One day Mother/Daughter trip (EPCOT & MGM) pictures added About This Page:

[tkd lisa]

My DD and I spent a very nice day over at WDW, and I thought I'd share it with you!

Cast: Me, 41 yo single mom, recently moved to Tampa
DD, 14 yo, loves thrill rides

Background/recent trips: As most of you know, we have Seasonal Annual Passes to WDW, so we visit pretty often. As a family, we took about a week trip over spring break in late March, the kids and I did a day at Blizzard Beach on Good Friday, and all of us (and my mom) went to MK for the day in late April.

When we were at MK, DD was lobbying hard to go over to EPCOT because she wanted to buy a birthday gift for a friend from the store in Japan. This friend's birthday isn't until the 25th of May (last day of school here), and we had to be back in Tampa for a concert by 6 pm, so I told her we'd come back again before the birthday. As life turned out, the only time I could do this was either this Saturday, or two weeks from now, so we decided to go this week.

I mentioned it at the beginning of the week, and DS said "I don't want to go! You can't make me go to Disney!" Boy, hard life he has, huh? Seriously, he had gotten some pretty bad blisters on his feet messing around at martial arts on our concrete driveway (bare feet and lots of twisting moves on hot concrete are NOT a good combination)! and he was worried about walking a lot. So he worked out a plan with his friend next door. The boys ended up going to the beach with the friend's dad, and they spent the night together. So this turned out to be a "girls" trip!

On to the actual trip!

We left the house about 7:40 and headed east. On the way, we discussed where we were actually going. DD had thought about an early morning stop at AK to get in a couple of EE rides, but decided against it on the way. She said that she wanted to take lots of pictures today because a friend of hers had posted a photo trip report on her visit to a local zoo, and DD wanted to do the same thing. She said "I'll blur out my face Mom, is it okay?" Considering that her face is plastered all over the PP boards, I guess it's fine!!! Anyway, given that, she wanted to focus on EPCOT, with a run over to MGM for her faves (TOT and RnR).

So we pulled into the EPCOT parking lot at 8:45, parked very close and walked through the gates with time to get to the opening ceremonies. At the rope drop, we walked over the Land (along with the herds!) grabbed FPs for Soarin (good for 9:45-10:45) and rode standby. The wait said 30 minutes, but it was more like 15.

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DD wanted to see Turtle Talk (the line was ridiculous on Spring break), so we headed over to the Living Seas. The first show wasn't until 10, so we looked at the manatees for a while. The line opened up about 9:40, and DD went ahead and stood in line. I told her I'd go pull FPs for test track, and if I made it into the show, great, if not, I'd meet her at the exit.

When I pulled the FPs (they were for 10:45 - 11:45), I got a bonus FP for mission space. Cool! We'd score all the major rides within 2 hours! Back to the Living Seas where the line was really long now. I handed DD the camera, and about that time, they opened the show. I spent the time wandering through the Nemo exhibits. The shark room is really cool! We had missed that the other time we were here (it seemed more geared to the toddler set, but it's really got something for everyone!). DD came out grinning from ear to ear. She chattered non-stop about the show the whole way over to the Land. "Mom, we learned to speak whale, and we saved Dory! You know she's really stupid Mom! She was getting squished by a whale and we had to say "DUUUUUUUDDDDDDE, yoooooooooouuuuuu neeeeeeeeeeed toooooooo mooooooooooove ooooooovvvvvvveeeeeeerrrrrr." And mom, did you know what Crush calls hats?? Lids!!! He said "Dude with the dark lid and gray shell. That was a kid with a gray shirt and black hat." etc. etc. etc. So I guess you can tell this isn't just for little kids.

Once in the Land, we walked right on (they needed one more party of two to fill in the car), and once again sat next to people who had never ridden before. I just LOVE sharing this ride with new people! When we exited, DD (for about the 10th time this year) said "boy, this place smells good. Can we eat here?" But once again, when it came time to choose, she decided on the World Showcase. One day, we're actually going to do this. We also had a discussion about eating in the rotating restaurant. I reminded her that our family doesn't eat enough to justify buffets. She was so funny. "Mom, I won't eat anything that morning so I'll be REALLY hungry!" Right!

