You Best Start Believing in Ghost Stories...Halloween on the Dream | The End P40 8/15

[amandaw]

Sounds like a wonderful time in EPCOT! I'm really excited to experience F&W festival for the first time this year.

Was that ice cream in between those cookies? That thing is huge! And it looks delicious!

 

[KatMark]

What a fun day at Epcot, Barry.

I must say my favorite picture this time is your eating the ice cream...you look so...oh, never mind.

The kids are as cute as ever in their pictures.

I just how love how Madison is walking with Mulan as if it is an everyday occurence.

And I love the "follow the leader."

 

[Poolrat]

I prefer to think of it as the Food and Drink instead of wine.

Those wrist card are dangerous. Yup $40.00 does not go too far.

I hope they can make those RFID so you can tap and not have to take it off. Even though I did not have to dig for it , I still had to take it off to slide and had trouble after a couple of drinks managing that.

 

[dvc4life]

Love that last picture of SE. So pretty!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

And as if we didn't get enough food at the all-you-can-eat buffets, anything-and-everything restaurants and late night pizza and ice cream on the ship,

So would the collective noun for a group of cruise ships be: “a gluttony”?

we arrived in the middle of ....

Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival!

I’ve never had the opportunity to be there during this time frame.
Is it worth it?

Barely inside the front gate, Madison immediately spotted characters.

She does seem to have naturally built in radar for Characters.
Kind’a like having “Dis-dar”

Despite Daisy and Stitch clearly not being princesses, Evan wasn't in a characters type of mood.

SOP for boys.
We have very few pictures of our youn’en with any characters.

First stop: Club Cool. Nothing like a nice cold Beverly

Oh no you didn’t…
How many this time?
Do we have a new record?

My theory is that Cocoa Cola got a good deal on bulk used battery acid and decided to pull a practical joke on Italy.

I like it… let’s go with that one.

That's not her. But it looks like that crash test dummy is sitting this one out too. I wonder what kind of maternity leave they get?

Extra joy rides on the track I suspect

Crazy fool driver. Where'd you learn to drive, Dukes of Hazard?

More like Fast and Furious

Warp speed Mr. Sulu!


Well, probably not exactly warp speed. If we assume warp speed to be the speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second) and we're traveling at 28.92 meters per second, then we're actually going about 9.6 x 10 ^ -8 of warp.

We need more power Mister Scott!

Cripes, my van does faster than that.

And there is evidence to back that one up.

Oh, but first the kids needed to try my patience.

That is their assigned job, and they’re naturally suited for the task.

They saw that creature dreamed up by the Disney Marketing folks who's sole purpose is to separate people from their money. Yes, I'm talking about that walking waste of fur, Duffy.

More like Barffy…

That’ll ruin you apatite.

I didn't take pictures of everything we ate (I only have a 4 GB memory card, after all).

And you were busy stuffing your pie hole at the time as well.

We did try the Kim Possible missions again. We tried this a few trips ago, and the kids lost interest.


We got our Kimmunicator, started the Norway mission and the kids...lost interest.

Yes, a fire breathing dragon tatoo and a viking hemet. Want to know how many people made fun on him? No one. He was clearly the most bad @$$ kid in the park that day.

The only thing that would have improved that picture
is if y’all had switched hats.

Off to China, Madison wanted to meet Mulan. Well, "meet" is probably not the right word. She's met her several times. So let's say she wanted to drop in on Mulan and catch up on old times.

Lucky girl

Well, Madison was the last person in line, so Mulan took her had and walked through the China pavilion with her. Just chatting about this, that, and the other thing.

Finally, she told Madison that she had to be going, posed for a picture, and was off. Yup, this is how things go for Madison.

She does seem to poses vast reserves of pixy dust

We continued clockwise around the World Showcase, stopping to eat whatever stuck our fancy, and stoping to strick some fancy drums. (Pretty nice world play there, huh? Yeah, sometimes I surprise myself.)

Easily bemused are you?

And so after watching the sun come up over the Atlantic that morning, we watched it cast it's evening glow on Spaceship earth. We were all pretty tired by this point, so we made it an early night, catching the bus back to Saratoga Springs.

