Soarin' from Scotland to Mickey - our June 09 adventure! *updated 12/20 - the end!

[marsa1969]

Walmart????
Where do I start? I have no idea why we love it so much!

WOW! I live in the land of Walmart home offices. I guess I take what they have for granted. I hate going to the Walmart Supercenter in my town - to busy! They have smaller stores called Neighborhood Markets, I like it much better although it is much smaller.
I like the Charlie & Lola shirt - it "goes with" the bunny foo foo song!

 

[shannon47142]

loved to read your list of shopping pictures!!
my question is how did you guys manage to pack everything for the return trip home??

 

[ScotsMinnie]

It’s the day of my surprise! I had been a bit nervous about keeping my secret and DH thought I was going to blow it on numerous occasions! I was doing well though and noone was suspecting anything.


Epcot for opening again!!!! This time I made my way to Soarin for fastpasses. It was not as bad as what I thought. I did not rush, I just walked slowly and I got tickets for about 10.30 and I was at the back of the line. Not too bad! Dad, DH and E were already on Test Track standby when I got there after having got a baby swap pass for Mum and I. Here is a wee video of the loop bit of Test Track when Mum, E and I rode it! Sorry about the screaming!!!!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v704/RinkyTink/?action=view&current=P1040124.flv

Here is DH and E enjoying their time trying out the cars!

We had a little look at the butterfly garden on the way out. You try taking a picture of 2 girls when butterflies were around. Never going to happen!

We walked through Innoventions and the girls had some fun doing the Piggy Bank Adventure. They loved this and we ended up doing it again.

We earned enough for our dream vacation! Hope that is a good omen for a future trip to WDW!
Then its off to do Soarin! We got front row again which was great – I love being up front.
When we all had ridden K was fast asleep in her buggy and we set off for World Showcase. We had gone but a few steps and DH, Dad and E decide to go off and get a quick ride on Mission Space before we do so.

Plans are made to meet in China for lunch. Mum and I have a leisurely stroll towards China and have a little stop in Mexico. I love Mexico – it looks great in there. One day I must have dinner in here – its such a nice setting.

Then it is off to China. I have to say I love China too. All the buildings are so beautiful.

As K naps we sit and watch the world go by. When she wakes she has a little look round.

Eventually E appears and we have lunch which is delicious.
E has a plan in mind today and it involves Japan and the tales of Hello Kitty merchandise we have told her about. She has her purse with her and she has every intention of spending some money! We stop at the jungle drums of course and have a little play.

Some pics of the countries we passed on the way......

More in next post....

 

[MRYPPNS]

Chamilia and Pandora are almost identical. They do the Disney range and they are gorgeous. I have the cinderella coach and the castle charms from that range They are lovely. Think there is something about other brands of charms not fitting a pandora bracelet but pandora charms do fit all other brands. Or something like that. If you are thinking of getting one you should check on that! here is the link to chamilia.

Chamilia beads

Would love to see your full bracelet if you have a pic. They are so beautiful when they are full.

OMG! I went to that website and now I want to get one of those bracelets. I found a shop about a half hour drive from my house that says they sell them. I so need all those cute Mickey charms!!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

The second part of my post seems to have disappeared. Take two!


We reach Japan and let E loose on the shop. There is too much choice and she struggles to make decisions! K decides that she loves Hello Kitty too and picks out a Hello Kitty plush which you can dress up. Granny and granddad treat her to an outfit for it too. E chooses a bag, purse, etc and is also treated by her grandparents to some little extras.

We go to look at the Pearl counter and I decide to buy an oyster for each of them. The girl who opened them for her was fantastic – she made such a big deal of it for them. K was enthralled by her! Both pearls were 7mm and Ks was a bit pinkish and both were beautiful. We got them set in a pendant so each of them have a really beautiful reminder of the trip that they can keep forever.

