Day 8 - Thursday March 8 - AM EMH at Epcot
The morning started at 5:45 and we went through our normal routine. I got up and turned the coffee maker on, got dressed, fixed my hair and makeup. Then DH would get up and get dressed. I would go to the ice machine so we could fill the water bottles. Usually the pouring of the ice in the water bottles would help stir the kids. The kids had more more surprises waiting for them at the foot of their beds, along with their clothes. They got more of those little Tsum Tsum's, which DD4 loved. These little gifts are such a great idea...even if it's just cheap stuff it helps my kids from asking for stuff in the parks. The one year we didn't do these "Tinkerbell gifts" my kids asked for EVERYTHING and the meltdowns were horrible. Now we just tell them we aren't buying souvenirs and DS8 and DS6 get it. DD4 and DS2 struggle a little bit but nothing too major (although I myself was tempted to buy the $20 Mickey Pirate plush from the POC store...that's gotta be my favorite souvenir shop!)
We were headed to our car by 6:45. And let me tell you, I just love the peacefulness of the resorts in the early morning hours! As we were headed to our car we saw a cast member walking into work at WL. He saw us (we were the only humans out and about that early at the resort) and said Good Morning. I then recognized him as the bellman that helped me with the rental stroller earlier in the week. I asked him if his name was "Mike" and he said yes and seemed suspicious. I reached into my purse and pulled out some cash and told him that he helped me with a stroller earlier in the week and I had promised to bring a tip back for him. He laughed and remembered me, since he originally brought me a stroller with the wrong name. I was so glad to be able to get him that tip!
We arrived at Epcot by 7am and had a great parking spot. We headed to the entrance and there were only 2 other families in front of us waiting for the security lines to open. The line continued to build but they did not open the security tables until 7:30. I was surprised at this because the last 2 trips we had done 8am EMH at Epcot and we never had to wait that long. We passed the time by getting out bubbles for the kids and chatting with the other families. We got thru security and then about 7:45 they opened up the tapstyles and we headed to the internal rope. I stopped and got 4 of the Flower and Garden Passports for the kids and caught back up with our family at the rope. DS2 was struggling at this point. Didn't want to sit in the stroller and was just tired and cranky overall. I tried handing him a passport and showing him the stickers but he threw it on the ground. I had other passports in my hand along with some other things and dropped them and tried picking everything up. Apparently I hadn't picked up all the passports I dropped when I saw a man near us reach down at my feet and pick up a passport. He then handed it to his wife but he saw me watching him and said "Oh, did you want this?" It was really strange as I really didn't know I had dropped it and yes I still wanted it so he gave it back to me. It was like he got caught trying to sneak it away. Anyhow, at 8am they dropped the rope and we headed towards FEA...except DS2 refused to ride in the stroller again. DD4 was in the stroller so I pushed her while DH carried DS2. We got to FEA and parked the stroller and got on the ride in about 5 minutes. We enjoyed it and it's nice to have a family pic with all of us on a ride! We then went to the Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet and waited about 10 minutes. But DS8 and DS6 didn't want to go near them, and even though DS2 finally learned all the Frozen character names before our trip, he didn't want to go near them either! But that's ok because DD4 was happy. We then headed to Test Track, stopping for a bathroom break first since our FP didn't start until 9:05 and it was only about 8:50. After the bathroom we finally got DS2 settled in the stroller. Originally I had only 3 fastpasses booked for Test Track and our other 2 were for Soarin. But early that morning I realized we would not have time to ride TT again with rider switch before meeting my parents at Soarin at 9:30. Plus, all 3 big kids wanted to ride Test Track. So I changed one of the Soarin Fastpasses to TT while we were waiting for the park to open. (I just kept refreshing and finally managed to get that 9:05 time!) Since I missed out on riding TT on our last trip, I got to go this time and I took all 3 kids with me. The plan was for DH to take DS2 to the Cars Flower and Garden Play area because I figured he would