The One With the Shopping Trip Around the World!
Trip Start
Aug 03, 2007
1
14
24
Trip End
Aug 20, 2007
Orlando,
Florida,
United States
Friday, August 10, 2007
We all talked about our vacation for next summer. Well at least I did. I can't leave a vacation without having the next one in the works, it's just too sad! So we talked about Disney and how everyone wanted to come back
The Beach Club Resort
. SCORE! My dad even said that he wanted to get the ten-day Disney passes next year! YES! I finally took a shower at 12:15 and watched two episodes of Drake and Josh while I got ready in my room. It was WAY too hot to blow my hair in the bathroom since it was still all steamy so I blew my hair in mom and dad's room and was done by 1:30. Mike was still asleep and, as you know, no one in my family likes to get to the parks at a normal hour so we decided to drive over to Target. I really hadn't bought that much at this point so I wanted to get some more souvenirs and books.It took a half hour to get down to the Target all the way on the other end of 192. On the way we again talked about next year's vacation, and all of a sudden dad didn't want to go to Florida anymore. WHAT? What happened to the ten-day passes and the condos and vacationing with family? Ugh. My mom refuses to stay in hotels anymore since houses are so much more convenient and the house has to have at least two bathrooms. There are tons of condos and vacation homes in Orlando so the prices stay low, but do you know how expensive homes with at least two bathrooms are in other parts of the country? RIDICULOUSLY expensive! I explained this to them but they didn't want to talk about it now. We still had a week and a half left of this vacation but I couldn't help thinking about it...
When we got to Target I went a little crazy. They just had so much good stuff for a whole lot cheaper than the Target here! I got makeup, face wash and Burt's Bees Chap Stick
The Beach Club Resort
. Then we went to the food section to get tissues and some more bottles of soda. Then we looked at the school supplies and I stocked up for the following semester. I could have waited until we got home but school was going to start the week after we got back and I wanted to make sure I had everything. I picked out a 5-subject notebook and some pens. I wanted to get a planner but they were all pretty expensive and there weren't any that I liked so I just got two little notebooks to use as planners. We also picked out three cute High School Musical folders for my little cousin Alison.Then we looked at the toys and my dad found the cutest Hannah Montana wig for only $10. Alison loves Hannah Montana, she's literally one of her biggest fans. She wants to BE Hannah Montana. We thought the wig was cute especially since she was planning on being Hannah Montana for Halloween, but we knew it would get all tangled up and ruined before Halloween so it wasn't worth it. And then we found the Hannah Montana section and hit the jackpot! They had the cutest little Hannah Montana play sets. Both of them came with little Hannah Montana dolls and one was a wardrobe with different outfits and one was a stage with different instruments, each for only $30. Very cute. Then we saw a few Hannah Montana dress-up outfits but they were too small, and we also found a singing Hannah Montana doll! It was a cute Barbie doll and when you pressed a button it sang "Other Side of Me." It also came with a microphone, a poster and a bracelet for Alison, plus it was only twenty bucks
The Beach Club Resort
. SOLD!After looking at the toys we browsed through the accessories and they had really cute classic rock tote bags. I wanted to get the Rolling Stones one for school but it was really small and didn't close so my mom didn't think I should get it. We argued over it and I wound up not getting it. Now I'm glad I didn't because it really was too small. Anyway, after that I finally made my way over to the books. They had so many great ones and I wanted them all! I love to read and there were so many books on sale. I finally settled on six of them - "The Nanny Diaries," "Sex and the City," "The Lovely Bones," "The Mermaid Chair," "The Devil Wears Prada," and "The Secret Life of Bees." Two of them were $10 and the rest were $6 so they were a great deal. After a good hour we finally went to pay and my stuff came to only $60. Not bad considering I got so much stuff! I still needed a bag for school, though, so we drove over to a nearby flea market. There were two huge bag stands in there but there weren't many bags that I liked. I finally found a huge black and grey Coach tote and it was really cute. I didn't love it, but I liked it and it would come in handy for school with it being so big. Plus it was only $5! I love flea market knock-offs, haha!
