February 2019, Day 7: Animal Kingdom, Epcot

 We had a morning fastpass for Flight of Passage, so we started our day at Animal Kingdom.  Before leaving the hotel though, we picked up some breakfast for LittleCJC.  I only mention this, because it was so funny how LittleCJC sat the plate on her lap and ate from it from the hotel, to the park, all the way through security and the admission gate.

In fact, we could hardly get her to put the plate down for this picture once we arrived at the park.

As you can see, we had Tinkerbell with us again today.

9:00

The park opened at 9:00 this morning, and we decided to go away from the crowd heading into Pandora.  LittleCJC wanted to ride Everest again, but we decided to stop on the way to meet Mickey and Minnie, characters #1 and #2.

As soon as we were done here, we made our way to Mount Everest, attraction #1.

After LittleCJC rode with Patrick, we swapped and I took my turn on Mount Everest, attraction #2.

With both rides done, we wanted to go see Pocahontas.  We discovered that she had moved since our last visit.  No longer was she meeting near the bridge to Dinoland, but instead she was listed on a trail on Discovery Island.  It took us a little longer to find her, but we did.  Unfortunately, with this move, she also lost her photographer.  We now had to take our own pictures with Pocahontas, character #3.

Although the picture may not be as good, we were still happy to spend a little time with her.

10:00

At this point, it was time to use our fastpass at Flight of Passage, attraction #3.  Again, Patrick rode first with LittleCJC and then we switched and I got to ride Flight of Passage, attraction #4.

When LittleCJC and I got off the ride, we found Patrick had gotten himself a delicious drink that he thankfully shared with us all.

11:00

We decided we wanted Satu'li Canteen for lunch, so we ate while we were here.  This is our favorite fast service meal in Animal Kingdom.  When we finished eating, we found a photographer to take our picture in Pandora.

12:00

Before leaving Pandora, LittleCJC was determined to play on the drums.

LittleCJC really wanted to swim at the hotel pool, so we decided to take a break from the park to accommodate her wish.  However, on the way out we wanted to stop for a picture in front of the Tree of Life.  As we got to this area though, we spotted Kevin.  She actually just started roaming the park this week, so we were very excited to spot her.  LittleCJC chased her down so she could get her picture.

Kevin, character #4 doesn't actually have a meet and greet, but she will stop sometimes as she's walking around for a picture.  With the success of finding her, we made our way back to the Tree of Life so we could get our picture.  Ironically, the photographer was actually facing away from the tree, but he captured some of my favorite photos from the trip.

There was another photographer here as well, actually facing the tree, so we decided to wait for that one as well.  While we were waiting our turn, Kevin returned to the area and tried hiding from LittleCJC behind a little light pole.

They had a cute game of peek-a-boo, and then we were ready for our picture with the tree.

Eventually, we made it out of the park and back to the hotel.  LittleCJC was so excited to finally get to go swimming.

Once we were all waterlogged, we ordered a pizza to pick up on our way back to the room.

When we filled our bellies and were all cleaned up we decided to head to Epcot.

6:00

At some point during the day, we had this idea in mind and were able to pick up fastpasses for Test Track, so we headed there first.  As usual, LittleCJC rode first with Daddy on Test Track, attraction #5.

Before swapping immediately, we chose to have a cronut snack.

It was definitely yummy, but I'm not sure it was worth all the hype it had been given.

7:00

When our snack was gone, we did switch riders for Test Track, attraction #6.

Next up, our little thrill seeker wanted to ride Mission Space, attraction #7.  She chose the orange side, so Patrick chose that I ride with her.

With these two rides done, we convinced LittleCJC into walking around the world showcase.  First, we stopped at the Festival of the Arts sign for a photo.

8:00

We decided to start at Canada, and didn't get far before we decided to stop at the Joffrey's stand.  Since LittleCJC had her donut ears on, we had to get one of the large matching donuts.

I guess we all had sweets on the mind, because we only made it to France before stopping again, this time for ice cream.  We continued to stroll around the world, and LittleCJC fell asleep.

Doesn't that look comfortable, lol.  

9:00

As we were leaving the park, we came across a photographer taking "light art" photos.  We thought it was neat, so we decided to stop, even though both girls were asleep.

