Twirling Through the World: Magic, Memories, & Maladies-Sept. 2011 TR- NEW PTR 6/18!

[Fantasyland Mom]

When we left off, we had made our way through just a bit of World Showcase, and two little girls in princess dresses were playing with some soft dolls of the Fab Five. Where were we?

Akershus, of course! We were ready for even more Princess dining!

Our lunch ADR was one of the first ones of the day. I know we’ve seen that Epcot wasn’t crowded at all that day, but I think this may be where all the crowds were—gathered in that little area in Norway, patiently (or not) waiting for their names to be called. Despite that, we checked in quickly and our name was called within five minutes.

During that five minutes, Sawyer fell asleep in his stroller. Luckily, they told us we could just wheel him right in.

We walked right in to the line to meet Belle. Brynn could hardly contain her excitement! I mean, this was Belle in the yellow dress, NOT Belle in the blue dress like at CRT! Totally different. As you can imagine, she was bouncing and twirling in the line, and I was threatening that if she woke up her brother she would be in so.much.trouble.

If you’re not familiar with how Akershus works, you enter and have your picture made with Belle in the yellow dress. Your dinner price includes a photo package. Our s actually included two photo packages because we had six people. In many places, it also meant an automatic tip was added—always check your receipts!

We made Brynn stand up from her spot she’d plopped down in to chit chat with Belle, and I don’t think she was too happy that her time with the sweet princess was just about over.

For the second set, Brandon and I jumped in the picture. I was wearing a tank top under my tank top, and it made an appearance in this photo, too. Grrrr.

We didn’t have much of a walk to our table. It was pretty much right next to Belle! Mamie had pushed Sawyer’s stroller up to the table and he kept on snoozing.

Brynn was thinking, “Dear God, PLEASE let me get as much princess time as possible. Amen.”

Our server came over and took our drink order and the chef came over before we even got our drinks! Talk about quick service! He let us know that Brynn could have any of the breads on the cold bar, as well as any fresh fruits, veggies, or fish. He advised us to stay away from any of the pasta salads and cheeses, which is pretty obvious when you’re dealing with a milk allergy. Just to be sure Brynn wouldn’t get something she wasn’t supposed to have, I made her cold plate. That awesome chef even brought out Earth Balance dairy-free butter for her, just like the amazing chef at CRT! These people really go above and beyond! Brynn was in buttery bread heaven.

Our food came out before the first princess arrived.

Brandon had the Traditional Kjottkake -Norwegian meatballs served with Mashed Potatoes, seasonal Vegetables, and Lingonberry Sauce.

He loved it and ate every bite. I ordered this one year and didn’t like it. I’m not really one to like my meat to taste sweet, and this does. I suppose you could get it without the Lingonberry Sauce and it would be just fine, though.
I chose the Oven-roasted Chicken Breast - served with Vegetable Farro Risotto and Gjetost cheese sauce.

The chicken was okay, if a bit dry. It had a good flavor, but I didn’t really eat that much of it. The risotto, unfortunately, was inedible. It was extremely undercooked—like I thought I might break a tooth if I ate it! So disappointing. I wasn’t that hungry, so I didn’t make a big deal about it. We weren’t here for the food anyway.

Mamie ordered Open-faced Chicken Sandwich - on Sourdough Bread with Tomatoes, Arugula, Mushroom Vinaigrette, Jarlsberg cheese, and Lingonberry Mayonnaise. It also came with some sort of soup. I want to say tomato? Not sure. I don’t think it was the vegetable one listed online.

I don’t understand open-faced sandwiches. They’re difficult to eat. I hate to eat sandwiches with a knife and fork, but that’s what Mamie ended up doing. She never eats much at one time, but I think she liked it.

The girls had hot dogs and corn with no butter. No picture, but they ate every bite! And that is surprising since the princesses started making their rounds when the food was served.

First up was Aurora. She made a comment about Sawyer being a “sleeping beauty!”

Cinderella was up next. The girls kept touching her dress while she signed the book. It IS a very elaborate fabric, so I don’t blame them. I kind of wanted to touch it, too. Really, I want one for myself.

Okay, I’m about to get not-so-nice. This Ariel? Creeps me out. Any picture of her that I’ve seen from any person just looks a bit…off. Very intense eyes.

