It's August! It's HOT! It Rains! Wait, Where's Mikey?

[tazdev3225]

Day 7 our last day for the parks and Jay's 14th Birthday

We decided that we were going to take it a little easy today. We got to the bus stop at 9 and just missed a bus. Another came fairly quickly but it was full. We finally got on a bus and arrived at EPCOT around 9:45. That was just a little to slow for me but nothing I could do. We were going to go to Spaceship Earth when I noticed something else. We headed over to see Daisy Duck and Stitch.

Then we had a quick discussion and Jim and Jay went to the left and headed to Mission Space. He likes the rides and we knew the little ones would not like that. Jen and I went to

I also knew Jay would hate waiting in line for the characters. I noticed a woman in line a little ahead of us who had gotten on the bus with us at ASMo's. I wondered if she was a DISer because as we waited she had a list in a plastic sleeve, a marker, maps and time schedules in hand. She was plotting out her day and making marks on her list. I had to laugh to myself remembering the days when I did that.

The posted wait time was 20 minutes when we entered. The kids enjoyed the cartoons as we waited

We really did only have about a 20 minute wait and because we already had autographs we just got pictures.

Ella was happy seeing Minnie again

When we exited Jay and Jim were waiting for us. They rode the orange side and only had about a 10 minute wait. I wanted to go on Spaceship Earth the kids wanted Nemo. Jay wasn't as happy but Nemo won. I got a picture of Poppy with the grandkids

continued as this was a picture heavy morning

 

[tazdev3225]

Nemo was a walk on. I am probably crazy, OK I am but don't tell anyone, but I would love to have a small wait here. I have never been able to get pictures of the queue. So within minutes we were in our clamobiles

As you can see Jay was just thrilled. This is another ride I take pics on trying to get the tricky shots. The jellyfish just annoy me as I have yet to get them with the right color. I was happy with some of these

I really liked this one as you get the feeling of movement but Crush is fairly still

Then we explored the Living Seas area. The kids, even Jay, liked this part. Some of the pics are mine and some are Crystal's.

Clown fish really do hide in the anemone

I struggled with this shot trying to get the colors and Crystal got a decent shot although there is some flash

These are hers too

She has loved taking pictures since she figured out how to use a camera and I let her use one of the spare cameras on trips. She has an interesting eye.
Crystal got this with my waterproof camera

And I got this with my expensive bridge camera. I culd not get anything but a blue overtone

Jay liked this crab

We got the kids in the sharks mouth

I wandered over to the gift shop while I waited for them to finish up. Jay's brother is obsessed with sharks, I had hoped to find him one of the cars shaped as a shark. No such luck. Jennifer got him the shark stuffed animal. OK I needed to get this kid something so I got him a book about sharks.

We left and Mike was there waiting for us. He slept in and met us in the park. While they all headed over to the land I went back to the Coral Reef to check our ADR time. I forgot the book with everything in it. Good thing I did as I was off by about a half hour.

Up next we head to the Land but do we do anything?

 

[Lesprivate]

We were in Epcot that same day, we also were just taking it easy.

 

[tazdev3225]

Mike had joined us and we were headed to the Land. Are we riding Soarin'? Nope I am one of the few people alive that is happier if we skip that. I actually get sick on it. Honestly all 3D motion type rides get me sick. I can't even play certain video games. Maybe a tour of Living With the Land. Nope they did that already. We went to eat. I love Sunshine Seasons and thought having such a huge variety would be nice. This update is going to be a review of the food there,

Jay and I went up first. We both got Mongolian Beef with Fried Rice. Jay got a cookie for dessert and I got the Strawberry Shortcake.

I liked the beef dish. It was a little spicy but not overwhelming. Jay did not like it. It has onions in it and he does not like onions. That was his only real complaint. The strawberry shortcake was absolutely delicious. I would return again just for that. Jay liked his cookie.

The kids all has macaroni and cheese with jello and chocolate milk.

