I had this trip planned, baby! I purchased 4 guide books and read at least 4 more. Days 1 - 5 were locked down tight as a drum weeks before we were to leave for our vacation. Part of planning is knowing when to throw the plans in the trash and just go for it...and that's what days 6 and 7 were for.
At the end of day 5 we sat down to discuss how to best use our time. I was willing to try to hit 3 parks in a day so the boys could see the stunt show we were rained out of at the Studios, but they chose to split the day between Epcot and Magic Kingdom instead. So, after a quick breakfast of peanutbutter toast and milk at the Music food court, we were off for Epcot.
(A hint: if you are a budget traveler, take along the individual tubs of peanutbutter. The bread was about .40 a slice and butter and jelly were available at no extra cost. You can't beat this for a cheap breakfast!)
We got to Epcot shortly after opening and headed for Soarin'. We grabbed a FP on our way in, so we were able to ride two times in a row without a wait. Then we began exploring all the things we'd missed on Day 2. The boys loved Journey into Imagination with Figment. They'd never seen Figment before, but quickly took to the character.
Our next stop was Honey I Shrunk the Audience. My dilemma: do I warn them about the effects ahead of time and risk them balking, or keep the info to myself and risk a freak-out. I gambled on silence...and won! Since Liam had figured out the wind/water effect at Philharmagic, he knew what was coming when he saw the screens on the seat backs. Amazingly, both boys enjoyed the show, though they agreed that the snake and the lion were both pretty darned scary. They had a good time trying to figure out the effects when the show was over.
Imageworks was a danger zone...I could have easily lost them there for hours. Both boys had a great time messing around with the computer programs there. Luckily, I had Mission Space in mind for our next stop, and that was enough of a temptation to get them out of Imageworks after about a half hour.
Remember Day 2, when Liam refused to ride Mission Space. Well, that was another lifetime. This time he grabbed his green pass and strolled right on in with us! To be honest, I would have gone for orange had he still refused, but green was fine with me. Hooray...this ride was a great success!
We made another stop at the Advanced Training Lab. For some reason they told Teiguen there wasn't room for him. I think he misunderstood...not knowing that all the computers were part of the game. He chose to play in the tunnels while Liam's team went on to victory on the simulator game.
Hanging a right, we ventured on to Ellen's Energy Adventure. The boys rave about this ride. I remember thinking, "huge empty warehouse, cheezy movies, zzzzz" A nap was just what I needed, lol! This is one attraction that just didn't live up to my expectations.
Then, it was back to Spaceship Earth. Liam wanted to ride this again because he'd let Teiguen answer all the questions the first time around. So, this time Teiguen rode with me and we got a second set of postcards to e-mail home. Just curious, does anyone else here have problems with the sulpher smell on this ride? It really did a number on my asthma. I had my inhaler handy, luckily!
We decided that our light breakfast had worn off and stopped at The Electric Umbrella for lunch. This is the only spot on our trip where we witnessed the slow lines that everyone else talks about. There were three lines being served by our counter. For some reason anyone in the far right line got their meals right away...while the other two lines just stood and watched. It took nearly 20 minutes for them to get our meals. It was cool and air conditioned, so I guess I shouldn't gripe...luckily my boys found a place to sit and were behaving themselves!
After lunch we went to Innoventions. I'd been a very smart momma and hadn't let them know what Innoventions was prior to the trip. Why? I really didn't want to spend 7 days listening to them beg to go play computer games. After about half an hour I got them to agree to go to What's Your Problem. This show was one of the unexpected treasures of this trip. Yes, it is silly...and really, a whole show about velcro?...but the boys had a ball. They were chosen to play "Bag It". I was amazed when Liam went right up to play. Usually he is very shy. I guess the small audience and the fact that he'd already seen that it was just goofy fun worked. I have to add this to my list of "must do's" for parents of preteen boys!
After another hour or so at Innoventions I rounded the boys up and we headed for Guest Relations. I checked in for our flight the next day
sad2: Was the end really this near already?). The checking in went very well. They had a little private room off to the side where you could go in and check yourself in, no charge! We were flying Southwest and I wanted to make sure we'd be able to board early enough to get seats together. Then I upgraded our tickets. After much discussion, the boys assured me that what they really wanted to do with the last half day was....return to Innoventions! So, I ponied up my $6.50, 
, and we had another day of Disney fun on our cards.
Then, I chose to ignore what I'd learned from our adventure with Guest Services at the Animal Kingdom, and asked the Epcot Guest Services CM for transportation advice. How stupid am I??? How stupid do they come??? I knew his answer made no sense, but followed it anyway. What did he tell me? That I was wrong...you couldn't ride the monorail from Epcot to the TTC, switch to the other monorail track, and end up at MK. No, Mr. CM from Germany told me that the Epcot monorail would take me to the Contemporary and I needed to switch to the MK monorail system there.
