Tag Archives: Basin

Saturday Happenings

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It is a pretty cool thing to wake up, turn to my hubby, and say “What do you want to do today?” and hear him say a Disney park or area.  Is this really our lives?? It is just way too cool!   Since we had done the Parks a lot this week, we headed to Downtown Disney early to beat the heat and crowds. Tag along, won’t you?

First, we always park on the West Side because it is usually the emptiest, and more spacious parking.  Every time we park in the DTD area near “World of Disney” the parking feels very cramped and limited- so if you don’t mind a walk, park at the West Side.  We walked past the AMC Theater, and hope to see “Cars 2” this week- we will let you know what we thought, and of our experience at the AMC.  It’s crazy for us to think that our local Theater is now the one on Disney Property… oh we have come along way from Regal Cinema in Darboy, WI.

We enjoyed walking through the abandoned Pleasure Island, but it was sad to see the “Adventurers Club” just sitting there. My kids never got to experience it like I did, and it’s sad that they don’t at least DO something with it so it isn’t a constant reminder to everyone that it’s done.  We got to see places we would love to eat at, like “Raglan Road” and take a peek into “T-Rex Café” before it got busy for the day. It was here that Mom called me to tell me the news that she had fallen leaving a yard sale yesterday, and face planted it into the cement.  Her jaw is not broken, but close to it, and her front teeth were broken.  It was that moment that my heart fell to my feet… I, for the first time, could not be there for her in the physical sense. I couldn’t drive over to hug her, support her, take care of her… the feeling took my breath away.  The family walked up and I tried not to cry, but I just felt so hopeless.  She didn’t want me to fly home, but if it had been worse, I would have been on the first plane to WI. 

After such a shock, I tried to relax and enjoy the morning we had planned.  We walked through “The World of Disney” and I got my blog pics for our new Monday segment “Merch Mondays” and then we headed for lunch at “Earl of Sandwich.” If you haven’t eaten here, it is EXCELLENT!  We split an Earls Club, Kyra had a Caeser salad, and Em had the Grilled Cheese kids sandwich.  The sandwiches and salads are each $5.99, and kids sandwiches are $3.99.  For the 4 of us, with 3 waters and 1 soda (free refills here), we only spent $20 total.  Now, Em’s sandwich was good, but enough for her. I would probably buy a small side item for her next time – a cup of fruit or something- which will cost you $1.99.  Eat early, which we did at 11, and you will find a table with no problem.  The line here is always long, so make sure to take the time in line to decide so you can order the minute you get to the cashier.  Again, free refills here, so save the money and split a soda.

What I love about being a Resident here, and a familiar face in the Disney Community, is running into friends around WDW.  Today I finally got to hug Charles, and meet his lovely family.  It was nice to see them, along with good friends, Toffer and Shane. Thanks for the pic guys! 

We enjoyed the “Art of Disney” store, making our wish list of attraction posters we wanted to purchase next.  Emily got a “Toy Story” book on how to draw each of the characters, including her beloved Jessie! A walk through the Christmas Store made us excited about our first Christmas here, and how we would decorate our new home.  So many ideas, and I just loved the Toy Story ornaments.  We headed to “Little Miss Match” where we had never been, and watched Kyra’s face as we walked in. She ALREADY mismatches her socks, but an ENTIRE store devoted to it? Yes, we bought her some which she was so excited about!

We headed back to the West Side to show Craig “Disneyquest” which he hadn’t been able to experience yet.  The kids took him on “Jungle Cruise” while I held our place in line to play “Pirates of the Caribbean.”  As I was standing there, playing on my IPhone, I thought I would check-in on Gowalla for the heck of it.  I don’t really do it that much, because honestly, I forget about it.  So I did, and I got a tweet back saying  “I am in the POTC line too!”  I had just told my hubby “Someone in line is also here that knows us” and a beautiful blonde gal introduced herself to us as Serena.  She was so kind, and so nice, and it was a treat to meet a blog reader, and of course, a new friend now.  We chatted like old friends in line, which made the time go by faster, and it was exciting to meet someone that cared so much to ask how we were all doing.  So THANK YOU Serena for being willing to come up and meet us, I love that and I hope more readers do it- we truly enjoy it.

After a fun game of POTC, we headed to the van for what we thought would be an uneventful walk.  Well, God thought otherwise, and we got to enjoy our first FL downpour.  Now, at most times, rain starts off light and gradually gets heavier. In FL, we have learned, it’s pretty much like a shower was turned on high- we were soaked by the time we got in the Van.

After an afternoon of food shopping with all of us, we headed home to make dinner and take a small nap. I was so beat, I could hardly keep my eyes open.  After dinner, we all went our separate ways for a laid back Saturday night.

