A Very Merry Trip Report Day 5—Dec. 7, Epcot, Candlelight Processional

[E(ticket)lizabeth]

Cast: Me, Elizabeth (39); DH, Art (49); DS, Stuart (17 mos); MIL, Marlene (70-ish)

Setting: All Star Music, Dec. 3-11



We get up and head to Epcot for opening, since we want to ride Soarin’. After a quick breakfast in the room courtesy of the food court (MIL & I usually get ready to go, then leave Art with Stuart and go get our breakfast), we’re off. When we get to Epcot, there’s nobody there, but they still park us way out at the far end of the lot. We have to walk one full lot to even get to where the tram will come, so we just walk to the gate. They used to start parking right up by the front—wonder what happened?



During the opening ceremony, Art positions himself way over to the right, so he can scoot to the Land pavilion at the head of the crowd and get FPs for us. As they let us in, we follow him, but we have the stroller, so we don’t rush. We don’t want to run over anyone, and Marlene just can’t walk very quickly. We park the stroller, I grab Stuart, and we continue with the crowd into the pavilion. Art meets us just as we’re headed around the ramp to the stairs, and said he didn’t have any problems at all getting passes. We all walk up to the entrance and get a baby swap pass, then Marlene takes Stuart into the food court to sit down and play while Art and I go on in for our ride. This is great—we walk right in! “Pilot Pat” comes on to tell us about our “trip”—isn’t he Kronk? He sure sounds like it! Art agrees. (Note: Yes, he is. I’ve checked now that I’m home.) As we’re anticipating the ride, some people look knowingly at us and comment, “you’re going to love this.” They can tell we’re newbies here.



When we go in, we get the front row, which is definitely the place to be. Every other row has feet dangling down in your view, but not this one. We belt ourselves in, and the man next to me is laughing as he tries to use the kid’s safety strap. I think he’s just fooling around, so I laugh too. He manages to get the belt fastened through the strap, but I think it’s a tight fit for him—my guess is, it’s not very comfortable! His wife/girlfriend/ SO is laughing the whole time, too, so she probably thinks as I do.



The CM comes along to check our belts, then away we go, high into the air and over California. This is a perfectly amazing ride! I can’t believe how real it feels, and looks, and smells. I do wish they’d had some sort of beach smell for the beaches, but everything else is just incredible. We keep lifting our feet to keep them out of the water or the trees, and we just about flinch when the golf ball comes by. We just can’t stop talking about this ride when we get off, and Art goes to get his mom and take her. Yup—he gets to ride again! Stuart is napping on her shoulder, so we do a hand-off and she goes to ride. Then, by the time they get off, our fastpass time is here, and we get to do it all over again! This is the way to do it—thanks, TGMike! Of course, the 2nd time around, we’re the ones looking knowingly over at the kids chattering about how cool they think the ride is going to be, and we get to talk to them about how right they are. Marlene says this baby-swap and fastpass system is the best, too! We all get to ride at least twice, and Art rides 4 times this morning.



By the time we’re out of Soarin’, it’s nearly noon and time for lunch. I run ahead (well, okay, I walk very quickly) to make sure Restaurant Marrakesh doesn’t mark us as no-shows, and I get to chat with a CM out front for about 10 minutes, waiting for the others. She tells me I don’t have to worry, they have plenty of room in the restaurant, and to try the lamb. Since I don’t like lamb, that’s not a good plan for me, but Art & Marlene both love lamb, so I pass the suggestion on to them. They finally arrive, and we head inside, where we’re seated right next to the dance floor. We sit and wait, and then I realize the tablecloth is dirty. I mean, seriously dirty—and the restaurant just opened! They didn’t wash the tablecloths last night when they closed! Yuck. Our server finally comes around, and I complain. They seat us at the next table, and as we’re getting settled, Art taps my arm and points to our original table. The CM is just turning the tablecloth over so the dirty spot is underneath. Oh, yuck. I realize Morocco is a dry country and maybe they can’t wash linens as often as we usually do in the US, but this restaurant is in Florida, for heaven’s sake. This is pretty disgusting.



