Sunday, June 14, 2009

Disney Trip: Epcot

Our last day of fun at Disney World was spent at Epcot. It fell on Sunday, which happened to be Mother's Day. We hadn't factored that in to the equation when we were planning our trip. It was a little strange not to be at church on Mother's Day and of course I hated to be gone from my mom. But it was such a blessing to have the chance to celebrate with Curt's mom maybe for the first time since we got married.

I knew Epcot was having the Flower and Garden Festival at the time and I suspected that Cozy and I would really enjoy getting to see that on our special day.

That morning we were at the bus stop bright and early of course. There was a women's triathlon going on at Fort Wilderness and the buses were supposed to be a little delayed. It was neat to see the ladies biking on the road. I wish I cared about doing something like that. Later at the hotel, we saw three ladies dressed in matching pink workout clothes. It looked like a girl my age, her mom, and her grandma. They were pushing grandma in wheelchair. I think they had all done the competition together, which was a really neat thought. Grandma must have been injured or too tired to walk. Or maybe she had just been a spectator all along. Annabeth, I would do it for you, my dear! Bibby, what do you think? Maybe you'll have some super bionic knee by then.

We arrived well before the park opened and were first in line behind the ropes. Our first stop was "Soarin,'" which is supposedly the most popular attraction at Disney World. People wait in line for hours for it. It seemed like the whole crowd headed straight there. Curt, Cozy, and Jackson went first and then Curt and I went together when they were done. It was really cool but I don't think I would wait hours on end to do it.

Then we went to do the Finding Nemo ride. We loved that. The aquariums in the building were awesome. Curtis had to pry me away from watching the dolphins. Next was "Turtle Talk with Crush." This was really clever and funny. They had all the kids sit on the floor in front and talk to Crush. They let the kids ask questions and it was my first experience of being a little scared of what might come out of my kid's mouth if they called on him. They called on slightly older kids, so it was all good.

At this point I left to find the baby care station to feed Annabeth. It was not hot yet and the crowds were low, so I enjoyed walking around and seeing the flowers. It was just beautiful. While I was doing that, Jackson got to do "Journey into Imagination," "Maelstrom," and "Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros."

We caught up with the rest of our peeps around Norway. I saw the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and thought about how different our trip will be next time when Annabeth is older. We will have so much fun meeting all the princesses. This time we only saw Snow White.

After meeting her, we were ready for lunch. We found a beautiful Italian restaurant called Tutto Italia. Cozy and I had no expectations of a nice Mother's Day lunch, but we certainly got one!

We spent a long time wandering around the World Showcase. It really is a sight to see. It was getting absurdly hot by then and we were desperate to be inside. That's when we found the building that housed the "character spot." We waited in line quite a while but at least we were in the AC! We hadn't met Mickey or Minnie and we were leaving the next day, so we had to do it. It was totally worth it seeing how excited Jackson was. I was pretty excited too.

Next Curt and I did "Mission:Space," which simulates an astronaut's ride to Mars. That thing was insane.

We were finally ready to head out, so we grabbed some popsicles and headed to our bus stop. It took forever and ever amen for our bus to arrive. But it's all good. We made it back to the Wilderness Lodge without any awful meltdowns. We had to rest up so we could go back to Magic Kingdom for our last night!

Here are our Epcot pictures.

It was a long walk from the bus stop to the front gates.



Annabeth was out of control cute that day. You have no idea how much joy this outfit gave me. You can't see it, but she had on bloomers with red ruffles on the hiney. It's amazing what you can find on Etsy.



There were incredible topiaries of all the Disney princesses.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.



Curt, happy to be with his mama on Mother's Day



Fantasia.



The cast members gave carnations to all the ladies. Jackson was playing with one of ours.



Goofy!



Pluto!



Pluto welcoming Jackson to Epcot.



I love this one!



The Nemo ride.



Shark bait.



The flowers were so pretty.





Characters from Beauty and the Beast.



Mrs. Potts! Oh how I missed my tea.



That tent housed a butterfly exhibit that we never saw.



