Tinkerbell_Girl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 16, 2005
- Messages
- 5,849
I love POP! Thanks for your Practically Perfect POP trip report! I can't wait to read more!!!
8 Nites Of Practically Perfect Pop!!! NEW PICTURES, PAGE 13!!!
- Thread starter DonnaW
- Start date
Next Up... Monday, May 1st
We had kind of a slow start this morning. I took a walk out by Hour Glass Lake and sat on a bench, filled out my PASSPORTER (which I recommend getting) and just watched the sun on the water.
I was all by myself out there, imagine that, it was just so incredibly peaceful. I LOVE POP Century! 
The weather was once again practically perfect...in the 80's, bright sunshine and just a touch of a breeze. As I walked down to the lake, I passed by the resident family of ducks. We saw them trekking along almost every day...a mamma duck, followed closely by the little babies. They were just too cute, and these were REAL ducks, not Disney robot ducks! 
What a concept.
I headed back to the room and turned on the t.v . Do you realize that no matter what channel that thing is on when you turn it off, when you turn it back on, it will *automatically* go to the TOP THINGS TO SEE AT WALT DISNEY WORLD channel? WOW, talk about Disney Magic! (But could we please get a different person to show it to us, that girl was just a wee bit annoying). And, what's with the Disney Vacation Club being the "best kept Disney secret"? Hello...there are Disney vacation club signs everyplace, in every park there is a Disney vacation club station, in every resort there is a Disney vacation club desk...so best kept secret?? Ummm..no, I don't think so!
So, I flipped on the weather channel. I am a weather-channel addict (is there a twelve step program?), but it was just so cool to see the weather for "Walt Disney World" on there! Insert huge Disney smile!
We loaded up the twenty two thousand things we couldn't spend the day without and headed off to the bus line for Epcot. The ride, once again, seemed really short to me (we have stayed at All Stars before, I believe POP may be a bit more centrally located...did I mention I LOVE POP Century?). I was really nervous that my card was not gonna work again this morning (I had them do whatever magic they did at the front desk at POP to get it going), but YIPPEEE!!!, I didn't have any problems at all!
I love the music you usually hear when you walk into Epcot, the futuristic sounding space-travelish kind of stuff. Makes me feel like I am someplace really special. Well, ummm...the Flower & Garden show was going on, and instead of that awesome music, the speakers were playing "So This Is Love"! Some sort of theme for the F&G show, I guess! And there was a Tunnel of Love display thingie set up right in front of where you can usually take that great picture with Spaceship Earth behind you. The display was actually kind of cute looking, so we did take pictures and stuff, but I really missed hearing the Epcot music.
We wandered on in to the park and decided to go into the giant golf ball...better known as Spaceship Earth. There was no line at all, and we enjoyed the ride. I love the way they get it to smell as you pass by certain scenes in there.
I know it's one of the older rides, and they are probably going to make changes to it, but to me, it's one of the Disney classics and I hope they don't! Sniff, sniff...I miss it already!
We knew we really, really wanted to try Soarin', & I figured it would probably be kind of busy over there, so we thought we would get a FastPass. Whoever thought up the idea of the FastPass should be a Disney millionaire by now! I think it's really great to "get a time, don't wait in line"! FastPasses safely obtained, we decided to do the Living with the Land boat ride. Well, apparently, so did everyone else in the general vicinity of Soarin'! It was the longest line we waited in the whole trip (well, it was only about 20 minutes, but it seemed like it took FOREVER!) I love the song, 'Listen to the Land"! And, it was pretty cool to see the pumpkins that were grown to look like Mickey Mouse!
Humming "Listen to the Land", we headed back over to Soarin' and proudly presented our FastPass tickets and whipped by everyone waiting in the standby line. You may have figured this out by yourself since we drove all the way to Disney from Chicago, but I am beyond terrified to fly. And, Soarin' is kind of set up to make you think you are boarding an airplane. I'm wondering...hmmm...do I really want to do this?? Well, sweaty palms and all, I went ahead and boarded the plane ...er, ride...and went Soarin!. All I can say about this is it is simply incredible! This one ride alone is almost worth goin' to Disney to do! Disney magic at its best! Awesome...beyond belief...again, insert your own favorite adjective and that's what it was! Ya just gotta do this one!
Feet planted firmly back on solid ground, we went to stop and smell the roses...literally. Epcot has some beautiful flower displays set up for the F&G show, a brand new event in our Disney experiences, so we spent a bit of time just wandering around and exploring the various garden exhibits and once again, enjoying the Florida sunshine.