I’m a meany, but my kids loved her. I guess that’s what matters.

The last princess was Snow White. The girls LOVE LOVE LOVE Snow White, and she spent a good amount of time with them. She asked if Sawyer was their dwarf, and they got a big kick out of that.

There was a table right behind us that had obviously been drinking A LOT already (at 11am?!). There were several adults, and they just kept ordering drinks, and kept on getting louder and louder. It was insane. Now, I don't ever pass up a Grey Goose Slushie, but I don't understand how they could be tanked so very early.
Cue Sawyer waking up to their EXTREME loudness. Fun.

Our server brought out our dessert platter, and the chef followed with Brynn’s chocolate Rice Dream ice cream.

YUM!!

Creepy Ariel came and led the kids through a processional around the restaurant. We tried to give Sawyer some food, and he would not have it. He was in an angry mood! I think he was mad he’d missed the princesses.

We began taking turns going to the WAY TOO TINY bathroom and paying our check, and at the last minute Julia decide she wanted another dessert platter, all for herself. So???

She got one. It’s an all-you-care-to-eat place, and she cared to eat more.
Mamie sat with her while we took Sawyer for a diaper change and went outside to load up Brynn and Sawyer in the stroller. We thought they’d be right out, but we were wrong…

Up next: Did a troll eat you!??!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I love Brynn's determined expression to get some princess time! That's too bad that Sawyer slept through the character fun! But that's definitely awesome that Julia was able to get a second dessert plate! I didn't know you could do that!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Such a great place to meet the princesses! Love all the pictures! Can't believe that table was half in the bag by 11am??? I'm with you....GGS....love them, but I have one!!

 

[dara00]

when we met Snow White she called Simon our Dopey and then another dwarf name that I can't remember! maybe she'd just said he was our Dwarf!

 

[shan23877]

Sounds like a nice lunch at Akershus, despite the food . We pretty much felt the same way about the chicken.

Love the pics of the princesses with the princesses. I'm with you on the Cinderella fabric. I'd love to get my hands on it for a second. So ornate!

I don't blame her for the ordering the second dessert plate. I really liked them! I was unsure at first, but they were delish!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I love Brynn's determined expression to get some princess time! That's too bad that Sawyer slept through the character fun! But that's definitely awesome that Julia was able to get a second dessert plate! I didn't know you could do that!

She's kind of a princess addict and very serious about it! Wonder how she got that way?!
I had always read you could get more food, but we've never wanted more so it hadn't been tested. It's true! And she did eat most of the second dessert plate on her own!

Such a great place to meet the princesses! Love all the pictures! Can't believe that table was half in the bag by 11am??? I'm with you....GGS....love them, but I have one!!

They were half in the bag when they sat down, and they just kept adding to it! Most of the party was adults, and you could smell the liquor on them as they walked in. Where were they before Akershus?! WS had just opened, so I know they weren't hanging out in France chugging the GGS.

when we met Snow White she called Simon our Dopey and then another dwarf name that I can't remember! maybe she'd just said he was our Dwarf!

I told her that he was our dwarf, Sleepy!

Sounds like a nice lunch at Akershus, despite the food . We pretty much felt the same way about the chicken.

Love the pics of the princesses with the princesses. I'm with you on the Cinderella fabric. I'd love to get my hands on it for a second. So ornate!

I don't blame her for the ordering the second dessert plate. I really liked them! I was unsure at first, but they were delish!

I loved all my food from the cold bar, but the hot food just wasn't doing it for me. Still, it was an awesome lunch! Those desserts are great, and because I didn't each much of my entree, I had plenty of room.

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

I did leave out one really important detail in the last update...

Our butter was NOT shaped like Spaceship Earth this time. I was very upset. I need my butter to look like a golf ball, darn it!!

Trying to let it go...

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

We walked outside and buckled Sawyer and Brynn into the double stroller.
No Julia and Mamie.

We searched our bags for sippy cups and snacks that Sawyer just might eat.

No Julia and Mamie.

Brandon walked around a bit and grabbed this great picture…ahhhhhh….

