Taking Emily to Disney World, Part 2

August 20, Wednesday

This morning, Emily walked over to the hotel and came up to my room. I wasn't quite ready yet so she went to go get breakfast and I met her down there. We got an Uber to Hollywood Studios. Emily and I both got stopped at security. We even remembered to hold out our umbrellas this time. The lady checking my bag suggested it was maybe my little circle clip that was doing it but I took that out later and that didn't help so who knows.

We got into the park and went straight to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway to use our first lightning lane. Then we were able to immediately get another lightning lane for Rock n Roller Coaster. The other nice thing is that I was able to modify a couple of the Lightning lanes to make them earlier. I was able to modify Tower of Terror to much earlier. It was originally at around 3 PM and I got it to 11:20 AM. And then I was able to immediately modify Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, which worked out great because we could go straight to that after Mickey and Minnie.

We had fun on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster! I hadn't been on that in a very long time. 

After that, we had a little time before Tower of Terror so we went to the villain show. That started at 11:10 AM. 

That was cute. It was about 20 minutes long and then we headed to Tower of Terror and rode that. 

Emily and I both commented that that ride is a lot shorter than Guardians of the Galaxy at California Adventure. By then, it was close to noon and we decided to see if we could get into our reservation for 50s Prime Time Café early. She checked us in and we still had to wait about 20 minutes. 

Cute decor at the Prime Time Cafe 

We sat and relaxed in the AC and enjoyed our meal. We got onion rings for an appetizer. Emily got the salmon meal and I got the sampler that has a little bit of meatloaf, chicken, and pot roast with mashed potatoes and green beans. The bummer was that they accidentally brought her the Caesar salad with salmon. They only charged her for the salad and I pointed it out and he said it was OK. It was nice and relaxing. 

We finished right at 1:30 PM and that was the time for the next Frozen show. But we decided to take it easy and I made a lightning lane reservation for the next one that starts at 2:30 PM. 

We talked to Michael on the phone for a little bit and then we headed over to the Frozen show. That was about 30 minutes. 

It was kind of fun at the end when they dumped fake snow on us. 

From there, we went to Star Tours. I had gotten us a lightning lane for it, but the standby line was only five minutes so that was pretty much unnecessary. It was just me and Emily and another family of four in the whole ride. Next, we headed over to Toy Story Land to ride Toy Story Mania.

Buzz Lightyear sighting 

We had a lot of fun on Toy Story Mania. I was beating Emily for most of the game and then she did awesome on the last round and she beat me. She was pretty happy about that. After that, we went to Alien Swirling Saucers. As we got on the ride, it started raining. We got out our umbrellas and walked over to find a place that was covered so we could figure out what to do. We got out our ponchos and put them on and decided to go ahead and leave. I had already done everything I wanted to do and so did Emily and I didn't want to bother with Slinky Dog Dash so we headed out. After about two minutes, it stopped raining. We were cooking in our ponchos so we took those off. Next, we walked over to the Skyliner. We had talked about possibly doing that today and since we finished everything we wanted to do that worked out perfectly.

It was sprinkling a little bit. We switched at Caribbean Beach resort and then went to Epcot. We walked over to the Boardwalk. I really wanted to try the Cake Bake shop. It was seriously overpriced just like I had heard on social media. But I couldn't help myself and I got the cookie dough cake slice. It was $22 so that was ridiculous. 

Emily wanted ice cream so she went next-door to the boardwalk ice cream shop. Her ice cream cone was only $6.50 so that was nice. We sat outside and ate our food. The sun came out so we set up our umbrellas to shade us. Then we walked over to the lobby of the Boardwalk hotel. It was gorgeous, of course. We walked over to where you catch the shuttle and took the one to the Magic Kingdom. It dropped us off at security, so we bypassed the ferry and monorail. We had to go through security again and of course I got stuck but this time Emily didn't. I'm so annoyed that they stop me every time. Anyway, we took the monorail to the TTC, the ticketing and transportation center. Then we got off and switched to the Epcot monorail. That was fun because when it got to Epcot, it drove around the Epcot ball and then dropped us off. 

Then we got an Uber. He dropped off Emily at Flamingo Crossings and then he dropped me off at the hotel. I came up to my room to cool off and get ready for bed.