Soon it was getting close to our ADR for Alfredo's in Italy, so we headed off towards World Showcase. We saw that a boat was soon to depart for the World Showcase, so we got on it. That was a quick trip! It's like you just sit down and you're already there! At Alfredo's, I peaked inside the main dining room and it just seemed to be so dark in there, so we decided we would have our lunch "alfresco" (out on the patio). That was so much fun! We dined on, of course, world famous Fettucine Alfredo...all the while listening to Italian music and gazing out on the various buildings that make up the pavilion of Italy. I am Italian and would LOVE to go to Italy one day, but I think the Italy part of Epcot is as close as I'm gonna get (see paragraph regarding my terror of flying). But I felt like it was pretty darn close! I loved hearing the accents of the cast members taking care of us, and had a nice conversation with one cast member about what she missed most about her home country....she said THE FOOD!
Yep, I could see that! When we got the bill, it came with a cute picture of a dog, so I also had a nice chat with the cast member about how much he missed his doggie. (I could relate, because I was kind of missing my little doggie, too).
After finishing this delicious meal that I am sure was twelve million calories, we, of course, needed to walk and walking around the World Showcase at Epcot was so delightful! We just went slowly, breathing it all in and enjoying it immensely. YIPPEE!!! Have I said how much I LOVE Disney World?? We got to Mexico and decided it was time for one of those adult beverages...yummm...Drinks in hand, we wandered into the Mexico pavilion. It takes a minute for your eyes to adjust from the bright sunshine outside to the full twilight in Mexico, but it is so beautiful in there, with the brilliant blue colors and the "volcano" smoldering in the background. Where else but Disney?? We rode on the "River of Time"...very relaxing, and we were probably two of about four people in there!
We had kind of a slow start this morning. I took a walk out by Hour Glass Lake and sat on a bench, filled out my PASSPORTER (which I recommend getting) and just watched the sun on the water.
I was all by myself out there, imagine that, it was just so incredibly peaceful. I LOVE POP Century! The weather was once again practically perfect...in the 80's, bright sunshine and just a touch of a breeze. As I walked down to the lake, I passed by the resident family of ducks. We saw them trekking along almost every day...a mamma duck, followed closely by the little babies. They were just too cute, and these were REAL ducks, not Disney robot ducks! What a concept.I headed back to the room and turned on the t.v . Do you realize that no matter what channel that thing is on when you turn it off, when you turn it back on, it will *automatically* go to the TOP THINGS TO SEE AT WALT DISNEY WORLD channel? WOW, talk about Disney Magic! (But could we please get a different person to show it to us, that girl was just a wee bit annoying). And, what's with the Disney Vacation Club being the "best kept Disney secret"? Hello...there are Disney vacation club signs everyplace, in every park there is a Disney vacation club station, in every resort there is a Disney vacation club desk...so best kept secret?? Ummm..no, I don't think so!
So, I flipped on the weather channel. I am a weather-channel addict (is there a twelve step program?), but it was just so cool to see the weather for "Walt Disney World" on there! Insert huge Disney smile! We loaded up the twenty two thousand things we couldn't spend the day without and headed off to the bus line for Epcot. The ride, once again, seemed really short to me (we have stayed at All Stars before, I believe POP may be a bit more centrally located...did I mention I LOVE POP Century?). I was really nervous that my card was not gonna work again this morning (I had them do whatever magic they did at the front desk at POP to get it going), but YIPPEEE!!!, I didn't have any problems at all!
I love the music you usually hear when you walk into Epcot, the futuristic sounding space-travelish kind of stuff. Makes me feel like I am someplace really special. Well, ummm...the Flower & Garden show was going on, and instead of that awesome music, the speakers were playing "So This Is Love"! Some sort of theme for the F&G show, I guess! And there was a Tunnel of Love display thingie set up right in front of where you can usually take that great picture with Spaceship Earth behind you. The display was actually kind of cute looking, so we did take pictures and stuff, but I really missed hearing the Epcot music.
We wandered on in to the park and decided to go into the giant golf ball...better known as Spaceship Earth. There was no line at all, and we enjoyed the ride. I love the way they get it to smell as you pass by certain scenes in there.
I know it's one of the older rides, and they are probably going to make changes to it, but to me, it's one of the Disney classics and I hope they don't! Sniff, sniff...I miss it already!We knew we really, really wanted to try Soarin', & I figured it would probably be kind of busy over there, so we thought we would get a FastPass. Whoever thought up the idea of the FastPass should be a Disney millionaire by now! I think it's really great to "get a time, don't wait in line"! FastPasses safely obtained, we decided to do the Living with the Land boat ride. Well, apparently, so did everyone else in the general vicinity of Soarin'! It was the longest line we waited in the whole trip (well, it was only about 20 minutes, but it seemed like it took FOREVER!) I love the song, 'Listen to the Land"! And, it was pretty cool to see the pumpkins that were grown to look like Mickey Mouse!
