Hijinks & Shenanigans but not much Mayhem@The Dark Side+Disney:Link to DL/Hawaii TR

Finally caught up! 4 updates while I was gone.

Ok 2 while I was gone and 2 since. I was behind!!!!!!!!!!!

LOVE the update about your dinner with Teena. How much fun and I love that you made her the photo album. Lily is so amazingly adorable, I could eat her up!

Way to go shutting Epcot down.

At 9pm.

:lmao:

Good start to your day with Soarin' and TT. I'm ambivalent about the TT changes personally. Can't say I love them, or hate them, just glad they didn't change the end!
 
Happy anniversary day! I can think of no better place to celebrate than at Walt Disney World, that's for sure.

In a way, I think that I'm going to miss the old paper Fastpasses but I also like the convenience of booking everything online ahead of time.

I'm not a car person either but I liked the new queue at Test Track. As you said, the actual ride portion of the attraction still rocks.:thumbsup2
 
Happy Aniversary Day! I haven't been on new TT. I know I didn't care much for the old .TT. I will have to try it next trip. Great way to start the day both Soaring and TT.:cheer2:
 
Oh my. I don't know why that seems like a lot of people entering through the gateway. I'm sure it's normal and nowhere near the main entrance crowd, but since I use it at generally odd times of the day when there's nobody at all, it looks crazy.

Haha, I guess it just doesn't matter which entrance though... The Land is still the destination.

Hmmmm, now that I think about it, I have yet to see the new TT queue. I guess I've never done standby.

Wait, there was a time you could add ride photos to regular photopass?

Test Track is an interesting one for me. I've never been a Must Ride with this in any incarnation. But I will add, at first I wasn't a fan of the redesign, but it's started to grow on me to the point that I do like it. It took a couple trips to get to that point though.
 


And now with FP+ all of the strategizing about FP return times changes yet again! ;)
I like the new TestTrack but I find the designing your own car part annoying because they give you too much time to do it. Otherwise I don't find it terribly different from before.
I also love coming through the empty World Showcase when you get there early in the morning. So peaceful. We did a fishing excursion and got to fish in the World Showcase Lagoon in the early morning once. Loved it!

Amanda
 
Very cool that you were in the park on your 27th wedding anniversary! :thumbsup2 Congrats on that!

Back to back Soarin and then TT sounds like a good plan. I have not been through the regular TT queue. It looks cool.

Love your pic from the back seat of the car!

Great morning so far! Did the boys compete to see whose car was best? :laughing:
 
It was really nice. Mark and I have loved visiting EPCOT since our first trip together 30 years ago as high school sweethearts. This was the first time in about 20 years that we were able to enjoy the park just the two of us.

:love:

Sweet. :goodvibes




Today was July 19, our 27th Anniversary :love:

Extra Magic Hour this morning at EPCOT. After our breakfast in the lounge, we made our way to the International Gateway

It's always extra fun to be in WDW on a special day. I've been there for a few of my birthdays - also in July. Of course, at my age I don't care a thing about my birthday, but being in WDW on that day is still cool. ::yes:: Can't think of anywhere else I would rather be. :earsgirl:

It sure would be nice to be walking up to the back gate this morning getting ready for another Epcot day.
 


What a great way to celebrate your anniversary. We have those anniversary pins too from our anniversary trip in 2008.
We like the new TT too. The boys love designing their own cars. DS16 is extremely tech oriented and anything like that he eats up!!
I love walking through the empty WS. Unfortunately haven't done that in a while.
We celebrate our 19th anniversary on Tuesday :).....going out to celebrate tonight.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
 
I have been enjoying your trip report! Our YC trip begins in 30 days, and your pictures are getting me so ready.

As I was reading, it occurred to me that your family is from Massachusetts. This is totally random, but as I read your report, I read it with my South Georgia accent! LOL. Somehow, I think you might sound just a little bit different than I " hear" you in your writing.

I am looking forward to your next update. Thanks for the wonderful BC/YC thread as well.
 
Well, there goes another week where I have gotten way behind on my report and everyone else's! I'm even behind on the FAQ, which I try not to let happen!

:sad2:

Great update, D. Congrats on 27 years (we'll be 31 this month).

One of my favorite things of staying at the Boardwalk is going through the "back door."

