Here we go! 9 days of fun, food and Harry Potter too. updated more Harry and the end

[cesariofamily]

Welcome to my trip report we had a fabulous time! Let's get started with our cast of characters

DD4-she had a grand time and as she promised was no longer scared of characters. She was just shy of 40 inches so we had to child swap
DD8- was over the moon! She was 48 inches and a smidgen and was a real rider. Wanted to do all the bigger rides too. Suppose we'll have to go back!
DD17- really got into the Magic of Disney and had a good time. Did act teenagerish at times
DH my prince charming! had a grand time and spoiled his girls loved Harry Potter and Star Tours.
ME! ah yes the Disney freak and planner, who else writes these things? Here is a picture of us and then I'll tell you my tale. Which makes me think of DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES, I hope I make it!

Also I don't know how to make chapter links? Anyone out there who can help me out?

 

[cesariofamily]

We left Pittsburgh at 7:30 am without incident and arrived in Atlanta. We had a chicken biscuit at Popeye's. This was so so good. I had never eaten there. It was almost as good as Tudor's Biscuit world in (southern West Va) give me a shout out if you agree!

We arrived in Orlando at 1:20 right on time! We rented with Hertz which was right in the parking garage across from the airport very convenient. Our car had only 8 miles on it and new car smell. Very fun to drive a new car. The kids didn't love it though it was a standard and they are use to the minivan. They were a bit too close together.

We stayed at Sheraton Vistana Villages for 7 nights. We are Sheraton time share owners at Myrtle Beach. I love my time share. We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, full kitchen, washer dryer, dinning room living room and screen porch. Our unit was right across from the pool which was very convenient. Here are some pictures

and although I didn't thrill you with a picture of a toilet there were indeed two clean toilets

we also ordered from Garden Grocer. The fee was WELL WORTH skipping the trip to the grocery store to me. It was there at bell hop when we arrived and the order was completely correct. I give them two thumbs up. We did eat two small dinners at the time share and had larger lunches in the park. I am not into paying big $$$$$ for breakfast so we also had breakfast food. I could have ordered more snacks like gold fish but we did a quick stop at Walgreen's for snacks and some medicine.

I highly recommend Sheraton Vistana Villages. They also rent and you don't have to do "the presentation" although I"m sure they will try to talk you into doing "the presentation" The one bedrooms are $99 a night and its a good deal. We didn't use it but they have an on site market and restaurants. We did tour a few pools and they were very nice.

 

[newtexan]

I'm here to read along!

 

[cesariofamily]

Welcome!!!!

 

[cesariofamily]

We relaxed at the pool for the afternoon which was a nice way to start vacation. We had 6:30 dinner reservations for Kat Cora's Kouzzina on the boardwalk. I had never been to the boardwalk and was eager to check it out. I also love Greek food. My husband was also into the Iron Chef angle. We had a little trouble finding the boardwalk parking and as a result walked up at exactly 6:30. We were given a buzzer and we wondered around outside for about 5 minutes and then we were seated. The restaurant was fairly crowded. We started with an appetizer of three dips one was roasted red pepper the second was eggplant and the third was cucumber. The dips were all very good. DD17 liked the roasted red pepper dip best, DD8 liked the cucumber and I preferred the eggplant. DH liked them all and DD4 just ate the pitas. They also brought three different flavors of olive oil and Kalamata olives. This was also very very good. The three olive oils had distinct flavors and it was fun to try them. For our meals DH had Kouzzina Trio – Tasting size portions of Greek-style Lasagna, Char-grilled Lamb Burger,
and Cinnamon-stewed Chicken with Orzo 21.99. He loved it. I sampled all three and they were yummy. DD17 had Slow-cooked Lamb Shank served with Oven-baked Gigantes Beans and Pepper Sauce 26.99. She liked her meal but was a bit put off that it came on the bone. I tasted the lamb and it was very good. I had Saffron Pasta tossed with Lamb Ragu and Shaved Kefalograviera Cheese (Macaronada) 21.99. It was also very tasty. DD8 had the chicken skewer which she made into a chicken pita and used some of the cucumber dip. DD4 had a kids item but we shouldn't have bought her anything because she ate very little. We also got Loukoumades which are like donuts. They were good but not great and I've had much better That was a disappointment. I really enjoyed this restaurant. It was one of our most expensive meals because most of our "big meals" we ate at lunch. I would also say that if you do not like Greek food this may not be the place for you. There aren't many plain dishes on the menu for picky eaters. Here are some pictures we took while at the boardwalk.

After dinner we walked around and watched a performer. There is not as much to do here as there is at downtown Disney. It is very beautiful and I really enjoyed it.

 

[cesariofamily]

Our first full day was our Magic Kingdom day! Woo-hoo!
We arrived at 8:15 at the TTC we had breakfast of cereal bars before we left. We arrived and checked bags before the opening show. We took a position in the front middle of the train station so we could see the opening show. My girls were memorized. They loved seeing Mickey and the fireworks. We headed in and straight down main street. The castle took my breath away. We walked through it and back to Dumbo. We took a spin on Dumbo with no wait and of course I took construction pictures. It was cool that some things were definitely taking shape but it still looked a long way from being finished.

