No cats to herd this time! It's just the two of us!UPDATED 11/24-DIS Meet & Departure

[mom2mek]

Day 2 - May 14, 2009

Part 2 - Flowers and Gardens and Beverly, oh my....

When I last left off, we had started our morning with a bit of a shoe catastrophe, arrived at Epcot a little behind “schedule”, taken lots of pictures, obtained FPs for Soarin, and rode LWTL. Now we were off for a ride with my favorite fish!

We walked right into the queue and wound our way around, finally making our one and only stop right at the moving walkway. Just as we were getting there, a large group of teenagers came barreling up behind us, obnoxiously talking loudly and carrying on. It had been so peaceful and quiet, but alas…that was no more! I was hoping that at least during the ride, they wouldn’t be too obnoxious – I was really looking forward to actually HEARING the ride since I am usually quietly talking or pointing things out to one or more children that are riding with me.

No worries, once we were in our clamshell, we really didn’t hear if they were carrying on like they had been for those moments in the line. I know my day is coming for having teenagers, but geez….I hope mine are not quite so insensitive or unaware of the fact that most people don’t want to hear them romancing all over eachother! Loudly! LOL!

As we exited our clamshell, we took our time looking around The Seas. Shawn took many pictures of the fish, manatees, eels, etc….before we left. Unfortunately, we decided to not tour the upstairs this time, or stop in to see Crush….blasphemy, I know!

Shawn spent so much time here taking pictures of the different fish….I thought I should take a picture of him....taking pictures of the fish! He WAS becoming part of the display at this point!

Shawn left to go use the restroom and I thought I would try taking some pictures of The Seas myself while he was gone….turns out he had his camera on some kind of setting for taking the fish pictures, and all of mine came out blurry….

As we were exiting, I told Shawn I would take the tickets and go over to get FPs for Test Track since his feet were not 100%. He could take his time walking, enjoying the sights, and we would meet back up at the fountains in a few minutes. “Sounds good”, he said!

Shawn took more pictures of these reddish/pink flowers that I absolutely loved….so rich and vibrant in color….

Same picture as above, different focal point….so pretty at the F&G Festival…

So many gorgeous flowers to look at….

Off I walked to the other side to grab FPs for Test Track.

As I arrived, the standby time was 40 minutes, so I grabbed us some fastpasses for later and went on my happy way.

(This was taken a little bit after 11:00 on a Thursday during F&G for anyone who might be wondering about wait times and such...)

I decided to cut up through the butterfly garden, but I didn’t actually go inside. I figured we could do that together later. I did snap a few pictures though on my way over to meet up with Shawn.

Shawn was happily snapping away at the fountain….continued in next post….


Sara

 

[crocko]

Awesome...still lovin' the pics.


Do you know what setting he was using for the fish?

 

[mom2mek]

Day 2 - May 14, 2009

Part 2.A - Flowers and Gardens and Beverly, oh my....


....continuing....

(These were gorgeous…love the fountains in the background)

Loved the yellow ones too....

We stood and got sprinkled by the fountains for a little bit, and then I spotted a place I had never been before….off to the right….called Club Cool….

hmmmm.....

Oh, honey.....


But Shawn spotted more flowers….

(Love this perspective)

(Love the monorail way back in the background….)

I was oh-so-casually mentioning to him that they had free samples of different sodas from all over the world in this place called Club Cool and I’ve always wanted to try some…..he was game…..

We tried a few different ones….actually really liking quite a few….but I’m so mean, I made him try Beverly first and told him I heard it was actually pretty good. He read the description, and sort of knew I was joking, but he indulged me and gave it a swig….

(Then he said I was really mean…but what can I say….I had to do it, right?)

Love how the description of it says the bitterness of it is to help stimulate the appetite before dinner....yeah, Shawn said it would definitely make you want to eat something and FAST to get that awful taste out of your mouth! LOL!

And just for the record, I tasted it too….wow….nasty just doesn’t even describe it. We both agreed that it will be great to try it out on the kids next time!

Out the doors of Club Cool and we hung a left and went straight over to the lovely sand display….quite impressive….

Shawn loves to build sand castles, so he was very interested in checking all of it out and getting ideas….

