Tropical Storm Ernesto and I are going to WDW for my B-day! Complete! Posted 10/8

[femail]

i looked and looked for you when we were there; but we did mk on the 4th and mgm on the 8th and nothing... i even fockered people at random and followed people with backpacks on .... but we did have fun! even a magic moment for my two older grands!! enjoying your report; could you write one for me?? kathye

 

[tictoc]

i looked and looked for you when we were there; but we did mk on the 4th and mgm on the 8th and nothing... i even fockered people at random and followed people with backpacks on .... but we did have fun! even a magic moment for my two older grands!! enjoying your report; could you write one for me?? kathye

Dang femail! I had my big sign on and everything! I can not believe you did not find me. i would have loved to meet up with you.

I will be happy to write your report for you. Send me some photos. The parts I do not *remember* i will just make up!

 

[femail]

you know; that sounds like a lot of fun!! i took the pics to walgreens to have cds made and 125 of the best ones printed; i will send you pics in sequential order and see what you do with them! this may really be a hoot... kathye

 

[tictoc]

It is 8:00 and everyone is up and dressed. I woke no one up. Everyone got up on their own today. Everyone got dressed on their own today. Everyone that is except Malcolm. We are all ready and he is still asleep. I am fighting the urge to bounce, to pounce, to wake him up! I want it to be a good day though, so we will be patient!

Rachel was awake for the wake up call. I told her to answer the phone and she was so excited. She announced that Stitch had escaped the Magic Kingdom and was calling her on the phone! She said that she must tell Mickey about this!

This is the kids waiting for Daddy to wake up.

It is 8:44 and Malcolm is now up. He is getting dressed. At a very slow pace. He is about two thirds the way there and we will be heading out soon. Here is the dilemma, the boys want to go to MGM and Disney Quest today. Rachel wants to go to Bippity Boppity Boutique today. We have MGM planned and we can make that have a day then Disney Quest. We also have reservations for Whispering Canyon Café. I missed that reservation in June and I really want to go there today. We will see how this pans out!

We are heading out!

So we decided to go ahead and take the car since we had it and all. I really do not like riding the busses all that much. As we approached the end of our parking section there was a whole slew of linen carts lined up along the edge.

Malcolm—“What are all of those?”
Me—(Cause I know everything)—“Linen carts.”
Malcolm—“Why are they there?”
Me—“They line them up there in the morning and Mousekeeping picks them up so they have linens to use in the rooms.”
Malcolm—“I think you are wrong.”
This conversation will come back to haunt me again and again!

As we neared the exit of the parking area Malcolm pointed out that last night we could have taken a right then a left and we would have been at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. I pointed out that we would not have been able to see the Contemporary all lit up. This will become a pattern throughout the rest of the trip. One of many patterns. Linen carts, right then left, have you seen my and buzzards become the themes of the remainder of our trip!

We spent the rest of the ride to MGM with Malcolm explaining to the rest of the family that Fort Wilderness is only a right and a left away from the Port Orleans Riverside!

When we arrived we had to park a little back. Not much just far enough for the kids to want too take the tram. They were really taking advantage of their daddy being here because I always make them walk from the parking lot. I do however rent a 20 dollar stroller for a ten and eleven year old to ride in so they won’t get too tired! Meanest momma around!

Well it is on the tram that Rachel had her first meltdown of the day. She was really being not so easy to get along with. Like my good friend David, who was my email buddy this whole trip, reminded me, though, she is just a little girl and this is a lot for her. I was thinking though that it might be a rough day.

Please note for those of you who read my last report and think I am an obsessed, over zealous fanatic. This is the second day in a row we have arrived after the opening. Within minutes of opening, mind you, but I still get credit all the same.

We stopped to take a few photos at the front of the park. We took pictures in front of the hat but we also took pictures of the kids on that mechanical horse outside the five and dime. My goal was to get as many pictures on my 99 dollar photopass CD as possible!

