Here is the next update! Because it is coming later than I had said, I decided to make it extra long. And this update also finally has pictures!! So enjoy!!
Day 1: Sunday, January 24, 2010 Part 3
After eating lunch, we still hadnt heard about our room, so while we waited, we decided to explore the Boardwalk. We have never stayed here before, so we had a lot to look at. First, we headed into some of the shops, where we looked at potential souvenirs. We had been in Disney World for less than two hours, but I was already finding many things that I wanted to buy.
After looking in some of the shops, we headed out to the parking lot side of the resort, because we wanted to try and locate the swimming pool. While doing so, we came across a truck that was obviously delivering Magical Express luggage. There were a bunch of big crates sitting by the sidewalk that had bags on them. Jokingly, one of us mentioned that we wondered if our luggage was in there. Well, it turns out that some of it was. I spotted both my mom and dads bags at the top of one of the crates. It was pretty funny. The only thing that worried me, though, was that mine was not in there. It turned out not to be a big deal, though, because apparently bags get separated all the time. It just depends on how much they can fit in one truck. My parents bags must have been the last ones they could fit on that one. Okay, end of that pointless story. LOL.
Our exploration of the Boardwalk also brought us to Community Hall, a little building by the second swimming pool. Inside, there is a TV and a lot of games and activities for kids and families. While in here, we saw a bulletin board that had little Mickey cutouts on it. The Mickeys each had the names of people who were celebrating something in Disney World. We thought this was cute, so we decided to add one for me, since we were celebrating my graduation. I dont remember exactly what the thing ended up saying, but it said something like My Magical Triumph and my name and details about my graduation. Such a cute idea. Looking back, I wish I had taken a picture so I could show you how it all turned out.
Oh well.
After walking around the resort, we headed back out to the actual Boardwalk and decided to take a quick walk over to the International Gateway. As a sidenote, I just have to mention how awesome the location of the Boardwalk is. It was so nice to be within walking distance of two of the four theme parks. It made getting back and forth so easy. Anyway, we made our way up to the IG, because we wanted to see if we could see inside EPCOT at all and get a glimpse of what the crowds were like. It turns out that you cant see in too much, so we didnt get a good look.
At this time, we werent ready to head into a park yet, so we walked back to the resort. We were done exploring for the time being, so once we got back, we headed up to the deck overlooking the Boardwalk and just relaxed on some lounge chairs for a little while. At this time, it was now probably about 2:30 or so. While we were sitting there, my dad finally got a call from the resort telling us our room was ready! So we went back to the bell services, picked up our bags, and immediately headed up to our room. While making the reservation for this trip, my dad booked a 1 bedroom villa with a Boardwalk view, so we were anxious to see how good our view was. Lets just say that we absolutely were not disappointed. We got into our room, and immediately headed to the window. The inside halls of the Boardwalk kind of disorient you, and you have no idea where you are, so we were thrilled when we opened up our blinds and saw this:
What an amazing view!! We could not have asked for anything better. The whole week, my parents and I loved looking out the window and being able to see the Yacht and Beach Club, Spaceship Earth, the boats in the lagoon, and all the activity out on the Boardwalk.
Anyway, moving on, none of us wanted to spend too much time in the room. We were all anxious to get to a park! So we quickly got settled in the room, and were soon on our way. Now originally, we had wanted to head to the Hollywood Studios as our first park, because I wanted to check out the Disney/Pixar Block Party Bash. It was already after 3:00, though, which was the time it started, so we were too late. But regardless, we decided to head over to the Studios anyway. So we headed out and walked over using the pathway. We got to the Studios quickly, and once inside, thought about what we wanted to do first. Our first stop ended up being the American Idol Experience, because it was almost time for the 4:00 show. I was so excited to see this show for the first time, because I had heard good things about it (mostly from my dad and sisters, who saw it for the first time in August). The crowd was already being let in for the show, so we went straight in and I got my first glimpse of the Idol stage.
Its amazing how much it looks like the real thing! Anyway, before long the show started, and we were introduced to the three contestants. I dont remember too much of the specifics, but what I do remember is that there were three ladies, and they were all pretty good. Especially two of them, and I had a hard time deciding which one to vote for. But I chose one, although the one that won was the other. Oh well. Overall, though, I loved the show, and it was a lot of fun.
After the AIE show, we headed back outside. Another thing I wanted to do this trip was see the High School Musical show for Senior Year, so because it was set to start soon, we sought out a place to watch it. Before long, the music started up the HSM float was heading our way. I know HSM is cheesy, but even as a 22-year old, I still love all of these movies. I just think they are so much fun! Overall, I thought the show was good, although I wish they had done the song Right Here, Right Now. Its one of my favorites.
After seeing High School Musical, I wanted to head down to
Pixar Place, just to see what Toy Story Mania looked like. I wasnt expecting to ride it that night, because I knew the line was going to be long. But I wanted to check it out anyway. It turned out that the posted wait time was about 60 minutes. Now, I thought this was longer than my parents would want to wait, but imagine my surprise when they both agreed to get in line! We werent sure if it would actually take 60 minutes, so we decided to try it out. Well, it actually did take about that long, but it was worth the wait. I just love this ride so much!! Here are some pictures I took while we waited.
As a sidenote, I have an interesting story to share about our experience while waiting in line. Two groups in front of us there was this lady waiting with her two kids, a boy and a girl. These kids were absolutely obnoxious. They spent the whole time while waiting in line climbing behind the rails and playing among the large toy items. They climbed through the card houses, up onto blocks, and even slid down some of them like slides. They were out of control. And the whole time, the mother did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The line would move while the kids were off somewhere, but she just let them go. I think the only time she said something to them was when the girl tried to get behind the rail where Mr. Potato Head is because she wanted to touch the giant ball. Well, her mom told her not to, but then when she said she just wanted to touch it, she let her. My parents and I could not believe what these kids were getting away with. The funny part of this whole story is that we saw the same family again the next day at the Magic Kingdom walking down Main Street, and the boy was wearing a Stitch hat. Oh, the irony. LOL.
Okay, back on topic. After riding Toy Story Mania, we were all hungry, so we sought out something to eat for dinner. We ended up down by Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, and ate at one of the places down there. We all shared some chicken tenders and fries. Once we were done, we all decided that we had had enough for the day. Because we wanted to be ready to get to the Magic Kingdom for opening the next day, we headed back to the resort, where we relaxed for the rest of the evening. When we got back, we stopped in one of the shops to get some cereal to keep in the room for breakfast.
Back in the room, we sat on the balconies for a little while and just took in the activity on the Boardwalk. We enjoyed doing this every night. It was fun, because most nights, there were even little sideshows going on right below our windows. The first night, it was a magician doing magic tricks. After the show ended, we all called it a night, because it had been a fun, but long, day. We needed to get rested and ready for the next day.
Coming up next: Our first full day in the World!
So there you go. I hope you all enjoyed the extra long update, and that it was worth the wait.
Ha! I remember the Chick-fil-A from Sarah's TR.... I'm going to look for it in the food court next time! 
I did not like getting those phone calls...Emma and I called each other and started complaining to each other. LOL!
Thank heavens my kids listen to me... 
We want more!
I want to hear more!
