Kanga1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2004
- Messages
- 1,470
Cast of Characters:
Jana (moi, 40, obsessive planner of this and all trips..think Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies.)
Eric (DH, 41, a big kid at heart, pretty much goes with the flow and can have a good time anywhere as long as theres good food.)
Anna Marie (4 year-old DD and true princess any princess...pick one.)
We woke up again this morning to you guessed it more rain. And they call this the Sunshine State? Were headed to Epcot to dine with the princesses again this morning at the first seating 8:30 a.m. We must be quite on schedule today because we seem to show up first at everything. We are first to the monorail at CR and first on the monorail at the TTC where we not only get the first ride of the day and experience the stop testing, but we get to be co-pilots and sit in front with our driver, Jack. He was very interesting and gave us a little lesson on the inside workings of the monorail system. The journey to Epcot is a nice one and I get many great pictures one of another monorail going in the opposite direction. Were first through the gate, first to Restaurant Akershus in Norway, and first to get seated at a table next to the door where the princesses make their entrance. Good. No waiting well get them first thing through the door. This morning we see Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Mulan, and the one and only Snow White. Theyre all lovely, breakfast is so-so and were off to start our day.
The park is just opening and we decide now is the perfect time to check out Soarin. Were not sure exactly what this ride is, but weve seen all the TV commercials and its supposed to be a big hit. DD passes the height test so we get in line. The wait is short maybe 10 or 15 minutes and we take our seats in the second row for our flight. My stomach gets that feeling when we take off, but once we are in the air, the ride is grand. No, awesome. No, remarkable. No, incredible breathtaking THE BEST RIDE WE RODE ALL WEEK!! I look over at DD to see how shes fairing if this is going to be another Splash Mountain. Well, I wish you could have seen her legs thrust straight out, body bent forward, eyes wide with wonder and amazement mouth open in a well-formed O with Wow on the tip of her tongue. She LOVED it! Mommy, were FLYING! My eyes drift over to DH and he looks just the same. I smile, bend my body forward, and thoroughly enjoy the rest of the ride flying over the orange grove as I lift my feet so as not to touch the tops of the trees, inhaling the scent of the oranges as their gently being picked, and then finally flying over the Castle WITH TINKERBELL. I could never have wished for a more amazing feeling. We all love it; its now deemed our favorite ride of all time, and I wish we could have another chance to do this again. I so hope that this is not just a limited ride with Disney just in celebration of the Disneylands 50th Anniversary I hope they keep it forever and ever. And even though its 33 years away, I want to ride this with DH on OUR 50th wedding anniversary even if we have to go to Disneyland to do it!
Were still flying and its still raining so we go over to The Living Seas to see Turtle Talk with Crush. DD and DH are both excited about this and they do their secret Crush sign. I dont really know how it goes, but they touch fists, then heads, and then say (in true Crush fashion) Whooaaa, Dude! I suppose this is in the Nemo movie somewhere guess Ive always missed that part. Anyway, the whole thing sounds pretty silly and obnoxious and Im always hoping their not going to exhibit this behavior out in the mall or somewhere but when you see my DH and my little 4 year-old together acting it out its a stitch .oh, wait a minute different movie. Anyway, its really funny and as far as Im concerned, they can Whoa here as much as they want. We see the pre-show (quite educational) and enter the hydrolators to Sea Base Alpha and Turtle Talk with Crush. We have a short wait so I take DD over to the aquariums to find Nemo. She does along with a rack of stuffed Nemos as well. She really wants a Dory one and I tell her maybe later. The show begins and it is wonderful. DH and I get a front row seat and DD eagerly sits on the floor with the kids. Crush is fantastic and Im constantly trying to concentrate on the show instead of wondering how do they DO that? He talks to the kids and asks them a few questions. It was great and of course DD now thinks that sea turtles actually DO talk to little children. We exit the sea and enter The Land and make our way over to ride Living with the Land. However, its having technical difficulties and is temporarily closed.
