A Taste of Spring - 30 million blooms, 1000 pics, 6 wonderful nights

[amandaluvsgoofy]

This is an incredible shot! Good job!!

I'm so sorry to hear that drama at home interrupted your trip.

The girls' outfits are so cute! And I LOVE that Dory t-shirt! You might be able to find it on ebay or something....

 

[Colleen27]

We spent quite a bit of time in the British pavilion, just looking around the gardens and listening to the British Invasion.

After our experience with the perfume tour we decided to skip the tea tour and just look around on our own. I also stopped at the Twinings store to look around, but didn't end up buying anything this trip.

We've never spent a ton of time here on past trips, but this was a lovely place just to wander and relax. The gardens are lovely, the tea cup planters are too cute for words, and the band was great.

When it was time to move on, we came across Alice. We waited about 5 minutes for her but it hardly felt like a wait with the music in the background and the lovely weather now that the sun was shining.

Canada was up next. We relaxed by the lagoon for a while to listen to Off Kilter. I've caught bits and pieces of their set before but never took the time to just sit and listen, and I understand now why they have such a following.

These gardens are so lovely, even when it isn't Flower & Garden Festival. I have a picture I took in this area on our Christmas trip set as my desktop wallpaper.

At the Kidcot stop Boo started acting tired, so we decided to catch Oh Canada. We hadn't seen it before, and I knew it would give her a chance to drift off. The movie is okay, though I'd like it a lot better if it had seats! But it served our purposes; Boo fell asleep so I put her in the stroller and we moved on.

DM wanted to call and check in with my brother again, so she settled on a shady bench off to the side of the festival booths and I took Pocahontas over to the play area.

She played for a bit and then we headed off to Mexico to finish Pocahontas passport. On the way I picked up a festival pin instead of the year pin we usually get on each of our trips, and my mom got a new totebag.

 

[Colleen27]

The crowds were a LOT thicker today than at the beginning of the trip, even though our first Epcot day was a Saturday, but they mostly seemed concentrated at the rides. Soarin' hit 110min+ and Test Track fastpasses ran out by the time we got around to Mexico (around 5ish). There was even a line for El Rio de Tiempo!

I woke Boo up when we got to Mexico because I knew she'd love the Donald boat ride. It was about a 15min wait, which was kind of because we'd never waited in line for this ride before, ever, but the girls wanted to ride.

Boo did love it and wanted to ride again, but I wasn't about to wait in line for it again.

DM talked to brother again while we rode and was really stressed out when we met back up with her. She has some minor health problems that tend to act up under stress, so she wasn't feeling well at all now. And with the sun going down, the girls were getting cold and not all that interested in staying in the park. I called and canceled our reservation for Rose & Crown because it was pretty clear we weren't going to stick around for Illuminations, and we decided to hit the Seas and head out.

That's one nice thing about going to WDW so often. It really makes me appreciate moments like that; on our first trip we'd have tried to stick it out to see the fireworks even though everyone was tired and chilly. Now we're much more likely to go with the mood of the moment and if we miss something, no big deal. We'll just catch it next trip.

The line for Nemo was much shorter now, almost a walk-on. DM sat the ride out because she has a hard time with motion sickness and balance when she's feeling that way, but both girls loved it. We finished up Nemo just in time to walk right into Turtle Talk, and Pocahontas was picked to ask Crush a question! She asked what he ate. When he asked her the same she said pizza and hot dogs, to which Crush responded with the idea of hot dog pizza.

At the gift shop I found the perfect souvenir for DH - a "mine mine" seagulls mug to match the travel mug I got him last trip.

After leaving the Seas we decided to stop for a quick bite at Electric Umbrella, since DM wanted to look around at Mouse Gears for a bit before we called it a night. Then we made a quick stop to ride Spaceship Earth again and headed back to Pop and to bed.

Lotso has replaced the 3 now.

I love the Flower & Garden themed projections on the ground and the monorail station. Such a cute, festive touch!

 

[Colleen27]

I'm so sorry to hear that drama at home interrupted your trip.

The girls' outfits are so cute! And I LOVE that Dory t-shirt! You might be able to find it on ebay or something....

