Trials, Treats & Meet'nGreets of 15th Disney BDay: May 09 * THANK YOU! 8/18/09!

[MyMuse]

Monday, May 4
Day 3, Part 1
Animal Kingdom, 2nd full day!

I wake up at 6:30am, dressed and woke the others at 7:15am. Jenna gets some more of the litle gifts, but I forgot to take a picture.

AK has early AMH this morning. The opening ceremony at 8am.

I got my new bag together and remembered a plastic bag, poncho and magic towels for any potential mishaps on Kali River Rapids. I can't wait to finally get on this ride!

We went for the South Depot, but Dom had to get coffee at the food court and took forever, so we ended up missing the earlier bus. Shocking, I know.

We took the next one, and did end up making it to AK before 9am, but not by much. Completely forgot about the opening ceremony again, but I'm sure we missed it.

Cute bus sign at POR:

While waiting for D, took some pics of POR:

Oh, I think this is a towel animal? or a cutesy thing?:

We stopped for some pics Photopass pics before we entered the park (in front of the AK sign) and we head in to FP Kilimanjaro Safari. I remembered that it didn’t open on EMH morning until 8:30am anyways.

Me taking a photo along with Photopass CM:

We head over to Dinoland to go on Dinosaur. I did get hit with a survey person, but thankfully, it will be emailed to me later for when I return home. This ride is not scary but it is scary. On this particular ride, it will be easier the second time around. The CMs were awesome here and totally got into the theme. I think they said we hope to see you back alive or something to that effect as we leave in the jeep. I decided to get dramatic and put me arms out while we were driving away saying “save me!” I can’t remember exactly what I did but it was darn tootin’ funny. There was absolutely no line; no waiting!

Pre-show at Dinosaur, love this guy!

The ride pics were priceless again and this time I remembered to take a photo. I really wish they would have ride photos on Photopass (Test Track does, but that’s the only one). The big dinosaur was on my side of the jeep; I have to remember to be on the other side. Jenna tries on another hat, since we are waiting for you-know-who doing you-know-what. Again. She says its her pouting. LOL!

Gotta love the ride photos:

J's "pouting" picture while waiting for D:

He bought a rather large toy that he had to send to the resort. I swear he buys stuff and doesn’t think how he is actually going to carry it around or get it home. Like you can’t find a plastic dinosaur at home?

We finish, head out and they are calling last call for the Finding Nemo show. We debate and decide to go in. It must be the 10am showing. We are literally in the last row. We would have been further down but a lady was saving an entire row for people that never showed up. I thought we were not supposed to do that, but I guess way back here, it really doesn’t matter. When I went to see last time, I was in the front shows, so it was a different perspective and we got out a lot quicker! Bonus!

I really like Finding Nemo, the puppetry, artistry and acting is just so good. For this, it is better to be closer to really get into it, but it was still a great show, even further back.

Nemo photos:

After Nemo, we went on the Safari with our FPs. The one part I don’t like is that the line merges with the regular line at a point, so there is no organization as how to form a line to get on the ride. I know this doesn’t matter in the scheme of things, but it does bug me.

In any case, we ended up in the front row (yay!) and a dud for a driver (argh). No magic, no stories, no nothing. She barely spoke! We made up for our lack of a driver, by a white rhino blocking our way, so our driver “pushed” it with our jeep. Hello! I would rather not be charged by a white rhino if you please. It was scary, but exciting. She did have to radio to let the other jeeps know as well as the gamekeepers.

Took loads of photos and remember to watch for the flamingo island hidden mickey. The animals were doing well that day other than the rhino. The giraffes were a favorite part. We saw all kinds of animals, so the safari was a great success other than the potential of being charged by a rhino. Each Safari is different, so that would make me coming back to this ride.

Safari photos:

"Bumping" the rhino:

We know we wanted to eat, so we went to get another FP. Explaining FPs to Dom took some time. He’s a “wing it” kind of boy. The dilemma was to FP Kali or Everest? We ended up FP Everest since I wasn’t going to go on that thing.

