"Fine! We can go to Disney, but I'm not happy about it!" **08/21 X5** Complete

[MarieLightning]

I love your trip report so far, It looks like you are having a great time! I really had to laugh about how Amber wasn't too keen on the trip at first but after a few post you were talking about your next trip already. Love it!! Anyhow, Amber you don't have to explain that you were cranky and tired. It happens to alot of people. You all really had a long first day Its surprising you made it that long.

Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it! And yes, I've converted her! We know we won't be able to go every year, but if we save carefully we should be able to go every other year, hopefully!

 

[amberg93]

I love your trip report so far, It looks like you are having a great time! I really had to laugh about how Amber wasn't too keen on the trip at first but after a few post you were talking about your next trip already. Love it!! Anyhow, Amber you don't have to explain that you were cranky and tired. It happens to alot of people. You all really had a long first day Its surprising you made it that long.

What can I say, the magic of the World won me over

And yaaaaay, I'm glad people are so understanding of my needs for sleepy time and don't think lesser of me. Next time I'll just take it easier, especially since it won't be so overwhelming and all new.

 

[stasijane]

I usually try to go as cheap as I can. Most of the time I stay offsite, and bring my own snacks. Its helped me go at least once or twice a year for the last 4 years, although I dont have to pay for airfare. I drive and spend about $300 roundtrip for gas.

I am the same way when it comes to sleep. If I am tired no one likes me. Its usually me and my DD13 that go. We leave around noon and drive all night to get there. We can usually make it by 9am and then go strait to the parks. You have no idea how delerously tired I am... Needless to say we dont stay long.

 

[MarieLightning]

I usually try to go as cheap as I can. Most of the time I stay offsite, and bring my own snacks. Its helped me go at least once or twice a year for the last 4 years, although I dont have to pay for airfare. I drive and spend about $300 roundtrip for gas.

I am the same way when it comes to sleep. If I am tired no one likes me. Its usually me and my DD13 that go. We leave around noon and drive all night to get there. We can usually make it by 9am and then go strait to the parks. You have no idea how delerously tired I am... Needless to say we dont stay long.

Yeah, my cousin actually drove when he went last Summer, and it was about a 25 hour drive. I couldn't do that, I hate driving XD And Amber gets motion sick so it's not entirely advisable for us But I know it's a really good trick of saving money. We've also considered staying off resort, and we would probably do it at some point, especially after deciding the dining plan isn't really that worth it XD and with them reducing the EMHs... we do like experiencing the resorts though, so I guess we'll see XD

And woah, that's pretty insane, I don't know how you do that XD I used to take 20 hours bus rides that didn't really allow me much sleep from here to Michigan and I was hardly functional the next day - and though it was little sleep, there was still some sleep that happened XD I definitely wouldn't be able to drive all night and then head to the parks even for ten minutes!

 

[MarieLightning]

November 12: Part 7 - "Pizza Planet's closed already?"

After finishing up Fantasmic, we were pretty much set to go and eat dinner. We had decided to go to Pizza Planet, because the setting of it seemed really cool, and also, pizza!

However, on the way there, we decided to make a detour first (bad decision XD) to go and see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!

I wasn't sure if they were going to stay lit up for the rest of the evening, and this was something I did not want to miss! I hadn't told my aunt and uncle about it either, so I was very excited to see their reaction to it

When we booked the trip, the dates for this event hadn't been announced yet. I knew it generally started in November, but with having planned Hollywood Studios early on in the week, I didn't know if we would be able to experience it! And I'm so glad that we were!

It's really just dazzling. Honestly, walking through there and having the lights surround you, it's crazy. It's really beautiful, and I would not want to have to pay that electricity bill at the end of the month! Yowza!

The fake snow was also pretty cool! I think it's pretty brilliant what they came up with, because using confetti or whatever else other places tend to use for fake snow would be soooo messy. For anyone who hasn't experienced it, it's actually soap! Bubble foam floating in the air and falling down! It actually does give a pretty realistic feel of snow, though I wouldn't recommend sticking out your tongue to catch a flake like some kids were doing XD

It's also so much better to be actually there! I remember looking at pictures before going, and pictures were already looking so awesome, but being in the middle of it all is even better.

We didn't stay around too long, because for one thing you had to keep the crowd moving so that people didn't stop all over the place without leaving room for more to come through. Also, Amber was hungry Just kidding, I'm not gonna blame this one of her, everyone was pretty much starving XD

We finished up taking a few more pictures, and then headed to our wished dinner destination. Unfortunately, once we got to Pizza Planet, they were closed! It was still pretty early so I was taken aback. Honestly, by that point, I think it was maybe 7:30, so I was not expecting it to be closed. Remembering now, I think that's also why we went to see the lights first - it was advertised as going on from sundown until 8 PM, and I figured most restaurants wouldn't close until a bit later, whereas I had no idea how long it would take for us to eat.

We asked one of the cast members at Pizza Planet what other restaurant might be open, and he directed us to ABC Commissary (the alphabet place! Just kidding). However, as we were about to find out, he did the same with pretty much everybody else, which is understandable seeing as there aren't very many quick service restaurants in Hollywood Studios.

