Labor Day with brand new APs About This Page:

[bsblady01]

more please

[bsblady01]

more please

[RobDVC]

Terrific plans, Lisa!

[tkd lisa]

Sorry it took so long to get back to this. First problem was that I lost the memory card for the pictures, then life just seemed to get in the way. But enough excuses. Here's the report!

And by the way, I think I want a new title. It should be "What do you call the plan when you've run out of letters?"

Anyway, as a reminder, this trip was over Labor Day weekend, we stayed at Caribbean Beach, participants were me, my 16 year old daughter, my 15 year old son, and my 70 year old mother.

I was up at 5:30 finishing up packing everything. DS had never brought me his clothes the night before, so I snuck around his bedroom (tripping over the AWFUL mess) to find a couple of outfits. In all that, I forgot his swim trunks. Anyway, everyone was up by about 6:30 and we made it out the door about 7:10, a little later than planned. We had an uneventful drive over, although we did see the early morning hot air balloon launch at Fantasy of Flight. Since I was driving, I didn’t get any pictures. But trust me, they were really pretty!

We pulled into the Customs House about 8:15. Mom stayed in the car since we were just picking up our room keys for EMH, but both kids joined me. DD snapped a bunch of pictures of the check in area which I’ve somehow managed to lose, while DS stretched his legs. I had carried in the cooler, expecting to leave it with bell services. But I was shocked to find out that our room was already available! We drove over to Trinidad South and followed the signs to 3661. This was the last time we followed the signs though! Our room was all the way at the back of the building, overlooking the pool, and a bit of the lake. I’m thinking we may have scored a free upgrade there, since we paid for standard view. It was actually a straight shot back from the parking lot, but the signs had us walk around every hallway in the building! Once in the room, we just put the cold stuff in the fridge, used the facilities and hit the road. Of course, I had to take a couple of pictures.




You can see the cooler sitting by the fridge, since I hadn't unloaded it yet.

DS said he was taking the bus and meeting us at the park, but the ladies piled into the van and headed over to MGM/Hollywood Studios. We parked in about the 3rd row, and were walking in the park about 8:50. Our main goal was to get in the Toy Story Mania line before the park opened, or maybe pull fast passes for later. Imagine my surprise to find out the line was 70 minutes long, and FPs were for 2:30 that evening! Okay, time for plan B. We were going to be in EPCOT at 2:30, so I didn’t bother with a FP. We snapped some pictures, then Mom and DD rode GMR while I pulled FPs for ToT.


Notice how dark the sky is, and it's about 9:00 by this time.



DD had been complaining she was hungry (she really did eat before we left the house though), so after I got the FPs (ripe at 9:45, much more like a morning EMH!) I swung through Starring Rolls. Boy was it MASS CHAOS in that place! The line wasn’t backed up out the door, so I got in it. But, the checkout registers were definitely a bottle neck. People were yelling at each other, and nothing was moving. That’s when I remembered that the little store next to Sci Fi sells pastries too, so time for Plan C. I strolled over there, and found just one family in line. Whew, that was better! I had a nice chat with them, explaining how the dining plan worked (they were going to ring each transaction separately because they thought each person’s plan was individual), then ordered my chocolate/white chocolate chip muffin. By that time, the ladies were finished with GMR, so I met them under that hat. DD declared the muffin “Gross” without even trying it, but that left more for Mom and me. We parked Mom on a bench by the Beauty and the Beast show, while we went through the single rider for RnR, then used our ToT FastPasses. I had called DS to see if he wanted to ride with us. I said “I have a FP for ToT, do you want it?” He said “What would I do with that?” I said “You can ride whenever you want, and he said But I’m over at EPCOT!” Somehow he thought we were going there. So given that, we found a teenage boy to use the FP, then DD and I headed off to drop.

Once we finished our ride (lots of fun), we gathered Mom back up, then headed toward the exit. We did detour into the sweet shop where DD got a jollypop (her favorite Disney snack), then we headed down the path toward EPCOT. As we walked under one of the bridges, we saw this huge white bird!





You can tell the sky is threatening in these pictures. Fay had gone all the way across the state, and had looped back across north Florida. And now Gustav was working his way out in the Gulf of Mexico. Hmmm. Can you say rain?

We made it through the International gateway about 11:15. I headed over to grab Soarin FPs while Mom & DD hit the store in Japan.


This is the fountain by the Imagination pavilion. I had never seen it turned off before.