We were back at the house by 4:15. It had been a long day of shopping and we still had to go to Epcot! We wanted to go later on today because I wanted to stay for Illuminations. My family isn't big on fireworks so the only way they would stay was if we went late
The Beach Club Resort
. Not a big deal to me. When we got back to the house mom and dad walked Oreo while I started reading "Sex and the City" by Candace Bushnell. It's a great book and I can see how they based such an amazing series off of it. The characters were slightly different and not as developed (or likable) as on the TV show, but it was still an interesting read. I was really tired but wanted to get going to Epcot already.We finally left at 4:45 and were in the Epcot area by 5:15. Today was our World Showcase day so we decided to park at the Beach Club and walk though the International Gateway. We'd never done that before but had been told by friends that go every year that it's an easy way to get to the World Showcase. We pulled through the security gates at the Beach Club and were ushered right into the lot without being given a parking pass, I guess since it was so late. Perfect! I LOVE the Beach Club! Absolutely love it. It's one of my top favorite Disney resorts... it's so quaint and gorgeous and just has such a fun atmosphere. We walked through the lobby and out to the back of the resort near the lake. We walked towards the International Gateway and it was a really nice five-minute walk. The view of the lake and the Boardwalk was gorgeous! I never realized just how close the Beach Club is to Epcot, that's definitely a great perk for staying at the resort.
There were huge lines to get into Epcot at the International Gateway. For some reason the lines to get into Epcot are always HUGE! I really don't get why the lines are always so long to get into the park when the park itself always seems to be the least crowded
The Beach Club Resort
. Anyway, we finally scanned our fingers and were in the park by 5:30. FINALLY! I was so excited to be back at Epcot. It's my favorite park and the World Showcase is my FAVORITE part of Disney property. I love the people, the atmosphere, the food, the shops, the shows, the rides... everything! Today I was on a mission. My two favorite Disney movies have always been The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. I already have a lot of cute Little Mermaid souvenirs from past trips so this time I had my mind (and wallet) set on Aladdin. I'll tell you right now, I LOVE Aladdin. It's literally one of my favorite movies ever and it makes me cry every time I watch it. And if something (anything) has Aladdin on it, I'll buy it regardless of what it is. A gorgeous blown-glass figure of Aladdin? I'll but it. A piece of garbage on the floor with a picture of Aladdin scribbled on it? I'll buy that too, haha! But Aladdin stuff is few and far between, I'll tell you. I know the movie came out fifteen years ago but it's still popular so I was surprised to find so little merchandise from the movie. Of course there was a lot of Jasmine stuff since the princesses are huge at Disney, but I wanted Aladdin himself so I was on the lookout for whatever I could find.
Once in Epcot we made our way into France since it was the first country to the right of the International Gateway entrance. I love the atmosphere in France, it's so romantic and beautiful. I wanted to see as much of each country as I could on this trip
The Beach Club Resort
. Before we left I had looked up all the hidden treasures and secrets of the World Showcase and was on a mission to find as many of them as I could. I hadn't ever seen the hedge maze so we looked for it and found it right away. It was a whole lot smaller than I had expected unless I was looking at the wrong thing! We went into the stores since they're some of the best parts of the World Showcase and they had some nice stuff! I loved the stained glass window showing the story of Beauty and the Beast; I hadn't ever noticed that before. Mom found a really nice cutting board with a picture of Monet's Water Lilies painting. It was gorgeous and relatively cheap so she contemplated coming back to get it on the way out. Once back outside we took some pictures around the pavilion. I wanted to get pictures of us in every country as a fun little "Trip Around the World" for my photo album, so we made sure to take lots of pictures of each other.I wanted to see the Impressions de France movie but no one else was up for it so we continued on. We went into the wine store and my mom found the funniest nightgown! It said "I Wine A Lot" and I thought it was so cute! No one got anything though, so we made our way back outside and took some more pictures around the country. Then I saw that Belle and the Beast were out taking pictures by the lagoon. I really wanted to take a picture with them but the line was kind of long and no one really wanted to wait around. It was too hot!