It was pretty much jam packed when we got there. We looked at the menu to make sure everybody would find something to their liking, and we went in. Amber and my aunt went off to find a table and my uncle and I waited in line to grab some food. I had to help my uncle out a little, and we managed to get everything after about twenty minutes.

My uncle got the chicken and blue cheese burger, with a chocolate mousse for dessert

And the rest of us just got a regular burger. Amber and I also got a chocolate mousse, but my aunt wasn't feeling too well (her back was hurting pretty bad) so she didn't want any dessert. The lady who took our orders told us we could substitute it for something else though, like a bottle of water, so that's what we grabbed for her

That's my plate, with Amber's lettuce and tomato that ended up on my tray XD It's fine though cause my onions (and maybe pickles? Neither of us can remember if there was some but I think there was) ended up on hers

The burger was pretty good, though at that point we probably would have eaten anything. The mousse was delicious, but very sweet

After dinner, we split up again. My aunt and uncle weren't up for staying very much longer as they were starting to feel tired, but Amber and I still had a few things we wanted to try out.

Next destination: Star Tours!

This is one of the few rides which I had absolutely no idea what it was gonna be like. We went in because we figured it should be cool enough, and we're both Star Wars fans

As it turned out, we really loved it! We were pretty sad we had left it up for so late in the evening, because that wouldn't really give us the opportunity to ride it several times. It was especially interesting finding out that there's several sequences!

I don't remember a lot of details, but I do know we went to the winter place XD I really enjoyed the 4D during the ride too, feeling the motion just made it that much more awesome. Also, I have to mention that Disney's 3D effects during rides are really cool. I don't really like seeing 3D movies, because I already wear glasses and a lot of times I just don't really think there's much to it - it often just gives me a headache.

Most of Disney's 3D felt real though, or it was just the kind of 3D I remember seeing when I went to see a 3D movie at the IMAX theater as a child, and I reached out to try and touch the water.

We got off of Star Tours and looked a bit through the store, debating how long we wanted to stay in the park. We figured we could at least last an extra hour, so we headed off to find what to do next!



Click for next post​

 

[MarieLightning]

November 12: Part 8 - "Is that a Canada joke?"

We walked around a little before deciding what to do next. At this point, I really wanted to ride Toy Story Mania another time, knowing we wouldn't come back to Hollywood Studios during the trip, so we went by to see what the standby wait was. It was showing an hour, which was a little discouraging, but we decided what the heck!

We got in line, and figured we would just take the time to look at the queue some more!

Amber thought this was really funny XD It is true though that generally things will be more expensive in Canada than in the US Not that much though!

The queue area that had been filled up in the morning seemed actually pretty empty at that point! We figured we might get lucky and have less of a wait time than expected

And of course, with no fastpass people coming through, it wouldn't slow down the standby line

That thing is so awesome. I want it in my bedroom. Not that it would fit anywhere on the walls

I love everything that they incorporated in this queue. Disney has such a genius of making everything interesting while you're waiting so that it doesn't feel as bad of a wait

Giant crayons of our favorite colors! Wheeee! (I'm easily impressed)

He talks AND sings!

We ended up waiting about thirty minutes, so half as much as the posted time! I also beat Amber again, but she wouldn't let me take a picture that time around XD

Next we went on our way to A Man's Dream, having passed by it earlier. I wanted to see what it was about, and we enjoyed just walking around and looking at the displays

It was so neat to see how they used to animate things and draw it all in added layers. Also, looking at the models of the other parks! I really want to try and visit all the Disney parks someday. Tokyo and Hong Kong Disneyland will be really tricky, but I'll figure out a way! If I manage to do it, I want to keep Disneyland for last. Not because it seems more spectacular or anything, just because it was the first, and I think that does make it special for that

We looked at a few of the models for the New Fantasyland, too! I was so bummed out knowing that it would officially open less than a month after we left, and it was actually set to start soft openings only a few days after we were set to go home!

Fly Dumbo, flyyyy!

The man himself. It's always impressive, to think of how much he's built, and all the people around him that were just as dedicated. He started it all, and together they just made something so incredible that means the world to so many people

And it just keeps on growing!

We sat down for a few minutes after looking around, waiting for the next showing of the movie, but we actually ended up skipping that part. We had the idea in mind of just leaving at that point, but we ended up making one last small detour - off to Star Tours again!

The wait time was nothing by then, and I remember a few parts of it (the ending, for one) was the same as the one we'd previously seen. On this one, however, we went by the Wookie planet! (I thought it was ewoks but I stand corrected XD)

Once we got off the ride, we decided that was good enough for today. We were both getting pretty tired, so we just headed out of the park. Last picture of the Christmas tree, all lit up this time! So pretty

The bus ride back to POFQ went by pretty fast, and there weren't that many people on the bus at that point. We headed straight back to our room once we got off and were greeted by some new friends!

How cute!

After that, we pretty much just crashed in bed for the second night in a row and fell asleep within minutes. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow!



Click for next post​

 

[1000HappyWishes]

When I went to Hollywood Studios, my friend and I literally sat on a park bench the entire time we were there. We could not, for the life of us, find anything interesting to do! I can't believe we missed all that cool stuff!

