Because I'm the Boss Of You That's Why! Last day, HOP ONBOARD!!! Updated 12/11

[pierresgirl]

Cheerio my dear England, we’re off to France! Ooh Lala! I really wanted to check out Impressions De France, so did Ecogirl. Pierre took the kids to the Kidcot stop and we planned to meet up with him after the show. We waited for about 5 minutes and were led into the theater which was pretty big. What a great show, the scenery is absolutely beautiful and now I am dying to visit there! It could do with a little updating but I did enjoy this and am making it another recommendation. It has mostly ariel views and came across a bit Soarin’ like. We left and I saw IT as soon as we walked out.

What you ask? The Goddess of all Disney drinks! The Grey Goose frozen lemonade drinkie. It was a hard choice between the lemon and the orange one, I bounced it around in my brain for a good 5 minutes while we were in line. I swear, I panic when I see a drink list in front of me….

I ended up choosing the lemon and good thing I did. We saw Pierre a couple of minutes later and he got the orange. See, we are PERFECT for each other! Until we started in on who’s was better. We went into one of the stores in France and saw the cutest wine shirts. I wish I wrote down the sayings, actually I wish I bought one but, oh well! Me and Ecogirl decided to share a wine flight.

Mmmmmm, wine! Me loves it! I am having a Pampered Chef party tonight and am currently taste testing the drinks I bought for it, wine included! Yummers!!! The 2 ½ Musketeers, LOL!

The wine was really good and we were starting to get a bit hungry. Morocco was up next so we decided on Tangierine Café. I have a soft spot in my heart for this type of food, anything Mediterranean gets me going. Technically this is in Africa but they have similar types of food! The kids shared your basic chicken fingers and French fries while me, P-dog and Ecogirl shared a Chicken Wrap. It was huge and SO good. Loved it! From there we went to the store outside. Last year I really wanted some stuff from there and coulda kicked myself for not getting it. I was trying out for the role of sexy belly dancer and Pierre was going for your basic Moroccan guy. We both failed

Bella, on the other hand, really takes her heritage in style

I catch my breath everytime I see this picture of her. She did it all without me forcing her. Which is what I usually do… Geez, she looks so Iranian!
I wanted to get something special for Ecogirl that would mean something to us since she was moving away. We’ve been apart several times before for many years between me moving back to England, then to Hawaii and Puerto Rico before coming back here. She went to Arizona for a few years and came back but this move is for her career so who knows how long it will be. I was getting the shirt Pierre said I could get to replace the watch and saw these necklaces at the register. The were a mother of pearl face with our names written in Arabic. Perfect! I got one for me and Ecogirl then decided Bella could have one too!

Love them!

Off to Japan! As we were walking through I saw people gathering around a cart that said Miuki (or whateverhernameis) SWEEEEET! Maybe we could catch her and see the famous candy lady. There was about 5-10 minutes left before her show so I shoved the kids in front. Here’s Cooper waiting for her

She came out and everyone stared at her. B and C were front and center and she announced “I make beautiful candy for you. 1 per family. 1 minute and I make candy for you. You, in front, what you want, 1 for each family” Bella and Cooper blank out. NO,NO,NO, not supposed to happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 I jump in and say cheetah. Bella did a cheetah report and I knew they were both interested in them so it was a no brainer.

“I make beautiful cheetah for you. One minute” She pulled the candy between her fingers several times and started to mold it. SO amazing! Within seconds it really started to take shape while she repeated her mantra “One minute I make beautiful candy for you.One minute I make beautiful candy for you.” She whipped up the yellow cheetah on her stick and popped on the polka dots

After we shook off her trance, our mouth dropped wide open saying “OMG, that’s so awesome!!!!” Bella and Coop LOVED their sweet confection!

