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

[nilla]

Upon further review, it is NOT Epcot time.

This year, in order to be efficient, we took notes during the day on Kristin's iPod Touch, rather than trying to remember at the end of the day and writing them down on paper in the room. Great idea, huh?

Yeah, definitely. Unless said iPod is 60 miles away and I can't remember what we did that day.

So it looks like rather than it being Epcot time, it's Photopass time afterall! Enjoy...

 

[nilla]

They tried. They really did. But it was not to be this year...

Hey, get your own Duffy!

I was actually disappointed at the very small number of roaming Photopass CMs in Epcot this year. Last year, they were all over the place. This year, if they're not with a character, they're set up at some landmark picture spot. We did find one outside Morocco, however:

Kids, don't try this at home. Lions are wild animals. Even the talking, singing ones.

Yeah! Monsters, Inc! Sully is HUGE!

Mike is the best character. Ever. Honestly, just look at him. Those arms are fantastic:

Perhaps you did not hear me. I was saying that Mike is the coolest character in WDW, but you already knew that, didn't you? Well, here he is again, if you need confirmation:

You just can't get better than that. Or can you? There's another Pixar star who will be here on Friday who may take the cake...

 

[nilla]

Ok, I MAY remember enough of the morning to crank out a REAL update. Or at least enough to crank out a drawn-out, overly-descriptive-of-insignificant details update. So hear goes.

On my way to El Centro to get the kids a muffin, I see these guys:

At Rix, I get the kids a blueberry muffin, straying from the tried and true formula of chocolite chip to let them try something I know they'll like.

On the way back, I spot this in the lake:

Ok, I admit that's a bad photo, so I'll just tell you - it's a turtle. He's in the middle of the shot there.

A family walks by and says their son loves the ducks, so I point out the turt. We end up watching the thing for like 5 minutes before we part ways, and I head back to the room.

Back in the room, Emily is in the shower, and Dylan in ready to eat. I unveil the blueberry muffin...

Now, this is subject to dispute, but I believe that had Kristin not asked, "why did you get them that?", they might have eaten it. Instead, no go. They wouldn't touch it. Not even Emily, who LOVES fruit. Ridiculous!

We slept in a little (i.e., I got up at 7:00 instead of 6:00), so the kids have had more time to wake up. And get in trouble.

The fight of the morning is who gets to sit in the chair to eat, since there's only one. It's Emily's turn, but Dylan STILL wants to argue. In spite of being told hundreds of times, he does NOT eat over his plate, dropping muffing crumbs on the floor. Fortunately, he ate hardly anything this morning. Well, fortunate because it means less of a mess!

The kids get dressed, but they're getting wound up. They're messing around, and Dylan accidentally knocks Emily's Duffy off the bed. MELTDOWN. Emily starts crying, then takes a swing at him (the usual Emily combo). He's now yelling, too, and we're moments aways from it, so we send them outside to look for the turtle.

About 20 second later, we hear a knock on the door. It's Emily, and she's crying again. Dylan did...well, something. Who knows what. "It was an accident!", is Dylan's standard reply, and it's usually true. He's like a bull in a china shop.

Emily stops crying, and I go back into the room.

...

Ok, finally ready. It's out the door, and off to the Bus Stop. C'mon, Emily!


Hey, where's Dylan?


Apparently, they were playing hide-and-seek, and Dylan is nowhere to be found. And he's not answering us. Finally, Emily finds him, and we lecture him on coming out when we call for him.

It's been an aggravating hour and a half getting ready, and so starts what brought about the name of this Trip Report. More to come on that...

...but for now, it's off to Bus Stop 2, where we AGAIN get almost-instant bus service. We board, we profess our love to Bus Stop 2, and we head off to Epcot and World Showcase!

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[nilla]

...and that's it.

I know it's not much of an update, but I did what I could. I will get the notes from Kristin tomorrow, so I can post a REAL update!

All for now...

 

[MEK]

You continue to crack me up! Can't remember what you did that day without your notes, but what a description of Dylan and Emily's go-round. I love your photopass pictures so far. I know you probably have many more to share. So bring it on!

Hope you had a great Father's Day. to night time ToT.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Love those photopass pictures! The kids actually look like they like eachother. . Sounds like the morning was off to an interesting start.

 

[vleeth]

I'm glad you mentioned taking notes during the day. I'm trying to figure out the best way to take notes during my future trips. Did she type notes while waiting in lines?

 

[KatMark]

Great photopass pictures. I love the ones with "MIKE" -- awesome and he is one of the best (I won't give him "best", however).

Well, now I see a little bit of the reason for the title of your TR...but kids will be kids, you know. Just remember...they grow up way too fast (mine are 25 and 23 ).