This is where the Moore family had the worst Mexican food of our lives back in 1994. That's a funny thing to remember 15 years later, isn't it? It was that bad! I remember that the only other people eating there that day were all from Texas, too.









It says "The Joy of Tea."







Annabeth's first time to meet a princess!







This was the Italy section. I think this building was supposed to look like The Vatican. I have been there, but it's been a while.



How precious is this?



Sirly Whirly eating a big cracker thing.



Chocolate gelato is a boy's best friend.



Annabeth losing her paci.









The Aladdin topiary frightened me.





England, I heart you.



I think this was Canada.



Meeting Mickey!





Minnie liked her Minnie-Me. Annabeth slept through her shining moment.







How I longed to jump in this water.



Beauty and the Beast.



My personal favorite, Princess Aurora. I can't remember her Prince's name. It must be Curtis.



There's Cinderella.



So stinking hot. Jacks was wearing Daddy's hat.



Here he is looking in at Annabeth. Is that funny or what?



Hopefully I have enough stamina to finish this thing. I'm so close to the end!

31 comments:

Tara G. said...

What fun pictures to capture those memories!

FYI- Davidson's has children's tea that I got to use with my oldest during our tea times. They have some cute books, too, for little girls.

R said...

Princess Aurora is my favorite too! I was so excited to finally share the movie with my first daughter, and Aurora is now her favorite too. Of course the only other Disney movie she'd seen up to that point up was Cinderella! :0)

And unrelated--can I just say that you don't look like the weather is hot in a single photo? How did you manage that? Then again, this Dallas girl's never been to Houston. You've had a lifetime to figure out staying beautiful against the odds the elements throw at you!

JayCee said...

I can't believe you have an infant and a three year old and you still manage to post such a great blog!

Deirdre said...

loving this tour. oh the memories, and I can't wait to go back and make more.

I think the stave church was my favorite. Don't know why, since it was hardly the most impressive item there, but I just loved it.

Lauren said...

So fun!!!!! I love seeing pics of your trip and your kids could not get any cuter :O)

Angela said...

Aurora and Prince Philip.
Your trip looks like it was fun. We took my Mom to Epcot on her birthday in May. We have many of the same pictures as you do.
Although, I have not been on Soarin or Mission Space yet. The kids can't do it, so we are waiting on a good time to do it.

d5lewis said...

Just FYI. Aurora's prince was named Phillip. As baby girl gets older, trust me, you'll know all the princess trivia! :) Looks like a magical trip.

Marla Taviano said...

Great post! Great pics! Happy belated Mother's Day!!

Kelly @ Love Well said...

Chocolate gelato might be my best friend, too.

Those topiaries are mind-blowing. Disney does everything excellence. I think that's one of the reasons it's such a kick to visit.

Angela said...

Wow....what fun you guys had! Thanks for sharing, I always like reading about your days at disney!

katiegfromtennessee said...

Epcot was my favorite part of Disney World when I was there. You did get to see a lot of the park! Thanks for sharing with us. I do love Annabeth's outfit too. The glasses kill me:) Just darling:) Jackson looked like he was having such a good time,and that is cool that Curtis was able to hang with his momma on Momma's Day:)

Blessings,

katiegfromtennessee

Tara said...

Those topiaries were beautiful! And I loved Annabeth's outfit. So adorable! What a fun day at Epcot and a Mother's Day with Curtis' mom that you will never forget!

Tonya said...

Looks like y'all had a great time! Thanks for sharing your pix!

Is there anything worse than bad Mexican food? I just hate when I've got my taste buds all ready for some delicious food only to be sadly disappointed.

bethany said...

I love the pictures! I would love to go to Disney World someday! Pretty far from Ca...so might have to settle for Disneyland!
I am surprised and impressed that you have the stamina and sharp memory to finish up this post topic! I would have forgotten everything already! You go girl!

annalee said...

i have loved your disney tour. plans are already in the works for our family going next may for my sister's high school graduation trip. evan and i will have two monkeys by then, and they will be at similar ages as your monkeys were on your trip. i'm taking major notes!

Ashli said...

Did Jackson get to ride Test Track? It was my kid's favorite, I think they rode it 6 times. It was so much fun!

