amreli
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2001
Hi simbalion!!
Thanks for reading! How did your jan trip go? Did you find the crowds as bad as we did??? We ended up having a great time anyway though.
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Surviving Disney & the 1/2 Marathon (Jan 09) - Our 1st Trip Report!
- Thread starter amreli
- Start date
Hi simbalion!!
Thanks for reading! How did your jan trip go? Did you find the crowds as bad as we did??? We ended up having a great time anyway though.
amreli
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2001
Today was the first day of the trip that we actually slept in a little bit. Since we didn’t have to get to a rope drop and Blizzard Beach didn’t open until 10am (I think?), we slept in until 9, then got on our swimsuits and drove on over. It was soooo nice, sleeping in and not having to rush around to get to rope drop.
When we arrived, it was pretty soon after opening and the park was pretty empty. I should mention that despite the fact that it was January, the high for the day was something like 83 degrees out with clear blue skies. It was perfect weather for a water park!
DH and I riding in the sleigh.
When we got there, we found some chairs, sprayed on the sunscreen and went right to the ski lift. I don’t think we ever just relaxed in our chairs. If we go back on future trip, I’ll definitely schedule more time there because even though we did everything, we didn’t do anything twice, nor did we go in the wave pool or just relax in the sand. Anyway…
We got on the ski lift and headed straight to steamboat springs. DB wanted to take the stairs because he was slightly scared of the ski lift. But once we all got in one and was climbing up to the top, he realized that taking the ski lift made more sense since there were A LOT of steps. DH loves water rides, but wasn’t so sure about the water park, so we decided to do the group ride first to ease him into it. Unfortunately, you have to have a minimum of 4 people to ride and since we only had 3, we had to wait until more people showed up to ride. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait to long because another group of 3 showed up within 5 minutes or so. We loved this ride! We had planned to ride again after lunch, but never made it back on it.
After Teamboat Springs, we rode the ski lift back up and this time went down Runoff Rapids. On Runoff Rapids, you can either go down by yourself in an open or closed tube or you can do it as a two-person in the open tubes. The first time we went down, DH and I went down two-person in the open tube and Mia went down in the closed tube. We decided to ride again and this time we all went down the closed tube. The open one was fun, but the closed one was so cool because it was completely dark and you couldn’t tell when you’d be curving around next. It was like a space mountain water slide.The only part I didn't like about this ride was that you had to carry your own tubes up several flights of stairs. You go through all that work for a very short burst of fun. But it was worth it.
Next we hopped into the lazy river, which was right next to where we got off the rapids. We rode the lazy river around to the next stop and then rode the Double Dipper. If you haven’t been to Blizzard Beach, the Double Dipper is actually two water slides with two humps (or dips) each (thus the name Double Dipper). The fun part is that they give you a 3…2…1 to go and then you’re racing to see who wins. DH and I went down at the same time and he won. Mia, I think, went down by herself. If so, she won as well.
Since I was by myself, another single rider went in the other lane. I do think I won my race.
Next we rode the Snow Stormers and Toboggans. Both of these are slides that you go down on your stomach. I loved both.. so much fun! Well, except for the mouthful of water I got at the bottom. DH and Mia on the other hand didn’t care for either one of them. I think they said they were bumping their arms, etc. It was hard for me to push off from the top...I felt like a beached whale, flailing around until I could scootch myself far enough that gravity finally took over.
At this point we were done with all the slides except for the two biggies. We trudged up the steps to the Slush Gusher. As nervous as I was, we still had Summit Plummet to come. This slide was just ok in my opinion. After one of the humps, I swear I got some air time. Personally, I think the twisting, non-hump/dipping slides are more fun.
Once at the bottom, Mia and I bit the bullet, hopped the ski lift, and headed to Summit Plummet. DH sat this one out and had planned to video us coming down. From the moment we got to the park that day, I was freaked out about going down this slide. When we got on the ski lift and actually headed towards it, I started biting my fingernails.
