We've got this Rider Swap thing DOWN! - July 2012 TR/ 3/21/15 Final Update COMPLETE

[debrapagliasotti]

Crystal Palace was so much fun! We enjoyed it too. I love the puffed French toast!!!!!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Just joining in now and only on page two I love your TR and love your style of writing, I'm really getting in to your trip! So much fun.

You had me really giggling at 'air so humid you could almost drink it' and your photos are brilliant. Do you mind me asking what photopass+ is about? I'm guessing from something you said that you pay for it upfront? We had photopass when we went, and we got so much out of it that we bought the disk with everything on, love it

One more question - is TOT not too scary? It's the only ride I was too scared to go on! None of us did in the end, assuming it was one of those 'drop' things with nothing too special - I think we were wrong!

Oh my gosh, thank you so much! That is the nicest complement ever! And to my TR!! I am so glad to have you following along.

So Photopass+ is basically the Photopass CD with some added benefits. It costs a little bit more than the regular CD but you get an additional CD of 1000+ stock WDW photos, digital copies of ALL your ride photos, a print package at The Pirate's League, and print packages at select dining venues. I think they are the Polynesian Luau, Hoop De Do Review, O'hanna breakfast, Chef Mickey's, 1900 Park Fare, Akershus, and Cinderella's Royal Table

You can prepay or purchase it onsite. If you do the prepay option you get a voucher sent to you then you have to bring it to one of the parks to exchange it for your Photopass+ card & lanyard. Here is the link I used to preorder mine: (not sure if it's different for UK guests.) Photopass+ Pre-arrival Offer

Tower of Terror is my FAVORITE! I don't think its too scary The thrill is more the surprise of WHEN it will drop as opposed to the drop itself. The drop is actually really smooth; you don't feel like you're being jerked around or anything.

...and I'm all caught up now!
Still loving reading along, thank you so much for sharing.

You're really making me want to get TSDP! We had counter service last time because we weren't sure which park we would end up in and didn't want to feel restricted. I think I know what I'm doing enough to get proper ADRs and yours all look like so much fun! Unfortunately it's out of budget for us, unless a miracle happens!

Well, I'm glad I didn't scare you off! I loved having the DDP this trip. When we figured our food budget we based it off what we paid out of pocket on our last trip (we had no dining plan in 2011). We ate mostly at quick service with two sit-down meals that time. When we compared it, the DDP was only a difference of $100 for us vs. out of pocket so we figured it would be worth it. We had some GREAT meals! I was worried about feeling restricted but it never ended up feeling that way. Especially since it was so hot when we went, it was nice to know that at least one meal of the day would be inside. However, I honestly think the counter service options at WDW are fantastic. I could totally eat at only counter service and feel completely happy. But I hope you get to try some ADRs on your next trip!! If you pick right, you'll have a lot of fun!

Crystal Palace was so much fun! We enjoyed it too. I love the puffed French toast!!!!!

Mmmmmmmm..... puuuufffed french toooooaaaast.....

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

New post coming soon.... I promise!

 

[Sundancer UK]

Wow thanks for that! Photopass+ and TOT are *definitely* on the list this time around

Looking forward to more updates - don't get like me and leave it so long you forget the details!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

After our fantastic breakfast at Crystal Palace, it was time for some rides! Josh had a 10:00 am appointment at The Pirates League so we figured we would start in the direction of Adventureland. As we entered, Aladdin's Magic Carpets was walkup so we hopped on.

Has anyone else noticed that the men in my family always feel compelled to pull faces when the camera is on?

Flying high over Adventureland!

So as we were sitting there, there was a Photopass photographer taking pictures of us on the ride! It was so cool! Such a magical moment.

After we got off the ride he scanned a photopass card, gave it to me and instructed me to stop by the photo shop on Main Street (where the Princess & Mickey M&G is) to have the pictures added to our account. I was so excited!

Next we went over to Jungle Cruise and again, it was walk on.

By this time it was getting close to Josh's appointment with a scurvy crew of pirates but there was time for ONE more ride....

