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[KatMark]

Great parade photos, Jen. I always forget about sitting upstairs at the train station.

What were those two moms thinking? Seriously? I panicked if either one of my kids was out of my sight for two seconds.

 

[jenbear123]

Your parade photos are outstanding!! Now I really want to go back soon...

I have also seen lots of "pathetic parenting" moments in the parks. I think parents get too rushed and busy and overwhelmed.

The worst story I heard about (can't remember if it was on disboards or from another source) was about parents whose baby fell asleep in the stroller - so they parked the stroller, covered the baby with a blanket, and went on the ride without the baby!! Of course the baby woke up and started to cry and was discovered by a cast member. Can you imagine??

Teresa

Oh my goodness! I can't believe they just left their baby in the stroller ALL ALONE. Insane. You'll be going back soon enough!

I bet CMs run into lost children all the time.

Must be so scary.

Poor kids and poor parents, too. One thing I've learned since parenting toddlers is that it's actually much harder than it looks.

I love that perspective on the parade! I don't think I've ever seen any pictures of the parade from up high like that, but it's really cool!

I can only imagine. Hence why I don't want kids. Well....at least not right now anyway.

Yikes! Two scary parenting moments in one day? I've seen kids who were lost, but I've always seen terrified parents running around looking for those ones. I understand things happen and you get separated, but I'd be among the panicking, not the casual about it!

Your parade pics are awesome! I know where I'm camping out to watch the parade next time!

Uh oh. I think I've given away my good parade spot

Granted, our kids were probably a little older than the toddler you saw, but when we went to DisneyWorld when they were younger we would drill-into them what they should do if they ever got separated from us.

That's what good parents do. But it's rather hard when your child is only 2 and a half, still in diapers and doesn't even know how to make full sentences yet.

Great parade photos, Jen. I always forget about sitting upstairs at the train station.

What were those two moms thinking? Seriously? I panicked if either one of my kids was out of my sight for two seconds.

It's a spot many people forget is there. It gives great perspective and amazing photos down Main Street.

 

[onescgirl]

Great TR, I'm finally caught up!
That's awesome that Bubba is working at Le Cellier. When are you going to join her?
I cannot believe all of the food you ate!!! Where on earth do you put it, you're so skinny!
You must have really been lonely when you started your solo day if you resorted to texting Marv
You're morning looked great, but I could not believe those crowds later!
I loved your Splash Mtn pic & your view of the parade!

 

[teekathepony]

Uh oh. I think I've given away my good parade spot

If ever we're there at the same time, it's yours!

 

[jenbear123]

Great TR, I'm finally caught up!
That's awesome that Bubba is working at Le Cellier. When are you going to join her?

If only I could... I think my butt is firmly planted in my career I've got going right now.

I cannot believe all of the food you ate!!! Where on earth do you put it, you're so skinny!

Speak for yourself!

You must have really been lonely when you started your solo day if you resorted to texting Marv

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

You're morning looked great, but I could not believe those crowds later!
I loved your Splash Mtn pic & your view of the parade!

The crowds definitely got larger as the day went on. MK only got busier as the weekend went on. I'm glad I wasn't there the rest of the week. I heard from my family that it was just wall to wall people.

If ever we're there at the same time, it's yours!

Well I'm not that greedy. I'm willing to share of course

 

[tinacaplan]

WOW! I know from being the mom of a recent toddler that it isn't easy, but...really? I hear some people and I just think, why aren't you watching your kids? And the boy...ouch. That just sounds sad. You see so many crazy, odd things at Disney and the whole thing can just be a bit overwhelming for a lot of people.

And...as for the wireless...I found it not be that great while we were at the Poly, too. Wondered if it was just me...guess not.

 

[jenbear123]

WOW! I know from being the mom of a recent toddler that it isn't easy, but...really? I hear some people and I just think, why aren't you watching your kids? And the boy...ouch. That just sounds sad. You see so many crazy, odd things at Disney and the whole thing can just be a bit overwhelming for a lot of people.

I hope that boy was okay.... I find the most overwhelmed people tend to be the kids! Have you noticed how ever stroller has a zonked out kid in it at the end of the day?

And...as for the wireless...I found it not be that great while we were at the Poly, too. Wondered if it was just me...guess not.

I hope it gets better as time goes on....

 

[jenbear123]

I left the resort having a general idea of where I was going. Oh, who was I kidding? I had no idea how to get back to where I dropped Bubba off that morning. I should have paid more attention but it was early. Plus, Bubba drove that morning so I was more enthralled in my surroundings rather than the route we were taking. At any rate, I ended up taking a wrong turn (or several) and somehow ended up going through a tunnel (not the one that takes you to MK) and found myself behind YC/BC. Close to Epcot but not quite where I wanted to be. So I called Bubba and she ended up directing me to where I should have been. Don't forget I was doing all this without a GPS. I'd say I did pretty well. But it's no wonder people get confused. Some signs say one thing and another says something else. The signs don't even include Coronado Springs until you're right by the exit ramp. It's pretty retarded.

