Heat, Headaches but So Much Fun! My June Birthday TR (Trip Wrap-Up 10/12)

[Dancegrl624]

Congratulations on your new kitty!

Sometimes I think I'd like to get another cat, because we had the BEST cat in the world, but then I remember how often we go away and how lonely he used to get when we went away. It wouldn't be fair to the cat.

Enjoy your new kitty!

Thank you. Our cats definately missed us while we took both our trips this year. They wouldn't leave us alone for almost a week!

I needed to get all caught up, I"m here and back from my weekend trip!!

I loved the Mickey Balloons as well..I asked if we could sit upfront too and were told they don't do that anymore. Boo HOO! But i completely understand considering the accident and all.

Great photos from Chef Mickeys,the food looks delicious. I also love the birthday photopass card!! That's so sweet!!

How are things going with the new kitty?

The kitten is doing very well and he's loving his new home. Our female cat still just hisses at him and runs away, but our male cat is starting to adjust. They've sniffed each other and he hasn't hissed which is great. He's also started batting at him like he wants to play, but isn't quite sure (he does it from a distance!).

Congrats on the kitty!! Dbf's fam just adopted two from this woman who works at a shelter. They were found in a dumpster behind a KFC This is not the first time kittens were found there, either.
Anyway, the family got to take them because they were the only ones who would adopt both. They're brothers, and tabbys, like the cat they already have, Ike. Ike took a little while to get used to them, but he'll playfully swat at them now (after 3 weeks). He's six and doesn't have anyone to play with, so we think the kittens will bring out a playful side. (And hopefully lose some weight!!)
The new kittens are Benjamin and Bones, the former for Franklin and the latter for the Star Trek character. DBF has named all the cats for the family, after different historical figures. He's a bit of a history/science fiction nerd!

That's so great your dbf was able to adopt 2 brothers. I felt bad because we took our kitten away from his brother and "sister". He doesn't seem to mind though. He's super cuddly and sweet. The names for your dbf's new kittens are so cute!

Meghan -- Congratulations on your new little addition, we are a kitty family, too!

I just had to respond to this post because we adopted two boy kitties 16 years ago (we lost one last year over Labor Day), and their names are Worf and Gecko. Gecko's full name was Gordon Gecko -- dh named him after the character in Wall Street -- remember, played by Michael Douglas? You all may be too young . I named Worf, and we affectionately will call him Worfiedoodles, hence my screen name.

I am a total history sci/fi nerd -- I have two degrees in history, and I am a Trekker, STG and BSG fan -- plus I have read Orson Scott Card and The Dune series (among others) voraciously!

Maria

Thanks!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Day Two
June 25th
3pm

We headed to the Epcot bus stop around 3pm. The bus ride was nice and short and pretty soon, we were seeing this:

We just love Spaceship Earth!

We, of course, had to get some photopass pics too:

Before doing anything, we looked at the tip board to see if FP's were available for anything. No such luck, but that was ok. We headed to Innoventions to get our Visa Rewards picture taken. It was only available until 4:30pm. We did get some really cute pictures:

Minnie "commenting" on my headband

A big birthday hug from Goofy!

Group shot!

And a little closer

After our lovely photoshoot, we went over to Imagination. There was no line for Figment, so off we went. I really can't stand that skunk smell! So gross! Afterwards, we decided to go over to World Showcase, but on our way...you guessed it. More photopass pics!

We saw that Off Kilter was going to be playing within the hour, so we meandered on over to Canada (my DH really likes Celtic rock music and he was interested in hearing them). We took quite a few pictures.

Tony and Madison posing

One of the lovely totem poles

Beautiful waterfall

I was not aware that there was this phone booth in Canada!

Madison's turn...she's holding the Bald Eagle Webkinz that she bought at the store in Canada.

One more shot in Canada

We wanted to see "O Canada" because Madison and Tony had never experienced the 360 movie before. We waited for a bit, but the Off Kilter show was going to start soon, so we got up and left the waiting area. We got there right before the band came out! We listened to a few songs, but then we got hungry. We then back tracked into FW to eat at our favorite CS in Epcot-Sunshine Seasons! Tony and I split the 1/2 rotisserie (I can't spell) chicken with carrots and mashed potatoes (we did in Jan too!) and Maddie had the kids mac & cheese with grapes and pudding. We all shared some strawberry shortcake. It was soooo delicious!!

con't in next post....

