"Knock it off right now or you're going back to the hotel for the rest of the day!"

[DFD]

for Russel, Doug, Clark and DS!!!

 

[PrincessAlways]

I am shocked!!!!! You went on Soarin'!!!!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

BLT soup... that sounds so good (course, what isn't good with bacon).

 

[TaraPA]

BLT soup is unique - there's an odd texture at first because the lettuce sinks into the soup - but I still love it. The bacon is soooo salty, and so is the tomato bisque - yum!

Ok has anyone noticed my new ticker??? I'm not even back a week & have already booked ANOTHER trip! I'm addicted, I swear. The October trip is NO KIDS though! Princess Always made me do it!

 

[PrincessAlways]

You were the one who pointed out the great airfare!!!
Now I have a new ticker too!!

 

[TaraPA]

We knew the weather today was looking pretty grim - temps starting at 50 but dropping throughout the day, and rain after lunch. Well when we got up it was already drizzling & cold. But the boys were super excited about ESPM weekend, so we bundled up in many, many layers, and off we went to DHS, autograph books & camera in hand (and coffee for Ty - gotta love the free Starbucks in the rooms at The Dolphin!)

The boys watched some random stuff while I ran off to get Fast Passes for TSM. We hadn't been able to ride all week, wait times were always around 100 min. and FPs were gone already the days we got there later in the day.

It was a bit crowded today with ESPN weekend going on, but I'm sure the rain was keeping many away, so it could have been worse. The guys waited in line to do some sports activities, and never had to wait more than 15 min. which I thought was fine. Even standing in the rain (which became pretty steady around 11am), and the 45 degree weather.

 

[TaraPA]

We did get to see a few sports stars throughout the day:

Harlem Globetrotters:

Bernie Williams (NY Yankees):

Curt Schilling (former Philadelphia Philly among other teams):

Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders:

Brandi Chastain:

Terrell Green (NFL):

 

[TaraPA]

The afternoon got really ugly. I was soaked, freezing & bored out of my mind with sports stuff. Ty was in a mood so we went to ABC Commissary to eat. He wanted to go back to Sci Fi (although the day before he claimed he couldn't find anything on the menu he liked) and since he didn't get his way he had to mouth off about it non-stop. He refused to order anything to eat. He's stubborn - if he's not getting his way he'd starve rather than cave in & do what mom wants. Of course it was lunch time & if you've ever been in ABC Commissary when it's crowded, you'll realize there is not enough seating. It was still raining so no way was I sitting outside. We had to circle the restaraunt for at least 10 min. to get a table. I don't normally have an opnion on saving seats/tables - but let me tell you it was getting really old wandering around in circles with a tray full of food that was getting cold, seeing the same faces saving tables with no on there eating yet. Ty ran his mouth the whole time "told you so, we should have gone to Sci-Fi, this is stupid mom, blah blah blah." After we found a table, Ty was getting so obnoxious that I was about to snap. I was trying to ignore him but I really, really wanted to haul off on him about his attitude & his mouth. I was almost on the verge of tears, being soaked & frozen & just miserable, and having to listen to him. I was DONE. So I took out $5 - gave it to him & told him very calmy that he was not ruining anyone's meal he should leave us all alone & go find something else to eat. I said I was done, I was finishing my meal & going back to the hotel for a hot shower, and I didn't want to hear another word out of him.

Well he got up & took off & I really didn't even care. He's a big boy, he has a cell phone & can fend for himself! I have to say my Fish & Chips was really good. DH said the double cheeseburger was "ok for counter service" and Dane loved his chicken nuggets (which I thought looked even worse than McD's chicken nuggets.) I think Dane could see I was about to have a nervous breakdown in the middle of Disneyworld because he was being super sweet & asked what I wanted to do next, he didn't want me to go back to the hotel. DH could also tell I was serious about being done, so he said he'd take the boys on RNRC & ToT and I could do what I wanted. I started to calm down. Our FP for TSM weren't for another 2 hours, so I said could they just go do their own thing & meet me at TSM at 4 & we'd ride together. Whew, it worked, I calmed down & Ty came back with a hot pretzel & all was well. I almost sent myself back to the hotel room for the rest of the day!

They took off & I rode The Great Movie Ride twice in a row. I love this ride, and it was so cold & it was toasty warm in there, that's why I did it twice! I have to say I've had much better CM's before. I grabbed a churro on my way out, I can't get enough of them while in WDW. I was done early & called them to see if they wanted to ride ToT with me before heading to TSM. We did that, then hit TSM. Even the FP line was a 20-min. wait. I really don't get the hype about this ride, I don't like video games, or carnival games, so I really don't ever have to ride it again. But I was glad the boys go to do it.

