POP and MNSSHP 10/17-10/21 Trip Report

[Poohtigeey]

I would scare all the children
I would have made my parents go broke if they did have this when I was young!

Well, if we ever get to do our DIS girls trip we are doing this together!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Well, if we ever get to do our DIS girls trip we are doing this together!

Now that would be fun!

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

Now that would be fun!

 

[mom2mek]

Michelle, love the update! Sounds like such a great day! The BBB looks like so much fun - we will be there in 2 weeks - 11/19 with 5 girls (and 1 boy getting the cool dude) so thanks for the info.

Sam is so cute as Sharpay! I hope one year we can make it down there for the Halloween party! The parade, the trick or treating, the special fireworks, it sounds like too much fun!

Can't wait for more!

Sara

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Michelle, love the update! Sounds like such a great day! The BBB looks like so much fun - we will be there in 2 weeks - 11/19 with 5 girls (and 1 boy getting the cool dude) so thanks for the info.

Sam is so cute as Sharpay! I hope one year we can make it down there for the Halloween party! The parade, the trick or treating, the special fireworks, it sounds like too much fun!

Can't wait for more!

Sara

Thanks Sara! Sounds like you will be taking over BBB! That will be tons of fun - be sure to get lots of pictures.

October is a great time to visit.

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Hi Michelle!
Loving your TR!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Hi Michelle!
Loving your TR!

Thanks Nicole! Next segment is coming right up......

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Day Three, Friday October 19, 2007
Epcot – Part 1

We decided to sleep in today and just get up when our bodies told us to. Of course, my internal clock is used to getting up at 6 am so I was awake by then. I didn’t want to disturb my mom or Samantha so I lay in bed for a while daydreaming about the day ahead at Epcot! When I couldn’t take it any longer I got up to shower and eat breakfast. My mom and Sam were really taking their time this morning which turned out to be alright since it rained most of the early morning. By the time we left the room at 9:30 the rain had stopped.

Since we had missed the morning rush we were able to get on the bus right away and soon enough we pulled up to Epcot. We were seated towards the back of the bus so we just waited for everyone else to get off before we did. This was something new for me as I usually am in a rush to get off the bus and then walk fast with the mobs of people to the gates. It was actually pleasant to get off the bus last and not have to walk sandwiched between the masses. As we exited the bus, the bus driver said “Hello princess” to Samantha and she flashed a big smile. He called back that he had something for her and proceeded to give her a ring. It was big and green (her birthstone) and even though it was just a cheap little play ring Samantha thought she had won another dream! She wore the ring all day and kept asking why the bus driver gave it to her. My mom told her it was because she waited so patiently for everyone else to get off the bus. This small gesture from the bus driver was a great start to our day – every time Sam looked down at her hand she got a huge grin on her face – priceless!

Here is a pic of me and Samantha - notice Sam is flashing her ring!

We made our way into Epcot at last! It was great to see Spaceship Earth back to its original state without the “Epcot” wand above it. Sam and I both love the Spaceship Earth ride and were disappointed that we couldn’t ride it –this is usually our first and last stop in Epcot. We were hoping to ride the refurbished ride when we go back at the end of November but the finish date has been pushed back to February 2008. Guess we'll have to go again!

We came upon one of the kiosks selling crocs and I decided to get Samantha a pair. She absolutely loves them. She was constantly telling me how comfortable they are and that her feet didn’t hurt at all. My mom almost bought a pair also but figured she probably wouldn’t wear them outside of Disney and therefore wouldn’t be worth while. I am still happy with my croc flip flops.

We walked over to The Land and grabbed Fast Passes for Soarin’. It was probably about 10:30 by now and our FP window was between 12:30 and 1:30. We then went to ride Journey into Imagination with Figment. There was actually a little bit of a line – only about 5 minutes – but a first for us on this ride! Samantha loves this ride as do I (though I miss the original version!) We looked around the pavilion and the store and then decided to head on over to World Showcase.

Our goal for today was to get all the way through World Showcase. Sam and I usually start in Mexico and never seem to make it all the way around. This time we were determined and decided to start at the other end in Canada. Samantha wanted to visit all of the Kidcot stations to create her mask and get her passport stamped. This is the first time we’ve used the passport and it was a pretty neat idea. A lot of the CM’s from the various countries would ask Sam her name and then write her a personalized message on their page of the passport. It is a nice little keepsake! We were also going to try and find an inexpensive souvenir from each country (around $5.00 each) to see what kinds of things we could come up with.

