Go with the Flow....A Summer Trip to Remember! July 2012~ **Completed**

[DisMomAmy]

Originally Posted by Angies1274

Aww….my very first glimpse of the castle.

I'll admit it... that picture made my stomach do a little flip! There really is nothing better than that first glimpse of the castle & the anticipation of a Magic Kingdom day!

[VACamm]

Subbing!!!! love your photos and love love love to see your food pics

[eandesmom]

Hey Angie! Somehow I missed this starting (ok we left 3 days later so I have an excuse there) but also missed the PTR! Subbing and heading back to catch up.

Ok, all caught up! What a bummer that your first night did not result in that extra sleep you'd hoped for. Being flexible, with heat and rain and lack of sleep is a great thing and can really help a trip get on or stay on track and it sounds like for the most part the changes worked out well so far. Bummer that it rained so hard though at Epcot, wet tennis shoes are NOT fun! While I don't have any desire to go to TRex, that food does sound yummy. I can't believe I didn't even go inside Basin while we were at DTD, I must have just spaced somehow! AoA looks really cool. My kids are a little old for it now but I think it would be a wonderful place to stay as a family.

And now you've made it to main street! I know EXACTLY how you feel, I never feel I spend enough time there either.

Happy Anniversary!!!!

[Angies1274]

Originally Posted by DisMomAmy

I'll admit it... that picture made my stomach do a little flip! There really is nothing better than that first glimpse of the castle & the anticipation of a Magic Kingdom day!

I couldn't agree more!!! That picture makes me so happy!

Originally Posted by VACamm

Subbing!!!! love your photos and love love love to see your food pics

Welcome!! So happy you joined in!!

Originally Posted by eandesmom

Hey Angie! Somehow I missed this starting (ok we left 3 days later so I have an excuse there) but also missed the PTR! Subbing and heading back to catch up.

Ok, all caught up! What a bummer that your first night did not result in that extra sleep you'd hoped for. Being flexible, with heat and rain and lack of sleep is a great thing and can really help a trip get on or stay on track and it sounds like for the most part the changes worked out well so far. Bummer that it rained so hard though at Epcot, wet tennis shoes are NOT fun! While I don't have any desire to go to TRex, that food does sound yummy. I can't believe I didn't even go inside Basin while we were at DTD, I must have just spaced somehow! AoA looks really cool. My kids are a little old for it now but I think it would be a wonderful place to stay as a family.

And now you've made it to main street! I know EXACTLY how you feel, I never feel I spend enough time there either.

Happy Anniversary!!!!

Hi Cynthia! I'm so glad you're here!

No worries on the PTR. I still need to catch up on your Alaska cruise report and the PTR for your current TR. Which I fully intend to do since we have been talking about taking a cruise within the next couple years.

Thanks for the anniversary wishes. It was a fun weekend!

Even though the first night wasn't exactly like I planned, I think it actually worked out better in the long run. It was a much more relaxing start to the trip.

I was very surprised how much I enjoyed T-Rex. It was definitely loud but fun just the same.

[Angies1274]

“Mother knows best, Listen to your mother” Tangled


After making our way down Main Street toward the castle I began to look around and realize just how busy it was for an EMH morning, definitely not what we were used to and we usually go during spring break. I had talked to the boys while we were waiting for the opening show to begin to find out what ride they wanted to visit first. If you read my PTR, you may remember that I had made plans but since the boys don’t usually want anything to do with the planning until we actually get to Disney. (Isn’t it funny? I could barely get an answer from them months before the trip but of course once we get there they are full of opinions!) Anyway, they unanimously voted that we head toward—


Tomorrowland!

We found a cute Mickey and Minnie topiary on the way—

Yay! The People Mover! We couldn't wait to ride for the first time later on....

Don't let the picture fool you. Despite, looking so empty there was quite a few people in Tomorrowland that morning.

