Where did this heat and all these people come from? The new PTR/TR link 5/7

I love that your dad got picked! How funny! All of your pics really make me wish I had had more time to explore WS...theres always next time I guess!
 
How cute that your dad was picked! I love the street performers at WDW - they really enjoy their acts!

I would think that is a great job! Even though the skit is basically the same each time, the changing crowd and participants makes each act it's own

John and I also caught Romeo and Edna right after we had stopped at the gelato stand. You know the part where they "died" and everyone is supposed to gasp and throw their hands in the air. I just continued watching and eating my gelato. The guy pointed me out and said "That lady never stopped eating her gelato. She just stood their saying 'Oh look dead people. Man this gelato is fabulous'" It was hilarious.

:rotfl2: That is awesome!

That was cool your dad got picked for the show. I love all those little shows, we missed most of them this time, I had hoped to see more of them but it didn't work out that way. I really like spaceship Earth, although I miss the one where Walter Kronkite narrated, I thought he did a good job.

We missed them all in 2008 so it was my goal to catch them this time. I must confess we didn't actually pay attention to the schedule but lucked out in coming across them this time. There are still a few I might need to schedule next time because I still haven't seen the candy lady in Japan or the chair stackers in France!

How cool that your Dad got picked!! He looks like he is having a fabulous time. What a great memory. :goodvibes

It will be a story I'm sure I will tell my grandkids when I take them to Disney!

What fun for you to see your dad do this!
You know he is in the pictures and video of a lot of people now - a star in his own right.
Cool World Showcase button, too. :thumbsup2

I hadn't even thought about that. I can just imagine..."then instead of the 13 year old kid desperately trying to volunteer, she picked this old guy!" :laughing:

This is fantastic!! I am really enjoying your pics and video. I recently bought a Kodak Playsport video camera, and I can't wait to take it on our trip! I hope we get a chance to video some magic of our own.

I don't have a separate video camera but periodically use the movie mode on my regular camera. Hopefully you will capture some fun memories!

What a hoot that your dad was chosen to play Romeo!!! I love it!!! :lmao:

I was great fun to watch him!

What a great memory for you and your dad! So fun!! You should try searching for it on youtube. Maybe someone recorded it and your mom could see it!

I agree, it's not a trip to Epcot without Spaceship Earth!! Glad you got to Soar again too.

Great photopass pictures!!

Surprisingly, Mom didn't seem to bummed about missing it :confused3

Soarin and SE were a great ending to a fun day!

That is TOO funny!! :rotfl2:

::yes::

I love that your dad got picked for "Romeo and Edna"--it is one of my favorite shows at Epcot. And it looks like your dad had a great time (and I love the "butt checking" picture).

Sounds like yet another great day.

I wish I could remember why she did that :confused3 It was another great day of what was a great trip!
 
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Katie: what a great end to your Epcot day! Loved all the pictures of your Dad as Romeo!

I'm so glad Mom and Dad were able to join us for the day! Mom had missed Epcot completely on our last trip and she was excited for F&G and exploring WS!

Awww that is so special that your Dad got picked!!! Love his button too! Can't say there are too many of them floating around out there!!
Great PP pictures too....really like the one of all four of you at the exit/entrance.

Tracy

I wonder if he kept that button? You are right, not something a large population of people earn!

The PP pics turned out well but I must confess to love how the boarders can hide less desireable parts (Don't like how your bu## looks? Just cover it with a flower or Mickey's ear! :lmao:)

Very cool that your dad got picked for the worldshow case show. He looks like a bit of a ham.....:rotfl: good for him!

Enjoyed your update and your pictures. Bummer that you had trouble to talking to your kids via skype. That must have been so frustrating.

Dad is a fun guy for sure! I knew she had made a good choice when he was picked :thumbsup2

I had promised to skype 2 times with them during the week and yes, spending all the time on the phone with tech support wasn't what I had expected but it worked out in the end!

You got some really beautiful pictures around World Showcase before your dinner at Biergarten! Speaking of which...YUM! I've never eaten there, and I'm not generally a fan of buffets, but I'd really like to give it a try.

So cool that your Dad got picked for the show! He played right along and was such a good sport! :rotfl: I'm glad the computer issue got worked out and you could chat with your kids. :goodvibes

I'm the same way about buffets but this was an exceptional one! If the food is your style, it's worth a visit!

