“Bubble” - licious – A Northern Family's Disney Tale! UPDATED 8/27/09 (LAST CHAPTER)!

[Northern Disney Girl]

Chapter 17: Bugs at Lunch and Lions Later!

Date: January 23
Time: 11am
Place: Animal Kingdom

It was just about 11am so we headed in the direction of Pizzafari. None of us was starving but we knew we wanted to see The Lion King show at 1pm so we needed to eat sooner rather than later! We walked in and there was not too much of a line so I left one child, I think Emily, with Ken and Natalie and I went to scout out the different rooms and decide in which one we wanted to eat! Natalie chose the bug room! Little surprise there – she has always been fascinated by bugs and insects!

The girls and I all had pizza and Ken had the chicken parmesan sandwich! Some bags of chips and some cookies rounded out our lunches and we were quite happy to sit and munch! I had read of many complaints of WDW pizza but I found nothing to complain about – it was good pizza! Ken described his sandwich as enjoyable but forgettable! The girls enjoyed their food too! As I have mentioned before, they are great eaters! Not fussy at all!

After we finished our pizza safari, Ken and Emily went to redeem their FP's for EE and Nat and I took a walk around discovery Island and took some fun pictures!

We explored a few more trails and found a couple of neat little rest areas!

Natalie saw an ice cream cart with her all time favourite animal on it.....

YUP! Penguins! My girl is crazy for them! Knows pretty much all there is to know about them too! We also saw some free range birds just hangin' out...

We met up again with Ken and Emily near Pizzafari and proceeded to go get in line for FOTLK! I was so very excited about this show as I had been told it was absolutely phenomenal! We waited about 15 mins before being let into the theatre. We found some seats along the left side as we entered and we were careful to NOT sit in the seats that were marked for people with vision and hearing difficulties.

It was about 1245 and the theatre filled quickly! I was glad we had gone early to line up! As each minute passed I grew more and more frustrated though as more and more people sat in the spaces that were supposed to be for people with disabilities! HOW RUDE!!!!!

At any rate, we enjoyed the show VERY MUCH!!! It was breathtakingly creative and super duper cool! Fun and action at every turn! I think we were sitting in the Elephant section! This is definitely a must see and one we plan to see again on EVERY trip! WAY COOL!

When the show was over we headed out into the blinding sunshine and made our way over to Dinoland U.S.A! Ken and Emily wanted to ride Dinosaur and Primevil Whirl! Natalie had been looking forward to riding Triceratops Spin, but 4 days before we left it was announced that it would be closed for rehab! Poor kid! There wasn't really much for her to do at AK! I took her to the Boneyard to play while my 2 adventurous adventurers rode their twirly scary rides!

When they had their fill of fun, they came back to the Boneyard so Emily could play for a while and Ken and sat on some very large crates and trued to see where our children were! That could really be a scary place! I could definitely see some separations of the parent/child kind happening there! Very cool though! I tried one time to climb up the big ropey tower thing and couldn't make it past the second level! Too steep for me!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Chapter 18: A Peaceful Parade and Dinner in a Rainforest!

Date: January 23
Time: 3pm
Place: Animal Kingdom

When the kids had enough of climbing and running around we sat and had a drink from our trusty water bottle and weighed our options! It was now about 300 or so. I knew the parade started at 4pm and that we should soon go find a seat! I had studied the map and decided that the best place would be just down the way from Pizzafari! Close to the beginning of the route so we wouldn't have to wait too terribly long plus there was a low wall on we which we could perch our tired selves!

We not too quickly made our way over to the spot and found it to be as of yet unoccupied! We found our viewing seats and proceeded to sit upon them and people watch! After a little while the girls began to get restless so we sent Daddy over to the aforementioned ice cream cart to retrieve some frozen tasties! He brought back ice cream bars for himself and Emily and frozen chocolate dipped bananas for Natalie and me! Natalie is lactose intolerant so can not eat ice cream! I wasn't about to go traipsing around the park looking for a frozen yogurt cart so a frozen banana would have to do! I thought it was delicious!