 

[Dancegrl624]

After our wonderful dinner, Madison wanted to do the Kim Possible thing. We got our time and our country (Norway) and headed off to look around Mexico.

My goal was to take a picture of every single country. Will I succeed in my goal? You'll just have to stay tuned!

We rode the Gran Fiesta tour with absolutely no wait. It's such a relaxing ride. On our way to Norway, I got myself a frozen margerita. It ended up being WAY too strong for me, so Tony finished it.

We didn't look around Norway too much, but we did get our Kimmunicator and it directed us back to Mexico. After we completed our mission (which is all inside, so it's nice and cool), Madison chose to do another one. This time, we got to pick where we wanted to go, so we chose Germany. As we walked by China, the acrobatics show was going on, so this was the only photo I could get:

Missing from this picture is a huge throng of people watching the show.

We continued onto Germany and this time, the mission was even more fun (I won't give anything away). We also got a delicious pretzel and Tony got his German beer. Right as we were getting our snack, it started drizzling a bit, so we ducked inside. The "rain" didn't last too long, so we decided to keep moving.

Germany is my favorite of all the WS countries. Can you tell??

We didn't really stop in Italy, but we did get some pics.

We couldn't walk closer to the railing because there was a private party going on. Pretty cool!

When we got to the American Adventure, they were getting ready to shut the doors, so we ducked in real quick. Madison and Tony had never seen it before and I hadn't seen it in ages. Well, Tony kept dozing off every now and then and I don't know if Madison enjoyed it at all. Oh well. I did, but I kinda couldn't wait for it to end. It was getting close to IllumiNations time, and I didn't want to miss it.

Once the show was over, we noticed it was raining. Did I say raining? I mean POURING!! We put on our ponchos and ducked into that store in Japan (I'm having a hard time with names right now, but you all know which one I'm talking about). I had brought our flimsy dollar store ponchos for me and Tony that night, and boy was that a mistake! They were sticking to our skin and it felt so gross. Plus, the hoods wouldn't stay up! I had brought a nice one for Madison and she had no problems. IllumiNations was about to start, but I really didn't feel like standing in the rain (I was being a bit of a baby). Tony and Madison left me in the store and went to watch. After a minute or two, I reminded myself that we were on an amazing vacation and I shouldn't let the rain ruin it for me. I went to join them and I'm so glad that I did. There were only a handful of people out there braving the elements so we had a great spot for the show.

After IllumiNations, we were a little hungry. We made our way over to France for a ham and cheese croissant. I didn't care for it too much, but Madison and Tony devoured it. By the time we were done with our snack, the rain had stopped. Hooray!!! We put our ponchos in a plastic bag we had brought with us and we started walking towards FW.

Madison in the UK

The Rose and Crown

We headed to The Land to see what the wait time was for Soarin' (it was now EMH). Standby was 55 minutes, but Madison really wanted to ride. We showed the CM our room keys and got in line. The wait time was pretty accurate, but time moved by pretty quickly (Madison and Tony looked at Guide to the Magic and Hidden Mickey's while I wrote in my trip journal.). When we got off of Soarin', the wait time had gone done to around 40 minutes. Oh well. We ended the night with our one of our favorite rides. We made our way to the exit and we didn't have to wait long for a bus. We returned to Pop and were all in bed around midnight.

Tony also took this pic on his cell phone. It came out so well! He sent it to me and it's now the wallpaper on my phone!

UP NEXT....EMH at DHS!

 

[princess&her4princes]

Yay, great update! You have taken so many GREAT pictures this trip!! I love how you reminded yourself how you were on this great trip and you weren't going to let the rain take you down!!! That's the right attitude for sure!!! Sounds like a busy day but a great one!! Maddie looks like she's having such a great trip, her smile keeps getting bigger and bigger in every picture!! TOO CUTE!

 

[princess_momma]

Yay, an update!! I'm glad you still went out and saw IllumiNations!! That's awesome. Rain shouldn't hinder your plans!!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Yay, great update! You have taken so many GREAT pictures this trip!! I love how you reminded yourself how you were on this great trip and you weren't going to let the rain take you down!!! That's the right attitude for sure!!! Sounds like a busy day but a great one!! Maddie looks like she's having such a great trip, her smile keeps getting bigger and bigger in every picture!! TOO CUTE!