Humming "Listen to the Land", we headed back over to Soarin' and proudly presented our FastPass tickets and whipped by everyone waiting in the standby line. You may have figured this out by yourself since we drove all the way to Disney from Chicago, but I am beyond terrified to fly. And, Soarin' is kind of set up to make you think you are boarding an airplane. I'm wondering...hmmm...do I really want to do this?? Well, sweaty palms and all, I went ahead and boarded the plane ...er, ride...and went Soarin!. All I can say about this is it is simply incredible! This one ride alone is almost worth goin' to Disney to do! Disney magic at its best! Awesome...beyond belief...again, insert your own favorite adjective and that's what it was! Ya just gotta do this one!
Feet planted firmly back on solid ground, we went to stop and smell the roses...literally. Epcot has some beautiful flower displays set up for the F&G show, a brand new event in our Disney experiences, so we spent a bit of time just wandering around and exploring the various garden exhibits and once again, enjoying the Florida sunshine.
Soon it was getting close to our ADR for Alfredo's in Italy, so we headed off towards World Showcase. We saw that a boat was soon to depart for the World Showcase, so we got on it. That was a quick trip! It's like you just sit down and you're already there! At Alfredo's, I peaked inside the main dining room and it just seemed to be so dark in there, so we decided we would have our lunch "alfresco" (out on the patio). That was so much fun! We dined on, of course, world famous Fettucine Alfredo...all the while listening to Italian music and gazing out on the various buildings that make up the pavilion of Italy. I am Italian and would LOVE to go to Italy one day, but I think the Italy part of Epcot is as close as I'm gonna get (see paragraph regarding my terror of flying). But I felt like it was pretty darn close! I loved hearing the accents of the cast members taking care of us, and had a nice conversation with one cast member about what she missed most about her home country....she said THE FOOD!
Yep, I could see that! When we got the bill, it came with a cute picture of a dog, so I also had a nice chat with the cast member about how much he missed his doggie. (I could relate, because I was kind of missing my little doggie, too). After finishing this delicious meal that I am sure was twelve million calories, we, of course, needed to walk and walking around the World Showcase at Epcot was so delightful!
We just went slowly, breathing it all in and enjoying it immensely. YIPPEE!!! Have I said how much I LOVE Disney World?? We got to Mexico and decided it was time for one of those adult beverages...yummm...Drinks in hand, we wandered into the Mexico pavilion. It takes a minute for your eyes to adjust from the bright sunshine outside to the full twilight in Mexico, but it is so beautiful in there, with the brilliant blue colors and the "volcano" smoldering in the background. Where else but Disney?? We rode on the "River of Time"...very relaxing, and we were probably two of about four people in there!We then went on around the lagoon and ended up in the Canadian pavilion. (Actually, I was looking for France cuz I wanted a pastry there, but we ended up saving that experience for another day!) The gardens in Disney's Canada are just gorgeous! After taking a zillion pictures there, we went in to watch the Oh, Canada! movie. I think they are planning to update this one soon, and it would probably be a good idea.
As part of the Flower & Garden Festival, Epcot was hosting "Flower Power" concerts each evening. Today we got to see Gary Puckett...at this moment, I can't think of a single song he did
(blame it on a senior moment, okay?) but...he was very good. Really. He was! (Even without the Union Gap!) It was fun to sit in the American Gardens theater and listen to a concert like that!
We wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom and see the SpectroMagic Parade, since we had missed it on Sunday and the only other day besides today it was going to be shown was Thursday and who knew if it would be raining or whatnot on Thursday. So after listening to whatever the heck Gary Puckett sang, we traveled towards Italy again, and on to the UK, where we heard Off Kilter singing. We had to stop and listen to them...they are too funny! So we heard two concerts kind of in a row! Only at Disney!!! Insert huge Disney smile!
We left Epcot and took the monorail over to the Transportation and Ticket Center. I had a nice chat with the cast member at the Epcot monorail station, in case ya haven't figured this out by now, there is not a shy bone in my body and I love to talk to people!!! We went from the TTC to the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and once again headed in to what I still believe is the most magical part of Disney World! The magic of the Magic Kingdom!
As part of the Flower & Garden Festival, Epcot was hosting "Flower Power" concerts each evening. Today we got to see Gary Puckett...at this moment, I can't think of a single song he did
(blame it on a senior moment, okay?) but...he was very good. Really. He was! (Even without the Union Gap!) It was fun to sit in the American Gardens theater and listen to a concert like that!We wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom and see the SpectroMagic Parade, since we had missed it on Sunday and the only other day besides today it was going to be shown was Thursday and who knew if it would be raining or whatnot on Thursday. So after listening to whatever the heck Gary Puckett sang, we traveled towards Italy again, and on to the UK, where we heard Off Kilter singing. We had to stop and listen to them...they are too funny! So we heard two concerts kind of in a row! Only at Disney!!!
