So Many Characters..So Little Time! Our April Adventure to the World! Complete:)

[jenniferkeala808]

HEY ANGIE!! Finally all caught up! Great start to your TR! You really know how to keep us in suspense huh? Great first day/arrival day update!! I've never ridden BTMRR in the dark! What a great idea! It's definitely on my to-do's for next year's trip! LOL!

Gotta love those EPCOT topiaries huh? Soooo cute! and sooo creative! LOL! Love Nick's reaction for Test Track! classic! LOL! I heard this happens a lot?? Awww sooo sorry about the Test Track picture!! The Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden is sooo cute!!

Well, can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[WDWsweetie]

subbing!
your trip sounds like it was such fun

 

[MickeyisBeast]

Loving your TR!
Your pics of the topiaries are awesome
Can't wait to read more

 

[Angies1274]

HEY ANGIE!! Finally all caught up! Great start to your TR! You really know how to keep us in suspense huh? Great first day/arrival day update!! I've never ridden BTMRR in the dark! What a great idea! It's definitely on my to-do's for next year's trip! LOL!

Gotta love those EPCOT topiaries huh? Soooo cute! and sooo creative! LOL! Love Nick's reaction for Test Track! classic! LOL! I heard this happens a lot?? Awww sooo sorry about the Test Track picture!! The Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden is sooo cute!!

Well, can't wait to hear more!!!

Hi Keala!!

Thanks! You should definitely ride BTMRR in the dark! It really is so much better, for some reason it feels faster and longer! We loved it!

I know...the topiaries were so pretty!!! Ahhh...Nick was pretty disappointed that TT broke down and we had to wait awhile....oh well at least we got to ride...eventually.

I can't wait for your TR to start!!

subbing!
your trip sounds like it was such fun

Hi!! Thanks for joining in!! It really was a great trip!!

Loving your TR!
Your pics of the topiaries are awesome
Can't wait to read more

Welcome! Glad you're here!!

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Everyone!! Hope you had a great weekend and all you DIS-Moms had a Happy Mother's Day!I had a great day, relaxing and spending time with family plus they took out me to dinner...you can't beat that!The only bad thing about yesterday is that it snowed! Hopefully, it will warm up this week and especially this weekend, it's Nick's birthday. I've got a party to plan for 10 year old boys....a little bit more tricky since they are really not into all those kid party games anymore.Hmm....I'll see what I can figure out???Oh and I almost forgot...They had Muffins for Mom at the boys school this morning. Ahhh....such a nice treat and a great way to start the day!

Anyway lets get on with this TR shall we??


April 13, 2010--Epcot continued!

When I left off, we finally got the chance to ride Test Track, and spent a little time exploring the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden. Our next stop was the Character Spot and I'm happy to say that I didn't get distracted this time and we made it to our destination! At this point it around 9:30am, I was hoping to get there closer to nine because honestly as much as I love the characters...I didn't want to spend all day waiting in line. (which is probably why I usually book Chef Mickey's so they can come to us.)

When we opened the door, we noticed there was already a good crowd of people, winding around and around. I got a little nervous and began to doubt whether we should wait. It probably wouldn't have made such a difference, if I knew we had another day to come back to Epcot but this was our only day and there was so much we still wanted to do. So...we walked...and I thought....do we stay?....do we go?.....the line kept growing behind us. It's not like the boys didn't have the Fab 5's autograph's...they got them last trip plus we had a character breakfast at the Tusker House at the end of the week....hmmm....we kept moving and I would look back. Finally, after about 10 minutes or so, the line seemed to move a little quicker and we started to get closer and closer to the front. Ultimately, we decided to wait it out...I mean how could we leave and not say Hi to Mickey and friends...right?

We finally made our way to the front and who did we see first.....Mickey of course!!

Nick really seemed to warm up to the characters this year. Noah on the other hand is still a little hesitant. (as you'll find out on our AK day)

Of course..we had to get a family picture!

Next up...Pluto!! Can I just say how much we love Pluto and how he does autographs especially...ahhh...he's so cute!

Ahhh....next up was Minnie!!

Noah is usually so serious around the characters....Donald must have did something funny....it's so good to see him smile!

Nick loved Donald!!

