Nov 2009 Family Reunion in Disney with pics! Final Update 3/22/10

I missed an insane amount of updates. But do not fear....I am all caught up now!

Love love love the Piglet story. I don't know what I would have done if I was one of those mommies who was blessed with a child afraid of characters.

Did your extended family think you were nuts for changing just for a meal???

Great job with pulling off the BBB surpise. I've already seen your 100s of pics so I'm good LOL!

So thrilled for you that Sarah is still into dress up with the girls! That's great!

Does this mean your one and only WISHES experience was with ME????? How thrilling! (although officially sad that you missed it with the kids ;))
 
What fun! I love the step sisters! We missed them this trip. Next trip we need to do 1900 Park fare.
That stinks about Spectro and Wishes! George got wishes on video I can see if I can send it to you?

I can't wait to read about Epcot! Wonder what you did? Did we do Malstorm? Did we see the Troll? How many characters did we see:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::cool1:
Aawww you are so sweet! No, I have seen Wishes and Spectro...with my Disbuddies in Feb...but I think this requires a return trip in Dec some year soon!:santa: You are going to have to help me with the Epcot day!!!:thumbsup2

I missed an insane amount of updates. But do not fear....I am all caught up now!

Love love love the Piglet story. I don't know what I would have done if I was one of those mommies who was blessed with a child afraid of characters.

Did your extended family think you were nuts for changing just for a meal???

Great job with pulling off the BBB surpise. I've already seen your 100s of pics so I'm good LOL!

So thrilled for you that Sarah is still into dress up with the girls! That's great!

Does this mean your one and only WISHES experience was with ME????? How thrilling! (although officially sad that you missed it with the kids ;))

Wow...thanks for catching up!!! Its funny about kids and characters...they love em or hate em...and there's nothing you can do about it! :rotfl:

My extended family thinks I am nuts for Disney...so changing wasn't even a consideration...I think other people I am friends with....you know IRL....think the same thing and for changing too...definately nuts!

Yes Kristine...you are correct...wasn't that amazing?! I loved our spot too!

Thanks for reading along...gotta go check your tr too! When I get snowed in this weekend I will catch up!!!
 
The funniest thing about changing for lunch at CP was we did it right there in the hub...people around us must of thought you were crazy ,but we LOVE you and your addiction to Disney!!!!!
 
The funniest thing about changing for lunch at CP was we did it right there in the hub...people around us must of thought you were crazy ,but we LOVE you and your addiction to Disney!!!!!

Good thing for tank tops huh????:lmao::lmao:

So are you going to make it thru these last three days? We are making ornaments on Tuesday!
 


Cathy, I finally had a chance to catch up! The girls looked so pretty all dolled up at the BBB! Love getting to the park before opening, you can really take in all the details that only Disney knows how to do!
Love Sarah's Giselle dress! So good to see that even the more grown up kids still like to dress up! I have some hope for Leighanna when she gets older!
Brooke and Devon looked so cute too! You did a fabulous job on their outfits! So great that you and Marlo got to meet up IRL! Nikki looked pretty too in her custom!

Can't wait to read more about 1900 Park fare and Wishes!
 
Aawww you are so sweet! No, I have seen Wishes and Spectro...with my Disbuddies in Feb...but I think this requires a return trip in Dec some year soon!:santa: You are going to have to help me with the Epcot day!!!:thumbsup2

I can't wait! I know I have some pictures loaded and available! So once you put your report up I will add:thumbsup2 Oh and don't forget that 30 second meeting at DHS where sweet Brookie got excited and gently placed her hand on the glass for me to do the same then giggled when I did it. that girl just melts my heart!
 


Phew! Lost you for a while, took me ages to catch back up! The MK day looks amazing! So sorry you missed Wishes though... are you planning your next trip yet? Can't wait to hear all about Epcot!
 
Cathy, I finally had a chance to catch up! The girls looked so pretty all dolled up at the BBB! Love getting to the park before opening, you can really take in all the details that only Disney knows how to do!
Love Sarah's Giselle dress! So good to see that even the more grown up kids still like to dress up! I have some hope for Leighanna when she gets older!
Brooke and Devon looked so cute too! You did a fabulous job on their outfits! So great that you and Marlo got to meet up IRL! Nikki looked pretty too in her custom!

