Oh, D-D-D-Dear! My Piglet's Bday in the World UDD 10/10 The End!

[creativeamanda]

What wonderful pictures. I love the one of the veggies.

Thanks! I'm sure that you'd love the Behind the Seeds Tour seeing as how you love the alpaca farm so much! Another thing that should be on our tagless trip to do list. . .

Hi, Amanda -

I have been following along LOVING IT, I just have been quiet.

Until now.

I have to admit, I think your husband's drunk dialing (ESPECIALLY if he has never done it before...) is kinda' cute. It shows he was letting go, letting loose, and I'm willing to bet if you weren't stuck doing laundry, you would think it was cute, too. As you WERE doing laundry, I'd be a bit miffed, just on principle. Now if it was habitual....bleah.

And Crossroads of the World is a famous development in Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin had his office there, and it is really really adorable - it looks like a bunch of Snow White cottages.

Your children are precious! Love the trip report!

Mrs. Spratt

No--he has never drunk dialed before. Never. I think I was less miffed than surprised! THe only thing I wish now is that either TBTDawg (who was actually with him at the time) or I had recorded it.

Thanks for the information regarding the Crossroads of the World. I remember all of that now, but for the life of me, it had slipped my mind completely.

Thanks about the complement about my kids--they are my world.

 

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

That last picture is such a good one, what a great photo op!! So glad you liked test track, it's one of my favorites!!

 

[tinkgurl]

I've never been to any of the water parks before, so thanks for those pics! I think I'd be just in the lazy river the whole time!

 

[TarzansKat]

Without a doubt, some of my favorite pictures of the kids are from this chapter! First of all, they're adorable. And I love to see kids just being kids, having a great time in that fountain area. It's wonderful.

And why oh why are we hinting at Aflac?

 

[creativeamanda]

That last picture is such a good one, what a great photo op!! So glad you liked test track, it's one of my favorites!!

I loved TT--I don't know why we did not get to it last year! It took a little coaxing to get all three of them to cooperate for that picture. I had to many to choose from for photobucket.

I've never been to any of the water parks before, so thanks for those pics! I think I'd be just in the lazy river the whole time!

DH is like that about lazy rivers--we actually used it for transport from the front to the back of the park.

Without a doubt, some of my favorite pictures of the kids are from this chapter! First of all, they're adorable. And I love to see kids just being kids, having a great time in that fountain area. It's wonderful.

And why oh why are we hinting at Aflac?

That update should come soon. Suffice it to say, my most embarrasing moment. . .

I love those pictures at the fountains, too. Of course, what I didn't mention was the fact that I made them all change socks after coming out of those fountains. Gillian by this time had blisters on top of blisters from walking in wet shoes. Being an adult, she was able to tough it out, but kids aren't like that. A blister on Stinky's foot would have put him out of commission.

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Ok...read all the way through...now following the TR and the PTR!!! LOL

 

[creativeamanda]

Ok...read all the way through...now following the TR and the PTR!!! LOL

Welcome to you!!!! I love having more readers!

 

[creativeamanda]

The last we discussed, I was heading over to the World Showcase for my first ever tour without adult beverages. After all, I was alone with the kids! And dh, of course, had shown me how stupid you can get on them.

The kids were enjoying their day, and I was ready to take on the world!

We enter the World Showcase for their favorite Epcot activity. . .Kidcot

Now, I will admit, I have scoffed ever so slightly about Kidcot and how much time it takes up. But it really makes for a leisurely trek around the World Showcase that I would recommend to any parent. You can run in, get the tag, let the kids sit and color for a bit, and then visit a shop or two. It really makes Epcot more relaxing and you don't realize while you are doing it that you are actually walking 10 million miles that day.

That being said, I'll admit to something. . .EPCOT is my favorite park. It is the one park where there is really something for everyone. Fun in the form of water activities, rides, kidcot (in both the WS and FW) for kids and culture and "adult" rides for adults. But I digress. After all, at this point, we are all into this. . .

