Thanks, Nana! Our 2008 WDW trip report - updated 6/8 with AK PP photos About This Page:

[PrincessSharon]

Great start Beth! Glad the surprise went well, and that everyone loved the Poly. It sounds like your day at Epcot is going off without a hitch. And Kate! She's such a big girl! Can't wait for more! Oh and one more thing...

My heart. It breaks.

[disney_duke]

Outstanding!!! Your luck with the characters is fantastic, I hope it stays that way. Lunch sounded sooooo yummy. I've never heard of a photopass photographer following anyone around for a little bit, that is really cool!

[RobDVC]

Fantastic pictures with the characters!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

After our fun with Chip and Dale, we headed back towards the Toy Shoppe, because Dan had said that Pooh & his pals would be there shortly. On the way, we heard the sounds of the British Invasion, which my Beatles fan DH had been looking forward to. As we started heading in that direction, I saw that Mary Poppins was out for a meet & greet, and I about freaked out! I have always loved that movie. I shrieked to DH, “You go find a spot to listen to British Invasion; we’ll meet you there after we meet Poppins!” Well, our character luck continued, because MP’s handler was right there and he saw how excited I was, so he showed us where we should wait for Poppins, essentially putting us at the front of her line! However, as we stood there waiting, a man came up and said, “Excuse me, guys, but you just cut in front of a whole bunch of people!” I told him that MP's handler had told us to stand here, at which point he started arguing with the handler! I left them to it so we could concentrate on Poppins!

I'm not sure what Grace said to Poppins, but apparently she thought it was funny!

As excited as I had been to see Poppins, the interaction with her paled in comparison with the one we had with Alice. She had definitely spoiled us! We checked in with DH and Christian briefly before heading into the Toy Shoppe. They had set themselves up on the curb and were really enjoying the show.


We left them there and went to find Pooh and pals. They arrived shortly after we did, so we didn’t have very long to wait, but it was too long for my littlest Pooh fan! They had a rope across the entrance, and every time they CM opened it up to let the next group through, Kate would try to sneak in! She was not very patient, but hey, she had yet to wait for a character, so I guess I can’t blame her! I do remember a young woman standing right behind me, and I mean right behind me, invading my personal space. I was probably just as glad as Kate was when it was our turn to visit with Pooh! We were very excited to see that Eeyore and Tigger were with him; we’d never met Eeyore before and Tigger is a lot of fun! Dan was right there, again, so I only took a few photos.

Rose liked the characters a lot more this year; last year she was very shy with them.


Grace tried to get Tigger to bounce with her.




I never would have gotten this picture last year; I'm not sure what changed!

After saying good-bye to our friends from the 100 Acre Wood, the girls had Disney dollars burning holes in their pockets, so they spent a few minutes looking around. Kate charmed the CM who was working there, so he showed her around a little bit. He would open a door for her to show her what was behind it, and then she would go to the next little door and wait for him to open that one.

I think his name was PJ, but I'm afraid I called him JP when we left.

Up next: "Mine! Mine!"

[dananbethany]

My 5 year old niece was at my house last night while I was looking at these pictures. She wanted to know why the two little girls looked so sad. I said, "Because they're leaving DisneyWorld. You'll look sad too, won't you?"

She thought about it a minute and said, "Oh yeah..."

I'm loving the tale!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by dananbethany

My 5 year old niece was at my house last night while I was looking at these pictures. She wanted to know why the two little girls looked so sad. I said, "Because they're leaving DisneyWorld. You'll look sad too, won't you?"

She thought about it a minute and said, "Oh yeah..."

I'm loving the tale!

Anyone who quotes a former Monkee can hang out with me anytime.

Glad you're enjoying the report. Check back later for more...

[BlueCinderellaEyes]

Ahh your little kidlets are so cute! I hope DS will be as good you Kate has been with the big furry friends!

[B.M.]

Great update! Glad the girls are getting to meet so many characters. Can't wait to hear more.

[RobDVC]

Great meets with the characters!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

My plan was to only stay in World Showcase long enough to visit Canada and the UK, and then hit Future World. Our next stop would be the tip board to check out the wait time and FP situation for the Big 3 . It had been a while since our Le Cellier lunch, and we were all pretty thirsty, so we stopped to get some frozen lemonades. While it wasn’t terribly hot out, it was warmer than we were used to, so a FB was definitely in order! (Thanks, Princess Sharon, for the abbreviation!) I wasn’t sure where the tip board was located, so after we stopped to get some Photopass pictures taken, the photographers sent us in the right direction.

