I Know There's A Hanna-Barbera Land Around Here Somewhere! *Updated 5/15*

[Bridora]

“I Know There’s A Hanna-Barbera Land Around Here Somewhere!”

While we were in Animal Kingdom this past May, my DH Davis actually heard someone say that exact phrase. Poor guy, he probably never did find that place...

Welcome to our Trip Report! If you happened to see this (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2682906) Pre-Trip Report on the boards earlier this year; we’re finally here for the real deal! Writing this Trip Report is going to be a real challenge for two main reasons:


I did not take notes this year!

We got home from Disney World waaaaaaaaaaaay back at the beginning of June and specific details are a bit fuzzy.

I failed to organize our pictures when loading them onto the computer. Trying to organize them by day almost two months later is hard.


Ok, so three main reasons.

Before I go any further, let’s have some introductions, shall we?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240019-1.jpg
Me. Bridget. In the car and on the way...

(Reading that back reminded me of the note Piglet wrote in “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day”. It said, Help, Piglet (me); or close to that anyway.)

I’m 31. I work in the office of a small business that sells all kinds of things Monday – Thursday, work in my husband’s office on Fridays, and am about to start my last year of school to finish up my Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. My first trip to Disney World was in 2003.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Will%20%20Epcot/IMG_6487.jpg
My DH, Davis. Showing off the spoils from the Star Wars Weekends merchandise store.

He’s 41 and stays busy with his security business and his toys. Sunday we will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. He went to Disney World for the first time with his parents and brother in 1986.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Hollywood%20Studios/IMG_6205.jpg
Our DD, Allison.

Allison is 11. She’s been going to Disney World since she was 3 years old. Her favorite thing to do while we’re in Disney World is to get ice cream at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street. (That’s one of mine, too!)

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Will%20%20Epcot/P6030487.jpg
Our DS, Luke.

Luke is 9. His first trip to Disney World was also in 2003 when he was only 1 year, 5 months old. He says that his favorite thing to do are the Kim Possible missions.
Our trip dates were May 26 – June 4. We left a couple days early (May 24) for more leisurely travel and actually left a couple days late (June 6). But we’ll get to that part later.

Our original plans were to check in at the Boardwalk Villas (Studio) on Thursday, May 26 and check out on Sunday, May 29 in order to move over to the Beach Club Villas (One Bedroom) that day and stay until check-out on June 4.

I’m glad to finally be starting this trip report, and hope you will enjoy reading about our adventures! :wizard:




Here are the links to each installment:
Departure Day! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=42115574&posted=1#post42115574)
Travel Day (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=42132899&posted=1#post42132899)
Check-in Day! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=42193742&posted=1#post42193742)
Downtown (Disney) everything's waiting for you! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=42274600#post42274600)
Embarrassing the Kids! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=42301446#post42301446)
Our room is ready! Let's go swim. (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=42384354#post42384354)
More Balcony Shots... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=42555636#post42555636)
Day 1-Epcot (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43241991&posted=1#post43241991)
O Canada! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43623691#post43623691)
Saving the World (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43624039#post43624039)
Behind the Seeds Tour (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43625255#post43625255)
Time to Change (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43699563#post43699563)
Night Photos (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43700125#post43700125)
Star Wars Weekends (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43739712&posted=1#post43739712)
Via Napoli (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43747928&posted=1#post43747928)
We've Moved to the Beach Club Villas! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44320443#post44320443)
Magic Kingdom + Evening Extra Magic Hours (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44367917#post44367917)
Magic Kingdom, Continued (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44377424#post44377424)
Continued, continued (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44377483&posted=1#post44377483)
Hollywood Studios (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44428798#post44428798)
Back to Hollywood Studios (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44826832#post44826832)
Animal Kingdom - with a touring plan! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44827459#post44827459)
Dinner & Mini-Golf (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44893158#post44893158)
It's Like Ra-eaaain on Your Pool Day! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44893610#post44893610)

[tinkgurl]

I'm in! :)

[Bridora]

I'm in! :)

Yay! :yay: I'm glad you are here!

[Bridora]

Departure Day – Tuesday, May 24, 2011.


Normally we take off driving the morning before our Disney check-in day. We live approximately 900 miles from Disney, so we stop overnight. The last three or so trips, we’ve stayed that first night in Ocala, FL, which is pretty close to Disney. By driving all the way to Ocala that first day, our drive is super-short on our Disney check-in day, making time for lunch at Downtown Disney and then some swimming or mini-golf afterwards. Last year we left the afternoon before that and stayed with my sister-in-law in a Memphis suburb. When we left the next morning, we were around 3 hours ahead of our usual time. Davis enjoyed arriving in Ocala at a more reasonable hour so much that we decided to do something similar again this year.

Davis had taken the day off work. I had planned to work a normal day (I get off work at 3:00) since the kids were still in school. Instead, I took off at lunch to help finish up packing and loading the car. You all know how hard it is to be at work on the day you leave for Disney, so I’m sure you can understand!

When we picked the kids up from school we were ready to hit the road. Well, after we stopped back by my office to unload their backpacks and everything else the kids brought home with them on their last day of school!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240015-1.jpg
On the road!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240016.jpg
The road awaits!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240017.jpg
Goodbye Hank's Furniture!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240019-1.jpg
And that’s when I took the first picture of myself! How else would I have proof that I was there? It's also the picture I just used in my intro.



If you’ll remember, there was quite a bit of rain and flooding earlier this year, especially along the Mississippi.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/07/national/main20060801.shtml



Several places along our way to Memphis were also affected.
http://youtu.be/zXiZTmi-szE



Davis had been in the area we were driving through earlier in the month for work and had seen a lot of flooding. I was curious to see if and how much the waters had gone down.

These next few pictures were taken somewhere between Bald Knob and Augusta, AR. It's hard to remember exactly where I took them! The water was still way up.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240021.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240023.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240024.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240025.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240026.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240027.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240028.jpg


This was also right after the date believed by Harold Camping to be the beginning of the “end times”. I’m not getting into that here, but the billboards were still up all over the place. I finally managed to get an unclear picture of one. I was not the one driving, by the way!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240029.jpg


When we arrived in New Albany, MS I also managed to get an unclear picture of the welcome sign:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240030.jpg


We checked in to the Hampton Inn (we stayed here on the way home from FL last year) and found a McAlister’s Deli close by where we had dinner. It was then that we realized we had stopped at this same McAlister’s at some point along the way in another Disney trip.

I think we had to make a quick stop at Wal-Mart, but I can’t remember now what we needed. The kids were dying to swim, so we took them to the pool when we got back from dinner.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5240031.jpg

The pool was indoor and the water was very warm. It was probably warmer than a comfortable bath, more like a hot tub, even. I swam with the kids and had to get out a few times just because it was so hot! I even made them get out for a bit. When we were finished swimming, we rinsed off under a little shower we found and headed back up to the room to get ready for bed.

We were glad to be well on our way and thankful that we’d had an uneventful journey so far!

[tinkgurl]

I love that intro pic of you! Very cute hat and shades. :cool2:

That's so funny you guys realized you had eaten at that same place on another trip!

[RachelNinja]

Ahhh, I know I'm going to be sharing any and all Star Wars stuff with Howard! We're hoping SWW will be during our Disneymoon. Okay, let me rephrase that. HE'S hoping SWW will be during our Disneymoon (I'm hoping a little too just because I told him that it most likely will be, and he's so excited!). Anyway, I also think it's hilarious that the pic of your DH is with the Star Wars Vinylmation that Howard wants AND he has the same Tron shirt! HAHA.

Departure day is always so much fun! The start of a trip ... so exciting! Warm pools, on the other hand, aren't as exciting, haha.

[wdwgirl03]

Joining in!

[IheartDDuck]

I'm joining. I love the fact that you live in the castle beyond the goblin city. Would David Bowie happen to live with you? ;)

[TeaForTulips]

subbing! popcorn::

I'm always amazed at the things I hear at Disney. I feel bad for the people that are really that lost or confused. :confused3

[LadyBeBop]

I'm in. :yay:

Growing up, I remember the amusement parks close to home (Cincinnati Coney Island and Kings Island) both had Hanna Barbera Lands. At the time, the two parks were owned by Taft Broadcasting who also owned Hanna Barbera studios.

In fact, legend has it that the Banana Splits actually lived in Coney Island. The opening and closing credits were all shot at Coney Island.

I know it's not true. They never lived at Coney.

They actually lived at Kings Island. :rotfl2:

[Slatas]

im following along

[Bridora]

I love that intro pic of you! Very cute hat and shades. :cool2:

That's so funny you guys realized you had eaten at that same place on another trip!

Thanks! Sadly, the glasses would break just two days later at Downtown Disney...:sad1: At least they were cheap ones!

It was funny that we'd been there before...I mean, what are the chances?

Ahhh, I know I'm going to be sharing any and all Star Wars stuff with Howard! We're hoping SWW will be during our Disneymoon. Okay, let me rephrase that. HE'S hoping SWW will be during our Disneymoon (I'm hoping a little too just because I told him that it most likely will be, and he's so excited!). Anyway, I also think it's hilarious that the pic of your DH is with the Star Wars Vinylmation that Howard wants AND he has the same Tron shirt! HAHA.

Departure day is always so much fun! The start of a trip ... so exciting! Warm pools, on the other hand, aren't as exciting, haha.

It's not too bad, sharing your husband with Star Wars, I mean...sharing Star Wars stuff with your husband! I've become a pretty big fan it of myself over the years. I hope your Disneymoon will coincide with SWW, too! I know you'd both enjoy it! Yes, the Star Wars Vinylmation...there is more to that story...later. :)

Yay Tron shirts!

Joining in!

I'm glad you are here! :wizard:

I'm joining. I love the fact that you live in the castle beyond the goblin city. Would David Bowie happen to live with you? ;)

Welcome aboard! If you saw pictures of my DH from the 80's you might possibly say that David Bowie lives here too! :laughing:

subbing! popcorn::

I'm always amazed at the things I hear at Disney. I feel bad for the people that are really that lost or confused. :confused3

Glad to have you reading! :goodvibes
You can overhear some pretty crazy things, can't you? I'm sure I've said plenty for others to laugh about in the past myself! :lmao:

I'm in. :yay:

Growing up, I remember the amusement parks close to home (Cincinnati Coney Island and Kings Island) both had Hanna Barbera Lands. At the time, the two parks were owned by Taft Broadcasting who also owned Hanna Barbera studios.

In fact, legend has it that the Banana Splits actually lived in Coney Island. The opening and closing credits were all shot at Coney Island.

I know it's not true. They never lived at Coney.

They actually lived at Kings Island. :rotfl2:

Ah, the Banana Splits, I never did watch that one much...
Possibly the guy had them confused, either that or he grew up around there too and just expected that every theme park had a Hanna Barbera Land!

In AR we used to have Dogpatch, USA, based off the comic strip. We went there a lot as kids. It's not open anymore, but a lot of the things are still there. Some time ago some people managed to get in and take pictures of the place. Pretty sad...

im following along

Welcome! I hope you enjoy! :)

[Bridora]

Travel day! Wednesday, May 25, 2011.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250035.jpg


This is the day we’d told the kids would be all day in the car. Not looking much forward to that, other than by the end of the day we’d be in Ocala, FL with Disney in the near future!

The Hampton Inn had a nice little beverage station in the lobby, apart from the breakfast area, which I visited for a cup of tea on our way out that morning. We enjoyed continental breakfast first, though. We did not, however, enjoy the Weather Channel’s story of more deadly tornados that had visited Arkansas overnight. We had a pretty rough tornado season this year. We don’t live that far from Vilonia, which was hit hard at the end of April.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2011/apr/26/update-death-toll-arkansas-storms-5/

There were just some severe thunderstorms in our area, though. Thankful that our loved ones were safe, we hit the road.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250037.jpg
Tea in tow.

What’s a road trip without some construction zones?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250039.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250038.jpg


And what’s a road trip without one of these?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250041.jpg

I only allow myself to get these on vacation. Otherwise, I’d just drink way too many! Oh, and you’ll be happy to know, especially if you read last year’s trip report, that I remembered to check the expiration date on this one!

After a while, we hit Florida!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250042.jpg


This year, we were heading for I-10.

I’m not really sure what this next picture is supposed to be. Maybe a Welcome Center?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250043.jpg

And I’m pretty sure this next series was excitement over something! Maybe this was when we actually got on I-10?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250044.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250045.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250046.jpg

We stopped at a gas station somewhere along the way and saw this sign. I thought it was so cute, but missed taking it’s photo, so Davis graciously circled around so that I could have another attempt at it.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250047.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250048.jpg

Woo hoo! But I can’t read the sign in the above picture. It had to have been significant, though, right?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250049.jpg

Thanks for the ride I-10, and hello I-75, it’s so good to see you again!