We took some Photopass Everest pics and I point out how the temple matches Everest. It seems to interest the other two. Score!

 

[MyMuse]

So, I left off at getting FPs before heading out to lunch.....to Pizzafari! I reaaaally want to see the inside of this place and its themed rooms.

We head off to Pizzafari and order, well, pizza. We place the order and wait a very long time for the pizza to come. Something was up but I forget what, in any case, the plus side was that our pizza was very fresh and hot! I didn’t realize it also came with a salad. J wanted breadsticks, so we got that too. Good value at Pizzafari. So much food! My receipt says it is now 11:39am.

I wanted to go to Pizzafari to check out all the different rooms. We sat in the way back and relatively empty room, though it got busier when we left. We were in the winter/polar bear room, but I took pics of all the rooms. Nice themeing in here as well. Though, it does need more room by the ordering area.

Pizzafari photos:
Our room

Cool light fixture:

After lunch, we head to Everest, but stop to take pics by the music area where the bongos are. We also were able to catch DeVine!!! So exciting. It was a different DeVine than the one I saw last time, but still cool. It’s hard to explain until you see it. J was wowed by it, so that made me happy.

DeVine photos:

Can you tell where she is?

A Photopass CM was in the area in front of the Tree of Life, but no one wanted to take a photo.

We hang there for awhile and soak DeVine in. By this time, it was probably time for D&J’s FP for Everest. I wait by the viewing area and take pics of the nearby scenes and try to see them coming down, but that was impossible. I know he was wearing a bright yellow shirt and she was wearing her black Mary P shirt. They came and got me after they finished.

Everest:

We went on Kali River Rapids next at a standby time of 50 minutes. It might have been slightly less but not by much. The themeing in the queue was awesome! I took quite a few photos there. Wow! Waiting in line is not so bad here. Just as we were a few people away the ride stops. Uh oh. It turns out someone had to be let out, I’m not sure how that happens. At the last minute, I decided not to put the poncho on, but still cover my bag in the plastic bag I brought with me to keep it nice and dry.

Kali queue line photos:

Of course, Murphy’s Law hits me and I get completely drenched a couple of times over. The family we sat with was super nice and did warn me he always gets wet and he apologized. LOL! D&J are barely wet. I did remember to keep my feet up, so the very bottom of me was dry.

After the ride, I head for the restroom to repair and D&J go shopping. I whip out my magic towel which helps a tiny bit, repair the best I can and pull my hair up in a bun. It’s fairly sunny outside, so I should dry fairly quickly.

This does take a while, but we still have time before we need to park hop to HS.

So, I suggest going to Maharajah Jungle Trek since it has the tigers and the themeing is great. It doesn’t disappoint, the tigers are out. J even wanted to see the bats. Ick. I like this trail since it doesn’t take long, there always interesting animals about. On the way out, we glimpse Kali boats passing by through the reeds.

Maharajah photos:
Bats. Ick.

Kali thru the reeds:

We start heading out since we need to get to HS for our 3:10 ADR at Sci-Fi. Dom decided to veer off again and I’m about to hit him over the head with something. The boy has no concept of time.

Along the same vein, no time to go for “It’s to be a Bug” either but J doesn’t want to go anyway. I think it’s super cute.

No one wanted to stop to get a Photopass in the Tree alcove; guess they are Photopass’d out with the first 2 parks? Dom stopped to get more coffee and off we were to HS. It should be around 2pm now.

 

[jenseib]

I totally forgot to share.....





..... that I......






........bought into a .......






.....D23 membership! I am now a charter member!




What sold me is seeing a sign at HS at One Man's Dream and that they will have some NYC events.......

What is that?


Sounds like fun. I would be kicking Dom's butt though. I hate when people hold me up. You guys do alot of stuff though and thats cool. My family go tired of Photopass too, but I kept making them. LOL! Gotta get your moneys worth.

 

[MyMuse]

What is that?


