Trip Report The Audrey’s 3rd Birthday Trip Trip Report…!!!!!

Who: myself (Steve), my DWifey of 35+ years (Carolyn), oldest DD (Megan, turned 33 today), DS (Matthew, 31), youngest DD (Sarah, 29), SonIL (Daniel, oldest DDs husband, 34), oldest granddaughter (Emory, “Emmy”, 5) and youngest granddaughter (Audrey, turned 3 during the trip) for who the TR title is obviously dedicated to…!!!

When: June 26th to July 2nd, 2024.

Where: Old Key West Resort. First time ever staying there…!!!

Some initial fave PP pics below…!!!!!

More to come, soon…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

After our second ride on LwtL we headed out, but not before seeing Mickey again at Garden Grill…!!!

At this point it was about 5:05p, so we made our way towards our 5:30p ADR…

We may have not been appropriately attired for this pavilion…

Emmy was both excited and hungry…!!!

We’ve dined at the Biergarten a coupla’ times before, and it was good to be back (we also all have a good bit of German heritage in our background)…!!!

We were seated on time and had a pretty good view of the stage, even from up top, and Megan went over the vegan situation for herself, Emmy and Audrey with our server…

My liter (34.814 fl. oz. ) of Warsteiner Dunkel…!!!!!

As posted above, we’ve eaten here a coupla’ times before, but this time it was particularly delicious…!!!!!
My plate…
German potato salad, liverwurst, bratwurst, sauerkraut, red cabbage, sauerbraten, schnitzel, meatballs, Black Forest cake and apple strudel…!!!!!

Below is a video of Megan, Daniel, Emmy and Audrey on the dance floor that makes me very happy…!!!!!



Up next: Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

 

[erstwo]

Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

After our second ride on LwtL we headed out, but not before seeing Mickey again at Garden Grill…!!!

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At this point it was about 5:05p, so we made our way towards our 5:30p ADR…

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We may have not been appropriately attired for this pavilion…

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Emmy was both excited and hungry…!!!

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We’ve dined at the Biergarten a coupla’ times before, and it was good to be back (we also all have a good bit of German heritage in our background)…!!!

We were seated on time and had a pretty good view of the stage, even from up top, and Megan went over the vegan situation for herself, Emmy and Audrey with our server…

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My liter (34.814 fl. oz. ) of Warsteiner Dunkel…!!!!!

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As posted above, we’ve eaten here a coupla’ times before, but this time it was particularly delicious…!!!!!
My plate…
German potato salad, liverwurst, bratwurst, sauerkraut, red cabbage, sauerbraten, schnitzel, meatballs, Black Forest cake and apple strudel…!!!!!

View attachment 815477

Below is a video of Megan, Daniel, Emmy and Audrey on the dance floor that makes me very happy…!!!!!



Up next: Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

Sehr gut!

 

[donaldtoo]

Sehr gut!

In der Tat…!!!
(I had to remind myself of the phrase…!!! )

 

[donaldtoo]

Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

It was about 7p when we headed outta’ Biergarten with our bellies full of delicious German fare, and it was drizzling. Ya’ know, that kinda’ rain that’s not too bad, but just enough to be annoying…!!!

We were on our way to Spaceship Earth, but decided to drop into the Creations Shop along the way…

Some closer-up shots of the Mickey wall and the Mickey statues, which I really like…!!!

We just browsed and purchased nothing, but it was fun to look at all the merch…!!!

After we left, Emmy needed to visit the restroom, so Megan went with her to the ones behind Club Cool.
On their way back, Emmy said to Megan “We need to get Pappy a Beverly…!!!”
I may have gotten a bit misty at the sight below, because it was just sooooooo darn sweet…!!!!!

