UP NEXT -
Arrival at MCO ,
Getting Frenchy at the French Pavilion in Epcot
and just what is the status of those Gondolas????:scratchin



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALLpopcorn::
 
DAY ONE
Thursday October 17th

:bored:


I swear! I felt like I was in a "hurry up and wait mode" but before I knew it, I had FINALLY touched down into MCO land and the Happiest Place on Earth !
Had an early flight - ;left DFW at 7am -

But I was all jacked up on adrenaline and all ready to see the sights and sounds of the place I hadn't seen in quite a while...
Any changes??


I was about to find out -
Soon - I was headed in the right direction.....


**** YYEEAAAAA****!!!!!!:cool1:
448157

I felt like I was about to bust -
It felt so dang nice not to have to mess with my luggage as the Magical Express transpo people had that all taken care of for me -:thanks:

Image may contain: outdoor


and with that, I was whisked away to Disneys' Pop Century Hotel --





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL:drinking1
 
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IMO, Pop Century Hotel is the way to go if you are the kind of a person who is on the GO a lot who plans on staying there as little as possible in order to maximize your park 'play" -

and playtime was soon upon me -


The decades themes were quite cute -:goodvibes.......up at the Front Desk area -
Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling




and with a quick nod......
me literally talking like a used car salesperson getting checked into the hotel -


I was off to experience those much talked about gondolas -



While Im making my way on over to see Epcot Food and Wine Festival -
448164

My "review" of the Gondolas coming up when ya ride them at night...... popcorn::





T.T.F.N.
&
CHeers Y'ALL
 
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Now of course, what would A stop over at Epcot be without some much needed wine -
from the French pavillion -:drinking1
448159

opps!!!!!
let me re-frame that!


I scurried on over to see Spaceship Earth at 3pm ish
448163
followed by
wine tasting at the French pavilion
with
of all things -
POPCORN
448174
YUM - a fantabolous combination IMO


Watching them make the popcorn batch??

2 FREAKIN COOL!!:smokin:

and of course -
ya cant have a stop over at the French pavilion without picking up these two -
448161
😎Booze and carbs ... my two fav words while at Epcot .... yes .. one bottle is a blend while the other is a Chardonnay 🍷



Now I do say while I checked out Epcot, I did develop
😎 quite an art form of walking , texting and drinking red wine —- while not spilling one drop of wine ....😉- and loving every minute of it -👍😉
448162

Had fun basically getting in my steps
and soon 6pm was upon me

so I stop on by
448168


AS Im typing, I just realized a mistake here....

Its about those "gondolas" --



Im seeing that the 'correct name" is
448169;)


OK????;)
Now that we got that out of da way,


whats for dinner at Les Chefs de France?
448170




Details coming up -popcorn::



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL:drinking1
 
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OK.... SO WHERE WERE WE??
448171


Walking towards the restaurant was easy -
very relaxing to as I just had to sneak a peak at the SKYLINER.......


IMO, the Skyliner is quite fun to experience during the day but at night?????
Its pitch black in those things as you cant see where you are going !!

YIKES -
but to me once was enough at night time -


Anywho -
dinner was very nice -

although I do say me thinks the wine was beginning to speak as I found myself
ordering dessert ....


IN FRENCH -:upsidedow


FB friend didnt show -
DONCHA like that ---

Ah well -

but atleast the wine along with the margaritas back at the Hippidy Dippity Pool back at Pop8-)

made up for her standing me up like that ->:(



made it in very late back to the Hotel room......
450866
IMO, Pop Century's renovation project from 1-2 yrs ago ish has really left me feeling underwhelmed -
I mean, their grounds looks excellent.......
their Front Desk theming area also looks excellent ....
450868



BUT.....
their Guest rooms.....
450869
IMO looks like a renovation project done with products from the .99 cent store -:crazy2:
and to boot....

where was the "Disney feel" once you are in those rooms??

YUCK!!


I MEAN FOR REAL -

Yes, look for me to pursue going back to the Caribbean Beach side of Disney cuz Pop STINKS!!

