Our Short but Sweet, Sizzling HOT Summer Trip to the World! Updated 12/3...Finally!!!

[eandesmom]

Wow you guys were up early!

I can NOT see that happening with my crew. Time difference notwithstanding, if DH is on vacation a 6am wake up call would send him over the edge!

We are the evening EMH crowd. Which does limit you with fast passes etc but, you have to roll with what you got! I can't say I'm much of a morning person either, if I saw 5am, I'd be rolling over and going back to sleep. LOL on the sneaking in for coffee before 6am!

I can completely relate to SE. I'd never been before this trip either and I have to say it was a favorite of everyone's and a great first ride for us on our trip!

 

[cjackearl]

I have two updates to comment on. Love the shopping, yea for the reusable bag! Cute scavenger hunt. I've loved reading you and Mickey Mom's accounts. What a great way to explore the resort.

SSE was our first Disney ride this trip and we all loved it. So funny that your dad didn't think there was a ride inside.

Wow, you and your mom look so much alike. It looks like you have a lot of fun together. I love my mom, but I'm not sure a week at Disney with her would be my idea of fun.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Ahhh....Epcot! My favorite park! Love the update....so funny that your dad and brother went so early for coffee. But I can relate...if I'm up, I want my COFFEE!!

Beautiful early morning shots of Epcot..isn't an empty park fantastic!!

Can't wait to hear more about your day!

 

[Gabes_mommy]

What a great update! That is so sweet that everyone was up so early excited for the parks.

Classic Hall at Pop looks so nice - I can't wait to stay there one day.

Can't wait for more!

 

[MouseKTeer]

Angie,

So impressed that your whole family was up and ready to go early! (We probably will never know what that's like in our family )

 

[Angies1274]

Boy I thought we were early risers, but your family definitely has us beat! Sounds like a great start to the day. I love the picture of Spaceship Earth where you can still see the remnants of sunrise. I just love summer mornings

We usually don't get up quite so early. I think being at Disney has a little to do with it.

Summer mornings are the best!! That morning in particular was just beautiful.

 

[Angies1274]

Wow you guys were up early!

I can NOT see that happening with my crew. Time difference notwithstanding, if DH is on vacation a 6am wake up call would send him over the edge!

We are the evening EMH crowd. Which does limit you with fast passes etc but, you have to roll with what you got! I can't say I'm much of a morning person either, if I saw 5am, I'd be rolling over and going back to sleep. LOL on the sneaking in for coffee before 6am!

I can completely relate to SE. I'd never been before this trip either and I have to say it was a favorite of everyone's and a great first ride for us on our trip!

I'm usually not a morning person--except at Disney. The boys are very early risers,and I knew they would be waking us soon anyway. That's probably why morning EMH seem to work best for us right now.

We loved SSE! I was so glad that we picked it for our first ride that morning.

I have two updates to comment on. Love the shopping, yea for the reusable bag! Cute scavenger hunt. I've loved reading you and Mickey Mom's accounts. What a great way to explore the resort.

SSE was our first Disney ride this trip and we all loved it. So funny that your dad didn't think there was a ride inside.

Wow, you and your mom look so much alike. It looks like you have a lot of fun together. I love my mom, but I'm not sure a week at Disney with her would be my idea of fun.

Thanks I love the reusable bag!! Honestly, I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't seen on your TR, since it was near the register and barely visible there.
My dad really did seem amazed that there was actually a ride in SSE. It was too funny. You should see how he reacted when he actually rode it!!

Ahhh....Epcot! My favorite park! Love the update....so funny that your dad and brother went so early for coffee. But I can relate...if I'm up, I want my COFFEE!!

Beautiful early morning shots of Epcot..isn't an empty park fantastic!!

Can't wait to hear more about your day!

I never expected that they would try and get coffee so early in the morning. They are too funny!! My father said he had a hard time sleeping so he apparently kept everyone up over there. That's why they needed their coffee fix so badly.

It was a beautiful morning!!! We love morning EMH!! You're right, there's nothing like an empty park--it's wonderful!!!!