Now, I'll give you all a hint here. The markers in Kidcot are Sharpies and many of them need to be replaced. This is so much the case, that we are bringing our own markers this coming trip. Just a little warning for you mamas out there.

So we're in EPCOT, and the kids are magnetized to something they wanted to do the day prior, but we could not because we needed to get to Tutto Italia. . .the drums at the African Outpost.

And then, we are on our way through the Showcase and to my personal favorite attraction. . .the American pavilion and the Voices of Liberty.

Now if you have never experienced the Voices of Liberty, you just must. It's an acapella group who does patriotic favorites, such as "Old Mac Donald". During this song, instead of one of the guys singing that the duck says "quack", he says "AFLAC".

Which is where this guy comes in. As we settle in, the kids pick a nice spot up front.

We have a great view of the singers on their left front side. I am enjoying their music, which, IMO, is one of the best at Disney World. And I mean, we have good seats. . .

And this guy, over here on the right, is the one who sings, "Aflac". I also have never been to one of these shows where at least one of the singers was not pregnant. . .

So, anyway, they have started singing, "Oh Susanna", when I realize something. . .the guy who sings "AFLAC" grabs a person out of the audience to sing "Susanna" to, and I am right smack there where he goes. I tried inching to the left, hoping he's pick one of my girls. No such luck. He makes a beeline directly for me.

The kids get a good laugh, because I don't do too well with being singled out, and afterwards, he thanks me for being a good sport and I let him know that their performance is one of my Disney top to dos every trip. If you've never seen them, make it a point next trip.

So off we are around the WS again, and the kids were getting a little hungry, so we stopped at the Boulangerie Patisserie. Can I say, YUM!?! It was crowded, very little seating outside, but we were able to find a spot in the end. And yes, even inside the store, the tables were full. . .

My little chocoholic. . .

So we are off again, and to Great Britain. I have never really explored this area until this trip. I am so glad I did. I love the garden. . .

And of course, we have to take another trip to the Ministry of Magic. Apparently, they were not accepting visitors at the time, however. . .

After all of this, we go over to the Seas to meet up with Gillian for dinner at Coral Reef. Although this has been one of my favorite locations, and we got good views of the diving, there was a fishy odor in the restaurant that made me feel quite ill. I don't think we'll be back, but I also think we should try new places, anyway. . .

And before we knew it, the day was basically over. Although I still did not see Illuminations, we were so tired we needed to go back to the room. One last view of Spaceship Earth, though, and we were gone.

Coming up . . . a break for shopping updates. . .

 

[vamassey1]

Great update! My daughter completed a mask for the first time. I have to admit I've never seen Voices of Liberty but now I'm going to put this on my must do list for the next trip.

 

[creativeamanda]

Great update! My daughter completed a mask for the first time. I have to admit I've never seen Voices of Liberty but now I'm going to put this on my must do list for the next trip.

Thanks! I love Voices of Liberty. I never hear or read anything about them from others, but it's one of those off the beaten path things that we just stumbled upon our first trip.

 

[vamassey1]

I wanted to ask, where are you from in South Carolina? We lived there from 1986 until 1992. My middle child was born there.

 

[TarzansKat]

What a great day in Epcot! It sounds like you had a fun filled, and yet relaxing day!

You know, I don't remember if I've ever seen Voices of Liberty, perhaps we should try to catch them next time.

 

[LegoMom3]

Great update! Love the pictures, as usual!

I LOVE the performances in the American pavilion. Have you seen the Fife and Drum Corp? Fantastic!!

So glad you got to see more Great Britain!! That's a must for us every time. The gardens are gorgeous. Last trip we were treated to the British Invasion, a Beatles tribute band. They are SO good. My kids loved them and wanted to line up for their autographs after the performance!

.

 

[creativeamanda]

I wanted to ask, where are you from in South Carolina? We lived there from 1986 until 1992. My middle child was born there.

