SOOZE Return of the Band Geeks! What's Next Update! p.25 10/10

[Sooze]

great score on the show and the EE rides, was it EMH in there that night? we did not make it to our EMH at AK but we had enough in there and did everything.

Yes... it was EMH... the first time we waited for EE it was 20 minutes, then each time it went down.. by the last time, we just walked on!! Love EMH!!

What a memorable evening! I don't like feeding the birds either. I love that you had Camp Minnie Mickey to yourselves. This sounds like such a relaxing night!

It was awesome!! Such a rare occurrence to be in such an empty location... we loved it!

Great update!

Ugh! I can't stand it when people don't obey the rules! Especially when it comes to animals!!!

How awesome that the kids got to go up on stage!

Frustrating, isn't it?!?! I was so happy that they were chosen to do the hand jive. It really isn't a big deal, but to them... boy was it ever!!

We have never experienced EMH at AK, but we may need to put it on our to do list for next time. The park looked so peaceful and empty.

I love FotLK, and the music and the costuming are wonderful.

We didn't used to stay for EMH at AK, either... but we've learned that the special FotLK show is usually empty and very intimate.. not to mention the low wait time for EE!! So, we make it a must-do now!

 

[Sooze]

I think I just had an aneurysm Susie!

For real.. I know!! I'm not a fan of getting wet and walking around with wet clothes... but if it's super hot, I'd be up for it. Just haven't found the right situation yet!

I can't tell you how many times I had that thought last week! And I can answer it, too: I may or may not have completely "lost" my family at Epcot and just went on home, figuring I'd hear from them eventually! (They came in a different car.)

Great minds... it is amazing to think about life before cell phones and how people actually survived... how? I'll never know...

At risk of giving away my plot before even really getting going on my TR... let's just say I missed my summit bid. Again.

Oh no... I'll be ready to hear all about it. I'm predicting rain or a Leo meltdown..

 

[Sooze]

Our plan for this morning was..... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! We slept in, ate an easy breakfast (cereal?) in our villa, lounged around, then decided to rent one of these babies:

Uh huh... the shiny little surrey with the friiiiiinnnnnggggeee on the tooooooop!!! (And for my musical theater friends out there, I'm hoping you sang along with that last line!)

As many times as we have stayed at the BWV and BCV, and as many times as we have laughed at families riding these around the lake (either because they were pedaling so hard and barely moving, or because they were rolling down the hill out of control), we had never taken the time.. or, as we were to find out, energy to rent one ourselves. Well, today was our lucky....ahem... lucky? day!

The rental process was quite quick and easy, so we hopped on our bike and got going. Matt was in charge of steering, Tyson and I helped pedal, and Shae was the bell ringer (the BEST job!) We were all smiles and happiness... and then the hill up to the bridge came...

We slowed down towards the bottom of the hill to wait for all civilians to disperse... then we WENT TO TOWN! We pedaled SO hard... oh my gosh, my butt was BURNING!!! But we did it... without anyone having to get out and push. We obeyed the rules and coasted down the hill, and didn't run anyone over. Then we continued to enjoy our ride until... ANOTHER BRIDGE CAME!! We actually rode around the perimeter of the lake TWICE! So we got a really good workout, and some fun laughs as well!

My view from the back seat. Shae is in full bell-ringing mode!

Some photos from our ride...
BCV:

Random landscaping?:

THE best pool on Disney property:

"Stay outta the damn lakes!"

After we returned the bike and rubbed our bottoms for a while, it was time to split up. We had found out earlier that the New York Yankees were going to be playing at Disney's Wide World of Sports for spring training. You can bet your patooties that we snagged some tickets for that!!! Matt and Ty were off for an afternoon of Yankee fun (and too much sun....but I'll get back to that!) Shaelyn and I were off to Epcot to search out some characters!

First up.. Our first encounter with Mary Poppins:

She was just perfect. Well, PRACTICALLY perfect! (Sometimes her eyes must not work )

Shae and I had a lovely afternoon just relaxing and taking in the sights. We stopped at the perfume garden in France and enjoyed reading about and smelling different scents. We perused the shops and people watched. Then, can you believe it, we found ourselves waiting for Voices of Liberty!

Waiting for the show to start pictures:
The acoustically perfect dome:

Feet picture!

We really didn't take a lot of pictures this afternoon. We really just enjoyed the day, the perfect weather, the girly time... it was great. We eventually found ourselves meeting back up with the boys for our very first meal at LE CELLIER!!!

When I saw them, they were obviously glowing from seeing the Yankees play... and even though it was spring training, there were a lot of big names playing this day! I even complimented Matt on how he and Tyson protected their head from the sun. Sunscreen and hats meant very little sun damage this day. But then.... then I looked down and saw the horror that was their LEGS. Guess they neglected to protect the area between their knee and the bottom of their shorts... because they were LOBSTER RED! OUCH!!!! Lesson learned.... when you go to watch a sporting event in the hot, intense, Florida sun... don't forget your thighs!!

