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

[mommytothreeboys]

The World Showcase is one of my very favorite places to be at WDW. You got some beautiful pictures!

My boys did the KP mission in China as well...so fun!

MMM...I may have to try one of those drinks! That looks delicious!

The pic of you and DH waiting for Illuminations is so cute!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I missed two updates but am caught up now. As I've said before, your Flower & Garden Festival pictures are absolutely beautiful! I am so sad that they decided to make it end earlier this year because I love seeing the park decorated with the flowers and topiaries.

It's good that you got to ride Maelstrom for the first time. We really enjoy the boat ride but have been lucky with our timing and have never had to wait long to slip through the doors and through the theater.

Glad to hear that the boys enjoyed the Kim Possible mission. Lacey and Hunter did it last year while John and I sat on an "off the beaten path" sidewalk and people watched.

First time seeing Illuminations! Isn't it amazing? We love it!

 

[Angies1274]

Great updates! I just love Epcot (especially the World Showcase) in the evenings. It's a great time to just browse around taking in the countries and ending with Illuminations! I'm glad you guys were able to experience it! Can't wait to hear about the Magic Kingdom

Thanks! I love the WS at night...it's so beautiful all lit up! I'm happy we got a chance to just take everything in. Of course, there is still so much we missed...again. But it gives us a great excuse to go back!!

The World Showcase is one of my very favorite places to be at WDW. You got some beautiful pictures!

My boys did the KP mission in China as well...so fun!

MMM...I may have to try one of those drinks! That looks delicious!

The pic of you and DH waiting for Illuminations is so cute!!

Thanks Missy! We never seem to remember to take a picture of just DH and I when we're at Disney. Of course, I get tons of the boys and a few with either one of us with the boys....but it's very rare to get one of just the two of us!

That's so funny you got the mission in China too! The boys had a great time with it! I'm happy we finally got a chance to try it!

Oooh...that drink was so yummy!

I missed two updates but am caught up now. As I've said before, your Flower & Garden Festival pictures are absolutely beautiful! I am so sad that they decided to make it end earlier this year because I love seeing the park decorated with the flowers and topiaries.

It's good that you got to ride Maelstrom for the first time. We really enjoy the boat ride but have been lucky with our timing and have never had to wait long to slip through the doors and through the theater.

Glad to hear that the boys enjoyed the Kim Possible mission. Lacey and Hunter did it last year while John and I sat on an "off the beaten path" sidewalk and people watched.

First time seeing Illuminations! Isn't it amazing? We love it!

Hi Lisa!

The park is always so beautiful for the Flower and Garden Festival. That's too bad that it's ending earlier this year.

Yeah...it sounds like we were just unlikely when it came to having to wait for the doors to open after Maelstrom. We enjoyed the boat ride and probably would have stuck around for the movie if the boys weren't so anxious for Kim Possible.

We loved Illuminations! I'm so happy we finally had a chance to see it! Next trip, we're going to make a point to search for a spot a little earlier so we can have a better view.

Oh and I know I said it on your TR...but have a fabulous trip!! 1 day left!! You must be so excited!!

 

[Cory's Gal]

Your evening in WS sounded so wonderful Angie!! The KP Mission sounds like so much fun!! We HAVE to try it the next time around! We didn't explore the countries much with the kiddos this time. I hope we have a bit more stamina on the next trip, especially since Helen will be older!! They orange marnier looks heavenly!!! Looking forward to your day at Magic Kingdom!!

 

[Angies1274]

Your evening in WS sounded so wonderful Angie!! The KP Mission sounds like so much fun!! We HAVE to try it the next time around! We didn't explore the countries much with the kiddos this time. I hope we have a bit more stamina on the next trip, especially since Helen will be older!! They orange marnier looks heavenly!!! Looking forward to your day at Magic Kingdom!!

It was a wonderful evening!! The boys had so much fun doing KP! They have already asked if they can do it again next trip! We didn't explore the WS as much as I would have liked but I knew we could only get so much done since we only had a few hours. Next trip, my plan is to try and spend a whole day just at the WS. As the boys are getting older, they are enjoying it more and more!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

What a great afternoon/evening! I like the pictures of the KP mission...I haven't done the China one yet. The boys look like they were having so much fun.

Cool you got to see the acrobats! I hear they are amazing. Another thing I haven't seen.

Can't wait for more.

 

[Believeinfairytales]

So glad the boys enjoyed the KP Mission. I enjoyed all of your WS pics. I am happy that you enjoyed your drink so much - you're right, it looks yummy and refreshing! I can just hear your little ones begging for a taste - I know MINE would have!

(Just noticed how many times I used "enjoyed" in this post. )

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Hey Angie... Sorry I got behind but I'm caught up by your handy dandy chapter links.

Very pretty 'on the way' pictures.

