"Hey Ma! I Can See EPCOCK From Here!" UD 11/26: The Legend of Puffie

[AmandaSparks730]

Where did all my readers go? D:

 

[johnsonmatt3]

im here, it took me a few days to read the 4 pages but im here, not to worry. thats a good report so far by the way.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

im here, it took me a few days to read the 4 pages but im here, not to worry. thats a good report so far by the way.

Thank you!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

DownTown Disney!

Or

Take Flight!

We arrived at DTD around 4:00, and set off to look around. Hey, that's new! Design-a-Tee...let's check it out!

I ended up making a hot pink tee with Maleficent on it. I find the lack of Villian apparel disappointing, so this was my chance to make a Maleficent shirt! I went with "Inside every woman is a witch". Showed it to the CM. She went to "check something".

Apparently, Maleficent isn't a witch, per se. And they couldn't print that because it could "be taken another way".

Which was my whole POINT. My IDEA.

Disney stifles my creativity in favor of family-friendly-ism!

But, I digress. I had to change "witch" to "villian". Oh, well. It was ready for pickup in an hour or so, so we set off for more exploring/shopping. I believe our next stop was Pin Traders. Just because I could NOT wait a second longer! I believe I got 5 pins here, and then a bonus one for $1. Well worth it, I'll tell you! I could spend HUNDREDS in Pin Traders. It's a sad obsession. I even ended up buying another pin book, because my other one was full

Next stop, WoD! More shopping! I don't believe I got anything here, but Mom did get a Minnie birthstone charm for her Pandora bracelet.

We even got a special moment here! As we were walking around near BBB, a Fairy Godmother-in-Training was hanging around, sprinkling pixie dust on girls! Mom wanted to do it, so she did, and I did as well. "Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boo. Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boo. May all my girl's dreams and wishes come true!"

Pixie-dusted, we left WoD in search of food. I was clamoring for Wolfgang Puck Express; Mom and Dad, for Earl of Sandwich. We compromised; Mom brought me to WPE and got me my 4 cheese macaroni to-go, while Dad got their orders at EoS. We brought my pasta back to EoS and just ate there. Shh! Don't think you're supposed to do that!

Tummies filled, we went back to Design-a-Tee to pick up my shirt. The black type/graphic showed up NIIICEE on the hot pink of the shirt! From there, we walked over to the West Side. It was our first time seeing T-Rex completed; last time we were there, it was almost done, but wasn't open yet. It looked great! Ragalan Road also looked tempting; can you say Irish step-dancing? Woo!

Mom had been chatting about the balloon since we arrived at DTD, and wanted to know if people could go up in it. I, being the designated Expert for the trip, said yes, for a fee, you could go up in it. Mom wanted to check it out, so we did. We decided the price wasn't bad, and we would give it a shot. Dad said no; his claustrophobia wouldn't be too good in that thing!

We got tons of pictures, so let's get to it, shall we?

I love how they're all characters that fly! So cute!

(People think Mom and I look alike. I don't see it!)

You wouldn't BELIEVE how well you could see 400 feet in the air! And it was a clear day, so you could see a LOT! Mom commented on SSR. She said it looked very big and very nice. Indeed, it did! Too bad it's a DVC. I know you can stay there if you're not a DVC member, but still...WAY expensive!

And yes, we could see EPCOCK

My friend Taylor's birthday was a couple weeks after we got back, so I wanted to find something for her. There's a new store in the West Side called "Little MissMatched". Now, Taylor LOVES mismatched clothes--especially socks! I don't think there's ever a time when I've seen her in matching socks. This store would be PERFECT! They had a buy two, get one free sale on socks, so I got two pairs for her, and the third, for me! So cute! I'd love to work here!

I wanted to check out Hoypoloi, so I poked around in there for a few minutes. By then, I was very, VERY sore from the KKTK, so we went back "home". But it was still early, only a little after 7...hmm...Mom suggested we go to the pool; it might feel good on my feet/ankles. We scrambled into our bathing suits and took the elevator down to the pool. SUCH a big pool! Sort of boring, though...oh, well. Still, nice and cool! And it did feel nice on my feet...

As I was chillin' on my chair, drying off, Dad called me over. I grudgingly got up and staggered on over. And...

