Sorcerers, Spies and Superbowl Adventures - A February Trip Report

This trip began a very long time ago. In fact, over 15 months ago, I assumed that this trip would be our first trip back to WDW in over a year. But that hasn't been the case! Never the less - we were super excited to join my husband in Orlando for a conference Feb. 6 - 11. The reservations were made for the Beach Club (conference rate.) My husband's ticket was purchased for Tuesday and we were all set........ or so I thought.

Two weeks ago, my husband called and said he wanted to go to an additional 'meeting' in Orlando on Tuesday - the day he was supposed to arrive. He said we should all just drive down together on Friday.........so that he could go to the meeting on Tuesday...........hmmmmmmmmmmm.......... a meeting he 'had' to go to..... that we 'had' to arrive 3 days early for...... sounds like someone figured out they'd get more park time by arriving early! So we booked the Caribbean Beach at a great rate and added on a few more nights.

Friday, we left home, stopping overnight in Georgia. On Saturday, we pulled onto Disney property promptly at 3 pm. We only had time to check in quickly and throw our bags into the room, before we had to rush off to my son's 4:30 haircut appointment at the Barbershop in the MK!

Hey! I know that place:

We were getting ready to walk out the door when my daughter spilled a bottle of water on her outfit. She insisted she HAD to change clothes, so I told my husband and son to head on to the bus stop without us and to get on the first MK bus. I told them we'd be right behind them.

They were right on time to their appointment, but sadly, I missed the whole thing. It took my daughter and I a good hour to catch up with them with the whole outfit changing, waiting for the bus, etc.

(Pictures of haircut to come - all are on my husbands phone at this time.)

It was a perfect evening in the MK though, so who can be sad???

 

[erstwo]

This large rhino on the right charged across the Safari path right before we got there. It was amazing to see him move so fast. Evidently, he had a bone to pick with the other rhino pictured. It looked like he would charge at any second. Made me slightly nervous when the driver paused - I was afraid he would back up right into our vehicle. But, of course, that never happened.

Cheetahs!

This picture made me think of a business book my husband is reading in which it discusses what it was like to be at WDW during the hurricanes in 2005 (I think it was 2005???) So many dedicated CM's stayed at AK with the animals to wait out the storms, but how scary if you lost power with all these wild animals around?! I know they have generators, but still - shiver!

Lion (cropped to zoom in)

Another rhino (not cropped - really that close!)

And warthog

And we were done! Back safe and sound!

 

[erstwo]

After Safari, we were still on a mission to complete our Discovery Kids book, so we were of on the path

More active animals

The gorillas were more amazing than usual. There is a baby gorilla! Too cute!

And then it was time to learn again. This station has a funny story:

So - at this station, you learn about tracking animals. First you track footprints, then po op and then (something else I can't remember......) and finally you guess what type of animal you are tracking based on size/ type of foot print, size and content of po op, etc. THEN you look through a 'telescope' to see if you guessed correctly.

Well, I guess this telescope not only shows you a picture of the animal (a rhino), but it also shows you the actual foliage in the background (instead of just being painted white, etc.) The CM made a big deal of it being a 'magic telescope that only shows pictures of animals' which I thought was kind of strange until suddenly, I see my children (and two others - so it wasn't just my 2:lol looking furiously on the ground, through the leaves, plants, etc.

I asked the CM what in the world was going on and she said with a sigh, "They're looking for the tiny rhino they just saw through the telescope. They think it's real. Every kid does."

So my kids were looking everywhere for a 2 inch tall rhino! :ROFLOL: It was hysterical! Oh my word. So funny.

 

[erstwo]

Next, it was literally onward and upward!

This was our final stamp/ stop.

All done!

Taking the oath!

Not my favorite part of AK, but the kids love it, sooooo

This goat was trying to escape. He was in the handwashing pen and we all had to wait until someone could come get him back where he belonged.

 

[erstwo]

Traveling back:

And then...... big stuff for us. My son really wanted to ride EE, but my daughter has never been much of a roller coaster girl. After SM, I figured there was no way she would try EE. My son begged my daughter to go on it and give it a try. To my shock, she said yes. So we were off for her first trip on The Forbidden Mountain!

This was close to the end of the day. When we exited at 4:50ish, the wait time was only 5 minutes!

Well, my daughter survived. That's really all that can be said. Not her favorite, but I can't say enough how proud I am that she tried 2 coasters in one visit!

We are at the very back and you can't even see us. Bless her!

After that, we headed back to the Beach Club. Mousekeeping had visited again!