 

[MarieLightning]

When I went to Hollywood Studios, my friend and I literally sat on a park bench the entire time we were there. We could not, for the life of us, find anything interesting to do! I can't believe we missed all that cool stuff!

Yeah, I know DHS has the reputation of being in the biggest need of new stuff XD But as a first timer we really enjoyed all that we did! And I feel like there's so many awesome stuff we missed, like hanging around the Animation building some more to take the drawing classes or meet with rare characters, seeing The Muppets movie, and doing the Indiana Jones' ride. My cousin also really raved about Lights, Motors, Action when he went and that's also something we'd like to see.

But yeah, Hollywood Studios has some of my favorite rides XD Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, I loved all those. I'm also quite sure I will love Rock N Roller Coaster when I get to do it XD

I think it's a nice mix of bigger rides and smaller scale shows, which gives it a good balance. The shows are just a welcome 15-20 minutes of sitting down and relaxing during a hectic day, and as soon as you're done relaxing you can go get your thrill fix!

 

[wiigirl]

I love the pics!

 

[MarieLightning]

I love the pics!

Thank you!

 

[MarieLightning]

November 13: Part 1 - "I did run! I just didn't know where I was going!"

Rise and shine! It's time to go to.... *drumroll*

Epcot!

Yay for a new park experience!

Once more, we got up eeaaarly, and this time I headed over to have breakfast with my aunt and uncle! Amber lingered a little behind as she doesn't eat breakfast much (she doesn't like any type of breakfast food, really) and joined us before we were done

And I, of course, taking my food pictures snatcher role very seriously, got some pictures of our breakfast selections!

My uncle got the oatmeal with some raspberries in it, brown sugar and raisins. He liked this a lot, and actually had it pretty much every day from that point on!

I got the kids' breakfast which was plenty enough at that point. Mickey waffles (nom!), breakfast sausages, apple slices and orange juice!

As for my aunt, she grabbed a cinnamon roll (which she says was delicious, though she could only finish about half of it!) and an apple for later, along with a bottle of water.

Once we were done eating, we headed to the gift shop to see what they had up on the pins board! We did a bit of pin trading, and then I made the decision to buy my very first souvenir of the trip. It was something I was pretty sure I wouldn't find anywhere else!

Rainbow Mickey! And really, it's not even just a matter of pride. I just think it's pretty too XD And I knew the chances of my finding it to be traded somewhere were slim to none, so I went ahead and got it for myself!

Seriously, when we got back to Disney, if Amber follows through with what she said our spending budget could be, I'm probably gonna spend a hundred dollars worth of pins XD

Moving on

So, when we got to the bus stop, they were just finishing up loading an Epcot bus, of all the luck! And it was pretty jam packed, so we chose to just pass it up (actually I don't think we had much of a choice, it was that full) and wait for the next one.

It would be our luck that the next bus that pulled up was, as a matter of fact, an Epcot bus! Yay for us! Not yay for the Magic Kingdom waiters though. They were not pleased, and understandably so XD

We got on the bus, and since one had pretty much just left, there were literally six of us on it.

So what does a driver do when he has an empty bus after taking people from the French Quarter? He goes to Riverside!

And let me tell you. There are a LOT of bus stops in Riverside! And they are NOT close to one another!

And yet, nobody else joined us through all of this, so we finally made our way over to Epcot XD Yaaaay!

Hello, Spaceship Earth! (Alright, I've got to be honest - I did call it the golf ball to point it out as we got closer. It was a joke, though, promise!)

At that point, Amber separated from the rest of the group to run off and go grab up fastpasses for Soarin'! I knew that was one of the few rides at Epcot where the wait time can get pretty long (especially with Test Track being close for refurb when we went ) so we knew we better get some of those if we wanted to ride in a timely manner

While she did that, the rest of us got in line so that my aunt could meet Goofy! He was out and about along with a few other characters, and he was wearing his regular outfit, so of course she wanted a picture!

He right away noticed a pin of himself on my uncle's lanyard! And then my aunt pointed out that he's all over hers XD

Once that picture was taken, we decided to just go ahead and get in line to meet Daisy, since we hadn't met her at all yet! We'd just gotten in line when Amber returned with our fastpasses. I asked her what had taken so long, and she pointed out that she hadn't known where she was going at all XD

The line went by fairly quick, and then we got to take pictures with Miss Daisy! She's so adorable

She then motioned to us to take a pose like her

After that, we started walking around Future World. Since we were already on a roll of character meeting, we figured we might as well just get it all done with! XD

I can't remember the name of the building we went in, but I do know it's right next to the West building of Innoventions XD The line was short so we just hopped in to meet up with some more Disney friends!

Mickey was first!

I like when they're wearing their classic outfits, it's so neat!

This is one of our very rare group pictures of the trip! So I think it's very fitting it was with Mr Mouse himself

Next up was our pal Pluto!

I think my uncle enjoyed meeting the classic characters most of all!

And finally came Minnie! Lord is she precious and tiny!

She's wearing the exact same clothes as on a figurine my aunt and uncle brought me back as a souvenir the first time around they went to Disney!

Once that little adventure was over with, we headed over to our next destination. We wanted to stick around the same area as Soarin', so that we wouldn't have too far to walk to head back, so we went over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends!

