Our First Full Week at the World, and we went during Spring Break?!? Conclusion 6/2

[GoHerd1028]

What setting on your camera did you use to get such a nice night shot of Dumbo?

 

[twokids0204]

What setting on your camera did you use to get such a nice night shot of Dumbo?

Don't ya mean... Dumbo, what setting did you use to take your night shots?

 

[GoHerd1028]

Don't ya mean... Dumbo, what setting did you use to take your night shots?

OOO Brian is on his A Game tonight!!

 

[Muslickz]

really beautiful pics I thought they look professional.... The kids look like they had sooo much fun

-M

 

[laura74]

Enjoying your report, especially since our trip was ending as yours was beginning ( I have a trip report link in my signature if anyone is interested).

Your girls are adorable and I especially like the smirk your youngest has in some of her pictures! Watch out for her!

Would love to hear more about what it was like to share a studio with 3 adults and 2 children.

 

[scott2997]

What setting on your camera did you use to get such a nice night shot of Dumbo?

Hey Steve - yeah I have my camera set to "On". That's pretty much it.

Actually - it's just a mode that has my flash forced off. I just have to make sure that I keep real steady with the camera - the lack of light can produce some horrid shots.

Don't ya mean... Dumbo, what setting did you use to take your night shots?

I love you too Brian

really beautiful pics I thought they look professional.... The kids look like they had sooo much fun

-M

Thanks - and thanks for following along!

Enjoying your report, especially since our trip was ending as yours was beginning ( I have a trip report link in my signature if anyone is interested).

Your girls are adorable and I especially like the smirk your youngest has in some of her pictures! Watch out for her!

Would love to hear more about what it was like to share a studio with 3 adults and 2 children.

You're correct in thinking I need to watch out for Claire. She's gonna be a handful later in life, I just have a feeling.

Sharing a studio with 5 people is only possible if one of them is under 3 years old. It was tight - but for the amount of time we were actually in our room, it was doable. The original plan was to have Claire sleep in the pack-n-play while I would share the couch pull-out with Addison and my DW and SIL could share the Queen.

And we all know, with kids, your plan never goes exactly as you had hoped. So it actually ended up being...Claire on the couch bed with me, and Addison, DW, and SIL in the Queen!

Like I said - it worked - but it's not something we would want to do again. I know for a fact that there was some sleep lost of many a night.

Thanks for following along!

 

[afwdwfan]

We finished shopping around 12:30 or so (yeah, they still honored our coupon)

Well, when it is already marked up 300%, what's a 20% discount to them?

Actually, they just didn't want to restock the pile of merchandise you brought to the check out counter when you decided you didn't want to buy it without the discount.

We all had a little R & R, and maybe a few adult beverages on the balcony listening to the sounds of the boats, train, and the occasional show at MK when the wind blew just right. A great way to relax!

Maybe a few adult beverages??? Sounds like maybe a few too many if you ask me.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Looks like the girls had an awesome day at MK. And that is a fantastic night shot of Dumbo!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Scott-
Sadly, I have fallen quite behind on your TR. Bringing a new baby home tends to do that type of stuff. But I'm all caught up now! I agree - that night shot of Dumbo is awesome!

And I've been there with the camera issues before. Thankfully it's never been at Disney World, but I've had one card get so corrupted that it was unreadable - and I still had pictures on it! I took a leap of faith, formatted it, then used recovery software to dig down and pull the files off. It's usually possible if the card is not written to after formatting.

Bring on the next update!

 

[scott2997]

Well, when it is already marked up 300%, what's a 20% discount to them?

Actually, they just didn't want to restock the pile of merchandise you brought to the check out counter when you decided you didn't want to buy it without the discount.


Maybe a few adult beverages??? Sounds like maybe a few too many if you ask me.

I think we ended up going through a case of beer and a fifth of scotch for the whole week. So, yeah just a few beverages.

Looks like the girls had an awesome day at MK. And that is a fantastic night shot of Dumbo!

Thanks Mark!

Scott-
Sadly, I have fallen quite behind on your TR. Bringing a new baby home tends to do that type of stuff. But I'm all caught up now! I agree - that night shot of Dumbo is awesome!

