Ohio

This morning Susan and I headed to MCO. The airport was crowded because of a systems failure a few days ago. It took an hour to drop our bags and get through security, then we had breakfast at the Delta lounge while waiting to board our flight. Our flight was full, but luckily we had gotten upgraded to Delta comfort. After a couple of hours we flew over Cincinnati and landed at the airport, which is actually in northern Kentucky.

After getting our bags and picking up our rental car, it was late afternoon. Because the flight’s departure time had been pushed back a half an hour, we needed to hurry to get to our first stop, the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument. We drove 1.5 hours northeast to Xenia, only to find the monument is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. We ate dinner at a nearby Skyline Chili, which we had heard a lot of good reviews about but we thought was just okay, then drove to our hotel in Dayton. 

This morning we visited the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park, where we learned about the Wright Brothers lives and their efforts to create the first flying machine. We spent about two hours looking through the exhibits and watching the film at the main visitor center, however, we could have spent several more hours or even a whole day visiting the other sites of the park.

We also went on a ranger led tour of the Wright Brothers bicycle shop next to the visitor center. From there we headed back to the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers NM, where we learned more about General Young’s military career. The monument mostly consists of Young’s old house, which contains displays about Young and the Buffalo Soldiers and administrative offices. The displays were photos and text, and one uniform of a Buffalo Soldier. There’s not really any reason to come to this monument, almost everything at it can be experienced online. We spent less than hour there.

From Xenia we headed east across Ohio. After about three hours we crossed into West Virginia, where we stopped a Cabela’s to stretch our legs. This one had several nice animal displays. We then continued into Pittsburgh.

Fireworks

Since I transferred to the Magic Kingdom boats I’ve mostly been working nights. I don’t like starting in the afternoons but I have enjoyed watching the fireworks as I work. The Fourth of July fireworks were especially impressive. We shut down the boats for an hour as they launched fireworks from an island in the Seven Seas lagoon as well as behind the park. Of course I couldn’t take photos but here’s one of Happily Ever After from the ferry boat as we left MK on one of our visits in June.

On Wednesday morning before work I went into the Magic Kingdom for a cast preview of the new Country Bear show. While I liked the old show better, the new one is pretty good, featuring country versions of newer songs from Disney movies.

Yesterday afternoon Susan and I attended a picnic at Mickey’s Retreat for her Disney Cruise Line team. Mickey’s Retreat is a Disney owned property on Little Lake Bryan, located east of I-4 near Disney Springs. It has a couple of pools, some sports fields and picnic tables, and boat rentals, all for the exclusive use of cast members.

This afternoon Jennifer took part in another multi-author book signing at her Barnes & Noble.

Park Hopping

Thursday morning, I went into the Magic Kingdom again with a couple of our friends' kids. We rode Big Thunder and Pirates, then took a cruiser over to the Wilderness Lodge and had lunch at Roaring Fork. 

After lunch we took a bus to Epcot, and walked through the Journey of Water attraction. Communicore Hall had opened earlier in the month, so we checked that out, then took the monorail back to the TTC and headed home.

I visited the Disney parks a couple more times with friends at the end of June. One evening we ate at Garden Grill, then spent a few hours at the Studios after a rain storm. Another morning we went back to Animal Kingdom, mostly to ride Flight of  Passage.

Jenn released her seventh book at the end of the month, a science fiction like romance. She and Susan spent a lot of time creating box sets to sell.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

On Saturday, while Susan and I worked, the kids drove with our friends to Daytona to visit the beach. However the weather turned bad so they spent most of their time checking out the Buc-ee's there and shopping at stores.

On Sunday they went to Typhoon Lagoon and on Monday they went to Animal Kingdom.

Yesterday morning Susan and I attended our cast preview of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We were able to take two guests each, so we took Jenn and some of our friends. They did a pretty good job of overlaying a Tiana storyline over Splash Mountain, but I would rather they had left Splash alone and spent the money on a Tiana ride somewhere else.  

In the new ride, we go with Tiana into the Bayou to look for some musicians for a party she is planning. We run into Mama Odie, who briefly turns us into frogs (or frog sized) before we return to see Tiana’s party.  The queue and animatronic’s are well done, but the story doesn’t work as well as Splash did. After the preview we headed out, as Susan had appointments and I had to work last night. 

Roundup Rodeo BBQ

This week friends are in town visiting, and yesterday when I was off work we met at Hollywood Studios. I rode Star Tours a couple of times with the boys and then Runaway Railroad with everyone. We had lunch at the Roundup Rodeo BBQ in Hollywood Studios’ Toy Story Land.

This restaurant opened a little over a year ago but it was my first time eating there. The food was served family style so plenty of it and everything was pretty tasty. The decor is also cute. After lunch it was getting hot and the lines were long so we headed out. 

This morning the boys and I went to Animal Kingdom. We got there right before opening and rode Dinosaur, Everest, and Kali River twice. Then we walked the Tiger trail and headed out. 

We got to Typhoon Lagoon about a half hour after it opened. As usual, we sat near Shark Reef. This area used to have a large pool where you could snorkel with small sharks and fish, but they filled it in some years back. It’s usually not too crowded and is close to food and drinks and an entrance to the lazy river. 

In the evening we went back into Hollywood Studios. We rode Star Tours a couple more times, but didn’t see the space whales. Then we watched the Muppet movie and walked through Galaxy’s Edge. We capped off the night with a ride on the Millennium Falcon. 

Magic Kingdom Watercraft

This week I started training at the MK Watercraft, learning how to deckhand on the big ferries that take guests between the Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center, as well as the cruisers that run between the MK and the resorts on Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. 

Thursday morning Susan and I met the kids for breakfast at Steakhouse 71 at the Contemporary Resort. We’ve had breakfast there a couple of times, as well as dinner. It’s nice but not too fancy, and as cast members we usually get a pretty good discount. The lobby is decorated with photos of Disney World in the seventies, and the furnishings have the same retro futuristic look that the rest of the Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower have.

Susan and I then took the monorail into the Magic Kingdom. We could see the progress on the DVC tower at the Polynesian Resort, which will be known as the Island Tower when it opens. 

In the Magic Kingdom, we watched the Tiki Room, then walked to Frontierland. The walls around Tiana’s Bayou Adventure were down, as cast previews had started earlier in the week. We took the train over to Storybook Circus, then walked to Tomorrowland, where we rode the Peoplemover. We looked at some stores then headed out, as it was getting warm and we both had to work that night.

Yesterday Jenn held another multi-author signing at her Barnes & Noble.

Luminous

I finally got to see the new fireworks show at Epcot tonight. Susan and I went in after work today to watch it. I like it better than Harmonius, the last show. It wasn’t quite as good visually, but I liked that it told a story and thought the song selections were more interesting.

Before the show I checked out the construction between the Imagination pavilion and Canada. We then made our way around the Showcase, stopping to watch the movie in France, which we hadn’t seen in a few years. 

Over at the Boardwalk, they had mostly finished the section where the stucco was removed. It was replaced with a vertical siding. 

The Cake Bake Shop continues its slow progress toward completion. 

Today was my last day at the Friendship Boats.Tuesday I start training at Magic Kingdom Watercraft. I’ve enjoyed my five years at the Friendship Boats and the captains I’ve worked with there, but I’m looking forward to new challenges and experiences.