dance starts promptly at 3:45, so our day “off” wasn’t quite a full day off.

Jacob and I dropped Olivia at dance and then headed back home, and then B got home from work in time for Jacob to say home… that way he didn’t have to go back to dance with me.  I got a few things done in the car while I was waiting for Olivia to get out, and then we headed home.

Jacob was supposed to have had a 7:15 baseball game, but because of all of the rain, it was canceled.  Instead, we made breakfast for dinner and then watched a little bit of American Idol before the kiddos went to bed.  I got in a workout and then Brian and I watched another episode of Inventing Anna before going to bed, too.

Tuesday, April 19

Tuesday morning, I dropped the kiddos at school and then I alternated between laundry and blog work aaaallll the day.  After being gone for a week, I got somewhat behind again, and the Disney recaps take a lot of time and energy since I include every little detail!

After school, the kids and I went home to get homework done before dance, and then during Olivia’s dance class Jacob and I read in the car.  Olivia’s recital is coming up in just a few weeks, and she is just as thrilled as she can be… forget dance class… she just wants to be on stage! 

After dance, we headed home and I started dinner.  B walked in just in time to sit down, and he and I snuck in a mid-week glass of wine since we had an open bottle leftover from the weekend.

After dinner, the four of us took Maui for a walk around the neighborhood because the weather was glorious yet again.  Typically, by now the heat has starting settling in, but it’s been rather chilly this spring. 

We all did about a mile together, and then B and the kids took Maui home while I continued for another mile and a half.  While I walked, the kids got showered and ready for bed, and then we finally finished America’s Got Talent: Extreme, and we also watched a tiny bit more of American Idol. 

After the kids went to bed, B and I watched This is Us and I think I cried through most of the show.  It is just so good and I’m not ready to say goodbye to all of the characters.  Waaaahhhh!!

Wednesday, April 20

Wednesday was another day of work and laundry, and I also did some online shopping for Olivia’s First Communion as well as the school fundraiser.  I worked on the class basket for second grade with the other room mom, and our basket will be auctioned off to raise money for the school at our end-of-the-year fundraiser.  We opted to do a “stock the bar cart” theme again since it was so successful last year, and I ended up buying several of the same items that we included last year.

By the time car line pick-up time rolled around, I’d accomplished a lot for the day, and it felt good since we have so much going on over the next few weeks.  I grabbed the kids from school, and we headed straight home to get homework done and cook dinner, because Jacob had a 7:15 baseball game.

The game Wednesday evening was sloooow.  The other team’s pitchers ended up walking our kiddos around and around the bases.  Jacob ended up getting walked twice and then he did get a good hit, but one of the infielders scooped it right up and threw him out at first.  His team ended up winning 17-7, though, and they still remain undefeated, 9-0!!  Woo hoo!  Jacob is very excited about that, despite the look on his face in the picture below.  That's just the face he makes now when I try to take his picture.  Haha.

They ended up calling the game early since there wasn’t enough time for the other team to make a comeback, so we got home around 9 instead of 9:30 or later like usual.  Olivia had already showered, so she brushed her teeth and got straight in the bed, and Jacob showered and got in the bed, too.  Both of them were out by 9:45 which is way later than normal for a school night, but not quite as late as usual for a baseball night.

B and I spent a few minutes with Maui, and we caught up on part of a Shark Tank episode, and then he and I headed to bed, too.

Thursday, April 21

Thursday morning, after I dropped the kids at school, I headed to Walmart because I had to return something and pick up a few things that I haven’t been able to find at Publix and Target.  Then the rest of the day was spent doing blog work, getting stuff organized for the class auction basket, and shopping for First Communion gifts and a flower crown for Olivia to wear. 

After school, the kids and I stopped and grabbed some of the other items for the class auction basket from the other second grade room mom, and then we headed straight home to get homework done because Jacob had another baseball game. 

I cooked an early dinner, and we were all loaded up in the car by 6 to get Jacob to the cages to practice before the game.  Maui was giving me extra mopey sad puppy dog eyes before we were about to leave, so I decided to bring her along for the game.  She is the sweetest, most good-natured girl and she never barks, so I really should take her along more often. 