Shawn’s feet, with his new flip flops, were not doing too great at this point, so we decided to find the nearest first aid center and fix him up with some moleskin. Having never needed the first aid station before on any of our trips to the World, we were clueless as to where it was. I asked the photopass photographer who was standing in front of the Beauty and the Beast topiaries (with a broken camera no less….everyone was asking him to take their family picture and he had to turn everyone away….you’d think maybe he would just take the camera off and put it over in the little giftshop he was standing in, so people wouldn’t keep asking him….)

While I was waiting to ask him, Shawn took some more pictures….

(Chip’s got some big old lips, huh?)

(Shawn is very good at waiting for people to get out of his shots, so I’m not sure why he didn’t wait for these 2 guys to get out of his Lumiere close-up, but oh well….)

Looks like he is waiting to catch Spaceship Earth:

We had our directions to the first aid station and headed on over across the bridge to try and find it…..we walked….and we walked….(Shawn said it was a good thing it wasn’t a REAL emergency like a heart attack, because he would be dead by now as far as you have to walk to get over there….LOL)

Gorgeous….

It actually started to drizzle a little bit…..but we were not deterred……

Thought this bird sitting in the planter was kinda cute…

Would we ever find the First Aid Station…..How are Shawn’s feet doing? (Hope it’s not too long before I can update again….)

Sara

 

[luvngoofy]

WOW those are beautiful pictures!

I feel so bad for Shawn. I'm sorry his feet were hurting. And he just continues taking his beautiful photos!

I love having someone new to try out the Beverly. I always have the camera ready for that photo!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Two posts in one day! I love your pictures from the festival. That is definitely on my list to do sometime. It looks amazing.

I got Jeremy and Tom to try the Beverly in November. Needless to say, neither were too happy with me. Jeremy says he is going to trick my mom on our Sept trip.

Can't wait for the next update!

Erika

 

[MeMom]

Nice pictures. Disney World has such beautiful flowers. I love going during the Flower and Garden Festival.

A couple of years ago, I took some of my best flower shots from our summer trip and put them into a collage picture frame. It brings me Disney happiness in kind of a different way whenever I look at it.

 

[DisneyJo]

Love the PP photos, especially with your furry friend, my eldest was a bit furry too

Beautiful flower photos, the close up shots especially and how funny you got Shawn at Club Cool

 

[meeko_33785]

Just found your report. I'm enjoying all the photos and everything. The Tree of Life photos are great! I didn't know there was a trail that took you that close to the Tree. I just might check that out next time.

 

[KathyRN137]

Shawn spent so much time here taking pictures of the different fish….I thought I should take a picture of him....taking pictures of the fish! He WAS becoming part of the display at this point!

So many gorgeous flowers to look at….

(These were gorgeous…love the fountains in the background)

Loved the yellow ones too....

But Shawn spotted more flowers….

(Love the monorail way back in the background….)



Love how the description of it says the bitterness of it is to help stimulate the appetite before dinner....yeah, Shawn said it would definitely make you want to eat something and FAST to get that awful taste out of your mouth! LOL!

I sometimes wonder who the "Beverly" was named after... she must've been a baaad girl!

It's been said before, but I have to add that I am really enjoying the photography... it must've been so nice to have the time to take all the pix you wanted without the kids pulling on your sleeves!

Hope Shawn's agony of de feet will be over soon!


Kathy

 

[mrsksomeday]

So sorry about Shawn's feet, I hope the first aid station could help him out.

Those pictures are breathtaking, amazing!! They were wonderful.

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Thanks Nicole! You should definitely try for F&G! How'd the househunting go? When are you officially going to be FL residents?

It was quite successful actually! We have put an offer in on a house and are deep in negotiations at this point! Get this... we will be able to ride our bikes to the beach!

We are moving at the end of July.

Gerber daisies are my favorite!

 

[mom2mek]

WOW those are beautiful pictures!

I feel so bad for Shawn. I'm sorry his feet were hurting. And he just continues taking his beautiful photos!

I love having someone new to try out the Beverly. I always have the camera ready for that photo!

Thanks - I will pass the word on to Shawn that his pictures are being enjoyed!

He was not too pleased with the Beverly reaction pic...

Two posts in one day! I love your pictures from the festival. That is definitely on my list to do sometime. It looks amazing.

I got Jeremy and Tom to try the Beverly in November. Needless to say, neither were too happy with me. Jeremy says he is going to trick my mom on our Sept trip.

Can't wait for the next update!

Erika

Now that I got Shawn to try it, he can't wait to get Michael to try it! We're so bad....

Nice pictures. Disney World has such beautiful flowers. I love going during the Flower and Garden Festival.

A couple of years ago, I took some of my best flower shots from our summer trip and put them into a collage picture frame. It brings me Disney happiness in kind of a different way whenever I look at it.

That's a great idea....I might have to do that....such a beautiful trip (except for the feet....)

Love the PP photos, especially with your furry friend, my eldest was a bit furry too

Beautiful flower photos, the close up shots especially and how funny you got Shawn at Club Cool

Thanks Jo! I love all of the close-up flower shots too! So pretty!

Just found your report. I'm enjoying all the photos and everything. The Tree of Life photos are great! I didn't know there was a trail that took you that close to the Tree. I just might check that out next time.

Thanks for reading...I really appreciate it! The trails around the tree are great. There is one right across from Pizzafari and then the one we went on was a little closer towards Africa. Definitely check them out! Truly beautiful!

I sometimes wonder who the "Beverly" was named after... she must've been a baaad girl!

It's been said before, but I have to add that I am really enjoying the photography... it must've been so nice to have the time to take all the pix you wanted without the kids pulling on your sleeves!

Hope Shawn's agony of de feet will be over soon!


Kathy

Thanks Kathy! It's funny, we have a Beverly in our office...she is the payroll "nazi"! Maybe it was named after her....

Unfortunately the agony of de feet continues....

So sorry about Shawn's feet, I hope the first aid station could help him out.

Those pictures are breathtaking, amazing!! They were wonderful.

Thanks Tracy! First Aid Station is our first stop around the "world" LOL!

It was quite successful actually! We have put an offer in on a house and are deep in negotiations at this point! Get this... we will be able to ride our bikes to the beach!

We are moving at the end of July.



Gerber daisies are my favorite!

That's great news Nicole! It sounds like a wonderful location....I'm a big fan of the beach (not getting in the ocean or anything....but I LOVE the beach)

Wow - end of July??? That's soon! Fingers crossed for your negotiations!!

Sara

 

[kaysmommie]

Hi Sara,
I read your updates last night but didn't comment. Your Epcot F&G pictures are just awesome! I don't even remember seeing those sand castles. Probably just ran past then with our poncho's on. Funny that you still rode nemo even without the kids there . When Tom and talked about going for a weekend just the two of us. I couldn't believe how much shorter the must do list is. But some things we still have to ride even without the kids . Hoping Shawn finds the first aid. I'm thinking it's in that big building on the left before you hot WS, I can't remember the name right now .

 

[mom2mek]

Hi Sara,
I read your updates last night but didn't comment. Your Epcot F&G pictures are just awesome! I don't even remember seeing those sand castles. Probably just ran past then with our poncho's on. Funny that you still rode nemo even without the kids there . When Tom and talked about going for a weekend just the two of us. I couldn't believe how much shorter the must do list is. But some things we still have to ride even without the kids . Hoping Shawn finds the first aid. I'm thinking it's in that big building on the left before you hot WS, I can't remember the name right now .

Thanks Nichole! There were some rides that I just didn't want to skip if at all possible (we didn't get to do all of them, but we had a nice mixture of riding and exploring...)

You got it...First Aid is in the Odyssey Center...update coming right up...

Sara

 

[kaysmommie]

Thanks Nichole! There were some rides that I just didn't want to skip if at all possible (we didn't get to do all of them, but we had a nice mixture of riding and exploring...)

You got it...First Aid is in the Odyssey Center...update coming right up...

Sara

Yes that's the name the Odyssey center. the boys had to use the restroom there. I'm still trying to decide if we should go Disney for our Anniversary weekend. Did you feel really guilty without the kids? Thomas would be heartbroken as he is ready to go back and live there. Kaylee really wants to see the Christmas decor. What do you think?

 

[mom2mek]

Day 2 – May 14, 2009
Part 3 - ¡Buenos días! We hobble off to Mexico….

Where was I.....

So we were headed over the long bridge on the hunt for the First Aid Station to take care of the new blisters that were forming on the tops of Shawn's feet where his new flip flops were rubbing. Lovely.

The bridge we were walking across kind of goes towards Test Track towards what they call the "Odyssey Center". Now, I'm sure on a normal (non foot-hurting) day this bridge wouldn't seem so long, but dang....we felt like we were walking forever. As we finally reached the center, Shawn wasn't "feeling the love" so to speak!

We entered the dimly lit, cool, and very quiet First Aid Station and approached the desk to inform the nurse that he was in need of some serious moleskin, and she whipped out her large palette of differing sizes of moleskin. Shawn pretty much picked out the biggest size moleskin that she had, and got a few of those babies. We went and took a seat to fix him up. While we were sitting there, a mother came running in with her little girl who had been stung by a bee while hanging out in the butterfly garden. She wasn't crying, but you could tell she had been. Her mom was so funny, being thoughtful and caring, but also pointing out that she shouldn't try to "catch" the bees and then try to give the bee a "hug" LOL! Yeah, not a good idea!!!

Shawn pretty much had the tops of his feet completely covered in moleskin, so we decided to head out!

Our original plan was to head counter-clockwise around the World Showcase. No reason other than the fact that I wanted to ensure I got at least a couple of GGLCS on this trip, and France was closer if we went to the right. HOWEVER, since we had just taken the long journey over to the First Aid Station, which just so happens to spit you out right next to Mexico, and we were attempting to save Shawn's feet at that point, we decided that a trip to the lovely country of Mexico was just what the doctor ordered. That, and a margarita!!!

We turned to the left and headed straight for the pyramid in the sky! We decided that since we had a dinner ADR in Japan for later that day, that we would just grab snacks at a few different places as we made our way around the World! First stop....Cantina De San Angel.

If any of you have been around since the first report I wrote (the "Thanksgiving with 16" trip), then you know we ate here and it was not pleasant for yours truly. The food was mediocre, and the birds were EVERYWHERE. So needless to say, I was hesitant to try again, but Shawn was hungry and the food did smell delicious as we approached. We both love Mexican food!!! So, I thought I should give it another chance.

I sent Shawn to get a table by the water, and I got in the non-existent line and ordered us a big old plate of nachos and two margaritas. Yes, it was still technically AM, (it was about 11:30 at this point) but the margaritas were indeed calling out to us already….

As I came around the corner to where Shawn was sitting, I didn't notice too many birds. Woo-hoo! I sat down and decided to take a picture of our first sampling of the day. Well, Shawn thought that was a great idea! LOL! I've always felt a little strange about taking food pictures, but Shawn was like "hey, that's a great way to remember what you ate!"

(Oh, how I can almost taste the salt off that glass….yum)

We gobbled down our nachos and guzzled the margaritas and only had visits from a couple of birds during our “snack”.

This one did come in for a little closer look….

We both commented on how beautiful the day was…..the breezes were especially nice and kept the temperature very comfortable. I believe it was headed towards 90 that day, but really, sitting there by the water, it felt very pleasant. I think Epcot’s design really lends itself to staying cool (or I guess I should say cooler, it IS Florida afterall)….you aren’t as closed in as AK and having the water right in the middle keeps the air flowing very nicely.

We saw a very cute turtle swimming (thought it was something else at first….)

Then the bird that had been hanging out there for a while came even a little closer….glad I was done with my food at this point….I was trying to stay calm...Ick...Birds....

I'm thinking that maybe the “bird action” gets worse later in the day possibly due to the crumbs and leftovers that people leave as the day goes on, but being there right after opening, the scraps weren't exactly plentiful yet since it was just a handful of us eating at that point. Either that or my mistake back in 2007, was not having the margarita with the meal! Who knows???? But from now on, I will try to hit the Mexican CS early in the day and always (repeat….ALWAYS….) have a margarita while doing so! They were fabulous and actually VERY strong. Either that or we just didn’t have a whole lot on our stomachs before drinking, since we just gobbled down a donut and/or piece of fruit in the room before we left that morning!

Shawn’s feet were feeling better already! Mexico City here we come….

So, at just after noon, we headed towards the pyramid. How crazy is this – Shawn has NEVER been in it before???? Well, technically, until the girls trip I took in December, I hadn’t either….

Up the steps and into the AC….soon we were standing on a Spanish-style balcony, overlooking a small village full of stores. I love the nightlife atmosphere of the Mexico pavilion….how fun!

We took our time looking around as it was not very crowded in there yet and I was on the hunt for the big sombreros that everyone gets their pictures taken with.

For some reason, I could not find the sombreros, but we did see this hat…..

Shawn was looking like a Mexican bandit, sort of like "El Guapo" from the movie, The Three Amigos…(FYI…did you know that the movie, The Three Amigos, was originally going to be called The Three Caballeros and Steve Martin was going to be teamed with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi? Funny, huh? I love that movie. SO hokey, but so funny!)

We took our time looking around at some of the other products and then made our way over to the Gran Fiesto Tour with The Three Caballeros.


We were given our own little boat. How cute. It was like a sweet, romantic, private boat ride through Mexico.

(See...no one behind us)

(this thing reminds me of the statue in Night at the Museum...)

...Continued in next post....

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Day 2 – May 14, 2009
Part 3.A - ! Buenos Dias! Still in Mexico….


It was funny to actually be able to pay attention to the story of the ride this time….we had such a quiet boat. We listened to Donald, Jose (the parrot) and Panchito (what is he – a rooster?) I finally figured out that they were going to reunite for a big concert but Donald (of course) gets lost and the other two are searching for him.

I love how Disney incorporates the fun of the three birds with the people and culture of Mexico. Only thing is, with kids and boats full of people, you usually don’t really notice any “story” (well, at least I usually don’t). It was nice to motor on down the river towards the grand fiesta celebration at the end with the “indoor” fireworks and really enjoy it. It’s really a cute ride.

(This is just not right….)


Love this shot….It sure does make this slow-moving, Mexican "It's A Small World" boat ride look a lot more exciting, huh?

As we exited our boat, we took our time leaving the pavilion,

We stopped at the glass shop and "oohed" and "aahhed" and slowly made our way back up to the “balcony” and into the lobby area where they have the folk art on display, “Animales Fantasticos”.

Wow – always a sight to see – I don’t know how they do it. True art that is so intricate and colorful. Really beautiful.

As we left the Mexican pavilion, we realized the only negative thing about it is upon leaving, when you emerge from the dark nightlife and out into the bright sun of a Florida afternoon,……yikes….blinded!!


Ahhhh….now we find the sombreros!

We also caught the first act of the group, The Mariachi Cobre! Gotta give it to them…pulling off the “skinny jeans” look in their traditional straight-leg mariachi pants! LOL!

At some point, a girl just walked right on up to them as they were playing and did a little "step-touch" dancing alongside. O...Kay..... Apparently, we weren’t the only ones hitting the margaritas early that day!


Here’s a little snippet of a video….




Speaking of margaritas…..it’s been a whopping ½ an hour….time for another drink….

With two margaritas under our belts, where do we head to next….

Sara

 

[ladybugmom]

WOW!! I go to Dallas for the weekend and come back to FOUR updates!! Impressive!! I'm all caught up! Ya'll got some GREAT pics in Epcot! I didn't see that sand display either when we were there. Your Photopass pics in AK were very good!! And we took the same route around the WS as you--hitting Mexico first! It was the first time I had been inside and taken the boat ride!! Can't wait to read more!

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

With two margaritas under our belts, where do we head to next….

I'm thinking it might be naptime.

 

[jillyb]

I'm thinking it might be naptime.

No kidding!

Great update Sara! The Mexican pavilion is pretty cool. I wanted to buy one or two of those gorgeous wooden animals...until I saw the price! Clay got our margaritas at that little stand too. It was a good thing we ate when we did or I would have been ready to for that nap! LOL That woman had definitely had one too many!