The boys had only one thing on their mind …..Space Mountain.
Apparently, so did everyone else because the line was way out of the building. I wish I had taken a picture because it was crazy and completely unexpected. The last time we went we used the same strategy (during Easter week) and hopped right on with no wait whatsoever. So, what did we do? Well, when in doubt….grab fastpasses, of course! And that’s just what we did! At this point people were everywhere and I was really starting to second guess getting up so early.

We made our way over to Buzz Lightyear instead and it was a walk-on which wasn’t really surprising since it looked like everyone else was waiting in line to ride Space Mountain.

My terrible attempt at a picture of Buzz as we quickly made our way through the queue. Sorry Buzz.


Now, usually I don’t do too badly at this ride but this time I did horrible! I know it must have been really bad because I can’t even remember my score. I don’t know what the problem was as you can see I was deep in concentration! lol


After Buzz, we debated whether we wanted to head over to see the new Storybook Circus or over to Peter Pan since I knew it always gets busy really quickly. Ultimately, we decided to head through here toward Peter Pan.




I think there was about a 15 minute wait posted but we didn’t wait that long and soon we were flying over London. I didn’t attempt any pictures because it’s so dark in there and they never come out anyway. Also, it’s one of my very favorite rides and I just wanted to sit back and enjoy it.

As we made our way out of the ride, I noticed an almost empty Fantasyland. Now, this is how EMH should be!


A small peek at the Fantasyland construction


Of course, we couldn’t pass by Winnie the Pooh and not stop and say hello.

I thought the new queue was adorable. However, the line moved so fast that the boys didn’t get a chance to take advantage of it too much. But, they were able to test a few things out.






These interactive walls were so cool—


After enjoying our ride through the hundred acre woods, it was time to use our fastpass for Space Mountain. The boys were jumping for joy. We passed Mad Tea Party and I thought for sure the boys would want to stop and ride but surprisingly they didn’t. (I was thrilled about that decision!) I did stop and take note of a certain plaque that I had read about. Although, apparently I had tucked my camera away at that point and sadly didn’t get a picture. It reads “Be good at something; it makes you valuable… have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.” – Randy Pausch. I learned about Randy Pausch and “The Last Lecture” in my media class last semester. It’s so inspirational. You should definitely check it out on You Tube!

Anyway, after admiring the plaque for a minute, I ran to catch up with the boys who were anxiously making their way over to Space Mountain. Of course, they enjoyed the ride and couldn’t stop talking about it as we made our way out, stopping every few minutes to make silly faces in the camera as we made our way up the conveyer belt.

Back out in the bright sunshine and heat we decided to finally make our way over to ride Dumbo. I’m trying to remember but I think it was just after 9:00am. I had read about the quiet pathway from Space Mountain over to Storybook Circus and thought it would be the perfect way to go. However, the boys were reluctant at first since we were the only ones on the path and apparently they thought that I was leading them into a restricted area or something because they kept asking me if I was sure that we were going the right way.

Finally, I was able to show them this—

And they realized that maybe Mom does know what she is talking about once in a while!
(See…Mother does know best! Lol)

The first thing I noticed when we entered Storybook Circus was all the little details everywhere. The peanuts and animal prints in the walkways were so cute.
Even though it was so hot that morning, not too many kids were taking advantage of Casey Jr. Splash and Soak.

Then again, the park had just barely opened.

Next stop for us was going to be this—

So excited!


The boys loved it! I don’t remember it being so short though. It seemed like it just started and then it was over. Oh well, it was still lots of fun. The boys wanted to ride again but I worried about how long the wait would be for Dumbo, so we (or I) thought maybe we should head over there first. Luckily, the crowds were still non-existent on this side of the park and wait times were still good. Hopefully, Dumbo would be the same. We would soon see…….


Up Next-- Believe and Soar!

[eandesmom]

I am loving the Storybook Circus pictures!!!!! So pretty. Crazy on the SM crowds, hopefully you continue being a crowd free for at least a little bit longer though actually you've hit quite a bit already!