Sounds like fun. I would be kicking Dom's butt though. I hate when people hold me up. You guys do alot of stuff though and thats cool. My family go tired of Photopass too, but I kept making them. LOL! Gotta get your moneys worth.

D23 is the new Disney Community (not in the forum sense, but to attend events, exclusive merchandise, expo, etc)... 23 for 1923 when Disney started. Remember the ads for "Are you 23?", this is what it was.

There should be a thread for it in the Community board. THey also have a website at disney.com/23. I was hemming and hawing and finally just decided to do it.


I wanted to kick Dom's butt and split his head into 2 on top of it, but I didn't since this was about Jenna's birthday. I should have made them do more Photopass, but I didn't want to push it. This kind of trip will never happen again, so that kind of kept me going.

 

[MyMuse]

I had this update done and ready to post and DIS logged out on me, even though I as logged in. Argh. So, here I try again....

Day 3, Part 3
Hollywood Studios

So, we are park hopping to HS from AK and it is around 2pm-ish. A bus arrives within minutes. We arrive at HS and we go to Guest Services while Dom hits a shop next door. Again.

Jenna needs a new birthday button since hers keeps getting smudged and we have a little time. We finish and drag Dom out of the store. In our rush to get Dom out, J leaves her brand new pin on the bench, but thankfully, a nice lady runs up behind us to give it back.

We head up and encounter streetomsphere characters, so we stop to watch for a few minutes. So far, we are good on time.

We continue on and come across the American Idol stage and J gets her pic taken. A CM notices us and gives her a microphone and tells her to work it. It was too funny. She doesn’t want to do the Experience part but she’ll ham it up for a photo op.

We check-in at Sci-Fi to find out they are really behind and a bit disorganized. Our reservation is for 3:10pm and we wait and wait and wait some more. We finally get seated at 3:40pm! When we do get seated, the host (some walk, some are on roller skates), at least, they do ask if we ever been here before and since we have not, explained a little bit about the restaurant.

The place is themed so cool. You are seated in an old fashioned convertible car since it is old drive-in theater, so the place itself is dark. They even have old fashioned speakers on the car window. Our had 3 rows, so D&J took the first row, I sat in the second and family sat in third. Our waiter called the third row ‘hitch hikers’.

I ordered a Marsha Martian, which was a milkshake with Kahula & Baileys (you know I needed it!). It came with a funky glowing cube. We all ordered sandwiches; for some reason, I decided against a burger. Food was decent, the atmosphere was awesome. You watched old sc-fi movie reels and news (hence the name). I spent a lot of my time taking pics of the screen and the other cars.

We got the check and it is called a “speeding ticket” and we are “suspended” until we return. The best part is that Dom paid. It is probably around 4:30pmish by now.

We are off to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show, I was surprised J wanted to see it, so we check it out. We find the next showing is 6:05pm, which actually turned out not to be true since the CM there checked her little pad and said there is a later showing at 6:55pm. This might work out since J wanted to see the Beauty & the Beast show and that was at 5:45pm.

So, I convince the troops that the Great Movie Ride is worth going on and that it is a replica of the Mann Chinese Theater in LA. D&J are completely unimpressed. Geez.

So, I try to explain the different names on the ground and as we enter GMR, the CM notices J’s birthday button and her Broadway Mary P shirt and hands her the red card! We explain that we just saw the Mary P play in NYC a few weeks back. It was so exciting. See, totally worth going on.

The red card determines the standby waiting time. We take pics of her holding the card and even Dom was impressed the power of the red and the costumes on the queue line. As it turns out, we were able to catch the waiting tram and got the last row. We had it all to ourselves.

I like this ride, so cute. We got our gangster shoot-out (yes, I did hear the Jersey joke in it), thought our lady gangster’s accent was a bit thick. We also got our cowboy shoot-out and the alien attack, though we were so far back, we actually didn’t see it but I knew it was there. I do take more pics than I thought I would.

We exit and over to B&TB show and what we should have done, was double-back to the entrance and thank the CM.

