These Kids Make Me Wish You Could Curse on the DISBoards (May '11 Trip) - DONE 9/14

[nilla]

Well, Japan, of course! We can't hold it against Dylan for being excited, because who isn't? Plus, this way, we don't have to hear about this store the rest of the trip.

Don't read that wrong - I LOVE this store. It's my favorite in WDW. I am a big fan of Japanese products - toys, t-shirts, candy, dried fish - you name it, if it's in this store, I probably like it. Dylan, of course, likes it because of this:

So many choices! This, of course, reminds me of my failure to beat the Pokemon League in the Pokemon: Black Nintendo DS on the flight down, which kicks the BP up a notch. Oh well, I'll get 'em next Sunday.

Speaking of not getting 'em, Dylan could not decide on what Pokemon he wanted, so he didn't get any. All of that, and he leaves empty handed. Emily does too. But not as quietly.

She saw, and instantly wanted, a set of Hello Kitty press-on nails, and we declined since we know they would only cause a problem if they fell off during the trip. Which they probably would. So Emily cried. A lot.

But we don't have time for that - it's getting close to dinner time! It's back to Futureworld, but first, some goodbye pics from WS:

We reach the Living Seas, but get sidetracked by something else living first. Down below the bridge...it's...





ANOTHER SNAKE!!!


Just kidding!! Ok, calm down now. It's not a snake. It's a mother duck and her ducklings:

They were walking along the two walls, occassionally jumping off the higher one on the left, into the water, and Dylan and I yell, "parkour!" Some were braver than others. Interesting how ducklings can have such different personalities.

It's into the Seas with Nemo and Friends next:

Dylan and Emily were ride partners again. They get along GREAT when they do that. Plus we don't have to hear Dylan talk through the entire ride. Everyone wins!

After the ride, we watched a dolphin swim:

...and want who really wanted to be outside with the other dolphin:

It was kind of sad. You could see the other one swimming around on the other side of the fenc-HEY! Hidden Mickey!

It's getting close to our 5:30 ADRs at Coral Reef, however, so we'd better head over so we can request a tank-side table. Coming next, dinner! When? Probably tomorrow. I'll try to update. IF I do, I'll see you then!

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[mimiecp]

Great Epcot updates. We are definitely going to spend more time in Innovations on our Sept. trip and I can't wait to visit the store in Japan. Those moments when siblings get along are great. I let the kids stay up later than normal last night simply because they were playing so nicely together in Henry's room. Looking forward to hearing about dinner at Coral Reef.

 

[cmaee]

I loved "Choose Your Own Adventure" books when I was a kid. I would never be satisfied with just the adventure I picked first, but would have to read through all of the possible adventure options.

Great day at Epcot. We skipped meeting Duffy in December. I didn't realize his significance to Mickey before this TR. We'll catch him next trip.

 

[KatMark]

Terrific Epcot updates, Jon. I guessed wrong (nothing unusual with that scenario). I love the pic of the kids in the Clam Shell -- they look like they are actually good friends.

Woudl you believe we have NEVER spent any time in Innoventions. I guess without the kids we just don't bother since we'd rather spend more time in World Showcase.

 

[Trinity524]

I'm in... Loving it!!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Great Epcot shots - love the poses!

Yay on meeting Duffy - I love the pics of Emily with him.

Am glad what you saw was a duck and her ducklings - do not think I could handle seeing another snake!

 

[MEK]

Ask Kristin which margarita she had and if she liked it cause I am now on a mission to try everyone in the cave. But that blueberry mango was to die for. Guess I'll have to eat there again just to get it.

Emily is pretty darn good with the camera. I think you have your own photography. Just wait till she is big enough to carry all the equipment!

Are you EVER going to ride Soarin???????

 

[NMW]

Subscribing and greetings from Northampton County.

 

[TeresaG]

It's probably really sad to admit that I would have been entranced watching the baby ducks playing in the water. I love baby ducks.

Sounds like a fun day at Epcot! You've given me some good ideas about what to do with the kids when we go (sadly we don't go to this park often enough because I feel much of it is over their heads).

 

[nilla]

OH NO!!! Did Photobucket whomp my pictures? Off to do some damage control, then I'll reply to the comments before posting some updates.

 

[nilla]

I never thought I'd say this, but I fear this TR has become TOO popular

I apparently hit my monthly bandwidth limit (in about 2 weeks) from Photobucket and had to upgrade to "Pro" status. Nuts!

I'm still waiting to see if my pics reappear here before posting anything else.

Thanks for all the views! I really appreciate it

 

[nilla]

I let the kids stay up later than normal last night simply because they were playing so nicely together in Henry's room.