I can’t remember where we had lunch that day, but I think it was probably a Burger King. For dinner, we stopped at a Ruby Tuesday.

Ruby Tuesday will always remind me of 4th of July in Newport, RI. It’s a long story, but basically, we wound up eating there (also my first time to eat at a Ruby Tuesday) and missed a great fireworks display. :sad1: But it did make for a cute memory, right Davis?

Soon, we were in Ocala. Unless that’s where the Ruby Tuesday was. If so, soon, we were checking into the Comfort Suites and ready for it to be Thursday already!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5250050-1.jpg

[IheartDDuck]

I'm the same as you! No road trip is complete without some frappuchinos! And I also don't allow myself to have them in my everyday life, because I would just consume far too many on a regular basis.

[RachelNinja]

HAHA, once I saw that frappuccino picture, I was thinking ... wasn't there something weird with last years bottle? Ahh, the expiration date! Phew, good thing you checked this year or it would've been disappointing!

[tinkgurl]

Thanks! Sadly, the glasses would break just two days later at Downtown Disney...:sad1: At least they were cheap ones!

Oh boo. Sounds like my luck! :laughing:

[Bridora]

I'm the same as you! No road trip is complete without some frappuchinos! And I also don't allow myself to have them in my everyday life, because I would just consume far too many on a regular basis.

Do you drink them really fast, too? They are sooo good; I just want to keep drinking and drinking until it's gone! :laughing: I have to use all my willpower to make them last longer than 5 minutes!

HAHA, once I saw that frappuccino picture, I was thinking ... wasn't there something weird with last years bottle? Ahh, the expiration date! Phew, good thing you checked this year or it would've been disappointing!

Yes, you remembered! Last year I had one that tasted a little funny, and it would have been very disappointing if it had happened again!

Oh boo. Sounds like my luck! :laughing:

:lmao: For some reason, I just can't keep sunglasses for very long. The one time I let my DH buy me some "real" ones from the Sunglasses Hut, they lasted about a year, which is a long time for me. They ended up in the ocean, though...I'm sure there is a shark out there somewhere loving his sunglasses! :laughing:

[Bridora]

Check-in Day! Thursday, May 26, 2011

Hooray!

After getting everyone awake and ready, we put our things back into the two-night bag and headed downstairs for some breakfast. I forgot to mention earlier that we had prepared such a bag just for our two nights on the road. We packed just enough for those two nights and the following days into one bag to save loading/unloading hassle.

The kids and I love continental breakfast. I think Davis would just rather go to McDonald’s for some pancakes or a sausage McGriddle, but he lets us have our continental breakfast anyway. :love: The kids love to make their own plates (especially the waffles!) and I don’t see why you would pay for breakfast when you’d be walking by a perfectly good, free breakfast on the way out!

Once we had finished breakfast, gathered our belongings, and returned our keys to the front desk, we piled into the car to begin our short trip to Disney World.



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260051.jpg
We hit the turnpike in no time!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260052.jpg
Just ignore the windshield streaks!


Any guesses on what is in these next two pictures?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260054.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260053.jpg


































It’s our bag of chocolate covered peanuts! I’ll have to remember next time that those don’t mix well with summer road trips and eat them faster!

Once we hit the turnpike, my title becomes “Toll Manager”.



We attended the Pirate & Princess Party back in 2008 (I think it was 2008). They handed out these cute loot bags you could fill with “treasure” at each of the specified treasure locations in the Magic Kingdom. I kept one and keep it in the car. We stock it with quarters to pay the tolls when we head to Disney World. The rest of the year it holds my latte money. My favorite drive-thru coffee booth here in town only takes cash or check, so I try to put a dollar or two here and there in my bag so I can treat myself every once in a while.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/292266206_photobucket_38881_.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260055.jpg

Prepared for the first toll!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260056.jpg

Driving up to the toll plaza.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260057.jpg
Getting closer…

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260058.jpg
And closer….

Hmmm, I only took three pictures of that?! Davis must have been needing the money about then, so I must have had to stop taking pictures to take care of my Manager duties!

I remember how exciting it was to be looking at what’s in this next picture on my phone:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260059.jpg
I wish it would say that every day. It could if we’d just move to Florida, right?


It wasn’t much longer and we were in sight of this Magical gateway:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260063.jpg

Davis and I decided that it was the first time we had gone under that gate. Don’t ask me specifically which one it was, but it seems like every year, or at least the past two or three, we’ve missed our first exit off of I-4. The past two or so years there’s been construction around it and we’ve just zipped right on by. We usually take the next one and can see Universal Studios from the car. Well not this year buddy! We exited as instructed and were just following the road when all of a sudden out or the trees Disney appeared!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260062.jpg
Love those palm trees!

While we waited at a stoplight (Disney stoplights are so much better than ordinary ones) I saw some flowers that I really liked. I took these pictures to find out later what there are and if they will grow in our area. I haven’t done that yet. Does anyone know what they are?


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260064.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260065.jpg

Aren’t they pretty?


If my phone can't say I am 2.6 miles from Disney World every day, maybe it could say I am 0.3 miles from Epcot Resorts?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Departure%20Travel%20days/P5260067.jpg

That would be nice.


And so concluded our short drive from Ocala to the Boardwalk!


We pulled up to the entrance booth, got our parking pass, and made our way to the lobby for check-in!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260071.jpg

[mickeystoontown]

Had no idea you had started this! I'm going back to read and will be back to post again.

[Bridora]

Had no idea you had started this! I'm going back to read and will be back to post again.

:lmao: I guess I was still reading your TR when you posted this! Don't worry, when you go back and read yours you will see that I finally remembered to tell you I had started mine!

[mickeystoontown]

I love reading about your drive to Disney because we pass by so many of the same things. Is taking the turnpike lots better than going on down to Hwy. 192? We've gotten on the turnpike once and go so lost.

[princess_momma]

I am here! Better late than never!!

:lmao: For some reason, I just can't keep sunglasses for very long. The one time I let my DH buy me some "real" ones from the Sunglasses Hut, they lasted about a year, which is a long time for me. They ended up in the ocean, though...I'm sure there is a shark out there somewhere loving his sunglasses! :laughing:

At one point I had nearly a million pairs of sunglasses and lost them all at once. Then the sunglasses gods smiled on me and I found a forgotten pair of someone's...no one ever claimed them. They say Dolce & Gabbana but could be knock-offs, who knows? I like to pretend they aren't!

Anywho....yay for your start! I love all your random pictures of stuff that is probably significant but you don't remember! I do that all that time! And then my memory card fills up and I'm confused and I go through and I'm like "why do I have pictures of gas stations and about 25 of Tim Tebow doing the exact same thing?" :rotfl:

The stop lights really are better in Disney World! Even their fire station is awesome! I love it so much there!! Why aren't we there right now? Why doesn't our phones say we're 2.something miles away!! :sad1:

I can't wait for more! I love Disney! The BW entrance already looks so amazing!! Show me more, show me more!

[denise4disney]

joining in

[Bridora]

I love reading about your drive to Disney because we pass by so many of the same things. Is taking the turnpike lots better than going on down to Hwy. 192? We've gotten on the turnpike once and go so lost.

We've always taken the turnpike, so I have no idea about 192!

I am here! Better late than never!!



At one point I had nearly a million pairs of sunglasses and lost them all at once. Then the sunglasses gods smiled on me and I found a forgotten pair of someone's...no one ever claimed them. They say Dolce & Gabbana but could be knock-offs, who knows? I like to pretend they aren't!

Anywho....yay for your start! I love all your random pictures of stuff that is probably significant but you don't remember! I do that all that time! And then my memory card fills up and I'm confused and I go through and I'm like "why do I have pictures of gas stations and about 25 of Tim Tebow doing the exact same thing?" :rotfl:

The stop lights really are better in Disney World! Even their fire station is awesome! I love it so much there!! Why aren't we there right now? Why doesn't our phones say we're 2.something miles away!! :sad1:

I can't wait for more! I love Disney! The BW entrance already looks so amazing!! Show me more, show me more!

I'm sure your sunglasses are the real deal! :cool2: They don't say Dolce & Banana...or Cabana, right?

Sometimes it's too exciting to not take a picture...even if you're not sure why you did later on!

joining in

Yay! Glad to have you on board! :boat:

[Bridora]

Downtown (Disney) everything's waiting for you : Thursday, May 26

Before walking into that beautiful lobby, Davis drove us right up to the doors. I think we were going to just run in and check-in, but those Bellmen/Valet men were not having it. They insisted on unloading our car and holding our luggage. I can’t remember the exact time, but I know it was no later than 10:00 am. We were not really expecting our room to be ready before check-out time, but were secretly hoping it would be. We went through check-in with no problems! Our folder was already waiting for us, since we had already checked in online. Sadly, our room was not yet ready. We gave both our cell numbers so that they could send us a text message when our room was ready. Even though we didn’t get the text in 2009 or 2010...but might as well try again!

As we were checking in, the line at the Concierge desk was growing. We had not purchased our park tickets yet, so that line would be our next stop. Davis & Luke left to go move the car since they really didn’t want us parked out there for too long. Allison & I make a quick trip to the ladies’ room before hopping into line for our park tickets. After waiting what seemed like forever, and being rejoined by the boys, we stepped up to the desk and added our park tickets to our room keys.

Next on our agenda: Downtown Disney. It’s our tradition to go to Downtown Disney on our check in day and have lunch at Earl of Sandwich. It wasn’t quite lunch time, but thankfully, there is plenty to do at Downtown Disney besides eat! On the way out the door, I made the kids stop for a picture on the big couch.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260072.jpg

We saw this little guy in the parking lot:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260074.jpg

A look back at one of the Boardwalk buildings from the parking lot. I think this is the building we stayed one night in last year.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260075.jpg


Our first stop at Downtown Disney was Basin. Can you believe I’d never been there before? The boys didn’t mind too much.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260076.jpg

I thought those shampoo and conditioner bars were neat. I ended up purchasing an oatmeal one. Allison & I have both used it and like it.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260077.jpg

We were most interested in those two soaps in the middle of the above picture. “Kiss the Cook” and “Fluffy Pet Soap”. The first is a soap that promises to take garlic, onion, and fish smells off your hands. I can’t remember exactly what is in the second, but it was for your dog. I ended up taking “Kiss the Cook” home and leaving that “Fluffy Pet” in the store. I don’t know how well the soap works, though, because I have not used it yet! It’s sitting on the kitchen sink, still pretty in it’s wrapper!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Downtown%20Disney/100_0009.jpg

Soap in a loofah gourd!


We went inside Arrrbas Brothers to look around a bit. Allison found some pretty things she wanted to buy, but we encouraged her not to spend any money just yet, in case she saw something else somewhere else that she liked better.

Everyone was getting hungry by then, which meant:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260080.jpg
Time for Earl of Sandwich!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260081.jpg
Menu Board

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260083.jpg
Davis & I waiting patiently for our food!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260086.jpg
My Hawaiian BBQ! (I think...)

I decided not to go overboard taking pictures of everyones’ food this year. I’m enjoy looking at food pictures on other Trip Reports, but it’s not my thing. First of all, I just fell a little too silly taking at least four pictures of food. And I say at least four because usually they don’t turn out all that well (see above).The kids are embarrassed by it, and after a while people start to give you funny looks, which embarrasses me! I don’t mind taking a quick picture of my own food, though!

After lunch, we wandered around lots of places. I think we stopped by Ghirardelli for some chocolate. It was caramel. Do they hand out any kind other than caramel? I don’t mind one bit because the kids don’t like it, so I get theirs too! We may or may not have gone by here more than once this year and they always were handing out caramel, which is why I asked.

A stop at the Lego Store was a must! They’ve opened up a new one since last May. There were lots of new Lego structures out and much more room inside the store!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260087.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260088.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260089.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260090.jpg


Inside, there is also a Lego Woody. A cast member who was chatting with us asked if we were Toy Story fans. When Luke said we were, he asked if we knew what was on the bottom of Woody’s foot , pointed over to their Lego version, and told us it was on there too! He said we could see Andy's name by sticking the camera under his foot and taking a picture. We tried, but it didn’t turn out so well!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Downtown%20Disney/100_0013.jpg


One more try:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Downtown%20Disney/100_0012.jpg

You can kind of tell something is there!

After that, we just wandered all around the place. Some pictures of our wanderings:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260092.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260093.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260094.jpg
Notice that I still have my sunglasses in this picture!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260096.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260097.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260098.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260099.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260100.jpg
More of those flowers!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260101.jpg
I think that one may be out of sequence!


