Music Mole
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2002
- Messages
- 180
Cast: me, Elisabeth, Planner and official historian of the trip
DH, Gavin, Park Commando in recovery
We've both been to WDW before, but never together, and our last trips were within weeks of eachother during the 25th Anniversary year. Since we met 5 years ago, we have always wanted to go to WDW together - and this is our trip!
Day 2, Wednesday, October 2nd
Up early to get our luggage to the valet/bell stand for transfer to the YC (we had express checkout from WL). The plan for today is MK in the morning, then on to Epcot and checking in at the Yacht Club, where we will be for most of the rest of our stay. It was a little hard to get up early after such a long day, but adrenaline and excitement was still carrying us along fairly well. We followed Tylers (Chip n Dale Express) suggestions for transportation & timing to get to WL to MK for our PS at Tonys Town Square. We caught the bus at 7:30 (maybe a 5 minute wait) for the TTC. Then we caught the monorail to the MK.
The character breakfast at Tonys was wonderful; one of many high points on the trip. Our server was Becky, and she was great at interacting with the characters as they came by. I interacted with them more than Gavin he was almost like a kid in awe that he was dining with the characters. Another thing his parents never knew was available when they used to come as a family. I dont think they ever must have had a guidebook to tell them these things. I hugged Pooh for Barb from work along with a picture as proof. All the characters were a lot of fun we were seated near the fountain and Becky, our server, helped Tigger do some magic to turn on the Lady & the Tramp fountain. It was great fun.
What I forgot to put in Day 1 was the fact that, late in the evening, as we were leaving the park, Gavin was going to take a picture of the 100 Years of Magic topiary by the entrance and (ouch!) he dropped the camera. And it wouldnt work any more. The motor would try to open and close the shutter, but it didnt work. Fortunately, we had only taken 4 pictures on that film, so the pictures from the fireworks were all safe. But oh- how disheartening it was! We went back in to the camera center at Exposition Hall, but no one there really knew much about cameras they suggested coming back in the morning; that someone more knowledgeable would be working then. So we bought a disposable camera so we could have pictures of our character breakfast, and tried not to let this overshadow the wonderful start to our vacation. Well, after breakfast we headed next door to the camera shop, and sure enough, the knowledgeable guy confirmed our fears at best the camera might be repairable by a camera shop, but we were definitely going to be buying a new camera. He was really nice told us we would have more selection etc. (and better prices) outside the park, but since we had not rental car, and we didnt really want to lose a morning doing that, we bought the Kodak camera with zoom that they had for sale. I am glad they sell cameras! But I do like our little Olympus better it is faster snapping the picture and at taking two pictures in rapid succession. But the trusty Kodak enabled us to go on with our vacation with minimal disruption, for not too much money, and allowed us to use the remaining rolls of film (about 13 at that point!) that I had brought from home.
Fortified with a new camera, we headed off to Alien Encounter (a walk-on), which was not as bad as I feared. But I think its a been there, done that, dont need to do it again kind of thing for both of us. Next we headed to Buzz Lightyear which we both really enjoyed. I can understand why this is such a popular attraction! First time round we were both Space Cadet: Gavin got 48,900 and I got 37,700. We immediately got back on (this was a walk on too) and both achieved the new rank of Planetary Pilot: G-110,500 and me, 63,100. At the end of that round they let us just stay in our car and ride again, which was neat. We were both still Planetary Pilots, but with better scores: G, 168,800 and me, 82,100.
We left on that high note and rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority again (told you in Day 1 I really like this! Sometimes its the simple things . . .) We saw Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Rays while in search of facilities he is really cute very punny. Then as we left Push the walking talking trash can was out, and it was fun to watch him interacting with everyone.
Heading to Fantasyland, we were just in time to catch Cinderellas Surprise celebration I loved this! It was like being in a Disney Sing-a-long video! Before coming this was on our nice if you can see it list but it was really great! Im glad we saw it.
After the show, we headed down Main Street, decided we didnt like the photo the photographer snapped earlier in the morning, and went to the monorail station. We got to ride up front on the monorail from MK to the TTC, and again from the TTC to Epcot. 11:30 AM of day 2 and we have done almost everything at MK, and are entering Epcot.
Spaceship Earth was a walk-on this was my first time to ride it since my last visit was in August (some years ago) and there were 4 hour waits in the relentless Florida sun for this ride. I liked it, and Gavin liked it as much as he remembered from his past trips. Into World Showcase, we rode El Rio in Mexico my magic Moments pin lit up a lot on this one. At this point we were hungry so we had lunch at Akershus (no wait, no PS). We love this kind of food because it is familiar to us from where we grew up me in Alaska 9lots of fish and shrimp) and Gavin in Switzerland. Many of the vegetable side dishes were very reminiscent of things my mother-in-law makes, and some Gavin hadnt had since moving to America a few years ago.
