Is this a vacation or a fun boot camp? ~ Our 1st time at Disney ~ June 2011 TR

[basketkat]

Oh wow! I can't believe what you had to go through with your wet room! And even worse how it was handled! Ugh! Glad to hear in the end they refunded you a night...

Looks like your day at Epcot is off to a great start!

 

[mrssmith06]

Soarin' is one of my favorites, too! I'm hoping we can talk Mom into going on it... she doesn't like heights, but maybe she'll be ok if we're on the back row.

We skipped Living With the Land on our '07 trip, but the kids all wanted to do it last year. I, too, thought they would be bored out of their minds but surprisingly, they loved it!

I'm not a fan of heights either and I was afraid I'd get nervous on it but ended up loving it. We were hanging in the middle, there was one row above us.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great PP pics - I love the ones of you and DH!

Sounds like you had a fun day at Epcot! That frogfish sure looks unusual. I'm glad you all enjoyed Living with The Land.

 

[mrssmith06]

Day 3 at Epcot!
It was just after 1pm and we were finally headed to the World Showcase! I was so excited about this part, I had been looking forward to touring the countries! We knew we were short on time though, we only had a few hours since we had an ADR in DTD at 5:15p, so we toured what we could quickly!
On the way to Canada, we seen a PP photographer and stopped for some pictures. (I'll post those later.) DS4 did not want to take any pictures once again, and I tried to bribe him by saying he wouldn't get his prize/souvineer later if he didn't cooperate and take pictures with us. That didn't work! Instead he sat in the stroller and cried the entire time we took pictures. Yep, our first Disney meltdown... This was one of our bad moments for sure. DS cried "I wanna take a picture now, I do!" But it was too late, so I said FINE here is your picture:

HAHAHA!!! His little meltdown didn't last too long and he perked up once we got moving into the Canada pavilion!

We had to stop and admire these little guys.

Then we made our way to the Kidcot so the kids could get their first stamps and signature's in their passports. They also got the Duffy bear fans and we sat and let them color for a few minutes.

(Now... Why sharpies?? Couldn't they give them crayons?? LOL.. Just sayin...)

DS was coloring and said "He needs this to go to the bathroom!" We both looked down and WHOA... Duffy was sporting something new around World Showcase that day..... Me and DH both laughed so hard!!!

I stopped to look at the beautiful gardens again on our way out...

Some pictures looking across the lagoon on our way to the UK pavilion.

We got to UK, walked to the back, tried to find the Kidcot but had no luck! When we came back around to the front though we found ALICE! She was a lot of fun! DS was too shy to stand with her, he avoided all of the princesses LOL! But she did wave and say hello to him.

On our way out of UK, we spotted Mary Poppins but she was going to break so we didn't get to meet her.

Walking to France next, I got a picture of Japan from across the lagoon...

We got to France and seen Marie! We got in line right away and I'm so glad we did, we were the last allowed in the line and then the CM cut it off so she could go to break! Once again, DS wouldn't go so DD went alone.

We didn't really go through all of France, we ended up taking a water break at this point so we missed the France Kidcot too! Oops! After our water we seen Belle but the line was really long and it was getting worse by the second because Beast was coming out in a few minutes. We didn't have time to wait, knowing she would probably take a break soon and it could be 30 minutes or more in line, so we kept walking and just snapped a couple of quick pictures!

So, on we go, making our way to Morocco!


NEXT UP: World Showcase part 2!


Oh and P.S. I forgot to mention in my previous update that when we came out of The Seas and walked through the gift shop, there was a sweet CM in there who seen our kids had 1st visit buttons on. She walked them over to the counter and pulled out her special box and filled bags with goodies for both kids! (Stickers, coloring pages, etc), they were so excited!

 

[SnowWhite607]

Great TR so far! Cant wait to read more!

When we stayed at the Pop Century back in March, we were already in bed one night and someone tried to open our door, like insert their key and get in! We opened it and they were shocked that we were in *their* room! LOL! Come to find out the front desk has assigned that room to a Mrs ____ (my last name) and it was also that family's last name. Her first initial was A and so is mine! LOL! They got it worked out and gave her nother room but I guess problems happen at all resorts, although your leaky ceiling was much worse than mine! LOL!

And who doesnt love Sunshine Seasons?? Such a great variety when you are tired of burgers and fries!

Looking forward to more of your TR! The countries in Epcot are one of my favorite areas of WDW.

 

[mrssmith06]

Great TR so far! Cant wait to read more!