DS met me there, and I gave him some money for lunch since he wanted to be on his own. He ended up eating at Yakitori House (teriyaki chicken and green tea, his normal meal). DD bought a couple of Pokemon plushies at the Japanese store. She's really gotten back into the Japanese anime thing lately and apparently this store has things that aren't available anywhere else in the US.

The ladies headed over to Morocco where we split a lamb Schwarma platter.



After lunch, we headed over to America and watched the Fife & Drum Corp and the Voices of Liberty.




The really high soprano who took off to have a baby last year is back (she's on the far right in the powder blue dress). I always enjoy listening to her, so I'm glad she's back! It poured while we were inside, but quit just as the music was finished.

We wandered through the Italian Kidcot station, getting this picture of the masks there.



We actually went into the glass shop, which I had missed before. This display was inside there.



After that, we kept moving around World Showcase. I think they were working on the train area when we were last here, so I took some new pictures there.




I had never noticed the greenhouse before.

The timesguide said that "silk music" was going to be performed in China, so we headed over there since we hadn't seen that before either.




Silk music was inside the temple, which may be why we've missed it before. Boy was that lady LOUD! We didn't stay long because we wanted to take a break in the room. As we headed out, we got some good pictures in the lily pond.


Notice the young great blue heron? He was standing really still!


I thought the water droplet on the lilypad was pretty indicative of this trip

We moved over to Norway where there was NO wait at all.

DD was a little grumpy because she was looking for the hidden Mickey in the mural, but you can see we walked right into the boat. After the ride, we spent some time in the shop because it was POURING! Mom bought a little statue of a puffin for her friend and had it shipped to the resort. The little guy was maybe a half inch tall but with the rain, she just didn't want to deal with it.

The rain stopped, and we headed over to Future World to use our Soarin FPs. As we came across, the fountain show was just beginning, so I snapped a few pictures.


Notice the clouds?

Just then, the skies OPENED UP! We quickly got under cover next to the Club Cool exit. DD went inside and sampled some of the drinks, but mom and I waited outside under the awning. Every time someone opened the door, you could feel the air conditioning POURING out, and with as wet as it was, I didn't need the cold too.

Eventually DD came out of there, and we went into the area where they have the EPCOT history exhibit. We ended up spending about 25 minutes in there waiting on the rain to quit. I took lots of pictures, but I'll spare you most of them.


Who wouldn't want to wear those snappy uniforms?


They had story boards on all the countries, but I'll just post DD's favorite!


I liked this exhibit section. Yes, I can remember having Disney albums when I was little. Even though my first visit was on my honeymoon, I had a lot of the paraphenalia.

The rain eventually let up enough for us to make it over to the Land where we used our Fast passes for Soarin, then rode on the Living with the Land ride.




As we were in the greenhouse, you could see SHEETS of rain pouring on the windows, so we decided to have a little snack before leaving. DD had creme brulee and Mom asked for some hot chocolate. Well, the machine wasn't working right, so I got her hot tea instead, and we split a cookie. There was a set of adorable twins probably about a year old next to use with their dad and grandpa. They were really the cutest things!

Eventually we decided to head back and luckily the rain held off while we exited the park. At the bus stop, I saw that the MGM bus was right next to the Caribbean Beach bus. Since it didn't look good for seeing Fantasmic that night (the original plans), I sent Mom and DD back to the room and I took the MGM bus to get the van.

We ended up back at the room at almost the exact same time to find that DS had gotten completely soaked on his way back. He was apparently walking from World Showcase to the front during the time we were in the greenhouse. He had literally 1/2 inch of water standing in his tennis shoes! And since he didn't pack, he didn't have any extra shoes. I squished out everything I could, and put his shoes (and DD's) on the air conditioning unit to dry out.

Up next. Just how much can it rain without getting me wet?

[tkd lisa]

So by this time, it's only our first afternoon, and we're up to Plan E. Our original Saturday evening plans were dinner in World Showcase at Counter Service followed by Illuminations.

But by the time I got DS's wet clothes dealt with, DD had taken a shower and put on her jammies. Now it was only 4:45, but she clearly wasn't going anywhere! She and DS gave me their dinner orders, and I headed over to the food court to pick them up. DS wanted pizza, and DD wanted a hot dog and cheese fries.