Love the turtle in the water (I spotted him a little); you can usually find them off the bridge on the way from Casitas towards Ranchos and the pool "sunbathing" on a rock.

 

[PirateKate]

I love the Photopass pictures. The kids look like they're having a lot of fun.

Sorry to hear the morning was rough. Two kids can be so much harder than one.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Our mornings in Disney are much nicer since the kids are grown. I can remember our trips loaded with fun when all 4 boys were along. It was rough getting out in the morning, so I feel your pain.

 

[Tosie]

I'm really enjoying your report - looking forward to the next installment!

We live just over the border in NJ and I told dh about the Bethlehem Brew Works - we'll be trying it out soon!

 

[jenjolt]

LOL I'm so far behind, but I did have time to look at pictures and try to update myself!!

I love the picture of your kids in Morocco what a great picture!!! LOVE IT!!!

Your photopass pictures came out great!!!!!!

Alright going back to really catch up now!

 

[nilla]

I love your photopass pictures so far. I know you probably have many more to share. So bring it on!

Ok, you asked for it! There are a lot more. And I'll post them.

Love those photopass pictures! The kids actually look like they like eachother.

Sometimes, they do. For example, the other day, Emily needed a "contestant" for a "show" she was putting on. I told Dylan that if he was her contestant, I'd let him play video games later. Without this bribe, there is NO WAY he would've agreed. He can't stand when she plays pretend.

But wouldn't you know, he had a BLAST. They played together so nice for about a half hour, up until when he grabbed a beach ball from her and it all fell apart

I'm glad you mentioned taking notes during the day. I'm trying to figure out the best way to take notes during my future trips. Did she type notes while waiting in lines?

Yes, she did. And I did. Whoever had a free moment. It worked out great.

Love the turtle in the water (I spotted him a little); you can usually find them off the bridge on the way from Casitas towards Ranchos and the pool "sunbathing" on a rock.

I didn't see that, but would love too! I'll have to check it out next year, when we're back at CSR

I love the Photopass pictures. The kids look like they're having a lot of fun.

I love the PhotoPass CD. It's so much easier than having to pick and choose which pictures you want to keep.

Our mornings in Disney are much nicer since the kids are grown. I can remember our trips loaded with fun when all 4 boys were along. It was rough getting out in the morning, so I feel your pain.

I can't imagine!

I did forget to mention the family Kristin saw in Hollywood Studios. They had at least 4 kids, possibly more. They had matching shirts, but on the back was a strip of masking tape - with a phone number. What a GREAT idea! Kind of silly looking, but functional!

We live just over the border in NJ and I told dh about the Bethlehem Brew Works - we'll be trying it out soon!

Do it! I'd recommend something off the menu, but just about everything there is good. As for beer, as long as you don't get the Valley Golden (the lightweight offering), you can't go wrong.

LOL I'm so far behind, but I did have time to look at pictures and try to update myself!!

I love the picture of your kids in Morocco what a great picture!!! LOVE IT!!!

Your photopass pictures came out great!!!!!!

Alright going back to really catch up now!

Hurry up! More updates are on their way, in the very immediate future!

 

[nilla]

Notes attained!

Ok, I must've gotten up later than 7:00, because we got to Epcot around 11:00. Cut me some slack!

Anyway, we roll into Epcot at 11:00 and walk past the school groups assembled at the entrance. I'm thinking I could come back here at any given time and see school groups assembled there. This is why they are not a problem in Epcot - once the chaperones get them inside, they don't know what to do with them, so they have them stand there. Sure, they'll eventually come up with a "plan" and ride Soarin' and Test Track at the peak times, but that requires a lot more waffling, and they're not quite there yet.

Am I being too harsh on the school groups? Maybe I'm jealous because my school never took me to Epcot. I do wonder what it's like to be a Disney junkie AND a chaperone. I would imagine it would be frustrating. "But EVERYONE goes to Tomorrowland in the morning! Why won't you listen?"

Once inside, I snap a picture of our PhotoPass card, and let the PhotoPass photog take a picture of Emily and this one:

Daisy is one of Emily's favorites, and she's always a fun character. I'm guessing Dylan won't admit that, but he enjoys it. You can tell:

Stitch is in the area, too, with literally no line. No one wants to miss Daisy, I guess. We got Stitch's picture at MK, so the line stays empty while we head on into the park proper.

First order of business - FPs for Test Track. We'll grab Soarin' later. It's too late to meet Tink without waiting a ridiculous amount of time, so we let the kids have at it in the Pixie Hollow park.

Afterwards, we start to take the long way over to World Showcase, passing this on the way:

Between my last TR and this one, I've probably said this 500 times, but I can't imagine Epcot when it's not Flower & Garden. After 6 straight years of F&G, I think I would find it odd to see it not done up this way.

