No boys allowed! The birthday girl and Mom take on Disney
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Chelley00
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Oh I know. And it's such a hard choice to decide where to eat there because so many get such good reviews!
Mother daughter trips are great! My mom and I are leaving in a little over two weeks
I'm so jealous. I'm ready to go back. That's so sad!
Chelley00
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We made it back to Epcot with time to spare (late dinner ressie) so we decided to mark some rides off our list.
I don't think I mentioned that Riley had a plan. We were going to ride EVERY ride at Disney. We had a checklist for each park with every attraction listed, and we were determined to get them all done, especially the ones we've never done before. Wait to you see how we did!!
Our first thing was to grab a fastpass for Soarin, then we rode Living with the Land boatride. Riley has a strange fascination with this ride. She loves it.
Ah, thank you cacao plant, for chocolate!
Then it was off to the seas for Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush and a glance at the aquarium. The line for Bruce was hugely long, so we skipped it.
We still had some time to kill before dinner, so we headed out of the Seas and towards a ride we had never been on, Figment.
My daughter FELL IN LOVE with Figment. Not sure what the draw was for her, but holy cow. We had to ride it twice in a row and she bought a Figment pin. She made me ride I don't know how many more times the next Epcot day.
Finally, it wasn't too horribly early to check in for dinner. This was our first time at this restaurant, and I hadn't told Riley where we were going. Where else to take my seafood loving daughter, but to
We checked in and were seated automatically, right next to the tank
This quickly became one of our top 3 favorite meals of the trip. Riley loved watching the fish, sharks and sea turtles swimming around. Plus, there were divers in the tank that would come up to the window, blow kisses, dance and this one, who climbed upside down the tank like Spiderman
Our waiter brought Riley a strawberry smoothie as a special birthday surprise. We both had lobster bisque to start (yum!) Riley had mahi mahi and I had the catch of the day, grouper. Both were really good. I had a Bailey's and Jack Daniel's chocolate mousse dessert that was out of this world! Our waiter was fabulous and treated Riley like a queen. The view was amazing and we didn't have a problem at all with people coming up to look . Riley called Daddy and told him ALL about her meal before we had even walked outside the door!
It was getting late, we were getting tired, and not really in the mood for Illuminations today (well, the Illuminations crowds) so we used our fastpass for Soarin, watched the fountain for awhile
then hit up Spaceship Earth as we left. Riley was fascinated by Spaceship Earth and I think we rode it 7 times total! After our ride through time, we headed out, grabbed a bus back to AKL, and watched Phineus and Ferb and Hannah Montana. We don't have cable at home, so Riley was thrilled!
I don't think I mentioned that Riley had a plan. We were going to ride EVERY ride at Disney. We had a checklist for each park with every attraction listed, and we were determined to get them all done, especially the ones we've never done before. Wait to you see how we did!!
Our first thing was to grab a fastpass for Soarin, then we rode Living with the Land boatride. Riley has a strange fascination with this ride. She loves it.
Ah, thank you cacao plant, for chocolate!
Then it was off to the seas for Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush and a glance at the aquarium. The line for Bruce was hugely long, so we skipped it.
We still had some time to kill before dinner, so we headed out of the Seas and towards a ride we had never been on, Figment.
My daughter FELL IN LOVE with Figment. Not sure what the draw was for her, but holy cow. We had to ride it twice in a row and she bought a Figment pin. She made me ride I don't know how many more times the next Epcot day.
Finally, it wasn't too horribly early to check in for dinner. This was our first time at this restaurant, and I hadn't told Riley where we were going. Where else to take my seafood loving daughter, but to
We checked in and were seated automatically, right next to the tank
This quickly became one of our top 3 favorite meals of the trip. Riley loved watching the fish, sharks and sea turtles swimming around. Plus, there were divers in the tank that would come up to the window, blow kisses, dance and this one, who climbed upside down the tank like Spiderman
Our waiter brought Riley a strawberry smoothie as a special birthday surprise. We both had lobster bisque to start (yum!) Riley had mahi mahi and I had the catch of the day, grouper. Both were really good. I had a Bailey's and Jack Daniel's chocolate mousse dessert that was out of this world! Our waiter was fabulous and treated Riley like a queen. The view was amazing and we didn't have a problem at all with people coming up to look . Riley called Daddy and told him ALL about her meal before we had even walked outside the door!
