Getting dropped off at the airport, and Riley and Mike say goodbye to us for the next 2 weeks.
We found some more Habichts inside…
And we all got on the plane together.
We arrived in Orlando and took the airport tram to bagage claim…
And were then greeted by our driver.
We had decided to travel in style!!
The inside of the limo was ready for a party…
But Kelli was ready for a nap.
To give you an idea of how tall it was on the inside.
I should have known this shot was coming and been more prepared as we arrived at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.
My parents were waiting for us when we arrived.
We got checked in…
And then walked to Downtown Disney for some lunch.
Some lunchtime beerporn.
Lunch was a quick snack with horrible service…
So we left and headed back to the resort…
And continued producing beerporn.
Kelli, happy with the treat my parents gave us.
We arrived at the room and found a nice picture my Mother had put on our door.
We had a one bedroom…
Which was more than large enough…
For our needs.
I always love trying to find the hidden Mickeys.
Heading out for our first dinner.
We arrived for dinner to find everyone already present…
At the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot.
One of the best dinners of the trip.
Amber loves to hang out with Aunt Kel.
We headed next door to The Seas…
And Amber rode with Kelli and me.
Being goofy after the ride.
We started our journey out of the park…
And then stopped to ride Spaceship Earth.
One last picture before leaving Epcot.
The next morning Kelli and I went for a run around Downtown Disney.
And then went over to my brother’s place to say hi.
Of course, Kelli was ready for some pool time.
We didn’t like the location of our original room…
So we moved to another room closer to the pool and lodge. (Same exact layout as the old room so no interior pictures of the new room).
Here is the view from our new room.
I proceeded to relax and enjoy a beer.
Getting ready to play Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
I had to swap out our alarm clock for one that took the older style iPod connector for Kelli.
Time to head out for dinner…
And Amber and Aunt Kel are inseperable.
We rode the resort bus most of the time we were in Disney.
Dinner was at Epcot, but we had time to kill…
So I tried some sodas from around the world.
Like the shirts?
It was the Epcot International Food & Wine festival, so we made sure to drink beers from all over the world.
Before dinner that night in Norway we got a group shot.
During dinner, Amber made sure to get her picture with all her favorite Disney characters.
Good thing there just happened to be 7 of us. Came you name all 7 dwarfs? (thanks to Erin for this picture)
Dessert anyone?
Afterwards we went for a ride on Norway’s Maelstrom water ride.
Afterwards, more beer.
Amber was just too tired to make it the whole night.
I took the label of the bottle and put it on my cup.
Sunday came, and it was game time. Kelli and I headed to ESPN Club for the Ravens game.
The line grew quickly, and I was glad we got there early…
Because we scored the best seats in the house!!!
Some football time beerporn.
We got the lobster to snack on while waiting for the game to start.
While we were watching the game, my parents were watching Taylor and Amber.
And Mathew and Erin were out grocery shopping for everyone.
But Kelli and I just continued to drink our beer.
I was part of a trivia contest to guess the top 5 best clutch QBs of all time.
I had a winning guess with…
John Elway.
For my effort I won a special ESPN Club pin.
Afterwards we walked around Epcot for a while…
And picked up gifts for each family…
Customized Disney ornaments.
We then headed back to the room and relaxed.
After coming home, relaxing, and cleaning up, it was time for dinner.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom just in time for the Electric Light Parade.
We had no time for that, and headed straight to Cinderella’s Castle for dinner.
Then we had to wait to get seated.
It was really cool having dinner inside the castle.
The back of the menu.
There were lots of Disney princesses around…
…but the food was not as good as the ambiance.
Amber getting tired again.
Dessert anyone?
A quick picture of the inside before we left.
We headed home for the night after dinner.
We went for a run again the next morning, and Kelli worked out afterwards.
Taking notes on which cards we needed to complete our sets for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
Kelli’s Disney themed manicure.
My father’s brother seems to have purchased a Disney brick outside the Magic Kingdom.
Mathew made sure to get a good reference point of where it is located.
Instead of a family dinner that day, we did a family lunch at Tony’s on Main Street.
It was then time to have some fun in the park.
The Halloween party was that night, and we lined up to get our special Halloween cards.
106 trombones led the big parade!!!
The special cards we got for 2013.
We had to test them right away, of course.
From there it was on to space mountain…
I was actually in the car behind them. The monitors had it backwards.
Mathew and Taylor played some air hockey.
At the start of the Halloween party they give out bags for you to go trick or treating.
It was time for the display on the front of the castle…
Which was followed by fireworks.
Kelli and I had some free time to ourselves the next day…
So we rode Thunder Mountain…
We then left the Magic Kingdom…
And headed back to Epcot…
For some more good beer.
Location based beerporn.
We all love hopping from country to country trying all the different food and drinks.
The shirt that Mathew and I got.