Still no Julia and Mamie.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Mulan doing her meet and greet. My kids have never seen the movie, but they love her on their Sing-a-long Songs and have always insisted on meeting her. I wheeled the little kids over to find out her times for meeting and quickly realized that this was the only feasible time we could hop in line.

But still no Julia and Mamie!

I called Brandon over and had him wait in line with the stroller, and I ran back into Akershus. I found them in line for that WAY TOO SMALL bathroom. It was a madhouse in there. Julia had taken the time to eat nearly the entire dessert plate, and now she had to potty again. I told them where we were and that they needed to hurry (Julia has a tendency to stare at herself in the mirror and make funny faces for a while if you let her).

I made it back to the line, and just as we were next up, they appeared. Whew! Talk about cutting it close!

The sun was blinding as they tried for a good photo. Also, did I mention that it was HOT?! I’m pretty sure that World Showcase is the hottest place on Earth, followed closely by Animal Kingdom. They’re just hotter than any other place, even if the thermometer is showing the same temperature. Promise.

We weren’t really going to explore the countries too much today, as Brandon and I planned to do that on our date night here on Friday, so we snapped pictures of the pavilions and settled on letting the kids do as many attractions and activities as we could. Our kids are never bored at Epcot (even the baby!) and it always confuses me when people say they’re afraid their kids will be bored. Maybe they just have very different personalities than my kids, but even each of my kids are very different and still find plenty to love.

Our first attraction with the kiddos was Maelstrom. This was the first time on the ride for all of us. Yes, I realize that we were back-tracking a little, but most of what we wanted to do right now was in this general area, so it was okay. Might as well check things off our list while we were here.

The verdict? The kids seemed a little nervous around the trolls, but they liked the rest. I don’t think it’s something we’ll have to do every trip, but it was nice to finally get to see it. Of course it dumps you out in the shop, and we had lots of fun here!!

After playing around, we exited through the perfume area, where I had my first smell of Laila, Spirit of Norway. I sprayed a little on a sample card because I knew I wouldn’t be able to really tell the smell until we were out of the overwhelming and overpowering scent of the store.

As we walked towards Mexico, I smelled the card. Away from an entire room full of the stuff, I LOVED it. I rubbed the card on my wrist, and all day long I kept catching a whiff of it and wondering who smelled so good---it was me!! Brandon liked it, too, and he insisted that when we came back on our date on Friday that I was going to buy it as one of my souvenirs. Sadly, that purchase was not to happen. However, what did I find under the tree on Christmas morning this year? Laila, Spirit of Norway! Without any prompting at all, Brandon remembered how much we both liked it and ordered it from the official website! Now I wear it every day and am transported back to Epcot!

Moving on, we glanced to see if Mexican Donald was out, and he wasn’t. We parked our stroller and made our way inside the pavilion.

This was also a first for us. The girls had watched videos of The Three Cabelleros ride and were very eager to ride it.

We loved the ride! You know that we’re “it’s a small world” fans, and the beginning of the ride was similar. We also love Donald, and I enjoyed seeing the “fireworks” on the ceiling at the end. When we were disembarking, an elderly lady in the boat in front of us fell down hard while trying to get out of the boat. It is way down there and not easy for anyone to climb out of, and she had to use a walker to begin with. Cast members came rushing over, and together with her family they were finally able to pull her out of the boat and onto the platform. She walked away slowly, and I hope she was okay.

Before we could even get off the boat, the girls said they wanted to go again. Sawyer wanted to nurse, so Mamie took them around again while we found a quiet bench. I have to say that I really enjoy the Mexico Pavilion. It’s dark, cool, and easy to find a quiet spot! Nice respite on the extremely hot day! Brandon took some pictures of some of the souvenirs, and we discussed our drink order preferences for La Cava del Tequila for our Friday night date. That would be nice!

As we exited back into the bright sun, who did we spot but our amigo Donald! We had to stop for a family picture, and there was really no line.

That done, we put everyone back in strollers and started making our way around World Showcase in a counterclockwise direction.

We had to fulfill a tradition—face painting at the Africa Outpost! This would be the first time for Brynn, but the third time for Julia! And she has picked the Tinker Bell design every time. Today was no different, and Brynn had to be just like her sister.

We made our way past Germany to look at the trains.

Then we spotted Aladdin and Jasmine and hopped in line. Today was certainly a princess-filled day!