 

[Sooze]

After spending some time recapping the afternoon's events with each other, we found ourselves in Canada, ready to eat at Le Cellier for the very first time. We had pretty early reservations, so we basically walked right in.

I loved the ambiance of this place... it really felt like we were in a dark, somewhat stuffy wine cellar. It was cozy, relaxing, quaint, intimate... fantastic!

I have read so many trip reports and I have heard many people's accounts of their Le Cellier experience, so I almost felt like I had eaten here already. When the pretzel bread came out, it looked exactly like it does on everyone's pictures. But this time... THIS TIME I got to taste it! And... WOW!! Every bit as awesome as everyone says.

What next? Well... DUH!

CHEESE SOUP! Ok... this one was, FOR ME, not as fantabulous as everyone says. This is PURELY my own opinion (because Matt thought it was great), but I think it's TOO spicy. I know... flame me if you must. I just don't like all of that pepper.. or whatever else was spicing up my tongue!

Matt inspecting his cheesy goodness:

Our meals arrived quickly. I enjoyed the mushroom filet:

Oh. My. GOODNESS. Probably one of the best steaks I've EVER EVER had. I could eat one of these every day of my LIFE!!! I devoured it!!

Matt's meal:

He also raved about the tenderness and deliciousness of his steak. This place is definitely a keeper!! I didn't take pictures of the kids' meals, basically because they probably got pizza again. Neither of my kids are steak eaters. So they could've missed this meal experience and not have batted an eyelash!

For dessert:

Ok.. again.. no flames. This was not my favorite. Maybe I got a bad one.. but it was COLD. If I'm eating a S'more, I want it warm and gooey. While this looked cool (and, of course I DID eat it!), it wasn't as delish as I was hoping it would be.

Now, at some point during the meal, one of the kids was perusing the photos on the camera. When we left Le Cellier, and I went to take pictures, I found a LARGE, BLURRY spot on my camera lens. I tried wiping and wiping, but it wouldn't come off. Some kind of GREASE I'm guessing. So my next batch of pictures have an annoying spot on them. Sorry! The funny thing was... as the trip progressed, the spot eventually wore off. Weird

We made contact with Dean, Adrianna, and Abby. We were going to meet them in the UK to watch the Beatle band back in the garden. Here are a few blurry shots of our walk over:

And our cozy spot in the shade. Full bellies, good music, great friends. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Shaelyn was really digging the music and felt the need to get up and dance. Some blurry dance shots for your viewing pleasure:

After the show, we decided to spend some band geek time in Future World. I caught some blurry moments of Tyson, Shaelyn and Abby enjoying themselves:

Gotta run... more coming soon!

 

[micandminforever]

Great day at EPCOT Mary Poppins, Voices of Liberty, Le Cellier, finished off by the Beatle band, what more could you ask for. Shaelyn had several great dance moves.

 

[belle8306]

We rented a surry at POR one year. It was a fun experience. You are right about a workout though! We ate at Le Cellier for the first time in June. The pretzel bread lived up to the hype!

 

[Sooze]

Great day at EPCOT Mary Poppins, Voices of Liberty, Le Cellier, finished off by the Beatle band, what more could you ask for. Shaelyn had several great dance moves.

We sure crammed in a lot that day! But it was so relaxing... truly felt like a vacation!

We rented a surry at POR one year. It was a fun experience. You are right about a workout though! We ate at Le Cellier for the first time in June. The pretzel bread lived up to the hype!

Oh, I bet POR is just beautiful to ride around. Are there any hills?!

 

[belle8306]

Oh, I bet POR is just beautiful to ride around. Are there any hills?!

It was beautiful! There were a couple hills. Those surreys can pick up some speed on the way down!

 

[Sooze]

It was beautiful! There were a couple hills. Those surreys can pick up some speed on the way down!

That's true! Once you work your tail off getting up the hills, you sure can enjoy yourself going down!

 

[Sooze]

We had just finished our first and quite fabulous meal at Le Cellier. After enjoying some great music in Great Britain, we decided to head back to Future World for some more fun.

First stop was Imagination with Figment. This ride is so much more fun when you have a bunch of obnoxious friends together on it!! I think Shaelyn is finally getting used to the big shot of air at the end of the ride (that used to scare the you-know-what out of her!) We played for quite a while in the dump area, then discovered these little beauties:

I was so mad about that grease spot on my camera lens, I took far too few pictures of the fun we had here! But here are a few:

Shae anticipating the fly-over:

Shae deciding it's safer over here:

Next was a ride on Spaceship Earth, which we had to wait 20 minutes for. That's like having to wait for the Nemo ride. UGH! But we had good friends and we were in great spirits, so it really wasn't bad at all!