We got off the lift and headed to the towering steps. The line was all the way to the bottom of the steps, so we were lucky enough to have all that waiting time to get even more nervous. When we were about halfway up, some kid came back down the stairs after having turned around. The poor thing was being made fun of by other people in line for not doing it. At that point, I knew I’d be going down the slide and most definitely not making that walk of shame.
The whole way up, we had this guy behind us who was by himself and he kept laughing at how nervous I was. Mia was so nonchalant about it and just kept saying how fun it would be, until we got to the top that is. I could tell Amreli was really scared and nervous. I was nervous too but I couldn't show it because if I had shown how I was feeling, I think she would have chickened out.We finally arrived to the summit and it was her turn. She sat down on and tried to look over. BIG mistake. Next thing I hear is “Oh my god. Oh my god.” as she’s scooting backwards. I couldn't see the rest of the slide except for the bottom and that's when it hit me how scary this slide really is. When you sit down and look over that ledge, you can’t see anything, not even the slide! It’s just a straight drop down. Then she suddenly says ok, and takes off. As she’s plummeting down, I hear nothing but super loud screams. I had to laugh at her screams
, but really, it only made me more afraid. 
It was my turn next and I started to really freak out. I moved to the side and glanced over and tears formed in the corners of my eyes. No, I’m not joking. I made the guy behind me go down while I debated what I was going to do. Suddenly, I hear these teenage girls behind me whispering to each other “Is she crying??” I look right at them and said “yeah, I’m seriously freaked out!”
After the guy went down, I figured it was now or never. I better go down or walk down. Figuring I’d never hear the end of it from Mia (and because I didn’t want to make that walk of shame), I forced myself to sit down. The slider operator asked if I wanted to look down first (is he seriously crazy?!?!?) I laid back and took off. Oh. My. God. That slide gives you one serious wedgie. I ended up surviving the slide and was proud of myself for doing it, but I’m not sure I’d ever do it again. Mia, on the other hand, wanted to go again right away!
After I got to the bottom, I got out and walked over to DB to wait for Amy. As I watch the next person come flying down the slide, I realize that that person IS NOT Amreli. Instead, it was the guy behind us. I asked him how he came down before Amreli, and he said that she made him go before her and that she was really freaked out up there. Well, that got us concerned and were thinking that maybe one of us should go up and see what was going on...but then the next person came down the slide...and it was Amreli. Whew!
Remember how I mentioned DH was videoing the whole thing? He said he was, but our camera stops videoing after a few minutes, so he only got a small part of Mia coming down and then it shut off without him realizing it.
Finally, after a morning full of water rides, we decided it was time for lunch. We sat down at Lottawatta Lodge (love the name – lot of water
) We all got burgers and fries. I love how they’ll let you come back later for your dessert here! We had planned to go down a few more slides, so that would have been useful, but we ended up getting our dessert and eating it right then. 
Ice cream sandwiches for DH and I and a strawberry bar for Mia.
We were exhausted at that point and decided to just head bag to the hotel to shower and nap. We looked through the few shops they had there, posed with the snow family, then headed to the car.
It was nice that we drove here instead of taking the bus so we didn’t have to wait. When we got back, I think we all fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
Coming Up:
Day 4: An Evening Around the World
When we arrived, it was pretty soon after opening and the park was pretty empty. I should mention that despite the fact that it was January, the high for the day was something like 83 degrees out with clear blue skies. It was perfect weather for a water park!
DH and I riding in the sleigh.
When we got there, we found some chairs, sprayed on the sunscreen and went right to the ski lift. I don’t think we ever just relaxed in our chairs. If we go back on future trip, I’ll definitely schedule more time there because even though we did everything, we didn’t do anything twice, nor did we go in the wave pool or just relax in the sand. Anyway…
We got on the ski lift and headed straight to steamboat springs. DB wanted to take the stairs because he was slightly scared of the ski lift. But once we all got in one and was climbing up to the top, he realized that taking the ski lift made more sense since there were A LOT of steps. DH loves water rides, but wasn’t so sure about the water park, so we decided to do the group ride first to ease him into it. Unfortunately, you have to have a minimum of 4 people to ride and since we only had 3, we had to wait until more people showed up to ride. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait to long because another group of 3 showed up within 5 minutes or so. We loved this ride! We had planned to ride again after lunch, but never made it back on it.
