Another August Adventure with a shot of Testosterone...TR Completed 2/19 - Page 12 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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So glad time was on your side and you managed to make it to SE just under the wire! Sorry Seasons was sort of meh...though it served its purpose. Love the pics, everyone looks to be having an awesome evening!
danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Great start in the parks on your vacation at Epcot! Just made it to SE! Glad TT was up and running again. Do you like the former or current version of Test Track better?
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
What a great time at Epcot! I took notes. [emoji3] I love the pictures, and you can definitely tell Alexa has met Beverly! Lol
I am, of course happy to see Jasmine's smile and Angel having fun.
A fun update. Now, get some sleep, for goodness sake!!!
Beverly definitely was not a winner but watching them try it made it a fun evening for me.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Great evening at Epcot and I'm glad Test Track was eventually up and running for you!
I had really given up hope on TT, was so happy to see that it opened, it really made everyone's night.
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Originally Posted by MayraLR
What a great first day! But a very long one. Sounds like my first day, with the lack of sleep although I didn't brave the parks that day.
The lack of sleep definitely caught up with me, I slept like a rock and having an early morning ADR was not the best planning on my part....LOL
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Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
What a great evening in Epcot! Sounds like everyone was having a wonderful time!!!
Even with the rain it turned out to be a great first evening in the World.
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Originally Posted by lauriep
You kept going for a long time before the batteries finally wore down. Fun start in the parks.
I think I started to feel it after we ate dinner, then suddenly I realized...Wow I am tired.
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great night at Epcot! Love the pictures! More please!
Thanks Marnie, I want you to know I downloaded 2048 5x5 - definitely my new addiction, but wow you can really go far with the extra grid
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Originally Posted by Hugmonster
You guys really get a lot done when I would be dragging.
I think we all found some extra energy once we got to WDW, we were all so excited to be on vacation.
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Originally Posted by Cam22
You all crammed quite a bit into an evening at Epcot! Everyone looks like they are having such a great time in your pictures.
When I re-read my notes I was surprised that we actually got a nice amount done for a short amount of time at Epcot that evening. The perfect dose to get the vacation started.
Quote:
Originally Posted by disneydani
So glad time was on your side and you managed to make it to SE just under the wire! Sorry Seasons was sort of meh...though it served its purpose. Love the pics, everyone looks to be having an awesome evening!
danielle
Sunshine Seasons was not bad, it just was...your word was perfect it was meh. Now I have had some good meals there, not sure if it was good because it was usually when I was starving or because we ordered something different. But as you said it did justice, we were full and that made us all happy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Great start in the parks on your vacation at Epcot! Just made it to SE! Glad TT was up and running again. Do you like the former or current version of Test Track better?
I don't mind the new one and the kids have fun designing their cars, I do find the queue more interactive and fun but I still miss the "hot" room and the "cold" room
August 8th - Our 1st Full Day in the Parks - Heading to the MK
So when I planned an early morning ADR on our first full morning I guess I expected that I would have had a wee bit more sleep over the past few days. When I finished unpacking I knew that once I laid down I would feel it so I made the executive decision before I even went to sleep that we would take a cab in the morning to the Contemporary and then walk over to the MK. I text Jasmine and let her know that she could sleep in a little longer in the AM.
Best decision I ever made....best $20 spent
Now Jasmine is a morning person so even with the extra time to sleep she still was up with the sun and of course she ended up on the balcony.
We headed downstairs at 7:30 AM, we had a 8:15 AM ADR so I figured we would be fine, and we were. There was a cab waiting, a van actually as it just knew we would need it. We made it to the Contemporary by 7:50 AM, walked over to the gates and headed in for our breakfast with Jasmine's favorite character, Eyeore.
There was a photographer waiting all alone on Main Street so we headed over, I so love and empty Main Street, the photographer was great and took some of my favorite shots of Leeor and Jasmine.
First a group shot
Jasmine and Leeor's personal photo shoot
We headed over and checked in for breakfast. We had a bit of a wait, maybe 10 minutes and soon we were led in to a table right near the buffet . That was a good thing as we were all hungry.
I really thought I took food pictures here but I guess I didn't, but we all know what the plates of food at the Crystal Palace look like . So here I definitely saw the first difference on our trip. Usually we go grab a plate, we might grab one more to split but us girls fill up fast. Our boys...they definitely ate the worth of this meal. Hugo really loves his breakfast, not that I have any idea where he puts it all.
While I did not take breakfast photos I did take character photos. I love that the boys got into the characters just as much as the girls.
As if we did not have enough food, suddenly our server comes out with a little birthday surprise for Angel.
I took care of the bill, the funny thing on this trip is I hardly ever carry cash, I usually charge the room or my card. This trip was my third on our TIW card (I definitely got my savings on this card) so I paid the bills with my cards and told the boys we would tally up at night or whenever....but they insisted on paying me right at the meal so they would not forget. Very responsible but I have to tell you by the time the end of the week came I had a ton of cash in my wallet (and the ATMs don't let you deposit), another first on this trip....Mom actually has cash in her wallet.
The bill came too $154.74 and we had a $30 savings with the TIW card.
We had some time until out Fast Passes so we headed to Fantasyland with a stop at the Castle for a few photos.
One of Alexa's favorite characters is Dumbo so we had to get a shot with Dumbo's statue.
Jasmine took some castle photos.
So what was the first ride the kids chose? Are you ready?
Yes the boys chose Prince Charming's Carousel, actually it was Leeor, guess he was reliving his childhood. Angel got off at the last minute because she wanted to watch the Sword in the Stone Show that was going on but the other four rode the carousel and all came off smiling.
