All Aboard! The Happiest TR That Ever Sailed ~May 1-9~ Ice cream for dinner! 6/20

[scooby9932]

Hey there! I finally made it over. I've been swamped since returning & here you are so far ahead of me on your TR! Good for you!

You're trip sounds great so far. Kudos to you on your upgrade! Disney Magic right from the start.

Your pictures are great & I love that you're using a program to load that my work computer will let me see! Shhh! Don't tell or they'll figure out a way to block that one, too.

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[JenAusty]

I love your pictures of main street at night.. soo magical and beautiful! I'm glad your stay at ASMu was good. I will say though I am disappointed with the bathroom design.. soo boring and dry.. there are soooo many other ideas I could of came up with. So far ASMov is my fav bathroom!

 

[JenAusty]

I love the Prince and Princess topiaries.. actually all of the topiaries.. this makes me soooo excited because I've never been during the Flower Festival with all the pretty flowers and such! ekk!

 

[MyMuse]

Awwww....I can't see pictures! I'll try again when I get home tonight after the gym.

This was my first trip during F&G as well; it was completely beautiful.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I really can't wait to see all the pretty Flower & Garden displays. Yay!!

 

[Sarah84]

I cant believe i missed this trippie before, what a great start
Your photos are wonderful and what a fantastic trip you seem to be having, congrats on the room upgrade looking forwatd to seeing room pics from the yacht club too.

I plan on taking a trip just me and my mum for her 50th birthday, sadly it isn't till 2011 so a couple of years to wait still but im so excited to take her, hope we have as wonderful memories as you and your mum have from your trip

Look forward to reading more of your report.

 

[stacikristine]

Oh my goodness! The Flower & Garden Festival pictures are absolutely gorgeous!!! I would love to be able to go during that time one of these years. And you look super cute in your outfit. It looks like a wonderful, wonderful morning at Epcot!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I saw some of the same topiaries. They really were beautiful. Makes my garden look pretty sad. I think I have 8 geraniums. If I look really hard I can make out a hidden mickey in them (LOL).

Hope you get some new sunglasses soon. You'll need them for this next trip too!

 

[autumnpalm]

I absolutely love your Flower & Garden Festival pictures. Up until last year, our vacations always coincided with the F&GF. When we went to Epcot in August, 2008, I was soooo disappointed in the lack of landscaping (with flowers). I guess I didn't truly appreciate the beauty of the festival until we didn't go during that time period.

Hanging around for more.

I know, Epcot really does look different during the F&GF. It was a huge change! I really wish they would keep up with the landscaping all year although I'm sure that must be a TON of work!

Your morning in EPCOT is off to a great start! We rode Spaceship Earth first and headed to Soarin too! I was hoping to see a mickey anything when we rode the land. No tomatoes, pumpkins, or anything! I hope you'll see something in June!

Your outfit is so cute.

Weren't all the flowers just gorgeous?? Your pictures are great! I feel like I've said that in every reply, but they are!

The flowers were absolutely gorgeous. Even better than I'd hoped! And I really hope there's a Mickey something at the Land in June... I was so bummed when they didn't have any. I'm glad it wasn't just me though, not looking hard enough.

Oh my gosh, those topiaries are gorgeous! Do you know if they'll still be there when I go? I hope so!!!!

Wow, no line for Spaceship Earth?! Good! This past trip, there was always a huge line because it had just re-opened with the new changes. I hope the line stays down while we're there too!

Soarin' is so much fun. I just hate walking to it. Seriously, that hill/incline to get into the Land can be exhausting in the heat!

My grandpa LOVES Living with the Land. He's excited about going on that one when they come back with us next year.

You know, I'm not sure when they take town the topiaries! I do hope they're still there. They're great!

And nope, no line at all for SE. It was perfect.

Awww that's so cute you're going with your grandpa!

Hey there! I finally made it over. I've been swamped since returning & here you are so far ahead of me on your TR! Good for you!

You're trip sounds great so far. Kudos to you on your upgrade! Disney Magic right from the start.

Your pictures are great & I love that you're using a program to load that my work computer will let me see! Shhh! Don't tell or they'll figure out a way to block that one, too.

Can't wait to hear more.

Yeah, I switched from Photobucket to Shutterfly because my Photobucket account was getting to be almost full and there's no limit to Shutterfly! So far I think it's a lot easier to use.

I'm so glad you found my TR! I was looking for you while at WDW but never caught a glimpse of your decked out ECV.

I love your pictures of main street at night.. soo magical and beautiful! I'm glad your stay at ASMu was good. I will say though I am disappointed with the bathroom design.. soo boring and dry.. there are soooo many other ideas I could of came up with. So far ASMov is my fav bathroom!

I love the Prince and Princess topiaries.. actually all of the topiaries.. this makes me soooo excited because I've never been during the Flower Festival with all the pretty flowers and such! ekk!