I did take her along to a practice a couple of years ago and she was super restless and didn’t want to sit still, so this time, I walked her around for a bit to tire her out before the game started and it worked like a charm.  She was a little bit restless at first (mostly because she wanted to go visit with all the people – haha), but eventually she settled down and lay in my lap for the duration of the game.

The boys played an AWESOME game Thursday.  Both teams showed up, and it was a much more exciting game than Wednesday’s.  Jacob ended up having his best defensive game ever with five stops – three of which resulted in outs – and he was walked twice, and he scored two runs.  He plays second base, so most of the hits don’t come in his direction… they tend to go towards first or third.  It was crazy how many came his way Thursday… he was in the hot seat for sure! 

His team ended up winning again, 14-6, to remain undefeated.  So crazy!

After the game, we all headed home, and both kids were in the bed by 9:30, and then B and I were able to spend some time finishing up Shark Tank that we’d started the previous night before heading up to bed ourselves.  

One of us always peeks at the kids before we go to bed, and almost every single night, Olivia has something over her face.  Thursday night, she had her GIANT Sven on her head and I had to snap a picture because it was so dang funny.

Friday, April 22

Friday was a day to do ALL THE THINGS.  My week this week is insane, and I knew on Friday that I wasn’t going to have time this week to do much at home, so I spent the whole day working ahead on blog stuff, ordering recital items, getting ready for the school auction, booking a hotel for my friend’s wedding that we’re attending later in the summer, and just a bunch of other random little things that had been hanging over my head that I won’t have time to do for a while.

I left a bit earlier than normal to pick up the kids from school so I could swing by a local nursery and pick up some plants on the way.  I ended up getting four ferns, a few different flowering plants, and a big ol’ bag of soil to get the yard looking good for spring and summer.

After I grabbed the kids, we headed home, and we had an entire free evening and night stretching out before us which was just what the doctor ordered.  After unloading all of our stuff and getting snacks, the three of us headed outside to hang out because the weather was just lovely.

The kids played some basketball and Twister and I sat on the front porch and read for a bit.  We headed inside when Brian got home from work, and I started working on putting together the bar cart that had arrived for the school auction while B headed back out to grab some pizza from our very favorite local place.  We cracked open some beers, put them in our new National Championship koozies (that will never get old!), and ate on our freshly cleaned back porch.  The kiddos ate quickly and then ran around the yard shooting each other with Nerf guns, and we ended up dragging them in just before dark.

They got showered and then we watched some American Idol, and the kids begged to have a sleepover, so we got them all set up in their sleeping bags on Olivia’s floor before heading back down to watch some TV.  We had an A Million Little Things to catch up on, and then we started the new season of The Flight Attendant.  We were both excited about that one!

Saturday, April 23

Saturday morning was homemade waffles and then an episode of Is It Cake? with the whole fam and my hot tea, and then I hit the ground running again.  I got in a good cardio workout, got some laundry done, unpacked all of the final bar cart items that had arrived, got them arranged and photographed, and then I got the entire house tidied from top to bottom. 

My mother-in-law dropped by just before lunch to spoil me with some birthday goodies… my herbs that she plants for me every year!  In addition to seven different herbs, she also brought along a massive pot of lavender, and it is just GORGEOUS.  She said it’ll grow back year after year, and I’m soooo excited about that.

By the time she left, it was time for lunch, so I got that ready and the kids folded and put away all their laundry.  After lunch, they tidied all of their parts of the house, and then we all went outside to find a good spot to plant some sunflowers.  Last year, we planted them in large pots, but every time it stormed, they would blow over because they were so tall and top heavy, so this time we’re planting them in the yard.

B dug up a 3x6 space on the west side of the house and he got the soil all prepped while I lay out on the chaise lounge and read my book.  We all headed inside shortly after that for a few minutes of blog work (for me), TV (for B), and video games (for the kids), before all getting showered and ready for 5:30 Mass.

After Mass, we had dinner with my parents, my uncle, and his friend at our favorite pub right down the street from church.  They didn’t have a table available to seat all eight of us together, so all of us adults sat together, and the kids got to sit at their very own table, which they loved.  While I miss having tiny kids in the house, it sure is nice to have older kids who are self-sufficient and can sit at their own table, order their own food, and keep themselves entertained.  ;o)

The pub we went to has a small game room, and the kids had brought their quarters, and they ended up spending most of the time back in the game room while we all chatted and caught up.  We hadn’t seen my uncle’s friend is soooo long, and it was so nice spending time with her.