We finally get our drinks and order our lunches—I get the day’s chef’s special that includes an appetizer of beef brewat rolls and chicken kebobs, Art gets the Sultan’s Sampler, including beef brewat rolls, vegetable salad, and beef brochette, and Marlene tries the lamb. They have a grilled chicken kid’s meal for Stuart, but Marlene is disappointed to learn that they only serve Moroccan tea—meaning mint. Luckily, I’m carrying Lipton tea bags (because I seriously hate the flavor of Nestea), so she can just order a cup of hot water. As we wait for our food, the musicians come out and start playing. We’re worried because we’re right next to them, but since there are only diners at two other tables, the musicians keep everything quiet. As our food (finally) arrives, so does the dancer. We’re surprised to see her in heels—we’ve never seen a belly dancer dance in shoes before! She is quite pretty, and dances beautifully. Stuart loves her and claps as she dances, so she comes over a little closer to him once. I wish she would interact more with us, since the restaurant is so empty, but she finishes with a flourish and disappears again, having danced for maybe 3 minutes, tops. The food is okay, but nothing special. The lamb is a little dry, so is Art’s beef, and my chicken is, too. I think Stuart’s is maybe the best, but we all enjoy the appetizers. Note to self: Don’t bother with this one again. If we want brewat rolls, we can get them at Tangierine Café. No need to wait this long for every stage of the meal, then have a tiny little bit of entertainment. We are not impressed, and we’re definitely not impressed with cleanliness! They don’t have a changing table in the restroom, either, so we have to wait until we leave the restaurant to change Stuart. I think he’s the only one who really enjoyed himself in there! Of course, he loves music of all kinds, so he was pretty happy to have that. Then, he really enjoyed walking through the shops on our way out of Morocco. All that shiny brass!

We head over to Mexico to pick up the World Showcase in order—we decide to give El Rio del Tiempo another try, since Stuart loved Small World so much. He likes it, but there’s not as much music as Small World, and he doesn’t really get into it much. He loves the “fireworks” at the fiesta, though! Then, he loves playing with the instruments on a cart in the Plaza. He shakes the rainsticks, plays the little drums, and generally has a ball. We have to carry him out of the Plaza so we can get on with things! We then wander through Norway, but decide not to bother with Maelstrom. We like it, but it’s just not a priority this trip. Marlene & I stop in Germany to pick up some chocolate, and we buy some butter biscuits for Stuart to munch on during the CP—I’m thinking that maybe he’ll be happier with munchies!



We catch up to the guys in line at the American Adventure. I’m on the phone with Art, and he says he’s “in line”—I tell him, no, I’m walking past the line, and I don’t see him anywhere! What do you know? There are 2 lines, one on the right and one on the left (as you face the stage)—the left one is for non-package folks, and the right one (the shorter one!) is for us. I figure it out and find Art—more like I find Stuart, who doesn’t want to wait in line. The three adults take turns standing in line and chasing Stuart, who is busy making friends all over America! We go in, and get really good seats, and Stuart settles down, looking at all the lights. He loves lights! When the music starts, he is definitely excited, and he munches happily on his butter biscuits and watches the show—for about 10 minutes. Then he just can’t sit still any longer, and I try for just a few minutes to keep him occupied with toys, cookies, and what have you. No good. So, he & I head out. I’ll just have to listen to the show this year, instead of seeing it. Stuart & I chase all over America, and he heads into the building. He loves doors, and I try to keep him out, but the CM there says, “let him come on in. We’ll start a show in a few minutes.” I explain there’s no way he’ll sit through the attraction, and she says, “well, just let him come in and see the tree then. He’ll be fine in here.” The attraction is pretty dead, since most people in the pavilion are either watching or listening to the CP outside, so we look at the Christmas tree and all the other decorations, we play with the doors, we talk to the CMs and make more friends, and we have a pretty decent time. I’m exhausted, but Stuart is happy!



The CP ends, and we pick up the others as they come out. They enjoyed the show, but Marlene said our narrator was disappointing. She said she could hardly hear her, and it seemed like she was so busy playing with her hair, she couldn’t be bothered to keep her place in her narration. Oh, well, I guess I didn’t miss much then! We decide to make our way to England where Stuart can play in the toy store. Art wants to head to Canada before dinner to see if Off Kilter has a new CD, so we stay in England while he takes off. I leave Marlene & Stuart playing with trains and go get a beer! Marlene is quite tired, so when I get back, she goes to sit down in another store where she saw a chair, and I play with Stuart for a while. Art gets back, empty-handed. No new music, eh? Oh, no, au contraire. It seems Off Kilter has been busy, and they have 3 new CDs out, and Art doesn’t want to make a decision without me. I rustle up Marlene again, and she watches Stuart while we run to Canada. They find a more comfortable spot for her, and things seem to be fine.