ANYWHO -
enough of that......

With my mind focosed now on the last letter of the alphabet and less on those Vanilla Pop Century themed rooms.......

I caught just enough ZZZZZZZssssssssssss
for a very busy DAY 2 for me





COMING UP NEXT:
448173
Get on yer flak jacket cuz its gonna b quite a day out of Animal Kingdom:smickey:


T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALLpluto:
 

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GETTIN MY WILD THING ON WHILE AT ANIMAL KINGDOM:woohoo:


DAY TWO:goodvibes
OCTOBER 18th

Now gettin to the meeting place was easy -
right after i had a pretty neat character breakfast at Tusker House
449008



Looking off on my left and seeing that line form for Kilimanjaro safaris!
** WOWZERS **
449010

So I just chilled out a wee bit listening to some pretty neat music I wish would b on Itunes:




and with that -
the time had come to me to get up close and personal with dem Animal Kindgom critters -popcorn::
449012
(fyi - its the tail that will just getcha if ya dont watch out)


and
449292
(Hippos are huge!!) and the insides of their mouths??? ==== OMG!!)




UP NEXT-

So......
just how do Monkeys and hippos communicate??:confused3





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALLpaw:
 
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MY "REVIEW" OF AK's Wild AFRICA TREK":smickey:



After a short walk in the woods -
and i mean woods -


We got another brief orientation of the place -


449296
(our "group" picture - just in front of the Hippos):woohoo:



By now, I was really getting into the spirit of things and was totally forgetting where I was in relation to the front entrance of Animal Kingdom. I mean, it was like you were really on a Safari -


Disney style:smickey:
449294
(and yeeeessss, there were lots of times you had to literally do the splits just to get to the next board - WELL WORTH THE EXPERIENCE -)


449295
(now we weren't that High off the ground but.... enough to catch you attention)




And speaking of catching your attention - heres one for ya about Hippos -

"Douglass McCauley says the dung is also used as a communication device. He says a more powerful male hippo will throw dung from its tail to a less powerful male. "




Later on, I found out monkeys do the same thing!!

In short, ya DONT wanna get caught up in a "SH*&" throwing contest between Hippos or Monkeys!!:scared1:


But...from lionesses yelling at one another, seeing rhinos , giraffes, to you literally name it, it was sooooo much fun learning about what they eat , how they communicate to how Animal Kingdom hosts hold down the animal population (originally thru trial and error) -
I was having a blast !!

ANYWHO -
Soon it was time for our lunch out at the Savannah area -
449013
(our view from the Savannah)

Lunch was just incredible! :thumbsup2:thumbsup2
449303

and -
again - so was the view
449016




MORE TO COME -



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL
 

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From the wonderful views, seeing animals up close, to how they communicate etc.....
449304
(how our lunch was served up - HOW COOL WAS THAT) :woohoo:




Overall, had the time of my life -paw:


Now time for a quick break before my next tour -
“Nights of Adventure “tour 😎
449305








T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALLpaw:
 
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NOW....ABOUT THIS TOUR....:poop:
449306:laughing:

I lazily walked... now wait -

I lazily "trekked" :laughing: on over the the backside of the Tree of Life at my designated meeting time -
fairly small group -
about 20 ish people -


Had fun -
but.................

gotta stop ya right there -
we were given FAST PASSED access to the attractions!!

NOT backstage access
but FP access .....

and the wackiest part was that there were a lot of people of this tour who were also echoing the same thing!

Yes, I was thinking it as well, but I chose to keep my mouth shut -



Now, the snack did help ease the frustration -
so did the drink that went with it -
449308



and the dessert hit the spot as well -
YUM!!
449309


Dinosaur Attraction?

STILL GIVES ME ISSUES


Pandora Flight of Passage JUST ROCKED!!
as I have never been on it before -

From there, we boogied on over to visit this -
And.... no - I’ve never seen this one either -

(MENTAL NOTE - now I can see why the cost of a Disney park ticket keeps increasing):laughing:

Both attractions? LUVED IT!!


