1st Trip (of many!) as Mr. & Mrs.--the TR-- UPDATE 9/9: Life Update--We're Moving!!

[heaven2dc]

I had always wondered if anyone experienced any peculiar smells staying at AKL and you confirmed that That's too bad you couldn't enjoy sitting out on the balcony for breakfast - hopefully another day!

Was so glad that you got to ride Soarin' for your first ride and front seat middle section! That's great!! Now I can't wait to hear how the rest of your day went (That was so cute to see Mickey and Minnie )

 

[SheenaXena21]

Well, I opened up the balcony door and just about lost it. I literally started gagging and had to run to the bathroom just in case I lost it. Michael had no clue what was going on, and when I finally regained enough composure to tell him that the balcony smelled like crap (literally), he made fun of me. He went out to prove that it didn’t smell that bad, and rushed back in holding his face. I’m telling you, it was BAD!!!



Continued

Now that's funny!!!!!

 

[stacikristine]

OMG, how fabulous is Mary Poppins? I saw it maybe a month after it opening in NYC and LOVED it. How great was "Step In Time???"

Did you get to every park for opening? Can't wait to read more!

OH GOSH!! It was fantastic! We loved every bit of it. "Step In Time" was INCREDIBLE. All of it was. I couldn't get over the incredible sets and set changes. Hm...I guess you'll just have to wait and see You know we made it to at least one other opening!

Thanks for posting those videos! I loved watching yall give the tour of your AKL room! You & your hubby are too cute and I love your voice!

YAY for perfect seats on Soarin'! The front is definitely the best row and how cool that yall were in the middle!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! We're pretty goofy together. Thank you. We were SO happy with our Soarin' seats!!

I'm coming along for the ride! You're doing a great job so far!

Denise

Hi! Thanks so much for reading!! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

How exciting! Your first park! So..we've never used the WDW phones to set an alarm..what are the choices?

Ew...too bad you had to smell that!

Yay! The Big Ball! We call it 'the ball' too.

Nice job getting to Soarin'! Aw man, too bad the fast pass thing got mixed up for you guys. But yay for a walk on!

We were super excited to finally be at our first park! We actually used our iPod to wake up. They have a iHome (or something similar) and we already had Disney songs on it, so we just hooked it up and set it that way. It was great! I don't know if all the rooms have that kind of alarm or not, but the villas did. Yeah, it was SICK! I don't know many people that don't call it the ball! Yeah, it was a bummer they were mixed up, but it actually worked out for the better. It was really good timing!

Yay!!! Awesome update. The poo smell outside made me laugh out loud(sorry--I know it made you miserable!!) Much needed...I had a LONG day. So, thanks

Also, I may just be tired, but I didn't get what happened with the fastpasses? Did you use the wrong thing to retrieve one (like a room key instead of something else)? Sorry, just went over my head! I want to make sure you can teach me not to do whatever it was

I also found it funny that you call it a Pop machine. We call it a Coke machine (hehe). I am SO enjoying your TR so far. You capture all of your moments so well, and give GREAT tips.

Thanks! Haha--I'm glad it made you laugh! It surely wasn't funny at the time, but by later that morning we were laughing about it! Sorry you had a long day I gave him the room keys to use (since that's what we did last time with my family--we bought a package and they were all together on the cards). I should have given him the separate tickets (like the flimsier ones with the pictures on them) since that was our park admission. So just use whatever you use to get into the park. Yeah, Michael gives me a really hard time about saying Pop. He insists that it's Coke. But it's not all Coke--there might not be any Coke in there!! It even says Pop on most of our grocery isles. Aw--thanks Katie! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

I had always wondered if anyone experienced any peculiar smells staying at AKL and you confirmed that That's too bad you couldn't enjoy sitting out on the balcony for breakfast - hopefully another day!

Was so glad that you got to ride Soarin' for your first ride and front seat middle section! That's great!! Now I can't wait to hear how the rest of your day went (That was so cute to see Mickey and Minnie )

Haha--yep. There's your answer! It was actually just the fertilizer, but it didn't smell like that! We really lucked out with fantastic seats and a fantastic first ride!! The rest of the day was great--I'll hopefully post more soon. I love how they make such a big deal about park openings (even if it's not an actual show like some of the others) by sending the characters out and things!

Now that's funny!!!!!

Haha! Glad you liked it.

 

[khertz]

That is SO GROSS about the fertilizer!! It is Disney, surely they can make it smell like cotton candy or somthing?!? I hope for your sake that they didn't do that EVERY morning and you got to have your breakfast on the balcony at least one day!

