My Jan'11 Birthday TR…A day of sickness, a night of rain, and a week of fun and food.

Introductions

Welcome to my Birthday TR.

Me-The Birthday Girl!

My mom

My nanny

We spent a week (Jan 22nd-Jan 29th) at Pop Century. It was a fun week. Not too crowded, weather was decent most days, and best of all we had a great time.

Stay tuned to learn the meaning behind the title.

 

[jesemeca]

The story about POP CMs bringing you crackers is really impressive. When you're feeling crummy, especially in WDW, something like that can really make a difference.

I've taken a solo trip, back in 2006. I loved it! I explored areas and went on rides/attractions I hadn't done before (Swiss Family Treehouse, Astro Orbiter). It was really cool, and I'm hoping to do it again next winter.

I'm also thinking about doing the photopass CD on my next trip (99 days!). If it is split among the 6 of us in our travel party, even at $149 it'll be a bargain.

Your TR is so much fun - I'm looking forward to the rest!

They were very nice to us when we were sick. There is even more to be told about that later on in the trip report.

The solo trip is now a father/daughter trip. But my mom told my dad that he is to do what I tell him. LOL.

I love the photopass. It was the best investment for just the three of us. We had over 100 pictures without even trying. And it guaranteed I had some good pics of myself.

Enjoy your trip!

I absolutely LOVE your MK pictures in front of the castle most of all!!!

Well, all of my photopass ones were in front the castle. LOL. I didn't realize that until I got home. Most of my pictures were of the castle, at least that first day. So you might have to be a little more specific on which ones you LOVE. LOL.

 

[jesemeca]

Popper’s Dis Meet and Spaceship Earth

This morning was the Popper’s Dis Meet. There were only three of us that made it this morning but I still enjoyed the company. This was a meeting from the other Disney board I am on. I won't bore ya'll with that information. LOL. I will say that a good time was had by all.

After breakfast, it was off to Epcot.



Epcot would be my 2nd favorite. I may not ride as many rides here, but I love the atmosphere. Starting with Spaceship Earth. I know the guidebooks and touring plans all tell you to save this ride till later, but for me, it’s not Epcot till I ride Spaceship Earth.



Before even getting to the ride, I of course, made us stop for photopass pictures. The guy here this morning was very happy and just kept snapping away. These are a few of my favorites.









Now it was finally time for the ride. I have always enjoyed this ride. My favorite part has to be the burning of Rome. That smell just signifies Epcot for me. I have smelled things burning before and been transported back to Spaceship Earth. It’s amazing what a memory a smell can bring back.



I accidently took this picture with the flash on. Sorry.



This is me, but in the future. I love how the camera can’t detect Mickey ears. You would think that with the amount of people that wear them, the ride would have been able to detect them.

 

[jesemeca]

One I Don't Do and One We All Do...All Inside The Land Pavilion





My nanny was the only one who wanted to go on Soarin, so we told her to go now. Before the wait got to long. At this point it was only about a 20 minute wait, which I figured wasn’t too bad. Fastpasses though weren’t for until evening time.

While my nanny rode, I left my mom inside and I went in search of a smoking section. I have to say, this one had a lot of nice scenery for me.









After I finished taking too many pictures again, I went and found my mom and nanny. Next up, Living with the Land. I love this ride. I especially love it at night, but we didn’t get a chance to do that this trip.

 

[jesemeca]

Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine



I love Finding Nemo, but I don’t love these birds. After the first few times, it gets aggravating. I couldn’t imagine working there, where I would have to hear that all day every day. I’d go nuts. LOL.

We made our way over to Test Track. My nanny wanted to ride and the Times Board showed a short wait. I went off in search of another smoking section and took pictures, while my mom waited where my nanny could see.











It was now time for Journey into Your Imagination. Figment has always been a favorite of mine. I loved the original ride, but I will take what I can get. I don’t really remember the second version, but I’ve been told that’s a good thing. I have a picture of Dreamfinder, Figment, and I from years ago. I will have to search for that one.

 

[jesemeca]

DVC-You Know You Wanna…And I Took PhotoPass Pictures





After visiting Figment, we started walking towards World Showcase. About halfway down, my mom and nanny get stopped by the DVC lady(as I called her). They talked about wanting DVC, but can’t afford it, maybe Jessica should get it and we could just use hers. While they were doing that, I spotted a PhotoPass guy and ran off.







After waiting in line and getting my picture taken, my mom and nanny were still talking. So I went in search of yet another smoking section. Have you noticed, I do that a lot when I’m waiting for someone.

 

[jesemeca]

We Always Start In Mexico





This young lady, Flor, signed my Autograph/Birthday Book. I had someone from each country around World Showcase to write me a birthday message in their native language. I also asked them not to translate it. I like it better the way it is. Sorry for the bad picture, I had to take a picture of the page in the book. Here’s her message:





My mom trying on a sombrero.

Now it was time for the Gran Fiesta with The Three Caballeros. (Is that even the right name? LOL) There was absolutely no wait for this ride. Complete opposite from the lines at Magic Kingdom yesterday. As we were boarding my mom asked the lady working if we could take flash pictures. You should have seen how happy my mom got when the lady said yes.