[mommytothreeboys]

There is nothing like your first MK morning of the trip! If only we could bottle that feeling for when we we're doing laundry and trudging through homework and teacher conferences!

[Mickey_Mom]

SO true about vainly asking for opinions while planning but having them all offered only once you're there!!

I really like your PhilharMagic and Castle picture. Beautiful blue skies and gorgeous Castle.....

I can't wait to see Storybrook Circus! All those details!

[Angies1274]

Originally Posted by eandesmom

I am loving the Storybook Circus pictures!!!!! So pretty. Crazy on the SM crowds, hopefully you continue being a crowd free for at least a little bit longer though actually you've hit quite a bit already!

I couldn't believe all the people waiting to ride Space Mountain that morning. Luckily, once we got over to Fantasyland there was very little crowds and the wait times were great!

We loved Storybook Circus!! I can't wait to go back and see everything when it's finished.

Originally Posted by mommytothreeboys

There is nothing like your first MK morning of the trip! If only we could bottle that feeling for when we we're doing laundry and trudging through homework and teacher conferences!

Love that first MK morning!! There's nothing like it! Aww....so true about trying to bottle up that feeling!!!

Originally Posted by Mickey_Mom

SO true about vainly asking for opinions while planning but having them all offered only once you're there!!

I really like your PhilharMagic and Castle picture. Beautiful blue skies and gorgeous Castle.....

I can't wait to see Storybrook Circus! All those details!

I know! There were many time before the trip that I asked the boys, where they wanted to eat, ride, etc. All I would get was "Whatever you think, Mom." Ummm....okay. Then, when we get there they were always questioning why we were going here or if we could go here instead. Ugh!

You'll love Storybook Circus! It's so cute!

[solana131]

You know...Space was craziness every single time we went there too. I even have a picture of the FASTPASS line being out the door....FASTPASS...not the regular line. It was weird. And for some reason they were just giving out way too many Fastpasses because the one time we actually did wait in line I counted 48 FP people through to our 5. That is just stupid crazy!

Anyway...great update. Our EMHs were like that too....TomorrowLand was packed and Fantasyland was normal.

[Angies1274]

Originally Posted by solana131

You know...Space was craziness every single time we went there too. I even have a picture of the FASTPASS line being out the door....FASTPASS...not the regular line. It was weird. And for some reason they were just giving out way too many Fastpasses because the one time we actually did wait in line I counted 48 FP people through to our 5. That is just stupid crazy!

Anyway...great update. Our EMHs were like that too....TomorrowLand was packed and Fantasyland was normal.

Ugh! I know! SM was crazy the week we were there. I thought maybe with EMH it wouldn't be so bad. But, both morning and evening EMH's, the wait times were still crazy.

[Angies1274]

Quick Life Update—

So, this week after thinking about it for a while I’ve decided to start the Couch to 5K program. I love to run and would really like to get back into it. I have always enjoyed walking and before we left for Disney I was trying to walk a couple miles 3-4 times a week to get back into shape. Unfortunately, since we’ve been back the diet and walking have basically went out the window. I have a really hard time resisting all those barbecues, ice cream cones and s'mores that comes with summertime. But, now that fall is right around the corner. I thought there would be no better time to try again and I couldn’t think of a better motivation than starting this program since I've heard such great things about it. I’m hoping at some point in the future it will not only lead to running a 5K but hopefully the half marathon at Disney. I started Day 1 yesterday and did better than I thought I would so that makes me happy. Anyway, I just thought I would share what I was up to lately and see if anyone else has tried the program and if they had success with it.

"I think I will have seen everything, When I see an elephant fly." Dumbo


When I left off, we had arrived at our favorite park, took in our favorite sight…Cinderella’s castle, battled the Evil Emperor Zurg, flew to Neverland, bounced with Tigger, shot off into space, and blasted off with Goofy in his new home...Storybook Circus! I think it was about 9:30 at this point and we had already accomplished 5 attractions even with a small change in our original plans. Not too bad.