They chatted about Sawyer being our little monkey and how they’d spotted Abu climbing around the top of the pavilion earlier.

While we were in line for this, I overheard a woman trying to explain to her husband about PhotoPass and how it was worth the $150 to get a CD. They hadn’t started using it yet and today was their first day. She had a smart phone, so I tried to look up the pre-order price on MouseSavers for her, but I think she thought I was scamming her!! She was working her way through the website when we left, so I hope she figured it out!

Also, did I mention it was HOT? Golly gee. Whoa.

When it’s that hot, there’s no doubt that it’s time for…

A Grey Goose Slushie from France!! And unlike our fellow diners from earlier today, I stopped with one alcoholic beverage. On our last trip, I was pregnant and couldn’t indulge. I was so excited to taste it now. They filled it very full, and after wasting a little spilling it on my hand, I drank it quickly…you know, so it wouldn’t melt…

We spotted Mary Poppins and our children practically leaped into line! Not an opportune time, what with me trying to balance my GGS, two autograph books, two pens, and a water mister, but we made do.

Mary was practically perfect in every way, of course. Julia asked her to come live with us, and she asked if she kept her room as tidy as Jane and Michael Banks. Julia honestly answered that she didn’t, and she wasn’t good at cleaning even if it was like a game. Mary said she might like to stick with those Banks kids, in that case.

Brynn just plopped down, and Mary was kind enough to crouch down with her.
After that, we moseyed out of World Showcase, knowing we’d be back on Friday to explore more in-depth and minus kids.

(Continued below. Keep reading!)

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

The sky began looking like this:

And then like this:

We were headed to the Imagination Pavilion, and we made sure to cover our strollers before we went in. We’d learned our lesson at MK the day before!

Figment was fun, of course, though I am not sure any of my kids enjoyed the “train” section.

They certainly enjoyed the play area after Figment, though! We let them stay and play for well over half an hour.

When we got back to our things, it had definitely rained, and it was still misting a little. Not bad enough for ponchos, though, and we walked over to The Seas while enjoying the tiny droplets to cool us off. We covered our strollers again, and attempted a picture with Nemo and Friends. Obviously they were more interested in touching the fish than having a picture taken!

Raindrops began falling quickly then, and we dashed inside to ride Nemo. The ride slowed down right in front of Bruce, and I was praying it wouldn’t stop there. It didn’t!

We were the last people to walk into Turtle Talk with Crush. I was proud of Brynn for sitting up front with her sister even though we had to sit at the back. She almost never detaches from our side, but she must have been feeling brave that day! They loved the show, as usual, and we all laughed out loud at Crush’s antics.

We had to get the obligatory photo with Bruce, of course.

For some reason, they roped off the whole area a few minutes later. Not sure what that was about.

After more potty breaks (of course) we decided to check out all the exhibits upstairs, which we’ve never done! So cool! We loved watching the dolphins swimming upside down!

It was still sprinkling a bit when we went back outside, but that’s okay because our dinner ADR was coming up and it was nearby. Where were we going? If you ready my PTR, you know about my very determined stance on this restaurant and the reason why!!

Up Next: Dining Success? And, “Sir, are you okay?!”

 

[dara00]

how much does the face painting cost? thanks for such great photos and stories about epcot - it's my next must bring the kids to park!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Gorgeous picture!! You guys definitely got a lot done in World Showcase (how sweet of Brandon to get you Laila for Christmas!), and yay for you finally getting to enjoy a Grey Goose Slushie! Sounds like it was very much appreciated on that hot day!

 

[shan23877]

You got some really beautiful photos! I'm eager to take our new camera for a whirl at WDW this spring.

What a thoughtful husband to remember the perfume!

Yay for Brynn being brave at Turtle Talk!!

 

[ronnmel]

I want my face painted! It looks so pretty!! Actually, I did get my face painted last Friday. It was carnival day at school and since I'm not allowed to go outside with the students while pregnant, I as at the face painting station. During a break the volunteer mom painted a butterfly on my face. But I ant one of those elaborate face painting from WDW. Would it be weird?

