BFFs & Birthday Surprises! A "Girls Only" TR *Completed 3/13*

[PixieMama]

Today's agenda included spending the day at Epcot before heading to dinner at the Beach Club. Kat, Angie, and I left our room just after 8, and made our way to the bus stop. There was a bus to Epcot right as we walked up… and that was pretty much our luck the whole time! We made it to Epcot for opening with the plan to head straight for Soarin'.

But right after we made it through the turnstiles, I noticed Stitch off to the side. There was just one family in line to meet him, and since he's one of my youngest DD's favorite characters I had to stop for a picture!

I texted the photo to my DH so he could show DD8 when she got home from school. And then it was time for Soarin'!

This was Angie's first ride ever on Soarin', and Kat and I were curious to see how she'd like it. Can you believe Angie thought the ride was just "okay"?! In all fairness, Angie loves thrill rides, so I can understand how Soarin' wouldn't measure up to those. After the ride, we did grab FPs for later, but ended up not using them.

After Soarin', we headed over to Test Track and walked right on! In fact, there wasn't a wait when we got off so we walked right on again! TT was another ride Angie had never been on before, but this one she loved! After riding twice, we grabbed FPs to use later.

We then headed to Mission: Space. I've done this ride once before on the Orange Team, and swore never again… Kat felt the same way. But this was another ride Angie had never done before! We all rode the Green Team, and after we got off, Angie wanted to try the Orange Team. Kat and I gladly sent her on her way! I don't recall which version Angie liked better…

It was almost 11:00 so we decided to head towards the World Showcase. We started in Mexico… first stopping at La Cantina de San Angel for lunch. You can check out my review of our nachos and churros… but I will say it was a great meal!

After eating, we headed into the pyramid to look around and ride the Gran Fiesta Tour.

Next was Norway. We rode Malestrom and looked at the goodies at Kringla Bakery… and that's about it.

We then made our way towards China… as we were walking towards the pavilion, Angie noticed Mulan so we stopped for some PhotoPass pictures (I'll have to add those to my TR later, once we get the CD). We then walked around the shops a bit, and inside the "tomb warriors" exhibit. As we were leaving China, Kat decided she wanted a mango smoothie. Angie and I said we didn't, but after seeing Kat's we changed our minds! So glad we did, because they were delicious and a great way to cool off! Angie got mango, also, but I opted for the strawberry.

We pretty much just wandered around Germany and Italy, checking out the shops.

Next was the U.S. pavilion… we made it just in time to see the end of the Voices of Liberty performance before the American Adventure show started. Neither Kat nor Angie had seen this one before.

In Japan, we walked around the shops before stopping to watch Miyuki. Here she is making a flamingo:

How she can turn a ball of sugar into an animal sculpture is beyond me!


Up next: more of the World Showcase and finishing our day at Epcot!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Sounds wonderful! I'm just going to have to sit here this morning and dream of Epcot and smoothies (or grey goose slushies!). I'm glad to see that Miyuki was there! We have never seen her and for some reason I thought she wasn't at Epcot anymore? Maybe that was just when she had to stop giving out her candy creations?

 

[MARsMama]

Sounds like a great start to your day!! I love reading about Epcot, there's so much we haven't done there yet! I can hardly believe that two weeks from tomorrow I'll be there!!

 

[beebeeryan]

Yummy Nachos at La Cantina, we had those too! A leisurely stroll around World Showcase, you are living the dream!

 

[PixieMama]

Sounds wonderful! I'm just going to have to sit here this morning and dream of Epcot and smoothies (or grey goose slushies!). I'm glad to see that Miyuki was there! We have never seen her and for some reason I thought she wasn't at Epcot anymore? Maybe that was just when she had to stop giving out her candy creations?

I don't recall seeing her at Epcot during our '07 and '10 trips. But then again, we didn't spend that much time in the WS as the kids thought it was "boring"!

Sounds like a great start to your day!! I love reading about Epcot, there's so much we haven't done there yet! I can hardly believe that two weeks from tomorrow I'll be there!!

Yummy Nachos at La Cantina, we had those too! A leisurely stroll around World Showcase, you are living the dream!

It was great, strolling around the countries at our own pace! This was the first time I'd been inside most of the shops, and it was nice to look around.

 

[PixieMama]

After watching Miyuki do wonders with sugar, we continued on with the World Showcase. Morocco was next, and we mostly went through the shops and stopped for a few photos:

Then it was off to France. We watched "Impressions de France"… I hadn't seen the film before (or if I have, it was as a kid and I don't remember) and I'm not sure if Kat or Angie had seen it before, either. After the film, we headed to the Boulangerie Patisserie for some goodies! I chose a plain croissant, while Kat went with a chocolate croissant. Angie chose the chocolate eclair. I don't have any photos of these… we scarfed them down before I even thought about getting my camera out!

We headed to the UK and noticed that Mary Poppins (or was it Alice?) was due to make an appearance soon. The wait was just about 10 minutes, so we decided to stand in line. But it started raining and we figured the characters wouldn't show up in the rain… so we ran to the nearest shop for cover and to wait the rain out.

