~~ Sew your Disney side Alli-son-son!! ~~ Allison's grad trip Jan 2016 ~~ Complete 2/22

[andera42]

Ok the food pics look great! I must be hungry... The sandwiches and bread in Norway are going on the "must try" list. I have been to the Wave for dinner, but breakfast looks like the meal to go for. BTW I am loving all your pics!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Nice on the free hot chocolate! I can't really get my head wrapped around a cold WDW. We have only been in August / early September. It was a little chilly in the evenings at DL when we went in April, but nothing I would call cold. I am not designed for cold.

 

[ALEXandFAB]

What a great trip so far! Well, except for the pinkie accident and the cold temps .

How frustrating that the nurse couldn't triage over the phone. I love that your daughter isn't letting anything bring her down though and that you're both having such a wonderful time .

Looking forward to more!

 

[kpearl]

I am loving your TR! It looks like you and your daughter had such a fun time I absolutely love your bags! Do you sell them on Etsy or another site by any chance? I would love to have one for my trip this September. My DF and I are celebrating our honeymoon with 2 weeks in Dis!

 

[Sweetly]

Trying to catch up!! I completely forgot that you were going to be doing another TR. I have much to catch up, but so far the trip looks amazing; as usual! Hope Alli's nail/finger is doing better.
You made me hungry with the food photos; Tusker House, BOG. Crystal Palce....YUM!!! Things are slowly getting better here. Back to catching up on some reading.

 

[Terkina]

Ordering your food in advance for BoG sounds like a very good idea. How great that you didn't have to stay in that very long line for long.
Looks like you had a really good time in Magic Kingdom and a lot of fun in the photobooths

 

[Gracefulskinny]

. The line? Oh... Thaaaaaat line? The one that extends across the bridge and into the castle as far as our eyes can see... That line? Yup... Sigh. So, we stood there for a minute or so - not moving...

Isn't pre ordering supposed to save you from that line?

When we got back to the resort, I called the clinic at home about Allison's finger. After a lengthy conversation with the triage nurse, she informed me that she "couldn't triage me, because we were out of the state"... What? No way. Um ~ OK ~ now what? She told me that she could pass a message on to Allison's Dr. and Allison's Dr. could triage... Alrighty - then pass a note on to her Dr. please...

How frustrating!

A few minutes later, he was back with hot chocolates for both Allison and I. It was super nice and boy was it good... Warmed up my fingers too. Awesome Pixie Dust!

Yay for wonderful Pixie Dust!

Then we did the Tomorrowland Speedway... Allison is a sucky driver - for the record.

Pretty sure its the track that is jerky! I had trouble keeping that thing straight back in may as well.

A Then & Now for you all - from 2003 (the last time we rode this)... Allison was 5 here...

Aww!

 

[Ladyfish77]

Allison is a sucky driver - for the record.

Somehow I don't think anyone isn't a sucky driver in those cars!

I knew right where the photobooths were in MK

Please do share. I think I read in your last report there's one in the dump shop of Space Mountain--is that correct? Where are the others, I didn't know they existed until you mentioned them!!!

I too thought it was weird that the nurse couldn't triage over the phone. That's exactly who does the phone triages for tricare (military medical care).

Sorry it was so cold for your trip, but otherwise sounds like a great trip!!! I've got a super secret trip in the planning, since things are crazy at work I have no idea if I will even be able to go. Hopefully I can figure it out before the FP scheduling dates. I'm doing a room only package and will buy the park tickets when I get a better idea that we will actually be able to go!

 

[JoeyEmmaMomma]

Your Then and Now pictures on the Speedway.

 

[IowaTater]

Ahh..finally caught up on the TR. Every time I saw a picture on your FB, I had to look away so I would be surprised when I read your TR. lol

I'm glad Allison did so well with her wisdom teeth but ouch on the nail!! When I first heard about it, I was thinking the acrylic nail had been ripped off, not the whole stinking thing!

SOG looks like a beautiful resort! It will never be an option for me to stay there but that's okay because I do love my MDE. You guys have done excellent with the transportation stuff so far.

So many DISmeets!! I love it. I'm hoping our trip in October is like that.

 

[Iamthequeen]

Somehow I don't think anyone isn't a sucky driver in those cars!

This is good to know! I thought it was me....

