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[CAStevens218]

The story tellers sound great! We slept in on our EPCOT day, and even though I had planned to see the story teller we only ended up listening to the one in France for about 2 minutes...there just seemed to be too many other things to do calling our names!! I guess we'll just have to go back at Christmas again....

The boys seem so well behaved! Its great that they sit and listen so well! They'll do great in school with those skills already in place!

 

[onescgirl]

The storytellers seem pretty neat. I love seeing all of the Christmas decorations. Hopefully one year I will get to WDW during the Christmas season.

 

[jc040404]

Those storytellers are awesome!! Your TR is the first time I've heard about them! I may need to go back at Christmas sometime and see them.

I actually am involved in something like that each Christmas here in STL. I'm a director of "Christmas Traditions" which is a month long Christmas Festival in a historic suburb area. We have about 30 different living history Christmas characters walking around our historic main street and talking to kids and families and telling them about historic holiday traditions from around the world and different time periods.

That must be so much fun! The boys really enjoyed the storytellers, so I'm sure that would be a hit with them too. Sounds nifty!

The story tellers sound great! We slept in on our EPCOT day, and even though I had planned to see the story teller we only ended up listening to the one in France for about 2 minutes...there just seemed to be too many other things to do calling our names!! I guess we'll just have to go back at Christmas again....

The boys seem so well behaved! Its great that they sit and listen so well! They'll do great in school with those skills already in place!

You got one we didn't anyway! I could see them being something to skip if you're there to enjoy the park. It would take all day, maybe two, just to fit them all in!

They did pretty well at paying attention and not causing a lot of trouble this day. They both have their moments though! Overall, I think Disney has been good for teaching this anyway.

Now don't remind me about school again! I only have two weeks until my babies' birthdays. How are they five and three already?? We made a countdown calendar yesterday to keep track and they're thrilled over it. Silly kids need to learn to stop growing up so fast. Only a couple of months after that until I have a kindergartener!

The storytellers seem pretty neat. I love seeing all of the Christmas decorations. Hopefully one year I will get to WDW during the Christmas season.

It was a lot of fun. I hope you can fit a Christmas trip in someday!

 

[jc040404]

Before leaving the area completely, we wanted to check out Santa’s Village. It didn’t look like anything super impressive, but we decided it would be worth a glance over while we were still here.

Luckily, the boys had no interest in sticking around for Santa. Seeing him hadn’t been a part of our plans this day but we would’ve stopped if they asked. Knowing they didn't care was a huge relief for me. I wasn’t interested in risking an Alice experience with this guy!

We looked over the Kwanzaa set up for a few minutes. We weren’t even close to being able to hear this one. Kwanzaa and Hanukkah weren’t on my storyteller priority list, so missing this wasn’t a problem. I was sticking with most interesting/new to us with the time limit and America wasn’t a part of it.

Asking my husband the time as we moved on, I saw that we had spent way too much time over here. Our next stop was all the way over in Mexico! As quick as we could, we headed in that direction next. This is when I saw the super crazy CP line full of people. Yikes! Everyone seemed in a good mood as we walked by. I hope they were able to keep it up. The park was really starting to get packed!

We’d make it over to Mexico just in time to see Los Tres Reyes Magos!

These guys were good! Really good! I was amazed at how well the story flowed from speaker to speaker. It didn’t really matter what they said, it was fun just to watch them keep it going. I’m going to guess that this group has done this many, many times.

We learned about La Navidad and how Mexicans recreate the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. They spoke of their own part in following the star for twelve nights and of the gifts they brought. We then learned about Dia de los Tres Reyes Magos and how children leave their shoes out, in hopes of a present that morning. There was a bit more, but this is all that comes to me right now. I’m probably being too detailed as it is.

We all really enjoyed this one. The boys were thrilled that it was a lot of what they’d recently learned.. from Dora! Blake used to love that show. Sorry, Mickey! I think we had recently watched a Three Kings Day show or read one of her books about it. Blake was adorable for this. He even stretched out on the ground to take it all in!

