Suz36
02-18-2011, 06:04 PM
Date: January 30th
Cast of Characters: me (38), DH (39), DD (10), DS (7)
All-Star Music
Day 3 – Epcot
We had another early morning today, with breakfast reservations in the park. We walked out of our room into pea soup – very dense fog, but it burned off by the time we finished breakfast, and temps got to the low to mid 70s – heaven! We were on the bus to Epcot by 7:30, and had private transportation despite attempting pick-up at ASM. The driver was telling us how bad the fog was in the area. We had to hurry through the park to make our ADR at Akershus, but I still managed to take some pictures of the emptiness and fog. The photo ops are one of the main reasons I love to have at least one early morning ADR at a park! This completed the quad-fecta (new word?) for us at each park. As we approached World Showcase, you couldn’t even see across the lagoon. It was kindof spooky, but made for some great pictures. We checked in upon arrival in Norway, and were quickly in line to meet Belle. We were seated right by the buffet, which was very convenient. I always stress during character meals that we’ll miss someone while we’re at the buffet, but no worries this morning! We got some food, and in quick succession met Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, and seeing the princesses is always an “Oh my gosh” moment for me, which means tears. They’re just so princessey, and it’s so neat to see how DD and DS act around them! DD becomes so proper, and DS seems twitterpated! It’s too cute! We were done shortly after park opening, so we quickly made our way to The Land pavilion, where we grabbed FPs for Soarin’ and signed up for the 10:30 Behind the Seeds tour, making sure to get our Disney Visa discount. We then went over to The Seas pavilion, found Nemo, and explored the pavilion much more thoroughly than ever before. We saw feedings in the big tank and with the manatees (my favorite!), as well as played the computer games and emailed our certificates home. It was approaching 10:30, so we made our way back to the Land and checked in for our tour. We really enjoyed this! It was so informative, and our tour guide, Katie, was great! DH and DD were inspired to try some different gardening techniques (we’ll see!) and we ended up buying one of the tissue culture plants, which even I haven’t killed yet! I really loved seeing behind the scenes, and definitely see more tours in our future. After thanking Katie for a wonderful tour, we made our way to Soarin’, FPs in hand, and followed that up with the boat tour of The Land. Of course, we had a completely different perspective on the ride, now having been on the other side!
We thought it very fitting to have lunch at Sunshine Seasons, possibly sampling some of what we’d seen on the tour. Then while DH finished his coffee, the kids and I went to see the Circle of Life to satisfy DD, the Lion King fan. Next, we crossed through Future World for our first ever adventure with Ellen. We all enjoyed it, but probably not enough to take the time to do it again for the next couple trips. Next up was Spaceship Earth, followed by some play time in the interactive area after the ride. The kids love the shuffleboard-type game and the racing game. We dragged them out with promises of soda samples at Club Cool, then DD decided it was finally time to get herself a Duffy! She went with the sailor outfit, and was so cute cuddling with him for the rest of the week. It was now time for one of my most anticipated activities of the trip – watching Off Kilter! I’d gotten one of their CDs on our last trip, and the whole family loved it, listening to it non-stop. Everyone had a greater appreciation of their performance because of that, and the boys even played one of our favorite songs! On our way into the World Showcase we’d signed up for a Kim Possible Mission, so it was now time to report for duty in Japan. The kids love doing these, despite the issues of who gets to hold it, hey – I can’t see it!, etc. We saved the world, then proceeded to the kid’s most anticipated activity, shopping in Mitsukoshi Department Store! A few trips back, DD had started a Pickles the Frog stuffed animal collection (her nickname is Pickles) and was eager to add to the collection, which she very successfully did. On DH and my adults-only trip in October, we had gotten DS the consolation gift of his first Pokemon stuffed animal, so he was able to continue that collection. Both kids really love to buy stuffed animals in WDW – it drives DH crazy! We explored the store and gardens a bit more, got our first rainbow Kaki Goris (yum!), then got a front row spot for Miyuki’s show, which is just amazing. DD got to select a cheetah for her to make, which turned out beautifully. We knew not to expect to receive the candy afterwards, as we had in the past, but Miyuki told us that they were donated to a children’s hospital, which I did not know. DD can now do an amazingly accurate imitation of Miyuki, which always brings a smile to our face. We were all in need of snack, and got a yummy soft pretzel from Germany to share. We also checked out the train garden and caramel shop as we were passing through. We’d gotten FPs for Test Track on our way out of Future World, and it was now time to use those before our dinner ADRs. What a great ride! It never gets less exciting, no matter how many times we ride it! We had time for a quick visit with Figment at his Open House, and then on to dinner.