The Food & Wine Festival was going on and we were a bit hungry so we thought we’d try out a few foods. Of course I knew Samantha wouldn’t eat anything from there so we stopped at the McDonalds window right at the entrance to WS. Samantha got chicken nuggets while my mom went over to one of the food booths to get us something to try. The Greece booth was nearby so we got to share a Spinach/Cheese pastry puff (not sure of actual name) and some type of salad. Both were very tasty! If I would have remembered that the F&W Festival was going on I probably wouldn’t have booked us a TS meal for the afternoon – it would have been fun to eat our way around WS. But, we had reservations at Garden Grill for 4:40 so we were careful not to go too crazy and ruin our appetites.

Here is Sam enjoying her chicken nuggets with Pal Mickey:

Canada: We got to Canada and went straight for the Kidcot station where Samantha was able to start her mask and get her first Passport stamp. The grounds here are beautiful and it was very peaceful walking through. My mom went to see the circle vision movie and we told her we’d meet in UK. Sam and I browsed the store and she found a little bracelet there that was about $4.00. I bought a little container of maple syrup there also.

UK: There were some street performers doing a show when we got to UK so we sat and watched for a bit. We came in towards the end so we couldn’t really follow along and it was really hot so we went inside the store where the Kidcot station was. Samantha bought a little magic card set ($5) and I got a CD “Where Magic Lives” – the official album of WDW. It is a two disc set that has the theme music from the four WDW parks. This is great to listen too when I am daydreaming about Disney in my office! We met up with my mom and decided to split up until our FP for Soarin’ came up. My mom wanted to do some exploring around WS and didn’t need to visit all of the Kidcot stations with us.

France: We did the Kidcot station in France and couldn’t really find anything inexpensive in the store that we wanted. They had a bin of candy that was like $ .45/each so Sam picked out a couple of pieces just so we could say we got something there. We decided to get a pastry here for a snack. Sam got some chocolate cake and I had a lemon tart (very good!). We sat outside and ate. The scenery was great and it was nice to relax and people watch for a bit -until we encountered some very rude guests. There was a family of about 6 – all adults – and one was in a wheelchair. They were trying to find the wheelchair ramp to get up to the bakery. One of the ladies was very loud and yelling across the courtyard about how stupid they were that they couldn’t find the ramp. The one pushing the chair found a way up and then the mean lady kept yelling that they shouldn’t have taken the long way around and that they should have listened to her as there was a ramp right there. This lady was super loud and obnoxious. Samantha was a bit frightened of her. I felt bad for the rest of the family.

Morocco: At this point it was getting really hot! The Kidcot station and most of the store were outside. Samantha enjoyed exploring the shop area – they had a ton of instruments and such that the kids could play with. We ended up buying a little guitar type of instrument – I can’t remember what it is called and it has since been destroyed! Our dog Gomer got too it and chewed it all up – Samantha hasn’t noticed that it is missing yet. She told me it was her favorite purchase from the day.

Here is Sam with the instrument from Morocco:

It was almost time for our Soarin’ fast passes so we took the boat from Morocco to Canada and then walked to The Land to meet up with my mom. (The boat ride was brutally hot – not sure why but all the windows were shut!).

Soarin’ was great as usual! We got the top row for the first time ever which was great! Samantha rode this for the first time when she was 5 and didn’t like the part where you fly over the fireworks. She hadn’t been on again since then until this past May. I’m so glad she likes it now! (Though she still covers her ears during the fireworks scene!)

After Soarin’ Samantha was feeling brave and wanted to try test track. We made our way over there but it was closed and all the FP’s were already gone for the day. We were told it should open again later so we thought we’d try again later. I was hoping Sam didn’t lose her confidence!

We split up again while Sam and I went to MouseGears and my mom went somewhere else (I can’t remember where??) I bought a shirt for myself, a book for Erik and a Mr. Potato Head for Samantha. After our shopping we met up with mom to head over to Mexico as we had some time to kill before our 4:40 dinner reservation. As we were walking to Mexico it started to rain slightly. It wasn’t raining too hard and didn’t look like it would keep up for long so we just walked through it. My mom put on one of her ponchos but I didn’t think it was raining enough to warrant a poncho.

Mexico: We rode the boat in Mexico – another favorite of ours. We spent some time in the Kidcot station since we found some chairs to sit on for a while. We were really hungry by now and were anxious for our dinner! We browsed the store and my mom bought Samantha a pair of purple maracas.