The last time we were at Disney DD4 was only 18 months old and she loved Dumbo. Would run up to the bars and try and shake them. This time she enjoyed it but not as much. sniff sniff. We headed over to Peter Pan and took a magical journey. The girls liked it so much that they kept chanting "do it again" so we did and then for good measure got a fast pass. We then headed to Winnie The Pooh which had a face lift since our last visit. Everyone adults included loved the new interactive items for standing in line. We didn't have a wait but we played around for a few minutes anyway. The girls would have stayed for an hour! However that is not very conducive to a commando touring plans spreadsheet! So 15 minutes is all they got.

After two rides on Pooh of course we had to DO IT AGAIN! We went over to the tea cups. The ride kept starting and stopping. I thought we'd have to give up on it but in the end we had our Tea Party. Then we stopped for a visit with Alice and the White Rabbit. Katie had an Alice tee shirt on and Alice gave her a lot of attention and was very friendly. Katie (DD4) told her she was her new favorite princess. Which Alice found silly and said she was not a princess which Katie ignored.

From there we were off to Adventure land. The line for Splash Mountain was short and we were already HOT! We hurried up on and the girl who measured Katie was pretty lax. She got on but that was the only time she was measured to be 40 inches. She loved the ride, we all did and I was glad she got to experience it. When we got off the ride Woody and Jesse were taking pictures. The line was long but we got in anyway. They had good interaction and the girls were happy to get more autographs.

We took a spin on a crazy train in the old west and than it was time to check in for the girls makeovers at the BBB. At this point it was hot and much more crowded than I expected. We had missed a few rides off of my spreadsheet. I put it aside and tried not to worry and enjoy our much anticipated beauty treatments. I will do a BBB update in the next post.

 

[cesariofamily]

This was the third visit for DD17 and DD8 to the BBB. I am not sure how much DD8 remembers of the experience. This was the first time DD4 was old enough! They were all very excited for their makeover experience. We arrived only a few minutes early and found ourselves in a LONG line. I waited over 15 minutes just to check the girls in. Then we waited about 45 minutes past our appointment time. I wish they would give you a pager since it is very small in the lobby and often an entire family will be waiting for one princess. They called all three girls at once which was nice and eliminated any fighting. Robin DD8 got the Diva hairstyle. DD17 got the princess and DD4 changed her mind at the last minute to the princess and I think that mostly has to do with the fact that the brochure had a little girl in a snow white dress (like she was wearing) had a princess hair do. The last time we went my niece got the Diva and wanted the tiara that comes with the Princess so I paid extra for it. DD8 wanted the same but they no longer sell the tiara in the BBB. Daddy was a true prince and ran over to the couture shop and bought her one. I did the hair make up and nail package and brought the girls costumes from home. We have an extensive collection and I can't justify the cost of the costume included package. The girls were thrilled the fairy Godmothers were awesome and they turned out adorable.

After our thrilling make overs it was about 1:00 and we had reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table at 1:30. We tried to check in but they told us we were too early. So we decided to get some photo pass pictures taken in the couture store. Even if you don't get a photo package with your makeover they will take your pictures. I was very pleased with the shoot. I had prepaid for the CD so I told them to take a ton of pictures. My husband tipped the photo pass guy and I have no problem with that but I thought they weren't allowed tips? I didn't tip the fairy godmothers in training? Someone chime in, can they accept tips? Then it was off to CRT for our lunch and we were hungry!

 

[cesariofamily]

We checked in and got admitted into the castle lobby right away. We also got pictures with Cinderella right away. We have 5 in our party so we get 2 photo's. We took a family picture and one of just the girls. They also had information to get the picture uploaded to your photo pass cd.

After Cinderella we were back to waiting. A little girl DD4 had made friends with during the wait at BBB was also in the lobby waiting. They played and had a jolly time. Cinderella didn't have any more takers for pictures so she joined in the fun and danced with each girl! I have videos. It was so sweet. Very nice interaction. Once called up to lunch we had a nice waitress who brought us lots of drinks because we were thirsty! She also brought the appetizer very quickly. DH had VEGETARIAN “CASSOULET”
Baked French-style Casserole of Cannelini and Garbanzo Beans topped
with Wild Mushrooms, Zucchini, Shallots, Tomatoes, and Herbs He liked this but I thought it looked yucky. DD17 and I both had the beef that replaced the magor domo's pie. While our meal was very very tasty. The beef was tender and mashed potatoes very good. I did miss Major Domo's pie. I tried to find a description but the menu must have changed recently because allears and Disney has the old menu online. I ordered dd8 beef although she said pizza because she REALLY likes beef but when it came she was mad! So the waiter very kindly took it back and brought the right thing. I felt bad and should have listened to her. She wasn't in the beef mood. We had a wonderful lunch and the girls were super super excited to meet all of the princess who seemed to be in character. My only improvement is if they could space out the visits a little bit. Someone came while we were ordering and caused confusion and then we had seen everyone before the first third of our meal was done. DD4 was a princess stalker and I almost had to tie her to the chair to keep her from visiting the princesses at other tables. All in all it was a wonderful experience as you can see from these happy faces!

