Anniversary Trip

 

This year for our anniversary we spent a few days at Disney's Hilton Head resort.

 

We spent most of our time relaxing. We went out to the Beach House in the mornings to swim and walk along the beach.

One of the days we drove up to Charleston to visit friends at the Air Base there.

While we were in South Carolina, Jenn was checking out the Festival of the Arts at Epcot. Today she visited again, and rode my boat.

Busch Gardens

Yesterday we visited Busch Gardens for the first time since 2007. Since the Sea World and Busch Gardens parks keep their Christmas Celebrations going until the Epiphany, most decorations were still up. We camped in our trailer nearby, and had free admission with our Sea World annual passes.

The old "Land of Dragons" kiddie area has been converted into a Sesame Street area, and "Timbuktu" is now "Pantopia", but most of the rest of the park is still themed to Africa.

The park hasn't aged well. A lot of the family attractions we enjoyed on previous visits have been replaced by roller coasters. Still we had fun riding the skyway and seeing the animal exhibits, as well as trying out all the restaurants with the All-Day Dining Deal.

Jenn and I did a couple of the coasters, including Cheetah Hunt, which took the place of the monorail around the Serengeti. We also rode the train from Stanleyville to Nairobi. 

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is one of the busiest days at Disney World, and both Magic Kingdom and Epcot do special fireworks shows to celebrate. Susan and Jenn both picked up extra shifts doing audience control at Magic Kingdom, and I worked an extra shift for the Epcot fireworks.

We continue to visit the WDW parks when we have time. Jenn visited the Magic Kingdom on New Year's Day, and on Saturday I went to both Epcot and Magic Kingdom after my shift was over. Susan and Jenn were working late in the Magic Kingdom so I visited them and enjoyed the Holiday decorations before they were gone.

I always try to take some photos of the construction projects when visiting the parks as a guest. Above is work on the entrance to Epcot, as well as the building that will house the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster.

I also like to take a photo of the Tron site when I ride the Peoplemover in the Magic Kingdom.

Epcot Update

This afternoon we again visited Epcot. The work done to expand the International Gateway for the Skyliner is complete.

Since the old Starbucks next to the fountain in Future World was closed when construction began, they've added a temporary Starbucks location between the Showcase Plaza and the Canadian pavilion, next to the new bathrooms.

The demolition of the old Communicore/Innoventions West building in the center of Future World is ongoing.

Sea World Christmas Celebration

 

We visited Sea World twice in December. Early in the month we went in to pick up our free passholder ornament. We enjoyed seeing their decorations and sampling Christmas snacks. We are also enjoying trying the various places to eat with the All Season Dining plan.

 

Last night we went in again. Besides grabbing dinner, we walked the Rudolph the Red - Nosed Raindeer trail and checked out some of the live entertainment.

 

 We also watched the trees on the lake change colors to music.

The kids went to Universal on Christmas Eve. Jenn also spent an evening at Magic Kingdom enjoying the Christmas parade.

Across the South

Sunday we stopped in El Paso Texas and spent a few hours at the Chamizal National Memorial on the border with Mexico, learning the history of the border there.

When we reached the junction with I-20, we turned northeast and drove to Fort Worth, where we spent a few hours visiting Bryan Monday evening. 

We then continued across Texas to Louisiana, and stopped at the Cane River Creole National Historic Park, where we learned about plantation life in central Louisiana. We stayed the night in Slidell.

Yesterday we made our way across Mississippi and into Alabama. We stopped to walk around the Bass Pro shop in Spanish Fort Alabama and at the nearby Buc-ee's. Shortly thereafter we entered Florida. 

We were still a few hours from home when the tire on our U-Haul trailer came apart. Luckily we didn't have to wait too long until someone came out and replaced it. After this trip and the one in November I have driven across the U.S. fifteen times.

Winter at Disney World

After Thanksgiving, the Christmas decorations went up, and Epcot switched to the Festival of Holidays. Like other Epcot festivals, there were booths around the World Showcase selling “holiday” food and drinks, as well as special holiday entertainment.  

 

We went into the park early in December to enjoy the festival. We also checked out the new Epcot Experience in the Odyssey building, which gives a glimpse of what is coming soon to Epcot.

Jenn and I also spent some time in the Magic Kingdom, to see the holiday decorations and special entertainment.

On Sunday Jennifer and Susan flew out to Portland to take care of a few things and visit the University of Portland. I came out a couple days later, then we drove to Bend and loaded up a U-Haul trailer with stuff. We drove down through California to I-10, then turned east.