This presentation wasn’t interactive at all, but very entertaining to watch. One of them spoke in spanish for most of it, but nothing you couldn’t understand when the next spoke. I was actually impressed that I understood everything as he said it, and my spanish is really sad. He did talk really slow.

We were once again invited up for pictures before they left.

Los Tres Reyes Magos are definitely on our list for this year, should we make it back to Epcot for Christmas.

From here, we had a few minutes to kill before our next speaker. My only other goals with the time we had left were Germany and Morocco, but I noticed that Norway would fit perfectly into the mix as well. I am so glad that we decided to try this one as it would be the boys’ favorite. They were hilarious!

Sigrid would come on stage first and began telling of holiday traditions in Norway. She told us about gnomes that live in barns and how we must be nice to them or they’ll cause trouble.

The gift giver of Norway was one such gnome, Julenissan. He LOVED to cause mischief!

When he came on stage, things got crazy. Sigrid tried to continue on with her story, but he would freeze her and make lots of trouble. A few times he would pose her or place something odd in her hands. At one point, he started ringing a bell, which he’d give to a little girl watching. Sigrid didn’t know what to think of anything, but was pretty sure Julenissan didn’t exist when the children tried to convince her. The entire thing was too funny!

Between the two of them, we did learn about Norway and its holiday fun. We were all shocked to learn that Julenissan prefers porridge & ale over Santa’s milk & cookies! The end result is the same as Santa though. If you’re good, you get presents. If not, it’s a big lump of coal.

We learned that Norway celebrates for three days. The last day reminded me of Halloween, with children dressing up in costumes to go door to door for treats. How fun! I wonder how our neighbors would react if we tried that? haha.. Unlike how our family does Christmas, it didn’t sound like Norwegian children help in the tree decorating. That wouldn’t go over well with my guys.

By the end of the mischief, Sigrid figures out who has been causing all of her problems. She’s amazed finally seeing him and we all have a fun time repeating the gnome code. It would end with a promise to eat lots of porridge. Yuck!

We all absolutely loved the comedy in their routine and would definitely see this one again. Everyone lined up for pictures before moving on. Andrew went straight to Julenissan first to tell him he’d caused all the trouble, but that Sigrid did a great job. Both of the boys were wild over this one and wanted to come back to listen again!

As you can see, Andrew was having some issues with looking at me when I take a picture!





Coming sooon.. (maybe even tonight!) From our favorite to one we should've skipped! More storytellers!!

 

[jane2073]

We had a good time. The characters were a lot of fun!
I am enjoying hearing about your time with the storytellers. We made a point of seeing some of them last year too. I liked the German and French ones the best.

 

[CAStevens218]

Yay I was so excited to see an update today! I just came upstairs after eating wayyyy to much food at our family picnic and this was a great way to digest! The Mexico and Norway story tellers sound great! That's it, it just keeps getting better and better!!! We are DEFINITELY going back at Christmas!!

And I pinky promise never to mention scho....I mean that place kids go to learn, ever again!!!!!

 

[AprilRenee]

I'm loving these!!

hahaha! Andrew (DH) just leaned over, looked at my computer and goes "Andy-Roo and Blakers?" haha!! Can you tell what my favorite TR is? I think he recognized the boys.

 

[PirateKate]

How sad that Andrew figured out the truth about Alice. It sounds like he handled it very well though. And his Alice could still be his friend.

I'm surprised Blake enjoyed the story telling. I think my boys would have been bored silly, but I guess the difference between a just turned two-year-old and an almost three-year-old is significant. The Norway story looks like it was a lot of fun.

 

[jc040404]

We had a good time. The characters were a lot of fun!
I am enjoying hearing about your time with the storytellers. We made a point of seeing some of them last year too. I liked the German and French ones the best.

Glad you had a good time. Awesome that you decided to renew, too. We're getting closer, but I don't see my mind changing anymore.

Sadly, I didn't care for Germany, but you're about to see why. France didn't even fit into our plans. I'm still not renewing the APs, but I hope we can check some of the others out this December.

