Mom, Dad isn't listening! WDW in July, another great trip! Updated final chapter

[declansdad]

Look at you....a star in the making! Great pics and I think we may adopt your "go back to the park we ended off with" looks like it's been successful for you guys!

Glad you had the bag with ponchos

Do yo think I could charge for autographs now?

Yay! for being an extra. That looks like a lot of fun. I was in the Flights of Wonder show once, but Indiana Jones looks more fun. Cross that off your bucket list.

I haven't watched IJ in years. Maybe I need to do it next trip.

Declan got some great pics!

Declan was selected for Flights of Wonder once; he did the math contest bit.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

(I did return to carrying a camera bag that did include space for rain ponchos and water, even though it was nice and sunny.)

Good job. You just never know.

He no sooner started to jog up the sidewalk when a CM decided to yell “No running”. I have never heard them do that before, maybe he was a lifeguard catching an extra shift.

We did have some time in the queue to grab some pictures. This one wasn’t very funny and not true at all (anymore)

I agree that it's not true. But it's still funny.

I don’t remember which version we had this time but it was different than the last time and luckily none of us were the rebel spy. That could have been trouble as we don’t carry our passports in the parks.

Just tell the Stormtroopers your name is Barry.

So up I went and I was the first person picked. SCORE!!! Made my way out to the stage, did the embarrassing scream and then we were off to the costume area to suit up and sign our waivers.

Excellent! Extra points for your exuberance.

Declan had the camera for the parts where I was on stage and this time he did get some pictures that we could keep. (He’s learning, DSLRs aren’t the easiest to use but he’s getting there.)

Looks like it was a lot of fun. And Declan did a good job on the pictures.

 

[MeMom]

That's a fun Disney thing that most people don't get to do. I would not want to be on a stage of any kind for anything, but I enjoy watching those who do.

I agree about Streetmosphere characters. They are fun to watch.

It won't be long until Declan is old enough to jump in the tow truck and drive away!

 

[declansdad]

That's a fun Disney thing that most people don't get to do. I would not want to be on a stage of any kind for anything, but I enjoy watching those who do.

I agree about Streetmosphere characters. They are fun to watch.

It won't be long until Declan is old enough to jump in the tow truck and drive away!

As long as Disney is paying the insurance.

 

[declansdad]

Chapter 8 – a relaxing evening at EPCOT


To finish off our day we decided to head to EPCOT and just take it easy, have some dinner and take in Illuminations, Pooksma’s favourite night-time show.


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We made it to the park a little past 6 pm and decided to head to The Sum of All Thrills.


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While waiting in line there was a young brother and sister in line with us and he wasn’t too sure about the ride. We all tried to ensure him it wasn’t that bad, he would be designing the ride, he was too short to go upside down and there was a button you could use to stop the ride if it was too bad. I think he made it to the vehicle but bailed just before they loaded.

For our ride, Pooksma and Declan were in one vehicle and I was on another. The only problem with riding by yourself is that you don’t get to see a seatmate’s reaction on the video screen. It was fun none the less.

We then wandered over to the ever-so-crowded Journey into Imagination with Figment. It was so crowded that the CMs’ insisted that we all ride in our own vehicles. This is a fun little ride; it’s too bad it’s often overlooked. It is sad to venture into the last part of the attraction now that Kodak has bailed. Not much left in that area.


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Next up time to head to the World Showcase, first stop was the UK. Declan was looking for a new Manchester United (sorry of you are reading this Paul L). While he was doing that I found us a couple of the refreshing drinks of the UK variety.

It had been decided that we would grab some food at the Boulangerie Patisserie in France. We had eaten there once before and really liked it, plus it allows Declan to practice his French. We were pleasantly surprised to see its new location at the rear of the gift shop. It has a much better queue and some more seating, although the seating was fairly full and there were a number of rude people. Once again people left huge messes on tables and one or two people actually just dropped stuff on the floor and walked away like nothing happened. We felt really bad for one of the CMs working in the table area as she was cleaning one mess after another. I wonder if those people treat their own houses with such disrespect!

It was starting to get close to Illuminations time so we need to find a spot. We decided we had never watched from Germany before so that’s where we headed. We found a spot near the water and settled in to wait. It was also near a beverage station so we sample some more of the local beverages and some ice cream for Declan. There was a light rain (had our ponchos) and we were hoping that the show would not be cancelled.

