I Can't, I'm Not Wearing a Princess Dress! - New TR link!!!!

:woohoo: So much better that way!
::yes::

Yeah, I didn't even bother with most of it. I figured it'll be worth the way to see the full Star Wars experience when it's good and ready.
I don't remember if I commented on this in your TR, but you could have gone in through the gift shop and by passed the lines for the movie and character meets.

I actually did this later. I just walked in through the gift shop and went in through the exit. :rolleyes1

Oh come on, everybody needs an authentic storm trooper costume.
I can't think of an argument why not! :confused3

Although my bank account can. :headache:

Excellent analogy. And as the Simpsons say, "You don't win friends with salad!"
:thumbsup2

Sounds like somebody else found a solution for you later on.
:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

Nothing wrong with that.
Nope. It's kind of at the point where we've seen it enough times... how many pictures do we need of it anyway? We can go back and look at pictures from 5 years ago and see the same damn thing. Just relax and enjoy the show!

You know, I thought about guessing that and then decided, "Nah, no one would sink that low." Thanks, humanity, for destroying what faith I had left.
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And that is intended for humanity, not you Mark. Your comment just made me think of this scene.

It's more cute when she does it than when you do it.
That can be said for a lot of things.

Excellent!
::yes:: A very nice surprise!

Is that even a question?:confused3
For this group... yeah, not really.

I knew I'd get this wrong. I honestly have absolutely no idea what that is.
It is when people wear street clothes that are supposed to indicate they're trying to dress like a certain character without it being an actual costume. And in a lot of cases, it is really subtle. So subtle that I'm like, "I'll take your word for it."

Totally agree.
I think that seems to be the consensus of most.

Wow, that's fantastic!
::yes:: At least the crowd was finally clearing out some for the last half hour of EMH. :rolleyes1

You could do much worse. Like a salad.
Exactly!

Well, that's about 45 minutes, Canadian.
He'd have been demanding to speak with Bob Iger by that point.

Planned to do single-rider on Test Track and it's not open?

All together as a family, you mean? Nemo. You wouldn't be dumb enough to ride Figment, would you?

Indiana and/or corn farming.

@pkondz

Oh, wait, he wasn't there. Um...Mary Poppins?

Akershus, for a meal with the princesses.

Tacos de barbacoa (i.e. cow) from La Cantina de San Angel.

Kakigori shave ice.

Something in Akershus? Maybe the photo with Belle as you enter? Or eating bacon, the most royal of foods?
Got Em!

You never know where I'll show up.
Is that a threat?

Knew that's what you used it for.
Well, that an solitaire. :rolleyes1

My story.
Thirsty. I want to chug, but... well.
So fill the mug and... Hey! I know! Wander around the gift shop....


Wait....

Dang it! Those clever SOBs!
::yes:: ::yes:: ::yes::

Everything but the hair, huh?
Well, that and any musical ability.

Although the "musical ability" is questionable in some 80's hair bands too.

Ah. So... I'll go check it out if I happen to have the time and happen to be in there.
If/when I happen to actually go to Disney!
Just stop thinking about it and a trip will happen. That's how it works for you, right?

More of a coffee thing?
Well, since I prefer tea to coffee... I guess that works.

Now that, I like. I wonder if I brought them something you can't get in the States... Like a Caramilk bar or something.
Might be interesting to try! You never know. I was carrying an ink pen that had a stylus and an LED flashlight on it. It was actually a freebie we give out at work. I was going to see what I'd get for it if I got a chance. Sadly, I didn't.

I soooo remember that age with Kay.
OMG. Stubborn.
:headache:

I don't think I knew about him back then. But if I did, with the littles... there was no way.
Pretty much how I was looking at it too. I easily could have gone by myself with DD and DW in bed... but something like that just isn't as much fun by yourself.
 
I hope everything went well with the MRI. How much longer does DW have until her due date? Continuing to keep your family in my prayers!!

I'm glad your room was ready when you got to POR! But it does suck that they didn't text you. In all of the times we have stayed onsite recently, I haven't found that online check in has sped anything up. We still end up at the resort front desk. :confused3 And I do have to take issue with that welcome letter from Tiana. Clearly, if she's from New Orleans, it should say "Welcome, Y'all" instead of "Welcome, All"! Everyone knows people from NOLA say "y'all" and that the plural of y'all is "all of y'all" :rotfl:

Great pictures from inside the room. I love the idea of the royal rooms for little girls! Maybe one day DD and I will take a girls only trip and can check one out.

How great that a bonus night in MK earlier in the week led to a bonus night at DHS! I would say I can't believe the woman letting her kid pee next to the sound booth, but unfortunately, I'm not surprised in the least.

Although you only got a little taste of EMH, it is a great feeling to be on your own with no kids in MK for a bit! DH and I had an evening to venture out on our own in Februrary and even though we didn't do much, it was fantastic!!
 
I hope everything went well with the MRI. How much longer does DW have until her due date? Continuing to keep your family in my prayers!!
It was good. The surgeons and neo-natal docs still aren't giving us a lot to go on other than the fact that they feel like their is adequate lung volume to work with. They keep reminding us that there's a lot of variables that they just have no way of knowing yet.

But then we had an appointment with the OB on Monday. He basically told us his history of dealing with CDH going all the way back to being in Alabama in the 70's where he was kind of a specialist in CDH and would get calls from hundreds of miles away. He explained back then there was no early detection and the survival rate just wasn't what it is now. He then told us -off the record of course- that he fully expects us this child to give us more problems as a teenager than as an infant. I'll take it.

I'm glad your room was ready when you got to POR! But it does suck that they didn't text you. In all of the times we have stayed onsite recently, I haven't found that online check in has sped anything up. We still end up at the resort front desk. :confused3 And I do have to take issue with that welcome letter from Tiana. Clearly, if she's from New Orleans, it should say "Welcome, Y'all" instead of "Welcome, All"! Everyone knows people from NOLA say "y'all" and that the plural of y'all is "all of y'all" :rotfl:
You're right! It was a forgery! :sad2:

Great pictures from inside the room. I love the idea of the royal rooms for little girls! Maybe one day DD and I will take a girls only trip and can check one out.
I think the guys would be alright staying in one sometime too. It is definitely designed for the princesses of the family, but it isn't like some kind of completely girly, frilly room.

How great that a bonus night in MK earlier in the week led to a bonus night at DHS! I would say I can't believe the woman letting her kid pee next to the sound booth, but unfortunately, I'm not surprised in the least.
We enjoy seeing Fantasmic! so it was nice being able to work that in. When I saw the kid peeing on the sound booth, I couldn't believe it at first. But sadly, you're right, when you think about it... I just don't have high expectations for society anymore.

Although you only got a little taste of EMH, it is a great feeling to be on your own with no kids in MK for a bit! DH and I had an evening to venture out on our own in Februrary and even though we didn't do much, it was fantastic!!
Definitely! I really wish I could have made it there a little bit earlier and had some more time, but it was great just to get to ride a couple of favorites and be on a nearly empty Main Street at the end of the night!
 
It was good. The surgeons and neo-natal docs still aren't giving us a lot to go on other than the fact that they feel like their is adequate lung volume to work with. They keep reminding us that there's a lot of variables that they just have no way of knowing yet.

But then we had an appointment with the OB on Monday. He basically told us his history of dealing with CDH going all the way back to being in Alabama in the 70's where he was kind of a specialist in CDH and would get calls from hundreds of miles away. He explained back then there was no early detection and the survival rate just wasn't what it is now. He then told us -off the record of course- that he fully expects us this child to give us more problems as a teenager than as an infant. I'll take it.[/QUOTE]

That element of unknown variables, it's so true of any pregnancy if you think about it! At least now like the OB said there is a method of detection, so at least nowadays we have the benefit of being able to monitor things like CDH during the pregnancy so it's not a surprise at delivery. At least you know you will have a team of docs and nurses prepared to take care of him when he comes!

Who would have thought promises of a troublesome teenager would be such a blessing & a relief? :love:
 


Is that a threat?

Pretty much.