Yeah, I do, and I agree, my issues are effected more visually than they are from the actual feel of motion - strange! I had to close my eyes some during the Canada film and I think it really would have helped if I could've sat down.

I love that your dad got picked to be Romeo! He may say it was embarrassing, but he certainly looked like he was having a good time :thumbsup2

The last time I went to an IMAX film I about lost it! I was wanting to watch is so bad but I wasn't sure I was going to keep down my lunch, very disappointing!

Even if he was embarassed, he had a great time I know!
 
That is so cool about your Dad and it's great that you took the video to show Shelby and your mom.

Fantastic end to the Epcot day! :thumbsup2

I was so excited when he was chosen!

I have a short write up in one of my trip reports about why the circle vision movies will bother me more than, say, Soarin'. Basically, it's the disconnect between perceived motion vs actual motion. With Soarin' there is less disconnect, therefore, it messes less with your mind.

Oh I totally agree! I have an inner ear condition and in order to diagnose it, I had to have these tests done where they tried to make me dizzy then measured which things made me the most dizzy. Basically I was in a darkened room with a variety of moving lights that I had to follow with my eyes :crazy2: I'll take Mission Space orange side any day over that!

How cool that your dad got picked as Romeo! He looked like he was enjoying every minute of it! :thumbsup2

Great photopass picture!

I think despite his embarassment, he did enjoy his moment in the spotlight!

Thanks :goodvibes

Your dad is just too cute! Great update.

He really is! ::yes::

How fun!!! Your Dad looks like he was having a blast! What a wonderful memory and a perfect way to end the day at Epcot.

And a very nice ending to the day with Skype and an early night. :thumbsup2

This happens to me too - your brain thinks you are moving, but your body isn't, so the "balancer" in your brain (I believe the cerebellum?) kidna freaks out and you get sick. I haven't tired one of the movies at Epcot yet....I mostly get sick in the car for the same reason though.

I always think I will want to go go go on vacation but the truth is, I like quiet evenings at home more than hectic ones so I don't know why it's so hard to let myself have one when away from home!

I don't get carsick and this trip was the first time I ever had problems on the flight. I can ride just about any ride without long term effects (the teacups take me a few minutes to recover from but it's totally worth it!) but any visual that surrounds me without movement to support that will get me everytime!

I love that your dad got picked! How funny! All of your pics really make me wish I had had more time to explore WS...theres always next time I guess!

I do love WS and taking time to just wander (trust me, it's MUCH easier without kids it tow!)

Your dad is so cute! Great pictures and what a great sport....looked like he was having a ball:banana:

Yeah, he claimed it was embarassing but through it all, I think he loved it!!
 
Intermission – our mini vacation to Wisconsin

Sorry things have slowed down with my TR! The end of the summer approaches and we are busy trying to squeeze in things we want to do for fun, things we need to finish around the house before heading back to school and of course preparing for school to begin.

I promise to return to my Disney trip soon but thought I would share our little family getaway we managed to take. We only had a 5 day window in our calendar to take so we needed to go someplace relatively close to home. We discussed Omaha or Minneapolis but in the end, the boys really liked the idea of returning to Wisconsin Dells (we had a 2 day visit there last summer and had a lot of fun)

As I researched a bit about southwestern Wisconsin, I discovered a town nicknamed “little Switzerland”. Greg and I went to the real Switzerland in 1999 before we had kids and absolutely loved the alps, the culture and the food! I couldn’t resist the idea of making this town our lunch stop. We rolled into town right around noon and our first stop was at one of the few restaurants open for lunch

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We sat upstairs in the enclosed patio, it was very charming and I thought quite authentic in its décor.

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I was really excited to find my favorite dish on the menu, roesti (hash brown potatoes smothered in cheese, my favorite is covered with bacon and fried onions). I’m sorry to say it wasn’t nearly as good as what I had in ’99…guess I’m going to have to return! We wandered the “town center”, a very European concept, looking though the gift shops, bakery and I HAD to stop at the cheese and chocolate haus!!

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2 of the most perfect foods highlighted in 1 spot...YUMMINESS!! After leaving New Glarus, we headed over toward Madison to a suburb to visit a place Greg wanted to stop – the mustard museum. In reality, Greg wanted to visit the gift shop to pick up some things from their mustard college - - Poupon U! while Greg shopped, the boys and I looked around. They thought it was a very strange stop

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When we got back on the road, we were on our way to the Dells at last. We checked into our hotel and in a strange twist, ended up in the exact same room we were in last year! What are the chances? After hauling our luggage in, we made our way across the street to a restaurant that Daniel was anxious to try, Buffalo Phils

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Like much of the Dells, it has a very kitchy, touristy vibe but they have a “train room” and Daniel was so excited about this.

