After a yummy dinner at Il Mulino (check
here for my food report), it was back to the room for a good night's sleep.
We set the alarm for early the next morning, because we had to be at Epcot by 8:45 for our Segway tour. That obnoxious beeping woke us up right on time and we were out the door with plenty of time to spare.
There was a small crowd gathered in front of Epcot, as it didn't open until 9 that morning. First we went to the Guest Services counter in front, and they told us to go over to the turnstile on the far left, the one marked for character breakfasts. We headed over there and there was a cast member with a clipboard. We told him our name and they had the last name wrong. I thought there might be an issue, but no. We showed him an ID, and in we went. (As an aside, there was this guy hanging around out there, and when we were looking at the clipboard, I looked up and almost headbutted him. He was looking over my shoulder, trying to read the clipboard! Very odd.) I have to admit, it gave us a tiny thrill watching the envious stares from those left waiting out in the cold. And it was cold!
So we headed over to the Guest Relations and checked in. We had to show ID again, and sign the "we're not responsible if you suck at the Segways and fall off and hurt something" form, get a sticker namebadge, then we sat and waited. Not sure why we had to be there so early, since the Segway tour leader didn't show up until 9am on the dot. Also, a sidenote - those benches in the waiting area are not comfy!
So, the tour leader shows up and leads us to Innoventions, where the Segway setup is. We grab a helmet and sit down for the official spiel. I've done the quick and dirty 10 minute Segway thing in Innovnetions twice now, so I knew all of this and it was boring listening to it for the third time. There were a few new nuggets of information, which I guess is only for the long tours. Anyway, that was over soon enough and we dropped all of our stuff and headed out to hop on the segways. At this time, one of the guest relations cast members joined us. He would be the one that gave us information on areas of Epcot, while our other guide focused on the segway aspect.
First, we did a whole lesson about stepping on and off. We lined up in rows and stepped on and off one at a time. Then we practiced going forward, turning and going back, slalom, going up and down ramps, and stopping. Finally, we were ready to hit the pavement. A few of us grabbed our cameras and tucked them into the bags on the front of the segways, and we went single file outside, following our guide.
We went through Future World, passing by early park-goers who pointed at us. A few even took pictures! We were allowed through the rope separating the World Showcase and then headed to Mexico. We stopped at every "land" and learned something about it.
In China we learned that the arched ceremonial gate is patterned after the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Also, here we did a "challenge" which involved following the footbridges up and down and taking turns and corners.
In Japan, we swooped through the Hill Garden, making turns and loops and going up and down ramps.
In Italy, we learned that the belltower is an authentic replica of the original campanile in St. Mark's Square. It was here that we did our slalom "challenge", weaving in and out of the columns. It was also here that we stopped at the "PictureSpot" and were allowed to roam free for a few minutes. We all did straight lines, taking the segways up to their top speeds, then stopped and took a bunch of pictures.
In American Adventures, we heard that the national bird was almost a turkey.
Of course, I can't remember everything, but the new knowledge wasn't why we did this tour! It was so much fun! It was kind of breezy that morning, so a few people were complaining about the cold (and zipping around on the segways made the wind a factor), but I was able to ignore it.
After we did all of the worlds, we went back through Future World, which was much more crowded by this time. Back at Innoventions, we hopped off and got our special Segway Tour pins.
There is just nothing else out there that compares to this experience. So much fun and we will both do it again in a heartbeat!
So, now that we're cold and have sore legs (which is nothing compared to how my thighs will feel tomorrow morning!
), we head over to Soarin' for our FastPasses. By this time, we're pretty hungry, and mom wants some coffee, so we go to Sunshine Seasons in the Land for lunch.
After mom has stopped complaing about being cold, we run over to Test Track for my FP (the health warning precludes mom), then loop back to Soarin'. This is one of my favorite attractions at Epcot, and probably mom's favorite in all of WDW. So wonderful, with the breeze and scenery. A great chance to relax. This time, we were seated in the last row, which meant dangling feet at the top of our view. Every other time we've been on it, we had front row seats, so it was a little distracting, seeing someone's sneakers dangling in front of me, but eventually I got used to it.
We wandered over to Mission Space and grabbed a FP, then I headed to Test Track while mom perused the nearby shops. Honestly, I don't know what all the fuss is about with this ride. It was entertaining enough, and the last speedy section outside (again with the cold!) was fun, but it was so jerky and kind of boring. Oh, well. At least I can say I've tried it.
We wanted to check out Turtle Talk with Crush, because that was so funny last time, but the line was so long, we said forget it. We decided to go back over to the World Showcase and check out each 'world'. We stopped in France and partook of the bakery (yummy chocolate mousse), and looked at the different shops and showcases.
Finally, we went back to Mission Space, which we were both riding (the Green, milder version). Now, let me preface this by saying I am claustrophobic. Without question. Everyone knows this about me. So, when we kept seeing all of the warnings about enclosed, dark spaces, mom kept asking me if I was sure. I kept saying, yeah, it'll be fine. Well, it was not fine. At first, when we sat down, I said, okay, this is cozy. Then the door shut and I thought, okay, look at all this leg room. Then the consoles came down and it was all over. Major panic attack. Every time I closed my eyes, the walls would come in, so I would open them and then I could see that the walls had already closed in. By the time the ride stopped, I was sobbing. We climb out and mom says are you okay? I'm crying "I did not like that." So, if you rode Mission Space on January 15 and saw some crazy chick come running out of there, crying like a baby, that was me.
For the record, I do
not like Mission Space.
By this time, I'm tired (crying always makes me sleepy) and we're getting hungry, so we head back to the resort and get a little rest before we change clothes for dinner.
We make it to Spoodles and enjoy our dinner. What a beautiful resort the Boardwalk is. I wish it hadn't been so chilly, so we could have walked around and checked it out. But we ended up just driving over to Downtown Disney and shopping a bit in the Virgin store.
Next up was Cirque du Soleil La Nouba. I just don't even know what to say about this one. We were both enthralled. Absolutely magnificent. And when we go back to the World, we will take my son and stepdad with us to see it again. Incredible.
Finally, two tired pups head back to the resort to wind down and get some sleep.
The girls were not very excited about the cost, but I did manage to get a hotel room booked and get one third of the deposit from them both.
I create a bunch of different scenarios with prices for each. It's expensive, sure, but we three divas are looking to have some fun away from home. We agree on a package and off I go, booking the trip.
). Once we arrived at our room, I discovered we also had a corner room, which meant an extra window. Yay! 