After lunch we went and checked in at the Yacht Club. Quite a contrast to checking in at WL the CM checking in the family next to us was the only friendly person who seemed to be working. But all was in order wit our reservations, so off we went to our room #4148. All I can say is Thank You Room Assignor! A newly remodeled room (the bellman said the stuff was fresh out of the boxes and we were the first to stay in it) with a nice view off the balcony of the Gazebo in the garden below, and beyond that (to our left) we could see the lighthouse on the dock, and the Boardwalk across the water.
After unpacking a little, we headed back to Epcot via the Friendship launch (I love these great way to save the feet and slow down your pace a little). We caught the end of an Off Kilter set in Canada (I like them they did not disappoint after all Id read about them). We walked through the shops in the UK and watched the WS Players do The Holy Grail with a great King Arthur from the audience. He interacted really well with them and had some very funny moments. We then wandered over to the area where British Invasion was due to start their next set, but left soon after they started playing. We caught another 2 songs by Off kilter (will we ever see a whole set?) and then watched the movie in Canada. Gavin has a WDW/DL CD and I love the song from the Canada film, and seeing the scenery in the film really took me back to my childhood (scenerys a bit different here in Texas . . .). We came out to another 3 or 4 songs of Off kilter, and then went to France to get Gavin a crepe. There was a great Mime in France doing an act with kids from the audience, and those long balloons you can twist into shapes and hats, etc. He was really good and some of the kids were just hilarious.
We had a PS for dinner at Le Cellier for 7:10. Our server was Eilish (I wish I could remember the province) and she was wonderful. This was easily my favorite meal of the trip. (dining reviews in more detail on the dining board). Great food, great service. I like how a proper sit-down meal forces you to slow down when it is so tempting to just keep going and going and going.
After dinner, back to Future World for Journey Into Imagination another one I have never been on in any incarnation. Gavin remembers the original, and I love the original song from the CD (its been going through my head all day today at work!) Again, a total walk-on and we had not just a car, but a whole train of cars to ourselves.
We missed the parades, but by this time Illuminations was approaching. We staked out a spot by the shop on the lagoon side of the walkway in Morocco, and had a wonderful view, although Gavin felt the speaker nearby may have cut in and out a little. I never noticed I was so entranced by this. I think I could watch this over and over and never tire of it! But speaking of tired, we were, so we walked to the International Gateway, caught a Friendship launch to the YC, and fell tiredly into bed after another very full day.
DH, Gavin, Park Commando in recovery
We've both been to WDW before, but never together, and our last trips were within weeks of eachother during the 25th Anniversary year. Since we met 5 years ago, we have always wanted to go to WDW together - and this is our trip!
Day 2, Wednesday, October 2nd
Up early to get our luggage to the valet/bell stand for transfer to the YC (we had express checkout from WL). The plan for today is MK in the morning, then on to Epcot and checking in at the Yacht Club, where we will be for most of the rest of our stay. It was a little hard to get up early after such a long day, but adrenaline and excitement was still carrying us along fairly well. We followed Tylers (Chip n Dale Express) suggestions for transportation & timing to get to WL to MK for our PS at Tonys Town Square. We caught the bus at 7:30 (maybe a 5 minute wait) for the TTC. Then we caught the monorail to the MK.
The character breakfast at Tonys was wonderful; one of many high points on the trip. Our server was Becky, and she was great at interacting with the characters as they came by. I interacted with them more than Gavin he was almost like a kid in awe that he was dining with the characters. Another thing his parents never knew was available when they used to come as a family. I dont think they ever must have had a guidebook to tell them these things. I hugged Pooh for Barb from work along with a picture as proof. All the characters were a lot of fun we were seated near the fountain and Becky, our server, helped Tigger do some magic to turn on the Lady & the Tramp fountain. It was great fun.
What I forgot to put in Day 1 was the fact that, late in the evening, as we were leaving the park, Gavin was going to take a picture of the 100 Years of Magic topiary by the entrance and (ouch!) he dropped the camera. And it wouldnt work any more. The motor would try to open and close the shutter, but it didnt work. Fortunately, we had only taken 4 pictures on that film, so the pictures from the fireworks were all safe. But oh- how disheartening it was! We went back in to the camera center at Exposition Hall, but no one there really knew much about cameras they suggested coming back in the morning; that someone more knowledgeable would be working then. So we bought a disposable camera so we could have pictures of our character breakfast, and tried not to let this overshadow the wonderful start to our vacation. Well, after breakfast we headed next door to the camera shop, and sure enough, the knowledgeable guy confirmed our fears at best the camera might be repairable by a camera shop, but we were definitely going to be buying a new camera. He was really nice told us we would have more selection etc. (and better prices) outside the park, but since we had not rental car, and we didnt really want to lose a morning doing that, we bought the Kodak camera with zoom that they had for sale. I am glad they sell cameras! But I do like our little Olympus better it is faster snapping the picture and at taking two pictures in rapid succession. But the trusty Kodak enabled us to go on with our vacation with minimal disruption, for not too much money, and allowed us to use the remaining rolls of film (about 13 at that point!) that I had brought from home.
