Snow White Does the Creep on the Trip that Almost Wasn't A Dec 11/Jan 12 TR 7/24 NEW

[rachel09985]

Congrats on the new car! I love the chocolate mousse as well! It was one of my fav desserts. I feel the same way. I can't wait till I have that again.

P.S. I just followed you on Twitter after seeing you talk about it!

 

[heatherlekay]

Joni I just have to tell you you wrote an awesome trip report. I'm a lurker and never post but I just had to tell you how much I've enjoyed your tr. I look forward to more entertaining ones in the future!

 

[therussells08]

Omg yay for your new car!!! I have the same one, but it's a 2008! Looks pretty much the same though, I love it, I'm hoping to keep it for many more years!

I'm so glad your mom can go on all of the rides with you! You're going to have such a great time!

AHHHH Le Cellier again!! So in love with that restaurant! I have to try those fries, they sound fantastic! Either version!

Yay my chocolate moose!!! Now you understand my obsession!

That's so cool that you have a Civic too, and I'm glad to hear that you really like it!

Thank you! It was such a huge relief, and she's even more excited now!

Seriously, I will always be in your debt for introducing me to Le Cellier! I will be eating there in a little over two weeks!

YES! It's so good!

Love your new car- Congrats!

And so exciting that your mom got clearance to ride everything!!!

DROOL! That mousse looks so yummy! I can't wait to eat there for our next trip!

Thank you! I'm really happy with it!

Thank you, it is really exciting! That was great news!

It is amazing! You're going to love it!

Ooohhh, purty purty car! I love it! Good choice, and I completely understand getting something with better gas mileage.

Dude, don't worry about scraping it down the wall. I backed into the house once out of the garage. No joke.

Mmmm, chocolate moose. I don't think there's anything else dessert wise that you should order at Le Cellier.

I think we were at DHS on this day. I think it was not crowded for you guys because they were all at DHS with us.

Thank you! I'm so excited about it, and the gas mileage thing will hopefully save a ton of money!

HAHA! I'm so glad I'm not the only one. What's that they say about women drivers...?

I agree completely! I just don't understand why it's not on the dinner menu!

Haha I'm sorry! It was so nice and peaceful at Epcot!

HAHAHA Joni, you are too kind!

I'm glad you caught that!! YEP! Cannot wait!

It's true! I love your comments!

YES! I knew I was right...I am so intense about winning this thing!

Congrats on the new car! I love the chocolate mousse as well! It was one of my fav desserts. I feel the same way. I can't wait till I have that again.

P.S. I just followed you on Twitter after seeing you talk about it!

Thank you so much! I'm so excited!

YES! That mousse is so good!

Yay! I'm following you too now!

Joni I just have to tell you you wrote an awesome trip report. I'm a lurker and never post but I just had to tell you how much I've enjoyed your tr. I look forward to more entertaining ones in the future!

Thank you so much for your comment and friend request! I'm really glad you enjoy all my TRs! I'm hoping to make my upcoming one my best yet, so keep reading!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

It was one of my fav desserts. I feel the same way. I can't wait till I have that again.

I don't really get the chocolate Mouse to me it doesn't really seam to be much of a Canadian Desert. As far as this Canuck is concerned the Maple Creme Brule is the best desert on the menu there, maybe even in all of Walt Disney World.

 

[therussells08]

I don't really get the chocolate Mouse to me it doesn't really seam to be much of a Canadian Desert. As far as this Canuck is concerned the Maple Creme Brule is the best desert on the menu there, maybe even in all of Walt Disney World.

I can definitely see where there's nothing really Canadian about that dessert...maybe that's why they made it shaped like a moose?

I really want to like the maple creme brulee, and I might, but I just can't get into creme brulee in general. I don't know what's wrong with me, because everyone else seems to love it!

 

[therussells08]

Helloooo DISers! How are you all doing on this lovely Sunday? I am doing fantastic, because I am officially TWO WEEKS away from my trip! Oh my goodness. That’s really soon. Also, John is coming home from Texas TOMORROW! AHHH! The only downside to this is that I will be out of town tomorrow for a four day work conference (boo) but he is coming there to see me! DOUBLE YAY. I’m sorry, but I’m just feeling very excited about life at the moment.