 

[jandlinz]

Your CP pictures are the cutest! Allison's smile lights up the room, even with a hurt finger! I love the speedway picture before and now! In Allison's defense, if I remember, they are hard to drive. Although I was letting my little guy drive so I don't have much to go on.

 

[kittylady1972]

So I have finally made my way back to the DIS again and I have read through all of your TR so far. Loving it of course! So glad you enjoyed SOG as I thought you would. We have only stayed there 3 times now but we always rent a car so only used the buses once I think...and it was from the TTC. Your tip is great since i agree that walk to/from the Poly always seems extra long by about day two! I didn't even know there was food on the lower level of SOG until our 3rd trip there since I hadn't bothered to wander to the bus area before. Once I did discover it we found the breakfast sandwiches and muffins quite good there and a great way to start our mornings. My kids enjoyed getting hot chocolate from Starbucks of course.

Can't wait to read more. Really makes we want to go back but I am sure Thanksgiving will be here soon enough. Actually next up will be a trip to Universal I hope in June so can't wait to hear about your time there.

 

[Dis*Mom]

Thank you - I am so glad you enjoyed reading... You read my *whole PTR* - WOW!!!! Major kudos to you!!!! That is awesome!

This trip -and the one I am taking with V in October, well - it was just awesome! That one on one time together was really relaxing and enjoyable!

Well, SoG is not Disney like in any way, shape, or form... So, if you want to stay there - and you really feel like you want more Disney in your trip - SoG probably isn't the place for you. That being said... To me - it is perfectly fine. Do I miss the hidden Mickey's in my bedspread - meh, not really... but I do enjoy seeing them there when I stay on a WDW property. However - it seems that Disney itself is pulling some of that sort of thing out of their resorts anyways. The CMs are fantastic - absolutely fantastic... To me - they seem much more relaxed and much more enjoyable to work with... They even have Disney CM shaped name tags with the SoG logo - so Disney, but not. The resort itself - it's beautiful, and now that I know which part is old and which part is new - I am even more impressed with the DoD's attention to detail - some of my favorite parts of the resort I thought were Disney, are actually new and from when the DoD did the huge expansion. Does it fell military in any way - no... But the people are more respectful, it seems and less likely to shove you out of their way to get places. LOL My suggestion to you... Take a long trip to Disney - and either on the front end or the back end of your trip (I haven't decided which would be best), stay a few nights at SoG - try it out. I would think that one night would be too little, same with 2 nights - but I think 3 nights would be a good number to give it a try? We really enjoyed their transportation system... We found the drop off/pick up locations to be better than Disney - and we loved that there was a set time to pick up - so we knew ahead of time whether we had to hurry or not - rather than that endless waiting and being passed by with 4 other buses to the same park. IMO - the only thing that SoG lacks is a good eating establishment - in all fairness, we did NOT try any of them out on this last trip - only the Java Cafe... But we were totally able to use the Disney properties and resorts to eat - and we didn't feel like it was a burden at all, we just knew if we wanted food in our room - to either stop on the way back from the park, or grab something in the gift shop - which was VERY well stocked with food (Way better than any WDW resort - including DVC - that I've seen).

Phew! I hope I didn't overwhelm you... But for ~$100/night on average - you just cannot beat the location and room size


D~

Thank you so much for this information. Seriously considering a stay here

 

[WDW2012]

I have been away from the DIS since before the holidays So I have a LOT of catching up to do!! You look fabulous! So sorry about Allison's nail, although admittedly I could not read the whole thing! I do hope it does not turn into an issue for the rest of the trip. Glad you had a good interaction with Donald. My dd loves him and had a great time at Tusker House once. Must catch up on your other reports....

 

[hisgal2]

The CM (Nial) working there was chatting with us - I told him that my fingers were so cold, even with wearing gloves, he felt my finger tips and agreed... A few minutes later, he was back with hot chocolates for both Allison and I. It was super nice and boy was it good... Warmed up my fingers too. Awesome Pixie Dust!



We did a few Photopass pictures on the way out... Most of these photos turned out awful.



D~​

I have loved reading your TR. I also sew and have started sewing AG clothes for my daughter and her friend. My mother in law actually collects those little Singers. I sew with a Bernina, but I would love to find room for my treadle machine...I LOVE that thing! It's soo quiet!