Last one up....was Goofy (their favorite!) They had the best interaction with him...I just wish I had gotten it on camera. But I guess I was just too busy watching and seeing the boys relax and have fun! Nick handed Goofy his pen and Goofy raised it up over his head. Nick tried to grab it jumping up and down...finally Noah joined in. They were jumping and running around him to get their pen back. It was very cute!! Anyways here's a few pics with Goofy I did get!

So...was it worth the wait??? Absolutely! The boys had a great time seeing the characters and Noah finally relaxed a little by the end which was wonderful!

After the Character Spot, we decided to head over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends. I grabbed a quick picture on the way in....

and another.....

and another.....

We finally made our way inside and around and around we went until it was time to board our clam shells. I love this ride!! I'm not sure why...but it's a must see for me every trip! Probably because Finding Nemo is one of my very favorite Disney movies.

"Nemo?"
"Where are you son?"
"Let's go explore the big blue world"

Here's my attempt at a few pictures (without flash of course...which is why they're so blurry....)

The boys love it when Peach the starfish hollers..."Wait take me with you..."

After our journey under the sea. I asked the boys what they wanted to do next. Usually we do Turtle Talk and do a little exploring. A show had just started for Turtle Talk and they weren't sure they wanted to wait for the next one to start. Besides..they were really anxious to get over to the Land to ride Soarin' and I must admit I was a little anxious myself...as I'm sure you all know...it's one of my very favorite rides in Epcot!

We decided to head over to the Land and try and make it back to the Seas with Nemo and friends later on...(yeah..we know how that works out, right?) We did stop in the gift shop and browse a little though. I found the Mine Mine Mine! t-shirt and almost picked it up because I've been wanting it since seeing it last trip. But..decided to wait...again. Oh well...what can I say? I guess I was distracted by the thought of the orange blossoms we would be smelling and fireworks we would be seeing soon.

So, off we went to fly over California! Plus it was going to be our first time using our GAD fastpasses. Hmm....how did it work out? Were we successful?

Stay tuned to find out.....

 

[jenniferkeala808]

Yay! Another update! Glad you got to your destination ok…and I like the idea of the characters coming to you! LOL! Those character meals are so much more relaxing than having to wait in line! Awww your character pics are super cute! I bet you’re glad you waited in that line! P.s., goofy’s my favorite too!! Gotta love him! I loooovveed that MINE!MINE!MINE! tshirt. When my boyfriend and I saw it, we looked at each other started laughing, and started doing our rendition of MINE!MINE!MINE! tooo funny! Can’t wait to see what happens next!

 

[mickeystoontown]

What great character pictures! I am sure that you were glad that you ultimately decided to stick it out and wait. I always like getting Pluto's autograph. He and Goofy seem to interact with the kids a lot.

I've thought about buying a Mine Mine Mine t-shirt too but haven't ever talked myself into it yet. Maybe this will be the trip that I finally buy it. From the way you're typing, it sounds like ya'll didn't get back to The Seas.

I can hardly wait to hear how your GAD passes worked out for you.

 

[dismagiclover]

Great update! I love the Epcot character spot. Even though it often has a bit of a wait you get the entire Fab 5 with only one line! Can't beat that. And you got some great pictures! I'll be interested to hear how the GAD fastpasses work out! I bet they were great.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Great Update! Enjoyed all the catch-up, I had to do. We would have definately ended up at a park with that extra $6 ticket! We just can't stay away.

Snow on Mom's Day! Ick! We bought DS the Mine! Mine! Mine! T-shirt during our last trip in 2009. He likes it and wears is on occasion but definately not to school. He is 13 in Middle School.

We also love the Epcot Character Spot, it is great. The only problem is we just discovered it during our last trip.

Our kids love Test Track and Soarin' along with a few other rides but they say Test Track is their Favorite in Epcot.

Looking forward to more.

 

[Believeinfairytales]

All caught up again! Great updates! Epcot has been good to you this day.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Aww, cute character pictures! Glad the boys had such a fun interaction with Goofy. Those are always such fun memories. I remember when my sisters and I were little we met Pluto in Starland (yes, before it was Toontown Fair!) and he was "drinking" water from a fountain. Well, he ended up licking me! haha

I'm very interested to hear how the GAD fastpasses worked out.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Hold on, hold on. Wait a second. The Mine! Mine! Mine! t-shirt was in your sights and you didn't get it? I'm throwing a few Disney hail marys as we speak (er, type).

