Okay, folks, now that the bustling holiday season is winding down, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to get back into the swing of my trip report, so here we go….
Chapter 13: Back to the Future...World!
There's a gude time coming.
-SIR WALTER SCOTT,
Rob Roy, 1817
Monday, 11/5:
I’m not sure why, but it always seems to be a bit easier getting up and out the door on Day Two. Perhaps the stress of traveling has dissipated somewhat; perhaps we’re feeling a bit more settled in our new environment; perhaps it just takes a day or so to transition from the rhythm of daily routines to the rhythm of vacation. But for whatever reason, I felt a bit more organized getting prepared for our morning at
Epcot.
Once again, however, Aunt Rae seemed to be having some trouble getting into the swing of things. She does admit to having some anxiety problems and obsessive-compulsiveness…in fact, you may recall from my last report that she jokingly refers to herself as the “female
Adrian Monk,” so she does realize that she has a certain amount of rigidity when it comes to her daily routines.
Granted, she’s also not used to a whole lot of rushing around. In
our house, every morning is a hurried bustle of activity. Every individual is up and washing and dressing and eating and doing whatever he or she needs to do to get out the door on time for work or school. We rarely sit down for a relaxed breakfast together at home, and we tend to be the same way at WDW. Some are showering while others are eating; some are dressing while others are brushing their teeth. Billy usually eats “on the run”; carrying his bowl of dry Cheerios from room to room.
All this morning's bustling around just seemed too alien to Aunt Rae. I came out of our bedroom and went to the drawers in the living room TV amoire where Billy’s clothes were kept and found her sitting expectantly at the table, which she had set for the whole family. “Aunt Rae,” I said, “I’m still helping Billy to get dressed and then I have to get myself dressed. Go ahead and start eating, okay?” (You know how slow she is.) I thought it was a great plan!
“Oh no, I’ll wait for everyone,” she said. Sigh. While I appreciated her good manners and how she was only trying to be considerate, I was sensing that she was having a lot more difficulty “adjusting” to the Disney routine this year.
I decided to switch tactics.
“No one else is ready to eat just yet, so why don’t you go ahead and get dressed then,” I suggested. She looked down at her housecoat and slippers and there was a look of mild distress on her face. Then it hit me. She probably always eats breakfast first, and then dresses at home. Double sigh.
I finished helping Billy and then sat down at the table with a cup of tea so that she could at least start the long, arduous process of consuming her breakfast.
Tricia could be heard talking to her doll in the next room, so I got up and went across to the studio she was sharing with Aunt Rae and found her already dressed.
“Go and sit with your aunt and have some breakfast so I can get dressed,” I whispered. She and Jessica set off for the kitchen while I quickly stuffed her sofa bed back into place. Then I ran across to my room, picking up stray Cheerios off the floor as I went. Ed was making our bed. (Funny, he never, ever makes our bed at home but insists that we must make our bed before we leave our hotel room whenever we go away!
Go figure!)
Somehow or other we were able to get everyone out the door by 8:30. I had already planned to completely avoid the opening mad-dash-rush to Soarin’ and to utilize the GAC to do it later in the morning. Between Billy and Aunt Rae, it would be madness to get caught up in that stampede. And so, even though I knew we would be missing rope drop, I was feeling pretty good that we would be getting there early enough. Today, we would be implementing our new touring strategy… one park, straight through til dinnertime, and then back to the resort to relax. I was keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that this would be easier than trying to leave one park, get a nap in at the resort, and then rushing back out to make a dinner ADR. That sort of routine turned out to be quite stressful last year.
Another gorgeous morning greeted us as the Villas doors swooshed open and we tramped across the covered wooden path to the bus stops. A detail of maintainence CMs was already busy at work refreshing the deep brown paint on the “logs” that formed the railings and roof. The sharp smell of paint mingled with the early morning freshness and we carefully avoided stepping on the drop cloths as we made our way out to the Epcot stop. Another “mostly sunny day, high in the mid 70’s” was forecast and I took it as a good omen. We were already peeling off our sweatshirts and feeling comfortable in short sleeves. Perfect!
After a few minutes a bus appeared, and a ripple of expectancy passed through the waiting throng and a hundred eyes strained to read the park name on the marquee.
