Lightsabers, Mouse Kisses and a Man in a Lucky Shirt! A January 2010 TR

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hooray! What a feeling that must've been!


IT REALLY did feel SO GOOD!!!



I am heartily ashamed to say that we have never been able to catch this show!




OMGosh!! REALLY??? It is just so short and sweet! Funny too! A great way to open a park!



Aww! What a lovely bit of pixiedust!


She thought so! Her smile for the rest of the day was sooo big!



Hear! Hear! I agree heartily. (Although I think the movie could use some restoration to its original glory.)

Yes. It does need to digitalized or something! Maybe some new sound or something!





How fabulous!! What a memory!!


He will NEVER forget!



That seems to be a common theme in everyone's reports lately. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time we got the Cowboy Theme... are they even offering it anymore??


JenJolt said she saw it back in October. That was the last report I heard on it!







Kathy

Nice to "see" you Kathy! Thanks for hanging out with us!

 

[lexmas]

Great Update!

I've never made rope drop at Epcot! This trip I plan on making rope drop at every park though, so I will! So glad Mickey made your day and gave you a kiss! That poor family, thinking you should save Soarin for the end...good thing they had you to re-educate them!

You got great fastpasses for Soarin, that's amazing!

Can't pass up on free pop! We're not big pop drinkers either, but we hit club cool every time we walk by (or sometimes we go out of our way to walk by!)

The food at Sunshine Seasons looks good, everyone raves about this place and I never find the "pictures" they put on the wall appetizing. They should hang your pictures!

Ellen's Energy Adventure is one of my favorite rides. It was even before it had Ellen in it...when I was five my parents had to let my siblings go off on their own for awhile because I wanted to ride it so many times in a row! And yes, Dory LOL.

Mmm...LeCellier. I'm full just reading it! All that food! I bet it was nice to just go back to the hotel and relax.

Sounds like Ken and Emily had quite the evening without you!

Great update! It sounds like your trip was so much fun!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

I am so glad that you were at the rope for Epcot's opening! Isn't it so awesome to start your day with the characters?

We tried Sunshine Seasons for a snack. I would recommend the Strawberry Shortcake if you like strawberries, but the creme brulee looked pretty tasty as well.

Wasn't the mushroom filet really good? I'm having a little bit of filet envy this morning!

 

[Firestarter]

CHAPTER 5: Soarin' through the Future!!!!

We were a bit poky to get going this morning and didn't leave the room until about 7:50am! As we passed through Sassagoula on our way to the bus stop we saw our friends from Home sitting at a table eating their breakfast. We stopped to say hello and confirm our meeting time for later that day. We managed to get to the bus stop by 8 and were on a bus by 8:05!

We arrived at Epcot at 8:15 and were second in line! We let the girls wander a bit within our sight and Ken and I chatted with the people behind us. A couple of guys, I think they were Father and Son, were asking us a lot of questions about Disney in General and Specifically about the day at Epcot! They had been given really bad information! They had a copy of the touring plan that said to leave Soarin' until the end of the day! I quickly tried to give them a better strategy and some pointers on how to get done what they wanted to with the time that they had!
I am proud of my wife. She (A) Agreed to marry me in the first place and (B) continues to put up with me. It may cast suspicion on her judgment though...

When those guys from Michigan explained that they had never been to Disney world I offered my wife's abilities as a Dis-Genius. I normally interject (as I'm doing here) and correct her to show I'm not just a complete token husband, but when she is giving advice on the parks I just nod in agreement.

I *have* been trying to get her to consult for a travel agency as her “mad skilz” would improve a lot of vacations. As it stands she's assisted those two sets of friends who were there at the same time, another set of neighbors who went in early January, and is assisting two more families for next month.

When the turnstiles were opened, we made our way to the rope for Soarin'! Somewhere along the way Ken heard that Test Track was down for a bit but would hopefully be back up soon! We very much enjoyed the Character encounters at this rope drop ceremony as well! Donald was TOO funny! I was holding Ken's coffee cup and Donald made a grab for it! Good thing it was empty or he might've had an accident!
My wife offered MY coffee to the duck. I have had Duck's foot soup before...

