Bumps, bruises, too many teenagers & swimming with sharks! NEW 11/17 pg. 32

[DisMomAmy]

Continued...

Construction walls:

And with that I must have put the camera away for the rest of the night. I know my memory stick didn’t fill again so I’m not exactly sure why I didn’t take any more pictures… but after Nemo we decided to head into the Land. We wanted to ride Living with the Land & Soarin’. It was getting close to 9:00 but I had heard that Soarin’ was open until 10pm with Test Track closed. I didn’t tell the boys because I didn’t want them to be disappointed if it was closed but I thought, either way, we’d have time to ride Living with the Land and at least get in line for Soarin’ by 9:00. We hopped on a Living with the Land boat. It was the first time the boys had been on the ride. Alex tolerated it & Zach thought it was pretty interesting. At one point, Alex says, “Are those real crocodiles?” Tim says, “No” and Alex says, “Mom, is it true?” and I say, “Yes, honey, they are fake.” Tim then says, “You already asked me that, so why did you ask Mom?” Alex says, “I trust mom more because she’s the Disney queen.”

After Living with the Land, we hopped in line for Soarin’ at 8:55 and Alex was a bit anxious so he asked the CM if we’d be able to ride. She told us they were open until 10:00 so we were totally good to go! When we got in to our seats, one of our seats was all wet. Like really wet… like someone peed their pants without a diaper on. The CM came over and just looked at us kind of weird… I asked if there were any open seats in other rows that I could go ride in & she said no. She didn’t offer us any solution… it was really strange. I just told the boys to ride & I went out shopping for a gift for my mother’s birthday in the little shop outside Soarin’. I got a little Flower & Garden festival plant in a tube. It was planted in this gel stuff. It just looked neat.

After we finished up at Soarin’ we headed out of the park & were back at the resort around 9:45.

Up next: Brrrr!! A switcheroo of plans!

 

[eandesmom]

ICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't get past the wet seat and the unhelpful CM

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I can't believe the CM didn't clean the seat!!!

My boys LOVE SSE. They make funny faces to make the movie at the end. I think we did that ride a total of 6x last year.

That was great that Soarin' was open later!

 

[natebenma]

For just a few rides at EPCOT after HDDR, you did quite a lot!!!

Our family loves Spaceship Earth. My DH and I loved it before the "Check out your future" part, but like your boys, ours love doing silly faces or pressing Chinese instead of English during that part.

What great pictures of the boys in Bruce the Shark's mouth!!!

I was going to say for an end of the night ride on Soarin' but I'm with Cynthia- ICK!!!

The plant thing sounded like a neat gift!

 

[MEK]

Great picture! Such Fun!

"I trust mommy because she's the Disney queen". Too funny!

I agree with Cynthia, ICK on the wet seat and no way to clean it up. That's just wrong that you missed out on Soarin because of a biohazard.

 

[MRYPPNS]

What crocodiles in living with the Land are fake? The baby alligators under the red lights are real.

 

[Angies1274]

It looks like you had a fun night in Epcot!! You were able to accomplish quite a bit.

Cute picture of the boys outside of Mission Space!!! They look very excited!!

So weird about the CM not doing anything about the seat at Soarin'!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

We haven't ever ridden Ellen’s Energy Adventure. I'd like to give it a try some day! How gross that your seat was wet. Ew!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Okay, ewwwwwwww on the wet seat! Why in the world wouldn't the CM clean that?! Ish.

I'm confused about the fake crocs in Livin' with the Land--everything in there is real as far as I know! Or did you say that not to scare the kids?

Your weekend in NYC sounds like so much fun! As for parking, we don't own a car, so I'm not the best source, but I know it can be very, very expensive in the parking ramps in Manhattan. There are websites out there devoted to parking here, so maybe Google around and see if you can find a better rate. Is the $80/day include being able to take the car out, or not?

I think 3 hours at the AMNH is enough. You definitely won't get it all covered, but that's impossible. It's HUGE. They have an app with a map that will help you be able to hit the parts that are most interesting to you! And remember, it's a donation based museum. You do NOT have to pay the outrageous suggested fee...it's like $20+ per person!

 

[MeMom]

We hopped on a Living with the Land boat. It was the first time the boys had been on the ride. Alex tolerated it & Zach thought it was pretty interesting. At one point, Alex says, “Are those real crocodiles?” Tim says, “No” and Alex says, “Mom, is it true?” and I say, “Yes, honey, they are fake.” Tim then says, “You already asked me that, so why did you ask Mom?” Alex says, “I trust mom more because she’s the Disney queen.”

Too cute!

Strange about the Soarin' episode, though.

 

[DisMomAmy]

ICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't get past the wet seat and the unhelpful CM

It was really gross! I can only hope that they did something about the seat before the next group came in.

