The Ramblings of the Younger Sister: Running from the Yeti in a Canoe! UPDATE: 1/3!!

[DisneyJo]

I can't believe you've only just arrived

I so agree, what is it with people behind you on the plane trying to get off before you? Just wait

Sounds like you had a long ME journey and you should take it as a compliment that the driver thought you were young

 

[CoP Luv]

I can't believe you've only just arrived

I so agree, what is it with people behind you on the plane trying to get off before you? Just wait

Sounds like you had a long ME journey and you should take it as a compliment that the driver thought you were young

I know!!! I guess I am rambling more than I thought I would! DH tells me that I talk too much. Maybe that has carried over to the DIS!

 

[CoP Luv]

I need to get this TR in high gear if I am going to finish it anytime soon!

After my long journey of getting to WDW, you would think that I would fall asleep easily. Not so much. I don't know why I felt awake at 1 AM but for the life of me, I was tossing and turning all night long. That is, until I feel asleep at 6:25 AM. You remember that I set my alarm for 6:30 right? I switch off that annoying buzzing noise and laid in bed for awhile. I was originally planning on getting to MK for EMH at 8 AM, but there was just no way. I needed to transfer my bag and check into POR so I could activate my FD! I had a reservation at CM that afternoon, and thought that being at MK would be perfect!

Well, that plan quickly went out of the window at 6:30 AM.

I then decided that I would go to Epcot. It was closest to POR so it would take that long to get there. And I knew Miss Alice would want to spend a lot of time there anyway. I rolled back to sleep and finally got up at 7:25. I jumped in the shower only to find a red spider on the wall!



I smashed that sucker silly and took the fastest shower in the world. Ew. Gross.

I figured that since I was so close to ASMu that I would walk over there to give my bag to bell services to transfer. As I was on my way, it seemed a little further than I thought (maybe it really wasn't...I didn't really know ) I turned around and walked along the parking lot to the lobby. On my way, I saw all of those lovely people that were calling out my name the night before. They looked a little tired and well, like they had way too much fun the night before. I may or may not have smirked my way past them with my bag.

Anyway, got my bag checked with bell services and promptly went to wait in line for a bus. It was 8:15 AM and I got in line for the Epcot bus. It wasn't too far of a ride and I knew it wasn't going to be as crowded. But boy was it hot out. I only waited for a little more than 5 minutes, but it was a steamy five minutes.

When the bus was rounding the corner at ASSp, a woman in the front of the line started whooping it up! It was quite funny, but from what I could tell they had a whole group that just arrived on their vacation. I just love that Disney/first day of vacation glow. I needed to get my mood in check and get in the Disney mood. Just watching that family, made me get excited for being in Disney.

We arrived at Epcot at 8:35 and what do you know? We parked right behind a bus that was going to POR!! I just had the nicest bus driver who didn't really understand why I was going back to POR at 8:35 in the morning. It only took 10 minutes to get to the hotel and I was second in line to check in. It took no time for me to get everything in order, grabbed my KTTW card and was back out the front doors in no time. There was even a bus waiting at the Main Depot going to Epcot!

I was still a little bit away when I heard someone shout to the crowd ahead asking what bus that was. And they shouted back Epcot! I took off and ran to the bus. Luckily the driver saw me and waited. What a nice bus driver! I sat down across from someone who had a LGMH on her bag! Hi Mystery DISer! It just reminded me that I had a stack of LGMHs back at home that I forgot to bring with me. We were pulling into Epcot's parking lot at 9:15! It only took me an hour from leaving bell services to wait for three busses, travel back and forth to a theme park, a hotel, and to check in! My day certainly got better. Maybe it's because I finally got myself into Disney mode. I gave myself a stern talking to not arrive in Disney next time without my Disney face on. It definitely makes for a better vacation.

Yes, I told myself all of that!

It only took a minute or two to get through bag check and proceed to Will Call to get my specially priced tickets that I was able to order through the race registration. It got through the gates and took a picture of "The Ball" and sent it to my two sisters and the Disney Hater.

This is what I am looking at!

My younger sister responded that she and I were in a fight. She was doing her calculus homework when she received that picture and demanded that I send her Prince Charming right away to make up for it. Alice told me that she was very excited to get out of work and head down to FL to meet me. The Hater responded back with "This is what I am looking at" and sent me a picture of his computer screen.

Boys.

I went right to Soarin' to get a fast pass and ride real quick! The line was non-existent. The most wait that I had was watching the safety video. I always wonder if I need to put my seatbelt through the child strap since i am pretty short.

Sorry for the darkness, but this is a horrible picture of me, but you can see that I am right in line with the child level!

I can fully assure you that I was completely safe with just the adult version of the seat belt!