I took a few pictures of the resort, but it was so dripping wet, none of them are very good. Here's an example of how everything looked



I got to the food court (which is not in the same place you check in, different from every other moderate I've ever been at) right at 5:00 and it was pretty deserted. A couple of the stations didn't open up until later, but the two I needed did. There were a bunch of people waiting at the grill station, but I was able to put my order in right away. I should have known something was wrong then. After that, I went over and ordered DS's cheese pizza. It came out within a couple of minutes, and they gave me a cover to put over it. Then I went back for the hot dog. And waited. And waited. And waited. That's when I realized that everyone who had been there when I ordered was STILL standing there. Now they had two cooks in back, and a person up front taking orders. I have no idea what was taking so long, but I truly waited almost 25 minutes for a stinking hot dog. That was the last thing we ended up ordering at the food court, and I definitely mentioned it in my follow up survey.

Anyway, enough of that. The kids had food, and so Mom and I headed back out. We had decided that since it was so icky out, maybe the crowds were down in MGM. We were going to get counter service there, then ride Toy Story and maybe watch Fantasmic if the rain held off. I decided to drive so that I could fill up my gas tank, and we were able to park really close to where I'd left the van that morning. As we were walking to the entrance, I asked Mom what she wanted to eat. I reminded her that there's not a lot of counter service at MGM, and she said "Hmmm. Fish sounds good to me."

As I thought and thought, the only option I could come up with was the Fish Shop in EPCOT (UK). So we decided to catch the boat back to EPCOT. Just as we got on the boat, the skies OPENED UP again! Good thing we weren't walking, wasn't it? We ended up riding the boat the entire way (we usually get off and walk at least part of the way), and as soon as the boat docked, it quit raining.

Once inside, I ordered one set of fish (no chips, they knock off almost $2 for that and we don't eat them anyway) plus a drink. Mom had found a couple who was willing to share their table (it had an umbrella), and we had a nice chat while we finished eating. We told them we had reservations for Yak and Yeti the next day, and they told us that they thought it was pretty overpriced for what you get. After we finished, we headed back to the boat dock, and just got under the awning when the skies opened up again.

As we were riding in the boat, someone had one of those phones that's web enabled, and I could see huge swirls of tropical weather surrounding the entire state of Florida! That's when I knew it was going to be a long weekend! It rained the entire boat ride, and believe it or not, it stopped just as we docked at MGM.

Mom & I headed over to Toy Story Mania where it still showed a 70 minute wait. But we decided it was indoors, and we didn't have anything better to do, so we hopped in line.

I took a bunch of pictures of the line area, but here are just a few.







I didn't know that the Mr Potato Head actually talked to you. I think he freaked out a few people in line. And as many other people have said, the wait time isn't accurate. We ended up waiting about 40 minutes, and it was WELL worth the wait. Mom & I had an absolute blast! I'm much better at this than Buzz! I like the fact that your gun shoots it's own color so you can see where you're aiming wrong. We finished up about 20 after 8, and I was on the phone to DD right away telling her what a great ride this was! We all agreed that we'd come back to the studios in the morning and ride first thing. But DS said that he wanted to go to MK. I told him fine, and then hung up.

We decided to skip fantasmic (which was actually going to happen), and just get back to the room before we tempted the rain gods anymore. A quick drive back, and when I got in the room I asked DD, "Where's DS?" She said "He went to Magic Kingdom. He said that you told him he could when you talked to him on the phone." Well, I thought he had been talking about the next morning when we had that conversation. I called his cell phone, and he said that he had just gotten to the MK, and it was open until 3 am. I asked what he wanted to do there, and he said "Just walk around". So I told him that he could stay there for a little bit, but that he had to be ON the resort bus by 10:00 and in the room by 10:30. And he had to call me from the bus. I said that if he missed by even 1 minute, he was going to stay with me the entire next day. So at 9:55 my phone rang and he was on the bus. He was in the room shortly after that, and we were all asleep before 11.

So counting all the rain storms, I think we ended up dodging at least 8 separate downpours that day, without getting more than damp (except DS, but that's what he gets for going off on his own!)

Coming up: Plan G (or is it higher than that yet?)

[Colexis Mom]

Great updates Lisa!! We were there for Fay, so I feel your pain with the rain Glad you got to ride TSMM!! And had a great time in DHS and Epcot!! More please

[DyanKJ130]

Great update! Even with all that rain you managed to have a wonderful time! Looking forward to more

[bsblady01]

more please

[mcc0313]

Glad you were not letting the rain stop you and that you and your mom got to enjoy TSMM....