Yay I was so excited to see an update today! I just came upstairs after eating wayyyy to much food at our family picnic and this was a great way to digest! The Mexico and Norway story tellers sound great! That's it, it just keeps getting better and better!!! We are DEFINITELY going back at Christmas!!

And I pinky promise never to mention scho....I mean that place kids go to learn, ever again!!!!!

This is how Disney gets ya, huh? Offer something different every month and force us into wanting to try it all! I hope you make it to check them out!

I'm loving these!!

hahaha! Andrew (DH) just leaned over, looked at my computer and goes "Andy-Roo and Blakers?" haha!! Can you tell what my favorite TR is? I think he recognized the boys.

You're too sweet. I'm glad you enjoy my TR. I feel like a broken record for all we do sometimes! Too funny that he recognized the boys.

How sad that Andrew figured out the truth about Alice. It sounds like he handled it very well though. And his Alice could still be his friend.

I'm surprised Blake enjoyed the story telling. I think my boys would have been bored silly, but I guess the difference between a just turned two-year-old and an almost three-year-old is significant. The Norway story looks like it was a lot of fun.

For Blake, it definitely has been! He's always been pretty good about doing things like this at Disney, but I know it probably wouldn't have been his favorite activity the previous year. We didn't do many shows or TS meals before. Around two, he started getting really good about watching and listening to things. He was 2.5, almost to the day, when we did this.

 

[jc040404]

We had some time to kill before our next storyteller in Germany, so the boys took advantage of our location to check out the trains!

It was fun checking out all the Christmas decorations, but it didn’t last terribly long. The boys both requested some snacks so we found a spot near the water for them to eat. We didn’t have anything exciting from the shops, just things I bring along in my bag.

Little tummies happy again, it was time to find a spot for Helga, the German storyteller!

Waiting was quite the adventure. At first we were the only people around for it, but many others would stop for a quick picture of the tree and leave. Andrew couldn’t understand why everyone was just walking away and actually asked a couple young girls what they were thinking! These stories were fun! They just giggled and ran off.

As time for our speaker was nearly due, several other families had gathered around to wait as well. Unfortunately, we’d end beside “that” family. A few little boys were being allowed to act like little monsters. It didn’t make this much fun and I spent most of the beginning of Helga’s story trying to keep my boys from being hit. When the other boys finally stopped trying to beat each other up, one began picking his nose.. And wiping it on his brother! It wasn’t a one time thing and the brother made sure to return fire. Gross!! Their mother simply smiled at the two of them. She must be so proud, huh?

I scooped Blake up and put him in the stroller at this point and Andrew was brought back by his father. Yuck! I didn’t want that on my children! Sadly, if we wanted to listen to anything, we were stuck beside them. It had gotten pretty packed when she walked up on the stage.

Between all the headaches, we caught bits of what she had to say. What I did hear wasn’t very exciting. Maybe Helga was being affected by the wild children, too. She didn’t seem to care what she was saying.

“In Germany, we do this..” her monotone voice told us. Then she’d point back to one of the shops in the pavillion. “And here is where you can buy these things, too!”

It felt like a long, dull commercial for the stores at EPCOT.

Mixed in, we were told about the first Christmas trees beginning in Germany. Later we heard about Advent calendars. Andrew really liked that, as it’s something we do. Who doesn’t do this is in some form for Christmas now? Don’t most on here do about the same thing for Disney trips? Haha..

Near the end of her story, we were asked to close our eyes and imagine.. something. I wish I could remember what, but I was leaning over to help Blake with a drink. It was obvious where she was going with this though. Her wish was to be in the Nutcracker.

As we were supposed to have our eyes closed tight, a giant Nutcracker walked up to the stage. How exciting! Our dream/wish had come true. With that, Helga was out of here! She was gone sooo fast. It was quite a switch from the rest of the storytellers.

All of the children were invited to come forward in one group and pose with the huge nutcracker man for pictures. I’d post the picture, but I can't. Judging by the shirts, I’m going to guess the nose picking angels just might be the children of DIS’ers. I couldn’t put their faces on here, but I couldn’t really leave out the reason this show was rough for us either!