We dont have a schedule here this morning partly because I have not done enough homework on Future World. I know were missing a ton of things here but Im not sure exactly what a 4 year-old will enjoy Ill do better next time I promise. Ive read cool things about Kodaks Imageworks: What If Labs, so we mosey on over there. We get our family picture made and have them superimpose it in front of the castle. This is only the second family picture weve had taken since we arrived here 8 days ago. Where are all those PhotoPass photographers I keep hearing everyone complaining about??? You know the ones that are ALWAYS begging to take your picture????? Yooohooo were over here .and you KNOW well buy all the pictures!!!! We talk about going through and playing with all the neat stations in here, but its raining steadily outside now, and it seems this is the place where everyone is seeking shelter. Its too crowded, so we leave. Besides, were all getting pretty hungry for lunch.
DH and I contemplate grabbing a burger or hot dog somewhere in Future World, but we can get that kind of food at home. Our little community lacks greatly in ethnic food which we love so we head over to World Showcase to have our pick of eating in any country. I guess were pretty hungry because we stop at the first place we come to Mexico. DH orders while DD and I grab a seat under one of the picnic umbrellas and out of the rain. There are several unusual birds walking around our feet and DD has fun trying to catch them. DH returns with food for us, but nothing for DD. She is not a fan of Mexican fare and apparently they dont have wieners or mac-n-cheese. No problema. DH will simply walk a bit and find her a hot dog. Soaked from the rain, he returns about 15 minutes later with news that there ARE no hot dogs or mac-n-cheese to be found anywhere. DD gets by with chips and refried beans.
I did not get my fill of Epcot yesterday, so we intend to stroll through the countries to look in all the quaint little shops. We also want to ride Maelstrom in Norway. Now, I dont know what happened, but we lost a few hours somewhere. There didnt seem to be time for strolling and shopping. We head for Morocco where DD enjoys playing the drums and meeting Aladdin and Jasmine together. Our worldwide shopping spree quickly turns into a character hunt, so we go to the United Kingdom to find the Beast. Hes feeling rather grumpy today and is not making an appearance, so we head back out and pass by a stand selling hot almonds and pecans. DH gets in line and comes back with a bag of fresh and hot pecans. PECANS?!? Yuck! DH forgets that I despise pecans so he quickly gets back in line to retrieve the almonds. I tell him thats absolutely not necessary but away he goes. Gee, I love that guy and the almonds were fantastic. We complete the semi-circle around all the countries, go back to The Living Seas DD has earned the Dory stuffed fish, and I decide that if Im going to get the pictures on my cameras digital card transferred to a CD, wed better do that now. I head for the Camera Center at the entrance of the park and DD and DH wait outside. Considering that I had about 400 pictures to upload, this was going to take a while. We browse the shop and wait. 20 minutes later were set to go catch the monorail and head back to CR. As DH is returning the stroller, I ask DD, Wheres your parrot? This parrot had been her best friend since we purchased him at AK 5 days ago and apparently he has now taken flight or gotten lost. DH tells me she had him back at the Camera Center, so I retrace our footsteps back there and ask if anyone had seen a very colorful stuffed parrot. Nope. And he was not outside where DD and DH had been sitting. She must have set him down somewhere and someone had picked him up he was terribly pretty. Uh-oh. Hope DD doesnt lose it she had become very attached to him. I gently break the news to her and to my amazement, she takes it quite well. Shes upset yes and she will ask about him a thousand times over but she doesnt scream or throw a fit there are just a few trickles of tears down her cheeks Im sad about Parrot. Yes, honey, I know. I know.