When we stayed at the Pop Century back in March, we were already in bed one night and someone tried to open our door, like insert their key and get in! We opened it and they were shocked that we were in *their* room! LOL! Come to find out the front desk has assigned that room to a Mrs ____ (my last name) and it was also that family's last name. Her first initial was A and so is mine! LOL! They got it worked out and gave her nother room but I guess problems happen at all resorts, although your leaky ceiling was much worse than mine! LOL!

And who doesnt love Sunshine Seasons?? Such a great variety when you are tired of burgers and fries!

Looking forward to more of your TR! The countries in Epcot are one of my favorite areas of WDW.

Hey, welcome aboard!

Oh no!! That would be disturbing to have some strangers come into your room, glad they got it worked out!!

 

[PixieMama]

I'm really looking forward to exploring the WS in 2 months!

Have never met Alice, would love to see her on my trip!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Oh no on DS having a meltdown moment - was glad to read it didn't last long

Love the WS pics - can't wait to explore all the countries.

Yay on meeting all the characters!

 

[mrssmith06]

Continuing our anniversary day at Epcot!

So we had just left France, and were on our way to Morocco!

We toured a little through Morocco and found the Kidcot there, the kids were so tickled over the signatures in their passports! They loved seeing their names written in a new language!

On our way back out we asked a CM where we could find Aladdin & Jasmine and he pointed us to the meet and greet area, they were going to be out in just a few minutes! So we went over and jumped in the line that was already forming, we had maybe 5 people in front of us so not too bad! We waited about 10 minutes and took that time to re-apply sunscreen on the kids and get some more water in everyone! Finally it was our turn! DD was excited, DS wouldn't go... (I have PP pics to share later from this too!)

Next up was Japan! We got to the Kidcot there and then went into one of the shops there to look around.

Walked to the American Adventure and went straight for the Kidcot!

Got that done and my DD started asking the CM about the pins and how to trade. (I didn't plan to do this... Busted!) So DD becomes very interested and on our way out a sweet teenage girl stops us and says she has 2 pins she would love to give our kids if it was OK with us!! I said "Sure! That is SO sweet of you!!" She gave each kid and pin and explained how they could trade them. This made their day. SO nice of her. I thanked her many times. When we got back out to the front we caught part of the show they do there...

(Cont. in next post!!!)

 

[mrssmith06]

We stopped by a snack cart and got a couple of frozen drinks and a giant cookie to share. Yum! While we were standing there, we spotted a couple of random characters out in a little alley area...

I knew time was ticking and we still had a lot to do so we kept moving! I had to see Italy!! I'm so glad we did too, it was my favorite spot... maybe just because I've always dreamed of going there, so I soaked it all in. When we walked up I did a little spin around, turned and smiled at DH & said "Ahhh, I always knew you'd take me to Italy some day!"

Got the Kidcot done here too, yay!

Germany was next! We were counting minutes at this point, so we hurried through here, did the Kidcot and speed walked our way out of Epcot so we could get to our dinner ADR...

Look out people! We gotta GO!!!!!

NEXT UP: Our time in DTD & some late night fun in the pool!

 

[PixieMama]

I've read that the Italy and Morocco pavilions are the most detailed and authentic... I can't wait to explore the countries more in just a few months!

Boy, those were some random characters... I had no idea one could find Rafiki in Epcot. Or Bolt.

On our trip a few years ago we waited to see Jasmine and Aladdin. Unfortunately, they left before we got to the front of the line... but the Genie took their place! So my DDs got to meet him and get his autograph. He was very funny, even though he didn't speak, LOL!

 

[jkluttrell]

I'm joining in! I hardly ever click on a TR in progress, I usually find the ones already finished.

 

[mrssmith06]

I've read that the Italy and Morocco pavilions are the most detailed and authentic... I can't wait to explore the countries more in just a few months!

Boy, those were some random characters... I had no idea one could find Rafiki in Epcot. Or Bolt.

On our trip a few years ago we waited to see Jasmine and Aladdin. Unfortunately, they left before we got to the front of the line... but the Genie took their place! So my DDs got to meet him and get his autograph. He was very funny, even though he didn't speak, LOL!

I would agree! Italy was my 1st favorite, and Morocco my 2nd! They were both very enjoyable!
Yeah they say every now and then you'll get a random character out, you never know who! I wish we would have had more time to stop and meet with Bolt and Rafiki!
Ohh the Genie would be fun to meet!

