Travels With Teens: Take Two “I Can Organize This Trip in My Sleep!”BC Dee in DC Roti & Fini p. 40

[natebenma]

Great information about the yes program, it sounds very interesting. I can't imagine where you went for lunch?

My favorite part of the Y.E.S classes is the behind the scenes stuff. The marine class was really interesting.

I have given some clues pointing to where we went. Looks like the cat is out of the bag!

I've been enjoying your report! My kids had done a YES program at the Living Seas several years ago but it was geared for younger children. This looked very well done and interesting for the kids.

And I must comment on your son's "Quint" shirt...love it!

and thank you so much!

I love that they have classes for all different ages and interests.

Thanks for mentioning Ben's shirt. I meant to comment that he coordinated with the class. I loved the book and movie Jaws. The boys haven't seen it yet, but we should watch it soon.

Funny story about the cockroach! Although I would probably be skived out. I have an irrational fear of bugs. I've luckily never seen one at Disney which is pretty amazing considering the size of the place. Let's hope it stays that way!

That looks like a really great program at The Living Seas...so cool. I would have liked to go while I was in school!
I wonder if some of it is similar to what they offer during those behind the scenes tours at the Seas.
I think I'm definitely going to try and do the Behind the Seeds tour at LWTL next year! Think it'll be fun for DH and I and it doesn't take that long which is nice.

Aww, sad story about Lil Joe but at least he is in good hands now! I love seeing the manatees. 100 lbs of lettuce! You'd think they weren't vegetarians...haha.

Lunch!! My favorite part of the day! Hmm, where could you be going?

I'm not thrilled about having bugs free-roaming in MY house, but they don't really bother me out in the "wild". We have done the birthday party thing with groups like curious creatures that bring snakes, turtles, crocodiles, tarantulas and even hissing cockroaches into the house and as long as the creepy crawlies stay in their aquariums I am ok.

I know that some of the parts of the class overlapped. I think they do the food discussion for Dolphins in Depth.

Oh, I would love to read your review of Behind the Seeds if you do it!

I know, right. You would think on a diet of only salad that the manatees might be, um, a bit slimmer? The dressing must be loaded with fat!

 

[natebenma]

The Living Seas has a lot of interesting things that I didn't know about. I can see that the Y.E.S. program gives people a lot of information that would not be available to the public. I love the vet class.

We went to Turtle Talk with the grandchildren and my grandson was the only kid that asked an intelligent question. I was so proud.

The vet class was fantastic. It was good to see the boys working together to diagnose the animals and then present their findings.

That is cool about Turtle Talk. I can't remember what the boy in our group was going to ask, but I do recall that I was not going to be proud if Crush called on him.

I have some pictures from our Epcot morning that will help jog your memory.

Thanks for the pictures. They are great!

 

[natebenma]

If we do Y.E.S., it will be with the homeschool days. I'm currently planning to go in fall 2018. When 2018 rolls around I'll see if the homeschool days ticket prices make my total come out better than free dining.

So do they offer a bunch of different classes and you can pick what you want to do? I know there can be limited choice on the classes due to the availability of the instructors.

What time of year is homeschool days? We just had a few groups at the farm where I work a couple of weeks ago for homeschool days in Mass. We did some programs on archaeology and historical fiction.

Well then... Electric Umbrella it is!

 

[vleeth]

So do they offer a bunch of different classes and you can pick what you want to do? I know there can be limited choice on the classes due to the availability of the instructors.

What time of year is homeschool days? We just had a few groups at the farm where I work a couple of weeks ago for homeschool days in Mass. We did some programs on archaeology and historical fiction.

They have it twice a year. Once in Jan/Feb and in Sept/Oct. They have a bunch of the classes the week before and after the actual homeschool day. You don't have to take any of the classes, but you have to be there for the special homeschool day thing. So once it's posted you can check to see when they have the classes you want and then book your trip. The homeschool tickets are only good for a couple of weeks before and a couple of weeks after homeschool day.

 

[jenseib]

Wow this class seems really cool!
Thats a heck of a lot of lettuce to eat. Do they eat anything else? It seems boring to only eat lettuce....maybe thats why I have weight problem!!!!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I'll be back with more replies soon. Going into my hometown to take my dad to lunch and then to visit with my 7th grade math teacher.

:

I think it's so cool you got to hook up with your old maths teacher via the marvel of FB and even better that you met up in person too

 

[mickeystoontown]

I had to play catch-up 'cause I was way back on your evening at Epcot. When we were there, I talked about your golf ball trick and Lacey and I wished that we had played it on Jesse's family.

Knowing how much your family loves the ocean, I know that you and Ben thoroughly enjoyed the YES marine class. That's totally something up your alley. I read your comment about wanting to swim with sharks. My nephew did that a couple of years back and loved it.