After lunch our plan was to go to Tom Sawyer's Island. However when we got over there we found this!

One little Princess had enough! What to do now? Our tummies are over full , it is hot and crowded! Are we headed to a family melt down..............

 

[cesariofamily]

Very hot and full we decided to head over to adventure land. POTC usually has a quick line out of the heat so we decided that would be our next stop. We heaved our sleeping princess into our arms and found the line to be slightly sticking into the Plaza. We got in line and waited for a long time. We made friends with the family behind us, the little girls liked my girls hair do's and costumes. DD4 slept for the WHOLE wait and we passed her between myself, husband and DD17 she was a heavy hot handful. The family behind us soon noticed a group of teenagers trying to move up in line. Our family and the family behind us effectively boxed them out so no more line cutting! However it was somewhat comical watch them try to maneuver around us and then both families blocking their way. At one point I did look pointedly at them and gave them an "excuse me" in a very cranky tone. In my defense they were cutting and I was hauling a 35 pound princess in a slippery costume in 90 degrees! Ha ha too bad for the line cutters. DD4 woke up as we loaded into the boat and was distressed about the setting. She did manage through the ride but it was not her favorite. After that we got a cold drink at aloha isle and we had a pineapple float! YUMMY we loved it. Then we decided to see the renovated tikki room show that had gone back to its original format. It was still weird. Maybe weirder than the Yago one. We can however say we saw the Walt Disney World original show. We decided to go back to our original Tom Sawyer plan since MK was very crowded this night. DD4 and DD8 loved Tom Sawyer and I thought it was a nice break from the crowds too. I did let Daddy do more of the running duty and I took more of the outlook job. DD17 slept on a bench! Ahh teenagers. Here are some pictures of our adventures.

We spent a great bit of time on Tom Sawyer's Island once back on the mainland we decided to head back toward tomorrowland. We didn't make it though it started to rain so we decided to jump on into Mickey's Philharmagic. I love that show and DD4 was memorized. DD8 was jumping out of her seat to "catch" the 3 d items. They loved the show and it was on the top of their list for our next day at Magic Kingdom. We came out and it had stopped raining but it was very crowded. We decided to use our Peter Pan FP and talk about dinner. I wasn't hungry but DH and DD17 were. I wanted to stay near the parade route since it was the only night we could see the Electric Parade. People were grumbly they were tired and wanted to leave but I talked them into dinner and the parade. DD17 wanted to go to Tortuga Tavern. We should have looked more closely because we went all the way back over there to discover it was closed. Our next stop was Pecos Bills. It was almost 8:00 and the parade was at 9! We ate quickly and headed out at 8:40 to find a spot. We were able to find a nice spot near the country bears. DD4 made friends again with the little girl besides us.

DD8 fell asleep on the towel waiting for the parade! We woke her up and she loved the parade. So did DD4, I bought her a light up tinkerbell and she was very excited. It was kind of expensive but I was in the mood for magic The girls loved the parade and got lots of hugs waves and handshakes. They wanted to do it again but it wasn't in our schedule. In the end they were glad they stuck it out. We didn't stay for wishes and made our way back to the time share.

 

[saintstickets]

Lurking in the background here. Can't wait to read about Harry Potter. We are going in May, 2012 and really looking forward to it. Keep the TR coming!

 

[cesariofamily]

Welcome! Hang in there Harry was our final two days! It was awesome and I have lots of pictures. Oh how I wish you could get butter beer in Pittsburgh!

 

[cesariofamily]

This was our Hollywood Studio day! We were feeling apprehensive about the Toy Story Dash. Our Magic Kingdom day had been very hot and we didn't get to all the things on our touring plan. I wasn't sure how Hollywood Studios would be. We only had a lose schedule and wanted to work in a few shows. We arrived early but were a good bit behind for the opening show. The rope dropped the crowd surged to Toy Story there was alot of confusion. We got in the stand by line but had to wait about 20 minutes. I love the theming in the waiting area. Here are some pictures. We actually moved pretty quickly through the fun area and got stuck in the little hallway near the stairs.

