August update

In the Magic Kingdom, Halloween decorations went up in August. Disney announced there would be no Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties again this year, but instead they would hold Halloween themed After Hours parties.

This weekend I went into the Magic Kingdom again and while there checked out the Tron site from the Peoplemover.

Meanwhile Bryan and Jenn flew to Seattle for their friends’ wedding. Jennifer was a bridesmaid.

July update

Susan and I didn’t get to the parks in July, but Jennifer did. Two weeks ago some friends came for a visit, so she took several days off work to go to the parks with them.

This Sunday, to celebrate her birthday, she and Bryan went to Universal with some UP friends who had recently moved to Florida.

She then invited a couple of friends to stay with her on her free cast staycation at the Grand Floridian. They visited MK Monday and Epcot on Wednesday. On a bad note, a couple days ago Disney announced the resumption of the mask mandate, beginning today. None of us are looking forward to asking guests to keep their masks on again. 

Happily Ever After

 

Two weeks ago, Susan and I spent an afternoon in the Magic Kingdom. We went in after a rain storm, did a few things, looked in some stores, and had a snack. Then we headed out.

Disney has been working on widening Floridian Way between World Drive and Seven Seas Lagoon, which will allow northbound traffic to go over those exiting the Magic Kingdom parking lot.

Tuesday afternoon we spent a few hours in Epcot, enjoying the Flower and Garden festival.

That night we attended a cast preview of Happily Ever After, the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom, before it returned for guests after being suspended for the pandemic.  

Space Center

We stayed at the JW Marriott Downtown. Bryan got upgraded to a two bedroom suite. It was really nice. 

We spent most of Thursday at the Houston Space Center. I enjoyed many of the exhibits in the main visitor center, but was disappointed in the tram ride.

I thought we would tour the astronaut training facilities, but it just went out to a rocket graveyard and a building holding an old Saturn rocket. Plus we got drenched by a summer thunderstorm on the way back to the visitor center.

We had some delicious barbeque for dinner, then went to another Voodoo. This morning we flew back.

Houston

Bryan's job required him to work in downtown Houston for several weeks. Susan and I decided to fly out Wednesday morning for a long "weekend" and visit him and do some things around Houston. Once we got to Houston airport, we stopped at the Hard Rock for lunch. This was the 29th HRC I have visited.

From the airport we headed out to the San Jacinto Monument. San Jacinto was the battle site where the Republic of Texas won its independence from Mexico. I had tried to visit it before in December of 2017, but it was closed for the Christmas holiday.

There was a museum with a film and an elevator to the top of the monument, with views of the surrounding countryside.

After dinner with Bryan, we stopped at a Voodoo Doughnut for dessert. Voodoo, which originated in Portland, has been expanding into Colorado and Texas, and Bryan has been trying to visit all of their locations.

Cars Suite

Last night, we stayed in a Cars Suite at the Art of Animation Resort in Disney World. We stayed free courtesy of Disney, who is offering free stays all this summer to cast members in gratitude for working during the pandemic.

We rode the Skyliner over to the Caribbean Beach Resort, where we had dinner. The Art of Animation is a nice resort for young families.

It's mostly suite rooms, with well done theming and a nice pool. We had stayed there once before, back in 2013, but then we were in the Lion King area.

Velocicoaster

This week, Universal started annual passholder previews for its new roller coaster, Velocicoaster. Jennifer went with some friends on Monday. I attended this morning. Located in the Jurassic Park area of Islands of Adventure, this coaster is fast and has multiple inversions.

Besides thrills, it also has pretty good theming. There's video of the stars of Jurassic World giving safety instructions, and the queue goes through a velociraptor stable with animatronic dinosaurs.

Susan and I walked in through the Studios, and took the Harry Potter train to Islands of Adventure. We were only there a couple of hours; I would have loved to stay longer but most of the rides at Universal are too twisty or bumpy for Susan, and we had errands to run.