This was the first trip to WDW with my new camera and I wanted to take some great pics! So that I how I spent some time in between rides. Take pics of things that I would just run past:

I started to walk to TT at 9:45. I just love TT! Since I was by myself, I was able to take part in the Single Rider Line! Oh, my new love!

It's not like I needed to go through the SRL since there was absolutely no one in line.

Maybe everyone is in line on the other side of the "orientation room". I don't remember if they made us watch the video. The doors opened and...well, this is what it looked like:

Seriously, did the wonderful cast members grant me one of the million dreams of an empty park? Oh wait, that promotion is over. Oh well, I rode in a car with a gentleman that was so unemotional it made for some great entertainment! I wish I would have snapped a picture of our ride photo. He was just sitting there like a statue. I rode in the SRL twice and loved every moment of it!

 

[DisneyJo]

Wow that was a quick check-in and turn around and how fantastic the park was so empty

 

[CoP Luv]

Wow that was a quick check-in and turn around and how fantastic the park was so empty

Yeah...I know you're jealous that TT was so empty!!

 

[praisehisname]

Great updates! I love how empty Epcot is!!!

 

[CoP Luv]

Thanks! It stayed empty the whole time I was there!

 

[DisneyJo]

Yeah...I know you're jealous that TT was so empty!!

You got me Honestly my kids would go mad if they saw that, we'd have to ride more times than usual

 

[angelmav]

Great TR swo far. We were fortunate to go the week of really low crowds too, It's sooo awesome to walk onto everything!

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Great TR, I am hooked.

I would have KILLED for the your too young comment, a little cashier at a store last week commented on my sweater. Said she loved it she just bought one for her mom last year. Didn't help that my DH came up and said you have on a mom sweater, you have on a mom sweater. He is lucky we are still married. It was my first 'your old'/ maa'm/ not get carded publicly made remark, its so sad (I'm 28).

 

[CoP Luv]

Great TR swo far. We were fortunate to go the week of really low crowds too, It's sooo awesome to walk onto everything!

Thanks! This was the day before the start of the F&WF so there was no one there the entire day! It was awesome!

Great TR, I am hooked.

I would have KILLED for the your too young comment, a little cashier at a store last week commented on my sweater. Said she loved it she just bought one for her mom last year. Didn't help that my DH came up and said you have on a mom sweater, you have on a mom sweater. He is lucky we are still married. It was my first 'your old'/ maa'm/ not get carded publicly made remark, its so sad (I'm 28).

Welcome!

My mom actually bought the exact same sweater and shirt that I have. DH was helping me hang up my clothes the other night and commented, "Isn't this what your mom wore on Christmas?"

Lovely.

 

[CoP Luv]

I hope everyone had a very safe and happy New Year! Here's to health and happiness in 2010!

**********************************************************************************************

When we last left off, I was wondering if there was a single soul in Epcot that day. I got to ride TT twice and I didn't even make it for rope drop!!!

After my last ride, I decided to take a wonder over to Mouse Gears and start making the "things that I absolutely needed to buy because I was in Disney and they had Mickey Ears on everything though the Disney Hater would kill me if I bought that much stuff" list.

Because every kitchen needs a set of china, a set of Martha Stewart plates, and a set of Mickey plates, right? I just love the ornament though. It just screams Disney World happiness. But in 2007, I bought a set of four ornaments from Disney and gave myself a stern talking to that this was going to last me four years of ornament purchases at Disney.

I give myself a stern talking to about a lot of things.

Wait, is that not normal?

Anyway, since I had my four ornaments already, I took this picture to remind myself that after Christmas 2010, I was free and clear to purchase this on my next Disney trip.



Anyway, once I was done browsing, I headed over to the Pin Station to see what this year had to offer with pins.

I don't pin trade. I pin collect. I buy myself one pin each trip, unless there is something "special" going on and that way I will buy myself two pins. Because there are never special events going on at Disney that they would make a pin to celebrate it.

Gotta follow the rules, you know.

Even though I somehow have a whole lanyard of pins already when I have only been to Disney 4 times since I have started collecting. It's amazing how I woke up after getting home from WDW one day and my whole lanyard was just completely filled. I just don't know how that could have possibly happened.



I had pre-ordered the EEC pin, so that will be my "special" event pin. So I needed another pin that was just "nomal".

After browsing, It was time to go back to Soarin' to use my FP. I sat in the middle of the first row this time next to an elderly couple. They were just so stinking cute. The woman loved every bit of this ride. Loved it. She was smiling ear to ear after she got off and could not stop talking about it on the way out. I just love seeing that. Makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Wait, that might just be the humidity and sweat dripping.

Since it was just about 11 AM, I started to head towards WS. I passed the rose garden and since this was my day to "stop and smell the roses", I did. Literally.

I saw the Segway tour just finishing up.

"Hey Mister! Mister!!! Can I borrow that for my race on Saturday? Excuse me! Hello??!"

He didn't hear me. Oh, well.