 

[Angies1274]

What a great update! That is so sweet that everyone was up so early excited for the parks.

Classic Hall at Pop looks so nice - I can't wait to stay there one day.

Can't wait for more!

It's so funny--I don't know who was more excited them, because it was their first time or us, because we just couldn't wait to show them everything.

Pop is a great resort and we always have so much fun staying there, which is making it very hard trying to plan our next trip. We want to stay someplace new but we love Pop so much. Hmm...decisions..decisions??

Angie,

So impressed that your whole family was up and ready to go early! (We probably will never know what that's like in our family )

I was so surprised that everyone was up and ready to go for EMH. This from the bunch that were complaining before we left because they couldn't believe that we had to get up so early to be at the parks for opening. (I guess they were more excited than they let on.)

 

[WDWRocksMySocks]

WOW!! I am beyond impressed with you and your family. All of you up before 6am?!?! Seriously, that is just a fete that could never been accomplished by my family when I was growing up. I am truly amazed.

Love the update and the pictures. Look like fun!! Makes me think I should've headed over to Epcot on that day to ride TT. Bummer!

 

[onelilspark]

Nice shirt

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Yay scavenger hunt! You made the right choice doing it over going to DHS. Its tough to give that up, but your first day sets the tone and you could have had a whole other vacation experience if your parents were unhappy rushing.

5AM ?? Kudos to you guys, I couldn't do it. We were lucky to hit the buses by 10am most days! Hey wait a minute. Your Epcot day was the day we left to go home. We were at the main hall at 7am!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Here I was thinking I was waaaaaay behind but I only missed an update. Thank goodness! I love that everybody was up and about super duper early. Sometimes, we do the same thing.

I am lovin' the pictures of Epcot....especially the "hardly any crowds" pictures. I think we may just have to give the Epcot early morning hours a try.

 

[Angies1274]

WOW!! I am beyond impressed with you and your family. All of you up before 6am?!?! Seriously, that is just a fete that could never been accomplished by my family when I was growing up. I am truly amazed.

Love the update and the pictures. Look like fun!! Makes me think I should've headed over to Epcot on that day to ride TT. Bummer!

I was actually pretty impressed myself. I can't believe everyone was up so early and ready to go. It was nice being in Epcot so early without the crowds.
The guys love TT!! Definitely one of their favorites!! So far we've been really lucky and it's never been down when we wanted to ride it.

Nice shirt

Thanks!!!!

 

[Angies1274]

Yay scavenger hunt! You made the right choice doing it over going to DHS. Its tough to give that up, but your first day sets the tone and you could have had a whole other vacation experience if your parents were unhappy rushing.

5AM ?? Kudos to you guys, I couldn't do it. We were lucky to hit the buses by 10am most days! Hey wait a minute. Your Epcot day was the day we left to go home. We were at the main hall at 7am!

I think we made the right choice too. Although, I really missed not visiting DHS this time. (especially not being able to see the UP characters, which I was looking so forward to.)
I know...5am...crazy...right? I have a bunch of very early risers on my hands. But it made getting to the parks at rope drop super easy!!!
Hey, I can't believe that we were probably at the main hall around the same time!!!

Here I was thinking I was waaaaaay behind but I only missed an update. Thank goodness! I love that everybody was up and about super duper early. Sometimes, we do the same thing.

I am lovin' the pictures of Epcot....especially the "hardly any crowds" pictures. I think we may just have to give the Epcot early morning hours a try.

Thanks!! It was so nice getting to Epcot so early!!! The sun was just peeking up, and it was so quiet. I would love to try EMH, next time during the F&G Festival. I bet it would be just beautiful. Oh and the lack of crowds is always a plus!!!

 

[ellajeansmom]

Too funny that everyone was up so early!! That's so great that your parents and brother were excited to be there

Your dad: "There's a ride in there?"

Great pic of you and your mom just after the entrance!

 

[Angies1274]

Too funny that everyone was up so early!! That's so great that your parents and brother were excited to be there

Your dad: "There's a ride in there?"