My travel agent thinks he misunderstood me...or I misunderstood him. She said that I was right about the first part...he was just adding that I shouldn't have gotten off at the MK stop, I should have continued on to the Contemporary and then switched to the third monorail line, the one that actually stops in the MK.
Well, miscommunication aside, we rode the Epcot loop 1 1/2 times, switched to the MK loop at the TTC, and got off at the MK gate and walked. Note to self for next trip: do all the planning for transportation as thouroughly as the plans for the parks themselves!
At the Magic Kingdom our plan was to ride the train to Frontierland. This worked out well, and within minutes of entering the park we were headed to Tom Sawyer's Island. I let the boys explore, planning to grab a soda at Aunt Polly's and watch the ducks. Sadly, no Aunt Polly's. There were soda machines instead...just not the same...and no ducks. Sigh. This used to be the most charming spot in the park. I knew they didn't serve food anymore, but what a bummer...the soda machines jerk you right back into 2008. There's no magic here anymore! The boys had a good time exploring, but a storm was blowing in, so we decided to head back to dry land.
On the way to Adventureland Teiguen begged for FPses for Big Thunder, whick we did. The Tiki room...hm. Can I say I miss the old show? And, is it my imagination, or are the DL and WDW shows different? Maybe it was just that I had been so disappointed at Tom Sawyer's Island and the mood carried over...I don't know.
Our next stop was a huge improvement, lol! Dole Whips for everyone! It was so hot that the first one was mostly melted before they handed the last one out the window...but they were cool and refreshing- Just what the day called for! While I was in line the boys explored the Swiss Family Robinson tree. I swear to you that the last time we were there it was themed for Tarzan. Am I losing my mind? The boys were bummed at the theming...ah, well, bad things come in 3's they say, and happily, this was the last of our disappointments.
By the time we finished our Dole whips and washed up, the window for our Big Thunder ride had opened. Liam decided to opt out, but Teiguen and I rode and had a great time. It was his first "big" coaster, and he smiled and "woo-hoo'd" the whole way. I think his desire to ride was due to the commercial that shows the mom and daughter...where the mom transforms into a kid again. I think that had we had more time, he would have given Space Mountain and Splash Mountain the go, too. Ah, well, something for next time!
About that time the sky opened up and it rained buckets. The boys had wanted to find a bathroom anyway, so we ended up hanging out there until it had cleared off enough to get back on the train and ride to Toontown.
At Mickey's house we were treated to a near nonstop blaring of alarms. There was a mom with her two extremely photogenic children, lifting them over every single barrier so that she could photograph them ON the bed, IN the garden. My younger son asked, loudly, why an adult would break the rules. Why, indeed? I'm thinking maybe Disney needs to get a reputation for magically transporting folks like this to the exit. The boys wanted their photos taken with the pumpkins, which I did, and we were on to Minnie's house. I didn't know until we got home that in the photo of them with Mickey, my younger son's eyes were closed. Drat! Had I known it, we would have stopped in the tent. Ah, well....
The boys got a kick out of Minnie's. I have a feeling, though, that this was our last visit to Toontown. They weren't even nearly as entertained as they were 3 years ago at DLR.
They wandered over to Donald's Boat, which was fun for them. But, as it was dark, and raining, it wasn't as hard to pry them off of it as it was on earlier trips.
They wanted to head back to Fantasyland, so off we went. After a final spin on the teacups we rode Buzz two more times. Then, making a major tactical mistake, I suggested we visit the Laugh Floor a second time. I was thinking that I was helping make our exit easier, as the parade was running. Nope...by the time the show ended, folks had packed themselves in for the fireworks. There was no escaping Tomorrowland. So, we settled in on the bridge and had a wonderful view of the show.
When the crowds cleared we headed towards the busses, making one final stop...a visit to the Main Street Bakery for a snack. You'll notice we didn't have dinner. You know the kids are having a good time when they're too busy to stop for dinner! Liam's first choice was a brownie, but the brownies had nuts on them. Then he spotted the cinnamon rolls. Seriously, they are as big as 4 regular rolls, covered in both icing and caramel sauce. If you look at the photos you'll get an idea of how big the thing was...let's say it more than made up for a missed meal. Teiguen was so tired that he almost took a nap in his chocolate cake. Luckily for all of us, he stayed awake to finish it. I had the keylime cheesecake. It wasn't a lemon bar, but it came in a close second!
