Dinosaur World

At the end of September, Hurricane Ian blew through central Florida. Disney closed their parks for two days. The wind really howled the night it came through, and the next morning we found several of our plants blown over. 

Epcot celebrated its 40th anniversary on October 1st. We also spent some time at the park last week.

Jennifer celebrated the release of her second book with a trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Today Susan and I had to run out to Tampa, so we stopped at Dinosaur World on the way back. It's a rather simple place, consisting mostly of walking paths with statues of dinosaurs along them.

At about 20 acres, it took us about two hours to walk all the trails.

Coral Gables

 

We try to get out and make short visits around Florida. Last week, Jennifer wanted to attend a book signing down in Coral Gables, so we headed down for the day.

 

For lunch, we stopped at my 31st Hard Rock Cafe. This one was located inside a casino in Hollywood Florida, north of Miami. 

Next to the casino is a guitar shaped hotel.  

Although she is pretty busy writing and selling her books, Jenn occasionally spends some time in the parks. Last week she met some friends at Universal, and this week at Magic Kingdom. Last night we all went to dinner at the Yachtsman's Steakhouse at the Yacht Club. I really enjoyed it.

Earidescent Evening

Last week Susan and I attended another Earidescent Evening, this time at Epcot with Bryan and Jennifer. 

We enjoyed free snacks and rode the new Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster as well as a few other attractions.

This week we attended a special cast shopping event at ESPN Wide World of Sports and a DVC Moonlight Magic event at Typhoon Lagoon.

Jenn in Paris

While Bryan and I were driving back to Florida, Jennifer went to Paris for a convention. While there she spent some time in the city, including seeing the Eiffel Tower at night.

 

She also checked out the stores on the Champs-Élysées. 

One day she went out to the Disney resort to visit the parks with a friend. Disneyland Paris was celebrating its 30th anniversary. 

Over in the Studios park she checked out the new Avengers Campus.

Last load from Oregon

Two weeks ago Disney put up Halloween decorations at Magic Kingdom, and after a two year hiatus, started holding Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Parties. 

Last week, I flew to Bend to bring the last of our stuff to Florida. Bryan was done working in Bend for the summer, so he drove back with me and we towed his car.

This was my 21st time driving across the country. We drove east through Idaho, Wyoming, and Nebraska, then turned south when we hit Missouri. We didn’t stop much, although we did check out a new Buc-ee’s in Leeds, Alabama.

Food and Wine

Last month the Food and Wine Festival started at Epcot. Like last year, some booths won’t open until fall, and they don’t have all the activities they had before the pandemic. 

Also last month, Jenn went to Magic Kingdom to celebrate the release of her first novel and to be there while Susan worked her last shift in merchandise. A week later she started working for Disney Cruise Line.

This weekend Jennifer flew back to Oregon so she and Bryan could attend the wedding of a friend from University of Portland. It was held on a ranch outside Redmond.

Backstage Magic

This month I was able to attend three behind the scenes tours of attractions at Disney World. First I did a backstage tour of the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios, with some Friendship Boat Captains.

 

The next week I learned how Rock N Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios works. I again toured the ride with some Friendship Boat Captains. 

Last night Susan and I got to do a behind the scenes tour of Ratatouille in Epcot.