Good move on Soarin' and then going to Test Track. I never got pictures of the futuristic cars. We did the FP and I don't remember them being there. Unfortunately, I'm in the don't like category. I think boys in general would love it though.

Hmmm...we haven't done that in awhile? I'm going to take a stab that it's Universe of Energy with Ellen.

Thanks for the anniversary wishes and a congrats to you and Mark on your upcoming celebration!

The short walk to EPCOT is my absolute favorite thing about the Beach Club.

Our itinerary for the morning worked out well- no complaints.

Ellen is a good guess- it is definitely an attraction that does not get enough loving. We enjoy it a lot, but it can be difficult to justify the time investment, especially on a short trip.

:)


Happy Anniversary Day! I still think it's so cool that we were both in Orlando the same week for our anniversaries :goodvibes (Our dating anniversary is the 23rd)
Tom and I were at EPCOT in 2012 as well when Test Track was still down and we didn't get to EPCOT on our last trip so haven't down the new TT yet. I can't wait until we can go back though! I'm glad to hear you loved it. I loved the old TT so I can't imagine why I wouldn't like the new one. As long as they still have the fast loop at the end, that's all I need! :thumbsup2

Congrats on your anniversary, too!

It was fun to see the new Test Track, finally.

Yup, the loop is still there!

:cool1:


Finally caught up! 4 updates while I was gone.

Ok 2 while I was gone and 2 since. I was behind!!!!!!!!!!!

LOVE the update about your dinner with Teena. How much fun and I love that you made her the photo album. Lily is so amazingly adorable, I could eat her up!

Way to go shutting Epcot down.

At 9pm.

:lmao:

Good start to your day with Soarin' and TT. I'm ambivalent about the TT changes personally. Can't say I love them, or hate them, just glad they didn't change the end!

I need to mosey on over to your report!

We had such a super dinner with Teena!!! Food was great, but the company was better.

Lily is adorable. Teena is spending Mothers Day and Jeanne's birthday in Vegas. She was able to snag a Queen Elsa dress and gave it to Lily at the airport. Jeanne filmed it and posted on FB and it is the cutest thing ever. If she texts the video to me, I will try to post it on the Lily thread I manage.

If you are impressed by our stamina closing down EPCOT at 9, you will be blown away by what we are able to accomplish at the end of this day!

:rotfl2:


Happy anniversary day! I can think of no better place to celebrate than at Walt Disney World, that's for sure.

In a way, I think that I'm going to miss the old paper Fastpasses but I also like the convenience of booking everything online ahead of time.

I'm not a car person either but I liked the new queue at Test Track. As you said, the actual ride portion of the attraction still rocks.:thumbsup2

I agree. Disney was an awesome place to spend our anniversary! But I am also looking forward to the location of this year's anniversary celebration...

I loved the legacy FP. The idea of signing up ahead of time appeals to me as a planner, but I'm a little ticked off, because when our schools class trip goes, they won't be able to get their Magic Bands until they check into the resort, and can't sign up for FP in advance. I am helping the teachers and parents understand the changes this year as they prepare for their June trip.

:thumbsup2 on TT from us.

:goodvibes

Happy Aniversary Day! I haven't been on new TT. I know I didn't care much for the old .TT. I will have to try it next trip. Great way to start the day both Soaring and TT.:cheer2:

Thank you. We had a great anniversary. Not perfect, though. Dun dun dun...

I personally thought the inside part of TT looked pretty futuristic and cool

:)
 
Oh my. I don't know why that seems like a lot of people entering through the gateway. I'm sure it's normal and nowhere near the main entrance crowd, but since I use it at generally odd times of the day when there's nobody at all, it looks crazy.

Haha, I guess it just doesn't matter which entrance though... The Land is still the destination.

Hmmmm, now that I think about it, I have yet to see the new TT queue. I guess I've never done standby.

Wait, there was a time you could add ride photos to regular photopass?

Test Track is an interesting one for me. I've never been a Must Ride with this in any incarnation. But I will add, at first I wasn't a fan of the redesign, but it's started to grow on me to the point that I do like it. It took a couple trips to get to that point though.

You are right. Most of the time we are using the IG at off-times, so there aren't crowds like that. It wasn't too bad, but I'm glad we arrived when we did. The line built up quickly behind us.