It was getting late, we were getting tired, and not really in the mood for Illuminations today (well, the Illuminations crowds) so we used our fastpass for Soarin, watched the fountain for awhile
then hit up Spaceship Earth as we left. Riley was fascinated by Spaceship Earth and I think we rode it 7 times total! After our ride through time, we headed out, grabbed a bus back to AKL, and watched Phineus and Ferb and Hannah Montana. We don't have cable at home, so Riley was thrilled!
Chelley00
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After a good night's sleep, we were up and ready to early. Check out my daughter thinking she's extremely cool for getting breakfast in bed!
Today's plan, Animal Kingdom. I don't know why we rented a car. My daughter was hooked on the bus! I think she just liked the corn hole games at the bus stop. This morning there were quite a few kids playing, and Riley joined right in
What's funny is that we waited longer for a bus to go to Animal Kingdom, from AKL, than we did to go anywhere else the rest of our trip!
So, my little adrenaline junkie had one thing in mind today. Everest.
Our last trip this child made me ride it so many time I was nauseous for days. And I knew she had one thing on her must do list.
The Front Row
Riley has at least 15 rides on Everest under her belt, and never has she ridden in the front row. (Big Thunder Mountain either...will we get to change that?) Now, Amanda from DHS taught her that you can ask to wait for the front row. I'm not a patient waiter, so I never ask.
We get to EE, grab fastpasses, and then get in the 5 minute wait standby line. As we get closer to the front, Riley asks me to ask the CM. Nuh uh. You want, you ask We get to the CM who is asking "how many", Riley opens her mouth and he says
"Happy Birthday, how about the front row"
Seriously thought my daughter was going to kiss him. Check out this unhappy face
Now, as a sympathy getter, can I tell you that just 2 days ago she made me ride RNR SEVEN times in one day, and already, at 9:30 in the morning, we will have had THREE back to back rides on Everest completed. I finally drug Riley away from EE and made her tackle some more of AK!
DS5 is a huge dinosaur fan. He only plays with dinosaurs, his clothes are 80% dinosaur related. His books are mostly prehistoric stuff. The fact that we were going to AK was the only thing that upset him about being left behind. Never mind the last trip he rode Dinosaur, came off and told the CM "I didn't like that ride" and then told us he was ready to go home, to our real home not the one we borrowed for the trip!
So, in honor of Owen, we headed to Dinoland to hit up all the rides there. Dinosaur first
This is the worst ride. I hate it. So loud, so jerky. Ugh. Next we rode Primeval Whirl. Our first time (it was closed last trip) I think Dinoland should be called Brain Injury land. Between those 2 rides and all the jerks and stops, I was wishing I could visit a chiropractor!!!
We stopped and played some of the carnival games....Riley won a seahorse, I won a turtle. We did a little pin shopping, and Riley snuck and bought me a Minnie's "World's Best Mom" pin with her birthday money while I was looking at pins
I bought her a Minnie soccer player to replace what she had spent on me (don't tell her I had a motive!)
That part of the park done, we decided that my future vet needed to see some animals. Never mind she could look right outside her room at the resort, she was ready to do some treks, so we were off for animal searches!
Today's plan, Animal Kingdom. I don't know why we rented a car. My daughter was hooked on the bus! I think she just liked the corn hole games at the bus stop. This morning there were quite a few kids playing, and Riley joined right in
What's funny is that we waited longer for a bus to go to Animal Kingdom, from AKL, than we did to go anywhere else the rest of our trip!
So, my little adrenaline junkie had one thing in mind today. Everest.
Our last trip this child made me ride it so many time I was nauseous for days. And I knew she had one thing on her must do list.