Done with France, we made our way over to Morocco
The Beach Club Resort
. I LOVE Morocco! It's so exotic and colorful, and of course is the home of my main man - Aladdin! It was in Morocco where I got a really cute picture with him in 2005 and I was hoping I'd find him here again this year. We walked around the pavilion and just took it all in. I really do love the atmosphere in Morocco; it's one of my favorite countries of the World Showcase. I love the music and the art and jewelry. It's all so gorgeous! I just wish they would do a little more with it. The little villages and stores are great but there's not much else going on, at least compared to some of the other countries.I do love the little Aladdin out-cove in there, where the characters sometimes stop to take pictures. The book laying out telling the story of Aladdin is really cute. I was hoping I'd find Aladdin and Jasmine there but they were nowhere to be found. Maybe next time. We looked in some more of the stores and really just wandered around, meandering down the little side streets and alleyways. After a few minutes MoRockin' began their set and they sounded awesome! I never listen to Middle Eastern music but they sounded really, good. I liked it!
Then we continued on to Japan. I love Japan! I honestly have no urge to go to the real Japan but I love the Epcot version. How worldy of me. Oy. Anyway, I love the store in Japan! It's huge and they have such interesting, random stuff. They had these crazy masks that you wear in the bathtub and they kind of stick to your face and look very scary
Walking through the International Gateway
. They also had shrimp-flavored chips, haha! I love shrimp and I love chips, but no thanks... although my cousin claims that they're really good. All the weird stuff they had reminded me of the crazy game shows from Japan that they always show on the G4 channel. Good times! I also loved the Grow You Own Bonsai Tree sets they had. I've always wanted a Bonsai tree and these were only $15 so I thought about getting one on the way out.We looked around the Tin Toy exhibit for a few minutes after we were done looking around the store, but there wasn't anything new added since 2005. It's a cute exhibit but it could use an update, even if it just means changing some of the toys. We took a few pictures before continuing on our way. We spent some time admiring the Japanese Koi Pond which was gorgeous. It's so peaceful in that part of Japan, I just love it!
After Japan we made our way into the United States. The American Garden Theater was alive with the sounds of Chicago. The Sounds of Summer concert series has all different cover bands playing there throughout the summer and the coming week featured "Transit Authority: A Tribute to Chicago." They were pretty good! The week before had been "Captain Fantastic: A Salute to the Magic of Elton John" and I had really wanted to go. Elton John's my favorite! It would have been so much fun to hang out at Epcot, dancing and singing along to the amazing songs of Elton John. Oh well. By now it was 6:30 and I really wanted to see the American Adventure show
Walking through the International Gateway
. I first saw it with school in 2001 and the trip was organized by our social studies teacher so even though we went off in groups and did our own thing throughout each day, on our Epcot day we all had to meet up at a set time to see this show. While almost everyone around me fell asleep and hated it, I had loved it. I love American history so it's always really interesting to me and the montage at the end always makes me cry! So yes, I wanted to see the show but the final show of the night started at 7:00 and everyone was hungry and wanted to eat at the Liberty Inn instead.We had eaten at the Liberty Inn in 2005 and I remembered the food being good, but I remembered them not having that much to choose from. We looked at the menu again before deciding to stop there for dinner. It's one of the only counter service restaurants in the World Showcase that's indoors and air-conditioned, and you can't beat that on a hot summer day. The heat was getting a whole lot better, though. The heat wave had broken the day before and it was gorgeous out! Still warm, but only around 85-degrees. We headed inside and it was busy in there but not too crowded. There were lots of empty tables so no need to worry. We all went up to the counter to see what we wanted, and then Mike and I went to save a table. We picked one right next to the little fountain in there and it was a nice place to stop and take a break for a while. Mike saved the table while I went to get napkins, forks, ketchup, mayo, and honey mustard
Entering France
. While we were sitting there Mike got his ketchup, mayo and honey mustard, lined them all up next to each other and started smelling them. Um... what are you doing? Mike looked up at me with a glazed look in his eyes and said, "Don't you just love the smell of ketchup, mayo and honey mustard, when you bring them all together?" Um, sure... Haha! That kid loves his food!Mom and dad were back with our food ten-minutes later and it was all really good. The Liberty Inn may not have a huge selection but what they do have is delicious. I got the grilled chicken sandwich with fries, mom got chicken fingers with fries, dad got a double cheeseburger with fries and Mike got the veggie wrap with fries. The food came to only $40 which we thought was awesome, especially considering how much money we'd been spending on food lately. Mike loved his veggie wrap. That kid loves his vegetables and always tries the veggie wrap whenever he finds it on a menu. He said that this was one of the best he's ever had.