We ended up lingering over dinner until nearly 8:30, and on the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen for Blizzards to-go before heading home.  The kids wanted to sleep over again, so they got their sleeping bags ready when we got home, and then they stayed up giggling for a few minutes before falling to sleep.

After they went to bed, B and I enjoyed our Blizzards on the couch while we watched another episode of The Flight Attendant and some more Saturday Night Live, and we were so exhausted that both of us started nodding off on the couch… that’s when we knew it was time to go to bed!

Sunday, April 24

Sunday morning, we got up and had cinnamon rolls, and then we watched another episode of Is It Cake? all curled up on the couch.  I had promised Olivia we’d plant her sunflowers Sunday morning, so after the show was over, she and I headed outside.  I got all of our plants planted that I’d picked up Friday, we planted 5-6 sunflower seeds in the bed that B had prepped for us on Saturday, and I got a couple of my indoor plants repotted with fresh soil.  Both of them have been pitiful, especially the purple one, and I haven’t been able to get them to grow, so I’m hoping the new soil will do the trick.

By the time we’d finished up watering aaaallll the things, it was time to get ready for my birthday lunch at my mother-in-law’s and step-father-in-law’s house.  She cooked my favorite things – her cheesy chicken and lawnmower potatoes, along with a couple of other sides I love – and then we had DQ Blizzard cake and opened gifts.

The kids played ping pong out in the garage with their cousins the whole afternoon while the adults talked in the dining room, and then we headed home a little bit after 3.

When I got home, I had to do all the things to prep for Monday, and I squeezed in a little bit of blog work while the kiddos played video games, and then we went to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner. 

My dad always picks my Mama Cass up from her house and drives her to their house for Sunday dinner, and Sunday evening, he picked her up in his convertible.  Before they left, she grabbed a scarf and tied it in her hair just like ladies did back in the 1960’s, and my momma snapped a couple of pictures of them when they drove up because she looked so dang chic.  I mean, seriously, could she be any cooler?! 

Momma made Mongolian Beef and rice and veggies for dinner, along with chocolate chip cookies for dessert, and it was the best little evening with the fam!  The perfect way to end the weekend!  I’m so so grateful that things are mostly back to normal around here these days!

And now for a few current things…

Currently Reading

 

This month, I read Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand and I loved it.  I’m typically too busy to pick up a book this time of year, but I found myself making time for this one.  I also started a second book, but I haven’t finished it, so I’ll be saving that one to count in May.

 

Currently Watching

 

With B:  This month, B and I have been watching This is Us, Shark Tank, A Million Little Things, and Saturday Night Live on network television.  Then for streaming, we’re still watching The Other Two on HBO Max and we also started Inventing Anna on Netflix as well as the new season of The Flight Attendant. 

 

With the Kids:  We finished America’s Got Talent: Extreme and we’re still making our way through American Idol.  We also started Is It Cake? on Netflix and we all LOVE it.  We haven’t watched The Fresh Prince of Bel Air or Mighty Ducks Game Changers all month, but we need to go back and finish those, too! 

 

Alone:  Netflix added a bunch of good romcoms this month, so I’ve been watching Monster-in-Law (not my favorite but I love me some JLo), It’s Complicated, Something’s Gotta Give, and Rumor Has It.  I’m also still watching The Wedding Planner, My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Big Wedding, Father of the Bride 2 as my happy background noise.  I’ve officially watched my The Wedding Planner DVD so much that it’s starting to get stuck on certain scenes.  Apparently, I’ve (literally) worn it out.  Haha.

 

Currently Listening To

 

I have almost every single Disney soundtrack in my iTunes library, and we shuffled that for the first couple of weeks of April to get us in the mood for Disney and on the way down to Disney World.  Since we got back, I’ve been shuffling my “Feel Good” playlist because it’s that time of year!  And yes, I have a playlist for just about everything.  ;o)

Happy Tuesday, y’all!  

2022 Disney World Vacation Day 2 - Hollywood Studios

Monday was our first day in the parks, and we were in Hollywood Studios!  Leading up to our trip, the weather forecast looked, well, abysmal for the entire trip – high chances of storms every. single. day. we were there – but we ended up getting lucky, and we had gorgeous weather for the entire trip other than Thursday when we were in Magic Kingdom.  So, despite the fact that we’d gone to bed Sunday evening expecting rain for Hollywood Studios day, we woke up to crystal blue skies and sunshine with a high of 83 degrees… so pretty darn warm in the sun, but not too scorching hot. 