One very fine day from the looks of things…
Nicely done sir!

 

[afwdwfan]

(And since both Bambi and I think that wine is just grape juice gone bad, I'll refer to this event from here on out as the Epcot International Food Festival)

I'd rather drink Beverly than most wines.

First stop: Club Cool. Nothing like a nice cold Beverly to...um...make you appreciate what we have here in the States.

And apparently you agree with my above statement.

Test Track. Bambi, being pregnant, had to sit this one out.

Poor Bambi...

Well, see ya later! Let's go kids!

Crazy fool driver. Where'd you learn to drive, Dukes of Hazard?

No, she learned from her crazy fool dad.

Well, probably not exactly warp speed. If we assume warp speed to be the speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second) and we're traveling at 28.92 meters per second, then we're actually going about 9.6 x 10 ^ -8 of warp.

I read your TR's for stuff I don't have to think about... not for math.

Cripes, my van does faster than that. This is getting depressing. Let's move on.

I've always thought that about Test Track. It's a fun ride, and you get to the part where it shows the speed, but the whole time I'm thinking about how I had the cruise set at __ mph faster than that the whole way here!

And unlike you, no, I will not post how fast I actually drive. When it comes to incriminating evidence always deny, deny, deny.

Following the leader, the leader, the leader. We're following the leader, where ever she may go.

Cool picture.

Who here knew that Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries in the nation?

Umm... nobody.

Oh, but first the kids needed to try my patience. They saw that creature dreamed up by the Disney Marketing folks who's sole purpose is to separate people from their money. Yes, I'm talking about that walking waste of fur, Duffy.

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

But I'm pretty sure Bambi and I each had one of the fancy little gift cards with a wrist strap, each with about $40 on them. I know mine was gone by the time we got to Italy. Bambi's wasted away to nothing soon after.

So how much did the credit card end up covering?

Well, Evan did anyway as soon as we got to Maelstrom and found that it was only a 20 minute wait. He abandoned the mission and begged me to take him.

I can't say that I'd blame him.

After plundering and pillaging the gift shop for a while

Well that's where your $40 went.

Dollar for Dollar, these kids really nailed it.

Finally, she told Madison that she had to be going, posed for a picture, and was off. Yup, this is how things go for Madison.

She always seems to have really good interactions with them. She really is a little princess in her own way.

The guy at the food stand looks like he's been enjoying more wine than food.

And there is evidence to back that one up.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival! (And since both Bambi and I think that wine is just grape juice gone bad, I'll refer to this event from here on out as the Epcot International Food Festival)

Sounds like a plan to me.

Barely inside the front gate, Madison immediately spotted characters.

And besides her father, she also found Daisy and Stitch!

First stop: Club Cool. Nothing like a nice cold Beverly to...um...make you appreciate what we have here in the States. The theory behind that nasty crap is that it cleanses your palette between courses. My theory is that Cocoa Cola got a good deal on bulk used battery acid and decided to pull a practical joke on Italy.

Now that's the best theory I've heard yet.

Barry's Pie Hole: Stuffed.

But that's not pie. Mind. Blown.

Well, probably not exactly warp speed. If we assume warp speed to be the speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second) and we're traveling at 28.92 meters per second, then we're actually going about 9.6 x 10 ^ -8 of warp.

But assuming the ride takes 3 minutes and you're in the park for 12 hours and your ticket cost you $90, the ride only cost you $0.38-worth of your time.

And that fact plus a dollar still won't buy you a Coke in the parks.

Cripes, my van does faster than that. This is getting depressing. Let's move on.

With you or Bambi driving?

This year's sponsor was Ocean Spray cranberries. Who here knew that Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries in the nation?

I've always thought that cranberries were just grapes gone bad.

Oh, but first the kids needed to try my patience. They saw that creature dreamed up by the Disney Marketing folks who's sole purpose is to separate people from their money. Yes, I'm talking about that walking waste of fur, Duffy.

*shudder* To be fair, they had a shortage of cute animal creatures in the parks.

We did try the Kim Possible missions again. We tried this a few trips ago, and the kids lost interest.

