Building a Bear

Today the weather was not so nice, that we could enjoy the sun. Instead we went to go shopping and building a bear.

So today we went to the Florida Mall today. We parked near Macy’s and M&M’s World. What we noticed was that a few M’s were gone. There is only 1 blue M left in front of the M&M’s World entrance.We went inside and looked around. Inside the store, there is still the NASCAR M&M’s Car. There are still a lot of clothes and other M&M things you can buy. We could not leave the store empty handed and left with some M&M’s.

From the M&M’s World Store we went to American Eagle Outfitters, where I found some jeans and shirts. After that, it was time to go and build-a-bear. Xandrine found a nice bear and named her Lucy. Together with the help of the Build-A-Bear employees she gave the bear a heart, stuffed her and washed her. After that the bear needed some clothes and accessories, so she had to go through the store to find the needed items. After having put on the clothes, it was time to put all the items in the box and pay for all the items and the bear. I think we spent close to an hour, or more, in the store, which was fun to do.

Then we ate some mini-dogs from Auntie Anne’s and shopped some more. In most shops we could not find anything to our liking, but managed to find some things in some shops. After a while we had seen enough and left the mall, to drive to the next shops. We went to some sporting goods stores, but could not find any decent shoes for me.

The last store we visited this evening was the Toys R Us store, where we managed to buy a backpack and food containers for Xandrine. Then we went looking for a place to eat. At first we were looking for a 4Rivers Smokehouse, but those are all closed on Sunday, so we ended up at Bubbalou’s Budaciuos Bar-B-Que. Xandrine ate all of her pulled chicken and tried all the sauces, going from sweet to killer. I had a Bubbalou’s Platter, which had ribs, chicken, sliced pork and sliced beef. This was more than enough for me, so could not finish it all. With that all, there were also french fries, baked beans (and they are sweet) and coleslaw. The food was excellent and Xandrine ate all of her chicken and left the fries.

Then it was time to go back to our hotel again as it was late in the evening again. Tomorrow is our last full day and we need to find some last items (and check out if our luggage is not going to be overweight). Depending on the weather we might go do something as well, but the last days we have had quite some rain and lightning.

Building a Bear

On the road

Today we did not do very much. For the most part we were in shops, stores or in the car driving.

Today we went from Orlando to Winter Haven to pick up some sauces. When we left Orlando it was around 95 Fahrenheit and the closer we came to Winter Haven, the lower the temperature dropped. By the time we arrived at Mac’s Meat and Produce store, it was only 73 Fahrenheit. Just about 10 miles before Winter Haven, the temperature started dropping below 90 and quickly after that in became windy and started to rain. In the distance we could see some lightning too.

In Mac’s we did not spend very much time, as we were only here to pick up some sauces from Swamp Boys. These sauces are not yet available in Europe, so I thought, I’d bring some over to give it a try. In the shop they have plenty of meat products and lots of sauces and rubs. We also saw Byron’s Butt Rub in small, medium and large sized containers. We picked up a medium sized one.

After leaving Mac’s it was still raining and temperature was still in the mid 70′s. We drove from Winter Haven to Lakeland, to go shopping in the Marshalls store. We spent a few hours in here and finally left the store with a couple of clothes and shoes for Xandrine. From there we visited a few other stores, but did not find anything to our liking. It was still raining and there was still a lot of lightning.

Close to the last store we visited, was an Olive Garden restaurant and we sat down there for dinner. Xandrine had spaghetti with parmesan cheese and french fries (strange combo) and I had a steak with gorgonzola Alfredo with an endless bowl of salad. One bowl was more than enough for me. We finished of our dinner with a small dessert and drove back to Orlando. When we arrived at Orlando the temperature was around 78, which is normal for the late evening.

On the road

Happy 4th of July

Today is a very special day in The United States. Today is the 4th of July, Independence Day. For most citizens a long weekend. And what do they do? They celebrate and we, we will be celebrating with them in the busiest park of all, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.

In order to do so, we had to get up early today. So I set the alarm to go off and got up at 7:30 AM today to get ready. Xandrine also got up early and fairly quickly today and by 8AM we were in the car on our way to Magic Kingdom. At this time, there was not yet much traffic going on in Orlando, so within 30 minutes, we arrived at the parking lot of Disney, where we followed other visitors to get a parking space assigned. Remember folks, you are in the Heroes section, Simba row 22. To make sure we would not forget it, we took a picture of the row number and checked in on Foursquare that we were staying at Parking Lot Simba.

From there the tram took us to the ticketing centre, where we bought our tickets for today. Rows were not that long, so we were helped in a couple of minutes. No extra’s, just tickets for 1 day. Then we took the ferry boat to the Magic Kingdom park. After we left the fairy boat, we had to go through baggage check and then finally our tickets were scanned and we were in the park. All this happened before 9AM. Hurray, we are in the park and we’re not planning on leaving early. Since this is one of the busiest days of the year, it could happen that the park will reach full capacity and the entrance will be closed.

But not for us. We are in the park and we have now plenty of time to spend. So in the park we take it easy. No rush at all, just enjoying everything we see and everything we want to do. First we walk around a bit and saw that we could meet Mickey and there was now a waiting ling of “just” 30 minutes, so we did that. I guess the waiting time though out the day would rise. So we stood in line waiting before we could meet Mickey. Not only can you now meet Mickey, he also talks to you, which is very well done, since the voice really sounds like Mickey.