****Continued in next post****

[Bridora]

***Wanderings, continued***

I knew I wanted to go by Planet Hollywood where they have “Jenny”. I didn’t even know this was here until reading Mickeystoontown’s Trip Report from last year. After seeing her picture of it, I wanted to see it for myself!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260104.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260106.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260105.jpg

Mission accomplished.

They kids were itching for some new Vinylmation figures. We’d heard of a great little shop in Downtown Disney that sold just that. D-Street here we come!

[Bridora]

Embarrassing the Kids: Thursday, May 26, 2011


Since the kids wanted to purchase some Vinylmations we headed over to D Street. I had heard that was THE place to go; boy, was it ever!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260107.jpg

They also had lots of other merchandise for sale inside the store. That’s also the place where one tiny screw fell out of my sunglasses, rendering them unable to stay on my face. Boo. But the kids each got one Vinylmation! Luke got a pretty cool rubber bracelet, too.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Downtown%20Disney/292266206_photobucket_42610_.jpg
Look at it closely. Do you see Mickey or a skull and crossbones?



The kids could hardly wait to get outside and open their boxes!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260108.jpg


And it was………………………….




























http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260110.jpg

Is that Quasimodo?


I don’t remember what Luke’s was and I don’t have a picture of it. Hmmmmmm.


After that, we went to RideMakerz so Luke could look around. Last November he built a car at the RideMarkerz in Branson, MO, and he wanted to purchase something to add to it. I’m pretty sure he ended up with some kind of hood exhaust thing or some new wheels or something else equally cool and chrome! They had a couple of real cars on display in the huge building. This one was Luke’s favorite:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Downtown%20Disney/100_0015.jpg



We still had not received a text from the Boardwalk with our room number, but decided to head back over there and ask at the front desk, just in case.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260111.jpg


Here is one way you can embarrass your kids: Take pictures inside the restroom!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260112.jpg




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260113.jpg

It was so pretty in there, and I loved how they put out washcloths for hand drying. That’s enough to justify a picture for my Trip Report!


Our room was not ready yet, either.


No problem though, that meant there would be time to do something I’d been wanting to do for several years: rent a Surrey Bike!


Hooray!


I first saw them at Caribbean Beach and thought it would be so much fun to do, but we just never had done it.


Today was the day!


We went out to the Boardwalk and over to the bike rental area. The Cast Member working there had to measure Luke’s height. It turns out that he was just shy of being tall enough to sit in one of the outside seats and pedal. Boo. He was very upset, but we tried to brush it off and cheer him up. He can be a bit like his Momma, though because sometimes it takes him a while to get over things. Davis & I sat up front with the kids behind us. Luke had to sit in the middle of the darn thing, right close to Allison. After being instructed on bike operation and demonstrating we could work the brakes, we were off!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260115.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260116.jpg
This is actually work!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260117.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260118.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260119.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260120.jpg
Overlooking the water/walkway to Epcot!

There were two hills on our path, the one we climbed to get to that point in the above picture and the other over by the Swan and Dolphin. Oh my goodness, was that second hill steep! I mean, we really had to work to get up the thing!


Another way to embarrass the kids is by dinging the little bell on your surrey bike! (You can also embarrass your husband this way)! When we would come up on someone from behind, I thought we should ding the bell so that they would know we were coming. No one agreed with me. The bikes really were pretty quiet, and sometimes the people walking did not know we were there. That’s what the bell is for, right? But, no! Apparently, dinging the bell can cause embarrassment! Who knew?


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260121.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260122.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260123.jpg


We rented the bike for 30 minutes. We made it around the whole area twice during that time. I think we would have been able to make it around another time, but Davis thought we were on vacation and not in the Tour de France (even though we could see France from the route). We returned the bike and went down the Boardwalk in search of water.



That's when Davis checked his phone and noticed that he had received a text with our room number!

[RachelNinja]

Haha, I'm like Davis. I don't really like continental breakfast. I guess that's because I know I need to have protein to be able to function.

I love your loot bag! How cute to have an everyday thing be something from Disney!

I finally went into Basin this past trip too, but I didn't buy the one thing I wanted. I kind of regret it. I think it'd be fun to have! I'll keep that in mind for next time! Let us know how the "Kiss the Cook" soap works! I know that stainless steel is supposed to help, so I'll rub my hands on the side of the sink, but then I smell like stainless steel. Haha.

Where do they hand out the Ghiradelli chocolate? Inside the store? I keep saying, "They give out free chocolate here" when we pass by, but we've still never gone inside!

How cool that Andy's name is on the bottom of Woody! I must check that out next time!

I've been on a surrey bike once in my life, and after seeing that they're available at Disney, I have ALWAYS wanted to do it! That's what I thought we'd be able to do on one of our rest days this past trip since we were with 3 other "younger" people (as in not my parents because my dad wouldn't understand renting a bike~). Alas, we didn't do it!

[wdwgirl03]

Mmmm, Earl of Sandwich. So good!! I hear ya on taking pictures of food. I always feel sort of strange doing it which is why I hardly ever have any food pictures! I'm glad you only had one because otherwise I would be craving EOS even more than I am from the one. ;)

That picture of opening the vinylmation is hilarious. That's kind of how I reacted when I got that same one. LOL.

[Shell & Ted]

Just found your report. We love Earl of Sandwich. I swear it's the best deal on property. Oh and I think the flowers are Oleanders.

[Bridora]

Haha, I'm like Davis. I don't really like continental breakfast. I guess that's because I know I need to have protein to be able to function.

I love your loot bag! How cute to have an everyday thing be something from Disney!

I finally went into Basin this past trip too, but I didn't buy the one thing I wanted. I kind of regret it. I think it'd be fun to have! I'll keep that in mind for next time! Let us know how the "Kiss the Cook" soap works! I know that stainless steel is supposed to help, so I'll rub my hands on the side of the sink, but then I smell like stainless steel. Haha.

Where do they hand out the Ghiradelli chocolate? Inside the store? I keep saying, "They give out free chocolate here" when we pass by, but we've still never gone inside!

How cool that Andy's name is on the bottom of Woody! I must check that out next time!

I've been on a surrey bike once in my life, and after seeing that they're available at Disney, I have ALWAYS wanted to do it! That's what I thought we'd be able to do on one of our rest days this past trip since we were with 3 other "younger" people (as in not my parents because my dad wouldn't understand renting a bike~). Alas, we didn't do it!

I never knew that about stainless steel! It seems a little strange, but if it works...right?! I wonder how that came to be known...

Yes, they hand out the chocolates just inside the store...the side of the store closest to World of Disney, not the soda fountain side. When you walk in there is someone standing with a whole basket-full of beautiful delicious chocolate squares ready to be enjoyed! Yum! You need to go in next time! :laughing:

And that's the great thing about Disney, no matter how much you go, you can't do it all in one trip...there's always something to try next time! :goodvibes

Mmmm, Earl of Sandwich. So good!! I hear ya on taking pictures of food. I always feel sort of strange doing it which is why I hardly ever have any food pictures! I'm glad you only had one because otherwise I would be craving EOS even more than I am from the one. ;)

That picture of opening the vinylmation is hilarious. That's kind of how I reacted when I got that same one. LOL.

Poor Quasimodo...:sad2:

Just found your report. We love Earl of Sandwich. I swear it's the best deal on property. Oh and I think the flowers are Oleanders.

Yay! Welcome! Thanks for the tip on those flowers...I still hadn't looked them up yet. :laughing:

[Bridora]

Our room is ready! Let’s go swim. Thursday, May 26, 2011


Because we all know that’s what every kid wants most on vacation. To swim. That’s why we’re here, right?


But, first….let’s find our room!


We had a Studio room with a Boardwalk View.


It seems I didn’t take many pictures of the inside of the room. What? That’s strange because that’s usually one of the first things I do. I guess after waiting all day for our room (the room was not ready late, it just wasn’t ready early) and having just gone for a bike ride, we were all ready to swim.



I did get several shots looking out our balcony doors, though. It was such a gorgeous view, that must be the reason I walked straight through the room without taking any pictures of it.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6091.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6089.jpg
The bear was just excited to be out of the car!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6085.jpg
On our balcony, looking to the right. That's the bike rental area!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6084.jpg
Still to the right.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6079.jpg
Across the way and a little to the left was the Yacht & Beach Club boat dock.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6078.jpg
This is one of the boats used for transportation from the Boardwalk to Yacht & Beach Club, Swan & Dolphin, Epcot or Hollywood Studios. There are two lines at the boat dock you can choose from, depending on where you are going.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6081.jpg
Again, across the way. Beautiful sight at night!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6082.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6083.jpg


While I was taking those pictures, the kids were getting ready to swim. Davis was not going swimming, instead he was going to have the luggage brought up, make a trip to the grocery store for water, and make sure we had everything out of the car. We decided not to do a Garden Grocer order this year because our first three nights would be in a Studio and it was just as easy to bring the snack foods with us and worry about getting other things like milk, oj, etc. later when we had a full kitchen.

I had my brand new water-proof Olympus camera to try out, too! I took it to the pool, but I was still so nervous about using it under water. It just seemed so wrong to have the camera in the pool! I even found myself holding it up out of the water when I walked around! But it was fun taking underwater pictures:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260133.jpg
Allison


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260134.jpg
Me


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260136.jpg
Luke


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260139.jpg


The slide at the Boardwalk is called the Keister Coaster and is themed like a wooden roller coaster. I think it’s a really cute name. I took the camera up for a trip down the slide.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260124.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260125.jpg


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http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260129.jpg


Here’s what the exit of the slide looks like:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260135.jpg


Allison did not think the clown was cute.


Allison & I attempted to take pictures of each other going down the slide.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260131.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260132.jpg


It’s just as well. I probably don’t want to know what I look like going down a water slide!


After our swim, we headed back up to the room to clean up for our dinner reservation at ‘Ohana! That was a meal requested by the kids. I love it when there is somewhere that they love and want to go back to. We all love ‘Ohana and were glad to be going back.

[RachelNinja]

Haha, I used to always want to go to the pool on vacation. Now not so much! Maybe because when I was a kid, I didn't care much about wearing a bathing suit, haha.

Ooo, I love the picture you took of Spaceship Earth through your railing!

Those underwater pictures are amazing! So clear! So different from the disposable ones.

[wdwgirl03]

I did not like this update only because it makes me want to stay at the Boardwalk even more! LOL. What an awesome view. I like the picture of SSE taken through the railing. That's pretty cool. :thumbsup2 I'd probably be the same way with a waterproof camera but the underwater pictures turned out great!

[tinkgurl]

Oh wow, you had some great views from your room! I bet you watched Illuminations from there didn't you?!

A camera that can go in the water is so neat, but seems so wrong-just like you said! :laughing:

I agree with Allison, I don't like that clown! He's creepy!

[IheartDDuck]

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260132.jpg


It’s just as well. I probably don’t want to know what I look like going down a water slide!


Hilarious. If you ever want to know what you look like going down a slide, go to Typhoon Lagoon on the Crush n Gusher. Oh yeah, you'll get an embarrassing one there.

I love the underwater pics. I've been looking at an underwater camera, because I always want to have a camera at the water park. On my last trip I took a waterproof disposable, and the stupid thing cracked and the pictures got ruined. :eek:

[mickeystoontown]

Oh my goodness.....your view was fantastic! It seems like every way you turned, there was something gorgeous to look at.

I am thinking about buying a waterproof camera and your's seems to take great pictures. What model is it?

[Deemarch]

Enjoying your trip report!

[Bridora]

Haha, I used to always want to go to the pool on vacation. Now not so much! Maybe because when I was a kid, I didn't care much about wearing a bathing suit, haha.

Ooo, I love the picture you took of Spaceship Earth through your railing!

Those underwater pictures are amazing! So clear! So different from the disposable ones.

I don't mind going to the pool...as long as it's not too crowded, but the kids love it anytime, lol!

Thanks! I hoped it would turn out to be a cool picture.

I was very pleased with those underwater pictures! And yes, they are much better than the disposable cameras!

I did not like this update only because it makes me want to stay at the Boardwalk even more! LOL. What an awesome view. I like the picture of SSE taken through the railing. That's pretty cool. :thumbsup2 I'd probably be the same way with a waterproof camera but the underwater pictures turned out great!

:lmao: Sorry Sarah! It was an awesome view...we loved going out on the balcony. It seems like there was always something going on below.

Glad you liked the SSE picture, too!

I'm so glad the pictures were so good AND that the waterproof camera wasn't harmed by the water, lol!

Oh wow, you had some great views from your room! I bet you watched Illuminations from there didn't you?!