 

[pas130]

Very cool sounding vet class I have looked into the individual YES classes, having different aged kids makes it hard to get them into a class together (since there is only one of me lol). Maybe just maybe I can find one for DS14 and do a Mom/son trip...plus he can say was educational, right?

 

[natebenma]

They have it twice a year. Once in Jan/Feb and in Sept/Oct. They have a bunch of the classes the week before and after the actual homeschool day. You don't have to take any of the classes, but you have to be there for the special homeschool day thing. So once it's posted you can check to see when they have the classes you want and then book your trip. The homeschool tickets are only good for a couple of weeks before and a couple of weeks after homeschool day.

Thanks for the info.

We had some classes for homeschool week a few weeks ago at the farm where I work. We did our Dirt Detectives archeology program for the event.

The tickets for the Y.E.S. program work the same way unfortunately. I was hoping I could purchase tickets from the class trip to use for my solo trip at the end of August, but I learned that they needed to be used within a couple of weeks.

Wow this class seems really cool!

Thats a heck of a lot of lettuce to eat. Do they eat anything else? It seems boring to only eat lettuce....maybe thats why I have weight problem!!!!

I really enjoyed getting up close and personal (sort of) with the sea creatures.

I'm not sure if they eat anything other than lettuce. Probably.

I think it's so cool you got to hook up with your old maths teacher via the marvel of FB and even better that you met up in person too

We had a really great 2 hour visit. At 92 she remains very sharp and has an excellent memory. I brought the yearbook from my 8th grade year and she flipped through it and told me about the teachers. "That one is running a museum" "That one is dead" "Poor Mr. D." She remembered some of the students. She didn't really remember me, but knew who my husband was. She actually grew up in the same neighborhood as Mark's grandmother so she had a connection with his family.

I still owe her a lunch, so I will take her out next time I am in town visiting my dad.

I had to play catch-up 'cause I was way back on your evening at Epcot. When we were there, I talked about your golf ball trick and Lacey and I wished that we had played it on Jesse's family.

Knowing how much your family loves the ocean, I know that you and Ben thoroughly enjoyed the YES marine class. That's totally something up your alley. I read your comment about wanting to swim with sharks. My nephew did that a couple of years back and loved it.

See, that's why I am disappointed that I didn't have the golf ball- there are only so many opportunities you have to pull this off on "newbies". I can't believe I came so close...

We really do love the ocean, and sea creatures and this class was right down our alley.

Any idea where your nephew swam with sharks? Was it the Bahamas?

Very cool sounding vet class I have looked into the individual YES classes, having different aged kids makes it hard to get them into a class together (since there is only one of me lol). Maybe just maybe I can find one for DS14 and do a Mom/son trip...plus he can say was educational, right?

I can see how it would be difficult to find a class that would work for all of your kids at the same time. A mom/son trip would be really fun!

 

[natebenma]

Electric Umbrella, Spaceship Earth and Test Track

We had finished with our marine biology program and met up with the chaperones from our group who did not go to the class.

These are the Fast Passes I had scheduled for the afternoon:

Epcot: Wednesday June 10, 2015

Spaceship Earth 12:00-1:00

Test Track® 1:15 – 2:15 PM

Mission: SPACE® 2:15-3:15 PM


But the first order of business with a group of 12 teen boys was lunch.

Where to go? We had already been to Sunshine Seasons the night before (although I would not bat an eye about going again). The World Showcase restaurants were too far away and not many of them were included on our vouchers, anyway.

So Electric Umbrella it would be.

This was my first time eating here.

Menu:

French Dip Burger - 1/3 lb Angus Burger, Brisket, Crispy Onions, and Muenster Cheese with choice of Grapes or French Fries $10.99

Vegetarian Flatbread - tomato pesto topped with mushrooms, feta cheese and arugula $9.99

Sausage and Pepper Sandwich - Italian Sausage, Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes, and Provolone Cheese with choice of Grapes or French Fries $9.49

1/3 lb. Angus Bacon Cheeseburger - with grapes or fries $9.99

Veggie Naan Wich - Broccoli Slaw, Edamame, and Tofu Wasabi Dressing with choice of Grapes or French Fries $9.49

Energy Salad with Roasted Chicken - Seasonal fruit, feta and pine nuts $10.49

Chicken Breast Nuggets - 8 pieces with grapes or french fries $9.29

Macaroni and Cheese - includes Carrot Sticks, Grapes and choice of small lowfat milk or small bottled water $5.99

Notes: Small juice, small chocolate milk, yogurt, french fries, or gelatin substituted upon request

Desserts

Strawberry Cheesecake $4.29

Fruit Cup $3.79

Chocolate Cupcake $4.59

No Sugar Added Brownie $4.19

French Dip Burger- this was very yummy.