I can't believe the CM didn't clean the seat!!!

My boys LOVE SSE. They make funny faces to make the movie at the end. I think we did that ride a total of 6x last year.

That was great that Soarin' was open later!

I am always surprised how much the boys want to ride SSE. They really like it!

For just a few rides at EPCOT after HDDR, you did quite a lot!!!

Our family loves Spaceship Earth. My DH and I loved it before the "Check out your future" part, but like your boys, ours love doing silly faces or pressing Chinese instead of English during that part.

What great pictures of the boys in Bruce the Shark's mouth!!!

I was going to say for an end of the night ride on Soarin' but I'm with Cynthia- ICK!!!

The plant thing sounded like a neat gift!

We did do quite a bit at Epcot that night... it wasn't crowded at all!

The future part at the end of SSE is very fun! We've never done Chinese but I'm sure we will sometime.

It was nice to take some Bruce pictures without 1000 kids waiting to get inside.

Great picture! Such Fun!

"I trust mommy because she's the Disney queen". Too funny!

I agree with Cynthia, ICK on the wet seat and no way to clean it up. That's just wrong that you missed out on Soarin because of a biohazard.

Out of the mouths of babes, right? Alex says some funny things sometimes.

The biohazard was really gross... I made everyone sanitize after riding!

What crocodiles in living with the Land are fake? The baby alligators under the red lights are real.

You know those fake scenes at the beginning... the ones that you can see from Garden Grill? It was in there somewhere. Alex was ok with the baby alligators since they were contained.

It looks like you had a fun night in Epcot!! You were able to accomplish quite a bit.

Cute picture of the boys outside of Mission Space!!! They look very excited!!

So weird about the CM not doing anything about the seat at Soarin'!

The boys were a little too excited for Mission Space!

The Soarin' seat was just too gross!

We haven't ever ridden Ellen’s Energy Adventure. I'd like to give it a try some day! How gross that your seat was wet. Ew!

The boys had been looking forward to Ellen's Energy Adventure & I was too since it had been so long since I'd ridden. Unfortunately this wasn't the day we'd get to see it.

Okay, ewwwwwwww on the wet seat! Why in the world wouldn't the CM clean that?! Ish.

I'm confused about the fake crocs in Livin' with the Land--everything in there is real as far as I know! Or did you say that not to scare the kids?

Your weekend in NYC sounds like so much fun! As for parking, we don't own a car, so I'm not the best source, but I know it can be very, very expensive in the parking ramps in Manhattan. There are websites out there devoted to parking here, so maybe Google around and see if you can find a better rate. Is the $80/day include being able to take the car out, or not?

I think 3 hours at the AMNH is enough. You definitely won't get it all covered, but that's impossible. It's HUGE. They have an app with a map that will help you be able to hit the parts that are most interesting to you! And remember, it's a donation based museum. You do NOT have to pay the outrageous suggested fee...it's like $20+ per person!

I don't know what was going on with the CM at Soarin'. It seemed to be run by all younger CMs on this trip. On one ride, I was on the far right. At one point I looked down & saw the young girl sitting at the control desk & listening to her ipod in one ear.

The fake crocs were at the beginning of Living with the Land during those scenes you can see from Garden Grill. We got to see the real animals later but they were in tanks.

Thanks for the NYC info! We'll definitely look into the parking situation a bit more before then. I'm not sure if the $80/day lets us come & go but we aren't planning to drive anywhere while we are there so it doesn't matter.

I'm glad you think 3 hours is enough at the museum. We definitely want to check it out but don't have a big enough chunk of time to do more than that. I won't feel guilty about paying less than the suggested donation since we'll be getting there so late. Thanks for the reminder! Only 4 weeks to go!!

Too cute!

Strange about the Soarin' episode, though.

Thanks MeMom!! Yes, the Soarin' "episode" was definitely strange!

 

[JPFamilyMom]

Sounds like a fun night in Epcot, you got to do a lot. Sorry about the icky wet seat at the end though

I love the picture of the boys in Bruce, I asked my kids if they would do a pose like that Joey surprisingly said yes, I think he is getting over his shark fear.

Can't wait to read about your change of plans

 

[DisMomAmy]

Sounds like a fun night in Epcot, you got to do a lot. Sorry about the icky wet seat at the end though

I love the picture of the boys in Bruce, I asked my kids if they would do a pose like that Joey surprisingly said yes, I think he is getting over his shark fear.

Can't wait to read about your change of plans

The wet seat was so gross! But the rest of our evening was very nice.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Day 6 – Tuesday 4/24
This marks the half-way point of our trip! We were there for 10 nights and 11 days, but the last day was a travel day only so we had 10 days of fun. Let’s recap what we’d done so far…

Day 1 - Arrival day was spent checking in at BC, relaxing at the resort & having dinner at ‘Ohana. It was wet. Highlight of the day – arriving at the BC!