Unfortunately… it kept raining. And raining. And raining. We dug out our ponchos and hoped for the best.

After looking at the shops in the UK, we headed for the shop in Canada but skipped the film.

Since it was still raining, we decided to head to the Character Spot in Future World, knowing this would get us out of the rain for a good while. The wait was about 30 minutes, and then it was time for us to get pics with the Fab Five! The only pics we have of us with the characters are PhotoPass ones, so I'll have to update my TR once we get those.

I'm not sure how long it took to get through all the characters, but once we did the rain had stopped. Kat suggested we see if TT was running, and if so, we could use our FPs. As we made our way to the ride, we could see it was open… yay!

Of course, after we got off TT it started raining again. This time we ducked into Mousegears for a little shopping. I think it was around 7-ish, and we figured we might as well make our way to the Beach Club for our dinner ADR. We decided to trek back to the International Gateway so we could take the resort boat over.

(Oh, and on a side note: If you read my PTR, you might recall how I looked and looked for a new pair of shoes to wear at the parks. And how I decided on the Orthaheel flip flops. Well, I can tell you the shoes worked out great… that is, until it started raining. Had the downpour lasted just a little while, I might have been okay. But it rained on and off for THREE HOURS. And walking around in those flip flops in the rain was not good. My feet kept slipping and sliding in the shoes… which resulted in me getting a blister on not one, but both, of my feet. Ouch! Needless to say, I hobbled along the rest of my trip. I texted my mom and told her to bring my tennis shoes when they arrived on Sunday! Wearing the tennis shoes the rest of my trip was soooo much better. I wish I had packed them to begin with. But hindsight is 20/20, right?)

And now back to our original scheduled program!

Here are a few pics I took while on our way to the Beach Club:

Our Cape May Clam Bake reservation was for 8:05, but I can't remember how early we checked in. We sat in the lobby to wait for our table, but it wasn't too long. I know we all were happy to sit down and eat a good meal… and we were not disappointed! The food was yummy, even though I'm not a huge fan of seafood. There was plenty of non-seafood food on the buffet, too. Of course, to read more about our dinner you can check out my Dining Review.

After stuffing ourselves we headed back to Pop. I'm pretty sure we caught a bus from the resort to DTD and then transferred to a bus for Pop. Once back at our room we all got ready for bed, as tomorrow would be another early morning!

Up next: Rope Drop at Hollywood Studios… would we make it?

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ouch! I'm glad your Mom was able to bring you tennis shoes! I have NEVER worn tennis shoes to the parks, but I will have to this time b/c we are going in January! I think I'll bring my teva mush flip flops just in case there is a warm day though!

 

[MARsMama]

So sorry the rain came and stayed for so long, giving you blisters. I was planning on only wearing my flip flops and not bringing a back up, but now I'm rethinking that. I have no idea what they're like in the rain/wet, so I could end up having issues if I don't have a back up!!
The rest of your Epcot day sounded great, with the exception of the rain, and I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[jenneth79]

Ouch, sorry about the shoes, but I'm glad your mom was able to bring tennis shoes for you!

 

[PixieMama]

Ouch! I'm glad your Mom was able to bring you tennis shoes! I have NEVER worn tennis shoes to the parks, but I will have to this time b/c we are going in January! I think I'll bring my teva mush flip flops just in case there is a warm day though!

So sorry the rain came and stayed for so long, giving you blisters. I was planning on only wearing my flip flops and not bringing a back up, but now I'm rethinking that. I have no idea what they're like in the rain/wet, so I could end up having issues if I don't have a back up!!
The rest of your Epcot day sounded great, with the exception of the rain, and I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

Ouch, sorry about the shoes, but I'm glad your mom was able to bring tennis shoes for you!

I'm sure I wore tennis shoes on the trips I went as a kid... but the previous trips with DH and our girls, I wore my Mary Jane Crocs with no issues, whatsoever. Of course, both times were in October and it didn't rain at all. Had it not rained, I think the flip flops would've been okay. Lesson learned!

 

[MissStitch626]

I'm here!

Welcome back! Hope you had an amazing trip.

Sorry about the shoes, nothing worse than blisters walking around the park. Glad you were able to have your tennis shoes for the rest of the trip. If you remember from my PTR, I swear by/live in my tennis/running shoes and have never worn anything else in the parks - I'm always too scared that anything else would hurt my feet!

Can't wait to read more about your trip

 

[mrssmith06]

mmm I really wanna try La Cantina!

Sorry about the rain and the shoes! I wore my tennis shoes most of the time, tried wearing my flip flops ONCE and learned quickly that it was a bad idea LOL.

 

[PixieMama]

I'm here!

Welcome back! Hope you had an amazing trip.

Sorry about the shoes, nothing worse than blisters walking around the park. Glad you were able to have your tennis shoes for the rest of the trip. If you remember from my PTR, I swear by/live in my tennis/running shoes and have never worn anything else in the parks - I'm always too scared that anything else would hurt my feet!