As for this TR, it’s very close to being finished! I feel bad because since this trip was so last minute for us I really didn’t maintain my usual level of awesomeness when preparing for a trip report, like taking tons of pictures and notes. Unfortunately that means this TR has been a little shorter than my others, and possibly a little less entertaining. I apologize for that. However, I will tell you that my next TR is going to be INSANE. I’ve already got a plan for how I’m going to write it, and I’m super excited about it. So please stick with me, even if the end of this thing is a little boring!

Alright, let’s do it!

When I left off, we were finishing up a very satisfying lunch at Le Cellier. This marked our second time at Le Cellier in less that a week. Don’t let my momma know! But really, it’s that good.

After leaving Germany we did a little wandering and ended up in China!

Did you know that is called the Temple of Heaven, and it represents the Chinese universe? It is also a one half scale reproduction of its counterpart in Beijing. Yeah, if you didn’t know that don’t feel bad, because I didn’t either. I just Googled it.

We decided to skip over Reflections of China AGAIN (I still have yet to see that show) and do some more in depth exploring!

Thank goodness we did, because we stumbled upon something that we had no idea existed!

The Tomb Warriors! If you don’t know what they are, here is the info from the plaque posted near them:

"Tomb Warriors - Qin Dynasty (221 - 210 B.C.). These tomb warriors were intented to be the protectors of the emperor beyond the grave. Because nearly all the faces of the tomb warriors are unique, some archeologist believe that the figures were modeled after real solders. Many other emperors followed Qin's example and created their own special armies. One tomb even provided a mess hall for the convenience of the terracotta statues."

SO COOL. Here’s another picture, this time with flash!

I was super impressed by the part that said that each Tomb Warrior was unique and probably modeled after real soldiers, so I started getting creepy with my zoom and examining their faces in greater detail.

In this next picture, check out the happy little dude on the second row, far right. He is super stoked about being all terracotta and protecting his emperor.

I really liked him, so I tried to do the creep on him, but my zoom wasn’t being cooperative.

Since I've made it a habit to name things on this trip, I thought he looked like a Larry.

They even had some really cool terracotta horses, but I didn’t take any pictures of them unfortunately.

I was so glad that we took the time to check this stuff out! It was so neat learning a little more about China’s culture, and I felt like that was really a hidden gem that we had overlooked in the past!

Next we decided to check out the gift shop in China, so we headed to Yong Feng Shangdian Department Store!

I was really excited about the white Buddha statue. I always teach my 10th graders Siddhartha, so I wanted to take lots of pictures so I could show them the statue!

John was very patient as I obsessed over this statue for an excessive amount of time.

Then I saw the golden happy Buddha and loved him too! Of course, it was another episode of no flash vs. flash.

We ended up doing what we usually do in the WS gift shops, which is wander around for a really long time but buy nothing. I just like seeing everything!

We had a really great time exploring China in more detail, but looking back there’s still so much that we haven’t seen! I swear, I am taking full advantage of staying at the Beach Club on this upcoming trip and spending a TON of time in the World Showcase!

Up Next: More exploring in the WS, and I finally try a DISboard favorite! Stay tuned!

 

[RachelNinja]

I'm so happy that you are thrilled right now what with John coming home and your trip only 2 weeks away! HOW EXCITING! Haha, I love how there's always a Joni TR to look forward to! I love all of 'em, but I'm also very eager to know what new way you will be writing the next one.

HAHA, love how you creeped on the terra cotta warriors. What's really cool is that now they have an exhibit at Discovery Times Square in NYC! It's a small museum that changes it's exhibits so you can see the traveling artifacts (ex. on class trips, we've gone to see the King Tut exhibit and then this past year, we saw the Dead Sea Scrolls). I'm interested in seeing the warriors, but I'm very used to going on the trips and NOT paying, haha. The tickets are $27 for such a brief experience ALTHOUGH I'd actually be able to read everything as opposed to making sure my kids behave!

Funny, I was just recently talking about Siddhartha with my mom because my younger brother is starting HS in September, and I was mentioning all the books I had to read in the Scholars Academy (the high honors program that my mom and I are stressed about Matt staying in because you have to maintain a certain average). I've said it before, but I wish I could sit in your classes!!!

 

[Reberella]

Yay for 2 weeks and John coming home!!! That's going to be so exciting!

Your report isn't getting boring! Your TRs are some of my favorites

Haha! Love the creeping on the statues...

I love the China giftshop... there's so much meaning behind everything they sell, it's so interesting to just read everything they have!

 

[JLCJMC]

Well I have been gone for a bit and so much has happened!
First of all nice new car and happy John coming home! Just think how much you will save in gas on the drive to Disney!