Anywho -
from there
Chilled out a bit on a few more attractions before we had front row seats to see the Animal Kingdom night time display -



Overall - both tours were great -

with the first one I would grade out as a 12 from a possible high score of a 10

and the second tour I would grade out a high 7 to a low 8 out of a possible high score of a 10 ......
reason -
I pay that kind of money....
I expect back stage access -::yes::


So, afterwards -
I thought what a nice way to end what has been quite a busy but fun day than by spending some time back at Pop's poolside bar -
449310


Yes, thats half filled with Jim Beam = YUM!!
449311




Soon , it was time for me to head off to lala land and catch some much needed zzzzsssss as -


COMING UP -


A birds eye view of Kennedy Space Center from a First Timers point of view)popcorn::


and......
(I put that together a few months ago - check out the detailing on it.....)





T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALLpaw:
 
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DAY THREE -
OCTOBER 19th -
Saturday

enjoying a lot of ah ha moments while out and about at KSC



and yes, I still have my
449313
from when I visited JSC a a kid -


ANYWHO
back to the story .....:wizard:
449312


5am came with a vengeance but I was ready -:coffee:

First timed Uber-ed it over to the Swan Hotel -
449314
Dude tried to drop me off at the Dolphin!!
IN THE FREAKIN RAIN!!!!!!


NOT COOL!!!>:(

gave that Dude all zeros on his review and took great delight in explaining why to his Supervisors.....



ANYWHO -
pickup time came for out tour and i chilled out over listening to the Space Mission (Apollo 8 & 11 Astronauts and Apollo 13: The Real Mission tapes on my iphone -
fyi - you can also get it from ITUNES -


Some of the places we are a gonna check out today -
449315


Of course I felt like a twit because I didn't know


1) KSC and Cape Canaveral are two different places.
449317



2) the Space Shuttle can get from Australia to the USA in one hour and that coming back and landing -
3) the Shuttle would descend at 2,000 feet per second ...🍿

and the Astronauts would literally train for hours on end before being allowed to fly the Shuttle -
Speaking of the Shuttle -


walking up to her and seeing her for the first time was just mesmerizing -
449613:thumbsup2

and -



and so was having a lunch and q&a with an Astronaut
449319

But....
I do have to say......
What in Gosh Greens Earth were we thinking when we invented

** TANG??****
449320



Words cant even begin to describe how IMO yucky Tang is -

TOO SWEET
TOOOOOO YUCKY -
(I mean to each their own but NO THANK YOU)

I only chose to be a trooper for the novelty of it -


Anywho -
after the sweet taste of tang wore off, it was soon time
With our Guest Host -


talk about information overload!!
But... he translated what he does into a language we all understood and well -

the luncheon was quite Geeky in nature but FUN -:thumbsup2:thumbsup2


the time just flew on by and soon it was time to tour the other sites -



UP NEXT:
449614

So......
Just how big is the Saturn 5 rocket??:scratchin




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL:wave2:
 

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In we hopped into a motorcoach on a VIP Tour of the place and we went up and close to see the various places that help get things into Space -

Like....
So.....imagine getting stuck behind this critter in traffic......:rotfl:
449615
(takes special kind of rock up underneath her to handle her weight....as shes traveling along with various payloads like the Space Shuttle at a whopping 2 miles per hour)



Now here is something taller than the Statue of Liberty....
449616
(check out the bay doors)....and that flag on the side of the building??? ** READ ON FOR MORE INFO**


from the "I did not know" files:
449617


and the flag on the side of the building???
look how hhuugge it is....
(video shot near the building as a visual to demonstrate just how big the flag is; fri - the 4 wheeler behind the flag is an escape pod of sorts if the astronauts get in a jam on the launch pad.... if I remember tha right.... so much info to digest)



ANYWHO -
Soon we were dropped off at the Visitors Center to check out the Saturn 5 -


THAT THING IS HUGE!!
(Me thinks I'm stuck on that word, "huge"):laughing:




T.B.C.popcorn::



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL:wave2:
 
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A Leggos Saturn 5 joke fer ya -
449618


See whats holding up the rocket?? Well the Leggos version of it has the same thing -
its just Im afraid knowing my luck
449619
would be knocked over by my Dog and smashed into a million pieces!!

