WDW Characters

One of the unique activities at WDW is meeting the beloved Disney characters. While this isn't a particular highlight for Mark and me, we did have a few character encounters during our trip.

There are a few main ways to see characters:
--at designated times/places for character greetings
--at a character meal
--by chance as characters move through the park
--in parades (more on that in another post)

We had a few chance encounters, like seeing these two from the Jungle Book at the Animal Kingdom:

Toward the end of the trip, I decided to visit Princess Fairy Tale Hall at the Magic Kingdom, which had caught our attention throughout because of the ridiculous wait times to meet Anna and Elsa from Frozen (by ridiculous, I mean 300 minutes! We couldn't believe that people would actually do this, but they did...). Anyway, one evening, we saw a 10 minute wait to meet Rapunzel and Cinderella, and Mark was willing to go along and take my picture.

Some of the character meeting times are outdoors, so you can spot the characters and snap a quick pic without having to wait in line, like I did here with Cinderella's stepmother and sisters.

But our main character experience was the Star Wars Character Dinner at Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood Studios. Originally, we booked a meal at this restaurant in order to get the Fantasmic! Dining Package (basically seats in a reserved section for the evening show at the park). Later, the park announced that they'd be offering this character dining experience as part of the Star Wars weekends events. We were really interested in the dining package, so we decided to go ahead and keep the reservation. Unfortunately, we found that the food (a buffet) was underwhelming at best, the restaurant was noisy and a bit disorganized, the service was slow, and the whole thing was way overpriced (nearly $150!). However, we did get some cute pics with the classic Disney characters in their Star Wars costumes, plus a few professional photos of the characters on their own. In the end, I think we decided that character dining isn't really our thing, but for anyone who is really into meeting characters, it's a nice way to do it (no waiting in line!).

WDW Hotel

When we started planning this trip, Mark did a lot of research about hotels at WDW and picked out the Port Orleans: French Quarter. At Disney, there are 3 levels of hotels: value, moderate, and deluxe. When my grandparents took the family for their 50th wedding anniversary, we stayed in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, a deluxe resort. It was such a beautiful place! When Mark and I went in 2010, we stayed at Coronado Springs, a moderate resort. We liked it, but decided to try a new hotel next time. We considered a deluxe resort, but ultimately decided to stay another day and choose a less expensive option. The Port Orleans resort has two branches, and French Quarter is the smaller of the two. People recommended it because there's only one bus stop (unlike other moderate resorts, which have several), and it's relatively small, compact, and quiet. Sometimes, it shares bus service with the other Port Orleans resort (which adds at least 10 minutes to the drive), but we found that many times, we had our own bus. Also, the resort is pretty centrally located within the WDW property, so it doesn't take too long to get anywhere (unlike the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is a bit remote). It's also the only place on property that sells beignets (which were good enough to eat, but not something I'd make a special trip for). Overall, I think we really enjoyed this hotel, though I think we're considering the Contemporary (a deluxe resort within walking distance to the Magic Kingdom with great restaurants) for the next trip--if we can afford it! 

Walking toward the main building from the bus stop. 

Mark with the fountain in the lobby.

Looking toward the dining area.

One of the famous beignets (they come in a box of 3).

On the opposite side of the lobby.

Near the pool area.

Our building, which was really close to the main lobby.

View of the main lobby.

The cute display in the store window.

Our room! It's hard to see, but the towels on the corner of the
bed are arranged in a Mickey shape.

I loved this shower curtain!

Housekeeping left us a few surprises during the stay!

An Olaf towel in one of our neighbors' windows.

Last, but not least, the super cheerful doorman! 

Walt Disney World Trip

On Tuesday, Mark and I got back from a 9-day vacation at Walt Disney World--it was wonderful! This was our third trip there together, and we started planning back in the fall. By the time the trip actually happened, we had been looking forward to it for a really long time! We considered it to be an early celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary (coming up in July).

Since we got home, I've been trying to think about how to post about the trip, and I've decided to go with a few different posts on various themes. We have hundreds of pictures, too, so I'll include highlights along with each post here.

This is the longest trip we've taken to WDW, and we stayed on property at the Port Orleans: French Quarter Resort (more on the hotel in another post). We happened to be there during two major events, the Flower and Garden Festival in Epcot and the first of this summer's Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios. Mid-May is a great time to be there because the weather is beautiful and the crowds haven't reached the crazy summer levels yet.

After our previous trips and quite a bit of research, we seem to have developed some really effective strategies for seeing what we want to see without having long waits, plus we're both in better shape than we were during our previous trips, so I think we were able to handle the activity level better. (We walked anywhere from 7-12 miles per day!)

Also, when we checked in at the hotel, they gave us the red buttons you'll notice in the pics--this was to let everyone know we were celebrating our anniversary. Nearly every cast member (Disney employee) and many of the other guests wished us well, and we even got a few free desserts!

So, to get things started with the pictures, here are a few snapshots of us at iconic places within each of the four parks:

The entrance to the Magic Kingdom

A side view of the castle at the Magic Kingdom

In front of the castle at the Magic Kingdom
Also, notice the statue of Walt Disney with Mickey just over Mark's shoulder.

