allie5
<font color=blue>WARNING! DHL men should be cautio
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2002
- Messages
- 1,572
Part 6 Epcot & Celebration.
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Sunday December 12th 2004
Awake to the sounds of Daniel humming Its a small world forlornly from his wardrobe. Its a fairly respectable 6.45 so I retrieve him and invite him to jump on the bed to wake Daddy. 2 year olds dont need much encouragement to play trampolines first thing in the morning, and Neil was up soon after
.
Everyone is ready to go by 8am and todays plan is Epcot. We are only doing a bite size chunk of the park today as we are planning to do an evening at Celebration to see the snowfall tonight.
Being so early we decide to go to the Sizzler at Lake Buena Vista first to get a good feed in and so wont have to stop for lunch later. Oooh, did anyone spot the pig fly past?
Logically, Neil drives through Disney to reach LBV, and I think nothing of it when Daniel is excitedly pointing out monorails right, left and centre.
However, when the car glides into the entrance for Epcot I do wonder if Neil knows of a short cut to the Sizzler that I dont. Hmmm, Neil is still going towards the parking booths. Is this the way to the Sizzler then? I ask enquiringly.
Oh crumbs (or words to that effect) says Neil. I forgot about that.
We are in a Point Of No Return situation and have to go through to the parking lot now (thank goodness for the free parking with the Annual Passes!). End up sitting in a deserted Epcot car park with the kids chanting Silly Daddy for the next five minutes!
After much deliberation, we decide to stick to the plan and still go to the Sizzler anyway. Jessie wanted sausages and bacon and was most put out that it might be in jeopardy! A very bemused CM waves us towards the exit and must have wondered what we were doing!
Eventually arrive at our destination via the scenic route some 10 minutes later!
This is one of the meals where Daniel is difficult and spends the whole time in a complete strop. Stares from other diners imply our parenting skills are less than enviable. As they failed to avoid the low flying sausages that he threw at them (whilst our backs were turned for 3 seconds) I can see their point.
In the end Neil (who is able to eat a full English in about 7 seconds flat) takes him back to the car. This is one of many meals where Daniel has to be removed. Jessie has never been a problem eating out and sits quietly watching and helpfully commenting when she notices Daniel about to do something evil to the Waitress or pour salt into Nanny Sylvies coffee.
Make hasty apologies to the other diners struck by Daniels sausage throwing incident and beat a retreat.
High tail it back to Epcot and manage to park only a row back from where we were earlier!! Not many people about this morning and we walk to the entrance. Its quite sunny but there is a definite nip in the air and Nanny Sylvies Pinecone was closed, so we are in jackets for now.
Our first task this morning was to find our Leave a Legacy we did last year. I have the co-ordinates and set off confidently to find our plaque.
After some brief confusion as to which side was east and which was west we do find it quite quickly. The one we had done was of both the children and its a lovely thing to visit on each trip. Even though this was only done last June, we cant believe how much they have both changed! Jessie doesnt believe its her and scans the other plaques to find a better one!!
Daniel has now cheered up considerably as there are oodles of monorails to keep him entertained. I did ask Nanny Sylvie (who isnt a big lover of Epcot) if she fancied spending the day on the monorail loop with her grandson, but she wasnt keen.
Once in the park, we park everyone by the fountains and I pop off to get Fast Passes for Test Track. When I get there, there is only a 10 minute line, but I decide to get the FPs anyway and return later.
Walking back to the others, I really wish I had somewhere handy to keep the tickets and fast passes so that they were always accessible. Lo and behold dear reader, it was just at that precise moment that I walked past the Pin Trading stand and just so happened to spot the lanyard they do with the pouch attached at the bottom. Ooh, the very thing I think and try it on for size.
Its fine, but I feel it needs a little something to weigh it down a bit. Crikey, those Disney blokes have thought of everything..look at all these loverly pins!! And there it began. From zero interest in the Pin Thing I now became mildly obsessive and even the glimpse of a pin stand would have me veer off course alarmingly! As Neil assumes that pins cant cost very much, can they?, he never seems to mind how large mine (and later on, Jessies) collection got. One day he will find out and I will be in BIG trouble.