Magic Kingdom. Drats! The bus rolled past our stop and on to the neighboring one where a good number of park goers surged forward and filed on board. I often wonder what we all must look like to the bus drivers as they approach the crowded resort stops in the morning….probably like gaggles of geese, all straining their necks up and down in unison as each bus arrives.
Thankfully, we did not need to wrestle with the lockers this morning! We strolled along the sidewalk that lead from the busses to the park entrance and the peppy soundtrack played as the silvery form of
Spaceship Earth gradually came into view beyond the ticket booths. We happily cruised along with the crowd at a moderate pace until, thud! Everything came to a near stop as we hit a wall of people waiting to have their bags inspected by two, count ‘em,
two security CMs. Gee, it would seem to make sense to have more security on hand to check bags at park opening! Oh well. We waited as patiently as we could.
So close, yet so far!!
Once we were through bag check and the turnstiles, a majority of the crowd (the ones who had done their research) veered to the right toward Soarin’ and a good number of folks (the newbies and the lesser-prepared guests) stopped dead in their tracks to gawk and take photos of the famous geodesic sphere that was sparkling prettily in the morning sun. Our family hurried on past both Spaceship Earth and the Land pavilion and continued further on toward the Imagination pavilion. My plan was to get in a quick visit with
Figment before heading over to the Seas to catch the first showing of Turtle Talk.
“Tee-hee-hee,” I giggled to myself as we approached Imagination, and found the crowd to be non-existant.
All Clear Ahead!
My gloating was short-lived, however, as a CM from the pavilion greeted us with a broad smile. “Figment is still sleeping,” she said. “When do you think he will be waking up?” I replied, working hard to keep a matching smile plastered on my face. “I’m not sure,” she chirped, “he doesn’t seem to want to get out of bed this morning!” And then, the clincher: “Have a magical day!”
Grr-rr-rrr!! My perfect plan….spoiled!
Rethink….regroup.…I gathered everyone together and we did an about-face. Plan B: onward to The Seas! As we were skirting our way once more around the Soarin’ crowds, Ed’s cell phone began to ring. The ringtone was the theme from the TV show, S.W.A.T., so I knew it was work-related. Ugh! A heated and animated discussion ensued as Ed discussed a recent issue with the caller and it continued until we found ourselves at the entrance to
The Seas. Ed was really involved in the phone call, but I decided to wait a bit so we could all enter the pavilion together. Billy immediately was drawn to the audio-animatronic seagulls (Mine! Mine! Mine!) and the splashing water display at the entrance to the “clammobile ride”
To Billy, this never gets old!
Tricia found a CM wearing a pin lanyard and asked me if she could trade pins. Sure, why not?
Trader Trish:
She was a very personable CM and was happy to talk with Tricia about her pins. I was beginning to get annoyed at Ed, but the kids were both enjoying themselves, so I just decided to go with the flow….for a little while. After about five minutes of watching the gulls and snapping a few pictures, I was on the verge of snapping at my pre-occupied DH! I motioned to him that we were going on ahead and I proceded to herd the rest of the family inside.
Doesn't Spaceship Earth look nice?
It always amazes me that they built such a long, l-o-n-g, queue for this ride! (Most of it was not needed and was chained off and not in use.) I cannot imagine anyone actually waiting on that full queue just for the clam-mobiles! It’s cute, but not exactly in the same league as Soarin’ or Expedition Everest.
After prepping AR for the presence of the moving walkway, we boarded our clams and set out to see some marine life, both real and animated.
As noted last year, it appeared to me that Nemo and his friends greatly outnumbered their real-life counterparts, but as I sat next to Billy I saw that he was more than satisfied with the experience. He even hummed and sang along with the ending song (which had also been featured in
Finding Nemo-the Musical.)
As far as this ride is concerned, I can either take it or leave it, but as long as the kids are happy, I’ll go along with it. I was busy helping Billy out onto the moving walkway, so I was glad that a CM took it upon himself to offer assistance to Aunt Rae as she gingerly exited her clam-mobile.
Happily, Ed was done on the phone and waiting for us as we emerged onto the main floor of the Seas. The
Turtle Talk theater had been moved since our last visit, but it hadn’t gone far and was easy to spot. It was now about 9:40 and the first Turtle Talk show was scheduled for 10:00. We got on line, behind, oh, I guess it was three or four other families, and Ed filled me in on the drama at work. After about five minutes, a large number of guests had bunched together behind us in a herd. “Is this Turtle Talk with Crush?” people kept asking. Well, um, yeah, doesn’t the big sign on top of the theater entrance say Turtle Talk With Crush??