Can't wait to read more about 1900 Park fare and Wishes!
It was quite an experience getting there early! Sarah's Giselle dress was so generously donated by Carla herself...I hope its ok that I say so! I changed the neckline and sleeves and took the train off and added ruffles! I am sure Leighanna will love princesses all of her life! My girls will too! Thanks so much about the outfits!!! Wasn't Nikki beautiful? She is just as sweet in real life too! :lovestruc

I can't wait! I know I have some pictures loaded and available! So once you put your report up I will add:thumbsup2 Oh and don't forget that 30 second meeting at DHS where sweet Brookie got excited and gently placed her hand on the glass for me to do the same then giggled when I did it. that girl just melts my heart!
Ok I have the next day written! Now I just have to post it! I may try to start today posting something today!

Great updates! 1900 PF looks so fun; I'll have to make sure and do that one sometime!
Just be prepared when you walk in for all of the ruckus! Thanks for reading!

Phew! Lost you for a while, took me ages to catch back up! The MK day looks amazing! So sorry you missed Wishes though... are you planning your next trip yet? Can't wait to hear all about Epcot!
Nope no actual planning yet! I dream though...lol!
 
Our Epcot Day!



Today was our Epcot day! Yaaa and part of it would be spent with my friend Marlo (minnie2) .. double yaaaaa! :cool1:First order of business after getting up and getting ready would be to go pick up the stroller at Wilderness Lodge. I joined a stroller swap and the Disser before me left the stroller in luggage services. When I called from home they couldn’t find it…not that they looked all that hard. They told me to show up in person and they would look for it.

So around 8:15 am…we arrived at Wilderness Lodge to see if it was there. By the way...this place was gorgeous! We had visited here last time we were in Disney but we entered via the boat. So I explained to the bellman what I needed and he said someone “would be right with me.” I assumed he meant someone would come out and take my name and start looking. Five minutes ticked by…no one came. And another few more minutes and a CM came out but started helping someone else. I looked at Edmund and shook my head.:rolleyes1 I was getting concerned about time. When the CM finished with the other people I asked if anyone was going to help us? Suddenly, a bellman came towards us with our stroller!!! I was so surprised! :banana:Here I thought we were waiting to be helped and would have to wait more to get the stroller and they had already found it. Yeesh…such miscommunication. What the original bellman should have said was… "I am sending someone to get it and he will be out with it in a few minutes.” OK sorry to go into such detail but the great thing was the stroller was in our possession! And it was so nice..it was a double jogging stroller and it practically pushed itself.

So next we had to figure out where to go…Edmund suggested the monorail to Epcot since we were right next door to the Ticket and Transportation Center…and he would pick me up there later in the day. Good idea!!!


I took a pic going to the ramp up to the monorail…MK ramp was filled and Epcot was practically empty!

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I hoped that was a sign of things to come! Soon enough a monorail arrived and we boarded. The monorail is a ride in and of itself…so fun to take it to Epcot!. I chatted with a fellow disser on the way over…he like my laminated color-coded itinerary of fun!


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We arrived and swept above Future World and I could see it wasn’t very crowded. We missed rope drop by a few minutes….but we were right behind the march to Soarin. We made it through the turnstiles...no line and walked quickly straight to the Land. We ditched the stroller at the bottom of the hill to the Land Pavillion and joined in the crowd. We took the stairs (faster) and bee-lined it to the fast pass machines! I went to the farthest one with a medium line and a few moments later I had 4 fastpasses in my hand! Yaa! :cool1:

The stand-by was about 15 minutes by this time…which was fine! We hopped in line and took a few pics.

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I love the part where the pictures change….the last time I rode this I took the fastpass entrance so I missed it. We chatted with a nice family behind us in line. Finally it was our turn to line up…we requested front row and said we would wait if need be…nope…no wait…we made it to the front row of the left lift! Score!!

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Sarah and I explained the ride to the girls…it was their first time. Brooklyn was a little nervous but I try to be as honest as I can be about the rides so she trusts me. We entered and found our seats…took our shoes off and buckled our seat belts. Brooklyn was wrapped around my arm…lol. I think she had her eyes closes at first but eventually got into the ride. And what a ride it is….oh wow! I just LOVE this ride!!!:love: I told the girls to smell the pine forest and duck under the golf ball…smell the oranges and Brooklyn was surprised to be IN the fireworks at the end! Ahhhh so glad to be able to come back at the end of the day to ride!

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OK this is all for now!! I promise to finish updating throughout the next few days!!!!

Just want to say MERRY CHRISTMAS :santa::santa::santa::santa: and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
 
i got lost:scared1: i am not sure how but i did not subscribe, but fear not i am all caught up. loving everything especially the bbb surprise. cant wait for more
 
Brookie looks so nervous, but I'm glad everyone ended up loving it! :thumbsup2

Merry Christmas!

