Marriage: The Trip Report - Update 2/28 - Final Thoughts & Link to Disneyland TR!

See you are leaving in just 2 days for DL! Have a great time. I can't wait to see your pix-you take such wonderful photos. We have been a few times-have friends and family that live nearby. I can't remember if you've been there before or not, but if not, be sure to do Pirates, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain. All 3 are so much better at DL. Soarin' and Toy Story Mania are exactly the same, and TSM does not have fast passes available there. Be sure to see World of Color. It is amazing! If you are staying at one of the hotels, take advantage of their early entry into California Adventure (you can go in at 9 if the park opens at 10) and get fastpasses for World of Color first, then head to Soarin. Then go over and get in line at the rope for TSM before the gates open to the general public. That way you will be at the front of the rope to head to TSM. (Though this time of year, it may not be too busy) For World of Color, try to get into the blue area where you are right against a railing a step up from the lowest level-there are a group of bushes below the railing so noone will be standing there. No matter how tall the people are in front of you, you will be able to see perfectly and from the center of the show. We had the best standing area (it's all standing only), and we didn't pay for the dinner/lunch to give us the fastpasses. It is not a get wet area, either.
Have a blast!
 
What a great day Brook!! Loved how you ended the day at the party!! Looks like a lot of fun for little ones!!!!

Absolutely want to try that brat when I get back to EPCOT...it looks SO good!!!!! OY...definitely on the list!!!!

2 days....WOW....I'm so excited for you!! Can't wait for your FB updates!
 
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On the way over to Disney Junior I got a call from Cindy and they weren't going to make it - they were tired and the kids were spent. We more than understand that! I hope our paths do cross one day though!! :goodvibes



I hate that we missed you guys. Logan just was not into the dance party and we had gotten there as soon as it started and there was no way of bribing him to stay, we weren't even able to get him to go back by there after a ride on TOT. So we just left and missed out on meeting you guys.

It looks like Henry had a great time and I'm sure Logan would have had fun with him. Love the pictures.

Here's hoping that our paths cross again one day. :)
 
What a long day!! I'm glad it was a good one! :thumbsup2

I love your Christmas card - so fun! :goodvibes

Have a great trip!!
 

Great update(s) Brook! That was the day that never ended! LOL

Love all the topiary pics and I love the one with Henry and Mickey & Minnie.

I never thought you would leave Epcot and head to DHS! :lmao:

If I don't talk to you, have a wonderful time in DL!!! :goodvibes
 
Once again I love all of the topiary pictures!!!

Your pretzel really looked amazing!!!

The CR looks so beautiful at night!!! My husband and I are going to stay there in September after our cruise for our 10th anniversary! I'm so excited! :banana:
 
Great updates!! Love all the topiaries. looks like you guys had a looonnnngggg but really fun day!!
Have an awesome time at DLand!!!
 
Happy new Year Brook! I had not realized that I missed a few December updates but caught up today (just skipped through to your posts)

Your pics are so much fun. I just love the end of the last day doing the Dance Party with Henry & all the characters. He looks so cute showing Quincy the macarena:goodvibes that is something we have never done...hopefully Katie will be up for it in '13. we'll see.
 
What a busy, but fun day! The F & G displays are so pretty! Too cute about Henry and his girlfriendS. He will meet one of them again one day and it will be true love! You guys are wild going from Epcot to DHS. I had the best intentions on doing that on Christmas day, but I was just too tired.
 
Love all the Topiaries! You really did spend some good quality time there, my dream!

Kadence really loved the Dance Party at MNSSHP, she didn't want to leave.



Have a great time in Disneyland!
 


Your welcome for the pictures! It was you who told me about eating a pretzel at Rockefeller every year growing up, right? I think about that story every time I walk in that area and hope Henry has similar fond memories! :goodvibes

It was me. I can smell the pretzels and chestnuts just by looking at the pictures.


Ah! And HERE is Henry's pizza! I knew we didn't let the kid starve! ;)

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Pretty bleh looking right? School cafeteria-esque? It WAS. Not good. Inside = delicious. Outside = :sad2: But, Henry enjoyed it, so all well!


We made a stop there too. Ok pizza, mine was a bit cold but I was so hungry it didn't matter. The cannoli was good.








Oh ya, another stop was made! :rolleyes1

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For Pat! (Poolrat) I giggle every time I see one of these now!