I tried a small taste and it is macaroni and cheese, nothing spectacular but the kids liked it. The jello was disgusting. It is a prepack Kozy Shack jello. I tasted this also and it is horrible. The kids wouldn't eat it.

Jim and Mike both got Sweet and Sour Chicken with Jasmine rice and a Carrot Cupcake. Mike also bought sushi OOP because he wanted to try it.

No pic of the sushi. They both loved the chicken and cupcake. The sushi was not that great. It is pre-packaged, what more can I say. Mike would still like to try real sushi but won't get this again.

Jennifer got a chicken Caesar Salad and a Chocolate cake.

My youngest daughter works for a chicken place, (wings, grilled chicken, salads), and they make a fantastic grilled chicken caesar salad. Jen compared it to that and said it wasn't as good but without comparing was very good. The cake was very good also.

Ella decided it was her turn to take pictures.

You can see the sushi and jello in the pic

While Ella was taking her pictures Jennifer, Mike and I put the kids passports together. Our plan was to visit the countries next and get the stamps for the kids. Something I didn't do last year with my other daughter. I offered to get Jay one and he gave me a look. I didn't pursue the subject.

While we were assembling the passports I noticed 2 women staring at our table. I was starting to get really paranoid. Then they came over and approached Jay. He didn't have his birthday button on. I know he got refills on our drinks but we asked first and was told that we were allowed to do that. What could they possibly want with my DGS. They asked him his name, apologized and left. That wasn't good enough for me. I didn't want to get stopped everywhere. I made Jim go over and find out what was wrong. It turned out that they were looking for a young man, MARINE, who dropped his wallet and thought that Jay might be him. My 14 year old grandson looked like a 24 year old marine. I did hope that they found the right guy as his military ID was in there as well.

We finally finished lunch 90 minutes later. A couple last pics and we were off.

Ella and I thought alike

 

[tazdev3225]

We left The Land pavilion and headed towards WS. I got a shot of the monorail

We stopped at a rest room and I had a lot of fun watching some young men trying to eat. There were a couple of sucks that would not leave them alone. Now which way do we go? We opted for Canada. I would regret that later. We headed up to the stores first. I got a real kick out of this

I don't think I want to use Moose Spit lip balm or Dog Team Drool soap. I took a few pics

and actually managed to get a pic of Jay

Then we found the Kidcot Station. I figured we would sign the passports and move on. Not my family! We had to stop and color our Duffy on a stick.

I took more pics

managed to get a butterfly

I watched a photopass photographer take a few pics along the walkway and really liked the shots he was getting. went back in to see what they were doing. Still coloring the Duffy. Finally we were sone and on our way and of course no photopass pics. We headed towards the UK and the girls needed a bathroom - AGAIN! Crystal also changed into shorts. Found the kidcot station

Then stood in line for Pooh and Tigger. Jay was given orders that he had to have a picture taken here. His mother's favorite character is Winnie the Pooh and I get a picture of Jay with Pooh every trip. Of course I'm in line and some woman came and pushed herself right in front of me. I just gave the CM, who knew I was waiting, a really dirty look and ignored it. I was too tired to say anything.

I got my pic and Jay wasn't happy but I thought it was the least I could do for his mother since I had him on his birthday. Then I lost them all this time, not just Mikey. I managed a shot of the group

Finally we were off but where to now?

 

[tazdev3225]

We left the UK and moved forward. As I'm sure those of you who have read along noticed Mikey likes Perry. I had mentioned to Jen before we left for Disney that there was now an Agent P mission. We passed the booth for this just before we crossed the bridge to France. Our mission was in France, Jim's least favorite country. We had also spent over an hour and a half doing 2 countries now we were on a mission. The kids were really excited though. I grabbed the passports and Duffy's to get them signed. The CM for France was incredibly rude. He was chatting with a fellow French CM and we were an annoyance to him. It wasn't just me, he was the same with with the kids that approached him.
Reading a clue

It was really crowded in the France area and the clues were sometimes a little hard to see. We went out by Le Chefs de France to get our bearings and I got really excited. There was a new character - Gaston. The kids left the mission for pictures. I am glad we took those 5 minutes. Again we had a fantastic character interaction. Ella will watch Beauty and the Beast 5 times in a row. They watched it in the car on the way down to Florida so Mikey was excited. He knew Gaston. He told him "I liked when Belle pushed you in the mud." Of course Gaston denied all this. He would yell over to Belle, "I'm watching you Belle." The kids were so happy with all of this. Even Jay cracked a smile.

