Ten Sleeps in Disney World!! - An Aug Trip Report *5/9 Departure Day & Final Thoughts

[Mickey_Mom]

I laughed a bit about the sticky rice comment. Japanese rice is typically very sticky... Trust me I had it every day growing up...unless....wait a second.....maybe my mom was a bad cook.............no really, it's supposed to be sticky.

Very true, very true.

Otherwise sushi falls apart! Duhhhh.... c'mon, how did you not know that?

(Just kidding, I'm pretty sure that's not how sushi is held together)

It was good but I couldn't get it out of the bowl with my chopsticks!

 

[jordanyosh]

It was good but I couldn't get it out of the bowl with my chopsticks!

My Ji-chan (grandpa in Japanese) could pick a single rice kernal out with his chopsticks and he could do it REALLY fast...I'm so white, I'm the only one in my immediate family that would rather use a fork at a Japanese restaurant. The servers always look at me with disdain...

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Hello my dear DIS readers. I apologize for the lateness that is my next update. Three schools + eight "meet-the-teacher" meetings =

I hope to be back on track tomorrow and get those updates pumping out regularly again.

Thanks for sticking with me!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I'm still here, I haven't updated my TR in a while either! And I've got to catch up on everybody's reports that I'm reading!

 

[ZeroToHero]

And usually you're the one telling me to update!!!!

We're all waiting patiently...

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I'm still here, I haven't updated my TR in a while either! And I've got to catch up on everybody's reports that I'm reading!

Hmmm, well I'm glad to help you catch up

And usually you're the one telling me to update!!!!

We're all waiting patiently...

Do as I say... not as I do!

 

[ellajeansmom]

Great update

I love Soarin', thanks for the video

Teppan Edo looks so fun and yummy - and to add my 2 cents to the early comments, yes the rice is generally sticky for Japanese dishes

Lovely pics of Arianna and the characters! Too bad they skipped a meal and sat waiting for a bit

The video game of yourself at Innoventions looks so fun, the boys definitely seemed to be enjoying themselves!

 

[KathyRN137]

I'm here too! (Just getting too sleepy to think up comments for your last update... which I enjoyed very much!)

I'll have to stop by again tomorrow!


Kathy

 

[cjackearl]

I'll wait.....but it WON'T be patiently!

 

[cheryterese]

And then it was off to the play area where he made a new friend.

Just starting to read your trip report and already have a question!
We'll be flying out of Buffalo, on Southwest, when we go.
Where was that great play area and for what age kids is it for? My kids are 4, 2, and 1 and that would be so helpful for the wait!
Also, were you able to board together and get seats together easily?

Okay, back to read the rest of your report!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Great update

I love Soarin', thanks for the video

Your welcome! Ooo, I just had an idea.... I'm going to hook up my laptop to my 50" plasma and watch it there! It's almost like being there.... right?

Teppan Edo looks so fun and yummy - and to add my 2 cents to the early comments, yes the rice is generally sticky for Japanese dishes

Very yummy... and yeah, I guess I should have phrased that a little differently!

Lovely pics of Arianna and the characters! Too bad they skipped a meal and sat waiting for a bit

She loves meeting the characters and I'm really wanting to get back to that next time instead of worrying about how long the line is.

The video game of yourself at Innoventions looks so fun, the boys definitely seemed to be enjoying themselves!

A definate highlite of their day... highly recommend it!

I'm here too! (Just getting too sleepy to think up comments for your last update... which I enjoyed very much!)

I'll have to stop by again tomorrow!

Kathy

Thanks! I'm almost ready for another update!

I'll wait.....but it WON'T be patiently!

Just starting to read your trip report and already have a question!
We'll be flying out of Buffalo, on Southwest, when we go.
Where was that great play area and for what age kids is it for? My kids are 4, 2, and 1 and that would be so helpful for the wait!
Also, were you able to board together and get seats together easily?

Okay, back to read the rest of your report!

Four, two and one! My goodness what wonderful ages to go! Here's another shot of the play area....

We were at Gate 18 and the play area was just steps away. The toys were perhaps a teensy bit young for Demetri, but he had fun nonetheless. They were 'new' to him of course so he had lots of fun exploring and seeing what was there.

Southwest is my favorite airline. Yes, we boarded together and sat together. Check in online as early as you can when your 24 hour window opens up and you'll be among the first to board -- your chances of sitting together will be better. If you happen to be a little late with the online check in, you should be fine -- when you have a stroller or young children, you are seated right after the first batch of people go on.