Jessie helps me choose a few pins to get me started and I pick some nice ones of each park. Four seem an ideal choice as two each side weigh the lanyard down nicely! Fast passes, APs and a few $10 bills can be safely stashed in the pouch and Im tickled pink with my new purchase!
We head over to the Living Seas as both kids love animals and this would be a good introduction to Epcot for them.
This was a great choice! They both LOVED it! From the cute Nemo sculpture outside to the creatures within, everything was a hit! We did pretty much all of the stuff here including the Dolphin interaction show (fascinating). Jessie loved the tropical fish that had tanks based on Nemos Friends and spent ages spotting all the different species.
A good hour was spent here and this was one of the highlights of the trip. Funny, because we had been disappointed with it on previous trips and had missed it out for a few years. Its always worth a revisit to things at Disney as they constantly change and improve the attractions. Everyone is going to fall in love with Its a Small World again in the spring after its revamp, you mark my words .!
TIP: If you want to go straight to Sea Base Alpha without the pre show, the Hydrolators disembark to the left of the main entrance. You can jump in here when they come back up to deposit their tourists. There were no CMs to stop you.
Its time for our Test Track fast pass now, so we stock up Nanny Sylvie (in her stalwart role as roving locker today!) with some water and chips for Daniel and the rest of us make our way to the ride.
Jessie has insisted that she wants to ride, and I have described in detail what will happen. We had a less than happy experience with her on Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris only a few months back, so I dont want a repeat performance! She is quite confident that she will love it, as she likes going fast in cars Like when mummy is late for Nursery.
As usual, the ride breaks down, so we have a 15 minute wait, even though we had the fast passes. Soon though, we are being strapped into our seats and are off!
At first Jessie loves it all the bits inside are fine. Its only when we are launched out onto the track do the tears start. She HATES it and is sobbing profusely by the time we come to a stop. Oh dear, another parenting faux pas, I do hope there are no social workers trailing us today!!
Jessies main complaint was it was TOO FAST. At a mere 60mph, that is considerably less than what mummy sometimes does to get to Nursery, (The UK has a 70mph speed limit in case any American law enforcement officers are reading ) but of course it all SEEMS faster on the track. It appears the only possible thing that can console her is a toy from the gift shop. Quelle surprise.
We exit the store laden with guilt gifts and have look round for Nanny Sylvie. We have somewhat optimistically left her with a Walkie Talkie. This is a little like leaving someone from the sixteenth century in charge of landing Concorde. Nanny Sylvie and technology do not mix. Imagine our surprise then, when she actually answers our hail!
Us: Where are you?
Nanny Sylvie Here
Us Where is here?
NS Near the ride
Us Which ride?
NS It doesnt say
Us Can you see the lake?
NS What lake?
And so on. We finally spot her not too far away and retrieve her safely before her confidence with 21st century electrical goods deserts her entirely and she deposits the walkie talkie in the bin.
Well, it has been SIMPLY AGES since breakfast, and as it was rather a rushed affair, the hunger pangs are calling once more. Last year we had a rather nice meal at the Garden Grill, so decide to wander over to see if we can get a table. As the park isnt busy, I am quite confident it wont be a problem.
And my confidence is well founded, the Garden Grill is almost empty and we can have a table immediately! As we have eaten here before we know what to expect and nothing much has changed on the menu since last year. The only difference this time was that we were seated in one of the booths which made character meets a little awkward. We couldnt have a high chair, so Daniel needed to be restrained by at least one adult per side. Said adults then had to manoeuvre out of the booth when the characters appeared! It was like a giant game of twister in the end!
Still, everyone enjoyed the meal, which, for those of you that dont know, consists of a Family Style platter containing flank steak, carved meats, catfish, veggies, potatoes and the most wonderful cornbread stuffing! Its as much as you can eat, and we topped up the steak and stuffing! The kids get their own platter with chicken tenders and mac n cheese. Jessie had some veggies and stuffing from the adults platter too. Daniel ate nothing, but enjoyed the characters here.