This is good, since when we hit Canada, Randy is there! He’s a long-time active RADPer, and even though I haven’t been on much lately, he remembers me, too. We chat for a while as Art & I decide on 2 CDs (and have them sent to the room), and then keep chatting. It’s really hard to leave, but we HAVE to get back to England. Poor Marlene! I finally tear myself away, and we hightail it back to the toy store. The kid & the MIL are both fine, which is very good, because now we get caught in a great conversation with one of the clerks and a customer who is moving—in 2 weeks—to Ireland. Seems his fiancée is from there, so they’re going to her home to live for a while. Very cool. We finally manage to get away (again), round up the others, and head to dinner. We ask to be seated out on the deck, and of course they tell us they can’t guarantee it. We tell them we know, but we’re willing to wait. They buzz us almost immediately, and we head inside. “Oh, shoot,” I say, “we were hoping to be outside.” Our server explains that everybody wants to go out, but they have a really nice viewing area for those of us inside. We’ve always managed to get outside before, but they seat us next to an empty fireplace, and we’ll just make do. Actually, it works out, because Stuart eats a few bites and then wants down. He wants to play in the fireplace! It’s clean, so we let him, and I actually get to eat in relative peace.



The menu is pretty spare these days—it used to be that there were several choices that were expensive enough to make the CP package feel like a great deal, but now there’s only one, and it’s not what I want. The Chef’s Dinner tonight is a pepper-grilled NY Strip (which already annoys me, since I’m from Kansas City, and we KNOW that steak is a KC Strip!) with mashed potatoes and green beans, with dessert and appetizer. I don’t like strip steak nearly as much as ribeye (which is what AllEarsNet had on the July menu they’re showing), I love a good Yorkshire pudding (which isn’t offered), and I’m wishing they had the “steak & prawns” dinner that was also on the July menu, but not tonight. They used to have a delightful prime rib, but no longer, which is also a bummer. We’re not doing well in the eating department today, are we? The food here is just not memorable tonight. Art gets the Chef’s Dinner, and asks for a Yorkshire pudding—which comes slightly cold and definitely gooey, not at all good. The steak, he says, is quite good, though. My steak is fine—nothing special, but fine. Stuart eats some chicken pie, and Marlene has the pie as well. We should have just let Stuart eat off our plates, he eats so little!



It’s time for Illuminations to start, and we’re just finishing. Our server says we can leave everything at the table, and then come back for dessert, so we do. We head out to the deck, and there are a bunch of open tables. Why weren’t we seated out here? Oh, well, Stuart did like that fireplace, for some reason!



Illuminations gets going, but there’s no fire barge tonight. It’s not rainy, it’s not windy, so what gives? The show seems pretty dull tonight, and even though Stuart loves fireworks, he’s not interested, so I keep chasing him up and down stairs and back into the dining room. We do make it back outside for the big “Holiday Finale”—big deal. This is nothing special. I want the fire barge back!



We’re pretty tired by now, so our server asks if we’d like to just take dessert with us. Beautiful idea! We have a little fridge in the room, so we’ll just take something home. Unfortunately, most desserts will not be good cold—so our server suggests the Guinness chocolate cake. He says it’s better warm, but is quite satisfying even straight out of the fridge. Sounds perfect! We get our cake, pack up the kid, and head back to the front where we’re parked. Stuart really likes the lights in the sidewalk! I know which lot we’re parked in, but I’m not sure which lot is which. They should put maps of the lots somewhere at the front gate! I know we walked, and I know we walked a long time, and I know it was off to the left (now the right). So off we go, exhausted, but walking. After walking quite a while, things look very unfamiliar in the dark, and I don’t remember walking through trees. We veer back to the left and I overhear the tram driver say that our lot is THROUGH this lot and back. We turn around, walk some more, and there’s the car! Finally! We make it back to the rooms, put our cake in the fridge, and decide to just sponge Monster off. We’re all too tired to bother with regular bathing tonight! Stuart just lies on the bed with his little arms out in a “T” while we strip him, wipe him down, and get him in his jammies. Now he starts to come alive again, but I turn off most of the lights and pick him up, humming a lullaby. When his head hits the mattress, he lets out one “waah” and then he’s gone! Poor tired baby. Poor tired everyone! Epcot strikes again!

 

[luvpooh]

I've been enjoying your reports a lot, thanks for posting.
By the way, the reason the barge wasn't in Illuminations is because it had blown up in November, I believe, and was not back in service until February. Don't fear, it is part of the show again! (another thing for your next trip!)

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Wow a very long day for you all - so how was the chocolate cake?