A Smile in my Heart–Magical Week of Friends,Fun & Freezing-10/28-COMPLETE!

[mom2mek]

If we can hit rope drop I'm hoping to get Soarin' done without FP. My kids are not much into character greets so if we can head directly to Soarin' then after finishing I will run to FP Test Track as they finish up the Land and we meet back up at Imagination. After that the Sea and TTwC and Finding Nemo.

I have an 11:55 ADR at the Coral Sea so I will have to gauge how we are doing at this point. If we have some time send the kids to Innventions and I will FP M:Space. After that we will see how much we can do in FW before going back to the Poly at 3:00 pm. We will handle World Showcase the next day.

Sounds great! You could always still get a FP for Soarin at rope drop and also ride standby because it won't put you that much futher back from getting another FP after your ride. (Your time to get another FP would most likely be 10:05 if you are there at RD). Then you could still get FPs for Test Track when that window opens at 10:05 and and M:S at the next window (most likely 11:05 - 11:45 possibly) Then you will be all set for lots of rides after your lunch! I LOVE Coral Reef!!! I really wish we had saved the World Showcase for it's own day - trying to do all of Epcot in one day is a bit exhausting!!

That picture on Imagination with the smell is fantastic! I've never tried taking pictures in there but now I must. And I love the photopass picture with Soarin'. I've heard about that one but never have actually seen it.

Sounds like you guys did lots of neat things in Innoventions. We always enjoy ourselves in there but don't always make it in there. Haven't done the piggy bank game yet either but I've heard it's good.

Thanks Michelle! I was so surprised when I looked down at my camera and saw that picture! Cracks me up every time I look at it!

I definitely want to try the Piggy Bank game next time!

It looks like it was a really beautiful day! Innoventions sounds like a lot of fun...we may have to plan for some extra time there. The kids look like they had a great time!

The kids really did like it (and we really loved that video game thing - so funny to see yourself hopping and running and dancing in your own video game). You should try and check it out!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Love the update Sara! The pic in the smell room on Figment is TOO cute! Nice catch!

The Run Time game was really fun! Of the three we emailed home, we only got one. My boys absolutely had a blast doing that! Glad you all enjoyed it as well!

Too funny about Michael and the Beverly! Can't wait to hear if the girls are able to trick grandma and grandpa later in the week!

Hi Missy! The video game thing is a hoot! The victory dance was hilarious! Kind of looked like And Michael's kind of looked like

5 DAYS????? WOO-HOO!!!! I bet you are so excited!!! All packed up yet??

Sara

 

[KathyRN137]

As we approached the smell room, the girls... kept telling Daddy "it's gonna smell like coffee, Daddy," "See the canister marked COFFEE" "It's gonna smell good!" all the while, turning to me and snickering.:

Then we got sprayed with the skunk smell. I was shocked that my picture turned out with such a funny capture considering the delay in digital cameras, and it cracks me up every time I look at it:

Great job, girls! But you didn't tell us what Shawn's reaction was! Was he surprised? (I'll bet!)

The first thing we did was...Run Time. We were divided up - girls together and boys together, and went through a process of capturing ourselves doing different things - running, jumping, dancing., etc..... Then they make that into a little avatar and put you into a video game that you then play! It's great fun! We were laughing so hard watching ourselves in the video game!

Aww! We missed this in November! (Was it up and running yet?) Sounds like a blast... we will definitely do this next time!

We did do Piggy Bank Adventure and that was fun, too! You'd like that one I'm sure!

Great morning at EPCOT!! The tylenol/ambesol seems to be keeping Michael's pain under control... funny that he didn't find Beverly all that bad!!


Kathy

 

[mom2mek]

Great job, girls! But you didn't tell us what Shawn's reaction was! Was he surprised? (I'll bet!)

Yes, yes he was!

Aww! We missed this in November! (Was it up and running yet?) Sounds like a blast... we will definitely do this next time!

We did do Piggy Bank Adventure and that was fun, too! You'd like that one I'm sure!

Great morning at EPCOT!! The tylenol/ambesol seems to be keeping Michael's pain under control... funny that he didn't find Beverly all that bad!!


Kathy

I'm not sure when it started Kathy, but it was fairly new! Definitely check it out next time!

That kid has strange taste buds anyways, but I'm thinking the ambesol might have had something to do with it!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

<<<<<<<<DETOUR ALERT>>>>>>>>​

Quick detour for some Pre-trip stuff for my upcoming “work” trip! LOL! I could use some help/advice/thoughts/suggestions from all you great Disney folks!