Thank you so much! I tried really hard to take lots of pics. That night, I still had a horrible headache, so that was part of my problem when it was raining. IllumiNations ended up being a lot of fun to watch in the rain, so that was awesome. Madison had a wonderful time and we did too. It was a busy day, but so much fun.

Yay, an update!! I'm glad you still went out and saw IllumiNations!! That's awesome. Rain shouldn't hinder your plans!!

For the rest of the week, whenever it rained, I never had a problem with it. We were on vacation, we had ponchos and we didn't care.

 

[shordiebecka]

I just want to say that we have basically the same wardrobe..lol..almost every shirt you wear I have the same one, and wore it in florida too! Your TR is going great. I also get headaches and the rain made it so much worse, but i popped excederins and kept on my merry way, thats the way to do it in disney!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Yay!! love it! I too loooove Germany-that and the UK are tops!!! We always do Wal-Mart ponchos..but they aren't much better...i think they feel icky too!

 

[Dancegrl624]

I just want to say that we have basically the same wardrobe..lol..almost every shirt you wear I have the same one, and wore it in florida too! Your TR is going great. I also get headaches and the rain made it so much worse, but i popped excederins and kept on my merry way, thats the way to do it in disney!

That is so funny! I knew I didn't want to wear anything too clingy and definately nothing with sleeves. I was hot, but comfy all week. I kept alternating between Motrin and Sudafed, but nothing seemed to cure my headache. I was drinking water by the gallons too.

Yay!! love it! I too loooove Germany-that and the UK are tops!!! We always do Wal-Mart ponchos..but they aren't much better...i think they feel icky too!

We bought our nicer ponchos at Walmart. They were made of a heavier, nicer material and they had the snaps on the sides. They never ripped and they were bright colors. Madison had a youth one which was pink (I still had to cut it or else she would have been tripping all over it). Tony had blue and I had yellow. If we were to ever lose each other in a rain storm, we would definately be able to find each other!

 

[Monny2AE]

Illuminations is my favorite show- I hope they never take it away or change the music.

The pic of Epcot with the cell phone is better than the ones I got with my real camera!

Can't wait to see a pic of your newest addition- and his name goes along so well with your other two, what a wonderful coincidence!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Meghan - Great updates. I've been thinking of you this week. We're on vacation down near Williamsburg VA and it's HOT and HUMID! I've been suffering with sinus headaches too. Lots of sudafed...
Then yesterday we went to Busch Gardens and watched a show in Ireland with Irish dancing - it was SO COOL!! I thought of you and Madison!

Now I know why I don't go to WDW in summer. Although we may have a small trip next year...YIKES!

 

[Miller-family]

Meghan,

I'm enjoying your TR! We were in Epcot the same day, did the KP adventure in Mexico (which the kids loved) were at American Adventure about the same time and dodged the rain in the Japan gift shop! We ended up watching Illuminations from the Pagoda building in the front of Japan. I keep thinking I'll see us in your pictures The kids were freaking out about all of the lightning. Thank goodness it didn't last long.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Beautiful photos, Meghan! --You sure were having a wonderful time! How long did the Kim Possible misisons take to do? Did you feel like it really impacted your touring time, or was it a nice break?

Maria

 

[Disneychix]

Sorry about the rain and the headache but at least you got to see Illuminations! It's nice you didn't let it get you down.

I love the pics of Tony and Madison! So cute! Boy does she have his smile hun?

 

[Villainess]

Great update - sorry abou the rain but glad you were still able to enjoy Illuminations.

 

[stacikristine]

I was a couple of updates behind...but I'm all caught up now!

First of all, what great pictures of your family at Chef Mickey's! It looks like Maddie had a blast. And congrats on your new kitty! I can't wait to see pictures of him. The WS pictures are gorgeous--I could spend days and days in the World Showcase And Tony's pic of SE is AMAZING!!! So good!

One question--I was planning on getting cheap ponchos for Michael and me...would you suggest going ahead and getting better ones?

