We Fly Down in 10 Hours..the kids are in bed and have NO IDEA! ** 3/9: Final Thoughts

[WeLoveToyStory]

I forgot to add...your boy's are adorable.

 

[BlueEyes78]

We checked in with the very chatty security guard and were amused by the way the gates open to admit you into the community. We felt very posh. I was ready to start singing Fergie’s Glamorous.
Just past the gate, our house was the first house on the first street. We hadn’t heard from Holly yet so we thought we’d check in, drop off our luggage, see where they were in cleaning, and then go to Publix.
We were thrilled to find out that Holly said we were fine to come in – there was just a bit more laundry to do, and the kids’ bed needed to be converted from king to twins, but other than that they were all set. Our first impression of the house was that it was beautiful.

The décor is really nice, and the ceilings were a lot higher than the pictures showed. We had a quick look-see while Holly gave us the rundown on local grocery stores, the best route to Disney, and their extensive movie library. One nice thing about their Windsor Palms house is that they live right next door – so anything we needed they could run over with very little inconvenience! Holly had fresh-baked muffins ready for us, as well as cookie dough in the fridge all ready to be tossed into the oven.
Caden walked into the house reading his book, noticing very little, but Connor spotted the backyard pool almost immediately. “Can we swim in THAT??” he started shrieking. Here he is literally dancing:

Caden still hadn’t noticed so I gave him a nudge and gestured to the lanai. He looked up reluctantly and then tossed his book into the air in shock.

“WHAT?” he cried, “Our own POOL?” I had been waiting for that reaction for a very long time!
After Holly left, we looked around more in-depth. The master suite where my parents would be was REALLY nice with a double sink, whirlpool, shower and separate toilet. The second suite was for my brother and sister-in-law and then we took the bedroom next to the boys’ room with a shared bath. All the rooms had ceiling-mounted TVs and king-sized beds that were super-comfortable. There was a stereo system that piped music to the lanai, and outside a good-sized table, grill, and hot tub. I love the fact that the entire lanai is screened in – NO BUGS!

We did see the odd lizard or two, though, which the boys got a kick out of. The dining table was beautifully set with wine glasses and bamboo place mats, there were a nice little details like that.
Shawn headed off to Publix while I got the boys to lay down – they REALLY needed a nap at this point, having been up almost 10 hours, and I was a bit done in myself. I promised them a swim if they slept. Connor passed out pretty quickly, but Caden really fights sleep. He was still awake when Shawn got home, and STILL when Nathan and Casey arrived around 3. For some reason he wasn’t as surprised as I thought he’d be when they got there, but he was still pretty happy. We woke Connor at 4 so he’d actually sleep that night, and he was too groggy to care much about his family arriving!
We had thought of going to Downtown Disney or the Boardwalk our first night for dinner, but the boys were so tired and so excited to try their very own pool that it was easier to just hang out at the house. They went for a swim even though the water was a bit chilly for my taste – Holly had just turned it down due to an algae problem and she had turned up the heat but it was still in the 70s, a little cooler than the evening air so they started to shiver after awhile, but kids have a higher tolerance for that sort of thing, I think!

Meanwhile Shawn whipped up a spaghetti dinner, so after bath time we had our spaghetti and then watched Charlotte’s Web. Mom and Dad were set to arrive at about 7:30, and it was becoming clear that the boys were not going to make it to that time, so we thought we’d put them down and let Grandma and Papaw wake them the next day. So we started getting their teeth brushed and reading stories about 7, but Connor suddenly became a chatterbox and wouldn’t stop talking Caden’s ear off (we often have this problem when travelling and they share a room). Finally around 7:30 we had to move Caden to our room just to sleep, and of course, that’s when my parents arrived. Caden was super–psyched to see them but told us, “When I saw Nathan and Casey I wondered if my whole family might be coming!” Connor was ecstatic to see his Papaw, he is really Papaw’s boy! Here he is running to him:

It was hard to settle them after that, but I think they were knocked out by 8.
Mom and Dad ate while we unloaded all the stuff they’d brought for us, and I packed up our lunch for the next day at Magic Kingdom. As much as I wanted to visit and try out that hot tub, by 9 I was completely tuckered out, and I didn’t want to ruin myself for the week. We told everyone that the LATEST we wanted to leave the next day was 8, and with that, FINALLY got to go get some sleep.

 

[BlueEyes78]

I've got a feeling we are probably neighbors...Cincinnati, Dayton, Skyline, I-75North. We reside in Campbell Co. Are we close?

Yes, we're in Butler County in Ohio, so not too far! I have lots of family in Kenton County also.
And we think the boys are mighty cute, but we're biased!

 

[Missyrose]

Great start to the TR! I was almost as excited about the surprise as your boys were! Can't wait to read more

 

[BlueEyes78]

The boys were up earlier than we had hoped. At 6:30 we heard Caden yell and Shawn went in to try to calm things down before Connor woke up, but it was too late. Apparently Caden couldn’t find his stuffed giraffe and freaked out, which of course woke up Connor. All attempts to keep them asleep were completely unsuccessful and I was pretty bummed. My plan for the Magic Kingdom was to conquer Fantasyland and then part of Adventureland – all that we had fit in on our first day last time – but if the boys weren’t too tired, to try to spend the early afternoon in Tomorrowland. This did not bode well for my “optimistic” plan. To keep them from waking the rest of the household we turned on the TV in their room and brought them breakfast in bed. But little kids can only be immobilized for a short time, and by 7:30 they were running around the front room (and they can’t just “walk” anywhere, especially in large open spaces!). My parents were going with us to the park so they were already up and breakfasting, but I did my best to keep them from waking their uncle and aunt. We had packed up a lot of stuff the night before, my bag, the cameras, lunch and the stroller. We decided to take my parents’ minivan so we could all go in one car and not pay to park two.
The weather was forecast to be in the mid-80s, but it was only in the 60s now so I wasn’t quite sure how to dress – in the end I settled on capris and a short-sleeved T-shirt, and I put the boys in T-shirts and shorts but put jackets and track pants on them that we could throw in the stroller when it got warm.
Overall we stuck pretty well to the schedule and were out the door by 8:05.
On our way!

