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

[mmeb144]

Sheesh, man! Get your family to T-REX. It was really feeling the photography love.

 

[4forWDW]

Wow, that's a lot of...circus peanuts. Who actually buys circus peanuts? Honestly? That's like asking who still buys Tab.

Nothing noteworthy happens after that. Unload our purchases. Charge up the cameras. Get the kids in their pajamas. Brush teeth. Gym. Tan. Laundry. Bed.

My friend still drinks Tab. There is a Walmart in our area that carries Tab. There must be one other person who drinks it because she will get mad when she goes to buy some and they are out of their normal inventory of two 12 packs.

We use the Jersey Shore lingo at work. I'll BTL usually. I'll go to the bank (I'm in accounting), Tan (I will actually tan on my lunch hour instead of after work) then Lunch (at my desk). Or sometimes TBL.

We wanted to stay at CBR to give it a try and for the Pirate Room. We had dealt with the bus system with the AS (picking up at all of the different AS resorts and dropping off at all). So hopefully it won't be too bad.

Waiting for more updates
Amy

 

[PirateKate]

All that pool time sounds really fun. I bet the kids loved it. I'm sorry you all didn't like WPE. I thought it was pretty good, the one time I was there. T-Rex does look like a lot of fun.

 

[KatMark]

Jon, great pictures at Downtown Disney. Every time I walk into World of Disney I am blown away by how big it is.

 

[stinksmom]

You have some wonderful pictures! I'm never good at taking that many so I love seeing what everyone else gets pictures of.

We were in DTD in March and saw the say red guy. There was also an angel I believe that switched places with him (we stood there a while - it was St. Patrick's day so we were enjoying some Irish beverages with some friends we met up with). Our DD (9) and our friends kids took tons of pictures with both. It was funny!!

Loving your trip report and can't wait for more updates!

 

[dcsetman]

I have to give you some very Re-Assuring kidney stone advice. A couple of years ago we were on vacation with our DD and her family(dsil and grandchildren) and on Day 3 of our trip my husband woke up with a kidney stone. He has been visited by the kidney stone fairy several times before so he was well aware of what was going on. It was our EPCOT day, so he got up/dressed and was going to just tough it out! Well, miserably walking around that morning, the 2nd ride of the day was MISSION SPACE (the real one, not the low-key version). When he finished the ride, he walked out and noticed no pain - the ride had shook loose the stone and he was fine from that point forward!! New cure - go ride Mission Space

 

[jzappavigna]

Signing up!

 

[nilla]

I'm not dead! Honest! I've had a busy week, with Musikfest (the local annual use-music-as-an-excuse-to-eat-and-drink-too-much festival) all last week and a monkey movie tonight. I DO have updates, finally. But first, let me respond to the readers:

We ate at T-Rex-- very loud but very cool. They have a gift shop in the restaurant--so you can peek in if you want to see the inside (it seemed by your multiple pictures you were intrigued).

Great, there are now two places I want to eat in DTD, but no desire to do anything else there!

Earl of Sandwich and the margarita shack! Don't forget about the rita shack. It's not the ditch, but the ritas are still pretty darn good.

Make that three reasons.

Sheesh, man! Get your family to T-REX. It was really feeling the photography love.

Ok, that one was already said, so it doesn't count. We're still at three.

I think we may end up there in the next few years, since I'm sure the kids will want to see La Nouba (aka Naouba). So I'll just have to skip lunch and eat TWO dinners that night! Oh, and drink some margaritas.

My friend still drinks Tab. There is a Walmart in our area that carries Tab. There must be one other person who drinks it because she will get mad when she goes to buy some and they are out of their normal inventory of two 12 packs.

And to think I can't find Vanilla Coke anywhere! Or even Vanilla Rally Cola since Giant switched to that Old Hershey Park peeled orange logo and switched store brands.

We use the Jersey Shore lingo at work. I'll BTL usually. I'll go to the bank (I'm in accounting), Tan (I will actually tan on my lunch hour instead of after work) then Lunch (at my desk). Or sometimes TBL.

Kristin LOVES Jersey Shore. Me? Not so much

But I do see enough of it that I know some of the lingo

We wanted to stay at CBR to give it a try and for the Pirate Room. We had dealt with the bus system with the AS (picking up at all of the different AS resorts and dropping off at all). So hopefully it won't be too bad.

I'm interested to hear about it!

All that pool time sounds really fun. I bet the kids loved it.