Time to cross over to the other side of future world. I figured we'd go to MS first. I had forgotten to take my dramamine before we left the house, so I had told DD she'd have to ride MS alone. As we were walking over, DD decided she didn't really want to ride MS this morning, so we were looking for someone to give them to. I knew the MS FPs were before TT, but when I looked down, they were only 1/2 hour passes (10-10:30). By this time, it was 10:35, so we just threw them away.

We headed over my normal way (the little path that runs along the water), and walked straight into the butterfly house. Hey, who put this thing in the middle of my shortcut???? DD really enjoyed this (along with the piles of other people in here). She got to hold a butterfly on her finger, but it flew off before she could give it to a little kid.

Once we got to TT, We waited a few minutes for our FPs to become ripe, then went in. We had a fairly quick trip through (probably 15 minutes total wait time). TT is one of those rides that even with FP you do end up waiting. While we were waiting, we talked about the single riders line, and DD thought that seemed like a good idea. We had a pretty good ride, but the effect with the truck wasn't working, and the speedomotor was messed up, so I couldn't tell how fast we went. I was again reminded that this ride would NOT work for my mom! Too bumpy for her problem neck.

It was now shortly after 11, so we headed over to WS. DD had decided to try China for lunch today. I warned her that it had so-so reports, but she wanted it anyway. We got an order of veggie lo-mein and an order of egg rolls. She got a coke, and I had water. No discounts here, but the total was 11.06. Food was typical food court Chinese, but it tasted fine. As we left, DD noticed all the topiaries, and we started taking photos with all of them. China had a dragon that steamed every so often. I'll try to come back and post photos after church today.



Our main shopping goal was Japan for DD, but I wanted to get my Mother's Day presents here too. I was thinking about a tea pot for my mom (she collects them), but I didn't have a good idea for my MIL. I looked at the carvings in the Outpost, which really weren't too expensive, but DD said "Mom, grandma's already got too many things to dust!" We headed over to Japan, where DD got a necklace made. My mom had given her a WDW shirt for her birthday, but it ended up literally falling apart. It was a shirt from the millenium celebration, but had never been worn. Apparently, it dry rotted, because after the first wearing, it started shredding. Mom had told DD to pick out a replacement, but we asked if she could get something instead of a shirt (her drawers are already stuffed full!) She was fine with it, and DD picked out a necklace that was engraved with her name in Japanese and a descriptive character. She picked "strong". While they were making the necklace, I browsed through the store, but all the tea sets were in the $50-$75 range, which was more than I wanted to spend. DD picked up her necklace, and we headed towards the UK (snapping pictures along the way).

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In the UK, DD noticed all the artists who were set up, and she ended up watching several of them while I shopped. I settled on a tea set (boy, some of the Royal Daulton ones were nice, but man do they want $$$$$), and had an idea for my MIL. I went over to the crest shop, and ended up getting the family history for them. The CM who rang me up was earning her ears, and was from Scotland (near Edinburg). She was really sweet, and I just love listening to different accents! We got to train her on sending packages to the front for pickup, then I moved across the street to buy Mom's teapot. I got her the light blue Mickey tea for one set, along with some Prince of Wales tea (DD thought that sounded very classy). I was chatting with the guy who checked me out, and DD came up and started being silly. As we left, she said "Mom, he was SOOOOO hot!" Oh, that explains your interest!

We headed to MGM next, but I need to leave now for church, so I'll post the rest later.

[gwugirl03]

Great job so far! Can't wait to read more. Now I want a Mickey Tea Set!

[piratelady]

That was so much fun to read. I got about halfway through and had to stop to get ready for church. Now that I have finished, I can't wait till be both get home and you can tell and I can listen. I can't wait for Sorin'. We have never ridden it! I love to visit when there is a ride we haven yet experienced. Have a blessed day.
Necie

[angiek1024]

Sounds like a great start to your day! Can't wait to hear more!

[tkd lisa]

Sorry for the delay. Busy afternoon/evening. We'll see if I can get the actual story finished, then maybe I'll get the pictures added tomorrow.

