The Mr. & Mrs. Meeting Mickey in May- TAKE 3, with Bonus Features *Updated 7/11*

[IluvXU]

I've read your reports before.. glad you are back. Congrats on your DVC!

This is our third trip with DVC, you are smart to get it before kids.

Congrats on BLT at seven months, we hope to give it a try soon. We are headed to Vero before our stay at the Boardwalk Villas around the same time as you. Vero is wonderful, I wish we were doing Disney first, but our plans changed a bit so Vero then Disney for us.

 

[Cinderella16]

-Your plans for your next trip sound awesome! I stayed at BLT for my honeymoon… but ran into some less than stellar service. Hope that doesn’t happen to you!
-I’m loving your MK pics! They’re making me miss Disney pretty hardcore though.
-Ha! Your DH bathroom comments are cracking me up.

That stinks about the bad service at BLT. Did you do a TR on it, if you did, I'll have to go read it.

I've read your reports before.. glad you are back. Congrats on your DVC!

This is our third trip with DVC, you are smart to get it before kids.

Congrats on BLT at seven months, we hope to give it a try soon. We are headed to Vero before our stay at the Boardwalk Villas around the same time as you. Vero is wonderful, I wish we were doing Disney first, but our plans changed a bit so Vero then Disney for us.

Hi and welcome! I'm so glad you found me again.

I really have no idea what to expect from Vero, but I'm excited to try it. I've heard lots of great things about it. How many night are you staying?

You are lucky to be staying at the Boardwalk Villas. I have my eyes on that one and Beach Club one day, I just think it would be fun to stay at an Epcot resort.

Thanks for reading along!

 

[Cinderella16]

I've read your reports before.. glad you are back. Congrats on your DVC!

This is our third trip with DVC, you are smart to get it before kids.

Congrats on BLT at seven months, we hope to give it a try soon. We are headed to Vero before our stay at the Boardwalk Villas around the same time as you. Vero is wonderful, I wish we were doing Disney first, but our plans changed a bit so Vero then Disney for us.

One more thing: Do you know if we will still get Mickey mail even though we booked DVC? I thought I read that we won't somewhere, but I can't remember...or maybe you only do if arriving via Magical Express?

 

[IluvXU]

.


Hi and welcome! I'm so glad you found me again.

I really have no idea what to expect from Vero, but I'm excited to try it. I've heard lots of great things about it. How many night are you staying?

You are lucky to be staying at the Boardwalk Villas. I have my eyes on that one and Beach Club one day, I just think it would be fun to stay at an Epcot resort.

Thanks for reading along!

This is our second trip to Vero. We actually bought more points there because we liked it so (and felt point poor-ha ha). We stayed five nights before, and are doing three this trip, both trips in 1 bedrooms. Our plans changed to getting APs for all of us, so we wanted more WDW time than we had previously thought, so we cut time at Vero. There was a lot for our kids to do, and it was really relaxing. Great CM too. The turtle walk was our highlight, we are going to try to do one at the nearby state park this trip. That was the must do for me and our oldest, especially since I am a nerdy teacher.

We did not leave the resort at all.. so in terms of what is around, I am no help. I do have an old guide of the activities if you want to know more.

We love BCV. We have stayed there our two previous DVC trips once in a studio and once in a two bedroom with family. We are all a bit sad to not be at the Beach Club, but we wanted to try someplace new, and ended ups across Crescent lake I guess. We were booked forever at SSR, but just wanted to be where the action is.

One more thing: Do you know if we will still get Mickey mail even though we booked DVC? I thought I read that we won't somewhere, but I can't remember...or maybe you only do if arriving via Magical Express?

No mickey mail with DVC...

 

[mike the canuck]

Following along

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

-Pinocchio’s used to have the world’s most amazing Figaro Fries. I am very sad they are gone!
-LOL! It does look like sneeze glass. But I’m glad you got the seat you wanted.
-I think all girls our age had crushes on Leo. I had a huge poster in my bedroom that I used to kiss before bed every night.
-You guys look so cute and happy in the pool. Yay for breaks!