We got our Kimmunicator, started the Norway mission and the kids...lost interest. Well, Evan did anyway as soon as we got to Maelstrom and found that it was only a 20 minute wait. He abandoned the mission and begged me to take him.

Maelstrom over spy missions? Sigh.

Oh well. Sounds like it's just not their cup of tea.

Yes, a fire breathing dragon tatoo and a viking hemet. Want to know how many people made fun on him? No one. He was clearly the most bad @$$ kid in the park that day.

Plus he would have bodychecked you into the lagoon if you tried.

Well, Madison was the last person in line, so Mulan took her had and walked through the China pavilion with her. Just chatting about this, that, and the other thing.

Now that's cute!

Remember that picture of the cranberry bog from earlier in the TR? The one I told you to remember? Go ahead, scroll back up and take a look at it because you forgot. I'll wait.

Well, the Imagineers, doing what only Imagineers do, put a little one in Germany by the railroad. But they forgot the Ocean Spray logo. Someone in the marketing department is gonna be ticked.

Those aren't cranberries!

 

[Grooovertoo]

Drat! I don’t read your TR for 4 months and you go and get on the boat, get off the boat, go to Vero, hang out at Epcot and here I am, getting on the Dream before you and you’re about to wrap up this report. (My TR still has me on the boat….forever…..)

Anyway, great TR!!! I really miss the Dream, I’m glad you took care of my boat after I was on it and you didn’t scuff the sides up. The story of your son shedding a tear for the Dream is priceless. I must say, I was overcome with some sort of allergy just reading that. I even got some sort of allergy the day I had to get off the but too, it must've been something in the Dream air. Okay, better now. I’m glad you had a good time and you liked it so much you are doing it again.

Off to China, Madison wanted to meet Mulan. Well, "meet" is probably not the right word. She's met her several times. So let's say she wanted to drop in on Mulan and catch up on old times. Well, Madison was the last person in line, so Mulan took her had and walked through the China pavilion with her. Just chatting about this, that, and the other thing.

Finally, she told Madison that she had to be going, posed for a picture, and was off. Yup, this is how things go for Madison.

That is why we go to Disney, right there, that is what it is all about.
That is just too cool, that will be with her forever.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Sounds like a wonderful time in EPCOT! I'm really excited to experience F&W festival for the first time this year.

It's a great time. Clear room on your credit card and wear loose pants.

Was that ice cream in between those cookies?

Yes it was!

That thing is huge!

Yes it was!

And it looks delicious!

Yes it was!

What a fun day at Epcot, Barry.

I must say my favorite picture this time is your eating the ice cream...you look so...oh, never mind.

Happy? Yeah. I was.

The kids are as cute as ever in their pictures.

I just how love how Madison is walking with Mulan as if it is an everyday occurence.

Sometimes, with Madison, I have to wonder if it is.

And I love the "follow the leader."

We follow a less beaten path.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

I prefer to think of it as the Food and Drink instead of wine.

Those wrist card are dangerous. Yup $40.00 does not go too far.

I hope they can make those RFID so you can tap and not have to take it off. Even though I did not have to dig for it , I still had to take it off to slide and had trouble after a couple of drinks managing that.

Tap. Drink. Tap. Drink. Tap. Drink. Fall down. Get up. Tap. Drink.

I think that could work!

Love that last picture of SE. So pretty!

Thanks!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

So would the collective noun for a group of cruise ships be: “a gluttony”?

Well, since crows already took "murder", let's go with that. How about a group of hammocks? A "Sloth", perhaps?

I’ve never had the opportunity to be there during this time frame.
Is it worth it?

Only if you like to try all kinds of different foods from magical and exotic faraway places. In another year or so you won't be as bound to the school calendar. Start planning the trip now.

She does seem to have naturally built in radar for Characters.
Kind’a like having “Dis-dar”

Excellent!

SOP for boys.
We have very few pictures of our youn’en with any characters.

Even goes through moods with them. Sometimes he wants pictures, sometimes he don't. And why force a kid into a picture that he don't want to be in?

