BLEE....no wait! Mom woke up 10 min before the alarm today! ALRIGHTY! WE ARE FINALLY ON DISNEY TIME!!
Before going to sleep last night, we had this crazy thought....with the big success of the H&V lunch maybe we'd see if there are any last minute openings for the Storybook Princess Breakfast at EPCOT for today. So Mommy dutifully makes the call at 6:58am and I'M IN at 7:01 on hold!! At 7:03am the CM answers and I ask for the EPCOT (very clearly said EPCOT) Storybook Princess Breakfast for this morning. He says "Oh it seems there's an opening at 9:15am!" I say "PERFECT!" Then he mumbles "What's this....cannot make reservation same day with credit card.....OH WAIT that's for Cinderella's Royal Table, sorry about that, you wanted the EPCOT breakfast right?" Hmmm...it only takes me about two seconds to realize I am not flexible enought to totally shift gears for today and do MK instead, especially since today is an e-nite at MK and that's exactly why we were going to EPCOT today instead in the first place. "No, I was looking for EPCOT". "Sorry, nothing available there", he says. "But it looks like there is an opening for CRT if you want it - sorry I just was not expecting you to ask for EPCOT on my first call...I must be getting old...LOL!" "That's OK", I say, "Hey can you check on CRT for tomorrow?" Nothing then either. Oh well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be for us.
We arrive at the EPCOT gates at 8:30am and they are starting to let people in to the park already. We park the carriage and ride Spaceship Earth which is already open. I still love that ride...it never gets old. Dad likes it but thinks the last two minutes on the descent could be better. I agree, the audio is not that good, but I still love it. We head over to the right since all the crowds are heading left towards TT. My stomach can't handle that just yet and my #1 priority is FIGMENT FIGMENT FIGMENT!! As the rope drops at 9am we are the very first family of the day to ride FIGMENT and he does not disappoint. I loved it. What great memories that have been brought back on that ride. Well now I'll be singing all day!! We skip Honey I Shrunk the Audience...not sure we want to do that with Emily although in retrospect I think she would have been fine. We head to the LAND and ride the boat and go see FOOD ROCKS and we are the ONLY ONES in the theater!! So of course we all got up and danced in the front row and had an awesome time. We skip the Circle of Life movie and the whole Living Seas Pavillion and head back across to the Universe of Energy, grabbing fast passes for Test Track along the way - it's now 10am and the return time is already 12:30pm and the stand by wait right now is GULP 90 minutes. At Universe of Energy, Daddy got spit on by a dinosaur and the whole ride was much improved and enjoyable. Then over to the Wonders of Life pavillion.
OK NOW we're getting a little annoyed. We have to carry these babies into EVERY SINGLE paviliion. They won't let us bring the carriage into anything. There's no reason why we can't park the carriage inside the preshow for UOE or stroll around with them in the WOL pavillion or even in the LAND pavillion. I mean I have two infants who can't walk at all. I'm not pushing around a 4 year old who can just get up an go themselves. I'm a little annoyed that the carriage parking is so far away too, and of course...you guessed it. Out in the open.
So we see Cranium Command and Dad & Emily go on Body Wars while Mom shares a Strawberry Waffle with the babies and a fruit cup. We were going to go see Making of Me when we realized that the time was nearing for Test Track so we decide reluctantly to skip it for now. As we head out....guess what. IT'S POURING RAIN AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! You know that old saying "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"? Well consider us fools because now we're two for two with a soaking wet carriage. We had planned on heading out after TT for our afternoon break anyway, but now I'm REALLY annoyed because now that it's raining suddenly it's OK for people to bring the stroller up into the WOL pavillion. Thanks for nothing. I said to DH "I don't get it, I checked the sky before we came in here and it was almost totally clear!" He said "Yep I checked it too. From now on we don't trust the sky - if we are going to be gone more than a few minutes we cover the carriage as a precaution." So with a sopping wet carriage again we head to Test Track and you know what's coming right?? Test Track is CLOSED due to the weather. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. But the good news is that our Fast Passes are good all day and the current return time for Fastpass is 6:05-7:05pm - they're almost all gone.
OK we head back to the villa and thank goodness we have a washer and dryer we can remove the wet cushions from the carriage and put them in the dryer to be ready for later. We have lunch in the room and take a quick dip at the pools (and in the whirlpool) which is JUST what the doctor ordered. Happiness factor returning and we are geared up for another round of touring.
We return to EPCOT at 4pm and head straight for Test Track. There was a little confusion with baby swap - the CM at the door was supposed to give us the baby swap voucher down there and he didn't. (What...the two 15month olds in our arms were going to ride with us?) But at the top of the que the CM just shook his head and said "They're just not paying attention down there" and gave us a voucher from his pocket. There is a great system there for baby swap and finally a nice seated waiting area for the non riding party. I think overall Disney could be doing a little better providing space for the waiting party. StarTours had a bench but many rides don't have any real waiting area at all. Not easy with two little ones who are not allowed to stay in their carriage, although probably more doable with only one waiting child. Anyhow, Test Track was absolutely great!! Now I know why everyone was knocking each other over to get on. Just a great ride, and not as 'tame' as other Disney rides.
