Winging it with No Dinning Plan! A Feb. Trip Report

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi Everyone!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I think here in Jersey the rain is finally over! We are headed to the pool later today but right now, I am enjoying some "veg time" as the girls call it. I just want to say, that if I am following your trip report, I am probably behind. And I am sorry but it seems I am SUPER behind on everyones reports...

We had Gwen Last "birthday party" Well, it was just my parents and sister with her family over. Nothing special other than the cake we made...
Untitled

I think we did a pretty good job for our very first fondant covered cake. It def could have been better but you can tell it's a Porge!

Day Five: Norway

I left us off, leaving Mexico and heading to Norway. We did not have fast passes for Frozen and I am sure the line was longer than we wanted to wait.
Norway
The girls tried to open up the gate but it did not open...

Norway
We decided to actually go inside the church this time! A first for us. Granted not a huge first.

Norway_Chair
There was super exciting things in the church, like this square chair.

Norway_Frozen model
This model was trying to explain how the imaginers used Norway architecture to create Frozen's town.

It was a nice little exhibit. Short and sweet.

After we headed into the shop to find our next hats!

Norway_Hats around the World
Again, Gwen seemed to figure out how to make the picture a little bit more memorable.. You can also see who are the characters in the family from this picture....

While in the shop, i found some of the swedish ginger cookies that I know both my mom and Andy's mom loved. So, I bought a box for each of them. When we exited the shop, we found some Vikings roaming around.

Gwen didn't want anything to do with them, but Morgan loved it.

Norway_Vikings M&A
These pictures are some of my favorite from the day. The Vikings were hilarious and def a great addition to the area.

Norway_Andy & Morgan
I think I said to make a Viking Face... Morgan's is pretty fierce, right?

After our meet with a Viking, we headed to the bathroom for another potty break for Gwen. Which this was the new giant bathroom they did with the frozen update. It has the same bathroom doors as the Rapunzel Bathroom. Why do I notice these things?

Anyway, we headed out and found this Viking just hanging out.
Norway_Viking

When we came out to collect our stroller we saw a group of 20 something big guys. Like football player big. They were ALL sitting on EVC's chit chatting. They looked like they had all rented EVC's for the day to drink around the world on. I am just glad we didn't see them in a drunken state drinking and driving on them! Ha.

Anyway, we gathered the stroller and headed to China next!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Five: China

We left Norway and headed to China next. We found the needed hats outside the pavilion.

China_Hats around the World
Andy was already started to find this as annoying... Oye!

We checked out the Festival of Arts Booth in China and decided to skip it.

We went into the shops, which we had never done before. Gwen really wanted to use her one thing here, so they were looking around. She was angling for 2 things today, since she didn't get anything yesterday. Which we said was fine. The China store is just not as cool as Japan's. It is a nice little store, but Japan is just soooo much better.

China Fans
The girls found these and decided that if one got it the other would too. So, that is what they did.

When we went up to pay for them, the one CM asked if they wanted there names written in chinese on them...

China_Fan
The lady was having a hard time understanding Gwen, so I am not 100% positive that this is actually Gwen in Chinese. But does it matter? We don't know...

China Fan
And here is Morgan's.

It was a nice touch to make the fans extra special. And it was a great one thing for them to get!

China_Statues
I thought these were funny. Teeny Tiny versions of the real thing!

I also grabbed this when we were getting the fans.
China_Apple Water
SUPER Sweet! But pretty good.

With that, we headed out of China towards Africa!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Oh my goodness, I love your porg cake! Very cute! And a happy belated birthday to Gwen.

Ooh, I love this! This might be the best hat selfie... Vikings for the win!

When we came out to collect our stroller we saw a group of 20 something big guys. Like football player big. They were ALL sitting on EVC's chit chatting. They looked like they had all rented EVC's for the day to drink around the world on. I am just glad we didn't see them in a drunken state drinking and driving on them! Ha.

Oh my gosh!!! Well, I guess that's one way to drink around the world. Oh boy...

Or maybe they all actually WERE football players and they'd all been recently injured in games or something?

China_Apple Water
SUPER Sweet! But pretty good.

Interesting!! Whenever I travel somewhere new, I always find it cool to see what different sodas they drink. We did this when I visited my aunt in China. And I remember finding some neat things to drink when we went to Italy.