Oh no you didn’t…
How many this time?
Do we have a new record?

Just one this time. I'm saving up to break the record in January.

Extra joy rides on the track I suspect

I can think of worse things to endure.

More like Fast and Furious

We need more power Mister Scott!

I'm givin' her all she's got Cap'n!

And there is evidence to back that one up.

That is their assigned job, and they’re naturally suited for the task.

Yes, but I take a vacation from my job to come to Disney World. Why can't they?

And you were busy stuffing your pie hole at the time as well.

True. No time to push the shutter button when I've got German sausage on a pretzel roll in my hand.

The only thing that would have improved that picture
is if y’all had switched hats.

He had that one on first, but it kind of covered half his face. So we found a more suitable headpiece.

She does seem to poses vast reserves of pixy dust

She's hiding a bag of it somewhere, I know it!

Easily bemused are you?

You're not just figuring that out now, are you?

One very fine day from the looks of things…
Nicely done sir!

Thank you Rob!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

I'd rather drink Beverly than most wines.

Let's try to bottle it, slap on a fancy label and sell it to wine snobs. Tell them it's a $2500 bottle that has hints of dead fish and a sulfury finish.

And apparently you agree with my above statement.

Poor Bambi...

Well, see ya later! Let's go kids!

That sounds just a bit insensitive. I'm sure I contained my excitement until after we got around the corner.

No, she learned from her crazy fool dad.

Where do you think I learned?

I read your TR's for stuff I don't have to think about... not for math.

The math was probably wrong anyway. But Rob already read it and didn't correct me, so I might be right.

I've always thought that about Test Track. It's a fun ride, and you get to the part where it shows the speed, but the whole time I'm thinking about how I had the cruise set at __ mph faster than that the whole way here!

And unlike you, no, I will not post how fast I actually drive. When it comes to incriminating evidence always deny, deny, deny.

And as our buddy Fed says: make counter accusations! I wasn't speeding! You had to have been speeding to catch up to me!

Cool picture.

Thanks!

Umm... nobody.

Geez, I know it's not corn, but it's something.

So how much did the credit card end up covering?

I let Bambi get that bill. I didn't want to see it.

Well that's where your $40 went.

Plunderings not a fun when you have to pay for it at the end.

She always seems to have really good interactions with them. She really is a little princess in her own way.

She's going to work there some day. I can feel it.

The guy at the food stand looks like he's been enjoying more wine than food.

Ha! Never noticed that before! Must be at the "Indiana" booth knocking back that distilled corn concoction that grampy used to make.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

And besides her father, she also found Daisy and Stitch!

Yeah, they were right over by...hey!

Now that's the best theory I've heard yet.

Too little too late for the prizes, though, huh?

But that's not pie. Mind. Blown.

It's round. Pie is round. Thus, it fits nicely in the pie hole.

But assuming the ride takes 3 minutes and you're in the park for 12 hours and your ticket cost you $90, the ride only cost you $0.38-worth of your time.

Well, when you put it like that....how much money do I spend waiting outside of the bathrooms for the kids to finish?

And that fact plus a dollar still won't buy you a Coke in the parks.

They won't even let you look at the can on the golf course for that.

With you or Bambi driving?

Either. Both. Maybe autopilot.

I've always thought that cranberries were just grapes gone bad.

Those are raisins. Or apricots.

*shudder* To be fair, they had a shortage of cute animal creatures in the parks.

Meh. They still do.

Maelstrom over spy missions? Sigh.

Oh well. Sounds like it's just not their cup of tea.

We'll give the new Agent P missions a try. Hopefully if they actually know the characters it will hold their attention.

Plus he would have bodychecked you into the lagoon if you tried.

I guess that will work if there are no buses available.

Those aren't cranberries!

Drat! I don’t read your TR for 4 months and you go and get on the boat, get off the boat, go to Vero, hang out at Epcot and here I am, getting on the Dream before you and you’re about to wrap up this report. (My TR still has me on the boat….forever…..)

I'm leaving in 4 days. I've got to hurry.