As the restaurant was so quiet, we saw quite a bit of the characters who today where: Chip and Dale, Farmer Mickey and Pluto. Lots of interaction here and needless to say the kids had a blast! From an adult point of view, and as much as I LOVE the characters, I did feel a bit overloaded here! When Chip (or possibly Dale) appeared for the 17th time and the kids insisted on climbing out for yet another photo, I felt my patience wane a tad!! Had the restaurant been busier, then the characters would have been spaced out nicely and it would have been perfect! As it stands we give it an overall 7/10.
After lunch we explored The Land pavilion, as it is something we have never really done before. Jessie is keen to do the cooking with the chefs, but it has already started and we dont really have time to wait for the next one. Do the Land ride instead, which apart from the horrendous wait for no apparent reason, everyone enjoyed even Daniel who had been particularly naughty whilst in the line. Saw the Mickey shaped fruits and veg and found it very informative.
Spend the next hour or two doing various bits of Innoventions, including Ice Station Cool and a visit to my most favourite Disney Store of all, Mouse Gear.
Decide to leave as we want Daniel to have a nap so we can all go to Celebration tonight. Back at the villa around 3pm and Daniel crashes out, but then isnt impressed when we try to wake him at 5pm! He then stays quite grumpy for the rest of the evening.
Arrive at Celebration around 5.30pm and Jessie is overjoyed to find that the whole of Main St has experienced a very unseasonable snowfall! We werent expecting snow on the ground so this was a bonus! Of course it wasnt REAL snow, but a sort of foam, but quite effective none the less!
Jessie spends the next 30 minutes going mad in the snow with lots of other children! Daniel is still sulking and refuses to budge from his stroller. At 6pm sharp the speakers spark into life and a narrator reads a short verse. At the end, as if by magic (or, er, snowmaking machines) gentle flakes of snow started to flutter down! It wasnt particularly cold this evening, but even so, the effect was magnificent and we thoroughly enjoyed it! There was a band playing carols and it was unbelievably Christmassy!
The snow fell for around 15 minutes, at the end of which Jessie was covered and very wet. We hadnt brought a change of clothes so toyed with the idea of leaving, however Jessie really wanted to do the Carriage Ride. I must admit, we didnt take much persuading to stay, as we were all enjoying ourselves so much!
The Carriage Ride was $20 for all of us which I thought was good. We shared with a couple of other families (also from the UK) and had a great time. We were taken round the town to see a lot of the Christmas lights on the houses (WOW!!) and blankets were provided so Jessie warmed up a bit too! Daniel perked up a tad as he likes horses and Christmas lights!
The ride lasted about 20 minutes and dropped us back by the lake. Next, we had heard a rumour that Santa was paying Celebration a visit tonight, so we felt obliged to drop in! Jessie was most anxious that Florida Santa had:
A. Received her list.
B. Got everything on it.
And
C. Knew where she was staying in Florida (and to tell Santa that our Villa didnt have a chimney).
Now, I have to say, this was most DEFINITELY the REAL Santa we met in Celebration. None of your rubbish fake bearded impostors you may find in your local mall, oh no. He was 100% bone fide REAL.
He knew exactly what Jessie wanted and assured her she was on his Nice list. I dared not take Daniel up as I know exactly what list he would be on Luckily the wee boy was asleep, so any embarrassment was avoided!!
Jessie got on famously with Santa, and as there were no other boys or girls waiting, she got the chance to interrogate him for sometime. Santa assured her that houses without chimneys were no problem and that he would be along on Christmas Eve with everything on her list. Thank you Santa.
At the end of the visit you can buy a photo of the event. It was free to visit Santa and the photo wasnt compulsory, so it meant ALL children could do it. Great! Of course, being tourists, we bought the photo and the keyrings and the the fridge magnets as well!!
The kids got Gingerbread men to eat plus a small toy as well (Daniel got them even though he was fast asleep!). We got some hot choccie outside and stayed to hear the carols for a little while.
Headed back to the car and decided to drive round Celebration for awhile and look at the lights on all the wonderful houses. Daniel woke up and enjoyed the sights along with the rest of us! What a lovely evening. A top recommendation for anyone visiting at this time of year.
Made a very brief stop at Burger King on the way home our son finally decided to eat something today and that something had to be chikin the only thing he will eat with gusto. We all had something as lunch was hours ago and then got back to the villa around 9.30pm.