It was pretty much a walk on, so it basically took longer to walk the queue than it did to wait for the actual ride XD

We enjoyed the ride well enough, to be honest it didn't make that big an impression on me cause I don't remember most of it XD it's still a pretty spiffy ride though, and it would probably be one of my picks to relax on a hot day XD

Once we got off the ride, Turtle Talk with Crush had literally just started, so we decided to bypass it. We walked around some instead and explored the building, looking at the manatees and then heading upstairs to catch a glimpse of the dolphin show! I do really like looking around that place

We headed out when it was right about time for our fastpass return for Soarin', though we did first get a picture with our favorite sea friends!

I *cannot* wait for Finding Dory! I didn't know what they were gonna do for a sequel to Finding Nemo, but Pixar has so much genius, and the title in itself is making me very excited for it! I love Dory!

We headed over to The Land next and got in line for our Soarin' ride! It was a wait of maybe ten minutes or so with the fastpass return, and then we were put in the middle row. I was really eager for this ride, because I'd heard stuff about it ages ago when I was training at my job! I was very excited to see if it would be as awesome as it seemed!

To me, it was! Everyone has their different favorites, and Soarin' really is among my top rides. I just love the feel of it, and how everything is done to make it feel and seem real. The smell of oranges, the smell of pine! The feel of the wind, everything really! I really can't wait to just ride it again!

Once we got off the ride, it was starting to get close to lunch time, and since Amber doesn't eat breakfast, she needs her lunch fairly early XD We weren't too sure where to eat. I was debating between a few places, but since we were in the Land already, we went over to look at the menu for Sunshine Seasons

Now, we're both some pretty picky girls XD I could probably have found something I would have eaten, but it was all so-so to me, and Amber didn't feel like having anything they had. My aunt and uncle thought it seemed like good options though, so we decided to split up at that point!

Amber and I made our way out of Future World, but at that point my back was starting to kill. I made a very bad decision when I bought my shoes for Disney - I bought a cheap pair at Walmart, figuring it would work well enough. Weeeell it didn't. They never really broke in - I wore them before Disney too, and still by the end of the trip, the heel portion was rock hard. It caused my lower back to kill pretty much every day and my heels didn't feel too good as well, so we had to pause once in a while because I couldn't stand anymore.

On this particular occasion, we decided to take the boat to get across the lagoon! We waited maybe 15 minutes or so for it to come by, which for sure we could have made it to the other side by then, but I just couldn't handle the thought of walking that far without sitting for a while.

The boat finally came and we got on! It was a quick ride around the lagoon and we got off in Morocco! Thankfully so, because our lunch destination was right next to it

In Japan!

Click for next post​

 

[MarieLightning]

November 13: Part 2 - "Take a picture, I wanna show my mom I ate all my veggies!"

Once we were off the boat, we didn't take much time exploring! We were both hungry, and I needed to sit down again. The ride over had been a bit too short to really rest my back well enough

I had looked over at all the restaurants before going to Disney, but I hadn't really set in stone any of the quick services. Some I knew I wanted to try out more than others, but I left some of them open. I did want to try something a bit out of the ordinary though as we're not generally very adventurous eaters.

Katsura Grill, in Japan, fit the bill for this!

To be fair though - the only adventurous thing about this was the chopsticks. We both got the teriyaki chicken

It was interesting. I'd never actually really eaten anything with teriyaki, so the taste of it was new to me, and not what I was expecting! There's something sweet to it that I don't often find on my meat XD

Once you're a bit more accustomed to that though (or if you're not a weirdo and *have* had teriyaki before) it's good! And I ate all my plate, even my vegetables! Which doesn't happen a lot. Picture proof!

To this day, I have no idea what that yellow veggie was. Probably a yellow carrot or something though!

For dessert I had the azuki strawberry ice cream, which was very good. It had started to melt a little by the time I ate it, but the consistency was still great! Amber had a chocolate chip cookie, which I think she ate half of, but only because she wasn't very hungry anymore

We finished eating, and took a few more pictures of Japan!

I really hope to go there for real someday. And of course, I would take that time and opportunity to go to Disneyland Tokyo

I love the architecture and the look of everything! I just can't wait to go back, those pictures are making me miss it all something fierce *sigh*

Amber then decided I was taking too many pictures of her and other stuff and I needed to be in some of the photos XD

Looking back on my attire of the day, I deem her request unecessary. But oh well, too late now!

Once we were done with picture time in Japan, we took a jump to the left (or the right, I guess it depends on which side you're looking from XD) and made our way back to Morocco!

We had a brief, but very important encounter to make there

Aladdin and Jasmine! Honestly, they are among my top five of most perfect face characters we met during this trip! I mean, how cute is Aladdin, right?! And Jasmine was so sweet and adorable! I wish I'd remember what we talked about, because we did talk a little. I like that all the face characters make time for everybody, regardless of their ages. I mean, I know they will usually make more time with children, which is totally normal and generally adorable, but it doesn't mean they don't understand that it can mean a lot to grown ups too!

We said our goodbyes to the lovely duo and started walking again... back to Japan!