This was the worst experience we had all day with the storytellers. I know it had nearly everything to do with the company though, so it’s on the list to try again if we make it back. It seems like lots of others enjoyed it, so I’m sad we weren’t able to.

We were all more than happy to get out of this area when it was done! Epcot always amazes me with how busy it gets with every minute after sunset. People were piling into WS as fast as they could. We dodged group after group, trying to make our way over to Morocco next!

Morocco was heavenly. There weren’t any crowds here and only one older couple was seated to wait for this storyteller. They loved the boys, so Andrew had a great time showing off and eating up their attention. He’s such a silly man.

After only a few short minutes, our last storyteller of the night was ready to go. This would rate as another favorite for us!

We started out learning about Ramadan. The Taarji told us this was to remember the month that Allah revealed the Quran to the Muslim people. We learned how it is observed with giving and peace-making. As he began to speak of the fasting, he posed a question to Andrew.

“Do you think you could go all day without eating? No chicken nuggets..”

Andrew quickly interrupted, “I almost did that today!”

We’re such bad parents, huh? The poor boy had been starved all day long. Everyone had a nice laugh and the Taarji said he hoped that we’d get some food soon. Silly Andrew. I promise we feed him!

The Taarji next invited Andrew up to help with something. Andrew was going to play a drum! It was cute to watch.

I even have video:


We learned about the ten day new year’s celebration, ending in Ashura next. I was pulled into participating in this one! He walked out to me and spoke of another tradition. Water drawn from a well on the day of Ashura was supposed to hold special powers. He asked me to hold my hands out. I admit to being a little hesitant about all of this! He poured a bit of water in my hands and told me to make a wish before rubbing them together.

What happened? Nothing. Oops. It wasn’t Ashura so my wish couldn’t come true.

“But your hands smell nice, right?”

They really did.

The rest of the story was just as fun, with lots more audience participation. All of the girls were asked up to learn a dance and we had a great time. After his presentation, we also got to enjoy Mo’Rockin for the first time!

WS was getting super packed and it was getting late. We decided it was time to say goodbye to the parks. I don’t believe there were any other storytellers out that late either. We headed back to the entrance to WS, making a shopping stop along the way!

^That’s the Mickey stocking Andrew had picked out before. Blake has the Eeyore one!

On our way into Future World, John and I had a mini “discussion” over Soarin’. He kept insisting that Andrew and I should take a ride before going home. I had no interest in waiting in that line. We went back and forth for several minutes and I was getting annoyed. I know he meant well, offering to entertain Blake while we had more fun, but I was ready to go home! It was starting to get cold out there, too. I’d eventually talk him into getting back to the monorail, but he was being a bit of a pain over it all. We had that journey to the TTC ahead of us yet!

Freezing during the monorail wait, it was wild how many people asked me if I was cold. Uhhh, yeah! Why did they think I was cuddling against my husband and shivering so much? Andrew thought I was being a wimp and danced around to show that nothing bothered him. It made for a fun wait, but didn't help the cold!

Back at the TTC, we made the long journey to the car and were soon on our way home! We all had a wonderful time and hope to repeat some of it this year. The EPCOT storytellers were great!

Up Next!! Two days before Christmas and we're doing MK! Will we survive a near ten crowd level??

 

[jane2073]

We have run into kids like that. I always tell Em-thank you fornot acting like that!

 

[CAStevens218]

Sorry your story got...ummmm...interrupted by those kids! How annoying and gross!!!

Andrew was so cute in that video!! "You got it! You had it, what happened???" Too cute!!

 

[Ferry Joy]

I just started reading your trip report and have to say it was your son's name that caught my attention. I have a son named Andrew and when he was little his nick name was Roo. He grew out of it by the time he went to school. Now he too has a son named Andrew and he goes by Roo or Roo Too. I think my grandson will go by Roo for a long time as he believes that is his name. (And yes I am a big fan of Winnie the Pooh and of course all things Disney)
Thanks for entertaining us with your trip report!

 

[AprilRenee]

Hey! Andrew was pretty good at that drum!! Maybe the fasting he did gave him focus !!
The Moroccan guy was pretty funny! I can see why you liked that one so much!