http://i435.photobucket.com/albums/qq79/cesariofamily/Disney%202011/Hollywood%20Studios%20Disney[IMG]http://i435.photobucket.com/albums/qq79/cesariofamily/Disney%202011/Hollywood%20Studios%20Disney%202011/disneysept8288.jpg
We had a good ride. DD4 was able to play pretty well and got a score. DD8 was pretty competitive and discussed our scores and our assigned "animal" for most of the day. This ride is so fun, I just wish it could accommodate more people. We got off the ride and the standby line was very long. We got a set of fast passes for later. My DH and DD17 headed straight to Rock N Roller Coaster. My husband loves this ride. the Littles and I took our time going over and stopped to visit this guy.
[IMG]http://i435.photobucket.com/albums/qq79/cesariofamily/Disney%202011/Hollywood%20Studios%20Disney%202011/disneysept8295.jpg
He seemed to really like DD4 and kept snuggling her. It was very cute. We then proceeded to Rock N Roller Coaster. We were waiting when some street performers were looking for volunteers. DD8 is a joiner so she ran right over and volunteered us. The premise was we were making a commercial. We had to jump around look very excited and stay We're a Star! The kids really liked it. I had lost my voice and was having difficulty pretending to scream. DH and DD17 came out to see one of the final shots of us making the commercial. The kids all got plastic Emmy statues that they thought were fabulous. I was impressed that it was free! DH and I then tried the singles line for RNRC. We were told about a gillion times that we would be separated. I kept saying okay that is fine. Then they put us together in the same car? The singles line moved very fast. DH and DD17 waited about 20 minutes but we were on in off in 5 minutes. After RNRC DD8 and DH went off to Tower of Terror. I took DD17 and DD4 to staring rolls. The teenager hadn't had breakfast. I had wanted to check this place out so I told her i would buy today but if she continued to refuse to eat breakfast at the timeshare she would have to buy her own breakfast. This place is TINY and somewhat confusing. We got a chocolate muffin and a danish. They were very yummy! I would give this place two thumbs up! I would also try to wait till later in the morning as it is a small place. We then met up and headed to playhouse Disney. We tried to do the Little Mermaid but the next show was far away. DD4 really loved the show. DD8 tried to grumble that it would be boring but did enjoy it.


We also did some character meet and greet. Katie and June hit it off and June was clapping for Katie's dance school moves. It was cute and DD4 was very pleased.

We headed over to the streets of America in search of the Umbrella from Singing in the Rain. DD8 remembered it from our last trip. We found it!

We also saw the Muppet's show. Very fun.

Then got fast passes for Star Tours. We then saw Beauty and The Beast. Somewhere in there we also ate lunch at Staring rolls. I give the turkey sandwich two thumbs up! The ham had a strong mustard that I didn't care for. DH did like it and he swapped his top for DD17 bottom so she didn't have to eat the mustard. We took a few hour break back at the time share and we spent some time cooling off at the pool. I wasn't sure if I could motivate my family to go back they were all acting tired. We did have a frozen pizza at the time share and decided we'd have a treat at the park. That was a big $$ saver. In the end we arrived back at 7:00. We used our Toy Story fast passes. Then rode Star Tours. We had 5 passes but DD17 gets motion sickness so she took dd4 to muppets and DH and DD8 rode twice.

It was 8:30! so we hot footed it over to fantastic. DD17, DH a
nd DD8 got ahead of us when we dropped off the stroller and I was afraid we'd never see them again. In the end they were not to hard to find as they were in the FRONT row of the section they were herding us all to. I dropped off DD4 and headed off for popcorn. I had about 15 minutes to get it before the show started. DH kept texting me that DD17 and DD8 wanted popcorn but that DD4 was freaked out that i was gone and was worried that I wouldn't come back. In the end I got the popcorn two minutes before the show started. By then it was standing room only. I kept having to show my popcorn so they would let me back to my family. I also bought the R2D2 popcorn bucket. It was so cute! However I didn't ask how much $$$ it was and it was twice as much as a normal box. I had packed drinks and our light up tinker bell so we were set for a great show. Can you find our cute R2D2?

We loved the show. DD4 thought it was a bit scary. DD17 freaked out when she was 6 and DD8 loved it at 5. DD4 did enjoy the end and was always pretty confident that Mickey would win in the end. If your little ones are easily frightened you should avoid this one! I was also sad that this was our last day at Hollywood Studios. We took our time leaving and enjoyed the night time atmosphere and got some photo pass pictures.

 

[cesariofamily]

Monday Sept 5 was labor day and Epcot day! Oh how I love love love Epcot. Soarin is my favorite ride! We arrived very early and were one family back at the rope. All this was for nothing as we got snarled up dropping off the stroller. We started up the ramp to the land with it. BIG mistake as it had to go back down. I thought someone might kill me as I went against the crowd to put it in the right place. Sadly we got even more messed up as the CM was trying to measure DD4 and wasn't quite sure what to do with her. All earliness was lost in the measurement process. We did however get two sets of child swap fast passes since the cm was from the Pittsburgh area and felt bad for our wait. Soon DD4 and DH were off to the land and the rest of us were Soarin! I love this ride. I love the smells. I love the fireworks. I love it all! DD8 and I went again with DH and DD17 took DD4. That was sweet of her since she knows how much I love it! She and DD4 went to circle of life. DD17 gave it two thumbs down. DD4 couldn't understand it. Then we did a tour of the Land. DD4 found this ride wonderful. DH wants to try the behind the seeds tour. Here are some plants for your viewing pleasure.

