For the First Time in Forever-

[mdsouth]

Chapter 30 – The Invasion

Today was Thursday, February 13 and the crowds really started to decend on WDW. This was the Thursday before President’s Day. I let Haley sleep in and then I woke her up and we headed over to Epcot. Both my husband and son would be arriving later today. My son was traveling with his high school band on a bus and my husband was arriving by airplane. Both were scheduled to arrive about the exact same time. We had plans to all meet up at Epcot at noon since that was when the band would be dropped off.

By the time Haley and I arrived at Epcot, the line for Soarin was huge. We planned to ride it later that day with my husband and son so Haley and I explored the Innovation Centers. We also went on Ellen’s Energy Adventure. It was the first time either of us had been on it. I do remember riding the previous version of the ride (before Ellen) but it had been at least twenty years. I remember the huge ride vehicles leaving and moving through the waterways but couldn’t remember much else. We found the beginning scene with Ellen to be enjoyable and entertaining.

The rest of the ride was interesting but seemed really long and slow in parts. It was educational and perfect for those wanting to get out of the hot sun for awhile and take a rest.

I think this area takes up a huge amount of the park and could be revamped to add something more to draw crowds to it.

After Ellen, we headed towards the World Showcase to explore a bit. When we were there we got a call from my husband. His plane had arrived and he was heading to the resort to drop off his luggage. Later, we got another call from him. He said that he had got off the Mickey Express bus at Port Orleans Riverside because I had told him earlier in the week that we were upgraded to Riverside. Whoops! This was a mistake. I had told him our room at PORFQ had been upgraded to a river view room! I guess that is what he gets for not listening closely to me. He tends to do that sometimes. Can you believe it? After 26 years of marriage, my DH sometimes tunes me out??? Tee Hee.

So, anyway, he said once they had figured out the mix-up at the front desk at POR he had had to walk over to PORFQ with his luggage. He wanted to tell me that he planned to rest up a bit and just get something to eat at the food court there before he joined us in Epcot.

Haley and I went to the quick service restaurant in France. We ordered our food from Boulangerie Patisserie les Halles and found a little bistro table outside.

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(Photo credit: librarygeek32)

Haley ordered the Ham and Cheese croissant with a chocolate chip cookie.

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(Photo credit: librarygeek32)

I made her eat her croissant before she could eat the cookie. So, this is the face that she gave me.

I ordered the Turkey Sandwich and had a Frasies for dessert. It was vanilla with strawberries.


We had just started to Phinneas and Ferb’s Agent P’s Adventure in France when we got a call my husband was in the park! So, we headed up to the front of the World Showcase to meet up with him. [/url]

 

[mdsouth]

Happy Cinco de Mayo!


This is a picture of my son back in 2009. I had created a scavenger hunt with lots of clues that surprised him and my DD about our upcoming WDW trip. The last clue was sombreros since we were going in May and would be staying at Coronado Springs Resort.

 

[librarygeek]

Glad my photos could help you out!

I really wish they would get rid of Ellen's Energy Adventure. The beginning bit is cute, but the rest of it is just so long and boring. So, so long. I'd only go back if I really needed a nap :/

Lol, those silly husbands! I could totally see my DH doing the same thing.

 

[mdsouth]

Yes, Ellen's Energy Adventure needs a make-over.

I have all my photos of Epcot loaded and ready to go. I will post Epcot entry tomorrow. My daughter actually wrote a school assignment for a personal narrative on our visit to Epcot and in particular Test Track. So, I will posting it.

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 31 - The Family Back Together Again –

We had just started to Phinneas and Ferb’s Agent P’s Adventure in France when we got a call my husband was in the park! So, we headed up to the front of the World Showcase to meet up with him. At almost the same time I received a text from Jacob that the band had arrived! They were unloading at the front gates of EPCOT!

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Jake’s bus trip had been a bit unnerving with lots of the roads snow and ice packed. He doesn’t sleep well on road trips either so he decided to hang out with us for awhile instead of exploring the parks with members of the band. He knew he would catch up with them later. He was hungry, as usual, so we ended up at the Electric Umbrella. It was a nice way for us to connect again as a family. One of my favorite photos of the entire trip was this one where Jake and Haley are just laughing and having a good time! They have a special sibling bond. They are six and a half years apart in age. I don’t know if the gap in the ages has helped nurture it over the years or not but they really do enjoy spending time together.

