Orlando Day 1: Downtown Disney

Sorry for the delay in posting the Orlando pages. While every discount motel and hotel in Orlando seemed to have Wi-Fi, my All-Star Disney hotel DID NOT! Gaah! But that was the only bad thing I have to say about my hotel.

We stayed at the All-Star Movie hotel, in the Mighty Ducks building. Quack! We were on the first floor, directly across from the swimming pool. So, naturally, that's the first thing Xander wanted to do upon arrival. We also checked out the bigger Fantasia pool, which we all liked much better.

The building next to ours was the 101 Dalmations, and we never did get over to see Toy Story or Love Bug. Oh, well, next time!

We took a Disney shuttle to Downtown Disney, which has lots of shops, restaurants and nightclub areas.

Xander, of course, wanted to go right to the Lego store and spend his vacation money. Which he did! He bought two Prince of Persia lego sets, and put one together that night when we got back to the hotel. Joe was enjoying the wall of Lego parts, which you could purchase seperately.

There are plenty of photo ops in Downtown Disney. Statues mostly, and everyone wanted to take pictures around them. Joe wanted his picture by grumpy looking Donald, and I made Xander pose with Buzz (he was pretty negative about pictures this whole vacation, the little pill!).

We had dinner at Captain Jack's, which was right on the water. Seafood all around, except for Xander who had Mac and Cheese. Then we went to the Harley Davidson store, which was one of Joe's top stops. He only bought a do-rag thingie there, because the HD stores are always so expensive, but they also had two bikes you could sit on and take pictures of. Which we did!

It was late by the time we hopped the shuttle back to our hotel. Xander played with his Legos, I organized the day's photos, and we watched TV. A full day!

Green Cay, Cubans & Some Nightlife

Another full day here in sunny...oh, no, wait....we had rain today. Lots and lots of rain. But not until we finished up at Green Cay.

It was just Xander, Mom and I for a two mile hike through Green Cay, scoping out the wildlife and looking for gators. Plenty of wildlife, no gators. It was so hot and steamy that I was sweating (something I try never to do!) and Xander was quickly bored and whining. Two miles of whining.

Still, I got some good pictures of birds and turtles, and even a raccoon! Xander perked up once we got back to the main building and he was able to spend some money in the gift shop.

In the afternoon, Joe and I took the rental car to Festival Flea Market while Mom and Vikki took Xander to Target for birthday shopping. More walking for me, because the flea market was enormous. I bought a dress, Joe bought a shirt and yet another hat, and we both had potato knish for lunch. And then dinner time was here, time to finally try a Cuban sandwich. Roast pork, ham, cheese, pickles and mustard...it was delicious! See? I can try new stuff!



After dinner, Mom and Joe and I went to the Atlantis Grill to hear Mom's friend Michelle Lynn sing - she sings there every Saturday. She was awesome! A whole range of songs, from oldies to contemporary, and she has an awesome voice. And my hubby even danced with me!

Now it's almost 11:30 pm and I'm exhausted. Tomorrow we have to pack everything up and head to Orlando. Our vacation is almost over, but we're going to squeeze two more fun-filled days out of it!

Wannado City & Meeting Tracy

Today was the day Xander has been waiting for - our trip to Wannado City. It's this great place at the Sawgrass Mills Mall that's all these different occupations for kids to try out. The first thing they did was give Xander $150 Wangos (Wannado City Dollars) that he had to take to the bank. And for every job he tried out, he got $20 more. First job? Detective. He had to go to a crime scene and look for clues.

Second job? Discovering the Lost City of Situ. That's the one he really wanted to do. When he came flying out with his bucks, he told Mom and I that it was scary but awesome. Unfortunately, it was all behind closed doors so I couldn't get any pictures.

Mom was surprised, out of everything else there was to do that was so cool, when Xander decided he wanted to go shopping at Publix. He picked some things for his shopping cart, put some things back, and checked out. Only at this store, he got paid for shopping instead of having to pay. Wish Walmart worked like that!

We tried to get Xander to do Fireman. He waited for a good half an hour, then gave up like five minutes before it was his group's turn to go. He could've ridden on the firetruck, which drove through the city, dressed up in a jacket and hat, and put out a "fire" at the Fireworks Factory. Alas, it wasn't to be.

Joe, who had been investigating the mall, decided to join us after lunch. Only they wouldn't let him in without a kid, so Mom and Xander had to go up front to collect him. I think he's on the Wannado Watch List now, LOL!

Xander was able to spend some of his Wangos - he ended up with $210 all together - in the Carnival, where he rode two pretty tame rides. But he liked being able to pick what he wanted to do.

The final job of the day for Xander was Police Officer. A group of kids in red vests were taken out to a crime scene to be bad guys. The blue-vested officers then had to go out and arrest them, bringing them back to the station and throwing them in jail. Xander really liked this one, and was the only kid who came out of the Police Station with his fingers cocked into a gun. That's my boy!



After we wrapped up Wannado City, we went to meet my Internet Wife, Tracy. She helped me learn to digi scrap, she is the one who does the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race with me, and she's just awesome. I was so happy to finally meet her in person!

Then it was back to Mom's for more pool time, and dinner. Joe got himself stuck in the inversion table and needed Vikki and I to help get him righted. Too funny! It's been a fun day. More fun tomorrow - Green Cay and my first Cuban sandwich . I can't wait!

More Pool Time, And A Party

Mom thought it was supposed to rain today, but we had nary a drop. We spent the morning running around to Cosco and Publix for party supplies, after Xander helped Mom bake his birthday cake.

After a quick nap for me, we went to Charlotte and Ronnie's house - friends of Mom - for an early birthday party for Xander. Charlotte had invited other friends, who had little kids. First order of business was a swim in their pool.

I didn't swim, because my sunburn is so sore I didn't want to move out of the shade. So I sat on the edge and dangled my feet in. The water was sooooo warm, and the pool was salt water, though Xander said it didn't taste salty.

Joe of course had a nice time just floating around on an inflatable lounger, showing off his oddly burned belly to everyone. That's what happened to him after our beach fry fest yesterday (sorry, Krissy, but I had to show everyone the belly!).

After we dragged a pouting Xander out of the pool, we went back to Charlotte and Ronnie's for BBQ and cake. Mom's idea was to make the cake look like a DS, with fair results. Xander was more interested in the toys, LOL! Charlotte had a key lime pie for me, because she clearly loves me and wants me to be happy. :)

We hung out at Charlotte and Ronnie's until about 8pm. Xander was getting cranky, and going through SpongeBob withdrawal.

Joe retired for the evening, but I'm still here drinking a pina colada and posting my update for my faithful readers. Tomorrow: Wannado City, and I get to meet my Internet Wife, Tracy. Woo!