Almost as soon as we got inside the park Steven started asking to go to Disney Quest. We all love Disney Quest. The problem is I do not like going to Disney Quest with Rachel. This is the place where the kids seem to start running in opposite directions. It is very hard to keep up with them. Plus, Malcolm was really enjoying being at MGM and he also really wanted to all stay together.

After stopping for bananas and juice we headed down to Tower of Terror and Rockin’Rollercoaster. I wanted to get some distance between Rachel and Malcolm so her mood would not spread to the rest of them. I got fast passes to Tower of Terror while the guys all rode Rockin’ Rollercoaster.

While they were on the ride I tried to figure out if I could get them to Disney Quest and still make our reservations for Whispering Canyon Café. Before the trip we had decided to not do Disney Quest this time. But I hate to disappoint that Steven. After they rode, it was my turn, but I was a little worried. There was no line so it only took them about 15 minutes to get back to us. Then I rode with the boys and was sure I would return to Malcolm and Rachel melting down.

Whew there was peace in the world. Daddy, it seems, took her shopping for a new Mickey T-Shirt and all was fine. Everyone was happy! So of course, after I rode I had to do some shopping of my own. I bought Drew the hat with the long red hair. Drew has been working for the past 16 months on letting his hair grow long.

So we sped, I mean ran, I mean skipped, I mean jumped all the way to Tower of Terror. Drew and Malcolm went on first. This was when Steven started asking about going to Disney Quest. I told him I did not think they were going. He looked sad, but I do not think he really believed me! I took a picture in front of the sign of the two chickens that would not ride.

After they rode, it was my turn. I hardly ever get to ride this. My younger two kids hate it and so Drew always rides alone. Today was my day.

Walking up through the queue we looked for the U R DOOMED letters in the sign and they were gone! I could not believe it. They were always there. Kinda made me sad!

There was a couple behind us in line. They were probably in their fifties and they were very nice. There were no kids with them. I wondered what it may be like to go to Disney World without kids. After the kids are all grown up. You know, like that old commercial where the parents tell their grown son he is not invited. This couple was very nice. The woman was very scared and had never ridden before. Since Drew was quoting the script from the pre-show she knew he was obviously a veteran at this! She said that she would
Just stick with Drew. As we were boarding she really got nervous and she yelled the entire time. Afterward she had decided this was not the ride for her! Walking out she told her husband that if he wanted to ride again he would have to go with Drew!

Again on this day there were absolutely no lines. It was a glorious way to visit the world. We left the big kid ride area and headed toward the Lights, Action, Motor Cars show. Steven absolutely loves this show and I thought Malcolm might really like it too. On the way we passed some really famous rides. We lucked out on seeing Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. I love those guys!

Then we went on to see the original four wheeled hero. Herbie the Love Bug. I have loved that car since I was a little girl. Ii have all of the movies and the kids and I watch them all of the time. I think that car has some real personality. If I could figure out how to get three kids in the backseat and leave enough room so they do not have to touch each other I would drive a little bug.

Now it was time to go into the show. We managed to get a really good seat. We had stopped at the produce stand and bought pretzels and water on the way to the show. I always try to use my snack credits for the high dollar items like pretzels and Dole Whips! The guys enjoyed those pretzels while they watched the fast cars. What more can you ask for out of life?

Here I am enjoying the show in my new hat that Malcolm bought me from the Rockin Rollercoaster store.

After the fast car show the second major meltdown of the day occurred. Was it Rachel you may ask? No, this time it was Steven.

Steven—“When are we leaving to go to Disney Quest?”
Me—“Steven, we are not going to Disney Quest.”
Steven—“I want to go to Disney Quest.”
Me—“I think we should just enjoy being where we are.”
Steven—Crying
Me—“Why are you crying?’
Steven—“It is just that you promised that we could go to Disney Quest.”
PROMISED???? WHEN????
Me—“I do not think I promised. I said I did not think we were going”
Steven--“It felt like a promise.” Still crying.

I saw Mickey’s place not too far from where we were. I love Sorcerer Mickey and try to see him as much as possible!