The standby said 10 minutes but most of that was just walking through the que. In about 5 minutes time we were singing:

I've gotta say, this was probably the most... uummmm... interesting voyage I have ever been on with the POTC. As it turns out our crew (boat mates) were especially rowdy. Once we were all loaded in the family in front of us thought it would be fun to start splashing the water at each other. We waited and waited and waited at the point in the ride where they tell you to keep your arms and legs inside the boat.... They obviously didn't get the point that we weren't moving until they quit. Finally a CM said "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You don't know what's in that water and quite frankly, neither do I . And I don't want to find out!" They stopped then and we were on our way...

BUT the family behind us kept blinding us with their flash photos! The dad kept saying "Oh, honey get a picture of this!" She would snap it and say "None of my pictures are turning out!" He would say "Oh, get a picture of THIS!" she would snap it and say "That one didn't turn out either!" This went on in EVERY SCENE!!!! MAYBE the pictures aren't turning out because an itty bitty camera flash isn't meant to light up an entire darkened ROOM! Oh well, we just had to laugh at the whole situation.

We exited POTC and made our way back to the stroller so I could get Josh's costume.... We were ready to transform our little landlubber into a full fledged Pirate!! Arrrr Matey!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Wow thanks for that! Photopass+ and TOT are *definitely* on the list this time around

Looking forward to more updates - don't get like me and leave it so long you forget the details!

Hey, I peeked at your blog! Good start

 

[Sundancer UK]

Hey, I peeked at your blog! Good start

Yay thanks! I'm trying desperately to think of my next entry. I have a few ideas lined up, but trying not to be too personal or too Disney too early on I'm sure I'll get some inspiration to find a balance soon!

Once again, loving your photos. I can't believe we missed Jungle Cruise! HOW did we miss that? I can only think maybe it was closed when we went? The Tiki room was... Another one on the list!

I am eagerly awaiting the Pirates update - I actually have no idea what it is! Keep meaning to google it and forgetting, now I'll just wait for you to tell me. No pressure or anything

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Yay thanks! I'm trying desperately to think of my next entry. I have a few ideas lined up, but trying not to be too personal or too Disney too early on I'm sure I'll get some inspiration to find a balance soon!

Once again, loving your photos. I can't believe we missed Jungle Cruise! HOW did we miss that? I can only think maybe it was closed when we went? The Tiki room was... Another one on the list!

I am eagerly awaiting the Pirates update - I actually have no idea what it is! Keep meaning to google it and forgetting, now I'll just wait for you to tell me. No pressure or anything

I know how you feel about Jungle Cruise! I felt the same way about Spaceship Earth... llike, HOW ON EARTH did we miss that?! Ah well, any excuse to go back, right?

Oh, you're going to LOVE Pirates League! I won't tell you now, I'll just wait till my update.... I bet the suspense is KILLING YOU! lol! I promise, its coming soon.

As for your blog, I, for one, wouldn't mind one bit if you got "too Disney too soon."

 

[lpf]

Love reading your report - I'm travelling with a 2.5yr old soon so very glad to read!

In crystal palace, your children had some fabulous autograph books - where are they from, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[debrapagliasotti]

How fun that there was a Photopass person at the carpet ride! I've never seen that before.

Ugh, I hate when people take flash photography on those rides. Drives me bonkers!! And then for them to keep doing it...even though the pics were turning out awful

Cant wait to hear about Pirates League. Might be something my little boys might want to do in a few years.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Love reading your report - I'm travelling with a 2.5yr old soon so very glad to read!

In crystal palace, your children had some fabulous autograph books - where are they from, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks for following along! 2.5 years is such a magical age! You're going to have so much fun. I love that traveling with little ones forces you to just slow down and enjoy some of the little things that get overlooked when you're trying to get a bunch of rides in.

I actually made those on Shutterfly! I got the pages from other Dis-ers over on the Creative DISigns board. The 8x8 pages I found from OtterPop & ChaosCent and the covers and name fills were from MarneMouse. They are all so talented and generous over there! You should check it out! Here is the link to my post on my PTR if you're interested in seeing more details: Personalized Autograph Books

How fun that there was a Photopass person at the carpet ride! I've never seen that before.