Okay, okay, we just passed through this time. So many forth and back we were doing during this trip, no wonder we sometimes lacked time to do everything

We walked by this advertisement for the candlelight processional

I was so disappointed that we were there too early for this. Definitely an excuse to head back in December someday!

It's America! A Canadian in America!

Amber is proudly presenting her country! 'Murica! I don't know why we started calling it that, but at some point during the trip we did XD Every time we would pass the American pavillion, we would just point to it and call it 'Murica! Everything there is so... American! (Doesn't beat our lumberjacks over in Canada though, eh?)

However, we were just passing through here as well! There was something else that Amber wanted to do. She had seen it on the way in, but hadn't had time for it because we were about to have lunch. Now that we were done eating, she a mission to fulfil...

And now you've stopped wondering why she's all decked out in her Perry wear

Click for next post​

 

[MarieLightning]

November 13: Part 3 - "Can I just buy everything in here?"

The way Agent P works, you get to pick which country pavilion you want to do your mission in. I don't remember all of them, but I do know Amber picked to do Japan first, so we headed back over that way! (I told you we did a lot of back and forth during this trip XD)

As we walked back through America, the marching band was out and performing

We didn't really stop to watch though, because when you do Agent P, they do ask that you do it right away. I'm assuming that's so they can collect back the cell phones once you're done with you current mission, thus giving more people a chance to do it

This activity is obviously a bit more geared toward children XD But hey, no judging! Everybody's a child in Disney Basically the phone plays short segments of video to guide you to your next step so that you can stop Doctor Doofenshmirtz's next evil plan XD

Some of what we had to do took place inside the store in Japan, so while Amber walked around, I took some pictures!

The interesting thing about it is that you have to point the phone toward a certain object or direction, and sometimes it'll cause a reaction in that object, and then bypassers who have no idea what you're doing look around confusedly XD

Once we were done with the mission, we went and dropped off the phone in the designated spot

Since we were already in Japan though, I figured now would be as good as any other time to explore around some. That'd already been our plan for the afternoon - walk around the World Showcases

Bunch of Hello Kitty stuff!

I absolutely love those fans. It took all of me not to buy one - I knew there was no point in it because I'd have nowhere to put it and wouldn't use it XD They're so pretty though

So many pretty things

Little owls and kitties for luck, love, money, health, and so on. Those would probably be the most reasonable souvenir to get from this store, though we didn't get any XD

Once we were done looking around Japan, we moved on to the pavilion right next to it - back to Morocco!

I think this is actually my favorite of all the pavilions. It's just gorgeous, and so immersive! I know all the pavilions are supposed to be just that, but there's just an element more to it with Morocco

Maybe it's because once you're inside the actual pavilion, because of the walls around you, you can't see outside. It's all made in the same sense as streets are constructed over there, so everything is compact and has very little spare room, but at the same time it doesn't feel stuffy

Everything is so pretty and immersive

Don't you just love the looks of it? Makes me want to go to Morocco for real someday. Who knows, maybe I will XD

My other favorite part of Morocco... is shopping!

Everything in those stores looks amazing and so authentic

This is the place where I had to restrain myself the most about buying stuff. Lamps, cushion covers, blankets, jewelry, I wanted to buy it all, regardless of whether it'd be useful or not!

We finished looking around (or more like Amber had to drag me out) and said hello to our new dromedary friend

We took a few more pictures (again, sooo pretty)

I also decided I wanted pictures with the cast members! I don't know if that's weird, but for one thing, I just love their attires XD Also, I think they're so important to the authenticity of the place. These people travel from so far, too!

I wish I could work for the Canada pavilion. If I'd found out about the international program at Disney earlier in my life, I would have applied. Maybe some day, when I've worked long enough at my current job that I can take a sabbatical. 'cept probably not cause by then we'll probably had kids and Amber will have a job of her own too XD Oh well. I'll just focus on visiting as often as I can!


Click for next post​

 

[MarieLightning]

November 13: Part 4 - "Do you really have to do this again?"

Once we were done visiting around Morocco, we decided to do something new

Just kidding. We went back to Japan! And no, we were not obsessed. I forgot to mention in my last post (probably from lack of pictures XD) something we did while we were over there last

Pick a pearl! This was one of the things I'd read about and I really wanted to do it. I've always liked pearls, and I really liked the idea of this ceremony, with picking your own oyster and finding your own pearl! Mine, I believe, was 7.0 size, which is .5 bigger than the average pearl

The girl who did the opening of the oyster was also really perky and great! She was so fun to watch and really into it!

I picked a simple, and not too expensive, pendant to have my pearl put onto. The pearl itself was about 16$, and I think the pendant I picked was something like 18$. I have yet to find a chain I can fit it on though, so I haven't worn it yet XD

If someday I go back with unlimited spending budget, this is what I shall get

I don't know what I'd ever wear it for, but I love kimonos. I also took a picture with a cast member here as well

By that point, we headed on our way in search of a snack. It was a good point in the afternoon to stop and sit down for a few minutes, and we wanted something nice and refreshing - it was quite hot on that day!

We skipped by the funnel cakes

I did briefly stop to look at some of the souvenirs. I wish I had gotten that pin - I really, really hope it'll still be there when we go back. The Ellie badge!

