Island Hopping: A Highly Inappropriate TR. (Boom.)-- Link to NEW TR! 10/8

[STLMickeyMom]

HOORAY!! Yes, we're going to be there Sept 13-22, and we'll be at POR from the 13-19 and AoA from the 19-22. We have to be in an Alligator Bayou room, though, because this is the first year that Sawyer counts as a "real" kid , so that makes five of us...too big for a princess room.

oh my gosh!! your trip is getting soooo close!!! and now i'm even more excited for your TR!! we already have plans for a 2017 trip with my best friend (we've known each other since kindergarten) and our families, and our plan is to stay at AoA! it's so far away, but i've already been enjoying pictures of it. i think you'll have an awesome trip! especially since Sawyer is a "real boy" now! (i know--horrible pinocchio reference! )

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

I'm in and can't wait to see your TR! We are now a big family of six so the only option we can afford is AoA...I'm not complaining. But after staying at GF when my DD was two...well...we were spoiled!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

oh my gosh!! your trip is getting soooo close!!! and now i'm even more excited for your TR!! we already have plans for a 2017 trip with my best friend (we've known each other since kindergarten) and our families, and our plan is to stay at AoA! it's so far away, but i've already been enjoying pictures of it. i think you'll have an awesome trip! especially since Sawyer is a "real boy" now! (i know--horrible pinocchio reference! )

I love the Pinocchio reference!!!
Hey, I planned my whole life to go to WDW before it actually happened when I was 26. A few years makes the build-up spectacular and worth it!!

I'm in and can't wait to see your TR! We are now a big family of six so the only option we can afford is AoA...I'm not complaining. But after staying at GF when my DD was two...well...we were spoiled!

Yeah, we're spoiled after Poly, but we can't afford the deluxe this year. Grrrr. We'll see how that goes!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

WHAT!?!?! I'M ACTUALLY UPDATING!?!?! You must think you're dreaming! Or delusional!

But, yes, I'm actually here, updating like a good little DISer. Some of you know about the chaos that's been going on here lately and will understand why I haven't updated anything...and for those of you who don't, just TRUST ME. I haven't abandoned you by choice.

When we left off, we'd enjoyed The American Adventure. As we left the auditorium and made our way down the ramp to the exit, I loved hearing "Golden Dream" playing in the background. Gah, I love that song!

As soon as we stepped outside, we spotted them...two big EARS in the alley beside the pavilion. Of course that could only mean one thing!



THE BIG CHEESE HIMSELF! He was over here with some friends with no wait! We never pass up an opportunity for a character meet, especially with no wait! It's like everyone was just walking by and not seeing this area at all. We didn't mind.

Pooh Bear was here, too, and Sawyer happily high-fived the cuddly guy.


And here's where I fail: I can't find our picture of Tigger, and that was my favorite meet!

Why, you ask? Because of the hilarity that ensued.

It's hard for Tigger to see all the little kids all the time, and my little kids, especially one little kid in particular, cannot be still. That's got to be confusing. Brynn, with her Tigger-like bouncing (she does it all the time, not just for Tigger...you can see in the video that if she is not seated, she is not still), must have gotten in his blind spot. He whopped her straight across the head with his large hand gestures!! LOL! In the video, you see him playing with her, and her smiling, and then they pose for a picture. In reality, he was thinking, "Dear God, please don't let these parents get mad at me for hitting their daughter. You're okay, kid, right? RIGHT????" And then he was relieved that she was fine and that we were laughing.

But apparently there's no picture. Sigh. There's a great memory, though.
Soon, the character handler was mentioning to Mickey that he needed to head over to Character Spot, and my kids yelled to him that we'd be over there soon to see him. Tigger and Pooh had to go get a honey snack.
How relaxing that had been! We spent lots of time with each character and freely walked back and forth between them.

We decided to pause and meander over to the World Showcase Lagoon to enjoy the relaxation a bit more. (Plus, I think Brandon went to use the restroom while I watched the kids.)

I LOVE THIS PICTURE. I think it shows just how peaceful it was at that moment, and how much we were loving Epcot.





Then suddenly, from the little area we'd just been in, this happened!





Our timing just couldn't have been any better!

And our success continued as we stumbled upon this guy in Italy:





You may remember that Brandon loves every person with a whistle in World Showcase. He says it means they're doing something important.