Tomorrow: MGM
Main Players
Allie
Neil
Jessamy (4)
Daniel Noah (2)
Nanny Sylvie
Sunday December 12th 2004
Awake to the sounds of Daniel humming Its a small world forlornly from his wardrobe. Its a fairly respectable 6.45 so I retrieve him and invite him to jump on the bed to wake Daddy. 2 year olds dont need much encouragement to play trampolines first thing in the morning, and Neil was up soon after
.Everyone is ready to go by 8am and todays plan is Epcot. We are only doing a bite size chunk of the park today as we are planning to do an evening at Celebration to see the snowfall tonight.
Being so early we decide to go to the Sizzler at Lake Buena Vista first to get a good feed in and so wont have to stop for lunch later. Oooh, did anyone spot the pig fly past?
Logically, Neil drives through Disney to reach LBV, and I think nothing of it when Daniel is excitedly pointing out monorails right, left and centre.
However, when the car glides into the entrance for Epcot I do wonder if Neil knows of a short cut to the Sizzler that I dont. Hmmm, Neil is still going towards the parking booths. Is this the way to the Sizzler then? I ask enquiringly.
Oh crumbs (or words to that effect
) says Neil. I forgot about that.We are in a Point Of No Return situation and have to go through to the parking lot now (thank goodness for the free parking with the Annual Passes!). End up sitting in a deserted Epcot car park with the kids chanting Silly Daddy for the next five minutes!
After much deliberation, we decide to stick to the plan and still go to the Sizzler anyway. Jessie wanted sausages and bacon and was most put out that it might be in jeopardy! A very bemused CM waves us towards the exit and must have wondered what we were doing!
Eventually arrive at our destination via the scenic route some 10 minutes later!
This is one of the meals where Daniel is difficult and spends the whole time in a complete strop. Stares from other diners imply our parenting skills are less than enviable. As they failed to avoid the low flying sausages that he threw at them (whilst our backs were turned for 3 seconds) I can see their point.
In the end Neil (who is able to eat a full English in about 7 seconds flat) takes him back to the car. This is one of many meals where Daniel has to be removed. Jessie has never been a problem eating out and sits quietly watching and helpfully commenting when she notices Daniel about to do something evil to the Waitress or pour salt into Nanny Sylvies coffee.
Make hasty apologies to the other diners struck by Daniels sausage throwing incident and beat a retreat.
High tail it back to Epcot and manage to park only a row back from where we were earlier!! Not many people about this morning and we walk to the entrance. Its quite sunny but there is a definite nip in the air and Nanny Sylvies Pinecone was closed, so we are in jackets for now.
Our first task this morning was to find our Leave a Legacy we did last year. I have the co-ordinates and set off confidently to find our plaque.
After some brief confusion as to which side was east and which was west we do find it quite quickly. The one we had done was of both the children and its a lovely thing to visit on each trip. Even though this was only done last June, we cant believe how much they have both changed! Jessie doesnt believe its her and scans the other plaques to find a better one!!
Daniel has now cheered up considerably as there are oodles of monorails to keep him entertained. I did ask Nanny Sylvie (who isnt a big lover of Epcot) if she fancied spending the day on the monorail loop with her grandson, but she wasnt keen
.Once in the park, we park everyone by the fountains and I pop off to get Fast Passes for Test Track. When I get there, there is only a 10 minute line, but I decide to get the FPs anyway and return later.
Walking back to the others, I really wish I had somewhere handy to keep the tickets and fast passes so that they were always accessible. Lo and behold dear reader, it was just at that precise moment that I walked past the Pin Trading stand and just so happened to spot the lanyard they do with the pouch attached at the bottom. Ooh, the very thing I think and try it on for size.
Its fine, but I feel it needs a little something to weigh it down a bit. Crikey, those Disney blokes have thought of everything..look at all these loverly pins!! And there it began. From zero interest in the Pin Thing I now became mildly obsessive and even the glimpse of a pin stand would have me veer off course alarmingly! As Neil assumes that pins cant cost very much, can they?, he never seems to mind how large mine (and later on, Jessies) collection got. One day he will find out and I will be in BIG trouble
.Jessie helps me choose a few pins to get me started and I pick some nice ones of each park. Four seem an ideal choice as two each side weigh the lanyard down nicely! Fast passes, APs and a few $10 bills can be safely stashed in the pouch and Im tickled pink with my new purchase!
