allie5
<font color=blue>WARNING! DHL men should be cautio
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2002
- Messages
- 1,572
Mon 23rd June: Another early start as I am determined we are going to Epcot today. Baby went through the night (first and only time this holiday!!) so I am refreshed and raring to go. Mum still isnt feeling well, so opts to stay at the villa today.
Bundle kidlets into the car and whizz off to Epcot. Toy with the idea of stopping for brekkie, but decide to get something in the park. Another parking victory as we are once again in a prime spot, close enough to walk to the gate. DD is sorely put out at missing her ride on the trolley bus AGAIN. The park seems deceptively quiet, so we optimistically head over to Test Track....OH, so THATS where everybody is!! We grab fast passes that even now at just after 9am are not returning till between 10.30 - 11.30. Oh well. Standby is 40 mins and single rider 25 so we decide to wait for the FPs to become active.
Everyone is peckish, so we head to the Fountain Expresso & Bakery (I think thats what its called??). DH & I have "breakfast pockets" which is like a croissant filled with egg, sausage & bacon. Very tasty! DD has a chocolate croissant (special holiday dispensation allowing more sugar intake than normal!). DD prefers the savoury pockets though, and eats most of mine. DS falls asleep in his stroller and we wander round Innoventions for awhile. DD enjoys the bug exhibit, although I am not so keen crawling through a small tunnel being laughed at by millions of tiny ants and other assorted creepy crawlies. DH is desperate to try a Segway after seeing the car park CMs on them. Unfortunately, the exhibit isnt manned, so no go.
We head over to the Imaginations pavillion where Honey I Shrunk The Audience is a walk on with a show starting in a few minutes. DH stays with DS who is still snoozing. DD and I pick up our 3D specs and head into the pre-show. I then make a huge parental mistake. I decide to warn her about the two scary bits in the show (the lion and snake). I breezily tell her that she will LOVE this show but there are a couple of bits that might be a little scary and she might want to cover her eyes when she sees the lion and snake. Thats it. DD goes into meltdown. "Nooooooo" she shrieks at the top of her voice.." Idontwannasee..Idontwannasee...mummytakemeoutofhere..NOW, PLEEEAASE".....Oh my. I am now one of those truly horrid parents who tries to persuade the tiny person (now eminating sounds loud enough to crack glass) that she WILL like this show.
After a few minutes I come to my senses and realise that I had promised myself I would NEVER force one of my kids on something they didnt want to do and we leave. DD is still sobbing and I need a quick distraction. Figment comes to my rescue! Journey Into Imagination is a walk on....as soon as DD ascertains there are positively NO lions or snakes, just a cute purple dragon, we alight said ride. DD enjoys this hugely and I am stung for copious amounts of Figment merchandise in the gift store. We also send home an e-mail photo of ourselves. DH has found us in the gift store (he knows this is where I will ultimately end up!) and we need to head back to Test Track as our FPs are now active.
I park the stroller outside the Test Track store and buy drinks and some potato chips for DD whilst DH does TT. He departs at 10.45....and doesnt return till 11.45. Baby is hungry and hot. DD is bored as soon as the chips run out. I dont know what has happened to DH and we try to find out but no-one enlightens me to any problems. When he EVENTUALLY emerges, it transpires the ride brokedown (surprise surprise) and the line stopped for 45 mins. I have now missed my FP slot Everyone is hot and bothered so we head to the sanctuary that is the Babycare Center. DS is fed and changed, DD has about 20 cups of water and a toilet stop. She also spends a happy 15 mins watching Disney cartoons whilst I feed the baby. This has perked us all up and we decide to catch a Friendship boat over the World Showcase.
Its hot hot hot and we are glad we chose the boat trip as there is a bit of a breeze on the lake. We get off the boat at Germany and try to decide which way to head. We turn right as the countries on this stretch are the ones we have visited the least. Our first stop is Italy, where we collect a mask from the Kidcot station. DD spends some time colouring it in before we move on to the USA. Its lovely and cool in the pavillion and a welcome respite from the heat. Next Japan, which is one of my favourites. We browse the store and I resist a purchase of Shisheido perfume. DH buys a massager thing for his back. We are getting peckish and decide to pop up to the Yakitori House for a light lunch. We both have Shogun Combos (chicken and beef teriyaki skewers and rice) and DD has the Mickey kids meal (chicken skewer and rice & drink). We all enjoy this very much...my only regret was not adding a tempura shrimp on the side!! Note to parents with strollers...this is one of the few places you can bring the stroller inside!