[tkd lisa]

I pulled out my receipts and it jogged my memory on a couple more things on the first day of the trip. After we finished our lamb platter in Morroco, DD went back and got an order of baklava. I told you she LOVES that stuff!

Then I remembered the beginning of the great pool fiasco. When we booked this resort, the CM had told us that the main pool area was under renovation, but that they would be adding slides to the other pools for the duration. Now slides aren't important to us, but hot tubs (whirpools, spas, whatever else you call them) are. My mom still gets a little stiff from her knee surgery a couple of years ago, and my feet always enjoy a good hot soaking after a day in the parks.

So when we came back from the Studios while we waited on DS, we put on our suits and went down to the pool (it was right outside our building). I looked all around, but there was no hot tub anywhere. Okay, we decided to just get in since of course this one would be okay, right? Well, it was pretty doggone chilly! Then I went looking for towels to dry off with. And there were NONE to be found anywhere. So we dripped and shivered our way back to the room.

Okay, that's all the things I think I missed in previous installments. On to the next one.

Sunday, 31 August.

Plans: Start at MK (drive over) and catch the opening ceremony. Hit Haunted Mansion and the Mountains, then pool hop to the Polynesian. Drive to Animal Kingdom for our Yak & Yeti reservation at 1:30. Watch the parade, catch a late safari, then to DTD for dinner. I figured we'd lose the kids by then, but Mom & I would go back to MK for Spectro and Wishes.

Reality:

I woke up about 6:30 and got myself ready. I do love that privacy curtain they have in the moderates. We had set DD up with a sleeping spot under the hanging clothes area (used one of the bedspreads folded up for a mat, and we brought a light sleeping bag and her pillow). For those of you who think we're Harry Potter-ing her, she has to have a perfectly dark space all by herself in order to sleep. She insists on the floor and refuses to trade off with her brother for the bed. She's also found an old fashioned sleeping mask (the kind the movie stars used to wear), and that's been a godsend because I don't have to hide every little light source!. Anyway, I did have to be pretty quiet, but I managed. Mom got up about 6:50, and we headed over to Old Port Royale (the food court/store area) to enjoy our breakfast.

Now you might remember that I said the previous night was my last experience with that food court. Well, it mostly was. We bring breakfast stuff with us, so we didn't have to deal with the stations, but we did use their toaster, microwave, and tables for breakfast.

Anyway, Mom & I had bagels that I had brought with us, and we enjoyed a quiet devotion time since we wouldn't be going to church. I toasted one more bagel for DD back in the room, and we were back there by 7:45. DD was awake by then, and just had to finish her breakfast.

Now on to plan G. Last night we had decided we would go to the Studios and be there at rope drop to ride Toy Story. DS was awake, but wasn't quite ready to go when we left, so I told him he had to join us (At the studios this time!) by 9:30. We caught a bus fairly quickly and were in line at the gates by 8:35.

But at the bus stop, we already moved on to Plan H. One of my co-workers had said something to me Friday that he and his family might come over and stay at Shades of Green for the weekend. He called me Sunday while we were at the bus stop and asked about the weather and the crowds. Even with my explanation of DS getting soaked, they decided to come over anyway. He and his wife have a 4 year old boy and 7 year old girl. They all go to church with us, and we've babysat for them a few times so my kids know them fairly well. My friend said he'd call when they were checked in, but they planned on going to MK so we agreed to meet them there. So this meant we were dropping our Yak & Yeti reservation (I did call and cancel).

Once again, I had a plan. And once again, it really didn't work. I had Mom & DD go to the main entrance section (facing the hat), while I was going to come around the backside past Star Tours. I was going to get FPs, then meet them for stand-by. Unfortunately, they don't drop the rope for the side street until most people are through the main street rope. By the time I make it to the Fast Pass area, there's a line just to GET FPs that's at least 100 people deep. I decide to give up on that (because we were only staying a little while here), and just meet up with Mom & DD . So on to Plan I. We meet up, and the standby wait says 70 minutes. I tell DD that it's not outside the building yet, so it's more like 40 and we got in line. It ended up being about 30 minutes (no FPs yet), and we really enjoyed the line while we waited.