The kids did not think so. Brynn hated the whistle. Sawyer just wanted to GO GO GO. So we high-tailed it out of there after just a minute of watching. Don't I look happy with the whining? Where was that peace we just had a second ago??



It was train break time. We can't ever skip the Germany trains. I left the kids with Brandon and took a potty break (don't act surprised...if you've made it this far in my TR, you know my bladder size).





Lucky cow, living at Epcot.





**KEEP READING BELOW...ANOTHER UPDATE IN NEXT POST!**

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

**CONTINUED FROM POST ABOVE***

We moved on around the World Showcase, deciding that face painting had to happen next. I still don't understand why Brynn loves face painting so much. I mean, she won't let people touch her face at all in a normal, everyday setting, but those face painters and their sponges and brushes must be magical, cause she's downright zen...okay, maybe not at first.





Better.





Gorgeous!



Moving on, we stopped at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe at the Norway pavilion to get a quick snack. We decided to split the Norwegian Club Sandwich, which they heated for us, and the kids split a big bowl of fruit. I also grabbed a School Bread for later, of course! We took it over by the water at La Cantina de San Angel and enjoyed a rest for a moment.



We walked back into Future World with no real plan, but it got so hot by the time we were finished walking that we had to stop at a food stand and get waters for everyone, even though we'd just had some ice water with our snack!

And speaking of water, I felt a couple of drops come out of the sky, so we covered the strollers before going over to the Imagination Pavilion. We shouldn't have worried about that. We were going to get wet in a completely different kind of way.

First, we hopped on to visit Figment.



(Yes, that's the only picture. We took video the rest of the time.)

ImageWorks was next, which is my kids' favorite part!













We spent a good half hour here playing around, and it very well may have rained during that time. No matter. We were about to get drenched.

Things started out innocently enough with some splashing in the water with our hands. I did note that the water smelled heavily of bleach, and that's one of my favorite smells.







Brynn then discovered the jumping fountains. She wanted to touch one of those with her hands, as well...except it got her right in the face!!! (Yeah, that's on video!) After being drenched, she was all about making it happen again, as was Julia. That looked fun!! So after a few minutes of water squirting them in the face, we walked away looking like this:



Those new face paintings weren't really holding up that well. Oops.

Up next: More new experiences, and a night to remember!

 

[tiggerfan77]

YAY! You're back!! I can't talk because I haven't updated my PTR in a while. I don't have any excuse other than I got a little lazy Lol! (I blame my boy!)

I love that you had such a great experience with Tigger. He's my favorite character even before I met him in the parks. My favorite experience with him was when he grabbed my hat off my head and played keep away for a bit! You got to love a great character experience especially with a short line!

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Great update! Your kids are so cute!

 

[MissPrice]

Wonderful updates! I <3 World Showcase. I love getting my face painted/ make up done. It is weirdly relaxing! Gorgeous photos. -Amanda

 

[jane2073]

Loved the update! I totally think my bladder could rival yours!!

 

[courtneybelle]

Hi! I was a lurker for most of your TR this far, but I recently joined the Dis and wanted to say how much I love your photos! The one in the second to last update with Mickey in black and white was stunning

 

[GrimGrinningStitch]

Hooray for new updates! I know you've had a lot going on, but selfishly, I'm always happy to see new updates

First off, I love that picture with the kids looking out over the lagoon. So perfect.

You guys are having an amazing Epcot visit! All the little things that can happen, with the performers, the character meeting spot, all the details, that's what makes Epcot my favorite park.

Every time we walk by that German area, I always make the joke to Danielle "what would you do if you looked in here, and noticed that it was just tiny people standing really still? Like, you caught one of them breathing. Me? I would never stop screaming."

Imageworks looks like fun! I used to love the old Imageworks (back when it was upstairs), but haven't seen the new one at all. As for Figment, the only thing I'll say is: I really, really miss the old Figment.

Can't wait to see what comes next!

 

[1000HappyWishes]

Yay, an update! I had forgotten how cute for DD's and Sawyer are!

 

[jane2073]

Every time we walk by that German area, I always make the joke to Danielle "what would you do if you looked in here, and noticed that it was just tiny people standing really still? Like, you caught one of them breathing. Me? I would never stop screaming."

THIS is the funniest thing I have read all day!