When we were done eating mom and dad remembered the stand they'd seen outside selling fried ice cream and funnel cake. You can't pass up fried ice cream and funnel cake! So Mike and I again saved the table while they ran out to get some dessert. They were back a few minutes later and man was that stuff good! The fried ice cream was good but I was never a big fried ice cream fan. I was also confused as to why they were selling it in America; I always thought it was a Mexican dessert
The hedge maze in France
. They always have fried ice cream at Mexican restaurants around the city. Anyway, the funnel cake was the BEST! I love funnel cake and this was some of the best we've had. Delish! While we ate a few cast members came in and started screaming about different families in there. One family was on their first trip to Disney, one couple had just gotten engaged and one couple was on their honeymoon. We all clapped and cheered and they all blushed and blushed! It was really cute and definitely a fun atmosphere for a counter service restaurant. When we were done eating we cleaned off the table (which I wish more people would do when they're done) and ran out to the bathroom on the side of the restaurant. When we were done in there my mom got a call from my Uncle David and they talked for a while before we made our way back out into the rest of the World Showcase.By now it was 7:00 and we had missed the American Adventure show, but we made a plan to come back and see it on our last Epcot day. We then headed into Italy, another one of my favorite pavilions. It may have something to do with the fact that my dad's side of the family is Italian... hm. Anyway, it's such a pretty pavilion, especially inside the stores. I love the masks! Those masks they sell are absolutely gorgeous. In 2005 I had gotten a really cute mask pin and still have it in my room. It's small but gorgeous. I'd love to someday get one of the bigger ones but they're ridiculously expensive
Yhe Beauty and the Beast stained-glass window
. We looked around the stores on one side of the street and mom decided to buy two decorated eggs. They were gold and were painted with different colored designs and were really pretty. Mike waited with her while dad and I ventured outside and watched some of "Romeo and Edna," the show the World Showcase Players were putting on with a few guests. It was so funny!Mom was taking forever to pay so I went in to meet her and I saw the Epcot passports hanging by the counter. I had always wanted one but wasn't sure what I would do with it... whatever, I needed it anyway! The World Showcase is my absolute favorite part of Disney and on each trip I like to get a general World Showcase souvenir. In 2005 I got a set of postcards with one from each country; they're gorgeous pictures of each pavilion. So this year I decided on the Passport, and for $10 you can't go wrong. It comes with a cute little book with information on each pavilion, and really pretty stickers with pictures of each country that you put on that country's page. It also comes with a cute pin of Mickey standing in the middle of a wheel of flags from each country. I have that on the little memory board in my room and love it!
