A June Joyride...*****COMPLETED!!! 7/9***** About This Page:

[NanaTink]

Just got caught up and wow! Your first day sounds wonderful. I choked up over Andrew's reaction and smiled at Izzy's desire to go see her classroom that she is already missing!
You really managed quite a bit in your first evening! Can't wait to hear more about the trip.
So glad you and Eileen were able to connect as well.

[disneydani]

Originally Posted by Caldercup

I think the "missing chunk of head" is a factor of the way SE crops your head from the picture they take. Was Andrew wearing a hat or sunglasses on his head -- these often get cropped out and appear as a missing section of head. (I know because my sunglasses left me with a curl sticking straight up in the air on top of my oddly-shaped head. )

Makes perfect sense...he was wearing his baseball hat backwards!

Originally Posted by MattUGA

Great report. lol I can't wait for our near miss in the report. ha ha

Coming up in the next update!

Originally Posted by Jillybean

That was a great first day! I was hoping to see you that first day, but sadly our paths never crossed! Now I know that you were having a blast at Spoodles and Epcot!

Jill

I am sorry, too we didn't get to see you earlier....I would have loved to visit and catch up!

danielle

[MickeyMAC]

Glad you had a great night at Epcot. Very lucky that you were able to do all the things you really wanted to do in the exact amount of time you had. Your school bread looks so yummy!

[Mulan2]

Fianlly got caught up Danielle. What a great TR as usual!
Glad you were able to pull off an impromtu visit to the World.

[RobDVC]

Gret update! What a magical first day... crossing paths with a few PassPorter friends, a fabulous meal at Spoodles, and all the e-ticket Epcot attractions had manageable wait times...then to top it off with IllumiNations!

[greentie]

What a great evening. It sounds like your prioritisation went well - I can't believe how much you got done that evening!

[LLaffinPlace]

Originally Posted by disneydani

The kids kept busy re-reading Kingdom Keepers...

I am actually caught up and your meal at Spoodles sounded better than ours!

Anyway, I Kingdom Keepers! What a great book. I am dying for Disney to make a movie of this (no one else could). Bob & I have listened to this on CD driving to WDW.

Loving your TR and looking forward to the next update. So glad your hook-up with Eileen went so smoothly!

[FanOfMickey]

Looking forward to reading more about your trip!! One of these days I will stay at AKL.

[jpod523]

great TR! i just had to find out what Kingdom Keepers was, so I looked it up. It sounds like I'd love it, and so I bought it! should be here soon! and according to amazon, there is a Kingdom Keepers 2 coming out in late August! Cool.

[DyanKJ130]

Just catching up!! Great updates!! Sounds like Eileen has become a great PassPorter pal! Too funny how Paul thought she just followed you up to concierge! Can't wait to here more

[B.M.]

Sounds like you enjoyed your evening in Epcot! Can't wait to hear more.

[DrDolphin]

Danielle - sounds like a wonderful day and evening at EPCOT!! Your dinner at Spoodles looks YUMMY!!!

[WHMom]

I've finally caught up! (Haven't been on the boards since I saw you and Andrew at the University of Maryland two weeks ago! ) Can I say how THRILLED I am that Andrew was totally surprised!?! I was so afraid I had said too much (by accident!) when I saw you guys! His reaction to the surprise was just priceless!

It sounds like you are having an amazing time! And that picture of school bread makes me wish the end of August was already here so I could have some!!

Now that I'm back, I can't wait to read more!

[kmurburg]

Glad to hear you all had such a productive night at EPCOT! You all sure fit in a tone of stuff in a short amount of time! Nice of Paul to get you both that yummy school bread treat!

[disneydani]

Sunday…. June 8th

Funny, we never set the alarm while at WDW; we just always seem to wake up in a timely matter. This morning was no different; when I rolled over and peered at the clock…it was 7:30am. It was lovely to wake up to peace and quiet; as lovely as the GF is, the boats and steam train start running mighty early! In any case, I slipped out of bed and was happy to get first crack at the bathroom. Paul and Andrew followed shortly thereafter. Izzy was still snoozing as Andrew and I went to check out the breakfast offerings at the lounge and to pick up Izzy’s allergen-free food. It was a bit of a wait but I was thrilled when the CM returned with two different types of freshly baked muffins and some fresh fruit for Izzy. Andrew and I finished up, washed our hands, and then headed back to the room so that Paul could have his turn in the lounge. Princess Izzy was still sleeping but she was easy to rouse once I whispered “do you want to ride Toy Story Mania?” My, that girl shot up like a bullet!