Anyway, I finally found Bubba and we headed to DTD to get some grub.

I didn't take ANY food pictures. I must have been too hungry. I ordered a tomato and mozzarella salad and Bubba got a veggie sandwich. Afterwards, we headed over to….

BABYCAKES!

This place had so many goodies it was hard to choose. So Bubba ended up buying pretty much one of everything We got a brownie, red velvet cupcake, wonder roll (basically a cinnamon bun), coconut donut, chocolate chip cookie sandwich, and lemon bread. The CMs knew her pretty well too since she tends to go there at least once a week. I don't blame her! I didn't get to try everything that we bought but my favourite thing from there would have to be either the Red Velvet cupcake or the Wonder Roll. Really yummy!

We went back to MK and headed straight for Splash to use the FPs I got earlier. The standby line was really long, probably at about a 60 min wait. We were able to walk right on in the FP line.

I had made a point that I wanted to see the Magic, Memories & You show on the castle since I hadn't seen it yet. So we went and got a spot for that. It was pretty crowded and we got there not long before the show started so our spot wasn't the greatest.

I really enjoyed this show! So much in fact that we watched the later show. We stayed to watch Wishes. No pictures this time, I just wanted to watch and enjoy it. Before the next Memories show started, we went to Fantasyland to see what we could ride.

Winnie the Pooh had a 5 minute wait so we hopped on that.

I wanted to get on PhilharMagic since it was insane earlier.

But when we got closer, we realized it was closed I never got on it during this trip. Next time it'll be top of my list!

For the second Memories show, we got a spot right in front of the castle. Most of the crowds were leaving at this point.

This one is my favourite

The castle is on fire

I love how this show ends.

I respected Disney for including Walt in this show. It's not often they include him in much anymore. I think they should seeing how he started it all. No wait, it all started with a mouse

It was now nearly midnight but MK wasn't closing until 1am. We decided to call it a night since we had an early morning. On our way out, I bought the train picture for my dad. I hope it'll make a good Father's Day gift.

 

[redlight]

Does your dad like trains? I think almost all dads like trains. Great pics, Jen!

 

[teekathepony]

Mmmm EOS... drooling for a tasty sandwich. Also, Mmmmm Babycakes... drooling for some tasty cupcakes.
Too bad PhilharMagic was closed
Great view of the castle for the second MM&Y show. I agree, I love that they put Walt in it. I visit One Man's Dream every trip because I like to pay some respect!

 

[jenb1023]

All caught up! What a roller coaster so far! Too much food, crazy crowds, bad parents - oh my! Looking forward to the next update!

 

[glennbo123]

It's amazing how different they can make the castle look with the various lights and things projected onto it.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

I love your Splash Mountain picture, with Bubba (hee hee) taking a nap, but it's the kids in the seat behind you that really crack me up! The one looking terrified and the other hiding his/her head! Were they on there alone??

Teresa

 

[jenbear123]

Does your dad like trains? I think almost all dads like trains. Great pics, Jen!

Yes he absolutely loves them. He can definitely relate to Walt in that respect.

Mmmm EOS... drooling for a tasty sandwich. Also, Mmmmm Babycakes... drooling for some tasty cupcakes.
Too bad PhilharMagic was closed
Great view of the castle for the second MM&Y show. I agree, I love that they put Walt in it. I visit One Man's Dream every trip because I like to pay some respect!

I made sure to get a central location for the second show. I hate having regrets after a trip so I made sure to do this one right! I completely relate about One Man's Dream. I'd love to go visit the Disney museum in California one day....

All caught up! What a roller coaster so far! Too much food, crazy crowds, bad parents - oh my! Looking forward to the next update!

It was definitely a crazy trip. You never know what to expect, no matter how much you plan!

It's amazing how different they can make the castle look with the various lights and things projected onto it.

I was floored by the show. It looked like the castle was changing right in front of me. Really, really cool!

I love your Splash Mountain picture, with Bubba (hee hee) taking a nap, but it's the kids in the seat behind you that really crack me up! The one looking terrified and the other hiding his/her head! Were they on there alone??

Teresa

They do look rather terrified don't they? Actually I'm not sure if they were alone or not. They seemed fine after the ride

 

[jenbear123]

Before I get to my update, I just wanted to wish everyone a.....

HAPPY EASTER!!!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The next morning, I woke up feeling much better than I had the previous morning. I decided to indulge in the Wonder Bun we had got from Babycakes the night before.

This was delicious! It had a thicker texture than the cinnamon buns you can get at Main Street Bakery, but I didn't feel like my arteries were being clogged once I ate it. I highly recommend it

We packed up all our stuff because today we were moving to POR. The plan was to head to Epcot for rope drop to get on the headliners and then check in at POR around 11am. We were off to a very good start as we arrived at the Epcot turnstiles by 8:22am.

Bubba was thrilled let me tell you. Sorry but no pic of her that morning....at least not yet. On the contrary, I was overjoyed.