It took us about 10 minutes to get onto the property, and then another ten to get to the TTC and get parked. We weren’t too far from the TTC so we decided to hoof it. Luckily my parents exercise and are in GREAT shape and have no problems with a speed walk, so we made pretty good time, stroller and all. We were on the express monorail by 8:25. Unfortunately for us, it wasn’t as “express” as advertised. We got to the Contemporary and slowed to a stop, hearing the announcement that there was a “traffic delay” ahead. Not quite sure how that happens on a scheduled monorail track, but oh, well. I just REALLY wanted to get there in time for the opening show and was trying to resign myself to the idea that we might miss it. But at this point there was nothing we could do, so I tried to put on a happy face. I took the opportunity to teach Caden about hidden mickeys and we found a few in the Contemporary lobby. Also, a character breakfast was going on just below us in Chef Mickey’s, and the boys were really thrilled to see Mickey and Donald below in their chef attire.

After about 5 minutes we took off again, and got to the gates at about 8:40. Of course we still had to go through “bag check” – I’d forgotten to factor that time in, and there was a huge crowd of people at the turnstiles already, easily as large as the ones I’d seen in the summer so I was a little disappointed – I had hoped secretly that we’d basically have the place to ourselves. At this point we were WELL behind the point we stood at last summer for the show – as soon as we got through the bag check we were basically stuck in a giant mob of people – but on the bright side, NO TRAIN YET! We hadn’t missed the show! My parents had never seen it so I was extra-excited for them. We only had to wait a few minutes. It was already warm enough that they wanted their jackets and pants off, so we didn’t bother with them much the rest of the week.
It was clear that Connor was already not quite running on a full-tank, he just laid down on Papaw to rest while we waited.

The mayor came out about 8:50 with the carolers. Their costumes were so beautiful! And then of course Mickey and the gang arrived on the train, and we all did the countdown. It was TOUGH getting through those turnstiles from where we were, and we all got separated a few times, but found each other on the other side. I was hoping to make it all the way down Main Street before rope drop, but either we didn’t, or they don’t have a separate rope-drop in all the lands in the off-season. Whatever the case, by the time we got through the castle, there was a considerable line at Dumbo. My hopes of being first on were not to be realized! But the boys were so excited to ride it, and we knew the line would only get longer, so we hopped in while my parents waited nearby. We got a text from DB while in line asking where we were – apparently they had arrived just after the show and weren’t too far behind us. They met up with my parents and hung out waiting for us. We were probably in the 4th or 5th ride to go, the line wasn’t quite as long as I’d thought because they hadn’t opened both sides of turnstiles when we arrived. So we were airborne by about 9:30 – the same time we’d made it on last time when we had gotten there by rope drop. I rode with Caden, and Shawn rode with Connor.

We noticed a camera crew setting up to film a commercial nearby – we saw several camaras there that day, we’re thinking with the great weather people don’t end up looking like gross sweaty messes but are still “summery” on the commercials if they film this time of year!
I knew Peter Pan was DSIL’s favorite ride, so we decided to head there next. I really had no plans to do the carousel, since it’s a long line for something we can do at home, unless the boys begged. At this point, they hadn’t even looked in that direction, so we were off! There was about a 20 minute wait, but it was closer to 15 – again, this was almost identical to our experience last time, so I realized Tomorrowland would probably have to wait. Shawn was still holding out for the theory that the crowds wouldn’t increase throughout the day as they do in the summer, but we would have to wait and see. Caden STILL had his nose buried in that Kids Guide to Disney, and every time we did something, he’d look it up and read about it:

This time we all rode. Caden opted to go with DB and DSIL, and Connor (who is really attached to my dad) went with Grandma and Papaw leaving Shawn and I with a whole car to ourselves. Now THAT hasn’t happened in awhile!
As we were waiting, we noticed that Small World was open after all – it was supposed to be down. This was Connor’s favorite ride last time, so I asked everyone if it was OK to ride, and they all agreed though it is not the most thrilling ride in the park. Casey was still a little bitter after being told on a behind-the-scenes tour that they were getting to go on a “magical cruise” and then finding out they meant Small World. You can see how much the ride excites her, but she's such a good sport!

The boys were completely enchanted as they had been last time. Mouths hanging open, pointing at all the fun things in the ceiling…it’s just so visually stimulating that it really hits the spot for preschoolers!
After the ride, DSIL needed a potty break, and so we left them while we did a quick run over to Toontown – it was time for Connor’s first ride on a real roller coaster. I’m talking, of course, about the Barnstormer! At 38 inches, he’s too short for anything remotely thrilling at most theme parks, and gets so frustrated that Caden can ride them and he can’t. So I was really looking forward to this. Both my boys have very adventurous spirits and are up for just about anything. The only ride Caden was a bit “nervous” about was Tower of Terror because I made the mistake of showing him a You Tube video of the ride before our last trip (technically he was tall enough them) and the lightening and weird music freaked him out so he wouldn’t go. I was trying to work him up a bit more gingerly this time…anyway, I digress!
On the way there we noticed that the Winnie the Pooh ride was being refurbished, and that the Teacups were NOT – both surprises to us given the information we’d found on tour guide Mike’s website before coming. Usually he’s right on the mark…perhaps the Teacups were done early so they went ahead with Winnie ahead of schedule? Anyway, that was fine with us – one less dinky ride to fit in at Fantasyland before moving on to my favorite stuff!
Caden decided the Teacups looked lame, so we marked that off the list too, and went on to the Barnstormer. There was little to no wait – I think we were in line less than 5 minutes. I got to ride with Connor since the summer of Caden’s first “big” rides I was pregnant and missed out on that! Connor had a ball. He squealed and laughed the whole time and begged to ride again when it was over. I promised him we’d ride again before the end of the week. We planned to come back on Thursday and hit all the boys’ favorites after they’d gotten to experience everything.
We met up with the gang at Minnie’s house, which was empty, but the boys enjoyed walking through it. We decided to forgo the character lines at this point in favor of rides, especially since Casey had a special private character meeting arranged for us at Epcot. We also weren’t sure if it was worth a long wait since last time Connor completely freaked out when any characters came near him.
So the plan was to walk back the way we came and ride Philharmagic – I’d had it on the “fastpass” list but there was no standby, so we went right in. Here is Mom and Connor in their cool shades:

This was one of Caden’s favorite shows last time, but Connor hadn’t gotten to see it as it was always during his naptime when we fit it in. So I was excited for him to see it.
At first things were going well – when a few of the instruments floated in front of his face, he sort of reached out for them…but then when things got crazy, he completely panicked. He was sitting in Mom’s lap and he buried his face in her shoulder and cried. We told him he didn’t have to watch, but it was like he thought he was in danger and couldn’t stop peeking out. When it got to the crazy Magic Carpet chase he just let out an ear piercing wail and could not be calmed down. I felt so bad for him! At the end when Mickey voice-overs, “Gee, I hope you had a good time!” he cried out angrily, “I did NOT!!” which cracked us up. So Strike 1 against 3-d experiences for Connor, it would seem. Though the rest of us enjoyed it. For some reason I had trouble with the 3-D this time except for when I closed one eye, not sure why.
After this I decided to go on a Fast Pass run. Not all of us were riding BTMRR and Splash Mountain, so I was able to take all our tickets to get two sets for those of who were – that worked out VERY nicely. Shawn took the boys for a potty break, and the rest of the gang headed to the Hall of Presidents, which we weren’t too interested in, and I walked over to Adventureland. The standby for both rides was only 15 minutes, so here was the first sign that things were less crowded than last time – by this time of the morning (around 11) in August, they were up to 40 minutes. I got the FP all the same, so we wouldn’t have to wait when we came back over after lunch. Our return time was between 12 and 1, which worked perfectly. I got 4 for BTMRR and 3 for Splash.