If you got any coffee I hope it gives you indigestion there mallard.

First coffee, then trying to asphyxiate my children. Grrr.

A dog mauling. Right there. And all I could do was snap a picture.

Here is where another title explanation comes in! It was all I could do to restrain myself when my main mouse came over to say hello! I was so excited to see him that I was literally straining at the rope! Well, my Mickey did not let me down! He came right over and gave me a great big and a big ole smooch on the cheek! Aaahhhh, what a perfect way to start the day!
The mouse conveniently ignored your husband's jealous bellows of “Hey, that's MY wife.”

Kind of funny, Kim isn't into PDA, except with Mickey...

When the rope dropped we kept up as best as we could with the Cms as we made our way into the Land and then down to Soarin'! It's like a restrained stampede rather than a walk.I got a bit confused as to where the FastPass machines where and went the wrong way for aminute! I fopund my way thanks to a call Shout and derisive pointing out from my hubby and found a spot only 3rd in line behind 2 expert FP takers!

I had to do some excusing to catch up with Ken and the girls whom I had told to go ahead! I felt really bad about going past people in line but they were all really nice and I finally found my family waiting for me at the “boarding gate”. We were on within 5 minutes AND had Fps good for 9:45am! Soarin' is my absolute #1 FAVE attraction @ Epcot! I could seriously ride that and Test Track ALL DAY!!!! I got to see the mickey head on the golf ball AND the Pirate Ship at the Golden Gate bridge this time! So Cool all the little surprises that are in that ride!

Stress: Waiting at the front of the line of Soarin' for your missing wife.

I began to notice some of the Disney details this trip. During this trip on Soarin' I thought “I recognize that voice” when the video attendant gave us our instructions. I bothered me most of the day because I couldn't place the voice...

After our ride, we were all a bit hungry so we decided to grab a snack at Sunshine seasons! We must have been really hungry because we didn't take any pictures of what we had but I am pretty sure there were a couple of cinnamon buns and a fruit bowl! YUP!! Just checked my receipt and it told me that we were eating our snack at 9:30!
Serious nomming. I got a coffee as I'd skipped my morning dose as last year I had a painfully full bladder for Soarin. Flying by rivers with the mist of orange spray in the air made it that much worse.

When we finished eating we headed over to Test Track to grab some Fast Passes and then went to Mission Space so Ken and Emily could have a spin! While they were blasting off into space, Nat and I chillaxed at the play area. She played with some other little people and I caught up on my journal and watched the Mission Space Race! That looks pretty neat – might have to try that some day!
Not sure why Kim and Nat won't do this ride. It's quite tame on the “Green” side. One of the best parts is the superfluous switches and buttons that you can press to pretend you're really in control.

Sounds a lot like parenting when I say it that way.

When we were rejoined by our Space heroes we went to use our FP's for Test Track! This ride DOES NOT get old! It was a bit sluggish at first but I do believe we actually went FASTER than 65 mph! I LOVE THIS RIDE!!! When we were done it was time to grab some lunch back at Sunshine Seasons!

We beat the lunch rush because there many tables to be had! We all decided on what we wanted and settled in for a nice lunch!

I had the Mongolian Ginger beef with noodles, veggies and broccoli! SO YUMMY!! I also had a coke and creme brulee for dessert! Very YUM!!!

Ken had the seared tuna on Mixed Greens. He also had a coffee and the Key Lime Pie for dessert!
I like my food hot. Part of it is climate, we could use all the warmth we can. The other part is family of origin. My Grandparents were keen on food so hot it burns you when you eat it. It is so common it isn't an insult anymore, I simply re-heat my dinner after we say grace.

So when I saw “Seared Tuna” salad I thought “tuna crusted in crumbs and pan fried.” What I received was 90% raw tuna with a cold cooked crust. I was only a little covetous of Kim's food.

Emily had a kids sub with applesauce and grapes and a bottle of water.
Em was SO happy to make her sub.

Nat had a chicken leg with mashed potatoes and applesauce and apple juice!
She actually ate the whole thing. Very slow eater that one.