 

[Cinderella16]

This is our second trip to Vero. We actually bought more points there because we liked it so (and felt point poor-ha ha). We stayed five nights before, and are doing three this trip, both trips in 1 bedrooms. Our plans changed to getting APs for all of us, so we wanted more WDW time than we had previously thought, so we cut time at Vero. There was a lot for our kids to do, and it was really relaxing. Great CM too. The turtle walk was our highlight, we are going to try to do one at the nearby state park this trip. That was the must do for me and our oldest, especially since I am a nerdy teacher.

We did not leave the resort at all.. so in terms of what is around, I am no help. I do have an old guide of the activities if you want to know more.

We love BCV. We have stayed there our two previous DVC trips once in a studio and once in a two bedroom with family. We are all a bit sad to not be at the Beach Club, but we wanted to try someplace new, and ended ups across Crescent lake I guess. We were booked forever at SSR, but just wanted to be where the action is.


No mickey mail with DVC...

Bummer about the Mickey mail!!

Thanks for all the info on VB.That is awesome you didn't have to leave the resort for anything! That is what I call relaxation!!

Following along

Welcome! Thanks for reading!

-Pinocchio’s used to have the world’s most amazing Figaro Fries. I am very sad they are gone!
-LOL! It does look like sneeze glass. But I’m glad you got the seat you wanted.
-I think all girls our age had crushes on Leo. I had a huge poster in my bedroom that I used to kiss before bed every night.
-You guys look so cute and happy in the pool. Yay for breaks!

I used to kiss my posters too! I am sad I never tried Figaro Fries. Can you describe them to me? Why did they get rid of them?? Sorry, I just need to know these things to place them into my bank of seemingly useless Disney knowledge.

 

[Cinderella16]

The Mad Dash

Having woken up an hour later than we wanted, we RUSHED to get ready for our 5:00 PM ADR at O’Hanas. Something you should know about me, I HATE being late. I physically HATE it! In high school, the thought of being late for class had my stomach in knots. I love being early to places, in fact. So the fact that we were going to be late to my favorite restaurant had me in panic mode: What if they don’t honor our ADR?!? Is taking the monorail really the fastest way to get to the Poly? Yes, I realize I have neurotic tendencies.

And so, after very quick showers, 1 boat ride from the WL to the Contemporary, and 2 monorails stops to the Polynesian, we safely arrived...only about 10 minutes late, not too bad considering DH takes long showers.

We checked in, the the CM said it would only be a couple minutes for our table to be ready, so hung around the gorgeous lobby. I so wish to stay here one day, I hope they build a DVC wing. I’m sure they have enough leftover building materials, bedspreads, etc. from Aluani, it would fit perfectly. Get on that, Disney.

Hubby decked out his Hawaiian, vacation-only shirt

Me decked out in my Hawaiian dress for the occasion.

We didn’t mean to be all matchy-matchy, but you will notice that we end up matching ALL. THE. TIME and it not because we planned it. Oh-well at least it makes our pictures look cute.

Soon our pager buzzed, and we whisked off to our table to begin eating the DELICIOUS meal!

First some bread, salad, potstickers. LOVE the salad! LOVE the bread! LOVE the potstickers!

Then, some wings. LOVE the wings!

Some noodles, LOVE the noodles!

DH posing with the broccoli, you guessed it, LOVE the broccoli! I hope you are noticing that we LOVE this restaurant.

For some reason I don’t have pictures of all the meat, you know, the REASON to dine at O’hana! Well that and the fact that you get three dipping sauces to play around with! I LOVE dipping food, it shocks me that we have only been out for fondu once. DH, if you are reading, make it happen.

Since I didn’t take pictures of everything they gave us, probably because I was too busy scarfing it all down, I have provided you with the menu which I copied from: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningdetail.cfm?restaurant.ID=25

"Starters: Pork fried dumplings, Corriander chicken wings, and Mixed Greens with Honey-Lime dressing. Skewers (prepared over an oak fire): Marinated sirloin steak, Asian BBQ pork loin, Mesquite grilled turkey, and non-peeled shrimp. Accompaniments: broccoli and green peas and pad Thai noodles. Sauces: peanut, chimichurri and sweet-and-sour. Dessert: 'Ohana bread pudding a la mode with Banana Foster sauce."