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It was then time for us to head to TEST TRACK! Haley and I had never been on the ride before so it was something new and we were a little bit anxious. During my planning stage, I was only able to get three FastPasses since Jake did not have a magic band like the rest of us. His band was staying at a hotel off-site. While Jake was eating, I had tried to link his ticket to ours and get him a FastPass for Test Track. The CM’s tried for quite awhile but could not do it. I decided we would just head on over to Test Track and talk to a CM there and if he couldn’t enter the same time we did, then Gary or I would just through the single rider line and we would try to connect in the designing car stage. I figured the group could just keep letting others go ahead of us until Gary or I caught up.

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Once we arrived, I talked the CM about our difficulty linking Jake’s ticket to ours. The CM was very friendly and allowed us all to go in together.

And this is where I am going to let my DD, Haley take over the telling of this story. For school, she wrote a personal narrative about our experience at Test Track. I am just inserting part of the narrative,

“Soon, we were anxiously waiting in line to board the ride, Dad and Jake were talking with Mom and I about the ride before it was renovated. “Test Track felt like a testing area for cars, and you felt like you were the test dummy,” Jacob had told me, “You will have fun!” I was a little anxious, but relaxed with my family helping out. Before we got on the ride, we had to “create” the cars we were riding in, Since I like creating my own stuff using technology and other materials, I enjoyed making the car. We pretty much just moved things together on a touchscreen to build a car. I worked with Dad, and made one, and Jacob worked with Mom, and made the other. We were making two cars, but we were riding in one vehicle. At the end of the ride, we would get to see which group had the better car. Once we finished designing our cars, we finally got to ride the roller coaster.

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The inside of the ride was as dark as a shadow. We twisted, turned, coasted, looped, bumped, and sped along the indoor and outdoor areas of the track. The track tested our cars that we made on certain areas, such as eco-technology, durability, capability, responsiveness, power, and my personal favorite, speed. My car was better than my brother’s car in speed, but Jake’s car ranked higher in eco-technology than mine.

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As a family, we enjoyed experiencing the moment together. We had fun joking around with each other and being a bit competitive. Test Track was really fun, and it is one of the things I remember most about my Walt Disney World trip of 2014. “ - Haley

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[librarygeek]

Aww, that is so sweet to read your daughter's narrative on Test Track! I'm glad she enjoyed it.

 

[mdsouth]

Aww, that is so sweet to read your daughter's narrative on Test Track! I'm glad she enjoyed it.

Thanks! I thought so too. I didn't know she had picked it for her topic until she was finished with it and wanted to add photographs to share it in class.

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 32 – EPCOT with the Masses!

I can’t believe it has taken me so long to go on Test Track! I LOVED IT! Now, it is a tie with Soarin for my favorite thrill ride. I remember being in the queue for Test Track on our 2009 trip but then there was a breakdown and we were stuck in the area with the machines banging so lots of loud noises. I remember the extremely loud noise along with being crammed in was a little much for Haley who was eight at the time. So, I ended up taking her out while my son and husband stayed and waited.


I wish this time we would have gone on it again but the lines in the parks were getting pretty crazy with the crowds rolling in for President’s Day. My son, Jake only had a few hours before he was going to meet up with his band friends and the rest of the band. We ended up going to Soarin and we waited in line for forever! While we were waiting, I was on the phone trying to change my dinner reservation but all I could hear was the “Blue blah blah blah” sound over and over again. It ended up being quite comical with my son and husband adding to it with their own imitations of the sound. I never got a good connection inside Soarin so had to wait until after our flight. Once in the boarding area, I was happy to discover we would be in the top row, so we would get the unobstructed view without any dangling feet from those above us! Soarin was enjoyable!

Sidenote: It is amazing what a huge difference there was in the crowds and wait times earlier in the week to the end of our trip. This was on Thursday but the crowds had definitely arrived! I can only imagine how CRAZY it must have been the actual week of President’s Day.

Once we left Soarin’, I got through to dining reservations. Originally, I had us booked at ‘Ohana that night. We had eaten there in 2009 and loved it! We were all excited about going again. But my son had informed me that his band director had instructed everyone that they had to stay in the park. No one could leave EPCOT until the meet up again as a group. So, I regrettably cancelled my reservation. Dining services was very understanding and did not charge me for cancelling so late. So, some lucky family of four was able to get a table that night.