When we were finished we thought we would go for a spin on Soarin' with our first set of FP's before going over to the World Showcase to meet up with our friends! The FP line took a lot longer than it should have and we ended up being a wee bit late for our meeting with our friends! Fortunately they were running late too so it worked out!
They're not helping her drink, they're both ensuring she doesn't drink the whole bottle.

A WEE bit late?! When we went into Soarin' we had half an hour. When we got out it was the appointed meeting time and we still had to walk to Norway.

I grabbed Emily as her legs can scurry without activating a whining sound from her mouth. We strode the distance in less than 10 minutes, arriving a bit out of breath and tired. We then looked around the Church, the courtyard, and in a few shops. No sign of our friends.

Kim and Nat showed up five minutes later. We kept looking and waiting. After 15 minutes we gave up, clearly we had missed them by 10 minutes and they had left.

Walking back towards futureworld we stumbled across our friends at the Mexico pavilion. They were a half hour late. So providential that we got to connect.

When we finally did meet up with them, they decided that the Dad of their group (Ken's really good buddy) would meet up with Ken and Emily later to do the Orange side of Mission Space! We parted ways again and we headed back into Future World to finish what we had started!
Actually, he and I agreed to meet. We made a secret pact to get our older children to join us. He he he.

We took another spin on Test Track, got some FP's for the Orange side for later and then rode Spaceship Earth!! I really do enjoy SpaceShip Earth! It is such a neat ride! Definitely a must do!

Well, by this time we were feeling a bit parched so we decided to hit Club Cool! We really are not big soda drinkers at home, but we love Club Cool! All those different flavours are just so fun! My fave is Kinley Lemon from Israel! So yummy!
It was warm out so Club Cool did hit the spot. I found the flavours more mellow this year than last. Maybe my palette is expanding, or just being deadened from the occasional Brandy.

Once we had tasted all that we cared to we decided to go and check out the improvements made on Universe of Energy! It had been closed last year so we didn't get to ride it! I hadn't seen the show since they added Ellen! Definitely a HUGE improvement! And so very Educational! And FUN!!! The kids really enjoyed it! And I am proud to say that figured out that Ellen is the voice of “Dory” from Nemo!
A neat ride. I REALLY like Bill Nye the science guy, but my kids didn't figure out why that was cool.

At the beginning the cast member was asking everyone to sit in the middle of the floor, but everyone stuck to the outside edge. He had to get a bit curt to move the stragglers away from the benches.

Overall quite informative. It's hard to have a ride about energy that will not rase the ire of most of your audience, the environment being more polarizing than politics or religion in some cases.

Bright sunshiney day! (If you look to the right of the frame you'll see Kim and the girls ditching me while I try to take the picture.

After our Energy Education it was getting close to 4pm so we decided to have one last Soar over California and then head for our 4:30 ADR in our “Home away from Home”!! Again the FP line was a bit slower than I think it should have been. The ride was sooo worth the wait though! Unfortunately we had to run a bit to make it on time for our ADR in Canada! YUP! We were eating at Le Cellier!
This time I finally figured it out. The guy is the voice of Kronk in “The Emperor's New Groove”.

Yes, ANOTHER hustle around from Epcot to the world showcase.



continued in next post!

Yes it is.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great update!


Looks like you had a great day in Future World! Lots of Soarin and Test Track! Two of our favorite rides. That's what I love about Epcot, so much for the whole family to do together. A lot of times at the other parks we end up splitting up because DS10 & I are a bit more adventurous than DS8 and DH!

I'm so glad your LeCellier experience was a good one. Our last time there was rather disappointing. All our previous meals there have been so good. I think we just hit an off night.

We've never done the Ellen's Universe thing. . . Maybe next time!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Firestarter]

CHAPTER 5: PART 2

Where were we???? Oh YES! In Canada about to eat supper At Le Cellier! My single most anticipated ADR of the whole trip!
Yes. She talked about it before we left. Again and again. It was like having a toddler around again. “An then we're going to Le Cellier” “Did you know we're going to Le Cellier.” “I'm so excited we got the ADR for Le Cellier.”