The Mr Potato Head who talks and sings

DD loved the ride, just like I expected! Once we got off, I called DS, who was in Tatooine Traders building a lightsaber. I told him he HAD to come and ride with us and after a bit of argument he joined us for a good ride. I let him decide who he wanted to ride with, and he picked me. He was a little worried about damaging his lightsaber (he did the double ended kind, which was quite a handful), but we tucked it in around our feet. Once we got into the practice area, DS was hooked. Man could he pull that string fast!!!! Of course, then I had to try to do like he was and my accuracy went down the drain.

He had a blast as we went to each area, and as we waited to unload, I said "Wasn't that a GREAT ride?!" His answer? "It was okay", said in that bored teenager voice. I just couldn't let it rest until he finally gave me a little grin and said "Yeah mom, it was a lot of fun." DS wanted to stay in the Studios and wasn't interested in joining us at MK, so once again, the ladies headed out. We went to the bus stop for the TTC, which was right next to the Grand Floridian bus. After about 10 minutes, a GF bus pulled up, but the driver said he wasn't going back there. We ended up waiting 20 minutes for the TTC bus. We headed toward the monorail, but it wasn't working. We had just missed a ferry too. Good thing we weren't in much of a hurry. So far, the rain was holding off, and the weather was fairly nice.


At the ferry waiting area.

Once inside the park, I was surprised to find it already decorated for Halloween. I think this must be new, because even when I've come in October, they didn't have the Halloween stuff up during the day. But I got some good pictures.




I think I took about 10 pictures of the different jack o lantern characters, but I'll just share this one

As we were on main street, we encountered these two ladies. My mom always gets a kick out of that type of performance so we watched a while.



I went and got Buzz fast passes, and met the ladies over near Fantasy Land. I had never really seen this fountain before, but DD called my attention to it.


It says it's Cinderella's fountain.

Anyway, Mom wanted to ride the Liberty Belle, but we just missed it. We headed back to maybe get on Haunted Mansion but the line was pretty long and we were hungry. So we went to Columbia Harbor House instead. I think Mom must have bought this meal because I don't have a receipt. She and I split the tuna salad sandwich and it was as good as you all have said!


Notice the bread. Hard to explain how much difference it makes, but it just does!

I'm pretty sure DD had chicken strips again. After this, we got in line for HM. It was fairly crowded and a little hot. DD decided she didn't want to ride, so she wiggled her way back and just waited on us at the exit. Once we finished there, we just missed the river boat again, but it was about time for our Buzz FPs so we headed to TomorrowLand, stopping for a funnel cake along the way. It was so windy the powdered sugar was blowing everywhere!


I got this picture on the way, and notice how gray the sky is. The rain was holding off though.

We rode Buzz, and I was again reminded how much more I like TSM because I had no idea which red light was mine!


Somehow, I think he's just shaking his head at the poor shooting this space ranger is going to do. After that, we went into the Laugh Floor where I was pointed out as someone who thought Catsup was made from Cats. I think they pointed out DD too (something about didn't her mom warn her that her face was going to freeze that way?) and we enjoyed the show. They've finally changed up the jokes, which was nice.

Anyway, my friend had called and said they had checked in and were heading over to the park, so we decided to head up Main Street and get an ice cream cookie sandwich at the bakery. It was about 2:40 by then, so we grabbed some sidewalk for the parade in case they wanted to watch with us.

While we waited, we saw the barbershop quartet, who were really good this time.


I think they were singing Happy Birthday to this guy.


The balloon seller was having a hard time with the wind too.

Once our friends got here, they decided to go ride some rides, and DD went with them. That left Mom & I with more sidewalk than we could use, so we offered it to the cutest family. There were 3 little girls who ended up being a set of twins and their cousins. I asked how old they were, and one twin said 5 and one said 6. I said "Now if you're twins, aren't you the same age?" Turned out they were turning 6 on 9/11 and one of them was just jumping the gun a bit. I told their mom about getting birthday buttons, and we all settled in to watch the parade. It was so neat to watch with girls that age. They were such princess lovers, which was a stage my girl never went through. It made the parade more magical to see it through their excitement!







After the parade, we met up with DD and our friends at It's a Small World. I knew this was their little girls' very favorite ride, and it was neat to go with her. While we were parade watching, they rode the race cars and got FPs for Buzz. DD tried to use her room key (since I had her pass), but it wouldn't work. I think they also went on the Laugh Floor, and DD said the jokes were different from the earlier show.

