I Knew You Would Eventually Get Tired of Disney World - April '12 TR - Completed 2/9

[Sam33]

I can ride the scariest, fastest, upside downiest roller coaster there is. But I can't make it through Dinosaur with my eyes open. They usually clamp shut about 30 seconds in and don't open until we're safe in the present again.

My goal is to actually see it next trip! It's always a must for us, though, for some reason.

 

[smidgy]

man oh man, I wish we knew we were one building away from each other! we could have met up!

your kids are good looking kids!

 

[phineasfan100]

Day 6 already? Can't wait for more!

 

[orangecats2]

Can't wait to get to the CSR pool and try the slide.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Hi Jon (and Kristin!) ~

I am loving your trip reports! I started reading this most recent one but then realized you had two previous ones so I went back to read them first. I didn't want to be lost in Season 3 since I didn't see Seasons 1 and 2.

Trading Places - one of my all time favorite movies!
My DH (also a beer fan and 'retired' home brewer) and my teenage DD (also an Emily) quote it all the time.

"Yaw, for sure, from Sweden!"

Keep up the good work! Off to read Season 3.......

Debbie

 

[nilla]

Thanks for all of the comments! Rebuttals and possibly an update will be coming tonight. I already got through the photo resize-and-upload step, so all that's left is for me to feel creative and actually write something. With Kristin and the kids away on vacation, I have no excuse not to be

 

[DisBamaGirl]

I am loving your trip report and going back to read your previous reports. Your writing style is great....keeps me laughing!!!

 

[laura74]

Great update and I love the photos with the dinosaur!

I agree that pool is awesome and seldom crowded because of the conventioneers.

 

[raider97]

I am loving your trip report and going back to read your previous reports. Your writing style is great....keeps me laughing!!!

Me too!!

 

[Disneymom77]

LOVE Flights of Wonder!!

 

[nilla]

We leave today! But since we have a teenage boy who sleeps late and wants to watch an "important" soccer game before we depart it looks like we will have to skip the Bethlehem Brewpub today. We'll have just enough time for a nice visit with Denny's mom.

No worries! Hope you're having a great time!

We love CSR. The kids wanted to go back there but I convinced my Mom to come with us- her first trip! So we are over the limit. We are looking at AofA.

That resort looks awesome!

Thanks for another great update! We are heading to WDW in August and had booked the CSR but I wasn't sure I wanted to stay there and kept browsing with the intention of changing the plan- until your TR! Now we are all looking forward to seeing/ staying at the resort. Thanks for helping convince me.

No problem! KatMark and FlightlessDuck convinced us. We haven't looked back since. You'll love it.

I didn't know that a branch had fallen and ITTBAB had closed.

More on that to come!

The pool at CS looks really cool. I read through your description pretty quickly and was a little curious why they had a "playground bar" at first. Then I saw the comma The playground bar might make playtime a little more interesting for the parents though!

I guess it's technically almost as close to the playground as it is to the pool

I read it that way, too! Parents would be thrilled to spend time with their young'uns.

Reminds me of friends we have who would get a quarter barrell for their young kids' birthday parties. For the adults, of course

I love the baby gorilla pictures! She is adorable. We have missed the animal trails the past two trips. I really need to make that priority on our next one.

We didn't do the Asian one with the tigers and the flasher bats this year. It just didn't happen. Won't miss the gorillas, though. Never. EVER.

Thanks for the pics of Flights of Wonder... that is as close as I'm ever going to get. Birds freak me out. Speaking of which, did you think the birds in general were particularly aggressive this year? I was there in early May - forget if that was just before or after you - and I thought just walking around the park or trying to eat a quick service meal outside the birds were more obnoxious than usual.

I think they always were. The birds by Siestas (pool bar) were worse last year. Well, there was really only one, but he was worse.

Also, more on birds at the quick service joints to come!

I can ride the scariest, fastest, upside downiest roller coaster there is. But I can't make it through Dinosaur with my eyes open. They usually clamp shut about 30 seconds in and don't open until we're safe in the present again.

My goal is to actually see it next trip! It's always a must for us, though, for some reason.

Don't sit in either front corner!

man oh man, I wish we knew we were one building away from each other! we could have met up!

The only DISmeets I've had were with people I didn't know were on the DISboards to begin with!

Day 6 already? Can't wait for more!

Yep, it's going quick! Hump day!

Can't wait to get to the CSR pool and try the slide.

So much fun! It's really long, too.

"Yaw, for sure, from Sweden!"

Love it!!

