August 2014 Trip - The First Few Days

Life just seems to fly by sometimes and I haven't set aside the time to dig into what I wore and how it all worked out. I had hoped to get some more photos from my sister, who took tons on her phone, but despite 8 reminders (EIGHT!), she doesn't seem motivated to upload them anywhere so about half of the photos I should have are inaccessible to me. *super sad face* I just hope I get to see them someday.

In the meantime, hubby and I took some, and we have PhotoPass photos as well!

Speaking of PhotoPass...we have never done it before. It used to be you had to carry the card around and pull it out any time you wanted photos, and mostly the photos were purchased a la carte for ridiculous prices. Well good news, you can STILL get photos at ridiculous prices (that's not the good part), but they have implemented "Memory Maker" with the new Magic Band technology.  It is $200 and covers every photo taken throughout the PhotoPass and ride system. This means you just swipe your band with any photographer and have as many photos as you want taken, and they automatically go up to the cloud. Even more amazing, it automatically detects what car you're in on rides with ride photos, and those also get added to your account--no more waiting to remember a number, wait in line to order it at the kiosk. It just goes straight to your account, no waiting.

The whole thing can be easily attached to your MyDisneyExperience.com profile so you can log in and see all the photos you took. And with Magic Maker, you get them ALL. No agonizing over choosing the best and paying high prices to get them printed out or e-mailed to you. And better yet? If you are traveling with others, anyone who is linked to your profile can see the photos, too. So don't go buying three Magic Maker accounts for your three family members. Just create one and make sure you are linked up on MyDisneyExperience.com, and you can all see the photos! It was super cool and worth every penny to us. Especially since it includes the ridiculous and sublime "ride video" on Tower of Terror! LOL The website allows you to download the entire shebang, or one at a time if you prefer. I downloaded them all, and now have literally hundreds of photos from our days in the parks to enjoy.

But I digress. Back to fashion and vacay debrief!


Day 0 - FLIGHT AND DINNER

Our flight down was as comfy as could be. We didn't have anyone sitting in the row with us, we we could spread out a bit. Which is great when you have a 6'1 bear of a hubby to sit next to, being able to give him space to be more comfy is better all around.

I wore my blue stripey jersey dress from Target and my slip-on Keens You can kinda see it here in this luxurious photo of my knitting and iPad taking up the middle seat on a 5 hour flight. Bliss! Didn't really get any other photos. But I was glad I wore something comfy and cool, because a thunderstorm rolled in to Orlando just as we arrived. We got stopped 200 feet from the gate and had to sit on the tarmac almost 2 hours waiting for it to pass, since it is FAA law that if there is lightning within 3 miles of the airport, all outdoor personnel must shelter. The air conditioning wasn't running at its peak while the plane was running in a lower power mode, so it got stuffy in there. I had a sweater in case the opposite happened and the AC was too crazy. Layers FTW.

Jersey dresses are my heroes of fashion. They make you look and feel a little more polished, but they have the comfort of pyjamas. You can dress them up or down, accessorize them, layer them with tights, sweaters, socks, etc.

After we finally got off the plane, we found our awesome driver from Tiffany Towncar, grabbed our luggage, and head for our grocery stop.  We were running very late for our dinner plans at Teppan Edo, so I called the dining line and pushed our reservation back to 8:30 from 7pm. No problem. And man...it was raiiiiiiny. Not the usual little afternoon squall, but real rain. And the forecast was for the entire week to be thunderstorms. Yay.

At the hotel, the BoardWalk Inn, we parted ways with my sister as we head to concierge check-in. We had a kind bellhop take our items to our room as we met with our concierge and got oriented. We got all our requests for our room! Near the concierge lounge and entry, king bed with view of the BoardWalk. We could hear the boats honking as they came and went, and just look at this view at night. BLISS! We had a little balcony, just enough for two. We were thrilled.

But no time to relax! We unpacked a little bit, changed, and met my sister to walk to Epcot for dinner. Teppan Edo is the teppenyaki place in Japan. We go there once every trip as it is one of hubby's favorite spots (and sis, too, so it was a must-do). We were seated with a group of ladies who were all Cast Members in the intern program, as well as a couple friends of theirs visiting from out of town. It was not the most lively group we ever sat with, but it was a nice enough time. I wore my American Rag Flutter Sleeve Top, Old Navy Skinny Bermudas in black, and my coral Softspot Sheela sandals.

On the relatively short walk from the hotel to the restaurant, it was sadly confirmed that these otherwise very comfortable sandals would not be all-day wearable for yours truly. Moisture really makes a huge difference in how shoes wear on you, and with the moisture of combined humidity, sweat, and occasional rain, the leather began to rub my skin and threaten some serious blisters. So this was the only day I got to wear them. Oh well, they will be fine for Seattle springs and summers, as they are still incredibly comfortable otherwise.

Didn't get any full-body photos of the outfit, but you get the idea. Simple, comfy, suited the environment. We head back to the hotel, cracked a bottle of wine and sat on the veranda watching the boats float by, guests walk past on the boardwalk, and enjoying the din of the street performers putting on nightly shows. Before bed, we finished unpacking and settling in, which included my "altar to all things I love"--a little shelf that needed a job, so I gave it one holding up wine, shoes, and my birthday card from Mickey that was on the bed when we arrived. A great start to the trip!