Ugh, I hate when people take flash photography on those rides. Drives me bonkers!! And then for them to keep doing it...even though the pics were turning out awful

Cant wait to hear about Pirates League. Might be something my little boys might want to do in a few years.

I had never seen a Photopass person taking photos of a ride before either! I was wondering if it was because 1. Magic Carpets is outdoors & in the open 2. It was early and 3. Not many people were on it or in line for it. Anyhow, what a fun bit of Disney magic!

Holy cow! Those people were driving me nuts! Mostly because of their comments on how it wasn't working... I swear it was like a sitcom or something. I kept wondering "Are we being punked?" We all left the ride completely cracking up.

Pirates League is coming up!! Your boys would LOVE it! The experience extended WAY beyond the League; so many CMs and guests reacted to Josh's get up. It was awesome. We all loved it.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

On to the Pirate's League! This was a MUCH anticipated part of our trip. I couldn't tell who was more excited, me or Josh! We chose to bring a costume from home instead of purchase one. Josh was a pirate for halloween last year so this costume was from Old Navy. It was getting a little snug on him at the time; now it doesn't fit AT ALL! I swear that boy grows like a weed!

I took Josh to the bathroom to get changed while Eric took Ev. First things first though, we had to get a "before" picture of Landlubber Joshua!

After getting changed, we went to the Pirate's League desk to get checked in. The CM checked our reservation and handed Josh a card that had each of the "looks" that he could choose from.

For anyone who doesn't know what the Pirate's League is, here is a description from Allears.net:

In The Pirates League, an interactive Pirate experience, boys and girls (and grown-ups) can be transformed into pirates, with their own special look and name. They'll also learn how to swashbuckle and the official Pirate League Oath.​

From Disney's Website:

Choose from 5 fearsome makeup looks and be transformed into a “First Mate” or “Empress” pirate. But first, be ye christened with yer Official Pirate Name from the leather-bound captain’s log. At the Muster Station, the League’s veteran pirates will then make you over as a merciless marauder with:

Your choice of facial effect: Cursed Pirate, Captain Hook, Captain Jack, Blackeyed Jack or shimmering make-up
Reversible bandanna
Earring and eye patch
Temporary tattoo
Removable teeth for First Mates
Bold make-up, nail polish and face gem for Empresses

Each aspiring pirate will receive his or her own:

Sword and sheath
Pirate coin necklace
Personalized pirate oath​

The cost is $29.95 and you have the option to add on a print package for $14.95, unless you have Photopass+ then the print package is included!!! You can also add on any other pirate-y accouterments that you wish. Since Josh chose Captain Hook, we purchased a hook for $6.00.

He had been talking and talking about getting the "Cursed Pirate" look for ages but when push came to shove, he chose "Captain Hook!" I think it had something to do with Megan's TR (Jedi's, Pirates & Extended Family) that we were following here on the Dis! When he saw Anthony's transformation, he really liked it! I really loved how the CM was so good about talking to JOSH and making sure JOSH was picking out what HE wanted. I would have allowed him to get whatever he wanted but I was glad he chose Captain Hook. I was a little worried that the Cursed Pirate would get uncomfortable and melty in the heat.

We waited a couple of minutes outside before a Pirate came out to lead Josh through the first experience at the Pirate's League: Choosing his Pirate Name!

This was so much fun! First the Pirate took him to the "Paradise Box". She said, "You know why its called a Paradise Box?" She opened it up and put two dice in and said "Because there's a Pair of Dice in the Box!" Then she had Josh spin the wheel.

She took the number from the dice and opened a book to a page corresponding with his birthday.

According to her piratical calculations, he should henceforth be known as....

Hector Wavewrecker!​

We were then led into the transformation room to wait for our pirate. I know everyone says this but we were really surprised how small this place really is. There were probably 12 stations in all..?? And there were only 4 kids getting made-over, including Josh.

We only waited a few more minutes before Josh's name was called.

