"Don't forget a picture of the food!" Updated 8/16! A Fall TR!

[Gracefulskinny]

Nice round of PP! Don't blame you for not wanting to hang around so long just to get to the front. That ampitheater isn't THAT big.

Yay for yummy treats and exploring world showcase!

 

[Dugette]

Love all your photo shoots (and all the magic shots)! Wandering World Showcase is so nice. Glad you both got some treats too. Can't wait to hear about the concert!

 

[missangelalexis]

So many great PP pics! I'm glad you guys enjoyed your time just strolling through the countries. Can't wait to hear about the concert!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Love strolling the showcase!!! so many little treasures to be found! your sno-cone looks good.. Have to try that!

Love all the pictures!!! you did great with all your PP!!! I'm jealous!!! as you see PP were nearly extinct when we went.
NEXT TIME!!!

Oh boy... lets get this mmmm bop dancing party going!

 

[Denovagirl]

All the pics coming in through international gateway are so pretty. we've never gone through there. And cute PP magic shots too!

Ooooo, kakigori.....I want to try that sometime!

I'm excited to hear about your Hanson concert since I know how much you were looking forward to it! and I'm wondering how the girls liked it?

It really is gorgeous back there, I can't wait to explore it more one day!

And that kaki-gori is great, a lovely, refreshing treat!

The girls had fun at the concert! Luckily it wasn't to lengthy so they weren't begging to go or anything!

Nice round of PP! Don't blame you for not wanting to hang around so long just to get to the front. That ampitheater isn't THAT big.

Yay for yummy treats and exploring world showcase!

Exactly! So not worth time waiting in line when you are in DISNEY WORLD!

Love all your photo shoots (and all the magic shots)! Wandering World Showcase is so nice. Glad you both got some treats too. Can't wait to hear about the concert!

Hahaha, I was doing pretty good this day with getting PP pics everywhere!

So many great PP pics! I'm glad you guys enjoyed your time just strolling through the countries. Can't wait to hear about the concert!

Yes, it was wonderful, this day turned out better than planned!

Love strolling the showcase!!! so many little treasures to be found! your sno-cone looks good.. Have to try that!

Love all the pictures!!! you did great with all your PP!!! I'm jealous!!! as you see PP were nearly extinct when we went.
NEXT TIME!!!

Oh boy... lets get this mmmm bop dancing party going!

We did get lucky with the PP Photographers being ample this day, that was not the case on many other days, and I swear last trip there were zero in WS. So I was def living it up with photos! LOL!

 

[THiiNKTiiNKx0]

Yayyyy for so many exciting trips next year!!!! I can't help much with disneyland since I was 10 or 11 last time I was there. I CAN however help you with the smokies. Its my favorite place in the world (aside from wdw of course). I've been almost every year since I was born. Its so peaceful and beautiful there.

And eeeeeeeeek can't wait to hear about Hanson !!!

 

[Denovagirl]

Yayyyy for so many exciting trips next year!!!! I can't help much with disneyland since I was 10 or 11 last time I was there. I CAN however help you with the smokies. Its my favorite place in the world (aside from wdw of course). I've been almost every year since I was born. Its so peaceful and beautiful there.

And eeeeeeeeek can't wait to hear about Hanson !!!

Oh really!!?!?!? I could use some help on the smokies, there's just a lot to do and we're trying to figure whats worth our time, also I don't want to be go, go, go like most all of our vacations, I also want to just relax in our cabin and have some lazy days too...

So far things I am wanting to do:
-a day in pigeon forge, thinking maybe dollywood, though I have heard if you go after 3pm the next day is free, so that might be a fun option
- a day to go to the national park and do some hiking
- a day to explore downtown gatlinburg and maybe do some tourist-y things like the ski lift, snow tubing and there is a distillery we'd like to tour

Some things I am unsure of:
Cider mill?
Dinner show?
Places to eat that are good? (though I've heard we MUST do Pancake Pantry)

If you have any thoughts on that or must dos for me let me know!!

 

[disneychic2]

Hey Terri! It's been a long while since I've been on the DIS, but I wanted to jump on and wish all my friends a Merry Christmas. You have been so busy being God's angel for the women of your community. You are such a blessing to them.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family. Have a blessed 2015 too!

