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]

Insane!!Nothing like Texas in the summer

Indeed…!!!!!
We reached a high of 106 on Friday, but only 102 yesterday.
Currently (at 11a-ish), it’s 91 with a real feel of 106.
We should be into triple digits again this afternoon…!!!

 

[luvinthemajik]

Indeed…!!!!!
We reached a high of 106 on Friday, but only 102 yesterday.
Currently (at 11a-ish), it’s 91 with a real feel of 106.
We should be into triple digits again this afternoon…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

OK, on with this TR…

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

And, speaking of Shirley status, there was none on our bus ride to Epcot, but there was, yet again…!!!!!

Also, as we all know, there is no reveal regarding the Epcot “castle”, as you can see Spaceship Earth from, almost, everywhere…!!!!!

Emmy pointed the way…sort of…!!!!!

And, just some random shots as we made our way into World Showcase at about 8:30a…!!!

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

 

[MinnieM123]

One more life update regarding my beautiful MIL…
The memorial service for my MIL yesterday was beyond perfect and beautiful, thanks to my amazing wife Carolyn, and our two amazing daughters Megan and Sarah.

Sounds like a very nice memorial service for Shirley, thanks to all involved. She was loved by the family, and well taken care of. Glad that you all have fond memories of her, for years to come.

 

[Minnie1986]

Indeed, and thank you very much…!!!
We were there at MK for Emmy’s 5th birthday last October, so we just felt the “need” to celebrate Audrey’s 3rd birthday in MK as well.
Our two granddaughters are beyond amazing…….

Sorry, but I have to share…
Emmy gets what’s happened to her Mimi to a point, but Audrey, obviously doesn’t quite understand. She keeps doing drawings for her Mimi, and says “When is Mimi going to quit dying so I can give these to her…?!”

Sorry, I’m just a mess right now.
My sincerest apologies for doing this to your nice post.

No apologies necessary; you have every right to being going through the motions right now. Sweet Aubrey will get there, and what matters most is that she has a great family when she does; life is interesting at that age.

 

[Minnie1986]

Thank you very much, but it was kind of an accidental photo, as I couldn’t get closer to the end of the bridge, if the reflection one is the one you’re referring to.
Either way, thank you…!!!

Sometimes I find that the accidental pictures turn out to be my favorite

 

[donaldtoo]

Sounds like a very nice memorial service for Shirley, thanks to all involved. She was loved by the family, and well taken care of. Glad that you all have fond memories of her, for years to come.

Thank you so very much, my friend…!!!

Something else that showed her never-ending sense of humor just came to mind…
As you know, she was involved in her final arrangements. When she found out that the cemetery where here ashes would be put near her parents wanted $950 to dig a 16”x16” hole for the repose of said ashes she said “Hell, just give Steve and Matthew a pickaxe and a coupla’ shovels, and they’ll have it done in two minutes, for nothin’…!!!”
She was definitely a hoot…!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

No apologies necessary; you have every right to being going through the motions right now. Sweet Aubrey will get there, and what matters most is that she has a great family when she does; life is interesting at that age.

Thank you so very much…!!!
She passed on the 2nd of this month, and last night it all finally really caught up with me.
I was such a mess that I didn’t even get into our bed with Carolyn until around 4a.
I just needed to finally quit trying to be a stone and let it out.
Anyway, again, thank you.

 

[donaldtoo]

Sometimes I find that the accidental pictures turn out to be my favorite

Indeed…!!!
I was frustrated that I couldn’t get the classic shot, because of all the other Guests in front of us, but later when I looked at it I thought “Hey, that’s actually a bit of a cool shot in a kinda’ different way…!!!”

 

[donaldtoo]

Our high temps for today…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

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

We have always entered Epcot from the main front gate, and we always start out going clockwise around World Showcase. No particular reason, it’s just the way we’ve always done it…and we did it, yet again…!!!!!

But, this time there was actually a reason…
We had a date with Frozen Ever After…!!!

Our ride pic…!!!!!

And, I hafta’ include this video from Megan and Daniel’s wedding, from April 5th, 2014…!!!!!!!