One funny story about the store here. No offense to all the Italians out there, but I'm Italian so I can say it, haha! The two CM's working the register were the nicest but absolute dumbest cast members we encountered on our entire trip. It was a guy and a girl from Naples and we started talking about Disney and I told them that my grandma's family was from Naples and we had a nice conversation
France
. But I realized why it had taken mom so long to pay - they had NO idea what they were doing! To pass the time while they tried to figure out how to work the register, they asked where I was from and when I told them New York City the girl said she loved New York and that it was gorgeous and one of her favorite places. I asked her when was the last time she was there, and she just kind of gave me a blank stare and said, "Oh, well I haven't been there yet." It was absolutely hysterical! She said that she was planning on coming up here in November and her friend said she'd freeze in November since it's always cold in New York. I reminded them that it had been hotter in New York than in Orlando for the past week and a half and that yes, it's cold in November but it's not freezing. In fact, it's almost eighty degrees out today and it's almost November. Anyway, I just thought that was entertaining!When we had finally paid, mom, Mike and I met dad outside and we walked around some more. I love the fountain in the back of the pavilion; we always take lots of pictures near it. We walked through the stores on the other side of the country but nothing caught our eye so we checked out the Alfredo's menu. Mike loves Italian and had wanted to try the restaurant but it was ridiculously overpriced and we were kind of afraid of trying Florida Italian. New York has the best Italian food so we didn't want to pay double what we normally do for food that we weren't sure would be as good
Me in France
. We kept walking through the pavilion, taking lots of picture and enjoying the atmosphere. Then we headed into Germany. In 2005 we hadn't stopped in Germany for some reason and I didn't at all remember it from 2001. In 1992, though, we had eaten at the Biergarten since it was the only restaurant with hot dogs for Mike and I to eat, haha! And we wound up being called down to the stage to dance with the performers so it's a fun memory and we were glad to be back. Germany is another very pretty pavilion. It's very quaint and really feels like an Alpine village. We watched the model train set for a while before taking some pictures and heading into the stores. We went into the toy store and I CRACKED UP. Mike's afraid of dolls; I think he must have seen Child's Play at too young of an age or something but dolls seriously freak him out. He can't even watch the Goosebumps episode where the dummy comes to life and you should have seen the fit he threw when my mom and dad bought us a Jerry Mahoney dummy when we were younger. Good times! So I couldn't help but laugh and give Mike the hardest time ever when I saw all the dolls in there! Even better than the dolls, though, were the doll heads just sitting on the table. Priceless!
We walked around for a while before heading into Sommerfest. It smelled really good in there but they didn't have much to choose from so we continued on our way. We walked through a few more stores and stopped to look at the Arribas Brothers stand
Impressions de France, the movie in France
. The Arribas Brothers is my favorite store at Disney. They make the most gorgeous crystal and blown glass jewelry and figurines, and I always like to get something new on each trip. I didn't see anything I liked though, so we continued on and took a few more pictures.Done with Germany, we looked around the Outpost for a few minutes. I had wanted to see the storytellers there but it was too late in the day and their last show had been a good two hours ago. Maybe next time. We played around with the drums and other instruments, and admired the carved wood sculptures they had for sale. They were so pretty! I always say that they should expand the Africa section into an actual pavilion instead of just a little outpost, but then I remember Animal Kingdom. You can't beat that! It would just be cool to have an African-inspired counter service restaurant here instead of another overpriced McDonalds. What can you do? Anyway, they had really cute Lion King topiaries there announcing the new Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. They were also giving out nice Animal Kingdom Lodge postcards for free, so we took a few before continuing on our way.