Great pic of you and your mom just after the entrance!

I never expected they would be up that early!! But, I was very happy that they were excited to start the day.

It was so hard not to laugh, when my dad asked about SSE.

Thanks!!--I love that picture!!

 

[Angies1274]

When I left off, we were trying to decide what we were going to do next. Well, we actually had a pretty good idea since there were only 4 rides open that morning since Living with the Land was down. We knew we wanted to skip Mission Space. (sorry to all of you who love it) But, I just can't do that ride, I get motion sickness and I'm so afraid that ride will do me in for the day. I'm sure my brother would have loved it because he loves thrill rides and I was actually concerned before we left because for him it's the higher and faster the better. I kept telling him that Disney is about the whole experience. So, anyway the only ride left to ride was....ah...you guessed it!! Soarin' Yay!!, one of my favorite rides in this park.
As we head over toward The Land, we had already been at the park for a half an hour. We had completely and happily missed the mad dash to Soarin' first thing. Since it was EMH, I wasn't sure if we should grab fastpasses or just ride stand-by. I didn't want to have my mom walk more than necessary so DH and Lee (my brother) went to check it out while we were waiting.

We told them to call us if the line was short enough to ride. We waited and waited...and finally they appeared walking toward us with fastpasses in hand. I asked them how long stand-by was and they didn't answer, apparently forgetting to look. They had got distracted trying to find where to get fastpasses.Oh well and according to our fastpasses, we couldn't ride until 10:41am. Now, the smart thing would have probably been to head back in and just ride it--then we could have came back later to ride again. But, instead I suggested that we head over to Nemo....hmmm.....honestly I don't know why?? Didn't we just talk about what rides we could ride????

As we approached Nemo, I noticed a massive line winding outside, around and around. At first I started to panic, completely forgetting that the park wasn't officially opened yet. All I kept thinking was you've got to be kidding, we were here around Easter last time and the line wasn't this bad. While we were contemplating whether to get into line or not, a very nice CM offered to take our picture.

It's at this point, I start to feel very stupid because it occurs to me that it's not even 9:00am yet and everyone is waiting outside to go in because they haven't opened the doors yet. Duh? Okay, with panic gone and feeling a tad bit foolish we get in line. Everyone looks to me to be reassured that this is a good thing. I assure them it is and once they open the doors we will be able to climb right aboard our clam shell without any wait. It was the wait outside that started to be a problem. Of course, we were standing right in the sun and it started out hot this morning or at least hotter than we are used to even in the middle of the day, where we are from. So we stood there, sweat pouring off us waiting. The only one who didn't seem to mind it was my DF who kept saying "I'm not sweating, it's not too bad." We all looked at him faces red, wiping the sweat away as fast as it formed and laughed, "Are you kidding?" Finally, the doors opened and the line moved, around and around we went until finally we were hit with a blast of cold air--Ahhh...okay, let me soak this in for a minute.... ready...We walked inside just to go around and around again until finally our clam shell was waiting and we climbed aboard. I heard my parent's saying...wow, in the clam shell beside us. It was too cute!! I knew that they would like it.
After our ride with Nemo and friends, we decided to explore a little.

I tried so hard to get a good picture of these dolphins, but they were swimming way too fast.

While we were exploring the boys noticed a Kidcot station and decided to stop.

I wandered nearby (DH stayed with them) to take some more pics--

At this point, we decided to head downstairs to try and make it to Turtle Talk with Crush. We had tried earlier but the show was already all filled up and hadn't even started yet. So she told us to come back.
Before we headed downstairs, I thought I should share a little background about my youngest son, Noah he does not do well with escalators. He likes going on them but is always not quite sure when to step on or step off. It's pretty nerve wracking watching him. Of course, when it was time to head downstairs, he's in front and goes to step on before I can grab him. We usually like him in between us so we can watch him. I step on right behind him as quick as I can and of course just at that time he changes his mind on what step to take and I lurch forward as we literally almost tumble down the escalator. I grab the railing, and I grab him and try to balance us and get us firmly on one step trying to avert the fall. Finally, I am able to steady both of us and everything is fine. My heart is beating so fast. Whew--that was very close and when we stepped off everyone rushed toward us. "We saw it all" they said "But, there was nothing we could do for you." UGH!!-lesson to self--avoid all escalators in the future!!
We walked up to Turtle Talk again, only to see the same lady shake her head. Sorry, the show's all filled up. We were disappointed but we didn't want to wait all day, so we headed over to see Bruce!!