The Front Row
Riley has at least 15 rides on Everest under her belt, and never has she ridden in the front row. (Big Thunder Mountain either...will we get to change that?) Now, Amanda from DHS taught her that you can ask to wait for the front row. I'm not a patient waiter, so I never ask.
We get to EE, grab fastpasses, and then get in the 5 minute wait standby line. As we get closer to the front, Riley asks me to ask the CM. Nuh uh. You want, you ask We get to the CM who is asking "how many", Riley opens her mouth and he says "Happy Birthday, how about the front row"
Seriously thought my daughter was going to kiss him. Check out this unhappy face
Now, as a sympathy getter, can I tell you that just 2 days ago she made me ride RNR SEVEN times in one day, and already, at 9:30 in the morning, we will have had THREE back to back rides on Everest completed. I finally drug Riley away from EE and made her tackle some more of AK!
DS5 is a huge dinosaur fan. He only plays with dinosaurs, his clothes are 80% dinosaur related. His books are mostly prehistoric stuff. The fact that we were going to AK was the only thing that upset him about being left behind. Never mind the last trip he rode Dinosaur, came off and told the CM "I didn't like that ride" and then told us he was ready to go home, to our real home not the one we borrowed for the trip!
So, in honor of Owen, we headed to Dinoland to hit up all the rides there. Dinosaur first
This is the worst ride. I hate it. So loud, so jerky. Ugh. Next we rode Primeval Whirl. Our first time (it was closed last trip) I think Dinoland should be called Brain Injury land. Between those 2 rides and all the jerks and stops, I was wishing I could visit a chiropractor!!!
We stopped and played some of the carnival games....Riley won a seahorse, I won a turtle. We did a little pin shopping, and Riley snuck and bought me a Minnie's "World's Best Mom" pin with her birthday money while I was looking at pins
I bought her a Minnie soccer player to replace what she had spent on me (don't tell her I had a motive!) That part of the park done, we decided that my future vet needed to see some animals. Never mind she could look right outside her room at the resort, she was ready to do some treks, so we were off for animal searches!
Chelley00
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We stopped for a quick bite to eat at Flame Tree BBQ. I wanted to order Picnic in the Park, but we didn't find the place in time. We had one more AK day scheduled, so I decided we'd to the picnic then.
If you sit behind Flame Tree, you get such a great view of EE
The first trek we hit was Maharajah. My kids love dragging me through there, because it has bats. When I was in high school, I came in our front door, and a bat flew at me, and got stuck in my hair. I may or may not have a little bat phobia, so they always make me go through here.
We made our way around the rest of the trek, stopping off to watch the tigers sleep
Riley decided she was ready to hit the safari ride, so we started to make our way that way. On the way we found a couple of women in a gazebo looking building making fish and birds from leaves
I stopped and pointed something out to Riley, and she was so amazed she didn't move for 5 mintues. We've never seen Devine, but caught the first glance of her coming out. Oh, to be that graceful!
Love these guys! They just make AKL so festive
If you sit behind Flame Tree, you get such a great view of EE
The first trek we hit was Maharajah. My kids love dragging me through there, because it has bats. When I was in high school, I came in our front door, and a bat flew at me, and got stuck in my hair. I may or may not have a little bat phobia, so they always make me go through here.
We made our way around the rest of the trek, stopping off to watch the tigers sleep
Riley decided she was ready to hit the safari ride, so we started to make our way that way. On the way we found a couple of women in a gazebo looking building making fish and birds from leaves
I stopped and pointed something out to Riley, and she was so amazed she didn't move for 5 mintues. We've never seen Devine, but caught the first glance of her coming out. Oh, to be that graceful!
Love these guys! They just make AKL so festive
Chelley00
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We got a little sidetracked, and passed the safari in favor of the Pangani trail. We've never walked this one, or went to Rafiki's Planet Watch, so we switched up our touring plan. AK was not busy at all, and the safari ride was only a 5 minute wait, so I thought we'd be okay waiting until later.