Will you be doing a trip report for your January trip? I'd love to follow along

 

[cheryterese]

Four, two and one! My goodness what wonderful ages to go! Here's another shot of the play area....

We were at Gate 18 and the play area was just steps away. The toys were perhaps a teensy bit young for Demetri, but he had fun nonetheless. They were 'new' to him of course so he had lots of fun exploring and seeing what was there.

Southwest is my favorite airline. Yes, we boarded together and sat together. Check in online as early as you can when your 24 hour window opens up and you'll be among the first to board -- your chances of sitting together will be better. If you happen to be a little late with the online check in, you should be fine -- when you have a stroller or young children, you are seated right after the first batch of people go on.

Will you be doing a trip report for your January trip? I'd love to follow along

Thanks! Glad you had a good experience with Southwest. Hopefully we will too. We had the same price for them, JetBlue or AirTran out of Buffalo and went with them because of the free luggage. We're a bit worried about the lack of assigned seats though.

I just finished your report - so much fun reading it while my 2 and 4 year old sat on my lap and looked at the pictures. They are so excited!! My 4 year old is hoping to be tall enough for EVERYTHING when we go (he won't make Rock n Roller Coaster, but should be 44" by then and able to do everything else, he's just shy of 44" now and has 4 months to go - he's tall for his age, thank goodness because he loves all rides!).

Glad to hear about your good experience at Teppan Edo (well, minus part of your family ). My kids love the Fuji Grill in our area, which sounds a lot like Teppan Edo. They call it the "fire restaurant" because of the fire that comes out of the onion, and it's their absolute favorite place to eat. I was thinking of making dinner reservations for a night of our trip.

I will definitely do a trip report when we get back!!! I'm in the throes of trip planning right now. So much fun, but overwhelming too.

You have a beautiful family!

 

[KathyRN137]

Next we headed towards the Innoventions buildings and signed up for a Kim Possible mission. Woo-hoo!! I was really looking forward to saving China!

I'm looking forward to this, too! Can't wait to read about your mission!

I got there pretty much as they were finishing up so I took a video of the boys playing the video game of themselves.
Then I got a picture of the victory dance.

That looks so cool and the video was such fun to watch, thanks!

So back on to Soarin we went.

When the golf ball flies towards us, Demetri reaches for it and when we reach the end and the fireworks over Disneyland are rocking our glider, I can see Ariana’s little dance of joy that tells me that is her favorite scene.

On one of our trips, I’d taken video of Soarin so that Ariana could watch it whenever she wanted to.

Great idea! Billy loves trolling for these types of videos on youtube; his favorites right now are HOP, Mickey's Philharmagic, and Fantasmic!

I am also intimately familiar with the "dance of joy"; it never fails to put a smile on our faces!

Preparing an onion train which he choo-choo’d towards Demetri to his delight.

Demetri’s meal came from the kitchen in a monorail dish which he absolutely adored. Before our trip, I’d asked him what his favorite ride at Epcot was and he’d answered the monorail. (ha!)

Looks yum and so much fun!

When we found them at the character spot, what he’d ended up doing is taking it slow visiting each character since the lines were practically nothing and then just stayed there and waited for us.

When I asked him why he chose to skip lunch he answered, “cause I’m an idiot.” Well then. At least he said it instead of me!

You got that right! Well, I can see how he wanted to take advantage of the light crowd. The characters were probably able to give Ariana lots of attention and she deserved it!

Looking forward to the next (soggy) installment!


Kathy

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Thanks! Glad you had a good experience with Southwest. Hopefully we will too. We had the same price for them, JetBlue or AirTran out of Buffalo and went with them because of the free luggage. We're a bit worried about the lack of assigned seats though.

You'll be fine. Catch the front of the 'family' line and you'll have no problems staying together.

I just finished your report - so much fun reading it while my 2 and 4 year old sat on my lap and looked at the pictures. They are so excited!! My 4 year old is hoping to be tall enough for EVERYTHING when we go (he won't make Rock n Roller Coaster, but should be 44" by then and able to do everything else, he's just shy of 44" now and has 4 months to go - he's tall for his age, thank goodness because he loves all rides!).

Oh you made my day! I'm glad they enjoyed it! More coming up! Demetri is so looking forward to the rides he missed this trip... your little guy will have a blast!!