I love the Character Spot but boy, can it fill up quickly eh? Glad you could stick it out, your pics are great. How awesome Goofy interacted like that with them. Gotta love it when they do more than just, "click" and "next!"

 

[Angies1274]

Yay! Another update! Glad you got to your destination ok…and I like the idea of the characters coming to you! LOL! Those character meals are so much more relaxing than having to wait in line! Awww your character pics are super cute! I bet you’re glad you waited in that line! P.s., goofy’s my favorite too!! Gotta love him! I loooovveed that MINE!MINE!MINE! tshirt. When my boyfriend and I saw it, we looked at each other started laughing, and started doing our rendition of MINE!MINE!MINE! tooo funny! Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Hi Keala! Yeah...I agree! We love the character meals...it's so nice to have the characters come around instead of having to wait in a really long line. Luckily, we got to the Character Spot pretty early or I'm sure it would have been much worse.

The MINE! MINE! MINE! shirt was adorable!! I''m still wishing I would have picked it up!!

What great character pictures! I am sure that you were glad that you ultimately decided to stick it out and wait. I always like getting Pluto's autograph. He and Goofy seem to interact with the kids a lot.

I've thought about buying a Mine Mine Mine t-shirt too but haven't ever talked myself into it yet. Maybe this will be the trip that I finally buy it. From the way you're typing, it sounds like ya'll didn't get back to The Seas.

I can hardly wait to hear how your GAD passes worked out for you.

Hi Lisa! Even though we had some doubts at the beginning, I'm really glad we decided to wait it out! The boys had a great time with the characters and I think the pictures came out pretty good too!!

Great update! I love the Epcot character spot. Even though it often has a bit of a wait you get the entire Fab 5 with only one line! Can't beat that. And you got some great pictures! I'll be interested to hear how the GAD fastpasses work out! I bet they were great.

Thanks!! I think it was your TR that made me want to bring the boys to the Character Spot! Your pictures with the Fab 5 turned out soooo cute! The wait wasn't really that bad...the line actually started moving pretty quickly which I was very happy about!

 

[Angies1274]

Great Update! Enjoyed all the catch-up, I had to do. We would have definately ended up at a park with that extra $6 ticket! We just can't stay away.

Snow on Mom's Day! Ick! We bought DS the Mine! Mine! Mine! T-shirt during our last trip in 2009. He likes it and wears is on occasion but definately not to school. He is 13 in Middle School.

We also love the Epcot Character Spot, it is great. The only problem is we just discovered it during our last trip.

Our kids love Test Track and Soarin' along with a few other rides but they say Test Track is their Favorite in Epcot.

Looking forward to more.

Hey! Thanks! I know for $6 we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go at park...especially MK!

I can't believe it snowed on Mother's Day...ugh! It's supposed to finally get back up into the 60's today! (hopefully!!)

Too funny about your son and the Mine!Mine!Mine! shirt! My son is the same way...he's purchased numerous shirts from Disney, but only wears them occasionally around the house. As much as he loves Disney he refuses to wear them to school.

All caught up again! Great updates! Epcot has been good to you this day.

Thanks!! Yes! Epcot was very good to us that day!!

Aww, cute character pictures! Glad the boys had such a fun interaction with Goofy. Those are always such fun memories. I remember when my sisters and I were little we met Pluto in Starland (yes, before it was Toontown Fair!) and he was "drinking" water from a fountain. Well, he ended up licking me! haha

I'm very interested to hear how the GAD fastpasses worked out.

Ahh...I think the pictures turned out pretty cute too! The boys had lots of fun with Goofy! (then again, they always seem to...which probably explains why he's their favorite)

That's so funny about Pluto licking you...

Hold on, hold on. Wait a second. The Mine! Mine! Mine! t-shirt was in your sights and you didn't get it? I'm throwing a few Disney hail marys as we speak (er, type).

I love the Character Spot but boy, can it fill up quickly eh? Glad you could stick it out, your pics are great. How awesome Goofy interacted like that with them. Gotta love it when they do more than just, "click" and "next!"

I know...crazy..right? I can't believe I didn't pick it up! What was I thinking?

The Character Spot can definitely fill up quick...which is why I had originally planned to get there when it first opened at nine. But...um...well...I got distracted by the adorable fairy garden.