After Teamboat Springs, we rode the ski lift back up and this time went down Runoff Rapids. On Runoff Rapids, you can either go down by yourself in an open or closed tube or you can do it as a two-person in the open tubes. The first time we went down, DH and I went down two-person in the open tube and Mia went down in the closed tube. We decided to ride again and this time we all went down the closed tube. The open one was fun, but the closed one was so cool because it was completely dark and you couldn’t tell when you’d be curving around next. It was like a space mountain water slide.The only part I didn't like about this ride was that you had to carry your own tubes up several flights of stairs. You go through all that work for a very short burst of fun. But it was worth it.
Next we hopped into the lazy river, which was right next to where we got off the rapids. We rode the lazy river around to the next stop and then rode the Double Dipper. If you haven’t been to Blizzard Beach, the Double Dipper is actually two water slides with two humps (or dips) each (thus the name Double Dipper). The fun part is that they give you a 3…2…1 to go and then you’re racing to see who wins. DH and I went down at the same time and he won. Mia, I think, went down by herself. If so, she won as well.
Since I was by myself, another single rider went in the other lane. I do think I won my race.Next we rode the Snow Stormers and Toboggans. Both of these are slides that you go down on your stomach. I loved both.. so much fun! Well, except for the mouthful of water I got at the bottom. DH and Mia on the other hand didn’t care for either one of them. I think they said they were bumping their arms, etc. It was hard for me to push off from the top...I felt like a beached whale, flailing around until I could scootch myself far enough that gravity finally took over.
At this point we were done with all the slides except for the two biggies. We trudged up the steps to the Slush Gusher. As nervous as I was, we still had Summit Plummet to come. This slide was just ok in my opinion. After one of the humps, I swear I got some air time. Personally, I think the twisting, non-hump/dipping slides are more fun.
Once at the bottom, Mia and I bit the bullet, hopped the ski lift, and headed to Summit Plummet. DH sat this one out and had planned to video us coming down. From the moment we got to the park that day, I was freaked out about going down this slide. When we got on the ski lift and actually headed towards it, I started biting my fingernails.
We got off the lift and headed to the towering steps. The line was all the way to the bottom of the steps, so we were lucky enough to have all that waiting time to get even more nervous. When we were about halfway up, some kid came back down the stairs after having turned around. The poor thing was being made fun of by other people in line for not doing it. At that point, I knew I’d be going down the slide and most definitely not making that walk of shame.
The whole way up, we had this guy behind us who was by himself and he kept laughing at how nervous I was. Mia was so nonchalant about it and just kept saying how fun it would be, until we got to the top that is. I could tell Amreli was really scared and nervous. I was nervous too but I couldn't show it because if I had shown how I was feeling, I think she would have chickened out.We finally arrived to the summit and it was her turn. She sat down on and tried to look over. BIG mistake. Next thing I hear is “Oh my god. Oh my god.” as she’s scooting backwards. I couldn't see the rest of the slide except for the bottom and that's when it hit me how scary this slide really is. When you sit down and look over that ledge, you can’t see anything, not even the slide! It’s just a straight drop down. Then she suddenly says ok, and takes off. As she’s plummeting down, I hear nothing but super loud screams. I had to laugh at her screams
, but really, it only made me more afraid. It was my turn next and I started to really freak out. I moved to the side and glanced over and tears formed in the corners of my eyes. No, I’m not joking. I made the guy behind me go down while I debated what I was going to do. Suddenly, I hear these teenage girls behind me whispering to each other “Is she crying??” I look right at them and said “yeah, I’m seriously freaked out!”
After the guy went down, I figured it was now or never. I better go down or walk down. Figuring I’d never hear the end of it from Mia (and because I didn’t want to make that walk of shame), I forced myself to sit down. The slider operator asked if I wanted to look down first (is he seriously crazy?!?!?