My daughter thought it was cute that Mickey and Minnie's pets were out on the blanket - how does she notice these things??? It amazes me.

Up next - an evening in Epcot and our final full day!

 

[erstwo]

hooray all caught up

Yay! Thanks for reading and sticking with it! I know it is taking forever.

I wouldn't mind STILL being behind, if you know what I mean lol. And Pascal was a wonderful companion on our trip laughs for all involved!

Yep, it's part of the England one... we only did England and France because we had our minds (and tastebuds) set on other parts of World Showcase that day. :lookaroun

Oh, I totally know what you mean. :lookaroun

 

[erstwo]

Day 6 (Thursday) continued

I am 99.9% sure this is the night we stayed so late at AK that we walked in and my husband was already in the room waiting on us. Yay!

Once again, we weren't sure where we wanted to have dinner, so we were off to Ecpot. The whole 3 minute walk........ so nice.

No tripod

Propped up on the water fountain top inside the International Gateway - such a huge difference!

We checked out Chefs de France, but were told there was no more Remy that evening. It was potentially a long wait and there was no dining plan for us this time, so we didn't want to shell out the big bucks when we really wanted to kill 2 birds with one stone - try Chefs and see Remy all in one visit, so we moved along.

My husband and my daughter stopped in the American pavilion to let my daughter eat. She loves chicken nuggets! I really wanted to have thechicken flatbread again, but my son wanted me to come with him on a Secret Spy mission and my husband couldn't wait even one second longer to eat.

We made our way to Norway and picked up our mission.

We were led to China. Such a neat mission!

Sorcerers and Kim Possible do really remind me of each other - the way the lighting is set up at night and how the sound is set up. No screens on Kim Possible though. But it makes sense - as often as windows, etc. change in the MK, where as the decor in each WS pavilion seems to be 'set' and unchanging.

We found the jade statue!

After we completed our mission, we called my husband to discover they were coloring a Duffy in the American pavilion, so my son and I grabbed dinner in China.

We then met up and headed over to Test Track.

 

[erstwo]

After Test Track, we ran to Soarin to use our 'special' fastpasses from earlier in the week!

After Soarin we headed straight for the International Gateway - we had learned our lesson the night before - always beat the Illuminations crowd!

Up next - Final Day! (I know you thought we'd never get there. Ha!) And - how many times can you hear, "Looks like Brer Fox and Brer Bear are causing some trouble upstream........" without losing your mind???

 

[enchanted_belle]

So, you know how you have the picture of the butterfly box from England and didn't know it was a KP mission??? ... that's the same way with me and these guys! :lol: Great minds think alike, huh?

 

[erstwo]

So, you know how you have the picture of the butterfly box from England and didn't know it was a KP mission??? ... that's the same way with me and these guys! :lol: Great minds think alike, huh?

Yes! That's what TR's are for right? I honestly don't even remember what they do now. So I guess I'll be surprised all over again next time!

 

[erstwo]

Day 7 (Friday)

Today, we were going to get up and make Rope Drop at MK. We, ummmmm...... didn't exactly make it...... :lookaroun We slept in - again. This was really our first extended trip (over 2 or 3 nights) since our 10 day trip in December 2010. I joked that this was the 'anti 2010 trip.' In which I drug my family around from dawn to dusk. Forcing them to see every park opening and fireworks show. Bless them. Good thing they still love me!

We did eventually get up.

Good morning Cape May Cafe -ers!

Elevators

USA Today

After breakfast - ham and french toast sticks for 2 of us, muffin for the 3rd!

We headed for the bus stop where they had this game set up for the kids to play:

 

[erstwo]

Soon we were in the gates of the MK!

Walking in just never gets old.

We headed toward Adventureland - I think we were headed for the Jungle Cruise, a favorite of my son's. (I swear, I've looked at this photo closely and that kid is NOT picking his nose. It just looks that way at first glance. )

We passed Ariel and Prince Eric. Usually my daughter wants nothing to do with the Princes. This day she was feeling brave, so we got in the loooong line. In front of us was a group of teenage girls there for a cheerleading competition. After a few seconds I realized they go to a high school in our hometown! Everyone together..... "It's a small world after aaallll......." No? Okay then.

We took pictures to pass the time. Sorcerer cards:

See those descriptions and numbers on the bottom? Those had no bearing while we were playing the demo version of the game. But supposedly, they will help with strategy when the entire game is up and running. I'm interested to see if it will be over my kids ability level when that happens.

After I took 8 iPhone pictures for those cheerleaders in front of us, it was....Our turn!

Sweet Eric - I about passed out when my daughter gave him a hug. I almost missed it.

