Firsts, Fourths, and Farewells (4/28 Back to the Future!)

[thecapells]

We are back from another awesome trip to Disneyland!!! We did get to ride Soarin' and I'm proud to say that it sounds like ours is in much better repair than Epcot's. There were no tears in the screen and a couple little lines in the video. I think the only reason why I saw them is cuz I was looking for anything off during the ride. We were in the very front/top row so I don't think if I was looking down (way down since it was near the bottom of where I could see) I probably wouldn't have seen them. Overall my DS and I once again really enjoyed it. He wanted to do it again but unfortunatly we never made it back over there to do it. Oh well there's always next time!!

Thanks for the report!
We look forward to checking it out when he venture to California for our first trip to Disneyland in November!
But, for now, back to our story!

 

[thecapells]

Next stop on our World Tour was China.
After a trek through Troll Country, conquering this country should be easy.
But we did have some work to do – we stopped at the Kim Possible station in Norway and were directed to China to help Kim save the world!
But first, some pictures…

It was awesome to find Photopass photographers outside the China gates.
These were some great pics!
And then one of ours.
Before we headed off to help Kim save the world, we had to continue our fun.
DD had the honor or being our Chinese representative.
What a pretty geisha she could be.

We’ve actually done the China Mission but it’s one of our favorites and J hadn’t experienced it.
So we broke up into two groups with J taking DD and me following the boys.
I let them run with the Kimmunicator while I took pictures.
Here’s a good one for the trivia geeks.
Can anyone tell me which of the following two lion statues is the female and which is the male?

Well, the male is the one whose paw is holding a ball.
The female (despite having a mane like a male) is the one holding a lion cub under her paw protecting it.
They both stand guard outside the Temple of Heaven.
Inside you must gather clues for the mission including one from this guy.

We skipped the movie but I love the acoustics in the temple.
If you stand in the circle in the middle of the pre-show area, you can actually hear your own echo!
It’s very cool and only works from that spot.
The view of the ceiling is not bad either.

And, of course, there are the Tomb Soldiers which are really neat.
But we didn’t have time to explore as Kim desperately needed our help!
We headed around the side of the pavilion towards the Kidcot station.

DS was in charge leading the way…

It was time to check our zodiac signs…

It was so cute watching the boys work together.
Of course, you must realize, time was of the essence.
Their goal was not only to help Kim save the world, but to do it before their sister and uncle!

We knew we were in the home stretch when we headed out towards the gardens.
They are rather spectacular with all the little streams and rocks.
So peaceful and quiet.

At last we reached the finale and the discovery of the Jade Monkey!

Just in time too!
J and DD were close on our heels!

It was a fun adventure and we still didn’t get one of the tasks (I’ve heard one involves getting a clue from a fortune cookie which we did not experience).
On the way out however, DS was still honing his detective skills.
What do you guys see on this sculpture?

Well, DS found himself a Hidden Mickey!
Sort of.
It was close enough that we gave him credit.
What do you guys think?

With the world saved and the Hidden Mickeys discovered, we headed off to explore another continent.
Continue the adventure with us!
Jambo!

 

[thecapells]

For those more interested in that magical Fastpass Key Card that Mom stumbled into earlier this morning, here's a scan of it:

 

[MEK]

Are we on the same updating schedule?

Where is X during the PP pictures? Sleeping, I assume. Again - great pictures and DD's pretty in pink picture is lovely!

China is one of my favorite KP missions. I think the Jade Monkey is pretty cool and I also like the secret drop box back there.

Another great update.

 

[MEK]

ps - I knew that about the lions from taking the Segway tour. That was the first country we stopped in.

 

[thecapells]

Are we on the same updating schedule?

Where is X during the PP pictures? Sleeping, I assume. Again - great pictures and DD's pretty in pink picture is lovely!

China is one of my favorite KP missions. I think the Jade Monkey is pretty cool and I also like the secret drop box back there.