) I laid back and took off. Oh. My. God. That slide gives you one serious wedgie. I ended up surviving the slide and was proud of myself for doing it, but I’m not sure I’d ever do it again. Mia, on the other hand, wanted to go again right away!After I got to the bottom, I got out and walked over to DB to wait for Amy. As I watch the next person come flying down the slide, I realize that that person IS NOT Amreli. Instead, it was the guy behind us. I asked him how he came down before Amreli, and he said that she made him go before her and that she was really freaked out up there. Well, that got us concerned and were thinking that maybe one of us should go up and see what was going on...but then the next person came down the slide...and it was Amreli. Whew!
Remember how I mentioned DH was videoing the whole thing? He said he was, but our camera stops videoing after a few minutes, so he only got a small part of Mia coming down and then it shut off without him realizing it.
Finally, after a morning full of water rides, we decided it was time for lunch. We sat down at Lottawatta Lodge (love the name – lot of water
) We all got burgers and fries. I love how they’ll let you come back later for your dessert here! We had planned to go down a few more slides, so that would have been useful, but we ended up getting our dessert and eating it right then. Ice cream sandwiches for DH and I and a strawberry bar for Mia. We were exhausted at that point and decided to just head bag to the hotel to shower and nap. We looked through the few shops they had there, posed with the snow family, then headed to the car.
It was nice that we drove here instead of taking the bus so we didn’t have to wait. When we got back, I think we all fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
Coming Up:
Day 4: An Evening Around the World
MEK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 8, 2005
Thanks for stopping by again!!
..yeah, we did enter in the same place as the regular standby line. They just had a CM there that walked us to the reserved section. That was a little weird because the last time we went (all the way back in 2001) I know we entered through the 'secret' entrance. It all worked out, but I would not have wanted to stand in a long standby line with the reserved seats.
Thanks for the info. I thought I heard that it is now the same entrance. We are going next month and I booked the pckg cause I knew I could not stand in the standby line. It's my nephew's first trip and I really wanted him to see it.
Once at the bottom, Mia and I bit the bullet, hopped the ski lift, and headed to Summit Plummet. DH sat this one out and had planned to video us coming down. From the moment we got to the park that day, I was freaked out about going down this slide. When we got on the ski lift and actually headed towards it, I started biting my fingernails.
As shes plummeting down, I hear nothing but super loud screams. I had to laugh at her screams
It was my turn next and I started to really freak out. I moved to the side and glanced over and tears formed in the corners of my eyes. No, Im not joking. I made the guy behind me go down while I debated what I was going to do. Suddenly, I hear these teenage girls behind me whispering to each other Is she crying?? I look right at them and said yeah, Im seriously freaked out!
After the guy went down, I figured it was now or never. I better go down or walk down. Figuring Id never hear the end of it from Mia (and because I didnt want to make that walk of shame), I forced myself to sit down. The slider operator asked if I wanted to look down first (is he seriously crazy?!?!?
You are much braver than I am. I was laughing my a.. off reading your description of this ride. Seriously - that bit about the walk of shame - too funny!
miabellarose
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
You are much braver than I am. I was laughing my a.. off reading your description of this ride. Seriously - that bit about the walk of shame - too funny!
HI. This is Mia...Once I got done with the ride, I didn't think it was all that bad. It was actually fun! I think the whole "anticipation" before the ride and having to wait and think about it makes it a lot worse than it actually is. You need to try it next time
miabellarose
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 25, 2008
MEK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 8, 2005
coffeehousemom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2008
HI I remember you guys from the Snowbirds thread. We were about the same time.
to you guys the is NO WAY IN $#@@ I will ever do Summit Plummit. I get scared watching it on tv.
to you guys the is NO WAY IN $#@@ I will ever do Summit Plummit. I get scared watching it on tv.
Gabes_mommy
Hoping to convert her DS into a fellow Disney fana
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2009
I haven't read everything yet but I had to stop and post to this. My DH and I struggled with infertility too and I actually was at Disney about 5 months before I finally got pregnant and I was having the same wishes and dreams as you.
Now my little miracle is 2.5 and has already been to Disney twice. 