love that. I was really excited to ride TT with these kids. DS8 had to take the chicken exit last time, and DD4 was too scared to ride so it was great they all wanted to do it this time. We designed our cars, with DS8 and DS6 designing one together and DD4 and I designed our own. We then got on the ride and my kids always get confused when the blue car pulls up and it's not "their car". But they get over it quickly once the ride starts. We had a great time on the ride but when we exited DS6 wanted to stay in the exit area and design more cars. Ugh. We had always used this area to stay with the little ones so they were used to getting some time in here. But I told them we didn't have time because Grandma and Papa were waiting for us at Soarin. We met up with DH at the Cars play area and DS2 was asleep. He never got to go to the play area but that was ok because he needed his rest. We headed over to meet my parents who had just arrived at Soarin. This is my mom's favorite ride and all 3 kids wanted to ride again and since we still had 1 fastpass for it plus an unused rider switch from Tuesday night, that was just enough for the 4 of us to ride. My parents had their own fastpass for Soarin. We had a great time riding together but then it was time to go separate ways again. We were headed to lunch at Trattoria Al Forno for the Bon Voyage Breakfast while my parents wanted to eat Fish and Chips in the UK. My parents wanted to ride Spaceship Earth first so I pointed them in that direction and then we headed to World Showcase. We stopped at Port of Entry and I bought Spike the honeybee scavenger hunt maps for the kids. They were $6 each and I bought 4 just in case, although DS2 never touched his. We headed towards the International Gateway and since we had never been to the Boardwalk before I pulled up the walking directions on the
MDE app and this was very helpful! I actually used that feature a couple times this trip. We arrived right on time for our 10:40 reservation and were seated within 10 minutes. They seated us right as you enter the dining area which proved to be helpful later in the meal. They brought us coffee and juice and took our order. Then the pastries came out and DH and I really enjoyed them. The other kids nibbled on them. DS2 refused to sit in a chair and wanted to sit on our laps. But he was very squirmy which made it tough to enjoy our meal. At this character meal the characters are introduced every 15 minutes or so and then they parade through the dining area, then they proceed to do their meet and greets, picking up on the section they left off. Ariel came in, which is my redhead DD4's favorite and she asked all the princesses to follow her in the parade. DD4 wanted to go so badly but was too shy to go by herself. DH and I were worn out from DS2 so we asked her older brothers to walk her over to the parade. They didn't want to which really upset DD4. DH and I were frustrated with the boys and right about the time we were going to walk her over there, Prince Eric was introduced into the room and as he walked in he saw DD4 and could see what was happening (I think it was amazing that he actually picked up on this and wasn't just going through the motions of being introduced), he came right over to DD4 and asked if he could personally escort her to the parade. Seriously, her eyes lit up and she was startstruck. She was speechless but took his hand and walked with him. Prince Eric held her hand throughout the entire parade and it was such a priceless moment. She had a smile on her face the whole time! When the parade ended he even walked her back to her seat. I'm pretty sure I had tears in my eyes watching this. This is why we go to Disney all the time...because of moments like this!
Ok, we finally got our food...all the kids ordered pancakes while DH got the calzone and I got the steak (yum!) It was a quiet meal, except for DS2 who didn't want to eat but still wanted to squirm. All the characters came around (Ariel, Eric, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider). The boys enjoyed Flynn Rider as he joked around with them and told them he was keeping an eye on them. DD4 got to meet Ariel again but of course was speechless. I am always impressed how the characters manage to make small talk, even when the kids don't talk back! We were done by 12 and headed out back towards Epcot As we were walking on the Boardwalk we found a photobooth. I remember reading that you could use memory maker for these, so we had fun squeezing all 6 of us into the booth and taking some pics. It really was a great memory...all of us together doing something spontaneous!