Our pirate was hysterical! She was so great. I don't remember her name but she was from Venezuela which is where Josh's uncle is from too. Her accent was pretty thick but that only added to the experience, in our opinion. First, she gave him his Pirate Mark... aka, temporary tatoo.

Next she confirmed which "look" he wanted to get and teased him a little bit. She asked him if I was his girlfriend and silly things like that.

Then she started painting on his new look with some "squid ink"

So how did Hector Wavewrecker look when he was completely transformed? Continued in the next post!!!....

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Introducing...

Hector Wavewrecker!!!​

However just LOOKING like a pirate won't do. It won't do at all! To BECOME a pirate, one must take the Pirate Oath!

Our Pirate read the Pirate Oath and had Josh... I mean Hector... repeat it back to her. This is where she used her accent to her advantage. Most of the way through, she read it very clearly and slowly then at the end she read a whole bunch really, really fast. I am sure she spoke some of it in Spanish! Josh had been taking it all so seriously that she took him by surprise and he was trying to say exactly what she had just said. We were dying laughing!

Now that he was a real pirate, she lead us all to the "Secret Treasure Room" where he received a golden coin necklace from Captain Jack's personal treasure stash. This is also where they do the mini photo session of the brand new pirate.

I had already settled the bill when Josh was getting made-over so on our way out all we had to do was wait for the prints to be made. When I settled, I had wanted to tip our Pirate and you can't write it in on the receipt so they have to add it onto the charge and give you cash back. Also, I can't quite remember correctly but I know we couldn't pay with our KTTW card. I'm not sure if that is because of the tip/cash back or if is just the way they do it at The Pirate's League.

So, would we do this again YES, YES, YES!!! This experience was so worth it. It was way, way more than "face paint." It was all the fun we had with our pirate, it was all the CM's and guests who commented on how good he looked for the rest of the day, it was the shouts of "ahoy matey!" and "arrr me harty!" from the CMs at POTC (we went on that ride several more times ). It was watching my little boy BECOME a pirate for a day and seeing the delight in his face over and over and over. It was awesome. I can't wait for him to get to do it again. The next time we go, my DD will be at least 3 so I can't wait for her to get to do BBB for the same reasons. IT WAS MAGICAL!

Josh had such a good time. Here are Hector's "after" photos to prove it!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Pirates League looks so much fun!! Seems like Josh had a great time

Definately might have to be something to look into for the little boys in a few years.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Pirates League looks so much fun!! Seems like Josh had a great time

Definately might have to be something to look into for the little boys in a few years.

It was awesome! I just hope we can get back before Josh has out grown it! Sorry for the lack of updates... we've had a rough couple of weeks with the stomach flu getting passed around our house. Uugh. Hopefully I'll be able to post again by tomorrow!

 

[dec2901]

I miss your posts.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

Oh dear. Well, I am quite aware that the last time I posted here was two years ago... I feel super guilty. I did exactly what I promised myself that I would NOT do and keep an unfinished TR! Anyway, I would really like to finish it up, especially now that I will be starting a PTR soon!! Woohoo!

I hope some of you will follow along and benefit from the rest of this TR. There's not much left!

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

After our trip, I made a Shutterfly photobook and boy is it coming in handy now! I have it next to me so I can remember what happened! lol!

Okay.... so I left off at the Pirate's League! This TR is like a time machine for me! Seeing my little man all dressed up like a pirate... so stinking cute! He's 8 now and will be 9 by the time we go again so I'm not so sure he'll want to do it again, darn it! We'll see but my bet is that he'll think he's "too old" (yah right) for the whole schtick. My baby's growing up!! Okay... sorry. Tangent. Blah.

After Pirate's League, we headed to Splash Mountain which I'm sure we had Fast Passes for!

IMG_2771 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

The plan was that Josh & I would ride first while Eric waited with Ev.

Josh was already getting hot in his pirate costume so he wanted to take it off before we rode. Then, Eric noticed his blood sugar was getting extremely low (he's type 1 diabetic) and needed to find something quick to get it back up! He was gone for quite a while so of course with my worst-case-scenario brain hard at work, I start panicking imagining him passed out on the sidewalk somewhere. I was calling his cell over and over like a crazy person with no answer. He returned shortly, with a Coke. I guess there were no nearby stands so he had to walk... duh. I may need professional help.