I hope your wishes come true too sometime soon. 
amreli
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2001
HI I remember you guys from the Snowbirds thread. We were about the same time.
The other day my DH and I were watching a special on the travel channel about the top water slides/parks in the U.S. and they listed Summit Plummet as the tallest and fastest water slide in the world! That was enough to scare me too!
I was seriously freaked out. At least it only lasts 7 seconds. The hardest part is pushing youself over that edge. I swear I though I was just going to fly forward off into the air rather than slide down the slide. I survived to tell the tale, but I won't be chancing it again!
I haven't read everything yet but I had to stop and post to this. My DH and I struggled with infertility too and I actually was at Disney about 5 months before I finally got pregnant and I was having the same wishes and dreams as you.
Aww thanks for sharing!! We're hoping to do IVF in a few months, but it seems like we keep getting nothing but bad news. I'm hoping for some good news sometime soon. In the meantime, I keep listening to wishes!
amreli
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2001
When we got up, we started getting ready for our evening at Epcot. Donald and Pooh had spent the afternoon at the hospital, but were meeting up with us at Epcot later on.
Mia took a few pics of our room while we were getting ready. I wonder if everyone else’s rooms end up looking as messy as ours did? It was all Amreli and DB's stuff...they brought a lot of STUFF!
When we were ready (around 4pm or so), we headed to the bus stop.
A is for amreli…
I just thought this shadow was really cool.
DH and I on the bus to Epcot.
When we got to Epcot, we first stopped for some photopass pics.
Mia, DH, and me.
After pics, we checked for FP for Soarin’, but they had been gone for hours. The park was packed, as was the theme this entire trip. We ended up bypassing the Future World rides and made a stop in Club Cool to try the infamous Beverly.
DH trying it.
Mia trying it.
Me trying it.
DH and I have been to the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta and they have these to taste there as well, so we had done it before. Mia had not though, so it was all new to her.
Even though we had tried them before, it was just as nasty as always. 
When we finished our drink tasting, we headed to the World Showcase.
Pretty ‘snowflakes’ along the way! I didn't realize that they're supposed to be snowflakes...I thought they were just random "puff" balls on sticks! Maybe they were.
Snowflakes sounds prettier though!
The tree was still up!
We started the Showcase with Mexico since we had dinner ADR’s in Canada at Le Cellier. If you remember back to my first post, Mia and I had created a pretty detailed spreadsheet/schedule for each of the parks. We had marked down times for all of the various World Showcase shows/events and had a plan of what we wanted to see and when. Because off this plan and because we planed to spend another day at Epcot, we skipped the first few countries and just walked along the path quickly looking at each country.
In Italy, we stopped to watch Sergio, the juggler.
Coming Up:
An Evening Around the World - Part 2
Mia took a few pics of our room while we were getting ready. I wonder if everyone else’s rooms end up looking as messy as ours did? It was all Amreli and DB's stuff...they brought a lot of STUFF!
When we were ready (around 4pm or so), we headed to the bus stop.
A is for amreli…
I just thought this shadow was really cool.
DH and I on the bus to Epcot.
When we got to Epcot, we first stopped for some photopass pics.
Mia, DH, and me.
After pics, we checked for FP for Soarin’, but they had been gone for hours. The park was packed, as was the theme this entire trip. We ended up bypassing the Future World rides and made a stop in Club Cool to try the infamous Beverly.
DH trying it.
Mia trying it.
Me trying it.
DH and I have been to the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta and they have these to taste there as well, so we had done it before. Mia had not though, so it was all new to her.
Even though we had tried them before, it was just as nasty as always. When we finished our drink tasting, we headed to the World Showcase.
Pretty ‘snowflakes’ along the way! I didn't realize that they're supposed to be snowflakes...I thought they were just random "puff" balls on sticks! Maybe they were.
Snowflakes sounds prettier though!
The tree was still up!
