Happy Wednesday Everyone! It’s time to talk about what’s been going on here in Florida in the past week! Let’s get started!
Well, things have been a bit all over the board, from the weather to our busy schedules. Lets talk weather first. We had two days of “Fall” last weekend! Ok, yes, I know it’s technically Fall on the calendar, but in Florida Summer is still in full swing. We had cooler weather for the first time since we got here in June, cool enough to open the windows and let in some fresh air. How nice! Made me miss home a little though. Although, in Michigan it’s much cooler there now, but it still made me think about what this time of year is like there. I know I’ve mentioned missing Michigan at the moment, I love the Fall there. I have to keep reminding myself that once January comes I won’t be missing Michigan at all, last winter we got enough snow and freezing temps to last me quite a while. But alas, it’s back in the upper 80’s here, so it feels like Summer once again. It’s all good though, I can’t complain!
We have been busy as usual this past week. I’ve been trying to keep events and such covered, as well as make sure all is running smoothly at home, which thank God it is. We’ve done a lot though! I went over to the Magic Kingdom to check out the new Haunted Mansion store, Momento Mori and talk to some Cast Members. Then, we had our first media event at Sea World for our new site, Off TMSM, which was exciting. It was interesting to cover another park besides Disney, it forces me to branch out a bit and see what else the Central Florida area has to offer. Branching out isn’t easy for us die-hard Disney fans though. I knew we’d be spending the whole day at Sea World, but I had Disney on the brain, kept mentally comparing the two. Bad, I know! But… the nice folks at Sea World treated us to a lovely day, and the kids really had a good time. They had two big roller coasters there too, so that helped! I think reporting for Off TMSM will be fun, and I can’t wait to see what else we can find to share with our readers!
Back to Disney reporting…. As you know, Sunday we were at Epcot to cover the last night of the beloved ride, Maelstrom. I had to be there. I wanted to get video and pictures to show you all, especially since Maelstrom meant so much to so many Main Streeters. It was really a surreal feeling, being on the scene, seeing all the people there and watching the different emotions. Some wouldn’t understand, I mean, it’s just a ride, right? Disney attractions become so much MORE than “just” anything really. It’s fascinating to see. I even overheard a guy talking about how he met his wife at Maelstrom years ago, and they came back that night with a piece of their wedding cake and had a glass of wine to toast as a salute to the place that meant so much to them. How cool is that? I’m telling you, being there that night was something I won’t soon forget. I’m so glad we went!
The night after the Maelstrom closing, we went back to Epcot, not only to see if they took down the signs at Maelstrom (which they did), but to check out the Sugar Ray concert at the America Pavilion in World Showcase. I had never been to the concerts at the Eat to the Beat series, but now that we’re down here full time, I’ve been trying to catch a few. I have to say, in all honesty, Sugar Ray puts on one heck of a show. You can see the true appreciation that Mark McGrath has for his fans, and how much he enjoys performing. He went into the audience multiple times to take pics with fans, during the songs, and didn’t miss a beat. He even held someone’s baby from the crowd, it was so cute. I’m glad we got the whole thing on video! (and bonus for us, he retweeted something from TMSM on Twitter, so we were excited!) After the concert we headed home, the kids had homework! It’s nice to live close enough to Disney property to where we can run over there, get the pics and video that we need, and still make it back home in time for dinner and homework. I will attach both the Maelstrom ride through video AND the Sugar Ray concert video below, in case you missed either of them. Both are worth watching!
So, that’s it for this week. Fall weather came and went, Maelstrom too I suppose if you want to look at it that way. We have our TMSM Meet Up at Epcot in just over two weeks, so I have a lot to do before then! Stay tuned! Thanks as always for reading our updates, I’m so glad you still follow along with us on our adventures. Till next week, don’t forget to spread a little Disney magic if you can! See Ya Real Soon! ~M
**Great videos below!
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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