So, they took three photos where someone ran around us or behind us waving and/or spinning this lighted bar.  I don't know what everyone else's photos turned out like, but it was fun watching this castmember run around everyone and come up with different movements.

I think Patrick and I were enjoying our stroll out of the park with both kids asleep, so we ended up stopping by the front festival sign at the entrance for another picture.

It really was an enjoyable evening.

Musical/Movie Project Week 3

 So, it's only week 3 and I'm already cheating a little bit.  Before I explain, let's start at the beginning.

Musical Monday - How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)

I had a feeling I wouldn't really like this show, even though I had never really seen it before.  I didn't know why, but I soon figured it out.  People who BS through everything have always gotten on my nerves and that's basically the plot of this show.  I will say, I did enjoy it more than I thought I would.  The over the top comedy was actually enjoyable at times.  I also watched some video clips from the more recent Broadway revival and I think that show would have been even more fun with the updated choreography.  I also have to admit that I've had the "Brotherhood of Man" song in my head for a week now.

Tune Tuesday - Natashia, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (2012)

I was really excited for this one, as it kept appearing on many favorite musicals lists that I found.  I didn't know anything about it, but I of course did some research throughout the week.  This musical is very different, in everything from staging to the actual music.  So, I understand why so many people had a lot to say about it.  Because of the staging, the action takes place all around the audience and includes interaction with them as well.  If I were watching this show live, I'm sure I would leave with a completely different opinion.  That being said, I wasn't thrilled with the show I watched on YouTube.  The orchestration is very unique and at times a little too techno sounding for me.  I appreciated the boundaries this musical pushed, but it's not going to end up on my favorite musical lists.

Wayback Wednesday - Little Women (2019)

I know you're looking at that date going, wait, what?  Yep, here's my first cheat of the week.  I'm very familiar with the 1994 version, but I had yet to see the 2019 one and I really wanted to see how that one was done.  In hindsight, I've never watched the 1949 version either, and I probably should have watched that one instead.  Maybe I still will, but I haven't yet.  As for the 2019 version, I really enjoyed it.  When I first learned of the remake I thought why? The 1994 version was good, but I'm okay with it now as I really liked this one too.

Throwback Thursday - The Cutting Edge (1992)

I remember thinking this movie was great when I was younger.  Watching it this time, I couldn't help but wonder how old I actually was when I started watching this.  I mean, I know my mom was always more laid back on what movies I could watch compared to some of my friends, but that usually applied to language.  To be honest, this movie didn't actually show any sex scenes, but it is definitely filled with sexual tension and foreplay.  I think I just found it interesting this time around since I remembered it as a childhood favorite.  

Friday First - An Affair to Remember (1957)

So, since this is a classic movie, I didn't feel bad about cheating on Wednesday.  In fact, if I had been paying attention earlier, I probably would have just switched these movies on my calendar.  Regardless, I enjoyed this movie.  I will be honest and say that I was multi-tasking when I started this movie so I missed a little at the beginning.  However, I think that also stands to show how good this movie is, that it still caught my attention and pulled me in.  I understand why this is a classic.

Seasonal Saturday - Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)

So, I originally put this on my list thinking that it would be a good book to read with LittleCJC and then we could watch the movie.  In reality, she got so many Junie B. Jones books for Christmas and we're still struggling to finish the fourth Harry Potter book that we haven't read this and she had no interest in watching the movie with me.  So, I did start this movie, but I didn't give it my full attention.  

Disney Dinner - 101 Dalmations (1961)

As always, check out my Disney Dinner post on this movie for more details, but I really enjoyed this film.  I haven't watched this version in such a long time.  As for the girls, LittleCJC enjoyed most of it, but did let her little sister distract her towards the end.  So, although it hasn't become her new favorite, there were many scenes she enjoyed and she started to learn about the animation process.  Even though she has taken some animation classes at Disney World before, she never really understood until this week, that these old classic animated films were all drawn by hand.  So that was fun!

I think my favorite this week was either Little Women or An Affair to Remember.

