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.

Last night we went into the Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours. 

Today we spent time at Epcot, and since it was May the Fourth, visited Hollywood Studios to see some Star Wars stuff. 

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

Tuesday morning 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.

Wednesday, 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.

WDW

To celebrate the end of the school year, we took a trip to Disney World. We were originally going to go in June and attend the DeMolay International Convention as well, but then Bryan found he had to attend summer school at the time to complete some classes he needed to graduate with a second major in Accounting. Susan and I headed out first, while the kids were finishing finals. Our flight landed late Sunday night, and we took the Magical Express bus to WDW.

We had a studio at the Saratoga Springs Resort the first two nights. Our room was in the Carousel section - the furthest away from anything, and the only section without a pool. I wouldn't recommend it, especially if you don't have a car, which we didn't for the first two days. 

Monday, our first day in the parks, we headed to the Magic Kingdom, where we watched the opening ceremony before riding on the new Snow White Mine Train roller coaster.

 

Over at Epcot, the flower and garden show was going on. There were topiaries of Disney Characters throughout the park, as well as booths with special food, merchandise, and activities.

Rainbow OV's

Jennifer is continuing to attend Rainbow events as Grand Faith. Earlier this month, she attended the official visit at the Metro East district.

Today was the Official Visit and Grand Officer Reception for the Willamette Valley West district. Jennifer gave a speech as Grand Faith.

The members of WVW posed for a picture after the OV.