And I've been there with the camera issues before. Thankfully it's never been at Disney World, but I've had one card get so corrupted that it was unreadable - and I still had pictures on it! I took a leap of faith, formatted it, then used recovery software to dig down and pull the files off. It's usually possible if the card is not written to after formatting.

Bring on the next update!

I guess it's ok if you've fallen behind....I'll let it slide this time. But, I'm not going to take the "I've got a new baby at home" excuse anymore.

Just kidding Barry - take all the time you need...hope you're enjoying your new bundle of joy!

 

[ChattaAlley]

Ok...I just got all caught up on your TR and now I am subscribing.

Your girls are adorable. Just beautiful. Can't wait to hear more.

 

[scott2997]

Ok...I just got all caught up on your TR and now I am subscribing.

Your girls are adorable. Just beautiful. Can't wait to hear more.

Thanks for following along Alley....working on an update now!

 

[scott2997]

Thursday, April 5th

Like I said, today would be a two park day. But where haven't we been yet??

We got up early (this was definitely the norm for the whole week) and made our way down to the contemporary bus stop. There were only a few families there, and only a couple got on the bus for AK.

We headed straight for....

A Giant Truck...

In my extensive research, I learned that we were more likely to see more animals doing the safari in the morning than later in the day. Plus, we only had a 10 minute wait!

So we're off to help our friend "Wilson" run out the poachers...

The hippos were refusing to give me a good shot...

We saw lots of these...

and lots of Elephant butts...

Look at the horns on this one!

We caught up with a Cheetah on a hill...

The King of Beasts was up...

but the Warthog was still sleeping...

After our safari, we caught some breakfast at that little corner shack across from Tusker House. Just a flatbread breakfast sandwich and some coffee that I managed to spill on myself.

We made our way over to Everest to check on the line. It was about 35 minutes already, but it turns out I was the only one that wanted to ride it. So I hopped in the single rider line.

What a ride. But, of course, the Yeti wasn't working.

While I was doing Everest, the rest of the gals decided to walk the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

They saw some of these....

And some striped Kitties....

They met up with me and decided to take a quick picture. Addison was working' it....

I had grabbed some fastpasses for the 11:30a show for Festival of the Lion King when we walked in, so we made our way over there to check it out.

We were in the Lions section! Raaarrrrr.....Scared ya didn't I?!?

Those tumbling monkeys move so fast....it's hard to get a great shot...

This guy was all hot and bothered.....

and crazy!

It really was an outstanding show. I highly recommend it!

After the show, we hit a few shops on the way out for our mid-day break. We caught our bus back to BLT for our afternoon nap and adult beverage time.

But as Addison says "Where are we going when we wake up?"....

Continued in next post

 

[scott2997]

Continued....

It was Thursday, and we had one last opportunity to catch up with one more princess. My DW put on her SuperMom cape one more time and ran her way to....

But, what I want to know is "When will her reflection show, who she is inside??"

Then Mulan says "make a silly face!"

Mulan was great and the girls had a ball with her. She would be the last princess we saw this trip! So if you're keeping count, we managed to see almost all of them. All but who??


Pocahontas

But is she really a princess?? It's debatable.


We had planned to make this evening our World Showcase evening and just tour leisurely around the different pavilions.

Ahh...The Fatherland...

Salute!

That was a great beer by the way....it was a Hovel from the stand out front. My first Hovel. Yum!

We browsed the different shops in Germany. I loved all the Steins and the carmel shop!


The bridges out in front of Italy offer a nice view....

By this time, our bellies were grumbly. And it didn't help seeing all of the Bratwurst and Kraut back in the Germany pavilion.

But where would we eat?!

Konnichiwa!! Teppan Edo

This was the first experience for our girls and Hibachi style dining.

Addison loved it....

You gotta get a volcano shot!

We all had the combination platter of Steak and Chicken. It was good. They prepare your steak to order as well.

They have three awesome dipping sauces for your meat and vegetables. Very good food, and an awesome experience for your little ones!

We said Arrigato to Japan and made our way through Morocco to France.

And one of these...

If you haven't heard about the Grey Goose Citron Slushies yet, here's my recommendation for them! Yum! Very refreshing and not "underpowered" if you know what I mean.