 

[SweetSerenity]

I think you did a great job on the cake!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Five: Africa

We pit stopped in Africa. The girls played the drums and bells in the area. I went and checked out the offerings at the Africa Refreshments. And got REALLY excitied as they had the Pineapple Cider that Andy had at the Poly. I got in line to order us 2 beers.

Africa
They girls had fun while I waited in line.

This booth was so not efficient. There was one CM for both sides and there was a lot of confusion as to where to stand. But I eventually got our 2 beers.

Once I was done, the girls wanted me to take a video of there "song". So for your enjoyment...
IMG_1205

We hung out here a little and drag some of our beers. Andy was texting again with some folks about the train situation for the parade.

Then we headed to Germany!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Oh my gosh!!! Well, I guess that's one way to drink around the world. Oh boy...

Or maybe they all actually WERE football players and they'd all been recently injured in games or something?

Could have been. They were def drinking either way!

I think you did a great job on the cake!

Thanks! The whole family had a hand in it.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Great job with the Porg cake!!

The Vikings are a nice addition to Norway

We went in the Chinese store for the first time in April, we has always just walked by.

 

[kastoney]

Untitled

I think we did a pretty good job for our very first fondant covered cake. It def could have been better but you can tell it's a Porge!

These are awesome. Great job! And Happy Belated Birthday to Gwen!

Norway_Chair
There was super exciting things in the church, like this square chair.

Oh my favorite! Doesn't get more exciting then this.

Norway_Hats around the World
Again, Gwen seemed to figure out how to make the picture a little bit more memorable.. You can also see who are the characters in the family from this picture....

I have a feeling Gwen and Casey and Andy and Jason are going to get along very well

China_Fan
The lady was having a hard time understanding Gwen, so I am not 100% positive that this is actually Gwen in Chinese. But does it matter? We don't know...

I didn't know they did these in China. Casey has gotten a few in Japan and they'll write their name on them too.

 

[jchurch0409]

That cake is adorable!

 

[Tasscrapper]

Just joining up for the ride. I've enjoyed it so far. You have a lovely family.

 

[amazingact21]

Great photos with the hats. Such a fun little activity to do while walking through the WS.

I never noticed the bathroom stall doors being identical to the Tangled ones. Hmm, I'll have to pay attention next time I'm in there.

 

[ariane37]

Bag check at EPCOT is ROUGH!

It is, and I just don't understand why! I walk up all excited to get in and then.......bag check

he Green side is SUPER tame!

Yeah......no lol. The one attraction I've never done and don't think I ever will! I finally tried Star Tours this year and thought I was going to lose all my internal organs in one huge heave, so I'm not going to chance it on MS. But I'm glad you guys enjoyed it!

Of all the bag check spots, I feel like Epcot's takes the longest to get through.

Any ideas on what kind of photos?

How about a photo with a CM from each country?

We headed to Mexico for some food! I knew that the counter service had some items that the girls would eat.

I think this is my favorite QS in WS

I think we did a pretty good job for our very first fondant covered cake. It def could have been better but you can tell it's a Porge!

Love it!

Andy was already started to find this as annoying... Oye!

Steve would find it annoying from the beginning lol but I think it's a really cute idea.

 

[missangelalexis]

Love the photos with the different hats in the countries! Sounds like a nice time exploring WS so far!

And your Porg cake came out great!!

 

[MissMaryQC]

The hats around the world in an adorable idea! I’m working on characters for E, not sure it’ll happen in time...

That Porge cake is amazing!! Better than any of my creations, lol!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We went in the Chinese store for the first time in April, we has always just walked by.

It is easy to kind of pass by and or miss. I am glad we went in.

Oh my favorite! Doesn't get more exciting then this.

Right? I knew I just HAD to share.

I didn't know they did these in China. Casey has gotten a few in Japan and they'll write their name on them too.

Oh! I will have to tell the girls. I am sure they will want to do the ones in Japan.

That cake is adorable!

Thanks!

Just joining up for the ride. I've enjoyed it so far. You have a lovely family.

Thanks for reading! And thank you about the family. I truly appreciate it.

Great photos with the hats. Such a fun little activity to do while walking through the WS.

And it's free! It has some bumps later on.

I never noticed the bathroom stall doors being identical to the Tangled ones. Hmm, I'll have to pay attention next time I'm in there.

