Saturday October 13th

I woke up at 7:30 am with no problem and was raring to go. My mom went down to the food court to get a croissant and coffee for herself. I still felt full so I was unsure as to what I wanted. I knew I had to eat something though. We both showered/got ready/watched ESPN and then it was my turn to go to the food court. I decided on a yogurt parfait…it had strawberries and granola and it was really good. I wanted to leave a little before 9 to make sure we’d make it to the Soarin’ meet on time. We made it in plenty of time and headed straight to The Land pavilion. I thought we were meeting outside. We had this ongoing joke that we were the only ones who were going to show up for the meet so when we didn’t see anyone outside we were a bit worried! We went inside and down the escalator and I luckily saw some people with Intercot shirts. I felt a little shy at first, but that quickly went away. We chatted with Brad (Brad192) and Sherry (SherryNNY) before the group got into line. It didn’t take long at all...maybe 20 minutes? We almost took up a whole thing on Soarin’…we took up the first 2 rows and Sherry, my mom and I were in row 3. I was excited for Brad because it was his first time riding. After our flight we reconvened in the lobby. We met Ellen who had our nametags. I was SO glad that she had those made up. It made it so much easier figuring out who was who. My mom thought it was so nice that there was one made up for her – so thank you Ellen! Next our group of about 20 walked (and somehow stayed together) over and did The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Turtle Talk. The show was hilarious!!! I’ve seen it before and it’s always different each time. I’m glad we all did it. The next ride through was the Grand Fiesta in Mexico. We all hung out/chatted outside the temple before heading in. This time we took up 2 boats. After the ride everyone seemed to go their own way. Brad had mentioned to my mom something about a Sam Adams beer tasting in America so off we went to investigate. The next tasting was at 12:30, so while she did that I went back towards Future World to do Test Track. (I don’t drink and my mom can’t do Test Track because of her neck so it worked out). Along the way I spotted Brad and convinced him to ride Test Track with me. We went in the single rider’s line, but ended up in the same car anyway. It was fun and we were in a car with first timers. After our ride Brad headed back towards World Showcase and I headed towards Mousegears to meet my mom. I spotted Kathy (TikiGoddess) and we talked for a few minutes about seltzer and running . It was nice talking with her, but she had to get to her tea and we were going to go and ride The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror quick so we bid her adieu and knew we would see her later that evening. After making a wrong turn and ending back up on I-4 (it just didn’t “feel” right being out of WDW for those few minutes) we decided to just head back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation. I had a snack and then I slept and my mom swam. It was just what I needed to rejuvenate me for the evening. We had a 6:15 ADR for Biergarten…but we tried to get in a little earlier so we could get to the Norway pavilion in time to meet Mickey! It worked out and we were seated just before 6. The meal was absolutely delicious. We had tried it for the first time last month and decided that we had to go back again. Favorites of mine included: potato leek soup, pretzel bread, rosemary roasted chicken, various salads, potato dumplings, spatzle, and of course…..macaroni and cheese. We split a piece of apple struedel and bavarian cheesecake in order to save our appetites for the desserts later on in the evening. We high tailed it over to Norway and got in line with everyone else. It was neat being able to go “backstage” above the ride. I got some good pictures too. Then we all went over to France where our party was set up. We got all our goodies (thank you so much John!) and just mingled with some people. I really enjoyed talking with Greg (Greggo77), Bethany (BronxTigger), Jared (Disney_Nut), Deb (disneydeb), and Brad (Brad192). It was funny how we were talking about message board “stuff”. We’re all in the same boat though. Thanks to Cher (SorcererofFantasia) for taking our picture! The desserts were AWESOME. I had a bite (or 2) of almost everything!!! My mom has a severe nut allergy and couldn’t eat anything, but since Disney rocks…the cast member brought her out a special dessert plate with fresh fruit and nut free brownies. That totally made her day/night. Then it was time for the show. Thank you so much Ian for letting me get in “the front row”. I really appreciated that. It was gorgeous and magical being with all you fellow disney fanatics. After the show we all got our picture taken (that was interesting) and then everyone went their separate ways.

I was thinking about going to the Animal Kingdom on Sunday, but I knew I would be too sad leaving so I just got up, packed and left. I guess it was like taking a band aid off quickly…just getting it over and done with (the going home part that is).

All in all, I had a fantastic time and I’ll definitely be attending the next meet in the near or not-so near future. I wasn’t 100% sure how it would all turn out, but I should have known better. My only regret is not being able to talk to more people and spend more time with the ones I did meet. There’s always next time I suppose!!! I also wish I got to say goodbye to everyone I met. I know we’re all connected through here though. Thanks for reading! And here are my pictures: Photos!