Orlando Scrapbook Expo, Aug. 27th

1. I woke up because the dang alarm had been set by the guests who had had our room before us. It went off at 5:30 and 6:00. DANGIT!!!!!! I couldn't make the thing shut up, so I had to turn on the light and smack the daylights out of it. When the snooze went off at 6:09, I just gave up and woke up. I took a shower, got dressed, and went downstairs.

2. Oh, I forgot. Before I went to PI, Annette and I stopped at the vending machine for Cokes. The vending machines didn't take money -- they took card keys!!!! So I knew our card keys were validated for charging to the room. That makes sense. So I got dressed and went downstairs to get breakfast at Planet Java, the 24-hour coffee & sandwich shop. I got a cup of coffee and a croissant, and I went outside to eat and call Wesley.

3. It was *lovely* out there. I was talking to Wesley, and then I heard something noisy behind me on the path. I told Wesley, "Oh, no, there's some noisy equipment coming; I'm going to have to call you back." Just then, a maintenance guy with a leaf blower came around the turn in the path, saw me, and TURNED OFF THE LEAF BLOWER!!!!!!!! I laughed, and he smiled and nodded. He walked past me, and when he'd gotten a good distance away, he turned it back on and kept clearing the path. That's the kind of service they have at the Gaylord Palms -- truly Disney in every way!!!! They're goooooooooooood. But of course, they didn't *invent* it. Disney did that. ;)

4. I went back upstairs and woke up Annette. She took a shower while I checked (not really) my email, and I put on makeup and got ready to go to the show. I made sure to take my nametag which would get me on the floor. Annette and I got there at about 9:40. Tricia had been there since 8:30, getting ready. The floor opened at 10:00 for VIP guests, and it's a good thing I remembered my tag because they were being really strict about not letting you on the floor without proper ID. The first twenty minutes were slow, and then WHAM!!!!!!!! We were hit by the first wave of rabid shoppers. After that, time *flew*. Diana came in and introduced me to Theresa at some point. Pam showed up and introduced me to her parents. Club Scrappers stopped by the booth and squealed. It was just a madhouse. I didn't have time to sit down, much less breathe! Tricia's class was at 2:00, and ... honestly, the whole thing is just a blur. I finally bought an $8 roast beef sandwich that I didn't eat half of.

5. Diana and I bonked heads when Theresa took our picture. ROFL!!!! I can't wait to see how that turned out!!!!!!!

6. The show ended at 6:00, and I begged off for as long as I could to get freshened up to go to Epcot with Pam and her family.

7. We were supposed to meet the guys at China at 7:00. We parked in Boardwalk self-parking and ran like maniacs to the International Gateway, where Pam got me in on her silver pass. Yes, my friends, I finally know someone with a silver pass. It's real. I thought it was a myth. She can get three people in on any day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE, and the Fourth of July, I think.

8. We made it to China at 7:15 and were seated immediately.

9. We ate truly stunning Chinese food, and I tasted a number of dishes I’d never tried before. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the names of anything. But the food was good and the company was *great*.

10. Then we ran to Test Track. Pam's dad is a GM retiree, so he backdoored us onto TT.

11. Then we ran to Canada to watch the fireworks. Pam took us to her favorite Illuminations: Reflections of Earth viewing spot, which I’ve read about but haven’t tried myself. Good spot!!! I *bawled*. Pam took pictures.

12. Then we left. Now, what's missing? Yep. No fountain. No twinkly sidewalks. No shopping. No chocolate glace. No fish and chips. No Mission: Space. I would kill for an extra night in Epcot!!!!!!!!!!!! I love that park. If only it were open past 9:00!!!!!

13. They stopped by the Hess gas station next to the BW and let me look for an 8-pack of Coke 2’s. They don't sell 8-packs. I knew Annette and I could not finish a 12-pack, so I didn't buy anything.

14. Then back to the glorious Gaylord Palms!!!! I called Wesley and Amy and told them about my day. Then I went upstairs and heard about Annette's evening. It was nice!!!!

15. And I washed my face and fell asleep, having set the alarm clock for 7:00, because the show was opening an hour earlier than it had on Friday