Picture with an American cast member! Just cause the attire isn't quite as exotic as some others to us, at that point I was trying not to leave out anyone

Finally, we got our hand on that delicious snack - the American Dream!

That's one of my favorite snacks of the trip. It's just so delicious! Though I personally am not that big a fan of blue raspberry slushie, but the mix of it with vanilla ice cream and strawberry slushie is really delicious!

At that point, Amber decided she wanted to do Agent P *again*. To be honest, I wasn't entirely impressed with her at that moment XD I wanted to explore, and I knew her mission would take a while

I ended up relenting and she went and grabbed another one of those phones. We walked past Italy on our way to her next mission

(There are some of the very few, and definitely best, pictures I have of Italy. Something else to explore more in depth next time)

Amber went on to do her mission in Germany, but I didn't feel like sticking around for that one, so I looked around the pavilion by myself while she did her thing

Seriously, how *amazing* is this?

I've always liked miniaturized villages, and this one takes the cake

I mean, look at it! All those tiny little details, I can't even

Once I was done obsessing over that tiny village, I moved on to look at the pavilion a bit more XD

Really, it's hard to pick a favorite, because all of them look so great

I especially love the architecture here

Gotta have fountain pictures

Click for next post​

 

[MarieLightning]

November 13: Part 5 - "Do you feel like a conqueror of the sea?"

Part of Amber's mission took her inside the store in Germany, so I followed her there - plenty of things to look at! And some Christmas decorations were up there too

Those cuckoo clocks are really gorgeous. So many gems can be found in the world showcases! I mean, all Disney souvenirs are pretty awesome, but this is just a level higher!

I followed Amber around some as she did her Agent P thing again, forcing her to stop once in a while for some pictures. After all, I needed a bit of help show off some of Germany's offerings

Duffy the bear!

That would be an awesome train set to own

Once Amber finally completed her second (and last XD) Agent P mission, we headed on our way to the next pavilion, walking by the outpost traders on the way

Crossing the bridge into China!

I actually got one of those parasols! I know, I know - I didn't get a fan in Japan cause where would I put it, and then I go and buy a parasol XD

I've wanted one of those forever though, and once my wife and I move out, I'm gonna try and theme my office around travel (since that's what I sell XD) so I'm sure I'll find a spot for it ^^

Again, the architecture. Awesomeness all over

And of course, I had to take a picture of Amber as she tried on this spiffy hat

While we were exploring China, the bridge started lifting up so that they could take the Earth for Illuminations out to the Seven Seas Lagoon

We did have an important meeting to make in China - Mulan was about to come out! We sat down on a bench near her meeting area, and after about ten minutes she came out!

She liked our pins, and asked us which one was our favorite of the lot

She was nice, though I think that was one of the quickest character interaction we had. I don't really remember much of it - I do love Mulan, but meeting her didn't make that big an impression. I think sometimes it really doesn't have much to do with the character and a lot to do with the person. Not that she wasn't a nice person or anything XD It just didn't really leave a mark, you know?

After China, we went on to Norway for a brief walk through

Have I mentioned yet how I love the architecture of these pavilions? XD

Amber striking a pose. She really does look like a conqueror of the seas, doesn't she?

Me, not so much

We attempted a self couple picture in front of our Viking friend, but it didn't work so well XD

This is the disadvantage of splitting up from my aunt and uncle XD When we were with them, there'd be some couple pictures taken on both sides. By ourselves, that wasn't quite as easy. I mean, I know there's a lot of cast members who are more than happy to take a picture for us, but they're not always around XD And I'm not really comfortable with asking a random person to take our picture

I did, here again, get a picture taken with a Norway cast member though! I don't know why, it was only ever girls around it would seem XD

Gardens on the roof! Honestly one of my favorite things in Norway. I mean, how pretty is it?

Click for next post​

 

[MarieLightning]

November 13: Part 6 - "Aww man, I can't reach the highest one"

Once we were done with Norway, we were really just to the point of skipping past a few more. We wanted to get some more character meetings in, but they would be out on their last few sets before dinner time, so we couldn't leave it until much later (I know, for two young adults, we really know where to put our priorities XD)

Of course, rushing through Mexico does not mean there's not enough time to take this kind of a picture

That sombrero is probably almost as tall as me. Okay, maybe not. But it's big. And I'm short. So it's at least halfway there

Mexico is another one that's on our list for further exploration when we go back! Honestly, when we came home we felt like we had done a lot of what we wanted to do and hadn't missed out on too many things. And now, looking back and writing this TR, I feel like that's not true at all. We did skip a lot of things XD Then again, it would have been an unrealistic expectation to think we could do everything in one trip

Fountain picture! Gotta have those

Note to self: take pictures of Amber too next time

We walked out of Mexico and around the lagoon to start back on the other side! Since we had taken the boat to Morocco, we hadn't yet seen any of the countries on the other side of the world showcase.

And the first one there, of course, is Canada!