Well, that an solitaire. :rolleyes1

Well, of course!

Although the "musical ability" is questionable in some 80's hair bands too.

True.

Just stop thinking about it and a trip will happen. That's how it works for you, right?

::yes::

Might be interesting to try! You never know. I was carrying an ink pen that had a stylus and an LED flashlight on it. It was actually a freebie we give out at work. I was going to see what I'd get for it if I got a chance. Sadly, I didn't.

Shoot. Too bad.
 
It really didn't turn out to be a big deal, aside from not being able to pay with my band for that purchase. But it definitely was frustrating to be waiting for a text that was never going to come.

I don't know... This was my third stay with MB and the first problem I've had. And honestly, it wasn't a problem with the MBs. It just seemed like our online check in info was left out in limbo somewhere? When I logged into MDE, it was all there, but they somehow didn't have it in their system when we checked in.

After too many - non notifications I always check at the desk just in case. The last couple of trips I have gotten the "Hey you room isn't quite ready but we will let you know when it is" email or text. Then I don't go by. But if it seems like it is taking long and I have finished what I set out to do in case the room wasn't ready, then I swing by and ask.


He then told us -off the record of course- that he fully expects us this child to give us more problems as a teenager than as an infant. I'll take it.

I will take that as great news. :cool1:
 
Who would have thought promises of a troublesome teenager would be such a blessing & a relief? :love:
::yes::

After too many - non notifications I always check at the desk just in case. The last couple of trips I have gotten the "Hey you room isn't quite ready but we will let you know when it is" email or text. Then I don't go by. But if it seems like it is taking long and I have finished what I set out to do in case the room wasn't ready, then I swing by and ask.
That was kind of what our plan was when we left MK. We really planned to leave the park after we used our FP's after lunch, but ended up dragging our feet so we wouldn't get to the resort until 3. I just really did not want to leave the park and go to the desk only to find out our room really wasn't ready.

I will take that as great news. :cool1:
::yes::
 


Sorry Folks, Park’s Closed. Mouse out Front Should’ve Told You.



Before I get into the update, I just want to say that we have finally been able to start planting corn here. It has been a wet spring. Every time the ground would start to get dry, we’d have more rain. We’re typically done by now, but this year we really just got a good start yesterday. With the farm work and the baby just a few weeks away, this might be the last update I have a chance to do for a while. I might try to work on another before the baby gets here, but I have my doubts. I’ll be trying to keep up with everyone else as I can, but if my comments are shorter than usual, I’m sure you can understand why.



I awoke early Thursday morning. For 2 reasons, really. I wanted to get out and explore the resort a little bit and we wanted to head out in time for EMH.


I walked out the door and took some pictures around the resort as I went to fill our mugs and get some pastries for DW and me to eat with the cereal we had back in the room.


The view outside our door:


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The pool area:


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Random pictures along my walk:


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Looking at the entrance to Boatwrights and Riverside Mill:


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Looking back at the marina from Riverside Mill:


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When I got back to the room, DW and DD were up and getting ready to go. We were out the door in plenty of time and made it to EPCOT and parked in the second row. We could see some of the corrals and things still set up out in the parking lot from the race, which made me think of a few of you who had been there really early a few mornings prior.


We made it through security and the guard was trying to chat with DD. She was being shy, but he asked her if she was going to go look for Nemo and she got really excited.


We arrived at the turnstiles just as they were opening the park. We went in and having just spoken with the security guard, we were headed to the Seas to find Nemo.


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Now let me give you a little bit of background. Before I started going on trips with DW, I liked to get up early, hit EMH and go all day. But she doesn’t like getting up any earlier than we have to. Since our trips are typically about a week, we plan to be in the parks every day, but we’ve adopted the strategy of hitting rope drop but avoiding EMH parks. That way we can still take advantage of lower crowds in the morning, yet we still get to sleep an extra hour in the morning. Since this was a short trip, we decided an extra hour in EPCOT that morning could be a big help for us.


Now taking that information into account, I haven’t been in EPCOT for a morning EMH since sometime in the 90’s. I’ve done some evening EMHs there, but no mornings.


I assumed that it worked like every other park. When it opens for morning EMH, you can ride most of the rides they have. I didn’t even think to do any research about this.


That was a mistake.


We entered the park and as 99.9% of the crowd headed for Test Track, we turned right.


There was nobody there.


Well, no big surprise really with Soarin’ being closed.


We parked the stroller and approached the entrance to Nemo where a CM told us they wouldn’t be open until 9 am.


Well… ok


We headed back to the Land pavilion and thought we’d hop on Living with the Land. We entered the building and as we walked through the door a CM was standing there informing everyone that Circle of Life and Sunshine Seasons were the only things open inside the Land pavilion.


Seriously???


At this point we weren’t even going to try checking on Imagination.


We got the stroller and went back to Spaceship Earth. We enjoyed the ride and were glad to do it with virtually no wait during EMH. But we were pretty frustrated after walking halfway around Future World only to come back to the front of the park.

We thought about doing some PP pictures after our ride, but DD refused to cooperate. We also tried to stop for a restroom break, but again, DD refused to cooperate.


We’d come to learn that the only attractions open were Spaceship Earth, Circle of Life, Test Track and Mission Space. I was kicking myself. I’d pretty much decided that I was willing to forego TT on this trip since we weren’t going to have much time in EPCOT and DW and DD couldn’t ride. Now that we were standing EPCOT with nothing to do, I realized I should have just busted butt over there at RD, rode it and we still would have had plenty of time to do SSE before the park opened. DW actually suggested that I should go ride it, and I considered going to see if Single Rider was open during EMH but it was about halfway through EMH and I really didn’t want to be stuck there and have that cost us valuable time once everything finally opened. We stopped and got a bottle of water and went to wait at the Character Spot.


We were first in line.


We stood and chatted with a CM who was a really nice older guy. He was from New York and said he lives in Florida and works in Disney World in the winter, but he returns to New York in the summer where he manages the hay operation for a dairy farm. It was kind of neat to talk farming with him and talk about some of the similarities and differences between what he does and what I do. It really made the wait fly by.


Before we knew it there was a crowd gathered behind us and they were ready to open the doors and let us in to see the characters.


DD had asked to see Mickey, but when we got in she was feeling a little bit shy.


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We next met Goofy, and she was even more shy with him. He was very receptive about it and kind of gave her some space.



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But next up was Minnie and it was like a switch flipped. She got down and went right up to Minnie. Minnie twirled her and they danced and played and then posed for some pictures.


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Goofy, meanwhile had been watching DD and Minnie. He noticed that DD had come out of her shell so he came over to get in on the action and play and even convinced DD to come back for a quick do-over with him! DD really enjoyed it, but for some reason we don’t have any of the posed pictures of the 2 of them together, just this one on the way out. It was really awesome of Goofy to be aware of everything and try to make it fun, despite being snubbed. I’m sure it helped that we were the first family through there that morning and they weren’t slammed yet.


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After we finished in there, we noticed Baymax’s character meet was open. We’d never met him before and DD and DS had become big fans of his movie, so we decided to stop by to give him a fist bump and let him know we are satisfied with our care.


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Now that we’ve met some characters, we could now finally go look for Nemo. We walked through the 7 miles of queue and got right into a clamshell for our ride. We spent a little bit of time looking around the aquarium after the ride. Honestly, we didn’t take as much time as we’d have liked to. Having basically wasted an hour with EMH and having an ADR coming up meant that we really didn’t have a lot of time to waste, so we decided to skip Turtle Talk and move on to the Land.


I think most of you know that I have a farm background and studied crop science in school, so I’m basically a nerd for Living with the Land. I always enjoy riding and seeing some of the technology they use. It actually sometimes gives me ideas of things I want to try on a small scale for our garden at home, but that never seems to happen. You know, time, or lack thereof and all.


After our cruise, we headed back outside and over to see Figment. We tried a restroom break on the way, but DD was still being stubborn and wouldn’t go.


We headed in to see Figment and there was actually a line. I don’t think we waited more than 2 or 3 minutes, but they actually stopped us where the FP and standby lines merge.