Here are our basic plans so far for our travel plans and first day. It’s hard for me to plan a Disney trip and think about not doing rope drops (or at least trying for them) and looking at doing some EMHs. It goes against the grain for me, but hey….it is what it is, right??


So here we go!

· Saturday, 5/15 – flight leaves at 7 AM!! Yikes! I'm guessing Mom will pick me up around 5:00 - yowzers! But it was my idea, so I can't complain! LOL! I’m not a morning person unless it involves Disney! This flight gets us to Orlando at 9 in the morning verses the 12 noon that the Airtran flight would have. And with it being a Saturday, I figured the earlier the better with the crowds only increasing as the day goes by.

We have only ever done ME on a weekday, so I think we made a good choice moving our flight up! Plus today I checked our fares after reading a few posts about SW lowering fares again, and I noticed that our fares dropped a few dollars both ways and it amounted to a $50 credit on our flight! Woo-hoo! Extra pina colava for me, right?

SO with that extra 3 hours (getting in at 9 rather than 12), it gives us almost an entire day at a park since our conference doesn’t start until the next day. Hmmm….what to do…..where to go?? I’m thinking of sticking with my original plan of hitting the MK first. I don’t think our room will be ready when we get to the Poly sometime around 10:00/10:30, so if we make sure to wear appropriate park clothing, we will just check in and then hop on the monorail to the MK! I managed to make an ADR for the Plaza for this night at 4:45.


At some point during the day we will need to get our rental car at the Car Care Center at the Hess station inside the MK parking lot. We could call them to pick us up right after we check in or we could go to the MK for a few hours and then come back to do the car thing. I’m thinking we will probably go to the park first. That way we can come back and get in our room and get the car all at the same time, perhaps! I got a pretty good deal for a mid-size car for 5 days for $135 through an Alamo coupon and promotion combo!


(side note…my other option for this day is AK. I hadn't really considered it but it’s only open until 5 and it’s not a park we need to get there for rope drop since my Mom won’t do Everest and we could get everything else accomplished and be out of there at a reasonable hour. What do you think? If we did this we would have to leave by 4:30 or so to get back and get our car before the car care center closes at 6:00).

Ideas/Thoughts/Suggestions???

Sara

 

[mommytothreeboys]

With as little time as you have....I'd say if you have nearly a full day, go to MK. Sounds like there's not too much you want to do at AK so that will fit in later....or wait...will you only have evenings? That could be a problem considering it closes early. Hmm.....I may have to rethink my answer!

 

[mom2mek]

With as little time as you have....I'd say if you have nearly a full day, go to MK. Sounds like there's not too much you want to do at AK so that will fit in later....or wait...will you only have evenings? That could be a problem considering it closes early. Hmm.....I may have to rethink my answer!

Yep - that's exactly my problem, Missy. Most nights AK closes at 5. We have Wednesday where the AK has evening EMH so we could do that but it still only gives us about 3 hours. As long as I know we could make it for FOTLK and have enough time to walk around without feeling too rushed, I think we will probably do that.

Maybe I should post a bit more about the rest of the week.

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

<<<<<<<<<<<DETOUR CONTINUED>>>>>>>>>>>​

5/16 – Our classes start at 8:30 but registration and contintental breakfast is going on starting at 7:00! Yikes! I think we will plan on leaving the resort around 7:30 this morning. Shouldn’t take us more than 15 minutes to get to the Gaylord, I’m hoping. Classes go until 5:00 and then we will drive to Epcot for the evening. It's the last day of the F&G Festival so I hope to be able to get as much of it before the sun goes down!

We will spend the evening in the World Showcase and not have a sit down meal as our time will be limited on this evening. I’m thinking a ham and cheese croissant in France with a crepe for dessert and a GGLCS sounds very well-balanced, don't you??


5/17 – Once again, classes start at 8:30….ugh…and get out at 5:00. This pains me a little bit to say, as we usually avoid EMHs whenever possible, but the Magic Kingdom it will be!! I made an ADR at the Wave at the CR for 6:30 since the EMH that night goes from 10 until 1, and I figured we could eat a nice meal and then go on over. Not that I think we will make it till 1 AM having been at class all day, but at least we have the option (our only other park that is open at all that night would be Epcot).

Spectro is at 9 and Wishes is at 10, so if we didn’t catch them on Saturday, we will try for them on this night. I’m thinking we will try for them on arrival night and ride things on this night, but I guess we will just play that one by ear!
Thoughts?

 

[therussells08]

Well I just sat here for the past hour or so catching myself up on your wonderful trip report! I feel like I am right there with your family!! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[mom2mek]

Well I just sat here for the past hour or so catching myself up on your wonderful trip report! I feel like I am right there with your family!! Can't wait to read more!!