Must.Proceed.To.Land

The futuristic cars were ok, but not a must do. If I had a choice of FP or not, I would FP.

Test Track was the only ride in Disney where you could add to your Photopass Card without paying for a ride photo. There was a board/kiosk right at the end of the ride where you could scan your card to add the photo.

No more

:(

Test track is fun, not our favorite at EPCOT, but we ride it when we can.

:moped:


And now with FP+ all of the strategizing about FP return times changes yet again! ;)
I like the new TestTrack but I find the designing your own car part annoying because they give you too much time to do it. Otherwise I don't find it terribly different from before.
I also love coming through the empty World Showcase when you get there early in the morning. So peaceful. We did a fishing excursion and got to fish in the World Showcase Lagoon in the early morning once. Loved it!

Amanda

The boys liked doing the design. I didn't pay much attention but I had fun taking pictures of them.

It is so interesting to see the countries when they are not filled with people.

:crowded:


Very cool that you were in the park on your 27th wedding anniversary! :thumbsup2 Congrats on that!

Back to back Soarin and then TT sounds like a good plan. I have not been through the regular TT queue. It looks cool.

Love your pic from the back seat of the car!

Great morning so far! Did the boys compete to see whose car was best? :laughing:

Mark not only willing wore his Anniversary button, I think he was the one who suggested that we do.

The Soarin/FP Soarin/TT/FP TT strategy worked for us. We were happy with the way the morning progressed.

Yup, there's me an my camera! Sometime I'll have to take some pictures from the front row!

The boys did compete. I posted a very fuzzy picture showing that the green monster-truck vehicle beat the orange sports car, but I don't remember which boy designed which car. I'm sure they know!

:rotfl:


Sweet. :goodvibes

It's always extra fun to be in WDW on a special day. I've been there for a few of my birthdays - also in July. Of course, at my age I don't care a thing about my birthday, but being in WDW on that day is still cool. ::yes:: Can't think of anywhere else I would rather be. :earsgirl:

It sure would be nice to be walking up to the back gate this morning getting ready for another Epcot day.

Thank you!

Our trips lately have been in July, which are near Nate's BD (July 5) and our anniversary (July 19), but the fine folks at Disney are always good about giving Ben and "I'm Celebrating" button, too.

The International Gateway is so nice, it feels like your own personal entrance. It was just a bit more crowded than it is in the middle of the day.

:)

What a great way to celebrate your anniversary. We have those anniversary pins too from our anniversary trip in 2008.
We like the new TT too. The boys love designing their own cars. DS16 is extremely tech oriented and anything like that he eats up!!
I love walking through the empty WS. Unfortunately haven't done that in a while.
We celebrate our 19th anniversary on Tuesday :).....going out to celebrate tonight.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Congrats on your upcoming anniversary. Hope you had a great night out.

Test track was fun and I'm glad we got to do it a couple of times that day.

I have been enjoying your trip report! Our YC trip begins in 30 days, and your pictures are getting me so ready.

As I was reading, it occurred to me that your family is from Massachusetts. This is totally random, but as I read your report, I read it with my South Georgia accent! LOL. Somehow, I think you might sound just a little bit different than I " hear" you in your writing.

I am looking forward to your next update. Thanks for the wonderful BC/YC thread as well.

I'm so glad to hear you are enjoying the report and FAQ thread!

:goodvibes

Your comment about the accent made me smile. I don't have a "wicked strong" Boston accent, but I have been known to lose an "r" every now and then.

All day long after reading your post, the lines from Jimmy Buffett's song "Honey Do" have been playing in my head

"Can't pronounce my "r"s and "g"s. When I'm speaking Southernese".

Our accents are not so different, after all.

:lmao:
 
I hope everyone had a nice day on Sunday.

The weather here was gorgeous! Sunny. Warm. For the second year in a row, I told my family I wanted to go for a walk at Maudslay, a near-by 400-acre State Park. There are walking trails, a pond, a river, lovely gardens, flowering shrubs (which weren't quite in bloom yet) and a pet cemetery.

The other thing I really wanted for Mothers's Day was a very extravagant, indulgent gift.

A plane ticket.

To Florida.