Next we headed to the land. We stopped for some water as this was A VERY HOT HOT day. When I approached the stroller I noticed that a squirrel was there eating a peanut butter sandwich. WAIT DD17 had not finished her sandwich??? uh oh! I called DH over to scare the overly friendly squirrel away and it was true. The squirrel took the sandwich out of the bag on our stroller. Later in the week I noticed several squirrels that were good at helping them selves to snacks left un protected in strollers. In fact they seem to stalk the stroller parking areas! Beware of hungry squirrels in your strollers!
We did head into the land and looked all around. We liked the Dolphin and the beluga whales. We stopped to talk to crush. He's so funny! Then we headed out to see figment. After that DH went for test track fast passes and I went to get the Kim Possible passes. The problem there was that I need a ticket to get the Kim Possible passes UGH! The very nice CM said not to worry and he just gave me passes to UK. Which was great since before I figured out that we needed theme park admission ticket thing I had explained to him that I wanted a mission in France or UK since we had Le Cellier Ressies!
So with all our passes in hand we headed for World Show Case.

Notice I was in this picture? the fam insisted since I love the flowers in Epcot and all of Disney really. So we went pretty straight to our mission in the UK since we would be back in Canada for lunch.

DD17 loved Kim Possible and I even got DD8 and DD17 old DVD's of the series for Easter this year. So we all knew who Kim Possible was. The Kimunicator or fake cell phone was very cool and this was very very very fun! It was 100 degrees and we were all drinking lots of water but it was so fun. I don't want to give away the mission but I loved how things in and around UK changed or talked to us, I was very impressed. Here are some pictures.

After we were done it was about 1:00 and we were HOT. We decided to head to Canada and check in for our 1:30 reservation. We took our time and took a few pictures.

They sat us right away. We had a waiter in training and a regular waitress. They were very nice. I decided against alcohol since it was so hot I was worried about dehydration. We all got a soft drink and water and they were very attentive to our glasses. They brought out the awesome bread and we were in heaven.
DH got Roasted Prince Edward Island Mussels with Tomatoes, Garlic, Rosemary, and Pernod 11.99
DD17 and I got the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup made with Moosehead Beer and Bacon We all raved about our choices. I could eat gallons of that soup! So good. I am allergic to shellfish but DH LOVED and raved about the mussels and he is from New England. DH did not go prix fix but DD17 and I did. DD8 got the kids steak and DD4 got pizza.
DH got Le Cellier Mushroom Filet Mignon, served with Wild Mushroom Risotto finished with a White Truffle Butter Sauce 26.99 and said it was the best steak of his life. DD17 and I both got the Le Cellier’s Steak and Potato Skillet
Beef Tenderloin, Mushrooms, and Potatoes served with a Salad of Arugula, Tomato, and Blue Cheese 19.99. We both loved it. I stuffed myself getting the very last bites of steak in. DH had DD17 chocolate mouse.

I had the maple creme brulee. I was not sure if I would like it but I wanted to try it. I must admit I really loved it. The maple flavor was just right. DD17 had the berry cobbler. I don't know if she loved it but she talked DH into getting a dessert from the prix fix so she could have something off the regular menu. We rolled out of there so fat and full. The heat was oppressive so we decided it was time for a break and a swim at the time share!

Unfortunately we lost the car on the way out. We also then got stuck in a massive storm. It was a tough way to end. We took a break in the timeshare and the kids watched TV. We returned to Epcot with only 2 hours left in the day. We did Soarin and then DH, DD17 and D8 went to use the test track FP. DD4 and I went to explore the countries. We rode the boat in Mexico and checked out the market. Katie wanted to buy EVERYTHING all the time! She was a pain in the but since Mexico has cute but extremely expensive hand painted animals at 4 year old level. I originally thought that it might make a good souvenir but the smallest ones were over $30 and didn't really go with my decor.

We headed over to Norway on another mission of mine SCHOOL BREAD! Oh disboards how you had me talked into school bread. So we ordered school bread and waffles. I spoke for several minutes with the CM girls in Norway they were very cute. We enjoyed learning more about them. The test track riders caught up with us and we wolfed down our Norway selections. All yummy yummy. I did prefer the waffles to the School Bread and I would like to try more yummy items next time we return. It was now 15 minutes until the park closed. We ran like crazy people to Maelstrom and had a troll filled ride. DD4 was apprehensive but all in all liked the ride. DD8 would have liked a little more adventure. The movie was not showing. We took a few pictures.

Illuminations was going on but the fam said NO! I would have liked to watch for a few minutes but I got voted down. We'd watch them our next Epcot day.

 

[cesariofamily]

We headed back to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday Sept. 6th. We were excited to get to ride some of the things we missed on our first day and we had Ressies for Crystal Palace. Yeah!
We decided to leave a little bit later since we were tired so our plan was to arrive during the opening show. We ended up locking ourself out of our time share and leaving even later than we thought

So we arrived at the end of the opening show and we lined up solidly in the middle of the pack trying to get in. The crowds were suppose to be lower and they were we headed back to ride Dumbo.