Despite that, nobody came through the FP line while we were there, but I don’t think I’ve ever so much as stopped before I was on the loading platform for this ride.


As always, we enjoyed the ride. I know it sucks, especially the skunk part. But one of the memories I have from my first ever trip was meeting Dreamfinder and Figment, so this ride has always had a little bit of nostalgia to it for me.


That said, I’d fully support them gutting it and starting over as long as Figment doesn’t get evicted again.


We got off the ride and spent a few minutes running around the Imagination Works and making our own figment that ended up getting lost in some spam folder somewhere, apparently. But it was about time that we needed to start heading across the park.


We have never had a meal at Akershus, so we scheduled a late breakfast so that we could meet some princesses and try a new place. I didn’t write down what time our ADR was… I think it was 11. We were the last breakfast seating, whatever time that was. Either way, I did note that we checked in 10 minutes early and were seated 20 minutes late. It was getting kind of frustrating. We were standing there waiting, past our ADR time and people were walking up, checking in and being led right into the restaurant within minutes. I know we specifically booked a late seating, but standing there after your ADR time has come and gone and watching other parties check in and be led straight in didn’t sit well with me. We were literally the last people out of the corral and into the restaurant from the breakfast crowd.


I don’t know if this is because of the construction going on around Norway, or if this is how they always do it, but after we checked in they sent us to a roped off area just outside the restaurant entrance. It literally felt like a corral. We were standing around on concrete, with a rope around us with no shade and nowhere to sit down. We had to just stand there for half an hour. I’ve got to say none of us, especially the pregnant lady of the group, was very happy with the arrangement.


We finally got in and DD went for the obligatory picture with Belle.


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We were led to our table and drink orders were taken. The server told us that we could go to the buffet, but just as she was walking away, the princess parade started. Aurora came to our section to lead all the little princesses around the room. DD was happy to go along with her. All the little princesses were walking around and waving.


But DD wouldn’t wave.


DW told her to wave.


She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”


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As the parade made its way across the room, I slipped away to get some fruit and pastries for myself and DD. She’d actually filled up on goldfish during our wait so I felt pretty confident that she wasn’t going to eat much, but she did enjoy a little bit of fruit and cheese and actually sent me back to get a little bit more for her.


I had a few pastries and honestly, nothing sticks out to me. It was good, but I can’t rave about anything on the buffet.


It wasn’t long before our server brought our food out. We quickly dug in. The people at the table next to us asked if they could get Mickey waffles. Another nearby table also then asked for Mickey waffles. She came back to us and asked if we wanted some too.


Well, duh!!!


I mean, “Yes, please!”


I don’t know if this is normal or not? Maybe something that they just do on request and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time and she didn’t want us to feel left out? Either way, we appreciated it. Mickey waffles are always great!


I thought the breakfast food there was excellent. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times, but it is hard to screw up breakfast. The eggs and bacon were great and just what I expected. But the potato casserole was incredible!!! We had the server bring us another serving of it and we destroyed it.


Honestly, I can’t say that the food was worth the price of admission. It wasn’t. But it was a very good meal. We weren’t the least bit disappointed. And let’s face it, when you go to a character breakfast, you’re paying for the characters more than the food.


And that leads me to the princesses. There really weren’t any interactions of note. DD was being shy with all of them, but she did open up a little bit with Ariel. The Little Mermaid has really never been one of her favorite movies, but for some reason she’s been a big Ariel fan for the past year or so. She was glad to see her and she decided to let her know that she wanted to have an Ariel birthday party when she turned 4.



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We finished eating and rolled ourselves out the door. I was seriously stuffed.


I really enjoyed Akershus. I’m glad we tried it and we really enjoyed our breakfast. In the end, we were a little put off by the wait to get in and the fact that the waiting area, for lack of a better word, sucked. But we enjoyed the food and our server was excellent. And let’s face it, if there are 2 things a restaurant needs to get right they are the food and the service. The characters were fine, but for the price point being not much less than CRT, I think we’d tend to lean towards CRT for the ability to dine in the castle if we’re paying out of pocket. However, on the Dining Plan, this is a pretty good use of a single Table Service credit. It is hard to want to come back with so many great places we already love in EPCOT and new ones we still want to visit so I don’t think a return will be a priority for us. But if we need to see some princesses and it works out to be a good option for us, we’d go back.


After our breakfast/lunch, we walked back to Mexico so we could ride everyone’s favorite boat ride, It’s a Small Mexico!


We always enjoy this ride, and I loved seeing the audio-animatronic versions of the 3 Caballeros added at the end of the ride.


When we exited, I told DW I needed to make a quick stop by Cava del Tequila. I needed a snack in the form of my favorite drink there… a San Angel Inn Margarita.


I took my drink and went back out into the marketplace area to find DW and DD. I couldn’t find them anywhere. I called DW and she said they left and started walking towards Norway. Apparently DD didn’t want to leave things alone in the marketplace area and DW saw a price tag that scared her so they got out of Mexico before they caused an international incident.


I went to catch up with them and I was drinking my margarita as I walked. I emptied it and threw the cup away in Norway and I caught up with DD and DW just between Norway and China. DW just looked at me funny and asked why I didn’t get a margarita. I had to tell her that I did, but it didn’t last very long. :rolleyes1


We had made FP+ selections and planned to spend a few hours this afternoon in DHS so we were headed that direction. The afternoon sun was out and it was really starting to warm up. Temperatures hadn’t been cold, but highs had been hitting somewhere in the low to mid 60’s up to this point. We were finally getting some warmer weather and could lose the jackets for a while.


DW thought it seemed like the perfect time to stop for one of her favorite treats in Japan, the kakigori. She got one to share with DD and I think DD ended up having most of it.


We went out International Gateway and headed down to the boat dock where there was a boat waiting for departure. We got in and sat down to wait for our ride to DHS. We had close to an hour to catch our first FP+ and thought we were giving ourselves enough time.


But after we’d been sitting on the boat for 20 minutes awaiting departure, we were starting to worry that we might not make it!






Contest Results:

1. I failed to research EPCOT morning EMH and realize nothing is open! (25 points)

2. Our first ride of the morning was Spaceship Earth (15 points)

3. I had a lengthy conversation with a CM about farming. (20 points)

4. We met Baymax for the first time ever. (10 points)

5. We ate at Akershus for the first time ever. (10 points)

6. My “snack” was a San Angel Inn margarita. (10 points for anyone who guessed any margarita flavor - Bonus would have been for those guessing San Angel Inn Margarita specifically)

7. DW and DD had kakigori (shaved ice, snow cone, etc). (10 points)

8. DD couldn’t wave in the princess parade without her princess dress. Everybody who answered got 5 points. More points awarded based on how close you were to the actual story. If you mentioned anything about Akershus you got at least 10 points. I’m too lazy to list them all in the Bonus points section.



Bonus Points:

Fantasia Magic – 5 points for being first.

Poolrat – 25 points for taking a shot at the contest late in the game.

Natebenma – 10 Hulk points

Captain_Oblivious – 5 points because @pkondz is indeed a character.





This Round Results:

pkondz105

6travel 85

Chillitsanne 85

Franandaj 85

cindianne320 85

natebenma 75

jandlinz 70

Terra Nova Guy 70

Leshaface 60

Captain_Oblivious 55

Dugette 55

SarahDisney 46

FantasiaMagic 35






Overall Leaderboard:

pkondz511

jandlinz 471

Captain_Oblivious 440.5

6travel 431

Chillitsanne 428.5

SarahDisney 425

Franandaj 422

cindianne320 415

Terra Nova Guy 384

FantasiaMagic 362

Dugette 345

Natebenma 320

Gracefulskinny 308

Leshaface 270

ashw100 265

vrajewski10513237

GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes 176

SoccerDogWithEars 164

MissMaryQC 155

amazingact21 155

ursalita 85

vernie822 80







Next Update Questions:


1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)

4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)

6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)

7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)


This may or may not help with some of the questions, but keep in mind that we drove to EPCOT and took a boat from EPCOT to DHS...
 