I left off with us finding all our Mother's Day gifts and heading over to MGM. The friendship boat was at the dock when we walked out the international gateway, so we hopped on. As usual, DD sat out in the back and made small talk with all her neighbors. When we got to the Boardwalk, she decided she wanted to walk from there, so we did. I think we went into the park about 1:15. DD was focused on ToT and RnR, and she also wanted to try to volunteer for the backlot tour.

Once inside, we detoured to the bathrooms right inside the gate. When we came out, there was a street scene right outside. It was one of the glamour queens who was trying to hire a lady to be both her driver and her car phone antenna. It was pretty cute!



We followed them out to the main street then headed to ToT. The fastpasses were being issued for 2:05, and it was showing a 20 minute wait. We pulled FPs, and got in standby, which was really walk through. DD wanted a picture with the FP CM, so they could show off their matching hats.

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We got in an elevator with a couple from Egypt, who were asking exactly what the ride was. And the row next to us was a family with two kids, maybe 5 and 7? The girl (the younger one) was saying she really didn't want to go, but the mom kept saying "You did this when you were 3 and loved it". Now I know every kid is different, but this girl was definitely anxious. So try explaining this ride to people who aren't good English speakers, with a kid you don't want to scare right next to you! I tried to distract the girl by getting her to make her minnie ears float, but I don't think it worked.

DD and I were in the front row with the Egyptian couple, and the family was behind us. As we were dropping, you could tell that the boy was absolutely terrified, and the girl was pretty scared too. It was a strange drop sequence, with lots of little drops, then a few big ones at the end. As we stopped, the boy said really loudly "I AM NEVER RIDING THIS AGAIN!" But the Egyptian couple really liked it! DD was saying that her stomach wasn't feeling too good. We had gotten some mints in the UK when I bought the tea set, and she'd been eating them the whole way over to MGM. She said she thought she had too many!

But she was up for RnR, so we headed there next. We still had one of the unlimited fastpasses that the RnR CM we met in March gave us, so we traded that in for a quick trip to our limo. RnR is another ride that gives you a bit of a wait even with fast pass. I looked at the time, because it always seemed forever when I waited on DD to come through, and it took us 25 minutes from start to finish. DD and I were in the 2nd seat, and had a good ride. The sound in our car was a little scratchy, but I kind of enjoyed it being a little quieter than normal. Guess that means I'm getting old!

Once off the ride, our ToT FPs were good, but DD didn't want to ride again. So I gave them to the young couple who had been in front of us on RnR, and they went and used them.

DD wanted to go over to the backlot, but she was ready for a snack. We stopped and bought a spicy cheese filled pretzel (4.04). DD took a big bite and said "Mom, it's REALLY hot! And it tastes weird!" I took it and realized that it wasn't filled with nacho type cheese, it was filled with a monteray jack type cheese, but the spicy came from the jalepenos rolled into the dough, and she had eaten a whole slice of one. I ended up eating the jalepeno spots, and she ate all the rest. We walked the back way (past Star Tours and Muppets) over to the Backlot because I always get turned around by the Little Mermaid theater! This picture is a little out of order. I think it was right by the entrance, but I'd already put it here before I realized it!
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As we walked up to the theater, they were had just let everyone in. DD said "Are you still taking volunteers?" They said they were for the next show, so away we went.

We went off to the little shed on the right side of the stage, where they had us leave anything we didn't want to get wet. We put the boots on over top of our shoes (just like those old golashes when we were kids [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]) so that's why the extras walk so funny! A young couple from MI joined us, and they ended up as the deckhands. DD told them that she really wanted to get the water dumped on her, so mechanic was her role. Which left me as the captain. DD decided not to put her hood up, but the rest of us weren't quite so sure we wanted to get that wet. I do have to say that you feel really stupid up there, and there's a fair amount of time when you're just standing there. When the water did hit us, it felt pretty good, since it was in the mid 90s and those rain suits were pretty hot! We stomped back to the shed, where the next victims were getting suited up. DD pulled off her jacket and the first words out of my mouth were "Boy, it's a good thing you're not wearing a white T-Shirt!" She was completely SOAKED. And when she got the pants off, her capris were wet almost to her knees! That water had gone down the back of her neck, and just flooded her! She finally got dry about 7 that night! But she had an absolute blast. The only bad thing is that we couldn't see ourselves in the film, because it gets erased as they re-play it. We made it onto the tram with our original group, and were able to see parts of the LMA stunt show while we were going around. That was kind of cool.