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

How neat. I've never been to Epcot when the park hasn't been closed before Illuminations started!!! Despite the rain, it looks like you guys had a fun day!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Illuminations is my favorite show- I hope they never take it away or change the music.

The pic of Epcot with the cell phone is better than the ones I got with my real camera!

Can't wait to see a pic of your newest addition- and his name goes along so well with your other two, what a wonderful coincidence!

The music is so amazing! I bought the cd and could not stop listening to it when we got home. I started thinking it would make an awesome ballet dance with maybe some ribbons or something. Then it hit me. I've danced to that music before! I was in a dance company in college and we danced to the IllumiNations music AND we used ribbons!!!! I'll try to get pics of the new kitten soon.

Meghan - Great updates. I've been thinking of you this week. We're on vacation down near Williamsburg VA and it's HOT and HUMID! I've been suffering with sinus headaches too. Lots of sudafed...
Then yesterday we went to Busch Gardens and watched a show in Ireland with Irish dancing - it was SO COOL!! I thought of you and Madison!

Now I know why I don't go to WDW in summer. Although we may have a small trip next year...YIKES!

That's too bad about your sinuses. Doesn't it stink! We're thinking of hitting up Busch Gardens next summer. My cousin is getting married in Virginia Beach (on the beach), so we'll probably make a nice little vacation out of it. I haven't been to Busch Gardens since I was 17 years old and I'd love to go back! That's so sweet that you thought of Madison when you saw the Irish dancers!

Meghan,

I'm enjoying your TR! We were in Epcot the same day, did the KP adventure in Mexico (which the kids loved) were at American Adventure about the same time and dodged the rain in the Japan gift shop! We ended up watching Illuminations from the Pagoda building in the front of Japan. I keep thinking I'll see us in your pictures The kids were freaking out about all of the lightning. Thank goodness it didn't last long.

How funny that we were there at the same time. The Mexico KP adventure was fun for Madison, but that pavillion always gets so crowded! We stood in front of Japan to watch IllumiNations so we were so close!

Beautiful photos, Meghan! --You sure were having a wonderful time! How long did the Kim Possible misisons take to do? Did you feel like it really impacted your touring time, or was it a nice break?

Maria

With KP, we did it while we toured. When we stopped to get our snack, we just ignored the Kimmunicator for awhile. It doesn't shut off or anything, so that was nice. They take as long as you'd like them to take. Sometimes it took as awhile to find where we needed to go, but I don't think it really eats up a lot of time.

Sorry about the rain and the headache but at least you got to see Illuminations! It's nice you didn't let it get you down.

I love the pics of Tony and Madison! So cute! Boy does she have his smile hun?

Madison definately has Tony's smile. I'm so glad we got to see IllumiNations. It's such an amazing show.

Great update - sorry abou the rain but glad you were still able to enjoy Illuminations.

The rain really was not fun, but the show was fantastic!

I was a couple of updates behind...but I'm all caught up now!

First of all, what great pictures of your family at Chef Mickey's! It looks like Maddie had a blast. And congrats on your new kitty! I can't wait to see pictures of him. The WS pictures are gorgeous--I could spend days and days in the World Showcase And Tony's pic of SE is AMAZING!!! So good!

One question--I was planning on getting cheap ponchos for Michael and me...would you suggest going ahead and getting better ones?

Thanks! CM's was a lot of fun. I too love WS and could spend so much time there. It's not as much fun when you're overheating and you have a headache, but I still love it. We got our nicer ponchos at Walmart by the camping/hunting gear. The adult ones were like $5.88 and the youth one was $4.88. They didn't stick to our skin like the garbage bag ones do.

How neat. I've never been to Epcot when the park hasn't been closed before Illuminations started!!! Despite the rain, it looks like you guys had a fun day!

It was so fun to walk through WS with hardly anyone around. It was so peaceful!


***That pic of SE was taken by me with my digital camera. Sorry to confuse everyone! What I meant to say was that while I took that pic with my camera, Tony was taking a pic at the same time with his cell phone. Sorry!***

 

[tinkgurl]

Aw...I love the pic of you hugging Goofy!

 

[Gabes_mommy]

Hi! I just wanted to post and tell you how much I've been enjoying your report. Your DD is a cutie and she seems so happy. She is such a blend of you and your DH - it's neat how you can see both of you in her.

Looking forward to more!