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Since our trips are typically about a week, we plan to be in the parks every day, but we’ve adopted the strategy of hitting rope drop but avoiding EMH parks. That way we can still take advantage of lower crowds in the morning, yet we still get to sleep an extra hour in the morning.
I'm with your DH. I really try to avoid EMH when at all possible. The only one I may work into the plan is Animal Kingdom because I like going on KS early in the am.
We parked the stroller and approached the entrance to Nemo where a CM told us they wouldn’t be open until 9 am.
Well… ok
We headed back to the Land pavilion and thought we’d hop on Living with the Land. We entered the building and as we walked through the door a CM was standing there informing everyone that Circle of Life and Sunshine Seasons were the only things open inside the Land pavilion.
Seriously???
At this point we weren’t even going to try checking on Imagination.
We got the stroller and went back to Spaceship Earth. We enjoyed the ride and were glad to do it with virtually no wait during EMH. But we were pretty frustrated after walking halfway around Future World only to come back to the front of the park.
Bummer. EMH at Epcot doesnt seem like much of a perk unless your running to TS or Soarin'.:confused3
DD had asked to see Mickey, but when we got in she was feeling a little bit shy.
EPCOT_CHRCON1_7578722213.jpeg

EPCOT_CHRCON1_7578722216.jpeg
She's so darn cute!:rotfl:
Goofy, meanwhile had been watching DD and Minnie. He noticed that DD had come out of her shell so he came over to get in on the action and play and even convinced DD to come back for a quick do-over with him! DD really enjoyed it, but for some reason we don’t have any of the posed pictures of the 2 of them together, just this one on the way out. It was really awesome of Goofy to be aware of everything and try to make it fun, despite being snubbed. I’m sure it helped that we were the first family through there that morning and they weren’t slammed yet.
Well that worked out well :thumbsup2

We walked through the 7 miles of queue and got right into a clamshell for our ride.
That queue always feels endless! And there never seems to be a line, so your just walking, and walking, and walking....

I don’t know if this is because of the construction going on around Norway, or if this is how they always do it, but after we checked in they sent us to a roped off area just outside the restaurant entrance. It literally felt like a corral. We were standing around on concrete, with a rope around us with no shade and nowhere to sit down. We had to just stand there for half an hour. I’ve got to say none of us, especially the pregnant lady of the group, was very happy with the arrangement.
Nope, thats how they always do it. Worst set up ever! Atleast is wasn't 80+ degrees while you were there::yes::
All the little princesses were walking around and waving.
But DD wouldn’t wave.
DW told her to wave.
She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”
And we finally have our title folks!! Poor DD, I hope she still enjoyed walking with the princesses though!
I had a few pastries and honestly, nothing sticks out to me. It was good, but I can’t rave about anything on the buffet.
The cold buffet at dinner is excellent!



1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)
You'd make it, but right towards the end of the window.


2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)
Obviously.


3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)
The new Star Tours for the Force Awakens.


4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)
The Great Movie Ride


5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)
School Bread


6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)
Via Napoli


7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
Went to sleep!


8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
Went for a carriage ride!
 
GAH, sorry that the EMH felt wasted a bit. THat's frustrating when precious sleep could have been had. But good to know for when I go.

I’ll be trying to keep up with everyone else as I can, but if my comments are shorter than usual, I’m sure you can understand why.

Story of my life until school is over apparently. Every time I think I'll have more time, it goes up in smoke.

I’m basically a nerd for Living with the Land.

Me too!!! The tour is so cool, I hope you can do that sometime. (yes, that was a comma splice, in case you're also a grammar Nazi.)

It actually sometimes gives me ideas of things I want to try on a small scale for our garden at home

Who wouldn't want a tank of baby alligators?!

a meal at Akershus

Meh. In the early 2000s they had the MOST amazing truly authentic Norwegian buffet with herring in sour cream, pickled herring, rice cream, smoked salmon, lefse, etc... now it's just so-so American food. Too bad they dumbed it down.

a San Angel Inn Margarita

NOW you're talkin'!

quick stop by Cava del Tequila

That's not a place to make a habit of hurrying through. But with DD in tow, I know you had to. Hurrying through the drink though... you've a pro at that.
 
Before I get into the update, I just want to say that we have finally been able to start planting corn here. It has been a wet spring. Every time the ground would start to get dry, we’d have more rain. We’re typically done by now, but this year we really just got a good start yesterday. With the farm work and the baby just a few weeks away, this might be the last update I have a chance to do for a while. I might try to work on another before the baby gets here, but I have my doubts. I’ll be trying to keep up with everyone else as I can, but if my comments are shorter than usual, I’m sure you can understand why.

That's great that you were finally able to get the corn going (although jealous that you're getting too much rain!).

Can't believe it's only a few weeks away!


Oh good golly, what time were you up?! :eek:

But she doesn’t like getting up any earlier than we have to

This is DH. And it bugs me! It's not like we're on vacation or anything, who sleeps in during vacation?? :confused3

We’d come to learn that the only attractions open were Spaceship Earth, Circle of Life, Test Track and Mission Space.

Doesn't make sense to me that three of the four attractions you can easily get on during any part of the day and they have that for EMH?

We next met Goofy, and she was even more shy with him. He was very receptive about it and kind of gave her some space.

I'm sure you were totally appreciative of that. I have heard some stories of characters pushing themselves onto clearly upset kids.


Aw yay, glad she was super happy with Minnie!

Goofy, meanwhile had been watching DD and Minnie. He noticed that DD had come out of her shell so he came over to get in on the action and play and even convinced DD to come back for a quick do-over with him! DD really enjoyed it, but for some reason we don’t have any of the posed pictures of the 2 of them together, just this one on the way out. It was really awesome of Goofy to be aware of everything and try to make it fun, despite being snubbed.

What an awesome Goofy! :dance3:


I'm so, so, so jealous that you guys met Baymax! Ugh, I kept stressing how much I wanted to see him during our trip and it never happened! :sad:

I want to try on a small scale for our garden at home

Curious, what do you plant in your own personal garden?

We had to just stand there for half an hour.

No way, how annoying! :furious:

She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”

:rotfl2:What a funny girl you have!

I really enjoyed Akershus. I’m glad we tried it and we really enjoyed our breakfast. In the end, we were a little put off by the wait to get in and the fact that the waiting area, for lack of a better word, sucked. But we enjoyed the food and our server was excellent. And let’s face it, if there are 2 things a restaurant needs to get right they are the food and the service. The characters were fine, but for the price point being not much less than CRT, I think we’d tend to lean towards CRT for the ability to dine in the castle if we’re paying out of pocket

Yikes, had no idea it was close to the price of CRT. Knowing that, i'd much rather try CRT!

a San Angel Inn Margarita.

Dang it! I wrote that first then was like, "Nah, he's not boring like that, he'll get a flavored one." :rotfl: ;)

I had to tell her that I did, but it didn’t last very long. :rolleyes1

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1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)


Yes.

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)

Yes! It's your favorite ride, you have to!

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)


One Man's Dream


4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)


Great Movie Ride

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)


Carrot Cake Cookie


6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)


50's PTC


7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)


Sleep.


8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Check out the movie they show outside
 
So I realised yesterday that I hadn't been getting alerts that you've updated. I've been so busy lately I've only had time for quick glances at the alerts before having to deal with other stuff. My wonderful lead is all gone now!!!!:sad::sad::sad::sad:
Sigh... I knew it was bound to happen. Here's my attempt to catch up.

We’ve done the Pan to Pooh dash after park opening several times in the past with little to no wait for either attraction. This morning, we ended up waiting about 10 minutes for Pooh. Not bad, but we kind of expected a walk on.
I've read somewhere that the proximity of it to the exit to 7dmt means it fills up a lot faster than it used to.

On another side note, you might notice that I haven’t mentioned the stroller since we got into the park. Well, in order to save time, we just left it by the carousel. Everything we were going to be doing for the first few hours was within a short walk.
We did some of this as well.