Ciao Bella! Italia next!!! The kids did their little kidcot stop next and me and Ecogal pottered around the shop. Hello, wine lady! Or should I say Mrs Zero Personality? Pierre has the knack of briningout the best in of everyone. Yeah. Not her. Notice the lack of pictures. Peeps had 2 Lemoncello’s (Remember Danny Devito got sloshed on these?, LOL!) I tried it, not too bad! Ecogirl had a wine which she enjoyed. Being of Italian decent, how could she not?!
We were off to Norway next and I was all over the Laila stuff. They had a shimmery bronzer that I really wanted but after asking I found out they were completely out of it. Uh, what???!!! The rest of the products were a little too rich for my blood. Me and The E Gl wanted to hit up Mexico but Be and C were ready for another kidcot stop so we ditched them. And P.


Mehico! AAAARRRRIIIIBahh!!!!!!!!! I grabbed a bunch of the flowers

then made Ecogirl pose

We gots some dramz coming up next…..

 

[pierresgirl]

I leave in 2 weeks for aweekend trip.

I saw Legally Blonde on MTV so really not into seeing it again. I ams eeing "Gypsy" next week with Patti Lupone. I cannot wait.

In 2 or 3 weeks I am seeing "Mary Poppins".

I saw it on MTV as well and really liked it. Bella LOVED it (as well as the movie) so when I saw it was going to be in Providence I jumped on the tickets. I just got tickets for Mama Mia for Jan 4 so I'm excited for that, I didn't tell Bella because it'll be part of her x-mas pressie. I also got them a Wii but that's it. Me and Bella saw Mary Poppins in London 2 years ago and enjoyed it. Have you seen Spring Awakening? that's on my list too!

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Cute necklaces! That's such a cute idea. And so nice that you got one for bella as well!

Sounds like you're having a yummy time in World Showcase! I'm making mental notes of the drinks!

 

[pierresgirl]

We heard the Mariachi band jamming on the other side of the building and walked over to check them out. Good tunes! I tried to do a little posey-pose

The music kept going but next thing I knew Mr. Mexico was posing next to me! Umm, okay!

He actually had a lovely voice but I guess that’s a no brainer otherwise he wouldn’t be working in Disney, would he?! Fun, fun!

We looked longingly into the Mexican restaurant inside the building, it’s just so pretty in there! I know it doesn’t get good reviews but whatevs. The Three Callabero’s ride is next to it and there was no line so we wanted to go on as soon as Pierre got there with the kids. He finally showed up while we were looking at the flowers and trying on Mexican hats. And he showed up with a drink so even betta!

It was rather yummy and I told him we better chug it so we could get on the ride. I sat it out last year because the margarita’s they have there are the bombdiggity, although it didn’t matter because the ride had broken down. I wanted to go on it this time though. Cooper came up to me, bottom lip turning down. Mmmm, that’s never good but he can get a bit dramatic at times. He said his mouth was burning but didn’t know what from. Within 1 minute he was screaming so I knew it was not good. He had no idea what it was from and neither did Pierre or Bella. We had some water so I was able to wash his mouth out and Ecogirl got some ice that I had him hold to his lips but it wasn’t really helping. E had some chapstick so I put that on him but same response. The photopass lady came over to try and help. Pierre said he picked up a leaf outside but that he and Bella had touched the same one and was fine. He went out to try and find the same leaf and when he came back I rubbed it a bit but was fine so I’m not sure if that was it. He cried for a good 15 minutes and it was an “in pain” cry so I felt really bad for him. The photopass lady said Donald was coming out and we could see him first. Cooper calmed down a bit and Donald came out, he went straight to Cooper which was sweet. Poor thing wanted to him and the photolady was snapping away. Bless him, the pictures were so pathetic. She told us First Aid was next door on the way to Test Track so we decided it was a must do.

We left Mexico and Pierre took our tickets to FP Mission Space while we went to First Aid. The lady in there had ZERO personality. I mean ZILCH, NIL, and ZIP! But as long as my little buddy gets taken care of it doesn’t matter! She had me take him to the bathroom and wash his hands and face with soap and water then gave him a dose of Benadryl. Luckily he likes the taste of meds so was willing. Bella, on the other hand would have to be strapped down and force fed any meds. Pain in my butt….. The nurse gave them both stickers and Cooper was okay by this point. Thankfully! I’m still not sure if it was that leaf or what but I felt terrible for my bubby, he was in some serious pain, poor thing!