Look, it's a Canadian in Canada! Not that I've ever seen these type of monuments back home XD

We headed to our next picture spot, and I was once again reminded of my shortness

Couldn't reach the highest one! I had to resort to taking a picture from the middle hole

Amber, however, was tall enough

Sorta

We moved on to the UK, and of course we had to take pictures in the phone booths

When I went to London, I took a picture of the red phone booths by themselves. Now I got to be in the picture too! XD

We went inside the store and I got another cast member picture

She reminded me a bit of one of my coworkers XD Also, I don't know how she can stand all day long in just those shoes

Our reason for sticking around UK at that point was that we wanted to meet Alice! However, we weren't entirely sure of where she would be, so we asked, and got the most obvious answer ever - outside the Tea Store. Of course!

She wasn't out just yet, and right across from her meeting spot was Mary Poppins. They had just closed the line for her though, so we got in line and waited for Alice to come back out. It wasn't a very long line, nor a very long encounter XD

We walked back over the other way and figured we might as well just get in line for Mary Poppins as well while we were there XD Our dinner reservation was getting closer so we wouldn't have time to do much more stuff anyway. It was maybe another 10 minutes wait time, during which we traded some pins and took pictures of the surroundings

Then we got to meet Mary Poppins! Practically perfect in every way

She was very sweet, though to be honest I don't remember much of what we talked about (I really need to take more notes next time). She was pretty spot on though, and she looked so cute

Of course, after the United Kingdom was France! We made a quick stop on the bridge to get a proper couple picture taken by a photopass photographer

French gardens are very structured XD

A quick sneak peak at our dinner destination!

We then did our very last character meeting of the day - Aurora!

I've gotta say, I'm pretty glad they changed her dress. It was starting to look a little stiff XD The new one looks so much more delicate and dainty and feminine

Once that was done with, we sat on a nearby bench to wait for my aunt and uncle. We had decided to meet by our dinner restaurant pick about 10-15 minutes before our reservation time, so we knew they'd be getting there soon. I also took that opportunity to take a picture of my pearl XD

Click for next post​

 

[MarieLightning]

November 13: Part 7 - "Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!"

My aunt and uncle soon joined us, and we talked a bit about what we'd done during the day. They'd spent a lot of their time in Future World, figuring they're keep the World Showcase for our second Epcot day

We still had about 10 minutes to our reservation, so we just relaxed for a bit longer

Pretty fountain in the dark

Finally, with about 5 minutes to our reservation, we went got checked in to Les Chefs de France!

I was quite eager for this dinner. I knew it would also be a relief for my uncle to be able to communicate well with his waiter

The only issue I have with this restaurant is the wait area versus the wait time. In spite of having a reservation for 6, I don't think we went in until 6:20 or 6:30. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but the entrance area of this restaurant is fairly small and there's not much room to wait by - and I don't even mean sitting space. If they handed out beepers like a lot of the other restaurants, it wouldn't matter as much, but they actually call out the name of your party, so really, you don't have a choice but to stick around

We were eventually called in and sat down at our table. It was a little tight but big enough for the four of us

I don't remember our waiter's name, but he was really great! After all, he had to waiter in two languages It was funny because my uncle first addressed him in French, so he went off with that, and Amber was just sitting there, not understanding XD We eventually pointed out that she only spoke English, and he accommodated all of us in both languages for the rest of the meal

He explained to us the two options we had with the dining plan - which was to either do it the usual way with the entree and dessert options, or to go with the prix fixe 3 course menu. We all chose the latter option

Then - glorious moment - he brought the bread! Baguette bread! Noms!

I have something with bread. Must be the French in me

Amber and I both had the salad for our appetizer. This is Amber's plate - with twice as many onions as I gave her mine, and minus the cherry tomatoes as she handed those over to me XD

My aunt and uncle both got the onion soup with gruyere cheese. They liked it quite a bit, and it did smell very good. Last time I'd tasted onion soup though, it was very strong, so that put me off of trying again

Bread! I ate way too much of that thing but oh well XD

As a main course, my uncle got the salmon with mashed potatoes. According to him it was very good - he did finish the whole plate again

The rest of us got the roasted chicken with potatoes and broccoli. The chicken was delicious, the broccoli was perfectly cooked and the potatoes were also very tasty. The sauce, however, not so much. It had an after-taste to it that none of us liked. Mostly I ate around it, but there was a lot of it so quite a bit of the chicken remained untouched

Dessert, however, was delicious in all cases!

My uncle got the trio of sorbets with a madeleine. I think they were mango, raspberry and... maybe coconut?

Amber got the vanilla creme brulee, which she also liked, though she was too full to finish it. I had the rest of it, and I did like it too, though the top portion wasn't quite as crunchy as I would normally like

Both my aunt and I got the profiteroles for dessert. That's one of my favorite desserts back home, though usually we have a slightly thicker chocolate sauce XD It was very good though

Dinner took quite a bit of time, so once it was done, there was about forty-five minutes or so left before Illuminations. We decided we had seen about all we wanted to see that day so we might as well go grab a good spot to watch it. We headed down to the space that's usually reserved for private parties, as it was empty that day, that's about right in front of France, next to the bridge that leads to the UK

We waited there for the show to start. It was a long wait, but we chatted and time went by fairly fast

We also got the visit of quite a few duckies! They seemed totally unaware that a fireworks show was about to start on that very lagoon XD They did stick around for the most part of the show though, as it was far enough. They started freaking out a bit more toward the end of it XD

We all really loved Illuminations, Amber especially - again, made her cry XD Good tears though, of course

We don't have a lot of pictures of it, my camera being what it is. It was really amazing though, and a completely different kind of magical than Wishes

Once it was over, we slowly made our way over to the exit. The park was closing at that point, though strangely enough we still didn't have any issues getting seated space on the bus back to the resort. Yay for small resorts! XD

We got back to the hotel and actually relaxed that evening rather than just crashing in bed XD We did go to bed fairly early though as we had an early wake up call the next morning


Click for next post​

 

[dislover415]

So many pretty pics

I dont really get the Canada joke? Did i miss it?