A camera that can go in the water is so neat, but seems so wrong-just like you said! :laughing:

I agree with Allison, I don't like that clown! He's creepy!

You could see Illuminations from the room for sure. We never quite found ourselves there at the same time, though, but we almost did once...I think that part is coming up soon...

I'm still not used to having a camera that's ok to go under water, :laughing:

Hilarious. If you ever want to know what you look like going down a slide, go to Typhoon Lagoon on the Crush n Gusher. Oh yeah, you'll get an embarrassing one there.

I love the underwater pics. I've been looking at an underwater camera, because I always want to have a camera at the water park. On my last trip I took a waterproof disposable, and the stupid thing cracked and the pictures got ruined. :eek:

Ha Ha! I'll bet they do get some good ones on that!

Thanks! I loved having the camera for that. It's nice to have a camera that doesn't mind the water. How awful that the disposable camera cracked. I would have been so mad! :mad:

Oh my goodness.....your view was fantastic! It seems like every way you turned, there was something gorgeous to look at.

I am thinking about buying a waterproof camera and your's seems to take great pictures. What model is it?

There was no shortage of great view from that room, that's for sure! You are right, something gorgeous to look at all around! I would gladly go back right now, lol!

I'll have to look at the camera when I get home and see what the numbers are. It's an Olympus Stylus Tough, but I'm not sure which model. I've really liked it so far. The only thing that bugs me it that it seems to take too long to turn on. So that if you had to turn it on real quick to get a shot, you might miss it before the camera is ready...:rolleyes1

Enjoying your trip report!

Yay! I'm glad you're here...I'm going to get another installment posted soon. (I hope) :goodvibes

[Bridora]

Thursday, May 26: More Balcony Shots


I found time to take a few more pictures while we were getting ready to go to the Polynesian for some great food at ‘Ohana.


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The bed.



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Looking to the left from the balcony.


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Looking down from the balcony. If I remember right, we were on the 4th floor.


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Artwork hanging over the couch which pulled out for a bed for the kids. (The couch, not the picture, lol!)


And just because I couldn’t resist taking pictures every time I was on the balcony:


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The Wedding Pavilion is on the right, Beach Club on the left.



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When it was time, we drove over to the Polynesian. I took a Monorail picture on the way over. It may have even been the first Monorail we’d seen on this trip!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260140.jpg


‘Ohana was wonderful, as it always is! We didn’t wait long for our table. And then, it wasn’t long before we were enjoying the yummy food!



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This plate looks a little bare. I'm pretty sure it's one of everything on the appetizer plate.


Here is Luke waiting to participate in the coconut race!
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They invited all the kids up to participate. They each get a coconut and a broom. You must get the coconut around to the finish line using only the broom. Quite interesting to watch! Luke took a while deciding to go up, so he was pretty much the end of the line.


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After dinner, we walked out to the beach and then took our time wandering through the grounds out to the parking lot. The kids kept running ahead and then waiting for us to catch up. We had a really great time just strolling around. The Polynesian is so relaxing. Even Luke felt that way:


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When we returned to the Boardwalk and walked in the main lobby doors, this carousel kind of magically started playing music and rotating. I don’t know if it’s on a timer or what, but we didn’t remember seeing it come on before. It was very neat!


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A pretty light fixture in the lobby area.


We were watching the carousel and looking at everything in the lobby when we heard some booming sounds. Turns out it was Illuminations!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/P5260152.jpg
Neat chairs we sat in sometime that night (I think, judging from the lei Julie is wearing down there in the left corner) Pretty sure these were on the big balcony off the lobby.


We watched for just a minute on the big balcony off the lobby and decided to high tail it to our room to watch off our own balcony. Do you know how long it takes to get anywhere in the Boardwalk? A long time! It seems like the hallways are never-ending! They zig zag so much inside! It’s really crazy, really. And…we missed Illuminations, it was over by the time we got to our room. Boo.

Even though, Illuminations was over, it was still so beautiful on the Boardwalk at night. It was equally hard to resist taking pictures from the balcony then, too.


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More pictures below!

[Bridora]

Pictures, continued:

All the colors on the Boardwalk at night were gorgeous!



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http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/On%20the%20Boardwalk/IMG_6047.jpg

I’ve even got some more pictures, but I think I took them another night, so I’ll save those for later.

I don’t want y’all to get burned out, lol!


Friday would be our first park day! We were looking forward to Epcot and lunch at Le Cellier…

[tinkgurl]

Artwork hanging over the couch which pulled out for a bed for the kids. (The couch, not the picture, lol!)

Thanks for the correction. :rotfl:

[wdwgirl03]

:lmao: Sorry Sarah! It was an awesome view...we loved going out on the balcony. It seems like there was always something going on below.

I guess I can forgive you because we just booked a studio at the Boardwalk Villas for our Easter trip!!! AHHHH I can't wait! So now I say, bring on the pictures!

[IheartDDuck]

You really did score on a view. I love the Boardwalk, especially at night.

Ohana looks really good for dinner. I admit, I haven't been there for dinner in quite a number of years.

You are so right about the size of Boardwalk though. Man, it seems to take forever to get anywhere. I admit I got lost once or twice during my trip in February.

[Bridora]

Thanks for the correction. :rotfl:

:laughing: It sounded a little funny when I read it back! Hey, I don't want to be responsible for any innocent first time guests trying to put out that picture to make a bed! :lmao:

I guess I can forgive you because we just booked a studio at the Boardwalk Villas for our Easter trip!!! AHHHH I can't wait! So now I say, bring on the pictures!

Yay! :woohoo: Don't worry....I've got lots more!

You really did score on a view. I love the Boardwalk, especially at night.

Ohana looks really good for dinner. I admit, I haven't been there for dinner in quite a number of years.

You are so right about the size of Boardwalk though. Man, it seems to take forever to get anywhere. I admit I got lost once or twice during my trip in February.

It's really pretty at night! But so easy to get lost around there!

Oh my goodness.....your view was fantastic! It seems like every way you turned, there was something gorgeous to look at.

I am thinking about buying a waterproof camera and your's seems to take great pictures. What model is it?

It's an Olympus Stylus Tough 3000. :goodvibes

[RachelNinja]

Those boardwalk pictures are great! I think it'd be so fun to rent surrey bike or a regular bike for that boardwalk!

[Bridora]

Holy cow, you guys! I can't believe it's been so long since I've even logged in here. I guess my time has been occupied with other things. I really want to finish this Trip Report, though! I will try to get something up in the next few days, but most likely this weekend. I'd hate to not finish the story, lol!

[mickeystoontown]

Holy cow, you guys! I can't believe it's been so long since I've even logged in here. I guess my time has been occupied with other things. I really want to finish this Trip Report, though! I will try to get something up in the next few days, but most likely this weekend. I'd hate to not finish the story, lol!

I totally understand having "life" take over and not being able to get on the Dis as much as we would like. It's good to "see" you on the boards again and I look forward to reading more.

[Bridora]

Those boardwalk pictures are great! I think it'd be so fun to rent surrey bike or a regular bike for that boardwalk!

Thanks! It was very much fun! You'll have to try it sometime. :goodvibes

I totally understand having "life" take over and not being able to get on the Dis as much as we would like. It's good to "see" you on the boards again and I look forward to reading more.

I can't believe it's been so long, though! I'm usually behind, but I think this is a record! :laughing:

[Bridora]

On our last episode…

We had checked into Boardwalk Villas with a spectacular view of the Boardwalk. After a delicious dinner at ‘Ohana, we were back in our room anticipating our first day in the parks.



Friday, May 27, 2011



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270162.jpg


That morning, we decided to take one of the boats over to Epcot.


We had two things scheduled for today: lunch at Le Cellier at 11:55 and a surprise Behind the Seeds tour at 3:00. Other than that, we had the whole day to explore Epcot as we wished!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270159.jpg

And how could you not have a magical day after being greeted by that sign?


Awaiting our ride, I snapped these next few pictures. I really love the dock area!



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And we’re on the boat!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270168.jpg
A wedding!


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The boat will take you to the “back entrance” of Epcot. If you’re not sure where I’m talking about, there is a gate on the World Showcase side of Epcot, just before you cross the bridge going from the UK to France, on your right. Anyone coming from Yacht or Beach Club, Boardwalk, or Swan & Dolphin areas can walk or take one of the boats and come to this gate. I’m pretty sure you can catch a boat from Hollywood Studios to Epcot as well. We loved using this entrance because it feels so “VIP” to come up to the nearly always empty turnstiles!


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Our first plans for the morning were to head to the Land for some Soarin’ Fastpasses!


Strolling through the UK and Canada…


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We’ll be back soon for you, Le Cellier!


And on toward Future World…


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It was a gorgeous day!


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I forced the children to stop for a photo!



We were on the lookout for the Tronorail!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270188.jpg
Nope, not it!


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…continued below…

[Bridora]

…continued…


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Getting those Fastpasses!




With our rides secured for later, we headed over to Innoventions to see what we could find inside…



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The first thing we found was Runtime! It is so much fun. You must all try this one! You stand in front of a green screen (above) and follow the instructions that come up on the display in front of you. It tells you to run (in place), jump, and dance. It captures your movements and then puts you into a video game that you then get to play! It was really a lot of fun. The kids loved it and we were all cracking up when they played it. You can also email it to yourself, which we did.


Here is Luke playing their game. They had to take turns on the levels because you only get to play it once.
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270202.jpg


I tried for a close-up screen shot of the game:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270203.jpg


Next, we played the Great Piggy Bank Adventure, another first for us and also another fun game!


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The games teaches your kids about saving money. At the beginning of the game, you choose a goal. During the game, you will be trying to make enough money to reach that goal. The goals were something like: water slide bedroom makeover, vacation, and retirement. Allison & I choose the bedroom makeover, as did Luke & Davis.


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I didn’t take any more pictures while we played, but basically, you took your pig from station to station, earning money, making it grow, and trying to protect it from inflation. Each station had some kind of “port” for you pig to go in while you played a game on a screen. Your pig came back out when your game was up and you all moved on to the next station. At the end, you weigh your pig to see if you’ve earned enough to make your goal. Sadly, Allison & I did not get the “room makeover”, due to some user error on making our money at the very first station. However, Luke & Davis did get make their goal; congrats, guys!


We decided then to head back toward Canada, with a pit-stop at Club Cool. Every one in our party knows to stay away from Beverly, and we pretty much have our favorites, so it was just a quick refreshing pit stop for us!


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After that, we were on our way to the World Showcase! We’ve never really explored the Canada pavilion, so we were looking forward to taking some time to do that while waiting for our table!

[RachelNinja]

Ooo, I should spend more time exploring Epcot next trip! With APs (that's our plan!), we can go every single day and that means we can devote time to all the things we never get to play!

[Bridora]

Ooo, I should spend more time exploring Epcot next trip! With APs (that's our plan!), we can go every single day and that means we can devote time to all the things we never get to play!

We always say we want to spend more time exploring countries, but we never seem to have enough time to see them all.

APs?! How exciting!

[Bridora]

May 27, 2011
After hitting Club Cool, it was time for us to hop over to Canada and check in for our very first meal at Le Cellier.


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Still not the Tronorail!


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Heading to lunch in Canada.


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Lightning McQueen and Mater were still hanging out, even though Flower & Garden Festival was over.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270229.jpg
It was hard to get a picture of them without anyone else in it!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270231.jpg
I thought these were very pretty.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270242.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270243.jpg


We checked in and made our way deeper into Canada.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270244.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270246.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270245.jpg





We had briefly explored Canada in the past. I do mean briefly. I think our previous experience with Canada was the kids sticking their faces in the Totem Pole holes for a picture, and running up the stairs to “see what was up there”. We had time to better explore and appreciate all the detail that is put into the surroundings. We also took a stroll through the Northwest Mercantile store and the Trading Post. I found a cute t-shirt, but did not purchase it.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270232.jpg
I just noticed that my finger is in the upper left corner of this shot, lol!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270233.jpg
I see the O Canada theater back there to the left of the picture, but we did not go in.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270235.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270236.jpg
Just hanging out on the streets of Canada. (Pavilion)


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270237.jpg



There weren’t that many people there with us at the time. I think most everyone else was waiting inside Le Cellier for their names to be called.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270238.jpg
I wish I could get my flower baskets to stay this pretty at home!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270241.jpg


We wandered back to the restaurant and went inside to await the calling of our name. It wasn’t long before we were seated. I don’t remember which province we were in, but the atmosphere inside was nice. I tried to capture the feel of the place with some pictures.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270249.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270251.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270253.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270255.jpg
It appears we were in the Northwest Territories!


Continued in Next Post

[Bridora]

…Continued


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270257.jpg
The bread!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270258.jpg
So good, it was worth two pictures!