Speaking of done up this way, what happened to the butterflies? I guess they've been moved elsewhere - we'll check them out later.

Alright, guys - next stop, World Showcase! More characters! Beer! Shopping! Movies! And did I mention beer?

One thing I did NOT mention were the girlie drinks, but there will be plenty of time for that. Or will there? Will this be the year that Kristin switches drinks of choice?

Oh, the suspense!

 

[nilla]

Now where were we? Oh yeah, headed for World Showcase! Nothing can stop us now - except for...that. The fountain. Ok, kids, it's 96 degrees out and we're in the least shaded park in WDW, so go nuts.

I really credit Disney for the prevalance of stuff like this in the parks. It's really priceless on a day like today, and it's only May!

We finally make it, some of us soaked, to World Showcase, and our first stop, Mexico. For lunch. We've never eaten anywhere in this pavilion, at least not since we've been coming as a family. It's La Cantina de San Angel for us, and we're all getting the Empanadas de Queso. I got a picture of them - wanna see?

Looks good, eh?

Huh?

Still not sold? Ok, let's try this: do you like cheese?

No?

Alright, I'm not going to win you over. Never mind. I'm sure the other items are the menu are great as well.

What was that? You're just joking? You DO like cheese? Well, in that case, I'll reply with a "who doesn't?", then attempt to persuade you with this picture:

Yeah, that's some stringy cheese. Did that get ya? No? Well, how up this:

See, I told you. Stringy. Good job, kids. You can have ice pops.

Sitting at the table next to us is "Team Daydrinking", four girls who look to be in their early 20s and drinking...water. Um, ok. I drink that during every day. Even at work. Is it worthy of a shirt?

I consider calling them on it, but that would involve actually talking to strangers and looking weird in the process. Not that I care about the latter, but I'll give them a break. It's still early.

We get a picture of this pavilion as we exit:

...which, if you've forgotten, is called this:

We head inside, and I notice this:

For some silly, juvenile reason, I get a kick out of words in other languages that sound similar to their English counterparts, but with one glaring difference. Sort of like how EOLs (English as an Only Language) take a chance with the adding of "o" to any word they don't know the Spanish term for.

Anyway, we're inside now, and my childish giggling has subsided. The kids get their autograph books signed by the CM at the mask table. Well, the table formerly known as the mask table (also called, "Prince"). The carboard-character-on-a-stick-du-jour is Duffy now, since they're really pushing the Duffy thing. I'm not complaining, becaue I dig Duffy. And you should too. He's awesome.

Not Mike Wazowski awesome, but still pretty darned awesome. But enough about that, Mexico, man! Let's try to stay on track here.

Our camera tries to bite me for trying to take pictures in this lighting, but I manage to subdue it and grab a few shots anyway:

These hats will go into the autograph book, next to the Country autograph page that matches them. Hats are in this year. I blame the royal wedding.

I just noticed that this guy moves.

It only took me six years. Yet another example of the unnecessary detail that make Disney what it is. Don't ever change!

I ask Kristin if she's getting a margarita, and she says she can't even think about drinking in this heat.

Um, hello?

What have you done with my wife?

Fortunately, over 12 years of marriage has taught me that drinking at Epcot is one of those "just be patient, and it will happen" things. Remember, what does being assertive get you? NOT FAST PASSES. At least not from us.

We ride El Rio del Tiempo, and I (again) bemoan how much I miss the old song and imagery. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Donald, but this was not needed. No one rode this before, and no one rides it now. Except for us, and we liked the old way better. So please, change it back. We'll stay out of your hair while you do it.

 

[nilla]

Afterwards, we step back out into the blazing sun, margaritaless but not without purpose. Senor Donald (that's Donald in stereotypical Mexican garb) will be arriving soon, and we don't want to miss him!

As we wait in line, two Japanese girls join us and take a liking to the kids' autograph books. To be exact, they love them - especially the Duffy page, signed last Friday. I told you - Japanese girls dig Duffy.

I take a picture of the backdrop. If Kristin had ordered the PhotoPass CD by now, I would show you this with, you know, the character in front of them, but for now, you just have to use your imagination:

Hold on, I just remembered - we DO have the PhotoPass CD! How could I forget? Especially since I just resized a few of those pictures just 15 minutes ago...but let's just ignore that fact, alright? Good. Thanks. Here are the "reals":

Or one of them, anyway. To avoid subjecting anyone to "pictures of our kids overload", I'll reserve the shots of Emily to when she's with a Princess. Or a Pooh character. Or Mickey. Ok, whatever - it's over to Norway, and I'm getting a beer. I don't care how hot it is. Well, actually, I DO care, but it's more of a "reason for" for me. I get a Carlsberg, which is about the best Norwegian beer you can get outside here. Or inside, for that matter. Not a huge selection here, though I couldn't honestly tell you how big the selection in "real Norway" is, either.

