Sundance 2009

My best friend hooked me up with the best ticket of the festival. I attended the Ray Ban party opening weekend. I had a great time hanging with friends and mingling "near" celebrities. :)

Walking the Sundance Blue Carpet

Waiting in the cold to get into the party.

Yes, we were on the list, but that doesn't mean you'll get in. :)

Eliza Dushku - Buffy

Pretending to walk the red carpet! :)

Me and my BFF

Marc Malkin - E-Online Celebrity Gossip Columnist

Paul Mitchell - Hair Care

Jay Lyon - The City on MTV
(He was with another hot blonde and it wasn't Whitney)

Brent Bolthouse - The Hills on MTV
(Heidi's Boss)

Star Sightings Not Photographed:
Ewen McGregor - Star Wars
Matthew Gray Gubler - Criminal Minds
Joe Francis - Girls Gone Wild

Epcot, and final day at Disney World

My final day at Disney World was spent at Epcot. Being an avid traveler I had always been interested in this theme park. I think it is brilliant to bring many of the worlds most popular cultures together. My son loves dinosaurs and cars, so Futureland was fabulous. The countries were amazing! We were only in the park for 4 hours, so I need to do this one again. However, it was great to walk over to the park from the Beach Club. I was done taking shuttles!

Futureland

England

Mission to Space

The closest I will get to zero gravity!

Test Track

The longest and fastest ride in the world.

Where to next?

Mexico

China

Dopey

My boy said "Look mom, its Wheezy from the 10 Dwarfs."

France

Japan

Chocolate Carousel made of sugar!
Recipe Included

Back at the Beach Club we said one last goodbye to Disney World.

The front desk gave us a stuffed tiger to take home.

The first FREE toy given away at Disney World, I'm sure!

Then it was off to the 5 hour flight home.

Abominable Snowman attacks Toy Soldiers, ahhhh!

The End!

Beach Club Resort and Hollywood Studios

Night six was spent at the Beach Club Resort, which is an onsite Disney property. The resort is located next door to the Epcot Park, and a water taxi away from the Hollywood Studios Park. We spent day six at the Hollywood Studios, which is where I rode the best roller coaster of my life. It was called the Rock n' Roller Coaster. The ride is in the dark, and VERY fast. You speed along while listening to Aerosmith. The hotel was in a perfect location!

Beach Club Resort

View of the pirate ship pool and playground at the Beach Club.

Water Taxi to the Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios Main Street

Mickey Breakfast Cookie

Indiana Jones Live Action

Star Wars Soldiers

I scored

Lights, Motors, Action is amazing!!

Sunset at the Hollywood Studios

Lighthouse at the Beach Club

with the Boardwalk Resort in the background.

We ended the night at Planet Hollywood.

Castaway Cay, Disney's Private Island

Disney owns its own private island in the Bahamas called Castaway Cay. The cruise ship is able to pull right up along the dock. Other cruise lines require smaller boats to take passengers to their own island. Plus, those other ships don't have Disney Cast Members throughout the island like Donald Duck. The island has a great beach, and all of the island activities you can think of. (jet skis, paddle boats, snorkel gear, kayaks, and glass bottom boat rides) You will also find a family beach and an 'adults only' beach. The kids club is located on the island, so parents can continue to enjoy the cruise childless if they so wish.

Disney's Mt. Rushmore

Disney's own Black Pearl

One of the three restaurants is called Animator's Palate
This restaurant goes from black and white to full color throughout the meal.
Cost to Disney was 3 million dollars.
Even the waiters change colors.

My little guy took this shot.

It looks fake, but it was a real sunset on the deck of the ship.

And its back to Disney World

We headed to the Beach Club Resort while we visited Epcot and Hollywood Studios Theme Parks. Check back soon...

Disney Wonder to the Bahamas

The Disney Wonder was fabulous! The Disney Shuttle picked us up at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and drove us the hour and a half in style. I had heard such great things about the ship. We were excited to get there and see what all the talk was about.

We arrived at the Disney Terminal in Port Canaveral, and quickly boarded the ship. I think the entire check-in process took 30 minutes.

Once on board we went straight to the buffet, and then to our cabin to check things out. The cabins were larger than any of the other cruise lines I had been on. They say they are 25% larger. I loved that there were two bathrooms. One with a toilet and sink and one with a shower/tub and sink. Perfect for the family of 4.

My little guy is checking things out.

Prior to taking off the ship has a safety demo on deck.
Can you tell how happy my little one was? He just wants to take off.

The ship was amazing. The kids pool included a water slide.

Movie screen and stage at the teen pool.

The kids club was the best part.
The club hours were 9am to 1am
Parents are given a pager and can be reached at any time.
My hubby and I went to Palo for the first nights dinner.
This adults only restaurant was AMAZING.
Our little guy paged us about 30 minutes into our 6 course meal. :)

He just wanted to be with mom and dad.
Nightly we would hang out in the movie theater watching new movies like Bolt.

The next morning we find ourselves in the Bahamas
with a view of The Atlantis Resort.

The Bahamas

We did not plan any excursions.

Instead we just took a taxi to the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.
($3 per person each way)

The Atlantis Resort has a private aquarium.

The fish we could see for free were amazing.
You can pay about $30 per person and spend the day on the private beach.

The 6 Stingrays were HUGE!!!

We headed back to the ship to spend the day at the pool.
The Mickey pool and water slide are protected by 4 lifeguards.
Parents can relax and know their kids are safe and having fun!

Our little guy had fun on his first water slide.

Night two was at Titans
with a pirate theme.

Captain Jack Sparrow and my own little pirate.

Grrrrrrrr....

After an AMAZING Broadway style play "Toy Story"
We made it to the top deck for the pirate party and fireworks.

Even the parents are dressed-up like pirates.

At the end of the night we made it back to the cabin

and found a hanging monkey.
It was adorable and the perfect end to a fabulous day.

I'll be back with our day at Castaway Cay, Disney's own private island in the Bahamas.