We stop for some streetompshere characters on Sunset Blvd. Dom gets coffee while we watch the skit. I was taking photos and the lady character stops what she is doing and starts posing for me. She comes into the crowd looks in my camera and says to take some more since she didn’t like the ones I had. I felt like a paparazzi. It was so cute!!! We stay for a bit but we need to B&TB.

We get there around 5:20pm and sit on the left-hand side about 6 rows in. All the middle was already taken and we await the start of the show. It starts and it is good and live, which is a change from the rides and the 3D shows.

We exit and head out to catch our showing of Little Mermaid. On the way, we stop to get Mickey ice cream at a cart & beverages at Beverly Sunset/Sweet Smells. My receipt says 6:22pm. Along the way, we Dom goes shopping. Again.

Jenna & I go to Little Mermaid and we find out there is a 6:30pm show but we miss it because Dom is not there since he went shopping. We call him but he doesn’t answer. He decided to go back to shop at the Tower of Terror.

Plus, the CMs were screaming that food & drinks were not allowed in the theater, so we needed his backpack to store the drinks. We speed-ate our Mickey ice cream as well. The CMs here were absolutely awful and a disgrace to the Disney name. They had garbage container at the entrance and were making everyone throw their items away and would not let them in the theater.

I was so fed up, especially since we could have made an earlier showing and kept the schedule going, maybe fit in more time watching the Streetomsphere skits. He comes back and gives us attitude. We go to the 6:55pm showing and I just completely ignore him. If he really wanted to go shopping that bad, he could have gone to DTD while we went to the parks. Jenna might have been pouting about not having Uncle Dom, but I bet she would have liked it better than pouting that he was shopping all day at the parks rather than spending time with her.

It doesn’t help that the CMs are literally screaming for everyone to move down the seats. This was not done nicely any way shape or form. I am horrified at the CM attitude and their language. If it is such a problem at this particular theater, then have it part of the public announcements instead of screaming.

The show was cute and it was a mixture of video, lights, live action and puppetry. I don’t know if I would see it again due to the CMs and the disorganization of the place.

 

[jenseib]

You should send in a complaint about that.

 

[MyMuse]

You should send in a complaint about that.

It really was horrendous! I think I may send in a very edited version of this TR to Disney. I wish I remembered CM names!

Last time as I was solo, I made an effort and wrote them down, so the great ones can get something in their HR files. This time around, there were 3 people to take care of and I just wasn't able to get names.

There is one more part to the day and it's coming up!

 

[MyMuse]

I left off at leaving Mermaid show and heading out of HS. Our 2nd visit to HS this trip comes to an end, so I take a pic of hat to recall fond memories....

So, we start to head out since it’s near our surprise dinner ADR. It’s probably around 7:30pm sometime. And, yes, I have to drag Dom out. Argh.

We are heading to J’s next surprise of Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary for 8:20pm, which she still doesn’t know yet.

Dom goes to the wrong resort bus and I remind him that is not where we are going. I also remind him to watch his language on Disney property.

So, we wait for the Contemporary bus (and I see a Disney security SUV, they are real!) and have to tell Jenna we are going to the Contemporary for dinner. I know she is going to like it, since we were on the monorail at some point in the recent past and she noticed the Chef Mickey’s sign as we passed through the Contemporary. I explained what it was then and she was totally jealous.

I have to admit that I am enjoying torturing her...just a little bit.

It is real!

The Contemporary bus! She still doesn't know! hehe

We get dropped off and walk up the 2 flights to get to Chef Mickey’s and Jenna finally sees where she is. Hehe! She commented that we saw it earlier and she didn’t like it that I kept it a secret all this time.

We check in at 8pm and D&J relaxes on the comfy couch. At this point, my eyes are going a little crazy. I wear contacts and I probably should not be wearing them this long. They are also my new ones, so I’m not completely comfortable with them yet. However, I march on. I can see, so that’s the only important part and I put in eye drops.

I also take pics around the Contemporary. I’m just wowed that the monorail comes right through the resort. And so quiet!