Then we head over to WS straight to France and look around there while we wait until our 5pm PS at Les Chefs de France. We really enjoyed our dinner there and the extremely authentic bistro look of the restaurant. Although I think they were a little freaked out that we had two babies with us. We definitely got some shifting eyes and although everyone else got a window seat we were seated in the middle, which I did not think was fair. By the time I realized it, we were already settled in and I wasn't about to move. The food was yummy and satisfying. The babies were, of course, very good and finally all the waiters and waitresses relaxed and complemented us and played with them. I just hate having to prove myself when I'm the paying customer, you know?
It's still drizzling rain sort of on an off as we tour Morrocco, one of my favorites and Emily starts a Kidcot mask. Then we head over and watch the Tapestry parade. Crowded but not too many pushy people. We had a nice view and the babies slept through it so I had the carriage at the back of the crowd so others could get closer. Then we saw Japan and watched a show with drums. It was nice. We head to the American Adventure to see the show there and catch some of the big band show while waiting which was great. When we go inside the AA show, the lights go out and Daddy dropped Caitlyn's bottle so she was all pissy throught the whole show. Ryan was also very restless. At one point I almost got up and walked out because I didn't want him to bother the other people there, but he calmed down with ALOT of effort. It seems that 7-7:30pm is a hot button time of day for them even on vacation and we need to watch what we are doing around that time from now on. When we're done with the show and bathroom breaks we are pretty beat and decide to camp out near the bridge across from Italy to get a spot for Illuminations. We met a lovely family from the UK that we talked to to pass the time. There was a tree just to the left of my viewing field but I did not think it would block the view for me. Illuminations was wonderful, although Emily watched it with her fingers in her ears as she always does during 'loud' shows and the babies started to cry a bit until we picked them up to see the fireworks and they were just awestruck. The little crying they did was no big deal because the soundtrack is so loud no one really hears them. At the end of it, Caitlyn clapped her hands together along with the crowd applause. Yet another magical moment...Caitlyn learns how to clap Horray thanks to Disney magic!
We S-L-O-W-L-Y head towards the gate. It takes a long time to get out from back there but its worth it to avoid the throngs of people. We just shopped a little and rested a little along the way but by the time you get to that car (I walked with the carriage, a little longer this time, and Dad and Emmy rode the tram) you are ready to drop to your knees in exhaustion.
Can we handle MK tomorrow after all this late night excitement? Well judging by the fact that everyone is sound asleep before we're even off Disney property, I think we've got a pretty good shot at it.
Before going to sleep last night, we had this crazy thought....with the big success of the H&V lunch maybe we'd see if there are any last minute openings for the Storybook Princess Breakfast at EPCOT for today. So Mommy dutifully makes the call at 6:58am and I'M IN at 7:01 on hold!! At 7:03am the CM answers and I ask for the EPCOT (very clearly said EPCOT) Storybook Princess Breakfast for this morning. He says "Oh it seems there's an opening at 9:15am!" I say "PERFECT!" Then he mumbles "What's this....cannot make reservation same day with credit card.....OH WAIT that's for Cinderella's Royal Table, sorry about that, you wanted the EPCOT breakfast right?" Hmmm...it only takes me about two seconds to realize I am not flexible enought to totally shift gears for today and do MK instead, especially since today is an e-nite at MK and that's exactly why we were going to EPCOT today instead in the first place. "No, I was looking for EPCOT". "Sorry, nothing available there", he says. "But it looks like there is an opening for CRT if you want it - sorry I just was not expecting you to ask for EPCOT on my first call...I must be getting old...LOL!" "That's OK", I say, "Hey can you check on CRT for tomorrow?" Nothing then either. Oh well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be for us.
We arrive at the EPCOT gates at 8:30am and they are starting to let people in to the park already. We park the carriage and ride Spaceship Earth which is already open. I still love that ride...it never gets old. Dad likes it but thinks the last two minutes on the descent could be better. I agree, the audio is not that good, but I still love it. We head over to the right since all the crowds are heading left towards TT. My stomach can't handle that just yet and my #1 priority is FIGMENT FIGMENT FIGMENT!! As the rope drops at 9am we are the very first family of the day to ride FIGMENT and he does not disappoint. I loved it. What great memories that have been brought back on that ride. Well now I'll be singing all day!! We skip Honey I Shrunk the Audience...not sure we want to do that with Emily although in retrospect I think she would have been fine. We head to the LAND and ride the boat and go see FOOD ROCKS and we are the ONLY ONES in the theater!! So of course we all got up and danced in the front row and had an awesome time. We skip the Circle of Life movie and the whole Living Seas Pavillion and head back across to the Universe of Energy, grabbing fast passes for Test Track along the way - it's now 10am and the return time is already 12:30pm and the stand by wait right now is GULP 90 minutes. At Universe of Energy, Daddy got spit on by a dinosaur and the whole ride was much improved and enjoyable. Then over to the Wonders of Life pavillion.