We've been lucky and haven't been caught waiting for the doors to open after Maelstrom... I always feel bad though walking right thru. I have to resist the urge to turn to a CM and whisper, "we've seen this.. good movie."

Yay China! We had our mission there too and I agree.... I saw so many more things than I would have just wandering. My one complaint was that we had to do some searching in a place where many people were smoking.

Oooo the Acrobats! That's on my list for this year too, I can't believe we haven't come across them, even by chance. Some of those moves look pretty darn painful.

Love all your water shots and Snow White with the Dwarfs. Grand Marnier orange slushie.... is that a snack credit?

Oy those last second parade/fireworks people can drive me insane! I'm glad you were able to sit and enjoy Illuminations.... hey! Did you hear the whisper blowing the torches out? My favorite part!!

Great updates!

 

[Angies1274]

What a great afternoon/evening! I like the pictures of the KP mission...I haven't done the China one yet. The boys look like they were having so much fun.

Cool you got to see the acrobats! I hear they are amazing. Another thing I haven't seen.

Can't wait for more.

The KP mission was a lot of fun!! There was a lot of other people doing the same mission in China, so at the end it wasn't too much of surprise because we all seemed to be catching up to each other. But, the boys still really enjoyed it! I was just happy that they didn't fight over who was going to hold the phone.

I'm really glad we got a chance to see the acrobats. I thought for sure that we would miss them again this year! They were incredible!

So glad the boys enjoyed the KP Mission. I enjoyed all of your WS pics. I am happy that you enjoyed your drink so much - you're right, it looks yummy and refreshing! I can just hear your little ones begging for a taste - I know MINE would have!

(Just noticed how many times I used "enjoyed" in this post. )

Thanks! The boys loved the KP mission! I glad we finally got around to trying it this time! Oh and the drink was so refreshing! Those poor boys they wanted a taste so bad. We had asked them if they wanted ice cream or something but they decided to stick with their popcorn.

Hey Angie... Sorry I got behind but I'm caught up by your handy dandy chapter links.

Very pretty 'on the way' pictures.

We've been lucky and haven't been caught waiting for the doors to open after Maelstrom... I always feel bad though walking right thru. I have to resist the urge to turn to a CM and whisper, "we've seen this.. good movie."

Yay China! We had our mission there too and I agree.... I saw so many more things than I would have just wandering. My one complaint was that we had to do some searching in a place where many people were smoking.

Oooo the Acrobats! That's on my list for this year too, I can't believe we haven't come across them, even by chance. Some of those moves look pretty darn painful.

Love all your water shots and Snow White with the Dwarfs. Grand Marnier orange slushie.... is that a snack credit?

Oy those last second parade/fireworks people can drive me insane! I'm glad you were able to sit and enjoy Illuminations.... hey! Did you hear the whisper blowing the torches out? My favorite part!!

Great updates!

Hi Tracy!!

Thanks! The WS is so beautiful at night, so there is a lot of opportunities to get some great pictures! There were a few countries that I wish we would have had more time to check out but hopefully next trip.

That's funny about Maelstrom! I felt the same way...bad for just passing through....especially when we noticed that almost everyone else did the same exact thing.

The acrobats were amazing! You definitely need to try and see them! We were just in awe watching them!

The Grand Marnier orange slush a snack credit? Oh...how I wish it was!!

We did hear the whisper blowing the torches out! It was so amazing! We loved it! I wish we would have found a spot earlier so we had a better view (or at least one where someone couldn't stand in front of us.).... but there is always next time, right?

 

[Angies1274]

Hi Everyone!!
I thought I would try to get another update posted today since it's going to be such a busy weekend...and I won't have very much time to DIS.

But before I begin I wanted to share a few other pics that I have. For those of you who read my PTR, you may remember how excited I was to get photopass pictures taken this time. However..I wasn't too excited to have to pay the $149 for the CD but I was willing to pay the $99 that was supposed to come in an email to us 10 days before our trip. Well...I waited for the email and unfortunately it never arrived. I'll admit I was disappointed but I thought I would wait, head to Disney and do our best to get as many pics as we possibly could and maybe we would get lucky when got back to get another discount. The funny thing is..when we returned from our trip I realized that they had just barely released the pre-order discount again for everyone. (if they had just released it one week earlier.)

After we returned home, I was excited to look through the pictures to see how many we ended up with. I knew it wasn't that many because honestly we didn't see that many photopass photographers this trip. (maybe we were just looking in all the wrong places.) I was right..we only got around 70 or so and although I was very happy with the character pictures. They were ones that I had already taken with my camera, plus in a lot of pictures Nick was either squinting or Noah had his eyes closed. Ultimately, we decided against the CD this time. We just couldn't justify the cost with just a handful of favorites. Of course, I was disappointed because those favorites were hard to give up. So, I decided to do a little research and decided to purchase the photo calendar instead. It allowed me to choose 12 of my favorite photopass pictures plus it was less than a quarter of what the CD would cost. We received it a couple weeks ago and it's so cute! I'm very happy with it!! Here are a few from our Epcot day.....

