Happy March and Happy Ash Wednesday! As an aside, we saw absolutely nobody in any part of Disney we’ve been in today with ashes! Seems strange to see absolutely no ashes anywhere!

So, this morning we awoke at 7:30….well, we really awoke at 6 AM, because somehow the cheap little digital alarm that Susie bought for the trip went off, and not knowing how to shut it off, she had to take the batteries out of the clock. Of course, that wasn’t easy, and the clock has a really really annoying alarm tone! First it beeps once for 10 seconds, then twice for 10 second, then 3 times. Luckily, the batteries came out at about the 30 second mark, so we didn’t have to find out what came next!! What a wonderful thing to happen 90 minutes before you have to get up, especially after a night of walking EPCOT and getting to bed about 2 AM!! Yikes!

So we headed to the Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory (The French Quarter’s food court) for some breakfast this morning about 8:30. Lots of choices, and some good looking breakfasts were had. When the bill was tallied and it was close to $50, I think the young girl working the cash register was even more thrilled than I was when I handed her my ABC Retiree ID card and said, “Cast Member Discount, Please”!

Then after we came back to the room to grab our “stuff”, it was off to Animal Kingdom! Free parking is another of the perks that Retiree ID gets me, and after securing a nice parking place it was time to enter the park. Not one of the parks we’ve spent a lot of time in, but if you are an animal lover, it’s a great place! While the boys headed off to a thrill ride (Expedition Everest), Susie and I enjoyed the 4D movie, It’s Tough to be a Bug. Not only are there 3D glasses and some great effects, there is the 4th D which includes being sprayed, poked, hit with air, and noxious odors! A lot of fun!

Then it was off to Finding Nemo, The Musical, a 40 minute Broadway style stage show, which was very well done. As we were waiting on the FastPass line, Kenny reminded us that he’d auditioned for the part of Nemo’s Father in this production, and been called back numerous times, but never got the part. He’s really just as glad!

One thing we’ve noticed is that the Parks are filled with kids! Why aren’t they in school, and why do they have to start crying in shows all the time? We seemed to be surrounded in Finding Nemo by young people , who really didn’t want to be there! Not always the most pleasant way to pass your time.

After the show, Kenny and Chris went on the ride Dinosaur (another thrill ride that Susie and I passed on), and then decided to walk around the Tree of Life and look at the animals. Susie and I found a shady place to sit, and watched and commented about the many interesting and indeed strangely dressed people you see. Honestly, we may have had a better time than the boys!

Having walked the better part of 3 miles, we were all ready to head back to the resort and relax a little bit. The boys headed to the pool, Susie and I grabbed a late lunch, and then enjoyed a drink in the cool air-conditioning of our room! A wonderful afternoon!

This evening the boys are off to the Hollywood Studios and then to meet up with a Liberty of the Seas friend at Disney Springs, while Susie and I are going to get together with my cousin Jeanne and her husband Walt!

Time to get ready for our evenings….will update and post this blog later tonight!

So..we left a bit before 6, dropped Kenny and Chris off at Disney Studios, and headed out to one of the many Miller’s Ale Houses in Orlando. Ran into a little construction in Disney, and traffic on the I-4, but made it about 6:30 and rendezvoused with Jeanne and Walt! A great time was had by all, and as usual, we talked well into the night. No, when I say we talked well into the night, I mean we talked wellllllllll into the night! We sat down at the table at 6:30, and got up from the table at 11:30! We had a great waitress ,Tina, who had no problem letting us sit and talk, especially when it was discovered that she and my cousin Jeanne grew up blocks away from each other in Chicago…just decades apart!

Jeanne and Walt are going on a huge road trip starting in May, and we talked about that, about genealogy (which they are both into in a huge way), about family, and just about anything and everything! We reconnected with them just a couple of years ago, and are so glad we did before it was too late!! We will next see them in Ocean City in late August or September, and look forward to many more nights of too much talking in our future!

Safe trip Jeanne and Walt…see you in September!

And that’s it…day two at WDW comes to a close! It’s already after midnight, and 7:30 AM comes early, so goodnight from the D’Elia’s in Florida…see you all tomorrow!!