Apparently after visiting Rapunzel’s throne room.
:rotfl2:

I got her situated and strapped in. She asked me to ride the horse next to her. I was literally half way on the horse… one foot on the peg on one side and my other leg crossing the top when some old guy put a little girl (presumably his granddaughter) on the horse basically right under me.
:eek::earseek:

After we finished riding, DD and I went to find DW. I was telling DW the story about our experience, probably a little louder than I should have, for the benefit of old a hole who was also waiting to go into BoG.
:rotfl2: Sounds like the same type of passive aggression I would do! :thumbsup2

DD, on the other hand, refused to wear her glasses and was quickly getting restless during the show. Oh well, one of these days she’ll get it.
:rotfl:

:lovestruc

:lovestruc

It was time to go check in to Port Orleans… we hoped…
:yay:

Gracefulskinny – 5 points for encouraging Small World suicide.
:rotfl2: I thought you would appreciate that! :rotfl2:

Next Update Questions:

1. Will our room be ready when we arrive at Port Orleans? (10 points)

2. Which park did we go to after we check in? (20 points)

3. We saw 3 shows (defining a show as something you watch while sitting in a theater) that evening. I’ll give 10 points for any of the shows you can guess.

4. I saw something being done in public that you don’t ordinarily see at Disney World. What was it? (50 points) - Creativity bonus points are available here.

5. What song did we hear in the park way too many times that had DD singing on the way out of the park? (25 points – hint: it wasn’t a Disney song)

6. I noticed something this evening that Disney fans do in the parks that is frequently discussed on the boards but I’d been completely oblivious about ever recognizing it in the parks. What was it? (20 points)

7. I planned for some solo time in MK during EMH this evening. Did it happen? (10 points)

8. What was the last snack I had that day? (10 points)
:sad: Stupid alerts failing me!

I’m a Star Wars fan, and I’m excited about the upcoming new land. I guess the Launch Bay is kind of like salad at a buffet. I’d rather skip it and get the good stuff. But since the new Star Wars land won’t be open for a few years, I’ll have a few leaves of lettuce every once in a while to appease my Star Wars appetite.
:thumbsup2

There was a lady standing there trying to hide a probably 7 or 8 year old boy who was peeing on the side of the building while the masses were walking past about 2 feet away.
:eek::sad2:

Well, DD had heard it enough that it was stuck in her head. Rather than fighting the crowds to get a tram to the parking lot, DW said she was fine with walking so the whole way out of the park and through the parking lot, DD was singing Shut Up and Dance.
:cutie:

The 2 I saw were pretty blatantly obvious. Snow White was definitely wearing clothes distinctly colored as Snow White’s dress and even had the make up and hair to go along with it. Ariel had long red hair and a sea foam green colored dress. Again, pretty obvious.


Needless to say, I’ve never noticed another Disneybounder around the parks since. :rolleyes1
I'm not good at picking out Disbounding either.

Next Update Questions:


1. What major trip planning mistake did I make regarding morning EMH at EPCOT? (25 points)

2. What was our first ride of the morning? (15 points)

3. I had a lengthy conversation with a CM. What did we talk about? (20 points)

4. Which character did we meet for the first time ever? (10 points)

5. Which restaurant did we eat at for the first time ever? (10 points)

6. What “snack” did I get in Mexico? (10 points – Bonus points if you’re more specific and get it right)

7. What snack did DW and DD get in Japan? (10 points)

8. You’ll soon get to learn the backstory to the TR title. Bonus opportunities for guessing what can’t be done when not wearing a princess dress.
:sad::sad1:

I’ll be trying to keep up with everyone else as I can, but if my comments are shorter than usual, I’m sure you can understand why.
::yes::

Goofy, meanwhile had been watching DD and Minnie. He noticed that DD had come out of her shell so he came over to get in on the action and play and even convinced DD to come back for a quick do-over with him!
:lovestruc

It actually sometimes gives me ideas of things I want to try on a small scale for our garden at home, but that never seems to happen. You know, time, or lack thereof and all.
:thumbsup2

That said, I’d fully support them gutting it and starting over as long as Figment doesn’t get evicted again.
Sigh, yeah I suppose. As long as the "improvement" wasn't as half a'd as the last "improvement" was. And as long as the original song was left in as well.

It literally felt like a corral. We were standing around on concrete, with a rope around us with no shade and nowhere to sit down. We had to just stand there for half an hour.
:sad2:

But DD wouldn’t wave.


DW told her to wave.


She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”
:rotfl::rotfl2:

Overall Leaderboard:

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Natebenma 320

Gracefulskinny 308
:sad::sad::sad::sad::sad::sad::sad:

1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)
yes

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)
no

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)
The Beauty and the Beast show

4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)
TSMM

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)
Carrot Cake Cookie

6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)
Epcot, World Showcase, Italy, Via Napoli

7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
Sleep

8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
Swim to let DW sleep
 
I walked out the door and took some pictures around the resort as I went to fill our mugs and get some pastries for DW and me to eat with the cereal we had back in the room.

These pictures are awesome!!!! Everything looks so peaceful and serene.

We made it through security and the guard was trying to chat with DD. She was being shy, but he asked her if she was going to go look for Nemo and she got really excited.

Aha - He should have reminded you !!!

There was nobody there.

And Again there should have been CMs there to remind or stop you.

We’d come to learn that the only attractions open were Spaceship Earth, Circle of Life, Test Track and Mission Space.

Yikes that is slim pickins. Guess I have not done it and maybe for that reason but yes I didn't consciously know that were the only things open.

We stopped and got a bottle of water and went to wait at the Character Spot.


We were first in line.

Well that's good. Sorry you had a nonexistent EEMH.

Goofy, meanwhile had been watching DD and Minnie. He noticed that DD had come out of her shell so he came over to get in on the action and play and even convinced DD to come back for a quick do-over with him!

There's your pixie dust!!!

After we finished in there, we noticed Baymax’s character meet was open.
Huh, another thing I did not know.

but after we checked in they sent us to a roped off area just outside the restaurant entrance. It literally felt like a corral.

Yes I did know this. Not impressed with that either. You take reservations, you should not seat 20 min late.

But DD wouldn’t wave.


DW told her to wave.


She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”

:rotfl2: Of course not!!! How cute.

I don’t know if this is normal or not? Maybe something that they just do on request and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time and she didn’t want us to feel left out? Either way, we appreciated it. Mickey waffles are always great!

Yes I knew to ask for them. Maybe on the secret menu?

When we exited, I told DW I needed to make a quick stop by Cava del Tequila. I needed a snack in the form of my favorite drink there… a San Angel Inn Margarita.

Should have gone with my gut.....:rolleyes1

DW just looked at me funny and asked why I didn’t get a margarita. I had to tell her that I did, but it didn’t last very long. :rolleyes1

:rotfl::rotfl:

But after we’d been sitting on the boat for 20 minutes awaiting departure, we were starting to worry that we might not make it!

Rut roh. Answer below.

1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)
Yes but also using that 15 after the time window.

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)
I will say yes!

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)
The comedy warehouse thing?

4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)
TSMM

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)
Butterfinger cupcake

6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)

Back in EPCOT-

7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Take a nap-

8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Go to the pool
 
With the farm work and the baby just a few weeks away, this might be the last update I have a chance to do for a while. I might try to work on another before the baby gets here, but I have my doubts. I’ll be trying to keep up with everyone else as I can, but if my comments are shorter than usual, I’m sure you can understand why.
Totally understandable! :-)

The pool area:


20160114_065713.jpg
Nice picture! The resorts are really great to enjoy early while it is still quiet and peaceful. :thumbsup2

We made it through security and the guard was trying to chat with DD. She was being shy, but he asked her if she was going to go look for Nemo and she got really excited.
I love the way most of the CMs can eventually find some common ground with the kids! :goodvibes

Since our trips are typically about a week, we plan to be in the parks every day, but we’ve adopted the strategy of hitting rope drop but avoiding EMH parks. That way we can still take advantage of lower crowds in the morning, yet we still get to sleep an extra hour in the morning.
Good plan........along with afternoon breaks!

We entered the park and as 99.9% of the crowd headed for Test Track, we turned right.


There was nobody there.