So good, we ate it all! Our waiter brought us out some more, but we didn’t eat as much of it. We had to save room for our food!



The kids were against my taking pictures of their food, so I only took a picture of my meal and Davis’s.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270259.jpg
My Mushroom Filet Mignon - pretty sure! It was very good! From allears.net:

Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon - with wild mushroom risotto, white truffle and herb butter sauce




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270260.jpg
I can’t remember what Davis had. I can’t quite match it up to anything on the menu, but I do know that he liked it! Davis, if you remember, let us know!



I think he may have ordered some kind of chef’s recommended meal. I’m kind of fuzzy on that and don’t see any mention of it on allears.net, but I think I remember he had a list of appetizer, entrée, and dessert he could choose from. I think he had the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup also.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270261.jpg
And this would have been his dessert. Looks like crème brulee to me? I'm so glad that he shared!




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270262.jpg





The bread was so good that I wanted to take it with us. I was debating whether or not to just stick it in my Vera Bradley hipster or not. I ended up asking our waiter (don’t remember his name, but he was great!) if he could bring me something to wrap it in or a box for it. He said that he would just bring us out some fresh bread instead. I tried arguing with him that the bread we had was perfectly fine, but he insisted on us having warm, fresh bread to take with us. This was near the end of the meal, so he went ahead and took the bread from the table with him.


Sadly, he never returned with our warm, fresh bread. It was very sad at the time, but looking back, I’m sure carrying around all that bread wouldn’t have been all that great and by the time we got around to eating it, it might have been too stale to be any good; or maybe it would have been very yummy and not a burden to carry at all, after all, bread doesn’t weight that much!


The Canada Pavilion is so pretty! On our way out, I took even more pictures:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270263.jpg




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270264.jpg




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270265.jpg




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270266.jpg
Isn’t this cottage adorable?



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270267.jpg
I think I could live there!




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270268.jpg
Uh oh! Someone was probably upset to lose that straw!




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270269.jpg
You could all come visit me here when you’re in the area…




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270270.jpg
I just needed one more shot!





http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270271.jpg
Until next time, Canada!




http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270272.jpg
The World awaits! (And probably needs to be saved!)

[Bridora]

May 27, 2011

After eating lunch at Le Cellier, we went on a mission: a mission to save Mexico!


We had a Kim Possible time coming up, so we walked over to check in.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270273.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270274.jpg



Our assignment was in Mexico. This was one of the few countries we hadn’t saved yet.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270275.jpg
I really love the atmosphere inside this building. It’s so neat how you can be inside, but feel like you’re outside!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270277.jpg
Even though I’m not that great at capturing that feeling in clear pictures!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270279.jpg



One of the tasks in the mission was to stand in front of a “wall“.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270281.jpg



As we watched, a little scene appeared.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270282.jpg
Very cool!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270285.jpg
Back outside, the kids were getting more instructions and I was taking more pictures.



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270287.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270284.jpg



After we succeeded in saving Mexico, we went to Norway, where they were also having problems.



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270289.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270290.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270296.jpg
Watch closely, this is part of the Mission…



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270297.jpg
A signal!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270298.jpg
I really don’t remember taking this guy’s picture.



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270302.jpg
Another part of the Mission…



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270301.jpg



When we were here, this was quite the busy area. I think we had to wait on two other parties to finish up here before we could move in to continue on our secret mission!


By the time we had saved those two countries, it was time for us to return to The Land to take our Behind the Seeds Tour or to ride Soarin’, I can’t remember which one we did first!


And you’ll never guess what we saw on the way!






The Tonorail - finally!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/100_0134.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/100_0135.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/100_0136.jpg


Hooray!

[mickeystoontown]

Isn't the Canada pavilion beautiful? I am always amazed at how pretty and fresh all the flowers look. By the end of May, mine at home are all droopy and looking sad because of the heat.

Too bad the waiter never brought your fresh bread out to you. I bet it would have been a good snack later that day.

[Bridora]

Isn't the Canada pavilion beautiful? I am always amazed at how pretty and fresh all the flowers look. By the end of May, mine at home are all droopy and looking sad because of the heat.

Too bad the waiter never brought your fresh bread out to you. I bet it would have been a good snack later that day.

It is so beautiful! My flowers do the same. I just tell myself that Disney has way more time to devote to keeping the flowers beautiful than I do! :lmao:

Yes, that silly waiter! That just means I'll have to go back and get some more...popcorn:: If only that was bread instead of popcorn!

[Bridora]

May 27, 2011

Probably totally out of order, but for some reason it was with these pictures, so…somewhere along the way we saw a Duffy Meet & Greet setup:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/P5270305.jpg



We had a 3:00 Behind the Seeds Tour surprise scheduled for the kids. They weren’t quite as excited as we’d hoped they would be; but Davis & I were!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/P5270306.jpg




We checked in at 2:45 and were each given a name tag that had been nicely decorated with some marker drawings. We were told we could go around the corner and sit down to wait until tour time. You check in for the Behind the Seeds Tour in the Land pavilion to the left of Soarin’. We waited in the hallway to the left of that, the one in front of the restrooms. Pretty soon a few more people joined us. We noticed none of their tags were decorated and thought that maybe it was because we had scheduled our tour in advance and they may have just walked up to schedule theirs. There was a family of 3, a couple of twenty something guys, and an older man and woman couple. I think that was it for our tour. Our tour guide soon met us and led us backstage somewhere past the Soarin’ queue.


We gathered in a small room with lots of terrariums.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/P5270307.jpg


Inside those terrariums were bugs.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/P5270310.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/P5270308.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/P5270311.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/P5270316.jpg


Our guide showed us a short video about the benefits of these bugs and talked to us about them some. She then handed out a few tubes that had lady bugs in them. We were going to do a lady bug release later in the tour. Allison & Luke took turns carrying one tube.


I’m sure these pictures will be completely out of order, but I’m still going to show them to you. My camera battery died shortly after we began the tour, but Luke was nice enough to let me use his.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0020.jpg
After leaving the terrarium room, we walked outside briefly, then into another building.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0022.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0023.jpg
I would love to see a sign like that every day!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0024.jpg
Living with the Land from the other side!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0026.jpg
I don’t remember the name of this plant, but if you touched the leaves it would curl up on itself as a defense mechanism. I think our guide also had us make a noise when we did it, but I can’t remember how it sounded!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0027.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0031.jpg
Maybe I will ask Luke.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0028.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0030.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0033.jpg
Hello people on the ride!



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0034.jpg
Growing salad


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0036.jpg



http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0041.jpg
Here we are learning about the Hydroponic Gro Tanks


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0046.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0043.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0048.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0049.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0050.jpg
I wish I could remember what this said. I know I took a picture of it for some reason. Hey, mickeystoontown, do you remember this?


…Continued in next post…

[Bridora]

…Behind the Seeds, continued…


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0052.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0056.jpg
Growing Mickey-shaped cucumbers


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0057.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0060.jpg
Tomatoes


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0059.jpg

It says “The most tomatoes harvested from a single plant in one year weighed 522,464 kg (1151.84 lbs). The tomato plant is at the Epcot Science project at Walt Disney World Company in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA. The harvest started on 24 May 2005 and ended on 20 April 2006”

Wow!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0061.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0064.jpg
Taking a break beside this cooling wall! Allison & Davis really really enjoyed it! As I remember it was pretty warm that day.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0065.jpg
Sweet Potato


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0067.jpg
It was time to set the lady bugs free!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0068.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0070.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0071.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0072.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0073.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0076.jpg
Wow, those are big! I took this picture because Allison & my mom had just planted some much smaller versions of these guys back home.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0078.jpg
There really is a lot to see on this tour!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0079.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0081.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0082.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0083.jpg
I’m sure you can tell by the color of this picture where we are now…


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0084.jpg


Coming up next, a few Hidden Mickeys:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0085.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0087.jpg
Ok, not a Mickey, but a cute little house for that guy!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0090.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0091.jpg


…Continued in next post…

[Bridora]

…Behind the Seeds Continued, continued…


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0096.jpg





http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0105.jpg


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At the touch & feel table…



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At the end of the tour, our guide offered to take group pictures of us, so we handed over our camera and posed for this picture:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Behind%20the%20Seeds%20Tour/100_0115-1.jpg


We then backtracked our entire path, back to the beginning.


I enjoyed the tour, and I think the kids did too. I don’t know if they’d want to do it again, though. Right now, I think they’d just rather be “in” the parks, doing not-so-behind-the-scene things!

[Bridora]

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/1st%20Day%20Epcot%20Le%20Cellier/P5270199.jpg

After our Behind the Seeds tour we used the Fastpasses we’d gotten earlier for Soarin’. That is always one of my favorite rides. I love all the smells and I love how it feels like if I could just stretch my foot down a few inches more, I’d be able to touch the ocean.

That’s where I pretty much lose any recollection of what we did next. Not that I’ve forgotten the vacation, I’ve just forgotten in what order we did which things.

But that’s ok.

I’ve been thinking it’s time for a change around here anyway, sha-na-na-na-na!

Time to Change (http://youtu.be/DyooALwfxO8)

Ok, maybe not that kind of change, but a little bit of The Brady Bunch never hurt anyone.


I think, instead of a play-by-play recap of our vacation, I will hit the highlights, share some of my favorite pictures, throw in my thoughts on Boardwalk vs. Beach Club, and I won’t forget to include the story of how we ended up extending our vacation by two more nights.

So stay tuned, won’t you?

[Bridora]

Night Photos

Davis & I both enjoy taking pictures. Photography is fun, but I wouldn’t consider myself anywhere close to being professional, even though I’d like to know more about it.

One thing we were itching to try this year was to take some better night photos. We have packed our tripod for the past 3 years probably, always with the intention of fireworks photography, but never using it. I think in 2007 we might have used it to film the fireworks from the train station. That was the year we went without the kids, so taking the tripod into the Magic Kingdom one night was no big deal. This year we also came equipped with an automatic shutter release remote. Using that eliminates the shakiness created when you use your finger to press the button on the camera.

One of those first few nights, while we were still staying at the Boardwalk we took the camera out for a spin.

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The Screendoor shop on the Boardwalk.

Seeing this photo reminded me of a little funny. We had been shopping there, probably for Vinylmation figures, and then probably traded at least once. When we returned to our room we received a call that they had found Davis's wallet. Wow! Having your wallet returned before you find out that it's missing -- Disney Magic!




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See the waves in lights near the bottom right of the picture? Our room was in that area -- Crest O' the Wave


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Dance Hall! This is also where they host Welcome Home Wednesdays for DVC members.


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There was no way to resist dancing to the music that was playing on the Boardwalk!



This may or may not have been the same night we took the following pictures at Epcot. I know that first Friday we were there (May 27) Epcot had Evening Extra Magic Hours. We love us some Evening Extra Magic Hours! We are in the habit of going back to our room sometime in the afternoon to change, shower, or just take a little break so it's hard to match pictures sometimes! But it looks like Luke is wearing the same shirt.


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I love watching the railroad and exploring the mini-village in Germany. The detail is just amazing!


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There's nothing like enjoying a snack that is bigger than your head!


There is just something so Magical about Disney at night.

[mickeystoontown]

Had to get caught up. I am glad that you enjoyed the Behind the Seeds tour...even the kids. I have to talk myself into doing out of the way sorts of things because I always want to be in the parks just go-go-going. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what your "mystery" picture was supposed to be of. That was the section where they showed you how to make the hydropontic aquarium thing wasn't it? That's also where they gave us samples of the cucumbers grown in The Land. I wonder if it was some sort of note reminding them what they were supposed to be showing you there?

I think your night shots are fantastic! John bought me a tripod for my birthday and I am looking forward to taking it with us on vacation. It's not very big so it shouldn't be hard to put in my hipster or backsack.

[Bridora]

Had to get caught up. I am glad that you enjoyed the Behind the Seeds tour...even the kids. I have to talk myself into doing out of the way sorts of things because I always want to be in the parks just go-go-going. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what your "mystery" picture was supposed to be of. That was the section where they showed you how to make the hydropontic aquarium thing wasn't it? That's also where they gave us samples of the cucumbers grown in The Land. I wonder if it was some sort of note reminding them what they were supposed to be showing you there?

I think your night shots are fantastic! John bought me a tripod for my birthday and I am looking forward to taking it with us on vacation. It's not very big so it shouldn't be hard to put in my hipster or backsack.

I think it was something along those lines, like don't forget to . . .

Thanks! Everything is so magical at night, I always have to try to bring it home with me!





I found this picture today while trying to get another post up. It's Allison's pretzel head photo. . .