The whole time we were in line, Steven continued to cry. I could not believe he was crying in the picture with Mickey! The cast member was really trying to make him smile while we were in there. Bravo to you cast member for trying to make my child happy.

After Mickey we found another Little Einstein to take a picture with. . .

I pulled Steven over to the side and explained that we were all having fun and sometimes you just have to enjoy where you are instead of trying to get to the next thing. He still was not happy, but he did shake it off for the rest of the day.

We stopped by the Beautiful Belle and the Burly Beast show and I fell in love all over again. Rachel sat up with the girl in front of us and they played with her little light up guitar pin throughout the show. This was much to the disliking of the girls mother! One thing that disappointed me in this show was that four for a dollar was not there for the pre-show.

While we were waiting for the show to start I ran to the front of the park to return the plug that Bill and jean Claude loaned me a few days before. I also stopped by Guest Relations office to write a compliment card for those two. This was the second trip that had gone above and beyond for me!

 

[tictoc]

We did another run through the Rockin’ Rollercoaster and Malcolm bought more stuff at the Aerosmith store.

Then off the Tower of Terror before heading to see Indiana Jones. They have changed this show a little since it debuted, but it has always been a steadfast favorite of the whole families.

We stopped to see Donald and Daisy because Rachel really wanted to see them one more time.

Somewhere in this day we also stopped by to Tour the Stars with that droid that says “This is probably your first flight, and it is mine too.” He is wrong on both accounts. I have seen him flying that car before. As we walked through the queue Steven and Drew pointed out the hidden Kermit and the two mechanical birds. The birds, they said, are a tribute to the two buzzards in Splash Mountain.

We also stopped for a run through Muppet Vision. My favorite part of watching that show is all the memories of the boys from when they were little. They loved that show. We alos love to look for the key under the mat at the front and my personal favorite is the Net Full of Jello tribute to Annette Funicello.

We had reservations to Whispering canyon Café and we have not eaten there in a long, long time. I really was looking forward to this restaurant experience. So we had to turn in the rental and head to the car. First however, we stopped for some chocolate ice cream. YumYum!

Tram anyone?

Of course Malcolm continually let all of us passengers know that he knew exactly where the Wilderness Lodge was since he had been taken there in error the night before.

By the time we pulled in to that hotel it was pouring down rain. I am a cardholder for the Disney Dining Experience and I use the free valet privileges shall we say freely. So a quick drop off of the car and we were headed in to the lobby.

Drew—“Momma?”
Me—“yes Drew”
Drew--“Isn’t this the hotel we ended up in when we got off the bus at the wrong stop last year on our way to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue with the Buchanans?”
Me—“Yes Drew. Do not let your Daddy hear you please.”
Malcolm—“You got lost last year going there too? And you were on the bus???? Hahahahahahahahahahaha.”
Me—“yeah but you were the idiot that handed me the map last night.”

We got the list of Hidden Mickeys while we waited for our table. We only found a few of the since several of them were outside and it was a raining by that time.

We waited a few minutes for our table and played with the Lincoln Logs and coloring sheets. My boys always love playing with those Lincoln Logs so on one visit I bought them one of those huge cans of logs. They have never played with them. Not once. I do not mind the money so much but when I think of what I went through to get that giant can back to Atascocita Texas!

The Cast Members made it a great dinner. They played with the kids and the waitress threw napkins at us. Steven was identified as a trouble maker. When it came time for the kids to do the stick horse race, they called my name to come to the front. Since it was my birthday I got to head up the racers. Boy Malcolm had fun with that one!

We all had steak for dinner except Rachel who had the main steadfast chicken strips and fries. Of course when she asked for ketchup she got a real kick out of everyone bringing us theirs.

Stevie had fun with his milkshake mustache!

We finished up just after nine and had an early breakfast the next morning. You all know what the next morning was right? It was my birthday and I had some princesses to see.

So back to the hotel and off to bed with all of us!