My little Kim Possible groupie was uber happy to see actual real live naked mole rats!
We got to the gorilla exhibit right as they were going for feedings, but we did see this one walk by
We boarded the train for Planet Watch etc. Somehow we've missed this in all our trips to AK. I think Riley would have been most happy to stay there all day long.
Soon after we left the train, we stopped to do an animal habitat activity, then walked back to Conservation Station. Riley was in love! She had to get her picture taken with all the cardboard animal cutouts
got to pet a lizard
Met Pocohontas (first time)
and Jimminy (first time)
We went outside to Affection Section and watched the bird show and petted all the farm animals.
I honestly didnt think I would ever get her to leave. We met a lady with her 19 year old daughter who was going to vet school, and she and Riley talked about their love for animals, while the mom told me it was okay for Riley not to be girly and that being so obssessed with animals could be a good thing.
I don't even know how long we were there, but I didn't want to miss the parade and we had other things on our list to do that day, so I did what any good mom would do to move her child along.
I bribed her with ice cream
My little Kim Possible groupie was uber happy to see actual real live naked mole rats!
We got to the gorilla exhibit right as they were going for feedings, but we did see this one walk by
We boarded the train for Planet Watch etc. Somehow we've missed this in all our trips to AK. I think Riley would have been most happy to stay there all day long.
Soon after we left the train, we stopped to do an animal habitat activity, then walked back to Conservation Station. Riley was in love! She had to get her picture taken with all the cardboard animal cutouts
got to pet a lizard
Met Pocohontas (first time)
and Jimminy (first time)
We went outside to Affection Section and watched the bird show and petted all the farm animals.
I honestly didnt think I would ever get her to leave. We met a lady with her 19 year old daughter who was going to vet school, and she and Riley talked about their love for animals, while the mom told me it was okay for Riley not to be girly and that being so obssessed with animals could be a good thing.
I don't even know how long we were there, but I didn't want to miss the parade and we had other things on our list to do that day, so I did what any good mom would do to move her child along.
I bribed her with ice cream
Chelley00
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A quick train ride back, we headed towards Kilimanjaro and walked right on. Oh how I love to be able to visit during non-busy seasons
hippos
elephants
After the safari, we had plenty of time to kill before the parade, so I let Riley pick, and she decided on EE. Again. (I said Lion King or Nemo, she said EE) On the way we stopped to do an animal activity, and the poor CM knew all about the things she was supposed to teach, but if anyone asked her a question, she got all flustered. One kid asked if she knew anything at all!
After EE, we decided to scope out a parade spot in the shade, then snack on our carrots and grapes leftover from lunch. On our way, we noticed the Flights of Wonder show starting. Another first for us, we headed in. Riley loved it so much she asked to put it on our list for a redo on our next AK day
We found a great spot for the parade and waited, munching on carrots and talking with the CMs. One CM told us this was the first weekend for the Christmas parade at AKL, so that was exciting to be able to see it.
Mickey stuck his hand right in his face
After the parade, we had some time to kill before our dinner reservations (a place I knew Riley would FREAK over) We wanted to ride Kali, but the thought of sitting through dinner soaking wet was not all that appealing (I realized later I had packed our ponchos, so we should have gone!) Riley decided to go, where else, but EE
A couple of rides on that, in the front row again because everyone was leaving the park and there was NO wait. We headed out of the park, and towards dinner at:
hippos
elephants
After the safari, we had plenty of time to kill before the parade, so I let Riley pick, and she decided on EE. Again. (I said Lion King or Nemo, she said EE) On the way we stopped to do an animal activity, and the poor CM knew all about the things she was supposed to teach, but if anyone asked her a question, she got all flustered. One kid asked if she knew anything at all!
After EE, we decided to scope out a parade spot in the shade, then snack on our carrots and grapes leftover from lunch. On our way, we noticed the Flights of Wonder show starting. Another first for us, we headed in. Riley loved it so much she asked to put it on our list for a redo on our next AK day
We found a great spot for the parade and waited, munching on carrots and talking with the CMs. One CM told us this was the first weekend for the Christmas parade at AKL, so that was exciting to be able to see it.