We headed back into Epcot thru the International Gateway and met up with my parents at the UK pavilion. Our plan was to leisurely stroll around WS, grabbing some of our favorite drinks or trying new ones at the F&G booths, all while the kids did their scavenger hunt. But DS2 didn't like that plan. We made it to France and DH and I were in desperate need of a drink. I wanted a Grey Goose Slushie and they also had beer so DH and I got in line with DS2 kicking and screaming while my parents wandered with the other 3 kids. We finally got our drinks and forced DS2 into the stroller. He ended up kicking off his shoes and socks and I had to backtrack to find them! All while trying to juggle the stroller and martini glass that they serve the grey goose slushies in. I got the orange one this time and it was ok...maybe a little on the sweet side. I had the citron one on our last trip and I think I liked that one better. We had thought about trying to do some character meet and greets while walking WS, but it just became too complicated with my parents, the older kids trying to do the scavenger hunt, and dealing with DS2 so we gave up on that idea and no one seemed to care. Also, we had really wanted to try some of the special drinks at the F&G booths but the lines were sooo long! So we kind of gave up on that idea as well. After France we walked past Morocco and Japan (the kids finding their honeybee and putting their stickers on their maps) and we approached the American Adventure. DS2 had fallen asleep in the stroller and I really wanted to watch the Am Adv show so I asked my parents and they said sure, so all of us except DH and DS2 went in to watch. I showed DH where Fife and Drum was so he could get himself a beverage while he waited for us. We had to wait about 10 minutes but that was enough time for the kids to use the restroom. The show started and DD4 fell asleep in my arms. I texted DH and told him what time the show would be over and that there was a drink I wanted to try from Fife and Drum (frozen red stag lemonade). I enjoyed the show but I also allowed myself to take a brief snooze! When the show was over we came out and DH had my drink waiting for me! It was very filling and sweet! We continued our walk through World Showcase and DS2 woke up right when we got to Germany (he had not slept long enough so was cranky) so we showed him the train display. This was good at first but turned into not so good after about 10 minutes. He has some OCD tendencies like his older brother DS8. He has a hard time with transitions and at this time did not want to stop watching the trains. We had to pry him away and he had another meltdown. The kids were still working on their scavenger hunt and up next was one that they could not find in the Savanna area. DH looked all over with them but DS8 was not happy and wanted to complete all of the hunt. We were still dealing with DS2 so I found a kiosk with frozen cokes and got one for each of the kids. (I was still trying to finish my lemonade) We made it through China, Norway and then I thought DS2 would enjoy the 3 Caballeros ride in Mexico so all 8 of us went inside the Mexico Pavilion for that. I really wanted an avocado margarita from La Cava but the line was pretty long out the door so I gave up that idea and we got in line for the ride. This may have been our longest line of our whole trip! We waited about 20 minutes but I was busy trying to secure fastpasses for Hollywood Studios that evening. I had managed to get 2 FP for RnR at HS that evening plus 3 more for TSM. DH had DS2 and he settled down a little bit while waiting. We finally got on the ride but I missed most of it as I was modifying for just the right time for those fastpasses! Once we were done with Mexico my parents decided to head back to the resort to rest some and then wanted to go to MK that evening to eat dinner. So we said goodbye to them and DS8 started complaining about the scavenger hunt again. He (along with DS2 and his momma) has a hard time letting things go. I was determined to help him find this mysterious honeybee and so we turned around walked past Norway and China back to the Savannah. I couldn't find it so I found a CM and she was really nice and without telling us where it was she gave us plenty of hints so that we could find it. I was so relieved! The kids were finally happy. We headed back to the WS entrance and I ran over to Canada to get a maple whiskey popcorn shake. Surprisingly the line was really short! It was a small drink but really strong and just what I needed. It was almost 4:00 at this point so we headed out of Epcot with plans to go to Hollywood Studios. DS2 was still not happy so DH decided to take him back to the resort. I was bummed but he insisted I take the other 3 on to HS by myself. I will admit I was a little nervous but excited at the same time! So on the drive over to HS I was able to modify the RnR FP to get another TSM FP, so we now had 4 for TSM and it was for right at the time we would be arriving!
Next Up...More Tears and More Pixie Dust at HS...Plus my first STROLLER-LESS experience at Disney with Kids!