Floundering Crab
01-26-2001, 12:15 PM
Travelers: DH & DW both 50
December 9â(Day 7) Shopping. I believe we decided since it was Saturday weâd do some shopping. We drove out International Drive to find the Beltz outlet that everyone was praising. Yup, big outlets, found the Disney outletâunimpressed. Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe it was too picked over before the holidays, but walked out with two pair of children socks. We then stopped at FAO toy store. Had a ball in there testing everything outâand so were a lot of others. Two little old gals were playing with this silly putty type material that made noises like someone passing gasâthey got such a kick out of it and giggled like kids. Too funny! Saw exactly what I was looking for, but decided Iâd find it back home instead of paying shipping chargesâwrong move! Never did find it in upstate NY. We then headed over to the Marketplace to get back in the Disney mood. Bought some unique Christmas ornaments, a pair of polar tech pjs for DD, tie & socks for DH (when his back was turned), spent lots of time in and around Legoland. We then had lunch at the RFCâwell, it was definitely a different experience. I love to eat and sample new dishes, but didnât really find anything to rave about here. Shared the mixed appetizer w/DH then we each ordered a sandwich. I had the turkey pita and DH had the pizza flatbread, I think. We decided to forego dessert. We had a very nice table right under the center gorillas, but the poor people next to us had the smoke pouring over them throughout the whole meal. The restaurant was cleverly decorated and I liked the thunderstorms, but there was a lot of food and trash on the floors. And I know itâs very hard to control the musty odor, but was too moldy for my nostrils. Wasnât the most pleasant of experiences. Been there done it. Did some more shopping/drooling over items we couldnât afford. Would love some of the painted cells. We thought about taking in a movie or going back to PI, but opted to head back to the room to watch TV & see the fireworks from our balcony.
December 10â(Day 8) EPCOT World Showcase: DH picked up muffins and juice from the Breakfast on the Run wagon while I was getting ready for the day. Drove over and parked at Boardwalk and took the boat over to EPCOT. Nice, relaxing beginning. Weather had warmed up, tooâlife is good. Started at Millennium Villageâthat was a pretty neat place tucked right in there next to Canada. Was also impressed with how creative these countries were. Loved those coke bottlesâgot a couple great shots. Bought a couple trinkets and moved on past Franceâstatues werenât out yet. Looked at Morocco, moved on to Japan. Then to the American Adventure. We couldnât get into the main entrance hall as it was closed for a private eventâthat disappointed me as I wanted to hear the Voices of Liberty again (they sang at the CP). Headed on down to the German Biergarten for lunch. We mustâve sat there for three sets of the ompa bandâthe second time they saw us still sitting there, one musician waved at me while I was taking pictures. When they came out the third time, the one guy looked right over at us to see if we were still there. And the only reason we were still there was that large mug of beerâwhy he ordered a bit one was beyond me. Have great pictures of him holding up this big mug of beerâsomething his mom will be proud ofânot! But we wandered on down to China and took in the show, then rode the Maelstrom in Norway, sailed the El Rio del Tiempo in Mexico then backtracked to France to see the Living Statues. They are simply amazing, but was so far back in the crowd it was hard to see much. Sometime during our WS trek we picked up a part of the TON parade. Thatâs simply amazing and wonderful to watch. We had reservations at Rose & Crown for dinner, but decided that we just didnât want to sit that long to see the Illuminations & gave them up. We bought some pastries in France to save for dessert. Did see Off Kilter and the British Invasion in UK, though. Off Kilter is truly uniqueâbought a CD of their music. Decided to have a bite to eatâpicked up fish & chips at UK (they were great) & settled in at the court in UK to enjoy them and our pastries. After seeing Oh Canada, walked over to ride Spaceship Earthâwe missed it earlier. By this time, we wandered back to WS to pick our spot for Illuminations and opted to sit by Canada and wait it out. Spectacular. We got up and stood right by the rail next to the lagoon to get the effects. By the time it was all over we decided to walk back to Boardwalk instead of getting in line for the boat. Nice walk, but was really beat when we got back to the room. My age is catching up w/me.
