Never Say Never .Atleast I Thought I’d Never!

[Pikester]

Epcot, Part I

November 30, 2009

So it’s off to Epcot we go! We arrived before rope drop and watched the opening show. We saw Minnie, Mickey, Goofy and Pluto.

As soon as the CM let us go, DS12 and I headed to Test Track while DH and DS8 went to get Fast Passes for Soarin. We walked right on and tried to see if we could get at glance at the hidden Mickey’s that DH had read about in the Hidden Mickey book. I think we saw one on a tool box but the line was moving so fast that we couldn't look around that much. In fact, the line was moving so fast that we didn’t even see the pre-move before we were getting into a test car. DS12 and I ended up sharing a car with three southern ladies that loved to laugh. They were a riot! One kept talking about how the ride reminded them of how “Suzy” drove. Then the ladies screamed and woo-ed throughout the ride. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard! Once the ride was done we met DH and DS8 out in front of TT and we switched kids so that DH and DS12 could go on TT and Mission Space

while I took DS8 into Mouse Gears to look for some pins that my Mom asked me to get her.

We spent quite a bit of time looking for just the right pins but knowing that I still had more shopping time I just looked and made notes so I would know where to find them again if I did not see them someplace else (Good thing I did because I DIDN’T see them any place else). We all met back up and headed to Innoventions East so that DH and DS12 could design their very own roller coasters by doing “Some of all Thrills”. They designed a coaster then the plans were loaded on to a “key” that you slid into a machine. Then they were strapped into seats that were attached to an arm so that they could follow the design. They even went upside down! While they were doing that, DS8 and I explored “Don’t Waste It!“ which is a “game” where you recycle stuff out of your garbage truck. We earned a certificate for doing a great job recycling and were able to email it home. At some point after that I know we rode Soarin but I can’t remember when exactly.

Once WS opened we went to Mexico for lunch at Cantina de San Angel. The menu is very limited but since they had something we all wanted to try it worked for us. DH and I had the burrito, DS12 and DS8 had Nachos with all of us trying a churro for dessert. DS8 is the only one who did not like the churro. After we finished lunch we started our tour of the worlds by walking across to the Mayan pyramid to ride the Gran Fiesta.

It wasn’t as bad as I thought; a little cheesy but not bad. Not sure what the food is like at the San Angel Inn but I thought the atmosphere was pretty neat.

We left the pyramid and started on our way to the next country but before we could get there I spotted a stand selling margaritas so I just had to stop and get one. It was ok.
Now we are headed to Norway to ride Maelstrom and look around in the different shops and buildings. We entered a pretty building that turned out to be a church that contained a history of the Viking. I never knew who Leif Erikson was (Happy Leif Erikson Day! Hardy, Hardy, Hardy) but now I do.

We browsed around the gift shop and then as I tried to hurry up and finish my drink (Can anyone say “Ice cold drink headache”) we headed over to the Maelstrom. Not a bad little ride but I did not like the little “jarring” that you get when the boat goes almost backwards over the falls. After the ride we looked around the gift shop again getting pictures taken with the trolls

and then it was time to move on to the next country.

Welcome to China! We strolled through the area and found a replica of the Tomb Warriors.

Next we passed right through the Outpost (well, we did take a few pics)

and Germany so we could get to Italy and check out a clown/juggler perform. He was pretty good!

 

[Pikester]

Epcot, Part II

We walked through America to get to Japan to see Miyuki, the Japanese Candy Art lady, who forms animals out of a “candy” mixture (she told us what it was but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was). We were able to get a front of the rope standing area and DS8 was chosen to request an animal. He chose a shark and it was amazing how quickly Miyuki can whip that thing up. I loved listening to her talk as she works her magic and she even made a little joke about the shark being Bruce.

At this time we were ready for a break. (As we were walking out of Epcot we took a few pics)

We decided to head to Downtown Disney to eat and shop. We ate at Wolfgang Puck Express which was pretty empty but the services was a little slow. Everyone liked what they got but me. I got a salad that just didn’t do it for me but that just left plenty of room for my ice cream. We left the restaurant and headed over to the Pin Store so I could look around for the pins my Mom wanted (Didn’t see them but found a couple for me) and DH sat on a bench with the kids and people watched. We headed back to Pop to let the boys get some swim time in and pretty much just chill before we headed back to Epcot to see IllumiNations.

We had a great spot clear of trees and other obstacles and couldn’t understand why nobody else was around until I realized that the fireworks started at 9:30pm and not 9:00pm. Oops! Oh well, DH and I took turns taking the kids to get a snack that we could enjoy while waiting for the show to start which allowed us to keep out great viewing spot. I think it was in the Canada area.
What a show!

Once the show was finished we just took our time heading towards the exit, as was everyone else, and finally made our way to the van. We headed back to Pop and there we got ready for bed so that we could be well rested for our next park day.
　
Next up:

Disney’s Hollywood Studios!​

One more picture before I end the day. I forgot that at some point we stopped at Club Cool and got DS8 to drink......