Needless to say I was both relieved and tense that the ADR had come at last.

You have NO idea how hard it was to get her to pause and turn around for a photo. Then I had to ask her to stop telling me to hurry up and smile for the camera.

What can I say about Le Cellier? Hmmmmm. I am glad I tried it. The food was VERY good. The serive was EXCELLENT. The atmosphere was pleasant. Again, a tad bit cool even with a sweater on and a wee bit noisier than I thought it would be! We have to provide visitors with what they expect from Canadians. Cold and Loud! Will we try it again someday? Most definitely. But there are other restaurants I want to try first! Here is what we ate!

I love finding out where people are from by looking at their nametags. Disneyworld has that idea right, you connect better when you know where someone is from.

At Le Cellier I wanted to see if anyone was from towns or cities I'd been in. There was two problems with this:

1.It was dim in the restaurant.
2.The nametags are worn near the shirt pocket

So instead of engaging people in welcome, inviting conversation on their hometowns, I looked like a lecher gaping at all the cast member's upper bodies. It was about my third weird look that made me realize that the passtime should be discontinued.

I had, of course, the Mushroom Filet.

Ken had The Chef's Favourite's with Cheddar Cheese Soup
Ken had half the soup because Kim wanted to try “a bit of it”.

and the Salt Crusted Prime Rib
This was cooked just right and very succulent. Nummy. Being a carnivore is awesome some days.

He also enjoyed a good Canadian Beer...
I was unsure because it was from a microbrewery in Quebec. I have nothing against Quebec per se, I lived there one summer. Yes they MAY have tried to secede from the country before and YES they have active separatist political parties in both provincial (state) and Federal politics, but it's the microbrewery that concerns me.

Usually microbrewerys stay that way by popular avoidance. This one was good though, good enough to keep a photo of it. Mind you I think it was 7% alcohol so that may have had a factor in it.

Emily had the Kids steak with fries

Natalie had Tube Steak with veggies
*Shakes Head*

AND FOR DESSERT.........

I had the maple Creme Brulee!!!!! OMG – it was like eating spun sugar!!! To. Die. For!!! mmmmmm
She means that. Thank goodness she ordered it and not me or their might have been some cutting at the table.

Ken had the Chocolate Mousse
There is a fine line between corny and cute. Thankfully both can be synonymous with MMMMMMM.

Emily had the kids ice cream sundae

Nat had apples with brown sugar and cinnamon!

When we were finished I was seriously in PAIN from how full I was! My tummy hurt so bad! I just wanted to go back to the resort and lie down!
When she types in capitals, that is how she spoke. I was glad she let me stay with Emily.

Now the trick. My friend was getting his 10 year old son to ride Mission Space Orange saying my almost 9 year old daughter would. I did the reciprocal. Emily conceded to try it only because she wouldn't be the only kid on the ride. So proud of her being accepting to parental pressure.
Before I wimped out though we(Ken pressed the button, Kim kept the kids from jumping into frame) did manage to get some nice shots of the fountains in front of Space Ship Earth.

Ken and Emily had their date with R to meet up and ride Mission Space but I just couldn't handle anything else so Nat and I packed it in and went and caught the bus back to POFQ while Ken and Emily hung out and had some fun with our friend!

So my friend shows up. He is taking his private pilot's license, I flunked out of flying in College, but only by 3%. I failed, but not in a crater sort of way.

So we're both geeky, pilot types who want to do the space thing. When we found him by Mission Space he was alone. Apparently his older son didn't want to stay and then the rest of the family ditched without him. So I looked at Emily, concerned that she wouldn't want to ride, but she shrugged her shoulders and went on anyway.

I was worried for her. She was quiet the whole ride. At the end she didn't say anything, and as we were leaving the building I decided to check that she didn't need to kneel and talk to the porcelain phone. She looked up and said “Can we go again? That was AWESOME!

And so we had much fun a second time.

My friend hadn't ridden Test Track so we did that as well.