That day, Hollywood Studios opened at 8 AM, but since we were staying at a Disney property, we had access to early entry at 7:30 AM.  Brian had also learned a secret thanks to a Disney blog, that at Hollywood Studios they will actually let people in 30 minutes prior to early entry (and the rides start running then!) so we were able to access the full park at 7 AM sharp.  FYI to all of you who are planning to go there in the near future, make sure you keep that in mind!

As some of you may know, Hollywood Studios has opened many, many new attractions just in the last few years alone, so it is, by far, the hardest park to book rides in through Genie+, and it also has the rides with the longest wait times in all of Disney World right now.  Therefore, we knew it would be beneficial for us to get there at 7 AM right when the park opened so we would have a better chance to do everything on our list.

That, however, mean a super early wake-up call at 5:45 AM.  Sheesh.  Can you tell we’re not morning people?  Haha.

We powered through, though, and were out the door by 6:45 AM to make the three-minute walk from our hotel room to the bus stop.  Fortunately, we only had to wait a few short minutes, and a bus was there to pick us up.  Right in the middle of our ride to the park, we had to book our lightning lanes for our rides as those opened at 7 AM sharp. 

We had heard some not-so-good stories about how tough it was to get Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash, so we were fully prepared to fail.  Haha.  B had read that the best way to book lightning lanes every morning is to have both parties in the Disney app trying at the same time.  So, he and I both pulled up our apps a few minutes ‘til 7, we went to the screen that we needed to be on to book the lightning lane, and then Brian used his work phone to pull up the atomic clock website so we could know the exact second that it turned 7 AM.  (Yes, we literally did this.  Brian had read this little trick on another blog prior to our trip and it worked like a charm every single day.)

Right at 6:59:59 (according to the atomic clock), we both pulled down our screens to refresh the Disney app, and then we let go right at 7:00 AM on the dot.  Brian was responsible for booking Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (I didn’t want the responsibility because I knew it meant so much to B to ride that – haha) and I was responsible for Slinky Dog Dash.  Thankfully, I ended up getting a Slinky Dog Dash pretty easily, and then B was able to get Rise of the Resistance after a few refreshes.  Woooo hoooo!  We were off to a great start!

Since we had our top two choices already booked, that meant we were free to run to our third choice when we arrived at the park, and that was Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway… yet another new ride that had opened since we’d last been there.  We got to the park around 7:15 AM, made our way through entry and security, and then we made a beeline for it.

When we got there, a line had already formed, but we only had to wait about 15 minutes before we were in… and most of the wait time was just the long walk through the queue.  While we waited, I pulled some granola bars out of Brian’s backpack, and that’s what we had for breakfast.  When you have to get to the park that early, there’s just no time to do anything fancier than that.  #IYKYK

We all ended up loving Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, y’all.  It was so unique and so fun and SO GOOD, and it was one of our favorites of the entire day!  I even teared up while we were riding because a) we were finally at Disney World!!!!, and b) the look of sheer joy on the kids’ faces was just priceless.

Once that was done, we still had some time before our first LL (I’ll be shortening the words “lightning lane” to just “LL” for the duration of these posts), so we ran to Toy Story Mania next.  The wait was less than 10 minutes, and again, that was pretty much just the time it took to walk through the long queue.  Toy Story Mania is interactive, and you rack up points throughout the game, so the whole time we were waiting, Olivia was trash-talking the boys telling them we were going to beat them.  Lol.  Sadly, we did not, but I did smoke Olivia.  Lol.  My score is on the left and Olivia's is on the right in the second picture below, and then Jacob's score is on the left and Brian's is on the right in the third picture.

Once we were done with Toy Story Mania, it was time for our LL for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.  EEK!  We headed over to Star Wars land, and it was the first time that we’d all seen it in person.  It is COOL and I’m not even a Star Wars fan.  You truly feel like you’re in the movie when you’re walking around there.