It was bound to happen. I love my mom but she's got a bit of a martyr thing going and lets my brother stress her out far more than is necessary, and DH feels the need to keep me updated on every little thing at home while I'm away. Fortunately the drama on my end was minor and DH called the next morning to let me know all was well. My mom, not so much... She's pretty much decided that she's going to put off future travels until she gets her house sold and my brother is on his own. Sometimes I really wonder how he and I could possibly be related.

As far as the shirt goes, I'm just going to look next trip. Nothing is set in stone yet because we're still working out the financial details, but we're looking at options for going back in August/Sept/October.

 

[Colleen27]

Usually I dread heading home from Disney, but this trip was a little different. DH & I had never been apart for this long in the 12 years since we first moved in together, and I was missing him. So were the girls. Pocahontas was okay, we've taken 3-4 night trips without DH before and talking on the phone means more to her, but Boo had never been away from him for more than a sleepover at Nana's and doesn't get as much out of calling home.

So I woke early on our last morning and got as much as I could packed, sad to be leaving Disney and the beautiful weather, but ready to get home to DH & DS.

Boo had been asking for the "frog princess", and since we didn't make it over to see her on our Magic Kingdom day and Boo & I were both up and dressed by 8 I decided to take her over for a couple hours of catching missed characters.

Pocahontas wanted to swim and DM was tired, so they stayed behind. DM found a table by the pool and read while Pocahontas swam.

It was a stunning day, much warmer than the day before with not a cloud in the sky.

We got to the park about quarter after 9, added a day to my ticket, and headed off to see if we could fill in some of those blank pages.

I had made it through this entire trip without any tears, but this morning did me in. It seemed like just yesterday that we were on our big trip in January 2008, on the same perfect sort of morning in the Magic Kingdom, and I was pregnant with Boo but not even wanting to be happy about it because I wasn't convinced it would last. And now here we were, just me and her, heading down Main Street together. It was really a perfect way to end our trip.

First stop was Tomorrowland to see if Buzz was out. He wasn't, but the cast member working with Chip & Dale said to check back around 11.

Then we cut through Fantasyland along the paths that stay close to the castle, and came across the Fairy Godmother with no one in line!

As you can see, I didn't have cute outfits for this day - she wore her swimsuit top and her going-home jeans because I knew we'd be going straight to the pool when we got back to Pop.

Then we found the frog princess. We were the only ones in line not wearing NOLA/Mardi Gras gear!

Tiana and Naveen loved their personalized pages! Naveen asked Boo if she'd ever been to New Orleans and when she said no he said she could come home with them. She actually waved goodbye to me!

Then it was off to Frontierland to meet another of Boo's favorites - Jessie. My nephew is 4 and obsessed with Toy Story, and he's passed that on to Boo. She's already asked for a Jessie dress for our next trip.

The line for Woody & Jessie was a little on the long side, at least compared to what we'd experienced elsewhere on this trip, but we waited because I knew she wanted to. I passed the time by taking pics of Splash.

I also spent a little time chatting with the family in front of us. They were obviously foreign, I'd guess Central or South American, and their little girl had the cutest Jessie outfit. It was obviously homemade, just chaps and fringed cuffs added to a store bought shirt & jeans, but she was bouncing all around so excited to show Jessie that she was a cowgirl too.

Finally it was our turn.

Woody barely got any attention at all. Boo handed him her autograph book and went right back to Jessie.

On our way back to check once more for Buzz, Boo asked to ride the elephants again. The line was longer than I was willing to wait, but since we had to walk through Adventureland to get back to the hub we decided for a spin on a magic carpet instead.

The Tiki Room, still closed.

Boo flying our carpet.

 

[Colleen27]

Back in Tomorrowland, it was 10:30 and Buzz wasn't out, so a helpful cast member called to check his schedule and found out he wouldn't be there until 2. We couldn't hang out that long since our ME pickup was 2:45, so we headed back to Pop to swim.

Waving goodbye to the Magic Kingdom.

Back at Pop, Boo once again exclaimed "We're home!" when she saw the Pop century sign, and I was a little sad that it would be the last time.

She wanted to play in the oversized numbers until I told her the alternative was swimming!

We started out at the Bowling Pin pool but they'd been having issues with the pool heater since Sunday and although the lifeguard assured us it had been fixed the pool was really cold. Pocahontas had been okay with it all morning, probably because the day was shaping up to be downright hot, but it was too cold for Boo. So we headed over to the computer pool for a while.

It was the only time we walked all the way over to the 80s & 90s, and the kids loved the giant pac-man on the buildings.