 

[MeMom]

Brandon liked it, too, and he insisted that when we came back on our date on Friday that I was going to buy it as one of my souvenirs. Sadly, that purchase was not to happen. However, what did I find under the tree on Christmas morning this year? Laila, Spirit of Norway! Without any prompting at all, Brandon remembered how much we both liked it and ordered it from the official website! Now I wear it every day and am transported back to Epcot!

How sweet is that?!?!?

 

[MickeyLuvrLauren]

I'm really enjoying your trip report so far! I'm in!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

how much does the face painting cost? thanks for such great photos and stories about epcot - it's my next must bring the kids to park!

I want to say that it was $15 for each girl. I know we had a $35 gift card and it more than paid for both. Also, I think they will do touch-ups during the day if you happen to rub any off. Brynn definitely rubbed hers off (she's a face rubber, especially if she's sleepy) but we didn't need to get hers re-done.

Gorgeous picture!! You guys definitely got a lot done in World Showcase (how sweet of Brandon to get you Laila for Christmas!), and yay for you finally getting to enjoy a Grey Goose Slushie! Sounds like it was very much appreciated on that hot day!

I was quite proud of us! We got everything done that we wanted to do with kids. I almost stopped for American Adventure, but I didn't think they'd sit through it, and we were saving most other "adult" things for Friday. That GGS? Perfect!

You got some really beautiful photos! I'm eager to take our new camera for a whirl at WDW this spring.

What a thoughtful husband to remember the perfume!

Yay for Brynn being brave at Turtle Talk!!

I was so proud of him! (For the pictures AND perfume!)
Brynn was really being brave pretty much the whole trip. She was almost up for anything.

I want my face painted! It looks so pretty!! Actually, I did get my face painted last Friday. It was carnival day at school and since I'm not allowed to go outside with the students while pregnant, I as at the face painting station. During a break the volunteer mom painted a butterfly on my face. But I ant one of those elaborate face painting from WDW. Would it be weird?

I don't think it would be weird! I saw lots of adults (okay, only women ) with their faces painted last trip. You're not allowed to go outside with the students? And they make you take off until your blood test results come back?! Canada is awesome.

How sweet is that?!?!?

So sweet! I was shocked on Christmas morning. You know it's a good gift when even I am speechless!

I'm really enjoying your trip report so far! I'm in!

Thanks for joining in! We're only on Monday so far, and we left the following Sunday--still PLENTY of stories to tell!

 

[oboedm]

Great updates! Your pictures are wonderful... they really transport you to WDW! I am glad that your girls really enjoy Epcot. I hope mine do as well. =)

BTW... how did you like the strollers? What kind were they? I am toying with the idea of renting one for our trip. Were they pretty easy to maneuver? Did they fold easily?

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

When we exited the exhibits at The Seas, we didn’t go very far. In fact, we didn’t leave this pavilion!

You can see that it was still a little rainy out, but we were just heading around the corner to…

Coral Reef!

Now, if you read my PTR, you know that we had a horrific time here in 2009, and it took us two years to revisit the place. If you didn’t read it, you can learn about it here.

Since booking this ADR, I’d been eying the blackened catfish and pepper jack grits again. Then they took it off the menu. I decided on the Lobster Ravioli, and before our trip they took it off the menu, too! I wasn’t happy about that at all. Going into the meal, I didn’t have high hopes that it would be any better than our last experience.

We decided to check in a little early for our ADR. We found a seat (that’s a miracle in this place) in their waiting room. The kids were getting a little antsy with the wait, and Brandon reached into the diaper bag and pulled out a miracle—a bag of sea creature figures we’d purchased back in May at the beach! He’d hidden them in the bag months ago for a time such as this!

Brandon began putting on a puppet show of sorts, and the kids were enthralled. So were several of the people sitting around us! Before we knew it, our pager went off and we were led to a table on the second level with a perfect view of the tank. YAY!

The girls (and their new sea creature figure friends) sat down peacefully and began coloring. That was definitely an improvement over our last trip here when people were fussy!

Sawyer was playing with his Mickey toy and wanted to eat bread immediately!
I looked at the menu to find…Lobster Ravioli! No, it wasn’t the Blackened Catfish I really wanted, but it was a good consolation prize!