We get buzzed slight past our time and we have our picture taken with plastic Chef Mickey and I end up buying the photo. It was very cute. I do end up adding it to my Photopass.

I like where we get seated in our pretty room; I’m also glad not everyone is smashed together. We meet Chef Mickey first right off the bat with Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck not far behind. These people know what they are doing! It was great interaction and completely got the J was nervous.

The pics are absolutely priceless; plus I make sure to take video. J doesn’t even have to stand up. It was a fun time.

She spies with her little eye....(I love this photo!)

...Pluto!

High-fiving with da Goofster

Minnie is telling her to "listen to your aunt!"

Finally, the last but not least Mr Donald

I had her autograph book as well, but she was too nervous and embarrassed, so I put it away. Dom was nowhere to be seen, so I’m not in any photos with the characters.

In the middle of meeting characters, we eat at the buffet. As I was going up, I didn’t realize it but Goofy was behind me. I turned around and was scared out of my skin! It was so funny; I just cracked up, so I did get part of the magic, too.

The buffet was decent; there was Mickey ravioli and Mickey mac n cheese. They also had plenty of other foods. The real showstopper was the cool candy station. It had Mickey oreo cookie and some kind of key lime tart thing that everyone was going crazy over. I take pics of it all.

We finish before 10pm (receipt shows 9:50pm) and head for the bus to DTD, after hitting the restroom. DTD closes at midnight, so maybe Dom can get his shopping fix in. I’m hoping to see the street party and the balloon ride.

We got our meal photo:

Scanned photo: (my fav Tee!)

As we wait for the bus, we see Wishes go off and I take some pics of that. I guess it is a good thing the bus didn’t come yet. I didn’t realize MK was so close. We have a great view of Wishes.

However, I mess things up royally when I suddenly realize that I left our Chef Mickey photos in the restroom upstairs. So, my gym training comes in handy and I literally take off running back up 2 flights to check the restroom. I check and do not find it, so I spot a CM and ask and she says to go downstairs and ask the front desk.

So, I sprint back downstairs and ask. No one has turned anything in and I’m absolutely about to cry. They say to go back upstairs to ask Chef Mickey people and I say that it was closing up. They say there always someone there, so go in anyway.

I sprint back up 2 flights and was able to get someone and they went checking. I really must have looked like I was about to cry. I was also out of breath because of all the running, but I wanted to find it and get back downstairs without crimping the plans for DTD.

A CM comes back with no one turned anything in and I ask whether it can be reprinted. She went to ask the Photopass person, who thankfully, was still there. While I was waiting, D&J come back up, since the bus came and went.

Dom holds the receipt and wait for the CM to return with an answer while I go back down 2 flights back to the front desk to fill out a lost and found card.

I am filling out the card with all the details and the front desk people could not be nicer. I’m sure this is not the first time this happened. I can’t believe I did that. While filling out the card, D&J comes back down with the reprinted Chef Mickey photos and I literally jump up and down clapping my hands. Probably not something I should do at a deluxe resort, but I was so happy.

DTD shopping is not going to happen since it was so late because of this delay. I ask the front desk how to get back to POR. They advise just to walk to MK. Hold the presses! We can WALK to MK?! No need to take the monorail anywhere. Whoo-hoo! The path brings you right to the bus area to catch the POR bus home.

I thank them and again apologize for losing my pictures and driving them crazy. We set off for the path and D has the brilliant idea of pushing J into the sprinklers. This makes her shriek and her birthday button get smudged yet again. It was a little comic relief though from the craziness of the past 30 minutes or so.

Due to the Wishes crowds, the bus lines were packed, but the POR busses were ready. There were 4 of them! We hop on the 3rd one, I think and return to our room.

D&J went to the pool area to do their nightly thing while I stayed in the room to get ready for tomorrow. I also pack my bag with J’s birth certificate and registration to get her birthday pass tomorrow.

I call J’s mom since I know she was sending us something, but there’s nothing in the room. I then notice that the message light is blinking and it was that there was a delivery at the front desk.