Woo-hoo! Thanks for reading! I hope to have some more up very soon!


Sara

 

[mom2mek]

<<<<<<<<STILL MORE DETOUR>>>>>>>>>>>​

Would love anyone's thought on these plans. Am I making a mistake attempting the MK around 8:00 on an EMH night (see above)? Especially when we do have another day and night at the MK? Should we do something else this night instead?

Ok, back on to the plans....

• 5/18 – Classes…..ugh….8:30 until 5:00. AK closes at 5, DHS closes at 7, Epcot closes at 9 and MK closes at 9.

Sooooo.....I’m thinking that if we stayed out late for the EMH at the MK the night before AND we got up early for classes, PLUS there aren't any evening EMHs.....then maybe we should take this night off from the parks!! Downtown Disney after class might be nice! Eat at WPE or Earl and then grab a treat at Goofy’s and do a little shopping perhaps! Either that or we could attempt.....drum roll......JELLYROLLS!!!!! We have never been before, and this would be the perfect trip to try it since we have no kids to worry about. Maybe after class, we could go to dinner at Beaches and Cream, stroll the boardwalk, and then hit Jellyrolls. I made no ADRs for this day.

• 5/19 – last day of classes – yippee! Start at 8:30 and go till 5:00 and I’m really hoping we can ditch the last class and leave at 3:30. We’ll see! AK has EMH this night until 8:00 and for what we want to try and do, it will probably work out just fine! I’d like to get over there as soon as possible though! If we stay the whole time, then we will try our best to get to AK in time for the last FOTLK show (when we were there before they had one at 5:45 I think). Then we would probably try for the Safari and maybe Dinosaur, but mostly just taking it easy and seeing the park’s beautiful landscapes. If we are able to ditch the last class then we could try for the last Nemo show at 4:45, but I’m not counting on it! LOL! I made an ADR at Boma for this night at 8:30. We will still have our car, so we will just drive over there.

• 5/20 – NO classes! We will most likely head to Epcot on this day. We will return the car this morning and then take the shuttle back to the Poly to head over to Epcot. I have an ADR for San Angel but I’m not sure my mom is going to like it. Any suggestions for what other places we should try? Originally, I was thinking that walking over to the Beach Club or Boardwalk might be kind of nice either for lunch or dinner, but if we do that on the 18th, we probably wouldn't. What do you think? I so hope that between this day and our other evening at Epcot on the 16th, we will catch Illuminations!! Fingers crossed!

• 5/21 – BONUS day! Originally we were going to leave on this day, but Mom decided we should stay so we could do something since without this day we would just have the arrival day and Thursday.

Again, arguing would be disrespectful to both my Mom and my boss, and since she is both, I just played it cool and agreed! LOL!

So I believe we will head to the Magic Kingdom! I am looking into booking the GF Tea this afternoon for Mom and I as a birthday surprise for her (her birthday is 5/25) – if I can get it. I haven’t called yet and I need to do that.

We leave the next day - flight is at 2:50 so we will have to be at the ME bus by 11:50. I made a Kona ADR for breakfast at 8:30 and then I figured we could go back to the room to pack up and check out before catching the bus.

So that's the rest of the plans! I feel like I could be doing more about planning, but I'm kind of at a loss since it's such a different kind of trip.

I appreciate any comments or suggestions!

Here are a couple of pics of Mom and I - one when I was about 5 and one that was taken on our trip in Oct 2008 (ahem...29 years later....)

Sara

 

[burly]

i will pipe in here.
On the 18th after class back to the room for a little nap. Then DTD for eats and shopping and follow that with Jellyrolls.
I think you may need a little nap because of staying out late the night before.


otherwise, sounds like fun. (except the class stuff)

KIM

 

[BippityBoo]

LOVE the pics of you and your Mom How special to share a love for Disney!!

Your plans sound great (except for your classes )

Seems like you will have MANY early mornings

I agree, MK for the first day. It is just so nice to be close to the resort. Just a monorail ride away and you can go check in. AK is a little too far for me on a first day. Just my thoughts, though

SO great that you got a "bonus" day I am so jealous!!! You had me looking up Real Estate Conventions for my DH in Orlando

 

[mom2mek]

i will pipe in here.
On the 18th after class back to the room for a little nap. Then DTD for eats and shopping and follow that with Jellyrolls.
I think you may need a little nap because of staying out late the night before.


otherwise, sounds like fun. (except the class stuff)

KIM

Thanks Kim! That's a great idea! (Unless I get a nice nap during one of the classes.... just kidding - never have been able to do that!)