Turns out it was just okay. Absolutely nothing special. Once I ran out of the shaved Parmesan, I didn’t really like it. The sweetness of the lobster and cream sauce really calls for a lot of the Parmesan's bite to balance out. Still, I finished every bite. Must not have been too bad!

Mamie and Brandon don’t eat seafood, and they both ordered the NY Strip Steak with Horseradish Mashed Potatoes. I think the veggie side was either green beans or asparagus that night. Mamie doesn’t eat vegetables, so I know she didn’t eat that. I know they both thought the steak and potatoes were very yummy, though I don’t have a picture for some reason.

The chef did not come to the table, but instead relayed information via our waitress. I thought that was a bit shady, but luckily she let me be very specific about what I wanted the girls to have. Grilled fish, plain. Broccoli and carrots, plain. Rice, plain. And rice dream sundaes for dessert. She assured me there would be no dairy products in use for any of those things, and I believed her. They both ate a ton and Brynn didn’t get sick at all, so I know she was right. Still, if someone has an allergy that goes beyond tummy trouble and rashes, you need to insist on the chef here.

As a side note, kids’ cups come with a plastic dolphin attached. The girls just added this to their sea creature collection, and at one point the dolphin was “helping” Brynn take bites!

Sawyer was able to take plenty off our plates to be happy. He loved the mashed potatoes and ate about half of Mamie’s. I know he had some of the fish, as well as bread. One happy baby.

For dessert, I ordered the Cremé Brulée. I think it was a vanilla one?

It was okay, too. Kind of lukewarm. In my opinion, that’s the worst temperature. Bring it warm or bring it cold, but not that questionable in-between!

Mamie ordered the cheesecake, of course! It had a berry compote, which she scooted off to the side. She doesn’t eat fruit, either.

Brandon had the Bailey’s and Jack Daniels’ Mousse. YUM!

And like I said, the girls had make your own sundaes. I think they were kind of desserted out, though, and they didn’t eat a ton of it.

During the entire meal, we watched a sea turtle from our great view of the tank. He was sitting on the bottom and not moving at all. At first we assumed he was sleeping. Oh, how sweet! And then the dinner progressed and he hadn’t moved an inch. We started worrying that he was dead!! It was a long dinner, after all, and he wasn’t budging! When we were paying, debating on asking someone if he was okay, I said, “Mr. Turtle, are you okay??” And he perked up and swam a few feet! LOL! Just in time! By the time we helped everyone down from their seats, he was back in that same sleeping position. Those couple of feet of exercise had obviously worn him out.

We paid with our dining plan and made our way out of the restaurant. The rain had cleared up and made way for a gorgeous sunset! We were headed here:

Well, that’s where Mamie, Julia, and I were going. Brynn was too short to ride, Brandon gets motion sickness, and Sawyer had started another nap in the stroller.

We chose the Green side. It was Julia’s first time riding and we didn’t know how she’d react, but she thought it was pretty cool. Next time I think we’ll try Orange.

While we were waiting to enter our ride area, Mamie brought up Brandon’s sister’s pregnancy. The conversation went a little something like this:

Mamie: “So I guess you figured out M’s secret?”
Me: “She told me a few weeks ago.”
Mamie: “This will be our fifth grandchild. This one’s going to be the special one, though.”
Me: Silence.

THIS ONE is special? What about the others, three of which are mine? I didn’t say a word, but I felt my cheeks get hot. I was more than a little angry and sort of upset we’d paid for her to come on a vacation with her “not-so-special” grandkids! I really wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and hope she didn't mean what she just said, but I was seething. I couldn’t wait to get back to Brandon and relay what she’d said—and she said it right in front of Julia. She really does love our kids and does a lot for them, but she does have definite favoritism. I honestly don't think she means to and am not sure she realizes it, though it's kind of obvious to those on the outside.

I think (I hope) she realized that her true feelings had come through, whether or not she meant them to, and she offered to push a sleeping Sawyer around while the girls rode Spaceship Earth with us. I spilled the story to Brandon quietly, and he pretty much had my reaction. We kind of thought she felt that way, but were shocked that she just flat-out said it. Verbal filter failure. We tried to shrug it off and forgive.

Brandon rode with Brynn and forgot to pick her up for the picture.

Julia and I were together. At the last minute, I grabbed her so she’d be tall enough for the camera. What resulted is the funniest “future” I’ve seen.