We are in somewhat of a rush to get ready for dinner. Tonight we have tickets for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue over at Fort Wilderness. This is supposed to be a spectacular performance as well as the longest running show at Walt Disney World. You can reserve these tickets up to 2 years in advance and I booked ours 10 months ago. Deciding that taking the boat would be the fastest way to Fort Wilderness as well as the most fun we make the short walk to the boat dock. The boat is leaving just as we get there so DD has fun feeding the ducks while we wait for it to return. This is quite enjoyable for her, for even though we have these same kind of ducks in our backyard at home, these will actually eat out of her hand. At this point I remembered that I need to cancel my reservation at the GF Spa. I had booked several treatments for tomorrow morning, but have now changed my mind. Its EMH at MK and I dont want to miss out on the fun, plus Im having this gut feeling that I need to be with DD tomorrow. Cant figure that out, but Ill go with it. I call them up on the cell phone and, after many attempts to get through, finally get a live person and am able to cancel without penalty. The boat arrives and we enjoy the peaceful ride. After checking in and getting our picture made (Yay!) we take DD over to the little playground. She LOVES this and probably could have played all evening. Dinner is about to begin and we have GREAT seats second row from the stage smack dab in the middle! We get our drinks and its about this time that DD wants to sit on my lap. Thinking maybe shes just sleepy and worn out, I let her hop up on me. Within seconds she is asleep and as Im gently rocking her I notice that she feels warm. Not warm like shes been playing too hard warm as in oh no, she has a fever! Shes pretty content on me, so I let her sleep, DH and I eat, and we try to enjoy the show while knowing DD is not feeling well. The food is awesome I love the corn mixed with peppers and the entertainment is terrific...even though the entertainers steered clear of us probably so as not to wake DD. Anyhow, they were great we love that slapstick corny stuff. By the time the strawberry shortcake arrives, DD is awake enough to take a few bites and play a few rounds on the washboard. The nap did her some good; she doesnt feel as hot now and is in a pretty good mood. Sorry she missed the show she would have enjoyed it too.
Contemplating on whether or not we should return to CR to get DD some Tylenol and bedrest, or continue with our evening, we ask DD how she feels. Fine. Shes still a little warm, but nothing hurts and she seems in good spirits, so we carry on with our plan to once again try to see Fantasmic. As you recall, we got rained out a few days ago this was our only other chance to see it. Our schedule originally called for a trip to DTD tonight, but Fantasmic is much more important and besides, DD can just relax during the show not too much walking or activity. Since we have no dinner package this evening, we need to arrive in plenty of time to obtain a good seat. We take the bus from Fort Wilderness to MGM and go directly to the theatre. Our seats our actually better than the previous time and DH once again goes in search of snacks. Returning, I find that he has brought DD a special treat cotton candy. Good. At least we wont be eyeing the familys behind us. Thinking that there still may be a chance that tonights show will be cancelled too, Im relieved when 9:00 rolls around the Fantasmic begins. Its marvelous outstanding good versus evil. DD gets to see Malificient and the Evil Queen, and DH gets tears in his eyes when the boat comes around the corner with ALL the good characters on it! Were so glad we came back for this and the weather seems to be on our side tonight, for just as the show ends, the rain begins. We dont tarry tonight. We get on the bus to put DD to bed. Getting to the room I realize that I had forgotten to get anything for DDs magical bag in the morning and I didnt have anything on hand. I send DH to the gift shop and take DDs temperature its a little over 100 degrees. I give her some Tylenol, tuck her in, and wish her many happy magical dreams.
"Planning or Obsession...What's the Difference?"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857133
"Our Vacation Begins"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...370#post9138370
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...210#post9143210
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...244#post9143244
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 3)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857458
Day 2 "Magical Meltdowns"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=859866
Day 3 "Running Around the World"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=860524
Day 4 "Cinderella Breaks Peter Pan"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=862512
Day 5 "Losing Time"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=866373
Day 6 "Shh! It's a Secret"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=870446
Day 7 "Tea Cakes and Gummy Worms"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=872121
Jana (moi, 40, obsessive planner of this and all trips..think Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies.)