When I met up with my boys at Liberty Square I found them coated in ice cream (Daddys aren’t as concerned about treats right before lunch!).

The others were still in the HOP, so we decided to kill time at the Haunted Mansion. Probably not a good choice for Connor who was still holding bit of a grudge from the Philharmagic! There was no line, so we got in quickly but Connor and I didn’t make it past the stretchy room. Once he heard that crash and the loud scream, he was done. Shawn found us the “chicken exit” and we hung out waiting for them. We texted Casey and they came over and did the ride also, and were just a few minutes behind us. By the time we got tables at Liberty Square and were unpacking our lunch, they were out too. This is a nice place to eat, but you do have to watch out for those giant birds strolling around looking for forgotten food.

So far the group-thing was working out well – we were going our separate ways when necessary but doing a lot of fun stuff together, and we had access to a lot of fastpasses too. We kind of formed, as the day went on, into a group of riders (me, Shawn, Caden & Mom) and non-riders (Connor – too short, Dad – motion sickness, and Casey - pregnant) with my brother floating between the two. It worked out really well!

Next up...riding in the back row of Splash Mountain...this has more significance than I realized....

 

[Shannon84]

I am just catching up on your TR now...but I LOVE the picture with the boys with ice cream all over their faces too funny!!

I am glad that they had a great reaction to the suprise!! I know I would be beyond excited for a suprise WDW trip

 

[pwdebbie]

Are you aware that there is a contest going on right now where you send in your video of surprising your family with a trip to Disney? Here's the link:
http://contests.travel.aol.com/aoltr...ustrav00000009

 

[BlueEyes78]

I am just catching up on your TR now...but I LOVE the picture with the boys with ice cream all over their faces too funny!!

I am glad that they had a great reaction to the suprise!! I know I would be beyond excited for a suprise WDW trip

Glad you're enjoying it! I'm going to try to get a few more chapters up before Christmas if I can!

 

[BlueEyes78]

Are you aware that there is a contest going on right now where you send in your video of surprising your family with a trip to Disney? Here's the link:
http://contests.travel.aol.com/aoltr...ustrav00000009

I had heard about the contest, but I didn't have the link. Thanks, I'll try to patch the video together and send it in!

 

[BlueEyes78]

As the others were finishing up lunch, Nathan, me, and Caden went over to try Splash Mountain. I didn’t recall Caden & Shawn getting TOO wet on our last trip, but the others didn’t want to risk it, so they told us they’d meet us at the exit.
With the fast pass, we were able to get all the way to the front of the line and hop right into the loading bays. Caden had his back turned as the gates closed when the party ahead of us boarded, and got a good konk on the back of the head – that was a first. He cried for a second but by the time our boat pulled up, he was getting over it.
We were in the last row which I was pretty pleased with – it was a nice day, maybe in the mid-80s but with a slight breeze, and I get cold easily…and in my experience being in the front of boats with long drops is the worst place to be. Sure enough on the first mini-dip we barely got a spray of water near us….and then I noticed as we went around the curve in the front of the mountain, before we climbed the big hill, that every time someone dropped on the “final” hill, a huge geyser of water shot into the air RIGHT into the boat that had just started climbing the hill. We watched the three boats ahead of us get completely nailed. I had NOT planned on this! : )
For a second it seemed we might escape – the front of our boat connected with the hill and I still didn’t see anyone coming down…and then we saw the nose of a boat just starting to drop over. I willed our boat to move forward with every ounce of my mind power, but that didn’t do any good. Just before we went into the tunnel a wall of water flew into the air over our heads and started to fall. The only thing to do was duck and cover. So most of it landed on our backs and went down into the seat of our pants and it was COLD. And of course, it was ONLY our row that got hit! So word to the wise – the back seat is NOT the best place to go on Splash Mountain for those wanting to minimize the wet clothes.
We weren’t drenched head-to-toe, but with as much time as that ride spends in the VERY air-conditioned interior, I was cold enough to shiver. I didn’t pay as much attention to the details as I would have liked, and it had been years since I’d ridden Splash. I did like all the mini-drops inside, it’s a lot longer of a ride than I remembered. When we climbed the last hill, I told Nate a tip I’d learned on the boards – to look straight out at the castle as you start to drop – it really does enhance the feeling of free-fall!
We got off and found the others waiting near the exit. We decided to split up again – me, Shawn, Caden and Mom were going to use our BTMRR fast passes, and the others were headed over to Adventureland to check out the Jungle Cruise line.
Once again we went straight to the front – there was NO wait in the FP lane at all. Shawn rode with Caden, and mom and I rode in the row behind. It was the first time for Mom and Shawn. I think they both liked it, but Mom was a little disappointed that there were no big drops. She and I both like our roller coasters more hilly, less windy!
We spent a few minutes looking for a hidden Mickey in the cacti at the exit, but instead found a hidden Tinkerbell. I hadn’t realized those existed. The others were on Jungle Cruise (only a 5 minute wait), so we took a bathroom break and started meandering over towards Adventureland. As we walked Shawn said to me quietly, “I am SO glad Caden didn’t go into the Men’s room with me.”
“Why?”
“Well, there was a naked guy in there.”
“What do you mean, naked? Like he was at the urinal with his pants around his ankles?”
“No, I mean standing butt-naked in the middle of the room, not doing anything.”
Apparently Shawn hadn’t stuck around to investigate, so we can only speculate now as to what the heck a naked guy was doing in the bathroom – maybe drying his clothes after being in the last row of Splash? If anyone on the boards is the naked bathroom guy, we’d love to know what was going through your mind! : )
We decided to get our first Disney photo by pirates, even though we hadn’t decided whether or not we were going to buy the pass. It was just the four of us, but right after we finished up the others came strolling by.