We started the Showcase with Mexico since we had dinner ADR’s in Canada at Le Cellier. If you remember back to my first post, Mia and I had created a pretty detailed spreadsheet/schedule for each of the parks. We had marked down times for all of the various World Showcase shows/events and had a plan of what we wanted to see and when. Because off this plan and because we planed to spend another day at Epcot, we skipped the first few countries and just walked along the path quickly looking at each country.
In Italy, we stopped to watch Sergio, the juggler.
Coming Up:
An Evening Around the World - Part 2
amreli
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2001
Next, we headed to America to see the Fife & Drum Corps and the Voices of Liberty. These were both on the top of Mia’s list. I wasn’t so sure about either of them, but I’m glad that we did both! Even though we live in America I still wanted to watch the different things there because I really like history, and I'd read from different posters that their shows were good. /COLOR]
Can you spot DH?
The Voices of Liberty were really good!
Can you tell how tired we are though? It looked like they were more bored than tired, so I told them it was okay if they wanted to leave early...which they did.
Next, we headed to Japan and caught the end of Miyuki’s (the candy lady) show. These candies are cute, but I wonder what they actually taste like??
I do wish we had gotten to see more of this.
Then we headed inside Japan.
We were here for what was Mia’s absolute, number one thing to do in all of Epcot’s World Showcase – pick a pearl. She had talked about this for months and couldn’t wait to do it. I hadn’t planned on picking one myself, but DH convinced me to do it.
So, we purchased our ‘pick a pearl’ for $15 and took our numbers over to the CM at the tanks. We each picked our oyster (Mia said to look for the fuzziest ones) and then Mia’s came out first. She opened it and Mia ended up with a pink tinted pearl that she made into a ring! Mine came next and I got a (bigger!) green tinted one. The girl who opened up Amreli's oyster made a HUGE deal on how much bigger her pearl was compared to mine, and then she banged on the drums to announce the big pearl. I just want to say, I also picked that oyster out for Amreli too.Could have fooled me though as I couldn’t see the tints in either of them. I ended up making mine into a necklace. Very pretty souveniers. I wear my ring everyday. I'm sooo glad I got the ring!
Here is Mia’s pearl. Looks white to me!
The whole process of making them into jewelry took quite awhile, so we ended up in the Japan pavilion for like an hour and a half. In the meantime, we got a call from Pooh and Donald, who were waiting for us in Canada. We finally picked up our jewelry, bought DH some apple marble drink he had picked up, then did a fast walk over to Canada where we met up with Donald and Pooh.
They looked hilarious in their shirts! I had actually bought everyone one of these shirts last summer when they were on clearance at DisneyShopping.com. They ended up being only $3.50 each! Anyway, we were all going to wear them one day and we had mentioned wearing them to the water park. Well, Donald and Pooh skipped Blizzard Beach to go to the hospital and hadn’t seen us all day. They thought we were all wearing our shirts that day and weren’t all that thrilled when the saw us without them. It was especially funny though because everyone kept asking them why they were grumpy in Disney and Donald was just embarrassed.
Anyway, we were a little early for our ADR at Le Cellier, but we decided to check in anyway. As they checked us in, their computer broke, so we ended up having to go inside to check in.
Everything worked out well because even though our ADR had been made as 2 tables (that was all they had), we ended up with one table. I had read how the tables were crowded together but I really didn't notice this. I thought there was plenty of room between the tables to walk around.
We had the best time here and absolutely loved our food! After reading all the recommendations on the boards, we tried the cheese soup to start and dipped the pretzel bread in it (based on the recommendations of the boards and our waitress! Delicious!!
I have to give a shout out to our waitress here because she was awesome! She was so bubbly and friendly! Her name was Jennifer and she reminded us of Rachel Ray, which Mia mentioned to her at some point during dinner. After that, she kept saying “yummo!” when she would come back to our table. I asked if she was at all related to Rachel Ray because she really sounded like her, looked like a younger version of her, and she kept calling us "kids". I thought they were all valid reasons in asking her that. I agree!
For dinner, we all had the filet (so, so, so, so, so good!!!). For dessert, I think the majority of us had crème brulee. Donald had some chocolate cake that was really, really rich. DH had the chocolate mousse … too cute! I was sooo full from the dinner, and I didn't think I would eat much of the creme brulee, but somehow, I ended up eating ALL of it.