Ella refused to get in the picture she doesn't like Gaston. Then we were back to the mission

While they finished the mission I went over to Morocco to get the passports signed and to get a piece of Baklava.

The skies were getting a little cloudy and dark. Never a good thing. When I got back to France they had found Agent P. I missed it. Mission complete we moved on. We bypassed Morocco although Jay stayed behind for a minute or so. I think the way the dancer was dressed had something to do with it.

Next stop on our whirlwind tour - Japan. We got the passports stamped and then went in the shop. We actually spent a little time here as Mike and Jay decided to look at swords and then they bought a couple. I think I'm glad I didn't know that. I have an obsession in Japan. I have a pearl from every trip. None are in settings. Right now I think I have about 15 pearls floating around. And I got 2 more this trip because Jim bought me one while I had Jay get me one. Jen also got one for each of the kids. I got my normal 7 1/4mm white pearl. Mikey got - twins

Ella got a golden hued one

Poor Crystal got a plain white one

Ella helped bang the drum

The skies were really looking bad now

Hoping to get a little more done we headed to the American Adventure pavilion. I was still looking for colonial costumes and tri-corner hats. No costumes but they did have the hats - at $30 each. My mom decided to skip them. I went back out to

Then the skies opened up. It was about 5:10 so I wasn't too worried. Our ADR was for 6. The afternoon showers aren't always that long. Half an hour later we were still seeing this

Jim headed to the Coral Reef because he was worried about the ADR and Mike went with him. I refused to move because I was in a moving vehicle and there was a lot of thunder. It was funny to watch though. The adults were all huddled in a little shelter and the kids were all in ponchos running in the rain. I decided to use the water-proof camera for the pictures. I was hoping to get lightning over EPCOT. I went through my bag and it's not there. Turned to Jen, "Where's the camera?" She has no clue. I am now upset because I am down one camera. The waterproof started working fine after it dried out and now it's gone. I didn't get lightning but I did get the kids

We then decided rain or no rain we had to head to the Coral Reef for Jay's birthday dinner.

Up next the end of the last day.

 

[Lesprivate]

That Strawberry shortcake is the sooo good; whenever we eat there I always get that.

We were back at the OKW hoping to swim when that rain hit but it was a good thing because we all packed alittle while it rained.

 

[tazdev3225]

That Strawberry shortcake is the sooo good; whenever we eat there I always get that.

We were back at the OKW hoping to swim when that rain hit but it was a good thing because we all packed alittle while it rained.

I want to eat there again this trip just to get the strawberry shortcake,

At least you got something done during the rain. I just got wet.

 

[jmskinner]

Did you find the camera? I love the pic of the rabbit!!! It was a surprise scrolling down the page.

For some reason my DH likes to stop in Morrocco.

We use to always pass by France, but thanks to the Kim P Missions, we explored it a little more.

Those missions are fun, but not on a hot day and they best when the adults enjoy a drink while following along.

 

[tazdev3225]

Did you find the camera? I love the pic of the rabbit!!! It was a surprise scrolling down the page.

For some reason my DH likes to stop in Morrocco.

We use to always pass by France, but thanks to the Kim P Missions, we explored it a little more.

Those missions are fun, but not on a hot day and they best when the adults enjoy a drink while following along.

The camera will be revealed in the next update.

Thanks that was a good shot of the rabbit. I was bored and tired of taking pics of flowers so I looked for animals and there was the rabbit.

Jay liked it there till I showed him a pic of the woman. His response, "I didn't look at her face." Yeah, he's 14 I know what he was looking at.