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There were 2 trains that made their way around the room, often just coming to visit with various friends in tow

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But it also delivered drinks, food and the check at the end of the meal

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It was really fun to watch and the boys just loved it! We picked the right night too because it was free bowling night so we took advantage

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The next day arrived with the goal of getting to the theme park early. This was something we learned last year, since our hotel included admission to the park each day, we arrived first thing in the morning then left after a few hours when it started to get crowded. Today’s plan included go-carts

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Kiddie coasters

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tea cups

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and other assorted rides. We left when the kids started to get tired of walking and went for a late lunch then back to the hotel to spend the afternoon at the pool. The hotel had a really nice pool with a couple slides and other water features as well as a regular pool and hot tub, a good way to spend a hot afternoon! We then got dressed and decided to go mini golfing where Patrick got his first hole in one (and his second too!)

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It was a very pretty course and we had a lot of fun

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We went for a small dinner then back to the hotel for the night

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The next morning we repeated the same as the day before…up early and at the parks for more go-carts

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And lots of kiddie rides

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After lunch, our afternoon activity of choice was a ride on the famous Wisconsin Ducks. For those not in-the-know, these are amphibious vehicles first used by the Army in WWII. There are a couple companies that run tours using their fleets of ducks. I wasn’t too excited about this choice at first but the boys really wanted to do it. It turns out, that the hour long tour had a very Jungle Cruise feel to it. Lots of corny jokes (or maybe since it’s Wisconsin, I should say cheesy ;) ) Our first view was of these statues originally on a building in Chicago that was, as our guide suggested, redecorated by dynamite. Some local guy bought them and now they line the duck path

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We saw a few local critters. At first I was surprised they weren’t scared of the noisy machines rumbling through the woods but I realized they are like the ducks at Disney…born and raised there and don’t know any different.

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We travelled through fern gully

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And made our first water landing for a trip down the Wisconsin river.

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The sandstone cliffs and trees really make this a beautiful stretch

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You can see we shared the river with lots of tubes and canoes also

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I took this picture thinking it was interesting but not understanding its significance until later in the tour.

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It was directly across from this break in the trees. Remember these pictures later

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A rock geek picture highlighting the cross bedding and weathering patterns

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We made land and climbed up the hill next to this dam which holds back a recreational lake

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Then made our second water landing, this time it was a wet one!!

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Poor Daniel had fallen asleep during our river trip and was awoken quite cruelly by that landing! We were told this is actually someone’s home.

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We circled around this end of the lake and saw the other side of that break in the trees (you can see that odd sandy shoreline on the opposite side of this photo

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That’s when we were told the story of June 9, 2008 (interestingly, the first day of our family vacation to Disney) After a couple weeks of intense rain, the lake had become quite swollen and this is the point where the land gave out and the lake drained away into the river below (thus the lack of trees on the other side of the road and the scoured shoreline on the opposite side) The event took out a part of this road and several houses lining the shore of the lake but the levee and road were rebuilt and the lake refilled over time.

We were also told of a local woman who lived in this home along the lake

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She loved the natural beauty of the area and worked hard to preserve it. She owned a great deal of land and wanted it kept in its natural state for others to enjoy. The company that runs these ducks bought her land with the promise to maintain the land and all the trails the ducks run on were old stage roads and trails already made through the woods.

We crossed the road then turned back though the forest paralleling the river we had just travelled down then back up through several canyons named for famous Indians who had lived in the area before the land was taken over by settlers

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We also passed through these woods that we were told had been cut down and replanted by that same local woman (I always get a kick out of the straight rows of replanted woods)

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After our tour, we did a little shopping in the downtown area but only bought edible souvenirs. We also spent a little more time at the hotel pool. After dinner that night, we decided to go to the outlet mall where our first stop was…

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The Disney store!!!!

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I tried to get Greg to buy this shirt but he insisted that he is NOT Grumpy (OK, if you say so)

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They were ready for the back to school shopping crowd

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We spent a lot of time in here, bought some shirts, stuffed animals, antenna toppers and a coffee mug. We even got an additional 10% off when we used our Disney visa…yay! After shopping, we spent a little time at the inside pool of the hotel then called it a night. The next day we woke to rain so we slept in, did a bit more shopping then enjoyed an early lunch.