This is the new restaurant in Mexico, Hacienda something. Sorry, I don’t remember the name. I wanted to eat there, but no one else did, so I just followed them to lunch. That was a mistake. You’ll find out more about that later.

 

[jesemeca]

Vikings, Trolls, and Waterfalls...Oh My!



We made our way on over to Norway next.





Madeline signed my Birthday Book:





This is supposed to be my Viking pose. I don’t really see it, but I still like the picture.



This is my mom and nanny’s Viking pose. I really don’t know what this photographer was thinking that these are Viking poses.





This is the only picture I have from Maelstrom. I don’t care for this ride. I usually close my eyes the whole time. I know I’m a scaredy cat, but I don’t care.



I do like trolls though. I have an original troll, that my great aunt brought back from Norway. The troll is one ugly woman, but I love her. She is the protector of my room. But when I first got her, I had to but a towel over her at night. The shadow she made scared the crap out of me. LOL.

 

[jesemeca]

We Skipped Around For Lunch, But Found Our Way Back To China And Germany.

By this time everyone was ready for lunch. My mom and nanny wanted to go eat at the Liberty Inn. So we bypassed China, Germany and Italy, to make our way to the American Pavilion. I had a burger that was topped with ham and provolone cheese. This was my least favorite thing I ate the whole trip. The burger was extremely dry and had very little taste, the ham was cold and the cheese never melted.



We then backtracked it to China.









This is the girl(Sorry, I don’t have her name.) that signed my Birthday Book:



Germany was our next stop.





Erika, above, signed my Birthday Book for me:





Can you believe that we went through the new Caramel shop in Germany and didn’t take any pictures? I know, I know, shame on me. I will do better next time. LOL.

 

[jesemeca]

Italy and Back to The American Adventure



We made our way over to Italy next.



Laura was the next to sign my Birthday Book:









These were taken from the smoking section in Italy. My mom and nanny had gone shopping. After they were done we saw the mime perform. I can’t think of his name, somebody help me. I don’t have any pictures of him either. We were behind a crowd, I do have a little video of him, but you can’t see much in that either.

Back to American Adventure we go.



I watched the Fife and Drum Corp perform for a few minutes, while they shopped again. When we first walked into the pavilion, they had a lot of characters on the side of the building. I tried to go hunt some down, but all the lines were closing.



Suzette signed my Birthday Book for me and a guy that I don’t remember his name drew the picture for me:

 

[jesemeca]

Japan and Morroco

Next we went to Japan.





I enjoyed browsing stores. I almost did the Pick A Pearl, but the line was very long. I may do it when we go back in October.



This young lady signed my Birthday Book.



And here is her message:



Morocco was our next stop.



This is the young lady that signed my Birthday Book.



And this is what she wrote:



(That’s my name at the top, in green.)

I had never realized how far back you could go in each country. I went all the way to the back in Morocco. It is such a beautiful pavilion.



On our way to our next destination, we saw Mo’Rockin performing.

 

[jesemeca]

"On zee leff, iz ze Eiffel Towa"

France was our next stop on our trip around the world.









As you can see in the above picture, the sky was getting dark. I was starting to worry about the rain. I was just hoping we would make it through dinner before it poured. That didn’t work quite as planned.

Julien signed my birthday book for me. He was quite funny. Asking if the book was really for me. He didn’t believe that I really was getting the book signed for myself.



And here is what he wrote:



Here are some of our photo pass pictures from France.



This is my mom in front of the fountain.





And these are me in front of the fountain.



Here I am on the bridge between France and United Kingdom.

 

[jesemeca]

Can I Finally Get A Picture With The British Invasion?

After a little photo session on the bridge, we entered The United Kingdom.





I would like to try The Rose and Crown, one of these days.



I like how there is almost no one else in this picture. You can kinda see someone next to the pole. If it weren’t for that, it would be a perfect picture.

This is Lorna, who signed my birthday book for me.



Here is her message for me:



From inside the store.







Okay at this point it was time for the British Invasion to perform. When we came back in May/June, I tried to watch the band and then get my picture with them while wearing my Beatles shirt. I got rained out that day. I mean it poured on me. It was a very bad storm that I was caught in. So I was trying to redeem myself this time. We start watching the show and within 10 minutes it starts to sprinkle. We keep watching for a few more minutes, but then start making our way to dinner. So that was strike two. I am no longer allowed to wear a Beatles shirt to Epcot. LOL.





Up next, Canada and dinner finally.

 

[jesemeca]

Canada, Le Cellier and Running Out Of Epcot In The Rain.

Canada was our last stop on our worldwide trip.



Catherine was the last to sign my birthday book.



Here is her message to me:



I had never been to the back or upper part of Canada Pavilion before. It was beautiful. I loved the waterfalls. When we were walking up the stairs there were some women looking over the side of the waterfall. One was a CM who was fishing something out of the water. One of the women dropped her hat in the water and the CM was getting it out with a really long grabber. They all took a picture with the lady who saved the hat.





