#Magical30

Hello world! I haven't blogged in a LONG time! Between work, social life, and family I have not found the time. I'll try to be better! I'm sure you will see a couple of blogs before school starts and then I will TRY to blog about some of the cool things that happen in my classroom. I love to get ideas from other people so why not write about some of the stuff we do!

Birthday Dinner at Be Our Guest

Back to today's blog. For my 30th birthday I wanted to go to my most favorite place in the world -- Disney World! I've only been there about 20 times in my life so I wanted to go somewhere I knew I liked and would enjoy. Everyone always asks "Why do you go to the same place all the time?" Easy answer - I'm happy there! You get to escape from reality during your vacation and enter a fairytale! So, here are some highlights of the trip and new things we experienced!!

1. Frozen! This movie is HUGE! At Magic Kingdom we met Anna and Elsa by using the coveted Fastpass. We waited about 5 minutes and were able to meet royalty. You can also see a bunch of Frozen stuff at Hollywood Studios. On July 5 they started "Frozen days of Summer" where there is a royal procession, a special store, ice skating, special photopass opportunities, and special fireworks at the end of the day. They make it snow at the end of the fireworks! It was sooo magical!

 

2. Festival of Fantasy Parade  - I got to see this parade 3 times and it would have been 4 if it had not rained! The floats are out of this world and the soundtrack is incredible. The dancers are so talented and dedicated. It was HOT in Florida when we were there and I can only imagine how it is to wear those costumes and dance the entire parade (which probably lasts about 50 minutes from start to finish if you are performing). Here are a FEW photos that don't even give the parade justice: 

3. Memory Maker - This is an amazing add on to any vacation package. It is $150 and you must purchase it more than 30 days before your trip. You get every photopass picture from the park including ride photos and some dining photos. All they do is scan your magic band and voila! You can download every picture from your trip. I have downloaded more than 500 photos (I added borders and stickers to some of them to make them more magical) It is worth every cent. Here are a couple examples of what you get! 

4. Tusker House - This is a great restaurant in Animal Kingdom. This is my first time to ever eat here. This is a buffet. We ate there for breakfast and had a great time. We got the first seating (8:05 am) and were greeted with characters right away. We met Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Mickey. You also get a picture before your meal at the front of the restaurant. What I liked most about this is that you get into the park before it opens and then you can be first on the rides! We were able to do everything we wanted before 1:00... Then the rain came. 

5. Character Palooza - This happens at Hollywood Studios and it is not published in the guides. I heard about it from the blogs I follow and I was NOT disappointed! For us it happened at 6:00 on the Streets of America. We met many rare characters. The characters are different every day (of course some may be the same) but it is soooo cool! We met 6 characters in 15 minutes! The leave just as fast as they show up. Here are the ones we met: 

6. 4th of July - We spent the holiday at Epcot. This was the best park to see fireworks because you get the Epcot fireworks and you can see the fireworks from Hollywood Studios. Two shows in one! You have to get a spot like 2 hours early if you want a good area to see from. Also, Voices of Liberty have a special show on the 4th at the American Gardens Theater. It is Spectacular! Voices of Liberty can be seen at the American Adventure everyday but this special 30 minute show is only on July 4th. Get there early for a spot in the shade! They also have the characters in their American attire. 

7. Meeting some of the Villains! - Villains are super funny because they are bad! These actors were great at their role! 

8. Character Meet and Greets - Our Autograph books are filled minus about 4 pages! The key to meet and greets is to know when the characters will be out and where! Then, if you arrive about 10 minutes early you will be at the front of the line and can maximize your park time. Here are a couple of M&G I have not done in awhile! 

9. Starbucks!! Yep, that's right! Starbucks has come to Disney :) There is one on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, one at Epcot near the Fountain of Nations, and one at Downtown Disney! 

10. Dapper Dans - If you love Barbershop you will love the Dapper Dans! These guys are amazing singers and very entertaining. They tap dance, make jokes, sing, and play some pretty cool instruments. I forgot to ask Celeste to take my picture with them! However, Celeste got to take one with them! 