Pierre was right outside when we walked out and it was time for our fav. TEST TRACK!!!!! This is such a cool ride! We whipped out our FP’s that we got in the morning and sailed right on through. Now does this kid look there was anything wrong with him?

These two, on the other hand…..

I kid! Picture of the actual track

On the way to the seatbelt check

Some poor girl from the single rider lane got stuck with us. She kept looking at us like we were a bunch of freaks. We are. I LOVE this ride! It’s so much fun getting whipped around and bumped about and we screamed our heads off! I was excited to be on a ride where I actually knew the picture was being taken so I had us all do a little peace out

See the scared girl in the corner? Like I said, I felt bad for her…

Fun, fun! Time to eat next and since Electric Umbrella was the closest we hit them up. Me and Peeps split the Tropical Salad. Ummm, not that good. It needs a mango type of dressing for a little life. I think the kids got nuggets and Ecogirl got a veggie wrap which was my second choice. I really wish I got it cause it looked good! Oh well, I’ll know for next time not to go there. But just to let you all know- not the best of selections!

When we left I wanted to FP Spaceship Earth so me and the kids walked over and were going to meet P and E at Mission Space. (green side FYI) We walked all the way around SE two times but I did not see where we go in. Did I miss something? They lost me on that so we said forget it and went over to MS. Green side. We caught up with and my boy and girl and went in. Me and Coop were on one ship and Pierre, Ecogirl and Bella were on the other. I was going to let Cooper be the pilot but he panicked a bit (like he was really going to drive the thing ) so he swapped places with me and was navigator, I think. Just as we got in our ship he got some goop all over his hand. WHAT IS IT WITH THIS KID????? I SWEAR!!!!!! I thought someone had wiped glowstick crap all over the outside of the shuttle and he got it all over him because his hand glowed the whole time we were on the ride. After we took our tour of Mars and landed safely back on earth we got off and saw Bella. She came with us and we got completely lost. We went around the shuttles a couple of times and finally came across some crew members so I told them what happened. Apparently it was grease from the outside of the ride. Of course cooper had to touch it. She took us to the bathroom and let him wash it off. After that mini fiasco I was wondering where the heck E and P were. We went through the store “I want, I need, Can I have, but please I won’t ask for anything else, I promise” etc, etc, etc. I let them pose for this but posing is all kids!

Luckily E and P were right outside the ride. Ecogirl was with Pierre so she’s my saving grace. God knows where he would be if she wasn’t!

The kids wanted to do Innovations next so we went over and they had fun playing fire safety

They enjoyed it and the guy teaching was great, he made it clear to them what to do in case of a fire. He even corrected their mistakes so I liked it. Pierre had been dying to try out a Segway, so I saw it going on and told him. Geez, I didn’t know they had to take a test or whatever. Bella really wanted to do it but she wasn’t old enough so…. These pics didn’t come out clear

He only got about 30 seconds on the thing and p.o’ed the girl so she cut it down to 20. I think he tried to run her over or something like that.

Cooper was tired and ready to go back but we still had some stuff to see so Pdog took him back to the Lodge. Girls only time!!!! We wanted to check out Honey I Shrunk the Audience. We meaning Ecogirl and me. Bella was NOT happy about that. The snake freaked her out but too bad. If she wanted to hang with us than she had to do what we wanted. She didn’t talk to us the whole way over there. Except to try and change our minds. She did try to do a pin trade when we got there but didn’t like what they had, geez so picky! After we walked in and stood through and obnoxiously LONG and annoying Kodak commercial we went into the theater. It was totally smelly and gross. There was also a baby right near us who cried the whole time and I was so MAD about that I couldn’t concentrate on anything except for my fantasizing about how and what I would scream at her. Isn’t that awful??!! BUT I think if your kid is screaming you should take them out of the theater, don’t ruin it for everyone else. Even if the show stinks. Which it did. Big time. Bella kept her eyes covered just about the whole time so she wouldn’t have to see the snake. Of well, we’ll never go to that show again and Bella took great pleasure in saying “Told ya so!!!” Okay kid- Soarin next, we wanted to use up our FP’s from that morning. I tell ya everytime I go on that ride I notice something new. I love it!