We hopped into the car at 8:30 and made the quick drive to DHS. I was saying a little prayer to the parking gods….I was very shocked but totally psyched that the CMs were directing the cars to the right and we were so very close to the entrance! In fact, we just made the quick jaunt from our car to the main entrance, no need for the tram. Star Wars Weekend was in full force.



We made it through the turnstiles and were standing on Hollywood Blvd, we made our way up and towards the right…our first stop was going to be Toy Story Midway Mania. There was a clone on top of one of the shops who was assisting in the opening of the park. Something to the effect of “Chancellor Palpatine commanded order 66”…to be honest, I was paying too much attention because (sshh…don’t tell anyone, I have ~never~ seen any of the Star Wars movies in its entirety) I noticed Izzy was coughing a bit and that is always a cause for concern as her asthma tends to sneak up. I knew Paul heard it too but I was hoping she just had a tickle in her throat.

As the park opened, we made a beeline for TSMM. I was thrilled to see many of our park mates taking a right towards RnRC and ToT or a left towards the guest characters! Paul and the kids hopped right into queue while I picked FP’s for a second spin.

I was a little leery about heading onto the ride and I heard it spins…not a full turn…but does whip around a little bit. Me? I have trouble with anything that goes in circles or when my body is moving faster than my eyes (My left eye tracks a bit slow from the MS). I decided to let Paul judge for me and I could always head on for the second ride.





Paul and the kids exited not too long afterwards and we headed to take the animation class. We headed through the back entrance as we didn’t want to see the show. Unfortunately, we were met by a CM who told us the next class was full and we would have to wait another 30 minutes. I surveyed the kids who nixed the idea. Izzy then asked for the Little Mermaid and I was pleasantly surprised when Andrew agreed to see it. While it is definitely not tops of his list, he does appreciate the opening puppetry. We headed in and waited about 5 minutes or so before being ushered into the theatre. The CM made an announcement that the show wasn’t full so that people should leave the last seven seats at the end of the row open to ensure optimal view.

Since we were in the area, the kids asked for the Great Movie Ride. Again, the lines moved quickly and we were in our vehicle in no time. We were seated in the front row with the driver! What was really wonderful was that we had the western scene and my kids had no recollection of ever seeing it. They were amazed and kept saying “they must have done this ride over.” I am glad we took the time to take in GMR! Izzy was still coughing on and off and I was getting more than concerned. She assured us she was fine…as in…”I am FINE, Moooommmm”. (Can’t wait til she is a teen)

Our FP was open for TSMM but the kids wanted to do a little pin shopping first. I gave them a budget and they did fairly well. They each purchased a package of mystery pins and were very happy to receive Waldorf and Statler (the grumpy old men from Muppets).



Then it was back to TSMM. Paul didn’t think I would fare well but I at least wanted to go through the queue to take in the ambience. I snapped a few pics along the way and then handed the camera off to Andrew. As it was almost our turn, Paul spotted a very pregnant women coming off the ride. He commented how she was moving around pretty well for someone that far along. As I glanced, I caught a peek of her and then, my eyes were drawn to her partner and his sandals…it dawned on me about two minutes too late that it was Matt (MattUGA) and Bethany!

This was the ceiling...very cool!







I bid my crew goodbye and hung out at the exit waiting for them. I was chatting with one of the Cms who was telling me how wonderful an experience it was to 'open' a new attraction. She said over 1,000 CM interviewed for these positions and it wa s quite an honor to be accepted.

It was about 11:20 at this point and lunch would soon be in order. Paul had to pick up Izzy’s lunch at Backlot Express but we were going to eat at the ABC Commissary. Therefore, we decided to split up. Backlot opened at 11:30 so Paul headed there while the kids and I went to Muppets 3D. Andrew snapped a few pics along the way.





Then, we ran into one of these guys just milling around and giving photo ops.



We walked straight into the pre-show which was almost through. And again, the theatre was probably only 2/3 full. We enjoyed the show, met Paul at the exit, and then headed to the Commissary. Lunch was fair…I think DHS has the least interesting choices in CS meals. But, it was nicely air-conditioned!


I once again surveyed the kids and their response was to head back to the AKL for a little pool time and R&R. I was more than happy to oblige as the heat and humidity were starting to get to both Izzy and myself. We moseyed back towards the car and headed back.