By the time we got to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the wait was already INSANE, but with our LL, we literally walked straight on to the ride.  There was no wait whatsoever, and there wasn’t even anyone in front of us in the LL line.  SO crazy.  The ride was awesome, but it is verrrry realistic and intense because it makes you feel like you’re in one of the movies.  There’s a part that’s very unexpected that scared the mess out of Olivia, and she was not a happy camper by the time we got off the ride.  Haha.  She recovered super-fast, though, and it didn’t sway her from riding any of the other rides for the rest of the trip or anything.  Whew.

After that ride, we stopped in one of the Star Wars shops to browse, we snapped a few pictures of our own...

And then we stopped at a couple of the Disney PhotoPass spots to have our picture taken by a cast member.  I know many people probably don’t like to spend the extra money for the PhotoPass experience, but it’s totally worth the cost to us because you come away with some good pictures of the whole family in some prime spots (without having to ask a stranger to snap the pics), and also because they add some magic to some of the photos, too.  Check out that bird on my arm.  ;o)

Once that was done, we decided to get in line for Alien Swirling Saucers.  The app said that it was a 55-minute wait, but we only waited about 35 minutes, and it was definitely worth it because the kids loved it. 

Since it had been two hours since we'd booked our last LL, B was able to book another LL for Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.  Olivia and I both hated that ride the last time we went (me, because I felt claustrophobic in that tiny chamber, and Olivia, because she was four), so she and I opted out. 

While the boys were doing that, Olivia and I decided to walk up the main street and pop into a few stores, and right as we arrived, a short parade started!  We ended up getting a front row spot, and we were able to see Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, Sully, the toy soldiers, and Buzz Lightyear up close and personal. 

The parade only lasted about five minutes, and then we popped in and out of some shops just to browse.  A few minutes later, the boys were rejoining us and telling us about their Star Tours experience.  They both loved it. 

When they arrived, Jacob surprised me with some Baby Yoda ears because I’d seen them on someone else earlier in the morning and had been swooning over them.  He saw them in a gift shop after their Star Tours LL, and he told Brian that they needed to buy them for me since it was my 40th birthday week.  Melt my heart, y’all.  Melt my heart.

By the time all that was done, we were all hungry for lunch, so we checked the Disney app to see where to order a quick service meal from.  We had planned to eat at Backlot Express, but unfortunately, they didn’t have any slots for immediate pickup, so we opted to grab burgers at Rosie’s All-American Café instead.  B ordered the food right in the app, and we started the walk over there.

On the way, we passed a fun PhotoPass spot that didn’t have a line, so we stopped and had a Disney cast member take our picture there.  

The outdoor eating area by Rosie’s was packed, but fortunately, we were able to grab a table before our food was ready.  It felt soooo good to sit down in the shade because we were tired already and it was hot in the sun. 

By the time we finished lunch, it was almost time for our lightning lane for For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along, so we made our way towards the theater, stopping at a couple of little outdoor shops along the way to let the kids browse. 

The Frozen Sing-Along was amazing as always, and it was nice to be able to sit again for 30 minutes, especially in an air-conditioned room.  That show is one of my favorites because it is genuinely funny for kids and adults alike, and at the very end, it snows in the theater which is pure magic!  It’ll never get old!

By the time that was over, the kids were begging for snacks, so we stopped by a little kiosk and grabbed a vanilla and chocolate swirl ice cream cup for each of the kids.  B and I were still too full from lunch so we didn’t partake, but looking back, whyyyy?  Give me all the Disney snacks!  Haha.

While the kids were eating, I got B to snap a few pictures of me in my Baby Yoda ears… they’re pretty much the cutest things ever!

Once we were done with our snacks, we headed over to Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage with the hope that we could just walk in to the 2:30 show without a lightning lane.  Sure enough, we lucked out and we got right in, and we didn’t even have to wait that long.  We didn’t see that show the last time we were there, so we were all excited for something new to see.

We were seated right behind the soundboard, and it was really cool to watch them work during the show.  The show ended up being really good – even better than I expected – and we all loved it… especially me, though, because Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite Disney movie.  I was just nine years old when it came out, and Belle has been my favorite Disney princess since then.  They played the Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson version of Beauty and the Beast at the end, and dang it, I teared up again.  That song will never not make me cry.  It’s just so good, y’all, and it makes me so nostalgic.