Mickey stuck his hand right in his face
After the parade, we had some time to kill before our dinner reservations (a place I knew Riley would FREAK over) We wanted to ride Kali, but the thought of sitting through dinner soaking wet was not all that appealing (I realized later I had packed our ponchos, so we should have gone!) Riley decided to go, where else, but EE
A couple of rides on that, in the front row again because everyone was leaving the park and there was NO wait. We headed out of the park, and towards dinner at:
Met Pocohontas (first time)
and Jimminy (first time)
That's one of the fun things about going back to Conservation Station - character greetings with little to no wait.
Looks like you girls had such a fun time. She's a brave one to love Everest so much!
Don't you love the Jingle Jungle Parade? So much fun Christmas detail!
Loving your trip report! Last summer I toured DC with my younger ds while the older one attended a conference. It was so wonderful and relaxing to just do what he wanted to do rather than figure out the 'group' needs constantly. I would love to do a Disney trip separately with each of my kids!
LOVEMY3KIDDOS
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You guys got so much done in that AK day!!! You know...I think that the characters up at Rafiki's are a bit of a hidden secret. We found them on our last trip, but a lot of people seem to not know about them...making them rare characters!!
thechesters420
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I love your trip report!! Its so funny
StefaniLyn
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Wow! You have been one busy lady! So many wonderful updates! I love all of the photos! R looks like she's having a blast! Do you ever let her borrow the camera so you have evidence that you were actually on this trip too?
You have inspired me to get back to my own TRing. I've been lazy about it lately!
You have inspired me to get back to my own TRing. I've been lazy about it lately!
Chelley00
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She will ride anything and everything we throw at her. Last summer we did a quick trip to an amusement park for 2 days and she rode things that I wouldn't!
You should absolutely take your daughter. We had SO much fun I can't tell you how great it was, and she still talks about it all the time.
Thank you. I've read so many dining reviews and they were so helpful, I thought I'd try my hand at it this time.
DS5 has already decided he wants to go to Disney with Mom for his 8th birthday
We did! And we still had one more AK day planned. We missed Nemo show, Festival of Lion King and Kali, so we had some things to mark off our list.
Oh, thank you!
That's why we have photopass pictures!
Well, we've been having some fun at our house lately! Last Saturday night we were getting ready to leave for church, and Riley threw up. And proceeded to throw up every 10 minutes for 8 hours. Wednesday night I felt a little icky, but not as bad as she was. I thought we had it kicked, until Sunday, when DS5 threw up all over the indoor putt putt place (right in front of DS14's girlfriend!) He was sick from 4pm until 1am. Today DH sent me a text message that he was throwing up. He's been sick for 7 hours.
The big problem is that DS14 is scheduled for an endoscopy on Thursday morning. We've waiting for it since December. If he gets the flu (or if I didn't have it and get it now) we have to reschedule his endoscopy, and it could take another 2-3 months. Please pray, send good thoughts, whatever, that we stay healthy. Even if I'm sick and he's not, we still have to reschedule as DH can't take him as he's not a legal guardian, and my ex is in Mexico on business, so he couldn't do it either.
This is how I feel right now
But, since I'm hanging out on the couch tonight so I don't have to listen to DH (ick) I've got time for another update.
Let it be known that I slept on the loveseat all night Sunday night with Owen on the couch, then I worked Monday. I should be earning some serious Mom-of-the-Year points!!!
Chelley00
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So, after our full AK day, we headed to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. Now, I had way many other places I wanted to eat (Boma being one) I knew this was the place for Riley. She's such an animal fan that I knew being surrounded by all the animatronic animals would be her thing.
And I was right
If you read our dining review, it was so so as far as food went. But, Riley insisted on calling home to tell them all about it, so it was good choice for her. After dinner we did some shopping because you know she had to buy a stuffed animal to bring home. Her entire top bunk is covered in stuffed animals, and that doesn't include the 3 trash bags full in the garage!
