Feeling Hot Hot Hot! The Rain Curse is Broken! Two Weeks of Fun in the Sun! COMPLETE

[shan23877]

I'm with the group-seems like a pretty normal float combo to me.

Once again, fabulous photos of the brothers.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I feel like I'm just repeating what everyone else said but that is very strange that the CMs were surprised by your choice of floats. It's just like a dreamsicle. LOL. So good! I've gotten those from Aunty Gravity's in Tomorrowland.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

A delicious ice cream float and a swim in the pool sound like the perfect ways to cool off after a super hot day at AK.

I can't believe there are only 5 days left!

Yep, the ice cream and the pool were amazing on that hot steamy day. Reminded me of the summers when we lived in Virginia.

Mmm... that float looks really good! I'm not a fan of root beer so I've never really been into floats, but I might have to try one with orange soda!

That three cabelleros topiary is too cute. I'm looking forward to reading about SWW!

Orange Soda and Vanilla Ice Cream are a divine combo. Definitely try one when you have the chance!

I'm with you, Lessa, I do NOT like bats at all. I think they are evil and I refuse to go in the house where they are located.

Unfortunately for me there are so many bats on the campus where I work. Lots of old buildings = bats. Getting "trapped" in my office during the summer at the end of my shift is not an unusual event because of a bat flying around in the hallway.

Nice photopass pictures...and I believe the sun was different at that time of day.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

That's curious that the CM would think that combination was weird. I'm sure it tasted like an orange dreamsicle. At least, that's how it tastes in my head.

I have never had an orange dreamsicle, all I can tell you is that it was delicious!

Wow, still 5 days left!? I haven't taken a two week vacation in forever, so that always sounds like a lot to me, even though in comparison to two weeks, it's not.

Mmm, your orange/vanilla ice cream float sounds great. Was it from a cart type place?

Yep, I do believe we got it at this place

I love your tigers pictures. They are never moving when we see them Sometimes I wonder if they are even real

I am surprised that they were moving around considering how hot and muggy it was that day.

I'm with the group-seems like a pretty normal float combo to me.

Once again, fabulous photos of the brothers.

Maybe the CM was new.

I feel like I'm just repeating what everyone else said but that is very strange that the CMs were surprised by your choice of floats. It's just like a dreamsicle. LOL. So good! I've gotten those from Aunty Gravity's in Tomorrowland.

I have never stopped at Aunty Gravity's, now I have a reason to!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 21st

We woke up to another beautiful day in Disney World. It felt like we had been on vacation forever by this point, and the end of the trip was still far enough away that it still felt like we had endless time left in WDW. It was great!

No rope drop was scheduled for us this morning. Instead I had booked a breakfast ADR at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. I was dying to get back to the Wilderness Lodge, even if it was only for breakfast. Those of you who have followed all my trip reports will know that on our "first" trip we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. That is the trip where we (I) fell in love with Disney World. Granted I already had a pretty healthy Disney obsession before that trip but that week at the Lodge cemented it and I am now a lifelong addict. Walking into the Wilderness Lodge you can just feel the Disney magic, there is just something special about that resort. It feels like my Disney home.

I say the 07 trip was our "first" trip because we did in fact visit WDW one time previous to it. That real first trip was way back in 97. We went for four days at Christmas time and stayed at Shades of Green. The boys and I hardly remember that trip and it was so short so I like to say that the 2007 trip was our "first" trip where we did things properly.

This was also a special day as some random crazy person apparently claimed that May 21st, 2011 was going to be "The End of the World". It was all over the news that morning. Well, obviously we are all still here so the world did not end that day but if I had to choose a place to be at The End of the World WDW would be towards the top of the list. May as well go out having fun! Maybe the world will really end of December 21, 2012?

We were seated right away once we arrived at Whispering Canyon. Erich came to be on friendly terms with our waitress. She didn't believe in his eating prowess. He set out to prove her wrong.