December 9â(Day 7) Shopping. I believe we decided since it was Saturday weâd do some shopping. We drove out International Drive to find the Beltz outlet that everyone was praising. Yup, big outlets, found the Disney outletâunimpressed. Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe it was too picked over before the holidays, but walked out with two pair of children socks. We then stopped at FAO toy store. Had a ball in there testing everything outâand so were a lot of others. Two little old gals were playing with this silly putty type material that made noises like someone passing gasâthey got such a kick out of it and giggled like kids. Too funny! Saw exactly what I was looking for, but decided Iâd find it back home instead of paying shipping chargesâwrong move! Never did find it in upstate NY. We then headed over to the Marketplace to get back in the Disney mood. Bought some unique Christmas ornaments, a pair of polar tech pjs for DD, tie & socks for DH (when his back was turned), spent lots of time in and around Legoland. We then had lunch at the RFCâwell, it was definitely a different experience. I love to eat and sample new dishes, but didnât really find anything to rave about here. Shared the mixed appetizer w/DH then we each ordered a sandwich. I had the turkey pita and DH had the pizza flatbread, I think. We decided to forego dessert. We had a very nice table right under the center gorillas, but the poor people next to us had the smoke pouring over them throughout the whole meal. The restaurant was cleverly decorated and I liked the thunderstorms, but there was a lot of food and trash on the floors. And I know itâs very hard to control the musty odor, but was too moldy for my nostrils. Wasnât the most pleasant of experiences. Been there done it. Did some more shopping/drooling over items we couldnât afford. Would love some of the painted cells. We thought about taking in a movie or going back to PI, but opted to head back to the room to watch TV & see the fireworks from our balcony.
December 10â(Day 8) EPCOT World Showcase: DH picked up muffins and juice from the Breakfast on the Run wagon while I was getting ready for the day. Drove over and parked at Boardwalk and took the boat over to EPCOT. Nice, relaxing beginning. Weather had warmed up, tooâlife is good. Started at Millennium Villageâthat was a pretty neat place tucked right in there next to Canada. Was also impressed with how creative these countries were. Loved those coke bottlesâgot a couple great shots. Bought a couple trinkets and moved on past Franceâstatues werenât out yet. Looked at Morocco, moved on to Japan. Then to the American Adventure. We couldnât get into the main entrance hall as it was closed for a private eventâthat disappointed me as I wanted to hear the Voices of Liberty again (they sang at the CP). Headed on down to the German Biergarten for lunch. We mustâve sat there for three sets of the ompa bandâthe second time they saw us still sitting there, one musician waved at me while I was taking pictures. When they came out the third time, the one guy looked right over at us to see if we were still there. And the only reason we were still there was that large mug of beerâwhy he ordered a bit one was beyond me. Have great pictures of him holding up this big mug of beerâsomething his mom will be proud ofânot! But we wandered on down to China and took in the show, then rode the Maelstrom in Norway, sailed the El Rio del Tiempo in Mexico then backtracked to France to see the Living Statues. They are simply amazing, but was so far back in the crowd it was hard to see much. Sometime during our WS trek we picked up a part of the TON parade. Thatâs simply amazing and wonderful to watch. We had reservations at Rose & Crown for dinner, but decided that we just didnât want to sit that long to see the Illuminations & gave them up. We bought some pastries in France to save for dessert. Did see Off Kilter and the British Invasion in UK, though. Off Kilter is truly uniqueâbought a CD of their music. Decided to have a bite to eatâpicked up fish & chips at UK (they were great) & settled in at the court in UK to enjoy them and our pastries. After seeing Oh Canada, walked over to ride Spaceship Earthâwe missed it earlier. By this time, we wandered back to WS to pick our spot for Illuminations and opted to sit by Canada and wait it out. Spectacular. We got up and stood right by the rail next to the lagoon to get the effects. By the time it was all over we decided to walk back to Boardwalk instead of getting in line for the boat. Nice walk, but was really beat when we got back to the room. My age is catching up w/me.