 

[sharonW]

Hi friend! Funny you commented about how it feels to be at disney
at 50 and without kids. I asked you in chat one night if you still
thought you'd go to disney when your kids are grown. You didn't
reply, think it was one of those night when you were writing brb
a lot!! Having done disney many times at 50 and beyond I can tell
you it is still magical. I am so glad I took all those yearly plus trips
since I am no longer able to. I have many many happy memories
with dh and the grown children tagging along too on some of those
trips. Love your tinker bell shirt!!

 

[tictoc]

Hi friend! Funny you commented about how it feels to be at disney
at 50 and without kids. I asked you in chat one night if you still
thought you'd go to disney when your kids are grown. You didn't
reply, think it was one of those night when you were writing brb
a lot!! Having done disney many times at 50 and beyond I can tell
you it is still magical. I am so glad I took all those yearly plus trips
since I am no longer able to. I have many many happy memories
with dh and the grown children tagging along too on some of those
trips. Love your tinker bell shirt!!

aww sharon, I did not mean to ignore you on the chat! I am sure those kids just got me distracted. I am so happy that your family has all of those wonderful trips to remember and I am sure you will see brighter days. I will be reading the trip report entitles Sharon's grandbaby takes the first trip to the world--No Bugs Allowed!

 

[sharonW]

You really know how to bring a smile to my face
Thanks for cheering me up!!! Your the Best!!
Se ya in the chat room!

 

[mikayla73]

I love the pics with your trippie! I can't wait to try out WC for my self. I am not telling DH about the antics they have there. It should prove interesting

 

[tictoc]

Have a great Birthday and Trip
BTW we share the same birthday
And i will be going down on the 13 for my 40th

Man, I hope your trip is turning out to be as magical as mine was! I hope to hear from you when you get back. I want all of the juicy details!

 

[tictoc]

So I woke up to Stitch wakey wakey. It is my birthday. It is my birthday and I am at Walt Disney World. I have been so many times and I have never ever been on my birthday. Actually none of us have ever been on our birthdays because Malcolm wants us with him on our birthdays and Malcolm does not want to be at Disney World. This year is different though. This year I am at Disney World, it is my birthday, Malcolm is with us and he seems to be having fun. Yea! What a great year my 38th is starting out as.

This is what I woke up to. . . . this great pile of people I love!

Happy birthday Utahmama, Jamie, Marisa, Disneyland_mama’s husband and Goofysince71’s son! Virgos rock! It is also my daddy’s birthday. It is kinda cool being born on your father’s birthday. This was the first time in my entire life that I was not with my dad on our collective birthday. I was kinda sad, but I did not regret coming to Disney World on my birthday.

I got up and got ready to go. We had 8:30 reservations with Jasmine and company. I had bought a shirt just for the occasion. I ordered a shirt through the on-line shopping website that read Birthday Princess. The only problem was it is huge. It went almost to my knees. I thought Ii might not wear it because it was so big, but I really wanted to wear it anyway so I did. Besides, I figured, if we stayed out too late, I could pull my shorts off and use it as a night shirt. Ove out of that rented double kids, it is my turn to take a nap!

Everyone got up and got ready and we were actually moving pretty quickly.

Malcolm—“have you seen my Bank of America card?”
Me—“No.”
Malcolm—“It is not where I left it.”
Me—“Where did you leave it.”
Malcolm—“Right on that shelf with the papers that you moved.”
Me—“I do not remember seeing it.”

I checked the papers that I had moved and it was not with them. This is a pattern in our house. Everyone leaves stacks of paper and clutter sitting around. When I finally move it I have lost the most important thing in the world.

Me—“It is not with the papers. Have you used it since you have been here?”
Malcolm—“No, but I did take it when I played golf.”
Me—“Did you check the pockets on those shorts?”
Malcolm—“No.”

He checked them and stated that it was not in the pockets either. Things like this stress Malcolm out. I figure I am not responsible for any charges that were not made by me, so I do not worry about these things. Now my debit card would be a different story, because I would need that to get money the rest of the trip. I was very surprised that he did not let it get him down. He cancelled the card and let it go. Wow.

