absolutely last shot

ok so this is our real last shot from the world. we are sitting on the magical express loading other guests so we can all go back to our respective homes. our flight leaves at 7:05 and hopefully we won't be flying through a storm. with any luck we should be home around 10.

last pic

here is our last shot from walt disney world. we are heading to get our bags then catch the bus back to raleigh. it will be nice to do absolutely nothing tomorrow.

Expedition Everest

we made it finally. on and off in 30 minutes and got a fast pass to boot. on to the safari.

AK opening

well we thought we had plenty of time but it seems half of FL got a jump on us. None the less, we made it

how to wash

what would we do without brawny to give us instructions to wash our hands. this entire time i had no clue it was this simple.

spaceship earth

we are heading back for a swim or a nap. one way or the other we are leaving to take a break. we'll be back tonight since the park doesn't close until midnight. hopefully it won't be wall to wall people. as you can see its the flower and garden festival too.

10:30 the line for sorin

10:30 the line for sorin is 60 min and the fast pass line looks to be a 30 min wait. looks like we got our 1 sorin ride in

sorin'

standing in line for sorin' first ride of the day

opening at EPCOT

wishes

we didn't take the camera this evening so we could lighten the load. i did however have the phone. so here is an opening shot of wishes. enjoy.

Wishes fireworks

minutes before wishes in MK.

Flowers for Mandy; Bonus points for Scott

As you can see here I got Mandy flowers delivered to the room completely surprising her. Of all the things I've learned through the years its the surprises that count the most. Any stooge can order flowers on valentines day or her birthday. It takes a lot of thought and planning to make flowers show up in a hotel at Disney World. Bonus points for Scott!

shots from epcot

japan pagoda with spaceship earth in the background.

beach club

storm along bay water slide

Disney's Boardwalk

our favorite place to just hang out. its based on an old jersey boardwalk

the dolphin resort.

Life on the high seas...

leaving the studios

the hat

Disney's Hollywood Studio Backlot

day 2

made disney #1 mistake this morning for high crowd levels. we got a late start. it's 9:15 and there is a 50 minute wait for RR coaster. we already have a fast pass for the towere. hopefully tomorrow won't be a complete bust. this might be an early back to the room day. the park is opened until 10 so we've got some time yet.

Last day recap

Allin all we had a great day. The only ride we didn't make it on was Peter Pan. When the wait is longer than the movie, this is a good sign to skip it. We headed in around 8 which was nice instead off the mad dash at 9. Made it back to the room and eventually made it to the pool to swim in a nice heated pool while watching Bolt projected on a big screen. What more could you want? Well dinner would have been nice. So we made our way down to the all night cafateria and got a good dinner to sleep on. Ah, vacation.

a wise quote from an imagineer

quote from a good book

Big Thunder M.ountain RR

Lunch

mandy favorite meal at pinocchio village.

First Ride!

on the way to the magic kingdom via monorail

Awesome room!

well the room is freakin sweet. its like a family deluxe type with a living room and kitchen. we got a deal on it let me tell you. we even have 2 bathrooms!

off and up out

7:15 and we are on the plane ready to head to MCO and it appears we are surronded by the 7 dwarfs. There are kids everywhere on this flights babies too. The thought, kids going to Orlando. Didn't take long for a Brittton family vote to move back a few rows. Hopefully all will be well.

After

As you can see 52" of high def entertainment pleasure showed up today. If ever there was an excuse to come visit us, this is it.

Now if I can just find the channel up button.... :-)

Before

Well Bristol weekend proved to be full of surprises. Mandy's grandma that is in the nursing home had a bad spell so we rushed in to WV on Friday instead of Saturday. Thank goodness she ended up being OK. I felt like I was in the way and started thinking about my grandmother that passed away in '97. So I elected to go to the race just to be away, not so much to go to the race.

Here is a pic of me hanging out by the fire after everthing is packed up and we are burning the remaining firewood.

A wedding weekend

We went back to good ol' WV this weekend to a friend's wedding. The wedding was very nice. No major issues or even minor ones for that matter. The reception was just down the hall and we had prearranged seating which put me and Mandy with some of my high school friends. Personally I had a blast. I hadn't sat and talked with this group in 2 years or better since our reunion so I had a ton of fun. That was pretty much where the fun ended.

First let me set this up by referring you to some of my other posts. Please feel free to read the weekend at Darlington and how that went and then just any other story I may tell you in passing on any given day. This is where I come to this conclusion. I'm an asshole magnet. I honestly feel like Lord Helmet in Space Balls, "How many assholes we got on this ship anyway? I knew, I'm surrounded by assholes!" We stayed at a hotel for the weekend to save trying to drive all over creation and catch up with everybody. Just in and out of town, short and sweet. No feelings hurt and we could be back before it got dark. So Friday night the noise started above us with what sounded like an Olympic runner doing laps in the room above us. I gave them 30 mins, trying to be a sport, then called the front desk. Security came to my door to confirm I called. Yea, thanks Barny, make me scramble to put some pants on and do the squinty thing while I answer to the door to confirm your phone lines aren't magically crossed and I really did call from this room. None the less he checked then went upstairs and asked them to quieten down. They did, after another 30 mins.

So we woke up, all is well, we went on about our day, came back to the hotel after the wedding at midnight and tried to settle in. The new neighbors beside us were wide open. First I thought, well, maybe they are with the wedding party since a lot of them stayed there too but I had enough evidence to know they weren't. So again, being the good sport I gave them 30 more minutes. This was around 1:30. Called security and reminded them, don't knock on my door. Waited 7 minutes, called the front desk again and asked them what about this don't you understand. Shortly there after with a watchful eye on the peephole they were there. Much like Earnest T. Bass on Andy Griffith at Mrs. Wiley's dance mixer, "didn't take". So I gave them another 15 or 20 minutes and called the front desk again and told them post the guys by the door, call the cops, something. It's 2:30 by now. I also explained they'd better be ready to cough up some cash the next morning because the hotel was built like a piece of Swiss cheese. You could hear everything. So finally I fell out around 3 am and all was quite. We got $25 back at checkout so for their efforts I have them a 'B'.

Any more, before I get into any kind of fit of mild rage I ask myself, is it just me? Am I really this easy to set off? Am I just looking for something to be pissed off about all the time? Sometimes it is just me and I bite my tongue and just gripe about it to somebody else later on for a good story. But dag gone, what gives. Who wants to party at a hotel in Beckley at 2am in March. I lived in WV for 22 years and don't remember any crazy stories of Beckley hotel parties. So this goes back to my first statement. I'm an asshole magnet. I attract the rudest, stupidest, brainless, $hitless, worthless people you can find. I just don't know what it is. It's not that red headed people are mad all the time, it's just we seem to draw out the morons of the world. I'm debating on just staying home from now on. But we can't let them win.


So, "keep firing assholes!".

Macado's

ah, eating at our favorite restaurant, macado's. good old college days food. the best rolling rock around.