They seemed to have enjoyed the Jungle Cruise – Connor especially – but I’m sorry that since I wasn’t on the ride I can’t rate the sarcasm of the driver!
We were right by Pirates, and there was no wait at all, so we all decided to ride. This was the “roughest” ride Casey was going to take Bananahead on. My parents hadn’t been on it since all the updates, and my Dad commented on how dramatically the animatronics had improved in the last 20 years. The Jack Sparrow in the last scene especially is strikingly life-like!
We took stock as we got off the ride – it was about 1:30 and we had done everything we’d wanted in Fantasyland, Liberty Square, Adventureland and Frontierland. Connor was tired, but was OK in the stroller and not cranky, and Caden was still going strong. We decided to take a shot at Tomorrowland. Casey showed us the quickest way, crossing over Main Street near Crystal Palace. We stopped for a moment for our first family photo with the Castle in the background. At the end, the photographer told all of us but Mom and Dad to cover their eyes, and then had them kiss. I knew right then we had to buy the photopass!

We had two main goals in Tomorrowland – Space Mountain and Spaceranger Spin. And Casey really likes the people-mover. As we entered the land, we saw several people-movers were leaving the station empty so we knew there’d be no wait there. The FP return times were for the evening already, but the two Space rides had only a 15-minute standby. We split up again – me, Shawn, Mom & Caden headed over to Space Mountain while the others got in line for the Spin.
I’m glad the line was short, but I would have liked a little more time to explore the fun space games in the line. Those looked pretty cool! I haven’t ridden Space Mountain since I was close to Caden’s age, so this was almost like a first time for me, and it was truly a first for Shawn and Caden. We lined up with Mom in the front, followed by Shawn, then Caden, then me.
I really LOVED the ride. We looked up the speed later, and I couldn’t believe it tops out at 28 mph. It feels so much faster, and I loved how the darkness added an element of surprise. Caden agreed with me, and giggled all the way through. Shawn did not. Mom was cracking us up at the end with her impressions of Shawn that she heard over her shoulder through most of the ride, “Do not like. DO NOT LIKE!” He has a thing for not knowing what direction he’s going in the dark, so Space Mountain was put onto his, “did it once, won’t do it again” list.
We met up with the others at the People mover, they’d only gotten there a few minutes before. I asked who won, and Nathan said that Casey did, but in all fairness, he had let Connor steer his car, and spent most of his time shooting at Dad and Casey – which apparently he got some points for!
We took a nice relaxing ride on the Peoplemover, which Caden declared “the most boring ride in Disney.” I don’t think I’ve ever ridden it before, but I thought it was neat to go into the other rides. Connor liked that part too and was really excited to see the Spaceranger Spin that he’d just been on.
When we got off, it was just before 2:30 – a little later than I planned on staying, but we had gotten everything in – all except Shawn buying his Disney Christmas hat.

Casey was super-excited to see the Dreams parade at 3 – in her 13 trips, she’d NEVER made it to that parade, so she and Nate went to stake out a spot on Main Street. I didn’t care to see it, but by the time Shawn was done browsing (he settled on a light-up Goofy hat) and we took a few more pics by the castle, it was almost 3 anyway. You can tell how wiped out Connor is here, he wouldn't pick his head up off me:

He did better in this one:

We decided to grab a snack at the bakery and see if we could catch it. I’d heard horror stories about people sitting 4 or 5 deep on the curb, but we found an open spot right in front of the bakery. We parked the kids and I went in to buy some snacks. The smell in that place is indescribably good! And the prices weren’t as bad as I’d expected. I got a cinnamon roll and an apple turnover for less than $3 each, and we all split them. We did our first attempt at "food porn" on this trip. This is my revenge for all the trip reports I've read that have made me drool!!

We ended up eating only half the roll so I saved that for a later breakfast!
Connor really enjoyed the parade, and he had a couple of characters, Stitch and Tweedle Dee (or Dum) come up and pat his head or shake his hand. He just grinned – so it would appear the character fears were gone! I thought the princesses’ dresses were incredibly beautiful – but I was a little creeped out when I noticed that they were all chained – literally, with big metal rings – to their floats. I know that it was for safety reasons, but I wish they could make those more discreet!
As soon as the last float went by we headed for the gate. Luck was not with us as far as getting us to the TTC. The boys wanted to catch the ferry, but just as we walked up it pulled away – not to return for 25 minutes. So we headed back over to the monorail, to have IT pull away as soon as we got to the top of the ramp. We assumed another would be along in a moment or two, but realized as we watched them come and go on the other track that we were not on the “express side.” We debated switching but figured by the time we got over there, our monorail would show up. As it was, it came right at the same time as the ferry, anyway!
We got back home around 4:30, and Mom started dinner – she had made chili at home, frozen it and brought it down – and I ran out to Publix for a couple of items we’d realized we needed for a chili dinner – oyster crackers and cheese! Shawn let the boys swim for awhile and had them bathed by dinner time. We ate around 6, and the boys were in bed and completely zonked out by 7. We still put Caden in our room at first and let him fall asleep there, then moved him into his own room.
While we put them down, we got the heater running on the hot tub, and as soon as the boys were asleep, it was time for some hot tub time! Mom and I spent about an hour and a half just relaxing and talking under a clear, starry sky. The tub was lukewarm at first, but the longer it stayed on the hotter it got – we even had to chill off in the pool from time to time. It was SO NICE. I haven’t been in a hot tub in a long time, and this was my favorite part of the house! It was just a perfect way to end the day!

 

[Shannon84]

I cannot even imagine why anyone was naked in a disney bathroom or any bathroom!! That is just so bizarre and funny!!

I have to tell you that the picture of the entire family in front of the castle is perfect!! It came out great and what a clever idea!!

 

[BlueEyes78]

I cannot even imagine why anyone was naked in a disney bathroom or any bathroom!! That is just so bizarre and funny!!

I have to tell you that the picture of the entire family in front of the castle is perfect!! It came out great and what a clever idea!!

Yes, that was a first for any of us...I kept asking Shawn "but what was he DOING?" Apparently Shawn didn't want to look long enough to figure it out!

