Night of Joy 2009

What a awesome weekend we had! Personally it was a nice respite from my day to day, Steve had been gone since early Wednesday of last week and between home school, running the boys around and making 4 trips to Orlando in 5 days, I was ready for a little time away from home.

My mom, Justin, Branden, Vaughan and I headed over to Orlando for Saturday night at Night of Joy!


We stayed at the Disney All-Star Movies Resort and were greeted in classic Disney Style.

We stayed in the Toy Story section and the decor didn't disappoint.

Here's the crew headed to the park!

Once in the park we connected with friends we've gone to Night of Joy or Rock the Universe with every time we've gone. Then, we split.
Justin went with his friend Jeremiah, Vaughan and Branden headed out together and my mom and I decided to see some attractions before the concerts started.

We rode the Great Movie Ride (always good if you have a good tour guide), One Man's Dream (the Walt Disney story, boy I'm old cause I loved this!), Prince Caspian (not good, as good as Disney does this wasn't very good) and Journey of the Little Mermaid (when black lights are involved how can it be bad?).
When it came time to eat we ran into Vaughan and Branden, what a nice treat to eat with them!

My mom and I got scolded after we took this next picture, apparently we cut a lady in line to see Pluto. However; there was no line, besides my mom and I and the other lady there we 3 people in the room, and Pluto walked over to us! That may be the most negative person I have personally encountered at the Happiest Place on Earth!

The concerts!

The line-ups were good this year. Skillet, Mercy Me, Jars of Clay, Flyleaf, Grits, Mandisa and more. It was tough deciding who we'd see.

We started off with Grits, then Mercy Me, Family Force Five and finished the night with Jars of Clay!

One reason I love staying on Disney property when attending a Disney event is the bus ride. Once we left the park we walked to our resort bus stop, hopped on the bus and were home in 10 minutes! No lines, no driving, no traffic.

We arrived back to our room at 2am, after a quick trip to McD's. Vaughan had met a kid who gave him a bunch of McDonald's dollars so this was a free visit!!

After eating we went swimming in the pool! Yep, Disney pools never close, you just have to be quiet, swimming at night with teenagers is fun!

Sunday we woke up, ate some breakfast stuff I had packed and made a Downtown Disney stop (Lego Store) before heading home.

Once home I made a quick turnaround and picked Steve up at the airport. He had been in NH for his sisters wedding. I'll have to post pics of that later.

So, tons of fun, a well-needed rest and the best time I have had in awhile!