I'm joining in! I hardly ever click on a TR in progress, I usually find the ones already finished.

Welcome!!!

 

[anjalee6]

I always want to tour World Showcase in more detail while we are there, but the rides always seem to be more important to us. We ended up going to Canada, Norway, France, and China this year as they were the closest, but we didn't get much farther than that. Maybe next time I will have to schedule more time for just exploring WS. It looks like you had fun though and seeing all the extra characters looks exciting.

 

[MelMel11]

Count me in!! I have enjoyed your TR. We leave July 9th I cannot wait..

 

[mrssmith06]

Happy 4th everyone! I hope your all having a fun and safe day!!! We just got done with our grill out and I'm glued to the TV waiting for the Casey Anthony verdict to come in... Taking the kids to see fireworks at the lake later!

I always want to tour World Showcase in more detail while we are there, but the rides always seem to be more important to us. We ended up going to Canada, Norway, France, and China this year as they were the closest, but we didn't get much farther than that. Maybe next time I will have to schedule more time for just exploring WS. It looks like you had fun though and seeing all the extra characters looks exciting.

It takes more time than you'd think to tour WS, huh? I want to go around the other way next time so we can see more of Mexico, Norway, China... a lot of what we missed! We started at Canada and only made it to
Germany, but we did briefly see Mexico and Norway on our arrival night. I really want to do the boat ride in Mexico next time!! Norway's is OK but I've read that Mexico's is the best.

Count me in!! I have enjoyed your TR. We leave July 9th I cannot wait..

Thanks and welcome! Hope you have a great trip, just a few more days!!! Exciting!!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Morocco and Italy looks soo good - I can't wait to spend some time in all the countries.

Lol at the kids being interested in the pins - soo busted! That is very sweet of someone to give two pins away from their collection

Yay on getting to see Rafiki and Bolt!

 

[ctink23]

The kidcot spots seem really fun! And what a nice teenager to give your kids pins and explain pin trading to them!

 

[Kari-B]

Meeting characters that are a little more rare would be pretty fun. Love seeing the pics of the Kidcot stations, we can't wait to try those out.

 

[mrssmith06]

DAY 3 cont.
We rushed out of Epcot and drove to DTD. We arrived there around 4:30pm so we were a little early but it took us some time to get parked! The parking lot is not so easy there, it was pretty cramped! When we finally got into a parking spot, we decided to just sit and relax in the car for a few minutes since DS had fallen asleep and we were all tired and had achy feet! We got out of the car and walked up to Planet Hollywood right about 5pm, our ADR was for 5:15pm there.

We checked in and then had our picture taken. Here is that picture from the package: (DS still sleeping as you can see)

We only had to wait about 5 minutes and we were taken to our table. DS woke up and we got our orders in.

I had the L.A. lasagna... it was SO good!!! YUM!! I tried to eat it all but just couldn't. I was very pleased.

DH had the philly and he really enjoyed it too.

The kids had a cheese pizza and they shared it, it was big enough for both of them! I'm glad the waitress told us to only order 1!! (I forgot to get a picture of that though, sorry!!!)

We used our PH coupon from our Disney package which made our anniversary meal total $38! Woohoo! We went over to the gift shop and got a couple of t-shirts and our free souvineer (keychain).
After leaving there we drove over to the Marketplace side! Lego store and World of Disney stores! Fun, Fun!!! We let the kids get their "prizes" for the day at World of Disney and we got a couple of other things too! (Shirts, gifts for family, mickey measuring cups, magnet, car sticker.) Loved that store, it was HUGE!

I wanted to buy all of these cute things!!

More Lego's!

Watch out Stitch spits! And yes, he got me! I wasn't expecting it at all, LOL.

Ghiradelli store, yum! We went in and got our free chocolate samples and then I dropped mine in the floor. Booo!! DS gave me a little bite of his though. We never made it to the soda shop side, it was packed and I didn't feel like fighting that crowd.

We went across from there to a little stand and got a drink for the kids and a frozen lemonade for us. We sat and enjoyed that for a few minutes and decided that we were too tired to explore DTD any further. It was already close to 8pm anyway. (I was afraid of the money I'd spend too if I went in anymore stores haha!!!) So we made the walk back to the car...

Can you tell he is tired???

Back at the resort, we let the kids play with their new things for a few minutes and then we got ready to go swimming!! We had not got to swim at our resort yet, so we really wanted to go for a little while!


NEXT UP: Late night fun at the pool!