It is so much food, we never ever leave there hungry and have vowed to visit each trip! It is non-negotiable.

The remains of the bread pudding! Even though you think you’re stuffed, there is always room for O’Hana’s bread pudding.

Our lovely dinner picture of the evening.

Bellies full and feeling well rested, it was time to hop that monorail passed the Grand Floridian and back to our Happy Place!

One of my favorite pictures of the entire trip. Thank you, Photopass!

I had postcards to mail to my niece and nephew, so I made sure to put them in mailbox on Main Street!

How awesome is it that there is a real mailbox on Main Street? Obviously, if you can’t tell from the picture, I am thrilled about this! Ah the little things in life.

Our first order of business was to use our hoarded FPs for Space Mountain.

Along the way, we saw a Photopass guy standing here to take our picture. This was probably the worst time of day to get your picture taken standing here...See if you can figure out why...

We were blinded by the sun! Ha!

No wonder there was no line to get our picture taken! We should've known.

I'm pretty sure our retinas had some permanent damage as we were seeing spots, but we somehow managed to make it over to Space Mountain, and we were thrilled that they still had FPs available, so we hoarded another and hopped in the FP line to ride with the one we received earlier in the day.

We were happy to be back on this one since it was closed in 2009!

--I apologize for the short update, but I have to get dinner started...more soon!

Up Next: More rides and a look back at Toon Town, plus EMH!

 

[Cinderella16]

29 DAYS TO GO!!!!!

I’m getting so very excited!!

Here is our plan for our arrival day:

Stop at the FLORIDA Welcome Center and get free orange juice, but of course!

Stop and get groceries for breakfast food.

Check into Bay Lake Tower!
Undoubtedly, we will explore the resort, mess up our room with all our stuff, but not before taking hundreds of pictures! Yay!

Depending on time, DH and I will WALK over to MK and get our annual passes activated and then, if time, we will enter our Happy Place for a couple rides.

We have an ADR at Chef Mickey’s for dinner and we will eat our first bites of glorious Disney food. After dinner, it’s back to the MK for nighttime shows!

How does that sound for the first day?

Since we’re going to be a group of 6, and all our DDP credits are pooled since we are staying in one room, so I took it upon myself and I made little dining cards for everyone so that everyone can keep track of their own credits. Plus, I really don’t want someone stealing my snack, that’s a Dole Whip, right there! I really don’t want to post them because they contain personal ADR info, but after, I probably will. Anyways, on the card, which I made in Powerpoint, I included all the Table Service credits we are using for dinners, so technically, no one has any Table Service credits to use because they all accounted for with the ADRs. I then made a section for Quick-Service credits and snack credits so that every time they use a credit, they can just mark it off of their card. They turned out cute!

I also made a welcome packet with each day's general plan such as: park hours, EMH times, ADR times, Disney-time saving tips, and which rides we Fastpass first. DH and I said from the start that his family can follow our plan if they want, or go off and do their own thing and meet us for our ADR that evening. I'm pretty sure they will follow our plan, which is fine, I think it will be a lot of fun because DH's cousin is older now and he is doing all the rides, not just the kiddie things anymore.

Needless to say, I’ve been busy on the computer getting all these planning things made!

Alright, I’m going to work on the TR update now!

 

[Cinderella16]

Before heading off to Fantasyland, we had a grand time in Toon Town (RIP).

Futuristic palm tree is still a palm tree to me!! I took this on our way out of Tomorrowland.

Aw, Toon Town, how I’ll miss you so! I loved all the details in Mickey and Minnie’s houses-So.Very.Cute!

http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r504/dizknee/DAY%202%20%20%20DISNEY%2020
10/Picture539.jpg

After saying our final goodbyes to Toon Town it was time to ride Peter Pan’s Flight.