Something we've never seen. Animal Kingdom at night
We went to the bus stop and a CM asked where we were going, put us on a bus and told Riley to enjoy her personal princess coach and we got to ride back to AKL, all by ourself.
When we got back to our room, our mousekeeper had hung Riley's unicorn from our lamp
Seeing how my children are all about bargaining, I told Riley if she did 30 minutes of homework without complaining, I'd take her swimming. She was all for it, and did 35 minutes just for good measure!!
Afterwards, we headed to the pool. Way too chilly for me, but she had a great time and pretty much had the pool to herself
On the way back to our room, we ran across the sign for the night vision goggles, and got to watch the antelope and elands in the dark. That was way cool.
I finally drug Riley away from the animals to go back to our room, take a shower and get to bed. We had an early morning the next day!
And I was right
If you read our dining review, it was so so as far as food went. But, Riley insisted on calling home to tell them all about it, so it was good choice for her. After dinner we did some shopping because you know she had to buy a stuffed animal to bring home. Her entire top bunk is covered in stuffed animals, and that doesn't include the 3 trash bags full in the garage!
Something we've never seen. Animal Kingdom at night
We went to the bus stop and a CM asked where we were going, put us on a bus and told Riley to enjoy her personal princess coach and we got to ride back to AKL, all by ourself.
When we got back to our room, our mousekeeper had hung Riley's unicorn from our lamp
Seeing how my children are all about bargaining, I told Riley if she did 30 minutes of homework without complaining, I'd take her swimming. She was all for it, and did 35 minutes just for good measure!!
Afterwards, we headed to the pool. Way too chilly for me, but she had a great time and pretty much had the pool to herself
On the way back to our room, we ran across the sign for the night vision goggles, and got to watch the antelope and elands in the dark. That was way cool.
I finally drug Riley away from the animals to go back to our room, take a shower and get to bed. We had an early morning the next day!
Chelley00
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Today we had our first experience with the Stitch/Mickey wake up call. Even on speaker phone it was really quiet and we could barely hear it.
We had an early morning breakfast at Epcot at
We got up at 6am, to get to the rental car by 7am and be at the restaurant by 8:05am. We don't even get up at 6am during the week!!!
It's so nice to be in the parks before opening with just a few other people
We didn't have to wait at all after checking in, and were soon led to meet Belle. She actually came out of her little alcove to get the kids by the hand and lead them in for their picture. I thought that was a nice touch.
The late nights/early mornings were starting to get to us, or maybe it was all the food, but Riley and I neither one were feeling 100% today. We totally skipped the cold food buffet and just waited on the skillet.
Nothing like a cupcake at 8:30 in the morning
Our 4 other princesses were:
Cinderella
Aurora
Snow White
And, Riley was very excited to meet Ariel in her ballgown
Since we were close to the door, we got to see the princesses pretty quickly and we were out in the park before opening
We got to the backside of the rope before rope drop, and struck up a conversation with a CM, who told Riley he would take her to Soarin for her birthday. True to his word, he led us through the park in FRONT of the rope, through entrance to watch the CMs from Sunshine Seasons waving, and then right to the front row on Soarin! We've never scored the front row on Soarin before. There's such a difference not being able to see feet!!
We went to Circle of Life next (something new to us) and met a lovely couple celebrating their anniversary. They gave Riley a fortune telling paper fish which I thought was really nice.
Riley was clamoring to ride Figment since we were so close,
and after that we hit the side of Innoventions we hadn't played in our last Epcot day.
I had to drag Riley away from the video games
Riley decided next on her list has to be Mission Space
On the way we stopped to watch the fountain. I could sit here for hours
Okay, so here is my mommy moment of shame. Please remember at this point I have already ridden RNR 7 times and Everest who knows how many times. I'm not a fan of not being in control and being in a closed space. I know, I'm a weenie.
I chickened out and made my daughter ride Mission Space alone.