LOVE the pics of you and your Mom How special to share a love for Disney!!

Your plans sound great (except for your classes )

Seems like you will have MANY early mornings

I agree, MK for the first day. It is just so nice to be close to the resort. Just a monorail ride away and you can go check in. AK is a little too far for me on a first day. Just my thoughts, though

SO great that you got a "bonus" day I am so jealous!!! You had me looking up Real Estate Conventions for my DH in Orlando

Thanks Katie! Yes, I feel lucky that my Mom loves Disney too! She is there right now with my step-dad! They went to Citricos last night and then La Nouba and this morning they are exploring some resorts and then heading to the MK for a while before going to the WL for dinner at Artist Point. They have a theme park Club level room at the Poly and are living it up!!! (She doesn't obsess about planning for Disney like me, but she sure does love it! )

I like going to the MK on arrival day too! Shawn and I went to AK on our first day last year (on our couples trip) but it was our only choice to see AK that trip, so we had to do what we had to do! It worked out though! But I agree, nothing like seeing the castle and walking down Main St right after getting there!

Sara

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Another vote for the MK on arrival day.

A few hours at AK will be plenty considering you won't have the kids with you (you can skip Dinoland altogether!). Plus you know the lay of the land really well so you don't have to spend time staring at a map.

Will have to ponder dinner at Epcot. Why don't you think your mom will like San Angel?

And the pics of you and your mom made me cry. Just priceless.

 

[ladybugmom]

I'm finally caught up, Sara!!! I loved reading about your AK day and your Epcot day so far!! And oh WOW!!! Your PP group pics from AK are PHENOMENAL!!! I cannot believe everyone is looking at the camera and smiling!! I was so impressed that I just HAD to show Brent and he was blown away!!! He said that that was some Disney magic right there!! I'm so excited that you get to go to WDW again in a few weeks but sad that we'll literally JUST miss each other!! We land in Orlando around 11:40 am on May 22nd!

 

[mom2mek]

Another vote for the MK on arrival day.

A few hours at AK will be plenty considering you won't have the kids with you (you can skip Dinoland altogether!). Plus you know the lay of the land really well so you don't have to spend time staring at a map.

Will have to ponder dinner at Epcot. Why don't you think your mom will like San Angel?

And the pics of you and your mom made me cry. Just priceless.

Thanks Nicole! I think the few hours in AK should be ok too. As long as we have enough time for Lion King, I'll be good to go!

I'm not sure why I don't think she will like San Angel... - she's not picky at all! I'm liking the idea of walking over to Beaches and Cream though if we haven't done it already by then!

I'm finally caught up, Sara!!! I loved reading about your AK day and your Epcot day so far!! And oh WOW!!! Your PP group pics from AK are PHENOMENAL!!! I cannot believe everyone is looking at the camera and smiling!! I was so impressed that I just HAD to show Brent and he was blown away!!! He said that that was some Disney magic right there!! I'm so excited that you get to go to WDW again in a few weeks but sad that we'll literally JUST miss each other!! We land in Orlando around 11:40 am on May 22nd!

Becky!!! That is so funny (and sad) - we will literally pass eachother on the highway that day! Our flight leaves Orlando at 2:50, so ME will be picking us up just before noon from the Poly on the 22nd!

I love those PP pics from the AK - they just make me smile everytime I look at them!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

February 8, 2010
Epcot
Chapter 3

When we got to the World Showcase, I had an urge to head to the right and get some fish and chips from the Yorkshire County Fish Shop in the UK! I had a feeling the kids would actually like the fish, but knew that getting some was risky and just figured Shawn and I would share with them if they ended up wanting some! I thought I would just get them something else along the way – something I was a little more certain they would eat!

Well as we approached Canada, we saw an ice cream and popcorn stand and all the kids cried..."Can we have ice cream?"

Well, what's a good mother to do while on vacation???

Of course I let them have ice cream for lunch!! It's Disney World! Why not??

Two vanilla cones, 1 chocolate cone, and a box of popcorn and we were all set to go! Shawn looked at me like I had 3 heads, but oh well....its not lke they eat like that every day. Gotta live a little! Plus I knew ice cream would be good for Michael with his sore mouth.

We passed the Off Kilter stage and heard some rumbling behind the curtain, so we went ahead and sat down on a bench right there and I ran off to get in line for the fish and chips.

Along the way, I saw this CM drawing a hopscotch with the flags from all of the countries in the World Showcase. Very cool. I should have tried for a picture when he was totally done with it, but like a big doofus, I forgot to do that!