You're so right...she is my little nervous Nellie!!! But attached to my arm on the ride...she was fine and loved it the second time!!! ;)


i got lost:scared1: i am not sure how but i did not subscribe, but fear not i am all caught up. loving everything especially the bbb surprise. cant wait for more
Awwww don't get lost! Just go back to the bottom of my first post and all of the installments are listed! Makes it easy to keep up! :thumbsup2
 
Epcot day continued!

Next up was the Seas pavilion so we made our way over there. It was bright and sunny and absolutely the most gorgeous day out! Wow! Just amazing! I parked the stroller and took a few pics outside of Nemo and Friends. I asked a CM if the seagulls were saying Mine Mine or Mike Mike. What is your vote? You’re right…it was Mine Mine

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We entered the huge line for Nemo. Just kidding…no one was there. Devon was asked to bring the red lanyard card up to the CM at the loading area.

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Our goal was to make our way through Nemo and then the 9:45 am showing of Turtle Talk but since it was already 9:50….that didn’t happen. My friend Marlo was supposed to arrive around 10:30 or 11 am. She would call me when she arrived in Epcot. They were having breakfast somewhere. I tried to get a pic of the clamshells but since we were the only ones there, they loaded us and sent us off before I could take one. Oh well. What a cute ride!

The girls loved it! We exited and headed into the Turtle talk area. Only one other family was waiting. I checked my phone and there was a message. I called Marlo and she said she was almost to Epcot. I told her we were in line for Turtle talk. She said she would meet us at the pavilion. We waited about 20 minutes and checked out the computers and the tanks…the sting rays were actually splashing around their area.

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We finally were let in and I lost reception for a little while. We sat front and center for TT.


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Continued in post below!
 
The boy next to the girls got picked to ask a question. The kids are so funny when he talks to them…they always get tongue tied or blurt out something hilarious. Brooklyn took to heart the part when Crush suggested they say “dude” the rest of the day….it’s all we heard.

When we exited I had three messages from Marlo. I felt so bad that Turtle Talk took so long. I was heading towards the gift shop area at the exit to get enough reception to call Marlo back when she appeared right in front of us!:goodvibes:goodvibes She is amazing like that! Yaaa!! A dis reunion! We started talking a mile a minute! At this point it was around 11 am. We had been in Epcot for two hours and had only accomplished three things!!!

So we decided to head over to Test Track to get fast passes. On the way through Innoventions West, we noticed Mickey and his pals were meeting and greeting! Marlo is such a sweetheart and chose to wait in line with us so we could meet the gang! Isn’t she the bestest? It was about a 15-20 min wait….but completely worth it! We dug our our photopass card and went down the line meeting each character. What fun! I made sure Marlo got a pic with Minnie her favorite. The whole thing took about 10 minutes but we loved it all! I was so happy the girls actually got to meet those very famous characters and it was such fun with Nikki and Kyle along! Just perfect!!!


Get ready for way too many pics....


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And here are the photopass pics....


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I have no idea where my Pluto photopass pics went...but you get the picture.....there were lots of pics and fun!!!!

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Continued in Post Below!
 
After that....the kids were fast friends...I tried to get a pic of Brook and Kyle...

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So then we made it over to get fastpasses for Test Track. We decided to head to Spaceship Earth next. I hadn’t been on it since 1987 I think…if then. And the girls had never been on it. Well, I was amazed …it was such a cool ride!! I love how they added the computer stuff and you get to see your pics…in fact I was so amazed I forgot to take a pic of Brook and I! Then we headed back over to Test Track as our fastpasses were ready. We headed in and waited our turn. Sarah and Devon ended up in the car ahead of us and the rest of us fit into the next car. And we were off. I had to reassure and explain to Brooklyn each segment…what a blast! She really handled the fast part outside well! I think our speed was 68??? I forgot. I got put our pic on photopass and just in time too…you gotta be quick before they change!

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Here are Sarah and Devon in the back in red shirts....


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And here is the car with the rest of us....


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We browsed the gift shop and Devon and Brook picked out an antenna topper. Then there was a quick bathroom break and then we really needed to head to World Showcase. It was our goal to try a Kim Possible mission and I had no idea where the kiosk was. Luckily Marlo did! She remembered what it looked like! We fastpassed the ticket for that.

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Sarah had asked for a churro…smart kid…those things are the yummiest! So we stopped in Mexico and picked out some soda and snacks! I also had a pb and j at some point.

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Then, since we were here, we entered the Mexican pavilion and rode on the Gran Fiesta Tour! I love the theming and the ride was cute.