I am loving your trip report and going back to read your previous reports. Your writing style is great....keeps me laughing!!!

Thanks! I'll try to keep it up.

I agree that pool is awesome and seldom crowded because of the conventioneers.

The conventioner inconvenience was greatly overblown online, if you ask me. I think they're a good thing, since they don't go to the parks during the day and are rarely away from El Centro.

Me too!!

Thanks! More is coming soon...just one more comments...

LOVE Flights of Wonder!!

Such a great show! I could almost see it TWICE a year! But more about that later. We haven't started Day 6 yet!

 

[nilla]

 

[nilla]

You may have noticed that I don't use creative chapter titles in my trip report. They follow the Day-Park-Lunch-Dinner format, without fail. With that said, Day 6 was a day that could've had a creative chapter title. Call it, "Watch Your Appetite!", or "The Day it All Fell Apart". I could probably think of some more, but I'd rather talk about the day itself. And it starts...

No sleeping in, apparently - we arrived at Epcot at 9:10 AM, and immediately got our first Epcot Family Picture in Front of the Ball (tm).

Here's another picture.

What's missing? It's just the Ball...without my bike! Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of us, Amazing Larry?

No? Ok, good. I'm off to get Soarin' FPs.

Since it's Monday, we're convinced the cheerleaders are long gone. Some remain, but by and large, the groups remain scarce. I take the opportunity to get some shots of the relatively empty Land.

While I'm getting FPs, the kids meet Stitch and Daisy. Emily has been wanting to see Daisy this year.

After last year's $40 autograph book bonanza, you'd think we'd be burned out on characters. Well, we are. We've met very few so far this trip, and those we met did not require a long wait. We have other things to do, and I think we have enough autographs to last a lifetime. Pin Trading is out this year, too, since the lanyards just ended up getting stuffed into the bag mid-day every day. We are trading Vinylmation, though, and I always know where we have them because it's at the very bottom of the bag. Under the wipes. Under the band-aids, 2 cans of spray sunscreen, hats, and sweaters. I can put it on the top, and it will somehow end up on the bottom.

Speaking of the bag, Kristin asked me to get it checked today. I think she was assuming I'd both the job. I got through unscathed, and here we are.

Wait, where are we? I'm confused. Oh, that's right, we're off to Innoventions West. Kristin and Dylan do this:

Emily and I do this:

And this:

Not to mention, this:

Afterwards, it's over to MouseGear to see if I can find some shorts!

 

[nilla]

As I mentioned before, an ill-timed rip and Hoop Dee Doo Fried Chicken and Rib Grease (tm) have me down to a critically low level in shorts. Yes, I can do laundry at the resort. But I don't want to. When we go back, I fall asleep. That's just how it works.

Nothing good on the shorts front, though, and that's scary, since MouseGear is pretty much the second best clothing stores in WDW, next to World of Disney. Oh well, moving on. A pic first, though:

I think the theming in here. Kristin gets Emily some colored hair extension clips for Emily, which will be seen in many a photo going forward. Prepare yourself.

We're close to Test Track here, but NOOOOOOOOOO, someone had to go and refurb it. Boooooooo!

Ok, lets do Mission: Space, then. Orange Team? Ok, Kristin. Got it.

Wait?

Orange Team? Are you serious, Clark? With Emily? With YOU, Kristin?

I heard right, though. It's on!

In we go. This is one of the few rides that makes me nervous, because I know how I am with spinning. The spinning's not as bad as, say, a Scrambler, though, and I like the intense ride much better than the tamer Green Team version.

So how did Emily Like it?

 

[nilla]

LOVED it. We only ride Orange Team now. Amazing! Kristin even likes it now.

We hit the gift shop on the way out, where Dylan got some Emperor Zurg gun that shoots puppy-choking foam balls. What could possibly go wrong?

Monorail!

Over to Soarin' now, and we once again take B-1. In row two is a guy wearing Mouse Ears, who re-enacts the "these beauties" scene perfectly. He was in Disneyland yesterday. His goal, he said, is to hit both Magic Kingdoms in the same day. Insane! I love it, but that's nuts!

With our FPs used up, we decided to head on up to World Showcase. But first, I decided to talk about the new FastPass system.

It's ok. We're certainly running cross-park a lot more than before. We probably could plan it better, but we're winging it this year, remember? I like the old way of not checking end times better, but this certainly isn't the end of our touring plans entirely.

Back to the park, where we get some shots on the way.

Chimps!

Chimps was a FABULOUS movie. Ten stars. Incredible. See it.