After we were done with our tour, DD decided she was done with MGM, so we headed back to EPCOT. We decided to walk the whole way this time, and made it back in about 3:45. We were debating about heading home, or staying for the fireworks. DD was lobbying for the fireworks, so I told her we needed to really explore the WS while we waited. I decided I wanted to see the movie in France, since I'd never seen it before. We caught the 4:00 show, and the movie was really nice. I didn't realize how rugged the countryside is in France! Somehow, I pictured it all like Paris. I really wonder how they built some of those ancient castle type buildings!

From there, we headed over to Japan to get DD's friends birthday gift. Dont' ask me why we didn't get it when we were in Japan in the morning, so it could have gone to package pickup. Brain hiccup I guess. Next, we walked over to America, and I saw that the Voices of Liberty was to perform at 5:00. Again, something I hadn't seen before, so we moved over to the covered patio on the right side, which was where they were supposed to perform. We waited about 15 minutes, and DD got bored enough to make a mask. The lady at the kidcot station explained that they would get two stamps in China (one was their Chinese Zodiac symbol), and if they got all 11 stamps they'd get a poster. Well, DD's zodiac symbol is a monkey (very fitting!), and she likes it. And the thought of a prize made her excited too. So she decided to work on that. About that time, the VoL came out and performed. Man, were they AWESOME! Especially that high soprano! I didn't realize there were men in the group. Somehow, I pictured a group of 4 little old ladies, something like a Sweet Adelines' group I've seen before. Instead, it was 4 guys and 4 women, ranging from mid 20s to early 50s and they were spectacular! They ended up doing about 4 songs, and they mingled with the crowd for a bit when they were done. Definitely something I need to take my mom to see, because she'd really enjoy it!

Now we were off on our kidcot quest. I won't bore you with every stop, I'll just mention the highlights. In Italy, I got to watch the World Showcase players do Romeo and Edna. It was absolutely HYSTERICAL! DD came back in the middle and couldn't control her laughing, so we left because she was getting to be annoying. In Germany, I went to the counter service restaurant to get ice water for my brita bottle. I sat down by the fountain to fill up the bottle, and took a big squirt. EEEWWWW! She gave me sprite! Let me tell you, when you're expecting water, and you get sprite, it really does taste awful! I dumped it back into the cup and gave it to DD who drank about 1/2 of it. Since i had some water in the bottle when I poured the sprite in, it didn't taste quite like Sprite either!

We kept going around, and in Norway, I went into the bakery to get a rice cream and a water. Which really was water that time! It took almost a full cup of water to rinse the sprite out of the filter. The rice cream was wonderful (DD likes the strawberry part). When we went into Mexico, I decided to ride the boat ride as long as we were there. It wasn't any better the 2nd time, so that's probably the last time I try it! DD thinks the restaurant smells great, and asked why we've never eaten there. I told her that I've heard pretty bad reviews and that's why I haven't tried it. But she thinks it must be good since it smells so good. So maybe sometime she'll talk me into it.

We continued on around, stopping for some pictures up by the entrance to WS, and stopping by the McDs for nuggets and fries for DD. None of the Canadian musicians were playing that day, so I just waited for her to finish there.


In the UK, as we passed the crest shop, I saw the girl who had helped me earlier, so DD went in to meet her and welcome her to America. We went into the Toy Soldier, and while DD was working on her mask, there was NO one waiting on the characters (Tigger, Pooh, and Eeyore). I told DD that Eeyore looked sad because no one wanted to visit with him. She said "Oh, okay. I'll see Eeyore! I don't want him to be sad." But by the time she made it around the table, a big group had come up, so we headed on. I had forgotten that on the way out, she grabbed this hat and said "Mom, who am I??? Give up? (I guessed Robin Hood, but that was wrong) PETER PAN!" There is a good shot of her mask in this picture though.