 

[jc040404]

We have run into kids like that. I always tell Em-thank you fornot acting like that!

How can you not after something like this? Mine aren't always angels, but I'd never let them act like this!

Sorry your story got...ummmm...interrupted by those kids! How annoying and gross!!!

Andrew was so cute in that video!! "You got it! You had it, what happened???" Too cute!!

He loved being able to do that! Saying he got it must've thrown him off. I love this bit of video. He looks so little.

I just started reading your trip report and have to say it was your son's name that caught my attention. I have a son named Andrew and when he was little his nick name was Roo. He grew out of it by the time he went to school. Now he too has a son named Andrew and he goes by Roo or Roo Too. I think my grandson will go by Roo for a long time as he believes that is his name. (And yes I am a big fan of Winnie the Pooh and of course all things Disney)
Thanks for entertaining us with your trip report!

LOVE that they've both been called Roo! "Roo Too" is so sweet. I had to tell dh about that. He's who started the Andy-Roo thing. I'd been complaining that Andrew didn't have a nickname when he was a baby, but felt pretty strongly against just Andy or Drew as options. This was too cute! We'd even dress him up as Roo for his first Halloween. We're holding onto Andy-Roo so far, and I'm hoping not to lose it when he starts school. I mostly use it just to get his attention now though.

Glad you're enjoying the TR!

Hey! Andrew was pretty good at that drum!! Maybe the fasting he did gave him focus !!
The Moroccan guy was pretty funny! I can see why you liked that one so much!

We fed him! Many times that day, too! Andrew thinks Disney should be constant snack time and I don't support it. I know that's why he claimed he hadn't eaten all day. He did have fun with the drum though.

 

[Dugette]

Great updates! Wow, I can't believe we didn't cross paths that day, both wandering around WS for the better part of the day! I will say, though, that you managed to see several storytellers that we missed (and I thought we did pretty good!) Love the video of Andrew the drummer. Bummer that the Germany one got ruined by some other guests! We had enjoyed that one, I think. Your memory of the stories is so much better than mine!

 

[jc040404]

Great updates! Wow, I can't believe we didn't cross paths that day, both wandering around WS for the better part of the day! I will say, though, that you managed to see several storytellers that we missed (and I thought we did pretty good!) Love the video of Andrew the drummer. Bummer that the Germany one got ruined by some other guests! We had enjoyed that one, I think. Your memory of the stories is so much better than mine!

Believe me, I was watching for you! Gotta be careful when you know scary DIS'ers are out there! If the boys got even a teeny bit difficult, it was, "Dugette is in this park! Behave!! This could end up on DISboards!!" Okay, not really. It'll be fun to see this night in your TR. If I'd stuck to orginal plans, I really believe we could've gotten them all in, except the two in America. You would've liked my work. It was color-coded.

 

[jc040404]

Ten day until the boys' birthday trip to WDW! ​

I'm getting excited about this.

Any suggestions on what to do to make the big day stand out a little?? I'm kinda clueless at the moment and the boys aren't a ton of help. Blake has requested a "muffin with sprinkles" and Andrew wants to do jedi training. We've got those covered! Well, once I figure out what a muffin with sprinkles is anyway. I'm going to guess cupcake.

It doesn't really seem much more exciting than any other visit though. Maybe I'll buy them Mickey balloons. Neither has ever shown any interest, but it would at least be different! WWYD? Anything really stick out that we haven't managed to accomplish yet??

 

[PirateKate]

Well, there's always Pirate's League, if they enjoy that sort of thing. They also might enjoy getting a Make Your Own Treat at Goofy's, but that might waste valuable park time at Downtown Disney.

Kids always like balloons, if it's not a big hassle to carry it around all day. Perhaps they'd like some Disney Dollars or a gift card, to pick out some special things for themselves. I guess that's the problem with going to Disney so often- it all seems commonplace.

 

[eecteacher82]

Hmm, I second the Pirates League idea! We did the BBB for Olivia's 3rd birthday and she loved all the attention she got!