Glad to hear about your good experience at Teppan Edo (well, minus part of your family ). My kids love the Fuji Grill in our area, which sounds a lot like Teppan Edo. They call it the "fire restaurant" because of the fire that comes out of the onion, and it's their absolute favorite place to eat. I was thinking of making dinner reservations for a night of our trip.

They do sound a lot alike.... I would definately try and squeeze that in, it's a lot of fun and a beautiful restaurant.

I will definitely do a trip report when we get back!!! I'm in the throes of trip planning right now. So much fun, but overwhelming too.

You have a beautiful family!

Thank you! Trip planning can be overwhelming at times for sure.... good luck keeping the fun factor up!

Great idea! Billy loves trolling for these types of videos on youtube; his favorites right now are HOP, Mickey's Philharmagic, and Fantasmic!

We had to bump up our monthly internet package because Ariana was 'using up' our bandwith watching Lion King, Barbie movies and Snow White!

I am also intimately familiar with the "dance of joy"; it never fails to put a smile on our faces!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I’ve been trying to remember what George and Ariana did for their missed lunch, but I can’t. Ariana would skip eating all together if it meant she’d have more time for everything else (wish I had that ability!) and George has no problems skipping meals so maybe they didn’t do anything after all? I can’t remember. The next thing my camera says we did was head on over to Test Track.

Running a close second to the monorail, this is Demetri’s favorite at Epcot. Hoo-hoo does he love the speed this ride gets too! I was describing this ride to a co-worker and he asked what the top speed was. I googled it because I couldn’t remember, and I think what I read was correct…. At top speed its 65 MPH (that’s 105 kms for you Canadians out there). Highway speed! Crazy! I didn’t try to take any pictures, I just enjoyed it. I did take a few pictures in the dump shop after dragging the boys away from the cars on display.

They were all about the dinky cars and Demetri loved the construction sets.

Demetri found yet another super cool totally awesome Cars hat and wanted his picture taken wearing it. He put it on in a wonky way and it tugged his eye up a little while pushing the other one down.

While taking the picture I remember saying, "Whoa, that's just creepy!"

We moseyed on over towards Mission Space ....

....and I let George know I didn’t want to go on this ride. I’ve never been on the Orange side, I can barely handle the Green side without getting a queasy stomach. Besides, he’d never been on it before, either side, so it was my way of making him go on with Ariana. Hee hee. We knew that the height requirement on this ride was 44” (remember Demetri was 43”) but we fruitlessly tried anyway to see if he could go on. Nope. Still too short. But it was my turn this time to sooth his disappointment with an ice cream while we waited.

Demetri always chose the Itzakadoozie ice cream treat everytime.

Ice cream treats taken care of, we decided to wait in the shop.

Demetri was in awe of the Disney Racers and he picked out his favorite two for a picture.

Once again he made a new friend and they decided to have a battle in the name of all that is good in the universe. Demetri had the force on his side because….. well, the other boys was a wimpy rainbow Mickey Head.

We got to the space helmet section when Ariana arrived and she grabbed one to wear too.

Just as we were leaving the Mission Space shop we were walking towards our stroller when it started to sprinkle. Nothing major, just a little sprinkle. We talked about where we’d head next…. I was suggesting Honey I Shrunk the Audience and Journey into Imagination with Figment, two rides we’d not done yet, when the sprinkle turned into steady, fat, rain drops. We grabbed the stroller and headed back towards Test Track where they have the canopy shelter outside the entrance. Just as we got under the canopy, the heavens opened up and it was now a torrential downpour. It was just after 5pm when Alex snapped a picture of the gloomy skies above the golf ball.

Remembering our earlier stroller soaking when we’d been on Soarin, George pulled all of the parked strollers under the canopy. One of those pay-it-forward type niceties. There weren’t too many people around us taking shelter yet so the boys were zipping around with the stroller while we made small talk with some people around us. There was a cute, very young couple on their honeymoon - the Mickey ears wedding hat and veil was a dead giveaway, lol! They couldn’t stop smiling as everyone was saying congratulations and I just loved how happy they looked.

We could hear the announcements from Test Track that the ride was staying closed during the storm and it just didn’t seem to be letting up so we were wondering if we should brave the storm and head indoors.

We decided to hang on just a little bit longer….

… and then just under an hour after it started, it stopped. We decided to forgo anything else in Future World and just head over to Norway for our Kim Possible mission. A quick hello to another bunny along the way…..

…. and we reached Mexico to look for the Three Caballeros ride.