So all of a sudden it was 7:35 and we got in a rush to get out of there. I am not sure why we were panicking. It was only a ten minute drive in our own car and they did not open the parking lot until 8:00. Either way, we panicked and everyone ran for the car. In the haste, I forgot to put my tennis shoes on and ended up going in my flip flops! This would not be a comfortable walk through Epcot!

As we pulled around the parking lot Malcolm noticed the laundry carts lined up again.

Malcolm—“what are those?”
Me—“Linen carts.”
Malcolm—“Why are they there?”
Me—“I do not know.”
But I really did!

As we approached the exit,

Maclolm—“Did you know if you take a right up here and then the first left you will be at the Fort Wilderness?”
Me—“So I have heard.”
Malcolm—“Yeah, everyone does not know that and they drive around for about thirty minutes before the get to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.”
Me—“Really? Those idiots!”
Malcolm—“Yeah but they get to see the Contemporary all lit up.”
Me—“Lucky devils.”

Sure enough we pulled up to the gate at 7:52 and it was not open yet. Malcolm took advantage of this time to give me my birthday presents. First he gave me a card that was so sweet I started crying. I am setting in front of Epcot with tears rolling. The kids wanted to know what the card said but I could not read it aloud. So Malcolm read it aloud and he got choked up too! The card he picked out choked him up. That was followed by a cute Minnie Mouse card from the kids. Then the presents. First gift was a Blue Tooth. This was for my safety and the safety of thousands of other Houstonians. I drive 55 miles to work one way. I also travel a lot from one hospital to another so I drive a lot during the day as well. I use this time to chat on the phone. To make both business and personal calls. I know it is a safety issue so flames are not necessary.

The second gift was a beautiful eternity ring. I have always thought those rings are so pretty and in light of some rough times we have had anything that means an eternity means a lot.

While we were waiting for the line to open Malcolm showed me his afflicted flesh eating diseased finger.

Okay, the lights are green and it is time to go in! Can I get a wahoo Rachel?

We parked in the very first spot in the parking lot. I love that spot and get it almost every time we go to Epcot. I love being first. We made our way to the front and I distributed park tickets. We went to the breakfast entrance and we were the only ones in sight.

While we were walking in we overheard some others saying that Steve Irwin was killed that morning. I just pretended that I did not hear. Had that been true I would have been crushed. . . . .


We asked a cast member to take our photo and she did not cut our heads off, she cut our bodies off!

We strolled slowly to the World Showcase. On our way we stopped and picked up a stroller. With those flip flops I toyed with the idea of getting an ECV but thought that too silly!

So strollers in hand we were off to the breakfast. We took our time and took a lot of photos of the empty park. This is one of the reasons the breakfasts are so appealing to me. The ability to get through the park by ourselves. I never mind getting up early either.

We asked another cast member to snap a phot and we got lots of cement between us and the actual picture!

I stopped to take some photos of the flowers in the trees and the park.

When I caught up with the rest of the family Malcolm and Rachel were dancing in the street to “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” When I approached Malcolm began dancing with me. Boy this was the next best thing to getting married in the Cinderella Wedding Pavilion. We danced for a few minutes and I was really on cloud nine.

We finally made it to the podium at the Princess Storybook Breakfast and Rachel realized that she had to have a build your own princess crown. So we made a beautiful crown with a beautiful purple rose and a lovely veil. She also put each of the princesses on it and a castle. I grabbed another princess autograph book and Rachel grabbed yet another princess hat! We paid the bill just as we were summoned to go in to the restaurant. A quick photo op with Belle. Now I had a picture of Rachel made with Belle in June and it was terrific. This photo was not so great. It was okay, but we skipped the purchase.

The breakfast was good and we got some nice photos with all of the princesses. We lucked out and were seated right next to the door where the princesses enter the room. Within 40 minutes we had seen all of the beauties, eaten our fill and were ready to go. The bill was $137.00. All free to me! Happy, happy, happy birthday to me!