The CMs manning TT appeared and, upon noting the size of the crowd waiting for the show, began calling out that the line for Turtle Talk was inside and there was
plenty of room and
plenty of time before the show, so “go ahead and feel free to explore the exhibits!” Ha!! That may work on the newbies, but not us vets.
A large portion of the waiting crowd fell for it and dispersed, but those of us in the front of the line knew better.
“There’s
plenty of room inside, go explore the rest of the tanks,” the CM sang out to us once more, but the woman in front of me turned around and we exchanged knowing looks. “Thank you,” I smiled at the CM, “but we prefer to wait
here.” Tricia was going to take a seat on a bench with Ed and AR, but this time, I was determined Billy would be able to sit up front with the “little kids” so he would be able to see Crush. Seeing that they were up against an immoveable force, the CMs finally gave up on us and directed their spiel toward the inexperienced newcomers who tried to join us.
At precisely 9:55, the CMs lowered the velvet rope and we were permitted to enter the holding tank (no pun intended!) The area was, indeed, large and we were immediately drawn to two fish tanks on either side of a second doorway that contained a number of rays and small fish. The kids settled into a seated position on the floor and watched as the rays glided smoothly along.
Yes, but which one is Mister Ray?
Tricia struck up a conversation with a girl who was just about her age and they showed each other their lanyards full of pins, but neither seemed interested in any trades. By now, the round holding area was completely jammed with people and I was glad we didn’t give up our place in line.
Soon the doors opened and we were permitted to enter the theater. The carpeted seating area on the floor in front of the screen was definitely larger that the previous theater, but the seating area for the adults did not seem that much bigger than it had been before. I showed a CM Billy’s GAC and she waved us onto the carpeted area, while Ed, Tricia, and Aunt Rae found seats among the benches.
Now, normally parents are not permitted to sit on the carpet, which is why there is such a push for the benches up front….its not that these parents are so interested in getting a good view for themselves (one would reason), its that their kids are young and they want to keep them within close reach. I was grateful that the GAC would allow me to stay with Billy, but at the same time I didn’t want to block the view of any of the little kids on the carpet. Well, Billy is nine years old, and tall, so we took a seat at the far end of the carpet at the back so we wouldn’t be in anyone’s way. We could see just fine. I really wasn’t expecting that Billy would want to talk with Crush, I just wanted him to be close enough so he could focus on him when he appeared in the “tank”.
I kept the GAC in my hands, hoping that those parents who were staring daggers at me would get the hint, but in the end, I think that seeing my big-boy Billy waving his arms around excitedly and making his “Eeeeeeahhhhhheeeeeee!!” sounds sort of clued them into the fact that he had special needs. Still, I wondered how uncomfortable it would get for a parent of an ASD child who does not stim or demonstrate strange behaviors like mine does.
Anyway, the show started and it was a major hit with Billy. He laughed and clapped his hands and I was so glad that he had the chance to enjoy the show. (You may recall that last year, I let Tricia sit with him and he started to hit her when she shushed him too much. Then Ed took him out and he missed the entire show.) It was a much better experience this time around! Billy especially loved when Dory had her "close encounter" with the huge whale...the tears were streaming down his face, he was laughing so hard!
We exited TT and I asked the kids if they wanted to look around at the exhibits, but they were anxious to move on. The only other thing that I was possibly interested in seeing there was the Dolphin feeding, but we had just missed feeding time while we were with Crush. So, we moved on without even a stop at the gift shop!
We re-traced our steps back toward the Imagination pavilion in the hopes that
Figment would be “awake” by now. Even when taking the Soarin’ traffic into consideration, it appeared to be a great day at Epcot, crowd-wise. We were just about to enter Imagination when Ed’s cell phone rang again! More work drama!
The kids were antsy, so I persuaded them to pose for a DIS-pic by the upside-down waterfall while their dad ranted on the phone. They complied, but they made it clear they wanted to move on to the next attraction, not loiter about admiring the scenery.
Would that darn cell phone ever stop ringing??
"Dad!! Come on!!"
To be continued....
I will be back soon....promise!! Cross my heart!!
, I am so glad you posted. As you know I am a worry wart and I was starting to get worried about where you went. Thank goodness all is well in your world. We will be here waiting when you have time 
(if offered)
