Friday, September 05, 2008

Our Trips to Epcot and Magic Kingdom


Ok, I know that I should have reported on our day at Epcot yesterday but I was too pooped to post. Sorry.

As you guessed, we went to Epcot yesterday. We had a great day and didn't wait in one line for a ride. The only waits we had were for shows or movies and those were only a few minutes. This is a GREAT time of the year to be here. We did the front part before noon and the Nations afternoon.

The new The Seas with Nemo and Friends was great. You take a little ride and then they dump you off in an aquarium which had manatees, dolphins, all kinds of fish, and of course a bunch of Nemos and Dorys. The Circle of Life movie was great too. That song always brings a lump to my throat. Whenever we have been at Epcot before and headed over to the World Showcase, we always seemed to go to the right but this time, we headed towards Mexico.

Why? Because they have those wonderful adult beverages which that country is known for. So after one of those--apiece--we went on the ride through Mexico.

This was taken at the suggestion and request of mariby.

Then on to Norway (where we took the picture above), China etc. We ended up at France at dinner time and decided to splurge and eat there. Pricey but good. Since it was still about 3 hours until the Illuminations and we have seen it several times, we decided just to head back to the hotel to relax and watch some TV.

This morning when we woke up, Tropical Storm Hanna was off the coast just east of us and it was very cloudy and threatening rain. We decided to take ponchos just in case and headed off to the Magic Kingdom. I love the MK. It is such a happy place and I'm always reminded of it when I look down Main Street.

We have never been there when it is decorated for a holiday but Main Street was all dolled up for Halloween. Really neat. We headed to Adventure Land first and got there just as Jack Sparrow was walking away. Drat! He has been added to the Pirates of the Caribbean (which is my favorite ride) so it is kind of like a Where's Waldo trying to spot him. We don't do the wet or roller coaster rides so we moved along fairly rapidly. We went to the Hall of Presidents, another favorite of mine. We got out of that just in time to catch the River Boat. Just as we boarded the Boat, the skies opened up and POURED! Luckily we were under cover. When we finished the boat ride, we donned our ponchos and ran over to the Haunted House. By the time we got out of the HH, the rain was done. I guess Hanna had moved north. We of course had to see the Country Bear Jamboree.

I had to take this for my daughter who LOVES Big Al.

Lunch and then on to Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land. Again today, no waiting in lines for any rides. We bypassed Peter Pan's Flight which obviously is a very popular ride as there was a 20 minute wait. We finished up everything about 4:30 so decided to head home. The park closed at 7:00 today anyway so no fireworks to hang around for.

I hope I don't offend anyone here but I just don't get the whole Princess thing. Even though my daughter and granddaughter will always be my princesses, they were and are not the "princess type". So when I see the little girls--and honestly some were only about 2 years old--dressed up in the Princess outfits which cost at least $75-$100, with their hair done at the Princess Boutique all slicked back, gelled and sparkled, and walking around in shoes that hurt my feet just looking at them, I have to wonder--who really wants them to dress this way--them or their moms who wish they could. OK, I'm off of my soapbox now. Sorry for that little tirade.

We had dinner in tonight--leftovers from the last two nights. Did some packing and took some stuff to the car so we don't have so much to haul down tomorrow.

This view shows Ike bypassing us. I sure hope so!

We will head to Sanibel tomorrow. Unfortunately, we don't know how long we will be there since Hurricane Ike seems to have it's eye on our fair island right now. I'm sure we will have to evacuate Monday or Tuesday so we will probably head to our friends who live in Ft. Myers. I have never been through a hurricane before and I'm not really looking forward to it. Hopefully this storm will turn and go back out into the Atlantic and fizzle out. Keep your fingers crossed for everyone in Florida as this storm looks like it could affect the entire state.

Anyway, we had a great time here. Now all I want to do is go home and unpack--but--I'm not going to because I will probably just have to repack in a couple of days. I'll keep you posted.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have been standing at my front door, blowing south as hard as I can to try to push Ike away. I sure hope it works!

I have never been to Epcot. It looks hysterical. I'll have to put it on my 50 things to do before I die list!

I never got the Princess thing either, but maybe I'm just jealous since I was nobody's princess. My son and wife, when they learned thy were expecting a girl, put down a hard and fast rule: no princess logos, toys, clothing or any such. No tiaras, no tutus -- Even so, they have a two year old who oooos and ahhhhs whenever she sees a nice pair of shoes so I know there's a secret princess in there somewhere. When she's old enough to visit Disney, her mama and daddy better look out!

Tink *~*~* said...

Amen on the Princess Boutique thing. Lately, I've read on some Disney forums that grown women are making appointments for THEMSELVES at the boutique!

Tink *~*~*

MariBy said...

Oh m'dear, flaxen braids make you look so young! :D Thank you so much for humoring me...that was fun!

I must admit that I look at those little girls all dolled up and feel the way you do - except for the ones that are just wearing their Princess dress and sensible runners on their feet. In my view, that's a reasonable way to do it...the little darlin' gets to wear her dress and her feet stay happy.

It looks like you and Mr. Snowbird had a great time at Epcot and the MK - I'm so glad you did!

Shama-Lama Mama said...

Oh pish posh! Who cares about little princesses when you have Big Al to love!??

Let's all sing his song together! You remember it...

"There was bloooood on the saddle!
And bloooo-oooood all a-round!
And a big, BIG...
Puh-huh-dull...
of Blooo-ood
on...
the ground!!!!!!!!"

Thank you, thank you very much! I'm here all week!

Snowbird said...

Karen, I thought you might enjoy the picture of Big Al. BTW, he did say to tell you Hay--I mean Hey--I mean Hi.

The Farmer Files said...

I am dying to go to FL one day! I have only seen the Jamboree Bears at Disneyland in CA. They were my favorite when I was little. My parents loved them too because they could finally sit down somewhere!

Ugh....praying the storm totally bypasses Sanibel.

Aloha!

floridabeachgirl™ said...

I went to Disney a few months back & also saw the same thing,I felt so bad for all those little girls wearing those shoes,I wore sneakers and my feet were killing me. I hope I dont offend anyone but maybe the parents should wear shoes like that and walk all day to see what it feels like.

Mare said...

Great photos and report...you make an awesome viking! =)

And thanks for the Big Al fix. We just love the big guy and his terrible guitar pickin'-LOL!

If you want to hear someone go off about the Bippidi Bobbidi Boutique, just ask Miss Renee. Although she has done the 'Princess thing' (in affordable costumes sewn by her Grammy, comfortable shoes, and hair by Mom), she'll go on a whole tirade about that. She is most definitely opinionated about their idea of 'Princess', and I'm not ashamed to admit that it makes Mark and I so proud! ;)

Gayle said...

Okay, I am so non-girlie it is crazy, but there are a couple of princesses living in my house. It is just one of those born-with traits because I sure didn't do it to them! My Emily wears shoes with some kind of heel. If it doesn't have a heel she complains. Really..you should see this girl run through gravel in high heels. She's eight. Olivia wants to wear a dress EVERY DAY and calls herself a princess. She announces today that she doesn't want to eat her mac 'n cheese. I tell her she has to. Then she says me, Princesses don't eat mac 'n cheese. It's in some peoples blood, I tell ya! I hope the storm misses you and I can't wait to read about your tales at Sannibel.