It's our favorite pool from the four resorts we've stayed at (POR, POFQ, WL, CSR). The pool at the Beach Club IS awesome, though. Someday...

Jon, great pictures at Downtown Disney. Every time I walk into World of Disney I am blown away by how big it is.

You turn a corner, and you're in another huge room filled with merchandise. It's amazing!

We were in DTD in March and saw the say red guy. There was also an angel I believe that switched places with him (we stood there a while - it was St. Patrick's day so we were enjoying some Irish beverages with some friends we met up with). Our DD (9) and our friends kids took tons of pictures with both. It was funny!!

He was great! I love stuff like that. Things you don't see everyday.

I have to give you some very Re-Assuring kidney stone advice. A couple of years ago we were on vacation with our DD and her family(dsil and grandchildren) and on Day 3 of our trip my husband woke up with a kidney stone. He has been visited by the kidney stone fairy several times before so he was well aware of what was going on. It was our EPCOT day, so he got up/dressed and was going to just tough it out! Well, miserably walking around that morning, the 2nd ride of the day was MISSION SPACE (the real one, not the low-key version). When he finished the ride, he walked out and noticed no pain - the ride had shook loose the stone and he was fine from that point forward!! New cure - go ride Mission Space

I'll pass that one on to Kristin! See, "Disney Magic"!

Signing up!

Where have you been?

Welcome aboard! And now, for the update...

 

[nilla]

 

[nilla]

Wow, that was the crappiest "day" posts yet, wasn't it? Well, there's some story behind the "10". And the "Pixar Weekend" photo.

The "10" story will come later. The "Pixar Weekend" one? Well, I cropped it, but AFTER resizing it. So it looks pretty bad. Oh well - substance over style, right?

Ok, so we don't have that much substance, either. But since you started reading, you might as well continue...

 

[nilla]

Friday. Tenth day at Walt Disney World. Eighth day in a park. Fourth day at Epcot.


Last day at Epcot.





Alright. we can either mope about it now, or enjoy our last day in Epcot. We do have one more day of Magic Kingdom, after all, so it's not completely over. Can't say it hasn't been a full vacation, either.

We're out of bed a little later than usual this morning, but we still make it to Epcot around 10:00. It's the start of "Pixar Weekend", which means this park is going to be all Pixar'd up. We found out about this not long before the start of our trip. We're excited. There will supposedly be green army men at the entrance, TONS of characters all over Epcot, and guest speakers we will not be listening to. Wall-E is supposed to be here, too. No, not a soft, cuddly Wall-E, but a Push-like robotic one. You know, the REAL Wall-E. We did hear that it was decided to flip the lineup a bit since then, but we can still hope, can't we?

No, apparently not. No green army men. No Wall-E. Apparently, 95% of Pixar Weekend is now inside the World Showplace. It's not open yet, so we time to hit some rides before we get in line. FPs are attained for Test Track, and then it's over to Mission Space. Yes, it's time - Dylan and I will be riding the Orange Team (for only the second time ever), while the girls take on the Green Team once again. Dylan's got the lanyard to prove it:

Ok, so you can't really see it in the picture, but he has it. He's also got the time-checker thing:

To answer the obvious question, NO, he is NOT drunk. Yes, I know what it looks like. But he's really not. He does drop the time-checker thing, though, which is comical since I told him not 3 seconds earlier that he had the responsibility of taking care of it.

We get to the pre-game video, and it looks like we will be riding with 2 of a group of 6 pre-teen knuckleheads. They're trying to decide who is riding with whom, and I further complicate things by telling them that I usually puke on this ride. Teams are set, and we're inside. As I said in last year's trip report, this is THEE way to ride this one. The other one is fun, but this one really lets you suspend disbelief. I think the fact that we only hit it once a year adds to it a bit. I have to yell at Dylan once during the ride because he's ignoring Gary Sinease's orders, but he immediately rectified it. The last thing I want to do is miss Mars and get stuck in space forever. No, thanks.

Afterwards, we head out into the play area, where Kristin and Emily are playing tht giant screen, multi-player game that I've never played. I do play the "jet pack guy" game, on "hard", and it IS hard. But fun. No funny e-postcards sent this year, but we'll try to fill that void with these funny hat pictures:

We head across Futureworld to the Land, where Soarin' FPs are attained, and then it's off to World Showplace!


[POST=42280536](skip to next update)[/POST]

 

[nilla]

Wait, that's it? Are you serious?


Over a week without an update, and that's all we get? C'mon!