The "stop and smell the roses" tour continued and I experimented with my camera some more.

My first stop was England. I always hate being only one of a few people in a store. Everyone just watches you. I think I had four sales people watching me take drool over their Cadbury selection. And then I had to take about 8 billion pictures of it all. So that wasn't weird or anything.

I added about 84 billion of these to the "things I need to buy when it is not 85 degrees outside" list. I never did end up buying them.

I browsed to the back of the store where they had a lot of books. I picked one up about Princess Di and continued to read it for 15 minutes in a dark corner by myself where the sales people wouldn't stand behind me and stare. I probably read about half of the book before I realized that I needed to get a move on.

In France, I decided to have a look at this Patisserie place that everyone was talking about so that I could strategize how to use my snack credits.

Oh my Lord in Heaven. Can I just take this whole case back to my room? I think I am going to need a lot more snack credits. While everything looked so darn good, it was too much for me to have on such a hot morning.

I need to give myself a stern talking to to not have so many issues with eating chocolate mousse on hot mornings.

After I walked through some of the France shops, I saw the new balloon ride in the air. Was Epcot really that close to DTD? Either way, I wanted to see how focused of a picture I could get with my awesome zoom lens.

Doesn't the balloon look like it is in the China pavilion? That's just me? Oh...ok.

Once I got to Italy, I wanted to see if they had a nice print of an Italian scene to go in our kitchen or bathroom. We have an Italian theme going on in there. So far, it's just our masks from Venice that we got on our honeymoon, a college print of some of the many pictures that we took on our honeymoon, and a large framed picture of my Great Uncle (who will be 101 year there) on his 93rd birthday with his arms outstretched greeting everyone who had come to his birthday party...in a very Italian way of course. We needed something to tie it all together in the hall bath.

I couldn't find anything that I was looking for, so instead I went and stuck my nose in the Baci candy case and smelled all of the wonderful Hazelnut chocolatey goodness. They really need to box that smell up and sell it. I would be first in line.

On my way to America, I again noticed how empty this park was. I think everyone on property went to MK for EMH that morning.

As I was strolling to America, the smell hit me. The stern talking to just turned to Charlie Brown Teacher Talk.



Well, I have used up all of my space for the necessary smiley faces and pictures. I will have another chapter up and running in no time! Promise!!!

 

[DisneyJo]

I give myself a stern talking to about a lot of things.

Wait, is that not normal?

Nope I do it too, I never buy anything because I talk myself out of it

Gotta follow the rules, you know.

"Hey Mister! Mister!!! Can I borrow that for my race on Saturday? Excuse me! Hello??!"

Oh if only, we could have done with them couldn't we

My first stop was England. I always hate being only one of a few people in a store. Everyone just watches you. I think I had four sales people watching me take drool over their Cadbury selection. And then I had to take about 8 billion pictures of it all. So that wasn't weird or anything.

But it's so expensive, you need to come and visit me Cadbury's is so much cheaper and tastes nicer here of course the flights are expensive but........

Doesn't the balloon look like it is in the China pavilion? That's just me? Oh...ok.

No it does

 

[CoP Luv]

Nope I do it too, I never buy anything because I talk myself out of it

I am seriously the same way!!! Except I did buy two pins this time. Both were Special Event Pins. I guess I broke the rules anyway!

Oh if only, we could have done with them couldn't we

It would have been a much better race! Maybe we can design them with umbrellas and they would have been perfect!

But it's so expensive, you need to come and visit me Cadbury's is so much cheaper and tastes nicer here of course the flights are expensive but........

I know but I love it!!! When we were there in 2004, I spent $2.50 on a Curly Wurly and a British man laughed at me in the store. But it was soooooooo gooooooooodddd! I guess I will just have to come and visit you! Great idea!

 

[CoP Luv]

So what did I smell? Probably one of the best smells on Earth:

I swear they start pumping this wonderfully fried, sugary smell from some shrub, bush, or potted plant the second you cross borders. The funnel cakes were calling out to me.

Really! It went something like this: "Glad you have joined us in America, CoP Luv! Now come a little closer. You know you want to have a little bit of fried dough. You just KNOW it. Fried dough is part of your heritage. It is exactly what you need for lunch! It has..."

Thank goodness for the marching band because I don't know what would have gotten me out of my trance. Anyway, I wanted to see Voices of Liberty while I was there because that was new to me. I have never actually spent much time in the America pavilion, well, because it's just so...American.



I'll be here all week folks.



Honestly, I always associated the American pavilion with the cover of my 5th grade history book. And I couldn't have Epcot actually be anything educational on my trip. Of course not. So I always skipped it. It wasn't until I started reading more and more on the DIS that I learned about a few other precious gems that I was missing. The Voices of Liberty was one of them. I checked the times and was not going to be able to make one of the performances today, but made a mental note to bring Miss Alice back and see them. She would love them.

