I didn't forget about you!! - Day IV - Candlelight Processional

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Your PP pics came out beautiful! Lilo & Stitch are my favorite. The kids look like they were having a blast getting those autographs.

 

[NYPDwife]

Aaaaaaaaand even more Photopass pics...(I'll stop posting them when I get to Day 3)

 

[NYPDwife]

Epcot


Okay, sorry it’s been a while between posts. I’ve had some family issues and then my issues turned to computer issues, but I’m back!!

So, we were on our way to Epcot and decided to walk from MK to the Contemporary Resort to take the monorail. We did the usual things, like look over the rail to see all the happy people waving their napkins at Chef Mickey’s, browsed the shops for pins and mementos and stopped off to use the WC.

After using the facilities (which I have to say, I thought they’d be a little more kept up by the monorail elevators), we headed up the escalator to the platform. A train had just pulled into the station and we saw some people getting out of the cockpit (would that be the right word?). We hurried over to the conductor and he said we could ride up front to Epcot!! This was our 2nd time riding up front and we loved it each time. The kids asked all about the monorail and really liked riding with the conductor.

Here’s the conductor’s panel:

The tracks to Epcot:

Pulling into Epcot station:

We pulled into Epcot and thanked the conductor and the kids received their Jr. Conductor licenses.

When we got to the gate, it seemed like it was getting really crowded so we found a line with the least amount of people on it. Lo and behold, we got held up. It seemed like some guy bought non-expiring tickets for himself and others, then came back on a 2nd trip and tried to use the cards for other people, or got some people into the park, came out and tried to get more in. Whatever the case, one of the guys friends didn’t have the same fingerprint and the card wouldn’t work. Since they only spoke Spanish, I asked the guy if I could help him and he said his finger was cut, so that’s why the fingerprint wasn’t the same. Whatever; I relayed this to the CM and she let him in.

We immediately ran to the Photopass and got our pictures taken in a few places. We walked straight into the World Showcase through Canada and it was crowded! The kids read the story about the Canadian Santa Clause:

…and then wanted to start their Kidcot masks:

The tree and bridge were decorated so beautifully so after taking some pictures, we decided to walk over to Mexico.

We noticed that they were showing the story of the Three Kings soon and stood in front of the rope so we could see. Now, even though I’m not Mexican, my family celebrates the holiday, so I was anxious to see the story.

I’m working on uploading, so next up, The story of the Three Kings….

 

[NYPDwife]

Yes, I wanted a picture with the fairies too!

still uploading!!

 

[NYPDwife]

More, more Photopass pics.

I didn't hear what he said, but I love her face here..

Here, it looks like he tells him he should be good, LOL

 

[dogodisney]

Great pics. Where did you get the oneswith Santa taken?
Does your Dh know what you are doing his face? Some of them are really funny.

 

[NYPDwife]

Because he's a plain clothes detective, he didn't appreciate my log in name (though I'm very proud of him), so he just asked if I wouldn't show his face on the boards, just in case one of his warrants was trolling the Dis!! I think he'd rather not have the crackheads he's arresting know what his kids look like, so I just hide him.

 

[NYPDwife]

Okay, it's been a while, sorry.

It's so hard when DH has his day tour. I hate the flip-flops and I'm so used to him not being home at night. Now, I have to cook and pay attention to him instead of my laptop .

Where were we?

Oh, that's right! We were in front of the Mayan temple,

getting ready to see the Three Kings!! This was really a great story. For anyone of Latino heritage, you've probably celebrated it someway or another. On January 6th, the Three Kings are taking their journey to see the Baby Jesus with their gifts of myhrr, gold and frankincense. As a child, you are supposed to leave your shoes outside your door, along with water and hay for their camels, and when you wake up in the morning, you're supposed to have candy and/or small presents in your shoes. Don't know why you'd eat candy out of stinky shoes, but hey, it's the Latin version of hanging stockings!!

Anyway, here are the videos I took..(my battery was dying, so they get cut off and then restarted, sorry...)





Finally, after the great story, the kids got to take a picture with the Three Kings.

(I think the one on the right was pretty hot , sshhhh, don't tell Miguel)
One of the Kings was gracious enough to show Michael the gold he brought, and I don't know why , but my son decided he could take some . No worries, the King explained how that gold was for the Baby Jesus and Michael put it all back .