Disney Dinner: Inside Out

 Last week, we had our Inside Out dinner and a movie.  This movie was fun to watch with LittleCJC, because she didn't really remember it, and was too young to understand when she did last watch it.  If you've read my movie review post from last week, you already know this, but it was so cute when Riley got a brain freeze and the characters all froze.  LittleCJC didn't understand until then that the characters were in her brain, lol.  That definitely would add something to the movie.

So, of course, we made little personal pizzas for dinner.  I added broccoli to some, but I knew the girls wouldn't eat those.  Patrick and I were fine with it though.

As expected, LittleCJC preferred the pizza without broccoli.

The girls also had some Anger juice with their pizza.  This consisted of the cranberry grape juice still left over from the Incredibles movie night mixed with some orange juice.  They were a little unsure at first, but they both drank it.

For dessert, we made memory marshmallow treats.  These turned out cute, but I think we all prefer regular rice krispies instead.  We all ate these that evening, but very little was ate afterwards, and I ended up throwing the other half away.

Overall, this was a very simple dinner night and tasty but not over the top.

Hello Monday

 Weekend Update

This weekend was a perfect lazy winter weekend.  We stayed in Saturday morning, sleeping in and then eventually playing some card games.  After lunch, we were all ready to get out of the house.  The sun was shining brightly deceiving the girls that it was nice outside and so they kept bugging us to go play at a park.  Patrick and I both thought that idea sounded too cold, but we found a happy middle by going to the zoo.  We used to go to our zoo all the time, but our annual passes actually had expired just before everything shut down with the pandemic.  Our zoo has been reopened for a good while now, but we still hadn't been back.  So, for the first time in over a year, we went to the local zoo, renewing our annual passes.

We had a lot of fun.  LittleCGC obviously didn't remember the zoo since she was only 1 the last time we went.  As for LittleCJC, it had been such a long time since we'd been that she also enjoyed it.  She loved being big sis and showing LittleCGC everything.

On Sunday, we went to church, made a quick stop at the store on the way home and enjoyed this week's Disney Dinner, 101 Dalmations.

Hello Monday

We've made it to a new week, and thankfully it looks like another average week with nothing out of the norm on our calendar.  The only extra activity I can think of is that LittleCJC is celebrating kindness week at school.  Each day, they have a different dress theme that they can participate in.  I love that she loves participating in these.

Hello Movies

I'm really getting my use out of the library this year with this project.  I will admit that it is a little more frustrating right now with the libraries physically being closed.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful that we can use our library at all.  Let me back up and explain our current situation.  We have 8 branches of our library, and I am the type of person who will travel to any and all of them to get the material that I want.  The way our library is currently running, you place a hold on any item you want and then when your items are ready to be picked up they have a curbside service where you call and they bring them out to you.  So, of course, these movies are usually all over the place.  Mostly, it just seems a little inconsistent.  Some times, I request items and they're almost instantly ready and other times they seem to take two full days.  One time I tried changing my pickup locations based on where I thought the materials were, but I think I just confused the librarians and they changed my location pickup for me.  Another time, I was sure my home library had one or two of the items I requested, but yet they still weren't ready until all my transferred items arrived.  So, who knows, but again, I'm just thankful to get access to the library material during this time so that I can work through this crazy project of mine, even if I have to adjust some of my days of viewing to make it work.  Whew! With all that being said, here's this week's movies.

Musical Monday - Brigadoon

Tune Tuesday - Ragtime

Wayback Wednesday - It Happened One Night

Throwback Thursday - Iron Will

Friday First - Moonstruck

Seasonal Saturday - A Walk to Remember

Disney Dinner - Robin Hood

Hello Books

Well, I still haven't made it through Silver Dew, so I better spend some time reading that this week.  As for my audio books, I did listen to Exit West last week and it wasn't for me.  I also got through The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin.  I was really excited for this one, since this author wrote some of my favorite books of last year, but unfortunately, I didn't get into this one.  It was an interesting concept and many of the ideas/themes in the book are compatible with current themes of our nation, but maybe that's part of why I didn't enjoy it.  I'd rather escape from the craziness going on in our politics and society when reading instead.  I don't know.  Pacing of the story also seemed a bit off.  I'm not really sure, but this one really just didn't do it for me.  As for this week, my hold has come up on The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Hamel so I'll start with that.

Happy Monday everyone!