It was now time for the reservation I had been waiting for, Le Cellier. Because of the rain we walked over almost an hour early. We weren’t trying to check in early, we just wanted to get out of the rain. Well the lady at the counter checked us in and asked us to wait. She said it may be awhile before we would be seated. We completely understood. We just didn’t want to miss the reservation. Not even 5 minutes after we sit down, they call our name. An hour early! Le Cellier seated us an hour early!



That’s the best I could get.

I had the Filet Mignon with roasted potatoes. The reason it is in a to go container is because I wasn’t that hungry. I took it back to the hotel and enjoyed it later. The food was really delicious.



For dessert I had the Chocolate Moose.



Today was a family friend’s birthday, so this is us toasting her.



After dinner we started the trek to the buses. It was pouring outside and windy. We made our way to Mouse Gears, where I had to make a few purchases. Then we made it to the front entrance. This is the only night shot I have of Epcot.

 

[jesemeca]

I Just Love An Empty Main Street In The Morning.



The Grand Floridian on the gray morning.

This was our first full day in Magic Kingdom. I was in heaven walking down an empty Main Street on my way to my favorite place ever. It was raining a little, but nothing too bad. We were let into the park early because we have early breakfast ADR’s.





You can see the rain on my camera in this one.



I love how the arch framed the castle.











Here is my mom and nanny waiting for them to let us in for breakfast. We were all very hungry. And I just wanted to be in my happy place again.

 

[jesemeca]

Breakfast At My Favorite Place Ever.

It was finally time for Crystal Palace. I absolutely love this place. It is my favorite restaurant in WDW. I love the food, I love the characters, and I especially love the ambience of the building. I feel like I’m sitting on someone’s porch. Except this porch has the best view in the world. As soon I as I walk in Crystal Palace I feel happy again. Doesn’t matter what was going on before I got here or what may happen after I leave. While I am here, all is right.



Our ADR was for 8:05am, we were seated around 8:15am. Not bad, considering the line of people they had outside. Not long after we were seated Piglet made his way around. Piglet loved that my birthday book and pen were both pink.



Right after Piglet left, Tigger came to visit. Tigger loved that we were celebrating my birthday.



After Tigger left, we were able to go get breakfast. For some reason I didn’t take any pictures of breakfast. I know I had the usuals though, eggs, bacon, sausage, Mickey Waffles, Pooh’s French Toast. Everything was delicious as always.




It was now time for the parade they do through the restaurant. I took a few pictures, but figured I better eat while they paraded, since the characters were coming so fast.

Next up was Eeyore, sad as always. But he was happy that he was on my shirt.



Last, but not least, was Winnie The Pooh. My favorite. He noticed my birthday button, so he signed Happy Birthday to me. Then my mom told him that he was my favorite. I showed him my jacket and he had to love the jacket, since he was on it.





This was my birthday cupcake.



Just a few more of my man, Pooh Bear.

 

[jesemeca]

Cinderella Castle on The Way To Fantasyland.

After breakfast, we stopped for more photo pass pictures.







These were supposed to be us with Mickey Ears.







We had to walk around the Castle to get to Fantasyland this morning.







http://img228.imageshack.us/i/788b.jpg/

 

[jesemeca]

Time To Visit Some Old Friends.

We walked on over to Snow White’s Scary Adventure and saw this:



I honestly don’t ever remember seeing a sign say no wait. For any ride I have ever been on at WDW. I was definitely liking the way the day was turning out.



The carousel from Snow White’s line.





Peter Pan was next on our list.





Mary Poppins was leaving her greeting spot when we spotted her. So I snapped this picture as she was walking past.

 

[jesemeca]

Dumbo, The Flying Elephant.

Dumbo, which had a very little wait, was next up.





My mom taking a picture of me taking a picture of her.



This was the first time I had ridden Dumbo in awhile. I don’t like heights, but I wanted to see over the walls. So I moved my Dumbo up just high enough to see over the walls.

 

[jesemeca]

Some Interesting Characters To Meet.

Prince Charming Regal Carousel.



Peter Pan was off to the side in Fantasyland, so I decided to join the line. When he saw my birthday button, he told me not to grow up to fast.



Peter Pan said that he couldn’t remember his last birthday, since you don’t grow up in Neverland.



Next up was the Step Mother and Step Sisters. Anastasia asked if today was my birthday. I told her no, it was last week. She was mad that she did not get an invitation. I told her that was why I was here today to celebrate with her. Then she asked me where the cake was. I told her it was being delivered. The Step Mother said “oooh.” Drizella said oh VIP delivery. Anastasia told me it would be 17 layers of pink and blue forget me nots and would be beautiful.







Time for Mickey’s Philharmagic.





On our way to ToonTown. My mom and Sebastian.

 

[foreverbelle]

OK I absolutely love the birthday book idea! That is really cool! And especially how you had them write it and then not translate for you. So did you go home and do some research??

But it looks like you guys had a great time. I am so sorry to hear that you were sick. That always sucks, I had it happen to myself when my hubs and I went back in March, no fun but I am glad you got better and were well enough to continue.

Look forward to reading the rest.