(Day 3 of last week's 6 Day adventure)
Because Disney vacations can tend to be a bit less relaxing than some, I generally espouse the technique of gradually increasing wake-up time, i.e. waking up about 15 minutes later each day to avoid burn-out. Knowing that Day 3 was EE day at Epcot, and realizing that Test Track was closed, we had already seen many of the major Epcot rides, and we walked around a huge amount, it looked like a good day for having a more relaxed wake-up and essentially avoiding EE and arriving closer to actual opening. My wife did her usual exemplary job of trip preparedness, packing a few emergency snacks, fruit, water bottles, and ponchos (more on them on Day 5) in a small backpack for our days outing.
[Brief aside on the fruit - when we checked in to our hotel room the first night, my wife noticed the neatly wrapped stack of ponchos, pile of mugs, and heap of coffee w/filters, all available for purchase. My daughter then pointed to a big wrapped basket of fruit that was next to all the other piles and asked what it was. My wife said she didn't know but we better not touch it since was likely to be very expensive. I told her I didn't think so and asked her to look at the card. I had sent her a big basket of fruit for a surprise. She was indeed surprised and amused after having thought it was one more Disney extra that was for sale. Ina ny case, it supplied all of our needed fruit for the remainder of the trip.]
Well, we decided to drive to Epcot but just as we got down from our room, the Epcot bus pulled up and we decided to bus it instead. We got to Epcot about 8:30 (opening at 9) and got in a nice no wait ride on Spaceship Earth (3rd time) and spent a little time in the post-show area this time. We were sorry to see that upon exiting the ride there was an irate mom of a family of 4 berating a CM near the entrance about the lack of any replacement ride for Test Track during EE. From the looks on the kids faces, we felt sorry for them, wondering what the day would be like for them if their parent's attitude started off this poorly so early in the morning. As for us, knowing there was little more rides to do 10 minutes before official opening, we relaxed and walked along the central Epcot pathways, enjoying the small fountains that we had seen kids get drenched in the day before. We also heard the beautiful opening music and watched the accompanying fountain show at the large central fountain. The beauty, grandeur and space certainly make Epcot the favorite park of my wife and I (or maybe it's the fact that we saw Epcot together as our first WDW experience soon after it's opening while we were still dating and visiting friends in Florida). After the opening we all once more gave a collective (figuratively) sigh thinking about that poor family who were so worried about Test Track that they couldn't enjoy this lovely moment.
The foreshadowing of the day was also in place as my 6 year old - who usually runs everywhere - asked me to hold him on my shoulders for the small walk from one end of the Innovisions Courtyard to the other as they were dropping the ropes for opening. We headed straight for the Land ride after I purchased tickets for the 1 hour walking tour of the Land greenhouses (something my wife and I have loved). After taking the Land ride, and then walking over to the Living Seas, it was clear by the grumblings of the younguns that a 1 hr walking tour was not going to work. We waited about 10 min in the Seas for the next transport show, and it was clear my daughter needed something a bit more to keep her interest up. After a brief stay in the Seas we headed back to the Land to cancel the tour tickets and watch Food Rocks along with some light-hearted ribbing from my daughter about haw sappy mer parents could be for wanting to watch singing fruit. My wife and I always loved the old Kitchen Kaberet with the background of "Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit - Veggie Fruit Fruit..." but we enjoyed the new show as well (although I don;t think they put as much detail work into the characters, but the songs were quite clever (Make it Lean...).
We then headed over to the Imagination Ride (no wait) which, although short, we felt was quite interesting. We shopped for a while, looking at pins (my son became quite the pin collector - wanting new pins without trading the old ones - but in any case he wanted to stop and look at every CMs pin strap), when I made the mistake of buying an Imagination note pad with a magnet on the back. The problem was that I handed it to the cashier together and accidentally demagnetized my park card (which serves as both the entry card and a charge card put on your resort room bill). The CM said not to worry and handle it at guest services at the gate.