I sometimes let them get sillier than usual, as long as they're not fighting. Anything but the fighting!

We skipped meeting Duffy in December. I didn't realize his significance to Mickey before this TR. We'll catch him next trip.

Duffy is really an overnight sensation with us. Kristin and I knew about him, but the kids really didn't care. Then, Emily got the bear. Then, Mickey hugged it. Now, she's meeting Duffy. There was a lot of Duffy these first days, so how could they not fall in love?

Woudl you believe we have NEVER spent any time in Innoventions.

We used to only go in there when one of us was off getting FPs or we wanted to get the Disney Visa photos. There's a whole lot of stuff to do in those places!

I'm in... Loving it!!

Welcome! Hopefully, you can see my pictures

Great Epcot shots - love the poses!

When she gets in character, Emily also develops the English accent, and starts every sentence with, "ohhh..."

It's probably really sad to admit that I would have been entranced watching the baby ducks playing in the water. I love baby ducks.

We watched them for at least 10 minutes, and could've probably stayed longer. It was really great

Ask Kristin which margarita she had and if she liked it cause I am now on a mission to try everyone in the cave.

I got it for her, and sadly, I forget. I think it was Raspberry something; I know it was the one at the top of the menu, if that helps

Emily is pretty darn good with the camera. I think you have your own photography. Just wait till she is big enough to carry all the equipment!

I'd be all for it!

Are you EVER going to ride Soarin???????

Maybe. We have FPs for it, so who knows?

Subscribing and greetings from Northampton County.

Welcome! We're actually from Lehigh County, but we can still be friends.

Now to see if Photobucket has removed me from the watch list. If they did, I'll try to sneak an update in.

 

[nilla]

Ok, next stop, this place:

Kristin puts our name in, requesting tank-side seating, like last year. While she takes Emily to the bathroom, Dylan finds a seat at the end of a leather bench in the waiting area. An man, probably in his early 70s, comes over and sits down next to him. Before he sat down, there was room for at least two people between Dylan and the next woman over, so where does this guy sit? SMACK DAB next to Dylan. I mean, he's almost forcing Dylan sideways into the wall. I'm standing up, trying to make sense of why this guy would sit so close to him, but I can't figure it out. A minute later, the guys says something to Dylan, then looks up at me in horror.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry! I thought that was my grandson!!"

We laugh, and the guy gets up and locates his real family. It was, I'm sure, an extremely awkward moment for this guy. It took me back to the time my Dad was picking me up from karate when I was in my teens, and I got into the wrong minivan. I buckled in, then looked over at the horrified woman sitting behind the wheel. Oopsie!

We get seated, and we're at the bottom level, but not right up against the tank like we were last year. Oh well, still a great view. Our waitress arrives and takes the drink orders - I get a Reef Lager, and Kristin gets her go-to drink from last year, the Very Berry Punch. I will be getting my booze with dessert! Here are the drinks:

Low light + our camera once again equals the shot quality you see here. I'm determined to post food pics this year, though, even if you can't see what they are without shining a spotlight on your monitor.

I got the Lobster Ravioli, which was delicious:

This was a bit of a departure for me, because I usually like my seafood straight-up. And raw. Or close to it. But it was still very good. Kristin got the Mahi Mahi, which is a bit of a departure for her because she usually likes her seafood to not be a fish.

She loved it. We made Dylan get the lobster soup, which he ended up loving, except for the bits of actual lobster. Another bad night of eating for him, and we're starting to wonder when the stomach aches will start.

But back to the real eaters! For desert, Kristin got the Chocolate Wave:

...and I got the Bailey's and Jack Mousse:

I'm not much of a dessert guy, but this place has some of my favorites. The food was good, but not good enough to make the aquarium obsolete. The main reason we ate here was that the kids demanded it, and we figured we could give them a few meals they actually like. I do love watching the aquarium during dinner, though, so I'm not complaining.

As we wrap up, the family sitting next to us tells us they have FPs for Test Track and Soarin' that they are not going to us. We have those same FPs, so we thank them, but decline. Little did they know that they ignited a fire in us, and we officially fell in love with giving away our extra FPs to those in need. More of that later...

 

[nilla]

Ok, dinner's done, and we can either head back to the resort, or hit an attraction before we head out. Rather than letting you guys mess up another decision, I'll just suggest that we cash in our Soarin' FPs. And we did. Row B1, of course! Emily (and the rest of us) love this ride.

