Greetings from Future World

Day 3 and no signs of stopping...Orlando.

Holly scheduled us at Epcot today so that we could take advantage of the Magic Hours perk, so we were in the park by 8:00am. Breakfast included a planning session, for we identified the attractions we wanted to see, but we hadn't seen where they were in relation to one another on the map.

This place - like all of the Disney properties - impress me. There is such an attention to detail, things are done on such a grand scale, it really is amazing.

We spent until 1:00pm or so in Future World where in addition to riding anything of substance or interest (and yes, a space flight simulator too), we found a cool ride inside Innoventions called The Sum of All Thrills that allowed us to design and create our own adventure course (Holly selected a jet because naturally, it goes the fastest), load it up on the computer, name it (SUPERSONIC STUNTMASTER), and then get into the simulator and ride it. No surprise, Schnoogs torqued it up so we did 2 complete rolls.

I made it out without crying or barfing, so then we ventured into the World Showcase. We spent quality time in 7 of the 11 countries featured, and really had a great time! Lunch was at a great place in Italy and once again the food, service and company were all fantastic. The good life is certainly alive and well on this trip.

After we spent some time in Canada, Holly was ready for another round in the Orange Team Intense Training Mission Space ride, so Mommy opted to ride in a nice boat back around to Germany where she sat on a carefully scoped-out bench to save some prime viewing seats for Illuminations. It was actually a very nice time to sit in the park, as I watched the sun go down, talked to a variety of people who shared the bench with me and just enjoyed some quiet time.

Young Schnoogums showed back up at about 6:30 or so and we chatted the time away, with me making a couple of trips to various shops and restaurants for some tea, some wine and then a nice fleece blanket. Who says money can't buy you happiness? For $20 I got a blanket that made us both sooooooooo happy as we sat together nice and toasty and Holly wore it out of the park, right up until we got back to our hotel room.

Illuminations was of course an amazing show and while I (surprisingly) did not cry during the fireworks, I was certainly awed and inspired by just how lucky I am to be here with my girl and what a great kid she is. We are officially celebrating her birthday on this trip; we have been fortunate enough to have the Schnoogs enriching our lives for 20 years now. I expect that the word from my future world is that Holly continues to grow to be a happy, healthy and significant person...she certainly is all of those things today!

I have posted some pix on Facebook. If you haven't already done so, check them out (but leave yourself some time, as we are crazy picture takers and the selections included are only a small part of the massive collection on my camera!)