 

[merbobear]

I love the girls' face paintings! We had a similar experience in the world showcase of just walking up at the right time. We saw the drummers in Japan, mime in Italy, umm...blanking but I know there was more. But no plans, just walked up and it was happening. And on our first day this year, we were walking out of the WS and we saw this puppet master type guy walking/dancing his way out on stage and into Mexico, so we stopped and out pop 2 "puppets" (people) and the other guy was their puppet master..it was just really cool. It was part of the Cinco de Mayo Limited Time Magic. One of the better street performance type shows that I have ever seen, not just in Disney, but anywhere!

hmmm..what else. Oh, Adison just got crocs like the girls are wearing in this new update, but hers are purple and turquoise. They are so cute and she loves them I feel I had more to say but I must be off to work, so I'll probably skim through again later and say what I have to

 

[beachphotog]

Yay, an update!!!! I love the random character meets that you keep encountering! That's never happened to me, but maybe in September you can show me your magic character M&G ways!!!

I love love love the kids and the jumping fountain! As a matter of fact, when I went in 86 for the first time, JII, Imagworks (the way it was originally) and the jumping fountains were my favorite part of Epcot!

I love how Brynn sits so calmly for the face painting. It looks like she's just really enjoying the moment!

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[katt789]

Number one: had a disney day with Paige yesterday and we definitely watched your video and she commented on how amazing the photography was!

Number two: YAY UPDATES! Hope everything is going safe for you and you stay dry!

Love the udpates, those character meets are great! I find that Epcot is always amazing with shorter lines for characters, even if it does mean criss crossing a few times, but catching characters in training is even more awesome!! Not a whole lot of people know about them! Yay!

LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE the picture of the kids looking out into World Showcase, man, the first two trips to Disney with Nick was totally awesome as he would capture stuff like that, and candid shots of our reactions to the welcome show and stuff without us really even knowing, I like traveling with a photographer!

Great updates! Love the water fountain playing, glad the kids liked it and weren't upset about getting hit haha!

Excited to read more about tonight!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

YAY! You're back!! I can't talk because I haven't updated my PTR in a while. I don't have any excuse other than I got a little lazy Lol! (I blame my boy!)

I love that you had such a great experience with Tigger. He's my favorite character even before I met him in the parks. My favorite experience with him was when he grabbed my hat off my head and played keep away for a bit! You got to love a great character experience especially with a short line!

Tigger is ALWAYS fun, no matter what! I've never had a bad Tigger experience, but this one was by far my favorite.
I'll forgive you for not updating...I've been known to be a bit lazy myself .

Great update! Your kids are so cute!

THANKS!

Wonderful updates! I <3 World Showcase. I love getting my face painted/ make up done. It is weirdly relaxing! Gorgeous photos. -Amanda

See, I've never done it before, so obviously I don't know first-hand about the relaxing qualities. I guess if more than one person says it, it truly is! I guess that's why Brynn's okay with it! And I do think I may try it myself next time. They do such an amazing job with the gorgeous designs.

Loved the update! I totally think my bladder could rival yours!!

Then I feel sorry for you, cause mine's pretty bad, LOL!! It's probably a good thing that you and I don't take car trips together; we might never make it to the destination with all the stopping!!

Hi! I was a lurker for most of your TR this far, but I recently joined the Dis and wanted to say how much I love your photos! The one in the second to last update with Mickey in black and white was stunning

Oh, thank you! I'm so glad you joined and hopped out of lurk-dom! I have to give all photo credit to my husband. I can't even take a good photo with a point and shoot when everything is calculated for me. I'm grateful to have him and his memory capturing abilities.

Hooray for new updates! I know you've had a lot going on, but selfishly, I'm always happy to see new updates

First off, I love that picture with the kids looking out over the lagoon. So perfect.

You guys are having an amazing Epcot visit! All the little things that can happen, with the performers, the character meeting spot, all the details, that's what makes Epcot my favorite park.

Every time we walk by that German area, I always make the joke to Danielle "what would you do if you looked in here, and noticed that it was just tiny people standing really still? Like, you caught one of them breathing. Me? I would never stop screaming."

Imageworks looks like fun! I used to love the old Imageworks (back when it was upstairs), but haven't seen the new one at all. As for Figment, the only thing I'll say is: I really, really miss the old Figment.

Can't wait to see what comes next!