IMG_2770 by laurenkp80, on Flickr
The last picture of surly Hector Wavewrecker!

With that out of the way, Josh & I hopped in the FastPass line and were riding in no time!

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A few of our favorite scenes!

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This is Josh RIGHT as we started to go down the BIG DROP!! LOL!


IMG_2779 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

I know its really fuzzy but I love his tongue hanging out int this pic! And here's us about to get splashed!


Photo0296FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr

Next it was Eric's turn to ride with Josh so we did the "swap" again! The nice thing about Splash Mountain is that there's this awesome little play area under the bridge as you exit the ride so DD didn't feel like she was missing out! She LOVED playing there and, actually, it was hard to pull her away... even when Woody & Jessie showed up!


Photo0335FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr

There's the boys being hams again!

From Splash Mountain, we hit up some Photopass then went to lunch at Cosmic Rays.


Photo0316FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr


Photo0332FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr


Photo0323FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr
Not the best family photos in the world but at least we HAVE some! Its pretty close to impossible to get a picture with each of us actually looking at the camera so this is the best we can do! lol!

So as you've probably guessed, Cosmic Rays at 12:30ish is an absolute MAD HOUSE! I really don't know what I was thinking... perhaps I was thinking that because the place is so large there would be at least ONE table inside with air conditioning where we could enjoy our meal! No such luck. Every. Single. Guest. At WDW that afternoon had the same idea. People were waiting in a 45 minute line just to sit in the room with Sonny! No thank you! Uh-uh! After wandering around for a pretty long time, we found a pretty good spot out on the patio. No air conditioning but at least it was shaded!! We all got food from the Burger Bay. It isn't what I wanted but I had no desire to stand in separate lines either. 20-20 hindsight, I should have went with the Veggie Sandwich or a salad. The fast food was catching up with me at that point in the trip and I didn't feel well for the rest of the day.


IMG_2781 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

Can't beat the view though!


IMG_2780 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

continued in the next post....

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

After our lunch at Cosmic Rays, I'm pretty sure that's when we went BACK to Frontierland to meet Jessie & Woody. My memories are a bit fuzzy but I know that I was standing in line with the kiddos alone. I'm not sure where Eric went. To get FastPasses maybe? Anyhow, he promised to be back so he could take pictures while I helped the kids with their autograph books. I specifically remember this because I ended up having a sort of funny chat with the Photopass CM while we were waiting in line!

The line didn't seem super long but it was HOT so Jessie & Woody ended up having to take lots and lots of breaks to "check on Bullseye" so the Photopass CM chatted with us in line when she wasn't taking pictures. A woman coming out of Splash Mountain noticed the line and asked the Photopass CM what it was for. She cheerfully told the woman it was the line to meet Jessie & Woody! Well, this poor woman obviously didn't do her Disney research because she goes:

*heavy sigh* "Geeze! I pay an arm and a leg to come to Disney and once I'm here everything COSTS! I don't have that kind of money you know!! I hope my kids don't see them because I just can't afford it."

The CM caught my eye and we both kind of looked at each other like And she said "I wonder where she got the idea that meeting Jessie & Woody costs money?" My guess was because of the Photopass thing, which lead to a conversation with the CM about Photopass, the College Program, how she brought her little sister to Disney, and Disney in general. She was a fun CM! There was a brief point in the conversation where she was talking about how annoyed people get when there ISNT a Photopass person available or when the equipment breaks down, or they can't take photos because of weather... or whatever. I was all "I KNOW! People should totally be prepared with their own camera! I ALWAYS bring my own camera; you never know what can happen."

Haha... joke's on me... When it was finally our turn to meet Jessie & Woody, our friendly Photopass CM had gone back stage for a break or to get something fixed - I'll never know why the fates aligned so - Eric still hadn't shown up yet, and I realized I WASN'T PREPARED!! I DIDN'T HAVE MY CAMERA! Soooooo I had to eat my words. No pictures with Jessie & Woody!! Too bad too because they were so fantastic!! Woody got super excited over the kids' home made autograph books, Jessie was playing peek-a-boo with Ev. It was a really great interaction. Eric, thankfully, showed up at the tail end of it and took some video with his phone but I'm more of a picture gall so I was bummed that we didn't get any with them.

