4 Parks + 5 Staples in the Baby's Head = 9 Magical Days!! (9/17 The Last Hurrah!)

[tinkerbelle_rox325]

DD was making silly faces but it was still a decent shot.

Don't you mean GOOFY faces??
I've just tuned into this trip report and i love it!
Can't wait to hear more!

 

[thecapells]

Don't you mean GOOFY faces??
I've just tuned into this trip report and i love it!
Can't wait to hear more!

Good catch and welcome Tinkerbelle Rox
You've obviously been paying attention!
I'll have to watch my step now that you guys are following along so closely!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love the photo of your wife squishing Spaceship Earth! That is so cool. We had a "magic" spot in Italy but with only two photo ops.

 

[All7OfUs]

Great! Thanks for explaining that going back now to find the HM in the Fife and Drum Corps. I'll let you know if I can't find it.

 

[thecapells]

As we made our way from the character line at the lagoon across the walkway to Morocco, I noticed a Hidden Mickey I couldn’t pass up:

Then it was on to the Kingdom of Morocco:

DS was being a good sport but the kids were definitely getting antsy in anticipation of Kidcot.
DD, however, wanted to take pictures along the way.
So the compromise was this nice picture:

Followed by this “goofy” picture:

I love the marketplace in Morocco as it feels very authentic and is beautiful in every detail from the hand-made tiles to the quaint shops.
We finally stumbled across the room that is usually reserved for the characters (hence the Mickey glove pointing to it).
The background is much nicer than out by the lagoon so I’m not sure why it was changed but I took some pics anyway.
See if you can find the Hidden Mickey in the backdrop:

Nearby is the story of Aladdin:

Then we found KidCot which.
Instead of charms to color, Morocco offered plastic “hands” which are symbols of good luck.
They each got to pick a color. DD went with pink and DS got this one:

And we had to stamp the passports of course:

The CM wrote Happy Birthday to DD in both Arabic and English:

The kids sat and colored their previous charms a bit more until Mom called on the cell phone.
Aladdin and Jasmine had arrived!
We hurried back through the marketplace to join Mom in line.
The kids went first, and DS was a bit shy at first:

However, he soon got over it and took some nice shots.
I was a bit disappointed that Photopass doesn’t have a “border” with all three “signatures” so I had to make one of each. Here’s the results:

The funny thing is I think I ended up with a better (re:less blurry) picture on my camera but I can’t add the cool borders to that shot:

Next was the fun family shot and it came out great.
Given the same issue with the names, I opted for just Aladdin’s signature on this one.

As I said the group shots are always more fun.
X was still sleeping and this Photopass photographer (like the last one) took a picture of him as well but I didn't upload it since it's so similar to the last one.
We headed back to Europe and encountered a random CM blowing bubbles outside the Food & Wine Louisiana area.
Since the kids were due for a break, we stopped and let them chase the bubbles for a bit.
Look closely at the top left and you can see the one DD is chasing.

Now that our wiggles were out, it was time to descend onto the City of Lights and make use of that High School French. Allons-y!

 

[MovienutNiffer]

Great update! I subscribed a couple of days ago - the title made me go YIKES! and I have this weird tendency in finding these TR's that someone is either hurt or sick during the vacation (the last 3 I read TR had a little boy have a horrible asthma attack, one lady got an ear infection and one report that just concluded the mother had 2 broken arms!)

Well I usually look at these while watching my nephew who is 3 years old because I want him to get excited about Disney early (we might be going when he turns 5 - so we're saving saving saving!). He loves seeing pictures of babies and other kids but when he saw X with those stitches he cried and was going "Is he okay?" so I had to show him the rest of the report. He was glad the little one was okay and loved seeing all the fun pictures.

So keep up the great work!

 

[jmskinner]

Another great update. Morocco is probably my favorite to tour. We didn't go through it until about the 10th visit to Epcot, I know "How did we miss it?"

Sorry the photopass pics came out blurry. Yours was a much better shot.

Love the pic of DD chasing the bubble. Great shot!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I think Morocco is one of the prettiest pavillions in World Showcase. I can't get over how cute your kids are, your DD especially looks like she is having the time of her life.