Insert huge Disney smile!We left Epcot and took the monorail over to the Transportation and Ticket Center. I had a nice chat with the cast member at the Epcot monorail station, in case ya haven't figured this out by now, there is not a shy bone in my body and I love to talk to people!!! We went from the TTC to the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and once again headed in to what I still believe is the most magical part of Disney World! The magic of the Magic Kingdom!
We were about an hour or so early for the parade, so found ourselves a nice spot of curb to sit on. Mark was hungry, so wandered off to find a hot dog or something (I was still full on the lunch and the drink and oh, yeah, the Mickey ice cream and popcorn ) so just sat and people-watched.
I had a nice chat with an adorable little girl who was waiting for the parade. She told me that she was five years old and "knew everything"! How cute was that! (Actually, in talking to her mom, I found out she was a pretty smart little girl, as they had lived in China for awhile and she knew how to speak several different languages! WOW!) She was beyond cute when the parade went by and she pulled on my arm, pointing out all the different characters to me!! Awwww....
Jiminny Cricket (my spell checker doesn't like that spelling, but I have no clue how to spell it, just read "cricket dude", okay?) announced that it was gonna be a magic evening and all that and the parade music was coming out of the speakers and the Disney characters were dancing their way down Main Street!!! I LOVE Disney!!!! :
After the parade, it was time for the Wishes! fireworks show, but first Tinkerbell had to do the flying thing!!! I have never had such a clear view of this before, and it was just incredible to see..."when you wish upon a star"! I LOVE Disney!!!
The Wishes show was great..to see all those fireworks bursting behind that beautiful castle, and hearing all that wonderful Disney music...it was...okay, say it with me...PERFECT!!! I had those happy Disney tears in my eyes, once again! And, ummmm...did I mention I LOVE DISNEY???
) so just sat and people-watched.I had a nice chat with an adorable little girl who was waiting for the parade. She told me that she was five years old and "knew everything"! How cute was that! (Actually, in talking to her mom, I found out she was a pretty smart little girl, as they had lived in China for awhile and she knew how to speak several different languages! WOW!) She was beyond cute when the parade went by and she pulled on my arm, pointing out all the different characters to me!! Awwww....
Jiminny Cricket (my spell checker doesn't like that spelling, but I have no clue how to spell it, just read "cricket dude", okay?) announced that it was gonna be a magic evening and all that and the parade music was coming out of the speakers and the Disney characters were dancing their way down Main Street!!! I LOVE Disney!!!! :
After the parade, it was time for the Wishes! fireworks show, but first Tinkerbell had to do the flying thing!!! I have never had such a clear view of this before, and it was just incredible to see..."when you wish upon a star"! I LOVE Disney!!!
The Wishes show was great..to see all those fireworks bursting behind that beautiful castle, and hearing all that wonderful Disney music...it was...okay, say it with me...PERFECT!!! I had those happy Disney tears in my eyes, once again!
And, ummmm...did I mention I LOVE DISNEY??? We then left the Magic Kingdom with about 500 thousand of our closest friends and headed for the POP Century bus stop. I honestly thought we were going to be in for a loooonggg wait for the bus, but we only waited on one bus to leave and the next one was there almost immediately. I LOVE POP CENTURY! Of course, while waiting for the bus, I had a nice chat with a few people...I think they thought we were a bit crazy when we shared that we had driven down to Disney from Chicago!
We got back to our cute room in the practically perfect 70's section and got ready to dream about our next Disney day!!!
Stay tuned for more......
Of course, while waiting for the bus, I had a nice chat with a few people...I think they thought we were a bit crazy when we shared that we had driven down to Disney from Chicago! We got back to our cute room in the practically perfect 70's section
and got ready to dream about our next Disney day!!!Stay tuned for more......
Hey, I just looked back at the pictures Christopher posted. Ya know what? Mark and I are *NOT* giants!!! Really, we're not! The Disney photo-pass people took that picture and it must have something to do with forced perspective or something...we are *not* larger than the castle! You will NOT see us riding the giant Big Wheel at POP, or talking on the giant Mickey phone! I promise, we are normal-sized people!
Really, we're not! The Disney photo-pass people took that picture and it must have something to do with forced perspective or something...we are *not* larger than the castle! You will NOT see us riding the giant Big Wheel at POP, or talking on the giant Mickey phone! I promise, we are normal-sized people!
MagicMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 3, 2006
- Messages
- 4,267
I'm really enjoying your trip report. Can't wait to hear more.