Some pictures from the spot we were waiting at. Sorry they are a bit crooked, I didn’t have a tripod and I was using the railing to try to steady the camera.


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And then it was time for the show!


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And so another great show came to an end and it was time for the park to close. WE took our time making our way back to the front and headed for the bus stop. Timed it perfectly and arrived at the Pop stop just as the bus was pulling in.

Next up: OMG I lost something!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Sounds like another great day in Epcot! I can't wait to try it, sounds like some good food choices as well. We found the same problem when we were having lunch in Norway...people just get up and leave their mess....unbelievable to me!

 

[afwdwfan]

Well, I missed the start of it. I'm here now. Be back later to catch up.

 

[declansdad]

Sounds like another great day in Epcot! I can't wait to try it, sounds like some good food choices as well. We found the same problem when we were having lunch in Norway...people just get up and leave their mess....unbelievable to me!

We saw the same thing at many of the counter-service restaurants; some people are just pigs.

 

[declansdad]

Well, I missed the start of it. I'm here now. Be back later to catch up.

No worries, I'm keeping it at a fairly pedestrian pace.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

We then wandered over to the ever-so-crowded Journey into Imagination with Figment. It was so crowded that the CMs’ insisted that we all ride in our own vehicles. This is a fun little ride; it’s too bad it’s often overlooked.

Opinions differ on that one.

It is sad to venture into the last part of the attraction now that Kodak has bailed. Not much left in that area.

It had been decided that we would grab some food at the Boulangerie Patisserie in France. We had eaten there once before and really liked it, plus it allows Declan to practice his French.

Cool!

Once again people left huge messes on tables and one or two people actually just dropped stuff on the floor and walked away like nothing happened. We felt really bad for one of the CMs working in the table area as she was cleaning one mess after another. I wonder if those people treat their own houses with such disrespect!

I'm really starting to dislike people.

Some pictures from the spot we were waiting at. Sorry they are a bit crooked, I didn’t have a tripod and I was using the railing to try to steady the camera.

I think you did just fine.

 

[afwdwfan]

Finally caught up. I'm sorry about the rough start to your trip with the flight delays, but at least they tried to make it right. But Red Roof Inn??? Really???


Looks like a fun trip. I'm sure Declan appreciated the attention from the teenage girl tour groups on the bus.

Congratulations to you for getting to be an extra in the Indiana Jones show. Always a fun memory to have a chance to make!

 

[declansdad]

Opinions differ on that one.

It is sad to venture into the last part of the attraction now that Kodak has bailed. Not much left in that area.



Cool!



I'm really starting to dislike people.



I think you did just fine.

Thanks for the compliment on the pics.

The Kodak section at the end of Figment was a great spot. I think our first time in there in 2005 Declan was chosen as the Inventor of the Year.

Great memories!

 

[declansdad]

Finally caught up. I'm sorry about the rough start to your trip with the flight delays, but at least they tried to make it right. But Red Roof Inn??? Really???


Looks like a fun trip. I'm sure Declan appreciated the attention from the teenage girl tour groups on the bus.

Congratulations to you for getting to be an extra in the Indiana Jones show. Always a fun memory to have a chance to make!

Glad you caught up; told you I was keeping the pace slow.

Don't plan on staying at the Red Roof Inn again, unless Southwest is paying. Declan is still not all the way there yet with the teenage girls. Although at the time of the trip he had a girlfriend here at home. I guess he was being the faithful boyfriend by finding such a large group of girls annoying.

 

[pooksma]

Awww! look at my Pookus!

 

[MeMom]

Awww! look at my Pookus!

I'm going to guess that Declan doesn't read this report.




The girls still like Figment, only they cover their ears and noses at certain parts.

Who'da thunk that cute little inventor nerdlet would turn into the handsome, athletic chick magnet that he has become?

 

[pooksma]

I'm going to guess that Declan doesn't read this report.




The girls still like Figment, only they cover their ears and noses at certain parts.

Who'da thunk that cute little inventor nerdlet would turn into the handsome, athletic chick magnet that he has become?