 

[BlueEyes78]

The boys were up at 7 again, it seemed that was going to be their waking time. This time Connor woke up first and thought it might be fun to jump the gap between his bed and Caden’s – this resulted in a very unpleasant awakening for Caden! Note to self – bunkbeds are better than twins!! Today was our Epcot Day – mostly because we don’t have park hoppers and we chose this as our “date night.” We had ADRs at Bistro de Paris that night. It was just the four of us leaving this morning, though, and Nathan and Casey would meet up with us later. I had a few attractions on my “must-do” list, namely Soarin’ and Mission: Space which Caden had been too short for last time.
We were out the door by 8, and were standing at the Epcot turnstiles by 8:35. I just can't stop taking pictures of Spaceship Earth, I think it's one of the most beautiful things at Disney:

I thought we got lucky, and found a gate with no line. We stood there (with a line growing behind us) for a good ten minutes before an employee told us that gate would not be opening today. Nuts!! That put us much farther back in line that we’d have been before. They should put signs out or something! While we waited, Shawn went to guest relations and got Connor’s birthday button, which we’d forgotten the day before. So far Epcot didn’t seem to be too crowded. The gates opened at 8:45 and then we headed up to the Land Pavilion’s rope drop. This time I told Shawn HE could navigate the stroller through the crowd since he thought we slowed him down last year! : )
The characters came out and we sent the boys up to the rope (we were about three deep) to high-five them. A few of the greeters said “Happy birthday” to Connor which I think confused him. No one told him his birthday had come early! At 9:00 they played Celebration and dropped the rope, and Shawn took off with me and Caden on his heels – well, as best as we could. It’s super-hard to stay together in that crowd! We made it up to Soarin, and I had them check Connor just in case but he was just an inch or so shy, so we grabbed our parent swap pass (I figured we would have to), and Shawn took Caden on. I had just realized that while I had very resourcefully packed our lunch the night before, I had forgotten to throw an icepack in! Yikes! So Connor and I meandered over to the food court where an employee very graciously gave us a large zip-lock bag and told me to help myself to the ice machine. We packed the ice into the cooler outside, then headed back in for Living with the Land. Connor was a little concerned that we started out in a tropical rain forest – he’s not a fan of thunder and lightening, but once that part was over he relaxed and enjoyed the ride. We’d never done this one before, it was much longer than I thought it would be. And while somewhat educational, not exactly riveting. I tried to keep Connor entertained by pointing out all the different fruits and veggies that he knows in the greenhouse.
By the time we got off, it was about 9:30. I checked the show schedule and realized the first Crush show was 9:40. We might be able to make it! Shawn took off to grab FP for Test Track and I took the boys on the Nemo ride into the aquarium. That is such a cute ride. I had forgotten about my favorite effect, when the Nemo characters are projected into the REAL aquarium at the end. As it turned out, we had just missed the start of the first show, but they said it would open in just another ten minutes. I tried to get the boys’ picture in Bruce’s mouth but the camera was out of batteries. Shawn showed up just then and was able to get it running – and I’m SO glad he did for what happened next!
We headed into the 10:00 Crush show. I made sure I prepared Caden for the fact that he may not get called on to talk to Crush, but to have a question ready for that part. Connor didn’t want to sit with the kids and was sitting in Shawn’s lap while I taped the show. Almost immediately after Crush swam up to the window, he said he wanted to “talk to the little dude in the middle with the extra ears.” I couldn’t believe it, he was talking about Caden! He asked where Caden was from, and if we did a lot of surfing in Ohio. When Caden said no, he told him he’d teach him to talk like a surfer. What Crush did not anticipate was Caden’s fear of looking silly in public. He doesn’t have stage fright, and he is the opposite of shy, but the moment you ask him to do something the slightest bit undignified, he’ll freeze you. Luckily, Crush is great at saving situations like this. When he asked him to say “s-weet and TOtally” and Caden just stared at him, he said, “Dude. He totally did it internally.” Next he asked Caden who brought him here today, and Caden, never one to pass up the opportunity to correct a technical detail, replied, “Well, we didn’t get here today. We got here on Saturday.” Crush again recovered quickly, thanking him for the correction, and said, “Who brought you into the ROOM?” When Caden responded that he didn’t know, and I think at this point he was just a little flustered, we were asked to claim him, and then Crush talked to me for awhile. This was SO cool. We got to interact with him more than any other family in the room, and just randomly. That made my entire day!!
After the show we decided to head to Mission: Space since Shawn said the standby line was very short. Neither boy showed much interest in looking at the fish – if they had we probably would have hung out, but we have a pretty huge aquarium in Newport so it wasn’t our first choice of where to spend our time.
We did get some pics by the "Mine" birds out front, though. They crack me up. I was trying to get Connor to smile at Daddy here, but he was more interested in smooching me, so it turned out cute anyway:

