[brebre_51]

DH, 68, & I, 57 today (58 tomorrow), got up Monday morning. We threw our bags & coolers into our vehicle & headed south from Georgia. We stopped for a light breakfast. We ate lunch at a truck stop & it was good. We arrived at Walt Disney World's Port Orlean's Riverside Resort Monday afternoon. We checked in (where they gave me a HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDA pin to wear) I bought a refillable cup at out resort. At our room, we collapsed onto the bed for a much needed nap.

We woke up & freshened up. We explored our resort. We took a WDW bus to The Polynesian where we got something to drink. We caught the WDW bus to Downtown Disney. We ate at Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant for supper. DH got the fish & chips & a Coke. I don't know the name of what I got but it was a home made pot pie style crust filled with mashed potatoes, bite sized chicken, mushrooms w/bits of pepper & water to drink. It was really yummy. They brought me a free dessert. On the plate, HAPPY BIRTHDAY was spelled out in chocolate. A small, lit candle sat in a rasberry. The dessert was like a bread pudding with two mini-pitchers of heated sauce to the side. One sauce was caramel & the other was like a tapioca. DH & I shared the dessert. It was extra yummy! After supper, we explored Downtown Disney before returning to our Resort. It was chilly & we were tired. We bathed & went to bed.

Tuesday, which was my birthday, we were up & out early. We ate a light breakfast at our resort. We caught the bus to the Magic kingdom. They checked my fanny pack. I walked over to customer service window & showed them my birthday printout & my driver's licence. They gave me my FREE one day ticket. It's a hard tickt that says HAPPY BIRTHDAY so it's a keepsake. The ticket is only good for one day at one park. DH, already, had his ticket.

I wore my Happy Birthday Brenda pin as we entered the park. Everyone was wishing me a Happy Birthday all day long. We made a beeline to Adventureland. We practically walked on The Jungle Cruise. There was no wait at The Pirates of the Caribbean. In Frontierland, we rode Splash Mountain. I am fine on this ride until the finale drop off. While others have their hands up in the air & are screaming for the thrill. I am clinging to the guard bar, teeth gritted, eyes shut tight with my head tucked as close to DH as I can possibly get without sitting on his lap! HE likes this ride.

We met a High School parade as we strolled along. They were very good but I didn't catch the name of the school. We walked over to the Haunted Mansion & had a very short wait there. They have 99 ghosts & are looking for one more. lol We left Liberty Square & walked over to Fantasyland. We rode Peter Pan's ride. We did have a long wait here. It was the longest wait of all. We watched Mickey's Philharmonic.

We walked around a lot. By, 1 PM, we were hungry. We went back to Frontierland & ate a taco salad at Peco Bill's. They have the best taco salads! I think it's because we can add all the extras that we want. After lunch, decided to head back to our room for a nap. But, on Main Street, USA, there is a parade. We stopped & watched it.

I stopped at the Main Street Emporium. I bought a 2009 cup, two antenna toppers (Cinderella's coach), a Lanyard pin, a smaller WDW fanny pack & Mickey Mouse watch. It's not the dainty watch. DH says it's a clock on my wrist! He laughs every time he sees it. lol Then, we headed to our resort for our nap.

Before we fell asleep, a Resort person knocked at our door. He gave me a folder with a signed picture of Mickey Mouse & a free PhotoPass card for my birthday which I have no idea how to use.

After our nap, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. The first thing we noticed is how crowded it had gotten! It was wall-to-wall people everywhere! We went to Tomorrowland where we go to the Monster's, Inc, Laugh Factory. We had to wait in line for this one, too.

We strolled around. We went to Liberty Square & sat a while. I was hungry but didn't want anything nearby. I did get a free CocaCola. I want a hot dog so we strolled up to Casey's on Main Street. Two very nice ladies shared a table with us as we ate our hot dogs, ff & chili. We met so many nice people down there from all over the US & Canada.

By this time, we are getting kind of worn out. We want to find a nice spot to watch the night time parade. We decide to climb the stairs to the train depot on Main Street. It's a huge balcony. We find a table & two chairs. With my camera on the table, I wait for the parade. There is only one hitch. The wind has picked up a lot. It is now quite breezy. The flags are being blown straight out. The sun is begining to set & I am COLD! I didn't bring an overshirt. So, I sit, wait & shiver.

As we wait for the parade, it is announced that the park will not close as usual at 9 PM. Instead, because of the large crowd, the park will stay open until 10 PM. There will be another parade showing at 10 PM & another fireworks display! They announced this twice.

The parade began. It was nice but it was alot like last years. In fact, I'm not sure there was anything new in it at all. I think WDW is hurting for money & has recycled past parade floats. It was still nice but I was expecting something different. It was 8:30 when the parade left our area. I was freezing. I told DH that I wanted to leave. He asked me if I didn't want to stay for the fireworks? But, that would mean a 30 minute wait. No, I wanted to leave so we did. I would just have to catch them next time.

We got back to our resort & had a hot cup of coffee. We were so tired, we went to bed.

Wed. morn, we woke up at 6 AM. (I was going to sleep in but my eyes popped open... I hate when that happens). We bathed, packed, loaded up the vehicle & drove around to check out. After checking out, we went to the dining area & ate breakfast. After breakfast, we headed back to GA. I am still tired. But, it was still fun!

It was a whirlwind trip for my birthday. I will have pictures forthcoming.