Another great update.

Nah, he wasn't sleeping - X just didn't want to get out of the stroller!

And with the sun in our eyes, it was probably a good thing.
Too bad too as I almost never see Photopass photographers over by China!

And yeah I think we are on the same updating schedule (not to mention posting response schedule as well!!)

 

[thecapells]

ps - I knew that about the lions from taking the Segway tour. That was the first country we stopped in.

Did they tell you about the echo in the Temple of Heaven as well?
I want to take the Segway Tour at some point. Was it fun/worth it?

 

[dawnbu40]

Great photopass pics

I love all the pictures around China and DD makes such a cute geisha

Kim Possible is a lot of fun even if you've played before!

 

[MEK]

Did they tell you about the echo in the Temple of Heaven as well?
I want to take the Segway Tour at some point. Was it fun/worth it?

I don't remember hearing about the echo.

The segway tour is great. I definitely think it was worth the money even though it is pricey. We took the 745am tour (because it was the only one available since we booked the day before) and that one was great because the world showcase was completely empty. I would recommend going on the first tour. It's a whole new world showcase when it is devoid of all people.

They stopped in each country and gave us some history tidbits/ fun facts and in each country we did some segway maneuvers. It was cool how they tied it all together. There is also a picture stop near Italy where you can just ride around or take pics, so bring the camera.

The beginning of the tour is all training so you are completely ready to go when you hit the actual concrete.

 

[thecapells]

Great photopass pics

I love all the pictures around China and DD makes such a cute geisha

Kim Possible is a lot of fun even if you've played before!

We definitely like the KP Mission in China and the kids appreciate it more as they get older and can run it more themselves.

 

[boxmaster]

It was so cute watching the boys work together.
Of course, you must realize, time was of the essence.
Their goal was not only to help Kim save the world, but to do it before their sister and uncle!

That was pretty much a foregone conclusion, though. You guys started your mission just slightly before we did, and we had the same exact clues as you did. So we were always waiting for you to finish up at your station before we approached. Boo!

 

[thecapells]

That was pretty much a foregone conclusion, though. You guys started your mission just slightly before we did, and we had the same exact clues as you did. So we were always waiting for you to finish up at your station before we approached. Boo!

Not true - there were some tasks we had that you did not and vice versa.
You're just a sore loser since we saved the world before you did!

 

[thecapells]

Sorry gang - been an insane week with all the end of year Scout Stuff.
So without further ado, let's get back to the adventures!

 

[thecapells]

In the spot that once hailed the coming of an entire continent with a huge central tree and tribal shows, now stands yup – you guessed it – a snack bar.

With Africa being created in Animal Kingdom, I’ve always wondered why this “outpost” was never demolished to make way for another country or another theme.
But, for now, it’s an advertisement for African Coca-Cola

The secret of this place is that same advertisement.
Have your children lift some of the “iceboxes” and see what happens.
Yes, you can open them – remember, Disney is a place for exploration!
Besides hearing an icy cold can of Coke being opened with that authentic “hiss-snap,”
The opener of said box will experience the refreshment of drinking that delicious soda by getting misted.
Very nice touch on a hot day and very funny to watch the kids get surprised.

But what really brings children to the outpost (besides the slushies) is the drums.
Without further ado, please meet the next generation of Neal Peart…

I, of course, spent some time taking pictures.
Come on, if you made it this far, you should not be surprised.
After all, what else do I do?

Then Mom joined the fun.
Play those bongos!!

Alas, we were due in another country for lunch so our visit to the African continent would be a short one.
Kim was calling on the Kimmunicator and we had to save the world. Again.
Will these villains never give up?
Come join our next mission!

 

[thecapells]

We arrived at the scene of the crime and found, not a villain, but a princess.
Snow White had appeared to take pictures next to her new Wishing Well.