 

[Denovagirl]

Hey Terri! It's been a long while since I've been on the DIS, but I wanted to jump on and wish all my friends a Merry Christmas. You have been so busy being God's angel for the women of your community. You are such a blessing to them. Anyway, Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family. Have a blessed 2015 too!

Merry Christmas to you to Lois!

 

[DMGeurts]

Stopping by to wish you a...

Merry Christmas!

D~

 

[heartk7]

Oh really!!?!?!? I could use some help on the smokies, there's just a lot to do and we're trying to figure whats worth our time, also I don't want to be go, go, go like most all of our vacations, I also want to just relax in our cabin and have some lazy days too... So far things I am wanting to do: -a day in pigeon forge, thinking maybe dollywood, though I have heard if you go after 3pm the next day is free, so that might be a fun option - a day to go to the national park and do some hiking - a day to explore downtown gatlinburg and maybe do some tourist-y things like the ski lift, snow tubing and there is a distillery we'd like to tour Some things I am unsure of: Cider mill? Dinner show? Places to eat that are good? (though I've heard we MUST do Pancake Pantry) If you have any thoughts on that or must dos for me let me know!!

The alpine slide is really fun at Ober Gatlinburg. We had a blast doing that.

 

[THiiNKTiiNKx0]

Yes. Relaxation is so important and it's easy to do there just because of how beautiful it is. Pancake Pantry is a MUST!!! best breakfast food I've ever had lol. Other good restaurants we always go to are Cherokee grill and steakhouse, Bennetts pit BBQ, Mountain Lodge Restaurant, and Big Daddy's Pizzeria. Those are always at the top of our list.

Ober Gatlinburg is a lot of fun. You ride an Ariel tram up to the top of the mountain and there's like a mini amusement park for kida (and an indoor ice skating rink! ) My kids love it there. Another really relaxing thing to do is go to Cades Cove. It's a little ways up the mountain but if you're looking for serenity and peace it's definitely worth it. There's a loop you can drive around (or even bike) and there's old churches and buildings. There's a lane there called Sparks Lane which was named after my family (I'm a Sparks) so if you go and you see it, I'd love to see a picture! If you do Cades cove there's a gift shop right when you enter. They have the BEST ice cream. I haven't done Dolly wood in years but I remember it to be a ton of fun and definitely worth it going after 3pm. We usually do a half day in Pigeon Forge for shopping, go karts, bumper boats, and all the mini amusement park things. There is sooooo much to do on the strip in Gatlinburg but my favorites are the aquarium and Ripley Believe It Or Not Museum. There's also really neat and uniquely themed putt putt golf courses in both Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. I'm not sure how long you plan on staying but driving to Cherokee NC for the day is a must do for us as well. They have Indians that perform dances in teepee along the road and lots of neat shopping and shows. If you do Cherokee there's an amusement park along the way called Santa's Land - a blast for kids (and me as it holds some of my best childhood memories lol)

As far as dinner shows I HIGHLY recommend Dixie Stampede. My kids have so much fun there and choose that over anything else. Hatfield and McCoy's is also a really good one (and hilarious)

I hope I didn't overwhelm you with all this info lol

P.S. I'm hoping you do a trip report on this trip as I will be just as excited as I am reading Disney ones

 

[MissMaryQC]

Nice relaxing afternoon strolling through WS, sounds lovely!

I'm sure the kids will appreciate the photos later in life; I love looking back at our WDW adventures.

I hope Grandpa enjoyed his cup (I am not going to even attempt to spell the word for bog fancy German beer glass )

You've been waiting for this concert a long time! Can't wait to see how y'all enjoyed it!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Sorry i missed posting on Christmas!
I saw you had a wonderful time! girls are simply adorable!

did want to stop in a wish you and your family a very happy new year!

 

[hokieinpa]

I'm finally catching up after all the Christmas craziness has started to subside!

So...

your 50s PT dinner looks so yummy! The food was great on our trip but we had a pretty long wait with an ADR so the boys were a little grumpy and our server wasn't super into his role. So good food but not the best experience.

I loved the Character Spot! It was the first thing we did at Epcot and it really got us into the "Disney" mood!

We never got to try Figment! I was really looking forward to it for the play area but we just ran out of time!

Beaches and Cream looks yummy! It's going on my list of must do for next trip!

 

[annegirl]

Love the updates. Beaches and Cream food looks yummy. I need to eat actual food there someday instead of just ice cream.
I LOVE the picture of Maddie at the end of the ice cream post. So happy and adorable.
Can't wait to see the Hanson post.