Burger


We were able to get tables all in same general area and I think some of the diners in the area actually helped us by offering up their tables as they were leaving.

Here is the view we had for our meal:

My first experience at the Electric Umbrella was a positive one.

After lunch, it was time for our first Fast Pass:

I was really happy to be going on this ride. On Ben’s last trip to Disney in 2013, I had promised him one last ride on Spaceship Earth before our trip was over, but due to some delays we experienced at Hollywood Studios on our last day, we never made it into EPCOT.

I was riding with my friend L. When it came time to get our photo taken, I made a suggestion for poses. Her last trip was over 10 years ago, so she had not experienced the “Welcome to Your Future” feature at the end of the ride.


Here’s a few (blurry) pictures from the ride:

So what did L. and I do for poses? The nose pick! She was somewhat horrified to see that these pictures were saved and used for the story of our future.

After the ride, we hung around a bit in the activities area while we waited for people to use the bathroom and for the time for our next Fast Pass.


We headed to Test Track.

One of the boys didn’t want to ride. We tried to explain to him that this wasn’t a rollercoaster, there were no drops, it was not scary and really didn’t go faster than a car on the highway.

He was not convinced.

I volunteered to sit out the ride since my friend L was normally the one who sat out. She is not a thrill rider, but was ok experiencing this one.

We told the boy that we would go through the line with the rest of the group, then he and I would bail and go to the dump shop.

While we were in line, announcements were made about inclement weather in the vicinity and something to the effect that the ride could possibly be shut down for a bit. The line stopped for a short time, but then recommenced.

I was hoping when we got to the loading zone that the boy would agree to ride, but that was not the case. We took the chicken exit and waited for the rest of our group.

Fortunately, they were all able to ride before weather impacted the operation of the attraction.

Once together again, we were off to our final FP and the rest of our afternoon in Future World.


Next up: Lost in Space, Back in Time and Sum of Thrills

 

[irene_dsc]

I think that's the first Electric Umbrella review I've seen in a trip report! It actually seems pretty good!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the info.



See, that's why I am disappointed that I didn't have the golf ball- there are only so many opportunities you have to pull this off on "newbies". I can't believe I came so close...

We really do love the ocean, and sea creatures and this class was right down our alley.

Any idea where your nephew swam with sharks? Was it the Bahamas?

You know, I can't remember. I am going to text my niece right now and ask. It certainly won't do any good to text him because he's probably off on another adventure. Must be nice.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Electric Umbrella is our go-to Epcot counter service restaurant. Yes, I know that there are a lot of others to choose from but we really like it. And, as your pictures show, the view is quite nice too.

 

[pas130]

I like the pics from Spaceship Earth

 

[rteetz]

Electric umbrella is a popular place. I haven't eaten there in a while.

I love SSE and always try to come up with something for the picture.

I also love designing the car in Test Track. Speed wins!

 

[SarahDisney]

Those burgers from Electric Umbrella look yummy! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your first experience there.

I love your idea for the Spaceship Earth picture - we never do any special poses (we're boring sometimes), but I love seeing how the funny poses come out!

Sorry to hear you weren't able to ride Test Track, but I'm glad the boys all got to ride before it was affected by weather! I really hate when weather gets in the way of ride operations ... but I guess that's just what happens in Florida (and California too sometimes).

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Great updates. Shame the boy didn't like the look of test track but it was kind of you to sit it out with him

 

[annie170]

I've never eaten at Electric Umbrella either. That French Dip Burger looked very good.

That's too bad you had one student who didn't want to ride Test Track. Was he like that for most of the rides?

 

[afwdwfan]

We were able to get tables all in same general area and I think some of the diners in the area actually helped us by offering up their tables as they were leaving.

You were coming in with a group of teenage boys. Enough said. They were more than happy to give up their table and make a run for it!

My first experience at the Electric Umbrella was a positive one.

Good! I've had a few meals there. It isn't anything spectacular, but it certainly isn't bad.

I was hoping when we got to the loading zone that the boy would agree to ride, but that was not the case. We took the chicken exit and waited for the rest of our group.

Fortunately, they were all able to ride before weather impacted the operation of the attraction.

That stinks. I'm sorry you missed out, but at least everyone else got on before the weather interfered.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Dee, my niece had no idea where my nephew swam with the sharks. I went to his facebook page to look through his pictures and tried to narrow it down to where it might have been. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't Cairo, Paris, Italy, Ireland, Japan, China, Turkey, Utah or Colorado. So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it was from his time in Fiji. After looking through his pictures, I've concluded that I don't really like him much. LOL! Just kidding but I do wish that I was able to do all of the things that he has done.