Saturday was split between Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). Diane and Mike hadn't been to Disney in years (actually, this was Mike's first trip ever), so we had to make sure and hit all of the classic stuff at the Magic Kingdom. I'm pretty sure they both enjoyed Splash Mountain a lot, but it was too bad they rode it as the sun was going down instead of during the heat of the 95 degree day!
I enjoyed getting in a few hours at Hollywood Studios. It was just enough time to hit the three rides I wanted to make - Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and the new Toy Story Mania. The Coaster was the highlight of my day - going 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds with Aerosmith blaring in the headrest - that is my kind of ride.
Sunday was all EPCOT, all day. My favorite ride is SOARING! the hang gliding ride that takes you over California. Plus, I just love all of the countries. For dinner, we ate at the Biergarten restaurant in the German Pavilion with Donald (Mom's brother) and Al, who were just getting to Orlando that day. They come at least once a year - Al said she knows where all the bathrooms are :) - and just happened to be come when we were. The dinner was a buffet and we all love German, so we were plenty full!
Here's a few of the Disney pictures:
Gearing up for the first day at Disney
Getting our FastPasses for SOARING!
Lady and the Tramp - EPCOT had these amazing topiaries of all the favorite Disney characters for the International Garden and Flower Festival.
Look Grandma - your kids went to Disney World for Mother's Day!
The impromptu part of the weekend was getting to see the Atlantis shuttle launch! Diane was chatting with some folks in the hotel who had come to see the launch and once we remembered how close we were to Cape Canaveral, we decided to drive over and see it ourselves. The closest we could get without paying an arm and a leg each was Titusville, just across the river from the launch site. Not surprisingly, hundreds of people were there, all clambering for the best place along the waters edge. We found ourselves a great spot - a piece of the Highway 1 median - where we had a clear view of the launch pads. We were still 12 miles away and of course could only see for seconds before it went above the clouds, but it was a very impressive sight. I was amazed at how much brighter its flames were in person.
Nothing like professionals, but here are some shots we got:
Waiting for the launch
3-2-1 Liftoff!
High in the sky
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