I like to call the following picture "The Most We Will See of the UK This Year":

Not sure why that was. It just didn't happen. We completely missed Canada, too. With three days in Epcot, I don't know how we managed that, but we did. We got a few more shots before we reached France, though.

Love the topes! I had to work for those pics, too, since the people in front of me were taking photos from every conceivable angle and distance. I think they're making a flip book. I hope they're making a flip book, because that would explain it.

Hey, it looks like Marie will be here soon! And here she is.

Even the boy can't resist.

Emily has a hooded towel at home that is a non-descript white cat with a pink nose and ears. On good nights, she wants to be called "Marie" when she wear it. It's her "fur". On other nights, woe be to you if you even try to call it either of those things. I tend to pick at those wounds, so I personally find the character of Marie to make me giggle inside. More topes!

Alright, all this button clicking is making me hungry. Conveniently, we planned on having lunch in France. And here we go!

 

[nilla]

I got a table in the gift shop while Kristin and the kids went to Boulangerie Patisserie. I went when they returned. I asked Kristin if she thought the guy working behind the counter seemed a bit surly. She agreed. It's odd, because normally, the CMs are really nice in World Showcase. Is he playing up a stereotype? Is he "in character"? Or is he just bitter? We'll never know! I do know that this meal was delicious, though.

For some reason, I think we all got the ham & cheese baguette. And various desserts:

If you are wondering what those were, they were good. That's what they were.

With lunch down, the kids did some Duffy coloring...

...and we hit the perfume shop. Lots of good smelling stuff here. I wish I could spray it on my feet, though, since my "odorproof" Keen's are apparently no match for my feet. On this trip, I learned the concept of "sunscreen as a deodorant". It works.

Ok, two more topes and this update is done.

I really love Flower and Garden. I can't imagine being here when it's not going on. It'll be very odd.

But let's get back to the present. I could use a beer, and we're right next to Morocco. What are we waiting for?

[POST=45207851](next update)[/POST]

 

[shan23877]

Great update! I noticed the title immediately. My thought was "Akershus for dinner? Dylan's gonna be maaaddddd."

Every time I thought the cheerleaders were gone, more popped up. I think they just slept late.

F&G is so beautiful. I'd just gotten a new camera, so people around me probably thought I was making a flip book

The only problem with lunch in WS? Too many great options! Other parks should present that problem. Lunch from France looked great, especially the desserts.

 

[phineasfan100]

I've always wanted to visit both Magic Kingdoms in the same day! Maybe it'l happen one day! Some extreme Park Hopping, huh?

 

[smidgy]

Through the magic portal we go, and we're back in the Old West. I should be excited for our impending ride on one of my all-time favorites, but I'll admit, I'm still seething about Disney's decision to pull guns from their theme parks.

]

i didn't notice, but isn't the frontierland shooting arcade still there? or did they pull the guns from that, too?

I'm not a big fan of guns myself, but all boys play with toys guns! what about squirt guns?

did you ever notice that the kids who aren't alloowed to have toy guns end up pretending a stick is a gun? and if you take the stick away, they go "bang, bang" with their index finger and thumb!

 

[nilla]

Great update! I noticed the title immediately. My thought was "Akershus for dinner? Dylan's gonna be maaaddddd.".

He was excited to "curse" when ordering. Not quite as excited about the Princesses. Give him a few years

The only problem with lunch in WS? Too many great options! Other parks should present that problem. Lunch from France looked great, especially the desserts.

The only reason we'd consider Park Hopper is so we can eat in Epcot every night! It's a shame that Epcot has so many options, while the other parks have so few.

I've always wanted to visit both Magic Kingdoms in the same day! Maybe it'l happen one day! Some extreme Park Hopping, huh?

The guy I talked to in line for Soarin' said he wanted to get FPs in Florida and try to use them in California

i didn't notice, but isn't the frontierland shooting arcade still there? or did they pull the guns from that, too?

I'm not a big fan of guns myself, but all boys play with toys guns! what about squirt guns?

did you ever notice that the kids who aren't alloowed to have toy guns end up pretending a stick is a gun? and if you take the stick away, they go "bang, bang" with their index finger and thumb!

This was the first year that I heard the rumor that Disney had removed all guns from the park, and also the year I think I noticed more guns for sale in the park. It's funny how up-in-arms people can get over a completely baseless rumor on the DISboards!

I wrote some more updates last night, but decided to have a beer and socialize rather than post them. I'm procrastinating no more, however...here they come!