The opening show looks SO cute! I've never seen a rope drop ceremony before, so that is definitely on the list of must-dos this year. Sorry, but I lol'd a little at the FastPass story! Although, had it been me, I probably would have done the same thing!!

Looking forward to MORE updates!!

 

[princess_momma]

OOOOHHHH me and Meghan (Dancegrl624) both got front row, middle section, middle seats on soarin'! We should all form a club!

A similiar fast pass thing happened to me! It was on our last night, but I tried using my KTTW card which I had been using the whole time and then I had to use my MNSSHP card instead! lol! But I didn't even end up using it!

Can't wait for more! I really hope you can enjoy breakfast on the balcony sometime!!

 

[stacikristine]

That is SO GROSS about the fertilizer!! It is Disney, surely they can make it smell like cotton candy or somthing?!? I hope for your sake that they didn't do that EVERY morning and you got to have your breakfast on the balcony at least one day!

The opening show looks SO cute! I've never seen a rope drop ceremony before, so that is definitely on the list of must-dos this year. Sorry, but I lol'd a little at the FastPass story! Although, had it been me, I probably would have done the same thing!!

Looking forward to MORE updates!!

Haha! Yeah, I'll request that next time it smells like Florida Oranges! We were a little scared to try it again...but it wasn't that bad all the time! They don't do a big show at Epcot (like the other parks--especially Magic Kingdom) but it was still cute to see the Characters. You HAVE TO make it to a rope drop!! That's ok--we laughed when we realized it too. But it worked out for the better! I'll have another one before too long!

OOOOHHHH me and Meghan (Dancegrl624) both got front row, middle section, middle seats on soarin'! We should all form a club!

A similiar fast pass thing happened to me! It was on our last night, but I tried using my KTTW card which I had been using the whole time and then I had to use my MNSSHP card instead! lol! But I didn't even end up using it!

Can't wait for more! I really hope you can enjoy breakfast on the balcony sometime!!

Yeah! It'll be "The Best Soarin' Seats Club"! That spot is just incredible!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who messed up with the FPs. I was just confused since last trip we used our KTTW cards. Oh well--we learned! I'll hopefully write another today or tomorrow. Prob tomorrow.

 

[Dancegrl624]

OOOOHHHH me and Meghan (Dancegrl624) both got front row, middle section, middle seats on soarin'! We should all form a club!

Yeah! It'll be "The Best Soarin' Seats Club"! That spot is just incredible!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who messed up with the FPs. I was just confused since last trip we used our KTTW cards. Oh well--we learned! I'll hopefully write another today or tomorrow. Prob tomorrow.

I was just going to call it that!!! We're pretty special people I guess!

 

[Scott MC]

You two are just so darn cute!
I'm enjoying your trip report and can't wait for more updates. The AKL looks so beautiful. It's DBF's fantasy resort, and since we stayed at mine (GF), this year, I predict we'll be hitting up AKL soon.

 

[stacikristine]

I was just going to call it that!!! We're pretty special people I guess!

Yep--it looks that way!

You two are just so darn cute!
I'm enjoying your trip report and can't wait for more updates. The AKL looks so beautiful. It's DBF's fantasy resort, and since we stayed at mine (GF), this year, I predict we'll be hitting up AKL soon.

Thanks so much! And thanks for reading! Oh my goodness, the AKL is just amazing. You HAVE TO try it next time! I hear the GF is incredible as well.

 

[jenjolt]

You and Michael sure know how to tour a park!! You two look like you were having a blast and I enjoyed experiencing those moments with you!! I'm so glad you had a great first day at the parks!!!!

 

[Bridora]

Great updates! Congrats on getting those awesome Soarin' seats...there's nothing like 'em, huh? Really, feet soarin' above my head over California is just not quite the same...but I would ride that way right now if I could!!!

Loved your videos! You are putting my TRing abilities to shame...

My daughter also enjoyed the videos...she really loved the idea of having animals right outside your room!

That stinks about your balcony plans being messed up! Hopefully you'll get to enjoy a balcony breakfast--I loooove those--especially in WDW!

 

[stacikristine]

You and Michael sure know how to tour a park!! You two look like you were having a blast and I enjoyed experiencing those moments with you!! I'm so glad you had a great first day at the parks!!!!

Thanks! We had SO much fun at Disney World--we loved touring together I'm so glad you got to share them with us!! It was a great start to our time in the parks... I'll hopefully post more today!