Alek, Erich and I shared the all you can eat Canyon skillet - Scrambled Eggs, roasted Red Potatoes, Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Sausage Gravy

I enjoyed the potatoes, bacon, waffles and biscuits. The eggs were far to runny for me, they just did not taste good. I don't enjoy breakfast sausage in general but I believe the boys enjoyed it. We ended up getting a refill of the skillet, the waitress acted surprised. She later asked if we wanted a third refill and teased Erich about his bottomless stomach when we turned down a third refill.

Mom ordered a Mimosa and the Western Omelet - three egg omelet with ham, cheddar, bell peppers and onions. Served with roasted red potatoes and a biscuit

When Erich asked for a refill of his water she brought this out

We just used it to refill the rest of our waters.

Overall I would say the meal as passable. It was not something to write home about and Alek and Erich said they did not want to return to that restaurant in the future. The first time we ate there was for dinner on the Fourth of July back in 2007. Alek and Erich spent the rest of the night in the bathroom. They were willing to give it another try on this trip but the food just wasn't up to snuff. Two strikes and you are out in our family. There was nothing wrong with our breakfast, not really, it just wasn't all that good.

After we finished our meal I wanted to walk around a bit to take pictures and soak up the magic of the resort. While I did that the others rested in the comfy seating area of the lobby.

I love the grounds and pool area. So pretty!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Of all the WDW resorts I have to say that Wilderness Lodge is the most beautiful.

On their PSP's as per usual

Once I rejoined them we went over and browsed around the gift shop. I ended up buying a lovely Wilderness Lodge throw. When we stayed at the resort in 2007 I didn't buy a single Wilderness Lodge souvenir, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to get this lovely and practical souvenir of my favourite resort.

Farewell for now Wilderness Lodge! I will be back!

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[marDgreen88]

Aww. The Wilderness Lodge is gorgeous! Sadly, I've never had a chance to visit it though! I've only seen it from the Magic Kingdom ferry boat. WAH! Hahah I will have to visit because I've only heard great things about it! Do yall have any plans to stay there again?

 

[IheartDDuck]

Aw, pretty pretty WL pictures. Definitely a beautiful resort, I couldn't agree more with you.

I also agree with you about WCC. I've only eaten there once, but haven't had a huge desire to return because it was kind of underwhelming to me.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Aww. The Wilderness Lodge is gorgeous! Sadly, I've never had a chance to visit it though! I've only seen it from the Magic Kingdom ferry boat. WAH! Hahah I will have to visit because I've only heard great things about it! Do yall have any plans to stay there again?

Well, we have no trip plans right now. I definitely want to stay there again someday although I also really want to try out the other deluxe resorts with the exception of the Contemporary, no desire to stay there. I will probably save a return stay at the Wilderness Lodge for a trip during the Christmas season (whenever that happens) since it is decorated so beautifully at that time of year.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Aw, pretty pretty WL pictures. Definitely a beautiful resort, I couldn't agree more with you.

I also agree with you about WCC. I've only eaten there once, but haven't had a huge desire to return because it was kind of underwhelming to me.

Yeah, I was disappointed that we didn't enjoy it more as I am always reading great reviews about it.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 21st continued

Leaving the Lodge and getting back to Coronado proved to be a bit of an adventure. I should I have just exited through the Magic Kingdom exit but instead I followed some random sign which ended up sending us on a crazy tour of WDW. We eventually ended up near the Port Orleans Resorts and from there we were able to get back to our resort.

We had to go back to the resort to pick up my camera. That morning when I woke up and was getting my bag packed for the day I realized that I had forgotten to charge my camera battery overnight. So while we went off to breakfast I had my camera battery charging. I HAD to have my camera because I just knew that Erich and Mom would not be happy if I took possession of their cameras for the day!

Once I grabbed my camera from the room we drove on over to Epcot.

I was happily surprised to see that many of the Flower and Garden decorations were still up even though the festival had ended over a week beforehand.