We were walking towards the Soarin’ fastpasses when a cast member stopped Steven and asked him if he would like to learn how to wash windows. Steven said yes!!! So there we were washing the windows of one of the stores.

It was kind weird. So I asked Malcolm if I could go get the passes while he headed toward Crush. He said Shya, totally dude. Now Malcolm has never seen Turtle Talk and I just knew he would love it. While getting the fastpasses a cast member saw the birthday button they had given me at the gate. He gave me a set of paper tickets that could be used only to get fastpasses. So the entire day I was able to get double fastpasses.

The first Crush show is at 10 a.m. I got the fastpasses and was inside The Living Seas at 9:50. There was a line but not too bad. What was obviously missing from the line was my family. I called Malcolm to find out where they were. I knew they were close because I had seen the strollers outside. He replied that he was in a shark’s mouth.

I said come on dude and they appeared just as the doors opened. Whew!

We got in and of course the kids went straight to the area in front. When it came time for questions Rachel asked Crush how he gets his shell off. He replied that he works really hard at not getting his shell off.

After Soarin' we stopped for the obligatory photo outside The Land.

We headed toward the Land next and rode Soarin’. This would be another first for Malcolm. Before we made it as far as Soarin Steven asked if we could see Circle of Life first. I was very anxious to Soar with Malcolm but I gave in without a fight! After our helping of guilt around the pollution problem it was time to smell those oranges.

We had our fastpasses so we went straight to the top. I just love this ride. I love the pre-show with Puddy to the Hidden Mickey Fireworks at the end.

As we left The Land my phone rang and it was my mom telling me happy birthday. She also confirmed the rumor about Steve Irwin. So here I am on my 38th birthday at my favorite place with my favorite people and I am reduced to a puddle of tears. I really lost it. It hurt bad. I am not sure why it affected me so. I really like Steve Irwin, but this was a bad reaction.

Drew loved Steve Irwin. We had the games, the cards, the movie, the action figures. We watched the two shows a lot. My grandmother died when I was pregnant with Rachel. I was pretty close with her. She loved Steve Irwin too. She watched his show every day. Toward the end of her life she was very restricted on her mobility. She would sit and call Drew when she watched The Crocodile Hunter. They would watch it together over the phone. It was super cool. Maybe that is why it was so hard. Honestly, it is almost a week later and I am still very blue about it.

Anyway, so Malcolm says, “Man, I hate to see how you will react when Elvis dies.” That just cracked me up. I started laughing and could go to the next spot!


Rachel found a bug that she could play with during all of the drama. She did note that the centipeded(?) that she found had a lot of legs and if it were a real boy would need a lot of shoes!

Gotta Crawl, gotta crawl, gotta crawl to the ugly bug ball.

 

[tictoc]

Great trip report so far!

I LOL about the guy on the airplane giving you trouble! There's always more little ones aboard Orlando flights than just about anywhere else. I'm happy to hear that he didn't give you anymore trouble!

Can't wait to hear about the trip!! Have a Great Birthday with Mickey!!!

So your sept/oct trip must be getting close! i am excited for you. By the way, the picture in your signature inspired the picture in my signature!

 

[MomPlanner22]

I am really enjoying your report. The picture of you and Malcom dancing & having a smooch is the best! Gotta love those sparkly birthday baubles!!

Where did you see the Pooh characters with Rabbit? My DS keeps asking for Rabbit and I don't know where to find him.

Thanks and keep writing and posting pictures!

 

[tictoc]

I am really enjoying your report. The picture of you and Malcom dancing & having a smooch is the best! Gotta love those sparkly birthday baubles!!

Where did you see the Pooh characters with Rabbit? My DS keeps asking for Rabbit and I don't know where to find him.

Thanks and keep writing and posting pictures!

The Pooh characters can often be found in Epcot at the toy/book store in the UK area of the World Showcase. Rabbit is not always with them but I have lucked out several times and seen him. That is the only place I have ever seen him other than when he used to be at the Crystal Palace before they replaced him there with Piglet. You will also run into Alice and Mary Poppins often in that book store.