I think I got some better construction pics this time!

Did you notice the ominous clouds? Yep they were rollin in at 9 am
Well they also made an announcement stating that there was a storm coming and that rides may close at any time due to these storms. My husband was very concerned about the impending storms and thought we might have to leave the park. So we decided to try and hurry on up and get some rides in! We did Peter and Pooh again and headed over toward Tomorrowland. We stopped in Cosmic Rays and put the stroller inside the empty restaurant as the winds were suppose to be very strong and we didn't want it blowing away. We left everything and headed over toward Space Mountain. My husband got some fast passes and we headed into Buzz Lightyear.

By the time our Buzz Lightyear was done it was raining very very hard. We didn't have our poncho's with us! Uggh. The rain let up a tiny little bit and DH, DD17 and DD8 headed toward Space Mountain. DD4 and I tried the people mover.

We took two spins on the peoplemover and it was a nice ride and good for picture taking. On our second spin, the lights were on in Space Mountain.

We then ran on over to the Monsters Laugh floor. It was a funny show. DD8 texted in a joke and it got picked for the show. When we then went over and got our strollers and our rain ponchos. Then the sun came out! We rode the carousel and Its a small world.

Then we headed over to Crystal Palace for our 12:45 reservation. We had a bit of a wait and the line to check in was very long. The sun came out and it was very very hot, sunny and humid. We really enjoyed Crystal Palace. The food and variety was very tasty. The characters were very cute. They had good interaction with the girls. We had a similar experience where the characters came fast and furious when we first sat down. In fact we all left at once to get food when Tigger was a few tables away because we were so hungry and wanted to stretch out the visits abit. In fact they came so early in our visit that we had second visits while we were waiting to pay the bill.

We enjoyed the food and especially the dessert. Here is a picture of my dessert.

We then stopped for some pictures by the rose garden that looks out toward the castle.

I'll continue in the next post as I have too many pictures!

 

[cesariofamily]

I left you and we were busy taking lots of pictures in front of the castle. We decided to head off to adventure land but then we spotted Peter Pan! Peter was a bit nervous about us when he found out we were from Pittsburgh, he had heard of the Pittsburgh Pirates! He was a fun character with lots of interaction.

We then headed off to do some more adventure land. We headed onto our magic carpets to take a spin around agrabah

We decided to go see Aladdin and Jasmine but their line was closed. They told us to come back around 3:30. So we rode Pirates while waiting for them to return. We lined up on time but they didn't come out to 3:45. At about the same time they closed the line again. These two are very popular. If we had come back when they were scheduled we would have been too late. Here is the picture.

We decided ti was time for our break so we could come back for wishes. Here we are on the monorail!

Rested and refreshed we cam back to the Magic Kingdom and were trying to get in a few must do's. We started with Snow White since DD4 really wanted to ride it. I heard that it was going during the fantasy land rehab so I took a picture for posterity's sake.

Our next must do was Mickey's Philharmagic and Haunted Mansion. DD4 was not a fan of Haunted Mansion so we took care of some souvenir shopping while DH and DD8 took the happy trip. BTW I neglected in my earlier post to mention I like the new que area there too. We had fun with the books, haunted instruments and especially the riddles. Here is the cutie shopping!

We took another spin on Pirates (we really like that one) and a night time trip on the Jungle Cruise. It was punny Then DH and the littles did Swiss Family while DD17 and I went on a mission for another must do! Dole Whip! I was dying to try one! We got the dole whip twist with vanilla and a pineapple float since DD17 wanted that. We ate those up with gusto! I give them 10 thumbs up. Yep a family of five with two thumbs each DD17 and I noticed a little patio that looked like a character greeting, yes indeed Tinkerbell and the line was only about 15 minutes! We hopped in line and all the DD were very excited. Here's the proof.

Then it was time for wishes. 4 out of 5 Cesario's loved it. The fifth Cesario thought it was time for a nap!

We tried to get a snack from Casey's but they weren't serving. Here is us taking a few silly pictures.

I was very very very sad to be leaving Magic Kingdom Yep trying to hide tears from the rest of the family. ahh even now kind of sad. So I took some pictures and walked slow.

 

[cesariofamily]

Epcot Day 2 was here! DD17 was tired and cranky so she decided to stay home for the morning. Epcot was scheduled to be very light crowds. We got there before rope drop and entered into the park. We right away saw Daisy Duck! We went on over to get a picture and a hug.

We were right at the rope drop for the opening. DD8 and I lined up left for test track and DH and DD4 lined up to go get fast passes.

DD8 and I got right on test track so we went on twice. She also wanted to play in the cars so we did that too.

We meet back up with DD4 and DH and decided to head to the character spot. There was only a five minute wait.