Eric (DH, 41, a big kid at heart, pretty much goes with the flow and can have a good time anywhere as long as theres good food.)
Anna Marie (4 year-old DD and true princess any princess...pick one.)
We woke up again this morning to you guessed it more rain. And they call this the Sunshine State? Were headed to Epcot to dine with the princesses again this morning at the first seating 8:30 a.m. We must be quite on schedule today because we seem to show up first at everything. We are first to the monorail at CR and first on the monorail at the TTC where we not only get the first ride of the day and experience the stop testing, but we get to be co-pilots and sit in front with our driver, Jack. He was very interesting and gave us a little lesson on the inside workings of the monorail system. The journey to Epcot is a nice one and I get many great pictures one of another monorail going in the opposite direction. Were first through the gate, first to Restaurant Akershus in Norway, and first to get seated at a table next to the door where the princesses make their entrance. Good. No waiting well get them first thing through the door. This morning we see Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Mulan, and the one and only Snow White. Theyre all lovely, breakfast is so-so and were off to start our day.
The park is just opening and we decide now is the perfect time to check out Soarin. Were not sure exactly what this ride is, but weve seen all the TV commercials and its supposed to be a big hit. DD passes the height test so we get in line. The wait is short maybe 10 or 15 minutes and we take our seats in the second row for our flight. My stomach gets that feeling when we take off, but once we are in the air, the ride is grand. No, awesome. No, remarkable. No, incredible breathtaking THE BEST RIDE WE RODE ALL WEEK!! I look over at DD to see how shes fairing if this is going to be another Splash Mountain. Well, I wish you could have seen her legs thrust straight out, body bent forward, eyes wide with wonder and amazement mouth open in a well-formed O with Wow on the tip of her tongue. She LOVED it! Mommy, were FLYING! My eyes drift over to DH and he looks just the same. I smile, bend my body forward, and thoroughly enjoy the rest of the ride flying over the orange grove as I lift my feet so as not to touch the tops of the trees, inhaling the scent of the oranges as their gently being picked, and then finally flying over the Castle WITH TINKERBELL. I could never have wished for a more amazing feeling. We all love it; its now deemed our favorite ride of all time, and I wish we could have another chance to do this again. I so hope that this is not just a limited ride with Disney just in celebration of the Disneylands 50th Anniversary I hope they keep it forever and ever. And even though its 33 years away, I want to ride this with DH on OUR 50th wedding anniversary even if we have to go to Disneyland to do it!
Were still flying and its still raining so we go over to The Living Seas to see Turtle Talk with Crush. DD and DH are both excited about this and they do their secret Crush sign. I dont really know how it goes, but they touch fists, then heads, and then say (in true Crush fashion) Whooaaa, Dude! I suppose this is in the Nemo movie somewhere guess Ive always missed that part. Anyway, the whole thing sounds pretty silly and obnoxious and Im always hoping their not going to exhibit this behavior out in the mall or somewhere but when you see my DH and my little 4 year-old together acting it out its a stitch .oh, wait a minute different movie. Anyway, its really funny and as far as Im concerned, they can Whoa here as much as they want. We see the pre-show (quite educational) and enter the hydrolators to Sea Base Alpha and Turtle Talk with Crush. We have a short wait so I take DD over to the aquariums to find Nemo. She does along with a rack of stuffed Nemos as well. She really wants a Dory one and I tell her maybe later. The show begins and it is wonderful. DH and I get a front row seat and DD eagerly sits on the floor with the kids. Crush is fantastic and Im constantly trying to concentrate on the show instead of wondering how do they DO that? He talks to the kids and asks them a few questions. It was great and of course DD now thinks that sea turtles actually DO talk to little children. We exit the sea and enter The Land and make our way over to ride Living with the Land. However, its having technical difficulties and is temporarily closed.