Well, no big surprise really with Soarin’ being closed.


We parked the stroller and approached the entrance to Nemo where a CM told us they wouldn’t be open until 9 am.


Well… ok


We headed back to the Land pavilion and thought we’d hop on Living with the Land. We entered the building and as we walked through the door a CM was standing there informing everyone that Circle of Life and Sunshine Seasons were the only things open inside the Land pavilion.


Seriously???
Oh man, that sucks! I'm not sure I knew that either. Like you said, I seldom choose the EMH parks either. :rolleyes2

We stopped and got a bottle of water and went to wait at the Character Spot.


We were first in line.
Not a bad way to start! :D

Nice family photo! :cool1:

Always great to meet and get pictures with Goofy! Glad your daughter came around and enjoyed him later. :banana:

Such a pretty smile........glad she started warming up to the character meets! :cheer2:

After we finished in there, we noticed Baymax’s character meet was open. We’d never met him before and DD and DS had become big fans of his movie, so we decided to stop by to give him a fist bump and let him know we are satisfied with our care.


EPCOT_BIGHERO6CHAR_7578730717.jpeg
This would be a new one for me too! Maybe if there isn't a line at least........:rotfl:

I think most of you know that I have a farm background and studied crop science in school, so I’m basically a nerd for Living with the Land. I always enjoy riding and seeing some of the technology they use. It actually sometimes gives me ideas of things I want to try on a small scale for our garden at home, but that never seems to happen. You know, time, or lack thereof and all.
I always enjoy Living with the Land but I never thought about the farming aspect. Maybe it has something to do with growing up around my Grandfather's farm. And yes, I've thought about trying out some of those ideas myself at times........emphasis on thought about! :rolleyes:

We were the last breakfast seating, whatever time that was. Either way, I did note that we checked in 10 minutes early and were seated 20 minutes late. It was getting kind of frustrating. We were standing there waiting, past our ADR time and people were walking up, checking in and being led right into the restaurant within minutes. I know we specifically booked a late seating, but standing there after your ADR time has come and gone and watching other parties check in and be led straight in didn’t sit well with me. We were literally the last people out of the corral and into the restaurant from the breakfast crowd.
I hate when this happens..........how can you possible be after your ADR time and other's come up and get right in ahead of you??? :sad2:

All the little princesses were walking around and waving.


But DD wouldn’t wave.


DW told her to wave.


She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”
:rotfl2:

I thought the breakfast food there was excellent. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times, but it is hard to screw up breakfast. The eggs and bacon were great and just what I expected. But the potato casserole was incredible!!! We had the server bring us another serving of it and we destroyed it.
Good to hear! I've never tried this one and it seems that a lot of reviews aren't really great. Nice to hear a positive that may keep it at least on my list. :scratchin

DD was being shy with all of them, but she did open up a little bit with Ariel. The Little Mermaid has really never been one of her favorite movies, but for some reason she’s been a big Ariel fan for the past year or so. She was glad to see her and she decided to let her know that she wanted to have an Ariel birthday party when she turned 4.
Nice idea to keep in the back of your mind! ;)

I went to catch up with them and I was drinking my margarita as I walked. I emptied it and threw the cup away in Norway and I caught up with DD and DW just between Norway and China. DW just looked at me funny and asked why I didn’t get a margarita. I had to tell her that I did, but it didn’t last very long. :rolleyes1
Yeah, those things aren't really large......... ;)

Next Update Questions:

What the hey..........might as well give this a try!



1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)

Yes assuming the hour you gave yourself is to the opening of your FP window, which gives you another hour. Once those boats get moving the trip doesn't take that long.


2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)

I'll say no since by that time of day even the single rider line is probably a pretty good wait.


3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)

Can't think of the name, but the new area that shows the Star Wars promo


4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)

TSMM is maybe the only one that makes sense here that everyone could ride.


5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)

Ice cream and chocolate chip cookie sandwich


6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)

Sci Fi


7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Pregnant woman, warming temps, up early, lots of walking........NAP TIME


8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Out of the room so wife could sleep I'll go with pool time since I don't know if they have a playground your daughter may have liked.
 
Sorry Folks, Park’s Closed. Mouse out Front Should’ve Told You.

A talking mouse? That's kinda creepy...

Before I get into the update, I just want to say that we have finally been able to start planting corn here. It has been a wet spring. Every time the ground would start to get dry, we’d have more rain. We’re typically done by now, but this year we really just got a good start yesterday. With the farm work and the baby just a few weeks away, this might be the last update I have a chance to do for a while. I might try to work on another before the baby gets here, but I have my doubts. I’ll be trying to keep up with everyone else as I can, but if my comments are shorter than usual, I’m sure you can understand why.

I'm glad you guys were finally able to get started on the corn. I'll certainly miss having the opportunity to make stupid and wrong guesses about your vacation - but farm and baby come first!

We could see some of the corrals and things still set up out in the parking lot from the race, which made me think of a few of you who had been there really early a few mornings prior.

Aw, thanks for thinking of me.
But the last race was on Sunday ... why were the corrals and whatnot still there 4 days later???

We made it through security and the guard was trying to chat with DD. She was being shy, but he asked her if she was going to go look for Nemo and she got really excited.

Well, who wouldn't be excited to go look for Nemo??

I assumed that it worked like every other park. When it opens for morning EMH, you can ride most of the rides they have. I didn’t even think to do any research about this.


That was a mistake.


We entered the park and as 99.9% of the crowd headed for Test Track, we turned right.


There was nobody there.


Well, no big surprise really with Soarin’ being closed.


We parked the stroller and approached the entrance to Nemo where a CM told us they wouldn’t be open until 9 am.


Well… ok


We headed back to the Land pavilion and thought we’d hop on Living with the Land. We entered the building and as we walked through the door a CM was standing there informing everyone that Circle of Life and Sunshine Seasons were the only things open inside the Land pavilion.


Seriously???


At this point we weren’t even going to try checking on Imagination.

Interesting. With World Showcase not being open and apparently nothing in The Land being open ... Test Track is the only thing open during morning EMH at Epcot? Really?
That's a little weird.

We got the stroller and went back to Spaceship Earth. We enjoyed the ride and were glad to do it with virtually no wait during EMH. But we were pretty frustrated after walking halfway around Future World only to come back to the front of the park.

Well, at least there was something other than Test Track open, but ... Spaceship Earth is not really what you're expecting to do with your EMH.

We stood and chatted with a CM who was a really nice older guy. He was from New York and said he lives in Florida and works in Disney World in the winter, but he returns to New York in the summer where he manages the hay operation for a dairy farm. It was kind of neat to talk farming with him and talk about some of the similarities and differences between what he does and what I do. It really made the wait fly by.

There are differences between different kinds of farming? Different farmers do different things?
I don't understand you farm people.
But it's kinda cool that you encountered a fellow farmer and had an opportunity to talk shop.

Goofy, meanwhile had been watching DD and Minnie. He noticed that DD had come out of her shell so he came over to get in on the action and play and even convinced DD to come back for a quick do-over with him! DD really enjoyed it, but for some reason we don’t have any of the posed pictures of the 2 of them together, just this one on the way out. It was really awesome of Goofy to be aware of everything and try to make it fun, despite being snubbed. I’m sure it helped that we were the first family through there that morning and they weren’t slammed yet.

That is so awesome! It's always nice when the characters give you extra attention, but especially coming after she had basically ignored him ... that's pretty cool of Goofy!

We headed in to see Figment and there was actually a line. I don’t think we waited more than 2 or 3 minutes, but they actually stopped us where the FP and standby lines merge.


Despite that, nobody came through the FP line while we were there, but I don’t think I’ve ever so much as stopped before I was on the loading platform for this ride.

Maybe if you had done it during EMH you wouldn't have had to wait at all ... (of course, that would have required them to have Figment open for EMH)

We have never had a meal at Akershus, so we scheduled a late breakfast so that we could meet some princesses and try a new place. I didn’t write down what time our ADR was… I think it was 11. We were the last breakfast seating, whatever time that was. Either way, I did note that we checked in 10 minutes early and were seated 20 minutes late. It was getting kind of frustrating. We were standing there waiting, past our ADR time and people were walking up, checking in and being led right into the restaurant within minutes. I know we specifically booked a late seating, but standing there after your ADR time has come and gone and watching other parties check in and be led straight in didn’t sit well with me. We were literally the last people out of the corral and into the restaurant from the breakfast crowd.