We stopped to get the usual entrance photos with the photopass photographer.

Then he recruited Alek and Erich to do some photos on their own. He said that they looked fit and he asked them to climb up on the wall surrounding the flower display and jump up in the air. I took my own pictures of this photo taking adventure. I never would have done it, I am uncoordinated and a chicken and I just know if I had attempted such a thing I would have fallen right of that wall and crashed into the ground.

Sadly the photopass pictures of the boys jumping for joy at Epcot did not show up in our account and I did not realize they were missing until I had already ordered the cd.

Since we were entering the park over an hour after rope drop we felt no need to rush to Soarin' or Test Track. Instead we did what we never take time to do at rope drop and we stopped for pictures with the characters positioned at the park entrance. Usually we just rush past these guys but today was a slow and enjoy the moment kind of day.

Daisy and Stitch were both out for pictures. Daisy had a bit of a line and Stitch had no line. Poor Stitch! I felt sorry for Stitch so while the family waited in line for Daisy, I went over and showed Stitch some love.

I finished up with Stitch just in time to rejoin the family for the Daisy photos.

Always a gentleman!

Next we made our way over to an attraction we had never experienced before, Innovations!

For those who don't know Epcot has two Innovations pavilions: East and West. Innovations consists of displays and games that are both educational and fun!

Alek, Erich and I decided to play "Where's The Fire?". I have no idea where Mom disappeared to while we played.

We were Team Findmores!

This game was really fun although Alek and Erich kept shouting out the locations of the fire hazards. I kept telling them to be quiet because their shouting would help the other team! I am very competitive and I hate to lose. Just ask my friends and family. I have a meltdown if I get merely an A on a test or an exam instead of an A+, pathetic, I know.

Team Findmore did come out victorious despite Alek and Erich's sabotage efforts. Yay us!

We found Mom once we were done and we wandered around outside and slowly made our way to World Showcase.

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[marDgreen88]

You got some amazing photos! Epcot is just gorgeous.
I'm surprised nobody was waiting for Stitch! Aww, poor Stitch. Good for you, I would have done the same thing haha.
I've never actually been inside Innoventions but I am obsessed with the music loop they play. So, there's that!

 

[kittylady1972]

More great photos! I love Stitch...we always look for him and Daisy there at EPCOT too!

I'm so hoping to see most of the Flower and Garden stuff up when we arrive in March since it's starts on the 7th and we leave on the 8th! Without kids I should be able to take more time to stop and enjoy the photos.

Too bad those photos of the boys did not show up on the Photopass CD!

We love that Where's the Fire game! I always play it with the kids when we are there as it's a nice break from the rest of the stuff. I can't wait to see some of the new stuff in the pavilions next time we go since lot of it was under construction back in June. We played the recycling game one time and loved it, but it was gone when we went in June.

 

[GeminiAngel]

Nice to see the flowers were still out in full bloom.
Alek got some air in that photo!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

You got some amazing photos! Epcot is just gorgeous.
I'm surprised nobody was waiting for Stitch! Aww, poor Stitch. Good for you, I would have done the same thing haha.
I've never actually been inside Innoventions but I am obsessed with the music loop they play. So, there's that!

Yes, I felt so sad for Stitch standing over there all alone while Daisy had a nice line forming.

This was my first time ever visiting Innovations. I always knew it was there but once you get in the park you always seem to rush right by it on the way to the big ticket rides and the World Showcase.

More great photos! I love Stitch...we always look for him and Daisy there at EPCOT too!

I'm so hoping to see most of the Flower and Garden stuff up when we arrive in March since it's starts on the 7th and we leave on the 8th! Without kids I should be able to take more time to stop and enjoy the photos.

Too bad those photos of the boys did not show up on the Photopass CD!

We love that Where's the Fire game! I always play it with the kids when we are there as it's a nice break from the rest of the stuff. I can't wait to see some of the new stuff in the pavilions next time we go since lot of it was under construction back in June. We played the recycling game one time and loved it, but it was gone when we went in June.