Day 2 – We spend the day at DHS & the evening at MK. Luckily it was only wet during our mid-day break… but that meant no swimming at SAB. Highlight of the day - Alex got to be part of the Jedi training show today!

Day 3 – Resort day… and another wet one with minimal swimming. We spend the day visiting ESPN, DTD & seeing a movie. We had dinner at Cape May but were too filled up on popcorn & candy to enjoy it. Highlight of today – Not much… maybe surviving the surrey bike ride.

Day 4 – Epcot & moving day. We spend the morning at Epcot then moved off-site into our huge villa at Sheraton Vistana Villages. We had lunch with Heidi & family at Teppan Edo & saw them again the Vistana pool. Highlight of the day – spending time with friends and getting settled into our home away from home. Another highlight was saying good-bye to the rain for the rest of the trip!

Day 5 – We visited Animal Kingdom, had dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue & visited a few attractions at Epcot. Highlight of the day – Definitely Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue & Zach ringing the dinner bell.

Moving on to Day 6! Today we were supposed to go to Typhoon Lagoon but since it was so cool we decided to flip flop the day with our Disney Quest day… it would have been a perfect park day but with our ADRs & limited tickets, a park wasn’t an option. This is one of the times that I felt hostage to our tickets. We took our time getting ready that morning & stopped at Dunkin Donuts (receipt says 10:08) on our way to Downtown Disney. Since we’d already been over here a few days before, we just had a few stops for souvenirs the boys had earned & wanted to get here. We went to Team Mickey, Once Upon a Toy & World of Disney. At Team Mickey, Alex got a couple more Vinylmation basketball teams and I bought each of the boys a new t-shirt. At Once Upon a Time, Zach bought a light saber (build your own) and one of those old fashion wooden guns that you can buy in Adventureland or Frontierland. I also got a new iphone case, that I broke about 2 days after we got home. Luckily super glue helped bring it back to life for a while, but I finally had to take it off my phone a couple days ago. I got so many compliments on the case - I may buy the same one if I see it in October.

At World of Disney, I bought some Disney bowls to match the cups we already had, plus another set of bowls (we needed small bowls) and I got the special offer Disney expandable duffle. It’s perfect because it zips up really small when you aren’t using it. I like to pack an extra bag or two like that so we have extra luggage going home.
After DTD, we headed toward Disney Quest, which opened at 11:30.

I had to purchase my ticket but Tim & the boys were planning to use one of their waterpark & more tickets. Ticket in hand, we waited for the doors to open. It was chilly outside! It’s funny how 70 in Florida feels cold but 70 in April in NH would be hot!
It’s a very interesting set up inside. Here’s a map.

When you go in, you go right into an elevator. They send you upstairs & there aren’t a lot of CMs around to help you figure out where to go. There also weren’t many people around so it was kind of strange being in there, almost alone. We went up to the floor with Cyber Space Mountain. The kids were dying to try this out & I sort of was too. We explored the center part of that floor first. The boys were in some sort of recording studio booth making up a song here:

While they finished their song, I took some other pictures from around that area:

They have an animation class here, but you do it electronically & have to buy the finished product if you want to take it with you. We didn’t do it.

A store:

More music making:

Then it was time…

Then there is a huge gap in the photos… When you ride Cyber Space Mountain, they lead you to a pod & you have to stow your belongings in a locker. I rode with Alex & Tim rode with Zach. Think of the spinning of Mission: Space along with the ups, downs & turns of a traditional roller coaster. It was a lot of sensory input. Alex & I finished before Tim & Zach and we were able to watch them on the monitor outside their pod. Tim didn’t look good… and when he got off the ride, he didn’t feel good. He survived but wasn’t going on it again. I told the boys I would ride again with each of them. Alex was up first. Tim took Zach to play a video game somewhere. Alex & I made another coaster, but after the second ride, I didn’t feel so good. I told Zach his ride would have to wait until later. I generally have a stomach of steel when it comes to rides. I have never been on a ride that threw me off before… NEVER. This one did. We decided to check out the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Unfortunately that was a little too much motion for us at that point. It’s like trying to play Toy Story Mania while standing on a moving, tilting platform & wearing 3D glasses. After that we decided we needed to find something not-so-virtual to do or our visit was going to end quickly.

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

Tim & I weren’t feeling great, however it was approaching lunch & the boys had to eat… and this was something we could do while being still. We looked around & went up to the floor with the food. Tim didn’t eat but I thought I might feel better if I ate. It was basic stuff like hot dogs & I think Alex had a turkey sandwich. The place we ate was pretty cool… it was decorated like an Alice in Wonderland theme. I took these pictures later when the boys were in the arcade on the same floor:

After lunch we decided to stick with the traditional video games and they had a huge selection!