Beverly!!​

　

 

[DL55]

Great pictures, made me feel like I was there. Did the candy shark get eaten? Looks too good to eat.
HaHa got DS to try Beverly.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Great pictures!!! fun update and love the ending of the update...too much!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

First I have to say I am loving your TR so far and second I have to say I really like DS12's AC/DC shirt in the last updates. Is he a fan of them, if he is tell him he has great taste in music.

 

[Pikester]

Great pictures, made me feel like I was there. Did the candy shark get eaten? Looks too good to eat.
HaHa got DS to try Beverly.

Yes the candy shark got eaten. Actually, only part of the shark got eaten as DS8 didn't like it that much.

Great pictures!!! fun update and love the ending of the update...too much!

DH wanted to get one of us to try Beverly so bad but I sure as heck wasn't going to do it! Bring in the 8 yr old.

First I have to say I am loving your TR so far and second I have to say I really like DS12's AC/DC shirt in the last updates. Is he a fan of them, if he is tell him he has great taste in music.

Glad to hear that you are enjoying the TR. My DH has been a fan of AC/DC since he was a teen and has passed on his love to DS12. DH took DS12 to his first AC/DC (and first concert ever) over the summer down in Foxborough, Mass. DS12 has two more AC/DC shirts that he wears pretty often.

 

[praisehisname]

Joining in and absolutely loving it!

 

[M&N]

Great pics..up close and personal! Now I know where you got your FB pic!

 

[Pikester]

Disney's Hollywood Studios Part I

December 1, 2009

Another beautiful day here at Disney! Lots of sun, lots of warm breezes and plenty of fun. It was Disney’s Hollywood Studios day! We again arrived before rope drop and once the turnstiles were opened we headed down the street with the masses to watch the opening show.

Our game plan was to go to Toy Story Mania and ride it, then get FastPasses to ride it again later. Once the opening show was done, the CM had the ropes down and were moved out of the way, the masses walked very fast to TSM (Some people ran!) and we rode our very first ride at DHS.

We then headed to Brian and Tyler’s most favorite rides; Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster.

Nathan and I sat those two out. Nathan went on TofT last year and he does not like it and I have to agree with him. We tried to talk him into going on RR but “No Way!” was his answer. So we just hung around watching the people and we decided to use one of our snack credits for a frozen banana on a stick (Hey, it’s a fruit) and one of those twisty popsicles.

Now this is where I loose track of what we did in which order. I can tell you that we did every ride that we wanted and some of them twice.

The Great Movie Ride
Star Tours
Muppet Vision 3D
Toy Story Mania, again
Rockin Roller Coaster, again
Tower of Terror, again

We ate an early lunch in between all the rides at Pizza Planet.

We all liked it! I’ve heard some people say it’s horrible but we all enjoyed our food. The kids wanted to play all the video games but we told them no as we didn’t want to take the time or spend the money on it.

Throughout the day DH and I took assorted pictures.

One of the last things we did at DHS was watch the Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show. We sat pretty high up in the stands for that one which was great because we ended up under cover which allowed us to get out of the warm Florida sun. We decided to head back to Pop Century for a swim break as the temps had climbed into the 80s and we all needed some time to rest up before our evening dinner ressie for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review.

 

[Pikester]

Disney's Hollywood Studios Day Part II

While the kids were swimming and DH was watching them do it, I decided to take a picture of my decorated window.

Since we had to be at the Hoop-Dee-Doo at least 30 or so minutes before the 5PM show we made sure to be cleaned up and dressed and ready to go. We drove our van to the Fort Wilderness Resort, parked and realized that we needed to take an internal bus to Pioneer Hall. So we’re not sure where we are going but a bus is waiting at the nearby stop and DH asks the driver if he’ll be going to Pioneer Hall. Yup, he is so on the bus we go. By this time our arrival time is ticking down because we got a late start and getting to the resort took a little longer then we thought. The minutes are getting closer and closer to 5PM and darn it, Disney told me to be there early! Well guess what! The bus stops at every bus stop from the main stop to Pioneer Hall which almost had me hyperventilating. We FINALLY get to Pioneer Hall and there is a CM telling everyone to line up so they can check us in. So the CM walks down the line, checks our tickets and tells us to remain there so that we can get our family picture taken. No thanks! Overpriced and I’m usually squinting. So we snuck out of line and found a place to patiently wait until the Hoop started. Pretty soon the triangle was clanging and it was time to head in. When we decided to do the Hoop we also decided to go for it and pay for the Cat 1 seating. I was really hoping to get the second row to the stage and right in the middle. We ended up in front of the piano. I imagined that it would be very loud there but it wasn’t bad but DH was sitting with his back to the stage and he couldn’t turn his chair around. He ended getting a pain in his neck from trying to look over his shoulder and that made for a less then enjoyable time for him. The rest of us had a good time. I love the corny jokes and I had a crush on one of the male characters. I so can not remember his name but he was really cute!

After the Hoop we tried to use the restroom which is always a mad house after the show. The guys were successful but I decided to hold it until we got back to Pop because the line was huge. We made quick work of getting to the bus stop so that we could catch the bus to take us back to the main bus stop and our van. One cool thing about riding the bus was that we got to see all the Christmas Decorations that the different camp sites had up. So pretty! We made it back to Pop and I think DH took the kids to the pool while I got myself a cup of hot tea to relax and think about our next park.
　
Next up:

Magic Kingdom Day II! ​

　

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yea! Your trip report was opened back up so we can enjoy the rest of your trip with you!