By the way, I am glad you are enjoying it and thanks so much for reading!

 

[tictoc]

"When last we heard from tictoc,the family was settling in for a much needed rest.They were due to visit MGM in the morning with an 8AM Breakfast reservation.................."

Did They make it?
Was Breakfast Not-So-Magical?
Did Ernesto Show up and Drench the Poncho Family?

The answer to these and many other questions on the minds of all the Dissers, to be answered by tictoc..........soon.........we hope...........!


Hope all is going well
Your audience is waiting with SHARKBAITed Breath!!!!

Hey Goofy Since 1971--are you there yet? Are you back yet? How is the trip going??? Do not keep me in suspense!!!!!

 

[sharonW]

Your trip report is so enjoyable to read and
so full of magic too. Every moment seems
special. Being away from reality sure does
rock!! The eternity ring is beautiful..took my
breath away! Your truly blessed to have
such a great dh and adorable kids!

 

[arizonacolbys]

So your sept/oct trip must be getting close! i am excited for you. By the way, the picture in your signature inspired the picture in my signature!

We finally leave this Saturday!! It sounds like you had a great birthday with your family at Disney!! I hope we can find as many Pooh characters in England when we return next week!

 

[tictoc]

It was time to see some characters. Off to Character Connection we went. We saw the main guys. I love those characters and coaxed Malcolm to hop in the pictures with us. He was so gracious to me.

I have a small beaded Donald Duck hanging from my camera. I bought it in Humble, TX at a bead store called Frendzies for 50 cents. It gets more attention! I wish I had bought several. I could have made a mint! Well, Donald Duck noticed it and he really went nuts. He kept kissing me and dancing around. It was really cute.

Then we saw Goofy and goofy is my dad’s favorite. So we got a birthday note from Goofy to my dad.

As we made our way around that very lightly crowded park I must have been wished happy birthday hundreds of times. Kinda felt like a VIP!

Now that little speed demon of mine, Rachel, wanted to get to those fast cars. So we headed to Test track. I told the guys to hit Mission Space and I would get fastpasses for the fast cars.

We went to the play area to wait for the guys and I looked at my watch. Hmmm, it said it was 10:50. That is the same thing it said when we were getting the fastpasses. I wonder how that could be. OH NO!!!! MY WATCH IS NOT WORKING! This is my new watch. The watch I had just gotten two days before from the kids for my birthday. What could be wrong? More than that worry, we were supposed to be at the candy art lady in Japan at 12:30. We would never make it! We ran, we sprinted, we jogged and we showed up at 12:33. Right in front of Japan. Right at her little kiosk thing. All by ourselves. No candy lady.

Malcolm—“Did we just run half way around the world for nothing?”
Me—“I guess.”
Malcolm—“That was a hard run.”
Now this is the guy who RUNS marathons!
Me—“I am sorry bout that.”
Malcolm—“Let’s ask inside the store.”

We found out that she would not be out until 12:55. Well, at least we had not missed her! I went to get the motley crue some drinks while we waited. There was pone other family waiting with us. It did not look very crowded. Soon we saw here heading across the street. She was carrying her box of 200 degree melted sugar.

When she approached the table the crowd started. Let me tell you she is incredible. This one kid asked for an alligator and it is incredible how she makes that candy so quickly. It is quite entertaining how she talks about the candy as well. Oh, sweet alligator, oh scary candy teeth, oh, pretty alligator.”

Well, luckily enough all three kids were chosen for candy. Rachel chose a blue unicorn, Steven chose a golden dragon and Drew had to have a brown eagle. He is such an ornithologist in the making. Now I was happy the kids got picked, but I wanted a pink flamingo so badly!

After the show, she took a picture with the kids and autographed their book. She is really the best show at Epcot. She noticed my birthday button and told me to come back at 4:30 and she would make me candy too. Yea!!!