 

[All7OfUs]

I found it! The HM in the backdrop! Adding that to my list of ones to find. My last tour of the World Sh. was doomed due antsy parents (you can find that story in my TR in my sig.), so I missed a lot of this country! I was so, so sad. Anyway, we live in a place that is very similar in culture and architecture so I get to see tiles and domes, and arches more than I'd like. So, although it is very beautiful, I can't say it's my favorite. Running into Alladin, Genie and Jasmine was a highlight for us though. I love the fact that it's so much easier to see characters in WS. The lines (at least from our experience) are way shorter and go faster if there is one. We ate at the Marakesh (sp?) in 2006, and were very disappointed. Of course the guys loved the belly dancing, but the F\food was bland to our taste. Anyway, great installment! Your 3 little cuties are too adorable; they sure aren't camera shy, are they?!

 

[thecapells]

Your 3 little cuties are too adorable; they sure aren't camera shy, are they?!

It's funny you say that. I just finished my PhotoBook of this trip and ordered it.
So I decided to go back and make one for DS - we went in 2006 for his 4th Birthday (apparently it's a precedent now).
The pics from 2006 are soooo different. DD (then 15 months or so) was afraid of the chars and DS was shy and didn't smile unless he was laughing.
They've both come along way.
X, on the other hand, is definitely much better with pictures.
By the end of this trip, X was even saying "EEEeeeeee" (cheese) when someone got a camera out!

 

[PrncessA]

Your kids are adorable! I love the family pic w/ Aladdin and the gang!!!

 

[3girls4me05]

I found the Hidden Mickey too! Love all the pictures but especially the one of your DD chasing the bubble. What camera did you use? Your pictures came out great.

 

[thecapells]

I found the Hidden Mickey too! Love all the pictures but especially the one of your DD chasing the bubble. What camera did you use? Your pictures came out great.

I've been using my new Canon Powershot SD1100 for all the pics and video.
We just got it before the trip so Mom and I could each have our own cameras (this one is mine).
I love it!

 

[thecapells]

We arrived in France and the kids really enjoyed the atmosphere.
They both jumped onto the fountain and posed for pictures with the Eiffel Tower looming behind them.

I quickly spotted Aurora and got on line with the kids over by the mini hedge maze.
When Mom caught up with X and the stroller, I sent her to find Belle’s Library which I’ve heard so much about but have never been to.
I wanted her to find out when Belle and the Beast would be there and get online for us.
She disappeared and I got this shot of DS before a CM told him to get down.
Oops – I didn’t realize that was a “no-no.”

Mom returned and said that Belle would be appearing near the lagoon while Beast was “away at the Castle” today.
At that point, DD announced she had to go the bathroom really badly again.
Mom grabbed both DD and DS and headed towards Les Chefs de France to use the restrooms.
I stayed in line with the stroller and let a group ahead of me.
When they returned, I sent Mom out to the lagoon to find Belle with the stroller.
Meanwhile, DD got precious shots with Aurora – the same one we met at breakfast.
First a hug

And then some nice poses (complete with Photopass autograph)

Then my cell phone rang and Mom said to hurry as she was next in line.
We ran over to the lagoon where Mom was waiting for Belle.
This time Belle was in her country clothes so DD was excited to get another picture.
First, DD showed Belle that she was on her shirt

And then she got a big hug

By now, DS was grumbling about all the princesses so we set off to find Kidcot.
Mom sidetracked (with X) to the Lyon Food and Wine Festival booth because she was craving crème brulee.
I forgot to get a picture but she really enjoyed it.
DD,DS, and I stopped off at Belle’s Library.
It’s really beautiful with those amazing stained glass windows.
Once again, I really think this is a better picture spot than by the lagoon so I’m not sure why she moved.
Maybe they were moving the characters to the lagoon in order to be more accessible for the F&W Festival.
Anyhow, the lighting is tough but here’s my best attempt at a pic:

Apparently Belle had been reading Hunchback of Notre Dame as that was the book on her pedestal:

Next the kids wandered through the attached perfume shop and wanted a picture in the cool little alcove so I obliged.