I've never stayed at the Pop Century but my family is going down in August for the land and sea thing and I'm flying down for the sea part (couldn't swing the land since I'm going back in Oct for the MNSSHP). Anyway, decided to head down a day early (didn't want to worry about a plane delay and end up missing the ship!!) and made ressies at the Pop for the night. That way I get the ME to the hotel and transportation to hit DD. Now I'm looking forward to the POP!
I've never stayed at the Pop Century but my family is going down in August for the land and sea thing and I'm flying down for the sea part (couldn't swing the land since I'm going back in Oct for the MNSSHP). Anyway, decided to head down a day early (didn't want to worry about a plane delay and end up missing the ship!!) and made ressies at the Pop for the night. That way I get the ME to the hotel and transportation to hit DD. Now I'm looking forward to the POP!
Speaking of pictures, I just gotta add here that Mark got a brand new camera before this trip. Now, I know like next to nothing about cameras, but he bought a Cannon Rebel digital SLR.....yeah, um...at least I *think* that's what it's called. Never mind that we have a practically perfect Kodak digital camera, or that we have a video camera which also has the ability to take pictures, he *had* to have the new one! He took tons of pictures with that one, and I was taking pictures with the Kodak camera. BUT, I can't tell you the number of times where I would take a picture of something and turn around *after* taking it and see him taking the *exact* same picture!!! Hello...we live in the same house! Why on earth do we need pix of the exact same thing??! We started every morning at Disney with a "review" of the pictures from the day before. (He hauled his laptop computer with him, so he could play them on the computer). It was really fun to be able to experience our adventure while we were still experiencing our adventure!!
We started every morning at Disney with a "review" of the pictures from the day before. (He hauled his laptop computer with him, so he could play them on the computer). It was really fun to be able to experience our adventure while we were still experiencing our adventure!! 
Thx, again, for the encouraging comments! This is only like the 2nd time I've done one of these report thingies, and the big fear is that no one is gonna read what ya write... So, WHEW! (Insert big Disney smile)!
DISNEYLOVER70
<font color=blue>Speaks softly but carries a big s
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2003
- Messages
- 785
Subscribing........
Thanks for another great trip report to read. I feed off of these things until I am able to get there next May ! Thanks for the chow
Thanks for another great trip report to read. I feed off of these things until I am able to get there next May ! Thanks for the chow
Moving forward, but first we gotta move backward a bit...
Ready to hear about our next magical day? Ready to hear more about POP? Okay, keep your hand and arms inside the vehicle, the doors are about to close, gather up your personal belongings, take small children by the hand....yada, yada....
Moving backward for a moment, I gotta share one more magical moment that happened as we were leaving the Magic Kingdom. Guess who was standing right by that wayyy cool "Magic Kingdom" railroad station sign, waving at everyone and thanking them for coming and saying "See ya real soon"! None other than the big cheese himself, the number one main man, yep...Mickey Mouse!!!! Awwwww....insert big Disney smile!!!
When we got back to POP, Mark headed straight for the room, but I took a small detour to the Everything POP gift shop. Actually, this was a detour I took kind of daily; actually more than one time each day; actually, I spent a lot of time in the gift shop! So, okay, I admit it, I like to shop! Don't most women?? And, as gift shops go, this is a really, really nice one! Especially if you are a Disney addict! They have all kinds of things with the "Happiest Celebration on Earth" logo on them, they have all kind of things with the "POP Century" logo on them, they have Disney clothes, they have Disney photo/scrapbook items, they have a section where you can make your own Mr. Potato Head (how cute is that??!), they even have an everything under $10 section. And, they have pins! Lots and lots of pins! (One evening in passing thru -- I think it was a Friday??--they even had a whole pin trading thing going on in the Classic Concoctions area...if you are into pin trading (I have a few pins, but have never really gotten hooked on trading) this looks like it would be fun! People had lanyards, huge scrapbooks, looked to be a whole lot of tradin' goin' on!!!) Every day in my "browsing", I would see something else that I knew I couldn't live without, and would probably buy before we left Disney!
Ready to hear about our next magical day? Ready to hear more about POP? Okay, keep your hand and arms inside the vehicle,
the doors are about to close, gather up your personal belongings, take small children by the hand....yada, yada.... Moving backward for a moment, I gotta share one more magical moment that happened as we were leaving the Magic Kingdom. Guess who was standing right by that wayyy cool "Magic Kingdom" railroad station sign, waving at everyone and thanking them for coming and saying "See ya real soon"! None other than the big cheese himself, the number one main man, yep...Mickey Mouse!!!! Awwwww....insert big Disney smile!!!
When we got back to POP, Mark headed straight for the room, but I took a small detour to the Everything POP gift shop. Actually, this was a detour I took kind of daily; actually more than one time each day; actually, I spent a lot of time in the gift shop! So, okay, I admit it, I like to shop!
