Yesterday was a lot of fun! Everyone ended getting up at about 9:15 or so. After getting dressed and so forth, we headed to GF Cafe for a good breakfast. This restaurant is one of my favorite on property, considering that its price point (for breakfast at least) is very manageable, food is good, and service has always been awesome.
We ended up getting into Epcot just before 11:20, so we took a picture in front of SE and headed over to use our FP+s for Soarin that started at 11:30. Now, we had set up "dummy FP+s" earlier in the morning, so that after Soarin' we could make more FP+s. This worked! We got some of the last TT FP+s just after 12pm. The time was 7:50 to 8:50, but I'll warn you that there are still lines for the kiosks, and while not as long as before, the one we waited in took about 15 minutes. As a reminder, 4th FP+s can only be booked at kiosks. I tried to make a modification on my app and it did not work either.
Then, it was off to Sum of All Thrills. Posted wait was 40, but actual was just over 25 I think if I had to estimate. That's one of our favorites and a must-see for any group with teens! After exploring Innovnetions for a bit and watching the Jamitors, we walked right on Mission: SPACE Green. I kid you not. In the pre-show room, there were only eight people including us! Orange had about a 20 minute wait, but we chose not to ride it. Rode Spaceship Earth then grabbed a meal at Electric Umbrella. By the way, although I'll admit it's certainly not the highest quality of food and does not stray from your typical theme park fare, I think it isn't as bad as most people make it out to be.
After lunch, we went into MouseGear for a bit and did Ellen's Energy Adventure. At that point, it was about 4pm, so we headed into WS. Did Maelstrom and explored each of the pavilions a bit. Saw O Canada! for the first time and actually really enjoyed it. Had dinner at Tutto Gusto. Horrible experience. I'm a huge fan of Italian food, but it was overpriced and food was subpar. Mind you, they were also extremely unaccommodating to my dairy allergy, especially for Disney. Then, we used our TT FP+s, but it was really backed up, so we ended up getting out at 8:30. Dashed over to the dessert party, shoveled down as much dessert and wine as we could and at 8:50 they led us to the viewing spot. Not sure if it was just that there were some storms in the vicinity or if it's just new how they do it, but they did it inside the Odyssey building. Had two extensive dessert tables set up with sparkling wine and of course tables for us all to sit at. At 8:50, they guided everyone to the viewing spot for IllumiNations (same one as when it started in March). Up to this point, I think it's fair to say I was pretty peeved. I paid $50 a person to just shovel down some dessert and leave, but after witnessing IllumiNations from the VIP area, we knew it was worth it (or maybe at least worth $40). If you love that show, this is something you must do. It's the only way to get such an up-close view without showing up at 7pm. Everyone had a decent view, but if you want the best view, I'd get up and start lingering in the front at 8:45 and wait for the CM to begin leading people that way you can be first. Overall a fun day. Tutto Italia was a major bummer though.
What did we learn? TT FP+s will be gone by 12:30, so if you don't plan to rope drop it, get two dummy FP+s and a Soarin' one for the time you expect to arrive, and pray that you can just make it and get a TT gone. Don't try to mess with the 4th FP+ on your
MDE app, you will probably just mess things up, MouseGear does smell, don't eat at Tutto Italia, and the IllumiNations Sparkling Dessert Party (while not worth $50) is certainly a unique opportunity that would serve as a good splurge, particularly for an IllumiNations fan.
By the way, we're not rich folks. We did not expect to spend $190 on dinner four 5 people! I'm sorry that's ridiculous for Tutto Italia. Yes, we like to splurge on vacations, but we're pretty average. We've been paying off aspects of the vacation (i.e. hotel, tickets) at different times to balance it out, but that TI price was kind of a shock as the menu doesn't imply it to be that expensive.
Anyways, today we're off to MK!
Most of the time, it isn't enough to drive me out of there but sometimes, it's pretty strong.