I giggle too. Thanks for the shout out.



In case you or I get busy... Have a blast in DL. Report back and hopefully by the time you get to it in a TR it will be close to me going so I won't forget what I read. :lmao:
 
I'm loving all the updates...You are making me worried that I might have to cough up that 50cents! :lmao:

That picture of you on the phone and waving the napkin is so funny.
 
That was such a great update Brook! So much going on I can't remember what I want to comment on,

First - I love your Christmas card.

Second - good for you for making it all the way around the world showcase. I never noticed that flower bed in the USA. :rotfl: How did I miss that.

Yes - Rapunzel was a bit underwhelming.

That brat looks so yummy. I must try one of those.

I love the drummers. I finally watched the whole show in December.

Cute dance party. What a lovely day and great memories!
 
Wow! Talk about commando park afternoon and evening and yet...it seemed relaxed at the same time!

I'm impressed you even attempted a movie after all of that.

That take out pizza looks horrendous though, very good to know.

The Chef Mickey pic is classic! WTG Joe (I assume he took it). :rotfl:

And that's just what it was...we did a LOT in one day, pretty much open to PM EMH, but we took it easy. It was not Joe's ideal day by any means though...he more preferred the next one. ;)

Isn't that so funny about Chef Mickey's? I think I was actually doing a video - so it makes sense, but it sums up me-face in the phone! :laughing: Joe is the same way though, we are both addicts. :rolleyes:

See you are leaving in just 2 days for DL! Have a great time. I can't wait to see your pix-you take such wonderful photos. We have been a few times-have friends and family that live nearby. I can't remember if you've been there before or not, but if not, be sure to do Pirates, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain. All 3 are so much better at DL. Soarin' and Toy Story Mania are exactly the same, and TSM does not have fast passes available there. Be sure to see World of Color. It is amazing! If you are staying at one of the hotels, take advantage of their early entry into California Adventure (you can go in at 9 if the park opens at 10) and get fastpasses for World of Color first, then head to Soarin. Then go over and get in line at the rope for TSM before the gates open to the general public. That way you will be at the front of the rope to head to TSM. (Though this time of year, it may not be too busy) For World of Color, try to get into the blue area where you are right against a railing a step up from the lowest level-there are a group of bushes below the railing so noone will be standing there. No matter how tall the people are in front of you, you will be able to see perfectly and from the center of the show. We had the best standing area (it's all standing only), and we didn't pay for the dinner/lunch to give us the fastpasses. It is not a get wet area, either.
Have a blast!

Thank you for all the tips! It echos what I have read and put into my notes. :thumbsup2 This will be our first trip, so I need all the info I can get! I hope to get a good WoC spot for Joe, otherwise he will not be able to see/enjoy the show. I am going to talk to a CM about it too, with his eye condition he truly needs to be close to see. We will be touring Disneyland/DCA on Thursday, Friday and Monday (MLK). Thursday will be quiet, but Friday and Monday will have heavier crowds-nothing serious though. I think we'll be able to get a lot done!

What a great day Brook!! Loved how you ended the day at the party!! Looks like a lot of fun for little ones!!!!

Absolutely want to try that brat when I get back to EPCOT...it looks SO good!!!!! OY...definitely on the list!!!!

2 days....WOW....I'm so excited for you!! Can't wait for your FB updates!

That party was SO fun! We all just had a blast. We will definitely be doing it again in the future.

I could go for a brat right about now - I just read an update by Magdalene about the F&WF brats versus true German brats. :laughing: YUM.

I hate that we missed you guys. Logan just was not into the dance party and we had gotten there as soon as it started and there was no way of bribing him to stay, we weren't even able to get him to go back by there after a ride on TOT. So we just left and missed out on meeting you guys.

It looks like Henry had a great time and I'm sure Logan would have had fun with him. Love the pictures.

Here's hoping that our paths cross again one day. :)

I was bummed too! But, I totally understand - it's not worth the meltdown/hassle! :goodvibes I hope our paths cross again!! We really did have a great time in there, I expected to be standing by the wall and just watching, but we were all into it-most all the parents were. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me!

What a long day!! I'm glad it was a good one! :thumbsup2

I love your Christmas card - so fun! :goodvibes

Have a great trip!!