So - I got creative with my Saturn 5 -
and i split it up -
449621

and -
449622

take note how Ladybug just "had" to get in the picture -:rotfl:



and with that, back to my story -




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALLpaw:
 
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Some misc pics and video from the rest of my journey at Kennedy Space Center -:goodvibes
449623


😎Seeing the Saturn 5 in pictures is one thing ....
But to see it in person ?
**Wowzers**
Imo, a “must do”🧞‍♂️to see KSC

P.s.s It’s gonna be fun when the USA goes to Mars
Its not that far off -


449624



and of course, I just "had" to stop off at this section of the Visitors Complex -
449625


and see whats in the lower left of the picture??
Well....
449626

thats my next challenge.....


But whats a stop on over to see things Space related without "YOU KNOW WHO" -----
449627


I even learned how they would be transported to the Shuttle -
449628


449629

and -
449630


449631


All in all, it was one incredible journey into discovery i will never forget

to just think how much thrust each second the fuel expends out of each of those tanks!!

This tour just made my day....
made my vacation -
party:


Got back late --

wanted to head on over to Hollywood Studios and Slink Dawg
buuuuttttttt......

Pop Century Front Desk were acting Goofy about my account so I had to push things back until the am.......


So....

SWGE IT IS COME THE AM!

sorry Slink Dog...... there will be a next time -
there will be a next time -



:darth:
T.T.F.N.
 
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COURSE CORRECTION IT IS!




T.B.C. :darth:
 
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DAY FOUR :darth:
SUNDAY October 20th



BUT.....
why in the World I CHOOSE to be up at 4am.....:coffee:
449797

doing of all things -
the ever dreaded
LAUNDRY word!!:scared1:
449798
But YUP!
Silly me was at it doing that for a while
until the Heavens mysta taken pity on me

as I originally had planned on doing laundry around 9am ish -


BUT....
For some strange reason -

I just felt like making this a day I would always remember -
and -
literally the moment the cleaned clothes were back in my suitcase and I was all ready for the day day


** DCL EMBARKATION DAY**


I was off as quick as a wink to
449799
(ok..... who tuned off the SUN??) -

BUT...
I think what did it
(kept me awake and psyched)

was I was playing "Star Wars" music on my Iphone as I was doing laundry -

So....
there I got an idea -
449800

Why not "Plus it"

my
experience out at SWGE and listen to JOHN WILLIAMS

STAR WARS MUSIC??:chewy: (on low on one earbud)

IMO, my overall experience visiting SWGE area
449802



was really enhanced by bringing this element into a land that
449803
really all I wanted to see or experience was the Falcon
and Olgas


NOW..... here is where it gets crazy cuz while inside the Cantina, I had one earbud in one ear while listening to the Imperial march...
Motioned for the Barkeep -
449805
pointed out to her as to what Im listening to .....

She in turn quickly tuned and motioned to that guy you see pictured as both of them tuned white as Ghosts
as i was motioning to the two of them

ya know...
as I motion with two fingers down my eyes and down the bridge of my nose ....

as If to say , 'Im watching this joint":darth:

Well....
lets just say their reaction was priceless!


and I was at that moment that my whole attitude about SWGE changed -:chewy:


THAT IMO,
if you do a little bit of homework here -
engage the 'locals' a wee bit....:hyper2:
449806



your overall experience will be second to none
and one you will never forget -


Same with the drinks!:woohoo:





and -
SAME WITH MY VERY FIRST EXPERIENCE INSIDE THE MILLENNIUM FALCON


details coming up -



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL:chewy:
 

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I was given the Engineer card -
449807
Loved every minute of it -
caught on very quickly that EVERYONE has to work together to make the experience

** FANTABOLOUS **

and no none dropped the ball -

I just walked on -

NO LINES!!