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

 

[donaldtoo]

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

So, after FEA, 4 of us headed one way, and 4 of us headed another.
Those in our group in their late 20’s and early 30’s headed for Guardians, and those of us in our single digits and (early ) 60’s headed for a bit of a more mild attraction, which I’ll get to in a bit…!!!

I’ve always been a thrill ride junkie, my DWifey Carolyn, not so much. I’ve only ever done M:S orange, RnRC, ToT, etc. without any problems, even though I’m overweight, borderline diabetic, have HBP and a heart condition, both of the last two of those being controlled via meds…!!!!!

This trip, like the last one, was about being with our granddaughters, so we were going to spend as much time with them as we could…hey, life is short, and feels even shorter when you don’t spend what time you can with beloved family members, especially little family members that are so wonderful, and have so much life ahead of them…!!!!!

On our way to the “milder” attraction, we ran across Coco and Dante…!!!

And a monorail…I love monorails…!!!!!

Then, Disney ducks…!!!!!

OK, I’ll cut to the chase…!!!
More pics on our way to JIIWF…!!!

And, a re-creation of a pic I took accidentally last time, but on purpose this time…
Carolyn, Emmy (Emmy twice ) and Audrey reflected in the glass above the blue on their way in…!!!!!

Also, and finally, the rest of our crew and their ride pic from Guardians…!!!!!

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

 

[donaldtoo]

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

This original EPCOT Center attraction has really been mishandled and neglected over the years, but Emmy and Audrey enjoy it, as they know no other version…

Nooooooo…!!!!!
Not coffee smell…!!!!!!!!!!!

And, the last couple for this post…!!!

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

 

[donaldtoo]

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

A few more attraction pics from JiIwF…

As I posted previously, Emmy and Audrey really enjoy this attraction, but Carolyn and I have a definite affinity for the original (JiI).
She first rode it in ‘86 on a trip with her younger sis and uncle, and we first rode it together on our WDW honeymoon in Dec. of ‘88…!!!!!

After the ride, Carolyn, Emmy and Audrey had some fun with a few of the post-show games…!!!

Carolyn, Emmy and Audrey actually went on the attraction 2 more times, while we waited for the rest of our group to meet us there after their Guardians trip, and I had a date with a monorail pic I wanted to get…!!!

I waited a solid 30 minutes before the monorail finally came by at 10:19a…!!!!!

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

 

[donaldtoo]

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

After we all grouped back up, we then headed to The Seas with Nemo & Friends, and I got another monorail shot on the way…!!!

The pics below are the best I have from the attraction…this will change later in the day, as I finally dial the darn iPhone camera in…!!!

Another pretty cute attraction that Emmy and Audrey enjoy, but they like the real thing, in regards to sea creatures, better…!!!

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

 

[rshell68]

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

After Mermaid, we then headed to Tomorrowland for some CoP…!!!

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When we entered, everyone from our group immediately went into the back row…except me.
I headed for the front-ish row, as I was thinking I could get some better pics of the attraction from up there.
By the time I realized this was actually a mistake, it was too late, and I was stuck where I was.
Since I was up front, I had to keep my phone on the DL for pics, so as not to disturb the folks behind me, which then put the stage and other obstacles into play.

View attachment 810170

Anyway, a few DL shots from CoP…!

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

 

[donaldtoo]

View attachment 813519

“Mr. Baseball”, Bob Uecker…!!!!!
He’s still with us at age 90…!!!

Yep, I shoulda’ stuck with our usual plan of sitting in the back row, like the rest did…I can hold my phone up as high as I need to and just zoom in…!!!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Terrific monorail pictures!

 

[donaldtoo]

Terrific monorail pictures!

Thank you very much…!!!
The first one with the fountain and pond near the Imagination pavilion is one I’ve been wanting to get for years, but it had just never timed out properly, so this time I made it happen…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

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

How many here remember the Hydrolators, Seacabs, etc., from the original The Living Seas…?!!!!!
I really miss that awesomely creative (for the time ) Imagineering…

And, the story of two Bruce’s…sorry, couldn’t resist…!!!!!

Always hafta’ check out the manatees…!!!

Love the seahorses forever…!!!

And, these crazy heads down fish always crack me up…!!!!!

This fish is the devil…!!!!!

And, finally, Dory…!!!

I’ve got some shots of the main tank, but none of them are particularly good…!!!

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