We decided it was time to leave the Seas with Nemo and friends for now, and head to the Imagination Pavilion to ride Figment. But not before a quick rest outside on the benches. Boy, was it hot so we picked the shade.
I finally got around to filling up the Mister fan and the boys were having fun playing with it!!

After a little rest we decided to head over to ride Figment. I know it's not one of the most talked about rides and not very exciting to some, but we love it and we knew that my parent's would get a kick out of it as well.
On our way--

We walked inside and in no time we were on the ride ready to be entertained by Figment. We sat behind my parent's and my brother so we could watch how they reacted to everything and it was too funny!!! So what is the verdict? Did they like the ride?.....you bet!! We had alot of fun!! The boys still got freaked out at the end. (but at least they knew to expect it this time.) On the way out, the boys stopped to play a little--

After Figment, we decided to head over to Club Cool. I wanted to get pictures of the unsuspecting trying the "Beverly". I know...I know, I'm such a bad daughter. Needless to say after my first attempt at a picture (that didn't come out because I was way too close) and then my second attempt that was blurry because I was laughing so hard, I decided to put my camera away. Sorry no pictures to share. (but I did try) It took them drinking alot of the veggie one (can't remember the country?) to get the awful taste out of their mouths.
After leaving Club Cool and alot of dirty looks shot my way from not warning them. (just kidding). It was finally time to use our Fastpasses to Soarin!! YAY!! We still couldn't talk Dad into coming with us, and trust me we tried!! He decided to get a snack and wait for us instead. The wait wasn't that long, in fact much shorter than the fastpass line last trip and soon we were watching the monitor and listening to Patrick Warburton. The door opened and we headed to our seats. We were in row three, so we were closest to the ground. We buckled and finally we were gliding over The Golden Gate Bridge, and then we were smelling pine trees and then orange blossoms. Lastly, the fireworks....ahh...my favorite part!! It was a great ride like usual and we all loved it!! We wanted to ride again but the stand-by was too long and fastpasses were between 4:30-5:30. We decided to wait for now. I stopped to take a couple pictures on the way out.

At this point it was getting close to noon and we had an ADR for lunch that required us to take the Epcot monorail to the TTC and then get on the Resort monorail. Our ADR was for 1:00pm and I didn't want to be late. So, we headed out for the afternoon but we knew we would be back later on to explore the WS.

Up Next--Lunch with the Fab Five!!

 

[dismagiclover]

Great update Sounds like everyone is dealing with the heat and having fun anyway. I'm with you about Soarin. It just makes me smile everytime I ride it! And we always ride Figment too. I especially like the play area at the end because it never gets real crowded. Can't wait to hear about your lunch at Chef Mickey's. Did they have lunch because of free dining? I know they usually just have breakfast and dinner.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Great update. Your escalator "adventure" with Noah sounds like the ones I often have with my mother when we go to the mall. She wears tri-focal glasses and says it is hard to judge when to step on the escalator and when the step off. I usually stand behind her on the way up and behind her on the way down. That way, I can tell her when she needs to take a step.

I am so glad that your parents are enjoying themselves. Isn't the feeling so rewarding when you see how much fun they are having?

 

[cjackearl]

Oh my, I'm so glad you both didn't go tumbling down the escalator! My 10 yr. old has an elevator phobia. She hates going down, but I make her face her fear because I'm a mean mom.

Love, love, love Soarin' too. Did I mention love?

The picture of your whole crew in front of The Seas is really good.