At some point during the day, Brian was able to snag someone else’s canceled reservation for Oga’s Cantina in Star Wars at 3:20 PM.  That place is soooo hard to get into, y’all.  So hard!  By the time Beauty and the Beast was over, it was time to head that way, but we did have a few extra minutes to spare, so we stopped by the PhotoPass spot in front of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. 

It was sunny in that spot so we have some closed eyes!  Haha.

Once the photos were done, we headed over to the Star Wars area again, and we took a few more PhotoPass pictures in a different spot before checking in to Oga’s Cantina.  For all of the restaurants that require reservations, you don’t even have to see the hostess when you arrive… you just check in on your app and they text you when your table is ready.

We had to wait a good 15 minutes before we got the notification that our table was ready, and by the time we went in, we were all relieved because it was HOT outside. 

If you’ve never been inside Oga’s Cantina, it’s basically a bar, but kids are allowed inside.  They have loud music pumping from the “DJ” (a droid that’s the cutest) and it’s pretty crowded and dark in there, too.  There are tables around the perimeter, but the tables were for large parties only, and then they had two rows of hightop tables, one in the middle, and one up against the bar for everyone else, standing room only. 

We were a little bummed that there were no chairs or bar stools because we were all dying to rest our feet, but we were just grateful to be in there.  As I said before, the atmosphere was awesome, and our kiddos LOVED it.  They both danced around the whole time, and I told B I was worried that they were loving the bar life a little too much.  Haha.

When we walked in, our server came over right away, and she told us that due to the insane demand, everyone has a 45-minute time limit inside so they can get as many people in and out as possible.  Since we were there at 3:20 in the afternoon, we were obviously only there for drinks/snacks, so that wasn’t a problem at all, and we never felt rushed. 

B had been dying to try the “Blue Bantha” AKA blue milk, since he read about it when the place opened, so of course, he got one of those.  It also came with a fancy vanilla-butter sugar cookie on top.  We all tried a sip, and it was surprisingly good!  We decided that it tastes like pixie stix!  Remember those from when you were a kid?

I opted for the “Jedi Mind Trick” which is Ketel One botanical grapefruit and rose vodka, John D. Taylor’s velvet falernum (whatever that is!  LOL), Bols Blue curacao, white grape juice, lime juice, and grapefruit bitters.  It was soooo good but it was gone way too quickly.

Our kids are so picky and aren’t very open-minded about trying new things, and Olivia literally only drinks water all the time.  Like, literally.  100% water.  All. The. Time.  So, neither of them liked any of the fancy drinks on the menu.  Olivia ended up ordering a water – LOL – and then we asked the server if Jacob could just have some of the blue Powerade.  We knew they had it on hand because it was used as a mixer in several of the cocktails.  The kids also wanted some of the popping pearls that come as a garnish on the fancy drinks, so we asked the server if we could just have some of those on the side, and of course, she brought out an entire shot glass of them.  It is Disney after all… I swear, they will bend over backwards to grant any request! 

After we were done there, we snagged a picture with a Storm Trooper, and then we headed over to the Toy Story area again because B had grabbed an Alien Swirling Saucers LL for us.  We walked right on, and the kids loved it just as much the second time as they did the first.

After that, we had some time to kill before our Slinky Dog Dash LL, and we were all hot and tired and our feet hurt.  Everyone was still in good spirits, though!  We had walked by “Walt Disney Presents” several times throughout the day, and it never looked busy, so we thought it might be a good place to get out of the sun and rest, and sure enough, it was perfect. 

There was hardly anyone in there, it was air-conditioned, and there were various benches sprinkled throughout the halls.  We looked at some of the memorabilia, sat on one of the benches for a while, and then we watched the short film about Walt Disney and how Disney World came to be.  We hung out in there until our LL was available for Slinky Dog, and it was the perfect way to get out of the sun and cool off.  And it’s never busy in there!!  Just an FYI if you’re ever looking to take a load off and enjoy some air-conditioning... :o)

After the film was done, we made the short walk to Slinky Dog Dash, and we only had to wait about 5-10 minutes since we had a lightning lane.  Slinky Dog Dash is faster than any of the other roller coasters at Disney World, so we were a little nervous about the kids going on it.  They were both excited and not too nervous, and they both ended up LOVING it despite the look on their faces in the picture that was snapped of us on the ride.  Lol. 

When we got off, Olivia said, “We were going so fast I thought I was going to fly off the earth!!”  Classic. 