 

[erstwo]

Time to cruise

At first, I thought it said the wait time was 45 minutes! But it was only 5 minutes. We might have walked right on if we were a party of 2. We had to wait the whole 60 seconds for another boat.... boo hoo.

Our skipper didn't have any original material, which was a bummer after our last skipper experience, but there were a few new people on the boat, so it was fun to laugh along with them.


Another boat enjoying............. THE BACK SIDE OF WATER!!!

 

[erstwo]

After JC, we were ready to ride....... Splash Mountain! I think the wait was 25 minutes.

We ended up on a boat with 4 first timers. A sweet family from Canada with 2 preteen boys who were down for their first visit. The boys kept asking if this was the big drop and my son kept telling them no, it was farther down the ride. When it finally was time for the big drop - or at least the last lift, we hit a traffic jam!

Weird. That's never happened before. Not two seconds after we 'bumped' the boat in front of us, we heard the dreaded message....... "Uh oh. Looks like Brer Fox and Brer Bear are causing some trouble upstream........"

We were stuck exactly here

So close, yet so far away

After the Brer Fox/ Bear message repeated about a dozen times, someone finally came over the loudspeaker, but only to tell everyone to sit down. This became a problem. It wasn't happening in 'our' show scene, but someone, somewhere kept standing up, causing 'confusion and delay' as my son once would have told you.

Finally a CM came out on these mats to tell us that the entire computer system had shut down and they were having to re boot. She offered to help anyone off who needed to get off (luckily no one needed to - I was so glad at this point we had gone to the bathroom before getting on.)

It took around 20 to 30 minutes all together for us to get going again. We were also told we would be getting a Fastpass at the end of the ride - score!

But finally we were going again! I was so glad we got to finish the ride - but there was no sound the rest of the way. Which made me kind of sad for the first time family riding with us. My kids and I sang the Zipadeedodah song for them. :lol: All the animatronics were working in the last scene. There was just no sound.

 

[erstwo]

We claimed our special fastpasses

And headed straight for the bathrooms. Ha!

After that, we met Jesse and Woody

I forgot to mention my camera battery died on the ride too. So all iphone pictures for the rest of the day at the MK.

We were hungry and didn't want to wander far. So we hit up a few food stands. It was corn dogs for my son and I and popcorn for my daughter.

The sky looked kind of ominous and we were feeling hot...... you know what that means! Pool time!

But first we needed to use our Fastpasses. Hmmmm...... what to ride, what to ride...... We settled on the always a ridiculous wait time..... Peter Pan!

As we were exiting Peter Pan, my daughter - who's had a loose tooth for ages said, "Mommy, I think my tooth is coming out." Of course I'm thinking, Really???!!! Right here in the exit to Peter Pan?

I told her to hold on and let me get us to a less crowded place - which, of course in Fantasyland would be where exactly? She was frantic, so I pulled her over next to the stroller parking in front of Philharmagic. I looked at her tooth and tugged a little, but nothing happened. She was still freaking out though and her brother asked to see her tooth. She pulled her lip down and he stuck his hand in there to tug and before she could even scream at him for touching her tooth, he had it out!

But now she was really screaming. Not because it hurt, but because she was so freaked out by it all. We went across the way to get some napkins and a popsicle to calm her down. Then we walked back across to the Philharmagic gift shop where the kindest CM gave us a tiny box and gently wrapped up her tooth in a sheet of tissue paper and closed it with a sticker, so we wouldn't lose it. So sweet!

Here she is, one tooth lighter!

First tooth lost in Fantasyland at Disneyworld. What are the chances??

 

[erstwo]

Before we left I took a few shots in front of the Castle. Sadly, my camera wasn't working, so I had to settle for the phone.

Then it was on to the busses!

At 'home' we found our very first towel animal waiting on us! In probably 12 trips to Disney this is the first towel animal we've ever gotten. We always tip, so I don't know why? (Well, we do get the animals/ 3 towel mickey head when we first check in, so I guess those count.)

My kids were over the moon about it.

It was Pool time!

At some point my husband joined us and I left him with the kids at the pool. I went upstairs to get ready for dinner. We had reservations for the Flying Fish that night. At the last minute, we decided to check the kids into the Sandcastle Club and make it an 'adults only' night. After I finished getting ready, I pulled out my computer for the first time on the trip and checked in here. That's when I first posted to this TR!

It was such a nice night to just sit with the balcony doors open and listen to the Brittish Revolution playing in Epcot in the distance. I recognized some Rolling Stones, Beatles, and the Who.