After a quick stop at the Outpost we made our way over to China. Again, China is another country I have no interest in actually visiting but it's one of my favorites at Epcot! I remembered the store being my favorite in 2005. I wound up buying so much stuff there, including a tiny Buddha statue for my room and the medicine balls that you roll around in your hands for stress relief
A poster for Impressions de France
. I love those things! So yes, off we went to Ch-Ch-China. One of my favorites. Before we could head inside we had to take some pictures in front of the big temple because, well, it's gorgeous. And I needed pictures in every country to continue my "Trip Around the World" extravaganza! So we took some pictures in front of the temple and by the pond and then headed into the Tomb Warriors exhibit. They had some cool stuff in there. It was all about the Spirits of Ancient China and they had some information on the real and legendary warriors of China's past and a lot of figures and sculptures. There wasn't much else, though... besides a huge chair that mom took a break on!After spending a few minutes looking around the exhibit we made our way back outside and took some more pictures before heading into the store. I love how the store here is so big and winds around the entire pavilion, with all the different items being stored in different rooms. It's nice to stay in the air-conditioning for as long as possible! As usual, they had such nice stuff. It was a lot of fun to look around and take it all in. I loved some of the decorations and displays in there. I love Chinese art and I always thought that their clothing and designs were so pretty. As nice as everything was, two things really stuck out, the first being the Chinese take-out bags. The take-out bags looked like little Chinese take-out boxes but were covered in different designed silks
France
. They were so cute! I would have gotten one because they really were pretty and unlike anything I had seen before, but they were really small and I wouldn't be able to fit anything it in so I knew I'd just be wasting my money. I'm glad I didn't get it because they were $20 here and I just recently saw the same exact bags at Target for $1.99! I guess they're not as authentic as I thought... The other thing that stuck out was the little "Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil" statues. There were ones with Buddha's, monkeys and panda bears. They were all cute, but they all had one extra little guy... kind of holding his crotch. I've never seen these statues with a fourth figure and Mike and I couldn't figure out what it represented. We decided on "Pee No Evil" and called it a day. Yes, we're very mature... haha! If any of you know what this fourth figure represents, please feel free to enlighten me!By the time we were done in China it was 8:00 and there was an hour left until Illuminations. My family aren't at all fans of the fireworks (they think if you've seen one display you've seen them all), but there was no way I was missing Illuminations, one of my absolute favorite things at Disney. I saw it for the first time with school in 2001 and had just been completely mesmerized, and I had cried hysterically during the show in 2005. And then I cried and cried and cried when I watched the video my dad took of the show. And then I cried and cried and cried when I watched the show on Youtube
France
. And then I cried and cried and cried when I bought the soundtrack and listened to it on my MP3 player. You get the picture... and I wasn't missing it! We stopped to get some water at a stand in China and then saw that there were benches up against the lagoon. What a great view that would offer... we took a seat and decided to just wait it out. I wanted to be right up against the gate. Mom, dad and Mike wouldn't have cared if we watched it from the back of one of the pavilions. They wouldn't have minded if we watched it from the Beach Club parking lot! But I wanted to see the fireworks, the globe and all the special effects (and hear my favorite soundtrack!) so we sat our butts down and prepared to wait.Mom, dad and Mike hadn't realized that Illuminations was at 9:00. If they were unexcited to wait for the fireworks, they were even more unexcited about just sitting on a bench in the heat for an hour. My family's the best, though, so they decided to do it for me. Aw, they really are the greatest! Mom and I had wanted to pick up a few things at some of the stores so we decided to take a walk while dad and Mike saved our bench. I felt bad that they'd just be sitting there, though, so they walked with us to Germany and found a good spot there. Then mom and I continued on our way. First we went to Japan so I could get my Bonsai Tree kit. It was only $15 and for the past three summers in Orlando I'd seen these kits and wanted one but never managed to pick one up
Mom and dad in France
. Now was the time! While we were there mom also picked up a little bottle of Sake. We'd always heard of Sake and wanted to try some. They had a whole Sake bar but we know absolutely nothing about Sake so we just stuck with the regular bottle for $4. You can't beat that price.Then we headed over to France. Mom was still thinking about getting the Monet cutting board but she wasn't sure. She's not big on souvenirs unless they're useful. I encouraged her to buy it since it was a nice, useful souvenir and she decided to get it. It now has a prime spot in our kitchen and it's sitting pretty, let me tell you. It's GORGEOUS! But it's a Monet, so how could it not be? On our way to France I called dad and told him and Mike to meet us there. They had wanted to get a spot closer to the International Gateway so we could just run out after the fireworks and avoid some of the crowds, and France was right next to the Gateway so it worked out perfectly. Mom and I met dad and Mike over there and they had gotten a great spot right up against the gate. Perfect! Mike and I saved our spot while mom and dad ran into the stores in France to get the cutting board.