It only took 20 mins to do so Steve waited and we wandered on with plans to meet in the UK as Mum wanted to see the British Invasion that she saw last year and loved. When we got there K’s favourite character Mary Poppins was on her way out to do a meet and greet so she took off in her direction and her and E had lovely interaction with her. Mary Poppins fixed Ks hair clasp which she was pleased about and they posed for some pics.

Afterwards they also met Alice who was a lovely girl – very in character!
E did not stop talking about Mary P for a long while.

E and I posing by the fountain in the UK.

As we walked through Canada we spotted Off Kilter on stage. It was very strange to be hearing men in kilts playing bagpipes and singing Loch Lomond in Disney! Lots of fun but no shade and we were baking so listened for a while then moved on.

Now knowing that we have a big night planned we get home and have a dip in the pool. Then its baths and showers all round as we get dressed up for our big night out.

Would I be able to pull off my big surprise??

 

[tinkgurl]

Oh my gosh, I can't wait to hear how the surprise went! I loved helping you plan it! I thought about you every time I looked at the Cali Grill!

 

[irky416]

I always wanted an to do the oyster and never did. The picture with Mary Poppins is cute!

I can't wait to read about your surprise!

 

[marsa1969]

I cannot wait to see if the suprise went as planned.

 

[disneydusted]

I enjoyed your pictures of WS! I love walking around there just absorbing it all in. Italy always seems to pull me in.
I think the photo of your two girls with Mary Poppins is so cute. She was the one character that I wanted a picture with. How crazy is that??!! Here I am, a 40 something mom wanting a picture with "that Poppins woman"! She was larger than life to me when I was growing up! My daughter thought I had lost it!
I looked at the Chamilia beads... oooo, I think I would like the Mickey Script and the Silver Engraved Mickey. I am partial to the hidden Mickey look. I looked at their stores and there is one about 25 minutes from here.
I would post a photo of my pandora bracelet but I don't know how to do that. The beads are mostly silver, some have a bit of gold on them. I would love to do a gold bracelet but wow!! those beads are expensive!!
Can't wait to hear about your surprise and how you pulled it off!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Oh my gosh, I can't wait to hear how the surprise went! I loved helping you plan it! I thought about you every time I looked at the Cali Grill!

Thought you might appreciate this. My girls love this video and they tend to dance a bit crazy to it. I think it is quite funny in a Charlie and Lola way! Don't know if you have seen it before?

Charlie and Lola - Bestest in the Barn Video

 

[tinkgurl]

Thought you might appreciate this. My girls love this video and they tend to dance a bit crazy to it. I think it is quite funny in a Charlie and Lola way! Don't know if you have seen it before?

Charlie and Lola - Bestest in the Barn Video

Aw that's so cute! I've seen the show before, but not this particular video!

 

[jagmom]

I can't wait to hear about the surprise.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

If you have read my pretrippie then you will know that the plans for tonight that I have shared with my Mum, Dad and girls is not what we are actually doing! So what do they think we are doing?

They think we will be going to park at the Contemporary Resort showing our booking for the Boardwalk to get through the security gates. We are then going to walk through the hotel to the boat marina and catch a boat which will take us to the Boardwalk. At the Boardwalk we will be going to a restaurant which does very nice food and requires people to dress up a little bit. As it is the 3rd July the fireworks for the celebration will be shown at the Magic Kingdom and we plan to time our journey home on the boat so we can watch the 4th July fireworks.

Now Disers will know that this plan is utter rubbish. Impossible really! But they don’t know that! They believe anything I say about Disney and this was the reason behind me being able to pull it off.


So what did we actually do? We all got dressed up in smart clothes and into the car. I printed out a special note to the security guard at the gate of the contemporary and handed it to him when we pulled up.

It said “It’s a surprise! The rest of the car don’t know that we have a reservation at the California Grill at 7.40pm ADR number 394788928590. Please don’t give away my secret!!! Thanks!”