We dont have a schedule here this morning partly because I have not done enough homework on Future World. I know were missing a ton of things here but Im not sure exactly what a 4 year-old will enjoy Ill do better next time I promise. Ive read cool things about Kodaks Imageworks: What If Labs, so we mosey on over there. We get our family picture made and have them superimpose it in front of the castle. This is only the second family picture weve had taken since we arrived here 8 days ago. Where are all those PhotoPass photographers I keep hearing everyone complaining about??? You know the ones that are ALWAYS begging to take your picture????? Yooohooo were over here .and you KNOW well buy all the pictures!!!! We talk about going through and playing with all the neat stations in here, but its raining steadily outside now, and it seems this is the place where everyone is seeking shelter. Its too crowded, so we leave. Besides, were all getting pretty hungry for lunch.
DH and I contemplate grabbing a burger or hot dog somewhere in Future World, but we can get that kind of food at home. Our little community lacks greatly in ethnic food which we love so we head over to World Showcase to have our pick of eating in any country. I guess were pretty hungry because we stop at the first place we come to Mexico. DH orders while DD and I grab a seat under one of the picnic umbrellas and out of the rain. There are several unusual birds walking around our feet and DD has fun trying to catch them. DH returns with food for us, but nothing for DD. She is not a fan of Mexican fare and apparently they dont have wieners or mac-n-cheese. No problema. DH will simply walk a bit and find her a hot dog. Soaked from the rain, he returns about 15 minutes later with news that there ARE no hot dogs or mac-n-cheese to be found anywhere. DD gets by with chips and refried beans.
I did not get my fill of Epcot yesterday, so we intend to stroll through the countries to look in all the quaint little shops. We also want to ride Maelstrom in Norway. Now, I dont know what happened, but we lost a few hours somewhere. There didnt seem to be time for strolling and shopping. We head for Morocco where DD enjoys playing the drums and meeting Aladdin and Jasmine together. Our worldwide shopping spree quickly turns into a character hunt, so we go to the United Kingdom to find the Beast. Hes feeling rather grumpy today and is not making an appearance, so we head back out and pass by a stand selling hot almonds and pecans. DH gets in line and comes back with a bag of fresh and hot pecans. PECANS?!? Yuck! DH forgets that I despise pecans so he quickly gets back in line to retrieve the almonds. I tell him thats absolutely not necessary but away he goes. Gee, I love that guy and the almonds were fantastic. We complete the semi-circle around all the countries, go back to The Living Seas DD has earned the Dory stuffed fish, and I decide that if Im going to get the pictures on my cameras digital card transferred to a CD, wed better do that now. I head for the Camera Center at the entrance of the park and DD and DH wait outside. Considering that I had about 400 pictures to upload, this was going to take a while. We browse the shop and wait. 20 minutes later were set to go catch the monorail and head back to CR. As DH is returning the stroller, I ask DD, Wheres your parrot? This parrot had been her best friend since we purchased him at AK 5 days ago and apparently he has now taken flight or gotten lost. DH tells me she had him back at the Camera Center, so I retrace our footsteps back there and ask if anyone had seen a very colorful stuffed parrot. Nope. And he was not outside where DD and DH had been sitting. She must have set him down somewhere and someone had picked him up he was terribly pretty. Uh-oh. Hope DD doesnt lose it she had become very attached to him. I gently break the news to her and to my amazement, she takes it quite well. Shes upset yes and she will ask about him a thousand times over but she doesnt scream or throw a fit there are just a few trickles of tears down her cheeks Im sad about Parrot. Yes, honey, I know. I know.