I will share details of where we ended up eating in my next update.

For anyone planning a trip around President’s Day, I would suggest going the week leading up to Presidents’ Day versus the week that includes the Monday.

 

[librarygeek]

I agree with you on president's Day weekend. I went once that Thursday-Tuesday and it was insane. I won't be gong again any time soon. That's a bummer about Ohana though. It's such a fun meal! Hope you got some good food anyway

 

[mdsouth]

I agree with you on president's Day weekend. I went once that Thursday-Tuesday and it was insane. I won't be gong again any time soon. That's a bummer about Ohana though. It's such a fun meal! Hope you got some good food anyway

Thanks for hanging in here and staying with me. I am sorry I haven't been updating this like I planned. We moved and for the past three weeks or so I have not had any internet and our smartphone usage was almost at its limit so I have had to not use the internet. It has been hard but I have been busy moving stuff. We moved to a different home in the same town so we have been moving most of our stuff ourselves.

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 33 – A Worldwind Trip Around the World at the World Showcase
(Sorry, I don't have any pictures for this chapter.)

After we finished in Future World we headed towards the World Showcase. We visited Canada and Germany before deciding that we were getting hungry and needed to get something to eat. We ended up back tracking a bit in order to go to Mexico. By now, it was mid-evening and World Showcase was packed. We decided on the counter service at Mexico, La Cantina de San Angel. I ordered the Pollo Cascabel which is grilled chicken. I thought it was decent but nothing special about it. My husband and son had the tacos. Haley ordered the Empanadas con Queso which were tortillas with cheese. We managed to grab a little table outside on the deck overlooking the lagoon. The tables are seated pretty tight together so if you are looking for some privacy, I suggest you get your food and find a little bench or table elsewhere.

After dinner, we headed back out towards Italy and France to see the sights. When it got closer to the start of Illuminations, we found a nice spot near

The show was fantastic as usual. I enjoyed it but Wishes will always be my number one fireworks show. We had to hurry out after Illuminations because Jake was connecting back with his band members. We said our goodbyes and then the three of us, Haley, Gary and I caught a bus back to PORFQ. We had a pleasant stroll through the grounds at the resort before heading to bed. The next morning we would finally get to see Jacob and the rest of his high school band march down Main Street, U.S.A.!!!

 

[ariane37]

Welcome back lol, I always look for your updates when I'm on the Trip Reports board! Congrats on the move It's great but at the same time, exhausting! We moved in Jan. of 2013, just to the next town over, and I still have about 12 boxes in the garage I haven't unpacked I should probably just throw them all out b/c it's obviously stuff we don't need!
Anyway, I'll keep on reading until your done Good luck as you settle in to your new home!

 

[cajunfan]

How have I missed your report before today??? I am only on page two...will catch up with the rest of it tonight! Yeah, I'm with vleeth...I would not wait 6 hours to meet real royalty!

Lynn

 

[cajunfan]

Ok, I am caught up! Love your pictures! And rainstorms in WDW! It is sometimes amazing how wet you can get. I have not tried Boma yet, because I too had a very picky eater of a son that was normally with me (this last trip was the first time I have gone without him). But I agree with you. I really disliked zebra domes. I did not like the texture nor the taste. So you are not alone in that! I can't wait to hear about the parade!

 

[mdsouth]

Welcome back lol, I always look for your updates when I'm on the Trip Reports board! Congrats on the move It's great but at the same time, exhausting! We moved in Jan. of 2013, just to the next town over, and I still have about 12 boxes in the garage I haven't unpacked I should probably just throw them all out b/c it's obviously stuff we don't need!
Anyway, I'll keep on reading until your done Good luck as you settle in to your new home!

So, true why is it that we feel like we have to hold onto some things and just haul them around with us whenever we move? Seriously, as I have been packing things up and moving them, I realize that we don't need all this stuff and it is just bagging us down. Most of my stuff is all the scrapbooks (baby books, school papers, etc) and photographs that we have taken over the years - most taken before the digital age. I just can't part with them. We also has a lot of stuff people have given to us over the years. Anyway, thanks for hanging in here. I plan to post the next segment today, possible later this afternoon or night since I have several errands that must be done today.