After they had ridden Mission Space AND test Track SEVERAL times they decided to go for a spin on the Monorail! They did the Epcot to TTC to MK then caught the bus back to POFQ! I think they got back around 9:30 just as I was getting ready to head to bed!

Have you ever wanted something, but were afraid to ask because you weren't sure if anyone else would be interested? I WANTED to ride the Monorail. Ever since I heard about it I thought it was the coolest form of transportation without afterburners.

So my friend asked “Can we get to the resort on the Monorail?” Yes. Yes we can. But would Emily want to? She was decided that there was no other form of transport for her.

So we all got on the monorail. The wrong one. We had a tour of the deluxe resorts before catching the bus, but none of us complained.

Monorail. Monorail. Monorail. Monorail.

Another very full day in WDW!!!



up next.....Getting a little Wild!

Or the animals visit the other animals.

 

[Firestarter]

I want to thank all the readers and responders to this thread. You really encouraged Kim to get going with the Epcot portion of the trip report. And your compliments and responses have made this TR fun to write. I'm quite glad you're enjoying it, and quite touched that you tell us so.

Thanks again.



(I normally don't reply a lot, just a habit from blogging where I try to let the readers have their fun with the comments field).

 

[praisehisname]

Loved the update! Your dinner at Le Cellier looked really good! That's so nice that Ken and Emily were able to stay behind and have some fun with your friends. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Wow, what a fun day at Epcot!! You really got to do a lot of great rides in Future World. We had breakfast at Sunshine Seasons, but I'd love to grab some lunch there sometime. I've heard great things.

LeCellier - You canucks know how to cook steak, that's for sure. Glad you had a good meal there. Tube steak???

How awesome that Ken and Em got to hang out longer and do what they wanted with friends. I know it's so hard to walk around the parks with a really full stomach. When we eat the big meals, I need to walk a bit though to digest!

Ken - we are here for you and Kim!!! Love your comments! They always make me laugh!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

LeCellier - You canucks know how to cook steak, that's for sure. Glad you had a good meal there. Tube steak???

You've never heard Hots Dogs called "Tube Steak" before??? Must be a Canadian thing!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Just found your TR. Enjoyed catching up. Thanks for the links.

Always wanted to visit the Mall of America.

Tube Steak. LOL.

 

[Dancegrl624]

What a great day at Epcot! Sunshine Seasons is one of our favorite places to eat. The rotisserie chicken there is SO good. Tony and I always split it and it never lets us down. Plus, the strawberry shortcake is one of the best desserts I've ever had at WDW. It's so fluffy and delicious. I've never had breakfast there, so I might have to try it the next time we're there. Can't wait for your next update!

 

[magicallyDisney001]

Coming in late to the TR, but I'm glad I found it! Looks like you guys had an awesome time at WDW. Can't wait to see the rest!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Loved the update! Your dinner at Le Cellier looked really good! That's so nice that Ken and Emily were able to stay behind and have some fun with your friends. Looking forward to reading more!

Le Cellier WAS really good! Just SO MUCH FOOD!!! I am glad it was an early dinner, I can't think what it would have been like if we had eaten any later!

Just found your TR. Enjoyed catching up. Thanks for the links.

Always wanted to visit the Mall of America.

Tube Steak. LOL.

You are very welcome! I too find the links to be very helpful on other reports. Mall of America is HUGE and slightly overwhelming! We are thinking of doing a summer vaca there in July or August to try out the waterpark and amusement park!

What a great day at Epcot! Sunshine Seasons is one of our favorite places to eat. The rotisserie chicken there is SO good. Tony and I always split it and it never lets us down. Plus, the strawberry shortcake is one of the best desserts I've ever had at WDW. It's so fluffy and delicious. I've never had breakfast there, so I might have to try it the next time we're there. Can't wait for your next update!

We have had food 3x now from Sunshine seasons and so far we are VERY impressed! Their desserts and baked goods are incredibly delicious! The lunch we had was Great! We will for sure be eating there again!

I will try to do another update later this week! Ken is out of town for the week as of this morning so I am flying solo!

Coming in late to the TR, but I'm glad I found it! Looks like you guys had an awesome time at WDW. Can't wait to see the rest!