But first, I snapped this of the new Fantasyland construction walls. I know they aren’t new anymore, but in 2010, they were!

Off to Neverland!

Happy flying in the sky!

Little Ariels.

Fun times, as always!

Next it was Philharmagic time. I think this is my favorite 3-Disney show!

DH likes it too, apparently!

At this point, we had two options: stake out a spot for Spectromagic (yes, it was still Spectromagic back then) or ride Splash Mountain with our hoarded Fastpass...we chose Splash Mountain, of course!

No pictures of it though, but at one point, I took this beauty!

I think we were finding a spot for Spectro at this point, but we didn’t have very good luck because I remember we couldn’t see a darn thing!

Oh well, at least Splash Mountain didn’t disappoint. After not seeing anything, but enjoying the Spectro soundtrack, we decided to go ride Space Mountain with our hoarded FP before Wishes began.

First, a picture.

After our second ride through space, we were able to find a prime location for Wishes, right in the hub, in front of the castle. Now, I love Wishes, but I HATE inconsiderate people.

Everyone sitting around us, including DH and I, were sitting on the ground, waiting for Wishes to begin. Everyone had a perfect view because, after all, it is a fireworks show in the sky and logically, if everyone stays seated and doesn’t come and stand right in front of you, you will be able to see perfectly.

Well, this was not the case, as the show began, these people just decided to stand in front us, rendering our awesome view useless! Some people, who were seated like us, had little kids kids, who were complaining they couldn’t see. Finally, DH spoke up and told them if they sat down, everyone could see and that they were blocking not only our view, but the kids’ view as well. They gave us a rude look and walked away to go stand in front other people, who then began telling them the same thing! Stupid! I just don’t get the logic of some people! With them gone, I could finally enjoy my favorite show, which left me in tears, as always. DH finds it hilarious that cry Every.Single.Time. This time I told I was crying because I knew eventually we’d have to go home. That’s the worst, when you begin thinking, this trip is going to end and it’s only day 2.....I know I think it all the time when we check in too....that Disney depression.

After crying, we realized we hadn’t taken a picture at our fountain. Okay okay, it’s not really our fountain, it belongs to Cinderella, but we kind of dubbed it as ours ever since we got engaged at that very spot. We had visited it every trip prior to being engaged and always take a picture in front of it after making our wish with a penny. Unfortunately, access to the back of the castle was still blocked off from Wishes, so we just waited for them to drop the rope. Nothing like an evening rope drop.

Is there anywhere better on Earth?

We asked a lovely family to take our picture.

All sentimental tasks completed, it was time for EMH. Now, I think at this point, DH and I just really wanted to enjoy the evening without the camera, but I did take notes on what we accomplished, and I think we did pretty good:

We rode Winnie the Pooh, Snow White’s Scary Adventure (RIP), Small World, Haunted Mansion, & Thunder Mountain.

As our evening was coming to a close, we just had to ride Splash Mountain one last time. This time, we got first row and got drenched!!! So what did we decide to do? Ride Pirates.

Now, mind you, we were soaking wet, and you all know how freezing the Pirates is! I hate being cold, so I did not enjoy the ride, I was literally shivering and it was still 90 degrees outside! We still laughed and had a good time though.

Getting off that ride felt so good and naturally, we had to burn a snack credit and get a Dole Whip. Nothing like a frozen treat to warm me right up! At this point, we headed out of the park.

Goodnight, MK!

After the quick boat ride back to the WL, our bed never looked so good. It had been one long first full Disney day and the next day, DHS was calling our name!

Up Next: Good times in Hollywood!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Figaro Fries! They were fries with bacon, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and ranch dressing. They were, in other words, the world’s most healthy food item.
-I hate being late too! I totally know the stressed feeling you mean--- it stinks.
-They probably are building a Poly DVC. Tikiman says so!
-Soooo much food! I want those noodles now please.
-LOVE that photopass shot. You look so happy.
-LOL! That young girl totally photobombed you guys.
-Love your organizational skills. I would totally do that too.
-Do you miss Toon Town? I was never a big fan.
-I cry every single time when I see Wishes too. I have a major Wishes obsession.
-What a pretty spot to be engaged!