After we finished our treats, I took the girls across the pathway and down into some of the discovery Island trails! Very Neat! We killed a few minutes in there and then returned to our seats. I wandered down to a little sundries cart not too far away to inspect it's wares but didn't see anything particularly worth my money!

It was very near 4pm now and I scooted back to my seat as the wall was near to full by that point and I didn't want to lose my seat! The parade started right on time and we could hear it before we could see it! HOW FABULOUS! Another must do! If only once, this is one that I would totally recommend seeing! Very unique!

Once the parade had passed us by we wandered in the direction of some shops! The girls were itching to spend some of their money! Truth be told, so was I! We had about a half hour before we needed to check in for our 5:05pm ADR at Rainforest Cafe.

I believe it was the Island Mercantile that we parted ways with a good chunk of our money! The girls each found some treasures, Ken picked out the 4 Parks, 1 World CD and I found some souvies for my family and the one really special thing I had craved for myself – a mickey head shaped cookie cutter! WOO HOO! It was now getting close to 5 and we needed to go check in for our ADR!

Rainforest Cafe. What can I say? I had been to a few in my life and wanted my kids to have the same fun memories! We arrived with about a minute to spare and were seated right away! They were not too terribly busy I guess! We were seated right infront of the fish tank which pleased the girls to no end! They made a good long game of finding the fish on the display cards!

Like the T-Rex Cafe, Rainforest is very well themed. A fun time, but very LOUD! Again, the food is good AND plentiful but nothing I could shout from the rooftop about! I had the Jungle Chop salad, Ken had the Rainforest Paella, Emily had Shrimpkens and I think Natalie had pizza! My salad was huge and Ken very much enjoyed his paella! The girls both polished off their meals and were granted dessert of some kind! An experience e to be had for sure, but I think next trip we will stick to restaurants on the DDP!

When we were all done we headed out in search of a bus to get us back to the Wilderness Lodge! I had been assured that even though the park closed at 5 that there would be buses running for at least 2 hrs after! We found a bus soon enough and were pleased to see not too many people aboard! We were able to grab our lovely warm back seats over the engine and warm our chilly selves! There only about 12 people on the bus and all but us and one other family were headed to the All Star Resorts!

I must say that this was the most enjoyable bus ride we had our entire trip! The gentleman behind the wheel was a seasoned pro who really cared about the experience of his passengers! He did trivia games and led us in a sing a long of “The Wheels on the Bus”! When we arrived at WL there was just us and one other family left aboard. The gentleman driver declared himself to be “a few minutes ahead of schedule” and let all the kids have a turn sitting behind the steering wheel! My girls were absolutely thrilled! We snapped a quick picture and let the driver be on his way!

What a magical ending to a long day! We headed up to the room and were greeted by these lovely fellows...

We changed into our jammies and watched some Stacey before crashing at 830! We were totally zonked! I don't even think Ken made it to the Gym that night!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Wow! Great updates! I really enjoyed FOTLK when we were there. I had goosebumps and was nearly brought to tears! I wished that I could have been one of the dancers in that show! We too ate at Pizzafari, but I cannot remember for the life of me what room we ate in! I really wasn't paying attention I guess. We didn't watch any parades, besides Spectro, back in Jan. We might just have to catch a glimpse of some of them in a few weeks (I can't believe I'm saying that!).

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Great updates! I feel like I'm right there along with you!

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

I'm having withdrawals from your TR! Can't wait to hear more...

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Wonderful updates & I'm all caught up.

I have the 4 Parks, 1 World CD & listen to it at work a lot

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Sorry for the lack of updates and chapters...it's been a very busy week!

I have to start writing the next chapter so it will be a couple more days yet! We had 2 birthday parties today, the girls are running in a kids fun run tomorrow after church and then we MIGHT go see UP!

Hope everybody is having a great weekend!

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Sorry for the lack of updates and chapters...it's been a very busy week!

I have to start writing the next chapter so it will be a couple more days yet! We had 2 birthday parties today, the girls are running in a kids fun run tomorrow after church and then we MIGHT go see UP!

Hope everybody is having a great weekend!

That's okay! It does sound like you've been a busy girl. We understand you have a life outside of this TR.