Goofy was so much fun...like usual! As you know, it takes awhile for the boys to warm up to the characters...but they are getting so much better. Those autograph books have worked out great!

 

[Angies1274]

Hey..Did anyone else see this??

Disney's Art of Animation Resort Announced!

"A just-announced resort at Walt Disney World will bring to life some of animation's most beloved characters and stories. Disney's Art of Animation Resort will be one-of-a-kind, featuring family suites designed around four themes: The Lion King, Cars, Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid. There will be amazing sights at the different themed wings of the resort, including a model of King Triton that will eventually be 35 feet tall and tower over guests. And Disney's Art of Animation Resort will also have themed room interiors in its nearly 2,000 new units -- 1,120 family suites in The Lion King, Cars and Finding Nemo wings and 864 themed rooms in The Little Mermaid wings. Suites will have both a living room and a bedroom, offering added space. All of the themed suites and rooms at Disney's Art of Animation Resort (to be located adjacent to Pop Century Resort) are expected to open by the end of 2012." AllEarsNet


So exciting!! I knew there was a reason I wanted to go back in 2012!!

 

[dismagiclover]

I saw that too! It's exciting for a family of 5 like us! Though I do love the Deluxe resorts it will be much easier to talk DH into a trip if we could stay at the values. It will be fun to watch it develop!

 

[MickeyisBeast]

Hey..Did anyone else see this??

Disney's Art of Animation Resort Announced!

"A just-announced resort at Walt Disney World will bring to life some of animation's most beloved characters and stories. Disney's Art of Animation Resort will be one-of-a-kind, featuring family suites designed around four themes: The Lion King, Cars, Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid. There will be amazing sights at the different themed wings of the resort, including a model of King Triton that will eventually be 35 feet tall and tower over guests. And Disney's Art of Animation Resort will also have themed room interiors in its nearly 2,000 new units -- 1,120 family suites in The Lion King, Cars and Finding Nemo wings and 864 themed rooms in The Little Mermaid wings. Suites will have both a living room and a bedroom, offering added space. All of the themed suites and rooms at Disney's Art of Animation Resort (to be located adjacent to Pop Century Resort) are expected to open by the end of 2012." AllEarsNet


So exciting!! I knew there was a reason I wanted to go back in 2012!!

I was just looking at that!
I'm very excited for it, if we'd ever stay there, I'd want to stay in a Lion King room

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Hey..Did anyone else see this??

Disney's Art of Animation Resort Announced!

"A just-announced resort at Walt Disney World will bring to life some of animation's most beloved characters and stories. Disney's Art of Animation Resort will be one-of-a-kind, featuring family suites designed around four themes: The Lion King, Cars, Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid. There will be amazing sights at the different themed wings of the resort, including a model of King Triton that will eventually be 35 feet tall and tower over guests. And Disney's Art of Animation Resort will also have themed room interiors in its nearly 2,000 new units -- 1,120 family suites in The Lion King, Cars and Finding Nemo wings and 864 themed rooms in The Little Mermaid wings. Suites will have both a living room and a bedroom, offering added space. All of the themed suites and rooms at Disney's Art of Animation Resort (to be located adjacent to Pop Century Resort) are expected to open by the end of 2012." AllEarsNet


So exciting!! I knew there was a reason I wanted to go back in 2012!!

Angie I was just reading this! I'm so excited too! It's when we'd be going back again and the family suites would be perfect for my family of five! The Lion King... Cars... Finding Nemo!!

 

[Angies1274]

I saw that too! It's exciting for a family of 5 like us! Though I do love the Deluxe resorts it will be much easier to talk DH into a trip if we could stay at the values. It will be fun to watch it develop!

It will definitely be fun to watch develop!! I can't wait!! I think it's about time they did something like this because as far as value resorts go there are not very many options for a family of five!

I was just looking at that!
I'm very excited for it, if we'd ever stay there, I'd want to stay in a Lion King room

I can't wait to see the Lion King rooms!!

Angie I was just reading this! I'm so excited too! It's when we'd be going back again and the family suites would be perfect for my family of five! The Lion King... Cars... Finding Nemo!!

YAY! I know...so exciting! We were thinking of trying CBR when we go back in 2012, but this changes everything! The hard part now...would be trying to decide which section to request to stay in.