 

August 21, Thursday

I'm so glad I've had this time in Disney World with Emily! It was very hard to say goodbye to her today. She left her apartment at 8 AM and got to the hotel at 8:20 AM. We had a prayer and I finished up packing. She went to get some breakfast and I met her down there. I dropped off my bags at the front desk for them to watch and had some breakfast. She ordered the Uber today and we got to Animal Kingdom by about 9:30 AM. 

We went straight to Flight of Passage on the lightning lane. It was wonderful! Then we went over to Na'vi River Journey. 

Pandora

We wanted to go on the Safari next but from what Emily saw it was a 70 minute wait. I really wanted to eat something so we went to Zuri's Sweet Shop in Africa and I got a caramel butter bar, a sugar cookie to share with Emily, and Emily got a frozen lemonade. I was pretty excited about that caramel butter bar because that's the same one I got in Epcot and it was delicious! We sat down and relaxed and enjoyed that. I looked on the app and it said that the Safari only had a 15 minute wait and so Emily said, "We need to go!" So we did. We got right on that ride and it was fantastic. We got to see the hippos and rhinos and elephants and everything and, of course, the giraffes, but no lions. There was a giraffe walking right down the path where we were supposed to drive so that was kind of cute. 

After we got off the Safari, we went down the whole gorilla walk. We got to see the gorilla lounging in the corner. 

Then we headed over to Yak and Yeti quick service to get some food. Emily was super hot and tired and not feeling great and I was pretty worn out myself. I was pretty disappointed in the Yak and Yeti food. The portions were tiny and my chicken fried rice only had one tiny little piece of chicken. 

Tree of Life

After that, we took the wildlife express train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. By the time we got back from that, it was 2:20 PM. We had already decided that we had done everything we wanted to do today. So we headed out to the front and I got went to the photo counter and they found the Guardians of the Galaxy picture for me. I called an Uber. I needed it to take me to the hotel to get my suitcase and then to the airport and so I finally figured out how to do that. We walked over and my Uber was almost there. She said maybe an Uber would be easier for her to get to Magic Kingdom and I told her that's what she definitely should do so that was good but by then the car pulled up. So, our goodbye was kind of rushed. It was so hard knowing I'm not going to see her for a while. We hugged a couple times and cried and said our goodbyes and I got in the car and left and she waved goodbye to me as we pulled away. She got on the Uber shortly after I did so that was good. He drove me to the hotel and I got my suitcase quickly and then by the time I got to the airport it was about 3:45 PM. My flight was at 5:51 PM so that was plenty of time. I went through security and came over to the sitting area near the gates. I decided to chill here for a little bit and then get some food and go to my gate. I got the food and walked over to the gate thinking I would eat it on the plane, but because of the bad rain storm and thunder and lightning, we were delayed. It's kind of a long story but basically the flight was supposed to leave at 5:51 PM. I texted Michael and the boys at 6:17 PM that I was on the plane. We finally took off at 7:53 PM. The pilot came on and said he had more bad news that we couldn't land in Phoenix because of the lightning there and we would have to be diverted. So that was a bummer. Then he said we would be diverted to the Mesa Gateway airport. I thought that's what we were doing. He didn't say anything else and the next thing I know we landed and he said we didn't land at Mesa Gateway, we landed in Phoenix. So that made a lot more sense because I didn't recognize any of the roads as we were landing. I was so relieved that we didn't get diverted because I think that even if we landed at Mesa Gateway and refueled like he said we were going to, I don't think they would've let me off the plane. So I was thrilled that we landed in Phoenix because Michael was already there to pick me up anyway. I quickly got to the car and he drove me home! I think it was close to 11 PM when we got home and Jonny was already in bed so we had a prayer with Daniel and I got ready for bed.

Emily went to Magic Kingdom after she dropped me off at the airport. She had a blast!

Here is her Instagram story about becoming a cast member

Here she is in her cast member outfit, August 26

And on her first day of training, August 28

And no longer "earning her ears," September 5

I will miss her so much, but I am so happy we were able to go on this fun trip and spend time together. She is going to love it there!