My DH has a deep dislike for all things French except Normandy Beach. He won't even go to Disney Paris no matter how much I try and convince him it's Disney.

I had never done any of the missions before because Jay wasn't interested. The kids really liked it. I had Baklava so I was happy.

 

[tazdev3225]

Missed one pic in the last update. After we were done with the Agent P mission we went over and saw Beauty and the Beast. Belle signed autographs while we waited for Beast to come out so it sped things up a bit.

Now back to the rain. Around 5:45 or so we realized the rain would not let up. I wrapped myself up in a poncho and Jen and I were off with the kids. I dryed off a little and took a picture of the ceiling for some reason.

While Jen was getting the kids into dry clothing we were buzzed to be seated.
We were up towards the rear in a corner although we were seated together. Jim and I had a small argument at this point. I hate being in the middle. I am claustrophobic and need an end seat. I have been like this the 34 years he has known me. What does he do? He demands the end seat. I almost didn't eat I was so mad at him. And knowing that I was paying OOP and trying to keep expenses down slightly he ordered a salad. Jen took pictures since she had a better angle she just takes lousy pictures.

On to the meal. Mike ordered the shrimp appy and shared it.

This was really good. The slaw had a little heat to it but was delicious. Mike also got a crab cake to share with Jay. They both loved it. Jim got a salad. I have no idea how it tasted or what it looked like because I was still mad at him.

Jim, Jay, Mike and I all ordered the steak dinner. Jay and Mike got FF's Jim and I got it as is.

It was steak. Very good but it was steak. There was supposed to be spinach with it but I swear it consisted of one strand. Jen, Ella and Mikey got pizza with FF's. I wish the waiter had been nice enough to point out that the FF's were extra as we paid for 2 order of fries that were thrown out.

It was pizza. Again what can you do wrong to it? Crystal had a kids meal portion of shrimp. That girl loves seafood. She loves calamari as long as their isn't a head attached. Can't blame her for that.

I let Jen take pics of the fish tank. I won't post them. They were bad!!! We did get one of some divers in the tank

When I made the reservations I made sure that we were celebrating Jays birthday on it. The waiter bought out a chocolate wave dessert for him.

Jay however had a feeling that something was up and left before it arrived. Crystal blew out the candles and we all shared it. The kids weren't asked if they wanted the dessert that was included with their dinners. The total for the meal was: $201.09, $13.08 tax, and $36.20 tip for a grand total of $250.37. Not that bad for 8 people.

After the dinner, and it was now after 7:30, we still had half of the countries to get too. What does my family do when there is a limited time? We shop. I got a picture of a bored Jay

Got a pic in Mexico. That was as far into the pavilion as I got however.

We did manage to get the passports signed in every country. I stopped in Italy to get some candy for Beth. It was a thank you for taking care of Nikki for me. She went over there twice a day and took her for walks. I got her 14 pieces of candy for a little over $10. She liked it so that was good.

We then found a spot for Illuminations. I wanted the kids to see fireworks at least once.

The girls were awed by them

Mikey hated the noise.

After Illuminations we made our way slowly towards the exit. Jen and her crew stopped at a shop or two to find an outfit for Crystal's Duffy Bear. I went to Guest services. It was a long shot but I was hoping that maybe somebody had found my camera and turned it in. I gave the CM a full description and was shocked when she came back over to me with the camera in hand. I really thought that it was gone forever. There really are some good people out there.

I chatted with a mother who had a toddler in a full leg cast. I had found out earlier that day that my nephew had a broken leg at 15 months old. It was the same type of fracture so it gave me a little insight into Owen's situation. They actually walk around quite well in those casts.

We headed out to the bus stop and with that our last day at the parks came to an end.

We actually did most of the goals here. Of course we did miss a lot of the countries but the kids got the stamps and saw characters. They found Agent P and had a great time with Gaston. All in all it was a great trip.

Up next check out and the drive home.

 

[PrincessAlways]

Gaston!!!!! That's a good addition!

You did have some rain!!

Love your Illuminations pictures.