We finished up in Mexico and started making our walk back to The Land for our dinner reservation at Garden Grill. Samantha had Pal Mickey with her and he started making some weird noises. He kept repeating himself and vibrating for no reason. I figured he just needed new batteries which I had back in the room.

Next up – Epcot Part 2 – Garden Grill, Pick a Pearl in Japan and would we ever get all the way around World Showcase???

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

Great update, Michelle.
I love hearing about WS.

 

[Poohtigeey]

Great update, and cute pics! I hope we get to spend more time in World Showcase this time.

 

[roxannensteve]

I also hope to spend more tine in WS this time too. I love all the different pictures of Samantha. Her ring is gorgeous. She sure is a special young lady.

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

Awesome update Michelle! You know I'm on the lookout for WS advice!
So, did Pal Mickey need batteries or was it something else?!?!

 

[mom2mek]

Great update Michelle! We are hoping to get around the WS this time too! I really want to try that pearl thing in Japan and see the acrobats in China.

Can't wait to hear more!

Sara

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Great update, Michelle.
I love hearing about WS.

Thanks Kimmy! WS would be a great place to explore with adult company or even alone too!

Great update, and cute pics! I hope we get to spend more time in World Showcase this time.

Thanks Monica. We really enjoyed WS this time around. There was so much I had never seen before. I could have explored some more but there is only so much a 7 year old wants to see. Another good reason to go back in December by myself for a day....

I also hope to spend more tine in WS this time too. I love all the different pictures of Samantha. Her ring is gorgeous. She sure is a special young lady.

Thanks! She sure thought she was special for getting that ring! You can see her flaunting it in alot of the pictures.

Awesome update Michelle! You know I'm on the lookout for WS advice!
So, did Pal Mickey need batteries or was it something else?!?!

Thanks. You'll just have to stick around to find out about Pal Mickey!

Great update Michelle! We are hoping to get around the WS this time too! I really want to try that pearl thing in Japan and see the acrobats in China.
Can't wait to hear more!

The pearl thing was really fun! I never even knew that was there until I found the DIS boards. We missed the acrobats in China but got to see the drummers in Japan which was awesome!

 

[vermontgirl]

Here is a pic of me and Samantha - notice Sam is flashing her ring!

HI Michelle,

Yeah for your update!! I just love reading about your trip..I am living vicariously thru you! We'll be there soon, but..........not soon enough though !

WOW, your little princess received some serious bling!! Very cute! I love that she find the simple things so special! You and your honey have done a great job raising her!

Please keep the reports coming!!

Thanks,
Jeanette

 

[puggymom]

I just found your trippie and am all caught up. What a nice girls weekend.

If I lived that close I can't imagine how often I would be there

 

[mkluvsmickey]

HI Michelle,
Yeah for your update!! I just love reading about your trip..I am living vicariously thru you! We'll be there soon, but..........not soon enough though !
WOW, your little princess received some serious bling!! Very cute! I love that she find the simple things so special! You and your honey have done a great job raising her!
Please keep the reports coming!!
Thanks,
Jeanette

Hi Jeanette! Thanks for the compliment - that was very sweet!

You will be there before you know it!

I just found your trippie and am all caught up. What a nice girls weekend.
If I lived that close I can't imagine how often I would be there

Hi Mo I feel honored to have you posting on my TR - I've read and really enjoyed your last two!

It is very tempting to go to WDW more often - if I had a live in pet sitter I might be there every weekend! We do have a weekend planned Nov 30 and another three nights Jan 31. And, after reading about your solo trip I am trying to arrange a solo day or two for myself sometime in December.

 

[kaysmommie]

Enjoyed your update! Samantha looked like she had a blast in Epcot and loved her new ring .

 

[Poohtigeey]

Michelle's calling her December trip a solo trip, but really she'll be hangin out w/ me! Better decide soon. It's coming FAST! Are you going to write a trip report for the upcoming trip? I hope so. It'll be interesting comparing trips w/ Eric and w/out!

Waiting for a new update, and just wanted to say "Hi", and miss ya. Haven't been able to "talk" to you lately. Gotta go. I'm SUPER SLEEPY!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Enjoyed your update! Samantha looked like she had a blast in Epcot and loved her new ring .

Thanks! She had a great time in Epcot and still likes to wear her ring!