 

[Belle_373]

Great TR!

I also really enjoyed reading your honeymoon TR a few years back.

 

[Cinderella16]

Figaro Fries! They were fries with bacon, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and ranch dressing. They were, in other words, the world’s most healthy food item.
-I hate being late too! I totally know the stressed feeling you mean--- it stinks.
-They probably are building a Poly DVC. Tikiman says so!
-Soooo much food! I want those noodles now please.
-LOVE that photopass shot. You look so happy.
-LOL! That young girl totally photobombed you guys.
-Love your organizational skills. I would totally do that too.
-Do you miss Toon Town? I was never a big fan.
-I cry every single time when I see Wishes too. I have a major Wishes obsession.
-What a pretty spot to be engaged!

Figaro fries sound amazing, and yes, very very healthy!
LoL at the photo bomb! The nerve!
I thought Toon Town was fun, but I'm nerdy like that...I liked all the photo ops!

Great TR!

I also really enjoyed reading your honeymoon TR a few years back.

Welcome back! I'm glad you found me again. I see you have a TR going, so I will have to go check that out. Thanks for reading along!

 

[Cinderella16]

Day 3: May 3, 2010 - Good Times in Hollywood

It was a beautiful, albeit HOT, May Disney day. Since we always bring our own car, we tend to drive to the parks which do not have direct monorail or boat access. I know we did not make rope drop to DHS, it seemed every morning of this trip, we were a couple minutes late to rope drop. Oh well, at least we tried.

Of course, we did what everyone else does when they enter DHS...head to Pixar Place. Of course, the line for Toy Story Mania was already 4039458475 minutes long, so we got in the extremely long FP line and reserved our spot for later in the day.

I really think DHS needs another big, new attraction, just to deter some attention away from TSM. I’ve been hearing rumors of a Monsters Inc. dark coaster in Pixar Place for years now, I really wish they’d do something like that.

Anyways, finally getting our FP, we noticed that American Idol had a showing beginning in about 10 minutes. So we took the opportunity to get out of the heat and into the air conditioning with “Ryan Seacrest” and crew. All the singers were great, as usual. I am always in admiration of people who can actually sing since I possess no such talent.

We were in the show-going mood, so as we exited American Idol, we realized that an Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular Show was going to be starting soon.

Since we had seen this show 857 times, I decided to try and get some action shots during the show, since I do not need to pay that much attention to the plot.

Finally some pictures...

Trip reporting at its finest: Hello, Indy’s butt...

Ruuuuunnnnnn!!!!!!

Tarzan & Jane, anyone?

He knows how to crack that whip:

Kaboom!

I love a good stunt show, but Disney, you really need to get a new one in here. I saw this for the first time when I was 10 years old...I am shocked it is still going, and that it still attracts so many people. There needs to either be a new stunt show or a new ride, ya know, so people will get the heck away from TSM! So big Disney officials, if you’re reading, get it done.

After Indiana Jones and co. wowed us with their stunts, we did the most random attraction in the history of attractions.

Sounds Dangerous...(that's the name of the attraction, if you do not know) This show is the weirdest. thing. ever. You sit a room with Drew Carey as the narrator, you wear these headphones, it goes pitch black, you hear noises. That’s it.

If this is open when you are there, (if it still exists) and you have an inkling to go in...don’t. Skip it, keep walking. Go watch Indiana Jones for the 858th time. It is just so weird and trust me, I LOVE Disney, rarely do I not find the good in an attraction, but this one...I just don’t know. Again, high ranking Disney officials,get rid of this and put something better, another character meet n greet, perhaps...anything would be better than Sounds Dangerous. Get it done.

