We get so giddy when we start seeing palm trees instead of pine trees! It means you're almost there!
I'm starting to think of fun things for the kids for our 16 hour drive in a month- yup, just a month to go!
Sheree and Shawna- Can't wait to read all about your trips!!![/QUOTE]
I will start mine soon....maybe next week... I can NOT think of a title.....its driving me batty! Ha!!
CHAPTER 6: A Sleep in Day and our Return to Epcot!
This day is going to be a bit different for us! No jumping out of bed at the crack of dawn, no rush for the busses, no jamming granola bars in our faces at 7:30am!
I plan to stock up on sleep before we travel and supplement with copious amounts of caffeine. A Coca-cola split between the wee ones and we'll be rip-roarin' to go by 7. As much as I *like* to sleep in I don't want to miss a minute while I'm at Walt Disney World.
This day will start when we wake up! Sometime after that we will make our way over to The POLY! We have a 10:25am ADR @ 'Ohana!We will be dining Hawaiian Style with Lilo and Stitch this morning!
I am so excited about this ADR! I have heard so many great things about it! Ken and the girls are excited to see Stitch and I am SO VERY THRILLED about actually exploring the Poly IN THE DAYLIGHT!!!
We had supper there last time but it was already dark out when we got there so...
I can see quite fine at night, I'm used to being in the dark...
Hey, fun game I just thought of: break a plate and blame it on Stitch!
After we finish our meal we plan to wander around the grounds and Great Ceremonial Hall to check out the Poly and all it wondrous beauty!
As opposed to the spare set of eyes she claimed from a stranger...
After our time of exploration, we will walk over to the TTC and catch the Monorail to Epcot!
Monorail-Monorail-Monorail-Monorail!
Seriously the BEST mode of transport EVER. I remember back in grade school in the '80s when the Monorail was all new and cool. I have loved it since. It is tragic with the accidents that it has had in recent months, and it adds a sombre mood to what amounts to a ride in and of itself.
Is this better than "It's a Small World"? Deductive reasoning says: 'YES!'
The Plan for this day is really not a plan at all!We will do whatever we didn't do on our previous Epcot day and revisit the some our favourites! We will definitely be visiting Innoventions at some point because Ken has recently found out about the Sum of all Thrills! He is SO excited to do this! What more could a thrill ride Junkie ask for? First you get to build/design your own roller coaster and THEN you get to ride it! WOW!!!
My goal is to make a ride I can't ride myself. I'll follow this up by eating a hamburger larger than my head.
I wonder if I can stretch the laws of physics on this... Maybe I should research the physics engine.
Emily has made one request for this day as well! She wants to visit France so her little sister can visit with Aurora and Mama can have a Cappuccino and a treat from Boulangerie Patisserie! Have I ever mentioned how sweet this girl of mine is?
Don't the Italian's make the better Cap? I would rather try the cheese. Or the chocolates. Or the wine. So long as we do this AFTER the Sum of All Fears, lest it get messy.
Natalie is considering riding Maelstrom but is definitely pushing for a return trip to see the Japanese Drummers!
I put 3:1 odds against the small one take on the Maelstrom. Maybe she can be bribed with some Scandinavian chocolate...
The Japanese Drummers were awesome. It was a pity the last time there were drunken boors tapping the ceremonial instruments. If I had a katana I would have taken the Samurai code seriously. Happy I was NOT! (Sound like Yoda I DID)
And yes, the kids are considerate, but we must remember we are 3 days from Christmas and the Elf Audit may have some bearing on that.
We have a 6:15 ADR for supper @ Biergarten! Now who do you suppose requested the return to this particular place???Could it have been my wonderful beer and sausage lovin' hubby? Why, YES, it WAS!!! This was his #1 request for ADRs when we dicided we were going back to WDW! What can I say? The man loves him some sausage!
For the record:
I AM STRAIGHT.
Seriously, am I the ONLY one who was uncomfortable with that wording?
Biergarten is the place. I do love tubular meat. I love Mustard Pickle (two great tastes that taste great together!). I love beer with greater than 4% alcohol volume (sorry Coors, Bud, etc). The thicker it is the better.
I could eat at the Biergarten for about 5 years before I quit. From heart failure.
I love the family meal setting too. I found Disney to be very secluded. One simply doesn't strike up conversation with strangers there. So to be perched at a table where you must make conversation is a treat. But I'm an extrovert.
Unfortunately most of the German I know comes from the lyrics of my favourite band, Rammstein. For those who don't know mix Metallica's style with 2-live crew's lyrics, but in German.
After our German sausage feast, we plan to stroll the WS a wee bit and decide on THE PERFECT place from which to enjoy Illuminations!We didn't see it last time as the girls were completly wiped after a long day of park hopping!
The last time I saw Illuminations was MArch of 1994!