We spend some time looking at the koi in the pond then off to Morroco. We wander about a bit and are almost on the point of leaving when a lady tells DD Jasmine is signing autographs further on. We not only find Jasmine, but Aladdin too. Not only that but there is no-one else there so we get the full works!! DD gets to have a long chat to Jasmine, whilst mummy whistfully wonders if the GORGEOUS Aladdin might take me for a spin on his magic carpet. Photos done, autographs signed, we leave snatching one last look at Aladdin (sigh).
Onto France, where we JUST miss Beast who has been signing autographs. DD really wanted to meet him, but we were seconds too late. We find the Kidcot station for the next bit of the mask and then we have to pick up the pace as the character bus is due soon and we are some way off. The UK and Canada will have to wait for another day as we rush to the character meeting spot. Excellent timing as the bus pulls up just as we arrive. There are about 8 characters including Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Baloo, Daisy and Pluto. DD opts for Mickey first and then Donald. The lines are quite slow and long so these are the only two we meet.
I start to wonder whether my Fast Pass for Test track (long since expired) might be honoured seeing as the ride broke down. Its worth a try, so thats where we head next. DH parks the stroller in the shade and settles with both kids whilst I go to try my luck with the CM on Fast Pass duty. It appears you can use FPs at ANY time AFTER they expire and I am let through no problem. There is no line at all and I get on the ride almost instantly. I have never done this before (lines always been too long) so I am pretty excited. The ride lives upto my expectations and is a total blast! We reach a top speed of 64.5 MPH but it felt a lot faster than that!!
The temperature is now almost unbearable, so around 3.30pm we decide to call it a day. Buy some ice cold drinks and head back to the car. Back to the villa where mum has had some excitement of her own. The villa has been invaded by ants..thousands of em. Mum being mum, decided to clean them up on her own, but I knew we were going to need proffessional help to get rid of them all. I called the villa Management agency and they sent someone round within 10 mins. Its obviously a problem on this estate, because he had all the gear to deal with them. He sprayed the house completely and left us with a can of Raid as well. DH and I talked about demanding another house, but in the end, decided that as long as the ant battalions didnt return in the next 24 hours we would stay as the kids were settled here now.
We had no dinner plans for the evening and after some discussion, we all fancied Chef Mickeys. Everyone went swimming whilst I called WDW-Dine to see if I could find somewhere nice for dinner. Unfortunately, it wasnt to be.....Chef MIckeys was full, as was Crystal Palace and `Ohana. Being a party of 5 I knew we didnt stand much chance.....oh well. We ended up running to the Wal-Mart for chicken tenders instead Hardly the evening we wanted!!!
Tomorrow: Sarasota & the Beach.
Bundle kidlets into the car and whizz off to Epcot. Toy with the idea of stopping for brekkie, but decide to get something in the park. Another parking victory as we are once again in a prime spot, close enough to walk to the gate. DD is sorely put out at missing her ride on the trolley bus AGAIN. The park seems deceptively quiet, so we optimistically head over to Test Track....OH, so THATS where everybody is!! We grab fast passes that even now at just after 9am are not returning till between 10.30 - 11.30. Oh well. Standby is 40 mins and single rider 25 so we decide to wait for the FPs to become active.
Everyone is peckish, so we head to the Fountain Expresso & Bakery (I think thats what its called??). DH & I have "breakfast pockets" which is like a croissant filled with egg, sausage & bacon. Very tasty! DD has a chocolate croissant (special holiday dispensation allowing more sugar intake than normal!). DD prefers the savoury pockets though, and eats most of mine. DS falls asleep in his stroller and we wander round Innoventions for awhile. DD enjoys the bug exhibit, although I am not so keen crawling through a small tunnel being laughed at by millions of tiny ants and other assorted creepy crawlies. DH is desperate to try a Segway after seeing the car park CMs on them. Unfortunately, the exhibit isnt manned, so no go.
We head over to the Imaginations pavillion where Honey I Shrunk The Audience is a walk on with a show starting in a few minutes. DH stays with DS who is still snoozing. DD and I pick up our 3D specs and head into the pre-show. I then make a huge parental mistake. I decide to warn her about the two scary bits in the show (the lion and snake). I breezily tell her that she will LOVE this show but there are a couple of bits that might be a little scary and she might want to cover her eyes when she sees the lion and snake. Thats it. DD goes into meltdown. "Nooooooo" she shrieks at the top of her voice.." Idontwannasee..Idontwannasee...mummytakemeoutofhere..NOW, PLEEEAASE".....Oh my. I am now one of those truly horrid parents who tries to persuade the tiny person (now eminating sounds loud enough to crack glass) that she WILL like this show.