How have I missed your report before today??? I am only on page two...will catch up with the rest of it tonight! Yeah, I'm with vleeth...I would not wait 6 hours to meet real royalty! Lynn

Thanks, Lynn for joining in! Like you, I can not imagine waiting all that time. I couldn't believe all the little kids and parents waiting in lines, and then there were lots of adults without kids. I just wonder if the people standing in line are ones that come to WDW frequently and so they don't mind missing out on doing other stuff in the parks? I think if my child was that big on a character, I would instead have a friend rent a costume from a local costume shop and pretend to be the character. After all this concept works around Christmas time why not with Disney characters?

Ok, I am caught up! Love your pictures! And rainstorms in WDW! It is sometimes amazing how wet you can get. I have not tried Boma yet, because I too had a very picky eater of a son that was normally with me (this last trip was the first time I have gone without him). But I agree with you. I really disliked zebra domes. I did not like the texture nor the taste. So you are not alone in that! I can't wait to hear about the parade!

Yes, planning meals with a picky eater is hard. My next installment is the big one with the actual high school band marching down Main Street, U.S.A. I am trying to decide on which pictures of the tons that we took, show the story the best. I hope to have it uploaded tonight.

 

[librarygeek]

Thanks for hanging in here and staying with me. I am sorry I haven't been updating this like I planned. We moved and for the past three weeks or so I have not had any internet and our smartphone usage was almost at its limit so I have had to not use the internet. It has been hard but I have been busy moving stuff. We moved to a different home in the same town so we have been moving most of our stuff ourselves.

I totally understand! We did the same thing two years ago - moved across town so we just took everything ourselves. We had about three weeks overlapping where we had the apartment and the house to do it but it was so stressful. No rush, the DIS will always be here!

 

[RedNoseMickey]

Hope your move is going well. Congratulations on your new house. I am really enjoying your TR while I am counting down the days to my solo trip. (57!) Wishes is also my favourite night time show although I also love Fantasmic. I have only eaten breakfast at Boma and really enjoyed it I will be staying at AKL for 12 nights beginning of December so pretty sure I will try dinner there. I hope I like it, I do like Zebra Domes but understand they are not to everyone's taste.
Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip.

 

[mdsouth]

I totally understand! We did the same thing two years ago - moved across town so we just took everything ourselves. We had about three weeks overlapping where we had the apartment and the house to do it but it was so stressful. No rush, the DIS will always be here!

Thanks for understanding and hanging in there! I appreciate it.

Hope your move is going well. Congratulations on your new house. I am really enjoying your TR while I am counting down the days to my solo trip. (57!) Wishes is also my favourite night time show although I also love Fantasmic. I have only eaten breakfast at Boma and really enjoyed it I will be staying at AKL for 12 nights beginning of December so pretty sure I will try dinner there. I hope I like it, I do like Zebra Domes but understand they are not to everyone's taste.
Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip.

12 nights at AKL! So cool! I would really like to stay there for my daughter's sake! She would just be in heaven! You will most certainly have to write your own TR so I can experience your trip too.

 

[mdsouth]

Chapter 34 – Waiting for the Parade to Begin

Today was the day, Friday, February 14! The whole reason I was able to convince my husband we had to take a Disney trip! My son’s high school band would be marching in the Magic Kingdom this morning. We got up and dressed and grabbed a quick bite to eat at the food court before heading out to catch our bus for the Magic Kingdom. I remember there were tons of people at the bus stop, more than had been waiting previous mornings.

We caught the tail end of the opening show and then we were inside the Magic Kingdom. The parade route would start at the fire house and go in front of the train station before heading down Main Street. We chose a spot on the corner across from the firehouse so we could see the band as they headed out. We planned to follow the band down the street to take pictures and if possible a video along the way.

As you can see here, I tend to be the family pack mule, carrying all our extra stuff. While I was waiting for the start of the parade, I rented a locker for my big red Minnie bag and a few other things so I would not have to lug it around the park all day. The lockers are actually quite big and I recommend it to others.

Now, that I have finally figured out how to resize my photos I will get the actual band photos of the parade resized and upload them later.

 

[RedNoseMickey]

Thanks for understanding and hanging in there! I appreciate it.



12 nights at AKL! So cool! I would really like to stay there for my daughter's sake! She would just be in heaven! You will most certainly have to write your own TR so I can experience your trip too.

Normally I stay at a Value but this is a once in a life time trip. I got a good deal with free dining in the UK so decided to go for it. Looking forward to AKL as it is my favourite resort to visit. Hope marching down main street was as magical as it sounds.