How humiliating to admit it, but I just couldn't. I tried. I even got in the thing and fastened my bar down, but that was it. The poor teenager running the ride let me out, and the nice young couple in the ride with Riley promised they'd look out for her. They let me sit right outside the exit door and wait. Riley called me a chicken, then asked to play the games in the waiting area, telling me it wasn't a bad ride and I should try it.
This from someone who thought RNR was a breeze at age 6.
We rode Ellen's Universe of Energy next. Our very first ride on it. We almost skipped it since it said it was a 45 minute ride. Really? However the CM told us that they were boarding right then so it wouldn't be that long. It was nice to sit down, but that's a boring ride. DS5 would love it with all the dinosaurs.
We took a quick ride on Test Track and decided to call it a day. (well, an afternoon) We had knocked out quite a bit, and we were tired and feeling icky. I told Riley I would be more than happy to take her swimming and I would read my book by the pool, but insisted we take a nap before coming back to Epcot for dinner. I hadn't even gotten the word "pool" out of my mouth and she was walking towards the exit
We decided to leave the rental car in the front row parking space we had snagged early that morning, take the bus back to AKL, then bus back for dinner and Illuminations, and drive the car back afterwards.
We had an early morning breakfast at Epcot at
We got up at 6am, to get to the rental car by 7am and be at the restaurant by 8:05am. We don't even get up at 6am during the week!!!
It's so nice to be in the parks before opening with just a few other people
We didn't have to wait at all after checking in, and were soon led to meet Belle. She actually came out of her little alcove to get the kids by the hand and lead them in for their picture. I thought that was a nice touch.
The late nights/early mornings were starting to get to us, or maybe it was all the food, but Riley and I neither one were feeling 100% today. We totally skipped the cold food buffet and just waited on the skillet.
Nothing like a cupcake at 8:30 in the morning
Our 4 other princesses were:
Cinderella
Aurora
Snow White
And, Riley was very excited to meet Ariel in her ballgown
Since we were close to the door, we got to see the princesses pretty quickly and we were out in the park before opening
We got to the backside of the rope before rope drop, and struck up a conversation with a CM, who told Riley he would take her to Soarin for her birthday. True to his word, he led us through the park in FRONT of the rope, through entrance to watch the CMs from Sunshine Seasons waving, and then right to the front row on Soarin! We've never scored the front row on Soarin before. There's such a difference not being able to see feet!!
We went to Circle of Life next (something new to us) and met a lovely couple celebrating their anniversary. They gave Riley a fortune telling paper fish which I thought was really nice.
Riley was clamoring to ride Figment since we were so close,
and after that we hit the side of Innoventions we hadn't played in our last Epcot day.
I had to drag Riley away from the video games
Riley decided next on her list has to be Mission Space
On the way we stopped to watch the fountain. I could sit here for hours
Okay, so here is my mommy moment of shame. Please remember at this point I have already ridden RNR 7 times and Everest who knows how many times. I'm not a fan of not being in control and being in a closed space. I know, I'm a weenie.
I chickened out and made my daughter ride Mission Space alone.
How humiliating to admit it, but I just couldn't. I tried. I even got in the thing and fastened my bar down, but that was it. The poor teenager running the ride let me out, and the nice young couple in the ride with Riley promised they'd look out for her. They let me sit right outside the exit door and wait. Riley called me a chicken, then asked to play the games in the waiting area, telling me it wasn't a bad ride and I should try it.
This from someone who thought RNR was a breeze at age 6.
We rode Ellen's Universe of Energy next. Our very first ride on it. We almost skipped it since it said it was a 45 minute ride. Really? However the CM told us that they were boarding right then so it wouldn't be that long. It was nice to sit down, but that's a boring ride. DS5 would love it with all the dinosaurs.
We took a quick ride on Test Track and decided to call it a day. (well, an afternoon) We had knocked out quite a bit, and we were tired and feeling icky. I told Riley I would be more than happy to take her swimming and I would read my book by the pool, but insisted we take a nap before coming back to Epcot for dinner. I hadn't even gotten the word "pool" out of my mouth and she was walking towards the exit
We decided to leave the rental car in the front row parking space we had snagged early that morning, take the bus back to AKL, then bus back for dinner and Illuminations, and drive the car back afterwards.