 

[Angies1274]

April 13, 2010--Epcot


When I left off, we had just finished visiting the Fab 5 and had a great time! We also stopped by the Seas with Nemo and Friends, tried to find Nemo, told Peach the starfish that "No..sadly we couldn't take her with us" and decided to hold off on Turtle Talk with Crush. We did however manage to stop in the gift shop on the way out, where I spotted the Mine! Mine! Mine! shirt...still wishing I had picked it up....there and the other couple places I came across it that day. Oh well..I'll get it one of these times!

Okay...so now that we are all caught up.....


We pushed open the doors and walked into the bright sunlight. It felt so good...now this was Florida weather. It had been a little cool since we arrived as you could probably tell from our jackets. Now...the jackets were shed and I tried to talk the boys into tying them around their waists. Noah was cooperative...Nick however wasn't.

" It looks like I'm wearing a skirt"
""
"Can't you just hold it?"
"No...it's not my jacket."
"UGH! Alright...Geez."

So, once we figured out what to do about the jackets. We stopped to say goodbye to a couple friends on the way over....bye Dory!

Before long, we had made our way inside and I snapped a quick picture on the way over to Soarin'.

We were anxious to try out our GAD fastpasses. I had read on the boards that there usually would be a special fastpass machine set up just for these types of fastpasses. However, upon entering the area I quickly looked around to see if I could find it. Hmm...no luck. A CM was standing close by so I approached her to ask. I just wanted to make sure that using them in the regular machine was okay. Sure enough...it was fine and we stuck our cards in and out popped 4 fastpasses that were ready to use. YAY!

Off we went around the corner towards our flight. It wasn't too long a wait and soon we were being led into row 3...again. (which is fine...really.. but once I'd like to be in row 1.) Oh well...I was still so excited to ride! It was funny because before the pre-boarding video started there was a family in row 2 and as the names of the different places flashed on the overhead screen. The little boy in the group was trying to make out the names and said them aloud. Let's just say, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite didn't quite come out as the were supposed to and we all got a good laugh.

Soon, the pre-boarding video began and we were listening to Patrick Warburton go over the safety rules....(okay a little off topic here but the other night DH was watching some half hour sitcom on CBS, I think? Anyway, I happened to walk in the room and who did I see but..Patrick Warburton himself and of course I exclaim "Hey..that's that guy from Soarin'" We both laughed because it occurred to us that most people would probably say "Hey, isn't that guy from Seinfeld?" But..nope not us...Soarin' it is!)

So, we waited while row 1 went...row 2 and now us! Yay! row 3! We sit down, buckle up, relax and enjoy Soarin' over California. We felt the breeze on our face, smelled the oranges and evergreens, ducked a golf ball, and experienced my favorite part as Tinkerbell enters and fireworks burst all around us!! Ahhh.....I love this ride!

After Soarin', we immediately headed over to Living with the Land. We were supposed to be able to use our GAD fastpasses for this ride also. However when we arrived the machines were covered so we just got into line with everyone else. I think it was maybe about 15 minute wait...not too bad. I took a couple pictures while waiting--

and of course, I took a ton on the ride itself. DH asked me if I tried to get a picture of every plant...well I tried. So sit back...relax as we enjoy Living with the Land!!

The boys like this part the best....

and...some more plant pictures!

After Living with the Land, our stomach's were grumbling and we decided to grab something to eat at Sunshine Seasons...which I love! It's one of our favorite CS places. We all decided to get Chinese. DH and I got the Sweet and Sour Chicken with Noodles and Stir fry vegetables. Nick got the kids Sweet and Sour Chicken and Noah of course got PB&J which I think he could eat at every meal. DH got the strawberry shortcake for dessert and I got the chocolate cake. What can I say? I can't resist anything with chocolate. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures. I put my camera away before we ordered and was so hungry..apparently I forgot to take it back out. But here is a picture from AllEars.net (of what Nick's meal looked like)

Oh my goodness..everything was so yummy!! The only thing about the Sunshine Seasons that we don't like is how hard it is to find a seat anywhere. After getting our food, we headed over to our favorite spot to sit in front of Living with the Land but it was roped off..ugh! We finally found a spot after circling the area a dozen or more times. We plopped down, and enjoyed our meal. Again, definitely one of our favorite CS!

We finished up our meal and headed back outside...we looked left...we looked right.

So...what did we do next?