I text Dom to go pick up and texts back that he is on his way and that I’m the best sister in the world. It’s nice to know he acknowledges it.

D&J return with a basket from Edible Arrangements. I take pics, J calls her mom, we try to eat it a little. It not big, but big enough where I don’t think we’ll finish it before we get to leave. I didn’t know it was fresh fruit, but we could have used it for the last couple of mornings to avoid the grumbling!

Up Next: Jenna’s Birthday Day at Epcot!

 

[KatGarcia]

Whew thats a lot of updates!!!!! I'm really enjoying reading along tho. I swear Dom needs DTD- send him there while you girls have some fun! LOL

 

[jenseib]

Great updates!

 

[OhMari]

Hi
I am going to move you over to our regular TR board.
OhMari

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Awesome updates! I just caught up on I think 4 or 5 entries! Can't wait to hear about Jennas bday

 

[MyMuse]

I don't have an update just yet - but will soon!

I wanted to share that I got my D23 membership card today! I'm official!

I'm calling tomorrow to order the special Mary Poppins Broadway ticket!

I gotta do something to calm my nerves since I'm having a physical tomorrow. I know I *have* to do it; I just don't *want* to do it. Doctors never have anything good to say.

 

[MyMuse]

I ordered my D23 Mary P Broadway ticket today!

Now, I can go to the doctor with a bit of a smile on my face.

Here's the info for this D23 event:

D23's Supercalifragilistic Night on Broadway: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thanks to our friends at Disney Theatrical Productions, D23 Members can have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious night to remember at Mary Poppins, which recently celebrated its 1,000th performance on Broadway, with a special "behind-the-scenes" experience after the show!*

Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Location: New Amsterdam Theatre, 214 W. 42nd Street, NYC 10036
Time: 8 p.m. curtain
Tickets Available: May 14, 2009
Cost: $121.50 per ticket (does not include ticketing fees)

Your ticket includes:
• Premium seating location
• Special "behind-the-scenes" experience following the show
• Coupon for 20% merchandise discount (included in your ticket envelope)
• Complimentary 2-Disc Mary Poppins 45th Anniversary Special Edition DVD courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

 

[MyMuse]

Hello all!

So, I got my membership card a couple of days back and ordered my Mary P D23 night ticket yesterday before I went to the doctor.

Then, doctor visit.

After said visit, I do a few errands and what do I find when I get home? My charter year gift of a gorgeous lithograph. It is the one with Mickey painting a smile on the world. And, let me tell you, this is HUGE. A subway-size poster. I left it rolled up in its can for safe keeping.

I think there is one more package coming too. A pin, I think. So far, I'm liking the D23.

I hope there will be more events around here. I'm also hoping that there will be something with the train tour too. It's not like I can rush to WDW or DL (though I wouldn't mind). There is currently a contest for Vegas. So, maybe some of the pixie dust will make it's way over.

I'm currently trying to finish Birthday Day at Epcot. It was a day to remember for sure!

 

[jenseib]

I still don't understand that D23 thing. So you get discounts on things? I guess where I live it wouldn't be worth it. I can;t just run off to NYC to see a broadway show. LOL!

 

[MyMuse]

I still don't understand that D23 thing. So you get discounts on things? I guess where I live it wouldn't be worth it. I can;t just run off to NYC to see a broadway show. LOL!

True.

I probably would not have joined if they didn't have any NYC events. I have no idea if you get discounts, but you do get what is supposed to be exclusive merchandise (ie: D23 merchandise), contests (the only one is for Vegas), special entrance/screening/showings like the Mary P Broadway show.

Same for me here; it's not like I can get to the parks on a moments notice. They do have a D23 Expo planned though and it was announced when D23 started, so I guess that gave enough people time to plan for a trip.

Other things are listed at disney.com/23.

 

[MyMuse]

Tuesday, May 5
Day 4, Part 1 - Epcot
Our 3rd full day!

Jenna turns 15 at 6:55am today.

I’m already up getting dressed at 6:30am, but I do wake her up at 6:55am to give her a birthday kiss, but I tell her to go back to sleep for a little bit more. She goes right back to sleep!

