Masonic Activities

The weekend after we got back from WDW, Jenn and I drove down to Eugene for the last Rainbow Official Visit of the Grand term. 

On the Sunday before Memorial Day, Bryan and I drove out to the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort at the Warm Springs Reservation to attend the DeMolay Conclave. 

Bryan received a scholarship, and helped the other Past State Master Councilor's collar the newly elected SMC. Jenn and Susan spent the weekend manning a coffee stop to raise money for the Rainbow Philanthropic project.

Downtown Disney

We also spent some time at Downtown Disney during our trip. One morning we headed over to catch an early showing of Avengers: Age of Ultron.  We also checked out the new Super Hero store.

We returned on Sunday to shop and check out what was new as Downtown Disney is being expanded and revamped into Disney Springs.

The new Boathouse restaurant was open, but we ate at the T-Rex cafe. Today we went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, then headed to the airport for our flight home. 

Blizzard Beach

The next day we spent time at Blizzard Beach, one of the two water parks at Disney World. In the next four days, we visited each of the theme parks again, as well as spending some time at Saratoga Springs. 

Since our villa had a full kitchen, we ate a lot of our meals there, but we did splurge on dinner at Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom. 

Over in Animal Kingdom, they are working around the lake between Asia and Dinoland, adding seating for an upcoming show.

Congress Park

After a few nights at Beach Club, we checked out and moved to a two bedroom Villa at Saratoga Springs, where we stayed for the rest of the trip. 

We were in the Congress Park section, which is across the lake from Downtown Disney. We couldn't see it from our windows, but we were near the bus stop and a quiet pool. It was an easy walk to Downtown Disney from our villa, and you could see it from the quiet pool.

Animal Kingdom

Yesterday, we headed into Animal Kingdom. The old Camp Minnie-Mickey area was walled off, being converted into Pandora - the World of Avatar.

We went to watch the Lion King show in its new theater in Africa. A girl Jennifer met through Rainbow worked there in costuming, and she got us VIP seats.

After the show we got to take pictures with some of the cast.

Beach Club

After two nights at the Polynesian, we checked out and moved to the Beach Club Villas. Bryan arrived on a red eye. 

We headed over to the Studios. It was nice to look down Hollywood Blvd and see the Chinese theater with the giant Mickey Sorcerer's hat removed that used to block the view. After a few hours of riding attractions and watching shows, Bryan was tired, so he and Susan headed back to the Beach Club.

Jennifer and I stayed for Fantasmic! We had great seats front and center.

The Beach Club is great because it's an easy walk into Epcot, and a slightly longer one to the Studios, or you can take a boat to both, and to the Boardwalk. It's also got a great feature pool and a couple of quiet pools.

Polynesian Village Resort

We checked out of Saratoga and checked into one of the new DVC studios at the Polynesian Resort. These are former hotel rooms that were converted to DVC.

Jennifer arrived that morning on the Magical Express.

Our room was nice, with two showers, a kitchenette, a queen bed, a sleeper couch, and a murphy bed under the TV. It was an easy walk to the TTC, where we caught the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

The new Fantasyland area was fully open and looking good.

That night, we watched the Castle projection/fireworks show.

The next day, I enjoyed an early morning swim in the pool. Susan and Jenn headed to Epcot while I picked up a rental car. Jennifer took pictures with the characters, and we checked out more of the Flower and Garden exhibits, besides enjoying the attractions.