So, I actually do know why I noticed. When the girls were super little, I sent them into the boys bathroom at Rapunzel's because I just couldn't take them to the bathroom AGAIN. And the men's room has really cute frying pans in it. And the girls didn't stop talking about it forever. So, we talked about how the women's had to have something amazing in it. And the next time we went (which was like 1 and a half later) We finally went in and it was this...

IMG_4551
They are nice but kind of boring...

And I forgot, I took a picture of the bathrooms in Norway!
IMG_1191

And now that I found the Actual Photos... They aren't exactly the same. But pretty close!

Yeah......no lol. The one attraction I've never done and don't think I ever will! I finally tried Star Tours this year and thought I was going to lose all my internal organs in one huge heave, so I'm not going to chance it on MS. But I'm glad you guys enjoyed it!

Yeah, def don't... I don't have any issues with Star Tours and I feel like that, is tamer.

How about a photo with a CM from each country?

Ha. I laughed when I read that, that would mean my children would need to actually TALK to people. They are getting better but still not there strong suit.

Love the photos with the different hats in the countries! Sounds like a nice time exploring WS so far!

Thanks. We are lucky that the girls enjoy exploring the WS.

That Porge cake is amazing!! Better than any of my creations, lol!

Thanks! Well, that is why you are going to go on Nailed It! We kept saying Nailed It the whole time... And all I kept hoping was that it wasn't a puddle cake like some of those people...

 

[amazingact21]

And now that I found the Actual Photos... They aren't exactly the same. But pretty close!

Thanks for putting pictures of both doors next to each other. I was probably going to try and hunt down some images to see for myself but was kind of afraid of putting that in a search bar.
And while they do have slight differences, I agree that they are extremely similar. You can definitely tell they were pulling from the Tangled design...
(And the boys have frying pans?! How cool!)

 

[vamassey1]

I got way behind on your report but really enjoyed catching up. I'm going to start quoting with your Epcot day. I did read all the other updates too.

Hats around the World! I made these with Power Point and just printed them at work. So today, was a free Tink Gift day! I was looking forward to trying this as well. I thought it would make some cute pictures.

I love this idea. We've dressed up in each country but this is really great too.

Good Bus mojo this morning!

Best way to start a park day is "good bus mojo".

Bag check at EPCOT is ROUGH!

Epcot bag check is the worst!!!! I hate it. It's even worse when you're doing it with a baby and the stuff that goes with a baby.

IMG_1110
This is Gwen's.... Low efficiency but SUPER pretty!

Gwen's car is stylin! The flowers really make it.

We headed over to Mission Space! This was going to be a first for us, so I booked Green Side for us to give it a try.

I have really bad issues with motion sickness and did the green version for the first time in 2017. I made it through ok but it's not something I would do every trip.

IMG_1125
We powered through, but I took this pic while waiting right outside before you go in... Gwen's face cracks me up!

I love this photo! Gwen may look like you but she has her Dad's personality.

The Green side is SUPER tame! We joked about pushing too many buttons and were making jokes about doing it all in time. We had a fun time with it. I am sure if you get motion sickness, the green side could still be touch but it was so tame,

Green work just fine for me.

How did we like the Orange side? Man... It is SOOOO much more intense!!! The take off part is rough! I was worried I might actually toss my cookies at one point. And then I was worried how the girls were doing with it, but I didn't want to try and look to the sides. We had fun again with the buttons and switches.

I could never do this! Kudos to you. Dennis loves the orange side and has to bribe someone to ride with him.

We stopped in the Odyssey Pavilion on the way. (I think that is the name) We had never been in this building, if you can believe that! We always go straight into the world.

We missed this when we went a few days after y'all. We always go straight into the World too. I keep telling myself to stop but get overruled.

Paint Your Own Chocolate Puzzle. They saw these and were SUPER excitied to try them.

This looks like such a great idea for kids.

Guac & Chips
Guacamole
topped with Mango and Pumpkin Seeds and served with Fried Flour Chicharrón, Salsa Valentina and Lime
These was also really good. I love Guacamole and this did not disappoint. And def a must stop for me everytime now!

I love Guacamole too! I need to try this.

We quickly found the Coco Exhibit.

Missed this too. I really enjoyed the movie.

Mexico_Hats around the World
We all picked the giant hats.... except Gwen, which I think makes it that much funnier.

This is just too good!

 

[vamassey1]

We had Gwen Last "birthday party" Well, it was just my parents and sister with her family over. Nothing special other than the cake we made...
Untitled

I think we did a pretty good job for our very first fondant covered cake. It def could have been better but you can tell it's a Porge!