Our friend's son kept asking about where my son was. It's funny how little boys definitely hero worship older boys. I explained that he was still at the Studios and wasn't going to join us. After we finished IASW, our friends Buzz FPs were ripe so we split up. We finally managed to get on the Liberty Belle and noticed that BTMRR wasn't running.






Notice, no cars moving.

After that, we headed back to the resort. DS had already gone back and was watching TV. We dodged another rain storm on the bus.

Once back in the room it quit, and the ladies put on our swimsuits and went looking for a hot tub. There still weren't any towels out at our pool, and I called to ask where a hot tub was. Short answer, there weren't any. I asked if we could pool hop, and was told no. I was fairly disappointed in the pool situation, and again noted it on my survey. I knew the main pool was down, but thought that would only mean that we didn't have a big slide. Instead, we had less of a pool experience than we would have gotten at a value resort. I could have used my DVC hopping privilege, but with such a short trip, and such questionable weather it wasn't worth the time.

Coming up next: Downtown Disney, resort hopping, and an early night

[tkd lisa]

After the pool trip, DD took a shower and once again pulled on her jammies and settled in for the night. While she was doing this, I went over to Old Port Royale to pick up the package that was waiting (Mom's little Puffin from Norway). I told the CM that it was a little box, and she looked and looked. Finally, she drug out the step ladder so she could see all the tags correctly. She ended up pulling out this HUGE bag off the top shelf! I checked to be sure it was ours, and yes, they packaged a one inch square box into a gigantic bag! Oh well, it gave us someplace to put those still damp clothes!

Once I was back from the errand, Mom decided she wanted to go to DTD to look for a gift for the people who were bringing in her mail. The sky was really dark, so I decided to drive, and we each grabbed an umbrella. We went into WoD and I bought a pack of peppermints for a co-worker who'd done a lot for me. I had just gotten back from a business trip to Harrisburg/Hershey PA, and brought chocolate for the office, but this lady doesn't eat chocolate (I know, it's heresy!). Mom ended up finding a Mickey dishtowel set, plus she bought Kingdom Keepers as a Christmas gift for DD.

It was pretty crowded down there, and the skies were rumbling so we decided against eating there. Instead, Mom wanted beignets, so we drove to POFQ. We split a cheesesteak and pasta salad for our meal, then I ordered some stuff to-go for the kids. I got DS a cheese pizza, but DD was harder. She ended up with gumbo and a side of mashed potatos. Plus I got our beignets. A quick stop over to the main store where I got more milk and OJ because we were out (DS had eaten cereal several times in the room). BTW, whenever I don't mention his meal, he's usually done that. It's easy to lose track of him since "He vants to be alone!"

We drove back to the resort and were all in bed by 10:00.

Up next, "Will we EVER get a picture with DS?"

[Colexis Mom]

More great updates!! Glad you got to ride TSMM again And meet up with your friends in MK!! Great pictures!!

[DyanKJ130]

Great updates!! Sounds like a wonderful time at DHS and then MK with your friends. I'm hoping to see a photo of DS!! Looking forward to more

[tkd lisa]

I've typed the beginning of this day 3 times so hopefully this time it will work! I keep hitting the wrong button!

Plans for the day were to be at EPCOT by opening then stay through our Teppan Edo ADR at 1:30. Then we'd head over to the Studios or MK for the parade, and have counter service dinner somewhere before heading for home about 7:30.

I figure that our evening dinner plans of the previous evening were Plan J, and this morning's change was Plan K. When we were with our friends the previous day, they had told us they had never visited Animal Kingdom. So since we hadn't been there yet this trip, we agreed to head over there before our ADR and give them a call to meet up. I had told them that they HAD to see Lion King, and that Nemo would probably be good for their kids too.

Monday morning, I was up early again, and Mom & I had our food down at Old Port Royale while the kids got ready on their own. We finished up the beignets and the cereal. I got the van packed up and took the cooler down to bell services to pick up on our way out. I think I left the van at the resort and we took buses this day. DS had wanted to sleep late, but I told him we had to be out of the room. Plus I laid a little guilt trip on him over my friends son who wanted to see him.

Anyway, we were at AK about 8:45. I really don't remember where everyone else went, but I got FPs for the Safari and took these pictures along the way.


The camera lens was steaming up and I didn't realize it.


I think it's neat that the shop workers are always out smiling in the morning in Africa.


I spotted this hidden mickey on the ground near the Dawa bar.