WELCOME HERE!!! Better late than never! I am glad you found your way here! Thanks for joining us!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Again I am very sorry to have been away so long! I am working on an update right now! Hope to have it posted soon!

 

[Pluto_fan]

We're here...with snacks!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Chapter 6: Gettin' a little Wild!!!

After such a late night we decided that we would NOT be setting the alarm for the morning. We decided that we would attemp to sleep in a bit and get to Animal Kingdom when ever we happened to get there!

It didn't work. All of us were awake by 7:30!

I have come to the sad conclusion that my family just can not sleep in on vacation! Well since we were up we decided to try to make Rope Drop! It worked! We arrived at Animal Kingdom at exactly 8:30! We leisurely strolled from the bus over to the entrance gates and on the way we were treated to a neat experience! There was a CM standing around with an Ostrich egg! Fun!

The girls were thrilled to see it and touch it and learn about Ostriches and their eggs! When they were done there we went over to the turnstiles. We were definitely NOT first in line today but the crowds didn't seem to be that bad.

We were let through at about 8:45 and managed to get a fairly good spot about 5 people deep from the rope and we actually got to see the opening show this time! VERY CUTE!!! It is always a great start to the day when I get to see my favourite mouse!

When the rope dropped the girls and I linked arms and headed to Dinoland USA while Ken went in search of Fast Passes for EE!! The girls and I rode Triceratops Spin about 4 times in a row without having to get off! Natalie was in heaven! Emily was only a bit chagrinned as she had to wait for Dad to get back so she could ride Primevil Whirl!

Since Ken had the camera and I did not, Here are some of the lovely pictures he took while on his journey to Asia! He is quite the photographer! He did some research on to proper settings and lighting techniques before our trip and it really did pay off! He took some amazing photos!

After he rejoined us in Dinoland, He and Emily rode PW 2x and then we decided to go see the 10am Lion King Show! On the way to the theatre we came upon Pocahontas standing around with NO LINE!!! The girls had not had a chance to meet her yet so they were very excited!

When we arrived at the theatre, it was not even half full yet so we asked the CM at the door where would be a GREAT place to sit! She pointed us in the direction of the LION section! We managed to get some SWEET seats! I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!


continued in next post.....

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Chapter 6: Part 2 - Animal Kingdom cont'd....

This is a show that will continue to be a must do for our family! It is probably my favourite of all the shows at WDW!!! Simple EXCELLENT!!! The girls were both invited to join in with the parade but Em didn't want to so Nat went by herself! She LOVES doing stuff like this!

When the show was over we headed out of the theatre and immediately saw Thumper and Miss Bunny! More new characters for us!!! Sweet! I had to make a mad dash for the washroom so I didn't have a chance to remind the girls about their autograph book. So it turned out that we have some very nice photos of the characters but no autographs!

Emily was just about dying to ride Primeveil Whirl again so she and I went back to Dinoland to do that while Ken and Natalie went to procure some Fast Passes for Kali River Rapids! I LOVE Primevil Whirl!! It is so much fun!!! A bit herky Jerky but oh so much fun! After we were done there we went in search of Ken and Natalie!

You see, Emily and I were supposed to have ridden EE with some of the Fast passes but at the last minute we both chickened out! She has ridden it before but I have not! I thought I could do it but that backwards part has me freaked out! I am not afraid, per se, I am just not convinced that the ride itself is worth feeling naucious for the better part of a day! I don't get bad motion sickness, I just can't handle backwards stuff!

So we found Ken and Nat waiting for us near the exit to EE and then we all hot footed it over to Flame Tree Barbeque! It was time for some food and a VERY SPECIAL DIS MEET!!! I wonder who it will be?????

 

[Dancegrl624]

I didn't even know you could meet Thumper!!! How awesome that you got to meet some new characters. And wow! Pocahontas is so beautiful! I'm with you on FOTLK. It is my favorite!!! It's on the must-do list for Sept since we didn't see it in June. I love all the pics Ken took on his wasy through Asia. Just stunning!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

We're here...with snacks!

YAY!!! Can I have some too???