Hey, by the way, I took DS4 to see "UP" on Thursday, and I must say that was a totally cute movie! We saw the 2D version and not the 3D, but I'm wishing we had done it in 3D. So, if you have a choice in your theater, do the 3D!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hey Readers!

Well, the day we had planned for yesterday didn't quite work out how we planned it!

11:30pm Saturday night, Nat woke up screaming with a VERY sore ear! We gave her some Tylenol and put her back to bed. She was in too much pain to sleep so we spent the next 4 hrs trying to coax her back to sleep! At about 3:45am we decided to take her to the ER.

Ken took her as I was in no condition to drive! I was waaaaay too tired. I tried to sleep while they were gone, but to no success! They returned at 5am with a diagnosis of a mild ear infection and some antibiotics and we let her spend the rest of the night in our bed! We all finally slept for a few hours!

At 8:30 I got up and took Emily to church. Before I left I gave Nat her first dose of amoxycilin! I left her and Ken to sleep. When Em and I returned home at 11am, They were still sleeping! Ken got up and showered and took Emily to the kids fun run so she could at least participate! Poor Nat! She was so sad that she couldn't go! She could barely walk from the couch to the bathroom, there was no way she could run/walk half a mile!

Our champion returned at 2pm with a participation medal and the amazing time of completeing her 1 mile run in 9 minutes! She is a runner like her Daddy!

At that point I was too tired to stand so I went to bed for a nap! I awoke 2 hrs later to find the rest of my family watching the Incredibles! So needless to say we didn't get to see UP this weekend! OH well! Thursday is my birthday, maybe we will go then!

I have an unexpected day off today cause the little girl I babysit is home sick today! Poor thing! YAY for me though! That means I can do a couple more chapters of this TR! I hopefully should have 1 maybe 2 chapters up and ready to read before I need to go pick up my darlings from school!

Hope everyone had a super awesome weekend!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Here ya go folks! Thanks for being so very patient! You guys are the best!

Chapter 19: Ohhh, What a beautiful Morning...at EPCOT!

Date: January 24
Time: 7:00am
Place: Wilderness Lodge

After a wonderful night's sleep, we awoke to beautiful sight of sunshine coming under our curtains! It seemed as though we would finally have a warm day! Yippee! We did our usual morning routine and we were out at the bus stop shortly after 8am. Already feeling really happy at the prospect of a warm day, we were elated to see the next bus that came around the corner was for Epcot! YEAH!

We quickly took the rear seats to warm our still cool tooshies and enjoyed the ride! I believe we stopped at the Grand Floridian before making our way to Epcot! We arrived right at 8:30am amd quickly got ourselves through the bag check and into a line at the turnstiles! We didn't have long to wait as at about 8:45 the turnstiles were activated and we were let through into the “holding area”

We quick walked our way to the waiting area for Soarin' and got a spot in the crowd! We were about 3 people back from the front of the crowd. Not too bad! The girls were in awe at the shere size of Spaceship Earth and had many questions to ask! We passed the time looking around all the amazing things around us and watching for the Fab 5 to come and drop the rope! At exactly 9am we were welcomed into the park by none other than Mickey himself and proceeded to make our way over to Soarin'!

Being as how I had not yet experienced Soarin', I had absolutely no clue as to how to get there! So...we followed the crowd! They sure seemed to know where they were going! We found where we needed to be and when we got there the Standby line was only at 20mins! BONUS!!! We hopped in line and waited for our turn to Soar! This was the one ride I was most excited about!

Poor Ken was beginning to look a wee bit uncomfortable at this point! You see, my gallant husband had already finished 2 cups of coffee and 3 glasses of water! With 15 mins to wait and no nearby washroom, the man was starting to squirm...just a bit! He heroically waited it out until we were finally waking into the ride and then he says, “How long is the ride Hon? I am not sure I can wait much longer!” To that I responded, “You are NOT walking out now, just hold it! It's only maybe 5 mins!” So ...he held it! Poor guy, the water scenes were quite hard for him to watch! I don't think the wind effect helped much either!