We didn’t ride this but it looked cool:

One of the first arcades that we went to was 80s themed. It was pretty cool! I even played a little Pac Man!
This was a huge interactive game, that we also didn’t play:

And that was it… I took this picture when we were leaving:

And I think I posted on facebook that “Cyber Space Mountain is not for those with weak stomachs!”

Continued...

 

[DisMomAmy]

I didn’t take the best notes today but I believe we went back to the resort & relaxed/swam. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures! We had dinner plans back at the Boardwalk area around 5:00. Tonight was our night out without the kids at Shula’s! The kids were headed back to the Beach Club to visit the Sandcastle Club again. They had gone there in November & it went well so we decided to do it again. On our way in to the Beach Club:

The evening was uneventful & again without pictures of dinner. I don’t think I’ve ever taken pictures at Shula’s! We decided that two hours is too short because we were hurrying back to the Sandcastle Club after dinner, just like last time. Next time we’ll do 2 ½ or 3 hours! Dinner was awesome as always & our waiter packed us up a nice to go bag.
After dinner, we decided to visit Beaches & Cream since we hadn’t eaten there when we were staying at the BC earlier in the week. Tim & I were stuffed but the kids had room for dessert! (I think Tim & I shared a crème brulee at Shula’s.)

I also took some SAB pictures from the deck where we were sitting and maybe as we walked out:

And that was it... Zach didn't have any pictures from today.

Up next: Hopefully a much more interesting update on our MK day! 300 pictures plus Zach's photo tour!

 

[natebenma]

I love the descriptions of the shopping you did at DTD. Sounds like a lot of neat, practical stuff. No Lego store? Or is that a trip unto itself?

DQ is not my favorite place. You went at a quiet time, so that probably improves the situation, but we had to wait for everything, there are no limits that "kick" someone off a game, so people can stay as long as they want and then we had to deal with families trying to grab a seat at a game that my kids had been waiting for!

I have been curious about Cyber Space Mountain, but now I am not so sure. Have you done Sum of All Thrills at EPCOT? If so, how does it compare?

We loved Cyber PoC.

Don't feel too badly for missing AstroBlasters. As I recall, it was very difficult to operate the vehicles and my son and I got major whiplash. It would not have done your stomachs any good, either!

ETA: You posted the BC installment while I was replying. I scrolled through the pictures and though "That looks like the BC! I thought they left there"

Wow, nobody was in or at the pool! Must have been on the cool side.

The treats at B&C look good. What is the orange flavor your son is eating?

 

[DisMomAmy]

I love the descriptions of the shopping you did at DTD. Sounds like a lot of neat, practical stuff. No Lego store? Or is that a trip unto itself?

You mean, where are the pictures, right? I believe I have souvenir pictures somewhere toward the end of my pictures so hopefully I'll have those to post later.

No... no Lego store this time... Zach was too disappointed in the lack of selection the first time around.

DQ is not my favorite place. You went at a quiet time, so that probably improves the situation, but we had to wait for everything, there are no limits that "kick" someone off a game, so people can stay as long as they want and then we had to deal with families trying to grab a seat at a game that my kids had been waiting for!

I have been curious about Cyber Space Mountain, but now I am not so sure. Have you done Sum of All Thrills at EPCOT? If so, how does it compare?

We loved Cyber PoC.

Don't feel too badly for missing AstroBlasters. As I recall, it was very difficult to operate the vehicles and my son and I got major whiplash. It would not have done your stomachs any good, either!

ETA: You posted the BC installment while I was replying. I scrolled through the pictures and though "That looks like the BC! I thought they left there"

Wow, nobody was in or at the pool! Must have been on the cool side.

The treats at B&C look good. What is the orange flavor your son is eating?

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about DQ... I think the boys really liked it & Tim liked the video games. It would be a good rainy day activity but I suspect we'd hit those crowds, even early, with bad weather.

I think we would have liked PotC if we hadn't already been feeling 'blah' from Cyber Space Mountain. We LOVE Sum of All Thrills, which is what we were expecting... this just had the whole spinning piece invoved too. You can create your coaster to be tame... we just didn't do that.

Yes - we had already left the BC... we had made the plans when we were originally planning to stay at Hard Rock for our first three nights. When we switched to BC, it didn't make sense to switch it around. It was nice to go back & visit. I believe Zach was eating orange sherbet.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

My boys would love DQ. We have thought about going there in the past but b/c my DS15 lives for video games it's nice to have him game free on vacations.
But after seeing it and his reluctance to going AGAIN next year maybe this would be a welcome change of scenery for him. It really might get him to change his mind!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Oh, I'm sorry you and Tim felt so crummy. I get really motion sick so definitely will never be able to do that. Bummer. I'm glad you had a nice night out!