To attend a very important event:


August 2014 5th Annual Beach & Yacht Club DIS Meet

Monday August 18, 2014, 6:30 PM
Solarium at the Beach Club



Expected Attendees: DisneyMomx7, TeenaS, NinjaMom, Buzzy, JanetMom, ScottMC & JNPants, mommyrosa2, Mousemommy1, tarak, Dancing Queen, HockeyMomR, Real (Happy) Dee


*********************************************

A very generous friend, HockeyMomR, made me an offer I couldn't refuse! She is coming out just for the meet and she invited me to stay in the room with her and her mom.

I considered this for awhile and decided I really couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend time with some dear friends I have not met yet!

:grouphug:

This will be a quick, laid back, resort-focused trip. I probably won't even go to any parks during the visit. My plans are to fly in on Sunday Aug 17. Monday, during the day, I plan on holding court at Stormalong Bay at the Beach Club, spending time with others who will be enjoying some pool time. The meet is Monday night. Then I am flying home on Tuesday.

Of course, I feel a little guilty about taking this trip without my family. But I need this. I truly do.

:daisy:
 
Happy belated Mothers Day, Dee!

What a wonderful way to spend your 27th anniversary! And congratulations on that too!
You're really solidifying my plans to stay at the Yacht Club next year with all your pictures of empty world showcase and your talking about walking over to Epcot. How beautiful to see Epcot all empty first thing in the morning! :thumbsup2

Not to mention some good luck with both Soarin' and Test Track. I'm totally with you on the new TT design, down to every word you said, both about the queue (I miss the test track dummies too!) and about the ride itself. I'm a fan of the re-design!

Love your two car designs!

We're having incredible weather here today too. I'm itching to get back into my kayak... but I promised Johnny I'd wait until he got home!

How awesome about your BC/YC Dismeet trip!!! I saw that on the FAQ, oh oh oh how much I wish I could go! Sounds awesome, even if it is quick. Just tell your family it's going to be boring, meeting up with all these strangers, no parks, no rides... they won't feel bad at all about letting you go alone ;)
 
What wonderful Mother's Day gifts! A walk through a park and a plane ticket to Disney! I certainly don't blame you for taking HockeyMomR up on the offer. That was very sweet of her.
 
Omg Dee can't believe you are finally going to be at the meet up in human (not flat) form!! Absolutely chuffed to bits for you :) You are an awesome mom and (thread keeper) and do totally deserve this gift from the wonderful men in your life :) Best news I've had all day-can't wait to see all the photos!!
 
Oh you never ever ever pass up an opportunity like this Dee. Never. Ever. This sounds like a great time to be had.

Hmmm, I guess leaving the fam home would be much easier to "fake" boringness if you hadn't gotten that great response from your dinner with Teena. And it was so nice to hear that at the time, lol. :laughing:

BUT guilt be gone!!! You deserve it!
 
I hope everyone had a nice day on Sunday. The weather here was gorgeous! Sunny. Warm. For the second year in a row, I told my family I wanted to go for a walk at Maudslay, a near-by 400-acre State Park. There are walking trails, a pond, a river, lovely gardens, flowering shrubs (which weren't quite in bloom yet) and a pet cemetery. The other thing I really wanted for Mothers's Day was a very extravagant, indulgent gift. A plane ticket. To Florida. To attend a very important event: August 2014 5th Annual Beach & Yacht Club DIS Meet Monday August 18, 2014, 6:30 PM Solarium at the Beach Club Expected Attendees: DisneyMomx7, TeenaS, NinjaMom, Buzzy, JanetMom, ScottMC & JNPants, mommyrosa2, Mousemommy1, tarak, Dancing Queen, HockeyMomR, Real (Happy) Dee ********************************************* A very generous friend, HockeyMomR, made me an offer I couldn't refuse! She is coming out just for the meet and she invited me to stay in the room with her and her mom. I considered this for awhile and decided I really couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend time with some dear friends I have not met yet! :grouphug: This will be a quick, laid back, resort-focused trip. I probably won't even go to any parks during the visit. My plans are to fly in on Sunday Aug 17. Monday, during the day, I plan on holding court at Stormalong Bay at the Beach Club, spending time with others who will be enjoying some pool time. The meet is Monday night. Then I am flying home on Tuesday. Of course, I feel a little guilty about taking this trip without my family. But I need this. I truly do. :daisy:

I just saw this on the Y/B thread. What an awesome gift!!!! So happy for you. And don't feel guilty you deserve it!!!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
 

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