At any rate, when the ride was over, he leaned over to me and said, “YOU grab the girls and the backpack and I'll meet you by the fastpass machines! I gotta go NOW!”
I have never seen him exit a room that quickly! Poor guy! After that morning, he stuck to 1 cup of coffee and made sure to use the washroom before going through the turnstiles!

What did I think of Soarin” you ask? Well! It was quite possibly the BEST ride I have ever been on! AMAZING!!! We were in the top row and it was absolutely breathtaking! All of it was just so cool! I love feeling the wind in my face, smelling the pine forest and the orange groves, nearly dipping my feet in the ocean and having a just missed me moment with the golf ball! I would ride it over and over and over and over again if I could! My #1 fave ride!

So we met Ken back at the fastpass machines, grabbed a FP for later and then went over to the Seas to meet up with Nemo and the Gang! We rode the Nemo clamshell ride and then went to wait for the next Crush show! While we were waiting, the girls enjoyed playing in the exhibit area. They had the customary photo taken with Bruce...

played some games with nemo and dory and learned all about sea life! I personally like the ray tank! VERY COOL!!!

When we were finally ushered into the Crush show we were nearly first in line and the girls were able to procure a great viewing spot on the floor! We had talked to them about after the show and how to not get lost when everybody was trying to get out.
Ken and I sat down on some of the benches so we had a good view of our little chickies and also the screen!

We didn't have to wait long before our tank host “Caitlyn” helped us call Crush! The kids all let out a collective squeal when Crush came swimming into view! It was like totally awesome Dude! I loved this show! I was completely sucked in by the Disney Magic! Thrill of all thrills – our Emily was chosen by Crush to ask a question!

He called her the cute little dudette with the purple striped shell and the bandish lookin' thingy on her head! He asked her where she was from and when she told him Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada he said “ I have no idea where that is...is that near the Ocean?” Too Funny! She asked him where Squirt was and Crush answered that Squirt was at school!

Another little boy when asked if he had a question, started telling Crush about his favourite food and the gifts he got for Christmas! To that Crush responded with a heartfelt “Cool” and then asked if anyone else had anymore questions or...random statements! It was too funny! I had just taken a sip of water and nearly blew water out my nose!

When it was over we went back to The Land. We still had a few minutes to wait until our FP return time so we decided to ride Livin' with the Land! This was very informative and VERY educational!

As much as we tried to get the girls to listen to the facts about farming and such, I don't think they were very interested until they saw these babies...

and these...

After that we went on our second soar of the day! We were lucky enough to be able to ride in the top row again! Totally awesome! On the way out we snapped these fun shots!

It was now 11am and I knew that World Showcase was opening so we headed across and through the Innoventions courtyard and up past Test Track and into World Showcase!

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Awww, sorry to hear about your baby Nat! I hope she's feeling all better now.

I have to say, I just think that's the cutest pose by the Soarin' sign!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Chapter 20: A Taste of Germany!

Date: January 24th
Time: 11:15am
Place: World Showcase, Epcot

As we entered the World Showcase, I noticed a big change in the atmosphere! People somehow seemed quieter and more relaxed on this side of the lagoon! We started in Mexico and the girls were suitably impressed with the pyramid! We went inside to ride the Donald ride but first we stopped to let the girls start their masks at the Kidcot Fun Stop! We practically had to drag them away! I think they would have gladly stayed and coloured all day!

We went to procure a place in line for the ride and soon enough we were climbing into our boat! What a fun little ride! I had always enjoyed “El Rio del Tiempo” but this new version is just a bit more interesting for the younger set! The girls were quite happy to sit and watch the scenery and quite enjoyed searching for Donald!

To make the World Showcase a wee bit more interesting and fun for the girls, we had decided as a family that we would locate and purchase a traditional sweet or candy from each country. So after the girls were done with their masks we found our way into the Mexican marketplace, found a CM and asked him to recommend a sweet that He would have eaten as a child! He made several recommendations and we let the girls choose from that. I think it was a wafery type cookie of some kind! It was really good! Tasted sort of like honey!