Maybe the question should be where I haven't lived in SC--I was born in Charleston, have lived in Saluda, Columbia, Abbeville, Winnsboro, and Dillon.

What a great day in Epcot! It sounds like you had a fun filled, and yet relaxing day!

You know, I don't remember if I've ever seen Voices of Liberty, perhaps we should try to catch them next time.

They are awesome, I'll tell you! And on a hot, hot day, because it is inside, it is a welcome rest.

Great update! Love the pictures, as usual!

I LOVE the performances in the American pavilion. Have you seen the Fife and Drum Corp? Fantastic!!

So glad you got to see more Great Britain!! That's a must for us every time. The gardens are gorgeous. Last trip we were treated to the British Invasion, a Beatles tribute band. They are SO good. My kids loved them and wanted to line up for their autographs after the performance!

.

First of all, thanks. I love my camera. . .it is soooo awesome! I'm going to get a new lens for it before the Christmas visit. I already have my sights on one, but think I'm going to wait until the day after Thanksgiving, hoping I can get a good deal.

I love the Fife and Drum Corp, too, but it was sooo hot that day. I just wanted to get some refreshment from the Boulangerie Patisserie.

I loved Great Britain, too!

 

[vamassey1]

Maybe the question should be where I haven't lived in SC--I was born in Charleston, have lived in Saluda, Columbia, Abbeville, Winnsboro, and Dillon.

Wow we just lived in Columbia.

 

[creativeamanda]

Wow we just lived in Columbia.

lol, i lived 17 years in Saluda, 1 in Charleston, 4 in Abbeville, 3 in Winnsboro, 2 in Dillon.

 

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

I love the Voices of Liberty!! They are just amazing!! Haha, my mom would have eaten that up being picked to dance, they on her must dos as well! She's the kind of person who volunteers to be picked in the Indiana Jones Show (and yes she's done it twice!!) I love walking around WS and exploring, there's so much to see (and buy!)

 

[tinkgurl]

I love listening to the Voices of Liberty. We haven't done that in a few years, I think we need to go do that! Too bad one of the kids didn't get a pic of you being picked!

 

[creativeamanda]

I love the Voices of Liberty!! They are just amazing!! Haha, my mom would have eaten that up being picked to dance, they on her must dos as well! She's the kind of person who volunteers to be picked in the Indiana Jones Show (and yes she's done it twice!!) I love walking around WS and exploring, there's so much to see (and buy!)

My BIL is like that--dancing and acting like a not to try to get them to pick him for Indiana Jones.

I love listening to the Voices of Liberty. We haven't done that in a few years, I think we need to go do that! Too bad one of the kids didn't get a pic of you being picked!

I do wish they got a picture of me--my face must have turned 15 shades of red.

 

[creativeamanda]

So, no trip to Disney World would be complete without a good shopping trip or five. I dare not even count the number of times we shopped, but I have to tell you, I had to shop at several stores to get the entire collection of these. . .

I think I bought one at the Contemporary, a couple outside of Test Track, one in Downtown Disney, and one at Fultons in POR.

But they make such a nice addition to the Focus, don't they?

DH says there are more stickers than should actually fit on my car.

And there is another thing I have to admit. I have an obsession with Pins. Not pin trading, as I hardly ever trade--I can't bear to part with any of my pins. My obsession is totally with pins and only with pins.

And I spent a lot of money on them this trip. The good thing is, they are the one souveneir that fits well in a suitcase and does not take up a lot of space at home.

My collection of pins for each park. . .

I took a fancy to these.

The charm I got--I love the 4 Parks One World Theme

And I did get one for dh, my local Red Sox fan. This brings his total number of pins to 2.

I wish now I had gotten one of those for myself, as well.

The kids are also all into the pins.

Sweeties. . .

Stinky's. . .

Boo's. . .

And my total number of pins?

32.

I've got some work to still do. . .

Here is my pin area, though, near my computer and scrapbooking area.

They are where I can always see them. And yes, there is a lime green Mickey and a luggage tag there, too. It's always close to me.