Afterwards, we headed to Norway. Now, I’ve been in the Pavilion before, but I’ve never ridden Maelstrom. We got some FP’s and just walked around the inside and looked the fierce looking Nordic warriors.

and a troll…

We hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so we decided to walk around. I wanted Chinese…

…but DH didn’t think the kids would eat any (hello!! They love white rice!), so we wound up at the American Adventure for some grub.

I had the Caesar salad (again!)

After eating, it was time for us to use our FP’s so we headed back over to Norway. I really liked the ride. It was cute!
Afterwards, we stopped in at the gift shop and looked at all the really expensive Helly Hanson clothing. Jeez, I mean EXPENSIVE!!

Bobbi took a picture on the way out..

Well, we were pretty tired so we decided to exit the park and head back to our island retreat. The bad thing was, Illuminations was about to start and it got really packed where we were. We had to battle our way out because it wasn't worth it to stay being that all the good viewing spots were taken.

When we got back to our room, I noticed that the TV was on. I'm thinking to myself, who the heck is in our room? I knew I turned everything off before we left that morning. Lo and behold, Stitch the troublemaker had apparently gotten hold of the remote and he and his buddy were watching the Disney channel, ON MY BED!!...

They left the poor towel animals Mousekeeping made to fend for themselves, poor things..

Next up, we head for that All-American institution that everyone knows...

Walmart!!!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Great video of the three kings. I never saw that there before during the holidays. We always manage to miss one or two countries with their holiday traditions. I had to laugh about Michael swiping the gold. Smart kid...too bad it wasn't real. The photo of the China pavilion at night is gorgeous. I love night shots at Epcot.

 

[NYPDwife]

Great video of the three kings. I never saw that there before during the holidays. We always manage to miss one or two countries with their holiday traditions. I had to laugh about Michael swiping the gold. Smart kid...too bad it wasn't real. The photo of the China pavilion at night is gorgeous. I love night shots at Epcot.

If that was real, MOMMY would have taken it and there would have no stopping me, uh uh, no stopping me!!

 

[NYPDwife]

Day IV – Christmas Eve Day

Well, we woke up (pretty late for Disney vacation standards) and decided to get breakfast at the food court. We used our snack points and got muffins, bagels and juice. Here’s my muffin, it was banana-pineapple and it was yummy.

Bobbi enjoyed her bagel…

I’m going off on a tangent for a sec. I love the meal plan. We get the basic plan, 1 TS, 1CS and 1 Snack , but it works for us!! We like to use the snack credits in the morning and use the CS and TS during the day (depending on our ADR’s). It’s great…

Now back to a morning of doing nothing….

We saw that it was going to be really hot that day (upper 80’s) and I really didn’t pack many summer clothes. Don’t beat me yet! I kept checking weather.com every day and it kept saying low 60’s all week so I didn’t think I should bring shorts and stuff. Bobbi and Michael wanted to check out the new pool and she didn’t have a bathing suit that fit, so we check our Blackberries and saw that there was a Walmart nearby. We got into the car and headed off. This Walmart is located on the strip and it is chock full of Disney stuff!! We picked up a really cute swimsuit for Bobbi, a matching outfit for father and son to wear at the CP that night, some Disney tees for Michael & Bobbi, shorts for me and Michael and they only had sundresses for little girls, so we picked up two of those for Bobbi.

Our arms full of clothing, we headed to the register. I have to say, they are efficient here! The Walmart by me should take notes from this store. Whenever I go to Walmart, I wind up spending more time on line than I do shopping.

When we left Walmart, I took another picture of the entrance. Miguel was nice enough to stop on the shoulder so I could get a really good picture. I love that man!!

We got back to our room and changed into our swimsuits and headed off to try the newly refurbished Pirate pool!!

It was just me running after the kids at first. I think DH wanted to stay and shave his legs or something like that (just kidding, I think he was taking a nap or something).

Caribbean Beach is really pretty, so I took some pictures during our walk to the pool (from Trinidad South, it’s about a 10 minute walk with kids, not too bad).

Looking across the lake towards the Jamaica buildings…

The kids running for the pool (if you’ve ever been to Puerto Rico, this reminds me so much of El Morro in Old San Juan)

Maaa, stop taking pictures, we want to go swimming!!!

Aruba?

The kids running up the stairs to the water slide

Michael about to get into the pool!

Wheeeeee!

He holds his nose like I used to…

My waterbabies…

After going down the slide a few times, I noticed Michael was struggling with his swimming. Since he kept running around and I wanted to make sure he was safe, I sat both kids down (Bobbi was in charge, no swimming until I got back!) and hurried into the store to get him some floaties for his arms.