We head over to the Living Seas as both kids love animals and this would be a good introduction to Epcot for them.
This was a great choice! They both LOVED it! From the cute Nemo sculpture outside to the creatures within, everything was a hit! We did pretty much all of the stuff here including the Dolphin interaction show (fascinating). Jessie loved the tropical fish that had tanks based on Nemos Friends and spent ages spotting all the different species.
A good hour was spent here and this was one of the highlights of the trip. Funny, because we had been disappointed with it on previous trips and had missed it out for a few years. Its always worth a revisit to things at Disney as they constantly change and improve the attractions. Everyone is going to fall in love with Its a Small World again in the spring after its revamp, you mark my words .!
TIP: If you want to go straight to Sea Base Alpha without the pre show, the Hydrolators disembark to the left of the main entrance. You can jump in here when they come back up to deposit their tourists. There were no CMs to stop you.
Its time for our Test Track fast pass now, so we stock up Nanny Sylvie (in her stalwart role as roving locker today!) with some water and chips for Daniel and the rest of us make our way to the ride.
Jessie has insisted that she wants to ride, and I have described in detail what will happen. We had a less than happy experience with her on Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland Paris only a few months back, so I dont want a repeat performance! She is quite confident that she will love it, as she likes going fast in cars Like when mummy is late for Nursery.
As usual, the ride breaks down, so we have a 15 minute wait, even though we had the fast passes. Soon though, we are being strapped into our seats and are off!
At first Jessie loves it all the bits inside are fine. Its only when we are launched out onto the track do the tears start. She HATES it and is sobbing profusely by the time we come to a stop. Oh dear, another parenting faux pas, I do hope there are no social workers trailing us today!!
Jessies main complaint was it was TOO FAST. At a mere 60mph, that is considerably less than what mummy sometimes does to get to Nursery
, (The UK has a 70mph speed limit in case any American law enforcement officers are reading ) but of course it all SEEMS faster on the track. It appears the only possible thing that can console her is a toy from the gift shop. Quelle surprise.We exit the store laden with guilt gifts and have look round for Nanny Sylvie. We have somewhat optimistically left her with a Walkie Talkie. This is a little like leaving someone from the sixteenth century in charge of landing Concorde. Nanny Sylvie and technology do not mix. Imagine our surprise then, when she actually answers our hail!
Us: Where are you?
Nanny Sylvie Here
Us Where is here?
NS Near the ride
Us Which ride?
NS It doesnt say
Us Can you see the lake?
NS What lake?
And so on. We finally spot her not too far away and retrieve her safely before her confidence with 21st century electrical goods deserts her entirely and she deposits the walkie talkie in the bin.
Well, it has been SIMPLY AGES since breakfast, and as it was rather a rushed affair, the hunger pangs are calling once more. Last year we had a rather nice meal at the Garden Grill, so decide to wander over to see if we can get a table. As the park isnt busy, I am quite confident it wont be a problem.
And my confidence is well founded, the Garden Grill is almost empty and we can have a table immediately! As we have eaten here before we know what to expect and nothing much has changed on the menu since last year. The only difference this time was that we were seated in one of the booths which made character meets a little awkward. We couldnt have a high chair, so Daniel needed to be restrained by at least one adult per side. Said adults then had to manoeuvre out of the booth when the characters appeared! It was like a giant game of twister in the end!
Still, everyone enjoyed the meal, which, for those of you that dont know, consists of a Family Style platter containing flank steak, carved meats, catfish, veggies, potatoes and the most wonderful cornbread stuffing! Its as much as you can eat, and we topped up the steak and stuffing! The kids get their own platter with chicken tenders and mac n cheese. Jessie had some veggies and stuffing from the adults platter too. Daniel ate nothing, but enjoyed the characters here.