As DH and I were analyzing the purpose of Sounds Dangerous and discussing how much we miss Bob Barker now that the Drew Carey is the host of the Price is Right, we began to hear our stomachs rumble. That meant it was time for lunch. Oh DHS, how you lack eatery options. We decided to head to Pizza Planet because, well, what other choices are there for Quick-Service in DHS?

No pictures this time, but I had an individual Pepperoni pizza (what else would you get at PIZZA planet?) with carrot cake and DH had an Italian sandwich (apparently a sandwich) with chocolate cake. It was good. It satisfied the tummy, now t’was time for another FP, so we walked the long trek to Rock n Roller Coaster and FP’d it.

Some Photopass pictures along the way:

We checked the standby times for RnR and Tower of Terror, but to no avail, both were too long for our liking. Still feeling in the show mood, we checked the trusted times guide and saw that Lights, Motor, Action was to be starting in about 20 minutes. For those of who don’t know...RnR and ToT are one side of the park...and LMA is all the way on the other side...in the middle of nowhere. Needless to say, it is far. Oh yeah, and it was HOT! We still stopped for pictures though!

Always more fun when they tell you to pose.

By the time we arrived, it was just about time for the show to begin, that is how far that evil theater is...not mention that is all outdoors. Oh well, I know DH likes this one, I think it makes him feel manly, all the cars zipping by, the explosions. I’ll give him this one so long I get to watch Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

Again, we have seen this one a many of times, so once again, I tried to get high octane action shots.

Enjoying the show

Kaboom!

I heard they added Lightning McQueen to this show, I guess that means we’ll have to see it again in July!

We slowly made our way out of there and headed to one my favorite DHS attractions, which lots of people skip..the Animation Studio!

Up next: Drawing Mickey!

 

[Cinderella16]

It was time to get our drawing on...so we headed to the Animation Studio for the most fun art class in the world!

We walked through the Animation gift shop and saw there was a group already forming for the class.

We were able to find a seat and I rocked at Disney trivia that played on the TV while we waited.

Don’t cry DH, we’ll be drawing soon enough.

This guy was doing Meet n Greets...

Do I have to keep reminding you that the year is 2010? Mr. Incredible was still incredibly cool. (He still is pretty cool in my book)

Find the not-so-hidden Mickey...

If I had any artistic talent, this would be an amazing career choice!

Alas, they opened the door and a friendly CM shuffled us all into the classroom. Ah, the best school ever! I was thrilled because this year we actually got a “desk” and not a lapboard like in 2009.

I was convinced the “desk” would help my drawing abilities.

The CM went on his little spiel about which character we should draw. He threw out a few options, none of which I remember, but we finally decided on Mickey. Actually, I think HE decided on Mickey and said we didn’t really have a say in it anyways. Nice.

DH’s Mickey, looking good, as always. He apparently is good at everything. It gets rather annoying.

And now I present to you...my Mickey...

Apparently my Mickey was on the Deluxe Dining Plan and snacks on butter. I definitely have problems with proportions. DH assured me that it was fine (love that man), but really I knew...I made a bloated Mickey. I showed the CM and he laughed and said it appeared Mickey had put on a few pounds.

I really love the animation studio, even though I have no artistic talent whatsoever (see fat Mickey as exhibit A). I hope they never get rid of this attraction because the CM interaction can’t be beat, and it is just plain fun to learn to draw a character. I know a lot of kids end up crying when they do this because they can’t keep up, but I still think it is worth taking them, even if they just doodle during the class.

It was time for a new FP and time to ride Rock n Roller Coaster so off to Sunset Blvd. we went.

When we arrived, we saw this:

Love the 13 minute wait time for ToT! Of course, we got a FP for later and hopped in line! Of course, it did not disappoint and DH was in heaven since he has a love affair for anything creepy.

RnR was next and it did not disappoint either.

On our way out, singing Aerosmith tunes, of course, we stopped and got a strawberry frozen icy treat (not sure what cute Disney name they give to these snacks) to quench our thirst before walking through One Man’s Dream.
That place is always so inspirational!

It was now time to get our Toy Story on, but I don’t have pictures or evidence of our scores. Trip reporting at its finest, I tell ya. I do know this: I lost.