We headed out after this and realized we had been at Epcot for over 12 hours. 12 HOURS, isn’t that crazazy! I also realized my kid has boundless energy. She loved the section of cement tiling that lights up. Ecogirl got a big kick out of it to. Back on the bus and to AKL. Tomorrow was cruise day and Ecogirl was moving. Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!! I was pretty pooped when we got back and had loads of reorganizing to do. Bella was begging to go in the pool when we got back and thankfully Ecogirl said she would take her. I had 3 suitcases to take care of and I wanted Pierre to do the laundry so E said she would send him up. E could not find her bathing suit anywhere! She tore apart her room but it was gone which was making her mad since it was new. I thin she even called down to the front desk and housekeeping before coming across it. I guess housekeeping took her stuff off the pole in the bathroom and put it in a pile.

Pierre and the kids finally came upstairs and he went to do laundry so I made sure they got baths and were ready for bed. Now I’m not sure if I previously mentioned this but I.take Ambien to sleep at night. Once or twice before it has made me sleepwalk. You know where I am going with this right? Well, Ambien plus a White Russian does not mix well. FYI. I, apparently, walked down to the laundry room to find Pierre. Luckily he was there but I was in my nightie (not revealingthankyouverymuch) that I had spilled a drink on. And was blotting it with a towel. When I woke up the nest morning I had thought it was a dream but Pierre said “what the heck we you doing walking around the hotel with your Hannah Montana nightie on?” Ummm your guess is as good as mine. SOOOOOOO, as I said- Ambien makes me sleepwalk. Thankfully no one knew me but it’s still embarrassing.

Next up- time to go and the CRUISE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pierresgirl]

Did I mention i can't wait to get started on the cruise part???!!! Sue- you still stickin' round?!

 

[scottny]

I saw it on MTV as well and really liked it. Bella LOVED it (as well as the movie) so when I saw it was going to be in Providence I jumped on the tickets. I just got tickets for Mama Mia for Jan 4 so I'm excited for that, I didn't tell Bella because it'll be part of her x-mas pressie. I also got them a Wii but that's it. Me and Bella saw Mary Poppins in London 2 years ago and enjoyed it. Have you seen Spring Awakening? that's on my list too!

I haver not seen it but would lov eto.

great update and pics.

Hanna Montana nightie. that made me crack up.

Sorry about Cooper, glad he was ok.

 

[Hedy]

Glad you enjoyed Epcot. Poor Cooper, though.
I saw Spring Awakening on Broadway last month and it was great!

 

[pierresgirl]

Cute necklaces! That's such a cute idea. And so nice that you got one for bella as well!

Sounds like you're having a yummy time in World Showcase! I'm making mental notes of the drinks!

Bella hasn't taken it off yet. People always ask her what it says and she gets this look on her face like "DUH, it says Bella!" WS is always fun! And delish!

I haver not seen it but would lov eto.

great update and pics.

Hanna Montana nightie. that made me crack up.

Sorry about Cooper, glad he was ok.

That Cooper Hey- a weekend trip to Disney is awesome, so jealous! I need to catch up on your report too, I've just been so busy since school started!

Glad you enjoyed Epcot. Poor Cooper, though.
I saw Spring Awakening on Broadway last month and it was great!

Hi Hedy- do you get to see alot of shows? Epcot is always alot of fun, love it!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

I'm finally able to go catch up on all the TR's I've been falling behind on. I even started a PTR of my own! Check me when you can... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1972547

 

[DisneyJo]

Great day at Epcot, Bella is fantastic for going that long

OMG the sleep walking in your nightie bit

Can't wait for the cruise bit, oh and 2 weeks ago we saw Hairspray in London, it was great

 

[pierresgirl]

I'm finally able to go catch up on all the TR's I've been falling behind on. I even started a PTR of my own! Check me when you can... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1972547

Hiya Cherie!!!! You sound like me, work has been so cray, I haven't a free moment! I'll check out your when I have a few free secs!