We decided to press on to Norway as the time was getting close to when we would need to be checking for our ADR! We didn't have enough time to ride the Maelstrom as the Standby line was already at 20 mins. We had a look at the Viking exhibit and then went into the shops to find our Norwegian treat! This time the girls couldn't come to an agreement so we allowed them to each choose their own. Natalie chose some gummy frogs and Emily chose a chocolate bar. I think it was similar to a Skor bar.

It was now about 12:15 and we needed to head over to Germany to check in for our 12:35 ADR at Biergarten! We had already decided to skip China this time as we had an ADR there on Monday night! We strolled our way over to Germany and found our way into the Biergarten and I went up to the podium to check us in for lunch. I was told it only be a couple of minutes and given a pager.

It was less than 5 minutes and we were paged to check in for our table! When we found our way to the podium, we were introduced to our table mates. This family included an older couple, their daughter and their grandson. They told us they were DVC owners and had a tradition of bringing their grandchildren to WDW for their sixth birthdays!

We were brought to our table and our server waited patiently as we decided how we would sit! We decided that in an effort to get to know each other that we would sit with our family on one side and their family on the other! Our server then explained to us the finer points of the buffet and then took our drink orders. The girls had sprite (we were allowing them the privilege of having 1 soda a day), I had a coke and Ken got himself the “Beer Flight”! He was so excited about having beer at lunch. In Germany. At Lunch. 4 small beers arrived a while later and I must say, He did enjoy them VERY much!

The buffet was amazing! We are not picky eaters at all so there was very little there that was foreign to our taste buds! Ken was in sausage heaven! This man of mine loves him some tubular meat! I tried a sampling of just about everything. Mmmmmm, so delicious! My favourites were the 3 bean salad, the potato soup, pretzel buns, pork snitzel and the black forest cake! Mmmmm, my mouth is watering right now as I right this!

The girls were also quite adventurous and tried as much as their plates could hold! They also very much enjoyed the pretzel biscuits! Ken's favourite of the meal was the sausages, of course, but also...the mustard pickle! He probably had about 6 helpings of mustard pickle!

We very much enjoyed the food at Biergarten and we have put it on the list of places to return on future trips! We also very much enjoyed getting to know the lovely family we had the privilege of sitting with. They were very nice pople and we got on very well together! After the meal we sat back to enjoy the entertainment portion of our dinner!

The entertainment is simply wonderful! I think my favourite was the bell ringer! He was sensational! The girls were quite captivated by all the performers and were singing and clapping along in all the right places! We will definitely be going back again!

When we were done, we said farewell to our new friends and went outside to explore the rest of Germany!

I think the German pavilion at Epcot is one of my 3 faves! I really did feel like I was in a small German town! Perhaps it was my ancestral blood calling out to its roots! My great Grandfather was born and raised in Germany and came to Canada during the first world war! We made our way over to the model train display and watched the tiny trains run around for a bit! The girls were so very content to just stand and watch the trains make their way around the tiny village!

At this point in the day it was almost 2pm! I think we all would have been very happy to stand and watch those trains for the rest of the afternoon but we knew we should visit a few other countries as well!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I just got caught up with your trip report. I was a few days behind. I do have an excuse though....I started a trip report of my own. I was getting antsy waitin' on our WDW vacation to come so I decided to write one of my own. Again, I apologize for not visiting your report again until today.

We, too, go to each country and buy a snack item. We save our's until the end of the day and eat them while waiting on Illuminations to start. It's a great way to get the family to explore each country.

Looking forward to reading more about your trip.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hey Kim!! Hope your baby is better today. Give her a hug from me!!!! I too have German Great-Grandparents!! My maiden name before shortened would have been Hammerstein!!! Isn't that hilarious!!!!!! I looooove the German area as well--my kids could watch that tiny train all day long. I am glad you got to ride Soarin' twice that day. There really is nothing like it anywhere!!! Keep writing!!!

 

[KathyRN137]

Hello... another prodigal reader here!!

I'm caught up now... whew! Your family certainly does know how to get around the World! I was thrilled that you scored the top row for both you trips on Soarin'... its my favorite ride in all of WDW!!

And so happy to read about Biergarten! We will most likely eat there on our next visit. My niece is learning German and I'm sure she'll want to talk with the CMs there! The food sounds so good...

