Celebrating the 60's Day 2!

Day 2 of our 60th Birthday Celebration at Walt Disney World found us at Epcot. It's our favorite park to go to when we are not in a rush. It's always the least crowded. We always start out at the Fountain for coffee! Years ago it was a little ice cream shop, but recently it has become Fountain View & Starbucks! That is totally ok with us!

Happy Birthday to me from Starbucks & Disney Parks!

No trip to Walt Disneyworld is complete without a visit with Mickey & a few of his pals! Especially when it's your birthday! I'm pretty sure they knew I was coming! They were so happy to see me!

Lots of xoxo from Mickey!

Awwwww. I love this Goofy guy! It was his birthday too!

We rode all the fun rides! Spaceship Earth is always first! I never get tired of taking a trip through all of that history! The digital adventure at the end is just silly! Next was The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Who doesn't love a ride in a clamshell?! We spent the majority of time in the Land. We watched the Circle of Life, Rode Living with the Land and everybody's favorite Soarin. That is still just the best ride ever. I always feel like I just came home from a quick California trip when I get off of that hang glider! I walk out of there humming the song! I think everybody does! Lunch in the Land was next. There is plenty to choose from in Sunshine Seasons. We finished the afternoon with Figment & Captain EO!

 Next we headed over to the World Showcase. Thats always so much fun! It's like taking quick day trips to different countries! You will always see something different each time you go! We got Creme Brûlée in France, stopped for a quick photo in Japan and then ate dinner in Italy! 

Japan

The Trevi Fountain....its beautiful in Italy

We passed through jolly old England and stopped to visit with Mary Poppins! She agreed I was practically perfect in every way! My name is Mary, of course!

Its a jolly holiday with Mary!

We found a perfect spot in Mexico to take a Frappaccino break & wait for Illuminations:Reflections of Earth to begin.  We don't like to miss this! It is a wonderful fireworks show that celebrates the spirit of humanity! It is shown in the World Showcase Lagoon and lights up the whole sky. The pictures never real do it justice!

Perfect spot for a Frappaccino! I think so!

You just have to be there for this!

After the show, we like to just take our time walking out of the park. We are never in a rush in this park! I love the music We Go On blasting on the speakers as you exit! and of course waiting at the exit is the Geosphere, all lit up! It is really just beautiful!  

We close this park down every time!

Another perfect day at the happiest place on earth! Happy Birthday again  & again to me! I'm going to keep celebrating the 60's! 

xoxo Grandmary

Celebrate the 60's!

One day into my 60's my husband said, "you're off til Friday? Want to go to Disneyworld for your birthday?" An hour later, we were packed, out the door & on our way! We have Annual Passes, so it's easy for us to just plan an impulsive trip! Literally, this trip happened over the second cup of coffee Sunday morning! For those that know us, it doesn't take us long to plan a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth!

Its about a 7-8 hour drive, if we don't stop too many times! When its just us we usually find a hotel when we get there. #iknow that's crazy and yes, over the years we have spent a night or two in the car! Once in the parking lot of a veterinarians office. OMG that was insane! And once we had a room that wasn't level! It was downhill from the bed to the bathroom and the shower was an overflow on one end! I guess you get what you pay for! But most of the time, we just watch the hotel marquee's and pick something that says cheap & vacancy & hope for the best! Then we just have to pay for food! It's a fun way to travel if you don't mind a surprise or a disaster every now & then! We like to think that 'this is how we roll' & it works for us! (which is probably why my daughter is a a Disney Travel Planner, Mainstreet Memories on FB. She's a bit more organized & she figured out that is not how most normal people travel!) 

So anyway, back to Celebrating Me! First stop, Magic Kingdom! Who doesn't love a little bit of Magic for your birthday!

Mainstreet USA! Happy Birthday to me!

This Never Gets Old! My favorite photo spot!