 

[averill94]

HI! I was directed over here by Scotts pre trip report

Your grandkids are adorable.

I am in awe of you all driving straight through!!!!! I hope to do that one day.

I have a lot of reading to catch up on.

Thank you for sharing,
Margaret

 

[GeminiAngel]

We must always watch Mo'Rockin.

I LOVE the rain. But I also live in the desert where there is no rain.

Mikey super cute plugging his ears.

Fantastic price for 8 ppl at Coral Reef.

Awesome on the camera recovery. In 2009 Nova's brand new High School Musical hoodie was stolen out of our friends stroller while we were on Nemo.

 

[tazdev3225]

Gaston!!!!! That's a good addition!

You did have some rain!!

Love your Illuminations pictures.

He really was a great addition. Mikey had so much fun with him.

And yes that was a LOT of rain. The kids liked it though.

Thank you I love taking pics.

HI! I was directed over here by Scotts pre trip report

Your grandkids are adorable.

I am in awe of you all driving straight through!!!!! I hope to do that one day.

I have a lot of reading to catch up on.

Thank you for sharing,
Margaret

Thank you so much I think they are pretty cute but them I am a little prejudiced.

I will say I slept more than drove. My DH loves the drive and somehow manages to stay awake. It always amazes me as he falls asleep on the couch all of the time.

We must always watch Mo'Rockin.

I LOVE the rain. But I also live in the desert where there is no rain.

Mikey super cute plugging his ears.

Fantastic price for 8 ppl at Coral Reef.

Awesome on the camera recovery. In 2009 Nova's brand new High School Musical hoodie was stolen out of our friends stroller while we were on Nemo.

I don't know if I could deal with the desert. But then again I am not fond of rain. I had to work in it for 14 years and a cold rain is worse than snow.

He does not like loud noises but he finds a way to deal with it and have fun at the same time.

It actually wasn't a bad price for all of us. I think the Coral Reef may be skipped next visit as I won't have Jay. I want to try more restaurants.

I was so shocked to find the camera. I thought for sure that whoever found it would have just kept it. It's waterproof so always a plus in the rain and on wet rides. That stinks about Nova's hoodie. I don't understand why people do that type of thing.

I know you have all been patiently waiting to read about the long ride home. I just got back from my happy place yesterday and averaged 5 to 6 hours sleep a night. It's Disney who wants to sleep? No sleep hit me today now that I'm home. I'll be finishing this in the next day or so and then off to start a new TR.

 

[GeminiAngel]

Sorry your home. That just doesn't sound right, lol. You know what I mean.


Oh, I forgot. Nova is in love with Jay.

I can't let her see this post. lol

 

[tazdev3225]

Sorry your home. That just doesn't sound right, lol. You know what I mean.


Oh, I forgot. Nova is in love with Jay.

I can't let her see this post. lol

I know what you mean. I am having Disney withdrawal right now. But I do have 1 maybe 2 trips to plan for next year so that is helping.

I can't blame Nova, Jay is a cute boy. I will be posting some pics of him on FB so she can see him there too. I won't tell her that you told me.

 

[tazdev3225]

Time to end this trip.

I was up at 6:30, showered, dressed and loading things into my van before anybody else even moved. After the first trip to the car and making enough noise Jim finally got up. I woke up Mikey and then Jennifer and the rest of her crew, left Jay for last. He's a teenager - nuff said.

Mikey and I headed to the food court for breakfast. He only wanted cereal. I got the Bounty breakfast, just bacon. As I finished eating Jim arrived and got his breakfast. I left Mikey with him to go to the gift shop to pick up the last few things I wanted. I try to get a year ornament and magnet especially every trip. Picked up a few small things for the other grandkids and a book for my nephew. I really wanted to get the water bottle on a strap because my brother goes hiking BUT: it's plastic - no plastic unless it is absolutely free of something, it's made in China - another no, and it was painted. I spent enough money, it adds up fast, to get the backpack offer. I can never have enough backpacks.