Everything was definitely “Yummo!”
After dinner, we headed out and decided to stake out a spot for Illuminations. We had maybe 15-20 minutes, but most of the great spots were already taken. We found one ok spot near England, but Mia ran ahead and ended up finding an even better one on the bridge. When I found my spot, there was enough space for a few of us next to this guy that was on the phone. Then before the rest of my family could get to me, his family came too. But the guy didn't say anything about me standing there or that he was saving those spots, so I stayed. Thank you, guy!
DH and I waiting for Illuminations
Donald and Pooh waiting for Illuminations
Illuminations
I had never seen Illuminations before because we always rode rides during it to take advantage of shorter lines. I really enjoyed it though! It’s not wishes, but it was still really good! When it ended, we followed the masses out of the park.
Everything looked so pretty as we were leaving…
After we crossed out of world showcase and were near the fountains in my pic above, I got separated from DH and Mia when I stopped to take those pics. It was even worse because I had just given DH my bag to carry and my cell phone was in it! So, I had no way to call them to find out where they were and vice versa. I ended up going into MouseGears because we had talked about stopping in there. Probably 15 minutes later, we finally found each other!! DB and I were right in front of the fountains, looking forever for Amreli but couldn't find her. DB finally decided to go to MouseGears to see if Amreli had gone in there. After a few minutes, I see both of them outside of MouseGears, waving me in. Thank goodness. We ended up browsing for a bit while the crowds thinned a little, then headed to the busses. As we were getting close to the busses, we saw ours about to close up and leave, so we took off running hoping to catch it. Luckily, we made it, even though we were out of breath.
It had been another loooong day and we were completely exhausted. DH and I walking very slowly (so tired!) back to our room.
Coming Up: Will we ever make it on TSM or R’nR??
Day 5: An Early Casting Call
Can you spot DH?
The Voices of Liberty were really good!
Can you tell how tired we are though? It looked like they were more bored than tired, so I told them it was okay if they wanted to leave early...which they did.
Next, we headed to Japan and caught the end of Miyuki’s (the candy lady) show. These candies are cute, but I wonder what they actually taste like??
I do wish we had gotten to see more of this.
Then we headed inside Japan.
We were here for what was Mia’s absolute, number one thing to do in all of Epcot’s World Showcase – pick a pearl. She had talked about this for months and couldn’t wait to do it. I hadn’t planned on picking one myself, but DH convinced me to do it.
So, we purchased our ‘pick a pearl’ for $15 and took our numbers over to the CM at the tanks. We each picked our oyster (Mia said to look for the fuzziest ones) and then Mia’s came out first. She opened it and Mia ended up with a pink tinted pearl that she made into a ring! Mine came next and I got a (bigger!) green tinted one. The girl who opened up Amreli's oyster made a HUGE deal on how much bigger her pearl was compared to mine, and then she banged on the drums to announce the big pearl. I just want to say, I also picked that oyster out for Amreli too.Could have fooled me though as I couldn’t see the tints in either of them. I ended up making mine into a necklace. Very pretty souveniers. I wear my ring everyday. I'm sooo glad I got the ring!
Here is Mia’s pearl. Looks white to me!
The whole process of making them into jewelry took quite awhile, so we ended up in the Japan pavilion for like an hour and a half. In the meantime, we got a call from Pooh and Donald, who were waiting for us in Canada. We finally picked up our jewelry, bought DH some apple marble drink he had picked up, then did a fast walk over to Canada where we met up with Donald and Pooh.
They looked hilarious in their shirts! I had actually bought everyone one of these shirts last summer when they were on clearance at DisneyShopping.com. They ended up being only $3.50 each! Anyway, we were all going to wear them one day and we had mentioned wearing them to the water park. Well, Donald and Pooh skipped Blizzard Beach to go to the hospital and hadn’t seen us all day. They thought we were all wearing our shirts that day and weren’t all that thrilled when the saw us without them. It was especially funny though because everyone kept asking them why they were grumpy in Disney and Donald was just embarrassed.