At DD’s request, we were returning to The Garden Grill. We’d had a wonderful experience here two years ago, but this time didn’t quite live up to the expectations. Don’t get me wrong, we had a great meal, and lots of fun interactions with the characters, but the food just didn’t seem as yummy to me. Especially the salad – did they change the dressing? Our request for a lower level seat was granted, so we had great views of the ride throughout dinner. We got to see Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto numerous times throughout our meal, and our waiter was wonderful, making sure we were well stocked with food and drink throughout the evening. Overall, it was great, just not as great as we’d remembered. After dinner, since DS was dragging and DD was still going strong, DH agreed to take DS “home” while DD and I stayed for Illuminations. We parted ways, and DD and I first went to get some pictures of the fountains at Imagination. She’s following in Mommy’s footsteps, having lots of fun with the new camera we got her for Christmas. Next, we popped into Mexico to take a peek at some of the wooden carvings, and then it was time for the show. I parked us right at the entrance to World Showcase so that we could make a speedy exit. We enjoyed Illuminations (I absolutely love the music, and would love to learn to play it on the piano if only I could find the sheet music for it!), and then boogied our way out of the park. An empty bus was waiting for us, and after a few minutes waiting for it to fill, we were on our way home. When we walked into the room, the boys were amazed, as they’d arrived there only a little bit before us! We hurried to bed, and while the kids were able to drift off quickly, DH and I were not so fortunate, as we were closer to the door and thus better able to hear the noisy teenage girls out in the courtyard, screaming and talking very loudly. By midnight, I’d had enough and called the front desk. The Cast Member commented, “They’re out again?” and assured me that security would be sent out. It quieted down soon after.
Cast of Characters: me (38), DH (39), DD (10), DS (7)
All-Star Music
Day 3 – Epcot
We had another early morning today, with breakfast reservations in the park. We walked out of our room into pea soup – very dense fog, but it burned off by the time we finished breakfast, and temps got to the low to mid 70s – heaven! We were on the bus to Epcot by 7:30, and had private transportation despite attempting pick-up at ASM. The driver was telling us how bad the fog was in the area. We had to hurry through the park to make our ADR at Akershus, but I still managed to take some pictures of the emptiness and fog. The photo ops are one of the main reasons I love to have at least one early morning ADR at a park! This completed the quad-fecta (new word?) for us at each park. As we approached World Showcase, you couldn’t even see across the lagoon. It was kindof spooky, but made for some great pictures. We checked in upon arrival in Norway, and were quickly in line to meet Belle. We were seated right by the buffet, which was very convenient. I always stress during character meals that we’ll miss someone while we’re at the buffet, but no worries this morning! We got some food, and in quick succession met Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, and seeing the princesses is always an “Oh my gosh” moment for me, which means tears. They’re just so princessey, and it’s so neat to see how DD and DS act around them! DD becomes so proper, and DS seems twitterpated! It’s too cute! We were done shortly after park opening, so we quickly made our way to The Land pavilion, where we grabbed FPs for Soarin’ and signed up for the 10:30 Behind the Seeds tour, making sure to get our Disney Visa discount. We then went over to The Seas pavilion, found Nemo, and explored the pavilion much more thoroughly than ever before. We saw feedings in the big tank and with the manatees (my favorite!), as well as played the computer games and emailed our certificates home. It was approaching 10:30, so we made our way back to the Land and checked in for our tour. We really enjoyed this! It was so informative, and our tour guide, Katie, was great! DH and DD were inspired to try some different gardening techniques (we’ll see!) and we ended up buying one of the tissue culture plants, which even I haven’t killed yet! I really loved seeing behind the scenes, and definitely see more tours in our future. After thanking Katie for a wonderful tour, we made our way to Soarin’, FPs in hand, and followed that up with the boat tour of The Land. Of course, we had a completely different perspective on the ride, now having been on the other side!