It was starting to get late at this point and we made our way a little quicker around to the next pavilion

After crossing the bridge to the UK, we heard a band playing in the pavilion the back. We enjoyed the last 10 minutes of the British Invasion set. They did a couple Beatles hits and some Queen as well. Great Band!

All that listening had worked up a thirst for us. So we had to check out the Rose and Crown Pub. I mean, you can't go through the UK and not stop and grab a cold one.

My choice was Irish...mmmm...Guinness, complete with a Shamrock on top.

See the Shamrock??? Yeah, me neither.

We walked briskly through the Canadian Pavilion - besides, what's there really to see in Canada?? Right Brian???

It was around 9p and we decided to catch a little bit of Illuminations on the way out, but this time from a distance. We parked the stroller right in front of the Fountain of Nations. DW and SIL ran into MouseGears quick to see if there was anything else that caught their eye.

So sitting near the fountain isn't the best spot to see anything, but you could still experience Illuminations through the music. Plus, it gave you head start to make your way to the monorail or other transportation!

We made it on the first monorail back to the TTC, and transferred to the resort line over to the Contemporary.

On our way up to our room, we were able to once again catch Wishes from the Observation deck...

It was a great day, but it was starting to set in that we only had one more park day to go until it was time to go back to reality.

Where would be spend our last day? Stay Tuned.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Wow, you guys had a really full day!

I agree that morning is the best time for the safari, and you guys saw lots of animals! You were super lucky to catch the cheetah up and about, they always seem to be sleeping when I'm on safari.

An evening in WS sounds totally perfect, and you choose some awesome beverage options! The grey goose slushie is my hands down favorite!

Glad Tepan Edo didn't disappoint! Habachi dining is always fun, its our go-to meal when we want to eat out with our two year old. You can't beat the built in entertainment, and the fire doesn't hurt either!

 

[scott2997]

Wow, you guys had a really full day!

I agree that morning is the best time for the safari, and you guys saw lots of animals! You were super lucky to catch the cheetah up and about, they always seem to be sleeping when I'm on safari.

An evening in WS sounds totally perfect, and you choose some awesome beverage options! The grey goose slushie is my hands down favorite!

Glad Tepan Edo didn't disappoint! Habachi dining is always fun, its our go-to meal when we want to eat out with our two year old. You can't beat the built in entertainment, and the fire doesn't hurt either!

It was a full day!

I thought we did see a lot of animals...it was nice to be able to catch a glimpse of the Cheetah up on the hill. I was thankful for the reach of my lens!

The girls ended up napping a little longer than normal that day, so we didn't get to the world showcase as early as I had hoped. So we kinda rushed through it, but we were still able to enjoy some libations!

 

[afwdwfan]

See the Shamrock??? Yeah, me neither.

Maybe you should have had 1 or 2 less adult beverages in the room before you decided to drink around the world then.

Looks like a great day. Love spending the evening strolling around World Showcase and enjoying some native drinks. Big bonus points too for catching Wishes back at your room.

 

[twokids0204]

We walked briskly through the Canadian Pavilion - besides, what's there really to see in Canada?? Right Brian???

Nothing to see there when you're a stumbling drunk...

It's really a pavilion for those with a higher education, and appreciation.

 

[scott2997]

Maybe you should have had 1 or 2 less adult beverages in the room before you decided to drink around the world then.

Looks like a great day. Love spending the evening strolling around World Showcase and enjoying some native drinks. Big bonus points too for catching Wishes back at your room.

You gotta get a good base going Andy!

That was one of my favorite things about BLT - being able to come home after visiting any park and having a perfect view of Wishes. Definitely worth the extra money for deluxe!

Nothing to see there when you're a stumbling drunk...

It's really a pavilion for those with a higher education, and appreciation.

Who said I was drunk??

I can appreciate that it's a pavilion - but I'm higher educated enough to know I can walk right on through it.

 

[scott2997]

Friday, April 6th - Our last Park day.

It was our last early morning. For a park anyway!

And because it's the girls favorite park, we went here...

It was so cool to go during an early EMH and see nobody down main street!

Even though this was our third day at MK. We had goals to achieve today.

It was not too long after 7am and DW and the girls headed straight for the Rapunzel Meet and Greet area. While they went to wait in line - I tried to head for Adventureland to catch PoC and get fast passes for Splash. What I didn't know is that these areas aren't open during morning EMH.