Kyra went to babysit, Craig headed off to Epcot, while Emily and I headed off to the Magic Kingdom.  It was really nice- Em and I took our time and just really chilled.  We rode POTC, Aladdins Carpet Ride, Haunted Mansion, and ended the night with “It’s a Small World.”  We attempted to get out of the Park before “Wishes” but those large tour groups are killers!  We made it out, time to spare for grabbing gas for the car, and then relaxed at home the rest of the night.

I hope you all had a nice Saturday, and thanks again for the thoughts and prayers for Mom.

Walt Disney World Family Traditions

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Tonight’s blog is all about Walt Disney World family traditions. We all have them, that one thing we have to do, or eat, or accomplish before leaving our magical place. We thought we would share some of ours with you. 

We used to stay off-property…yeah, that’s right.  Before we really knew our Disney, we stayed on International Drive at the Gateway Inn.  Once we got smarter, we really loved staying at the value resorts.  Our tradition would be to hop out of our van in the parking lot, and take a picture of the kids in front by the Movies or Music sign.  The excitement on their faces to be there is priceless. That is usually our favorite picture of the trip.

After check-in, we always walk to the room first, through the resort, and look at where our room is located right away.  After settling in, we love to head down to the food court and grab a snack, sit in one of the large booths, and plan out which park we are heading to the next day.  Before heading back to the room, we always take a look at what’s in the gift shop always making sure to grab a bag of chocolate coins and donut holes. 

Epcot is always our first park of choice, and “Soarin” is always the first ride now.  After a couple rides, we love to settle into one of the comfy booths in “The Land” and have the Chinese food from the Sunshine Seasons Food Court.   We enjoy watching people file in the building for “Soarin” while we enjoy a layered Strawberry Shortcake dessert.  Our youngest child, Jessie, is terrified of the snake in the “Honey I Shrunk the Audience”, so while Carl and Belle go to the show, Jessie and I play with the jumping fountains. We have so many fond memories of this tradition. Sigh, wish we were there now.

At Magic Kingdom, our tradition is always eating at Cosmic Ray’s at least once, and “Peter Pan” is always our first ride there.  We always have to get our morning Castle picture, and our nighttime picture.  A ride on the TTA is a must, and we have to ride the Carousel of Progress at least once…singing along is mandatory.   We can’t leave without having a Dole Whip and taking at least one picture by the “Partners” statue.

Our favorite traditions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are quirky, family ones. The one that stands out the most for us is getting to Fantasmic when they open, finding the highest bench, and munching on hot dogs and chips as other families fill in.  We also love to hang out after everyone has left and walk out while no one is there and chat with the Cast Members along the way.  Other ones we have are playing on the steps of the back street buildings, taking pictures in the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” playground, and we love listening to the Star Wars music and sound effects outside of “Star Tours.”  Ending the night walking down an empty boulevard, our children’s hands in ours…pure magic.

The traditions at Animal Kingdom have always been planning moves turned into repeated good times.  Getting to rope drop, we head to the Kilimanjaro Safari Ride, fast pass it, and then head to the Pangani Forest Trail to visit the Gorillas.  We have fallen in love with this tradition for so many reasons. It’s so peaceful and quiet in the morning, everyone else is hitting the rides, and the sun is usually just starting to peek over the trail. We take pictures, and just stare.  Did you ever feel like “Jane” in the movie “Tarzan” when she looks around her and all of the Gorillas are looking down at her? That’s what this trail feels like to us.   We love to also take funny pictures in the Dinosaur ride area where it looks like we are screaming or going to be eaten-yeah, we are silly.

Outside the parks, we have our traditions at Downtown Disney. We always pick up soap at “Basin,”, we used to pick up new Monorail pieces at “Once Upon a Toy,” and we always stop at “Pin Traders” to pick up a couple of pins.  For the past couple of trips, we have started a new tradition of purchasing attraction posters, animated drawings, or lithographs.  We love to pick up a new ornament with our trip year on it at the Christmas Store, and always shop at the World of Disney for the traditional Disney sweatshirt, kitchen items, edible goodies, and of course we have to have a new magnet each trip.

Last but not least, we have our resort and monorail traditions. Usually our first day at the parks we ride the monorail from Epcot to MK and back. Catching the Resort monorail is also a must to have our traditional walk into the Polynesian Lobby or a walk on the beach.  We like to catch a bus to the AK Lodge and walk around looking at the animals.  

As we head home, we always take one more walk through the Resort, to the food court, fill-up our mug for the last time, and see if there is anything we want to buy in the gift shop before leaving. 

We want to know, what are YOUR family traditions while visiting Walt Disney World? Comment away, and have an incredible day!

~Carl and Ellie Peters~