Here he is, swimming gracefully, all because of Nemo…

I tried my hardest, but the kid wouldn’t stop running up the stairs to get on the slides.

When DH got back, he took a pic of me enjoying the water…

Michael at the kiddie slide near the pirate ship.

Miguel let him go head first, not me…

They were having a great time…

She can sit on water!! What a miracle! LOL

Soon it was time to get dry and get ready to leave..

Since we were going to Epcot, we missed Santa, but we told the kids we had already seen him at MK, so they weren’t too upset..

We had an ADR @ Rose & Crown at 4:05 and that was part of the CP package and we wanted to rest and get ready.

My kids love hot showers and will stay in there for an hour a piece (I have to run the washing machine to get them out at home). We wanted to make sure we’d have enough time to walk around Epcot before going to dinner…

Next up, The Candlelight Processional, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen!!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Love the pics at the CBR pool. We haven't been there since the refurb, but it looks really cool. I couldn't believe how warm it was for Christmas this past year at Disney-we were ill prepared for it ourselves. The sweatshirts and stuff that we packed really didn't see the light of day. I did lots of laundry washing the one pair of shorts each that we all brought. I don't blame you guys for making the trip to Walmart! Can't wait to hear about CP. We did the package Christmas Day with R&C too.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Great updates! We were in Jamaica when we stayed at CBR and I know what you mean about stopping to take pictures - that walk across the bridge to the main pool was so pretty!

My kids got in trouble from the lifeguard for going down the slide head first - it was all my fault though, I told them they could.

I can't wait to hear about the CP, I've been trying to decide which night our trip to do it on (I know, I know - I still have almost 10 months before we go ), anyway, I was afraid to try for Christmas Eve because I thought it would be too crowded, I'm looking forward to hearing how it was!

 

[NYPDwife]

Great updates! We were in Jamaica when we stayed at CBR and I know what you mean about stopping to take pictures - that walk across the bridge to the main pool was so pretty!

My kids got in trouble from the lifeguard for going down the slide head first - it was all my fault though, I told them they could.

I can't wait to hear about the CP, I've been trying to decide which night our trip to do it on (I know, I know - I still have almost 10 months before we go ), anyway, I was afraid to try for Christmas Eve because I thought it would be too crowded, I'm looking forward to hearing how it was!

Wake up an hour before they start taking ADR's for that b/c they book FAST!!!! We originally wanted Le Cellier, but it was gone. I thought I had to wait until my 90 days out, but that's soooo not the case. Everyone calls for the CP package the day they're released so stay on wdwinfo.com and make sure you know when to call so you get the time and restaurant you want.

As for the day, I have to say doing it during Christmas Eve was awesome! It was such a spiritual experience and for me, it was like going to church (minus the Body and Blood of Christ ). It really brought me to tears, but you'll see that in my next installment!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Wake up an hour before they start taking ADR's for that b/c they book FAST!!!! We originally wanted Le Cellier, but it was gone. I thought I had to wait until my 90 days out, but that's soooo not the case. Everyone calls for the CP package the day they're released so stay on wdwinfo.com and make sure you know when to call so you get the time and restaurant you want.

Thanks for the heads up - I thought I had to wait until 90 days out as well!

 

[dogodisney]

Because he's a plain clothes detective, he didn't appreciate my log in name (though I'm very proud of him), so he just asked if I wouldn't show his face on the boards, just in case one of his warrants was trolling the Dis!! I think he'd rather not have the crackheads he's arresting know what his kids look like, so I just hide him.

I can understand that! There are too many loonies out there.

Can't wait to hear about the Candlelight Processional.

 

[joelp]

Thanks for the Three Kings video - we missed that one (among others ...)

On a techie note: how do you "embed" the videos in your TR? I can copy/paste the link from photobucket, but haven't figure out how to put in the image of the clip ...

 

[NYPDwife]

Thanks for the Three Kings video - we missed that one (among others ...)

On a techie note: how do you "embed" the videos in your TR? I can copy/paste the link from photobucket, but haven't figure out how to put in the image of the clip ...

I just copy the img shortcut and paste it into my message.

 

[NYPDwife]

This was such a great experience, where do I start?

I know, we napped! haha


After getting and little rest and a good shower, we all got dressed in our fancy duds and headed out on the bus to Epcot.