Up next - Sandcastle Club, Flying Fish, Boardwalk and our final night in Epcot!

 

[plaz10]

AHH that scene in Splash Mountain used to scare me so bad! It wasn't the big drop but those damn vultures that scared the crap out of me. My 3rd grade self would not have wanted to sit there and see them over and over. :lol:

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Thank you! She does love her stuffed animals - and she thinks they like to visit their 'home' too! I have some really cute pictures with Chip & Dale coming up later in the TR.

Welcome!!! And like her I always come home with a new stuffed animal each trip (like I didn't already have enough :lol I have a full size bed and they take up at least half if not more

Finally caught up! I've been writing and not having much time to read!!!! The EPCOT resorts are BEAUTIFUL! My dream is to stay at the Boardwalk (and get married at Sea Breeze Point) and have the ability to walk/boat to EPCOT or DHS. I love those Friendship boats.

love the Balcony you had there at the Beach Club! Looks so relaxing! I have to admit though, after being in there visiting Beaches n' Cream I don't think I'll ever stay there (maybe I will just to say I stayed in all Disney resorts haha) because it reminds me too much of home back in MA, especially Cape Cod, I can go there any old day it's an hour away, and I so don't want to be at home in MA while in Disney haha. Stormalong Bay sounds super awesome though! That might be worth a night's stay just for that despite the themeing lol

I have to agree with you too on Splash Mountain...that line does get a tad annoying when you're stuck for a while.

Oh and I LOVE the black and white photo you took of your two kids staring at the castle. It's probably my favorite that you have taken...and the iphone takes pretty darn good pics!

Does it have to be over?

 

[mamamouse]

wonder if the disney tooth fairy brings disney dollars LOL,can you even still buy those????

 

[erstwo]

AHH that scene in Splash Mountain used to scare me so bad! It wasn't the big drop but those damn vultures that scared the crap out of me. My 3rd grade self would not have wanted to sit there and see them over and over. :lol:

I have to say - it wasn't my favorite place to be stopped! My kids were ready to get 'the big drop' over with already and the poor kids behind us (in the same car) had been anticipating the big drop the whole time, so they had to sit there - slightly nervous, the entire time, but it made it even more fun once we finally got our turn.

They turned the sound off (or the computer turned the sound off? :shrug so we didn't have to listen to the the vultures, but you're right. Creepy!

Welcome!!! And like her I always come home with a new stuffed animal each trip (like I didn't already have enough :lol I have a full size bed and they take up at least half if not more

Finally caught up! I've been writing and not having much time to read!!!! The EPCOT resorts are BEAUTIFUL! My dream is to stay at the Boardwalk (and get married at Sea Breeze Point) and have the ability to walk/boat to EPCOT or DHS. I love those Friendship boats.

love the Balcony you had there at the Beach Club! Looks so relaxing! I have to admit though, after being in there visiting Beaches n' Cream I don't think I'll ever stay there (maybe I will just to say I stayed in all Disney resorts haha) because it reminds me too much of home back in MA, especially Cape Cod, I can go there any old day it's an hour away, and I so don't want to be at home in MA while in Disney haha. Stormalong Bay sounds super awesome though! That might be worth a night's stay just for that despite the themeing lol

I have to agree with you too on Splash Mountain...that line does get a tad annoying when you're stuck for a while.

Oh and I LOVE the black and white photo you took of your two kids staring at the castle. It's probably my favorite that you have taken...and the iphone takes pretty darn good pics!

Does it have to be over?

My daughter would be so envious that you get to keep yours on your bed. I make her keep hers in a bin - otherwise I'd be the one putting all 100 of them on her bed each day (to her exact standards, which are pretty high considering she didn't like how Mousekeeping placed them one day! :lol and I don't think I could handle it.

I'm excited to read your trip report! The Boardwalk is beautiful! I bet you will love it when you stay there. I can totally understand about the Beach Club, it's always nice to have something different!

Thanks about the photo! Sometimes my phone does take good pictures - just like my camera - the issue is with the user, not the camera.

wonder if the disney tooth fairy brings disney dollars LOL,can you even still buy those????

Ah! I totally forgot about Disney Dollars - I haven't seen one ever, so I'm not sure if they still sell them. But the Tooth Fairy did come through none the less!

 

[WishIWasAtWDW]

i'm loving your trip report! your kids are adorable! i know everyone else has mentioned it, but i think it is worth repeating. and your daughter's dresses and bows are so cute. it looks like you all had a wonderful time on your trip. i leave in 2 days and your trip report is really getting me excited! thanks for sharing!