Great updates! Congrats on getting those awesome Soarin' seats...there's nothing like 'em, huh? Really, feet soarin' above my head over California is just not quite the same...but I would ride that way right now if I could!!!

Loved your videos! You are putting my TRing abilities to shame...

My daughter also enjoyed the videos...she really loved the idea of having animals right outside your room!

That stinks about your balcony plans being messed up! Hopefully you'll get to enjoy a balcony breakfast--I loooove those--especially in WDW!

Thanks! Oh goodness, the seats were great! It was perfect for our first ride I'm with you, though. I'd be all for feet above my head if that meant I could be at WDW now! Thanks so much--we took over 2 hours of video footage! No--I love reading your TR! Yay--I'm glad your daughter liked them! The animals were great. It was so fun to see them right outside our room. It's ok--we probably would have been late if we ate out there anyway

 

[annnewjerz]

Looks like you guys are off to a great start. We'll be going on Soarin for the first time in December (just never really paid any attention to it, to be honest) and I can't wait. I'm sure it'll be just as good as everyone says it is.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

 

[stacikristine]

Looks like you guys are off to a great start. We'll be going on Soarin for the first time in December (just never really paid any attention to it, to be honest) and I can't wait. I'm sure it'll be just as good as everyone says it is.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

It was a fantastic start! We were so lucky to get those seats! I think you'll love Soarin' Just don't go in expecting a thrill ride...people who do are disappointed. It's completely different from anything at WDW! I'm posting more right now!

 

[stacikristine]

When I last left you, we had just exited Soarin’ after having the best seats ever! We also realized that our FPs were not valid, and that was the end of following our Epcot Plan…



Back story:

When Michael’s family came when he was 9, Test Track was built, but not open yet. He wanted to ride this SOOO badly!! So when we decided to come to WDW, Test Track was definitely on his must-do list. I’m pretty sure it was #1 at Epcot. So when we realized that our FPs weren’t valid at Soarin’ and we could get another, he asked if we could PLEASE go get one for Test Track instead.


Of course!!


So we headed over to Test Track and scored some FPs for 10:10. With FPs in hand, we were planning on heading back to the other side of the park and visiting The Seas. But then we saw that….

Mission:SPACE only had a 5 minute wait! Score!

We walked to the end of the queue area, and we were first in line to get on the next mission (green side, of course! We are big babies when it comes to spinning!!).

When it came time for our mission (which ended up only being about a 3 minute wait), we were paired with a cute little girl (probably 13 years old) and her dad. We really enjoyed our trip to space!


I snapped a pic of the cockpit on our way out:

When we left Mission:SPACE, we still had about 10-15 minutes until our FPs for Test Track were able to be used. So we decided to go explore Innoventions East for a little bit.

At the Test Limits Lab,

we tried to break a TV screen,

Slam a door, make some music with robots, and some other little things like that.

We also played with the computerized fish pond.

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[stacikristine]

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Then, it was time for Test Track!!

I can’t even tell you how ready Michael was to ride this! He’d been waiting for 13 years!

Our ride was a ton of fun! Michael loved it—probably one of his favorite rides at WDW! And I really, really liked it too! We had fun looking around the showroom and seeing all of the awesome cars:

As we headed to the gift shop, we were told that it was “Name Your Price” for the ride pictures. At first I was really hesitant to name a price (it was just awkward…don’t ask me why), but I asked the CM if I could say a dollar (I wasn’t convinced it was really and truly whatever I wanted to pay), and she said, “Sure! That’s great!” So we bought our Test Track Photo for a dollar!



Since it was really hot outside, we decided to cut through Mouse Gears.

Where were we headed? Back to The Seas Pavilion (where we were originally headed after Soarin’!)

Nemo had a 5 minute wait, but the only wait was really walking through the queue area

We had to hold our breath since we were going underwater!!

I know a lot of people don’t really like this ride, but we really enjoyed it! It’s really cute, and I love how the Nemo fishies are swimming with the real fishies!

When we exited our clammobile, we realized that we were just in time to see Turtle Talk with Crush! I’d seen this on my last trip (and loved it!) but Michael had never seen it.

This might be bad, but we walked up to the aquariums “to take some pictures” before the show started. It’s not our fault it made us a little closer to the doors when they opened…

Oh my gosh! We LOVED this! We both laughed so hard. There was a little “human dude” who had a hard time being understood. Crush asked him his name, and he had to say it 3 times before Crush could understand it. And when Crush asked where he’s from, the boy answered (none of us could understand him) and Crush said, “Uuooh. Never heard of it.” Haha! It was great! We loved it so much that Michael said that if we have extra time in Epcot, we should see it again.