 

[DL55]

Great pictures! You had some with different perspectives that I would never think to take. We almost always eat at Pizza Planet, guess that tells you our food preferences. We've only ate at the Revue once, can't recall having trouble with the buses. I have heard they are a pain.

 

[mariezp]

More fun and more great pictures! Interesting to see some of the same things we did and some of the things we missed.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Great update! the crowd shot I did a double take on...I'll have to be sure not to share that one with DH!
Glad to hear that it was a beautiful day...you have wonderful photos and your window deocrations were really cute. I would never have thought to do that. the Hoop looks like lots of fun; but, I think I will save that for the next trip when DS3 is older; we would probably all enjoy it more.

thanks!!! Connie

 

[JOCAmom]

I love your updates. But I especially loved your pics from Illuminations. We've never had a chance to see it since it was always just a little too late and too crowded to keep the youngest one out.

 

[Pikester]

Great update! the crowd shot I did a double take on...I'll have to be sure not to share that one with DH!
Glad to hear that it was a beautiful day...you have wonderful photos and your window deocrations were really cute. I would never have thought to do that. the Hoop looks like lots of fun; but, I think I will save that for the next trip when DS3 is older; we would probably all enjoy it more.

thanks!!! Connie

My DH has been following along to see how I'm doing with the TR and he wanted me to let you know Not to be worried about that crowd. When that picture was taken we were right at the rope so that was everyone that was behind us. Once they all spread out the park was very mangeable. There was an exception for TSM though. We tried riding that two different ways. The first day at DS(that was when the pic was taken) we power walked to the ride and got right in line to get on. After we got off the ride we got FP for later. Worked Great! The second day at DS we got FP first and the line to get on was ! We skipped it and did other rides and then came back with the FP. I do have to mention that our second DS was not a Best Park Day. It was considered the Worst Day to be there. We had to do DS that day or else we would not have been abe to go to DS twice. All the other days in the other parks were the Best Park Days and it was great. (As you can see in the pics with the empty streets. We did rope drop every day)

 

[ladybugmom]

Hi!! Connie told me about your TR as we're looking at going that same week this year (same as Connie). So the crowd levels were good this week? And you would recommend going this week? What site did you use for crowd levels? Can't wait to read more!!

 

[Pikester]

Hi!! Connie told me about your TR as we're looking at going that same week this year (same as Connie). So the crowd levels were good this week? And you would recommend going this week? What site did you use for crowd levels? Can't wait to read more!!

Welcome to my TR!

The crowd levels were very good. I used Touring Plans to get the crowd levels. We've used then for all 3 of our WDW trips and I've found them to be pretty accurate. I always make sure to keep checking back with them to see if there have been any changes to the Best and Park to Avoid days or to the crowd level numbers. I did have a few that changed, some for the good and some for the bad. Sometimes TP only shows 3 of the parks listed under Best or Worst, this just means that the park not listed is somewhere in between (sent an email to them and that was the answer I got). We had 4 days that we went with the Best Park, 2 days that we went with the Somewhere in between and 1 day when we went to the Park to Avoid(had to or else we could have only visited DS once).

Example of our levels (we arrived on a Sunday and was able to make rope drop): 4,6,4,6,4,5,8(Saturday)

Not bad!

DH loves this time of year to go. I like the Christmas Decore and he likes the fact that there are lower crowds and it's a value season. This year we had Free QS Dining so that made the trip even more affordable. We loved not having ADRs and we just made sure we ate at off times to avoid the crowd.

 

[ladybugmom]

Welcome to my TR!

The crowd levels were very good. I used Touring Plans to get the crowd levels. We've used then for all 3 of our WDW trips and I've found them to be pretty accurate. I always make sure to keep checking back with them to see if there have been any changes to the Best and Park to Avoid days or to the crowd level numbers. I did have a few that changed, some for the good and some for the bad. Sometimes TP only shows 3 of the parks listed under Best or Worst, this just means that the park not listed is somewhere in between (sent an email to them and that was the answer I got). We had 4 days that we went with the Best Park, 2 days that we went with the Somewhere in between and 1 day when we went to the Park to Avoid(had to or else we could have only visited DS once).

Example of our levels (we arrived on a Sunday and was able to make rope drop): 4,6,4,6,4,5,8(Saturday)

Not bad!

DH loves this time of year to go. I like the Christmas Decore and he likes the fact that there are lower crowds and it's a value season. This year we had Free QS Dining so that made the trip even more affordable. We loved not having ADRs and we just made sure we ate at off times to avoid the crowd.

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation!! It is VERY helpful!! I'm so glad to hear how wonderful the crowd levels were for you!! I cannot WAIT to be there for all of the Christmas festivities!

 

[Pikester]

Just wanted to say that I recently noticed that I've been switching back in forth between using my families names and using DH, DS12, DS8.

Because of this I have edited the first post to include our names.