By the time we were done there, it was almost time for our dinner reservation, but we’d promised Jacob he could grab a souvenir from one of the Toy Story kiosks… a little “Woody” from Toy Story with the magnet so it sits on his shoulder.  So fun!

After that, we walked to Mama Melrose’s for our dinner reservation, and it was a loooong walk because it was on the complete opposite side of the park.  Our reservation was at 5:55 PM and we arrived right on time, so we only had to wait about five minutes for our table to be available. 

Mama Melrose’s was a cute little Italian place with twinkle lights hanging from every inch of the ceiling, so I knew it was going to be good.  Brian, Olivia, and I opted for pizzas while Jacob opted for spaghetti and meatballs.  He is such a sucker for a meatball.  Haha.  The server brought out some fresh bread with oil and spices (bless her, we were so hungry!), and B and I ordered a couple of beers to go with our pizza.

Everything was delicious, and we were all refreshed and ready to head back outside when we were done.  We had nothing left on the agenda as a group, but Brian was still considering riding Millennium Falcon.  We hadn’t been able to get a lightning lane for it all day, but the line was getting slightly shorter as the day was coming to a close. 

He decided he’d go get in line for that, and Jacob decided he didn’t want to wait in the potentially 60-minute line.  Olivia and I weren’t interested in riding it at all, so I took Jacob and Olivia back to the stores to buy the souvenir that Olivia had seen earlier in the day while B headed to Millennium Falcon.  We were done shopping within ten minutes, and at that point, B still had a pretty long wait, so the kids and I decided to leave the park and take the buses back to the hotel. 

On the way out, the entrance was a ghost town, so I took the opportunity to get a good picture of the kids in front of the sign and it turned out so cute!

We got to the bus terminal just in time because the bus for our hotel was just about to leave, and we were back at our hotel in no time.  The kids got showered, and by the time they were done, B was back.  The kids played with Legos for a bit while I prepped for Tuesday at Animal Kingdom – replenishing snacks in our bags, laying out outfits, etc. – and then we got the kids to bed at 9 which wasn’t too bad. 

They were both out like lights in no time, and then B and I went to sleep shortly after that.  When you’re staying in a tiny hotel room with two kiddos who go to bed at 9 there’s not much else to do than just go to sleep.  We definitely couldn’t watch TV!

It was seriously the best day, and we were able to do every single thing on our list other than Tower of Terror for B.  Since the rest of the family didn’t want to ride it, we prioritized other rides over it for our lightning lane picks, and the wait time for standby was pretty much always over 100 minutes.  He could have opted to stay even later by himself and ride, but he decided it wasn’t worth the wait.

Our next day in the parks was Tuesday at Animal Kingdom – MY 40TH BIRTHDAY!!!! – and I’ll be back on Wednesday with the recap!

And just in case you want to see our entire day summarized, here it is…

 

Summary:

Hours spent in park – 12.5 (7:15 AM – 7:45 PM)

Rides/Attractions – 10

Characters met – 0

Disney Photo Pass pictures and videos taken – 47

15,615 – Steps taken

6.9 – Miles walked

 

Schedule:

Arrive 7:15 AM

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (everyone)

Toy Story Mania (everyone)

LL – Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (everyone)

Shopping (everyone)

PhotoPass pictures in Star Wars (everyone)

Alien Swirling Saucers (everyone)

LL – Star Tours – The Adventures Continue (Brian and Jacob)

Parade (Lindsay and Olivia)

Shopping (Lindsay and Olivia)

PhotoPass pictures in front of Tower of Terror (everyone)

Quick Service Lunch – Rosie’s All-American Café (everyone)

LL – For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along (everyone)

Snacks (Jacob and Olivia)

Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage (everyone)

PhotoPass pictures in front of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (everyone)

PhotoPass pictures in Star Wars (everyone)

Reservation – Oga’s Cantina 3:20 PM for drinks (everyone)

LL – Alien Swirling Saucers (everyone)

Walt Disney Presents (everyone)

LL – Slinky Dog Dash (everyone)

Reservation – Mama Melrose’s for dinner (everyone)

Millennium Falcon (Brian)

Shopping (Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia)

Left park at 7:45 PM (Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia)

Left park at 8:15 PM (Brian)

Happy Monday, y’all!