Anyway, great TR!!! I really miss the Dream, I’m glad you took care of my boat after I was on it and you didn’t scuff the sides up. The story of your son shedding a tear for the Dream is priceless. I must say, I was overcome with some sort of allergy just reading that. I even got some sort of allergy the day I had to get off the but too, it must've been something in the Dream air. Okay, better now. I’m glad you had a good time and you liked it so much you are doing it again.

We loved it! They just need to fix that ventilation problem...

That is why we go to Disney, right there, that is what it is all about.
That is just too cool, that will be with her forever.

Yes, yes it will.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I read your TR's for stuff I don't have to think about... not for math.

No… that’s why one would foolishly read one of my TRs

The math was probably wrong anyway. But Rob already read it and didn't correct me, so I might be right.

I deserved that…



If you can’t dazzle ‘em with brilliance…
Baffle ‘em with bull.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

I deserved that…

There are much worse things you could be known for.

 

[Grooovertoo]

I'm leaving in 4 days. I've got to hurry.

Sheeeez, what are you doing here then man! I would've already checked out. Have fun....of course you will.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Sheeeez, what are you doing here then man! I would've already checked out. Have fun....of course you will.

I've pretty much checked out of work, but only have a few updates left to finish this TR and I want to get it done before I leave, get back, and have to start another!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Alas, the final day of the trip had come upon us. It was with much sadness that we packed everything up one final time and stowed it all neatly in the Explorer. We all piled in and drove...about 1/4 mile. No, no coolant lines blew out or super turbo chargers melted down from extreme heat. We've stayed at Saratoga Springs in the past, and along the main driveway is a nice pond, and beyond that, a gazebo with a horse from a classic carousel. It always looked like such a nice photo op, but we never remembered to stop before (stopping to smell the roses and all that.) Well, this time, since we were staying just a few buildings down from that gazebo, we decided to stop over there and get some nice pictures of the kids on that horse.

Or so we thought. As we approached the gazebo, we saw that it wasn't actually a carved horse, but a flat, 2D representation of one. With clear plastic guards around it to keep kids from climbing on it to boot! I guess I can see Disney's side here - it would be quite a liability for kids to be climbing all over a carousel horse and they could get hurt. So we had our kids climb up on the gazebo posts to protest the fact that they couldn't climb on the horse.

Rebels without a clue, right there.

The area was very nicely landscaped (like, you know, all of Disney property), so Evan wanted to take a picture of us.

After enjoying the natural beauty for a bit, someone yelled "Race!" and we all took off for the car and ultimately, the Magic Kingdom.

Along the drive to the Magic Kingdom, I did what I do best - pester the kids from the cargo compartment. I looked out the window and exclaimed "I see some tracks!"

The kids started straining to see out and discover for themselves just what was so fascinating to me. Deer tracks? Alligator tracks? Muskrat tracks?

"Where do you see them, dad?"

"I don't see them!"

Oops, my bad. Those were monorail tracks. They look a lot like bear tracks, you know.

I was still laughing as we passed the parking attendant and pulled into an open spot. A short ferry ride later, we were at the gates to the Magic Kingdom, entering for the last time until...well just under a week from right now. But since the action in this TR is happening in early November, that seemed like an eternity away.

We were immediately greeted by an antique firetruck, just waiting to drive people up the the hub. We'd ridden the double decker bus, and the horse-drawn trolley, but never the firetruck. So we hopped right on!

And not only that, but we sat in back and got to ring the bell. Whenever. We. Wanted.

You may have noticed in the background of those pictures that all of the pumpkins and Halloween decorations had been taken down. The Disney calendar switches from Orange and Black to Red and Green as soon as the last guest leaves on October 31. So while we were on the cruise, the WDW team was hard at work making ghosts and spiderwebs into snowmen and garland.

The ride was a fairly quick one and before we knew it, we were at the castle. Then we looked around and asked "are we alone here, or is it just us?"
No time like the present to get that ever elusive "I'm all alone in the Magic Kingdom and This is the Best Day EVER!" picture:

The problem with taking the fire truck up to the castle was that we had planned a stop at the Main Street Bakery for some breakfast. Oh, no - now we have to stroll back down a joyously decorated Main Street, USA and listen to yuletide classics gently playing as background music. (Did the disdain come across that last sentence? It really wasn't meant to.)