Unfortunately, I have some eye problems, so I had to wear my glasses. I bought a back-up pair of contacts but I didn’t realize they had to be cleaned before I could use them. So, the eyes were scorched and swollen. Of course, the one time, I actually need them; I didn’t bring my prescription sunglasses! I never, I mean NEVER wear my glasses. I’ve had an aversion to them since I got contacts at age 16. Though, I would have worn my prescription sunglasses.

Ah well. So, glasses on. Epcot has early EMH, but I know we are not going to get there on time. Besides, it’s her birthday day, so I will not push it. I am going to get the Birthday Fastpasses, so we should be able to make up any time there.

I wake J up around 7:15am and then Dom. I place this morning’s gifts on the bed. This morning it is the Birthday Princess sash (which was bought some time ago before the other doo-dads, so she wasn’t going to be wearing it), her Disney princess button, princess puzzle, a gift from her mom and another card from me and my sister’s wedding tiara (which she was going to wear today). My card was a Princess Aurora one that said something like “you’re turning 5 today!”, but I added a 1 in front of the 5 t make it 15. I didn’t sign it since this card I was planning on taking to the Princess Storybook Lunch at Norway. As far as Jenna knows, we are “Snacking Around the World” and finding Aurora in France and Mary Poppins in UK during our travels.

Her gifts:

She opens the gift from her mom and it is a musical note necklace. She goes and gets dressed and wears her birthday outfit of a white skirt and a pretty blue shirt. We get her tiara on and we’re ready to rock. We take some pics outside of our room and off we go to catch the bus.

Princess pose complete with a tiara:

I think we get there shortly before 9am and head for the Will Call to get the Birthday FPs. We got all the paperwork done, had to show the registration and her birth certificate and he did make sure all 3 of us were present and accounted for. I also get Jenna yet another birthday pin since hers got smudged with the sprinklers water from last night. In case, you are counting, I do believe this is the THIRD pin. Teenagers!

See the Mickey the CM drew?

Birthday FPs:

We enter and see the princess topiaries (“Cindercelebration”). Lots of people around! We see an empty Photopass CM a little further up and get a pic in front of the Cinderella carriage. She asked the ball or the carriage? Carriage, please!

We also make sure we take a pic of front of the Sleeping Beauty topiary.

I also locate J’s Living Legacy from when she was younger; I knew where it was from my March trip. We also take a pic with Snow White & her pals and another wide shot of the Ball & Cindercelebration before moving on.

We finish and decide to go on Spaceship Earth since it was no wait. D&J sit on their tram and I sit in the one behind. This is a cute, calm ride. I like the vignettes they have especially the Sistine Chapel, since I was there last summer. I take a video of D&J’s montage they do. I love that it is interactive. We try to stand around afterwards, but we don’t see our faces on the big board, so we move on. It’s around 10am when we finish.

Painting the Sistine:

On the tram:

Earth of Spaceship Earth:

We see the Fantasia topiary so we take pics of front of that. Fantasmic is such a great nighttime show and I have a bit of a crush on Scorer Mickey. LOL! We also stop to watch the dancing waters for a moment.

Dancing Waters:

Then I spy with my little eye…Club Cool. I totally missed this last time. This is where you can taste drinks around the world. The Beverly from Italy was indeed disgusting! I think it was the Mexico one tasted like sugar water. We spend some time in here and it was fun.

Then it was off to Mission: Space, this time intense version. The standby time is 10 minutes, so we didn’t use the Bday FP. I take a pic of the “launch ticket” of the orange, more intense version. This ride was ok, I wasn’t really looking forward to it; it was first couple of minutes that was really weird, but after that, it was the same as the less intense version. Jenna doesn’t feel so hot after this ride, so we take an easy a bit right afterwards, but you know what Dom had to do. Again.

We set off and stop at a cart to fill J’s belly since she is still feeling a little sick. We order an apple cup, veggie cup and drinks. My receipt says it is now 11:02am.