Lets get on with the update...shall we?

April 14, 2010--Magic Kingdom

We were so exhausted from Epcot, that once we hit the bed we were out for the night. I was so happy that we could sleep in the next morning especially after barely getting any sleep for the last couple days. Technically, it wasn't really sleeping in because we were hoping to get to the Magic Kingdom for the opening show. But at least it wasn't an EMH morning and honestly sleeping until almost 7:00am at Disney is sleeping in for us! LOL

When I woke up the next morning, DH was opening the curtains and I immediately saw the sun shine through the room. Ahh...it was supposed to be another beautiful day. I was so excited! Although, I love all the parks Magic Kingdom is my most favorite! There is nothing like it in the whole world. I got up and started getting ready. It wasn't long before the boys were up, the bag was repacked and we were heading out the door for breakfast.

When we arrived, we grabbed the usual...muffins, croissants, coffee and juice and found a table in our favorite spot. After breakfast, DH decided to run the mugs back to the room while the boys and I went to wait on a bench near the bus stop.
Oh look..a Magic Kingdom bus! Too bad DH wasn't back yet!

Oh well..it wasn't long before he did return and another bus pulled up and we were on our way. I guess it might have been a good thing he didn't make it for the first bus anyways because we had a great bus driver who when we got to the Magic Kingdom told us she would pull up as close as she could get without getting into trouble. It did seem much closer than normal so YAY!

Again, I knew the first thing I needed to do was to head to Will Call to get our GAD fastpasses for the day. We used my voucher this time so I got my super cute VoluntEAR button. It was funny because Magic Kingdom was the only place we had to wait in line at Will Call all the other parks were just a walk up.

After getting our fastpasses, we made our way inside and positioned ourselves in front of the train station and waited for the show to begin. I know I have said it numerous time before, but we love this show! We have to catch it at least once during our trips! It's so magical!

Waiting for it to begin.....

It wasn't long before we were hearing "Welcome, Welcome, Welcome"

"Welcome to the Most Magical Place on Earth!"

“Good morning. Good morning. It’s great to stay up late. Good morning. Good morning to you, and you and you and you.”
Can't you just hear it?

They have arrived!!!

Then the countdown begins....10....9.....8....7........and before you know it, streamers are flying and we are being welcomed into the Magic Kingdom!

At this point, everyone is rushing in. We usually hang back for a little bit so we don't feel like this. I grab some maps, and a times guide and we step into the magic! It isn't long before we are walking back down Main Street and seeing one of my very favorite sights in all the parks...Cinderella's castle!

Of course, we stopped to get a few pictures....

Our photopass picture--

Funny story about this picture. The sun was very bright that morning, people were everywhere around the castle trying to get their own pictures and our photopass photographer did not appear to be in the best mood. Probably because every time she tried to take our picture someone would step in next to us or walk behind us. Apparently, she had gotten so frustrated waiting that she just took the picture anyway. Let's just say when we got home and looked at the picture there was a nice lady in a bright pink shirt that was standing next to me with her back turned looking at the castle is my guess. It took a lot of cropping and figuring out the best way to make the picture work. This was what I came up with. Come to find out when I got the picture, I guess I was so concerned with the lady next to me. I didn't really look too closely at Noah and his eyes are closed....ugh! oh well!

One last picture before we decided what to do next....

So...what did we do next? Did we head left towards Adventureland or right towards Tomorrowland? Hmmm....you'll have to wait and find out........

Up Next-- Hold on tight!!!

 

[jenniferkeala808]

Alrighty Angie, keep us in suspense why don't you?! LOL!! Great start to your MK day! Loving those pics from the Rope Drop Ceremony and also of the castle!! come on now..........waiting for the next installment! LOL!

 

[dismagiclover]

A Magic Kingdom day awaits! Nothing better than that! Don't keep us in suspense too long

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Too bad the Photopass CD didn't come together for you but I really like the calendar!

It's MK day! I didn't know the Mayor was in the opening show! I have a picture of him with Ariana from our last trip. I would love to have that job!

Ok, I'm going to guess from your 'hold on tight' coming-up-next title that you hung a left to Adventureland to a runaway train!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

The calendar is really cute. I think that's a great compromise..you get your faves and save a few bucks!

I can almost feel the magic looking at your pictures...the Magic Kingdom really is something special.

 

[Angies1274]

Alrighty Angie, keep us in suspense why don't you?! LOL!! Great start to your MK day! Loving those pics from the Rope Drop Ceremony and also of the castle!! come on now..........waiting for the next installment! LOL!

I'll try not to make you wait too long!!