I remember a certain person on the Dis (Miss Cammie) who said she loved her some Sam Champion. Imagine my husband's embarrassment when he saw me snapping a picture of a poster on the bus. I had to explain that it would make her day to see it, but he just thought I was crazy, so....Miss Cammie, this one's for you...

We got to Epcot and did a little Christmas shopping at that clever little hut that blocks you from getting to the world. No, really, it blocks you. I don't know how many times we spent $40 just to get that Christmas throw. Let me get the receipts on I'll get right back to you.

Moving on.

We caught the middle of Canadian Santas story. I liked his lumberjack look

Once we saw that it was coming close to our ADR, we decided to head out to England. Once we checked in, we had a few minutes to wait so we strolled into town and watch the show going on in the square and looked into the tea shop. Afterwards, we headed down by the water and sat down to call MIL who was getting ready for company since it was Christmas Eve. I took the opportunity to take a picture of the kids and few self portraits...

Our buzzer, well, buzzed and we were off to our table. The server was nice enough to take a picture of us.

We looked over the menus and the kids got the usual kiddie foods and DH and I decided on the cheese plate for the appetizer. OMG!!!! That cheese plate was soooo good. I so want the recipe for the onion jam. I didn't think I'd like the mushroom brie, but it went so well with the jam and the crackers. Yu-um-my!!

DH ordered the black and tan and Michael immediately wanted a taste. What can I say? We're teaching them their bad lessons at an early age.

We thought the butter looked like little Epcot globes (I forgot the proper word, sorry)...

Finally (the server was a bit slow) the food came!

I had Bangers & Mash

I thought it was really delicious.

DH had the Steak & Fish

The fish at Liberty Tree Tavern in MK was better, but it was still pretty good at R&C. DH loved his steak and he's pretty picky about his meat.

The kids pizza's looked pretty cute. Of course the little brats didn't eat the veggies. The only veggies they like are cooked broccoli, peas, carrots and corn.

While we were eating, I noticed they were setting up for Illuminations.

Bobbi was done and I just had to take a pic...isn't she pretty?

Indy was having quite the adventure at our table..

I forgot to take a picture of dessert, and I also forgot what I had, although, I do remember it being stuck in my throat because I was soooo full from dinner.

Next up - The Candlelight Processional

 

[NYPDwife]

Sorry, it has been a really long time since I posted on my TR, but it's been a little hectic in my household.

I lost my job in early March and I've been looking for another one. I've also started the P90X program with my husband and I'm EXHAUSTED afterwards.

Anyway, when we last left off, we had just finished a fabulous dinner at Rose & Crown and had a 6:45 seating for the Candlelight Processional. Since dinner had taken so long (slow waiter), we weren't able to fulfill our promise to Bobbi. We told her that we would go to Japan before the show so she could shop for some Pokemon stuff. We took our CP stickers from our waiter and headed to America!!

We walked towards the theater and noticed a really long line so we immediately jumped on. It was already packed to the gills and it was only 6:15 or so. We found a bench with decent seats and settled in to see the show.

It was so beautiful when it started and I felt like my chest would explode! I immediately got a little teary eyed when Steven Curtis Chapman came up to the podium. He said that this was a story that we've all heard before, but he encouraged us to listen to it differently tonight and to not only use our ears, but our hearts as well. Knowing that he had lost a child during the year made it all the more emotional.

Here's the chorus was walking past us.

The video isn't that great, but here's some of the music and singing.





Michael didn't think it was that great, he passed out.

I took a picture of Bobbi and myself when the show was over, just because she's so pretty...

Afterwards, we strolled over to Japan. Bobbi had some money burning a hole in her pocket and she was dying to spend it. Gotta support the economy you know.

While looking at the Pokemon section, she saw a stuffed Mew that was on her Christmas list. Since we hadn't been able to find one, DH had me distract her while he grabbed one and took it to the register!!

After Bobbi's Pokemon fix, we took a picture of the kids in the Santa chair..

While walking back towards Mexico, I noticed that it would be a good time to get a good spot for Illuminations. I know that it was supposed to be special for the holidays, so we went down by the gondolas and grabbed a spot by the fence.

Since we had about an hour of waiting time (you have to get those spots early!!), Michael fell asleep. I think Disney was wearing him out!!

Not too long after that, Bobbi joined in for some zzzz's.

I'm uploading part of Illuminations now, so next time, I'll have that ready for you.