After a few minutes I come to my senses and realise that I had promised myself I would NEVER force one of my kids on something they didnt want to do and we leave. DD is still sobbing and I need a quick distraction. Figment comes to my rescue! Journey Into Imagination is a walk on....as soon as DD ascertains there are positively NO lions or snakes, just a cute purple dragon, we alight said ride. DD enjoys this hugely and I am stung for copious amounts of Figment merchandise in the gift store. We also send home an e-mail photo of ourselves. DH has found us in the gift store (he knows this is where I will ultimately end up!) and we need to head back to Test Track as our FPs are now active.
I park the stroller outside the Test Track store and buy drinks and some potato chips for DD whilst DH does TT. He departs at 10.45....and doesnt return till 11.45. Baby is hungry and hot. DD is bored as soon as the chips run out. I dont know what has happened to DH and we try to find out but no-one enlightens me to any problems. When he EVENTUALLY emerges, it transpires the ride brokedown (surprise surprise) and the line stopped for 45 mins. I have now missed my FP slot Everyone is hot and bothered so we head to the sanctuary that is the Babycare Center. DS is fed and changed, DD has about 20 cups of water and a toilet stop. She also spends a happy 15 mins watching Disney cartoons whilst I feed the baby. This has perked us all up and we decide to catch a Friendship boat over the World Showcase.
Its hot hot hot and we are glad we chose the boat trip as there is a bit of a breeze on the lake. We get off the boat at Germany and try to decide which way to head. We turn right as the countries on this stretch are the ones we have visited the least. Our first stop is Italy, where we collect a mask from the Kidcot station. DD spends some time colouring it in before we move on to the USA. Its lovely and cool in the pavillion and a welcome respite from the heat. Next Japan, which is one of my favourites. We browse the store and I resist a purchase of Shisheido perfume. DH buys a massager thing for his back. We are getting peckish and decide to pop up to the Yakitori House for a light lunch. We both have Shogun Combos (chicken and beef teriyaki skewers and rice) and DD has the Mickey kids meal (chicken skewer and rice & drink). We all enjoy this very much...my only regret was not adding a tempura shrimp on the side!! Note to parents with strollers...this is one of the few places you can bring the stroller inside!
We spend some time looking at the koi in the pond then off to Morroco. We wander about a bit and are almost on the point of leaving when a lady tells DD Jasmine is signing autographs further on. We not only find Jasmine, but Aladdin too. Not only that but there is no-one else there so we get the full works!! DD gets to have a long chat to Jasmine, whilst mummy whistfully wonders if the GORGEOUS Aladdin might take me for a spin on his magic carpet. Photos done, autographs signed, we leave snatching one last look at Aladdin (sigh).
Onto France, where we JUST miss Beast who has been signing autographs. DD really wanted to meet him, but we were seconds too late. We find the Kidcot station for the next bit of the mask and then we have to pick up the pace as the character bus is due soon and we are some way off. The UK and Canada will have to wait for another day as we rush to the character meeting spot. Excellent timing as the bus pulls up just as we arrive. There are about 8 characters including Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Baloo, Daisy and Pluto. DD opts for Mickey first and then Donald. The lines are quite slow and long so these are the only two we meet.
I start to wonder whether my Fast Pass for Test track (long since expired) might be honoured seeing as the ride broke down. Its worth a try, so thats where we head next. DH parks the stroller in the shade and settles with both kids whilst I go to try my luck with the CM on Fast Pass duty. It appears you can use FPs at ANY time AFTER they expire and I am let through no problem. There is no line at all and I get on the ride almost instantly. I have never done this before (lines always been too long) so I am pretty excited. The ride lives upto my expectations and is a total blast! We reach a top speed of 64.5 MPH but it felt a lot faster than that!!
The temperature is now almost unbearable, so around 3.30pm we decide to call it a day. Buy some ice cold drinks and head back to the car. Back to the villa where mum has had some excitement of her own. The villa has been invaded by ants..thousands of em. Mum being mum, decided to clean them up on her own, but I knew we were going to need proffessional help to get rid of them all. I called the villa Management agency and they sent someone round within 10 mins. Its obviously a problem on this estate, because he had all the gear to deal with them. He sprayed the house completely and left us with a can of Raid as well. DH and I talked about demanding another house, but in the end, decided that as long as the ant battalions didnt return in the next 24 hours we would stay as the kids were settled here now.
We had no dinner plans for the evening and after some discussion, we all fancied Chef Mickeys. Everyone went swimming whilst I called WDW-Dine to see if I could find somewhere nice for dinner. Unfortunately, it wasnt to be.....Chef MIckeys was full, as was Crystal Palace and `Ohana. Being a party of 5 I knew we didnt stand much chance.....oh well. We ended up running to the Wal-Mart for chicken tenders instead Hardly the evening we wanted!!!
Tomorrow: Sarasota & the Beach.