LOVEMY3KIDDOS
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 31, 2009
- Messages
- 5,662
Great updates!! Hope your family feels better and your son doesn't get sick so he can have his test done! I had a bad reaction to Mission Space...but didn't get out in time! I just updated about it in my TR!! LOL
Another great update!
There must be a bad stomach virus going around. My younger ds was up vomiting all of Sunday night and could not even lift his head on Monday. He's much better today after running a high fever on Monday night. If he feels okay, he might go to school tomorrow. Hope your ds14 stays healthy and everyone else recovers soon!
There must be a bad stomach virus going around. My younger ds was up vomiting all of Sunday night and could not even lift his head on Monday. He's much better today after running a high fever on Monday night. If he feels okay, he might go to school tomorrow. Hope your ds14 stays healthy and everyone else recovers soon!
Chelley00
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2005
- Messages
- 5,693
Honestly, was it really bad??
I think so. Tons of kids at school are out sick, and a lot of my friends have sick kids.
Well, DH seems to be doing better. Knock on wood, DS and I seem to be holding out. If we can make it just one more day, we can get his endoscopy out of the way. Then I can be sick all weekend. They are calling for snow here and I don't want to have to go anywhere anyhow
Chelley00
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2005
- Messages
- 5,693
We walked right on to a bus and got back to AKL very quickly.
You have to love walking in to see a sign like this
Mousekeeping had been busy in our room again
We changed and headed down to the pool. While we were in the elevator, a CM asked us if we were going down to watch the shuttle launch. I had completely forgotten! It was supposed to be on our arrival day, but got delayed due to weather. We had time to kill, so I settled in with my book and Riley headed to swim
I heard one of our pool neighbors tell his wife that he had just checked the NASA website and the shuttle was cleared for launch, and then he kept watch on the countdowns. He finally told everyone around us that it was lifting off in 30 seconds. I went over to Riley in the pool and told her where I was going and told her to come with me. She said she wanted to swim, so I pointed to the overlook near the pool and told her I was going over there to take pictures and that I wanted her to stay right where she was in front of our seat and I would be back in one minute.
I went over, snapped a few pictures of the launch
I went back the pool, only Riley wasn't there! Holy panic!
I walked all the way around the pool and finally found her sobbing to a lifeguard that I was lost! I told her I had pointed to where I was going and told her to stay put. She, not having her glasses on, thought I was pointing to the exit because I wanted her to get out and go with me. Oy. She was a mess after that, and I knew it was time for a nap. However, she got completely distracted by how close these guys were to our balcony
You have to love walking in to see a sign like this
Mousekeeping had been busy in our room again
We changed and headed down to the pool. While we were in the elevator, a CM asked us if we were going down to watch the shuttle launch. I had completely forgotten! It was supposed to be on our arrival day, but got delayed due to weather. We had time to kill, so I settled in with my book and Riley headed to swim
I heard one of our pool neighbors tell his wife that he had just checked the NASA website and the shuttle was cleared for launch, and then he kept watch on the countdowns. He finally told everyone around us that it was lifting off in 30 seconds. I went over to Riley in the pool and told her where I was going and told her to come with me. She said she wanted to swim, so I pointed to the overlook near the pool and told her I was going over there to take pictures and that I wanted her to stay right where she was in front of our seat and I would be back in one minute.
I went over, snapped a few pictures of the launch
I went back the pool, only Riley wasn't there! Holy panic!
I walked all the way around the pool and finally found her sobbing to a lifeguard that I was lost! I told her I had pointed to where I was going and told her to stay put. She, not having her glasses on, thought I was pointing to the exit because I wanted her to get out and go with me. Oy. She was a mess after that, and I knew it was time for a nap. However, she got completely distracted by how close these guys were to our balcony
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