We also had a wonderful Pixie Dust moment at Pecos Bills. My kids (ages 7 and 8....I know you said your kids are close in age...mine are 11 months apart) were splitting an adult meal and had agreed on sharing a strawberry lemonade slush. My husband also ordered a slush with his meal. As we went to the counter to wait for our food, a wonderful lady came up to the counter, looked at the receipt, looked at my 2 kids and said "and who would these 2 slushies be for?". My 7 year old boy answered "My sister and I are sharing one and the other is for Dad". The lady quickly replied with a "that's great!" and turned around to get our drinks. When she returned, she had not 2, but 3 slushies in her hands!! She placed the 3 slushies and my Coke onto the tray and said "You were soo polite, I decided you should both get your own", popped a Mickey straw into each of the kids' slushies, winked, and turned around for our food. It was such a lovely surprise!

Also, we had Photopass pictures taken in front of the castle at night and there were also awful. They really need to work on those! Our pictures turned out really dark. I think his shutter speed was set too fast for how dark it was.

 

[DMGeurts]

Loving your TR and all the great pictures! You 2 are very photogenic. I feel your pain on the cold temps. My son and I went in Dec. one year. The forecast was sunny and mid-70's. A cold front came thru and they had record setting low temperatures! It got below freezing one night and the next day they were replanting some of the flower beds. I had to buy a jacket and wore my 1 pair of jeans every day. I think if I had to choose, I'd go with hot and humid Your before/after pictures are amazing - you look like a different person!

Thank you - I am glad you are enjoying our TR... We had a lot of fun on this trip!.

It's hard when the cold ruins the fun - LOL - usually I am strategically planning my days to keep cool - this time it was the other way around, at least - even though the goal is different the same plan works for either scenario. LOL

Thank you - it's a constant battle, one I still fight daily... Right now, I am trying to get all the size off from my Nov trip/Christmas/January trip... Thankfully - I was really good in between these events, but I still have a pair of jeans that I can't get buttoned - so more work must be done.

Long time reader of your TRs, finally chiming in!

Mother daughter trips are always awesome! It's great to see you get to take both your daughters on a one-on-one trip!

Being cold in disney is never fun! Last January it was so cold and windy, that I found myself skipping a lot of my usual must dos in favor of more time in the hotel where it was warm. I made great use of the fireplaces at the WL that trip.

Hi there! Welcome!

I know - we had so much fun and it was just a memorable trip with Allison, I cannot wait to take V in a few months. She is already knee deep in her planning. I am so looking forward to this trip with her too!

Yes - me too... I just wanted to go back to the resort to warm up... And it felt like such a waste of our vacation sometimes - but we had a good time and we did maximize our park time as much as we could - I don't feel like we missed out on anything really.

Hahaha - yah - I bet those fireplaces were awesome! I should have used the one at our resort more often.

Love your pre park pictures!
And congrats on your weight loss; you look awesome.

Thanks - they turned out pretty good. I'll have to photoshop that crane out at some point.

Thanks - I still have a lot of work to do - as I have gained a lot of size in the last 3 months with 2 trips and Christmas... but I am working diligently on it - and I hope to lose more size on top of that.

Haha!! I was thinking the exact same thing! I've been in August, and I've been in December. No happy medium!

The pictures from CP look lovely! It's been so long since I've eaten there, I can barely remember! It's a must do for next time!

I dunno - Suzi and I couldn't have asked for more perfect weather in November - it was crazy beautiful.

It was so fun - CP is a must do for us... I hope V chooses it for her upcoming trip... She has a few others she is wrestling with though. - so we'll see?

Whew...all caught up! You girls look like you are having such a great time. That fingernail, though. OUCH! Growing up down there, I do remember that January is so hit or miss with the weather! I can definitely say, I do not envy you being there in the COLD. Me no like cold.

Welcome back - we had a great time! Yah - thankfully it didn't wreck our trip, but we sure could have done with out all the pain and hassle of it.

Yah - the cold really took me by surprise... Even some of my friends here now give me crap about it - which is really annoying... It was seriously COLD. If there ever is a next time- I will be more prepared! LOL

I so wanted cold weather when we went in Dec but we got nice warm weather. It was still hot in Va when we went down. I know the next to times I go its going to be sweating hot weather when we go.

Yah - at Christmas time, this would have been the perfect weather for down there... But - as a winter break for me, I really wanted warmer weather. LOL At least I only have about 6 weeks left of the worst of winter... I noticed last night, at 6pm, there was still a bit of light left in the sky - so the days are starting to get longer again... I love that!