We had a fun morning riding all of our favorite rides! I always like to pretend it's my first time to be there. It just makes it more fun to experience all of the Magic again and again! I guess thats why it never gets old! There has been a lot of new stuff added & refurbished in the last few years. Our mission is to see all the new attractions, rides, shows, everything big or small every time we go. After a few hours we went to one of our favorite lunch spots Columbia Harbour House, ate the best tuna fish sandwich on the planet & took a little break. We like to sit upstairs next to the window overlooking Fantasyland! It's a fun place to people watch! After lunch, it was just about time to find a spot for the parade!

Three o'clock! My favorite time of the day. Time for the new Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade & we had a spot right in front of Cinderella Castle! Perfect. For the record, the three o'clock parade has been 'closed for refurbishment' for about 6 months! It was worth the wait! The Festival of Fantasy was absolutely wonderful! So colorful and full of happy magical energy! The floats were beautiful. The street entertainers, dancers, characters and music filled the atmosphere with magic! I'm not planning to ever skip this parade! I loved everything about it!

 We finished the night with Wishes nighttime spectacular! A sky full of amazing fireworks orchestrated perfectly with music, Castle lights & Tinkerbell! I always get a little teary eyed during this show! Its a perfect way to end a perfect day! I love the excitement on Mainstreet at night. Everyone is rushing to get to the Emporium and Confectionery to buy those last minute treasures to take home! Everyone looks tired, children are carried out, but no one is really ready to leave! There is nothing prettier than Cinderella Castle at night. I simply cannot resist taking one more picture!

I don't know how many times we have been to Disneyworld. At least a million if I had to guess! But I have never been on the actual day of my birthday! May is a busy month for us. We have so many birthdays, two of my granddaughters are one & three days after my birthday, there are always end of the school year activities, graduations, and Mothers Day all within a 2 week span! So we usually can't squeeze another thing into May! I'm glad this year was different. It was a really fun day! Officially, Day one of my Disneyworld 60th birthday celebration was a huge success!  A huge thanks to my husband Johnny for making the whole day all about me! And telling me over & over 'remember our first trip when the kids were little & the trip when the grandkids did this or that & that time Prince Charming wished you happy anniversary'. Such sweet memories that just makes my heart full. 

I'm still struggling with that big 'ol Sixty word. I can totally relate to Peter Pan. I know in my heart I'll never grow up! My heart will always skip a little beat when I see the Castle for the 'first time' again, every trip! I will always get teary when I see Cinderella. She is so beautiful. period. I will always race to get in line to ride a ride or take a picture with a character. I will always sing out loud at the parade & fireworks. I will always dance with the trolley people right down the middle of Maninstreet USA! So here we go 60's!  Its the time of our life! Time to Celebrate!  

xoxo Grandmary

This is the day I've been dreading for 21 years! When I turned 39, I knew it was coming! It's official. I'm over 60. I am officially on The Other Side of 60! I'm curious to see how things will shake out! #iknow It's early yet! As far as I can tell, so far so good!

It all started out with a huge SURPRISE 60th birthday party for me & my twin sister! Yup! there are two of us!

Nothing more fun than a photo booth on your 60th birthday! Me & Teri!

It was such a fun party! Cake, ice cream, presents, family, friends & fun! It really doesn't get any better than that! Oh wait! YES it does! We had our own #hashtag! #twin60  Seriously, our very own #hashtag!  OK, it might be kind of fun to be 60 in this crazy social media world!

Do you see it? Right there in the bottom right corner! #twin60

We took a bunch of pictures & #hashtag'd #twin60! And everybody 'checked in'! It was crazy! Those teenager grandkids don't have anything on us!

So for now, I'm trying to be happy to be part of the over 60 crowd but its definitely a new role for me!  I think I'm going to give myself a little time to grow into it!  I'm having a little struggle with  that S(ixty) word! But.....I'm going to embrace it or just fake it really good until it feels right!  Hello 60's! I'm planning to ROCK you!

xo Peace, Love & Grandmary

so it's been a year? Wow! Where have I been? Time to catch up. I'll definitely post about the 2013 Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge!  The short version is OMG! I can't believe I did it! I crammed my run calendar full until June then I sat down until September! We jet settled to Europe for 3 weeks & then came home in time to settle into the holidays again! And now here it is May 2014! Lots to talk about! Stay tuned. Much more to come! Soon. xo Peace Love & Grandmary