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If you look at the half of me on the left of the photo, you'll notice that we got more use out of those pull over rain jackets we bought at Epcot last year!

[Bridora]

Star Wars Weekends

Happily for our Star Wars lovin’ family, we were able to catch Star Wars Weekends while we were on vacation. Saturday, May 28th, we went over to Hollywood Studios to take in all the Star Wars we could.

We were most excited to visit the newly reopened and revamped Star Tours. Before our visit, I made a “Galactic Passport” for each of us.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20PTR/006.jpg

Inside is a list of all the places you might visit while traveling as well as a place to write in the date you visited.

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And the back has a place just waiting to be stamped by a Castmember!

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And wouldn’t you know it—we were not the only Star Wars fans there that day! The wait time was longer than we wanted to wait, so we decided to hold off on Star Tours until another day. We had Park Hopper tickets and planned on visiting Hollywood Studios later in the week.

Instead, we wandered around. Luke contemplated signing up for the Jedi Training Academy, but decided not to. I threatened the kids that I was going to try out for the American Idol Experience, but they were just empty threats.

The one thing we had to do was visit the store. This year the Star Wars Weekend merchandise store was in a totally different part of the park than it’s been before. This is the store that has all the exclusive merchandise and is only open during the Weekends. It was located in a big empty lot past Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. You got to it by going like you were going to ride Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Head under the upside down car, and then stay to the right. It was like an opening in the "side" of the park into an empty parking lot. The store was set up in a big big tent, and in we went.

The kids each found t-shirts to purchase. Davis was in search of the special pin set, but we found out that they didn’t have any this year. He was thinking about getting the Star Wars Vinylmations, but wanted some more time before making his final decision since, probably, the only way to get them all would be to buy the whole case! Here are some pictures I took of the Tower of Terror from the tent. A view you don’t normally get!

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I took these on the way out, heading back into the park proper. The tent was a little behind and to out left. The exit back to the park was ahead on the right, through the silver gate thingys.

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Zooming in on the Tower of Terror. . .

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The way out is past those potted trees and through those open gates...

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I turned around as we left the “special” area to get a shot of its entrance. Notice the sign at the top of the picture "Jabba's Hutt Event Merchandise" And I think that girl is dressed up like Amidala, though I've heard baring your midriff is coming back into style...

[wdwgirl03]

Catching up with your latest updates!

The KP missions are so fun. Mexico is one of the couple I haven't done yet but maybe in April. :)

Bummer the kids weren't as excited as you'd hoped about the tour but it does look neat. I remember seeing a group who must've been doing that tour when we rode Living with the Land. And I totally agree about the sign that leads to "on stage." If only we could all work for Disney!

Star Wars Weekends sounds like fun. I think it would be interesting to do some day but I think I might have to learn more about Star Wars to enjoy it. haha

[Bridora]

Catching up with your latest updates!

The KP missions are so fun. Mexico is one of the couple I haven't done yet but maybe in April. :)

Bummer the kids weren't as excited as you'd hoped about the tour but it does look neat. I remember seeing a group who must've been doing that tour when we rode Living with the Land. And I totally agree about the sign that leads to "on stage." If only we could all work for Disney!

Star Wars Weekends sounds like fun. I think it would be interesting to do some day but I think I might have to learn more about Star Wars to enjoy it. haha

It was fun! I think we ended up finishing all the countries this visit. Not doing all of them, but doing the rest of the ones we hadn't done yet.

Yeah, I'm sure Star Wars Weekends is more fun the more you know about Star Wars!

[Bridora]

With the rest of Saturday’s details lost to time, we’ll move on to Sunday. I just can’t let go of the need to post chronologically!

Sunday was our moving day and also Evening Extra Magic Hours in the Magic Kingdom. We checked out of Boardwalk Villas and in to Beach Club Villas.

Some thoughts on staying at the Boardwalk:
We had a Boardwalk view which was SO NICE! I can’t say enough great things about that view. I took countless pictures from our balcony.

However, at night it was very noisy out there! There was one night in particular when some big game must have been on down at the ESPN Club that was an especially loud night. We could hear all the cheers from our room – door closed.

What’s the key in real estate?—location, location, location! Boardwalk definitely has a great location! We loved the ease of taking a stroll to Epcot.

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The Friendship boats are also a transportation option to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios as well as Downtown Disney.

Inside the Boardwalk it’s easy to get lost! The hallways are so long, especially to get to where our room was. They zig zag all day long! And we only ever found one elevator for our wing, so it was always a long walk.

All in all, I enjoyed staying on the Boardwalk and I’m glad that we did!

This vacation we also made it down the boardwalk to dine at the Big River Grille & Brewing Works. I think we may have done this on Saturday after leaving the Studios.

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Their brewery

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Not quite sure why I took this one, but there's the bar area.

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Our Chicken Nacho Appetizer, very good!
from allearsnet.com: Chicken Nachos - tortilla chips, creamy pepper jack cheese, sliced jalapenos, topped with pica de gallo and sour cream $11.99

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My salad, maybe this one since I don’t see any chicken on there:
(from allearsnet.com): Greenhouse Salad* - fresh mixed salad greens, topped with Roma tomatoes, carrots, cheddar and jack cheeses, sunflower kernels, and croutons $7.99

We do like it there!


But back to Sunday, we checked in at the Beach Club and left all our luggage in the car to be unpacked later. We had a lunch ADR at Via Napoli and wanted to get over to Epcot for some sightseeing before that.

I also wanted to stop in at the bakery in France that I’d heard so much about here on the DIS for a little breakfast treat.

There were so many good looking things in the cases there, but also a pretty long line. Not wanting to hold anyone up, we made our choices and went in search of a table. We ended up with a small table in the ‘street’ outside.

I must not have any pictures from that time. Poor Luke spilled chocolate milk on his lap. He cleaned up the best he could and we promised him that we would go back after lunch when our room was ready and let him change.

We then walked around, enjoying our surroundings.

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Soon enough, 12:30 rolled around and we were giving our name to the hostess at Via Napoli, excited to try it for the first time!

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I was super excited to try Via Napoli – we’d heard such good things about it and who doesn’t love pizza? Especially pizza from Italy!

We were seated at a pretty good table. It was in the middle of the restaurant and had a great view of the pizza ovens.

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A plate just waiting for some yummy pizza – or salad – to land on it.

We must have been really hungry that day. Come to think of it, I don’t think Davis or I had breakfast, maybe we just ordered something for the kids in France. We ordered the extra huge salad;
(from allearsnet.com): "Family Style" House Salad Served Exclusively with Pizza - minimum 2 people; leaf lettuces, roasted red peppers, marinated mushrooms, olives, peperonicini, red wine vinaigrette $5 per person

It was huge!

We also ordered a really huge pizza, the Mezzo Metro size. It was even bigger than we’d pictured when they brought it out to our table!

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Sometime during our meal our Beach Club Villa became ready! This was good news for taking left-over pizza back with us. The pizza was so so good and I would have just hated to have to leave it behind. .

After we were stuffed with pizza and salad, we left Epcot, this time headed for the Beach Club!

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[princess_momma]

Why hello! I know I have pretty much dropped off the face of the Dis-planet. Bad princess. But woooooo updates! :goodvibes The bad part is I didn't even get to thank you guys for letting Tebow win his first playoff game! :rotfl: Not that we got much further in the post-season. :sad2:

I had NO IDEA the "Jenny" was at DTD! Where is it by? I literally just watched that movie this week!! AHHHH SO EXCITED.

Oh and I always want to do the surrey bikes too!! One day...one day!! They look so fun and I bet it was a great way to burn some time even if it was a bit of a workout. For that reason...I may save it for whenever I go in a cooler season! ;)

I have never seen the video game station but I've heard of it and always want to try it in Innoventions! But then again, I never do too much there. I've made paper and done Sum of All Thrills and that is about it. Landon is a little too young for that stuff and it's hard to keep him interested or calm so I can do it. Maybe in a few years he can go. I'm itching for a baby free Disney trip and I'm not even ashamed! :rotfl:

Thanks for the picture of the other side of the ToT. Now I know. I really hadn't even realized I didn't know every side of the ride-love-of-my-life. I am not a Star Wars fan...otherwise I would've gone to that gift shop myself and seen it in person, but alas...your pics will have to do!

Ahh Via Napoli...I LOVE that pizza so much. It's always hard for me to go back to "normal" pizza after that godsend. And...it's not looking like you got the sangria. Such a shame! They have the best sangria ever there and make it in-house!! If you need a reason to go back lol

And now...I await your Beach Club pics! You are definitely going to beat me in finishing your tr because mine is closed so I can't post mroe even if I wanted to! Whoops!

[Belle83]

We were at Epcot on the same day! Still catching up on your TR but am enjoying it :)

[Bridora]

Why hello! I know I have pretty much dropped off the face of the Dis-planet. Bad princess. But woooooo updates! :goodvibes The bad part is I didn't even get to thank you guys for letting Tebow win his first playoff game! :rotfl: Not that we got much further in the post-season. :sad2:

I had NO IDEA the "Jenny" was at DTD! Where is it by? I literally just watched that movie this week!! AHHHH SO EXCITED.

Oh and I always want to do the surrey bikes too!! One day...one day!! They look so fun and I bet it was a great way to burn some time even if it was a bit of a workout. For that reason...I may save it for whenever I go in a cooler season! ;)

I have never seen the video game station but I've heard of it and always want to try it in Innoventions! But then again, I never do too much there. I've made paper and done Sum of All Thrills and that is about it. Landon is a little too young for that stuff and it's hard to keep him interested or calm so I can do it. Maybe in a few years he can go. I'm itching for a baby free Disney trip and I'm not even ashamed! :rotfl:

Thanks for the picture of the other side of the ToT. Now I know. I really hadn't even realized I didn't know every side of the ride-love-of-my-life. I am not a Star Wars fan...otherwise I would've gone to that gift shop myself and seen it in person, but alas...your pics will have to do!

Ahh Via Napoli...I LOVE that pizza so much. It's always hard for me to go back to "normal" pizza after that godsend. And...it's not looking like you got the sangria. Such a shame! They have the best sangria ever there and make it in-house!! If you need a reason to go back lol

And now...I await your Beach Club pics! You are definitely going to beat me in finishing your tr because mine is closed so I can't post mroe even if I wanted to! Whoops!

Aw, Kimmy! Sorry your TR is closed. :sad1: But woo hoo :woohoo: for mine still being open! I honestly wasn't sure it would be.

If you'll notice it's been January :scared1: since I was last here.

I knew you'd appreciate that ToT picture. If you're going back during SWW and the store is in the same place, you'll have to go see it for yourself!

No, sadly I did not try the sangria. I don't even have a good reason why I didn't. But, now I must go back!

Beach Club pics soon, hopefully! (fingers crossed)

Oh! And the 'Jenny' is over by Planet Hollywood, I guess it "goes with Planet Hollywood" actually. If I remember correctly, as you're walking up from behind it, Planet Hollywood and Jenny are on your left. I didn't know about it either, until I read one of Mickeystoontown's TRs. Definitely fun to go see!

We were at Epcot on the same day! Still catching up on your TR but am enjoying it :)

Ahhh, Epcot in May, such a nice place to be! If I don't get a move-on I'll still be writing about this trip when May rolls around again! :laughing:

Thanks for reading, I'm glad you are enjoying it! I'm going to work on putting some more out there...

[Bridora]

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Around%20the%20Beach%20Club/IMG_6244.jpg

When last we left, the fearless Disney Adventurers were making their way into uncharted territory, unsure of what would lie ahead.

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Our room was on the 2nd floor, on the back-side of the building.


And now, I will show pictures of my favorite part of the room:

The view from our balcony was a nice little courtyard area and a mysterious road.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Around%20the%20Beach%20Club/IMG_6191.jpg
Looking “to the left, to the left”


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And looking to the right


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Cute path in the courtyard area.


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The balcony!


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Pretty sure this was not the same day, but here’s what I did for a short time on some days when we would come back to the room for a quick rest, shower, or change of clothes.


The cool thing about sitting out on our balcony, besides the part that you’re sitting on the balcony of a beautiful Disney resort, is that when Matsuriza (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/entertainment/matsuriza/), the Japanese drummers in Epcot played, we could hear them! It only took a few minutes to figure out what the sound was. We could also hear British Revolution (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/entertainment/the-british-revolution/) from our balcony. Fun stuff!


And you know I had to get a panoramic shot of our ‘backyard’:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Around%20the%20Beach%20Club/P5290105.jpg
It was just a little messed up!


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I really did love that balcony!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Sunday%20Epcot%20and%20the%20move%20to%20Beach%20C lub/P5290104.jpg


Ok, I promise, no more balcony shots! On to the inside!