Shawn and Caden were riding Mission: Space while Connor and I hung out in a walkway next to a fountain in the ground. A few kids were playing in it, and after a few minutes Connor wanted to try too. It was probably in the 70s at this point so I was hoping he wouldn’t get too soaked, but I felt bad saying no – after all we were on vacation, and there’s not a ton for him to do at Epcot. So I let him go, and struck up a conversation with a British family on the bench next to me. I was keen to try Mission: space myself, but had heard some horror stories about the ‘intense’ side. I’m not really prone to motion sickness, but if you spin me super fast I don’t really like it, especially as I get older. The family had just ridden the ‘intense’ side and talked me into it. They said the other side was like watching a TV show. As we were talking I was keeping a close eye on Connor, splashing in the little geysers as they sprayed up out of the ground. Every now and then, about ten of them would shoot up at the same time and converge on the center of the circle. I saw it happening and realized too late that Connor was directly in the center. Oh, I wish I had my camera out! He was nailed by ten geysers all landing directly on his head at the same time. He jumped and kind of stood up dancing and sputtering – you could tell it startled him – but then he laughed. At this point he couldn’t get any wetter. I texted Nathan and Casey to see if maybe they could bring a spare outfit, but they were already in the parking lot. So I was just going to have to keep him in the sun as much as possible for the rest of the afternoon!
Shawn and Caden took a little longer than we’d anticipated – by the time they showed up, DB and DSIL had found us. Nathan had never ridden Mission either, and he was game for the “intense” side, so the two of us took Caden on. We only waited about 5 minutes or so, and then were assigned to our pod. They warn you about fifteen times that if you are prone to motion sickness, or fear dark enclosed spaces, or simulators (that cracked us up – we didn’t know simulator-phobia was a common ailment), to NOT ride. And they also lit up the vomit bags for us once we were in to make sure we knew where they were. “Sweet!” Nathan snagged a few for Casey, who has been collecting them since becoming pregnant. He assured us it would make her day.
So the first part – the launch – was OK. It was really cool to feel the pressure and vibrations during take off. They put us into “hypersleep” and then woke us up to land on Mars. We got through the atmosphere and that’s when things get a little bit crazy, bumping around trying to find a landing site, with things going haywire. I read later that you are essentially in a giant centrifuge, and they spin you to simulate the pressure, and then shake it in different directions. It must have been slowing down enough for my inner ear to process the spinning cause at the very end I began to feel hot and queasy. When we landed, Nathan and I had the same thought, “OK, I’m all right, but we better not be flying back to Earth.” Thankfully, the doors opened signaling that the ride was over. Caden hopped right up and started jogging out the door – it was a bit slower going for Nathan and I. Neither of us felt close to throwing up, but we could use some fresh air and something to settle the stomach. We texted the others, and luckily they were in Club Cool – some pop would do the trick!
We went there and Caden went crazy on the samples. He doesn’t get pop all that often so when he’s given carte blanch he’s pretty excited. And we adults got distracted with the Beverly so I’m not sure how many ounces he actually drank! Anyway, Caden and I had Beverly last year (inadvertently), and I was willing to drink it again, knowing what I was in for this time, just to try to figure out how to describe it. Casey had been sick on the day of the honeymoon that was Epcot so they’d not gotten to go to Club Cool – so Nathan had promised her that this time he would try the Beverly. I’d not been able to extract any such promise from my own DH. See how being married 10 years kills the romance???
Nathan and I went first. Even the smell is enough to make you recoil. I think I took two swallows and then the taste started to travel back up my throat, hot and bitter. I do think I figured out how to describe it this time, though….you know the nasty taste on your tongue after you throw up – not the vomit itself, but the aftertaste – it’s like drinking that. I didn’t realize until after I watched the video, but I did actually gag on it. Nathan downed the entire thing, which I applaud but I honestly don’t know how he did it. On our way out though he belched some up and really regretted it!
After our turn, we gave some to poor unsuspecting Connor who pronounced it “spicy,” and then proceeded to make noises like a cat choking on a hairball for about five minutes. So since the BABY tried it, we had to brow beat Shawn into it in the end. My favorite part of this video, though, is the woman behind Shawn that I accidentally caught on tape. Her quote says it all:

We did try the yummy drinks after. I really liked the Chinese one again, but my favorite from last time, the Vegita Bita from Japan was a bit flat or watery or something. Oh, by the way, Casey was in fact thrilled with the barf bags!
We parted ways after Club Cool, and our little clan decided it was time for lunch. We found a nice sunny spot overlooking a lagoon just between Future World and the World Showcase. Poor Connor was shivering, even though Shawn had taken off his clothes and wrung them out. We had turkey apple wraps and applesauce, and I think he was almost dry by the time we finished. At least he stopped shivering!
Afterwards we got our picture taken by the giant Christmas tree made of teddy bears - we found out later it was only up this one day:

Caden and I went over to Test Track to use our FP, while Shawn took Connor to the Ellen ride. We stood in line about 20 minutes, not moving at all, until I heard an announcement that the ride was “still” experiencing technical difficulties. Now why didn’t the CM at the ride entrance tell me that when I came in? I would have come back later! At this point we’d already waited 20 minutes and weren’t in any rush, so I texted Shawn and we started talking with a father and son behind us from Toronto, enjoying their first trip. About 10 minutes later they reopened and then the line really did move fast. I thought it was an OK ride, but I can see why it wasn’t on Shawn’s “must-do” list the second time around. I rank it far below Soarin’ and Mission: Space.
We got off about 12:40, and had some time to kill before our 1:30 Character Meet. We decided to do Spaceship Earth – there was no line at all. That was probably the most interesting non-thrill ride at Epcot. I thought it was neat how it focused on the evolution of communication, and how that has influenced all of the human experience. There was a lot for the kids to look at, too. We had a lot of fun playing around with our pictures at the end, except poor Connor who was too short to be included!
Nathan and Casey got into the line at Innovations around 1:15, and we joined them just before they started opening it up, one family at a time. We were about the fifth family in line, not bad at all. Casey had special access due to her Visa card for the meeting, but she was afraid it would be someone weird that the boys wouldn’t know – we were so thrilled when we went back and found Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy!
I had so much fun watching them have fun. Goofy in particular was cracking Connor up. He kept sneaking up behind him and then sliding Connor under his legs while Connor just laughed and laughed.

After that we headed back to the Land to get onto Soarin’ with the parent swap. Apparently it’s only good for 3 people, and we were going to try to get Nathan and Casey on our pass so they didn’t have to wait. No problem, the CM said, and whipped out an instant fast pass so all four of us could ride together. That was super nice!! Looking back, Epcot was just full of great moments!
When we got off the ride we found Shawn and Connor in the food court, just sitting down to a slice of what I thought was cheesecake. I was pretty excited till I took a big bite and found it was key lime pie. Not that I have anything against key lime, but it’s an odd taste when you’re expecting cheese cake!
N & C headed over to the WS and we took the boys to the leaping fountains to play for a few minutes.

Unfortunately their exhaustion was kicking it and Caden especially wouldn’t listen and kept playing in the rocks, and fell down in them even though we told him to stop climbing, so we had to cut that short. We herded them out to the front gate around 3:00 - just in time to see Daisy come strolling out, with only one person in line in front of us. She was the last signature we needed to collect after our 09 trip, so that was great luck!

After that, it was time to get them home and get ready for our date night!

 

[BlueEyes78]

We had the kids dropped off, changed into nicer clothes and were back in Epcot by 4-ish.
I had to take even more pictures of Spaceship Earth since we weren't in any rush, and I just can't take enough!

We made a quick stop into Mouse Gears to look at a potential birthday gift for Connor – a toy Disney monorail that has the same announcements on it and everything. I was on the fence, so we decided to think it over some more. We grabbed a map and decided to go to the right, closer to the France side since our ADRS were 6:30, and we would go around as far as we could, then circle back to France for dinner. But first for a couple of schmoopy date-night pictures. I like this one because it's either pre-or-post kiss and I just like how close we are:

Here are my overall observations about the World Showcase. Amazing detail and beauty, and if you catch the street shows, those are really entertaining, but you really need to set aside some cash to “enjoy” it. Shawn made the remark that if we hadn’t had an ADR he could have “eaten” his way around the world. There’s a lot of great food (it SMELLS awesome), and neat shops, but unless you plan to spend a moderate amount of cash, there’s not a TON to experience. Maybe we missed some stuff, and I definitely plan to go again, maybe with the boys when they are older.
We meandered through England first, and heard the Beatles playing in the backstreets, so went back there to catch the tail-end of a live Beatles-impersonators concert. That was neat. We headed towards France next, stopping for some Eiffle-tower pictures along the way.