.
After our meet and greet we headed to innovations so DH and DD8 could try sum of all thrills. DD4 and I wandered about innovations and tried to find something to do. We probably should have gone to see figment. She liked the piggy bank game but was pretty bored. Even though it was early in the morning sum of all thrills had a small line plus the time to design the coaster plus the ride. DH is an engineer and was very impressed with the ride. He would have liked 30 minutes to spend designing the coaster. He also thought there was a great opportunity for learning but that it was hard to explain in the short amount of time. We also rode spaceship earth. DD8 got a real kick out of the cartoons. DD4 didn't really get it although she mostly enjoyed the ride. Around 11 we headed out toward world showcase in search of an early lunch. We love Morocco counter service but DH said we eat there all the time (its been three years since we have been to Disney?) So we were pondering lunch and walking toward Canada.............See you for the next update.

 

[cesariofamily]

We meandered past Canada and Mexico having spent considerable time there on our first day at Epcot. We spent some time looking at the international gateway. Then we ended up in France. There was NO ONE in world showcase it was just after 11 and it was a light crowd day. We were admiring the beautiful landscape when we spotted Marie with no line. So we said Bonjour and meow!

Next we spotted Princess Aurora all by herself. So we decided to keep her company!

She was very friendly with the girls and talked about their visit with Marie and Squirrels? Not really sure about the squirrel thing but the girls liked it. It was a nice non rushed visit. At this point I wanted French food. I suggested the little café to DH. He gave me his line about "real food" there are rules in his head and certain food are snacks IE popcorn and cake and can not be substituted for real food IE hamburgers or chicken. I was fairly certain they had sandwiches and I am fairly certain that anything on a bun counts as real food. DH was suspicious so I suggested Chefs de France! YUM I love French food. I went to check and we got seated in about 10 minutes as they were just opening up. We looked around and did some window shopping.

DH came to look for the girls and I right as we were busy with a photopass photographer. They have alittle spot set up where they take your picture with a Barret while "painting" and holding a pallet. Each girl got a picture very cute! Will upload when I get the CD. We got seated and practiced our French on the waitress who helped us with our pronunciation! DH and I both ordered off the Price fix menu. I should have learned my lesson at Canada that it is TOO much food for me. I had the French onion soup and DH the lobster bisque. My soup was VERY VERY good. Lots of cheese that was tasty and not bland and not too salty. We ordered the littles a puff pastry to share. That was only so so. Then DH and I both ordered Croque monsieur et sa salade verte - The classic French toasted ham and cheese sandwich served with a green salad. - $12.25 . We both really enjoyed this sandwich. It had a great flavor of cheese and the ham was yummy too. I tried to eat it all but only could eat half. DD8 got the kids fish which she really loved and ate it all up. DD4 did not get her own meal as she was wasting alot of food and I was tired of paying $10 for her to throw food away. I was STUFFED after soup and sandwich but I had committed to dessert! so I got the Profiterolles au Chocolat - Puff choux with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce. - $7.25
I didn't love this but I shared with the girls. DH also got dessert but I forget what? I order Profiterolles all the time and then don't really like them. Why? I don't know. They are always a bit hard to me. Also during the meal we had a visitor.........................

Remy and his friend were very entertaining. At first the girls didn't know what to make of him. Robin seemed nervous he would jump off his dish. He was very interactive with his expressions and his squeaks. He seemed to really interact with us. I know he really wanted some of my wine!
I would definitely go back to Les Chefs de France. The food was excellent. the waitstaff was very friendly and indulged the littles about trying French words and our visit from Remy was very fun. The only negative was we spent a long time there mostly due to our own leisurely pace of the meal but it took a while to get the check and I actually left DH sitting there while the girls and I headed outside as they were getting a little wild. Here is a picture of us enjoying our meal!

We had at some point secured a Kim Possible mission in Norway so we made our way across world showcase toward Norway. We visited some places but left some for the evening when DD17 would join us again. It was getting HOT and Hazy.

We enjoyed another awesome Kim Possible mission in Norway.

Then headed back for our mid day break and to collect DD17.

 

[disneyjr77]

subbing

sounds like you guys had a great time. i think i may add a kim possible mission to our day at Epcot when we go.

 

[cesariofamily]

Hi! Glad you are enjoying the trip report. We had a fabulous time! We loved Kim Possible. We would have done another if we had more time. I don't want to spoil it for you but it is extremely interactive and the clues are fun little surprises. Also you can hear the little phones all over world showcase!