That's definitely rough. We waited a while when we did Akershus, but most of the people being let in before us got there before us. Kinda weird that they don't let you in approximately in the order in which you check in (I know that some of it has to do with party size and what tables are available, but still...).

We finally got in and DD went for the obligatory picture with Belle.

Super cute!!

But DD wouldn’t wave.


DW told her to wave.


She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”

Yeah, that's on you guys. You can't go to a princess meal without a princess dress. That's a parenting fail.

It wasn’t long before our server brought our food out. We quickly dug in. The people at the table next to us asked if they could get Mickey waffles. Another nearby table also then asked for Mickey waffles. She came back to us and asked if we wanted some too.


Well, duh!!!


I mean, “Yes, please!”


I don’t know if this is normal or not? Maybe something that they just do on request and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time and she didn’t want us to feel left out? Either way, we appreciated it. Mickey waffles are always great!

Why would they not serve Mickey waffles? And if they are serving Mickey waffles, why would they thing that you might not want it?
I'm so confused.

And that leads me to the princesses. There really weren’t any interactions of note. DD was being shy with all of them, but she did open up a little bit with Ariel. The Little Mermaid has really never been one of her favorite movies, but for some reason she’s been a big Ariel fan for the past year or so. She was glad to see her and she decided to let her know that she wanted to have an Ariel birthday party when she turned 4.

I have to say ... Ariel is an excellent princess. I definitely approve of the idea of an Ariel birthday party.
I may be biased, though ... Ariel was kind of a big deal when I was a little one.

I really enjoyed Akershus. I’m glad we tried it and we really enjoyed our breakfast. In the end, we were a little put off by the wait to get in and the fact that the waiting area, for lack of a better word, sucked. But we enjoyed the food and our server was excellent. And let’s face it, if there are 2 things a restaurant needs to get right they are the food and the service. The characters were fine, but for the price point being not much less than CRT, I think we’d tend to lean towards CRT for the ability to dine in the castle if we’re paying out of pocket. However, on the Dining Plan, this is a pretty good use of a single Table Service credit. It is hard to want to come back with so many great places we already love in EPCOT and new ones we still want to visit so I don’t think a return will be a priority for us. But if we need to see some princesses and it works out to be a good option for us, we’d go back.

I actually agree with a lot of this. Akershus was good, but not worth the price (I'm taking experience, not food). We found the princesses to be okay, but not much of a difference between those princesses and the princesses at CRT. And with the price being almost the same as CRT (we did Akershus dinner and CRT breakfast ... not entirely comparable because it was different meals, but with tip, Akershus was actually more expensive) ... I'd say in most cases CRT is a better option.

DW just looked at me funny and asked why I didn’t get a margarita. I had to tell her that I did, but it didn’t last very long. :rolleyes1

It's alcohol and you had just had a princess meal. Was it supposed to last a long time?

We had close to an hour to catch our first FP+ and thought we were giving ourselves enough time.

For the boat ... probably not enough time.

1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)

Yes ... but just barely.

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)

Yes. You may have to abandon your wife and child to do it, but yes.

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)

Hmm ... I'm going to go with ... One Man's Dream (although, really, I'd be surprised if this was your first time, that seems right up your alley ... but I can't think of anything else it could be)

4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)

Great Movie Ride

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)

Something Star Wars. All Star Wars things are exactly the same to me.

6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)

Mama Melrose ... it was supposed to be lunch, but it took 4 hours for them to seat you.

7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

SLEEP!!

8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

SWIM!!
 
Before I get into the update, I just want to say that we have finally been able to start planting corn here. It has been a wet spring. Every time the ground would start to get dry, we’d have more rain. We’re typically done by now, but this year we really just got a good start yesterday. With the farm work and the baby just a few weeks away, this might be the last update I have a chance to do for a while. I might try to work on another before the baby gets here, but I have my doubts. I’ll be trying to keep up with everyone else as I can, but if my comments are shorter than usual, I’m sure you can understand why.

Completely understandable with all you got going on! I wish you the best of luck with everything! And hopefully we will see you when you have the time. I hope you will keep us up to day, even if it is just popping in.

I walked out the door and took some pictures around the resort as I went to fill our mugs and get some pastries for DW and me to eat with the cereal we had back in the room.

Boy! I never see the resorts looking like that (meaning with the lights on and potentially rising sun). Sure I see it after dark with the lights on, but not pre dawn! :rotfl2:

Now let me give you a little bit of background. Before I started going on trips with DW, I liked to get up early, hit EMH and go all day. But she doesn’t like getting up any earlier than we have to. Since our trips are typically about a week, we plan to be in the parks every day, but we’ve adopted the strategy of hitting rope drop but avoiding EMH parks.

I'm kind of like that, but I think my body gets the best of me and wakes me up earlier than I really want to. So usually for me whether or not we get going early depends on how I can motivate my travel partners. I'm not a big solo person.

We’d come to learn that the only attractions open were Spaceship Earth, Circle of Life, Test Track and Mission Space. I was kicking myself.

I'll remember that for October, that's a good way to get Test Track and Mission Space out of the way while Fran sleeps!

But next up was Minnie and it was like a switch flipped. She got down and went right up to Minnie. Minnie twirled her and they danced and played and then posed for some pictures.

Such cute pictures!

We had to just stand there for half an hour. I’ve got to say none of us, especially the pregnant lady of the group, was very happy with the arrangement.

No I wouldn't be very happy with that arrangement either.

We finally got in and DD went for the obligatory picture with Belle.

She got such great photos with the Princesses!

DW told her to wave.


She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”

That's funny! But why would she go to a Princess Breakfasts without a Princess gown?

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times, but it is hard to screw up breakfast.

I don't know, I would have to disagree with you there. I have had plenty of places screw up breakfast!

But the potato casserole was incredible!!! We had the server bring us another serving of it and we destroyed it.

I love me a good Potato casserole!

And let’s face it, when you go to a character breakfast, you’re paying for the characters more than the food.

Yes, that is definitely true!

When we exited, I told DW I needed to make a quick stop by Cava del Tequila. I needed a snack in the form of my favorite drink there… a San Angel Inn Margarita.

I had no idea you could order that ToGo! I love that margarita.

1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)

Yes

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)

Of course!

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)

One Man's Dream

4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)

RnRC

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)

Ice Cream Martini

6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)

Via Napoli

7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Sleep

8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Carriage Ride.
 
With the farm work and the baby just a few weeks away, this might be the last update I have a chance to do for a while.
Best of luck with everything. We'll be here when you've got time to pop in.

I walked out the door and took some pictures around the resort as I went to fill our mugs and get some pastries for DW and me to eat with the cereal we had back in the room.
Love the early morning pictures of the resort. So calm and pretty.

But we were pretty frustrated after walking halfway around Future World only to come back to the front of the park.
:headache: Ugh, sorry.

We thought about doing some PP pictures after our ride, but DD refused to cooperate. We also tried to stop for a restroom break, but again, DD refused to cooperate.
This sounds familiar to me. :rolleyes1

e was from New York and said he lives in Florida and works in Disney World in the winter, but he returns to New York in the summer where he manages the hay operation for a dairy farm. It was kind of neat to talk farming with him and talk about some of the similarities and differences between what he does and what I do. It really made the wait fly by.
Yay, I just KNEW you were going to talk about farming! :woohoo:

But next up was Minnie and it was like a switch flipped. She got down and went right up to Minnie. Minnie twirled her and they danced and played and then posed for some pictures.
Haha, I think our daughters would get along very well. Izzy once ditched Goofy mid-meet to run over to Minnie. :rotfl:

So cute! :lovestruc

Goofy, meanwhile had been watching DD and Minnie. He noticed that DD had come out of her shell so he came over to get in on the action and play and even convinced DD to come back for a quick do-over with him! DD really enjoyed it, but for some reason we don’t have any of the posed pictures of the 2 of them together, just this one on the way out. It was really awesome of Goofy to be aware of everything and try to make it fun, despite being snubbed. I’m sure it helped that we were the first family through there that morning and they weren’t slammed yet.
Aw, that is really sweet that Goofy went the extra mile to play with DD.