Going to Epcot more than once on this trip really freed us up to just casually run into those experiences. We will always go more than once now and just let the magic happen.
OKAY. I've TOTALLY had this conversation with Brandon. I'm the one asking. I can't look at them too long or I imagine that I see one moving, and that just freaks me out. Plus, once there was a lizard on it that was still at first and then moved, and I was pretty sure it was being attacked by Godzilla.
YOU NEED TO PLAY AT IMAGEWORKS! I think I have just as much fun as the kids!

Yay, an update! I had forgotten how cute for DD's and Sawyer are!

Thanks for sticking with me through my absence!

THIS is the funniest thing I have read all day!

Matt is a hoot!

I love the girls' face paintings! We had a similar experience in the world showcase of just walking up at the right time. We saw the drummers in Japan, mime in Italy, umm...blanking but I know there was more. But no plans, just walked up and it was happening. And on our first day this year, we were walking out of the WS and we saw this puppet master type guy walking/dancing his way out on stage and into Mexico, so we stopped and out pop 2 "puppets" (people) and the other guy was their puppet master..it was just really cool. It was part of the Cinco de Mayo Limited Time Magic. One of the better street performance type shows that I have ever seen, not just in Disney, but anywhere!

hmmm..what else. Oh, Adison just got crocs like the girls are wearing in this new update, but hers are purple and turquoise. They are so cute and she loves them I feel I had more to say but I must be off to work, so I'll probably skim through again later and say what I have to

I'm hoping for something interesting for Limited Time Magic when we go, but I'm afraid that since we arrive on the date of Friday the 13th, that might be the only special thing that week.
Unfortunately, those Crocs are no more. Both pairs broke in half. Literally. I loved them and had gotten them on clearance, so I was really sad.

Yay, an update!!!! I love the random character meets that you keep encountering! That's never happened to me, but maybe in September you can show me your magic character M&G ways!!!

I love love love the kids and the jumping fountain! As a matter of fact, when I went in 86 for the first time, JII, Imagworks (the way it was originally) and the jumping fountains were my favorite part of Epcot!

I love how Brynn sits so calmly for the face painting. It looks like she's just really enjoying the moment!

We obviously didn't plan it, but we were taking it easy and kept lucking out! Just hang out with us and maybe our luck will rub off on you!
We had so much fun getting soaked. It sort of left us smelling a bit sour later, but it was cooling and fun!

Great update!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Number one: had a disney day with Paige yesterday and we definitely watched your video and she commented on how amazing the photography was!

Number two: YAY UPDATES! Hope everything is going safe for you and you stay dry!

Love the udpates, those character meets are great! I find that Epcot is always amazing with shorter lines for characters, even if it does mean criss crossing a few times, but catching characters in training is even more awesome!! Not a whole lot of people know about them! Yay!

LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVE the picture of the kids looking out into World Showcase, man, the first two trips to Disney with Nick was totally awesome as he would capture stuff like that, and candid shots of our reactions to the welcome show and stuff without us really even knowing, I like traveling with a photographer!

Great updates! Love the water fountain playing, glad the kids liked it and weren't upset about getting hit haha!

Excited to read more about tonight!

Awww, that makes me soooo happy!
I love the characters at Epcot. It is the best spot for random meets!
I love having Brandon around to capture those moments I wouldn't think of.
They were the opposite of upset. They were begging to get hit over and over! It's a good thing I was in "take it easy" mode, or I might have been unhappy about wasting money on face paintings that didn't last!

 

[ronnmel]

Yay for characters with no line, peaceful moments (however fleeting they are), face painting, and water in the face. I'm sure that unplanned moment at the jumping fountain turned out to be one of the best memory of the trip for the little kids.

 

[ShannonMarie]

I read your other trip report and just started this one yesterday (halfway through!). This is what I do at night when I can't sleep...read Disney trip reports - makes me fall asleep happily! I just wanted to say your video is one of the best I've seen! As a matter of fact, I am going to save it and watch it every time I need cheering up or am missing Disney! We were there at the end of September and will be going back for marathon weekend but that isn't until January 2015. So I know I'm going to watch your video a gazillion times before then! My son has special needs (down syndrome) so I can relate to your feelings. Guest Assistance pass is the best though! We always say Noah is our "fast pass".

Tonight I will watch your video again and finish your TR!

Shannon