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I got such a kick out of these delivery cars. They had a couple cars with large moose on top but they also had these smaller ones with jr. moose

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Check out this bit of info…very cool!

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Are you sensing a theme here?

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After lunch, we headed back to the theme park. No pictures this day however because this was the day we chose the water side of the park. We spent a number of hours riding water slides, floating in the lazy river and enjoying the wave pool. It was a warm and humid afternoon so a perfect day to stay wet!

Our evening concluded with another round of mini golf

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And two worn out boys

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The following day, on our way home, we stopped at a cheese factory where we got fresh squeaky cheese curds and a few other yummies to take with us. We also passed this field of sunflowers that just brought a smile to my face on a beautiful summer morning

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I promise to return to your regularly scheduled TR soon!!
 
Your mini vacation looks like it was a blast!!! What fun.

Your boys are growing up so fast, they look so much bigger than the last pictures I saw of them, or at least remember seeing of them.
 
Hey there Katie!!! :hug: What a fun trip to the Dells :goodvibes I love the mustard vending machine....must admit I never knew one existed!!! The picture of your son with the jar of mustard cracks me up :laughing: That look on his face!!
The duck looked like it was a fun tour and you saw some pretty cool sights. Ferngully :rotfl2:
Oh my and those Moose beetles!!! Could you imagine having to drive one?!! I would be mortified sitting at a traffic light!! :rotfl:
What a beautiful field of sunflowers...made me smile too!! :)

Tracy
 
What a fun vacation to the Wisconsin Dells!!! I love how the boys crashed every night -- that's a sure sign you have packed in lots of great times! :thumbsup2
 
Thanks for sharing Katie. I now know where I'm going to visit if I'm ever in Wisconsin!

The little switzerland looks cute and I love the shot of the sunflowers.
 
Awwww Katie - that was such an awesome update.

It was great to see pictures of your boys. They are really growing, but they are still such cute little boys. And they look like they had an absolute blast.

Mustard Museum????? Are you kidding???? I had no idea there was such a thing, but I love mustard so I am positive I could have found a few to take home. Love the mustard dispenser.

The duck tour was very interesting. I have never done one of those and it looks like a lot of fun.

Ummmmm....not so sure about the moose on the top of the delivery cars. Now that is different. The whole biobug concept is very cool.

Thanks for posting such a great minitrip report. Loved it. I will probably never get to Wisconsin, so its so fun for this east coast gal to experience sights from the middle of our country. Nice job!
 
What a great mini-trip! I haven't read responses, so this may have already been said, but I think someone else, possibly Brook, has been on that same duck/boat tour and reported about it. Very cool! :thumbsup2

Thank you for the pictures of the Disney Store. How thrilling to see Disney coffee mugs and plush animals in their neat little rows again! :woohoo:

Every time I see those two precious boys of yours I think almost out loud, 'What a lucky and blessed girl she is!', because they are just so flippin' cute!

I am so glad you guys were able to do this before school gets started. Thanks so much for sharing, and enjoy today with your family, Katie. :)
 
Great mini TR. We also did a duck tour once, but it looks like you did a different one.....do you happen to remember which one you did? We may go back over labor day weekend with the kids.

Thanks.

KIM
 
I loved your mini-TR, of course!! :goodvibes I had NO idea Wisconsin had a mustard museum (or university :rolleyes:). The vending machine was a bit....different. But after-all, it IS Wisconsin. :laughing:

Beautiful pictures of the Dells along the river too! Took me right back to our trip.

Look familiar?

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:rotfl:

The following day, on our way home, we stopped at a cheese factory where we got fresh squeaky cheese curds

DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! Nothing beats SQUEAKY cheese curds!!! :yay:

What a great mini-trip! I haven't read responses, so this may have already been said, but I think someone else, possibly Brook, has been on that same duck/boat tour and reported about it. Very cool! :thumbsup2

We took a similar tour, ours wasn't on the Ducks though - just a regular boat. But, it did go along some of the same scenery on the river!
 
Katie, love your update (sorry I'm late...Mark had a company event last night and I was trying to post pics from that to my PTR). Love all the photos of your boys and the fun they had at the Dells (we have lived in Chicago all of our lives and have NEVER been to the Dells).
 
Love the mini trip update from the Dells. The only time I have been up in that neck of the world was for a Waterpark seminar in a snow storm!
It is good to see all that beautiful green!
 

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