After all of the candy excitement, Malcolm found himself being called toward Old Mexico for some grub. Being from Texas, it is difficult for us to go a week without tacos! When the lady in the restaurant saw my birthday button she gave me an extra churro. Yum yum.

After lunch we headed back to use those Test Track fastpasses. We all love this ride. The boys told Malcolm that we would not be able to get a photo because the ride picture place was closed on our previous visit. On the queue in we found the Hidden Mickey on the table. We had a blast in the car. I took pictures the whole time we were on the ride.

After Test track we did it again.

Later we found ourselves heading back toward Japan. The kids had passports and Rachel had napped my birthday button. We stopped at the countries to get their passport signed. Rachel started one of the masks and everyone was writing happy birthday to her in their language on her mask. She loved it!

It was time to head back to get that pink flamingo and as promised she delivered the bird to me.

We took our time wandering through the rest of the world Showcase. We got the passport and mask completed. On the way through we managed to see Alice, Mary Poppins and Rabbit, Pooh, Piglet and Tigger in the UK.

We also saw the street show of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. Rachel had been eating the blue unicorn and her face was covered in blue!

In France we ran into Bell and her Beastie. I love that hunk of a creature. Beast that is!

Rachel got lots of birthday wishes and it was just about time to head to Coral Reef.

We had time for one more spin around the track first though.

we found the Hidden Mickey in the queue. . . .

As we got in the line, Rachel declared that she would be riding with her daddy.

Rachel—“I am riding with my daddy.”
Me—“I do not really care.”
Rachel—“I love you, I just love him more.”
Me—“I know Rachel.”
Rachel—“He is my favorite parent.”
Me—“I know Rachel.”
Rachel--“Do not try and cut in line.”
Me—“I won’t Rachel.”
Rachel—“Daddy, make sure she does not get in front of us.”
Malcolm—“I will Rachel.”

Hmph!!!

I took pictures going around the track. . . .

This time we rode with a single rider. He joined in as part of the family!

I had heard many mixed reviews of the Coral Reef. I have not eaten there in many years. We got there really early for our reservation but we were seated within a few minutes. We were on the middle level and had a pretty good view of the tank. The waitress was very nice. I just thought the entire experience was so-so. Not because anything was wrong. It was just a little low keyed for me! It was a nice meal though.

I had my favorite desert with a Hidden Mickey. . . .

It was a nice ending to a great birthday!

We slowly made our way to the front of the park. We exited the restaurant just as Illuminations was letting out so we were definitely not the only ones heading to the front. We dropped the stroller and made it to the car within minutes. Time to head back to the hotel.

When we got to the hotel, there were two surprises waiting for me. The first was abag of snacks that Malcolm had delivered from the WDW Florist. It was a nice birthday surprise. The second came when Malcolm walked straight over to where his sorts were hanging and pulled his credit card from the pocket! He had already cancelled it though.

I needed a Disboards fix so I got on and chatted with the group for a little while. Then it was suddenly time to pack. Time to pack. It seemed we had just unpacked. Waaaaaaaaaaa. I do not want to go home. No, do not make me go!

Realistically though, we had to go the next day, so pack I did.

 

[UtahMama]

WOA!!!! You forgot to "lend" me your refillable mugs!!!! Hee-hee! I would have loved to meet you! I know you are a fun girl!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY (late!) Virgo-pants!

Ok!!! Did you notice the huge hidden mickey in your official Test Track photo??? Hmmm??? Go back and look, I'll give you a minute!...

I'm rolling that you noticed little bolts hidden Mickey but not the rope one!!!! (I'm laughing WITH you, dontcha know!)

Your younger son reminds me of my Dallen who's 8. Sorta. From a distance. Without my glasses.

I LOVE this TR! Glad your DH went with you so you could ride share!


UtahMama

 

[Glendamax]

Ok!!! Did you notice the huge hidden mickey in your official Test Track photo??? Hmmm??? Go back and look, I'll give you a minute!...
UtahMama

Hey I just saw it! Pretty cool!

Great report so far! LOVE your pictures!