What happened next was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip. As we were checking out the tip board, I noticed the name of the CM manning the board: Hugh. Well, my dad’s name is Hugh, and my brother’s name is Hugh! Since we very rarely run into anyone else named Hugh, I struck up a conversation with him. He was probably around my dad’s age, and from the East Coast, like my dad. I told him about my brother, and how we were so excited to see him again, since he’d just gotten back from Iraq and we hadn’t seen him for a year. He asked if we were going to take my brother out for dinner, and I told him about our plans to treat them to breakfast on Wednesday morning.

At this point, the girls got involved in the conversation and asked Mr. Hugh if they could trade pins with him. When they were done with their transaction, Mr. Hugh took a pin off of his shirt. It was an American flag pin, shaped like a Mickey head. (They have these for all of the WS countries, and I’ve always loved them!) He handed it to me and said, “Give this to your brother, and tell him thanks for me.” I was so touched, and gave him a big hug and one of our CM thank you cards. What an awesome thing to do! The girls still have their “Mr. Hugh” pins on their lanyards because they refused to trade them. I really wish I’d gotten a picture, but I will remember that moment always!

Because it was so late in the afternoon, there were no Soarin’ FPs left, and the Test Track return time was later than I’d wanted to stay on our first day. The only option was Mission:Space, which Rose had said she wanted to go on with her dad. We picked up FPs with a return time of 6:25, and headed to the Seas with Nemo & Friends. The Nemo ride is one of the only things in Epcot that is wheelchair accessible, so Rick took Christian on, while Rose and Grace rode together and Kate went with me. It always takes a while to get on this ride, because apparently there is only one accessible clam-mobile, so we have to wait for it to come around before Christian can board. Our favorite part is at the end, when they sing the song from "Finding Nemo: the Musical." In the biiiiiiiiiig blue world....Afterwards, the girls wanted to get their picture taken in Bruce's mouth. It wasn't very crowded in this area, so we were in and out fairly quickly.

Rose is acting like she's actually being eaten by a shark.


Kate wanted to get in on the act, too, so after waiting for a big group of kids whose parents wanted them each to be in their own photo, we had her picture taken, too. Of course, she wasn't tall enough to stand by herself, so I had to hold her up, which meant I was in the picture, as well!



Kate loves the seagulls outside of this attraction. We always have to spend a few moments there so she can hear them say, “Mine! Mine! Mine!” Although, for some reason, I didn't take her picture in front of her favorite seagulls!


I had picked up 5 FPs for Mission:Space, because we had 5 tickets, but only Rose had talked about riding it. Imagine my surprise when Grace decided that she wanted to go on it, as well! Christian, Kate and I waited while the girls and their dad went off to ride it. I'd gone on it in September, and once was enough for me, thank you very much, so I was happy to have Rick be the one to take them on it. The girls loved Mission:Space, and wanted to try the orange side next time! Since it was getting close to 7 p.m., the time I had wanted to leave the park, we headed for the exit, promising that the girls could return to Mars another day. We gave away our two remaining FPs and headed for the monorail to the TTC.

Up next: the Polynesian!

[CountryTink]

Wow, you sure packed a lot into your first day, but it sure sounds like it was fun. Your interaction with CM Hugh was so special. Please tell your brother thank you from me and my family as well. I know that our men and women in uniform don't hear that enough.

[BlueCinderellaEyes]

Ah Hugh brought tears to my eyes as well! What a nice guy! I love the bruce pics! very cute!

[B.M.]

Great Update! That Hugh sure was nice. And I'm glad your whole family got to ride Nemo. (I'm surprised only one attraction in an entire park can accomodate wheelchairs) Can't wait to hear more.!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by B.M.

Great Update! That Hugh sure was nice. And I'm glad your whole family got to ride Nemo. (I'm surprised only one attraction in an entire park can accomodate wheelchairs) Can't wait to hear more.!

It has to do with whether or not the person can transfer from his or her wheelchair. It is not easy for us to get my son out of his chair, so he stays in during the attraction, and there are only a couple of these. The boat ride in Mexico is also accessible, but we didn't take the time to go on that. I did take him on Soarin', but I had to take him out of his chair for that one. It was definitely worth it!

[PrincessSharon]

You sure got a lot done in Epcot! Love the pictures. And your encounter with Hugh was magical! Ready for more!