Your trip looks so fun so far -- but I'm sorry Allison's finger was still bothering her and that you were cold. It's not fun to be cold at Disney!

Thanks - we had a great time, despite Allison's nail and the cold. The cold was chilly during the day - but at night, that was the worst, without the sun - it got cold fast!

Ok the food pics look great! I must be hungry... The sandwiches and bread in Norway are going on the "must try" list. I have been to the Wave for dinner, but breakfast looks like the meal to go for. BTW I am loving all your pics!

Hahaha... Yah - disney food is so good!

Yes - you must try the school bread - that is something I wish I would have tried years ago!

And breakfast at the Wave too... I've never eaten there for any other meal - are they pretty good?

Thanks! We have a lot of fun finding Photopass photographers!

Nice on the free hot chocolate! I can't really get my head wrapped around a cold WDW. We have only been in August / early September. It was a little chilly in the evenings at DL when we went in April, but nothing I would call cold. I am not designed for cold.

Yah - it definitely hit the spot!

I know - before this trip - I never could have imagined cold in FL either. LOL Took me by total surprise!

Living in MN- I tolerate it, but I don't have much choice and well - even having an opinion on it doesn't make a difference... but to be honest - I hate the cold a lot, and I think I'd do best in a mid-climate state. If one exists? LOL

What a great trip so far! Well, except for the pinkie accident and the cold temps

How frustrating that the nurse couldn't triage over the phone. I love that your daughter isn't letting anything bring her down though and that you're both having such a wonderful time :

Looking forward to more!

Thanks - I am glad you are enjoying it! We had a lot of fun!

Yes - that was a little frustrating... Esp when the Dr. didn't call back. Sigh. But Allison just sucked it up and trudged on - I was proud of her.

I am looking forward to sharing the rest of the trip!

I am loving your TR! It looks like you and your daughter had such a fun time I absolutely love your bags! Do you sell them on Etsy or another site by any chance? I would love to have one for my trip this September. My DF and I are celebrating our honeymoon with 2 weeks in Dis!

Thank you! Sorry - I am not allowed to discuss my business on The Dis at all. I hope you understand.

Congratulations on celebrating your honeymoon.... Does this also mean you are getting married very soon? And how fun to be having your honeymoon in Disney - I would have loved that!

Trying to catch up!! I completely forgot that you were going to be doing another TR. I have much to catch up, but so far the trip looks amazing; as usual! Hope Alli's nail/finger is doing better.
You made me hungry with the food photos; Tusker House, BOG. Crystal Palce....YUM!!! Things are slowly getting better here. Back to catching up on some reading.

Welcome back Lynee!!! How are you doing?

Yes - her nail is doing much better now. Hehehe... Yes - Disney food is good, it's funny how a person craves it when they are away - but towards the end of trips, I get so sick of it, I can hardly eat anymore. LOL

It's great to see you back!!!

Ordering your food in advance for BoG sounds like a very good idea. How great that you didn't have to stay in that very long line for long.
Looks like you had a really good time in Magic Kingdom and a lot of fun in the photobooths

Yes - it was a great idea - I am glad we did it, and I'll do it again next time, if V wants to eat there.

We did have a lot of fun - despite the cold.

Isn't pre ordering supposed to save you from that line?

How frustrating!

Yay for wonderful Pixie Dust!

: Pretty sure its the track that is jerky! I had trouble keeping that thing straight back in may as well.

Aww!

Yup - we only stood in that line for about 2 min before the CM brought us to the front of it.

Yes - it's so fun when Pixie Dust is distributed.

Hahaha - maybe? LOL... I can tell you - considering that she has her driver's license now, and she didn't when she last drove that car when she was 5... If memory serves correctly - she didn't do much better now than she did then. LOL

Somehow I don't think anyone isn't a sucky driver in those cars!


Please do share. I think I read in your last report there's one in the dump shop of Space Mountain--is that correct? Where are the others, I didn't know they existed until you mentioned them!!!

I too thought it was weird that the nurse couldn't triage over the phone. That's exactly who does the phone triages for tricare (military medical care).

Sorry it was so cold for your trip, but otherwise sounds like a great trip!!! I've got a super secret trip in the planning, since things are crazy at work I have no idea if I will even be able to go. Hopefully I can figure it out before the FP scheduling dates. I'm doing a room only package and will buy the park tickets when I get a better idea that we will actually be able to go!