It was now time for our ADR at Sci-Fi and we were incredibly excited to eat here for the first time!

On the way, I had to get a picture with the most famous frog in the history of frogs.

We found the diner and did not have to wait for a table, I mean, car. This place is so incredibly themed! I kept wanting to stop and take pictures of everything, but my stomach had other plans so I hustled to our car.

I love the old movies they play on the screen at the drive-in!

You really do feel like you are at a drive in..how cool is that?

When our server came, DH ordered a cherry Coke and I ordered a vanilla Coke. I love all the flavor choices they have here! We both ended up getting the steak with vegetables and mashed potatoes, which was actually pretty good. I’ve heard some mixed reviews about the food at Sci-fi, so I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I was expecting much worse!

For dessert I had peanut butter chocolate cake and DH had a hot fudge sundae...both were outstanding!

Not sure what happened with my camera...but it looks pretty cool.

When our CM brought the check, she asked if we wanted our picture taken. I love how these came out!

Full and happy, we did what any sensible person would do after dinner:

Ride RnR and ToT! Luckily, neither of us got sick.

It was now time for EMH to begin, so we went over to Toy Story Mania, but it was still packed, so we opted for Voyage of the Little Mermaid instead. How can you not love the Little Mermaid soundtrack? Unfortunately, I can see this one on its way out of DHS with the new ride coming to Fantasyland.

When we were leaving VotLM we noticed that the old Playhouse Disney (Disney Junior) building looked rather lively. We looked inside and saw that there was a dance party going on! I have no idea what this was...I think it was part of the What will you Celebrate promotion, but I’m still not sure. Of course, we joined in because we could.

This goof was there:

As was this happy dog!

Utterly confused, we left the dance party to get a little shopping done. We searched for the Christmas store, but then saw it was closed.

I wish I had this for the dance party!

I wanted this so badly, but the price tag made me sad:

Side note:For Christmas that year, DH ended up ordering me that purse, only the bigger version for all my teachery things! I love love love my Dooney!

After some shopping, DH was ready for Toy Story Mania once more, so back to Pixar Place we went. The wait time was about 30 minutes, and we got in line! This time, I was able to actually break 100,000! The final score was DH 170,000, me 114,000. I wasn’t useless anymore!

At about this time, we had all the DHS we could handle in one day and headed back to the Wilderness Lodge. The parking lot trams were pretty empty, so that was nice. When we got back to our room, Wishes was just beginning, so we enjoyed it from the balcony before going down for a swim.

The hot tub felt great on our tired bodies and feet and it was the best way to end a tiring third day! Soon, we were back in our room and sound asleep.

Up Next: Flower and Garden Festival...but First...Disney Security in Action

 

[Belle_373]

Deluxe Dining Mickey cracked me right up! I almost spit my coffee out.

 

[Cinderella16]

Deluxe Dining Mickey cracked me right up! I almost spit my coffee out.

LoL! I know, isn't it sad??

 

[Cinderella16]

Day 4 - Epcot ~ Flower & Garden Festival

We were happy to sleep in a little on this day since we were heading to the Flower & Garden Festival...we decided we wanted to walk around the World Showcase and see all the displays they had to offer, so we took it slow and were in the Epcot parking lot by 11:23 (gotta love Trip Report journals!)

As we were walking through the parking lot there were a lot of security guards and police officers surrounding a car. Apparently, someone had left their car wide door open and they were fearful that if someone passing by closed the door, it could have had a bomb. Security and a bomb unit were called in to check it out, and the they later found that the car was harmless and it was probably some kid who was way too excited to get to Disney and left the door open. Nevertheless, it was a scary situation, but it was nice to know that Disney takes guest safety very seriously.

Enough of the scary stuff, let’s go see some flowers!

We couldn’t come to Epcot and not ride anything, so we first made a pit stop to Test Track to grab a Fastpass for later. Then it was on to the Flowers! To the World Showcase!

We decided to go left and make Mexico our first stop.

I think the Mexico pavilion is my favorite!