How lucky that Emily was able to ask Crush a question! Don't you just love listening to him talk with all the kids? It's so much fun!

Hope Nat is feeling better...

Kathy

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Welcome one and all! I was beginning to feel a bit lonely here!

I just got caught up with your trip report. I was a few days behind. I do have an excuse though....I started a trip report of my own. I was getting antsy waitin' on our WDW vacation to come so I decided to write one of my own. Again, I apologize for not visiting your report again until today.

We, too, go to each country and buy a snack item. We save our's until the end of the day and eat them while waiting on Illuminations to start. It's a great way to get the family to explore each country.

Looking forward to reading more about your trip.

No apology necessary! Thanks for continuing to read! I shall go and have a look at yours as well!

Hey Kim!! Hope your baby is better today. Give her a hug from me!!!! I too have German Great-Grandparents!! My maiden name before shortened would have been Hammerstein!!! Isn't that hilarious!!!!!! I looooove the German area as well--my kids could watch that tiny train all day long. I am glad you got to ride Soarin' twice that day. There really is nothing like it anywhere!!! Keep writing!!!

SHAWNA!!! Thanks for dropping by! Nat is feeling much better! In fact, she is waiting on me right now to go play with her! I think we are going to play polly pockets! I really did love Soarin' - so much so that I want it to be first ride when we go again!

Hello... another prodigal reader here!!

I'm caught up now... whew! Your family certainly does know how to get around the World! I was thrilled that you scored the top row for both you trips on Soarin'... its my favorite ride in all of WDW!!

And so happy to read about Biergarten! We will most likely eat there on our next visit. My niece is learning German and I'm sure she'll want to talk with the CMs there! The food sounds so good...

How lucky that Emily was able to ask Crush a question! Don't you just love listening to him talk with all the kids? It's so much fun!

Hope Nat is feeling better...

Kathy

No worries - come and catch up whenever you can! I will keep writing away! We really did enjoy the Biergarten! My kids are very easy to feed so we can pretty much eat anywhere without a problem! Emily was so thrilled that she was chosen to talk with Crush! It was the highlight of her day!


Thanks everyone for hanging out with me on this adventure! It sure is helping me with my Disney Blues! We are still hoping to go back again in January 2010 but we are waiting on prices etc! August can not get here fast enough! By this time last year I already had our entire trip planned! We are trying to be a bit more financially concious this time though! Last year we had been given a gift of $$$ from some family members - this year we are on our own to foot the bill!

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Great Update!!!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Chapter 21: Gardens, Drums and Fountains

Date: January 24th
Time: 2:00pm
Place World Showcase

Before we left Germany, we made sure to give the girls time to colour their masks and have the Germany tag added. They were so into the masks, it was just too adorable! I think it is a really great idea to get kids into the whole vibe of the World Showcase!

Leaving Germany behind us we headed into Italy! It was at the “border” between Germany and Italy that I first noticed “the change”! It is so subtly done that it is barely noticeable! Such a great transition between countries! Everything changes from country to country but it is done in such an amazing way that you really don't notice it! The music, the plants, the smells, even the ground beneath your feet changes! I think this is one the best examples of Disney Magic in the whole entire World! Absolutely incredible!

Anyway, where was I? Ahhh, Italy! Not much to do, but plenty to see! What a neat little place! I want to explore it so much more next time! We didn't do too much here this time however! We found the Kidcot spot for the girls, took a family photo using the timer on our camera, enjoyed the fountain, found a hidden mickey and then strolled around a bit!

Next up was our lovely neighbour to the south! YUP, Good ole U. S of A! The States! The United States of America! We had previously decided to skip the U.S.A on this day due to lack of time to do it justice but the girls really wanted to do their masks here so we stopped to do that. Glad I did too! I had a very chance encounter with a DISer! We were waiting in line to get the girls their tags when I noticed an LGMH! I asked her if she was a DISer and she said yes! We introduced ourselves, talked about our trips so far and then said goodbye! She was fairly new to the DIS at that time and I am sorry to say that I don't even remember her screen name! I think it had something to do with scrapbooking?