Don't most women?? And, as gift shops go, this is a really, really nice one! Especially if you are a Disney addict! They have all kinds of things with the "Happiest Celebration on Earth" logo on them, they have all kind of things with the "POP Century" logo on them, they have Disney clothes, they have Disney photo/scrapbook items, they have a section where you can make your own Mr. Potato Head (how cute is that??!), they even have an everything under $10 section. And, they have pins! Lots and lots of pins! (One evening in passing thru -- I think it was a Friday??--they even had a whole pin trading thing going on in the Classic Concoctions area...if you are into pin trading (I have a few pins, but have never really gotten hooked on trading) this looks like it would be fun! People had lanyards, huge scrapbooks, looked to be a whole lot of tradin' goin' on!!!) Every day in my "browsing", I would see something else that I knew I couldn't live without, and would probably buy before we left Disney!One time in passing thru the gift shop (Mark was with me, so this was actually a *real* pass-thru!) one of the ever-so-friendly cast members asked if I was having a good time. Hello...can't you see this smile that is like permanently plastered to my face??? What kind of question is that??? Of course, I'm having a GREAT time, AWESOME time, SPECTACTULAR time...you get the picture! Anyhoo, he asked if we had gone to Epcot yet, and I said, yes, but we will be going back again. Then he told me we HAD to go and see Minnie's Magnificent Butterfly Garden! And, even took me to a counter and drew a map for me as to where I would find it in Epcot!!! I'm tellin' you guys...I *LOVE* POP Century!!!!
One time in passing thru the food court (well, to get to the gift shop to do my browsing!), I was in the food court at the right time to see the cast members do The Twist!!!! YIPPEEE!!! I got to see both the Hustle and the Twist!!! Do these people know how to have fun or what??? Did I mention how much I *LOVE* POP Century???
Anyhoo, he asked if we had gone to Epcot yet, and I said, yes, but we will be going back again. Then he told me we HAD to go and see Minnie's Magnificent Butterfly Garden! And, even took me to a counter and drew a map for me as to where I would find it in Epcot!!! I'm tellin' you guys...I *LOVE* POP Century!!!! One time in passing thru the food court (well, to get to the gift shop to do my browsing!), I was in the food court at the right time to see the cast members do The Twist!!!! YIPPEEE!!! I got to see both the Hustle and the Twist!!! Do these people know how to have fun or what??? Did I mention how much I *LOVE* POP Century???
So now it's Tuesday morning, and we don't feel a need to rush to get to the parks, since we have found the crowds to be light and we are just enjoying this trip at our own pace! I turn on the t.v. (by the way, the television set in the POP room is a really nice size...no dinky little t.v set!) looking for my beloved weather channel & I see the perky little girl talkin' about the top MUST DO's at Walt Disney World. Got it, honey...that's enuff out of you...
I take my mug and my Passporter and dance past the music of the 70's section, past the kids enjoying the Goofy Pop Jets area, go to the food court to get my coffee, and find a nice spot by the Hippy Dippy pool to just enjoy the sunshine and the fact that I am *in* Disney World! Does it get any better than this?? Insert big Disney smile! In my Passporter journal for yesterday, where it says, "the most magical moment today was...", I write "the whole day"! I think that about covered it, don't you??
I turn on the t.v. (by the way, the television set in the POP room is a really nice size...no dinky little t.v set!) looking for my beloved weather channel & I see the perky little girl talkin' about the top MUST DO's at Walt Disney World. Got it, honey...that's enuff out of you... I take my mug and my Passporter and dance past the music of the 70's section, past the kids enjoying the Goofy Pop Jets area, go to the food court to get my coffee, and find a nice spot by the Hippy Dippy pool to just enjoy the sunshine and the fact that I am *in* Disney World! Does it get any better than this??
Insert big Disney smile! In my Passporter journal for yesterday, where it says, "the most magical moment today was...", I write "the whole day"! I think that about covered it, don't you?? Mark finally wanders out to join me by the pool and we both decide since we feel like just "chillin'" for awhile, why don't we go ahead and get breakfast here at the resort. Mark goes in and waits in line and brings my food back out to me! Yep, I'm a spoiled princess (thx, dear!) We both had the "adult breakfast platter"...this is pretty good food for around $6.00! And, somehow eating outside, at the Hippy Dippy pool, hearing the music, watching the people, etc. etc. just made it taste so much better!!!
So now we start talking about where we are gonna spend the day. Before we went on this trip, I told Mark that THIS time we were going to spend a day at Universal Studios in Florida, no if's and's or but's. We've never been there before (we went to the one in California ages ago), so I thought this time we're really gonna do it! So I asked him is today our Universal Day? Ummmm...well, no...we haven't even gone to all the Disney parks yet...and we bought 8 day tickets, and we have transportation here and remember how I did NOT want to leave Disney on that first day?? That feeling hasn't left me.....
