Disney Countdown! 20 weeks, 20 memories

Hi everyone and welcome to my Disney countdown.  Each week for the next 20 weeks I'll be posting about Disney memories and the exciting things we're planning to do when we go again this January (I can't wait!).  First up today- the iconic weenie in Epcot- Spaceship Earth!

Picture from the seriously fantastic Disney Tourist Blog.  Every picture on this blog is breathtaking.  I wish I had those photo skills!

This memory requires a little bit of a back story, so stay with me for a minute. When we were in WDW back in January 2011, there was a pretty intense cold snap happening in the south. Our flight was also delayed out of Boston because of a massive snow storm, which meant we would miss our connecting flight in Atlanta. Normally this wouldn't be much of a problem, since flights leave from Atlanta to Orlando all the time, but Atlanta had been hit by an ice storm (yes, an ice storm, in Atlanta) the day before that basically cancelled everything and stranded Atlanta passengers had first priority for flights on day we were flying in. The best they could offer us was a flight in at 9pm (we landed in Atlanta around 1pm - so that was a looong wait). As we all know, Disney closes pretty early in the winter, and an arrival that late meant we would miss everything we had planned at the parks that day.  We even called the vacation insurance people to see what we would be eligible for in terms of refund.

Thankfully, with some luck and a little last minute ingenuity, it all worked out. We managed to get single seats on a flight that was taking off 10 minutes after we landed in Atlanta, and we made it to Epcot  for a few hours that night.  Things were extra special because the park was almost completely empty, almost like it was open just for us (50 degrees when the sun goes down is cold in Florida, but coming from like 2 degrees in New Hampshire, it was a heat wave!)  This was one of the first rides we went on that evening; we were tired and had had a long day, but it didn't matter.  The ride itself was as good as it ever was (even with the changes since the last time I was there) but when we chose our future and I saw our goofy, sleepy, oblivious faces (when, mine was oblivious-my boyfriend thought ahead and made a silly face) we dissolved into the kind of giggles only Disney can produce.  Those overstimulated but still having a great time in the happiest place on earth kind of giggles.  It didn't matter that we had to change our dining reservation at the last minute, or that the wait for the magical express took almost two hours--we were in Disney, and it was time for the good times to roll.

So, thank you, you crafty Phoenicians, for everything you've done!



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