 

[cesariofamily]

We left a hot hazy epcot and returned for our afternoon break. That morning on the way to Epcot we had decided to make reservations at La Hacienda de San Angel. DD17 really wanted to eat in Mexico and I thought the new restaurant would be a fun treat. When we returned to Epcot it was raining pretty hard. We had a 6:30 ressie so we headed straight to the restaurant. It was a bit chilly inside since we were very damp. It is a pretty restaurant and would afford an awesome view for illuminations. It was very uncrowded as we arrived but did fill up as we ate. I was still STUFFED from lunch and I had a mission for that evening so I decided to have an appetizer for my entrée. We also did not sample the margaritas. DH is not a big fan and I had wine at lunch. Our table started with Queso Fundido Melted cheese with poblano peppers, chorizo and flour tortillas 12.50 plus they serve chips and two types of salsa all was very good. For my meal I got Botana A sampling of traditional Mexican favorites; chicken tostada, Chilorio sope (marinated pork) and cheese empanada 9.95. I liked them all but wasn't in love with them. DD17 was kindof upset about the menu. We decided to book here on a whim and hadn't really reviewed the menu. she was looking for quesadilas and tacos and this was much nicer Mexican food. She got Puerco en Salsa de Mole Negro Roasted pork tender loin with mole negro sauce, served with esquites (roasted corn), sweet potato mash, beans and vegetables 25.95. She liked it but it wasn't what she had in mind. I tasted her food and it was very good. better than my choice but I couldn't have eaten half of it. DH got the same and he thought it was absolutely wonderful! He also thought the restaurant was beautiful and much better than the other Mexican restaurant in the pyramid. DD8 got the child's taco and liked it very well. DD4 slept through this meal which was a nice break for Mommy lots of nice quite dinner conversation. The service was great and our waiter was very knowledgeable and gave great food descriptions. I would eat here again but go on an empty stomach.
We headed into Mexico and we rode the Donald Duck ride. DD4 was awake and really liked this ride especially Donald and his friends. DD8 had not ridden this trip and seemed to like it too. We skipped over Norway since we had ridden there, eaten there and had a Kim Possible mission there.

We went over to China and looked around. It was getting dark and I was disappointed as the landscaping is beautiful and I have trouble with night photos. In China we bought a purple fan. The CM wrote DD8's name on the fan. DD4 thinks it says Disney. DD8 was pleased. We enjoyed interacting with the CM and we talked to him for a while. DD8 knows that red is lucky and wanted to know about unlucky colors.

Here she is with our cool fan!

We headed off toward Germany and I could hardly contain myself!
Karamelle-Kuche
I love Carmel. Really really love Carmel. I had a nightmare that we were in Germany in Epcot and I couldn't find it. The entire nightmare was regarding looking for and being denied Carmel. Weird yes but I think you are getting a feel for my obsession here. So I hustled the family straight to it with a nagging fear that it would be closed early Nope open with heavenly smells. My lunatic family didn't want anything! DH is a smart man so he took all the DDs away so I could think! I knew I wanted the Carmel pop corn so that was easy and in fact dd4 who had no dinner absconded with the popcorn before I even paid for it. So then I hemmed and hawed and looked. I didn't ask anything about prices. This was my indulgence! I discussed how long items would last with the CM and they all had a really good shelf life. Believe it or not I didn't take a single picture, I was overcome by greatness. Like Ralphie when he can't ask Santa for the Red Rider bebee gun. So I choose one chocolate Carmel pretzel, one chocolate Carmel marshmallow on a large stick and one gigantic cookie with caramel. I ate the Carmel corn that night till I almost exploded and I made my stomach hurt. The other goodies I ate over several days. They were beyond words incredible. The cookie was the best. Oh so good and still chewy days later. Oh the yum yum yum. I couldn't leave you with out a look at Carmel beauty so I borrowed the pictures. Full Disclosure I borrowed these pictures from someone else

We looked around Germany for a while since DH had a mission for a nice beer.

I was glad we had spent time with the miniature trains early in the day as it was too dark to appreciate them.
We peaked around Italy and took in the lovely buildings. My pictures were all too dark. Next we ran on past America we live here after all. DH surmised this was for people from other countries. I have a suspicion that we'd all really enjoy it if we spent time there but even two days was not enough. We went on to Japan and I was very disappointed. The very beautiful gardens are under refurbishment and all boarded up We then when in to do a bit of shopping. The littles were in love with all the Hello Kitty stuff- I however was not it was rather expensive and I can get lots of Hello Kitty in Pittsburgh. I ran over to look at pick a pearl. Many disers seem to love pick a pearl. I had decided if it looked really cool that maybe we would do it too. I left DH upfront with the littles and Kitty and went on back. I watched for a while but it wasn't my thing. I thought there was a huge tank with divers. It was a small tank with not many oysters. I also was not happy in Japan because I had acquired from DD4 a half eaten lollipop. No one in Japan would throw it away or let me throw it in a can. They suggested I leave the store to get rid of it. I'm sure this is not Disney policy to tell guests to leave stores with out bags!!! I had enough of Japan and we left. It was near time for illuminations so I got out the trusty towel and we sat down between America and Italy. We had a nice view and enjoyed the show. DDs and I knelled through most of it. Tired feet. We knelled on the towel and leaned on the railing. We all enjoyed illuminations. Then with sad hearts we made our way toward the front. DD8 had chosen some items that morning to spend her own money on. So we acquired a Belle jewelry box and a charm bracelet and a Belle Charm. I think Santa knows that she wanted a few other charms and a CM was very helpful to Santa with that. I hated to go, really hated to go. Epcot is a great park.