At any rate, we pressed on to the next country which was Japan! Before we were able to head into the area though we spotted a Photopass fellow with no line! I pulled out my card and we headed over to see him! He took some really nice photos of us in front of the red gate with Spaceship Earth in behind!!

There was some scaffolding covering the pagoda so I am assuming it was being repaired! Too bad, Ken was really looking forward to seeing it! We had a stroll through the gardens and checked to see when the next drumming show would be! I think it was around 4 or so! We had about an hour before it started!

We really enjoyed the peacefulness and tranquility of the Japanese gardens and it gave us a few minutes to relax and “smell the roses”! It also gave us the chance to teach the girls about honor and respect – two values that are highly honored in Japanese culture! The were very well behaved and we were so very proud of them! At about this point Natalie informed us that she needed to use the washroom. We were going to head over to Morocco next anyway so we decided to head in that general direction!

Trying to find a washroom in Morocco is like trying to find a needle in a haystack! My goodness, I asked no less than 3 people to direct me to the washrooms and I still had a hard time finding it! Anyway, after we found and used the facilities, we decided to try to find a little place to rest for a few minutes. It was really starting to warm up and the girls were starting to act a little bit cranky, especially Natalie! We weren't ready to leave just yet so we found a litle quiet spot down near the boat dock just in front of Morocco! We put down a sweater for her to rest her bottom on and had her sit quietly for a few minutes with her eyes closed!

Ken stayed with her and Emily and I decided to explore the little garden nearby! Emily was very taken with the little waterway that ran through out the garden and had a hard time keeping her fingers out of it!

Once Natalie was sufficiently rested we headed back into Morocco to explore! We found the idcot spot and then wandered around a bit! I think this has to be my favourite country in the World Showcase! It is so incredibly beautiful! I could wander around in there for hours and not get bored! So many little tiny details to find and see!

It was getting close to when the drumming show was to start so we headed back in the direction of Japan! The performers were just beginning to set up their drums so we quickly found a place to sit! It was at this time that I noticed a group of people with matching t-shirts and matching personalities! YUP! We had run into some people who were “drinking around the world”!

<steps up onto soapbox> It was not even 4 oclock in the afternoon and these people were already stumbling and slurring! They were being very loud and obnoxious and being incredibly disrespectful! They pushed people out of their way, dropped garbage on the ground and banged on the drums repeatedly after being told not to! I was NOT impressed! Several other people quietly told them to be on their way and the “drinkers” started yelling and use curse words! A person who I suppose was a Head Cm of some sort came and escorted them away at this point! HOW RUDE! <steps down from soapbox>

In the wise words of MissCammie(CambellScot): AHEM

Now where was I? Oh yes! We were just about to enjoy a wonderful example of Japanese Culture! I had been looking forward to this show for a very long time! I was NOT disappointed! AMAZING!!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!! OUTSTANDING!!!!! WOW!!!!

After the show was finished we decided that we had seen enough for the day and that we should probably head back to the resort before the girls did a complete meltdown! We wandered in the direction of the Canadian pavilion and stopped just long enough to take a fun picture.

We were all feeling a wee bit tired and warm so we stopped for a water break before heading to the Monorail! Yes, Monorail! We had decided to take the monorail from Epcot to the TTC, thento MK and then catch the boat back to WL! It was still early and we were still wanting a bit of adventure so why not?

Before we could head up the ramp to catch the Monorail we were practically accosted by a bored Photopass person just standing around waiting for a job! (Really, doesn't anybody use these guys? The whole time we were there we never had to wait!) He did some great shots of us as a family and then did a special one with the girls!

Once that was dine we headed up the ramp to the Monorail platform to catch the next train to the TTC! What a fun day we had at Epcot! The day wasn't over yet though!

Stay tuned for more.....

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Loving the TR! Thanks for keeping it going! It's so fun to think back on all the fun, isn't it?

 

[Joie29]

Loving your wonderful trip report!

You have made me want to try Germany for lunch now...we'll see. I know my Dh would LOVE it, but with my mustard allergy I keep thinking it wouldn't be worth it. BUT, you made the ambience sound so charming, I may want to go just for that.

I sent you a PM.