I also wanted to check out the railroad by Germany. I think I have actually stopped by this once or twice before, but I never actually got a good look at it. Seriously, I was the commando park queen. This railroad never made it into my spreadsheet, er...schedule.

I really enjoyed it. There were so many little details that you could pick out.

Well, I couldn't linger on too long. I had an ADR to get to! I made my way around the countries and started to take pictures of the F&WF stands!

I was thinking that it might be a good idea to extend my trip by a few days! I didn't know how on Earth I was going to have enough time to eat everything I wanted to!

Priorities people.

I still had time for one more ride on TT before I had to leave. I cannot get enough of that ride!! Even if it is by myself! By the time I left, the park was still relatively empty. As I was walking toward the monorail platform, one was just leaving. So I sat and wrote as much as I could in my trip journal. Lucky for me, I only had to wait a few minutes for another monorail to arrive. I always love the monorail. It's just so magical and really makes the Disney Trip.

I was staring out of the window in all of my Disney glory when I suddenly heard...

"Dad? Why does it smell like a barn in here?"



Pop went the Disney bubble. And that only made me think of another Miss Cammie's TR when her family thought the same thing. So I laughed right along with everyone else in our car.

It took another 20 minutes to transfer from the Epcot monorail to the to the Contemporary. I had only been to the CR once before and that was only to look at Christmas Decorations in 2007. I'm not a huge fan of this hotel, but I wanted to eat at CM because...well, I just haven't done that before.

I checked in for my ADR right on schedule.

I skipped the 'plate picture' because I was sweaty and horrible looking. And I really just didn't want to buy it. It was only a few minutes until I was called and escorted to my table.

The lovely hostess looked at the ticket print out and just gave me a look that said, "You're eating by yourself? You must be one of those Disney World freaks that just can't get enough of this place. I MUST roll my eyes at you."

But she quickly snapped out of it because the napkin waving music came on and she went into her happy, napkin waving trance.

I sat in a corner on the first level by the back buffet. It was the perfect spot for me. I saw some characters come around and decided to wait for Mickey before I went up and got some food. I wasn't too sure how this was going to work. I didn't see any other Tables of 1 out there. Was I not going to get any pictures? How was that going to work? Luckily, I made friends with the family sitting next to me and offered to take a nice family photo of them if they took a few pictures of me.

It's all about Disney teamwork.

And look! It's Mickey Mouse!!!

I got a huge hug. I felt a little awkward at first and I think Mickey didn't really know what to do with a single person either. He wasn't sure if he should take a picture with me or if I had an autograph book he should sign. I ended up just sitting and asking if I could take a picture of just him. And then he moved on to another table.

PHEW! I was actually nervous about this who character thing.

I went and got some food...and then some more food. I had been there for more than a half hour and I only saw Mickey. I was ready for dessert by then and actually kind of wanted to hit the road. While I was waiting for some characters, I saw two WOMEN totally butt in on someone else's character time. Video cameras and still cameras in their faces!!!



What is wrong with people??? And then came all of their children! They had a party of ten get up and crowd around another families table. I would have gone balistic!!!

By the time I was there 45 minutes, a very short Donald came over to say hello.

I am barely 5'0". I actually had to squat in this picture!

I got autographs from both Goofy and Minnie in my Trip Journal that I was writing in.

I was ready for dessert. Especially for those Mickey Oreo things.

To be honest...I wasn't too impressed. I wasn't really digging the food at CM at all. I ate it. It was free, technically. Maybe I'll be back with my family one day. Maybe.

I'm glad I experienced it though. This was the trip for trying new things. By myself. Even if I did have a little anxiety meeting characters.

 

[praisehisname]

Great updates; I was drooling over the pictures from the French bakery!!! Glad you're back and posting again!

 

[DisneyJo]

So did you get a funnel cake? Can you tell I love those things too? I have to have one everytime I'm in WDW, I normally get one in the MK though as they're cheaper, yeah I'm tight

I'm glad you got photos with the characters at CM, they must know that if adults without kids go there they want to see the characters too, it's not like you go for the quiet atmosphere and great food is it?

 

[CoP Luv]

Great updates; I was drooling over the pictures from the French bakery!!! Glad you're back and posting again!

Thanks! It's hard to look at those pictures, isn't it. I am really glad they had a glass case over them, or else I might have plopped down on the floor right there and started to eat the chocolate mousse.

So did you get a funnel cake? Can you tell I love those things too? I have to have one everytime I'm in WDW, I normally get one in the MK though as they're cheaper, yeah I'm tight

I'm glad you got photos with the characters at CM, they must know that if adults without kids go there they want to see the characters too, it's not like you go for the quiet atmosphere and great food is it?

No, I didn't get a funnel cake. I don't know why...maybe because I was just trying to save myself for CM...because I go there for the food. j/k