Friday August 20, 2010 Epcot Day
We slept so good in the beds at BLT just as we did later at the Beach Club. I was awake around 7:15am and we needed to hustle to make our 8:15 ADR at 1900 Park Fare (Supercalifragalistic character breakfast) at the Grand Floridian. The good news is that it was only a few monorail stops from our hotel so we didnt need a lot of travel time.
When we arrived at the Grand Floridian and walked through those doors I cant tell you what an amazing feeling it was to take it all in. Ive seen photos but the reality of standing there was rather like my emotional rush upon seeing the view from our BLT theme park view room. The hotel is stunning. We didnt have a lot of time to wander around but I did take a quick tour of the lobby and snap some pics.
If you care to read my 1900 Park Fare dining review - you will find it
here!
As far as this character dining experience - I LOVED this breakfast buffet. And not just for the characters! It was one of my favorite meals of our trip.
Here's the photo taken by the photographers at 1900 Park Fare:
They sell the photo package of (1) 5x7 and (2) 3x5 photos for $31.90
We had decided to spend the day at Epcot since we had a lunch reservation at Chefs de France so that is the direction we were headed. However, before we went to Epcot and since we had to bypass our stop to get to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) we made a pit stop at our resort for me to change clothes since I wanted to wear my running shoes and something that was not a dress!
When we eventually left BLT we caught the monorail to the TTC where the gates were open and they were still boarding. We kept walking down the length of the train looking for a car that was not crowded. We had reached the next to the last car and the Cast Member working the boarding position yelled at us to just get on a car NOW! Sheesh! Didnt know we were upsetting her
it was a very un-magical moment and the only time in our stay for which we did not encounter a friendly Cast Member. Even the people that were on the car with us made a comment that it was un-necessary. I got over it really quickly, like by the time the train pulled out of the station!
Since we had taken our time that morning, we didnt get into the front gate of Epcot until around 11am. After having our golf ball photo taken we wandered into Future World.
We had no particular destination or plan
.just take it all in and enjoy the day.
We had not tried Test Track the last time we were at Epcot so that was my only must do attraction. The stand by line was about a 45 min wait so we got fast passes with a return time of 3:25pm.
We saw Innoventions and decided to check it out more because it was air conditioned than because we were dying to see anything inside. However, the first thing we saw was Sum of all Thrills which I wasnt entirely sure what it was but there was a sizable line that translated to a very cool thing to do! We asked the Cast Member what it was and when she told us that it was where you design and ride your own roller coaster I knew it was an interesting thing to do. I had actually read a review from someone who had done this and I had it on my mental Im curious list. It ended up being totally awesome!!
Design Lab:
I let Em select the type of vehicle and the ride segments. I took a lot of photos:
The card with a magnetic strip that contains the ride we created.
How many people?
Swipe your card:
Designing the first segment:
Engineering the maneuver so that the speed doesn't cause the ride to fall off the track:
More designing with the "tools"
Almost done with this part:
Calibrating speed:
Designing the second segment:
Finishing up:
You get to name your ride:
Ready to move to the simulator:
I was a bit nervous when I saw that you had to be in an enclosed hooded thingie
I even asked the cast member how long the ride was (1 min. 30 seconds) because I didnt want to flip out from claustrophobia and I wanted to know how long I would have to hold in my hysteria. In the end, it was entirely fun and a great experience. I didnt flip out and I didnt pee my pants from the 360 degree revolutions. You can see your co-rider on video in the corner of the monitor.
This is the photo op of the ride seats without the simulator:
What kind of fun and antics could follow that experience? I saw Club Cool and immediately an evil plan formed in my mind.
Those of you who have been there know what I was thinking
..I was going to see if I could get my daughter to try the infamous Beverly Italian soda. I filled a cup and gave it to her to drink but she knew from my wicked grin that I was up to something.
A complete stranger and his fiancé came up to us when he saw what I was doing and played along trying to get her to take a sip. He even drank some and said that it tasted like rainbows and monkeys. I said that I would drink some first so with video camera rolling and my best attempt to keep a straight face, I drank that vile concoction. I dont know what rainbows and monkeys taste like but they are not good!! Well, that didnt bode too well with getting her to try it but eventually she played along and didnt react just to spite me for my attempt to trick her. Well, mark that off the list of things to do. Thank you just engaged couple for playing along and helping me out!! (I know, this was just mean of me now that I look back!)
Next up: Lunch at Chefs de France and more Epcot fun!