They were back in no time and we all just hung out. It was really hot and buggy out there; there were lots of shrubs and trees by us and you could see the bugs flying around. And there was a HUGE spider web, with humongous spider, in the trees. HUGE! I wish I would have taken a picture because it was unlike anything I'd ever seen, and considering the fact that I have the worst bug phobia EVER..
Mom with a cute nightgown in France!
. I wasn't happy! But I just ignored it and took some pictures. The surrounding area was still pretty empty except for a really cute family who came to stand next to us. It was a husband and wife in their late-twenties with their young son, who was around two. They took turns taking pictures of each other so I offered to take a picture of the three of them together. It took a few shots to get their little boy to actually look at the camera but it came out cute. I love taking family pictures for people, it just seems like a nice way to pass on the magic. They offered to take a picture of us, too, but we were all hot and sweaty so we thanked them but passed.At 9:00 the show finally started and I LOVED it! Absolutely loved it. The music's amazing, the fireworks are amazing, the special effects are amazing... it's all AMAZING! "We Go On" always makes me cry and cry and cry, but not as much as "Promise" does. I was in tears as we left Epcot. I'm telling you... that's gonna be my wedding song! Seriously. The only complaint I had was that the show needs a few more fireworks. The globe was out there on it's own for too long and you really can't see what's on it so it gets a little tedious. It could use an update but it's still a great show!
The show was over by 9:15 and we quickly made our way out of Epcot. It was crowded but no ttoo bad, and it was another short five-minute walk back to the Beach Club. We walked down by the water instead of taking the main path and had a gorgeous view of the lagoon and Boardwalk
Walking around France
. I definitely recommend taking this walk! Back at the Beach Club they were having an awesome party on the beach! They were giving out popcorn and water (not sure if it was free or you had to pay) and there was a huge screen set up in front of lounge chairs. Everyone was watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2! I would have loved to sit out on the beach with my toes in the sand watching Pirates, looking out over the lagoon at the gorgeous view of the Boardwalk. What could be better than watching one of the best Disney movies AT Disney?! Good times! Dad and I wanted to stay but mom and Mike were tired so we continued on our way. I had no idea that they did this and I'd definitely love to spend a night watching a movie on the beach on our next trip.We headed into the Beach Club lobby and I had to run into the bathroom, but despite the fact that we've been to the Beach Club countless times before I couldn't remember where the bathroom was. Dad knew exactly where it was but I asked a passing maid before he could show me. She didn't speak much English and she had no idea where the bathroom was. It was weird considering she worked there but no big deal. Dad pointed me in the right direction and there was a woman doing color portraits right near the bathroom. She was drawing the picture of someone's dog and it was absolutely adorable! We talked about coming back and getting one done of us but it was $200 for two people and we didn't feel like spending that
France
. I ran into the bathroom and then we made our way out into the parking lot. Right by our car was the cutest little rabbit, it was adorable! I was surprised by the amount of animals and wildlife we saw in Orlando. You think of it as being a big corporate resort area and forget the fact that it's still in the middle of a huge wildlife preserve. We tried to usher the rabbit away so we could pull out and then we headed on.We were back at the house by 10:00 and were all exhausted! I couldn't remember the last time I was so tired so early, but all the walking was starting to take its toll. We'd been sleeping late and getting to the parks after noon, so I could only imagine how tired we'd be if we had been getting to the parks at opening. Mom and dad walked Oreo and then dad wound up going right to bed. Mom, Mike and I all tasted the Sake but I hated it. It was like a weird wine... just not for me. Mom and Mike loved it, though. Then mom and Mike played their own game of California Rummy; our tournament would have to commence tomorrow. I put my pajamas on and read some of "Sex and the City" in my room before watching TV. I finally fell asleep at 2:00. It had been a great day.