The bathrooms do leave a little to be desired. But overall I would give the resort a thumbs up! I would stay there again happily.

And you will LOVE the Festival. It is so amazing to see in person!

Awwww....I can't see pictures! I'll try again when I get home tonight after the gym.

This was my first trip during F&G as well; it was completely beautiful.

Ugh, I hope they get working for you soon! I've gotta go catch up on your TR!

I really can't wait to see all the pretty Flower & Garden displays. Yay!!

Ahhhh you are SO CLOSE!!!!!!!

I cant believe i missed this trippie before, what a great start
Your photos are wonderful and what a fantastic trip you seem to be having, congrats on the room upgrade looking forwatd to seeing room pics from the yacht club too.

I plan on taking a trip just me and my mum for her 50th birthday, sadly it isn't till 2011 so a couple of years to wait still but im so excited to take her, hope we have as wonderful memories as you and your mum have from your trip

Look forward to reading more of your report.

Hi there and

I love mother daughter trips, they really are something special. We had so much fun together and have some really wonderful memories. You and your mom will love it!

And don't worry, I got LOTS of YC pics!

Oh my goodness! The Flower & Garden Festival pictures are absolutely gorgeous!!! I would love to be able to go during that time one of these years. And you look super cute in your outfit. It looks like a wonderful, wonderful morning at Epcot!

As far as mornings go, it was pretty much perfect... and I'm SO not a morning person.

 

[autumnpalm]

I saw some of the same topiaries. They really were beautiful. Makes my garden look pretty sad. I think I have 8 geraniums. If I look really hard I can make out a hidden mickey in them (LOL).

Hope you get some new sunglasses soon. You'll need them for this next trip too!

Don't worry, my sunglasses make an appearance in this next update!

And if you can believe it, we don't have a single flower in our yard, just some hanging baskets above our front porch. I guess that's what happens when you live in Toronto!

 

[autumnpalm]

Day Two, Part 3. Manatee friends!


So we left off just about to make our way to the Seas pavilion. Naturally, our first stop was Nemo and Friends. We rode this last July and weren't particularly impressed, but there was no line so we figured why not? I think the line is so cutely themed. I love the boardwalk floors and all the signs. I took a picture of this one because I thought it was particularly cute:

I could only really get one decent shot while on the ride, and this is it:

It's a nice ride for kids, I think, but for us it was kind of like a recap of the movie on aquarium screens. I really like the movie so I enjoyed it, but it's definitely not something I would line up more than 5-10 minutes for.

Immediately after getting off Nemo, we headed for the manatee exhibit. I think this is my favourite part of the entire pavilion. They had Lou and Kringle there, and said Kringle had only been there for a few weeks. One had a tail injured by a boat propeller and the other was saved from cold sensitivity. They were being fed lettuce when we were there and were the sweetest things ever. I think it's really neat that Disney has this available to see, but I think they should "advertise" it a little more. It's a really interesting exhibit!

Lou and Kringle:

After visiting with our friends the manatees, we took a quick look at the surrounding aquariums.

There was a dolphin show starting soon but it looked pretty busy so we decided to save that for another day at Epcot. There was, however, a Turtle Talk with Crush show starting soon and I have a soft spot for that show so agreed to stick around for it.

I wanted a picture of the photo op with our heads in the sharks mouths but there were tons and tons of kids crawling all over poor Bruce so I settled for this one:

The show was so much fun. The guy that does Crush's voice is VERY talented and even though the show follows the same formula every time, I always enjoy watching it. Crush is so quick to come up with answers for the kids and I think it's just as fun for the adults to watch as the younger ones. This is something we will always do.

Once Turtle Talk was over, we exited the Seas pavilion. It still wasn't time for us to use our Soarin' FPs so we went over to Innoventions to check it out. I'd head about the little Segway test drive you could do in there and thought it sounded like fun.

Unfortunately the CM working there said that the Segway exhibit wouldn't be open until 1:00. At this point it was around 11:30 and I was starving! My mom was too, all we'd had was half a cinnamon bun each that day... and like I mentioned before, I get super cranky if I don't eat often.

Now, Tangierine Cafe is my mom's favourite CS in all of Disney World. She LOVES it. I really like it, but not to the obsessive degree that she does! The CS in Future World is okay... but I knew she would be super excited to eat at TC. So I asked her if she wanted to walk over the World Showcase earlier than we anticipated and have our first Disney lunch there. No surprise, she was totally on board! Even though our Soarin' FPs would be valid soon, we decided to save it until later in the evening (we had Epcot planned for the evening too) and head straight to the Yacht Club to check in after lunch. We were both anxious to see what we had been waiting for all these months!