Up next: Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

On a side note…
It’s been yet another toasty one here today, even in the middle of September…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Milestone birthday thread interlude…

Our youngest child (of 3) Sarah (Aunt Sassy ) turns 30 tomorrow…!!!!!
I was tempted to say how time flies, but I then remembered this quote…
“Time goes, you say? Ah no! Alas, time stays, we go.” ~ Henry Austin Dobson

Anyhoo, Sarah wanted to go to Chuy’s for lunch.
Only 7 of us went, as, unfortunately, Matthew had a shift at Goodwill. We ended up going to the one near our old home.
Sarah with Emmy and Audrey, out in front of Chuy’s…!!!

We ate at a booth in the back bar area, and the theming there is just as fun as it is in the entire place…!!!

And, ya’ gotta love “The King” fun…!!!!!

My Dos Equis Ambar, chips with salsa, guacamole and creamy jalapeño dipping sauce, and my Baja Shrimp Taco plate…!!!!!

Emmy and Audrey enjoying their meal…!!!!!

And, the mini Elvis shrine in the vestibule (I love how below his name it says “1935 - ?”…!!!!!

After that, we went bowling, of course…!!!!!
We went to an iconic Austin bowling alley that Carolyn and I used to go to when we were dating, after we were married and also took our kiddos to in years past.
The place was supposed to close earlier this year, but, fortunately, the lease was extended through 2025.
It sits on prime real estate, and we’re losing too many iconic Austin establishments these days, unfortunately.
Anyhoo, it was just more awesome family time, and we all had a blast…!!!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Also, it was another VERY toasty one here today…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

Time for some Spaceship Earth…!!!

So, it was just before this attraction that I finally figured out the best way to use my iPhone for dark rides.
“Figured out” meaning I finally just asked my IT (an IT guy for Facebook) SonIL…!!!!!
My iPhone automatically defaults to “Night Mode” in low light situations, as in there’s always an exposure delay of however many seconds the
sensor determines.
Great, if you and your subject are motionless for the required exposure seconds, but if either you or your subject are moving, or both, not good.
I did not know you could simply disable “Night Mode”…!!!!!
Although, the pics always show up on this site a bit degraded, I understand why, but my pics on my phone are much more clear.
Well, once that got settled, although not nearly perfect, I got some decent shots from Spaceship Earth…!!!

Up next: Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

 

[fractal]

One day I'll get to the Beirgarten - looks like so much fun!

Granddaughter bringing you Beverly - that's awesome!

 

[donaldtoo]

One day I'll get to the Beirgarten - looks like so much fun!

Granddaughter bringing you Beverly - that's awesome!

The Biergarten is definitely fun and the food is really good, so it’s worth it to us…!!!!!
Give it a shot, if you don’t like it, at least you’ll know…!!!

And yes, the Beverly was a heart-melting moment…!!!!!
Last week, Megan and Daniel had a parent-teacher conference with Emmy’s teacher.
Emmy LOVES school, and her teacher said that she’s sooo sweet…she gets her work done, then tries to help her classmates in any way she can, is always in good spirits, and just genuinely cares about others.
I can verify that one of the greatest accomplishments of my life has been to raise our 3 children, alongside my beautiful, wonderful wife, to responsible and productive adulthood, without a doubt…but the amazing granddaughters are the topper…!!!!!!!

Sorry, but this is my thread, and I’ll be crazily proud if I want…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

More from Spaceship Earth…!!!

Disney can do some seriously fun projection on this puppy these days, and it’s pretty cool…!!!

I first rode this attraction on our honeymoon in Dec. of ‘88 on my first WDW visit, and it was the Walter Cronkite version.
The Vic Perrin version was before that, so, obviously, never rode that, but I have watched YouTube video…!!!

And this, I remember vividly from my childhood…!!!!!
It’s really what got me into my love of flying and space travel/exploration…!!!

Up next: Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

 

[Dave B]

Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued…!!!

A few more pics from Engine Co. 71…

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Then, we took that stroll down Main Street USA, towards Cinderella Castle, with Audrey granting wishes along the way…!!!

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Up next: Friday, June 28th, and Audrey’s 3rd birthday celebration at MK continued…!!!

I miss the sorcerer's magic game and the game cards they used to give out in the fire station

 

[donaldtoo]

Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

Gotta’ love some Spaceship Earth gifs of old stuff from days gone by…!!!