Thanks Amy! I can't believe we leave tomorrow! :eek:

Great update(s) Brook! That was the day that never ended! LOL

Love all the topiary pics and I love the one with Henry and Mickey & Minnie.

I never thought you would leave Epcot and head to DHS! :lmao:

If I don't talk to you, have a wonderful time in DL!!! :goodvibes

I cannot believe we did all that in one day. Usually after an entire day at Epcot I am BEAT. We just kept going and going...I guess it's due to our incredibly relaxed 9 days prior. :laughing:

Once again I love all of the topiary pictures!!!

Your pretzel really looked amazing!!!

The CR looks so beautiful at night!!! My husband and I are going to stay there in September after our cruise for our 10th anniversary! I'm so excited! :banana:

Those pretzels from Sommerfest in Germany are AWESOME. They are soooooo much better than the generic pretzels all over property. :thumbsup2

Oh wow, a cruise plus the CR! That will be one phenomenal trip!!! Plus September is a fantastic time to go, lower crowds and nice weather!

Great updates!! Love all the topiaries. looks like you guys had a looonnnngggg but really fun day!!
Have an awesome time at DLand!!!

We did! It was so fun to see all the topiaries. I hope to make it back for a F&GF in 2013, but we shall see!

Have a great time at Disneyland! Can't wait to see the posts on here!:goodvibes

I will definitely try to post a few pics or something here! I will be updating regularly on both my regular Facebook page and my TA Facebook page and Twitter @brookwoz (if we aren't friends yet on Facebook, shoot me a PM with your info! :thumbsup2)

Happy new Year Brook! I had not realized that I missed a few December updates but caught up today (just skipped through to your posts)

Your pics are so much fun. I just love the end of the last day doing the Dance Party with Henry & all the characters. He looks so cute showing Quincy the macarena:goodvibes that is something we have never done...hopefully Katie will be up for it in '13. we'll see.

I have been updating a LOT this month in attempts to get this done pre-Disneyland...but well...:rolleyes:

The Dance Party really is a neat addition and a total blast! I hope you are able to do it, we will definitely be back to it sometime before Henry gets too old!

What a busy, but fun day! The F & G displays are so pretty! Too cute about Henry and his girlfriendS. He will meet one of them again one day and it will be true love! You guys are wild going from Epcot to DHS. I had the best intentions on doing that on Christmas day, but I was just too tired.

It was so fun to watch him run with those girls. All us Moms were chatting and laughing at them. The one little girl had about 10 stuffed animals with her :eek: and a beach towel. They would lay it all out on the ground and then walk around with the beach towel full of animals. :laughing:

Awesome updates and pics!! Can't wait to see your pics from Disneyland too! :cool1:

Thank you! I can't believe we are going TOMORROW!
 
Love all the Topiaries! You really did spend some good quality time there, my dream!

Kadence really loved the Dance Party at MNSSHP, she didn't want to leave.

Have a great time in Disneyland!

We did! We walked that entire World Showcase and then some! It was fun though, I'm so glad Joe agreed to do that and put up with it all, it was one of my number one goals of the trip.

It was me. I can smell the pretzels and chestnuts just by looking at the pictures.

We made a stop there too. Ok pizza, mine was a bit cold but I was so hungry it didn't matter. The cannoli was good.


I giggle too. Thanks for the shout out.

In case you or I get busy... Have a blast in DL. Report back and hopefully by the time you get to it in a TR it will be close to me going so I won't forget what I read. :lmao:

Ooooh the chestnuts. Yum. I love the smell of them and the roasted peanuts (that always smell better than they taste IMO!) Glad they brought back some good memories. :goodvibes

I will be on the look out for some Waste Please garbage cans on the west coast. ;)

I'm loving all the updates...You are making me worried that I might have to cough up that 50cents! :lmao:

That picture of you on the phone and waving the napkin is so funny.

:rotfl: Oh you forget we are at WDW until the 12th and this was just the 7th! :eek: Plus all of May AND August. I think you are safe! :lmao:

Isn't that picture ridiculous?! You know how I am though from August! Patty is worse! :laughing:

That was such a great update Brook! So much going on I can't remember what I want to comment on,

First - I love your Christmas card.

Second - good for you for making it all the way around the world showcase. I never noticed that flower bed in the USA. :rotfl: How did I miss that.

Yes - Rapunzel was a bit underwhelming.