Here is the entryway: table and mirror. We have just walked in the door, the room is around the bend, to the right. You can see the bench at the kitchen table in this picture.


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Walking in and overlooking the kitchen and living room areas:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Sunday%20Epcot%20and%20the%20move%20to%20Beach%20C lub/P5290090.jpg


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Here’s one without Davis, lol!


And if you walk into the living room and stand in front of the couch that pulls out into bed and look back toward the front door, you’d see this:

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Bar area and kitchen

…continued in next post…

[Bridora]

…continued

For this next picture I stood in the kitchen and looked toward the master bed/bath area. Straight ahead and turning left will lead you to the master bedroom and bathroom with the tub. Straight ahead and just slightly right (through the open door) is the bathroom with the shower. They have connecting doors, if I remember correctly (It’s been a long time now, lol!)

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A closer look through the open door.

And entering …
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Sunday%20Epcot%20and%20the%20move%20to%20Beach%20C lub/P5290096.jpg


the bedroom on the left,

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the bathroom on the right…

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More shots of the bedroom:

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Looking back toward the rest of the room:
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Those shutters open in to the bathroom, above the tub area.

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Don’t forget the chair!

And that was pretty much our room. I can’t remember exactly where the washer/dryer are, but I know we had one! I loved staying at the Beach Club. I loved the room, the balcony, the smell in the lobby!

The walk to the food court area where we refilled our mugs was a fairly short one, and we were right next to a parking lot. In fact, our room was at the very end of the hallway, (seriously, I think there was one more room past ours) so that we had two choices when leaving our room.

To go to the car, for driving anywhere, (we did not take Disney buses this time) we just walked pretty much straight out to the elevator.

To go down to the food court/lobby/Cape May Café/pool/Epcot, etc. area though, we had to go left when we left our room and down a longish hallway to the big Atrium area (which was gorgeous, but I can’t find pictures of, did I even take any?) to an elevator bank. We then walked out of our Beach Club Villas building and to the main building.

We found that a mother bird had a nest full of babies along our walk, just right above the walkway. While we were there, those babies grew up and left the nest! It was fun watching for them every day!

[Bridora]

We split our stay between a Boardwalk studio and a one bedroom at the Beach Club the way we did because of our DVC points. Originally, we thought our “moving” day would be our “pool day”. But it happened that our moving day fell on the only Magic Kingdom Evening Extra Magic Hours of our vacation. There was no way we were missing out on that! You can’t beat staying in the Magic Kingdom until the wee hours of the morning! That night it was open until 2am. Yes, we do sleep later the next morning and miss out on things like Morning Extra Magic Hours, but we aren’t the best morning people to begin with. That is why we’ve only ever even attempted rope drop once. That was in 2010 and we made it! I’m sure a lot of it had to do with the fact that we stayed at Bay Lake Tower that year and were able to just walk right over. :laughing: We are really all a bunch of night owls, which is why we love, love, love us some Evening Extra Magic Hours!

But first things first. It’s still sometime in the afternoon of Sunday, May 29, 2011, and we still need to get to the Magic Kingdom before we can spend all night there. We left our new Beach Club home to spend the rest of our day in the Magic Kingdom.

Remember, I’m just hitting the highlights here!


We drove over to the TTC and took a Monorail to Magic Kingdom.


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We were glad to see the Tronorail still running. (I don’t think it’s the Trononrail anymore, though)


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I’m not sure the significance of these next two pictures, was it the cloud? Or Space Mountain suddenly appearing where it wasn’t before? I don’t know…

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Cinderella Castle! Those last 3 pictures must have been sheer excitement shots. It was our first visit of our vacation, after all!



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Zooming on our 2010 vacation-home. I get such ridicule for my zooming-skills, especially on the videos I record!


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Hello Train Station!


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Why, certainly!


The afternoon parade was just beginning when we stepped onto Main Street. We headed for the sidewalk and continued on up…

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We went left at the corner, then past Crystal Palace, and crossed over into Liberty Square. The parade route was blocked off, but we found a nice place to linger among the houses. We had just read in the “Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World” book how each house is numbered according to the century it would have been built. I imagined we were waiting on our very own door stoop.


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…continued in next post…

[Bridora]

…continued
After the parade, we headed back up toward Fantasyland.

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We wandered through Fantasyland, talking about the Fantasyland expansion!


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Onward, to:


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The Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover, of course!


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http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/IMG_6174.jpg

And, at some point that day, we had to make a trip over to:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/IMG_6190.jpg
Adventureland!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/IMG_6175.jpg
We had to stop by Aloha Isle for some Dole Whips! My crews loves them some Dole Whips…

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/IMG_6177.jpg


We relaxed in a fun little area just on the other side of the stand (toward the Jungle Cruise). I wouldn’t mind living in that neighborhood either!



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I’ll stop here for now. There is still much of the day to recount, but not much time left to post today!

[Bridora]

At some point during our day I got the bright idea to just “run over to Bay Lake Tower real quick” and take one of those nifty panoramic shots I’d just learned my camera had a setting for.


No problem! You know, I think it’s impossible to just “run anywhere real quick” in Disney. And that’s not a bad thing, you just have to know going in that transportation takes time!


Are you ready to the awesome shot that I took time out of our touring to get?








Are you sure?








Ta-daaaaaaaa!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/P5280027.jpg
Yeah. Not so much.


I can’t remember if we walked or Monorailed, but whichever it was; we went back to Magic Kingdom to continue our day.


We stopped in one of my favorite, newly-ish discovered side streets off Main St. Heading toward the castle, it’s on the right, about mid-way up. We had stumbled upon this area a year or so before, but I had just heard about how you can hear sounds coming from the apartments above. If you listen, you can hear singing or tap lessons! How cool is that? One of those Disney details that are so special!


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By and by we were hungry and took the opportunity to dine at Columbia Harbor House, one of our faves!


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My wonderful Lighthouse Sandwich. Hummus and Broccoli slaw = yum! The kids were still anti-food pics, so no shots of their chicken and fish.


The kids & I hopped in line for Splash Mountain and I tried to capture the queue area sans flash:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/P5280032.jpg
Well, after this picture, anyway…


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/P5280034.jpg


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Davis doesn't like the yellow-orangeish tint of these, but I like the feel it gives the pictures.


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We must have visited Pirates of the Caribbean next, or at least passed through the area:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/P5280054.jpg
Tortuga Tavern

And exited Adventureland for the time being:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/2011%20Trip%20Report/Magic%20Kingdom/P5280055.jpg


Soon, it would be time for our (with the exception of Davis who saw it in the 80’s {right?}) first taste of the Main Street Electrical Parade!


…continued in next post…

[Bridora]

…continued


We wandered through Fantasyland sometime after the sunset. I took some bad-quality pictures as we passed through.


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We ended up watching the parade somewhere in the Liberty Square area.



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Hello Cinderella!


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The parade ended on a Patriotic note.


We explored Liberty Square a bit…


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I want lanterns in the trees in my backyard, just like this!


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We made our way over to Tomorrowland for some more adventuring!


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We do Carousel of Progress every trip! I love to annoy the kids by waving “goodbye” to the characters as we leave each scene and singing along! “There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow….”


And…..thaaaat’s all folks. Of my Magic Kingdom pictures, anyway.

Still to come in our trip:

Monday: Official Hollywood Studios Day - EEMHs (the other was only for Star Wars!)

Tuesday: Animal Kingdom day, complete with a plan from Touringplans.com!

Wednesday: Pool day: ready for Stormalong Bay!

Thursday: We venture off-site to pay a visit to Harry, Ron, and Hermione!

Friday: Our catch up, squeeze-in, and do-it-one-last-time-before-we-go-home day! Or: the day in which all plans changed.

Saturday: Our originally planned check-out day. Instead, we end up staying until Monday…

[Bridora]

Hollywood Studios Day: Monday, May 30, 2011



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It was a beautiful, sunny, Florida day! Not unlike the day we’re having outside right now here in Arkansas, only it’s, thankfully, not quite as hot yet; but it is only March, and we did have a very mild Winter and an early Spring, no matter what that groundhog said. Which I do not mind one bit, unless that means we’ll have early sweltering temps this Summer…
Since Hollywood Studios had Extra Magic Hours that night, that’s where we went!





We hopped (and I immediately see Hopper (http://youtu.be/tMl-TlqKpIo) in my head, great job, Dish Network!) in the bag check line.


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Nothing suspicious in our bags…


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I don’t remember if this was near the front of the park or not, but it was in with the bag check pics, so maybe it was. I kind of think it wasn’t, though, lol!


We planned on doing and seeing the rest of the park on this normal, non Star Wars Weekends day.
(this installment in no particular order)


Like meeting Phineas and Ferb! I love those guys! And Perry, of course!


They have a meet & greet area near the exit of the Muppets building. The whole thing is set up like they are making a movie. While you are waiting in line to see them, you just might encounter the “movie producer” coming out and getting the crowd excited with some games and other fun things. We had waited a bit before he came out while we were there, in fact, shortly after he came out it was our turn to meet the Phineas and Ferb. I don’t guess I even got any pictures of that part. Before the provided entertainment/excitement, we had to make our own to pass the time in line. What else to do but take pictures, right?


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I love advertisements like this, painted on walls.


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Cheese!


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Speaking of Muppets, we still need to see the new Muppets movie…


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Trying to block some of that Florida sun


Other things we could see from the line:


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Waiting feet


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More cheese!


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Another of the Mama Melrose ad…We still have never eaten here; we tried to walk up one year, but it was full. I don’t know why we haven’t made an ADR here, ever.

Finally Phineas and Ferb came outside and began meeting their fans! They were pretty cool! Various songs from their show were playing and they were dancing and trying to get the kids to dance along. Phineas even tried to guide Allison in some disco moves!


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And of course, what trip to Hollywood Studios would be complete without traveling on Star Tours? Especially when it’s Star Tours - The Adventures Continue and there are so many new things to check out?


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Awesome! We enjoyed the updated experience. I don’t think it made anyone sick, but I’d have to check with Davis. Simulators don’t really agree with his general feeling of wellness, but I don’t remember any complaints from him. Then again, there’s kind of a lot of details I don’t remember, aren’t there? We ended up riding twice this day, but I’m not sure at what times, ha!


What else do we do at Hollywood Studios? Wander around and take pictures!


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We usually stop at some point in our day to enjoy an ice cream cone from dear Gertie “the ice cream dinosaur” as we affectionately call her.







Wow! I just learned, though that she is much more than that:

Gertie is Famous! (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/05/have-you-seen-gertie-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/)




I can’t believe I didn’t know about this (http://youtu.be/UY40DHs9vc4) before!

(If you don't want to click the links, basically Gertie is the star of an animated short from 1914!!!)

To continue our wandering:


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Another place I’d live! Well, I’m pretty sure it is if this is in that row of apartments over there by Gertie, Indiana Jones, and Hollywood & Vine and 50s Prime Time Café.


...Continued in next post…

[Bridora]

...Continued...

We were on our way out of the park for our midday break. We had taken a boat that morning, so back to dock we went, to catch a ride back to Beach Club.


It started raining on our way there and we sped things up a bit, but it didn’t really matter, since the line at the dock stretched past the covered area and were going to get wet anyway. The rain didn’t last long, though, and was pretty light, if I recall correctly!


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Can’t remember if we made that one or not; I’m thinking not. (Next time, I’ll be better…)


We took the boat back to the Beach Club where we cleaned up, rested, and changed clothes before heading back to Hollywood Studios for the night.

[mickeystoontown]

Don't you just love the fact that there's lots of things to take pictures of while waiting in a Disney line? You should try Mama Melrose's in the future. We did the Fantasmic package and I thought everything was good. Mama and Lacey thought it was just okay but that could be because they were super tired and ready to eat.

[Bridora]

Don't you just love the fact that there's lots of things to take pictures of while waiting in a Disney line? You should try Mama Melrose's in the future. We did the Fantasmic package and I thought everything was good. Mama and Lacey thought it was just okay but that could be because they were super tired and ready to eat.

I do want to try Mama Melrose someday! Alas, it will not be this May since we are skipping Disney parks this time....:sick:

[princess_momma]

You were an updating fiend! I love it. I love the Beach Club pics and all from MK day. I really can't wait until Landon is old enough to stay up for 2 am EMH! (Although I'm not gonna lie...he stays up pretty late sometimes at Disney lol, the time difference for us helps too!)

And oh DHS :lovestruc so wonderful there! hahaha that Phineas and Ferb M&G is right near the exit of the Muppets so after watching that I had stumbled upon it. I didn't want to wait in the long line to meet them, but we did dance with the director! It was great. Although I left thinking that kids were so shy these days, I was like the only dancing. :laughing: But I might just be overly-not-shy.