 

[Denovagirl]

************* LIFE UPDATE!!!! *************

I know, I know.... it's been like a month!! But I have been focusing on some other things lately, mainly my diet! I am just about done with my first ever Whole30 and it has been a big time suck, getting used to all the cooking and prepping that is required with a non-processed food diet. But it's been pretty great, and I am so happy I did it, and I plan to continue it as a permanent lifestyle change.

Also, this weekend is our first get-away to Dallas, this is Olivia's early birthday trip and our focus is visiting the American Girl store! It's also mine and Chris' 12th anniversary on Sunday, so this is nice timing for us as well. We are leaving Maddie with the grands for her own fun-filled weekend, so we will be toddler-free!! I will miss her, but it will be nice not to have to be catering to my 2 year old constantly!

But among all this I haven't forgotten my TR at all! I actually have been WRITING tons of updates!!!! I have pages of them written out for you!! I just haven't had time to post, because its such a pain uploading all the photos and then transferring them into each post. But hopefully I can get back on track with ya! So without further ado....

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Where were we? Oh, right, HANSON!!!!!!!!!!!

Guys, guys, guys…. Serisouly, whatever you are imagining my level of obsession with these brothers to be at, multiply it by a thousand. That’s how much I loved them back in the day! The thing is too, when you are THAT into something, it never truly ever goes away, hence my status as a Hanson fan for life! I may be a responsible grown-up and all but put me at a Hanson concert and I am a squealing thirteen year old fangirl again, pretty much how adults all turn back into kids when they go to Disney!!

Here’s the thing about the Hanson brothers… not only have I grown up, but they have too! They are all married and have kids and are actually really great human beings in general (yay for Hanson fans, we picked a band where they all turned out as normal, productive citizens of the world!) and this is what they look like in all their matured glory…

But THIS is how I still can’t help but think of my boys!

Teehee, anyway, enough with going on and on about by undying love of them, on with the show…errr… concert!

We made our way past the GINORMOUS line for Hanson and pretty much just stood right by the ropes at the back of the little stadium, where strollers would be parked. I talked to a CM and they explained the line would all be allowed to enter first from the sides, then they would remove the ropes afterwards for anyone else. And as I mentioned before, because of the decline, being in the very back you could still see just fine, it’s not like some giant stadium or anything, so we just stayed put by the ropes, and in my mind I secretly plotted to try to snag one of the few benches that sat at the very back under the trees.

While we waited Chris went to get in line for some of the Hanson brothers beer, MMMHops, that I basically told him he HAD to try, and I asked him to get an American Dream for me.

While he was in line the crowd was finally let in, and they dropped the ropes, I was, indeed, able to secure my perfectly planned spot on the benches which was wonderful! No strangers up in our space and room for the girls to run around us!!

Chris returned shortly with our loot! They weren’t allowed to have the bottle during F&W, it’s more of a small sample they give, so they did allow him to take this photo of the MMMHops as proof that we had Hanson’s beer!

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Then I got to discover the AMAZINGNESS that is the American Dream!! OMG! SOOOOOOO GOOD!! Really, really good, and pretty too!!! It’s basically red slush, blue slush and vanilla ice cream, making it both patriotic and super tasty. Think the flavor of those popsicles with the cream inside! MMMM!!!

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Being Disney, the show started right on time, and we ALL enjoyed the music, some dancing, and our friend, this bird, who was hanging out to hear Hanson too!

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All in all it lived up to my expectations, I knew that it was going to be a short show, but it was still great. As much as I would have loved to stick around for another show or two, there was more fun at Epcot to be had!!

Up next, saying goodbye to Maelstrom!

 

[Denovagirl]

When we left off, I had just enjoyed my favorite band playing in my favorite place and I was pretty much in heaven, but just wait, it gets EVEN BETTER!!!

I am an avid TR reader, and ones that I always loved to read were that of a certain Disney Frump, Jess and her friend Lia! Lia has always been a fun read for me, because she often goes to WDW during F&W and plans her trips around seeing Hanson! So I was keeping my eye peeled for, and guess who I freakin’ found!?!?!?!? Now this was an exciting little achievement for me just to see her, but then I thought, what the heck, I may as well go say hi, and I did!!

She was super nice, and I told her how I really enjoyed reading her TR’s and such, and then we took a nice pic together!