Fortified with a new camera, we headed off to Alien Encounter (a walk-on), which was not as bad as I feared. But I think its a been there, done that, dont need to do it again kind of thing for both of us. Next we headed to Buzz Lightyear which we both really enjoyed. I can understand why this is such a popular attraction! First time round we were both Space Cadet: Gavin got 48,900 and I got 37,700. We immediately got back on (this was a walk on too) and both achieved the new rank of Planetary Pilot: G-110,500 and me, 63,100. At the end of that round they let us just stay in our car and ride again, which was neat. We were both still Planetary Pilots, but with better scores: G, 168,800 and me, 82,100.
We left on that high note and rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority again (told you in Day 1 I really like this! Sometimes its the simple things . . .) We saw Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Rays while in search of facilities he is really cute very punny. Then as we left Push the walking talking trash can was out, and it was fun to watch him interacting with everyone.
Heading to Fantasyland, we were just in time to catch Cinderellas Surprise celebration I loved this! It was like being in a Disney Sing-a-long video! Before coming this was on our nice if you can see it list but it was really great! Im glad we saw it.
After the show, we headed down Main Street, decided we didnt like the photo the photographer snapped earlier in the morning, and went to the monorail station. We got to ride up front on the monorail from MK to the TTC, and again from the TTC to Epcot. 11:30 AM of day 2 and we have done almost everything at MK, and are entering Epcot.
Spaceship Earth was a walk-on this was my first time to ride it since my last visit was in August (some years ago) and there were 4 hour waits in the relentless Florida sun for this ride. I liked it, and Gavin liked it as much as he remembered from his past trips. Into World Showcase, we rode El Rio in Mexico my magic Moments pin lit up a lot on this one. At this point we were hungry so we had lunch at Akershus (no wait, no PS). We love this kind of food because it is familiar to us from where we grew up me in Alaska 9lots of fish and shrimp) and Gavin in Switzerland. Many of the vegetable side dishes were very reminiscent of things my mother-in-law makes, and some Gavin hadnt had since moving to America a few years ago.
After lunch we went and checked in at the Yacht Club. Quite a contrast to checking in at WL the CM checking in the family next to us was the only friendly person who seemed to be working. But all was in order wit our reservations, so off we went to our room #4148. All I can say is Thank You Room Assignor! A newly remodeled room (the bellman said the stuff was fresh out of the boxes and we were the first to stay in it) with a nice view off the balcony of the Gazebo in the garden below, and beyond that (to our left) we could see the lighthouse on the dock, and the Boardwalk across the water.
After unpacking a little, we headed back to Epcot via the Friendship launch (I love these great way to save the feet and slow down your pace a little). We caught the end of an Off Kilter set in Canada (I like them they did not disappoint after all Id read about them). We walked through the shops in the UK and watched the WS Players do The Holy Grail with a great King Arthur from the audience. He interacted really well with them and had some very funny moments. We then wandered over to the area where British Invasion was due to start their next set, but left soon after they started playing. We caught another 2 songs by Off kilter (will we ever see a whole set?) and then watched the movie in Canada. Gavin has a WDW/DL CD and I love the song from the Canada film, and seeing the scenery in the film really took me back to my childhood (scenerys a bit different here in Texas . . .). We came out to another 3 or 4 songs of Off kilter, and then went to France to get Gavin a crepe. There was a great Mime in France doing an act with kids from the audience, and those long balloons you can twist into shapes and hats, etc. He was really good and some of the kids were just hilarious.
We had a PS for dinner at Le Cellier for 7:10. Our server was Eilish (I wish I could remember the province) and she was wonderful. This was easily my favorite meal of the trip. (dining reviews in more detail on the dining board). Great food, great service. I like how a proper sit-down meal forces you to slow down when it is so tempting to just keep going and going and going.
After dinner, back to Future World for Journey Into Imagination another one I have never been on in any incarnation. Gavin remembers the original, and I love the original song from the CD (its been going through my head all day today at work!) Again, a total walk-on and we had not just a car, but a whole train of cars to ourselves.
We missed the parades, but by this time Illuminations was approaching. We staked out a spot by the shop on the lagoon side of the walkway in Morocco, and had a wonderful view, although Gavin felt the speaker nearby may have cut in and out a little. I never noticed I was so entranced by this. I think I could watch this over and over and never tire of it! But speaking of tired, we were, so we walked to the International Gateway, caught a Friendship launch to the YC, and fell tiredly into bed after another very full day.