So I decided to head to what WAS open. Fantasyland and Peter Pan's Flight. With no wait, I road PPF and made it to a ride I had ever yet to ride!

Snow White's Scary Adventure!

I'm glad I was able to get on it before it was removed permanently!

I was heading toward Winnie the Pooh, when around the corner come the girls. Turns out, after talking to a CM, Rapunzel's first viewing wasn't until 9:15, and there was no line currently to wait in.

So we all decided to ride Winnie the Pooh, also a ride that we hadn't previously ridden. Thankfully Addison had no fears on this ride. I guess it was "light" enough inside. She's not one for the dark rides!

Seeing that the line for our next ride was rather short, we decided to get on yet another ride we had never done.....

Yep - we had never done the Tomorrowland Speedway.

I rode with Addison....

She didn't do too bad!

By this time, it was getting close to 8am - the park opening for everybody else. I knew this meant that Adventureland and Frontierland would be opening as well. So we devised a plan.

Aunt Jenn would stay with Addison and Claire and wait for the Alice meet and greet, while DW got in line for Rapunzel. This gave me an opportunity to go and get on Pirates and a few others I wanted to get on before our trip was over.

With our plan in place, we all separated.

Aunt Jenn got some pictures of Addison with Alice....

My DW was the very first in line for Rapunzel!

And meanwhile, I head on over to Frontierland. I head straight for Splash and grab fast passes for later. I had planned on jumping in standby then as well, but it wasn't running at the time. I then made my way over to Haunted Mansion.

It, also, wasn't running at the time! Really??? But, after talking to a CM, he said it might be up soon. So I jumped in line and decided to check out the interactive queue area. Pretty cool!

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait too long and I was ushered into the stretching room.

What a cool ride! After seeing my hitchhiking ghost, I decided to stay in the Liberty Square area and try to catch Pirates later. I wanted to check out this new Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom that I've seen people play all week.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures...I had left my camera with the girls.

I went over to the sign up area that I had noticed earlier in the week. Got my key card and spell cards and started my first level experience. My first experience involved the Shadowman kidnapping Tiana. It was my job to find her and free her. With the help of my map, I made my way all over Frontierland and freed Tiana.

It was quite cool and I can see why, kids especially, could really get hooked on it!

It was getting close to 9am by now and I made my way back to the Rapunzel meet and greet area. I didn't have to wait too long when they started letting us in.

It was now around 9:30a, and I was feeling pretty good about what we'd been able to accomplish so far! But we were hungry...so we headed back up to Main Street to check out the offerings for breakfast. We still had a couple of Counter Service credits to use.

It was then that I saw the ultimate breakfast...and it was coming from Casey's. It was a thing of beauty....a hot dog style breakfast sandwich with sausage, eggs, cheese, and topped with bacon.... :drool:

Feast your eyes....

Isn't it wonderful?? Oh and we had to try a Cinnamon Roll. Also awesome!

So what's better to do after eating the ultimate breakfast??? Go Shopping of course!

Emporium - here we come! I believe we had yet another coupon to use before noon. And you can't waste a coupon right?

Here's my "Where's Addison" picture...

We picked up a few more items and headed back to Adventureland. Pirate Claire and I rode Pirates of the Caribbean together and met up with the rest of the girls in the shop at the exit.

It was time then to use or Fastpasses for Splash. We used the rider swap option. Tricia and I rode together first, and then Tricia and Aunt Jenn rode. The girls and I hung out with our stroller over at the bridge to watch for them and, in the meantime, get a little wet from the spray! It felt good, as it was already getting' hot!

To cool us off even more after Splash, we decided to say Aloha to Aloha Isle...

Yum - yet another first for us. Our first dole whip!

We decided to catch the Noon parade and then head back to BLT for naps. But first, there was something else that we had been meaning to try all week.

Some of you know there is something new being served at Sleepy Hollow...

"It was glorious"

Who would've thought waffles and chicken would taste that good together.

We caught the Noon parade and Claire finally found where the Beast was. She had only been asking every character all week..."Where's the Beast??!"

There he is Claire....

Insert Naps HERE.....

to be continued next post....