Here are some lame shots with my cheap camera from inside the ride:

I ended up riding alone. Here is my awesome future!

I guess in the future, I will have a younger, deeply-tanned husband:

I will ride in a flying car with random friends (Maybe these are some Dis-ers!)

Clean water to drink (Hopefully)

I passed the camera back to Matt and Shae. It's blurry, but you can see they have a nice future together, too!

I hope they take me with them to this tropical location:

We ended our great evening with another round of Illuminations. Which meant another several rides on Donald's boat in Mexico while Matt, Dean, and Adrianna held 'our spot' by the silver jewelry stand. Here is one last shot of Shae on the fountain inside the Mexican pavilion:

For this round of Illuminations, we had two interesting happenings. First, because we arrived a bit later, and the crowds were pretty thick, we ended up squeezing BEHIND the jewelry stand, not our normal NEXT-to spot. This made it interesting because not only were there 7 of us... but (and second interesting happening) our friend who is Snow White joined us as well. EIGHT of us crammed back there. Not my favorite viewing of Illuminations.. but it was fun standing there with Snow White, knowing that Shae had NO idea that she'd be hugging her tomorrow in full Snow gear!

We bid our friends good night and walked our FAVORITE walk around World Showcase back to our home. We crashed into our beds (don't you LOVE that Disney exhaustion?) unaware of the big surprise in store for tomorrow.

Can you say... MORE band geeks?!

 

[PrincessV]

Uh huh... the shiny little surrey with the friiiiiinnnnnggggeee on the tooooooop!!!

"Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry..." No joke - our middle school music teacher spent an entire semester on Oklahoma! I never want to hear A-do Annie's voice again.

The rental process was quite quick and easy, so we hopped on our bike and got going.

Sure, they know what's coming next for you, lol!

We eventually found ourselves meeting back up with the boys for our very first meal at LE CELLIER!!!

Your FIRST?!?! And you call yourself a DISer.

Lesson learned.... when you go to watch a sporting event in the hot, intense, Florida sun... don't forget your thighs!!

Ack, so true!

 

[PrincessV]

CHEESE SOUP! Ok... this one was, FOR ME, not as fantabulous as everyone says.

I TOTALLY agree. Ages ago, I worked for a restaurant that served the most amazing beer-cheese soup... and I expected Le Cell's tot aste as yummy as that. Nope.

I didn't take pictures of the kids' meals, basically because they probably got pizza again.

You KNOW I know how that goes!

Shaelyn was really digging the music and felt the need to get up and dance. Some blurry dance shots for your viewing pleasure:

I love the look on her face - so much focus and concentration!

 

[PrincessV]

First stop was Imagination with Figment. This ride is so much more fun when you have a bunch of obnoxious friends together on it!!

That, plus a round of sake!

I guess in the future, I will have a younger, deeply-tanned husband:

How's Matt feel about this?!

.. but it was fun standing there with Snow White, knowing that Shae had NO idea that she'd be hugging her tomorrow in full Snow gear!

Hmmm... have we covered this before - the wife of an old friend of mine used to play Snow White, too, maybe still does. Could it be the same one? Married last name begins with an S.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

i have wondered what they would do when people ride seperate cars or on there own.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Hi! I'm just joining in!! We are staying at the BWV in September and I'm VERY excited, it will be our first stay there!

I'm loving your report - so far it's been a fantastic vacation! Your kids are adorable! The part where the Stepsister recognized your DD brought tears to my eyes! Only in Disney!

I copied down your Illuminations location into my little text file of notes for the trip. We've never found a spot that we love for the show, so I'm intrigued.

I'm excited about the surprise!

 

[stacikristine]

Hi Susie,

I've seen you posting on lots of people's TRs over the past few years, and I decided to hop on over and check out yours!

Your family is so cute! And it looks like you all have a TON of fun together!! I love that yall have no problem getting goofy and enjoying yourselves--my husband and I are the same way.

There are tons of things I could comment on... It's great that you can be at the World with such great friends--and still have plenty of family and even girls only/guys only times. The best vacation partners are the ones who you don't feel like you have to be with 100% of the time. Shae's new princess gown is so pretty--and she's a gorgeous little girl! Tyson's sweatshirt is great too. I'm 1/2 Brazilian, and doing a country report on it in elementary school was a big deal for me too--I think it helps when you can connect with the country.

Thanks so much for sharing your family's trip with us! I can't wait to read the rest of your report!

 

[Sooze]

"Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry..." No joke - our middle school music teacher spent an entire semester on Oklahoma! I never want to hear A-do Annie's voice again.

I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, V! As corny as that musical is, it'll always be one of my favorites. Sorry it's not one of yours!

Your FIRST?!?! And you call yourself a DISer.