That brat looks so yummy. I must try one of those.

I love the drummers. I finally watched the whole show in December.

Cute dance party. What a lovely day and great memories!

Wasn't that flower bed cute? The whole theme was using recycled stuff for your flower garden/little waste. Very clever stuff! I expected to see a toilet or a TV after seeing the tub and bed though. ;)

Joe LOVES those brats and talks about them regularly. He wants to go back every trip. He'll be missing them in Disneyland!

Have a magical time in DL!

Thank you!!! Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
 
Today is Tuesday, March 8

After our marathon almost-RD to PM EMH day yesterday, it was Joe's turn. We needed a day to relax. A good 'ol "do nothing day". Compromise, remember? :goodvibes

The morning started out at 7:30 when Henry woke us up. We slowly got ready for the day and I took about 30 pictures off our balcony of our beautiful view with the intention to stitch them together; however, I have discovered we don't have the software to do so...if I find some (anyone have a suggestion for a free download?), I will share the picture! Meanwhile, here are a few to give you an idea.

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You can see the Grand Flo back there too.

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Looking down!

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Good Morning little boy!

Eventually we were dressed and down in the lobby around 9:20 AM. We had a Chef Mickey's ADR and if you remember correctly, we were on the "Multiple Dining Plan" for DVC Members (which they now stopped! :mad:), so we needed to get new cards with 1 night of Deluxe Dining Credits on them. The front desk there was completely confused. The Manager came out, she was confused as well. Eventually they cut us new cards, telling us we'd have to get another set tomorrow. I said "Sounds good!" but didn't believe them due to our experience at the Boardwalk.

Onward to Chef Mickey's!

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We had eaten dinner here back in 2008, and while we had great character interaction that night, neither Joe or I cared for the food. I was hoping breakfast would be better as I had heard it was.

We did our picture and Henry got in some extra hugs to the plastic Mickey.

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We waited about 10 minutes and then were called to our table.

The food...

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Henry's plate

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Joe's plate (with some extra things for all of us)

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My plate - I tried both kids of potatoes since Tim (that's nice) told me I had to try the ones with the turkey because they were WEIRD. I liked them, but thought the regular breakfast potatoes were weird. What does that tell you about me?! :laughing:

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Making Mickeys with our food

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The atmosphere...

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The characters!

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Pluto was "hiding"

Continued in next post
 
Continued from previous post

The calisthenics!

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Video: Napkin Waving (55 seconds)

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Tickling :goodvibes

We had a faaaaaaaaabulous meal! Great food, good character interaction. Pluto and Goofy skipped our table at first, but we notified the waitress and they brought them back. Goofy was a tad rushed-I got the impression that he thought we had already seen him. All well! Henry got to touch Pluto's tongue and told us he was very soft. :cutie: And we had no problems with our Dining Credits, so it seems all was good there! It was a great way to start the day, very relaxed - we were in there for well over an hour.

After breakfast we went up to our room to quickly grab a few things and then back down to the marina - Joe and Henry were going to go out in a sea raycer! I surprised Joe with this earlier in the week (or just before we left? Cannot recall!) as it is something he has wanted to do since our first trip.

Walking to the marina

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Within a few minutes they were ready to go!

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Off they go!

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I was MORE than fine just chillin' on the dock for 30 minutes. It felt great to be alone...I love my family, but I'm an introvert and crave that solo time. I remember snapping a few pics

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and then kicking my feet up. I posted to Facebook that the boys were off and Henry was excited.

Literally 2 minutes later I see...

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Hmmmm.

Turns out as soon as they were away from the hotel and dock Henry was NOT feelin' it. He said he really liked it, but just got scared. Joe went back out for the remaining minutes while Henry and I hung out on the dock.

When all was done Joe came back in with a smile on his face. He said he wished they did go faster and next time wanted to rent something a bit more powerful. The blind guy in a speed boat. Hmmmm.

:laughing:

We headed back toward our room, but first stopped for a few pictures.

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Love this one!

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This was the day/moment I really fell in love with the CR/BLT. I liked it before, but just wandering the property with no agenda on that beautiful day...something was magical about it! I really took in the beauty of the area and the buildings. I would love to stay there again someday!

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"Going up" The elevators in BLT talk! :laughing:

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And once again, the view from the elevator area

Continued in next post
 







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