We thought it very fitting to have lunch at Sunshine Seasons, possibly sampling some of what we’d seen on the tour. Then while DH finished his coffee, the kids and I went to see the Circle of Life to satisfy DD, the Lion King fan. Next, we crossed through Future World for our first ever adventure with Ellen. We all enjoyed it, but probably not enough to take the time to do it again for the next couple trips. Next up was Spaceship Earth, followed by some play time in the interactive area after the ride. The kids love the shuffleboard-type game and the racing game. We dragged them out with promises of soda samples at Club Cool, then DD decided it was finally time to get herself a Duffy! She went with the sailor outfit, and was so cute cuddling with him for the rest of the week. It was now time for one of my most anticipated activities of the trip – watching Off Kilter! I’d gotten one of their CDs on our last trip, and the whole family loved it, listening to it non-stop. Everyone had a greater appreciation of their performance because of that, and the boys even played one of our favorite songs! On our way into the World Showcase we’d signed up for a Kim Possible Mission, so it was now time to report for duty in Japan. The kids love doing these, despite the issues of who gets to hold it, hey – I can’t see it!, etc. We saved the world, then proceeded to the kid’s most anticipated activity, shopping in Mitsukoshi Department Store! A few trips back, DD had started a Pickles the Frog stuffed animal collection (her nickname is Pickles) and was eager to add to the collection, which she very successfully did. On DH and my adults-only trip in October, we had gotten DS the consolation gift of his first Pokemon stuffed animal, so he was able to continue that collection. Both kids really love to buy stuffed animals in WDW – it drives DH crazy! We explored the store and gardens a bit more, got our first rainbow Kaki Goris (yum!), then got a front row spot for Miyuki’s show, which is just amazing. DD got to select a cheetah for her to make, which turned out beautifully. We knew not to expect to receive the candy afterwards, as we had in the past, but Miyuki told us that they were donated to a children’s hospital, which I did not know. DD can now do an amazingly accurate imitation of Miyuki, which always brings a smile to our face. We were all in need of snack, and got a yummy soft pretzel from Germany to share. We also checked out the train garden and caramel shop as we were passing through. We’d gotten FPs for Test Track on our way out of Future World, and it was now time to use those before our dinner ADRs. What a great ride! It never gets less exciting, no matter how many times we ride it! We had time for a quick visit with Figment at his Open House, and then on to dinner.
At DD’s request, we were returning to The Garden Grill. We’d had a wonderful experience here two years ago, but this time didn’t quite live up to the expectations. Don’t get me wrong, we had a great meal, and lots of fun interactions with the characters, but the food just didn’t seem as yummy to me. Especially the salad – did they change the dressing? Our request for a lower level seat was granted, so we had great views of the ride throughout dinner. We got to see Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto numerous times throughout our meal, and our waiter was wonderful, making sure we were well stocked with food and drink throughout the evening. Overall, it was great, just not as great as we’d remembered. After dinner, since DS was dragging and DD was still going strong, DH agreed to take DS “home” while DD and I stayed for Illuminations. We parted ways, and DD and I first went to get some pictures of the fountains at Imagination. She’s following in Mommy’s footsteps, having lots of fun with the new camera we got her for Christmas. Next, we popped into Mexico to take a peek at some of the wooden carvings, and then it was time for the show. I parked us right at the entrance to World Showcase so that we could make a speedy exit. We enjoyed Illuminations (I absolutely love the music, and would love to learn to play it on the piano if only I could find the sheet music for it!), and then boogied our way out of the park. An empty bus was waiting for us, and after a few minutes waiting for it to fill, we were on our way home. When we walked into the room, the boys were amazed, as they’d arrived there only a little bit before us! We hurried to bed, and while the kids were able to drift off quickly, DH and I were not so fortunate, as we were closer to the door and thus better able to hear the noisy teenage girls out in the courtyard, screaming and talking very loudly. By midnight, I’d had enough and called the front desk. The Cast Member commented, “They’re out again?” and assured me that security would be sent out. It quieted down soon after.