I read an article about the uncertainty of this pavilion's future, at least in it's current form, but that's too depressing to think about in this Trip Report. It's all rainbows and sunshine here!

And Viking stuff. Yes, I know there really is very little in common between the Norse Vikings and those who still have a big question mark at quarterback, but if I can't suspend disbelief in Disney World, where can I? We go inside the "church" and read about Vikings history, which goes like this:

Viking A was in power until he was brutally slain by Viking B. Viking B was a great king and is credited for many advances of the time, until he was killed by Viking C. And on and on it goes. No electoral college. No primaries (sorry, Iowa!). You want to be king? You know what to do.

But those were much simpler times. Much more dangerous and bloody, but simpler. These guys somehow fit into all of it:

Kristin takes the kids to the Kidcot table, and I head over for Maelstrom FPs. I still have three minutes until I can get my next batch, so I wait it out, playing the "insert Keys to the Kingdom until the FP machine stops spitting out dud FPs" game. Jackpot! 4 FPs for Maelstrom, to go right next to our Test Track FPs from earlier. I love hording Fast Passes!

I head into the store, after getting some random shots:

Speaking of shots, inside the store, you can buy bottles of authentic Norwegian vodka, at authentic American theme park prices. I'll pass! But I won't pass on the hat pictures:

We had a good conversation with the CM at the Kidcot table, but the phrase of the day comes straight from "Trading Places", as every sentence we utter can easily be topped off with "surely from Sweden!"

I have since found out that I am misquoting that somewhat (It's "for sure, from Sweden", apparently), but I've been saying it that way for too long, and no one remembers much of "Trading Places" anyway.

I pointed out Princess Aurora to Emily from outside of Akershus, and then it's inside to the Maelstrom. We don't need our FPs, so we save them for later. Great ride, and one of the classics in this park, if you ask me. And since you're voluntarily reading my TR, I'd say you DID ask me.

We walk into the feature film, "Norway in the 1980s", about halfway in, so we miss the parts about how much Norway sucks because of the horrible weather and inevitable death at sea, but manage to catch the parts about how awesome it is because of the people and the culture and the history and Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin and those awesome purple helmets. I think I'd like to visit Norway some time, but definitely in the least cold season. Not a fan of the cold, no sir. Yet here I am, in Pennsylvania. Go figure.

But here we are in Florida. Sunny, 96-degree Florida. And here I am telling you that this concludes our updates for the night. Sure, I could write more, and I may, but I think I'll save those for tomorrow. See you then!

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[nilla]

In an unrelated note, this Trip Report has now been viewed more times than last year's completed TR, so I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who is reading, following, lurking, trolling, or just clicking on a hyperlink repeatedly to artificially increase this TR's view count. I appreciate you all!

Also, and I can't say it enough, but a BIG THANK YOU to MousekaMaddi and Melknor, the first DISers to ever comment on one of my Trip Reports, KatMark and Flightless Duck for the priceless CSR recommendations, and MEK for plugging my first TR and getting it noticed in the first place. You have no idea how flattering this is for me.

Oh, and a very special THANK YOU to everyone I didn't mention in the last paragraph, but is not mad at me over it

More updates tomorrow!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I adore the picture of Emily running through the garden, she looks like she is having a blast.

 

[KatMark]

I just love this pic...Emily looks so happy.

And Dylan looks smitten.

I'll have you know that this is a very popular picture among DISer's (you know...the ones whose reports you don't read ):

In an unrelated note, this Trip Report has now been viewed more times than last year's completed TR, so I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who is reading, following, lurking, trolling, or just clicking on a hyperlink repeatedly to artificially increase this TR's view count. I appreciate you all!

Also, and I can't say it enough, but a BIG THANK YOU to MousekaMaddi and Melknor, the first DISers to ever comment on one of my Trip Reports, KatMark and Flightless Duck for the priceless CSR recommendations, and MEK for plugging my first TR and getting it noticed in the first place. You have no idea how flattering this is for me.

Oh, and a very special THANK YOU to everyone I didn't mention in the last paragraph, but is not mad at me over it

More updates tomorrow!

Jon, I'm surprise. You write one of the better TR's that I have ever followed (and I'm NOT saying that so you come and read my ). Seriously, I've enjoyed last year's and this one thus far.

And the latest updates are great!

 

[nodnol]

Hi Jon, I'v been lurking for some time now and wanted to let you know that I enjoy your TR very much!
And I'm glad you enjoy German food and Beer
On the side: Carlsberg is Danish beer, but the whole Norwegion shop in Epcot is more or less a Scandinavian one...