Then it was Kidcot time.
We walked the streets of France ogling all the other people walking by with desserts.
At the end of the walkway was a covered area with a shop in it as well as Kidcot.
I encouraged the kids to greet the CM’s with “Bonjour” and tried to catch what they said (I took French waaaay back when).
After grudgingly saying “Bonjour”, the kids got their passports stamped.
The CM who stamped DS’ was very curt.

But DD got a nice message with her name:

No matter, DS went to work furiously on his charm.

Mom returned just as I noticed a lady with a flute of champage.
I talked to her and she said it was really good.
I was debating getting myself a crepe but the champagne looked really good.
I left Mom to finish her treat and watch the kids and headed out to the lagoon.
The crepe stand was only taking cash which was really annoying as I wanted to use snack credits.
With dinner on the horizon, I decided to splurge instead for a glass of champagne.
For $11, it was overpriced but I figured I’m allowed one treat, right?
It was really good! So good that when I spotted a Photopass photographer, I decided to get some pictures of my splurge!
Here’s me with my goofy “I’m taking a picture with my champagne” smile.

When I got back to Kidcot, it was time to change everyone into our dinner clothes and head back to Japan.
During our runs to the bathroom to change, DS noticed a Hidden Mickey:

After dinner we were planning to come back and finish the World Showcase with the United Kingdom.
And that way we could pass back through France for dessert.
I’ve stopped in the French bakery in the past for amazing treats and was looking forward to it. Mmmmm….
And with visions of chocolate crepes dancing in our heads, we were off to Japan!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I love the pics from France, my dd9 cannot wait to go through the WS, France is what she is waiting to see.

 

[3girls4me05]

Oh you left France without having a Grey Goose Slushie? I could never do that! I dream about them.

 

[All7OfUs]

Okay, so I'm a bit dense... It is just now dawning on me that every country has a fountain- right!! Fountain pics. seem to be a running theme for you. So, another thing to add to my list... a picture of myself next to every fountain at WS on my next trip. I think if you get to WS right when they open it, you could get some pretty crowd free shots until America, then on day 2 you could go the other way and get crowd free shots again, until America.

Anyway, I"ve been to Belle's library next to the perfume shop before, but another "dense" moment. For some reason, I had forgotten (or didn't notice it) was what it was. Something definitely worth a re-do! Thanks for the reminder!

Love that you treated yourself to a "something" just for you! When I'm there with kids, it seems I forget all about getting a treat just for me Guess we parents get pretty wrapped up in making everything just right for our little cherubs. Pretty weird that some of mine are almost old enough to share a flute of champagne WITH me!!!!!!!!! Ahhhh, it goes by so fast- enjoy all those magical moments while they ARE!

Until next time,

 

[jmskinner]

Another great update!

We have never checked out France at WS, but after your TR I am looking forward to it.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love Belle's library. I think it's a sweet little area to explore. You did well with your picture of the stained glass windows, it's really hard to get one in there.

 

[thecapells]

Okay, so I'm a bit dense... It is just now dawning on me that every country has a fountain- right!! Fountain pics. seem to be a running theme for you. So, another thing to add to my list... a picture of myself next to every fountain at WS on my next trip.

I think every country has either a fountain, waterfall, or pond of some sort now that you mention it.
However, it wasn't a goal of mine to take shots there, most of them simply are too picturesque to pass up.
Maybe it was a subconscious goal but now that I think about it, we don't have one next to the fountain in Mexico.
I guess we'll just have to go back!

I think if you get to WS right when they open it, you could get some pretty crowd free shots until America, then on day 2 you could go the other way and get crowd free shots again, until America.

Not a bad idea but I kinda of like exploring the "whole world" in one day.
As you suggested, it didn't really get crowded until America.
And, even so, the streets of Morocco are usually empty and the only crowds we really encountered were France, Japan (at dinner time), and the UK (also dinner time).
It was a good idea that we finished off Mexico and Canada the day before.
The only downside is that exploring Japan and the UK were mostly done at night so we didn't get to enjoy all the theming as much.
On the other hand, we also missed the countries at night with all the lights.
A better plan (for those with older kids) would be to turn around after the UK and head back the "long" way.
That way, you can see all the countries at night as well.
And then you'd arrive back at FutureWorld around the time of Illuminations!
We'll have to try that one once the kids are a bit older...