He smiled at me and waved us through. We got parked and made our way into the hotel. Up the escalator everyone was chatting about the fireworks and then Steve suddenly says “you know what guys – I know a much better place to watch the fireworks!” and heads to the check in desk for the California Grill. My Mums face was a picture and it took her a while to catch on. She was so excited and could hardly believe it. She did mention that she can’t believe I kept a secret! (I am that rubbish). The girls at the check in desk were excited for Mum and Dad when they realised the meal was a surprise. We got escorted up to the California Grill and even the girls were excited about having dinner there. We were given our pager and took the opportunity to go out onto the viewing area to check out the view. Everyone was blown away and Mum had a wee tear in her eye. E and K had great fun spotting landmarks they recognised.

In no time we were called to our table which was overlooking the Epcot side at the window.

Our server was lovely. I got out my iPhone for K as I had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on it for her to watch to keep her happy. I was aware we were in a restaurant that is not necessarily aimed at kids so wanted to make sure she was happy and quiet and did not bother anyone else eating there! E was really enjoying being a grown up and chatted with us and played with the puzzle book/menu she was given. Let me try to remember what we ordered!!!
Sushi – California Roll and Sashimi
Starters – Asian Rock Shrimp Salad. (can’t remember the rest!)
Mains – I had Pork medallions, Mum had Lamb chops, Steve and Dad had Steak. K had pizza and E had a kids steak.
Deserts – Mum and I shared the Trio of temptation and Dad and Steve had a chocolate thing. K had ice cream and E had the best dessert I have every seen. She had the crisped rice sushi plate. It was crisped rice and candy made up to look like sushi and it was very effective. It even had chewy candy as the ginger and a marshmallow as the wasabi. Here is a pic of it. Needless to say she ate it all up!

When we had finished eating it was time to go outside. At 9pm tonight they were showing the 4th July fireworks even though it was the 3rd. Very excited for this. We got a good spot on the walkway along with quite a few other people. I picked K up as she could only see legs but E got a good view.

Very difficult to describe how amazing the fireworks were and how fantastic it was to see them from up there. They were being set off round the seven seas lagoon as well as where Wishes normally goes from. It was the biggest most impressive fireworks display I have ever seen. I think the patriotism there is in the States is something really special. It was lovely to have been a part of it. Everyone applauded at the end and it was then we noticed that K who I thought had been enthralled curled into my shoulder was actually fast asleep! Wee soul! Mum was a bit overcome and had a wee tear in her eye. Made all the planning and secrets worth it to see how much she enjoyed it. She really deserved that treat! Steve and Dad really enjoyed it too and E said she thought it was great. She usually is not sure of fireworks as she doesn’t like the bangs much. Can’t believe K fell asleep and missed half of it.

We finished our meal and got organised to go.

Katie on the way out. Exhausted!

I must say it was an amazing night. The food was out of this world (and the kids meals were also great. E loved her grown up steak!), expensive but absolutely worth it for a treat. The 4th July fireworks from up on the walkway were fantastic. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

 

[tinkgurl]

Oh my gosh, I'm so glad the surprise worked out! What a great view!

 

[mamaboogie]

Hello from not so sunny Scarborough!

I'm loving your trip report - great work!

What a fantastic surprise! I love the California Grill especially watching the fireworks up there!

(What a lovely family you have - your enjoyment shines through in every update! )

Shari xx

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Hello from not so sunny Scarborough!

I'm loving your trip report - great work!

What a fantastic surprise! I love the California Grill especially watching the fireworks up there!

(What a lovely family you have - your enjoyment shines through in every update! )

Shari xx

Thanks! The California Grill is fabulous. There is no view like it!

Is Scarborough sunny just now? We are having a terrible summer! Wishing for some sun before the school holidays end in less than 3 weeks!

 

[jagmom]

That sounds so cool!

 

[irky416]

I'm so glad the surprise worked out!!!!

Sounds like it was an amazing time!

 

[shannon47142]

so glad the surprise worked out!!!
what an amazing view

 

[disneydusted]

I'm so glad it all worked and they were surprised! The note to the guard was good thinking on your part!
The view up there is super, I have only seen it at night so I enjoyed your photos of the parks and the Lagoon. What a great dinner!