May 29th - Epcot, Coral Reef Restaurant and Hoop Dee Doo Review
We got out bright and early and were to the gates about a half hour or more before opening. As we stood in line waiting to be admitted and just minutes before they opened the turnstyles - my son yelled very loudly as he begun to cry that he had been stung by a bee. Luckily the people behind us thought much quicker than I did and immediately gave us a handful of ice out of their cups to put on his leg. We then made sure we knew where the first aid station was and as soon as the turnstyles opened we headed in that direction. By the time we got through the turnstyles, my son decided that it hurt too much to walk so my brave hubby picked him up and carried his 65 lb. body all the way to the first aid station. When we were almost to the rope drop I figured that there was no way we could wait patiently so explained the situation to a neighboring Cast Member and she wisked us past the rope drop and escourted us to the First Aid Station and then left when she knew we were being taken care of. The nurse was very friendly and had us on our way in no time. (and yes, my daughter gave both the cast member and the nurse a Thanks A Mint!) As we left the First Aid station and were heading to Test Track the original Cast member found and approached us. She said she was very sorry what happened, had to check with her boss and wanted to offer us a fast pass of our choice. So since we were not going to be going on Soarin', she said our best bet would be to use it for Test Track - which we did. She was very kind and we were very thankful.
We then had to stop and visit with the squirrel - did I already mention my daughter and any living thing? We, of course, did not feed it but the kids loved that it would actually come around us and not run away.
After the squirrel, the kids and I rode Mission Space - the calm version. We liked the ride and after going on it, I knew it would be OK for hubby. There was practically no wait for the calm version, so we got hubby and went a second time. Then after Mission Space, we got another fastpass for Test Track for later and used our 'Cast Member' fastpass to ride it then. We all thought it was very fun but hubby thought it was a little bit much for him. Once was enough.
After Test Track, we went over and explored the Fairy Garden and Butterfly Garden. We breezed through the Fairy Garden but spent a LONG time in the Butterfly Garden. I had to practically drag my daughter out of there. She did not want to leave until one landed on her but it just never happened.
Then we headed to Coral Reef for lunch. We had one of the first seatings at 11:35 and were able to request seats right by the aquarium. We all really enjoyed being that close to all the sealife - especially when my kids turned around just in time to see a huge shark right by the glass - they nearly fell off their chairs in fear and then laughter. Very fun! The food was so delicous and the desserts were yummy too.
We thought we were headed to the World Showcase after lunch but by the time we were done lunch, it was raining pretty good. Instead of putting on our rain ponchos we just ducked into The Seas with Nemo and Friends and then spent lots of time looking at all the aquariums, dolphins, sharks, manatees, etc... (Was all that in the same building?) We were even lucky enough to be right on time for a presentation on the Manatees.
By the time we left the area, we headed again to the World Showcase area. On our way, we got a little sidetracked and went into Club Cool. After all I had heard, we had to stop in and sample all the varieties. We all tried all of them - later I found out my son wimped out and never tried Beverly - our favorite was China (the watermelon one). My hubby even said to the CM that they should totally "sell this in the US". I am sure they hear that all day. We stopped in Innoventions to get a Kim Possible pass on our way as well.
Finally off to peruse the countries. We started in Canada because somehow it looked closer to where we were when I looked on the map. The kids got their Canada page stamped and signed and we saw the Canada show. Wow, Canada is a beautiful place. I will have to visit there someday.
After wandering around Canada, I realized that the Kim Possible thing was on the other side so we then decided we better start in Mexico. We went on the Three Cabelleros ride - which was fun. Off to Norway for the kids passports and the Maelstrom ride - then the kids were in quite a hurry to go pick up our Kim Possible 'phone'. The CM gave us Mexico so we were off back to Mexico. The 'phone' wasn't working so we had to go back and get a second one. This time we asked for something a little further up so we could at least continue around. She nicely gave us China since it was next on our list. The Kim Possible thing was very fun but I would suggest getting a phone for each child (even if it is doing the same country/tasks) so that they can both activate the clues themselves. Mine did pretty well sharing but it was hard to "take turns". The kids got their stamp between clues but we would need to start with China to finish on our next Epcot day.
At this point it was 6:00 pm and we were going to head to use our Test Track fast passes and then head out for Hoop Dee Doo which was at 7:15. I thought a little over an hour was plenty of time to get there. Then I realized that they had told me they would be seating 1/2 before. So we panicked a little and decided we better ditch Test Track for a second time and hurry for the bus.
We got to Hoop Dee Doo with plenty of time to spare since they did not seat us until about 7:00 or after. I would have to say that my words can not do this show justice. I would say that this was probably one of the biggest highlights of the trip. It was very fun and extremely funny! We all laughed ourselves silly. I loved when they brought the food out and all you could hear was the tin slamming. The kids still know certain lines from the show and laugh just repeating them. "Oh My Darling - Frankenstein!" They, of course, loved playing the washboard at the end and we were very fortunate to have one of the Cast pose for a picture with my kiddies. Again, one of our favorite memories!