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[stacikristine]

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After we hung out with out turtle dude, we decided it was time to put some food in our bellies! (This was also the day I realized that one Special K cereal bar will NOT be sufficient for my morning food supply.) So we headed over to Sunshine Seasons in The Land Pavilion to grab lunch and relax for a little bit.

Before we got there, we both knew that we wanted Asian food. Places like that give you a ton of food, and we were sharing a meal since we had a super early ADR for that night.

Oh, my. This food was YUMMY! We ordered sweet & sour chicken, rice, and noodles.

And strawberry shortcake for dessert! Wow.

We decided to sit for a while and relax after we finished our lunch, and then we decided to go to The Imagination Pavilion.

When we went to see when the next Honey, I Shrunk the Audience show would start, we found out that it was only 4 minutes away! Perfect timing.

Can I just say that the Kodak commercial is ridiculously long and corny? Everyone around us was so frustrated by the time it was over. Goodness, I wish they would get rid of it.


Anyway, the show was cute, but we both agreed that it is probably time for an update. First of all, kids don’t even know what HISTK is. Secondly, the 3-D effects just aren’t up to par with the rest of the ones in the parks. Thirdly, the 90s clothes are a dead give-away that it’s time to change!



After the show, we went to visit our friend Figment. I’d loved this ride since I was 2 (when I bought a Figment doll for one of my souvenirs), but Michael’s family skipped it when he came when he was little.


On our way to the Figment entrance:

There was only about a 3 minute wait. In no time, we were off to use our imaginations!

I held my nose here!

My favorite part:

This guy looks so creepy in the moon!

We thought it was fun and cute, but it’s not something we have to see again any time soon.


When we left Figment, we played in the ImageWorks studios for a while. We made some music:

And then turned our picture into a masterpiece!

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[stacikristine]

Continued from previous



On our way over to Spaceship Earth, we saw the Jammitors! I don’t think either of us had seen them before. We really enjoyed this! It made me really miss my brother, though (he’s really talented on the drums). We took lots of pics and videos for him.

And then, it was time to take a ride in “The Big Ball” and see where we’ve been and where we’re going. We LOVED the new “Your Future” part! How fun! Next time, we’ll actually smile for the camera, though. I don’t remember what all it said, but it was something about adventure and traveling.

I also loved how it showed all of us on the big map when the ride was over!

I wish I would have known that you could send a postcard home, though. Oh well. There’s always next time!


We saw an older couple playing this skeleton game, and it looked like they were having a blast!

How fun! We just love interactive games and things like this! We got Top Surgeon together!

After that, we played this game where you shuffle these energy balls on the floor and try to get them into the power saving plants and recycle them. It was SOOOO fun!!! We loved it so much!


We watched some boys play it before we did

And then we were ready to get our recycling on!

We saved a Metropolis the size of New York! Woo-Hoo!! We knew we’d be back here again!


When we were done shuffling energy and waste, we decided to save the world from Agent Havoc by racing to his secret lab. It was a lot of fun too!

They really did an amazing job updating all of these interactive games and things! We loved SE now!




We decided that it was time for a break. But before we left, we went to the “Leave A Legacy” station inside the picture shop, and found where my dad’s and my picture was. After a little bit of searching, we saw this:

My dad and I got this made when I was 15. I love that it’s still here!



Even though we were pretty worn out, we’d had a WONDERFUL first morning/afternoon at Epcot Future World!





Up Next:
Do we have time to go back to our resort? What will we do before dinner?

 

[praisehisname]

Yay for Michael finally getting to ride Test Track!!! You guys got a lot done!

Looking forward to more!

Denise

 

[tinkgurl]

Oh geeze girl, you did a big update! Okay..where to start...

Eeekkk...Mission Space scares me.

That worked out so good that you were able to get TT fast passes. I can tell that he was so excited to finally ride it. That's so awesome you got your TT photo for $1!

Aw Nemo. This ride/line is so cute. So great that it was practically a walk on.

Ooh yay you ate ate Sunshine Seasons! You know it's my fave at Epcot.

Aw, I love the Jammitors! Last year, we were at the Electric Umbrella and could see them performing through the window. They were even entertaining without even actually being able to hear them!

Well, I think you've convinced me to look around the games when you get off SE!

So cool you found your pic with your dad!