Next we headed to Tomorrowland to meet with Woody's best friend, Buzz!

Oh look! THERE's Jessie & Woody!

Photo0303FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr

Don't you guys just love Buzz? He's such a cool character!


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Both times we've met Buzz, we've had great interaction with him. He's always so high-energy and fun with the kids! He doesn't sign autographs either, he uses a stamp so I think he has a little more time to play with guests since he's not fumbling around with autograph books. He's a BIG character but somehow he never feels intimidating. Both of my kiddos loved him!

After meeting him in person, it was time to help him defeat Zurg! Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is a favorite of ours. Since Ev loved "The Woody Ride" (TSMM) so much, I know she would love this one as well. I was really excited to ride with her! But.... It was not meant to be. The ride broke down right after we loaded! We were in that first room where you are supposed to go in to hyper-drive or something and it feels like you're spinning ... I swear we sat there for, like, 25 minutes. I'm not sure if it was really that long but I don't do well with anything that makes me dizzy so it felt like FOREVER! I had to just sit there with my eyes closed while we waited for it to start up again and Ev fell asleep in my arms! This was the second time she slept through this ride!!


Photo0298FourBySix by laurenkp80, on Flickr

See?? You can kind of see her ear next to the blaster! lol!


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This one cracks me up!! I love Josh's serious face with that hilarious face paint!!

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Tomorrowland riding Space Mountain and The People Mover. Oh wow! So many trips around the People Mover!! That was kind of our Magic Kingdom version of Living with the Land in that it was a great way to entertain Evelyn while we did the Swap thing on Space Mountain. I actually really enjoy The People Mover and I got some pretty neat pictures of Tomorrowland from up there so its not like it was a hardship or anything!

First we did the People Mover as a family to kill some time before our Space Mountain Fastpasses were good.


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Since we had Photopass+ we got all our ride photos but I think Eric forgot to get the card scanned, even though I asked him if he'd done it and he said he did. When we got our CD in the mail, it wasn't on there and when I emailed Photopass about it, they couldn't find it! Oh well. I have my picture of me & Josh!


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Josh was SOOOOO excited to ride Space Mountain! When we went in 2011 he wanted to go really, really badly but was an inch or two short. His bright idea was to wear his Mickey Ears to give him a bit more height We told him there's no way that would work but he wanted to check anyway. Well, of course the sweet CM at the entrance tried to let him down easy but he cried "but the ears touch!!!" Poor guy! So anyhow, he was really looking forward to riding this one.

We wandered around Tomorrowland a bit more. Chip & Dale had a dance party - or maybe it was Stitch's party.... I dunno! Whoever's party it was everyone was dancing with characters dressed in Tomorrowland-ish gear. It was pretty cute!


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We also did the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, which I think was Eric's first time! I saw it with Josh and my mom is 2011 and thought it was hysterical so I wanted Eric to see it for sure. I love that show! Ev got chosen as Boo. So funny!


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I don't have many pictures from the rest of the day and I honestly don't remember what we did after that except:


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Dole Whip float!!!!! YUMMMMM! The kiddos and I stopped at Aloha Isle while Eric went in search of a different sort of treat. He came back with an ice-cream bar but when he saw what we got, he says "OHHHH man! That's not what I thought it was!" I think he was disappointed with his choice.

Josh got a Pineapple/Vanilla swirl - I swear he loved it! Haha!

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Ev got the Orange/Vanilla swirl - it was deeellicious!


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And here's Eric sulking that our ice-cream totally kicked his ice-cream's butt.


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I do remember that this was the only day we didn't go back to CBR for a nap and I totally felt it. I really think a mid-day rest is totally necessary especially in the heat of July!