I love the flowers, how beautiful!

Happy Anniversary! Enjoy some GOOD Mexican food!

Jan said...

Oh this brings back memories!

Girlfriend, you don't look like you just birthed a baby :)

You look mahvelous dahling...

Jan

sos said...

Annabeth brings a smile to my face when I see that photo of her in that outfit and glasses.

Great memories you have created with your family.

Thanks for sharing.

Lauren said...

I just need you to know that I love your sunglasses.

Lauren said...

commenting on the epcot picture of italy:


No my dear, that would be the Doge's palace in venice! Your blog is so fun!

FitzandMolly said...

It's Prince Phillip. I loved getting to meet Annabeth on Sunday. She is adorable, and so soft, and I like her gummy smile a lot!

FitzandMolly said...

And if I had read all the comments, I would not have also informed you that his name is Phillip...

Moose Mama said...

Sweet, sweet, sweet.

You are so funny... standing in line "forever and ever amen". That made me laugh.

Melana

Bev Brandon @ The Fray said...

When I read Curtis' words about you, it made me think of Isaiah 66:1-2 (sorry, I thought I was posting this at LPM where I was trying to find memory verse post--I'm confused) but it says in verse 1-- where is the house that you build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? Then look at verse 2---to this one I look, those who are humble and tremble. You guys are building a beautiful house in your hearts of rest in HIM. And God looks at the humility your husband showed in his words. You'll make it a great Father's Day. I have surgery again this Friday to remove more tiny cancer cells and appreciate your prayers. LOVED the photos.



King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain

Isaiah 66:2


Listen to this passage



2For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Terrie and Carley said...

Great pictures and recap Amanda. We are taking our children, 15 yr old girl and 18 yr old boy to Disney in early December. They have never been and it has been over 32 years since I have been to Disney and I live in Florida. Is that insane or what? You have put a lot of excitement in our hearts to go.

Terrie

Sunni said...

The food in Mexico is terrible! We made the mistake of eating at the sit-down place on our Honeymoon. Would you believe they served us the little round tosito chips you get from the grocery store? From that moment, we knew it was about to get ugly.....

Mary Avery said...

We were at Disney about a week after y'all so it's fun to see how much our pictures are alike! It's neat to see what Disney will be like for our little guy in about two years! We took him for his first birthday and he loved it! Love your blog and always read, but never comment.

Heather said...

Emma's favorite is Princess Aurora too. She calls her Aurora too and not Sleeping Beauty. Everything Aurora she wants, makes it hard to go by a Disney store lately. These pictures are so fun, I was wondering when we would see the Princesses! The one of all of you with Minnie is great!

Catherine said...

ok this is not about disney-although love the pics...this is about hyper 3 year old boys...I survived mine, who is now 7-he is going constantly from the time he rises to the time he conks out!! Two words: Fish Oil
I use the brand "Nordic Naturals" Arctic Cod Liver Oil Omega 3 supplement...it is pharmaceuctical grade molecularly distilled which is very important when looking at brands-not all fish oil is equal...this brand has many flavors we have tried them all and love the strawberry--my son who is 7 takes 2 tsp 2x a day...followed by a small glass of milk. When he was 3 he was taking 1 tsp 2x a day...based on his height and weight. I get mine from a local pharamacy and the pharamacist helped me determine how much to give him, he also has asthma so his pulmonogist raised his doze for that..not for the hyper...do some research you won't be disappointed...it all makes sense...Omegas 3 are found in grass and seaweed, omegas 6 are found in corn our animals, chickens cows are not feed grass anymorethey are feed corn etc. God designed our bodies to need a balance of both omega 3 and omega 6 because both have important roles..

MamaCass said...

Your pictures make me want to go to Disney World. Maybe we will get there soon. Annabeth is so sweet Amanda and Jackson so big! Miss you guys!

Tammy said...

I've really enjoyed reading your Disney posts. We went last year and are planning on going again next spring.

One thing we loved was that we rented our own house - so we had our own pool. That was one of our kids favourite things!

We went (at the time) with 7yo, 5 yo, almost 3yo and a 3 month old. We had a great time! I blogged about it here.