I'm so sad I didn't get to ride Star Tours since it's been updated. My last trip made it difficult because the majority of the time was just me and Landon and he's still a little guy. I actually had really good luck on ToT (the times my friends were there too, we went on RnRC and ToT of course!) and one of the CM's gave me a FP good for any ride in the park that didn't expire for 5 days and covered up to 5 people! :cheer2: But I opted to take the guys on TSM but I wish I could've managed it for Star Wars!

The good news is that I am trying to figure out how to make an adults only trip work in my head. We'll see. Do you and Davis have one planned anytime soon? I feel like you guys used to do one every other year? Or something? I can't recall now! Anywho, can't wait for more!

[Bridora]

You were an updating fiend! I love it. I love the Beach Club pics and all from MK day. I really can't wait until Landon is old enough to stay up for 2 am EMH! (Although I'm not gonna lie...he stays up pretty late sometimes at Disney lol, the time difference for us helps too!)

And oh DHS :lovestruc so wonderful there! hahaha that Phineas and Ferb M&G is right near the exit of the Muppets so after watching that I had stumbled upon it. I didn't want to wait in the long line to meet them, but we did dance with the director! It was great. Although I left thinking that kids were so shy these days, I was like the only dancing. :laughing: But I might just be overly-not-shy.

I'm so sad I didn't get to ride Star Tours since it's been updated. My last trip made it difficult because the majority of the time was just me and Landon and he's still a little guy. I actually had really good luck on ToT (the times my friends were there too, we went on RnRC and ToT of course!) and one of the CM's gave me a FP good for any ride in the park that didn't expire for 5 days and covered up to 5 people! :cheer2: But I opted to take the guys on TSM but I wish I could've managed it for Star Wars!

The good news is that I am trying to figure out how to make an adults only trip work in my head. We'll see. Do you and Davis have one planned anytime soon? I feel like you guys used to do one every other year? Or something? I can't recall now! Anywho, can't wait for more!

And I hope to be an updating fiend again! Now that I finally graduated :banana::banana: hopefully I can knock this TR out! (and maaaaybe start a very brief PTR before we leave...IN 2 WEEKS! :woohoo:)

One day Landon will be big enough to enjoy all that stuff with you, they don't stay little long, as I'm sure you know! I probably would've used the FP to TSM, too...It's been 2 years since we've ridden it, I think!

I would love to do another adults only trip to WDW. If we were closer we definitely would! But, no plans for that soon...

[Bridora]

Monday, May 30, 2011 (Memorial Day)

All refreshed, we arrived back at Hollywood Studios and I spotted this bus in the parking lot.


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It says “Little Rock Tours” - It was like a little ‘hello’ from home!


I snapped a few pictures as we walked:



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There were a couple of things I’d been wanting to do for a while. One I have pictures of and one I don’t. The one I do have pictures of…



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Oh yeah! I finally got to pull the rope near Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!



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And yes, Luke was concerned that I was not supposed to be doing that and probably feared the Disney Police would come and haul me away. We assured him that this particular time it was okay to disobey the warning sign!




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And so he wanted to try it too! Just ignore me with that lost look on my face -- who knows!?



The other thing we (also finally!) got to try was the Animation Academy in the Magic of Disney Animation building. We actually visited twice! We must have gone the first time earlier in the day and then went again once we came back in the evening. But, we’ve moved since then and I’m not sure where our drawings went. I’m pretty sure they are in a tube somewhere…I can’t even remember who we drew now. Boo. But it was great fun and you should try it! It does not matter if you can’t draw well in real life. These guys take you step-by-step and you will come away with a decent sketch - I did!



We also took another trip with Star Tours that night…


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…and played around on the speeder bike afterwards…



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I’m not sure now if Allison was too cool to “take the bike for a spin” or what?


I’m sure we did The Great Movie Ride at some point that night, and probably Tower of Terror, too. I don’t think we did Rock N’ Rollercoaster, but I did just remember a little story that took place right outside there, near the upside-down car…


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I guess we must have gone down Sunset Blvd. as soon as we entered the park and probably at least checked wait times on RNR and ToT. Suddenly, Davis became very worried that we had left the dryer running back at the Beach Club. This really bothered him. Even more so than it does at home. At home, I’m always the one worrying about stuff like that, but as he said, “I don’t want to be the one to burn Beach Club down!” We stopped outside the entrance to RNR while he made a call back to the resort. They were very glad that he called and said they would send someone to our room to check and turn the dryer off. He was then able to enjoy the rest of day worry-free!

[Bridora]

Tuesday, May 31, 2011: Animal Kingdom

“Highlights of Our Day in Animal Kingdom” or “What I Took Pictures of at Animal Kingdom”



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I will say that we used a Touring Plan from www.touringplans.com for our Animal Kingdom day this year just to give it a try. We listen to several Disney pod casts, and had heard a lot about these touring plans. We were curious to see if it made a difference. Our past at least two years at Animal Kingdom had been pretty bad (Ok not bad, but we didn’t leave there getting to do everything we’d wanted to do - Kali River Rapids both years and even Kilimanjaro Safaris one year!) So what better place to test out a touring plan?

I have forgotten the order of operation for the day, of course, but it started out with Davis heading to Everest



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to get everyone Fastpasses and the rest of us three going to Kilimanjaro Safaris to wait for him to return so that we could hop in line there. And somewhere, between Asia and Africa, he heard those words about Hanna-Barbera Land uttered.

Eventually, it was time for Expedition Everest! (and apparently, time to take the camera out from wherever it had been hiding!)



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It always starts out so nice and calm--love the first part too!



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And then of course, we have to go up the mountain…

(Forgive me if these pictures are out of order!)



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Who can resist quoting Stacey here? -- “There doesn’t seem to be any track!”




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Ladies first? Don't you wonder what the other side of that picture looked like?












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Wonder no more, my friends!



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We made it back safely, though and continued on with our touring plan which was working out very nicely. We had lunch at some point at Flame Tree BBQ - our first time there! It was very good. I loved the outdoor seating area around there. I wish I had pictures of it, but there were several covered seating areas separated from one another. They were out in the “jungle-y” area, seemed secluded, though they could seat several people at a time, we wandered around until we found a pretty empty one. Very nice.



We had never been to the Flights of Wonder bird “show”, so we decided to go this time. So glad we did! It was pretty cool to see all the birds and the things they could do.



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Which seems to be...escaping all pictures, lol!



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I still find myself calling out “Baby Webster…Baby Webster” from time to time…and if you don’t know what I mean--then you need to go see Fights of Wonder!


We took a walk down the Pangani Forest Exploration trail. This was something else we’d never done! Accomplishment, people!


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…continued in next post…

[Bridora]

…Animal Kingdom continued…



And no visit to Animal Kingdom would be complete without a trip back in time on Dinosaur!


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And we even let the kids run free in the Boneyard play area! Don’t kids just love that place? I think a pool and a playground are all most kids would need for a happy vacation!



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While the kids were digging up dino bones, I spotted someone with super-cute hair! (Sitting just behind Allison in the above photo) I photo stalked her just a bit in case I needed to show her cut to my stylist back home. I ended up not being brave enough to try it, though!


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A few more pictures of Animal Kingdom, I don’t know where they fit chronologically in our day, but I do want to share ‘em!



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Still playing with the panoramic shots!



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It’s like he’s saying, “Go that way!”


And with that, we had had a successful visit to Animal Kingdom, although we still didn’t do Kali River Rapids…

[Bridora]

Tuesday Evening, May 31
“Dinner and Mini-Golf”

In all honesty, I’m not 100% sure this is the night we dined at Cape May Café or not, but I’m going to go ahead and share those pictures with you now, in the possibly-non-chronological spirit of this TR!

We chose Cape May Café for dinner on a whim. We did not have dining reservations, but felt like having more than counter service that night. Since we were staying at Beach Club, where Cape May Café is located, we decided to give it a try!

We went down to the lobby, (which smells just wonderful, by the way) and checked in with the hostess at the podium.

While we waited for our pager to call us to dinner, we wandered around the lobby and took some pictures, too!



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I loved sitting in these chairs!



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Hidden Mickeys in the rug.



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Looking down from the 2nd floor.



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Panorama!


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When I took this photo, we were saying “Next year, we’ll be on that!” And now we’re saying, “Next week, baby!”


The food was pretty good at Cape May Café. The kids L.O.V.E.D. it. Davis & I couldn’t really figure out why. To us, it was a pretty regular, though Disney-ized buffet. The big thing about Cape May Café is that it’s a seafood place, we hadn’t really taken that into consideration before going, however. Because Davis doesn’t like seafood, that may not have been the best choice for dinner, lol! It was priced as a seafood buffet, too!


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A bad shot of my dessert plate!


The kids could eat here every night.

After dinner, we headed over to Fantasia Gardens Mini-golf. We played both courses there this year, Fantasia Gardens and Fantasia Fairways. I’m not real sure (ha!) when we played the Fantasia Fairways course, but I think it was sometime later in the week. (Maybe the next night?) That night, we drove over after dinner for a round of mini golf on the Fantasia Gardens course.


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This golf course is very near the Swan & Dolphin. The kids and I decided to walk back to Beach Club while Davis drove the car back. The walk was pretty and nice. We walked through the Swan and Dolphin grounds, then toward Beach Club. I can’t remember the exact route, but it was easy to find since I had never walked it before and we had no trouble making it back!

The next day was our pool day -- so excited to spend the day at Stormalong Bay!

[Bridora]

Wednesday, June 1, 2011
“Pool Day” or “The Day we Woke up to Rain”


Noooooooooooooo! What’s worse than rain on your pool day? Maybe Alanis should have had a line about that in her song, “Ironic”.


You may not be able to tell in these next pictures, but it was really raining A LOT. A Florida-summer-thundershower, complete with big booms of thunder.


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We tried to make the best of it, though and decided to just take it easy that morning and relax in the room. I let Davis sleep in. I had brought along one of those Martha White chocolate chip muffin “Just add water” mixes. I decided to make those for breakfast that day. It was only after I had them mixed up that I realized that there was no muffin pan in the room. So, I improvised.


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And it turned out just fine. The kids loved it and it was very easy to make! In fact, I’ve already purchased one blueberry and one chocolate chip mix for this year’s trip!


It rained on and off the rest of the morning. We ventured out to find an activity room. We ended up over at the Boardwalk. The kids colored for a bit. There’s a time gap in there where I’m sure we had something for lunch before heading over to the Atlantic Dancehall for Welcome Home Wednesdays! They typically have these every Wednesday for DVC members. It’s just kind of like a fun little game show with a free snack and drink, and maybe a dessert sample or two on the way in. We’ve gone the last two years and each year, they’re also given us each a DVC cap on the way out. I think there are also other prize drawings as well.


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The game show set-up.



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Afterwards, we met Deevy See, the DVC Hostess (Mascot?) See was a hoot!


With our new caps to protect us from the sprinkling that was still going on, we made our way back perhaps to our room.



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But later that afternoon, the sun came out and we hit the pool!



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Let me just say, we loved Stormalong Bay! It is as good as you’ve heard. I even did the Macarena with a castmember, much to the embarrassment of my children (thankfully, no pictures of that!). That is where the red beads I'm wearing in the above picture came from.


When we were finished there, we cleaned up in our room and went back down to try out Beaches n Cream.



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No Kitchen Sink for us, but we did see 1 or 2 people order one! This banana split was large enough for us!



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Continued below….. (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=44893637&posted=1#post44893637)

[Bridora]

…..continued



And after that is when we played mini-golf on the Fantasia Fairways course! Woo hoo for having a bit of organization in my photo bucket albums!



This was our first time to play on the Fairways course, which looks just like a traditional golf course, only on miniature scale. We walked over there from Beach Club since I knew the way.




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They even had flags in the holes!



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Illuminating the grass -- looking for Luke’s lost ball!



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Fun course! We loved it! We were just talking the other day about which course we’d go to this year. I think my vote might go to Fantasia Fairways.



After playing (it was getting pretty late and I was worried that the kids would be too tired to get up early enough to make it to Universal at park opening - I wanted to make sure we had enough time there since we’d only be going that one day and I didn’t know what the line at Harry Potter would be like) we walked back to the Beach Club and got ready for bed.


Tomorrow we'd be off to visit Harry, Ron, and Hermione!

[mickeystoontown]

You're on an updating roll. We were just talking about going to play mini-putt this year so I was glad to see your pictures.

Don't you just hate it when it rains on your "what are we going to do today" day. But, it looks like it all worked out in the end and you were able to take a dip in the pool.

Wowza! That banana split is one heck of a big split!