I'm very impressed! I think it looks great. How did it taste?

We decided to actually go inside the church this time! A first for us. Granted not a huge first.

I like stopping in here every other trip or so. It least it's cool in here.

Norway_Hats around the World
Again, Gwen seemed to figure out how to make the picture a little bit more memorable.. You can also see who are the characters in the family from this picture....

Another great family hat photo!

These pictures are some of my favorite from the day. The Vikings were hilarious and def a great addition to the area.

I missed this too. I would love to interact with them. I think it's neat that Morgan was the one having fun with them.

After our meet with a Viking, we headed to the bathroom for another potty break for Gwen. Which this was the new giant bathroom they did with the frozen update. It has the same bathroom doors as the Rapunzel Bathroom. Why do I notice these things?

These are hands down my favorite bathrooms in Epcot and the Rapunzel bathroom is my favorite in MK. Now that you have pointed this out it makes perfect sense why they're my favorites.

China_Hats around the World
Andy was already started to find this as annoying... Oye!

This is a great family photo. Maybe Andy needs another adult beverage?

The girls found these and decided that if one got it the other would too. So, that is what they did.

When we went up to pay for them, the one CM asked if they wanted there names written in chinese on them...

My girls got these when they were younger. I know Danielle still has hers, not sure about Michelle.

We pit stopped in Africa. The girls played the drums and bells in the area.

My family can't keep their hands off instruments.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Five: Germany & Italy

After Africa we moved towards Germany. We headed into the stores to find our next hat.

We found some Fedoras, fairly easily.
Italy_Hats around the World

We always say that Gwen looks good in any hat or glasses. So, When Morgan put the fedora on, we said it looked really good on her.

Italy_Hat_Morgan
She wanted to buy it but I knew she would never wear it. But I said if that was her one thing. Which she did NOT want to do.

In the area we were in, was a wine tasting that I wanted to do but I had literally just finished our pineapple beer. There were also 2 different disney cookbooks that I was checking out. But I wasn't sold on the selection of recipes in it. So, I decided not to get one.

We didn't stay too long in Germany. And headed to Italy.

When we got to Italy, they had one of those Living Painting Photo Ops. So, we gave it a try. Much to the Girls dismay...
Art Photo
Our first version... The girls wanted the fans in the picture, of course.

Photo Op
And then the Photo Pass Photographer posed us for the next photo. Pretty sure Morgan is laughing because she knows we are kissing.

Then since the girls were being a real pain.. Andy decided to embarrass the girls with a photo by himself...

Andy photo

Andy photo

After our photo shoot we went to find our Italy hat. And this is where the hats around the world started to fall apart.... My sheet had a chefs hat on it, and well, we couldn't find a chef hat anywhere. And Morgan is a very literal and a rule follower. Also, some how Morgan STILL believes the Tinkerbell Gifts are actually from Tinkerbell. I don't know how but she does. And Tinkerbell would KNOW what hats there was in EPCOT, right?! Oh...

Anyway, she did NOT want to take a picture with the gondola hats because that wasn't on the sheet. Grrrr... Somehow we convinced her it would be ok.
Italy_Hats around the World
Her eyes say it all.

After the hat "disaster", there was one more thing we wanted to do in Italy.

Italy_Photo A&A
Andy wanted a picture of me and him. We were wearing our same shirts a year ago when we were there.

Before and After Photo
We had both worked hard on loosing some weight, so he wanted a comparison shot. I think we did pretty good. But NOW, I want to try and loose some more before our next trip! I started this week. And I want to love another 5-10 pounds before we go. We will see if it happens. It is HARD and the will power is rough! But I wanted to share with you guys to give me a little accountability.

Italy_Photo M&G
We tried to get a shot of the girls as well, but that didn't turn out the greatest.

Then they wanted me to take a video of them with there fans... Watch the short video below. They were pretty proud of themselves...
IMG_1227
The fans were becoming surprisingly endless entertainment...

After our photo shoot, we headed to America!

 

[pepperandchips]

Another fun update!

Her eyes say it all.

"Tinkerbell is gonna be SO disappointed"

We had both worked hard on loosing some weight,

You both look great! Good work. I know it is hard, I half only been halfway doing the whole diet thing after my wedding. I need to get serious again, but maybe not til after Disney