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We also talked and pin traded with a CM upon exiting. She was sooo sweet. I think we must have talked with her for 5 or 10 minutes!


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Continued in post below!
 
Next, we decided to head to Norway and ride Maelstrom!

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Devon hanging with her new pal...Nikki! She was so sweet to them!!! :cutie:

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Marlo and the kids were running out of time since they needed to head to Magic Kingdom around 2 pm. I figured by 2 or 3 pm the girls would be really tired. But they seemed perfectly fine to me…Sarah was pretty quiet the whole time though…it was the third day catching up with her. And the girls loved the stroller…they got in and out of it all day long! So anyways, we rode Maestrom…and it was exciting!

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I just have to add in here how cute Kyle is....really a very sweet young man and his love of all things Disney was so refreshing and fun!!!

I had no idea that there was a hill so I couldn’t warn Brooklyn much about it…she was a trooper though! I love the little town area it lets you off in! Of course we browsed the gift shop....and encountered some vikings...

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Then... it was time to say our sad goodbye’s to Marlo, Nikki and Kyle! Unfortunately we ran out of time to do a Mission with them. We took a few pics before they left!! Thank you Marlo for coming along and making our Epcot day such a blast!! :cool1::goodvibes:hug:I loved chatting with you and I love your cute kiddos!!!:cutie:


It was super bright out...hard to get a good pic...

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By now it was close to 2:30 and I was hungry. I LOVE the bakery in Norway so I brought the girls in and we picked out a bunch of treats and a sandwich to share. They also have restrooms right there…so we washed up and sat down outside to enjoy the gorgeous day and relax. I love their little outdoor eating area there! The girls really loved the treats! Sarah had the chocolate mousse, I had the school bread, Devon got a piece of cake and Brooklyn picked the Strawberry waffle things. We shared a ham and cheese sandwich and a soda! Yummo is all I can say!!!

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It was now about 10 of 3. I asked the girls what they wanted to do. Choices were: 1. go home now; 2. do the Kim Possible Mission and go home; 3. tour a little more and go home; or 4. do the Kim possible; tour; then go home. They picked????? #4 of course. Apparently the stroller gave them lots of energy…plus it was such a nice day out…no heat or humidity…just a gentle sun and breeze…perfect temp…must have been about 78 degrees. So they weren’t tired. I tried calling DH but I couldn’t get service. I tried a couple of times too. I wanted to let him know what we were doing. So, we headed to get our Kim Possible phone and assignment.

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Ummmm excuse me .... but is Devon picking her nose??? :confused3




Continued in post below!
 
We were given Mexico! So back to Mexico we went. The mission was so cool…the phone took us around the pavilion and made the displays do cool stuff….being vague so I don’t ruin it for others. The girls had to share the phone and they did pretty well! We finished the mission around 3:15 pm.

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Then we decided to head around to the back of the World Showcase. As we were heading past "China at 2 pm" (….isn’t that the name of that pavilion?? lol )… we came upon the bridge and it was up! Who knew??? Aparently they bring the Illuminations barges in and out thru that draw bridge located between China and the Outpost. I took a few pics of it. We also chatted for a few minutes with a nice photopass photographer. She was headed with her equipment to a job!

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The bridge came down and I was crossing my fingers and toes that that Snow White would be in Germany. My disfriend Tom had made Devon the prettiest Snow White dress and Devon wanted to meet her in it! So we rounded the bend and she was there!!!! I about died! I asked the handler if we could get in line and she said yes! I threw the dress over Devon’s outfit and pulled the her Epcot Simply Sweet top off from underneath (it had tie straps on the shoulders). And whaalaaa…she was instantly a little Snow White! Well, we waited and Snow White did NOT disappoint. She talked just like Snow White…in a cute little princess voice!!! Oh my goodness….and she loved Devon’s dress…and the girls asked how the dwarfs were…she went on and on about how they were working in the diamond mine. Oh it was just so much fun. She signed the autograph book and posed for some pics!

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...and some photopass pics...


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Then our turn was over…the girls were thrilled and so was I! I don’t know about you …but in my mind I put a lot of pressure to find all of these characters for the girls to meet….I knew they were the perfect age and I would not be getting the chance back…who knows when we would be able to get back to Disney…certainly not for the next year or two and this was my only opportunity. I couldn’t believe it was working out!


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Well, that's all for now folks! Thanks for following along!!!
So what happens next??? Stay tuned for more updates!!! :surfweb:popcorn::
 
Thanks for a great day together! WE had so much fun!!!!!!!! I forgot how Devon seemed to love Nik. You got some wonderful pictures. I am so glad we got to share that day together.
 

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