After that, it's over to Test Track. Emily LOVES this ride - in fact, it's her favorite in WDW. Not to be confused with Space Mountain, which is her "worst favorite". But she loves this. We ride, and no matter how many times I've gone on this, I still can't understand why they would subject us to environmental test 7. 7? Yeah, 7.

After riding Soarin' and TT back to back, in such a short period of time, we're ready to do more. We hit Mission: Space next.

This will be Emily's first ride on this, ever, so it's Green Team. She's excited:

Dylan puts his pin lanyard in the personal belonging space just below the dash, and we're off. It was a lot of fun riding this as a foursome this year. Dylan and I are also planning on riding Orange Team at some point, but not tonight. As we are walking away from the ride area, Dylan says, "oh no, my pins!!", and starts to run back to the ride. A stunned CM quickly tells him to stop, then goes and gets them for him. Ok, Dyl, it's time we tell you - NEVER run back into a ride area! Scary!

Afterwards, we head over to Art of Disney, where the kids make pin and Vinylmation trades. One of the CMs was very new, but incredibly enthusiastic and really great with the kids. She seemed beside herself to be working in Disney, and it was fun to see. As the kids trade, I notice the Olszewski Cinderella Castle, which Kristin LOVES, but it's not cheap. Mothers' Day is in two days, and I'm thinking that I may have to bite the bullet and do it. But we're back here on Monday, so I'll get in then. I want it to be a surprise.

We check out the Gallery of Light boxes, which we also love. We each got one last year, and they're proudly hung next to the entertainment center. They're like dioramas, without the shoebox, yarn, and construction paper.

After trading, we're getting a little tired, but there's still time for Spaceship Earth. I know, I know...there's ALWAYS time for Spaceship Earth, right? We ride, then head on out of the park, not even stopping for Photopass pictures. We'll get enough of them later!

 

[nilla]

We returned to Coronado Springs and got some nighttime shots:

Though we haven't spent much time at the resort, we LOVE our location now. The Cabanas? What are those? It didn't take us long to fall in love with the Casitas.

I get the kids ready for bed, but it's not late, so they're a bit wound up. Kristin goes to El Centro to get drinks, returning with a bottle of Smirnoff Lemonade (now with "vodka"!) Her thinking is that this bottle is $20, as opposed to the $12 or so we'd be paying for a pair of drinks at the bar. It's not bad, so I'll drink it.

We eventually pack it in, relatively early. It'll be nice to get at least 7 hours on night...

Up next, Day 4, which will feature another ride "first" for Emily, a one year old gorilla, a fountain, swooping birds, a one year old gorilla, ribs, a one year old gorilla, and a Family Guy reference. But not a bad one

Oh, and a one year old gorilla.

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[nilla]

Photobucket issues are persisting, and are starting to become annoying. I'll be sending them an email if my images don't show up soon!

 

[KatMark]

Jon, great updates. However, did Emily not eat at Coral Reef?
The desserts looks really yummy.

Hooray to Emily for doing Mission: Space. A braver girl than me (did it once, never again).

Love the night shots at CSR.

 

[mimiecp]

Ok, next stop, this place:

Kristin puts our name in, requesting tank-side seating, like last year. While she takes Emily to the bathroom, Dylan finds a seat at the end of a leather bench in the waiting area. An man, probably in his early 70s, comes over and sits down next to him. Before he sat down, there was room for at least two people between Dylan and the next woman over, so where does this guy sit? SMACK DAB next to Dylan. I mean, he's almost forcing Dylan sideways into the wall. I'm standing up, trying to make sense of why this guy would sit so close to him, but I can't figure it out. A minute later, the guys says something to Dylan, then looks up at me in horror.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry! I thought that was my grandson!!"

Thank you for the laugh out loud moment this morning! Moments in life like this are priceless.

Great end to the day and glad that Dylan got his lanyard back. This will be our first year riding Mission Space and I am so excited about it.

Love the pictures of the Cornado. What always strikes me about the property is that whenever you see pictures of it on these boards, unless they are taken at the pool, you hardly ever see anyone else around.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

All caught up! So many things to comment on.

Love the choose your own adventure angle!

Captain Eo...clearly Lucas' best work. I saw the "original" but didn't see it again in May. I might have to put it on the list in Oct.

How did I miss Hello Kitty press on nails in Japan??

Dinner at Coral Reef looks yummy! I bet that grandfather was embarrassed! Dylan really isn't an eater, huh. Hope the stomachache comment isn't foreshadowing!

Glad you are liking your location at the hotel. I know it was a letdown when your request wasn't honored.

Looking forward to hearing about your next day!

 

[nilla]

Looks like photos are finally showing again. That's great, because I have a TON of pics from Animal Kingdom to sort through before my next update