A Magic Kingdom day awaits! Nothing better than that! Don't keep us in suspense too long

Ahh...there is nothing like a Magic Kingdom day! Can't wait to share it with you!!

Too bad the Photopass CD didn't come together for you but I really like the calendar!

It's MK day! I didn't know the Mayor was in the opening show! I have a picture of him with Ariana from our last trip. I would love to have that job!

Ok, I'm going to guess from your 'hold on tight' coming-up-next title that you hung a left to Adventureland to a runaway train!

I was sad about the photopass CD at first, but I'm happy with the calendar! It was nice to be able to keep those family shots. Especially since we rarely get them in Disney because I'm the one who takes all the pictures!

Hmm....Adventureland...huh? You may be surprised.

The calendar is really cute. I think that's a great compromise..you get your faves and save a few bucks!

I can almost feel the magic looking at your pictures...the Magic Kingdom really is something special.

Thanks Missy! It was definitely a great compromise! I'm really happy we decided to go with the calendar!

We love Magic Kingdom at opening! Just that feeling you get watching the opening show and walking down Main Street after the sun has just come up is really beautiful!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

What a great picture!!

Reading about your Epcot evening gets me motivated to post my next update... our Epcot evening!!

I like how you guys choose different countries to explore each year - that's a great strategy!! Sounds like your KP mission was fun too... I'd love to try China! And I'm so glad you got to see the acrobats... I had wanted to catch the show, but it just didn't work out. We walked by as it was going on, but it was too crowded to try to stop and find a spot to watch.

Sounds like your MK morning is off to a good start too!

 

[ellajeansmom]

Great updates Angie! What a wonderful evening at Epcot, so many things accomplished that you wanted to see

Glad to hear the boys enjoyed the KP mission, it is on Ella's "must do" list for next time Loved all the "across the water" pics, so pretty That slushie looked yummy, that will be on my "must do" list for next time

Getting a good spot for Illuminations is definitely tricky but it sounds like you did better than us if the kids could at least partially see the globe, I don't think ours saw it at all

I've said before, the opening at MK looks so fun, but I do not have high hopes of our crew getting up in time

Too bad about the photopass CD, but the calendar was a great idea and it looks like you got lots of great pics in it!

Looking forward to the rest of your MK day!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Oh, I love the calendar! Very cute. Can't wait to hear about your day at MK!

 

[Angies1274]

What a great picture!!

Reading about your Epcot evening gets me motivated to post my next update... our Epcot evening!!

I like how you guys choose different countries to explore each year - that's a great strategy!! Sounds like your KP mission was fun too... I'd love to try China! And I'm so glad you got to see the acrobats... I had wanted to catch the show, but it just didn't work out. We walked by as it was going on, but it was too crowded to try to stop and find a spot to watch.

Sounds like your MK morning is off to a good start too!

Thanks Amy!

The KP mission was a lot of fun and I'm really glad we were able to do it in China because that was one of the countries we had yet to explore.

We almost missed the acrobats too....just before we headed to Norway I had noticed that a show was getting ready to start and actually ran over with Noah but it was so crowded and we only caught a little bit at the end. I was so happy that another show was starting when we finished our KP mission and we were able to see it after all!

Great updates Angie! What a wonderful evening at Epcot, so many things accomplished that you wanted to see

Glad to hear the boys enjoyed the KP mission, it is on Ella's "must do" list for next time Loved all the "across the water" pics, so pretty That slushie looked yummy, that will be on my "must do" list for next time

Getting a good spot for Illuminations is definitely tricky but it sounds like you did better than us if the kids could at least partially see the globe, I don't think ours saw it at all

I've said before, the opening at MK looks so fun, but I do not have high hopes of our crew getting up in time

Too bad about the photopass CD, but the calendar was a great idea and it looks like you got lots of great pics in it!

Looking forward to the rest of your MK day!

Hi Lara!

Thanks!! I'm glad that we were able to accomplish as much as we did in Epcot! It really was a great night!

The KP mission was so much fun! It was nice to see the boys working together on something for a change. They are at that age where they can't seem to agree on anything. But they loved it and I'm sure Ella will too!!

It was very tricky finding a good spot for Illuminations. I wish we would have been able to find a better spot but the boys were really tired and just wanted to sit down. Sorry that your girls didn't get to see the globe. The boys got a glimpse at the beginning but they didn't see much of it after that. I don't think they minded though....they were just waiting to see more fireworks anyway.

I was sad that we didn't get the photopass cd this time. It was really high on my must-do list for the trip. But, with the calendar I was able to keep some of those great shots so I was happy!

Oh, I love the calendar! Very cute. Can't wait to hear about your day at MK!

Thanks Sarah! I'm so happy with the calendar! It was a great compromise!!!

 

[Believeinfairytales]

Your morning MK pics are really great! Hmmm...you did a good job hiding the lady in the pink shirt on your calendar. I couldn't see her!