Bellies full, we were off to the busses and our resort. Quick showers and into bed...there was half a day of fun left to be had, and we wanted to be ready for it!
At the end of day 5 we sat down to discuss how to best use our time. I was willing to try to hit 3 parks in a day so the boys could see the stunt show we were rained out of at the Studios, but they chose to split the day between Epcot and Magic Kingdom instead. So, after a quick breakfast of peanutbutter toast and milk at the Music food court, we were off for Epcot.
(A hint: if you are a budget traveler, take along the individual tubs of peanutbutter. The bread was about .40 a slice and butter and jelly were available at no extra cost. You can't beat this for a cheap breakfast!)
We got to Epcot shortly after opening and headed for Soarin'. We grabbed a FP on our way in, so we were able to ride two times in a row without a wait. Then we began exploring all the things we'd missed on Day 2. The boys loved Journey into Imagination with Figment. They'd never seen Figment before, but quickly took to the character.
Our next stop was Honey I Shrunk the Audience. My dilemma: do I warn them about the effects ahead of time and risk them balking, or keep the info to myself and risk a freak-out. I gambled on silence...and won! Since Liam had figured out the wind/water effect at Philharmagic, he knew what was coming when he saw the screens on the seat backs. Amazingly, both boys enjoyed the show, though they agreed that the snake and the lion were both pretty darned scary. They had a good time trying to figure out the effects when the show was over.
Imageworks was a danger zone...I could have easily lost them there for hours. Both boys had a great time messing around with the computer programs there. Luckily, I had Mission Space in mind for our next stop, and that was enough of a temptation to get them out of Imageworks after about a half hour.
Remember Day 2, when Liam refused to ride Mission Space. Well, that was another lifetime. This time he grabbed his green pass and strolled right on in with us! To be honest, I would have gone for orange had he still refused, but green was fine with me. Hooray...this ride was a great success!
We made another stop at the Advanced Training Lab. For some reason they told Teiguen there wasn't room for him. I think he misunderstood...not knowing that all the computers were part of the game. He chose to play in the tunnels while Liam's team went on to victory on the simulator game.
Hanging a right, we ventured on to Ellen's Energy Adventure. The boys rave about this ride. I remember thinking, "huge empty warehouse, cheezy movies, zzzzz" A nap was just what I needed, lol! This is one attraction that just didn't live up to my expectations.
Then, it was back to Spaceship Earth. Liam wanted to ride this again because he'd let Teiguen answer all the questions the first time around. So, this time Teiguen rode with me and we got a second set of postcards to e-mail home. Just curious, does anyone else here have problems with the sulpher smell on this ride? It really did a number on my asthma. I had my inhaler handy, luckily!
We decided that our light breakfast had worn off and stopped at The Electric Umbrella for lunch. This is the only spot on our trip where we witnessed the slow lines that everyone else talks about. There were three lines being served by our counter. For some reason anyone in the far right line got their meals right away...while the other two lines just stood and watched. It took nearly 20 minutes for them to get our meals. It was cool and air conditioned, so I guess I shouldn't gripe...luckily my boys found a place to sit and were behaving themselves!
After lunch we went to Innoventions. I'd been a very smart momma and hadn't let them know what Innoventions was prior to the trip. Why? I really didn't want to spend 7 days listening to them beg to go play computer games. After about half an hour I got them to agree to go to What's Your Problem. This show was one of the unexpected treasures of this trip. Yes, it is silly...and really, a whole show about velcro?...but the boys had a ball. They were chosen to play "Bag It". I was amazed when Liam went right up to play. Usually he is very shy. I guess the small audience and the fact that he'd already seen that it was just goofy fun worked. I have to add this to my list of "must do's" for parents of preteen boys!
After another hour or so at Innoventions I rounded the boys up and we headed for Guest Relations. I checked in for our flight the next day
sad2: Was the end really this near already?). The checking in went very well. They had a little private room off to the side where you could go in and check yourself in, no charge! We were flying Southwest and I wanted to make sure we'd be able to board early enough to get seats together. Then I upgraded our tickets. After much discussion, the boys assured me that what they really wanted to do with the last half day was....return to Innoventions! So, I ponied up my $6.50, , and we had another day of Disney fun on our cards. Then, I chose to ignore what I'd learned from our adventure with Guest Services at the Animal Kingdom, and asked the Epcot Guest Services CM for transportation advice. How stupid am I??? How stupid do they come??? I knew his answer made no sense, but followed it anyway. What did he tell me? That I was wrong...you couldn't ride the monorail from Epcot to the TTC, switch to the other monorail track, and end up at MK. No, Mr. CM from Germany told me that the Epcot monorail would take me to the Contemporary and I needed to switch to the MK monorail system there.