The Chefs de france restaurant looks really nice. We didnt make a reservation there though so i dont know if we'd be able to get in with so little time left. Oh well, leaves something to do for next time!

 

[MarieLightning]

So many pretty pics

I dont really get the Canada joke? Did i miss it?

The Chefs de france restaurant looks really nice. We didnt make a reservation there though so i dont know if we'd be able to get in with so little time left. Oh well, leaves something to do for next time!

Thank you

The Canada joke from the last DHS post? It refers to this picture XD

Though I guess it's more making fun of us than being a joke XD Basically it's like saying something that costs 4.95$ in the US would cost 50$ in Canada XD Which is very much exaggerated but I guess it comes from the fact that, true enough, everything is more expensive in Canada XD Like, Amber and I are currently talking about McDonalds, and she's telling me how today in Michigan she bought 6 sandwiches at McDonalds and it cost her 6$, and when I get a McNugget meal it's over 8 bucks Basically most that are considered value pricing in the US gets jacked up in Canada

And you should definitely give it a try if it's a restaurant you want to try out! The advantage with Epcot table services is that there's *so* many of them, so the ADRs don't necessarily go away as fast as at some other parks, like MK, where there's hardly any table services (Le Cellier being an exception to that rule XD)

 

[MarieLightning]

November 14: Part 1 - "No, I'm not looking! It's gonna eat me!"

This morning, we woke up bright and early, because we had an EMH to make! Amber and I ate in the room while my aunt and uncle grabbed their now usual breakfast at the food court, and soon we met up and were on our way!

Off to Animal Kingdom! Yay!

I really, really loved our day at Animal Kingdom. No, it doesn't always feel like it has as many things as the others, but it was such a relaxing day! We didn't feel like we had to rush all over the place as much and were able to take our time doing what we wanted to do. It was our only day there, so of course we wanted to make the most of it!

On this day, we split up from my aunt and uncle pretty quickly. As soon as we entered the park, they went their way and we went ours

And our destination was Dinoland! Now, we've learned recently that the best way to take advantage of early magic hours at AK is to go do Kilimanjaro Safaris right off the bat. And that may be why we had so much luck with everything else we did that morning, because everybody else had gone off that way

Oh well, we'll know for next time!

In the meantime...

Dinoland is ours!

I mean, look at how empty it is

Clearly we're the only ones that didn't get the memo about where to really start! But it didn't throw off our day at all

A ride I knew could get a bit busier during the day was Dinosaur, so we got in line for that first of

Then again, I don't know if you can really call that getting in line as there was NOBODY ELSE

We were still given one of those red cards to establish the wait time though. How 'bout zero minutes? It was pretty much a walk on. The little video they make you watch was the longest wait we had

Now, I will claim it loud and proud - I'm a wuss. YES, I GOT SCARED.

I'm not that big a fan of dinosaurs. Jurassic Park traumatised me. And when I was younger, there was this one 3D movie at the amusement park near my house (or more like 4D since the seats moved so much) that was pretty much about Jurassic Park. Or well, it was about dinosaurs. Point is, having a 3D looking T-Rex jump in your face when you're like eight years old doesn't make you like dinosaurs a whole lot! I mean, we're not talking Little Foot from Land Before Time here!

Soooo pretty much, when the 'car' started moving and shaking a lot and dinosaurs were jumping left and right AND THOSE THINGS CAN EAT YOU I was done. I just closed my eyes and kept my head down for the rest of the ride. I DON'T CARE IF IT'S PLASTIC, IT WILL EAT ME.

*ahem*

Amber thought it was fine. She was not scared at all XD And we will probably do it again next time we go - and if everybody else wants to do it too, I will join along

But hey, we got out of there alive, so it's all good!

Now that's a lot better. Look at that nice dinosaur? That one will not eat me at all. He's cool.

Once we were done being shaken all over the place, we figured we might as well get twirled too!

Primeval Whirl! Okay, so in retrospective, that one was a bad idea XD I mean, I enjoyed it well enough, but Amber get motion sick for pretty much anything, so this didn't agree too much with her. Her own fault though - I warned her it would spin, and I mean, Primeval Whirl, you can tell XD She said she'd be fine too and came along anyway! To be fair, it didn't make her super sick, just uncomfortable for a little while

How cool are these though?

However, my very favorite thing about Dinoland.. is these signs

"Going out of existence sale"

"We're erupting with gifts"

Those dinosaurs. They really know how to make the best of things


Click for next post​