Half my head is attached to Julia, making her kind of look like a scared fish!! And I look very devious, I think!

We made our way over to Test Track to use the Fastpasses we’d gotten earlier. (Guess we won’t be too good at making FP times when they change over to the new enforcement rules!) A large group somehow got split up going into line from the video briefing area, and we let the second half go in front of us. But then they needed four people to fill a car, so they let us come to the front and hop right in! See, do good things, and good things will happen to you! We loved it again, of course!

Soon after, Brynn fell asleep in the stroller, and Mamie kept on pushing it with two sleeping kids though MouseGears. She wanted to buy some Mickey Croc flip flops. She also wanted to call Brandon’s sister—I’m guessing to relay her slip of the tongue from earlier.

Brandon, Julia, and I decided it would be a great time to catch a spot for Illuminations since we were waiting for Mamie anyway and the show was about to start.

We found an okay spot and made sure Julia could see. There was one family in front of us, but no big deal. The family overheard us talking about how it was Julia’s first time to see the fireworks at Epcot, and they all insisted we let her come up in front of them! The entire huge group wanted to make sure she could get an unobstructed view of the show! In talking with them, we found out they were from Kansas and two of them were just married. The rest came down to celebrate with them for a few days! They were so nice, and we even chatted with them after the show a bit while we were walking back to find the rest of our crew!

OF COURSE we loved Illuminations! Who wouldn’t!?! Julia was very impressed, as well, and she thanked our new friends for letting her up front.

I grabbed a smoothie and the rest of our crew, and we began walking out of the park. I saw guest relations, and it reminded me that I needed to buy our MNSSHP tickets tonight! Tomorrow was the party and we could get the price break buying them today! We hopped in there and bought them. Sleeping kids were starting to stir, so I handed the tickets to Mamie while I pushed the stroller out. She stuck them in the outside pocket of her park bag.

Remember that fact. Foreshadowing.

We made it back to the hotel with no issues, and we all fell asleep quickly. Brandon and I watched Home Alone 2 as we dozed.

It had been an almost-perfect day at Epcot. It was long, it was hot, but it was amazing!

Up Next: We're wilder than any animals!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Great updates! Your pictures are wonderful... they really transport you to WDW! I am glad that your girls really enjoy Epcot. I hope mine do as well. =)

BTW... how did you like the strollers? What kind were they? I am toying with the idea of renting one for our trip. Were they pretty easy to maneuver? Did they fold easily?

They'll love it, I'm sure!

We loved our strollers! We took a single stroller we own and rented a double. (We have a double, but it was so huge and clunky that we didn't want to use it.) The one we owned was a Chicco umbrella stroller. It folds really easily and all three kids could take turns in it.
We rented a Citi Mini Double. I LOVE THIS STROLLER!!!!! You just grab it in the seat area and pull up and it folds! Super smooth ride, and I could push two kids in it with one hand. Julia was 5.5 years old for this trip and still had plenty of room to grow and still fit if she ever got tired. If I could afford one for myself, I would get one in a heartbeat, but we really don't use strollers too much around here and I couldn't justify the price. We rented it from Magic Strollers, though I think Kingdom Strollers now does the same one for a tiny bit less. They delivered it to our hotel and picked it up on our last day with no issue at all. Plus, it's a fraction of the cost of renting one from WDW and so much nicer!

 

[ronnmel]

I don't think it would be weird! I saw lots of adults (okay, only women ) with their faces painted last trip. You're not allowed to go outside with the students? And they make you take off until your blood test results come back?! Canada is awesome.

Yeah, we do have it pretty good here in terms of pregnancy. I'm not allowed to go outside because of the risk of getting a ball in the stomach, or falling on the ice (especially if children start running around me).

Too bad you had just an okay meal at Coral Reef. I think I would get along well with Mamie meal wise, as I don't eat fruits and barely any vegetables. I'm trying hard to change, especially for the baby, but it's hard to break a life-long habit.

The sunset over Mission Space was really pretty!

Ugh, what a sucky thing for Mamie to say, especially in front of one of her grandchild! That is really mean.

I'm glad Julia enjoyed Illuminations. It's a beautiful show!

Oh oh! What will happen to the tickets?