We emerged from the bakery with our gobs of baked sugar to hear not prerecorded holiday classics, but live music echoing up and down the street. A high school marching band from Timbuktoo, Iowa was performing.

Were they really from Timbuktoo, Iowa? You can't prove that they weren't.


Well, I've reached a good breaking point in our little mini-day at Magic Kingdom. Time for a quick break while I write up the second half, including the sad part - leaving.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

I left off with Bambi, her mom and I leaving the bakery. We met grandpa and the kids up by Dumbo and snagged a seat at one of the tables that were set up there. I bypassed the cinnamon roll (just kidding - I ate some of Bambi's) and got the ham egg and cheese croissant. Holy cow was that good! And I checked - the Boardwalk Bakery (where we're staying next week) serves these as well. Good - one for the bus on the way to Magic Kingdom, and another when I arrive!

We chowed down our breakfast in order to get as much ride time as possible. And as long as we were right there, a ride on Dumbo seemed appropriate.

And since the kids were now big, tough and brave, one more last ride on Snow White's Scary Adventure.

Speaking of big, tough and brave, the Haunted Mansion was on our way west, as was a detour through the interactive queue. The kids loved playing the instruments on crypts.

Sorry, no pictures from the inside. When a disembodied spirit tells me "no flash pictures", I listen.

Hmmmmm....maybe a little woodworking project next time the kids start driving me crazy...

Unfortunately, our time in the Magic Kingdom is running short. We've got to hit the last few highlights before being dragged kicking and screaming to the airport. The kids sure are strong - I kick pretty hard when I don't want to leave.

Highlight number 1:

Always a safe bet - it loads fast and the wait is rarely longer than 20 minutes. Bonus: it's an awesome ride. The kids get a kick out of the pig wallowing in the mud.

Highlight number 2:

Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road! Again, Bambi had to sit this one out. But don't worry, the current plan is to be in the Magic Kingdom next Monday. I'll be chilling with Ryder under a nice shady tree by Tom Sawyer's Island while Bambi and the daredevils experience the all-new BTMRR. You read it here first!

Highlight Number 3:

"That may look like water coming out of the elephant's trunk, but I can assure you it'snot."

Best. Line. Ever.​

Finally, we could wait no longer. The flight was non-refundable and I'm pretty sure AirTran would not take "But I was at the Magic Kingdom and I didn't want to come get on the plane" as a valid reason for missing the flight as I asked to be put on another.

One last picture of some festive looking blokes on Main Street and we spun the turnstiles in the wrong direction for the last time.

Monorail:

Not-a-Monorail:

Our flight home landed around 8pm, we trudged back to the van way out in remote parking and made it home to 2 very excited dogs. But the trip hasn't ended quite yet. The kids still had to add two new pins to their map: Nassau and Castaway Cay!

So with that, this Trip Report comes to a close. It was frantic there at the end because I needed to finish before Friday afternoon, because that's when we get back on a plane and head to Disney World for a whole new kind of trip. A Disney wedding. Ryder's first trip. Our first trip with an infant since Madison was 7 weeks old (Evan was 1 on his first trip). Legoland. And I've got a few Dismeets scheduled - Ron and Brian (and maybe Chris?) in Hollywood Studios as our children take over the Jedi Training Academy. Carl for a round on Disney's Magnolia Golf Course. And yes, I'll be doing a Trip Report! How can I not - it's Ryder's first trip!

I want to thank each and every one of you for reading along. So far, the report has gotten over 33,000 views, so I'm sure there are people reading that aren't posting. And that's OK, but I don't bite. Feel free to click that "Post Reply" button and say Hi.

I usually like to come up with something poingant and thoughful for the closing, but honestly, I'm still a bit rushed. Lots to do here are work and at home before we leave. So instead of good bye, I'll just say...See Ya Real Soon!

No, really - soon! I'll be back at the end of the month to start my next TR.

 

[scott2997]

Great Report Barry - as always. So nice to be able to carry on these memories long enough till you left for your next trip of more memories!