This is another vaguely exciting aspect of this trip. All I know is that these will be spectacular fireworks to music. Clearly an understatement which only adds to the anticipation. (shudders with excitement)
Ken and I are both VERY excited to see this! Emily will enjoy it for sure! We are a little nervous about how our little fraidycat Nat will react to the noise! Last year she enjoyed Wishes while sitting in the ground with her fingers firmly planted in her ears! Her fear of loud noises has improved a GREAT deal over the last year but she still has a tendency to react strongly when surprised by sudden loud noises! I really hope that she will be able to enjoy the show!
Earplugs are an option.
Once Illuminations has ended we will decide on our exit strategy. If the girls are UBER tired we will more than likely go through the International Gateway and catch a cab from the nearest resort, which I believe is the Beach Club? If they are up to the challenge of facing "The Wall of Humanity" then we will slowly make our way to the exit along with the other thousands of people and wait as patiently as we can to catch our bus back to POFQ! I wonder how many busses we will have to wait for this time?When we left AK last year after PM EMH we had to wait for 3 buses before we could get on!
Wait, why aren't we taking the monorail?
This will conclude our time at Epcot for this trip so which ever way we choose to leave we will be bidding goodbye to our second favourite park until the next time are able to visit!
Here are some photos from our previous days at Epcot! Enjoy!
If they were ever to wake me up in the middle of the night wearing these masks I would have a stroke.
Dinner on Chinese New year. For some reason the waitress didn't recommend me trying the more challenging dishes. I think it was because my shirt was set to 'stupid'.
This would be an awesome drinking game, except for the landings. If you don't know what I'm talking about you clearly haven't seen the people hanging around the British pavilion.
That bench was the most comfortable place to rest in Morocco.
This is great if you've gained weight but don't want to show it. If the kids were using their masks you would have no idea they were there at all
up next: a long awaited VERY special breakfast and our last day at MK!
We get so giddy when we start seeing palm trees instead of pine trees! It means you're almost there!
I'm starting to think of fun things for the kids for our 16 hour drive in a month- yup, just a month to go!
Sheree and Shawna- Can't wait to read all about your trips!!!
We have spent the beter part of the last 2 days out of the house making social calls on some good friends! 
Lots of great food, fine friends and lovely libations We have been having a great Christmas holiday!
Does anybody want to wager a guess as to where it will be????? NO??? Well, I will just have to tell you then! 
Yes my 8 & 6 year old daughters were actually drooling as I read the menu to them! 
We will grab some chow somewhere inside the park, maybe Cosmic Rays???, ride some rides, grab a spot for Wishes and enjoy that and then at 8pm will enjoy 3 MORE HOURS of MAGIC KINGDOM BLISS!!!!! 
We're eating at Akershus this time since Em is so into her princesses. If Mommy had her way she'd be dining with Mary Poppins. Perhaps next trip. *sigh* Say hello to Mary for me and Bert too if he's there- that's one of my all time favorite movies. 
Thanks for the car ride suggestions! I already have put together a little backpack for each of them filled with a few surprises. I forgot about stickers though- gotta get some to throw in there. We play I Spy lots in the car and sing songs and such. They did REALLY well last January and I'm hoping this trip goes just as smoothly.
1900 Park Fare!!!!!
I can't believe we're getting so close now! In a couple more days we can say we're going to Disney THIS month!!!!
And go ahead and skip that next post about the dreaded goodbye to Disney. It's bad enough you'll have to live it in a few weeks. No need to write about it and force yourself to think about it.
Mine are getting SO excited! Planning their packing lists and making plans on whenthey want eat and where on our first night! 3 weeks tomorrow we leave to drive to Minneapolis! Me thinks there might be possibly be a special DISmeet happening that evening! general household chores and I promised myself I would use some of that time to get back o the gym! I am so excited that our kids will have a chance to see the Flame at least once in their lifetime! I was fortunate to see it in 1988 when it came across Canada for the Calgary Olympics!
Hope the kids do well this time around as well!
Thanks for the tip on earplugs! I just may bring some for Nat! We did fireworks for New Years the other night. She did really well, but her fingers out and ready "just in case" a few times!
We ARE getting very excited!
Planning, packing and general WDW craziness will commence on Monday after the children are at school!
I have no children to care for during the day this week so I will have exactly 30 hours to get stuff ready!
Of course I do have to fit non-disney stuff in there as well!
First chore though is to take down the Christmas Tree AFTER watching the Olympic Flame come through our city!
I have all 6 napping now and Andrew is in school. Enjoy those 30 hours for me! Our dinner at Coral Reef is at 4:35 and we will be hanging around Epcot until Illuminations starts. Perhaps we can pick a place to watch them together! The 27th is the ONLY day I actually have a plan for! 
One of the sponsers is Royal Bank. We just happened to be standing near a branch and some volunteers were handing out tambourine noisemakers to ALL the waiting onlookers. We got some of those! A little while later a Coca Cola truck came by and was passing out flags and small bottles of Coke to the kids in the crowd! Just a little jealous of your 30 hours of bliss this week. I had a new little one start today so I am definitely ready for this trip.
Oooh Ooooh a DISmeet!!!! Pick me! Pick me!!!!
Keep working on that plan girl, we just have to find a time to meet up!
CONGRATS!!!
I bet you're relieved!! Have you started packing yet???