We swam for an hour or so, then took a little time to run around the playground. The bathhouse near the computer pool is really nice, we were able to shower and get changed even though we'd long since checked out. We made one last stop at Everything Pop to use our last few dining credits for sandwiches for the flight and headed out to meet our bus right on time.

Boo fell asleep just a few minutes after the movie started. Poor thing was so tired, but she didn't want to go home. She woke up at the airport asking for her big puppy and Pop Century! I told her we were going home to see Daddy and Bubba (her word for brother; my son's name is Sebastian and she can't quite say that yet), and she insisted that they should come to us instead. Fortunately flying is still amusing to her, so getting through security and watching the planes come and go from the windows near our gate cheered her up considerably.

DH met us at DM's house, about halfway home from the airport, and Boo literally chattered until she fell asleep mid-sentence trying to tell him all about the trip. It was very nice to be home and sleep in my own bed, and I think Boo appreciated it most of all because she went to her crib like it was a long-lost friend!

 

[jenseib]

I am so sad it's over. You had a fabulous time though and did quite a bit.
I just love your pictures. I do hope you get another trip planned. Let me know when you start your next PTR!

 

[Colleen27]

I am so sad it's over. You had a fabulous time though and did quite a bit.
I just love your pictures. I do hope you get another trip planned. Let me know when you start your next PTR!

I'm sad its over, but not as sad as Boo! She's the whole reason DH suddenly decided we should go back again so soon, even more since we've been home than before. She has been so funny since we've been home. Any time she sees the Pop logo on my screen when I'm reading the DIS she yells "Pop Century" in the cutest little voice. A Disney parks commercial came on when DH was watching ESPN this morning and she climbed in his lap and very solemnly told him "Daddy, go Mickey House now." She's my partner in crime to be sure!

I'll probably start my PTR before too long even though the trip is still very much an "if". There's a set of dates I really like at the end of August but it doesn't give us much time to pull the money together, so for us to pull it off will take a nice busy summer (knock wood, so far it is looking good; DH has about a month's worth of work lined up and waiting for spring thaw).

It will be a very different sort of trip if we do manage it - driving so we can combine it with a Labor Day trip to Nashville that we already have booked, staying at Fort Wilderness and spending a whole day just enjoying the resort, not doing the dining plan because Pocahontas wants to do a YES class and we'd get those tickets instead of a package.... All sorts of fun stuff we've never done before.

And if we can't get it together that quickly, well, I've got plans B, C and D already in mind - two of them possible WDW dates during Food & Wine and the third for Disneyland in November. The kids' school calendar for next year isn't out yet, though, so that is all very tentative thinking based on past breaks.

If we go with one of the flying trips, I think we're going to end up with two rooms at Pop. Boo and Pocahontas both want to go back, DH likes the price, and DS just plain wants to check it out. It is funny, you read all the time about one deluxe stay spoiling people and then they don't want to go back to values or mods. We're doing things completely backwards - one value stay and now that's the only one they want to go back to!

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Loved reading all about your trip, but especially all those pics!! You have an eye, that's for sure!! Glad you guys enjoyed yourselves, even with all the at home drama..dontcha just love family?
Good luck getting that next trip planned..it certainly helps with the post vacation let down!

 

[sandym718]

Really enjoyed your report!!

 

[Moira222]

am i a big mush because I am teary eyed at your entire day and your fantastic all girls late night EMH at MK? (I am also a little jealous at how cooperative your girls are for everything! )

I've never experienced the MK quite that late. Once we were there til a midnight closing. So far, there are not any super late EMH hours scheduled in May ether.


I think its a "good mommy" thing to talk your DD out of being scared of something she'd love (its only bad mommy if she truly hated it again!)

I am confused about something: I thought that you could only have one set of fast passes at a time -- meaning if you go for FP for peter pan, you have to use them before you can get FP for SM. your write up leads me to believe that this is not true since you were holding on to FPs for peter pan and Splash mountain at the same time. can you clarify?

 

[Colleen27]

am i a big mush because I am teary eyed at your entire day and your fantastic all girls late night EMH at MK? (I am also a little jealous at how cooperative your girls are for everything! )

I've never experienced the MK quite that late. Once we were there til a midnight closing. So far, there are not any super late EMH hours scheduled in May ether.