In France, just outside Chefs de France there was a mime/acrobat show going on. We got there right at the beginning and watched the performer stack an unbelievably high tower of chairs and climb all the way to the top.

Next we walked through the middle-eastern portion (I love that tiled fountain) where the food smelled incredible. We hadn’t eaten since our tiny picnic at 11:45 or so, and with all that walking it was getting very tempting!
In Japan I found the pearl shop, because I’d always wanted to see how they get the pearl out of the clam. When Shawn saw my interest, he insisted that I get one as my souvenir. I’m as notoriously “cautious” with my money as my Dad, but I had no interest in any other souvenirs, so I agreed. I’m glad I did, it was really neat! The girls were SO enthusiastic, and told me some people say, the uglier and hairier the clam, the better the pearl. I just couldn’t pick so Shawn finally pointed one out for me. She pried it open and had me count to three in Japanese, and then found a white pearl, it turned out to be 7.25 in size, which I guess is slightly larger than average based on the forums.

I didn’t want to buy a setting there, so they bagged it up for me (after banging the sticks and the gong).

Next it was off to Germany where our watering mouths got the better of us. We had about an hour until dinner, so we didn’t want more than a snack, but the counter-service restaurant seemed to offer only meals. I went with my “you never know unless you ask” philosophy and asked at the register if you could get JUST a plate of sauerkraut. Turns out you can, and it’s only a $1!! I thought someone was pulling my leg – this IS Disney after all! So we got a plate and split it, and I don’t think we even finished it, there was so much. It was delicious!

We were almost straight across the lagoon from FW at this point and the sun was starting to set. We got some great shots, it is probably the prettiest place in all of Disney, I think.

We were more than halfway through the loop and decided to just kind of hurry through the last remaining countries and circle all the way back around to France in the next hour. We didn’t do a lot of stopping , mainly just looking and enjoying each other’s company for the rest of the walk. We thought about riding the Viking ride in Norway but saw that we “might” get wet. After my Splash Mountain experience, I decided against that – no one wants to go to dinner in Paris looking like a drowned rat! We did run into the bakery and get some school bread, though, I had seen a lot of people comment on that and I wanted to try it. We had it packaged to go, then I took two bites and decided to save the rest for breakfast the next day. It was SO good. Shawn is not a big fan of coconut so more for me!

As we passed the giant Christmas tree at the start of the loop, it had just been lit so we stopped to enjoy that a few moments. We also got a picture of Shawn in a British phone booth as we passed back through Jolly old England.

Even with all that walking and snacking, we got back to France around 6:10. We hung out in the gardens in front of the restaurant, and called to chat with the kids and see how they were doing. They had been swimming and were eating grilled chicken out on the patio and having a blast.
We checked in and were surprised to see people being seated without ADRs – we were also surprised that no one said anything about how they were dressed. We had read that there was a “dress code” at the restaurant, but apparently some of the nicer places enforce it more than others. Maybe in the off-season it’s more relaxed.
I was a little nervous looking over the menu. I am not really a picky eater – the only thing I really object to is mushrooms, but I’ve only had “real” French food once in my life, and Shawn had never been to a French restaurant , which is why we had chosen France for our date, but the food is a little heavier than I care for. We decided to each get a different appetizer and entrée and then split our food to get to try the most. Our server was very nice – I can’t for the life of me remember his name, but of course he spoke with a heavy French accent, and he was very knowledgeable about the menu. Shawn got wine, and I got sparkling water, because after all this was France. I couldn’t just get tap water!
They gave us some bread which was very good, but I tried not to fill up even though I was starving. Then, before the appetizers came out, a girl dropped by our table with a little bread-puff looking thing, “compliments of ze chef.” I am SO glad I take small bites. Shawn popped his into his mouth whole. I took a little nibble and saw something black in the middle. I hadn’t bit into it yet, but it looked like a mussel or something similar. Well, I started freaking out because Shawn has a severe shellfish allergy and neither of us had his epipen on us. He started analyzing himself for any bizarre reactions while I called the server over to tell us what he had just eaten (the shellfish allergy is fairly new, so I don’t think it’s in his habits yet to ask before he eats!). Luckily it was just escargot, which I guess lives in a shell but isn’t a fish! Still, I must have made a face because the waiter encouraged me “do not be afraid, try it is delicious.” Escargot is one thing I have never tried, nor have I intended to – it’s on my list with things like snakes or bugs. Shawn assured me the taste was all from the sauce and the bread, that the snail itself had no taste. I finally decided to bite the bullet by biting the snail. Unfortunately it was chewy, just as I had imagined, and while I was able to get it down, I had to give the rest to Shawn. For the record, it did NOT taste bad at all, but it was never the idea of its taste that put me off, but its texture, and the idea of snails in general. It didn’t make me sick or anything but the thought of eating it kind of made me feel funny. So, anyway, I can say now that I’ve tried it, and I have no need to ever eat it again.
Shawn started out with the Butternut Squash Soup - with chestnuts and cheese puff gourgeres $12.00. I had the Warm Goat Cheese - with basil and sundried tomatoes in a crisp shell, baby mixed greens, balsamic vinaigrette $12.00. It was good, but of the two, Shawn’s was definitely better. Both the soup and the cheese puffs were light and flavorful, the goat cheese was definitely heavier and richer.

For entrees, Shawn ordered the Grilled Beef Tenderloin, beef Parmentier, asparagus, peppercorn sauce $39.00, and I had the Lamb Rack - roasted with thyme, ratatouille, thin onion tart with rosemary and eggplant caviar baked with parmesan $40.00. (carved tableside)