Great day at Epcot, Bella is fantastic for going that long

OMG the sleep walking in your nightie bit

Can't wait for the cruise bit, oh and 2 weeks ago we saw Hairspray in London, it was great

OMG Jo- you don't even know it! I love seeing shows in London but we won't be back there till March 2010 unless my Nan passes before then. I'm going to do my first DCL installment right now!

 

[Nicole786]

Cant wait to hear about the cruise! I really enjoyed all of the World Showcase pictures!!

 

[pierresgirl]

CA-RUISE DAY!!!!!!!

And the day I had to say goodbye to my BFF, Ecogirl, well not goodbye but ‘see you later’. What a fabulous way to spend our last few days together! Can you believe in our 26 years of friendship we never had a getaway? Isn’t that nuts?! Pierre and the kids were there but Ecogirl really is family so we knew it would be fun and we all fit. Perfectly!

When I woke up in the morning I had loads of organizing to do. Pierre had done all the laundry so I realized how much I overpacked as usual!! Once I got it all done I ran down to Mara for some coffee and got everyone else up and organized. We hit the lobby by about 8 am and I walked past the DCL desk so I could ask what the weather in the Carib was like. The woman was talking to a lady and saying something about Fort Lauderdale. Well, who cares about Fort Lauderdale, I’s going to Port Canaveral for a Disney cruise so she didn’t matter!

I waited my turn, kinda, I heard her saying that Port Canaveral was closed so at that point I butt in. “Say what, girlfriend???!!!” She informed me that was true and we’d be shuttled to F.L. but wasn’t sure if we’d have to pay for that or not. Um, as far as I’m concerned I’m not payin’ for anything like that cause I didn’t ask for PC to BE closed! I already had a rental car booked because I thought the DCL transport was too expensive PLUS we were staying at the Nick Hotel for a night so….I also wanted to make sure that we’d still be going to Nassau and Castaway Cay since I had excursions booked on both. She made a quick call and said we didn’t have to pay for the bus transport. Phew! Do you guys know it’s a 4 hour bus ride???!!! I was definetely not looking forward to that!

We went outside to the bus pickup and checked in. After we waited about 20 mins or so, and hummed and hawed I went to the checkin’ counter and asked where our ME shuttle was. “Uh, what shuttle” the lady says. “Uh, the shuttle we are supposed to be on?” I really don’t know what went wrong but they ended up calling a taxi for us and paid for it, thankfully cause I was about 2 seconds away from the Ghetto. Remember that? Ecogirl came over to smooth things out after my hissy fit.

We finally got into our taxi and dropped Ecogirl off at MCO first. Big hugs all around, I knew she’d be back at Thanksgiving which wasn’t too far off.

Off to find the car rental place. Our driver got totally lost and I was getting pretty miffed about it. Shocker. It took everything I had not to flip out on the poor guy and I was SO relieved when he called his home base to get directions. I cannot recall the car rental company’s name but it was not on the airport grounds. I got a cheap QUOTE (key word) online so I went for it. We finally came across it and he pulled in to drop us off. I was still in a mood and stressed about having to take a bus.

The lady at the rental place was trying to get me to upgrade. For what? I was leaving the car in a parking lot for 4 days! Then she was trying to tell me that the car only had room for 2 suitcases. Well I wasn’t renting a Smart car or a Mini so I knew she was lying and I really didn’t have the patience. Then she starting going on about the rain in Port Canaveral , blah, blah, blah. Oh. Em. Gee. Give me the dang car. Finally she said she’d upgrade me for free. Then it was the insurance. I agreed to it so I could just get out. I tossed the keys to Pierre so he could get it and put the cases in while I signed the paperwork.

I felt like I was off to a bad start and wasn’t happy about it. I jumped in the car and saw Cooper was crying. Apparently Pierre didn’t wait for his whole body to be in the car and pulled forward Thankfully Cooper was okay and Pierre was nearly crying himself. Could things get any worse???!!! ARRRGGGGG!!!!!!! I really needed to just look out the window, grit my teeth and regroup my brain.