Our lacklaster crew began to perk up as we headed for Japan and our lunch at the Tepanyaki dining room. We met some nice characters on the way, got some autographs and pictures, and headed on to Maelstrom, the very clever flume ride in Norway. I had heard from some people before we left about Kids booths that were at each country, but they are either gone or just not run during non-peak periods. I had prepared passports for my kids to have stamped at each of the countries as we went around, but alas there was no one to stamp them (but it was ok as my kids didn't care about the passports at all). After Maelstrom the weary troops (with son on shoulders) finally made it to Japan and lunch as my wife and I once more reiterated our desire to one day come by ourselves (when the kids are in college?) to leisurely stroll and enjoy all the pleasures of the World Showcase.
We had a wonderful lunch at the Tepanyaki grill, watching the cooks slice, dice and chop their way onto your plates. My son is a somewhat picky eater so we asked for just rice for him and they were nice enough to give him both the bowl of rice (which he loved) and an ice cream dessert at no charge. All of us really enjoyed the table-side cooking as we conversed with our table-mates. In contrast to the early morning mother we had previously witnessed, one of the table-mates was also lamenting on missing Test Track, but was laughing about it saying she was determined to see it one day - she had been there three times and all three times it was either broken down or under rehab. Anyway, we all had a great lunch - this is a favorite for my wife and I - and a wonderful deal for lunch. Both at Liberty tree and Tepanyaki we fed a family of 4 a great lunch for only around $35 - lunches are a great deal. Somewhat refreshed, we headed off to the International Gateway and MGM for some more exciting rides that would pick up the kids attention. On the way we once more met a line of several characters with virtually no one around them and got some pictures (no son of course) and autographs.
After going to Guest Services and getting a temporary Day Pass (CBR would need to make the permanent replacement of my demagnetized card) we headed off via boat to MGM. The CM running the boat was great! We asked if it was the boat going to MGM and he very calmly said "Oh No, but if you're a good swimmer you can make it in no time." He then said of course and to hop on board and he made us feel great all the way to MGM.
Once at MGM we went to Indiana Jones Stunt (no wait), Star Tours (no wait) and marvelled at the detail work put into the exterior of the Star Wars exhibit just long enough to go to the street right outside Star Tours and get a good view of the Mulan Parade (5 min before parade). It's a very nice parade, and the characters along the route really seemed to be interacting with the kids. My wife and I continue to be amazed at the extensive and impressive costuming of the parade characters. After the parade we went to Muppet 3D and had a great time. At this point my son was hungry from his somewhat limited lunch, so my wife and son stopped for a snack while my daughter and I took the Tower of Terror (10 min wait). My daughter and I marveled at the extensive detail work they put into the lobby, the library, the back service hall, and the elevator area. We loved the ride and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Knowing it was time for a breather, we headed back to CBR for dinner and a swim. Actually everybody else had a swim while I got my resort card reprinted. After dinner we headed off to Downtown Disney to see Cirque's La Nouba. We got there early for the 9PM show, so my wife and son did some Disney Quest while my daughter and I did a quick once over of the shops (another long walk - perhaps the earlier show would have been better). My daughter picked up a couple of gifts at the large Disney Store there and then we rejoined to get into the theatre. Both the pre-show with the clowns and the actual show were fantastic! I was a bit concerned whether or not the price was worth it but after seeing it.... It is an incredible show, excellent types of acrobatics and circus work woven into a show that surrounds you with beauty, grace, and magic. Forget Superman, seeing those performers I really did think people could fly! It is an incredible show, and even my 6 year old was amazed. Every time he began to feel sleepy he saw another amazing thing that would perk up his attention. It's like a combination of a circus and a living work of art.
Well at this point we were completely worn out and headed back to the resort for some much need sleep (once more probably a little later than we should have) and a slight amount of guilt on my part that I was pushing the kids too hard (although my daughter said there were no complaints from her...). But as before, another wonderful fun day with the family, full of laughter and smiles (not to mention our little stuffed animals waiting for us in the window of our room)....