We rode the 3 Caballeros and enjoyed the relaxing and beautiful atmosphere of the pavilion.

Aw, so romantic!

We now headed to the Norway Pavilion & a date with some trolls.

A trip to Norway is never complete without riding Maelstrom! I just love the World Showcase at opening. The pavilions are less crowded and you can really take your time to enjoy each one, especially the ones with rides!

I had to get a picture with my favorite goat puppet!

Each year I take a picture with this, it has sort of become a weird tradition of ours...but really, who doesn’t need a goat puppet?!?! I think all households should be equipped with one.

I was born in the year of the rat..gross. I’d much rather have dog or monkey or something.

Moving on:


We found this lovely lady waiting in Germany.

At this point, we were getting hungry and it was almost time for our Test Track return time...so we took the boat back to the entrance of Future World to find some food. I love the boat launch that takes you from one side of the World Showcase to the other! We just noticed they had these on our honeymoon trip and now we use the boats all the time. I call myself a Disney expert, but there are still parts of the parks that I am unaware of...one day...I will know all!

We, of course, ate in the Land at Sunshine Seasons because this is the only quick-service place we ever eat at when in Epcot. I’m not quite sure why...I think we really really really like the desserts and the fact that Soarin is right there.

Speaking of Soarin...when we went for lunch, we checked if they had Fastpasses, but to no avail, they were all gone for the day. Rats!

For lunch we both got the turkey sandwich and I had the strawberry shortcake (soooo good) and DH had the Butterfinger cheesecake, also so very yummy!

*Note to self: must take more food pictures on this trip*

Full and recharged we decided to use our Test Track FPs but not before FPing it again.

Oh how I’m going to miss this ride in July! Darn you refurbishment!

Continued in next post...

 

[Cinderella16]

Now that we got that out of the way, it was time to head back to the World Showcase for more Flower & Garden displays. This time we kept to the right and made our way into Canada.

Then, the United Kingdom.

I match the phonebooth so well!

DH was with me, I promise...See, photographic proof!

France was next and all the princess topiaries were my favorite!

We played around in some of the French shops...

DH in a pink beret!

He’s rockin it.

I love this picture! All thanks to the lovely French CM who saw us having way too much fun and wanted to know if we wanted a picture together!

We first took a picture with the green version:

And then, we found the real version:

On to Morocco!

Onward!

In America, we found some familiar friends:

Some lady was PO’d that people were in line waiting to take pictures here because she wanted one of just the topiaries...jeez lady! She felt that she shouldn’t have to wait to just take a picture of the plants and people were being incredibly rude...excuse me? We were the ones being rude? Enough of the bad attitudes...off to Italy!

Amazing topiary here!

The Sicilian cart! My family is 100% Sicilian so I took this one for them!

Back to Germany!

We were now overheated, tired, and ready for pooltime! Of course, we took the best invention ever back to Future World (boat launch) and then rode Test Track one more time before making our way back to Wilderness Lodge for swimming & our fun evening!

Up Next: One of our favorite restaurants!

 

[Cinderella16]

Holy cow! Only 20 days until we are there! I need to get cranking on this TR!

Anyways, I wanted to share some of our plans for the upcoming trip:

ADRs:
Chef Mickey's
Crystal Palace (for DH's family)
Whispering Canyon
50's Primetime Cafe
Teppan Edo
California Grill
O'Hana

Mmmm!!!! I think I get more excited for the food then anything else!

DH and I are also doing the Keys to the Kingdom tour on our first full day!

I simply can't wait for this trip! The suitcases are out and awaiting to be packed...so far I have packed............................. socks. That's it!

We had DH's family over yesterday for a Disney orientation. I think I scared them with my "We're going to try to make rope drop every day" speech. LoL. You see, they have never stayed on property with us, and well, staying on property kind of turned us into commando tourists. Overall, I think they were impressed by my attention to every detail or they took it as I'm crazy.

Alright friends, I am off to write my last paper for my graduate class for this semester! After Wednesday, I AM FREE!