We stop somewhere and see Crocs at a cart, but nothing fits Jenna or Dom. I’m not really a fan of these things, so I’m glad. We continue on to The Land, and do Circle of Life, the Living with the Land boat ride, rode The Seas with Nemo & Friends, where there as a little bit of a wait. This was not on the Birthday FP list, so we could not use it here. I love the queue line for Nemo, so cute!! Jenna wasn’t interested in Turtle Talk with Crush or seeing the other exhibits. So, goes on the list for next time.

Queue line for Nemo:

The Circle of Life film is worth watching once and we did have a bit of a wait. We got our first Birthday FP for Living with the Land. Our FP says it is now 12:25pm (we had to wait a bit to watch the film). This ride was actually quite interesting. I have never been on it before. We saw the Mickey shaped casing for the fruit, couple of hidden mickeys and learned about a whole host of ways to grow fruit & vegetables. I took more pics than I thought I would. I would go on this one again. It’s close to 1pm by the time we finish. Time is just flying by!

Land photos:

This made me giggle:

New ways to grow:

We finally head to Soarin’ and get another Birthday FP; our FP says it is now 12:54pm. I just love this ride; the screen, the scenes, the smells. It’s just great. D&J wasn’t impressed. Blasphemy! And she starts getting a little whiny.

You're Welcome!

Lord, talk about trying my patience; between Dom’s shopping, the non-impressed with Soarin’ (which I was so excited to show them) and Jenna’s semi-whininess, I’m talking to myself to take deep breaths and chant “this is her birthday trip and she’s usually the greatest of girls…when she’s not near Uncle Dom”. I’ve survived a few days now and only got one more left!

We finish and say goodbye to the Land (we didn’t stop at Sunshine Seasons, next time!).

 

[disneygirlinnj]

Aww that stinks that they weren't that impressed with Soarin! although I will have to admit that I REALLY wasn't impressed at all the first few times either. Then someone mentinoed to me that it's a million times better if you ask to be in the front, so you dont have feet hanging in your view. And it was a lot better then. Maybe the feet ruined it for them?

 

[MyMuse]

We said goodbye to the Land....

and headed to Test Track. I think we do another Bday FP for this too. New Jersey represents by having a median barrier as part of the queue line! Too funny. The roller coaster part of this ride does me in. Just confirms for me that I am not a roller coaster girl. Though, when we merge on line (I hate when ride do that!), there was big group of girls who went on the SR line and get a little grumpy that they were apart, but oh well! Wait on line for everyone else. And, I’m used to the grumpiness.

NJ in da house!

So, Dom heads off somewhere to you know what (he turns out he was at Odyssey) and we head off to the Butterfly Garden, which I had difficulty finding. The map said it was on TT Walkway, so it had to be near. Then I spy a big ol’ butterfly from across the pond and figured that’s got to be it. We stop to take some pretty pond pictures and the floral mickey.

J is a little upset that D isn’t with us (mantra, mantra) and doesn’t want to start World Showcase without him, but accepts Minnie’s Butterfly Garden (and I guess me), in the meantime. This is very pretty and again, I am struck by the topiaries and the artistry of the F&G Festival. I decide that I must come back some year by myself and enjoy this again. We stay for a bit and say hello to Minnie, see some butterflies, got some butterfly education and take a couple of pics.

For some reason, we leave the way we came, so I completely missed the Pixie Hollow Fairly Garden. Obviously, I cannot read a map and my mind must have been on other things. I also was keeping an eye on the time since we had a 3:10 ADR and we still had to do Mexico, so I was probably thinking to face the correct direction. I did really want to see it too!

Onward to World Showcase, we stop and admire the topiaries we pass and take pictures. It’s Beauty & the Beast and Lion King and their respective gangs. Just amazing, these topiaries!! We also stop to watch a bit more of the dancing waters.

Celebration Purple:

Onward to Mexico! I stop to take a pic of J with an Epcot F&G flag and had to take a pic of Gnome Mickey! Omg! That made me laugh.