As the restaurant was so quiet, we saw quite a bit of the characters who today where: Chip and Dale, Farmer Mickey and Pluto. Lots of interaction here and needless to say the kids had a blast! From an adult point of view, and as much as I LOVE the characters, I did feel a bit overloaded here! When Chip (or possibly Dale) appeared for the 17th time and the kids insisted on climbing out for yet another photo, I felt my patience wane a tad!! Had the restaurant been busier, then the characters would have been spaced out nicely and it would have been perfect! As it stands we give it an overall 7/10.
After lunch we explored The Land pavilion, as it is something we have never really done before. Jessie is keen to do the cooking with the chefs, but it has already started and we dont really have time to wait for the next one. Do the Land ride instead, which apart from the horrendous wait for no apparent reason, everyone enjoyed even Daniel who had been particularly naughty whilst in the line. Saw the Mickey shaped fruits and veg and found it very informative.
Spend the next hour or two doing various bits of Innoventions, including Ice Station Cool and a visit to my most favourite Disney Store of all, Mouse Gear.
Decide to leave as we want Daniel to have a nap so we can all go to Celebration tonight. Back at the villa around 3pm and Daniel crashes out, but then isnt impressed when we try to wake him at 5pm! He then stays quite grumpy for the rest of the evening.
Arrive at Celebration around 5.30pm and Jessie is overjoyed to find that the whole of Main St has experienced a very unseasonable snowfall! We werent expecting snow on the ground so this was a bonus! Of course it wasnt REAL snow, but a sort of foam, but quite effective none the less!
Jessie spends the next 30 minutes going mad in the snow with lots of other children! Daniel is still sulking and refuses to budge from his stroller. At 6pm sharp the speakers spark into life and a narrator reads a short verse. At the end, as if by magic (or, er, snowmaking machines
) gentle flakes of snow started to flutter down! It wasnt particularly cold this evening, but even so, the effect was magnificent and we thoroughly enjoyed it! There was a band playing carols and it was unbelievably Christmassy! The snow fell for around 15 minutes, at the end of which Jessie was covered and very wet. We hadnt brought a change of clothes so toyed with the idea of leaving, however Jessie really wanted to do the Carriage Ride. I must admit, we didnt take much persuading to stay, as we were all enjoying ourselves so much!
The Carriage Ride was $20 for all of us which I thought was good. We shared with a couple of other families (also from the UK) and had a great time. We were taken round the town to see a lot of the Christmas lights on the houses (WOW!!) and blankets were provided so Jessie warmed up a bit too! Daniel perked up a tad as he likes horses and Christmas lights!
The ride lasted about 20 minutes and dropped us back by the lake. Next, we had heard a rumour that Santa was paying Celebration a visit tonight, so we felt obliged to drop in! Jessie was most anxious that Florida Santa had:
A. Received her list.
B. Got everything on it.
And
C. Knew where she was staying in Florida (and to tell Santa that our Villa didnt have a chimney).
Now, I have to say, this was most DEFINITELY the REAL Santa we met in Celebration. None of your rubbish fake bearded impostors you may find in your local mall, oh no. He was 100% bone fide REAL.
He knew exactly what Jessie wanted and assured her she was on his Nice list. I dared not take Daniel up as I know exactly what list he would be on
Luckily the wee boy was asleep, so any embarrassment was avoided!! Jessie got on famously with Santa, and as there were no other boys or girls waiting, she got the chance to interrogate him for sometime. Santa assured her that houses without chimneys were no problem and that he would be along on Christmas Eve with everything on her list. Thank you Santa
.At the end of the visit you can buy a photo of the event. It was free to visit Santa and the photo wasnt compulsory, so it meant ALL children could do it. Great! Of course, being tourists, we bought the photo and the keyrings and the the fridge magnets as well!!
The kids got Gingerbread men to eat plus a small toy as well (Daniel got them even though he was fast asleep!). We got some hot choccie outside and stayed to hear the carols for a little while.
Headed back to the car and decided to drive round Celebration for awhile and look at the lights on all the wonderful houses. Daniel woke up and enjoyed the sights along with the rest of us! What a lovely evening. A top recommendation for anyone visiting at this time of year.
Made a very brief stop at Burger King on the way home our son finally decided to eat something today and that something had to be chikin the only thing he will eat with gusto. We all had something as lunch was hours ago and then got back to the villa around 9.30pm.
Tomorrow: MGM
Makes me think we should go back to cekebration 