Although, the boys were ready to take off on Goofy one more time. I wanted to head towards Dumbo and ride. The boys are getting older… and I doubt that they will want to ride Dumbo for too much longer. As a matter of fact, I don’t think we’ve visited him since our second trip when the boys were 8 and 5. So, I was definitely taking advantage of Dumbo in his new location. Noah was actually excited to check it out and that made me so happy.
On our way.

We’re here!!

So cute!!
We made our way through the line which had no wait by the way. I snapped a couple pictures on the way by-


Then it was time to make our way inside the tent. Basically, there are two different options when you enter the stand-by line to Dumbo. You can either continue through the line or you can enter the interactive area. We went on through because there were a lot of little kids in there and the boys didn't seem that interested to check it out.

Yay! We made it!! After picking out our color of choice it was time to fly…

Aww…I love Dumbo. Although, I will admit as cool as the ride is now. I kind of miss seeing the back of the castle as we flew through the sky. But, overall it was a great ride and it was so neat to see how construction was coming along for the new Fantasyland.

After enjoying our ride on Dumbo we took one more spin on Goofy and then decided it was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad time!! So, it was off to wait for the train to catch a ride over to Frontierland. Unfortunately, one had just pulled away and it was so hot while we were waiting. The overhead fans did nothing to cool us down. Honestly, that train couldn’t come soon enough.

We were so happy when we heard that whistle!

DH was happy…really he was. I think he just thought I was taking a picture of the boys.

More people arriving…

After our relaxing ride over to Frontierland, we made our way over to BTMRR and noticed that the wait time was a little longer than we anticipated so like Space Mountain we decided to grab a fastpass instead. Since we had about an hour to wait for our fastpass to be ready we decided to visit someplace that we have wanted to visit on every trip but always ran out of time……

Nope…not this. Although this would have been fun as well.

Yes! Tom Sawyer Island!!
Up Next—Exploring the Island and “You can do it, Mom!”

Oh…before I go I will leave you with a picture that Noah took of the castle.

He finally decided to start taking pictures so I will insert them here and there throughout the report since he did such a great job capturing things that I never even thought to get.

[solana131]

Yay! Tom Sawyer's Island We spent about an hour out there exploring with my son in Feb. I skipped it this July with only a teenage girl, but we will be back again next time.

Love the Dumbo shots. We only went over there at night....it looks totally different at night by the way...really cool lighting.

[Mickey_Mom]

You totally tricked me with the Ferryboat pic lol! I've sooo wanted to do that every trip and ALWAYS run out of time.

See that guy taking a picture of the Railroad at the same time you're taking his picture? I always wonder if I end up in other people's pictures.... and what I look like!

[eandesmom]

Originally Posted by Angies1274

I know! There were many time before the trip that I asked the boys, where they wanted to eat, ride, etc. All I would get was "Whatever you think, Mom." Ummm....okay. Then, when we get there they were always questioning why we were going here or if we could go here instead. Ugh!

I just saw a "shake it" app. You shake the app and it tells you what attraction to go to next based on your location and wait times and who knows what else. could be interesting! And solves the "whatever you think or I don't know what do you want to do" issue.

Good for you on the couch to 5K, I've heard good things about it! So glad you went on Dumbo, I am totally riding it in Oct and may well go through the queue so I can see everything.

Originally Posted by Angies1274

After enjoying our ride on Dumbo we took one more spin on Goofy and then decided it was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad time!! So, it was off to wait for the train to catch a ride over to Frontierland. Unfortunately, one had just pulled away and it was so hot while we were waiting. The overhead fans did nothing to cool us down. Honestly, that train couldn’t come soon enough. [/SIZE][/FONT]

Last time we rode the train it was the same, horribly hot waiting. UGH!

The ferry is fun, I've only done it once, by myself and loved it! I can't wait to see what you think of TSI.