More to come....
SC
Because Disney vacations can tend to be a bit less relaxing than some, I generally espouse the technique of gradually increasing wake-up time, i.e. waking up about 15 minutes later each day to avoid burn-out. Knowing that Day 3 was EE day at Epcot, and realizing that Test Track was closed, we had already seen many of the major Epcot rides, and we walked around a huge amount, it looked like a good day for having a more relaxed wake-up and essentially avoiding EE and arriving closer to actual opening. My wife did her usual exemplary job of trip preparedness, packing a few emergency snacks, fruit, water bottles, and ponchos (more on them on Day 5) in a small backpack for our days outing.
[Brief aside on the fruit - when we checked in to our hotel room the first night, my wife noticed the neatly wrapped stack of ponchos, pile of mugs, and heap of coffee w/filters, all available for purchase. My daughter then pointed to a big wrapped basket of fruit that was next to all the other piles and asked what it was. My wife said she didn't know but we better not touch it since was likely to be very expensive. I told her I didn't think so and asked her to look at the card. I had sent her a big basket of fruit for a surprise. She was indeed surprised and amused after having thought it was one more Disney extra that was for sale. Ina ny case, it supplied all of our needed fruit for the remainder of the trip.]
Well, we decided to drive to Epcot but just as we got down from our room, the Epcot bus pulled up and we decided to bus it instead. We got to Epcot about 8:30 (opening at 9) and got in a nice no wait ride on Spaceship Earth (3rd time) and spent a little time in the post-show area this time. We were sorry to see that upon exiting the ride there was an irate mom of a family of 4 berating a CM near the entrance about the lack of any replacement ride for Test Track during EE. From the looks on the kids faces, we felt sorry for them, wondering what the day would be like for them if their parent's attitude started off this poorly so early in the morning. As for us, knowing there was little more rides to do 10 minutes before official opening, we relaxed and walked along the central Epcot pathways, enjoying the small fountains that we had seen kids get drenched in the day before. We also heard the beautiful opening music and watched the accompanying fountain show at the large central fountain. The beauty, grandeur and space certainly make Epcot the favorite park of my wife and I (or maybe it's the fact that we saw Epcot together as our first WDW experience soon after it's opening while we were still dating and visiting friends in Florida). After the opening we all once more gave a collective (figuratively) sigh thinking about that poor family who were so worried about Test Track that they couldn't enjoy this lovely moment.
The foreshadowing of the day was also in place as my 6 year old - who usually runs everywhere - asked me to hold him on my shoulders for the small walk from one end of the Innovisions Courtyard to the other as they were dropping the ropes for opening. We headed straight for the Land ride after I purchased tickets for the 1 hour walking tour of the Land greenhouses (something my wife and I have loved). After taking the Land ride, and then walking over to the Living Seas, it was clear by the grumblings of the younguns that a 1 hr walking tour was not going to work. We waited about 10 min in the Seas for the next transport show, and it was clear my daughter needed something a bit more to keep her interest up. After a brief stay in the Seas we headed back to the Land to cancel the tour tickets and watch Food Rocks along with some light-hearted ribbing from my daughter about haw sappy mer parents could be for wanting to watch singing fruit. My wife and I always loved the old Kitchen Kaberet with the background of "Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit - Veggie Fruit Fruit..." but we enjoyed the new show as well (although I don;t think they put as much detail work into the characters, but the songs were quite clever (Make it Lean...).
We then headed over to the Imagination Ride (no wait) which, although short, we felt was quite interesting. We shopped for a while, looking at pins (my son became quite the pin collector - wanting new pins without trading the old ones - but in any case he wanted to stop and look at every CMs pin strap), when I made the mistake of buying an Imagination note pad with a magnet on the back. The problem was that I handed it to the cashier together and accidentally demagnetized my park card (which serves as both the entry card and a charge card put on your resort room bill). The CM said not to worry and handle it at guest services at the gate.