At least we found Port Canaveral easily! Hopefully that was a sign things were looking up! They also let us check the bags at the curb and we went in the building.

Everyone was given a bus ticket and we had plenty of time to check in before our bus would be called. Now, are these some happy kids or what?!

The famous Ears I wish we were going through

While we were waiting in line my sister called to let the kids know what teachers they got. They had been posted on the school door while we were gone and the kids were dying to know who they got. Bella didn’t get who she wanted (she got a new teacher who she absolutely loves now BTW) and one of her two bf was in a different class so she was a little bummed but got over it quickly. Check-in was fast and I was so excited to get my KTTW card then our bus was called. Woohoo!!!!!!!

They handed us each a little snack bag with 1 drink and a pack of crackers. Um, were they kidding? I was also bummed we didn’t get on one of the Disney Cruise Line buses, we got generic bus that didn’t play any movies the whole 4 hour ride. Good thing Pierre bought a real drink when we stopped or I’d be really mad. The drive actually went by fairly quickly, I had my Ipod and a book, the kids both had coloring books and there was a baby in front of me and Cooper. He kept tickling her and she was giggling so that made them both happy. As we neared Fort Lauderdale the gray clouds were disappearing and the sun was making an appearance. YAY!!! We pulled into the lot, got through security and saw this!

My smile was huge, how could it not be? We ran up the plank

and they asked our name to announce our arrival. How cool is that?! We were given directions to our room- 7001

Of course the kids were completely out of their minds with excitement and inspecting each and every little thing. Mostly the life vests which were deemed the greatest thing ever. Pierre looks happy!

I got a few things put away and we decided to go up to the Sailaway Party- no WAY was I missing that! Or my first Bahama Mama. We met our room attendant on our way upstairs, nice guy.We got up to the 9th floor, grabbed some streamers and made sure we were at the front of the ropes. Pierre went off to get our drinks and the kids bounced all over the place.

One last picture before I sign off. Do they look psyched or what!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Well all that stress sure was not the right way to start off a cruise! You got to the ship though so that is what matters! Hopefully that Bahama Mama helped you relax.

 

[Nicole786]

I had heard about the Ft Lauderdale move -- that means you should have passed by me in West Palm Beach!

 

[Hedy]

Glad you got there safely.
We get to NYC around 3x a year (it's the mother's happy place), and I generally see a show then. Today we're actually deciding if we're seeing Shrek when we're there after Thanksgiving, or when we go to Celebrate my birthday in January.

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

Oh my goodness!!!

That fiasco calls for about 10 bahama mamas!

I'm glad you finally got there and I can't wait to hear about the rest!

 

[pierresgirl]

Cant wait to hear about the cruise! I really enjoyed all of the World Showcase pictures!!

Thanks Nicole!

Well all that stress sure was not the right way to start off a cruise! You got to the ship though so that is what matters! Hopefully that Bahama Mama helped you relax.

Hi Lessa! Yeah baby, Bahama Mama's ARE awesome! And I def. needed a few!

I had heard about the Ft Lauderdale move -- that means you should have passed by me in West Palm Beach!

Didn't you see me waving to you?

Glad you got there safely.
We get to NYC around 3x a year (it's the mother's happy place), and I generally see a show then. Today we're actually deciding if we're seeing Shrek when we're there after Thanksgiving, or when we go to Celebrate my birthday in January.

Hi Hedy! I LOVE NYC too, for day trips. B and C would love Shrek.

Oh my goodness!!!

That fiasco calls for about 10 bahama mamas!

I'm glad you finally got there and I can't wait to hear about the rest!

Don't worry, I made me quota.... Many times over !

 

[Blueyed Girl]

I would have been very irritated too. I sure hope we don't have all of this stuff happen in June. I bet that Bahama Mama was GOOOOOD!!!!

 

[DisneyJo]

Wow what a morning Glad you finally got on the ship though and yes the kids do look rather excited