I think its a "good mommy" thing to talk your DD out of being scared of something she'd love (its only bad mommy if she truly hated it again!)

I am confused about something: I thought that you could only have one set of fast passes at a time -- meaning if you go for FP for peter pan, you have to use them before you can get FP for SM. your write up leads me to believe that this is not true since you were holding on to FPs for peter pan and Splash mountain at the same time. can you clarify?

My girls are awesome travelers, always game for just about anything and more flexible than most kids. A lot of it is personality, plus they've traveled pretty much since birth so they're used to the routines. My son... Well, he's a teenager, need I say more? He's more challenging now by far than he was when he was younger!

It was the midnight closings and poorly-attended Pirate and Princess Parties that got me hooked on late nights at MK. The best was on Pocahontas' 6th birthday trip, the MK closed at midnight the night before her actual birthday and she was chatting with a CM at the Dumbo ride (which was, as usual for that time of night, a walk-on) who let her stay on for a 'bonus' ride right at midnight to "start her birthday off right". It is moments like that that keep me coming back to Disney, from top to bottom they just know how to make magic.

As far as the FPs go, when you get one set there will be a time printed at the bottom when you can get your next set. It usually coincides roughly with the return time for the first set, so if they enforced the time you would only be able to hold one set at a time, or perhaps a little overlap with the second.

But Disney doesn't enforce the end of the FP return window. If your FP says to return between 12:40 and 1:40, you can use it any time between 12:40 and park closing. So for planning a later night it is worth collecting FPs for your evening must-dos because it opens up the option of using them at your convenience. The only caveat with this is that generally FP lines aren't open during EMH (very, very busy seasons are sometimes an exception to this rule), so you'll want to use up those FPs before the regular, general-public park closing.

 

[norybell]

I'm sad your TR is over so soon! I really enjoyed reading it!

 

[Colleen27]

Do you ever have that feeling like there is some magical force in the universe pushing you back to Disney World? I'm having one of those moments this evening... By a stroke of amazing luck, we came into a bit of "found" money that was almost exactly equal to the deposit on a room-only ressie at Fort Wilderness.

So I booked for August and started my new PTR! The trip is still very much a maybe, but how better to keep "eyes on the prize" than to have that reservation confirmation in my inbox and a plan-in-progress on the DIS?

Will we, won't we, will we, won't we...

 

[Moira222]

My girls are awesome travelers, always game for just about anything and more flexible than most kids. A lot of it is personality, plus they've traveled pretty much since birth so they're used to the routines. My son... Well, he's a teenager, need I say more? He's more challenging now by far than he was when he was younger!

It was the midnight closings and poorly-attended Pirate and Princess Parties that got me hooked on late nights at MK. The best was on Pocahontas' 6th birthday trip, the MK closed at midnight the night before her actual birthday and she was chatting with a CM at the Dumbo ride (which was, as usual for that time of night, a walk-on) who let her stay on for a 'bonus' ride right at midnight to "start her birthday off right". It is moments like that that keep me coming back to Disney, from top to bottom they just know how to make magic.

As far as the FPs go, when you get one set there will be a time printed at the bottom when you can get your next set. It usually coincides roughly with the return time for the first set, so if they enforced the time you would only be able to hold one set at a time, or perhaps a little overlap with the second.

But Disney doesn't enforce the end of the FP return window. If your FP says to return between 12:40 and 1:40, you can use it any time between 12:40 and park closing. So for planning a later night it is worth collecting FPs for your evening must-dos because it opens up the option of using them at your convenience. The only caveat with this is that generally FP lines aren't open during EMH (very, very busy seasons are sometimes an exception to this rule), so you'll want to use up those FPs before the regular, general-public park closing.

I know what you mean about the magical moments that keep you coming back. We are the same way!

thanks for the FP tips. I did go and search out some info after reading your entry but didn't realize that the FPs basically end at regular park closing.
----see, the magic on this TR keeps me coming back again and again too

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I enjoyed your report! I'm so glad that you enjoyed Pop Century ... we're heading there in April for a few nights. It will be our first value stay and I'm pretty excited, actually!!!

 

[dawnbu40]

I just read your TR and really enjoyed it!

Your girls are adorable and I loved all their darling outfits!

How cool that you caught a Tigers game while you were there! We're Metro Detroiters and big Tiger fans so thats something I've always wanted to do!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip and I hope everything works out so you can go back in August!