I was so disappointed the pictures of the boys were missing. They probably would have been hilarious.

Next time I go I will have to try a different game at Innovations, Where's the Fire was a blast!

Nice to see the flowers were still out in full bloom.
Alek got some air in that photo!!

Yeah, I was happy to see most of the flower stuff was still out. They had taken down the Butterfly Tent and the Sand Sculpture and most of the character topiaries from around World Showcase but the main ones were still up in front of Spaceship Earth and the flower beds were still all in place.

 

[haishileng]

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great WL photos! I agree, it is a very pretty resort. I still prefer the Polynesian though.

Yay for getting a picture with Stitch! I also feel bad when characters have no lines. It's like you have to go see them when they're just standing around!

Seeing the F&GF pictures makes me really excited for April. Epcot is like a whole different park in the spring.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Great WL photos! I agree, it is a very pretty resort. I still prefer the Polynesian though.

Fair enough, the Poly is lovely as well. The rooms at the Poly are certainly nicer, they are also much more expensive!

Yay for getting a picture with Stitch! I also feel bad when characters have no lines. It's like you have to go see them when they're just standing around!

Yep, I am not even a big Stitch fan but I couldn't let him stand over there all by his lonesome.

Seeing the F&GF pictures makes me really excited for April. Epcot is like a whole different park in the spring.

Yes, Epcot is always beautiful but the Festival just adds that extra flare that makes it outstanding.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 21st continued

The problem with writing such a long trip report is that the more time passes the more the details slip away from me. I am having to rely more and more on my trip notes to bring everything together. That being said I need to rewind just a wee bit.

After Innovations, but before we made our way to World Showcase, we went to see Captain EO. Mom did not want to see it as she is not a Michael Jackson fan. I wouldn't classify any of us as "fans" but I was interested in seeing this retro attraction. Mom stayed outside and wandered around while the boys and I went to see the show. It was freaking hilarious! So so bad but in a really funny kind of way. If you have the time to spare, go and see this show, it should provide a good laugh.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

We picked up some Test Track fastpases and then made our way to Mexico.

It was another "so hot you feel like you are going to melt " kind of days. Mom and the boys went into the pavilion right away. I heard "Mariachi Cobre" playing on the far side of the pavilion so I went over to watch them. I had never seen them before so I didn't want to miss the opportunity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwjsUUlvbrQ

It was so hot out and I couldn't stand the heat for long and quickly left. I felt bad for the performers in those outfits. I suppose they are probably used to the heat though since they work in it all the time.

I entered through the side entrance of the pavilion. First time that I have noticed those tables!

The air conditioning felt so wonderful. We sat around inside enjoying the cool air and looking at the handcrafted wares for sale. Erich bought his friend Jessie a mini-sombrero, Jessie had asked him to bring one back.

We couldn't spend our whole day sitting in the air conditioning so we eventually left and continued on our tour around the Showcase.

Mom wanted to look around the shops in Norway so we I stopped at the bakery and relaxed in the shade while she browsed.

Mulan was out for pictures so I insisted that we stop. Nobody else in the family wanted in the picture, poor Mulan!

Erich's photo of Mulan

We continued on without going inside the China pavilion. We spent enough time in there earlier in the trip during the one rain storm that hit us that day.

Alek and Erich stopped for slushie's at the African Outpost, I saw the line for Snow White forming in Germany so I rushed over and joined. I was third in line! I have never gotten my photo with Snow White in Germany before so I had to take the opportunity!

Not sure why she wasn't posing at the wishing well?

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

This was our last visit to Epcot and I had yet to get a treat from the caramel store so I had to get one now.

It was a hard decision, it all looked so yummy! For your viewing pleasure, here are some of the selections available:

One of each please!

Unfortunately my wallet nor my tummy would have much liked my getting one of each so I decided on the peanut butter caramel cookie.

It was very sweet. I think next time I will try something different.

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