Hahahaha - maybe? LOL

Yup - it's in the dump shop of Space Mountain... There are 2 photo booths there, one is hooked to Photopass, and the other is not... So, just look for the logo on the booth. When we were there - both in Nov and Jan - if you are looking at the booths - it's the one on the right. Ariana found one in another park - but I can't remember where it was?

Yah - that's what I thought too... She said she couldn't triage, becuase if she recommended that we needed to come in - we couldn't come in. But if she recommended that we go to urgent care (or whatever) couldn't we have just gone to a local one? I don't get it... Since DH is retired though - we are no longer on Tricare, we just have regular federal government medical insurance.

Yes - the cold was an unexpected bummer, but there are worse things - so we powered through... Sometimes looking a bit ridiculous, but oh well. LOL

How exciting!!!! That would be awesome if you could pull it off!!! I hope you are able to get everything!

Your Then and Now pictures on the Speedway.

Awwww... Thanks!!! I miss them being little so much! I'd love to have it back.

Ahh..finally caught up on the TR. Every time I saw a picture on your FB, I had to look away so I would be surprised when I read your TR. lol

I'm glad Allison did so well with her wisdom teeth but ouch on the nail!! When I first heard about it, I was thinking the acrylic nail had been ripped off, not the whole stinking thing!

SOG looks like a beautiful resort! It will never be an option for me to stay there but that's okay because I do love my MDE. You guys have done excellent with the transportation stuff so far.

So many DISmeets!! I love it. I'm hoping our trip in October is like that.

Hahaha... Sorry - I love sharing my trips there too!

Yes - she has had to refine her trooper skills lately - but she did great! Yah - it was the whole thing! Poor kid. When she was crying on EE - I thought the same thing - until she was like "Mom!!! It's the whole thing!!!!!" And then I saw the blood. I cannot imagine how painful that was for her!

It is a beautiful resort - and I am still so impressed that some of my favorite things about it were not added by Disney. When it was owned by Disney - it was a rather boring resort, by deluxe standards anyways... At least by any pictures I can find on the internet. I do love that ME is free - but now that I've done both - and so close together, so I feel like I can do a pretty accurate comparison... I'd much prefer the town car. It was just so slick!

Thanks - it took us a couple of days to figure out transportation - but once we did, it was a breeze. It will be so much easier now with V's trip.

I love doing Dismeets - they are so much fun! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Sadly - I only met one new Diser this time - it would have been fun to meet more, I find that I coordinate most of my Dismeets through FB planning groups - and the January one wasn't very active until people started taking their trips - so I really didn't get the opportunity to set any up. Maybe the Oct board will be better?

This is good to know! I thought it was me....

LOL Nope.

Your CP pictures are the cutest! Allison's smile lights up the room, even with a hurt finger! I love the speedway picture before and now! In Allison's defense, if I remember, they are hard to drive. Although I was letting my little guy drive so I don't have much to go on.

Thank you - I like to think so too! She cracks me up, that's for sure!

Hahaha... Well, I can't say there was much difference between her driving skills at 5 vs. 17, LOL And she is a licensed driver now... So maybe there is something with the cars/track? LOL

So I have finally made my way back to the DIS again and I have read through all of your TR so far. Loving it of course! So glad you enjoyed SOG as I thought you would. We have only stayed there 3 times now but we always rent a car so only used the buses once I think...and it was from the TTC. Your tip is great since i agree that walk to/from the Poly always seems extra long by about day two! I didn't even know there was food on the lower level of SOG until our 3rd trip there since I hadn't bothered to wander to the bus area before. Once I did discover it we found the breakfast sandwiches and muffins quite good there and a great way to start our mornings. My kids enjoyed getting hot chocolate from Starbucks of course.

Can't wait to read more. Really makes we want to go back but I am sure Thanksgiving will be here soon enough. Actually next up will be a trip to Universal I hope in June so can't wait to hear about your time there.

Yes - we loved SoG so much!!! V still really wants to stay at FQ - but I trumped her, I just can't justify the cost when there are so many trips to pay for... Must get the most bang for my buck!

Yes - that walk is OK once in a while - and it's not a bad walk. But I am always conscious about the people with me now, and even though I might have the endurance to do it - many people don't. So, I am glad I found an easier route.