We are in somewhat of a rush to get ready for dinner. Tonight we have tickets for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue over at Fort Wilderness. This is supposed to be a spectacular performance as well as the longest running show at Walt Disney World. You can reserve these tickets up to 2 years in advance and I booked ours 10 months ago. Deciding that taking the boat would be the fastest way to Fort Wilderness as well as the most fun we make the short walk to the boat dock. The boat is leaving just as we get there so DD has fun feeding the ducks while we wait for it to return. This is quite enjoyable for her, for even though we have these same kind of ducks in our backyard at home, these will actually eat out of her hand. At this point I remembered that I need to cancel my reservation at the GF Spa. I had booked several treatments for tomorrow morning, but have now changed my mind. Its EMH at MK and I dont want to miss out on the fun, plus Im having this gut feeling that I need to be with DD tomorrow. Cant figure that out, but Ill go with it. I call them up on the cell phone and, after many attempts to get through, finally get a live person and am able to cancel without penalty. The boat arrives and we enjoy the peaceful ride. After checking in and getting our picture made (Yay!) we take DD over to the little playground. She LOVES this and probably could have played all evening. Dinner is about to begin and we have GREAT seats second row from the stage smack dab in the middle! We get our drinks and its about this time that DD wants to sit on my lap. Thinking maybe shes just sleepy and worn out, I let her hop up on me. Within seconds she is asleep and as Im gently rocking her I notice that she feels warm. Not warm like shes been playing too hard warm as in oh no, she has a fever! Shes pretty content on me, so I let her sleep, DH and I eat, and we try to enjoy the show while knowing DD is not feeling well. The food is awesome I love the corn mixed with peppers and the entertainment is terrific...even though the entertainers steered clear of us probably so as not to wake DD. Anyhow, they were great we love that slapstick corny stuff. By the time the strawberry shortcake arrives, DD is awake enough to take a few bites and play a few rounds on the washboard. The nap did her some good; she doesnt feel as hot now and is in a pretty good mood. Sorry she missed the show she would have enjoyed it too.
Contemplating on whether or not we should return to CR to get DD some Tylenol and bedrest, or continue with our evening, we ask DD how she feels. Fine. Shes still a little warm, but nothing hurts and she seems in good spirits, so we carry on with our plan to once again try to see Fantasmic. As you recall, we got rained out a few days ago this was our only other chance to see it. Our schedule originally called for a trip to DTD tonight, but Fantasmic is much more important and besides, DD can just relax during the show not too much walking or activity. Since we have no dinner package this evening, we need to arrive in plenty of time to obtain a good seat. We take the bus from Fort Wilderness to MGM and go directly to the theatre. Our seats our actually better than the previous time and DH once again goes in search of snacks. Returning, I find that he has brought DD a special treat cotton candy. Good. At least we wont be eyeing the familys behind us. Thinking that there still may be a chance that tonights show will be cancelled too, Im relieved when 9:00 rolls around the Fantasmic begins. Its marvelous outstanding good versus evil. DD gets to see Malificient and the Evil Queen, and DH gets tears in his eyes when the boat comes around the corner with ALL the good characters on it! Were so glad we came back for this and the weather seems to be on our side tonight, for just as the show ends, the rain begins. We dont tarry tonight. We get on the bus to put DD to bed. Getting to the room I realize that I had forgotten to get anything for DDs magical bag in the morning and I didnt have anything on hand. I send DH to the gift shop and take DDs temperature its a little over 100 degrees. I give her some Tylenol, tuck her in, and wish her many happy magical dreams.
"Planning or Obsession...What's the Difference?"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857133
"Our Vacation Begins"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...370#post9138370
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...210#post9143210
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...244#post9143244
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 3)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857458
Day 2 "Magical Meltdowns"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=859866
Day 3 "Running Around the World"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=860524
Day 4 "Cinderella Breaks Peter Pan"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=862512
Day 5 "Losing Time"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=866373
Day 6 "Shh! It's a Secret"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=870446
Day 7 "Tea Cakes and Gummy Worms"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=872121
Have you read our Day 2 "Magical Meltdowns"? I can assure you...she wasn't sweet ALL the time. But she really is a wonderful little girl. 
have enjoyed reading these so much and feel like part of the family. Please tell me DD will be better in the morning? Will you get to look in a shop at WS? Possibly more princesses? 