OHMYGOSH. GIRAFFES. TWO OF THEM! Gorgeous, beautiful giraffes, right there! Eating! So close to us!

I. Was. Entranced.

I spent a good 10 minutes mesmerized by these majestic creatures.

Oh, yeah, and there were some cattle, but pshh, THERE ARE TWO GIRAFFES RIGHT THERE!

I don't remember when we went back to the room...a little before 9, I think. There was a 2-hour special of WIPEOUT that night on ABC, so we ended up watching the second hour. And laughing/groaning at people falling...teehee.

Off to sleep in a comfy, warm, DISNEY bed!

Up Next:

DISNEY'S HOLL--oh, what am I kidding? I still call it MGM.

Love, Meg

 

[johnsonmatt3]

was epcot the only park you could see from the balloon?

 

[AmandaSparks730]

was epcot the only park you could see from the balloon?

We could see the Sorcerer's Hat, at DHS. Couldn't see the castle or the Tree of Life, though.

 

[johnsonmatt3]

We could see the Sorcerer's Hat, at DHS. Couldn't see the castle or the Tree of Life, though.

I guess that just shows how big the disney property really is.

 

[MickeyisBeast]

Meg= CRAZY FOR GETTING IN THAT BALLOON!

Never, in my life, would I go in that.

You're brave (;

 

[AmandaSparks730]

I guess that just shows how big the disney property really is.

Yep! It's like how you can't see the castle from Expedition: Everest, either.

Meg= CRAZY FOR GETTING IN THAT BALLOON!

Never, in my life, would I go in that.

You're brave (;

You're boring, Sara

 

[Rora]

How silly they wouldn't let you write "Inside every woman is a witch". Come on, Disney. But your shirt still sounds cute!!

Dontcha just love the pixie dust the FGIT sprinkle? I've only gotten it once, but it was so much fun!! I loved it!

Oooh, how is the 5 cheese Macaroni? I'm a sucker for Mac and Cheese.. especially fancy Mac and Cheese like that.

Your balloon pictures are gorgeous!! I think I'd be too nervous to get in the balloon.. that whole height thing..

The new stores at DTD sound great! It's been awhile since I've been to DTD.

WOW! How exciting about the giraffes! They are beautiful creatures. How lucky!

Can't wait for MGM day!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

How silly they wouldn't let you write "Inside every woman is a witch". Come on, Disney. But your shirt still sounds cute!!

Dontcha just love the pixie dust the FGIT sprinkle? I've only gotten it once, but it was so much fun!! I loved it!

Oooh, how is the 5 cheese Macaroni? I'm a sucker for Mac and Cheese.. especially fancy Mac and Cheese like that.

Your balloon pictures are gorgeous!! I think I'd be too nervous to get in the balloon.. that whole height thing..

The new stores at DTD sound great! It's been awhile since I've been to DTD.

WOW! How exciting about the giraffes! They are beautiful creatures. How lucky!

Can't wait for MGM day!

I know. I was disappointed in them, but whatever. It's cute, anyway.

And of course I love the fairy dust! I love anything glittery, haha.

The 4 cheese macaroni is YUM. Very very yum! Try it!

The giraffes were so pretty, so very pretty. I loved being so close to them!

MGM is my favorite park, so I'm excited to tell you about it!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

MGM, Part 1

or

"Why does that bear smell like strawberries?"

So today was the day I was MOST excited for; it was MGM day! And yes, I do refuse to call it "Disney's Hollywood Studios". Sorry, Disney, but I grew up on this park being called the "Disney-MGM Studios". It became my favorite park under the name "Disney-MGM Studios". I ain't changing it!

But anyway, we were up and out by 8, as we wanted to make park opening for 9:00. Interestingly enough, the MGM Opening Show and the EPCOT Opening Show were the only two we hadn't seen, ever. We'd caught the MK Welcome Show last trip, and the AK one the trip before that.

I did rather like the MGM's Show, but we were all itching for one thing: Toy Story Mania! . We ran back towards the archway at the drop of the rope. Surprisingly enough, we got FastPasses on a bright Wednesday morning at the end of July for one of the most popular rides in all of the Disney parks.