Really have enjoyed all of the TR news and I have to say I have never seen the the terra cotta warriors either (not in dozens of Epcot trips!) Thanks for sharing - I will definitely check them out when we are down there in August.

I hope you are enjoying you summer - I know the end of the school year was just a whirlwind for me - this is day four of my first five days off in a very long time --- other than writing my grad school papers it has been nice a relaxing

Looking forward to the next TR

 

[marDgreen88]

I'm so excited for you that you get to see John!! Since you'll be out of town, does that mean no update until you get back? I'll try to wait that long. Sigh.

OMG I cannot wait for your INSANE TR. I really can't. AHHHH! You know what TR will be insane as well? (You do... you totally do. )

Yes Joni. I knew all about the Temple of Heaven... because I just read about it in your update.

HAHAHAH you creeped on the tomb warriors. Classic. I'm so glad Larry is happy with his line of work! GET IT? LINE? They're in LINES.

I'm glad you and Buddha are so happy together.

You know, the way you feel about China is the way I feel about World Showcase as a whole. For whatever reason it's the most unexplored part of Disney for me. We're making a point to do it right this time and I'm so excited!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Haha, to flash or not to flash....that is the question.

I love the China pavilion. I can spend so much time just in the store alone. And I can never make it out of there empty handed.

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Wow, I can't believe this trip report is almost done already! It feels like my Christmas trip will NEVER be finished. Oh well.

This trip report was NOT boring. Your trip reports are ALWAYS amazing!!! I always look forward to your updates! I'm really excited to read your next one... it sounds like you've got a good idea formulating in your head!

LOL don't worry - I don't think I have ever watched Reflections of China, O Canada, Impressions de France, etc. I always get to them, and I'm like... eh not today. I just never feel like using up my time to see them! I probably should though just to have the experience.

I never noticed that temple! Very cool!

What subjects do you teach? I always forget to ask you that. Social Studies?

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I can definitely see where there's nothing really Canadian about that dessert...maybe that's why they made it shaped like a moose?

I really want to like the maple creme brulee, and I might, but I just can't get into creme brulee in general. I don't know what's wrong with me, because everyone else seems to love it!

That's ok about not liking Creme Brule its's on of those things that not everyone likes. It just seams sometimes that on the Dis every tme anyone has a desert at Le Celier it is always the chocolate mouse, which I'm sure is great, I will usually go for anything chocolate. One of the reasons I tried the Maple Creme Brule in the first place is because it has been on the menu as long as the Cheddar Cheese soup all the way back to when it was a Cafeteria style restaurant, plus how can you go wrong with maple syrup.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

I hope that this "disboard favorite" is SCHOOL BREAD!!!!!

 

[ShannonMarie]

Thanks for sharing that about china! My son will be so excited to see those figures and we would have missed it during our Sept trip!

 

[CAStevens218]

For some reason we have NEVER made it into China OR Japan....like, not at all. We have always just walked by. I WILL remedy that this time...we are staying at the Beach Club too, in a month, which should make it easy to spend extra time exploring World Showcase!

 

[beachphotog]

Hey everyone! So before I do my update, I just wanted to let you know- I finally joined the 21st century and got a Twitter account! I would love to follow all of my DIS friends, so please let know if you’re on there too! My name is @Joni_Russell so I hope to see you over there!

Up Next: Our first ADR of the trip! Where was it? Stay tuned!

2 things... 1) loving your trip report so far, and 2) I'm on twitter, too and I like to find other Dis-er's over there! You can find me at @beachphotog!

Now, off to read the rest of your report!

 

[Nermel9]

Yay so glad John is back from Texas and your trip is SO close! I can't wait for your next TR, and this new way of writing it you're going to try...I didn't know there were other ways of writing a TR, so I'm intrigued!

We never spend a lot of time in China either! We did go inside to look at those soldiers, but I get bored really quickly and Brandon wants to read every little sign about every little thing. I do want to see the movie, though, we always skip it!

Ummm...something tells me that soldier's name wasn't Larry!

I'm so excited that you are staying at the Beach Club, you are going to love being so close to Epcot!

 

[marDgreen88]

I'm having update withdrawals.

 

[stimmons]

Yayyyy! I'm so excited for the next TR! But I'm holding faithful to this one too. And never be sorry for excitement!


Ok, Joni. I'm starting to get creeped out. I just bought that shirt you have on in those China pictures. I think we might have the same WDW wardrobe.