We did tell him

 

[declansdad]

Chapter 9 – A costly trip to EPCOT, almost!

Keeping to our pattern we returned to the park we visited the previous evening. We arrived at EPCOT shortly after opening and it wasn’t too bad crowd-wise. We hadn’t been to one of Pooksma’s favourite rides yet so I headed to Soarin’ for FPs. Apparently Declan felt that we should take turns.


I quickly found them after grabbing the FPs and we headed in to the Character Spot. There was no one else in there at that time of the morning and very few characters. But we did manage to get some pics with some of the more important characters.


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There are other group shots as well but I am pushing it by posting one as it is. I think I will simply remind you that they are all available in the Flickr albums or the Photobucket albums for the older trips.

Next up was Test Track again. The wait was posted as 40 minutes but it really took about 25. It did seem that throughout this trip many of the posted times were longer than the actual time in line. Again we found the ride to very Tron-like; would have been nice to actually change the inside track during the refurb. I do like the new loading area, it doesn’t seem to be such a madhouse coming out of the room.

Since we were in the neighbourhood we headed for Mars. Pooksma joined us for this mission so we were on the Green Team (she doesn’t like orange). It was great that she joined us, always nice to do the rides together; however, the green side is lame.


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Now it was time for


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We all like this ride, one of our favourites and what makes it even better is not having to stand in what I think is the worse stand-by queue at WDW. I really hate this line, even a short wait seems like an eternity.

After our flight we decided to jump on Living with the Land. We hadn’t done it in a bit and always enjoy it but it was not to be. This is where the costly part (almost) of the trip began.

This was the first trip that I carried my blackberry throughout the trip. It usually stays turned off for almost all of the trip but because of a potential issue that I needed to be part of at work I needed to keep it with my pretty much all the time. For some reason I had earlier placed it in my camera bag instead of back on my belt. While waiting in line for the Land I started to search for it and couldn’t find it. We left the line so I could take the bag completely apart but still couldn’t find the phone. We decided that I would backtrack while Pooksma and Declan continued into the WS. So I checked at the Character Spot, nothing. The CM suggested that I go to the gift shop at Figment as that is their turn on spot for lost articles, nothing there. I head back across the park to TT and approach a CM at the front entrance and tell her my story. She says come with me and we head for the TT gift shop, through the car showroom and back to the area where you get off the ride. I wait at the bottom of the stairs while she heads to the backstage area. After a couple of minutes she returns and asks me to describe the image on the screen. When I do she hands me the phone and I thank her. Losing this phone would not have been good, not only would we have been out of contact but it also belongs to work. I didn’t want to have to pay to replace a blackberry.

With my phone now safely attached to my hip, I headed for the WS to find the Family. They were sitting at the American Pavilion enjoying a funnel cake. When they were finished, we headed for Germany for an Agent P mission. Well they did while I wandered around.

Juggler in Italy


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Train wreck in Germany


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One of the Agent P changes


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A CM having some fun.


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I believe she had a sword as well as the crown.

A busy bee


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With the Mission complete we decided to have some lunch and after some deliberation we decided on Mexico. Declan needed a churro.

That was about it for this visit to EPCOT. On the way out of the park Declan and I went into the 3D Storm??? Show at Innoventions while Pooksma visited the Art of Disney.


Next up – a quiet evening at home.

 

[Queenofallthings]

Whoa, sure dodged a bullet there didn't you? Yikes, wouldn't want to have had to replace that! Great pictures, so happy to see pooksma in one of them

 

[declansdad]

Whoa, sure dodged a bullet there didn't you? Yikes, wouldn't want to have had to replace that! Great pictures, so happy to see pooksma in one of them

I was very lucky. Thought for sure I would be chasing it for days trying to see if it showed up at the lost and found.

Pooksma is on a few pictures, they just don't make it to the report.

 

[declansdad]

Chapter 10 – Let’s just stay at the resort.

Pooksma and I weren’t feeling well after our afternoon rest so we decided to just hang out at the resort for the evening. We grabbed some food at the food court, spent some time at the pool and wandered around Pop and AoA. This chapter will simply be a photo essay of the evening. Enjoy!


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And that was our night.

What will we do for our next chapter? We had no park visit to finish the day so we won’t know where to go.