There was no line for Safari, so Mom & DD came and joined me. I got a bunch of good pictures this time through.







I picked up another set of FPs so that all of us could ride together once our friends came. I left a message for them, then we headed over to Asia to pick up a glass of tea from the tea stand (iced this time because it was pretty hot out). The monkeys were really LOUD!



It was about time for a Nemo show to start, so we headed over there and were seated fairly close to the front. DD noticed a lady who was wearing a Flower & Garden shirt from several years before, and they had a nice conversation. DD has started taken a sign language class at school, and she feels compelled to attempt to translate lots of things. I hadn't noticed, but she ended up doing this through most of the Nemo show. As we were leaving, the lady she had been chatting with told her how much she liked watching DD do this. It turns out that she's hard of hearing, and she told DD how much she misses things.

Anyway, by the time we were finished with the show, it was almost noon, and my friends hadn't called. Since our lunch ADR was for 1:30 we decided to head on over to EPCOT. I found a large group coming into the park and handed them our safari FPs. We took the bus to EPCOT (and waited quite a long time, probably 25 minutes), then split up again. DS agreed to meet us at the restaurant at 1:30. DD and I rode test track single rider, then headed toward World Showcase past the old Odyssey building. We saw the cutest family of ducks. At first, they were all lined up in a single file, but then they started forming these patterns swimming around. It was like our own little synchronized swim team!



I think we went on the boat ride in Mexico which was where DD noticed that they had some really nice silver jewelry that was fairly cheap (bracelets between $8 and $15). We saw that Miyuki was performing, so DD hustled over toward Japan. Mom & I took our time, and when we got there, I saw she was making something yellow. It turned out that she had picked DD who asked for a yellow fox. Here's a couple of pictures of it.


Under construction


Completed project.

This time I noticed that Miyuki spent quite a bit of time out in front of her podium. I'm not sure when she started doing this, but it let her get much closer to people while she was working. She's truly an amazing artist and it's really enjoyable to watch her.

By this time, DS had arrived in Japan so we all went up and checked in for our ADR. I haven't been upstairs since they finished the remodelling, and it's really different. They have a dining area visible while you're in the waiting area, and it looks like the bar that's off to the right is much more open as well. I did snap this picture of the changing picture in the central dining room.



We were called back to our table, where we were seated with a couple who were from New Orleans. They had been on vacation (free dining) for about a week, but extended by a couple of days because Gustav was potentially headed their way. They were really good natured about it though. We also had a group of young Japanese ladies who were on vacation. One was a schoolteacher and the other was a photographer.

My mom was chatting with them and she somehow conveyed that DD is an artist and that it was DS's birthday. DD didn't have any of her sketch books with her (which is very rare for her), but the ladies really made a fuss over DS's birthday. In fact, they presented him with a very pretty Japanese fan (you'll see it at the end of the meal).

Our chef's name was Asuza, and she was really good! She chatted a bit in Japanese with the young ladies, then started joking around with DS.

She's starting to cook our food here.


Now the meat went on.


She put this little suggestion on DS's plate, then turned it into this.



I think he got the hint, because he started enjoying himself a little more. We really enjoyed this meal (I know Mom & I split our meal, and I think DS got the steak and shrimp and DD got the chicken and shrimp). The receipt just has the japanese names so I can't be sure. We did get the 10% AP discount, and the meal ended up being around $90. After we ate (and DS got his nice fan from the ladies), he agreed to a couple of pictures. Since I don't look a gift horse in the mouth, I took several. Here is the best!



I had noticed a photopass photographer taking pictures by the water when we went into the restaurant, and asked DS if we could get a family picture. He agreed, and of course I couldn't find one. We wandered a bit more and finally found someone by Morocco. He took several nice shots with us.


I liked this one the best.

DS headed back to the outpost for a little bit, while we wandered through World Showcase. We stopped in Canada where DD picked out a tin of mints, then I got this picture of Mom & DD.



We decided to head back out since I had lots of laundry to do. After a quick stop by the resort to get our cooler, we ended up at home by 4:00. Turned out my friends didn't make it into AK until about 11. They did get to see the Lion King and truly enjoyed it.

So that's our fairly quick Labor Day trip. Hope you enjoyed it!

[DyanKJ130]

Great finish! Glad to see DS in some photos and that he took the hint of your chef! for sharing your adventures with us! I have enjoyed reading it and can't wait for the next one