Ok, ok...just hear me out. The Pixar Weekend stuff is up next, and that's going to take up A LOT of text. And pictures. It really should be its own update.

And so it will be. If anything, I apologize for not getting up earlier. I really need to be thinking more about this Trip Report when I'm actually in WDW next year!

 

[KatMark]

Bravo to BOTH of your kids for doing Mission. I refuse to do either side every again.

I'm looking forward to the Pixar update. I may be late getting to it and commenting (my brother is having surgery in two days and I have so much still to do for our trip in 39 days), but I will be back to see the update.

 

[MEK]

Not even going to try to read until I can see the pictures!!!! (But I am glad you did an update after falling off your normal pace )

 

[feyrerm]

I need a week to recover from my week of Musikfesting!

I am looking forward to the Pixar Weekend update to see what that's all about.

There really is nothing better then making the kids put on stupid hats and taking pictures of them. I think 1/5th of all my pictures from all my trips are silly hat pictures!

 

[mmeb144]

removed message.

 

[nilla]

I'm looking forward to the Pixar update. I may be late getting to it and commenting (my brother is having surgery in two days and I have so much still to do for our trip in 39 days), but I will be back to see the update.

I hope everything goes well.

Haven't you packed yet? You're only 39 days away!

Not even going to try to read until I can see the pictures!!!! (But I am glad you did an update after falling off your normal pace )

There will be more to read after tonight. Trying to make up for lost (and soon-to-be-lost) time!

I need a week to recover from my week of Musikfesting!

I am looking forward to the Pixar Weekend update to see what that's all about.

There really is nothing better then making the kids put on stupid hats and taking pictures of them. I think 1/5th of all my pictures from all my trips are silly hat pictures!

I'm Fested out. I love it and go almost every night, but a week is plenty.

We just started really doing the hats last year, but it IS fun, in a "gosh, I hope the kids don't end up with head lice" kind of way, but still a lot of fun!

removed message.

Poster's remorse!

Ok, on to the updates!

 

[nilla]

Ok, back with more updates. Tomorrow night is iffy, and the rest of the week isn't looking good, so I'd better get them out while I can!

Now where we we? That's right. Currently in possession of FPs for both Test Track and Soarin', a bit out of it from Mission Space: Orange Team, and headed over to see what all the hubub is about with this Pixar Weekend. Evidently, it's like the 150th anniversary of Pixar or something. They used to be a bubble gu manufacturer back before computers were invented, it's true! Don't believe me? Well, don't look it up, because "the man" doesn't want you to know the true history of Pixar. The dark, sordid history of Pixar, blemished with allegations of child labor, toxic waste dumping, and CGI lab primate testing.


No, wait - I'm thinking of some other company. Never mind. It's only the 25th anniversary of Pixar, which not only makes much more sense than whatever I was just on about there, but it also means that I'm older than I feel.

The line is HUGE for the character meet 'n greet in World Showplace - so huge that my camera physically WOULD NOT take a picture of it. Yeah, that's what I'm going with. So no pictures. But rest assured, it was huge.

And hot. As in "near-record highs" yet again. We're getting used to it, but with me and heat, I'm fine as long as I'm moving. When I'm standing, I tend to sweat. A lot. Thought you might like to know that.

There are some really nice people in line, though, and I don't mind having the United Kingdom as the backdrop to our wait. Dylan's sitting directly in front of the garbage can, spraying it with his mister. Odd kid. Emily is in the stroller complaining. She didn't want the delicious "apple sauce in a Capri Sun bag" sample, but she's still hungry. I don't now if I mentioned this, but this girl is ALWAYS hungry. For snacks. She eats her meals well enough, but it's usually in an effort to secure snacks later. We don't have much, and we are planning on going to lunch after this, so she's out of luck for now. Not too happy about it, either.

The line finally starts to move (after an hour? 30 minutes? Help me out, Kristin!) As we approach the entrance, the women talking to Kristin reveals that she has old family connections to the original church in Bethlehem, where we were supposed to get married. I say "supposed" because renovations on the chapel went longer than planned, so we got moved.

To an arguably nicer place, though, so we can't complain. It wasn't much fun for the wedding planners (Kristin and her Mom), though.

Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah, the Old Chapel. No, wait - we went over that already. Pixar Weekend. Right. Free "Cars 2" posters! There's a "Cars 2" mural over by Test Track!

And as if that's not enough, the "Cars 2" logo will be projected onto the Epcot ball following Illuminations!