After having met Mickey, we left and on out way out there was a very small line of about 5 people waiting to meet Snow White. We also got in line, as I heard that it would only take a few minutes before she would arrive. So we talked to her and got our picture taken. Then we walked through Mainstreet USA and check out the shops. Disney now has Starbucks in the park, so had to stop by to get a shot of coffee and a breakfast bite. Xandrine and I took bacon and egg panini (and mine also had cheese on it). We saw that there was already a line set up for the first parade, so we decided to sit down and slowly enjoy out breakfast and drinks before the parade starts.

So we sat down on the sidewalk of Mainstreet USA and ate our breakfast, I drank my coffee and we had plenty of time. After we finished our breakfast the first parade was about to begin and we stayed on the ground watching the Festival of Fantasy Parade. It was a very nice parade and the weather was good and although the park was getting fuller and fuller, there was never a moment that it felt like it was overwhelmingly crowded. Either the park reached capacity or the park never got full, but it still felt comfortable.

After the parade we walked further into the park and had out passes “upgraded” with some Fastpass options. This is free of charge and you do not need to buy the Fastpass+ wristbands. If you’re staying at a Disney Resort, you will get the wristband, as these also act as the key to your room. For us, there was no need to do so, our passes would work the same way. We took the Fastpass options for It’s a small world, Ariel’s Grotto and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

I saw that our first option was already valid, so we headed for It’s a Small World and thanks to the Fastpass, we bypassed the waiting line, which was already at 40 minutes. We could enjoy the ride within a few minutes and sat out the ride. Thankfully the waiting line was getting longer and now nearly 60 minutes, so Xandrine did not want to go for another round. I like the ride, but when going into the ride over and over again, you will dream about the song for days.

After our first ride, we walked to the other side and went into the Mickey’s PhilharMagic. The waiting time was less than 15 minutes, which is very short for a crowded day like this. Since this is a 3D experience, we had to wear those funny yellow glasses and watch the show. It also has some other elements like water and smell in it, so would actually make it a 4D show. It was fun and very relaxing.

Then, when exiting the show, we walked through the park, which we did a lot today, and arrived at the Circus, where we watched the performance of an acrobat. He played a while and was balancing on some wooden boards. He also got help from someone in the audience handing him thing to juggle with, while standing on just a few pieces of wood. I would not be able to do that and not break any bones. We had a great time so far.

Then Xandrine remembered that there was some kind of train in the Circus area which was fun and cooling. It’s a train with a lot water. As the weather was warm she could use some cooling off and played for quite some time around the water and trains and got soaked. Within a couple of hours her clothes would be totally dry again and the temperature was in the upper 90′s, so she would not suffer a cold from it. She had a lot of fun doing it.

Leaving the circus, we walked past the waiting line for the Seven Dwarfs ride, which was now getting longer and longer and the waiting time was 105 minutes. We were on our way to Ariel’s Grotto, and would not want to stay in line for hours. At Ariel’s Grotto we could walk through without having to wait, as we used our second Fastpass of the day. It’s a nice ride and Xandrine loved it. When we got out, she told me that we did not see the whole story and that is was shortened a lot. Funny girl.

Then it was time to go back to the entrance of the park to watch the Flag Retreat Ceremony. I tried to explain to Xandrine why this is special. It (of course) happens only once a day and for this occasion there is a veteran who will carry the Flag down Mainstreet USA. It’s a full ceremony, with a marching band, a lot of Disney Crew and the ceremonial items, like the National Anthem and folding the flag. Very nice to watch, very impressive and some entertaining history. This is one of those things which makes Americans proud I guess.

Then it was time to watch the following parade, the Move it!, Shake it!, Celebrate it! Parade. We were standing on Mainstreet and the parade would pass us twice, so we watched and stayed for the parade to pass by us from the entrance towards the castle and back again. Most of the pictures taken from that parade are made by Xandrine, which she did very well.

After the parade we again walked through the park and we were on our way to Tomorrow land to go to the last ride we had Fastpasses for, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. The normal waiting line was just 40 minutes, but thanks to the Fastpass, our waiting line was less than 5 minutes. On the ride you have to shoot all the bad aliens with your laser gun. Fun to do for parent and child.

Since we were already in Tomorrow land and there was no waiting time for the Carousel of Progress, we took that ride (or show) as well. In here you sit in a room, which turns around different stages. These stages are periods in time, where people had no electricity at first, then the first electricity, stoves and in the last stage HD television and voice activated equipment. A time travel show.

When we got out of the carousel, we checked out the Incredibles Dance Show. People were dancing to the moves of the Incredibles. Call it an outdoor dance party. We did not stay very long, as we had to find a spot for the fireworks display. Now you could really notice that it was packed in the park, as there was no way you could get in front of the castle. We ended up in Liberty Square across Liberty Bell and the Hall of Presidents with a partial view of the castle.

From here we could not see all the fireworks, but still enough fireworks on our left, right and front, with the grand finale, fireworks all around us. A true 360 degrees fireworks display. All with a 4th of July touch, as the voice and music was related to that.

After the fireworks we stayed in the area and relaxed a while before the Mainstreet Electrical Parade passed by. This is the parade, where all the wagons are loaded with thousands and thousands of LED lights. The last wagon was the most impressive of all, as it started with a couple of wagons displaying the American flag and the last wagon was displaying the Eagle. We really have a great day today.

After the parade we looked at the Hall of Presidents and the Liberty Bell and walked to the front of the castle to see the last show for today, the Celebrate the Magic show, where the castle changes constantly. Also a great experience which is a great finale to our Independence Day experience in the USA.

On our way out Xandrine fell asleep right before getting into the tram to the parking lot.

Happy 4th of July