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I was totally happy, and my day was totally made even more thanks to this cool encounter. I bid farewell and then me and the fam decided to head back to Maelstrom. We knew the line was still going to be ca-ra-zeeeeeeey but it was literally the LAST DAY of it running and we HAD to do it.

So off we went… nearly an hour, that’s right AN HOUR IN THE MAELSTROM LINE, later we boarded our Viking ship.

“You are not the first to pass this way….nor shall you be the last.”

It was surreal to hear that as we rode our last trip through Norway, knowing we were, indeed, one of the last to pass that way!!

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It was bittersweet, and surprisingly my kids were able to stand in line that long, we played a lot of line games, but we did it, all to say goodbye to oddly loved troll ride.

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RIP Maelstrom.

We also had to take some typical Norwegian photos...

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After Norway we headed back towards Mexico with intentions of riding the Mexican Small World, only to notice an extremely short line for our friend Donald!!!

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What a cutie he was! Such a fun M&G for the girls, they ate him up!

After that adorable run in, we did make it to our destination…The Three Caballero’s!!

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The kids, of course like this little boat ride, and it is pretty cute. Plus the ambiance in the Mexican pavilion is awesome, so it’s a win/win all around.

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Finally we were about done in the WS, and Illuminations would be starting very soon, so we made our way back towards the front of the park because we had one last FP to use for Test Track!!! I wanted to ride it at night, so we purposely made the FP at this time. Boy was it fun!! Olivia LOVES TT!!! Her and I rode first, then her and Chris.

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While Liv and Chris rode Maddie and I headed to the Duffy M&G area to find a spot to watch Illuminations along the water. On the way back to us Chris stopped at the Austria booth for some yumminess, though I have no photographic proof of it!I am pretty sure he had some sort of kabob or taco thing. He wanted meat! And then he wanted one of these bad boys....

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As for me, I had one snack on my mind… CRONUT!! I headed over to the refreshment port to pick me up one of these sucka’s and guess what? It was DELISH! A good decision, for sure!

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While waiting for the Illuminations it started to fill in quite a bit, and Maddie and Olivia were barely hanging onto consciousness, so we made a bold decision, and left DURING the show!

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I know, I know, I love to see the nighttime spectaculars too, but really, I love not standing in huge lines for the bus with two sleepy children even more. So *SPOILER ALERT* get this, we didn’t fully see a SINGLE nighttime show!! And know what? I am not even bummed! I love them dearly, but as the kids get older it will be easier to do them, and right now, that empty bus ride back to our hotel was SOOOOO more than worth it!

Night, night Epcot!

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So off we went, on our private bus, and soon we were back in our rooms, and fast asleep! But not before we were greeted by our Pumpkin guy hanging in our window, and the pretties on our bed!

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I cannot wait to share tomorrow with you!! Because it FINALLY gets REAL when we finally get to lay our eyes on the Castle in MAGIC KINGDOM!!!

Up next, Chef Mickey's and the 5-Legged Goat!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Well hello there stranger!

Glad you had fun with Hanson!

That American Dream is on my list of make sure to try foods! Probably a good call to head back to the room early.

 

[Dugette]

First of all, happy anniversary!! Hope you have a great weekend trip!

Yay for the Hanson concert! I’m glad it went well, as I remember encouraging you to change your schedule around to be there. Good thing you didn’t wait in that line, as it looks like you had a good view and it wasn’t packed anyway. Love the picture of Maddie up on DH’s shoulders!

That’s awesome that you found a DIS-er! I don’t know her reports, but how cool to find someone who’s reports you’d enjoyed!

Haha, that is funny about being the “last to pass this way” on Maelstrom. Glad you got it in – I wanted to do it in August, but just didn’t have enough time. Oh, well.

Oh, yay for Donald. Same thing happened to us in August – caught him with a short line before going in to ride. And Izzy also tried to poke his eye out, just like Maddie!

Awesome – love Test Track at night! Glad Olivia likes it too!

That is the perfect shot with the Mickey bar in front of Chris’ Mickey bar shirt, bit on the same ear! :

I need to try a fresh Cronut. I was full by the time I got to them in Epcot (took some for later, but not the same, I’m sure).

Can’t say I blame you on leaving early. You still get to see some of the show, but miss out on the awful crowds. Win/win.

Wow, mousekeeping was ambitious with those towels!