This was our first time on this ride and we were looking forward to cruising around the Mayan ruins. What a fun ride! We loved floating past the San Angel Inn Restaurante.

George was struck by how gorgeous the surroundings were and what a fabulous concept for a restaurant. We then had a lively conversation about ‘when’ we open our restaurant, how we’d have a similar theme, but that we would change our themes with the seasons. I think we need to head back to that Piggy Bank game for another go around!

Next up was Norway and we checked in for our Kim Possible mission. It was up to us to save China from the jade ninja monkeys!…. or something like that anyway.

We’d split into two teams so George and Ariana were against the boys and I. We had so much fun traipsing around China! My competitive streak must have come out again because I don’t have a single picture from our mission. Well, its top secret right?

After George and Ariana kicked our butts, we doubled back to Norway to check Maelstrom off our list.

Fun ride but I always feel guilty not watching the movie afterwards.

You know, even though we were successful saving China, I can’t remember anything in it? Sigh. Next time!

We were slowly cruising our way around the World Showcase, and next was Germany. Germany has a lot in there the kids really like. Snow White’s wishing well….

… unfortunately she was no longer seeing any guests for the evening. Boo.

The Christmas store…..

….Ariana could wander in there all day!

Just look at all the details!

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

And last but not least… the trains!

Next up? Italy!

It was starting to near the time for Illuminations so we breezed past the American pavilion through to Japan.

(Step away from the pond Lou!)

Unfortunately we were running out of daylight so we didn’t get to explore Japan at all. No pick a pearl for me this time. And I know we walked through Morocco but I don’t have a single picture! Those windy back alleys were so nice to walk through and I wish I’d had more time to explore their shops. But alas, it was time to stake our spots for Illuminations.

We found a pretty decent spot and decided to just sit and enjoy the growing dusk and lights turning on all over World Showcase. Anytime a duckie swam close to where we were sitting, Demetri would start “talking” to it with a hearty “quack! quack! quack!” that made the families around us smile. The flames surrounding the water were on, the weather was beautiful, George snuck off for some munchies and I think the boys even sprawled out on the ground for a bit. The voice on the loudspeakers came on every five minutes or so to build our anticipation and soon, one of my very favorite Disney moments arrived.…. the flames were blown out with a whispered “hoooo” and the fireworks began!

I once again put my camera on the fireworks setting with the continuous six shots and got a few that I liked.

I’m really disappointed however, to say that is pretty much all I got. I’m pretty sure next time I will be taking video of fireworks with my camera. Or maybe the wrappie tripods that you can bend around anything. That would have been perfect where we were watching, we had the fence in front of us where it juts out into the water.

Well, it was going on 9:30pm when Illuminations wrapped up so we decided to let the kids choose one ride each to go on before calling it a night. Demetri and Alex chose…..

And is there any doubt what Ariana chose?

Of course!

It was pretty late so we started heading back towards the front and yet still took our time. Ariana loved walking all over the beautiful lights…

and with that, we caught our bus and headed “home”.

Next Update: Havoc on a Seaside Village

 

[jenbear123]

Preparing an onion train which he choo-choo’d towards Demetri to his delight.

Just noticed I had the same cook, Kenji, when we ate at Teppan Edo in July.

Not the best picture I had of him (I took mostly video of his cooking techniques). He was the best part of our meal (aside from the yummy food) that night. The service was fair to say the least. Our server (can't remember her name) seemed really stressed out but wanted to make sure she said and did everything perfectly. The time we were there seemed far too long but I guess anything seems longer than it actually is when you're in a rush to move on to the next thing in Disney!

I LOVE the picture you took with the bunny and Demetri in the foreground. Can't explain why... just really like how the picture turned out. And your fireworks pics are pretty good too. I still need to figure out how to work my camera so I can take pics of fireworks. Just need to read through a few 50+ more pages in the instruction manual. And they call these cameras simply "Point and Shoot" Love everything so far. Keep the updates coming

 

[mickeystoontown]

The pictures of Illuminations are great!

How did I know that Ariana was going to choose Soarin'? There's nothing better than ending a long day at the park on your favorite rides.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I just read through your last few updates and they're great. I'm loving your August trip report, cause we're going in August next year.!! I know it will be HOT but I can't wait.

 

[Angies1274]

Glad the rain stopped for you!! It looks like your Rain, Rain Go Away worked for you. I wish it had for us.

We always enjoy The Three Caballeros ride in Mexico--so much fun!! You got some great pictures!!

Love the pictures of Illuminations!!