Our FPs were for 1:45 or so (already?! We only got there at 9:03!), and VOTLM was starting at 9:10, so we headed down Mickey Avenue (or, I suppose, the former Mickey Avenue, seeing as how much of it is now Pixar Place). We hadn't seen VOTLM since our 2003 trip, so it was a bit of a treat. I hadn't realized/remembered how wet you get in this show--I had to cover my hearing aids during some of the 'rain' scenes. (Maybe I should've worn a poncho? ) I did note how easy it would to be Prince Eric in this show--just show up for a couple minutes at the end, look sexy, say a couple lines, and kiss a pretty girl.

So what to do now? Well, why not stop by the Magic of Disney Animation? Mom had wanted to check out the Animation Academy, anyway, and I wanted to see when Lotso-Huggin-Bear would be around for his new meet-n-greet.

There was a whole gallery of stuff for the new movie Tangled (out in November!), so we poked around in there for a few minutes:

"Wish my desk at the Archives office looked like this," I thought to myself:

I hadn't been to the Magic of Disney Animation since its facelift, many many trips ago. The interactive games were fun, and we spent some time poking around there. The next Animation Academy class was at 10:30. Dad and I poked around in the gallery of Snow White things--very interesting to see early concept sketches and ideas, as well as the Oscars that Walt won for the movie. Or were they Academy Awards...?

I did catch a glimpse of Sorcerer Mickey, but I wasn't able to run down and get a picture with him before the Animation Academy. It was the first time I'd seen him in his Sorcerer's Apprentice getup, though, so that was cool. At the AA, we ended up drawing Pluto. Mine came out decently; guess that full-year of Fine Arts requirement comes in handy sometimes!

BUT WHAT ABOUT LOTSO?

(We had seen TS3 back in June. Mom sobbed; I just sniffled and teared up. Something about "you're going to college in a year!" among some incoherent mumbling...)

Lotso would be out at 11:15 (I believe...all these times are just approximate!), so we hopped in the queue to meet 'n' greet him. I LOVED the queue for this. It was very creative, made up to look like the SunnySide DayCare.

We were about the 3rd or 4th family in line, so we met Lotso in due time.

And...he smelled like strawberries. He really, really did. I thought that was just a little extra hint of the pure and amazing Disney magic!

Surprisingly, he was a very sweet character to meet. He gave me loads of hugs and kisses--gave Mom and Dad hugs, too. For a villianous character, he sure was nice...

After a very satisfying meeting with Lotso, we crossed over towards the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. This was a show that I'd never seen before, so I was looking foward to seeing something new. Along the way, I got the cuuuutest baseball cap over by Star Tours. It's black, and says "Disney Princess" on the front, and has the nicest design on the top, complete with curlycues and Cinderella's royal carriage. AND it's decked out in rhinestones!

Me = in sparkly heaven.

Anyway, we took our seats towards the top of the Indy Jones stadium, where I proceeded to eavsdrop on a conversation that was going on with a British family next to me. I just love British accents--and we heard a ton of them on this trip!

Indy was just okay; the "fake tourist that doesnt' speak English" fooled the entire audience! Guess either (a) none of us had seen it before (and it was a full house, so not likely) or (b) he was just a really good actor!

But...it's lunchtime...where is there to eat here?

Up Next:

Blasting off to...food!
Meg's FAVORITE Disney 3D movie
And the ________ family gets in on the action!

Love, Meg

 

[Hedy]

Dude, Lotso gives me the heebie jeebies.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Dude, Lotso gives me the heebie jeebies.

Haha, I can see where you'd get that from!

 

[johnsonmatt3]

Just when I thought everyone had given up on their reports, everone shows back up again

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Just when I thought everyone had given up on their reports, everone shows back up again

Don't worry, I haven't abandoned you! I've just been busy with school

 

[Neeny17]

Hi, my name's Nina and I'm in!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Hi, my name's Nina and I'm in!

welcome aboard!

 

[LondonUnderground]

amazing report atm Meg!

i also love the fact that your dad is wearing a Red Sox WS shirt on the first day (;

yooou so pretty!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

amazing report atm Meg!

i also love the fact that your dad is wearing a Red Sox WS shirt on the first day (;

yooou so pretty!

Haha, of course! My dad has a ton of RS shirts. And Bruins shirts. And Patriots shirts.


Thanks, Eimmy-ear!