OK NOW we're getting a little annoyed. We have to carry these babies into EVERY SINGLE paviliion. They won't let us bring the carriage into anything. There's no reason why we can't park the carriage inside the preshow for UOE or stroll around with them in the WOL pavillion or even in the LAND pavillion. I mean I have two infants who can't walk at all. I'm not pushing around a 4 year old who can just get up an go themselves. I'm a little annoyed that the carriage parking is so far away too, and of course...you guessed it. Out in the open.
So we see Cranium Command and Dad & Emily go on Body Wars while Mom shares a Strawberry Waffle with the babies and a fruit cup. We were going to go see Making of Me when we realized that the time was nearing for Test Track so we decide reluctantly to skip it for now. As we head out....guess what. IT'S POURING RAIN AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! You know that old saying "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"? Well consider us fools because now we're two for two with a soaking wet carriage. We had planned on heading out after TT for our afternoon break anyway, but now I'm REALLY annoyed because now that it's raining suddenly it's OK for people to bring the stroller up into the WOL pavillion. Thanks for nothing. I said to DH "I don't get it, I checked the sky before we came in here and it was almost totally clear!" He said "Yep I checked it too. From now on we don't trust the sky - if we are going to be gone more than a few minutes we cover the carriage as a precaution." So with a sopping wet carriage again we head to Test Track and you know what's coming right?? Test Track is CLOSED due to the weather. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. But the good news is that our Fast Passes are good all day and the current return time for Fastpass is 6:05-7:05pm - they're almost all gone.
OK we head back to the villa and thank goodness we have a washer and dryer we can remove the wet cushions from the carriage and put them in the dryer to be ready for later. We have lunch in the room and take a quick dip at the pools (and in the whirlpool) which is JUST what the doctor ordered. Happiness factor returning and we are geared up for another round of touring.
We return to EPCOT at 4pm and head straight for Test Track. There was a little confusion with baby swap - the CM at the door was supposed to give us the baby swap voucher down there and he didn't. (What...the two 15month olds in our arms were going to ride with us?) But at the top of the que the CM just shook his head and said "They're just not paying attention down there" and gave us a voucher from his pocket. There is a great system there for baby swap and finally a nice seated waiting area for the non riding party. I think overall Disney could be doing a little better providing space for the waiting party. StarTours had a bench but many rides don't have any real waiting area at all. Not easy with two little ones who are not allowed to stay in their carriage, although probably more doable with only one waiting child. Anyhow, Test Track was absolutely great!! Now I know why everyone was knocking each other over to get on. Just a great ride, and not as 'tame' as other Disney rides.
Then we head over to WS straight to France and look around there while we wait until our 5pm PS at Les Chefs de France. We really enjoyed our dinner there and the extremely authentic bistro look of the restaurant. Although I think they were a little freaked out that we had two babies with us. We definitely got some shifting eyes and although everyone else got a window seat we were seated in the middle, which I did not think was fair. By the time I realized it, we were already settled in and I wasn't about to move. The food was yummy and satisfying. The babies were, of course, very good and finally all the waiters and waitresses relaxed and complemented us and played with them. I just hate having to prove myself when I'm the paying customer, you know?
It's still drizzling rain sort of on an off as we tour Morrocco, one of my favorites and Emily starts a Kidcot mask. Then we head over and watch the Tapestry parade. Crowded but not too many pushy people. We had a nice view and the babies slept through it so I had the carriage at the back of the crowd so others could get closer. Then we saw Japan and watched a show with drums. It was nice. We head to the American Adventure to see the show there and catch some of the big band show while waiting which was great. When we go inside the AA show, the lights go out and Daddy dropped Caitlyn's bottle so she was all pissy throught the whole show. Ryan was also very restless. At one point I almost got up and walked out because I didn't want him to bother the other people there, but he calmed down with ALOT of effort. It seems that 7-7:30pm is a hot button time of day for them even on vacation and we need to watch what we are doing around that time from now on. When we're done with the show and bathroom breaks we are pretty beat and decide to camp out near the bridge across from Italy to get a spot for Illuminations. We met a lovely family from the UK that we talked to to pass the time. There was a tree just to the left of my viewing field but I did not think it would block the view for me. Illuminations was wonderful, although Emily watched it with her fingers in her ears as she always does during 'loud' shows and the babies started to cry a bit until we picked them up to see the fireworks and they were just awestruck. The little crying they did was no big deal because the soundtrack is so loud no one really hears them. At the end of it, Caitlyn clapped her hands together along with the crowd applause. Yet another magical moment...Caitlyn learns how to clap Horray thanks to Disney magic!
We S-L-O-W-L-Y head towards the gate. It takes a long time to get out from back there but its worth it to avoid the throngs of people. We just shopped a little and rested a little along the way but by the time you get to that car (I walked with the carriage, a little longer this time, and Dad and Emmy rode the tram) you are ready to drop to your knees in exhaustion.
Can we handle MK tomorrow after all this late night excitement? Well judging by the fact that everyone is sound asleep before we're even off Disney property, I think we've got a pretty good shot at it.
Maybe you will luck up on the Princess breakfast before you leave.
Opps, I said B U T T....hope this thread doesn't get locked!