Once the show was over the boys did try to show their amazing strength...to no avail of course.
When they realized that no matter how they tried the Sword was not going to come out we headed over to Enchanted Tales with Belle, there was a posted 30 minute wait but we were in the cottage within 10 minutes and into the show in another 5 minutes.
I love the theming of Belle's cottage and what I find even cuter is that Angel has measured perfectly on the height chart each time we have been here...guess she is synch with Belle's growth.
The boys were very impressed with the Magic Mirror, when we got into the room where they choose the "actors" for todays show it was pretty funny as she asked for two strong men and Jasmine pushed Leeor and Hugo out of the crowd into the forefront....yep, Hugo and Leeor participated in their first Disney production.
They both look very proud in their roles.
Our first FP was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train from 10:45 - 11:45 AM, we still had a little time so we decided to do a few other attractions and head over towards the end of our FP return time.
We headed over to UTS but first the kids gave me a funny group shot.
UTS posted a 20 minute wait but it was a walk on. We stopped to get a water and I really loved the themed DVC area, it just fit in so well with the area.
We got a lot done. We headed over to Storybook Circus and did Goofy's Barnstormer, only a 15 minute wait. Then had another quick wait for Dumbo. It was posted at 20 minutes but it was half that time.
Alexa has to pose with her Dumbo. She was very happy
It was about 11:15 AM according to my notes so we decided to head over to the SDMT for our first ride. Consensus...we loved it. The theming was adorable, it is definitely the feel of BTMRR but there were a few little drops. Even Jasmine rode this and enjoyed
Another ride for her "ride" list. The standby line was already 90 minutes and it was HOT, I felt so bad for all those on the line.
Next on the list was Philarmagic, this is a favorite of ours and the boys thought it was pretty cool. I was amazed that they were having so much fun in Fantasyland.
Jasmine decided it was time for the boys to ride IASW, this is one of Hugo's moms favorite rides so he was ready for it....Leeor, well it was pretty funny and I do not think he will every forget the song.
We walked across over to our second FP of the day, Peter Pan's Flight. We all love this ride and Alexa remembered riding this when she was here last. She loved it and the boys did as well. We now had some time until our next FP so we headed over to the Haunted Mansion, there was a 20 minute wait posted, I would say we waited about 15 minutes, not bad and the boys liked the interactive queue.
When we finished the posted wait time on MDE showed about a 30 minute wait for SplM. which I thought was a bit off but I told the girls to run over with the boys and if they wanted to they could catch a ride. While I love this ride I stayed back with Jasmine to wander, I knew I would ride later in the week so we wandered around Liberty Square.
I know we separated for a few minutes for some reason, then Angel text to say that the line was about 40 minutes but it was not moving and no logs were coming down so we all ended up meeting by the Princess Fairytale Hall.
At this point the boys headed for their FP on SpM . We had about a 10 minute wait until our Anna & Elsa FP was ripe so headed over for some Frozen Lemonade and then once we finished it was time to head in.
I will say at this point I love FP+, seeing those parents with their little kids in the heat with a line posted at over 200 minutes, just insane. I know one of the days we were there they did hand out the return time paper FP but today there was a long line.
The girls really enjoyed meeting Anna & Elsa, Anna was very interactive and the girls had a long talk about building snowmen.
It was hot outside so I asked the kids what they wanted to do, we all decided to take an afternoon break. We text the boys and told them we would meet them at the bus in a little bit.....there was something I needed to do.
Ever since reading about this in the Disney Food Blog I knew I had to try it.
The Spicy Chicken and Waffles at Sleepy Hallow. Jasmine and I split it and by the way Jasmine was looking at it I figured she would not want to eat it, she said it looked weird. Imagine her surprise, she loved it. It was really delicious
We left not even a crumb
Up Next: Break Time and our Evening at the MK
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Meg
Last edited by mcc0313; 08-20-2014 at 10:19 AM..
Reason: Removed pictures that were too large, will replace.
I love the way the guys are having so much fun and are really getting into everything. I did wonder how they'd be with Disney, since they're probably at the age where some guys would think it's not cool, but they look like they're having an absolute ball!
It's so great that your whole crew is into all-things Disney! I've introduced newbies to the parks with mixed results, and it's painful when everyone isn't on-board with the program. Sometimes that extra $20 on a cab can change the energy for the whole day.
Great start to your MK day.
I love the the guys are really enjoying WDW with the girls!
I am glad to hear the the posted wait times were a little inflated! Makes me feel so much better!
Great pics!
I agree, that $20 you spent on the cab in the morning was probably the best purchase of the trip! I just love how much fun your group is having, especially the boys. It's great that they are not "too cool" to just take it all in
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Wow....that was some marathon morning....excellent use of FP+ and standby lines! Love how you managed to weave in a little something for everyone...which isn't always easy when you have five personalities to look after. So glad you grabbed a cab to get a headstart and then got outta Dodge when the crowds and heat really started to build.
Danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Joining in late for the party. So glad to see everyone (including the guys) having a great time. Very cool that you got to spend some time with Heather, too! Jasmine's sunrise shots from the balcony are making me really excited for my upcoming stay at AKV!
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Sorry Seasons was sort of meh...though it served its purpose. Love the pics, everyone looks to be having an awesome evening!
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Pixie Dust
Glad TT was up and running again. 
. That was a good thing as we were all hungry.
PassPorter Guide Author
Liz 
So glad to see everyone (including the guys) having a great time. Very cool that you got to spend some time with Heather, too! Jasmine's sunrise shots from the balcony are making me really excited for my upcoming stay at AKV!
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