Can't wait to read more about your trip

Yay, you're here! Thanks for joining, Elizabeth!

Yes, I remember talking about shoes in your PTR. I should've listed to you, LOL!

mmm I really wanna try La Cantina

This was the 2nd time I've had La Cantina, and I have yet to be disappointed... you should definitely give it a try!

 

[PixieMama]

For our 2nd day together, Angie, Kat, and I spent our time at HS and MK. We left our room Friday morning around 8:20 and made our way to the bus for HS. The game plan was for me to head to TSM to get FPs, while Angie and Kat went over to American Idol Experience so Angie could audition!

I went straight to the FP line and it took about 15 or 20 minutes to get through. While standing in line, I chatted with a few people who were ahead of me… one guy was FREAKING OUT, though! He was saying that his family had yet to ride TSM… the stand-by lines were always too long and FPs were all gone, and when they had been at HS a few days ago the ride was down for most of the day! I sure hope once he and his family used their FPs they thought the ride was worth it!

Once I had our FPs in hand, I sprinted over to AIE. Angie was already in the audition room, but they let me and Kat go down to the waiting area. Angie teaches KinderMusik classes and loves to sing… but she didn't make it past the 1st round of auditioning. She said the CM told her she had a "princess-y" voice, one that was great for teaching toddlers, but "not what we're looking for". Oh, well!

We then made our way to Sunset Blvd so we could ride Rock 'nRollercoaster and Tower of Terror. We went to do RnR first, but halfway there we were stopped by CMs who were letting everyone know the ride was closed! They hoped it would be back up soon, but couldn't tell us when that would be. So Angie and I went to ride ToT instead.

I love this ride! Angie and I both said that ride was the best "drop sequence" we had ever experienced on ToT!

Afterwards, we went over to the Animation Courtyard. We skipped meeting any characters, but went straight for the Magic of Disney Animation. I hadn't done this before, and now that I have, I don't know why we skipped it on previous trips! My girls love to draw… this will definitely be on the list of "must do" for our next family trip!

After learning how to draw Jiminy Cricket, we were all getting hungry so decided to get lunch. We ended up choosing Pizza Planet and had a yummy lunch (which you can read more about on my Dining Review)

After lunch it was time for the 12:00 AIE show so we decided to check it out. I do watch American Idol, though not religiously (and Ryan Seacrest makes me want to throw things at my TV), but AIE was a good show. This was my first time watching AIE, and while it was fun I'm pretty sure this is still an attraction/show my family will continue to skip. Maybe I can talk them into watching a show…

Anyway, after the show we went over to use our FPs for TSM. I don't remember what the stand-by wait was, but I'm sure it was outrageous!

Once we finished shooting the targets (and wearing out our arm muscles in the process) we went back over to see if RnR was up yet. As we made our way over to the ride, we noticed there weren't any CMs telling people the ride was closed, so we took that as a good sign! However, once we got to the actual ride, it was still closed. People were starting to line up, though, so we got in line, too. A CM (who was obviously some sort of supervisor) came over to announce that the ride was still closed and they didn't know how much longer it would be… the people lining up were doing that on their own. Kat decided she'd get out of the line we were standing in but still wait near RnR to see if it opened, while Angie and I went to ride ToT. We got in the line and made it just inside the lobby when I happened to pull out my phone for some reason. I'm glad I did, because there was a text from Kat letting us know RnR was open! We decided to leave the ToT line and went back to RnR (which is Angie's absolute favorite attraction in all of WDW).

We rode RnR using the stand-by line and then rode again using FPs (I'm not sure when we got the FPs, though)… the first time, we rode in the very front and it was awesome! The 2nd time we rode in the very back, and it was not awesome. To me, anyway… Kat and Angie preferred sitting in the back. But I found the back to be too loud and too jerky!

After rocking it out with Aerosmith, we were in need of a snack. We headed to Starring Rolls to try one of their cupcakes… we chose the Red Velvet to share:

It was delicious! And of course, plenty for the three of us to share!

Up next: we head to the Magic Kingdom!

 

[MARsMama]

Sounds like you had fun at HS Tower of Terror is the one ride I am hoping to avoid, I'll know in a couple of days if my team won or lost the challenge!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Well, I was going to comment on your day but have forgotten ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING after looking at that cupcake! OMG, YUM!

 

[Shannon84]

Glad to see the rain had stopped finally!

I think it would be really cool to audition for AI or AIE, but I cannot sing to save my life, so I save it to the people who can

I always find people just freaking out at the TSM fastpass lines...poor families going crazy

 

[mrssmith06]

Sounds like a good day! That cupcake makes me drool!!!!

 

[beebeeryan]

What perfect timing that RnR opened while you guys were in the area. Oh my that cupcakes looks divine!!! Ugh, due to Matthew's pouty'ness we didn't get to do the Animation things and I know he would have loved it. Maybe next time.

 

[PixieMama]

I always find people just freaking out at the TSM fastpass lines...poor families going crazy

Another thing we chatted about was wondering how much longer this ride would have this craziness. It's been open for awhile now, so you'd think some of the hype would die down!