**SERIOUSLY **


OK --- NOW THAT MADE MY DAY!!!



And with that, it was time to boogy on outta SWGE -


had to razz the Locals on the way out while getting -
449808

a pocketful of memories that will last a lifetime -
449809


but now here it is....
all of about 9am ish
and im heading off to Magic Kindgom to enjoy some

MNSSHP
449816

and its only 9am ish -


Remember my motto?

**WHAT HAPPENS ON VACATION STAYS ON THE INTERNET**:laughing:
(a slight tease on where I will be in just a few short weeks from now)




T.B.C.
&
T.T.F.N. :darth:
 
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** SOME HALLOWEEN FUN - DISNEY STYLE -**




T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL:scared1:
 
DAY FOUR:tink:
CONTINUED -




The Monorail allowed me to catch a few winks of shut eye -
tho a do add that how i wish saying would also be up on the Skyliners -



Before I began to REALLY nod off, we had arrived!
449811
(notice the 'unusual" pumpkin head??) - LOL




Within just a few minutes, i was wide awake -
taking in this -

and


hearing this would make anyone hungry for more -
so off i toodled (toodled?)

to grab a lomng overdue fuel
er bite to eat at
Caseys
449814

and -
449812


being there at opening was nice -


and so was.....
449813

449815
I had the #3
upon a recommendation from others

and
well......

pretty dang good!!
I would even go as far as saying

Id even pick a #3 over a 31 or even a #2
cuz this QS meal gave me the energy to go check out -
449817


there......
I had my first encounter with a pair of bell bottoms id hadnt seen

IN YEARS -
449818
I told her shes now on my blog -:rolleyes1

but......
the strangest thing was i witnessed my very first "wedding proposal"
449819
and yes, there were some of the guys in the crowd yelling out , “Don’t do it!!”🍿

2 funny!!
ANYWHO -

Couldnt believe I was still awake -
and it was about noon ish -


time to head off to the HUB
449821



to grab some much needed popcorn
449822



TO BE CONTINUED......popcorn::



T.T.F.N.
 
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So.... what better way to test your Constitution ...after eating popcorn than by checking this attraction out for the very first time -:cloud9:
449823


LOVED IT!
very cute -


From there, I scurried off to then see
449824

and



While walking around the Fantasy land area, I ran into this -
449825

BUT.....
this sign made it all worthwhile -
449826


I was having fun using my additional FPs that i was blessed with from my earlier issue with Pop Century's
Front Desk
and literally traversed back and forth checking out the NON HALLOWEEN over layed attractions


Soon 4pm hit


and I was still awake -:rotfl:



Can you say Coca Cola??:drinking1

Decided to head n over to City Hal for a while, then back to the attractions.....
449835



My first attempt at a 'selfie"
449832






MISSED OUT ON ICE CREAM AT THIS PLACE
449831
I rrereeeeaaaalllyyyy wanted a milkshake!! but they were only taking ressies at this time forward


WAH!!
ah well -

But didn’t miss out on Peter Pans flight and at least a walk by the Beasts castle......
🎃7pm
soon was upon me as I boogied on over to scare up some halloween treats at the various MK treat sights
and seeing some of the costumes really made my day -
449837


BUT.....
seeing Tweedle Dee and Dum for the very first time also made my day -
449834
- (hhhmmmmm... ya think I was getting some SUN while at WDW??) -;)



And I tell ya what , Space Mtn ... in the dark ? 👍👍👍👍

The Halloween overlay on POC hit the spot as well 😎.




UP NEXT -
🎃Having fun at the MNSSHP parades - OH MY!
449839



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL:drinking1
(by now I'm jacked up on soda and Halloween candy)
 
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So...… About that MK milkshake.....
450108

I do regret not putting my name down on a 90 minute waiting period at about 5pm ish…………..
cuz -

well....
I will let the below picture speak for itself -:genie:
450098

and considering I was on the verge of walking 32,642 steps that day =
(about 12.4 miles of walking)



MAJOR YUM!!::yes::





T.B.C.......:smickey:
 
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