Our lacklaster crew began to perk up as we headed for Japan and our lunch at the Tepanyaki dining room. We met some nice characters on the way, got some autographs and pictures, and headed on to Maelstrom, the very clever flume ride in Norway. I had heard from some people before we left about Kids booths that were at each country, but they are either gone or just not run during non-peak periods. I had prepared passports for my kids to have stamped at each of the countries as we went around, but alas there was no one to stamp them (but it was ok as my kids didn't care about the passports at all). After Maelstrom the weary troops (with son on shoulders) finally made it to Japan and lunch as my wife and I once more reiterated our desire to one day come by ourselves (when the kids are in college?) to leisurely stroll and enjoy all the pleasures of the World Showcase.
We had a wonderful lunch at the Tepanyaki grill, watching the cooks slice, dice and chop their way onto your plates. My son is a somewhat picky eater so we asked for just rice for him and they were nice enough to give him both the bowl of rice (which he loved) and an ice cream dessert at no charge. All of us really enjoyed the table-side cooking as we conversed with our table-mates. In contrast to the early morning mother we had previously witnessed, one of the table-mates was also lamenting on missing Test Track, but was laughing about it saying she was determined to see it one day - she had been there three times and all three times it was either broken down or under rehab. Anyway, we all had a great lunch - this is a favorite for my wife and I - and a wonderful deal for lunch. Both at Liberty tree and Tepanyaki we fed a family of 4 a great lunch for only around $35 - lunches are a great deal. Somewhat refreshed, we headed off to the International Gateway and MGM for some more exciting rides that would pick up the kids attention. On the way we once more met a line of several characters with virtually no one around them and got some pictures (no son of course) and autographs.
After going to Guest Services and getting a temporary Day Pass (CBR would need to make the permanent replacement of my demagnetized card) we headed off via boat to MGM. The CM running the boat was great! We asked if it was the boat going to MGM and he very calmly said "Oh No, but if you're a good swimmer you can make it in no time." He then said of course and to hop on board and he made us feel great all the way to MGM.
Once at MGM we went to Indiana Jones Stunt (no wait), Star Tours (no wait) and marvelled at the detail work put into the exterior of the Star Wars exhibit just long enough to go to the street right outside Star Tours and get a good view of the Mulan Parade (5 min before parade). It's a very nice parade, and the characters along the route really seemed to be interacting with the kids. My wife and I continue to be amazed at the extensive and impressive costuming of the parade characters. After the parade we went to Muppet 3D and had a great time. At this point my son was hungry from his somewhat limited lunch, so my wife and son stopped for a snack while my daughter and I took the Tower of Terror (10 min wait). My daughter and I marveled at the extensive detail work they put into the lobby, the library, the back service hall, and the elevator area. We loved the ride and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Knowing it was time for a breather, we headed back to CBR for dinner and a swim. Actually everybody else had a swim while I got my resort card reprinted. After dinner we headed off to Downtown Disney to see Cirque's La Nouba. We got there early for the 9PM show, so my wife and son did some Disney Quest while my daughter and I did a quick once over of the shops (another long walk - perhaps the earlier show would have been better). My daughter picked up a couple of gifts at the large Disney Store there and then we rejoined to get into the theatre. Both the pre-show with the clowns and the actual show were fantastic! I was a bit concerned whether or not the price was worth it but after seeing it.... It is an incredible show, excellent types of acrobatics and circus work woven into a show that surrounds you with beauty, grace, and magic. Forget Superman, seeing those performers I really did think people could fly! It is an incredible show, and even my 6 year old was amazed. Every time he began to feel sleepy he saw another amazing thing that would perk up his attention. It's like a combination of a circus and a living work of art.
Well at this point we were completely worn out and headed back to the resort for some much need sleep (once more probably a little later than we should have) and a slight amount of guilt on my part that I was pushing the kids too hard (although my daughter said there were no complaints from her...). But as before, another wonderful fun day with the family, full of laughter and smiles (not to mention our little stuffed animals waiting for us in the window of our room)....
More to come....
SC