We ate dinner at Eric's favorite counter service that night: Pecos Bills! He likes their BBQ style burger that has onion rings on top. If we ever go to a restaurant, ANYWHERE, where they have a BBQ style burger with onion rings on top... sign him up! He will order it 100% of the time. In fact we kind of have a joke that I can order for him at any restaurant we go to because he has such a short list of dishes he orders. He's not picky, he just knows what he likes! I ordered the Taco Salad. Do not be fooled by the word "salad"! I knew what I was getting into because I had ordered it before but I remember my mom ordering it in 2011 thinking "oh, nice, refreshing salad!" This thing is HUGE with a ton of ground beef - then you load it up with all these yummy toppings from the topping bar. Cheese sauce, grilled onions & mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, salsa.... Its amazeballs. It comes in this deep-fried crispy shell. Oh its sooooo good!!! I was already not feeling the greatest but I wanted it so bad! There was no way I could finish it and I probably regretted the decision later but it was worth it.

We watched the Main Street Electrical Parade from Pecos Bills. Not really the best viewing spot but since we were famished we made due. Later, we found a spot to watch Wishes. It was a terrible spot, right behind a tree so we missed most of the castle projection show - I can't remember what it was called at that point. The Magic, Memories & You had just ended and this was the new version. What we could see was insanely cool but we kept being pushed into the no-no zone by the crowd then we'd get scolded by the CM trying to keep the pathway clear. It was pretty frustrating. Not because we were being scolded - the CMs were just doing their job trying to keep things safe - but because we kept getting pushed out of our spot. I think this might have been one of the few times we truly felt the weight of July crowds. Wishes, however was spectacular as always! I can never get tired of watching Disney fireworks!!

Leaving the Magic Kingdom that night, the line for the All Star busses was, like two miles long! I was so thankful to be staying at CBR this time around! We were soon back and snoozing. Another great day down!

Our plan for the following day was to sleep in and go to the pool before "Princess stalking" in Epcot.

 

[JoshAndEvsMom]

By the 5th day of vacation, we were exhausted! We had promised Josh pool time so we made the decision to just let everyone sleep as long as they wanted then get up and check out the amazing pirate-themed main pool. I also wanted to do laundry so I wouldn't have to do it once we got home. Our room was very conveniently located, right next to the laundry room so I got up early and hauled our laundry bag over there to throw in a load. Everyone was still kicking around the room, watching Disney Jr when I got back. We were in no rush! I switched the wash over to the dryer while Eric & the kids got ready to go to the pool. I told them to go ahead and I would wait for the dryer. Well, when I went back to check on our clothes, the dryer was done but our clothes were still sopping wet! Not just damp but WET! So I plugged in more quarters to run it again. I think it takes an hour so I just got ready and went to the pool to meet up with the family.

The walk over was so gorgeous! That's when I started regretting not scheduling more down time to enjoy our beautiful resort!


IMG_2810 by laurenkp80, on Flickr


IMG_2812 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

I thought this little guy was cute!


IMG_2811 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

Doesn't this look like the perfect way to waste time??


IMG_2813 by laurenkp80, on Flickr


IMG_2814 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

I found Eric and the kiddos at the Splash Pool. They had taken our mugs and filled them up at Old Port Royal so that was nice. This was a very fun area for both kids but as soon as I arrived, Josh was itching to try out the BIG pool, so he & Eric went over there while Ev & I played a little while longer at the Splash pool.


IMG_2819 by laurenkp80, on Flickr


IMG_2817 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

Ev doing some relaxing


IMG_2823 by laurenkp80, on Flickr

By that time is was mid-morning and we were ready to head back to get ready for our afternoon in Epcot. We went back to our room, showered, got changed, then I popped over to the laundry room to see if our stuff was dry. It was NOT!!! At least it was no longer wet, but it was definitely still damp. Since we were leaving the next day, we had to have our luggage to the front desk by 6:00 am so that meant I'd have to pack the wet stuff in our luggage. Grrrrr. I kind of spread everything out on the beds and other furniture to hopefully get it drier before I had to pack it.... Well, you know Florida humidity so drier, it did not get.

Time to catch the bus to Epcot!