We’d never met him before and DD and DS had become big fans of his movie, so we decided to stop by to give him a fist bump and let him know we are satisfied with our care.
Awesome! When and if we make it back to WDW, we have got to do this meet - Izzy is obsessed with fist bumps these days.

We were literally the last people out of the corral and into the restaurant from the breakfast crowd.
No fun. :sad2:

She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”
So there it is! That's funny!

She’d actually filled up on goldfish during our wait so I felt pretty confident that she wasn’t going to eat much, but she did enjoy a little bit of fruit and cheese and actually sent me back to get a little bit more for her.
Yes, I think our DDs are very similar in many ways. ::yes::

We always enjoy this ride, and I loved seeing the audio-animatronic versions of the 3 Caballeros added at the end of the ride.
Wow, I had no idea about that! Very cool! (on a side note, Izzy was just playing with her plush 3 cabelleros today, so we were talking abut the ride).

But after we’d been sitting on the boat for 20 minutes awaiting departure, we were starting to worry that we might not make it!
I know that feeling. :headache:

1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)
Yes, barely.

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)
I sure hope so! (yes)

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)
One Man's Dream

4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)
Toy Story Mania

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)
Carrot Cake Cookie

6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)
50's Prime Time

7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
Sleep

8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
Swim
 
It has been a wet spring.

That's like saying the Philadelphia 76ers have underachieved recently.

I walked out the door and took some pictures around the resort as I went to fill our mugs and get some pastries for DW and me to eat with the cereal we had back in the room.

I really love POR. It's a very underrated resort.

Before I started going on trips with DW, I liked to get up early, hit EMH and go all day. But she doesn’t like getting up any earlier than we have to.

No problem. We just have to get up at 6 a.m.

Since our trips are typically about a week, we plan to be in the parks every day, but we’ve adopted the strategy of hitting rope drop but avoiding EMH parks. That way we can still take advantage of lower crowds in the morning, yet we still get to sleep an extra hour in the morning.

I could go with that. It makes sense.

Well, no big surprise really with Soarin’ being closed.

D'oh!

At this point we weren’t even going to try checking on Imagination.

You know, it's funny. I could insert this sentence randomly at any point in any of my TR's, and it would totally work.:rotfl2:

We’d come to learn that the only attractions open were Spaceship Earth, Circle of Life, Test Track and Mission Space. I was kicking myself.

Best to do that before the rest of your party gets in on the action.

It was really awesome of Goofy to be aware of everything and try to make it fun, despite being snubbed. I’m sure it helped that we were the first family through there that morning and they weren’t slammed yet.

There you go. It was meant to be.

We walked through the 7 miles of queue and got right into a clamshell for our ride.

:rotfl::rotfl2: That queue rivals the Jungle Cruise for "every time I think I'm done..."

I think most of you know that I have a farm background and studied crop science in school, so I’m basically a nerd for Living with the Land.

Wait, what??:eek::faint:

We headed in to see Figment and there was actually a line.

:eek::faint:

I don't think that sentence has ever been written before.

And I'm still trying to figure out how Turtle Talk will take too much time and therefore gets sacrificed, but Imagination stays on the list...:confused3

Despite that, nobody came through the FP line while we were there

My faith in the world is restored.

As always, we enjoyed the ride. I know it sucks, especially the skunk part.

There's a paradox, right there.

That said, I’d fully support them gutting it and starting over as long as Figment doesn’t get evicted again.

But Rocket Raccoon would be better. You know how there's that rumor of a Guardians of the Galaxy overlay coming for ToT? That's a terrible idea. THIS is where it should go.

It literally felt like a corral. We were standing around on concrete, with a rope around us with no shade and nowhere to sit down. We had to just stand there for half an hour.

Moo.

But DD wouldn’t wave.


DW told her to wave.


She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”

Sure she can! She just can't do the Queen Elizabeth-style wave.

Honestly, I can’t say that the food was worth the price of admission. It wasn’t. But it was a very good meal.

Just like most meals at Disney!

DW just looked at me funny and asked why I didn’t get a margarita. I had to tell her that I did, but it didn’t last very long. :rolleyes1

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

DW thought it seemed like the perfect time to stop for one of her favorite treats in Japan, the kakigori.

At least I got one right. I suck at guessing stuff.

1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)

Yes. But you need that one-hour window.

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)

Yes. I don't think you can go to WDW without riding that one. Single-rider, of course.

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)

One Man's Dream.

4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)

Toy Story Midway Mania. Because then you didn't have anything else to do there.

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)

Oh man, I hate the snack questions. Somebody else said school bread, so, hey, why not?

6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)

I'm guessing this is where your car hint comes into play. So knowing your love for Via Napoli, I'll go with that one.

7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Call home.

8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

Go to the swimming pool on Ol' Man Island.
 
Hey Andy! I'm reading along, not commenting much; I generally pop in when DD is asleep, or on my lunch at work, neither of which last very long these days!

Your breakfast sounded decent, but I'm sorry it wasn't better than that. You'd think they'd be better at things like dealing with hundreds of people who don't want to become pieces of burnt bacon in the Florida sun, but some how they've not learned this yet. C'est la vie!

I adore your DD's response to not waving. Classic. Definitely one to remember for her first tweenage sleepover.

Hope you're doing well. Thinking of your family. :flower:
 
:rotfl:
I walked out the door and took some pictures around the resort
Beautiful pictures.

We parked the stroller and approached the entrance to Nemo where a CM told us they wouldn’t be open until 9 am.
Oh no!

We were first in line.
Yippee!

Goofy, meanwhile had been watching DD and Minnie. He noticed that DD had come out of her shell so he came over to get in on the action and play and even convinced DD to come back for a quick do-over with him! DD really enjoyed it, but for some reason we don’t have any of the posed pictures of the 2 of them together, just this one on the way out. It was really awesome of Goofy to be aware of everything and try to make it fun, despite being snubbed. I’m sure it helped that we were the first family through there that morning and they weren’t slammed yet.
I love that he was considerate to her being shy and aware that she opened up. That really is special that he let her have a do over. I'm sure she just adored him. Goofy is very tall.

We walked through the 7 miles of queue and got right into a clamshell for our ride.
I remember my first time walking through that queue wondering if it would ever end. You would think they would make a short cut for it and salvage the turns stiles for another ride. They could make a really cute indoor underwater playground with the space.

That said, I’d fully support them gutting it and starting over as long as Figment doesn’t get evicted again.
I love Figment. He was my brother's favorite.

It literally felt like a corral. We were standing around on concrete, with a rope around us with no shade and nowhere to sit down. We had to just stand there for half an hour. I’ve got to say none of us, especially the pregnant lady of the group, was very happy with the arrangement.
Yuck, pregnant and standing in the sun=not fun.

We finally got in and DD went for the obligatory picture with Belle.


EPCOT_NORWAYDINING1CHAR_7578835574.jpeg



EPCOT_NORWAYDINING1CHAR_7578835575.jpeg
Super cute!

She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”
Aw! Bless her heart.

I don’t know if this is normal or not? Maybe something that they just do on request and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time and she didn’t want us to feel left out? Either way, we appreciated it. Mickey waffles are always great!
Yay for Mickey waffles!
I had to tell her that I did, but it didn’t last very long. :rolleyes1
:rotfl:

But after we’d been sitting on the boat for 20 minutes awaiting departure, we were starting to worry that we might not make it!
:eek:

1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)

2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)

3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)

4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)

5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)

6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)

7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)

8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. One Man's Dream
4. The Great Movie Ride
5. Carrot Cake Cookie
6. Via Napoli
7. Nap
8. Swim

Still praying for your sweet baby.:littleangel:
 

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