As we made it back to Japan (3rd time that day, can you say de ja vo all over again???) we saw that the candy artist was scheduled to come out at 7:15. It was right at 7:00, so DD went to finalize her mask while I waited. She came out with her poster (it's a colored picture about 6x8 inches), and we sat down to wait. I had noticed an older lady on a scooter sitting in the middle of the courtyard reading a book. The wind caught her park map, and DD went and picked it up for her. Remember her, cause I'll come back to it.

7:15 comes, and goes, and about 7:25, I see the drummers setting up. Now there weren't any times listed for them, so I thought they weren't performing. We listened for a while, and a crowd was gathering.

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Meanwhile the lady on the scooter keeps on reading. People are standing all around her watching the show and clapping, and she's focused on her book. The drummers finished, and DD said "okay, now the candy lady will come out." We waited about 6 or 7 more minutes, and I went into the store to check. I never found out why, but the candy lady wasn't going to come, so we headed out. And the book lady was still there! I snapped a picture of her, because I couldn't believe she sat for at least 45 minutes in the full sunlight, right in the middle of the courtyard, just reading! If she was waiting for someone, you would have thought she would have sat in the shade. Just goes to show you everybody's different!


DD was a little grumpy about the candy lady, so she decided not to wait for the fireworks. But she wanted to ride Test Track one more time. So I told her we'd see if it was running, and we could do it single rider.

On the way to Future World, we got this picture with Lumiere topiary.



And one more with Bambi:

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Back through the butterfly garden, which was about to close (it closes at 8), and into single riders line (showing 20 minute wait). We probably did wait 20 minutes, since we stood in the same place for quite a while before they let us in the briefing room. Great ride again, and this time, I could see the in-car screen since it was dark outside by then. The truck headlights were working this time too (which was when I realized that they hadn't been working earlier). When we got out of TT, I asked DD if she wanted to go single rider on Mission Space before we left, and she said yes. So she went in, and I waited in the game area. They don't have the team challenge that late, but the individual computer stations and games were open. She came out about 15 minutes later, and we headed to the front.

Quick stop to pick up the packages (it's in the gift shop near the resort buses), then walked to the van. The fireworks started just as we got in the parking lot. We were on the highway by 9:10, and home at 10:15.

It was really a wonderful day with my daughter. We enjoyed each other's company the whole day, and I got my Mother's Day shopping done!

Hope you enjoyed reading it! I'll try to get the pictures up tomorrow.

[bsblady01]

sounds like you had a great day with your dd at the world.

[Joy J]

What a wonderful, busy, fun-filled day you two had! Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us.

Joy

[LeapDayBaby]

Great TR! Sounds like you had a wonderful time! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

- Laurie [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[jimmymac]

Great report. Sounds like you guys had a killer day!

[PrincessSharon]

Sounds like a fun day! Can't wait to see the pictures!

[Colexis Mom]

Lisa - I need to remind you about the Passporter Guidelines for picture sizes in trip reports and elsewhere.

Images in the body of a post shouldn't exceed 400 x 400 pixels EACH. For example, you can include as many photos from your vacation in your trip report posting so long as each does not exceed 400 x 400 pixels.

If you need help resizing the pictures, you can ask questions in the Garage Forum and there is also a sticky thread at the top of this forum.

If the pictures are not resized by Friday evening, they will be removed. Thanks for your understanding.

Marnie - Co-Guide Sharing The Adventure: Disney World Trip Reports

[tkd lisa]

Oops! I'm sorry. I didn't realize, and now that I've figured out where the pm's area I see you told me this before, but I didn't see it. I'll try to fix them today.

Lisa

[Minnie Lor]

I DID enjoy reading. Sounds like it was a good mother-daughter trip. Kind of strange with the lady reading. Thanks for sharing your TR with us!

[PrincessSharon]

Great pictures! The topiaries are beautiful! Thanks for adding them.

[luvnwdwgal]

What a great time you had!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]