11. Art of Animation Drawing Class - I had never done this before but I had read about it on the many blogs I read about Disney World. This is a must do on my list now! It happens every 1/2 hour on the 1/2 hour and you need to be there about 15 minutes early to guarantee a spot in the class. If you don't arrive early you risk not making the next class and you will have to wait 30 minutes (which isn't too bad considering the lines and time of year we went). We ended up just making the class -- a magic moment for sure! We got to draw Tigger :) I just realized I don't have the pictures on my computer... they are on my phone... when I figure out how to get them to my computer I'll add them. 

12. Ride Photos - Like I said before about memory maker; the ride photos are included! Here is one from Tower of Terror after my dad had left. Celeste and I are like "Where did he go?" and the guy behind us joined in the fun! We are on the right if you have not already found us! 

That is our trip in a nutshell. We had the best time for 10 days in Orlando. I wish I was still there (there is never enough time!) If you need help planning your next trip I always love to talk about Disney World. We had NO problems with FastPass+ or dining reservations. Our Magic Bands worked perfectly. Thanks for reading! 

The Adventures of Michelle and Celeste

How can you top a 20 day trip around the U.S.? You can't... but you can explore the city where you live! 2014 will be spent exploring Texas and the unique things around where I live. There are so many unique and quirky places around the DFW area that we don't have to break the bank to see cool things. There are a few trips outside of Texas that are planned this year and you will just have to check back to see when that happens! 

For now, let's explore Dallas! While in Chicago this summer, Celeste and I went to some museums. There was this exhibit called "Animals Inside Out" which is a lot like Body Worlds but with animals. We had a mission that day in Chicago and could not afford the time or money to see the Animals exhibit. To our great surprise it arrived in Dallas!! We could not miss out on this amazing opportunity! Well, months passed and now it is almost time for it to move to its next location. We had to act fast! January would be the month to see Animals Inside Out! 

We arrived at the Perot Museum a little before 12:00 for opening. Well, we couldn't get in until 12:30. WE used our teacher's badges to get in FREE to the museum and only had to pay $18 to see Animals Inside Out!!! Some perks to being teachers :) To kill time before we could get in we went to the front and kissed some frogs. Unfortunately, the Perot Museum is nothing like Disney World and the frog did NOT turn into a prince. 

We then admired the awesome architecture of the building. It is so cool how the escalator is jutting out of the building ! Very unique.

It was finally time! It was really cool to see the complexity of the animal bodies! We were shocked at the size of the Reindeer body parts. I mean, it really wasn't a huge surprise because they do have to fly far distances to help Santa deliver all those toys! The heart was HUGE! Much bigger than my fist.

Here is the adult camel's baby. It was so cute... if its muscles were so exposed.

This giraffe was really neat. On side had the bones exposed and the other side had all the muscles still attached. It was cool to see.

Here is the beautiful view of Dallas from the escalator that sticks out of the building. It was a BEAUTIFUL day!!

I had to get a picture of the moon! My students are going to be so excited! We just spent a week talking about the Moon and how it is not a star and not made of gas. I can't wait to show them!

WATCH OUT! Jurassic Park! Look at the long neck on that dinosaur. It is so fascinating to see such an amazing creature. Do you think that in a million years they will have museums filled with elephant skeletons and polar bear skeletons? Those animals could be extinct by then. Food for thought!

What is up with this sign? Candy cane and a sucker.... What does it mean??????? Do we feed the T-Rex candy?

What a great day at the museum!!

You can't go to Dallas without getting a picture with the "Big" D letters! We walked a little ways to the American Airlines center to find the letters. It was such a beautiful day! There was no one around! We had the entire place to ourselves. Just how we like it. 

I can't wait for the next adventure! There are some things in the works. If you have a place you want to know more about and is within driving distance (3 hours from Dallas) please leave a comment! I am always looking for new things to see and do. 

Thanks for reading and check back for more random happenings.