We both liked what we had each ordered the best. I really liked the onion tart that came with mine. But overall I have to say, I’m not a convert to French cuisine. I’m glad I’ve tried it twice now, but the flavors are so robust and kind of in-your-face while the food is heavy at the same time. I much prefer Italian or Mexican or Indian – Italian has heavy food, but with lighter, richer flavors, where Mexican and Indian have powerful flavors but less heavy substance.
Still, when it comes to dessert, I have to give the French the edge. We went with the Vanilla Créme Brulée - caramelized rice pudding, and Upside down caramel cream, Créme Brulée ice cream. This was the part of the meal we were too enchanted with to stop and take its picture! I wish I had, because it would help me remember which we liked best. I think I liked the rice pudding the best. The fact that I was licking the spoon during dessert was a true testament to its flavor since I am a 100% chocolate girl and I was not pleased with the choice we’d gone with, but I’m a believer in Vanilla now!
After dinner we walked back across the lagoon to try and get a good spot for Illuminations. On the way, we both happened to notice a very confused duck waddling towards us on the path. He was caught in a large crowd of quick-moving people and panicked. I am SO glad we noticed him or I think I might have peed my pants. The poor man in front of us had NOT seen him, and when the duck took flight it nearly took his head off. Ducks are not as graceful nor can they get high as quickly as smaller birds, so he was really taking a chance! If the man wouldn’t have ducked (lol) at the last possible second he would have gotten a faceful of duck. We were cracking up, it was one of the funniest things that happened all week.
The crowds were already pretty deep at the edge of the lagoon so we just found a raised grassy area to try to watch from. At this point I was beginning to wish for a jacket. The days were nice but the nights were getting a bit chilly. I thought the globe special effect was really neat, and I liked when the different parts of the WS lit up in time to the music. We thought we left at the end of the show, but we could hear it continuing behind us, so I think we did miss the end. Which was fine because I was starting to shiver and we wanted to beat the crowds.
We both agreed that this had been a great way to spend the evening together.

 

[Shannon84]

YAY for date night!! Looks like you guys had a great time.

You are brave for getting on Mission Space...the part where it pushes you back in the seat gives me a mini panic attack

 

[BlueEyes78]

I know it's been awhile for an update for my millions of fans, but we've had a big month, and I found out Christmas Eve that Baby #3 is on the way. So I've been a bit low on energy! But here is another chapter:

Well, for those keeping up with the itinerary, Tuesday was supposed to be Animal Kingdom day. But the travel day plus two days in a row proved to be a bit much for the boys – especially the younger one. We decided to rework the schedule and move Animal Kingdom to Wednesday – I think that was a “yellow” day according to Tour Guide Mike, but we’ll sacrifice a green day for family peace and sanity! Tuesday was now a “day of rest.” The boys did sleep in a little, but only till about 7:45. My parents left soon after that to go spend a day at Cocoa Beach. We had a lazy morning, hanging out and playing video games (my brother introduced us to ping pong and fencing on the Wii). Around 11 N&C headed out to Universal to see the Harry Potter park. Besides being a Disney fanatic, Casey is also a die-hard Harry Potter fan, so she was really looking forward to this day!
We got the boys dressed and decided to head for Downtown Disney. Again, not being a big shopper, I guess I kind of miss the appeal of a giant glorified shopping mall. We didn’t have much of a plan, but luckily parked near Legoland. It was evident that Connor was tired as soon as we got out of the car. We only had to walk about thirty yards to the entrance and he started throwing a tantrum, demanding to be carried. While recognizing that he was tired, we don’t as a rule give into the demands of terrorists, and we insisted that he walk. And so he screamed and gripped at my legs all the way to Legoland. It became increasingly embarrassing as he began to cry so hard he was choking, and also a little bit funny because even when we got there and I SAT DOWN on the ground to watch Caden plan with Legos, he was clawing at me and demanding to be carried. Connor is normally a pretty even-tempered kid and has only had maybe one or two tantrums in his whole life so I couldn’t do much except try to laugh it off. We sat him by a wall and put him in time-out, and told him when he calmed down he could come and play with his brother. I was so embarrassed but you thank heavens most of the people at Legoland were parents – while we got a lot of looks, by far most of them were sympathetic.
So this is what we got to deal with for about twenty minutes:

Now he's kicking again:

I know, pitiful, right? What makes it worse is that he's having this complete meltdown while wearing a big "Happy Birthday Connor!" button.

Finally he decided he wanted to play, and we did have fun for about an hour. Caden really loved building the Lego cars and sending them down the ramp. You'll notice the Mickey Ears rarely left his head this week!

And I built this (I don’t know what it is but I had fun building it. It probably says something insightful about my Type A personality):

Even Connor did join in the fun:

After that we decided not to push our luck, and headed back home for some much-needed naps. Nathan and Casey came back raving about Hogwarts and the butter beer. They even brought us some delicious pumpkin juice. We let the boys swim some more, and Caden got very good at diving to the bottom for dive-sticks. He swam across the shallow end of the pool without his floaties several times, and got pretty good at it! Connor started enjoying the hot tub and the bubbles it made. You can see he's much happier now:

For dinner we had delicious enchiladas and bean casserole, and set out a blanket in front of the TV to watch Toy Story 3. I had heard it was a lot darker than the first two, but I didn’t think it was that bad. There was only one scene where the kids got nervous, but we never had to fast forward or anything, they just cuddled with us when the toys were headed for certain doom. They certainly weren’t traumatized and there were no nightmares that night. I really enjoyed the movie, I thought it really did justice to its predecessors!
We got the boys in bed on time, and hoped they’d be refreshed for Animal Kingdom in the morning! Hopefully that would be the last of the meltdowns for the week....

 

[Bee]

I am loving your report.

I am sorry you felt you needed alot of money to enjoy EPCOT/ World Showcase. I never have much money.. lol ever..

But, World Showcase is probably my favorite part of Disney World. I think it is because I feel like I get a taste of traveling around the World. I can have a Beer and pretzel in Germany.. and dessert and wine in France.. but, mainly I love to just site see around the place.

I am so glad you are having a great time.. and enjoy reading more.

Congrats on baby number 3.. how exciting....

Bee

 

[BlueEyes78]

Bee,
Thanks for reading! I'm glad someone is and that you're enjoying it, and thanks for the congrats. The boys are super excited!!

I am definitely willing to reconsider my opinion of the World Showcase...it may be different if you don't have a time frame and an upcoming dinner. Someday when the boys are older I'd like to dedicate one full day to the WS, and just snack our way all the way around and have more time to explore the off-the-beaten-path areas.

 

[Bee]

Yes, that may be the difference. I have only been twice to Disney World. The last time was in 2005. My trip report is attached... now that husband is no longer mine..

Anywho.... My girls are now 14 and 16. The 16 year old told me that is her favorite park as well.. and the last time she was there she was only 10..

I think it just that you get a taste of so many other things.

But, do not get me wrong I LOVE ALL OF DISNEY WORLD.. AND MY DREAM IS TO GO AGAIN..... I WILL... AS GOD IS MY WITNESS.. oops.. blended my favorite movie.. with my favorite place....


Keep writing... I will keep reading... =0)

 

[kristina87]

Hi there! I just read through your whole TR and its so much fun!

I can't wait to read more