Anyway, we were a little early for our ADR at Le Cellier, but we decided to check in anyway. As they checked us in, their computer broke, so we ended up having to go inside to check in.
Everything worked out well because even though our ADR had been made as 2 tables (that was all they had), we ended up with one table. I had read how the tables were crowded together but I really didn't notice this. I thought there was plenty of room between the tables to walk around.
We had the best time here and absolutely loved our food! After reading all the recommendations on the boards, we tried the cheese soup to start and dipped the pretzel bread in it (based on the recommendations of the boards and our waitress! Delicious!!
I have to give a shout out to our waitress here because she was awesome! She was so bubbly and friendly! Her name was Jennifer and she reminded us of Rachel Ray, which Mia mentioned to her at some point during dinner. After that, she kept saying “yummo!” when she would come back to our table.
I asked if she was at all related to Rachel Ray because she really sounded like her, looked like a younger version of her, and she kept calling us "kids". I thought they were all valid reasons in asking her that. I agree! For dinner, we all had the filet (so, so, so, so, so good!!!). For dessert, I think the majority of us had crème brulee. Donald had some chocolate cake that was really, really rich. DH had the chocolate mousse … too cute! I was sooo full from the dinner, and I didn't think I would eat much of the creme brulee, but somehow, I ended up eating ALL of it.
Everything was definitely “Yummo!”
After dinner, we headed out and decided to stake out a spot for Illuminations. We had maybe 15-20 minutes, but most of the great spots were already taken. We found one ok spot near England, but Mia ran ahead and ended up finding an even better one on the bridge. When I found my spot, there was enough space for a few of us next to this guy that was on the phone. Then before the rest of my family could get to me, his family came too. But the guy didn't say anything about me standing there or that he was saving those spots, so I stayed. Thank you, guy!
DH and I waiting for Illuminations
Donald and Pooh waiting for Illuminations
Illuminations
I had never seen Illuminations before because we always rode rides during it to take advantage of shorter lines. I really enjoyed it though! It’s not wishes, but it was still really good! When it ended, we followed the masses out of the park.
Everything looked so pretty as we were leaving…
After we crossed out of world showcase and were near the fountains in my pic above, I got separated from DH and Mia when I stopped to take those pics. It was even worse because I had just given DH my bag to carry and my cell phone was in it! So, I had no way to call them to find out where they were and vice versa. I ended up going into MouseGears because we had talked about stopping in there. Probably 15 minutes later, we finally found each other!! DB and I were right in front of the fountains, looking forever for Amreli but couldn't find her. DB finally decided to go to MouseGears to see if Amreli had gone in there. After a few minutes, I see both of them outside of MouseGears, waving me in. Thank goodness. We ended up browsing for a bit while the crowds thinned a little, then headed to the busses. As we were getting close to the busses, we saw ours about to close up and leave, so we took off running hoping to catch it. Luckily, we made it, even though we were out of breath.
It had been another loooong day and we were completely exhausted. DH and I walking very slowly (so tired!) back to our room.
Coming Up: Will we ever make it on TSM or R’nR??
Day 5: An Early Casting Call
Sleeping*Beauty
Waiting For My Prince
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2007
I am loving your trip report. I can't wait till you get to the marathon.
amreli
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2001
Welcome!!
Yeah, a week in Disney commando style before the race wasn't the best idea, but it was a blast! Every night we got more and more nervous about the race as our feet got more sore!
MEK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 8, 2005
Another full day. Another great update. And....oh yeah, I forgot you guys were there to run the marathon. I was there right before the marathon last year and it was not crowded at all (except for the first day which was still part of the weekend). Looking forward to more.
amreli
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2001
A few years back I went with my dad to watch him run the marathon and the parks weren't busy at all! I don't know if it was because of the 4-3 promotion or if in our minds we just expected it to be a lot slower than what slow is.
The other problem could be that we generally went to parks with EMH, so maybe those were way more crowded those days. Maybe we should have paid more attention to those 'touring plan' threads! 
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