On the way over to the World Showcase, we stopped at Mouse Gears so I could get some sunglasses. The sun was soooo bright that I knew I wouldn't last the day without them. I picked a pair out fairly quickly, we paid and were ready to go! Here I am with my new shades:

Was it a beautiful day to be in Epcot or what?!

You will now see a rare picture of my lovely mother... I just like the way this shot turned out with the monorail in the background. At least she's wearing sunglasses so her identity is partially concealed!

As we walked, we also saw.... A BUTTERFLY GARDEN!

If you check out my tags, I am TERRIFIED of butterflies. They scare the bejeezus out of me! My mom jokingly suggested going in and taking a look around but I was out of the area super fast. I was afraid somehow a butterfly would escape and somehow follow us all the way to the Yacht Club. Luckily we had no run ins with any of them (well... not until later!)

Near the entrance to the World Showcase were some Lion King topiaries.

Believe me, I can be just as intimidating as Scar.

And of course, Timon and Pumbaa were there!

We went to Morocca via Canada (we had to, we are Canadians after all!) and caught up with some friends from Bambi. I actually wrote a paper about the media controversy surrounding Bambi and how it has affected public perceptions of hunting for university this year (it was entitled "A Deer Caught in the Headlines: The Bambi Controversy"... no tomatoes please! LOL) and got an A on it. So thanks, Bambi!

We had almost made it to Morocco when I was stopped in my tracks in France. Aurora was frolicking in the gardens... and there was NO LINE! My mom was absolutely starving by this point and I nearly killed her when I started wandering away from the direct path to food... but I had to meet Aurora! I didn't spend much time chatting, just snapped the pictures and was on my way. I was barely 5 minutes! That showed restraint.

Eventually.... we had made it! Food was (literally) in sight!

We split the lamb schwarma (sp?) platter and it was as delicious as usual. I think this is my favourite CS meal at the World Showcase. The lamb is delicious and oh, the couscous is amazing! And the hummus... mmm. It really is a great lunch. And huge! My mom also got a cafe au lait which she said was perfect. Way better than Disney coffee! The outdoor seating area is so nice, too!

I could've relaxed there all day, but we had places to go and things to do! We were ready to check in at the Yacht Club!

On the way, I spotted Aladdin (in plant form). He could sweep me off my feet with his magic carpet anytime! LOL

And finally, we were on our way to the Yacht Club. My goodness, the walkway is beautiful!

Up next: We FINALLY check in! Woo hoo!!!

 

[wlwilliams9]

What a great morning at Epcot! We went to TC to eat one evening, but the line was FOREVER long and not moving, so Mike got mad and said forget it! Maybe next time!! (He's not the most patient man!!) I can't wait to see your YC room and your review of SAB!

 

[Belle_373]

I am so happy to hear that other people are as terrified of butterflies as I am. I thought it was just me. LOL My DB made me walk through the butterfly garden on our trip too. Let just say I quickly made my way to the exit.

At U of T I majored in History with a minor in English and Politics.

 

[Beka]

It's nice knowing I'm not the only one afraid of butterflies. Most people don't know that they have fang & bite! I'm also afraid of birds.

Great installment! I love Epcot!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

So glad you got the sunglasses. Great to finally see a shot of your mom. My kids love Nemo (Okay the eldest hates the whole moving carpet thing but likes the ride) but then they are so not thrill ride people. However, I agree that the theming of the queue is the best part.

Love all your posing with the characters/topiaries. Have you ever considered their college program? I see the makings of a great face character in you!

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

WOW! I can't get over how gorgeous all the topiaries are. You're pictures are great!!

I'm also afraid of birds.

Ugh, I don't blame you about the birds. They are so...DISGUSTING!!!

 

[meanmom121]

How did I get so far behind? I loved the princess topiaries. I wish they kept that up all year. I'll have to plan a mother/daughter trip so me and my om can enjoy the F&GF. My kids would absolutely not let me go to Disney without them though
That woman is far too youn to be your mother - Who is she really
What's with all you people and the butterflies - I could understand if they were biting insects - but they're beautiful and painless
Can't wait to see your yacht club room

 

[jewels1916]

Yum! Your food from Tangierine Cafe looks so yummy! I've never been able to persuade any of my family to try it, so I've never eaten there. Nemo and Friends looks cute...I am trying to decide if Kelly and I should do that one, mainly because neither of us have done it. Based on what you said about it, we will probably do it if the line is short.
Can't wait to read about the Yacht Club, and see pics!

 

[Lady Lallie]

Your pictures are so pretty and while I am looking at them I keep saying to myself, I will be there tomorrow! Eeee!

 

[stacikristine]

What a great morning/early afternoon!! All of your pictures are just gorgeous. I've never eaten at TC, but I've heard amazing things about it. I want to try it out when we go! And I can't wait to see pictures of the Yacht Club!!! By the way, I'm loving the fact that you update so often--it makes it so interesting to follow your TR!