My travel agent thinks he misunderstood me...or I misunderstood him. She said that I was right about the first part...he was just adding that I shouldn't have gotten off at the MK stop, I should have continued on to the Contemporary and then switched to the third monorail line, the one that actually stops in the MK.
Well, miscommunication aside, we rode the Epcot loop 1 1/2 times, switched to the MK loop at the TTC, and got off at the MK gate and walked. Note to self for next trip: do all the planning for transportation as thouroughly as the plans for the parks themselves!
At the Magic Kingdom our plan was to ride the train to Frontierland. This worked out well, and within minutes of entering the park we were headed to Tom Sawyer's Island. I let the boys explore, planning to grab a soda at Aunt Polly's and watch the ducks. Sadly, no Aunt Polly's. There were soda machines instead...just not the same...and no ducks. Sigh. This used to be the most charming spot in the park. I knew they didn't serve food anymore, but what a bummer...the soda machines jerk you right back into 2008. There's no magic here anymore! The boys had a good time exploring, but a storm was blowing in, so we decided to head back to dry land.
On the way to Adventureland Teiguen begged for FPses for Big Thunder, whick we did. The Tiki room...hm. Can I say I miss the old show? And, is it my imagination, or are the DL and WDW shows different? Maybe it was just that I had been so disappointed at Tom Sawyer's Island and the mood carried over...I don't know.
Our next stop was a huge improvement, lol! Dole Whips for everyone! It was so hot that the first one was mostly melted before they handed the last one out the window...but they were cool and refreshing- Just what the day called for! While I was in line the boys explored the Swiss Family Robinson tree. I swear to you that the last time we were there it was themed for Tarzan. Am I losing my mind? The boys were bummed at the theming...ah, well, bad things come in 3's they say, and happily, this was the last of our disappointments.
By the time we finished our Dole whips and washed up, the window for our Big Thunder ride had opened. Liam decided to opt out, but Teiguen and I rode and had a great time. It was his first "big" coaster, and he smiled and "woo-hoo'd" the whole way. I think his desire to ride was due to the commercial that shows the mom and daughter...where the mom transforms into a kid again. I think that had we had more time, he would have given Space Mountain and Splash Mountain the go, too. Ah, well, something for next time!
About that time the sky opened up and it rained buckets. The boys had wanted to find a bathroom anyway, so we ended up hanging out there until it had cleared off enough to get back on the train and ride to Toontown.
At Mickey's house we were treated to a near nonstop blaring of alarms. There was a mom with her two extremely photogenic children, lifting them over every single barrier so that she could photograph them ON the bed, IN the garden. My younger son asked, loudly, why an adult would break the rules. Why, indeed? I'm thinking maybe Disney needs to get a reputation for magically transporting folks like this to the exit. The boys wanted their photos taken with the pumpkins, which I did, and we were on to Minnie's house. I didn't know until we got home that in the photo of them with Mickey, my younger son's eyes were closed. Drat! Had I known it, we would have stopped in the tent. Ah, well....
The boys got a kick out of Minnie's. I have a feeling, though, that this was our last visit to Toontown. They weren't even nearly as entertained as they were 3 years ago at DLR.
They wandered over to Donald's Boat, which was fun for them. But, as it was dark, and raining, it wasn't as hard to pry them off of it as it was on earlier trips.
They wanted to head back to Fantasyland, so off we went. After a final spin on the teacups we rode Buzz two more times. Then, making a major tactical mistake, I suggested we visit the Laugh Floor a second time. I was thinking that I was helping make our exit easier, as the parade was running. Nope...by the time the show ended, folks had packed themselves in for the fireworks. There was no escaping Tomorrowland. So, we settled in on the bridge and had a wonderful view of the show.
When the crowds cleared we headed towards the busses, making one final stop...a visit to the Main Street Bakery for a snack. You'll notice we didn't have dinner. You know the kids are having a good time when they're too busy to stop for dinner! Liam's first choice was a brownie, but the brownies had nuts on them. Then he spotted the cinnamon rolls. Seriously, they are as big as 4 regular rolls, covered in both icing and caramel sauce. If you look at the photos you'll get an idea of how big the thing was...let's say it more than made up for a missed meal. Teiguen was so tired that he almost took a nap in his chocolate cake. Luckily for all of us, he stayed awake to finish it. I had the keylime cheesecake. It wasn't a lemon bar, but it came in a close second!
Bellies full, we were off to the busses and our resort. Quick showers and into bed...there was half a day of fun left to be had, and we wanted to be ready for it!