Taking Emily to Disney World, Part 1

August 17, Sunday

I got up this morning at 4:45 AM so that I could be ready to leave for the airport at 6:45 PM. However, a little after 5:30 PM I got the notification that the flight was delayed by 45 minutes so I was pretty annoyed because we could've had an extra 45 minutes of sleep but oh well. We took some extra time getting ready and I think it was about 7:20 AM when we left. We got to say goodbye to the boys and have a family prayer together. Michael drove us to the airport and dropped us off. Emily had a hard time saying goodbye, especially to Jonny and Michael, but she's doing OK. I think by the time we got the bags dropped off and through security it only took us about 20 minutes. We had a pretty uneventful flight so that was good. 

We landed a little bit early but it took a long time to do everything. We had to wait at baggage claim for a while before they even started running the belts. While we were waiting, Andrew called on Messenger so we talked to him for a little bit. We all wished him a Happy Birthday because it's already Monday there. Dad was driving around and had to wait to pick us up. We drove straight to the hotel and checked in. We talked to Andrew on the drive over to the hotel but then said goodbye once we got there. By the time we got checked in, it was already 7 PM. Dad had to use a QR code to pay for the parking. It was a bummer because I really wanted to go to church with Emily tonight but it just wasn't going to work out. She was hungry and wanted to get some food at IHOP. We didn't go to our room after checking in and went straight to the restaurant instead. Michael texted me and said that Charlie was on so we got back on the call for a few more minutes while we sat and waited for our food. We enjoyed our meal and went back to the hotel to get into our room. 

I really liked the room. It had a small but useful kitchen and a big closet.

Papa came over to our room and we played Spades. By 9:30 PM, we had a prayer and he headed back to his room and we got ready for bed. Even though it's only like 7 PM Arizona time, we are exhausted and want to get to bed early so we can get up and start our day early tomorrow. 

 

August 18, Monday

It's weird that today was Andrew's birthday but we already celebrated with him yesterday basically. I did a social media post for him today. Emily and I got up at 7 AM. We went down to breakfast around 8:15 AM and made it in plenty of time for her to check in. Her check-in was at 9:20 AM and she had to wait outside for like half an hour before they let her go inside where it's cool. She was so hot and sweaty waiting outside. Dad and I found a place to park and sat in the AC and waited for her. When she was done, we drove around and got the suitcases out and helped her take them up to her room. 

Her roommate Hope and her mom Rhonda were already there so we said hello and introduced ourselves. She's from Indiana and she graduated with a business degree from Ball State. All the girls in that apartment have graduated from college so that was nice. The girls in the other room are Caroline and Emily. They were all very sweet. Emily spent some time organizing her things and then it was time for her background check.

Cool artwork at Apprentice Hall, where she had her background check

Dad and I waited for her while she did that and then we headed to lunch. We decided to go to Disney Springs which was probably a mistake because it was enormous but it was kind of fun to go there. Right away, we came upon the restaurant called Summer House at the Lake. They had a cookie bar that I wanted to try. 

Emily got a pizza and Dad got a salad. I didn't want any of the food so I just got some cookies and shared them with Emily and Dad. The prices of food around here are ridiculous. After that, I wanted to try Gideon's bakery but the line was 15 minutes long. 

Disney Springs

I decided I'd rather go to Amarette's Patisserie and get the cookie dough croissant so that's what we did. 

Then we walked back to the car. Next, we went to Target and did some shopping. Emily gave me and Dad a list and we got everything she asked for and met up with her. Then we got a few more things. I helped her pick out a comforter and a mattress pad. They didn't have a twin XL but I figured that the twin would be fine and it was. Then we took everything back to her apartment. There was so much to carry but we somehow got it all in one trip. It had been raining but thankfully, we avoided it. 

She spent some more time getting organized and we helped her put away all the groceries. 

Then it was time to leave for our dinner reservation at Ale and Compass. This is where she will be working as a seater. It was a beautiful restaurant. 

The serving sizes were pretty small for Dad and Emily because they got the fish of the day. 

I got a New England seafood pot pie. It sounded weird but it was actually delicious. 

We also got some truffle fries which Emily barely ate any so she took those home. And then we also got some Parker house rolls which were absolutely delicious. We were all stuffed and we left there and walked out to the back a little bit to see the water and the boardwalk and then we went back to the car. 

There were a few more things Emily wanted to get so we stopped at Walmart and we split up again. This time all three of us split up and got what we needed and got that done. Then we dropped her off at Flamingo Crossings East and then we headed back to our hotel. 