By this time Jen had fed the girls and also did some last minute shopping. While Jay, Jim and Mike packed the truck and van we took the kids to the Toy Story courtyard.

And one last shot of the kids in Disney World

I then headed back to the food court and used our last 7 credits on grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and sodas for the trip home. We also had quite a few snack credits between us so we got snacks for the car also. Heat and rain combined made us forget to eat sometimes.

Finally we were packed and on our way at 10:15 AM. I had hoped for 8:30. Oh well it's a long trip either way.
Parking area and the first really nice sky all week

Bye All Star Movies

Bye Disney World but I'll be back in 6 weeks.

We had filled the tanks before check-in and never used the cars again that week so we didn't need gas for awhile.

Our first stop was for gas in Richmond Hill, GA. Traveled 288 miles, 13.8 gallons of gas at $3.58 a gallon, $50 total.

Somewhere in Georgia. There is a bridge in the background that I have a pic of from the sky

We then stopped in Dillon SC for gas because it was cheap here. Traveled 218 miles, gas was $3.41 per gallon for a total cost of $39. Back on the road we saw a lot of utility vehicle caravans headed south, including some from PECO - our electric company. I have a friend who works for PECO and he confirmed this for me. He has been laid up with knee surgery and wasn't happy. They make BIG!!!! money doing this.

About 20 miles south of the Virginia border we ran into a real problem. Jennifer called to tell us that the truck had a blow out. Thankfully Mike was able to handle it and we pulled over to the shoulder. It was around 9:45 PM, pitch black and the road was only 2 lanes each way, maybe 3. The tire did not blow out but was evidently a retread that Jim had no idea about. When the tread blew it actually took a piece of the rear fender area and trim with it. Jim still isn't happy about that. Either way the tire wasn't driveable. Thankfully right before we left Jim got a spare tire. The man has owned this truck for 5 years, bought it with retreads and no spare. Literally he didn't even have the rim for a spare. We have taken this truck on vacations and he knew he had no spare. Who does that? OK rant over.

We do have AAA so we called them. Then we had another problem - we had absolutely no idea where we were other than northbound on I 95. We had 3 phones, my GPS and my tablet all trying to figure out our location but we weren't getting a decent signal. We finally figured we were north of exit 263? and south of the VA border. The driver was a wonder. We were marked priority because of the location and he found us within 15 minutes of calling. Had the tire changed in 10 minutes and we were on our way. We hit the VA border within 10 minutes and we were at Emporia VA. I HATE!!! Emporia. Last year my car battery died there.

We got gas one last time in Richmond VA. We had driven another 278 miles, gas was $3.59 a gallon for a total of $45. With no further incident we arrived home at 4:45 AM to a very happy dog.

The time breakdown was:
Left ASMo - 10:15 AM
GA border - 1:15 PM
SC border - 3:15 PM
NC border - 6:25 PM with a 25 minute emergency stop
VA border - 10:45 PM
slept through MD and Delaware
Home at 4:45 AM for a total trip time of 17 1/2 hours.

So there you have my Hot, rainy, August trip where we lost Mikey a few times but had an absolutely great time. Mikey has ddecided that his parents should bull doze the house so they can move to Disney World. I think he had fun.

Thanks for reading along and join me for my next TR starting soon.

 

[averill94]

Thanks so much for a great report!!!!! You make driving sound SO easy, we might really give it a try!

Hope you just had another great trip.
Margaret

p.s.- Your husband has two speends, slow and stopped. I still think that is hysterical. After 18 years I thought we found some kind of middle ground....glad to know I am not the only one.

 

[jmskinner]

Sorry about the tire. Sounds like we both had hard times in NC on I-95. Had that same problem when we were calling the police. Hopefully next time I will remember the Onstar button.

Hopefully leaving a little later meant you missed some of that Orlando traffic. They really need a bypass just to get to WDW from I95, I can't stand driving through Orlando.

I can't believe the waiter didn't warn you the fries would be extra? Makes me when they do things like that.

We always have lots of snacks left when we do the meal plan.

Thanks for sharing your report and look forward to the next one!