Wow, they're really pushing that movie, aren't they? But why? If you ask me, they could've put out a limited number of commercials with someone saying, "oh yeah, there's a new 'Cars' movie coming out", and we'd all still see it. Admit it. The audience is already there.

But who am I to argue with Disney's marketing department? In fact, we'll take two free posters, thank you! My camera DOES allow a quick glimpse inside:

Wow, there are a lot of people in there. Lots of characters, too - Mater and Lightning McQueen, Lotso, Mr. Potato Head, and characters from the Incredibles, Up, and Monsters, Inc.

Awesome! We've never met most of these guys (and girls) before, so we're psyched.

 

[nilla]

The first round had us at the Toy Story 3 area, where we were cut of shortly before our turn. These guys need a break, too!

Well, not that guy. That's just a Rubik's Cube. This guy:

Whoa, is Mr. Potato Head not the greatest character ever? He's gives Mike from Monsters, Inc. a run for his money, that's for sure. Emily asks me where the characters, like MPH, come from. I tell her, "a Mommy and Daddy potato". Yes, Dad, but where do they live? I tell her I don't know if these particular characters (as opposed to Mickey and the Princesses) actually live in Disney World, and that they may have traveled here from...somewhere.

Our turn finally comes, but Mr. P.H. stays in the back. It's just Lotso Hugs Bear (or Mad Hugs Bear, as Dylan and I are calling him) for now:

I have mixed feelings about this one. The kids love him. He IS soft and cuddly. But he WAS a grade A piece of trash in "Toy Story 3", and it's hard to get past that. He even had a chance to redeem himself, but blew it. He's apparently all love and, well, hugs, now, so I guess I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. The camera does love himn

The Photopass photographer asks if we want to be in the picture, but we pass on this one. Lotso's not content though, and walks over to give Kristin a big hug. Missed that picture, but it was a fun moment

Up next were the two from "Cars 2" (in theaters, this May!). Kristin wants to just skip them, since they're not...well...characters, per se, but I like them, and the kids thing they're cool. Quick picks with these guys...

...and we move on. I spot a guy with a "Mouse of 1000 Corpses" shirt, which uses Mickey's face in a parody of one of my favorite movies. He got it at Frightfest or something. I doubt it's official Disney merch, but it's awesome all the same!

No picture of that, either. Man, I'm slacking. 2000 pictures, and what do I have to show for it? Well, this!

It's a little hard to tell, but that's a kid in a monster costume. His sister had one, too. And they weren't that young. Very cool!

Up next are the guys from - you guessed it - Up! I must admit, I only saw it once, so I don't really remember their names...is Russell one? Who is the old guy? And that one is "Dog", for all intents and purposes. Looooong line for this one. Right next to us is another room, behind a curtain, which obviously means that Kristin is going to push the curtain aside and investigate. I once swore we were going to be ejected from Magic Kingdom because she was looking in "Employees Only" areas in Exposition Hall for the car from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride that her friend claimed was back there somewhere. The jury's still out on that one!

She returns with the low-down: it's just a bunch of tables and chairs. Who knows what's going on there later? The guest speakers? Is THIS where the characters live in the offseason? More waiting, but I've got a good angle to get shots of the monsters we really don't feel like waiting for today:

We also have a good view of the door the characters pass through when going on and returning from break. Mike Wazowski manages to walk into the door before it's opened, but the best moment comes when Boo emerges to TREMENDOUS applause. The crowd loves her! She IS a great character, especially in the Monster costume:

We're up there, finally, and the kids go on up:

Awww, what the heck? We're all getting into this one!

They were fun, which makes me feel even more guilty that I forgot their names. I could always look it up, but I think I should suffer for this one.

 

[nilla]

In all, we passed on the Incredibles and Monsters, Inc., but we saw most of them earier in the trip. We're tired of waiting in lines, too, and the Monsters one was at least as long as the one for Up. It was time to move on.

From what we learned, Wall-E is NOT here today. The inflated "Up" house floating over by the Festival Center also was non-existant, and I'm not sure if those were just rumors, or if they really did scale it back from the original plan. If it's the latter, they really took the sizzle out of it. It was great to meet all the new characters, though, but I just wish they hadn't got my hopes up for all of that!

Oh well, we're at Epcot, so it's impossible to stay disappointed for long. The displays on the outside of World Showplace are pretty interesting, too:

Lots of great little secrets and facts about the movies on those boards. There was one for just about every Pixar movie...the big ones, at least.