The line for Yorkshire wasn't short, but with only one item on the menu....well....it moved along! I made it to the front of the line and ordered me up some yummy fish and chips, served so authentically with the newspaper underneath. With the dining plan, you get dessert, but the only offering at the Yorkshire is Shortbread Cookies. No worries here! We love Shortbread Cookies! I made my way back to the crew and planted myself down on the bench, expecting a nice little concert while we ate.

Well....duh....pulled out the Times Guide and apparently what I heard when we plopped ourselves down was Off Kilter finishing up from a concert not getting ready to start another one. Oops. Oh well. Still enjoyed our lunch spot. The sun was shining this day and the temperatures were starting to warm up. The park was very uncrowded and the kids finished up their ice cream and ran around right there while we finished up our lunch.

As expected, the kids all sampled the fish and chips and loved it. I offered to go get another meal but they were fine just sampling from ours.

After finishing up, we made our way towards the shops in the UK.

First up....sports shop.....eh....we don't follow a whole lot of British sports, but of course the store was very beautiful and we took a few pics.

Eventually we made it back to where the kids REALLY wanted to go....The Toy Soldier! I just love this toy store. Its so quaint and pretty, and of course merchandise from Winnie The Pooh, Mary Poppins, and Alice in Wonderland....three of my most favorite Disney stories....is found in abundance here. The girls oohed and aahed over the Alice dress, saying how nice it would be to have it for their tea party later in the week. I thought so too, but at $60 a piece, I thought they would be fine to wear the tshirt I made for them. If they weren’t doing the BBB later on that week, I probably would have gone ahead and forked down the cash, but I was strong and told them not this time, and surprisingly they were ok with that!!

Katie wanted me to take a picture with the Cheshire cat to send to Grandmommy – my Mom loves the Cheshire cat from the original Alice movie and stuff with him is very hard to find. Michael had a lot of fun playing with the swords, shields, and any other weapon type items he could find.

Shawn took a moment to “knight” him…”Sir Complains-a-Lot” or something like that!

As we wandered back towards the Kidcot stop, we noticed there was no line for the character area so I asked if anyone would be coming out soon. I was REALLY hoping it would be Mary Poppins, but was told that Pooh and Tigger were coming out in a few more minutes. So I just planted myself right there while the girls went over to color at the Kidcot spot. Unfortunately they had the most drab, bored-looking CM working the kidcot that day. I don’t think she said two words to my girls who were just sitting there quietly waiting for someone to tell them what to do (we hadn’t started a mask, they just wanted to color one of the charm things). Oh well, I guess you can’t get all good CMs all the time. A little smile would have been nice though!

After a few more minutes, we saw Tigger and Pooh coming in the door! Katie was beside herself with excitement, but I love the capture of Emily's expression in this picture:

Tigger was very playful….dancing with Katie, fist-bumping with Michael….just overall very into it.

Pooh, on the other hand.....was just there. We never get Pooh’s that do much more than just stand there. But that’s ok…he was chubby and cuddly and that’s what matters!!

As we exited the store, we made our way back towards the hedge maze and the kids started running through it. Shawn was taking some pictures of them and I was taking video, but after a few minutes, Shawn just put his camera down and started chasing the kids and playing hide and seek with them. It was one of those moments that is pure spontaneous fun. Hardly another soul was back there with us and I just gushed with joy watching my husband enjoy living in the moment with his kids and hearing my family laugh, giggle, scream with delight, chase eachother, hug eachother, love eachother.

As we were gathering our stuff to head out of the UK, we spied a photopass photographer! I think she might have been going “backstage” to take a break or something, but we asked her if she wouldn’t mind taking a few family pics of us and she said “Sure!” She put us in a couple of different spots and ended up getting a few good shots.

Then we made it around the corner, and low and behold…who was standing there but Mary Poppins!! We hopped in line (about 3 people in front of us) and before long we were ready to meet her. I mentioned to the kids as we were standing there waiting, about how beautiful she was, and so prim and proper, and Emily kind of pulled me aside and mentioned "why on earth then would she stand on a sewer?"! LOL! She had a point. Mary Poppins was standing right on top of a grate. A few steps over would have been much better! Leave it to my child to notice that!

From there, we headed to France. Ahhh…A Grey Goose Slushie was calling my name!!!

Up next....Michael has a one track mind....any guesses for what???

Sara

 

[mrsksomeday]

Great photopass pictures!! Tigger always seems more into than Pooh when we are there. The kids look like they were having a fantastic time! I hope you got your Grey Goose Slushie, I want one bad!!!

 

[MaryAz]

Another fun update with great pics. I love the one with the kiddos peeking over the hedge. Yay for character meets!