 

August 19, Tuesday

I'm grateful we're having such a fun time at Epcot! Dad picked Emily up and brought her over to our hotel and we had breakfast. We left the hotel around 8:15 AM and parked in preferred parking. 

Emily and I got stopped at security. I wish we had remembered to take our umbrellas out of our backpacks. Oh well, I didn't take that long. We got through that and quickly got into the park and they were already lining up for rope drop for people to go toward Guardians of the Galaxy, which is what we wanted a rope drop today. We waited in that line for about an hour so that wasn't too bad at all for that ride. Apparently, they had started it late so there was quite a line built up but once they got moving it was fine. 

Inside the ride queue

We had so much fun! Emily and I were pretty disappointed that our song was Disco Inferno again. I've only ever ridden it twice and it was the same song both times. Oh well. After that, we headed over to Soarin. It was only a 10 minute wait. It's really more than that, but it wasn't too bad. We wanted to go on Living with the Land next but it was broken down. We went to Journey into Imagination with Figment. It was a very strange ride but still pretty cool. 

Dad asked the lady how long it's been around and she said since the park opened but it had a refresh. He asked when Epcot opened and she said it was 1981. We headed toward the World Showcase. We decided we should see if we can get into our Biergarten reservation earlier. We got there at about 11:45 AM. They said they don't open until noon but they could get us in earlier so they switched it for us. 

We really enjoyed our lunch! There was so much food and it was absolutely delicious! They had chicken and pork schnitzel so of course I had those. I also loved the pretzel bread, macaroni salad, veal pot roast, and especially the caramels with apples with caramel dip. 

They told us that there would be a program in an hour at 1:15 PM so we ate slowly and took our time between going up to the buffet so we could wait for the show. That was really cute. They had four guys playing in a band and they invited people up to dance to the polka. I tried to convince Emily to go dance but she didn't want to. They played on different instruments and even the long horns. I really loved the desserts as well. It was a delicious meal and I'm glad we got to go.

I stopped in the caramel shop and got a couple things to enjoy later. Then we headed over to Norway so we could go on the Frozen ride. I really liked the ride! 

The little shop with all the Frozen merch was so cute. They had a display of the little bobble heads that I had heard about on social media. I almost forgot to look up for them and I'm so glad we happened upon them. They are called Hoptimists and they're constantly moving up and down, but they cost $20 apiece even for the smallest ones so we didn't get one. I would've bought one for Emily if she wanted it but she said no. 

Next, we headed back over past Germany and to France. The wind started blowing pretty badly and we could tell it was going to rain. We headed over to the patisserie and it started raining. Emily wanted her ice cream so she went there and then it immediately started raining harder. She had to get her umbrella out. There was almost no line at the patisserie but it was impossible to find a place to sit. Dad and I got a few treats and then we finally were able to get a table. I got the raspberry macaron but it had these little blobs in it that were lime flavored that I didn't like but I ate the rest of it. Dad got a croissant and a chocolate mousse with strawberries. Emily joined us and we all sat and ate our treats.

We decided to head back and go to Living with the Land. That was only a short 10 minute wait and we enjoyed that. We found out that you can do it behind the scenes tour for $39 a person. 

Then we headed over to Guardians of the Galaxy to ride it with our lightning lane. It was kind of nice that this morning we got to go through the whole queue and then this afternoon we got to go in the lightning lane. They have you start in the big room with the little show with Terry Crews and Glenn Close. Emily and I were thrilled that we got Blondie's One Way or Another and not Disco Inferno again. 

After that, we went into the Creations shop to look for the Rapunzel Mickey ears. She found it right away but it was $35 and she didn't think it was worth it because she doesn't like wearing them anyway. She didn't think that was enough to get them just to display. 

I had to check out this treat that I read about, but I didn't buy one.

After that, we headed out. Dad drove us to the hotel and dropped us off and we said our goodbyes and then he drove home. Emily and I came up to the room and relaxed for a bit. We walked across the street to Lime Fresh Mexican Grill. I got a steak taco and Emily got two shrimp tacos and some chips. 

She gathered her things and we had a prayer and said good night and she walked back to her apartment. My plan is to get to bed early so I'm well rested to go to Hollywood Studios tomorrow.