I could not wait for them to open those gates and beeline for TT.

I thought this would be the opportune moment to let everyone know the steps on how to get through the turnstiles. Ready?

*insert heavenly music here*

Yup, I was bored.

We decided we really didn't need to ride Soarin' again and get caught up in the stampede. They actually opened the park early and didn't lead us up to the second rope.

So we were free to head on over. There was nobody to step on your heels. Nobody to trip over. It was great!

We were the first people on the ride. Oh, if you're wondering about that boy and his father in front of us? They stopped right at the entrance to wait for the rest of their family.

There was this funky blue car ahead of us with nobody in it.

We thought it was a newer car which doesn't make much sense since the ride is being revamped this year. It was pretty cool none the less.

We made sure to grab a FP for later

I wanted to do some shopping in WS so we had some time to kill before it opened. We were feeling pretty silly after TT so we started playing around with the camera.

I wanted to take a nice shot of the two of us but Bubba's eyes were burning from being tired of the early wake up call Plus it was a bit too bright for her. She tried her best to keep her eyes open for the pictures but...well....you'll see what happens

This first one came out blurry so I had to redo it

Then she tried with sunglasses on...

Well, I still say the first one was the best.

We decided to ride Spaceship Earth to fill up this spare time we had. On our way over, things just got sillier....

I'll spare you from the funny faces but let's just say we had a little too much sugar that morning Don't get the two of us together! We just create havoc.

cont'd in next post

 

[jenbear123]

Now I hear what you're all saying, ride Spaceship Earth at park opening?! That's suicide! Well, my dear DIS friends, it was not the case. We walked right up that ramp onto the ride.

Sadly the photo didn't work so we were just generic people in the "Build your Future" part.

We then meandered our way toward WS. Epcot was still pretty empty at this point. I guess most people were stuck in the Soarin' line.

We found a telescope (that actually worked!) at the entrance to WS which I had never noticed before. We were able to see maintenance crews and the segway tour up close across the lake. It was really cool!

I tried taking a shot with my camera through the telescope. This worked once when I was in Costa Rica and I put my camera up to a telescope to get an amazing up close shot of a sloth.

This one didn't turn out as good. Meh, it doesn't always work I guess.

Awwww, Italy Can't wait to go back to the real one at the end of July!

WS still wasn't open but we walked over to Canada. Bubba was feeling pretty worn out. I don't blame her. The poor girl had been working pretty hard and here I came to visit, put her to work to get up early and go to the parks! I swear, I push every one to the brink when they come to Disney with me

Now Bubba can pretty much sleep anywhere. Something she's very well known for. So we took a seat near the front of the pavilion, along a rock ledge just in front of a flower bed, where Bubba had a 20 minute nap.

I enjoyed the scenery and had a few visitors

Bubba awoke feeling rejuvenated (not sure how since she just slept on a rock wall) but WS still wasn't open. We thought now was a good a time as ever to use our TT FPs, with a side trip through MouseGears.

It was starting to look a bit busier around TT

But we were on and off in about 20 minutes.

So the guy I was sitting beside ended up dropping his phone or having his phone fall out of his pocket (something like that) while we were on the ride. He spent nearly half the ride looking for it. So annoying! But Bubba and I hammed it up for the photo, as I'm sure you can tell.

We went back to WS once again. Was it finally going to be open this time?

 

[redlight]

Love the pictures! You got a really good shot of Bubba by the lake. I like how the trees are reflecting in the lake.

 

[tinacaplan]

First of all, Babycakes looks great and your pictures of the castle show are really cool. The one where the castle is one fire...

Gotta love rope drop. Personally, I'm all about it. Love the feeling of an empty park. You make a point about Soarin' though, for sure. Although, I haven't ridden it since 2010, I think I'll be in that group making a beeline for it on my EPCOT morning.

The garden in Canada is absolutely gorgeous. Probably the nicest one in all of WS and that's saying a lot. I am amazed that your sister can fall asleep like that. I dont' think I could ever.

Here's the thing, though, am I the only one that finds it just a bit disheartening that Futureworld is so lacking that you had time so spare waiting for WS to open? I know there were plenty of things that you could have done, but aside from Spaceship Earth (which is almost my favorite attraction in all the world), Test Track and Soarin', and I understand why you did not want to deal with that mess, what else is there that's a must do? Am I alone in thinking Disney needs to give FW some serious TLC?

Ok...sorry the mini-rant.

 

[glennbo123]

I broke the news to my kids today that Test Track will be under refurb when we're there in June...they were not happy. Glad you got a couple of rides in.

So Bubba slept on a rock wall near her place of work?

Too bad that telescope picture didn't turn out better, but that was a good try!

 

[teekathepony]

Such a pretty morning in a relatively empty Epcot!
I can't believe Bubba slept on a rock wall. How I wish I were that flexible! I pretty much can't sleep unless I'm in my own bed.
Yayyyyy for Test Track twice already. Great start to the morning!