Both Evergreens and that little cafe area by the buses were totally closed while we were there... both being remodeled heavily. I sure hope that means they will be bringing Evergreens back to their full menu glory.... It would be so nice to be able to sit down at the resort and have a decent hamburger with fries after a long park day.

Universal was awesome! Have you been there before? If not - Pinterest was a wealth of information - I learned all i really needed to know in a few hours.

Thank you so much for this information. Seriously considering a stay here

You should! It was a great resort... Not Disney, but in a way it is. It's so close to everything - you'd really never know.

I have been away from the DIS since before the holidays So I have a LOT of catching up to do!! You look fabulous! So sorry about Allison's nail, although admittedly I could not read the whole thing! I do hope it does not turn into an issue for the rest of the trip. Glad you had a good interaction with Donald. My dd loves him and had a great time at Tusker House once. Must catch up on your other reports....

Welcome back!!!

Thank you!

Yah - that was a rough injury! She was sure a trooper though!

We loved that we had a good M&G with Donald - that's pretty rare for me, so it kind of made my day!

I have loved reading your TR. I also sew and have started sewing AG clothes for my daughter and her friend. My mother in law actually collects those little Singers. I sew with a Bernina, but I would love to find room for my treadle machine...I LOVE that thing! It's soo quiet!

We also had a wonderful Pixie Dust moment at Pecos Bills. My kids (ages 7 and 8....I know you said your kids are close in age...mine are 11 months apart) were splitting an adult meal and had agreed on sharing a strawberry lemonade slush. My husband also ordered a slush with his meal. As we went to the counter to wait for our food, a wonderful lady came up to the counter, looked at the receipt, looked at my 2 kids and said "and who would these 2 slushies be for?". My 7 year old boy answered "My sister and I are sharing one and the other is for Dad". The lady quickly replied with a "that's great!" and turned around to get our drinks. When she returned, she had not 2, but 3 slushies in her hands!! She placed the 3 slushies and my Coke onto the tray and said "You were soo polite, I decided you should both get your own", popped a Mickey straw into each of the kids' slushies, winked, and turned around for our food. It was such a lovely surprise!

Also, we had Photopass pictures taken in front of the castle at night and there were also awful. They really need to work on those! Our pictures turned out really dark. I think his shutter speed was set too fast for how dark it was.

Yes - that is the benefit to a good vintage machine - you'd think they'd be louder - but they just purr nicely. I love mine - it's like an extension of my body, I am sure I could operate it with my eyes closed (though I don't think I'll try - LOL)... Best $55 investment of my life - and for a machine that i use every single day, yah - it's awesome!

That is an awesome Pixie Dust moment! Love Pixie Dust!!!

Yes - my girls are 12.5 months apart.... Life was crazy then! LOL If it wasn't for pictures - I woudn't remember a thing! LOL

Yes - most of our night pictures turned out awful, I am pretty disappointed in those.

************************************************************************************************

Sorry it's been a couple of days since I've done an update. I hope to get one or two done today, and maybe some over the weekend too. I knew life would get busy this week and beyond... But I still hope to finish this TR in a timely manner.

Thank you everyone for following along! I just love hearing that so many people enjoy hearing about our trips!

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Day 5 Part 1

Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - All 4 parks in one day!

I was awake with out my alarm by 5:45am.

Allison was up with out her alarm (me) by 6am.

I did my usual coffee/FB/Dis.

Then we were out the door by 8am.

We took the SoG bus to AK - this is so slick! Literally, walk out our room, to the lobby, down the stairs, on the bus, and the bus drop off is right at the front gate. It was awesome!

We walked straight back to Expedition Everest and rode it standby with a 10 minute wait. I really wanted to ride it twice, but Allison wasn't in the mood. Oh well. For some reason - our ride photos didn't show up for this ride. Kind of bummed, because our goal today is 4 parks with a ride photo in each...

So, we walked over to Dinosaur to ride that, since i promised Allison the other day that we'd ride on it.

And bonus - they do a ride photo, even if it isn't so flattering...

We took a few Photopass photos and we were walking out of the park at 9:45 am - not too bad!

We had to wait 15 minutes for an Epcot bus to show up, but we were at Epcot by 10:15...

I told Allison, as we were walking from the bus, find the shortest bag check line (because we could see the LONG lines from the buses) - and I reminded her that they bag check checks from BOTH sides of the table. Sure enough - as we were walking up - the bag check lines were 40+ people deep and there were a couple with single lines... We walked right up, and had our bags checked - no line. The line filled in immediately behind us. It pays to know a trick or two sometimes.

