Nanette & Girl Scout Troop - June 2006

Day Three, 6/17
Today was a sleep-in/swimming/Water Park/shopping/park morning. We called it "free time" so that the girls could have some free time with their moms. Really, I put it in the schedule because I had one mom and daughter that had a 9:30 a.m. flight on Sunday morning. Sunday was supposed to be our "free" day, but I didn't want them to lose out on visiting Downtown Disney so incorporated another free period for them. My daughter and I decided that we wanted to check out Blizzard Beach since we didn't get to on Friday. We were already to go, but Vicki, Tai, and Rachel wanted to go with us and they weren't ready. So, we decided to go ahead and wait for them. Well, waiting for them wasn't the long part… waiting for the bus was! It amazed me that we waited longer for a bus to Blizzard Beach, the closest thing to our resort, than we waited for any other bus! We finally got to Blizzard Beach. Amanda was very excited and all I wanted to do was hop in the lazy river… if I could only remember how I got on that darn inner tube!? Well, I suppose my memory isn't as bad as I thought and I hopped right on. It was SO wonderful! I didn't think that Blizzard Beach was quite as "peaceful" as Typhoon Lagoon though. I know that the kids prefer it because of the big water slides, but Typhoon Lagoon has that tropical atmosphere which I found much more relaxing. We only got about three-quarters the way around the river when I noticed my watch and the time and Vicki, Rachel, and I decided to hop off if we wanted to try anything else. We had lost the other girls (Amanda, Tai, Sami, and Sam) long ago. Vicki and I were worried that the girls would not come back in time as none of them were wearing watches. We were able to ride one lame inner-tube ride because all of the other water slides had 30-minute or more waits! We noticed the time again and made our way back to where we put our towels. We decided that I would stay there while Vicki went to get her backpack out of the locker. As she and Rachel were leaving the area, Rachel spied the girls. Phew! That was luck! We gathered our stuff and headed to the bus… and waited… and waited… and waited. Several of us called home to see how things were going there. Others twiddled their thumbs (ha ha). Finally, the bus came!!! Fortunately, it was short ride from Blizzard Beach to All-Star Movies. We went to our rooms and got ready to meet for lunch. While we were getting ready, I got a call from Jamie. Jamie, Danielle, Janice, Katelyn, and Cheyanne went shopping in Downtown Disney. They apparently waited for a long time to get a bus this morning and didn't have as much time down there as they wanted. They used one of their plus options and ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in Disney Quest and said they would meet us at MGM. Okay. Apparently Georgia and Taylor were having the same problems and would meet us there, too.

So, the rest of us ate lunch at the resort and then made our way over the MGM. We decided to go in and take a potty break and then find out where everyone was. What luck… again… they were all in the bathroom, too! We had our pictures taken by the Disney photographer and then went our separate ways… thrill riders went to Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror and the rest of us went to the Great Movie Ride and Beauty and the Beast. My group completely enjoyed both. I was thrilled that Four for a Dollar was performing because when I was there with my mom in February 2004, they weren't. They are amazing! After we did our things, we met up at Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Play It. Everyone had fun playing along and when the person in the hot seat called a complete stranger who happened to be from Richmond, we all screamed and yelled! It was so much fun! After the game, we walked over to the Streets of America. I thought everyone would enjoy seeing the sets. Just as we turned the corner outside of the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground, there was music… music I knew! I can't recall what the name of the band is, but they "pretend" to be gardeners and then put on a terrific show. The girls were really getting into it and I think Vicki and I were enjoying it as much or more than they were! I got the girls' picture taken with the bass player who was a real sport. I can't wait to go back and hear them again! We did the corny pictures on the street of San Francisco, Vicki and I pretended to be Laverne and Shirley walking down the flight of stairs (our Service Unit Director calls us Laverne and Shirley or Lucy and Ethel), and the girls were going to a premiere at the theater. By the time we made our way out of New York and into Star Wars-land, the girls wanted their picture on the Jedi fighter (is that what it is called?) and then they all went on the ride since it was a 10- minute wait. The restaurant I had chosen for us was right there anyway (Backlot Express). We had dinner and then since there were two Fantasmic shows that night (which I didn't realize when I did the original itinerary), some decided to see the first show and the rest saw the second show. After browsing in the Art shop in the Magic of Disney Animation and then watching the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, we met up with the others for the last showing of Fantasmic. I think that going to the last showing was the best choice. We had the BEST seats I have ever had and it made it so much more enjoyable. I will never forget what Amanda said while we were watching, "Mommy, I don't remember ever getting wet while watching Fantasmic." Me: "Amanda, we have never been here when it has been windy!" On that note, we had the BEST weather, too (other than the one rain storm). After Fantasmic, we slowly headed toward the buses. Another reason why it was a good idea to stay late was that we were basically the only ones waiting for the bus! After our trip back to the resort, we all went back to the rooms thinking we would have to tiptoe around (since Cheyanne went back with the early group), but much to our surprise, they all decided to go swimming when they got back to the resort! This was good for me as I really wanted to get a head start on my packing and not waste the whole morning doing it. I couldn't believe that three days had already gone by! I was already getting sad since tomorrow would be our departure day.

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