And my last pics from Spaceship Earth…the silliness at the end still cracks me up…!!!!!

Yes, we cheated here a bit, as SonIL shined his iPhone light on the scene for me so I could get a decent shot…fortunately, no other guests were injured during the shoosting of this shot…

Up next: Saturday, June 29th, and our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

I miss the sorcerer's magic game and the game cards they used to give out in the fire station

When was that, because, honestly and respectfully, I don’t remember that…?!

 

[donaldtoo]

Saturday, June 29th, and the last of our EPCOT Center day continued…!!!

At this point, it was about 8:15p, and since we’d all been up again since early morning, including Emmy and Audrey, we were all ready to call it a good day…!!!!!

Closing pics from our EPCOT Center day…!!!

And, our dear lil’ Audrey was a bit tuckered in these last coupla’ PPP pics…!!!!!

Up next: Sunday, June 30th, and another non-Park day…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Sunday, June 30th, and another non-Park day…!!!

We were heading to a breakfast ADR on this morning, so we first took a bus to MK….!!!

We then took a monorail ride…!!!!!

Gotta’ love a monorail ride…!!!

Up next: Sunday, June 30th, and another non-Park day continued…!!!

 

[riverside]

Wow!! Your pics from inside SSE are amazing!! So crisp & clear!! What’s your secret? Mine are always blurry!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Sunday, June 30th, and another non-Park day continued…!!!

Yep, we were headed for the ‘Ohana Best Friends Character Breakfast, yet again on this trip…we had so much fun there on our last trip, that we really wanted to do it again…!!!

Gettin’ ready to disembark from the monorail, and makin’ our way into the upper lobby…

I still miss the bygone water feature that was at the lower level lobby, although, what’s there now is, obviously, much more practical and less prone to mold, etc.
We have family pics in front of it from years past, but, unfortunately, I have none on this phone (the phone those pics are on - a “Crackberry” - needs to be brought back from the dead, and I just haven’t gotten to it yet)…

We arrived well before our 10a ADR, so we had some time to kill.
Uncle Matt had gotten Emmy into pin trading for this trip, making a stop at the gift shop to check out their pin board a must…!!!

I love how they did a pretty good job of disguising the A/C register (green check) in the ceiling design below…!!!

Really want to stay here someday…it’s on the bucket list…!!!

The last coupla’ pics for this post…!!!

Up next: Sunday, June 30th, and another non-Park day continued…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Wow!! Your pics from inside SSE are amazing!! So crisp & clear!! What’s your secret? Mine are always blurry!!

Thank you…!!!

Not sure what you’re using to take your pics with, but those pics were taken with an iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The camera automatically defaults to “Night Mode” in low-light situations, meaning there will be a longer exposure. The exposure time shows up in a yellow oval icon in the upper left of your phone screen. This is great if both you and your subject are still for the required time. Not good if you or your subject (or both) are moving.
In the first screenshot below, you can see the oval in the upper left showing 3 seconds of exposure time (it will vary, depending on the sensor).
The screenshot below the above screenshot shows the night mode disabled, which is done by simply tapping the icon.

Some of my previous posts in this thread explain that I was having trouble “dialing in” my iPhone camera. The problem was solved when I simply consulted our SonIL, who was also on the trip with us…!!!!!
I sure wish I woulda’ “consulted” with him at the beginning of the trip…!!!
Hope this info helps…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Sunday, June 30th, and another non-Park day continued…!!!

We were actually seated at about 10:15a, but no biggie as we had nowhere else to be after that for the rest of the day…!!!

We started off, of course, with fruit, pineapple bread and POG juice, and everyone was happy…!!!!!

Then came the serious food…!!!

My plate, with scrambled eggs, pineapple ham, potato wedges, pork sausages and a Mickey waffle…!!!!!

And, along with Mickey waffles, there were also Stitch waffles…!!!

Up next: Sunday, June 30th, and another non-Park day continued…!!!