Then we found a Photopass photographer with out a line... She was so funny. She was trying to get us set up to take our picture, and there was a group of people who kept trying to move in behind us to take their picture with their camera. I was fine waiting - but I think Miss PP Photographer was sick of it, so she walked up to them, told them to scoot over... They'd scoot and she'd tell them "more - keep going..." She did it about 3 more times to them, until they were almost completely out of our frame... And the lady taking their picture was like "but, but...." It was quite humorous - I've never seen a PP photographer do that before. We thanked her profusely for getting us a good clear photo and we were on our way.

We decided, since we missed Sunshine Seasons the other night - we'd hit it for an early lunch. Of course - when we get there, they weren't open yet... We had about 30 minutes to waste... So, like any good Disney folk - we decided to take a nice ride on Living With The Land... Which I don't think I took any pictures?

When we got off of LWTL, SS had just opened... Both Allison and I ordered the Medeterranian Sandwich. It was very good. Not one of our favorite or memorable meals - but I don't remember it being bad, so it must have been good?

From here, we headed straight to Test Track to get our headliner ride photo for the day... Standby was 75 minutes - and we had 2 more parks to accomplish today... There was no way we were waiting for 75 minutes in line. Single rider it is... That line was 10 minutes, and we couldn't have planned it more perfectly, as Allison and I ended up in the same car. We were pretty proud of ourselves!

Even though - Allison decided to pull her hair out of her face the moment the camera snapped the ride photo - so you'll have to take my word for it that it's Allison sitting in front of me.

It was time to head to Norway for dessert... It was a gorgeous, non-crowded day in Epcot...

We stopped in the church in the Norway pavillion, because we've walked by it several times, but never gone in... It was kind of cute - and I recognized the beautiful costume (what's it called Lillian?) from Lillian's own...

With our 2 School Breads and 2 waters... We sat at a table, as much in the sun to be warm, as we could... And we relaxed and enjoyed our treat as much as possible.

We wandered around World Showcase...

As we were walking - Allison said "Mom, there's Pluto!" Cool... And as we kept walking - I noticed that other characters were following Pluto... Guess what? We stumbled upon Character Palooza! This was so fun! I just wish they had photopass photographers for these - as Allison and I had to take turns for pictures. Oh well!

As we walked through Japan, Allison wanted a Kaki Gori.... How on earth she wanted something cold was beyond me? :whatever But to each their own... We found a bench in the sun and she attempted to eat this - without much luck... So we decided to take it with us and keep walking.

We found a few Photopass photographers, so we stopped for some pictures. I really love how all of these turned out - they were a lot of fun!

We exited Epcot via the International Gateway... As we were walking out, a CM stopped Allison very rudely and said "You can't leave here with that!" Both Allison and I looked at each other confused... The CM then said "You MUST drink ALL alcohol on the premises of the park!" Allison and I were even more confused, until we realized she was referring to Allison's Kaki Gori. We then had to explain that Kaki Gori is a non-alcoholic "snow cone" from Japan, and we also had to explain that Allison was only 17 and not legal to drink alcohol in any state, offering to show the CM her ID to prove her age. The CM waved us through, but she (and her CM friend) didn't look like they believed us. Allison ate a little bit more of it, then threw it away - she was then very self conscious that everyone thought she was drinking alcohol. I told her not to worry about it - but she was still uncomfortable because the CM was so rude to us about it. But, I guess I could see where maybe it looked like a drink? I dunno...

Two more parks to go...

Link to Day 5 Part 2

D~​

 

[Li Li]

Hi, popping in for the first time here but I've been following here and your PTR. Your character photos are adorable! Ugh, how rude of that CM. Kaki gori clearly is different from the alcohol slushies, so they are just showing their own ignorance that they don't know their own park! I say pffft to them.

Also, we've overlapped our two trips now, both November and Janaury. I kept an eye out but did not see you!
You're much more diligent than me cause I'm only half way through my November TR!

If we go in October (it's our one year Disney extravaganza cause we splurged on APs), I'll see if I can finally say hi!

 

[Clio]

You really got a lot of photo pass pictures. They all look really good. We usually use the single rider line on TT. It's almost always shorter than waiting in the long stand by line. Sometimes we ride together and sometimes not.
Liz