So today we are going to go to the Animal Kingdom. Our last trip, AK was *not* my favorite park...the reason?? Well, one of our animal friends decided to get a wee bit too close to me and pooped on my head...not once, but twice! Okay, insert big frown here!
The weather once again, was fantastic, as we headed off to the bus stop (I detoured thru the gift shop, of course, and saw the little sign at the register that showed how perfect the weather was gonna be and listed the "things you might need to enjoy your day...sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat") Well, I had all those, most especially the hat, most especially for the Animal Kingdom...see paragraph above!...and I also had my Disney smile!
We get to the Animal Kingdom and right outside the park, before you even go in or anything, there stands Chip and Dale! So, I gotta have a picture with the Chipmunks, so I go hop in the (very short) line! The photopass people took a picture of both Mark and me with Chip and Dale, and this is one of my favorite pictures! (I'll try to get Chris to help me post it, and hope we don't look like giants again, lol!) After getting hugged by C & D, we had to take a few hundred pictures of the entrance sign for Animal Kingdom before we finally actually *entered* the park.
Now we've kinda been on slow, relaxed mode this morning, but when I got into the Animal Kingdom, I felt I needed to RUN back and get a FastPass for Kilimanjaro Safari! Why? I have no clue! So we did the sprint thing and got the pass
Okay, so we look at the handy-dandy park map (you know I read the Unofficial Guide, ya think I woulda figured this out before we were in the park!)...to see where to go, and notice it's almost time for Legends of the Lion King. We head back to the Lion King area, and wait with everyone else to be let into the theater. I, of course, have a nice conversation with some people also waiting...Florida residents, who get to visit Disney often, lucky them...and then we are let in. I gotta tell ya, the Lion King is one of my favorite Disney shows! I believe this is the third (?) time we've seen it, and it just continues to amaze me. I often think that this one show alone is worth the price of admission to the Animal Kingdom!
After navigating our way past the eight hundred million strollers parked outside the theater (I'm really not exaggerating all that much here, there were a LOT of strollers there...and that path is pretty darn narrow!), we headed back towards the Safari Ride, and did the FastPass thing. This time Mark got the lanyard-looking thingie from the cast member for the time thing..since I knew it didn't mean we had won the Disney lottery, I wasn't as thrilled about it the second time! So the Safari ride was okay...we saw a few animals...would have liked to have seen a few more. We then went on the Gorilla Trail or whatever it's called. I don't know, I feel really sorry for the gorillas, everyone taking their picture and whatnot...but I had a talk with the cast member and she kind of told me what they do to make the animals comfortable and stuff, but still....I just feel bad for them. <shrug>
Mark decided he wanted lunch, so we went in to the restaurant near the Safari (is it Tusker House?) I wasn't hungry, as I felt we had just finished breakfast, but sat on one of the outside tables with him and waited while he finished lunch. Okay, stop eating, let's move on here...this park closes early...we have places to go and things to see...this is one of the very, very few times I got a wee-bit frustrated with my DH (sorry, dear!)
So now we start talking about where we are gonna spend the day. Before we went on this trip, I told Mark that THIS time we were going to spend a day at Universal Studios in Florida, no if's and's or but's. We've never been there before (we went to the one in California ages ago), so I thought this time we're really gonna do it! So I asked him is today our Universal Day? Ummmm...well, no...we haven't even gone to all the Disney parks yet...and we bought 8 day tickets, and we have transportation here and remember how I did NOT want to leave Disney on that first day?? That feeling hasn't left me.....
So today we are going to go to the Animal Kingdom. Our last trip, AK was *not* my favorite park...the reason?? Well, one of our animal friends decided to get a wee bit too close to me and pooped on my head...not once, but twice! Okay, insert big frown here!
The weather once again, was fantastic, as we headed off to the bus stop (I detoured thru the gift shop, of course, and saw the little sign at the register that showed how perfect the weather was gonna be and listed the "things you might need to enjoy your day...sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat") Well, I had all those, most especially the hat, most especially for the Animal Kingdom...see paragraph above!...and I also had my Disney smile!
We get to the Animal Kingdom and right outside the park, before you even go in or anything, there stands Chip and Dale! So, I gotta have a picture with the Chipmunks, so I go hop in the (very short) line! The photopass people took a picture of both Mark and me with Chip and Dale, and this is one of my favorite pictures! (I'll try to get Chris to help me post it, and hope we don't look like giants again, lol!) After getting hugged by C & D, we had to take a few hundred pictures of the entrance sign for Animal Kingdom before we finally actually *entered* the park.
