First National Swing: A Very Merry Unbirthday

As I said in the previous post, this past week in Miami I went on for six shows:

Lizzie's boyfriend's mother (whew) was getting married, so I got to wear her costume and try out a new track in the ensemble.

The dress is made of lace and is in constant need of repair because dancing in it means hooking a heel in the hem and ripping it. Apparently this is such a common occurrence (both here and on Broadway) that its in the nightly costume notes to check the dress for new holes. Needless to say, it was not fun learning to navigate this new costume in front of thousands of people.

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After one of these shows, we all decided to go out for a fancy drink at the Delano - a well known hotel with a posh backyard. There were king-size beds lining a pool, nooks and crannies with flat screen TVs, a hammock and other furniture across the lawn... it was like something out of an episode of Sex and the City.

After settling the tab, we jumped in a cab with the largest rear-view mirror in history:

And headed to another local spot called The Clevelander. There was a roof party happening, so we all trucked upstairs to see what the fuss was about. A crowded dance floor, covered beds (theme?) and a waterfall wall awaited us. Clearly a photo opportunity had presented itself:

Around three in the morning, I finally called it quits. To my knowledge, a large part of the group got home between 6-8am. I am not built for that kind of partying. I lack the stamina.

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Josh (our wig/makeup master) got a little camera happy with an ugly Halloween sweatshirt pre-show. Here's my shot:

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On Sunday, our plans changed a bit:

Crista fell while getting ready for an entrance and severely bruised herself, so I had to step up to the plate as Alice Beineke:

Every time I turned around there was someone else with a camera wanting to take a picture. I look pretty good in yellow:

New dressing room:

Figuring out which leg the garter went on for the bows:

Detail of the garter that I didn't know existed:

Gil was almost as excited as I was. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring him onstage for this one.

I had a wonderful time. Two show day, no sweat. Much easier than swinging the ensemble.

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The next morning it was business as usual - jump on the bus and head to ORLANDO! City of sunshine, blue skies, and Disney World. It was Halloween, and Jess dressed her dog up for the ride:

We saw a black swan on the way to the grocery store. It was "perfect."

The rest of the night was uneventful. I stayed in, ordered Chinese food and tried to get to bed early because Tuesday morning was DISNEY MORNING!!!!

Gil was so excited he was clinging to the monorail bars:

We arrived at 8:40, twenty minutes before the park opened:

Christy's dear friend, Steven, got us free passes for the day. He plays Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates stage show.

Inside, Disney was still decorated with Halloween pumpkins and fall colors. Steven said that at 12:01am the whole thing would turn over for Christmas. I think he was only half joking.

Christy and Steven on Main Street:

Introducing Gil to Disney for the first time:

We didn't have time for breakfast at the hotel, so we stopped in the bakery on Main St. for a quick bite. This ended up being a ham and egg sandwich and the biggest cinnamon bun in history:

Once inside the park, we headed straight for Tomorrowland and Space Mountain. Crowds were at a bare minimum, and the most we had to wait for any ride was 15 minutes.

Outside Space Mountain, we encountered Buzz Lightyear posing with children. How can you pass that up? Even Gil joined in.

Christy as Cinderella:

Plans for the new, extended Fantasyland:

A Little Mermaid water park, methinks? We could see the makings of Beauty and the Beast's castle on a mountain:

From there, we simply had to look at costumes in the princess shop. Here's Christy as Snow White:

And myself attempting to be Ariel:

You can't be in Fantasy land and not go to Its A Small World!

Or the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square!

By this point in the day, we were crashing. Not enough sleep the night before and breakfast several hours earlier meant tummies rumbling and eyes drooping. We settled on the perfect pick-me-up snack:

Heaven.

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Remember I said that Christy's friend played Jack Sparrow? We saved his show for last. While we waited, we rooted through the loot in the pirate gift shop: