No zombies here, 13 years of trip reports!!!

[AirGoofy]

Sorry that the day wasn't as magical, we've all had them I think. (I can think of some off the top of my head). Epcot with the Food and Wine should lift your spirits. There are a few "beer-only" booths, you can enjoy, but sorry, no Yuengling I could have sworn La Maudite or La Fin Du Monde was in one of the booths, but a quick look-up says no, I'd heartily recommend either.

Really enjoying the updates, still sounds better then what I'm doing at home!

Thanks for the updates Norm.

Sorry your meal wasn't great. I've thought about Citrocos a few times but I always read mixed reviews.

Hurry on the Yuengling!

Enjoy Epcot tomorrow!

Thanks for the update. Hope you guys have a great day at Epcot.

Just now catching up. I truly hope your day at Epcot was better! Glad to know I am not the only one who values manners and respect. People who don't give up their seat to older/disabled just have no home training. Your family is gorgeous and you all seem to be enjoying yourselves so don't allow the stuff that goes wrong to interfere with all the magic that goes amazingly right. Keep on keepin on Commando style!!!

Been away for a while and just now caught up. Sorry to hear about Citricos. Haven't eaten there yet and still might give it a try. Don't let it damper your idea about V&A. Separate chefs and kitchens. Although V&A is also pretentious but it is supposed to be.

The kids look like they are having a good time. You better get the shotgun out for when they get older. Enjoy the rest of the stay.

Thanks everyone and sorry to be a downer. At Disney, how can it be be bad?

The first part of the day was just relaxing and fun. The problem is expectations. I'm one of those that never requests a specific DVC room. DW doesn't like the ground floor, but that is about it. So, if I expect my room to be a closet on the ground floor, and it's a 14th floor view over Bay Lake, well, then I am really happy. If I expect the park to be at capacity and it isn't, then I am really happy. But, if I expect the opposite - get where I am coming from.

Citricos was the last of the Disney signatures I had yet to try. I still have V&A and all the ones at Swan & Dolphin, but my expectations were to save the best for last. Now, it still may not have been my favorite, but I wouldn't have had it on the pedestal. With the TOTWL, I keep reading about their chance to save it. Again, my expectations were high that Disney was placing at much effort as I was. They probably can make more money renting it out for private events, and CR has a better set-up of getting a drink at Outer Rim and walking out on Terrace as opposed to designating one elevator and tying up staff all evening.

With that, on to Epcot. We had a blast yesterday, and you're about to see why.

 

[AirGoofy]

Day 5 at Epcot. We picked Wed at EPCOT for evening EMH, 3 hours worth. And, if that wasn't enough, we added a 8:00 AM ADR at Akershus for a 16 hour day. Now, that's commando style.

6:00 AM DW gets up and takes a shower. I walk over to CR for a venti cafe mocha (not Starbucks) as I can't function in AM without caffeine.

7:00 AM We have a monorail issue. We take the monorail from CR to TTC and are waiting for 7:30 AM monorail to Epcot. Staff walks over at 7:30 AM and changes sign to 8:00 and walks away. Sheesh.

The park is so much extra special when walking thru it when empty.



We arrive at Akershus 12 minutes late from our monorail snafu.



So, we use it to play a little. Nothing like a good sword fight to start the day.



Now, Akershus is not as special as the CRT, but it still is one of our must dos for princess pictures. My dds are still my princesses, so 6:00 AM vacation wake ups and sword fights are a necessity.

Aurora used to be my oldest dds favorite princess - for the blond hair - but no longer (favorite, she still has blond hair). I'm convinced my oldest dd was born talking and has never shut up. However, her first time seeing Aurora, she was speechless and could only shake her head yes or no. Priceless.



Cinderella.



Now, Ariel is oldest dd's favorite after spending a year on the swim team. She doesn't like to competitively swim, but she is an excellent swimmer now nonetheless.



Youngest dd always preferred Snow White. I think it is in one of the earlier Trip Reports, but we had seen all the Disney princess movies at that time with both. At 15 months, dd's first trip, she was scared of everyone and would get in picture, but only with parent. The following year, we went. She was acting the same with all the characters until we got to Princess pavilion, whe she sees the other princesses, but runs past them and cuts in line to hug Snow White. She has been hooked ever since.



Here was the standard food - eggs, hash browns, and bacon. BACON!!!

And, I do like their cold buffet - fruit, cheeses, croissant, lingonberry, cinnamon roll, and something new this year - chocolate Danish.

We had the main picture with Belle at the entrance, but i can never get the lighting to work with my cell phone - too dark or evil eyes. But, you can take your receipt to photopass and have them scan it to include. Also, you can send your pictures back to the room or front of the park (we do front of park) so you don't have to haul them all day. The gift shop next door takes care of this.



We left Akershus a little after 9 and started our marathon day. I had to include this picture. I have never seen anyone standing in cranberries, other than on TV. Just those little extra Disneytopia magic.

 

[AirGoofy]

After breakfast, we either go straight to Soarin (my favorite ride) or the character spot for pictures, as we still all look clean. You all feel free to vote on these, not that it necessarily will count, but one or more pose will be our Christmas card, with an added description. These were from my camera, but we also do Photopass family pictures and buy sets of Christmas cards from them. Last year, we used Rapunzel, and wished people a Very Hairy Merry Christmas. That is our annual thing as well.

On to the pictures.

Mickey.



Pluto. My youngest used to call him "my puppy" before she could speak very well.



Minnie.



Donald.



Goofy.



We figured this out at some point in the trips. Now, we have pictures with 4 or 5 princesses and 5 character pictures at it is 9:00 AM. As the day goes later, lines go longer, and we get sweatier, we won't have to wait for these pictures. Also, it beats having to wait in lines in the sun around Epcot.

 

[AirGoofy]

Onto Soarin, my favorite ride at WDW. We will ride it twice because it is DW's least favorite ride,, other than TOT, because she does not like heights. She bravely suffers through it. We grab a FP, ride it, and will return at noon with FP time enforcement. The orange smell lingers in the ride for most all of it. Not sure if it is a leak or time for a cleaning.

Then, we head over for Living with the Land, which has a 15 minute wait. This has always been one of my favorites. I should have worked in aquaculture. Then, it is upstairs for Circle of Life.

I can't help to say "propaganda". A few trips ago, we were at Norway and were getting ready to watch the movie. A young boy walks in and sits near us and asks his dad if they can watch the movie. He says no because it is propaganda. We bust out laughing, and every chance I get to use this word (around those who know the story), I do.

Then over to the Seas for Nemo and another 20 minute wait. Afterwards, Crush has too long a line so we check out the fish and they play over in the room. I take this picture every year, but it is the lighting - either too dark or evil eyes.



We go back to ride Soarin and then over to the Figment of the Imagination. How many times have I done this ride? But, at least they have cleaned up the skunk smell so you only get it when you hit the smell labs. Time to grab my first Mickey Ice Cream sandwich of the trip. We needed a water break and time to rest, so we had planned and were walking to Welcome Home Wednesday.

We stopped by Canada for a picture. Other than penguins, hockey, and glaciers, this was all I could find.



Oldest dd wants to go to Paris. She is my dancer, baker, swimmer (huh?) and is into all that artsy stuff.



I tell her this is all the Paris I can afford.

 

[AirGoofy]

Over to Welcome Home Wednesdaythrough the International Gateway at Epcot. WHW is a DVC thing where members meet once a week for a game show and free stuff(all those dues for the free stuff). They had changed the game show format from Jeopardy this year and it promised more audience involvement. The last one had four main volunteers and all the questions are about DVC. It is a soft sales pitch. You fill out a card for prize draws.



This year, they have games with children and multiple adults, so more people get to participate up front. The main difference was the previous format went to the audience to answer questions when one of the four was wrong. That was missing from the new format.

But, at the last game opportunity of the day, dds volunteer me.

There are two groups of 3. The first task is to balance 3 golf balls on top of each other, the second is to build a puzzle, and the third is to balance a cookie on your forehead and eat it. Which one do I get?



From the size of me, if it had been a cookie eating contest, I would have easily won. But, having to deprive myself of food is definitely not my strength. So, we lost all three events, but still had fun and won pins for participation.


And, when it is over, everyone present gets a hat. It is blue this year, and really cool.



This really was a nice way to take an hour break, sit and relax, and win some free stuff.

 

[AirGoofy]

Back into Epcot around 3:00 PM. I forgot the numbers, but thought it was cool to find a phone booth.



We are heading over to Mexico and Norway for some boat riding fun. I enjoy boats so much.

We stop on the way out as dds want to color a Perry the Platypus. We didn't do the Kim P/Agent P thing, but oldest likes Perry, so we stopped. Then, over to Norway.

Hey, Where's Perry?



Hey, where's Perry?




After the Norway boat ride, off to Ellen's Universe of Energy. I know it's a cheesy ride and filled with propaganda (see, there it is again), but it's still fun.

Over to Mission:Space. I remember riding Horizons on my one trip with my parents those many years ago, but I like the refurb and Lieutenant Dan. Oldest dd and I did the Orange side this year. The G-force is a lot more. She was proud of herself for moving up. Youngest dd and DW did the green side.

While Test Track was closed, GM did put out a few cars to try to appease folks. It didn't work for me, but dds enjoy it. The convertible camera is a sweet ride.




It was close to dinner time and I always enjoy a boat ride. So we thought we would stop here, even if only a few countries away.



It is 6:30 PM and a great day. Let's go eat dinner at Chef's de France.

 

[Disney Commando]

Great update Norm, I'll have to look for that Cranberry bog in a few weeks, Did you go into the little Viking Museum in Norway, I never even knew it was there until I caught the door opening and someone walking out, It looks kinda like a tower as soon as you walk into the pavilion, next to the Bakery dining area

 

[AirGoofy]

Great update Norm, I'll have to look for that Cranberry bog in a few weeks, Did you go into the little Viking Museum in Norway, I never even knew it was there until I caught the door opening and someone walking out, It looks kinda like a tower as soon as you walk into the pavilion, next to the Bakery dining area

I may have missed that. Is that the one with the troll, coloring station, and perfume? Or, is there another area I missed?

 

[Disney Commando]

I may have missed that. Is that the one with the troll, coloring station, and perfume? Or, is there another area I missed?

This is as soon as you turn the corner on your left when entering the pavilion, before you even get to the bakery, like I said I never even knew it was there, wasn't a whole lot in there but it was still cool to discover something new

 

[AirGoofy]

Dinner tonight at Chefs de France. This will be a new dining experience for us.

I start out with French import beer. It is good. I had two. We have some bread. A warm baguette. DW had the French Onion Soup. It was a little light, but I don't like a strong onion soup. I had the Escargot. I had the filet for dinner and DW had the macaroni and cheese. Both were real good, but apparently , I was too hungry and forgot to photograph them. Oops. I could try a better story like Bomb Voyage and Mr. Incredible had an epic battle in the restaurant that distracted me, but wasn't sure if you all would believe that. I had the Profiteroles for dessert and DW.

 

[AirGoofy]

This is as soon as you turn the corner on your left when entering the pavilion, before you even get to the bakery, like I said I never even knew it was there, wasn't a whole lot in there but it was still cool to discover something new

I may have missed that. Something n to look forward to next trip.

 

[afwdwfan]

Looks like you're having a good time.

I really like the live TR format you've got going, but not sure I could ever get myself to do it that way. A few pictures is about the best I think I'd ever be able to do.

 

[AirGoofy]

After dinner, we decided to head over to Germany for the karamel corn at Karamel Kuche. This was highly recommended from the DisDads, but we had never tried it. So, we had to wait 15 minutes as they were making a batch fresh in front of us. We got a to go bag with waters and walked towards SpaceShip Earth.

It was as good as advertised. Delicious. The best I ever had.

So, stuffed from dinner, I crammed down some more food. We finished before we got to SpaceShip Earth, and then inside for the ride.

We did the pictures and emailed them; however, I only DW and oldest dd. If the other shows up, I'll add it.

After Spaceship Earth, it was time for Illuminations. A short walk up, and while very crowded, as it was 8:55 PM, we managed a place to stand over next to the Duffy Store. The two dds were able to lean on the handrail and see much of the ball, and of course the fireworks were awesome.

After that, the park closed and we were tired, but ready for EMH. We headed over for Turtle Time with Crush, as that was a main ride that we had missed earlier that day. It was about a 15 minute wait, I guess to start for EMH, so I sat up front and was able to enjoy the fish in the aquarium while we waited for the show. It was nice to rest too.

With the phone battery about dead, my battery dead, and it being dark, no more pictures for the rest of the night. Soarin had another 45 minute wait, so we did Living with the Land, Circle of Life, and back to Spaceship Earth one more time. Then, we went and picked up our merchandise and pictures from earlier in the day. I guess we could have managed a couple more rides, but we were exhausted at is was close to midnight. We rode the bus back as the monorail was closed. What a magical day.

 

[AirGoofy]

Looks like you're having a good time.

I really like the live TR format you've got going, but not sure I could ever get myself to do it that way. A few pictures is about the best I think I'd ever be able to do.

It isn't too bad. I just take the pics with my cell phone and upload them to PB and write the story as I go. Also, the dds are sleeping and it is a good way for me to unwind before I go to sleep, or for me to spend time while they are still sleeping in. With that said, the creatures are stirring. It is a MNSSHP tonight. Will post more pictures.

 

[that's nice]

WOW... I'm tired from reading about Epcot. What a great day!

Thanks again for all the updates!! How are the crowds?

 

[Wherem I Now]

Lots of fun following along with you! Looks like you got to do a good bit in EPCOT.

 

[AirGoofy]

Lots of fun following along with you! Looks like you got to do a good bit in EPCOT.

WOW... I'm tired from reading about Epcot. What a great day!

Thanks again for all the updates!! How are the crowds?

We were able to get all the rides in Epcot, some multiple times. We skip the countries, except for a few. It is either one or the other. Crowds a little bigger than normal October, but not bad at all. I think we spoiled in October the first year with cooler weather and small crowds, and the holiday crowds have caught up.

 

[moose615]

Awesome report so far, part of it even made me feel like I was there, ok sorry for that cheesy joke, keep up the good work, it's making me look forward to the next trip which will include Epcot

 

[AirGoofy]

A late night made for a late morning. We went to the Wave for lunch, and are just going to hang in the Community Hall, watch some TV, color, play video games, or whatever else the dds want to do to relax unit the MNSSHP.

It started out its some nice beer flights.

The appetizer was 2 crab cakes, the size of quarters and fish tacos. It didn't last long enough to photograph.

I had the Reuben sandwich. It was excellent with a tart dill pickle.

DW had the Cobb salad with steak. Where is the rest of it?

The Wave was OK. The dds did not eat very much and they didn't like it, so we probably wouldn't go back. I'd just assume of to the Contempo Cafe for some sushi. 2 more hours to MNSSHP.

 

[AirGoofy]

Thursday and our last full day at WDW. We are headed out for our 2nd MNSSHP of this trip.



Oldest is ballerina and youngest is a cat. Both were dance costumes.

We got in 15 minutes early and photo with Aurora.



Got to see the Main Street Band. First time, and I like marching bands.



Then, front row to watch the castle stage show.



And, almost an hour a wait for Merida. That means it is time for more pin shopping. Darn all the luck.



DW met up with a mom from church who was there with her daughter, the same age as younger dd. Well, you know what happens when that happens. Commando plans on hold and random touring with 8 year olds in charge. First, they did teacups.



Then, we did Indy cars. Oldest dd drove the whole way and has no sense of driving. 8 year old drives better. She will have to live in Orlando or New York and be dependent on public transportation.