Fried cheese, yummm!
At each country we made sure to get our passports stamped.
In the back alleys of England.
Escargot, which Erin set her’s up like a hidden Mickey.
While we were out having a fun night, my parents took Amber and Taylor to a Halloween party.
Back in Epcot, it was time for sushi.
Back at the Halloween party it was time for treats!!
Lobster rolls anyone?
Wilson Phillips was playing that night, so we stopped and listened to the show.
Then got more food…
And more drinks.
Last beer for the night….
And then it was time to take a quick cab ride home. (we didn’t want to wait an hour for the line at the bus stop)
Seeing we were in a cab, we went straight to Downtown Disney for more drinks…
Which passed through Mathew rather quickly.
The next day it was time for the women to go to tea.
The had a lovely time, and Amber was semi-good.
They had little savory snacks…
And the men went to the Magic Kingdom for some treats of our own.
Such a proper looking group.
Meanwhile, we were playing a grueling round of Sorcerers.
The ladies finished up with dessert…
And then checked out the rest of the Grand Floridian.
Amber posed on the steps…
And we posed in front of the castle.
After we all got back together I took one of the only shots I have with everyone in the picture.
All the cards, in case you wanted to see them.
We were heading to Disney Quest later, but first…
It was time for dinner at Splitsville.
After Splitsville…
It was over to Disney Quest for games…
And odd attractions. Overall I wouldn’t recommend Disney Quest, it seemed to be a waste of time.
Kelli and I had a date that night to go see Cirque du Soleil La Nouba.
No pictures during the show, but here is the building in which the show occurs.
Our third time running on the trip (and I still came home with a few extra pounds).
After our run we decided to take the boat over to Downtown Disney.
It’s faster to walk, but we were in no rush.
We headed to Earl of Sandwich…
For their great sandwiches…
And to meet Kelli’s cousin Amy.
We then caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom…
Got in a few rounds of the next level of Sorcerers…
And hopped the monorail…
Over to Epcot where we bumped into some fellow Ravens Roost members.
The Pointer Sisters were playing that night…
And while the kids got to meet Chip and Dale…
Kelli got to meet The Pointer Sisters.
Kelli found out another cousin was in the area, so we took a cab to Downtown Disney…
To meet up with her cousin Mark.
They exchanged information so they wouldn’t be out of touch again.
Walking home that night in a drunken haze.
Lunch the next day was at England in Epcot.
The food was really good…
And then we headed off to have some more Epcot fun.
My mother bought me a bottle of cologne to have personalized.
It read, “May your Beauty always find the Beast in you!” (She is a big fan of Beauty and the Beast)
We continued our walk to Morroco…
Where everyone got henna tattoos.
That sure is a lot of sparkle.
Over in Japan there was a drum demo…
That Taylor and Amber enjoyed.
Another of the few shots with all of in one picture.
Stopping by the beer stand…
To acquire some subjects for beerporn.
Night Ranger was on stage, so we stopped to hear their acoustic set.
Here is the list of bands that played during the food and wine festival.
Epcot may not have Sorcerers, but they have their own secret agent game.
Notice the balcony at the top…
Finishing a part of the game activates a real time event. It’s funny that I just did something in a game that everyone standing around noticed and pointed at not knowing why it was happening.
When you were done with the game there were discreet drop boxes to get rid of the phone.
My parents had been playing the game with us, but they were leaving for the night.
What to look for if you want to play the game at Epcot.
Selfie with the golf ball.
Kelli and I headed back to Downtown Disney for some late night eats and romance at our special spot, Wolfgang Puck.
At this point we had been on vacation for 7 days, and it shows!!!
The next morning Taylor was getting in some Sorcerers when…
Someone gave Mathew this cheat sheet for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom!!!
Shortly after, someone else gave him this one. This is absolutely needed on the harder levels.
While they were playing the game, Kelli and I went with my parents to look at other properties. This is the Grand Floridian.
The is Wilderness Lodge.
This is the backside of Wilderness Lodge.
From there is was over to the Disney Boardwalk for lunch and beers.
We’ve been here in years prior. The food was good…
And the view was, too.
Gettting ready to head out for the night…
And this is how I setup the camera for that shot.
We love Morroco…
But dinner on our last night was in Japan.
We had some sushi…
While watching the show of the food being made.
I had swordfish.
Afterwards we rode our favorite ride, Soarin’.
You’re never too old to hold hands.
This really has become our signature picture spot.
It was bath time when we got home.
After 10 days it was time to pack up and head home.
We walked our bags over to the reception area.
And waited for our ride.
Of course, we decided to leave in the same style we arrived.
Erin brought some wine for us to enjoy on the ride.
And we relaxed on our ride to the airport.
With more time to wait, we got some food and some drinks…
Before getting on the plane to head home.
Well, that’s all for this trip. We had a great time!!!!