I know.. I KNOW! And don't forget the whole Splash Mountain debacle. I should ban myself from this site.... ((Hangs head in shame))

I TOTALLY agree. Ages ago, I worked for a restaurant that served the most amazing beer-cheese soup... and I expected Le Cell's tot aste as yummy as that. Nope.

I'm glad I'm not alone. I actually felt GUILTY that I didn't just love it!

You KNOW I know how that goes!

Oh yes I do!

That, plus a round of sake!

Hilarious!

How's Matt feel about this?!

Oh, he's had a couple of digital cuties on this ride. We are getting more and more comfortable with the idea...

Hmmm... have we covered this before - the wife of an old friend of mine used to play Snow White, too, maybe still does. Could it be the same one? Married last name begins with an S.

Nope.. this is an unmarried Snow! But it sure is fun having friends in the business, isn't it?!

i have wondered what they would do when people ride seperate cars or on there own.

Now you know! It's kind of fun to see who Disney puts you with in your future!

Hi! I'm just joining in!! We are staying at the BWV in September and I'm VERY excited, it will be our first stay there!

Thanks SO much for joining me. I think I've lost a lot of readers since I'm taking FOR. EV. ER to get this thing done! You will LOOOOOOVVVEEE the Boardwalk! Just an AWESOME vibe, and the location between Epcot and DHS CANNOT be beat. Have fun!

I'm loving your report - so far it's been a fantastic vacation! Your kids are adorable! The part where the Stepsister recognized your DD brought tears to my eyes! Only in Disney!

Awwwww.. thanks! I think they are pretty adorable too... well... MOST of the time. I thought it was amazing that the Stepsister remembered Shae.. of all the little girls she had to have seen that day... awesome!

I copied down your Illuminations location into my little text file of notes for the trip. We've never found a spot that we love for the show, so I'm intrigued.

You're going in September, so you probably won't have to fight too many people. Just make sure you get there early enough to get right up along the railing! You'll see a bulge in the bushes/greenery just outside the railing next to the silver jewelry stand. That's the firework launch... super cool!!

I'm excited about the surprise!

Update coming today!

Hi Susie,

I've seen you posting on lots of people's TRs over the past few years, and I decided to hop on over and check out yours!

I am SO glad you decided to come on by! Thanks so much for posting. Once I finish this thing, I'll have some time to visit other TRs, since our next trip isn't until June of 2011 Looking forward to learning about other Disers!

Your family is so cute! And it looks like you all have a TON of fun together!! I love that yall have no problem getting goofy and enjoying yourselves--my husband and I are the same way.

Thank you so much! We DO have a lot of fun together, ESPECIALLY in DisneyWorld where we have no other worries.

The best vacation partners are the ones who you don't feel like you have to be with 100% of the time.

I couldn't agree more!!! Flexibility is the key to a magical vacation, no?

Shae's new princess gown is so pretty--and she's a gorgeous little girl!

Aw... thanks so much! I am very happy with that purchase, even though I fought it for 4 years! And she plays with that dress so much here at home too!

Tyson's sweatshirt is great too. I'm 1/2 Brazilian, and doing a country report on it in elementary school was a big deal for me too--I think it helps when you can connect with the country.

We agree... another purchase that has gotten its money's worth! I was so happy to see him really connect with something. This summer, Matt found some Germany World Cup jerseys and picked one up for himself and Tyson... so the German love is still going strong!

Thanks so much for sharing your family's trip with us! I can't wait to read the rest of your report!

Thanks again for jumping on board! More to come today!

 

[Sooze]

One more thing... Stacikristine... I just noticed you are from Oklahoma! Did you like my "Surrey with the fringe on top reference"!??! Or are you one of those Oklahomians who don't know the musical?!?!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Thank you for the additional Illuminations info!

I just saw your reply above about the surrey. I forgot to comment on that!!! I'm not from OK, but I know that song and I sing it EVERY time we see one of those bikes. My DH looks at me like I'm nuts. We have loose plans to take one out this time while at the BWV, I think he thinks its easier than it is....I've warned him. I think it will make some excellent TR fodder.

 

[stacikristine]

One more thing... Stacikristine... I just noticed you are from Oklahoma! Did you like my "Surrey with the fringe on top reference"!??! Or are you one of those Oklahomians who don't know the musical?!?!

OF COURSE!!! As soon as I see a surrey, I immediately sing the whole song in my head! I'm a big musical fan, and I LOVE that Oklahoma has it's own! Did you know our state song is "Oklahoma" from the musical? I was also going to tell you that I was in "Oliver" when I was in 6th grade (as an orphan and one of Fagan's boys) with my little brother. We had a blast! I'm hoping we live in a town with a good community theater again one day--especially when our (non existent yet) kids are old enough to be in them. Have fun with all of your plays/musicals!