It had finally stopped raining! They wanted to run around the sports activities again, and I wanted to go do a load of laundry - because everything we had was wet! I took the Friendship Boat back, did some wash & we all met up in the room at 7:30. Everyone got into dry things & we walked to The Boardwalk for a quick supper. I was disappointed because both nights I had been on The Boardwalk, the street performers weren't out. My kids absolutely love them. DH had pizza from the pizza window, we had an assortment of fried food from the To Go cart. My plan was to walk over to Epcot once again just to watch Illuminations. They were too cold & tired so they went back to the room, I went to Epcot alone (ahhhhhh!) I stood on the bridge connecting UK to France got there 5 min. before Illuminations started. I grabbed another coffee & strawberry crepe (I can totally see this becoming a tradition!) and got my spot. Wow what a spot! There is a speaker built into the side of the bridge, and fireworks come out right there as well. I could literally feel every beat of the music in me by leaning on the bridge, and it was great! I managed to get right out of the park through the International Gateway & walked back to the room, where a nice warm Heavenly bed was awaiting!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Sorry to hear about the crappy weather. ESPN weekend looks like fun (well, for those that like sports anyway. Sorry it wasn't your cup of tea but good on ya for going with your family). Good to hear that the night at Epcot got your spirits back up.

 

[PrincessAlways]

Bernie Williams (NY Yankees):

QUOTE]

Bernie!!! You saw Bernie Williams!!!! OMG!!! He is one of the greatest Yankee outfielders!! Not to mention one of DH's favorite players!! You saw his Yankee Room.....the man is a serious Yankee fan! Bernie is one of the "old" guys now!

 

[minnie4eva]

you are soo lucky for being able to just walk on most everything ,btw loving the trip report

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Enjoying the tr still. Sorry the weather was bad and your son could be a pill. All of us parents can relate.

 

[TaraPA]

The next day was our last full day before leaving - and it was SUNNY!!!! And WARM!! Ok, it was only 62 but that felt like 100 degrees after the other days. We headed to AK around 10am & walked right on Kilimanjaro Safari, 20 min. wait. I twas awesome as usual, the animals very all out & active. We even had to wait for an ankole cattle to cross the road in front of us. He lingered right beside the truck for awhile:

One thing we waited for & it never happened was the rickety bridge. Every trip, including my last one in Nov. we went over the riclety bridge where your truck barely makes it across before it seems to crash. Is that only on certain routes? I thought maybe there are 2 different "roads" to take & we weren't on that one.

After the Safari we walked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Most people skip this & it's great! The gorillas are incredible, and I have watched them for over an hour on some trips. When the male gorillas are out the fight & have stand offs. Really neat stuff. That day they were really active, we watched for almost half an hour:

Here are 3 male gorillas in a stand off:

The boys were behaved so well this day (so far anyway - there's lots of drama to come) & we all had a great time. Hit EE about 4 times (single rider line & Fast Pass - wait was up to 40 min. this day), Maharajah Trail (LOVE this walking trail too - the tigers are so beautiful!), Dinosaur, etc. As we were walking through Asia we saw her. HER!!! DEVINE!!!! OMG if you've never seen Devine you wouldnt believe how utterly amazing she is. She is so graceful & beautiful & just mystifying. People just stop & stare with their mouths hanging open! Here are some pics:

The kids wanted to go to The Boneyard so DH offered to take them to that & get them lunch over there so I could go see Nemo, my favorite show in WDW. It was fantasic! The performers are amazing & I love the costumes. After that I had enough time to sneak back to Yak & Yeti CS for chicken fried rice. I took it down to one of those little seating areas by the water that not many people know about. The food wasn't that good, but I was starving, so I ate every bite. We met back up for more EE, then headed over to Epcot. The boys wanted to do more Kim Possible missions!

 

[pamjb]

Tara,

Joining in. Great report. Glad to see that my two aren't the only ones that fight........There is a definite reason why I leave them at home. Of course, mine are the age where I can leave them go on their own in the parks. They seem to do much better when I am not around........Darn Kids!

 

[DFD]

lovely! Devine is there!

 

[shelbys mommy]

Your title hooked me! I am one of those moms too. My boys are 9 & 7 and just totally drive me crazy!!! Reading about your boys was like reading about mine!!! And I'm praying for Disney Magic when we go in June!

 

[TaraPA]

I promise I'll finish this up in the next day or two. I think my Disney withdrawal is making me crazy - I'd swear I saw DEVINE twice today!! In Pennsylvania alongside the road!!!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

I promise I'll finish this up in the next day or two. I think my Disney withdrawal is making me crazy - I'd swear I saw DEVINE twice today!! In Pennsylvania alongside the road!!!

 

[TaraPA]

Off we went to Epcot for Kim Possible missions. This time DAne & I did Germany & Norway. They were just as fun as Mexico & France had been the other day. Here are some random shots:

singing beer steins in Germany:

a clue a clue! We had to type the word FEED in the Comminicator when we saw it:

There he is! The bad guy! That German girl is chasing him!

The best part of doing Kim Possible - snakcs! OMG the hand twisted soft pretzels in Germany are brushed with butter - absolutely divine!

Equally as delicious was the nut-covered chocolate toffee bar. Worth every cent of the $5 it cost me!

We decided to meet in France so that we could take the boat back to the hotel to get warmer clothing on before heading out to MK for the night. It was EMH at MK & we were hoping to make it til at least 11pm since it was our last night. Here are some random shots of the things they had already set up for the Flower & Garden Festival:

And then, we saw her. OMG WE SAW HER!!!!

 

[DFD]

Sorry to hear about the crappy weather. ESPN weekend looks like fun (well, for those that like sports anyway. Sorry it wasn't your cup of tea but good on ya for going with your family). Good to hear that the night at Epcot got your spirits back up.

woohooo fellow webfoot!!!