At Epcot

The Tree of Life at the Animal Kingdom

Sorcerer Mickey's hat at Hollywood Studios

Clearly, also at Hollywood Studios

TESOL 2014: Portland

Last night I got back from a trip to Portland, OR for TESOL 2014. It's been two years since my last TESOL, and it was exciting to go back, though I missed having my colleagues from BG with me!

This was my first visit to the pacific northwest, and though I mostly saw the convention center, it did seem like a pretty area. As you might expect, it rained a lot! But compared to the winter weather we'd been having in Ohio, the rain and temps in the mid-50s really seemed like a pleasant change of pace. (Also, I came back to real spring weather in BG, so I'm thrilled about that, too! Today I actually walked home without a coat on! :-)

A couple of views from the convention center 

Back to TESOL, I flew out on Wednesday night last week, so I was gone for 4 nights. I had a roommate who found me through the roommate match list offered by TESOL, and that couldn't have worked out better--she was so easy to get along with, and since she was traveling on her own, too, we were able to keep each other company.

With my great roommate

Thursday was the first big day of the convention, and also the day of my first presentation, Teaching with TED: An Advanced Listening and Speaking Course. I tried to enjoy some sessions throughout the morning, but I was pretty nervous about my upcoming presentation. I got there a bit early, and I wasn't the only one! By the time the previous session ended, there was quite a crowd gathered, and I had a hard time getting into the room. Of course, I did get in, and so did about 150 other people! I couldn't believe the turnout--people were sitting on the floor, standing in the back, and overflowing out the door. You might imagine that this made me a bit nervous, but they were such a generous audience, and I settled in as I got started talking. After the presentation, a lot of people came up to me to talk or ask questions.

Before the TED presentation

After my presentation, I met up with my friend Angel from grad school, and we got to spend some time catching up. It was really interesting to hear about her job, which involves online teacher training and a fair amount of travel.

With Angel in the expo hall

That night, I met up with my roommate for dinner. We walked over to a restaurant near our hotel called Pestico. It was just a little place, but the menu was great; we both ordered the special, which was a unique ravioli dish--very tasty!

On Friday, I had another presentation, Ten Ways to Play Tic-Tac-Toe for Language Practice. This one was at the end of the day, and since things had gone so well the day before, my nerves weren't nearly so bad. I went to several interesting sessions throughout the day, and I also met up with a friend from high school who lives in Portland. We really hadn't been in touch since graduation, but it was great to see her. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture!

At my presentation, it was another great turn out--every seat was filled (but, thankfully, most people did have a seat this time!). This presentation was shorter, only 20 minutes, and it also went really well. Some people who had come to the TED presentation came back to see me again, and lots of people stayed after to talk. Again, I was so overwhelmed by the positive feedback! In fact, people are still contacting me by email to let me know that they enjoyed one or the other (or both) of my presentations. I'm just so pleased that they went well and that people found them useful. Also, thanks to those of you who were praying for me; the whole experience has been such a blessing!

Before the Tic-Tac-Toe presentation

That evening, my roommate and I did a bit of exploring, venturing to the true downtown area to see Powel's, a huge new/used bookstore. We also had dinner at a restaurant she'd heard a lot of buzz about called Mother's Bistro. The food there was amazing--hot fresh bread to start, then I ordered from the specials menu and had a wonderful cream of asparagus soup and a salad with hazelnuts, goat cheese, and strawberries. They also brought two complimentary bite-sized cookies with the check.

Saturday was the last day of the convention, and since I was done presenting, I dressed down and just went to a variety of sessions. By the end of the day, I was having some information overload, for sure! My roommate left on Saturday morning, so I decided a quiet evening unwinding in the hotel was in order.

The final keynote--Diane Larsen-Freeman

Sunday was just a travel day, but things went pretty smoothly, and now I'm trying to settle back into a routine here. March has been quite a whirlwind, and now we have only five weeks left in the semester. I think they'll fly by, and I have to admit that I'm fine with that, since our big Disney World vacation is waiting for us in May!

Spring Break

It's hard to believe that we're already more than halfway through the semester. For the first time since we moved away, we spent our spring break somewhere warm, which was just what we needed after the worst winter on record in our area.

The main reason for our trip, though, was for Mark to complete his off-campus recital requirement. He opted to go above and beyond, scheduling a combination of recitals and clinics in Flagstaff, Albuquerque, and Durango. Since his trip overlapped with spring break, I was able to join him for the second part. It was so nice to see family, enjoy the food, and just get out of BG for a while. I was also able to go with Mark to Durango. We made a day trip of it, and while Mark was working on campus, I wandered around the shops downtown. It turns out that the only pictures we took during the whole trip were on that day:

View down the main street.

Another look at main street.

The lobby of one of the old hotels.

Me in the lobby of the other old hotel.

An excellent place to stop for lunch!

A turkey, cheddar, avocado, and green chile crepe with complimentary cider. 

The building where Mark gave his clinic and recital.

Beautiful views on the drive.

It's only been just over a week since we got back to BG, but it's been a long one. Now, I'm looking forward to heading to Portland later this week for TESOL. I'll be presenting twice, and it looks like I will also be able to connect with a couple of friends. After that, we'll be down to the last six weeks of classes. Mark's focusing on finishing up his "document"--the last major requirement for him to graduate, and he's applying for jobs. I'm sure the next month or so will fly by, which is fine with me, because we've got a big celebratory trip to Walt Disney World planned.