But as Short Round would say, “No time for love Dr. Jones!” so we pressed on.
Kim was in danger. Unfortunately X didn’t care.
So while Mom and J took our sleuths to save the world, I veered off course.
X was eyeing the sea.

Something fowl was definitely afoot here!
Okay, okay, that was bad.
But these pics were pretty good…

It was a nice relaxing tour of the World Showcase Lagoon.
X was such a good little passenger that he was presented with a Friendship Launch Co-Captain License!

On the boat, my friend called and we had to re-arrange some of our plans.
It seems they filled up too much on breakfast at Akershus and were going to wait a bit on lunch.
No problem – we simply changed our ADR for 10 people to 2 separate ones and hopefully we’d overlap a bit.

But while we were sailing around the world, Mom and DS were off fighting crime.
Meet Agent M! (Yes, we're excited these missions will soon have Agent P calling the shots!)

Somewhere else in Deutschland, DD and J were frantically trying to complete their missions as well.
But I’ll leave that recap up to J…

 

[dawnbu40]

The kids look like they were having so much fun playing those drums! Cute!

Nice pics throughout

We've been saying for quite awhile that they needed to change KP to an Agent P theme so we're pretty excited too. Caitlin and Dale love Phineas and Ferb

 

[thecapells]

The kids look like they were having so much fun playing those drums! Cute!

Nice pics throughout

We've been saying for quite awhile that they needed to change KP to an Agent P theme so we're pretty excited too. Caitlin and Dale love Phineas and Ferb

We all love P&F too!
We're really looking forward to the new spin on all the missions!

 

[MEK]

I had no idea they gave out Friendship launch licenses. That's pretty neat.

Great picture of all 3 kids playing the drums!

 

[thecapells]

I had no idea they gave out Friendship launch licenses. That's pretty neat.

Great picture of all 3 kids playing the drums!

I didn't know either.
It was a nice surprise!

 

[boxmaster]

So, off we went to take in some of the hidden sights in Germany while trying to help Kim Possible with saving the world, one pavilion at a time.

Professor Dementor, mad scientist that he is, took over a pretzel factory to make delectable treats that will bring the eaters under his control. (I definitely have a problem, then, as I love to eat pretzels! Uh oh! )

First up, we went, I think, to Der Bucherwurm, where they sell all sorts of
items, including beer steins. We needed to find a specific display of beer
steins on the mantel. Given the entrance we came in, this actually took a
minute or so to locate, despite it being as prominent as it is. (Hey, it's a
relatively small store and was somewhat busy.) Anyone else think of
the “Cliff Hangers” game from The Price Is Right when they hear this?


Here's the "Cliff Hangers" song
Well, maybe not, now that I hear it again. (It's been a few years, after all,
since I last watched TPiR.)

Next was the Volkskunst Shop. Amid all the different hand-painted eggs and
cuckoo clocks, we had to find just the right cuckoo clock to be able to
advance on our mission.


Next, we were off to Die Weihnachts Ecke (their Christmas store) to find the
nutcracker on a high shelf. We needed to figure out and then use the code to
get further along in our mission. Unfortunately, as you'll hear for yourself, a
certain someone decided that was the perfect moment to
call me on my cell phone.

Mercifully enough, though, despite the distraction - the ring covering up the
tune and the shoddy camerawork as I fumbled to silence my phone - I
managed to catch the code that we needed to proceed with the mission.

We also needed to find the large model railroad which, while kind of neat to
look at, the video I attempted to take of it is too lame to post. And
that's saying something, given the video of the nutcracker!

Finally, naturally, the finale. We were supposed to stand back outside the
Volkskunst Shop, input the necessary code, and see what happens. Much to
the surprise of several of the visitors in the courtyard area, visible in the
musical glockenspiel above the Sussigkeiten was this display, flushing out
Professor Dementor:


We saved Germany from the mad scientist , and just in time, for our
lunch ADR was almost ready. Good thing, too, given the yummy pretzel
bread that we were all salivating for.