Now we've kinda been on slow, relaxed mode this morning, but when I got into the Animal Kingdom, I felt I needed to RUN back and get a FastPass for Kilimanjaro Safari! Why? I have no clue! So we did the sprint thing and got the pass
Okay, so we look at the handy-dandy park map (you know I read the Unofficial Guide, ya think I woulda figured this out before we were in the park!)...to see where to go, and notice it's almost time for Legends of the Lion King. We head back to the Lion King area, and wait with everyone else to be let into the theater. I, of course, have a nice conversation with some people also waiting...Florida residents, who get to visit Disney often, lucky them...and then we are let in. I gotta tell ya, the Lion King is one of my favorite Disney shows! I believe this is the third (?) time we've seen it, and it just continues to amaze me. I often think that this one show alone is worth the price of admission to the Animal Kingdom!
After navigating our way past the eight hundred million strollers parked outside the theater (I'm really not exaggerating all that much here, there were a LOT of strollers there...and that path is pretty darn narrow!), we headed back towards the Safari Ride, and did the FastPass thing. This time Mark got the lanyard-looking thingie from the cast member for the time thing..since I knew it didn't mean we had won the Disney lottery, I wasn't as thrilled about it the second time! So the Safari ride was okay...we saw a few animals...would have liked to have seen a few more. We then went on the Gorilla Trail or whatever it's called. I don't know, I feel really sorry for the gorillas, everyone taking their picture and whatnot...but I had a talk with the cast member and she kind of told me what they do to make the animals comfortable and stuff, but still....I just feel bad for them. <shrug>
Mark decided he wanted lunch, so we went in to the restaurant near the Safari (is it Tusker House?) I wasn't hungry, as I felt we had just finished breakfast, but sat on one of the outside tables with him and waited while he finished lunch. Okay, stop eating, let's move on here...this park closes early...we have places to go and things to see...this is one of the very, very few times I got a wee-bit frustrated with my DH (sorry, dear!)
Hey, sorry if anyone readin' this got confused by my last post...I posted the same thing twice and then left out another part...I did the "edit" thing, so hopefully it's fixed!!!
I gotta run...coming attractions...we get REALLY, REALLY wet...stay tuned for more!
I gotta run...coming attractions...we get REALLY, REALLY wet...stay tuned for more!
I'm sorry I didn't explain about the PassPorter. Okay, here is a direct quote from the front cover of the book, "PassPorter Walt Disney World Resort The unique travel guide, planner, organizer, journal, and keepsake!" Yep, it really is all that good stuff! More direct quotes from the front cover "Plan the perfect vacation with over 200 pages of advice, maps, and photos of resorts, restaurants, and theme parks plus our famous organizer pockets". Okay, what I think makes the PassPorter really stand out above the other guidebooks out there (and no, I don't work for them) is the part in the back where you can journal your thoughts during your trip. They kind of give you lead in questions, like "today the weather was...." or "our first impression of our hotel was...". That kind of stuff. I bought mine at the local Barnes and Noble, but I think you can order them online. Speaking of PassPorter, I gotta share that I met some PassPorter celebs at POP Century. I was walking back to our room after doing some journaling out by the lake, and I hear "excuse me, is that a PassPorter?" Turns out I met the brother-sister team that contributes to the book! How cool was that!
Actually, speaking of guidebooks, I kind of am a...ahem...collector, shall we say, of Disney guidebooks...I usually buy at least the Unoffical Guide and the Official Guide...ummm..even if we *don't* have a tripped planned. Does anyone else do that?? (Please say yes, so I don't feel like I'm the only Disney-nerd!)
More direct quotes from the front cover "Plan the perfect vacation with over 200 pages of advice, maps, and photos of resorts, restaurants, and theme parks plus our famous organizer pockets". Okay, what I think makes the PassPorter really stand out above the other guidebooks out there (and no, I don't work for them) is the part in the back where you can journal your thoughts during your trip. They kind of give you lead in questions, like "today the weather was...." or "our first impression of our hotel was...". That kind of stuff. I bought mine at the local Barnes and Noble, but I think you can order them online. Speaking of PassPorter, I gotta share that I met some PassPorter celebs at POP Century. I was walking back to our room after doing some journaling out by the lake, and I hear "excuse me, is that a PassPorter?" Turns out I met the brother-sister team that contributes to the book! How cool was that! Actually, speaking of guidebooks, I kind of am a...ahem...collector, shall we say, of Disney guidebooks...I usually buy at least the Unoffical Guide and the Official Guide...ummm..even if we *don't* have a tripped planned. Does anyone else do that?? (Please say yes, so I don't feel like I'm the only Disney-nerd!)
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