Day 4: The One with the Segways and without Paperwork

[Kimberly815]

Links to the rest of the report!
The One with the Pre-Trip
The One with Dinner at Boma's
The One with the 45 minute Safari
The One where Dudley did NOT do right
The One with the Segways and without paperwork
The One with the Kitchen Sink but no running water
The One with Dinner in the Castle
The One with the Incredibles
The One where we fly home

Tuesday October 18th
The One with Segways and without Paperwork

The crew:
Myself; K-bug; age 25
Funnyman; my fiancé; age 26
Screamer; Jennifer48 here on the disboards; age 25
BurgerGuy; age 33

Funnyman literally popped out of bed this morning when the alarm went off. I think he might be a little excited about the Segway Tour. We got up at 7:00am so that we could leave at 8:00am this morning. We needed a little extra buffer time to get to Epcot. Funnyman had the honors of performing the antenna topping ceremony, since Epcot is his favorite park.
This was not something we wanted to be late for. By 8:45am we are standing in line outside of Epcot waiting to be let in. Moments later the crowd starts to move. How exciting! Our first rope drop. But we couldn’t worry about that yet. We had devised a plan. And this was the plan: Funnyman would be taking all four of our tickets and making his way to the front of the ropes. When the rope dropped he would follow the route we had mapped out (he had the map in hand) and book it to Soarin' to get us Fast Passes to be used later. Screamer, BurgerGuy and I would go to Guest Services and check in for our Segway Around the World Tour (we had to check in by 9:15am), and then head over to the Fountain of Nations (that fountain behind Spaceship Earth that plays music and shoots water, in case you didn’t know) to meet Funnyman and direct him back to Guest Relations. A foolproof plan.
Funnyman disappears in the crowd. There are characters singing. Cast Members are trying to get people to clap along. There is even a countdown. Then we are off. We find out later that Funnyman was making good time walking quickly to Soarin’, and then he saw some guy start running. So he started running too. We make it to Guest Relations with no problem, check in, receive our nifty nametags, and start heading out. Just outside we see a very confused looking Funnyman searching around for Guest Relations. Apparently he can move a lot faster than the three of us. We check Funnyman in too, and we are off.
LeMonte is our tour guide/instructor. And he is great! He picks us up at Guest Relations, and leads us across the way to Innoventions East. We are suited up with our flattering helmets and watch a lovely instructional video. LeMonte warns us to pay close attention and listen to them closely. He wants us all to complete the class with no issues or crashes or falls. He doesn’t like to fill out the paperwork needed when you fall! For some unknown reason, we had 12 people in our class instead of the usual 10. This was only an issue because there were not enough segways. Finally we meet Jordan, the second instructor, when he joins us with the last segway.
We line up along the wall and pick out a segway. Somehow, I managed to get the extra! Then, the trouble starts. We have to step up onto the segways. This is very difficult the first time. Jordan helps all four of us along, and we learn all about the wobbly start that he calls the ‘segway dance’. Next up moving forward. And you guessed it . . . I am first. So I lean forward like Jordan tells me, and try to lean back to stop like he tells me, but it isn't working . . . RUN, JORDAN! Run, for your life!! Crash. Yup, that’s right, I ran right into him. He threatens me with paperwork. Everyone else managed to stop. Damn them.
Next up: Going forward, turning around and going back. Sounds easy right? Nope! Sorry. It’s not. I move forward, manage to stop, turn around, head back . . . and yup, you guessed it . . . ran into the wall. More paperwork. Screamer, BurgerGuy, and Funnyman seemed to catch on to this way to quickly. I think why might have practiced at home without me.
After an hour of obstacle course riding in the classroom, LeMonte decides we are ready to go outside. We head out and towards Mexico to head around the showcase. I was already having difficulties in the classroom, and this is much harder. We follow Jordan as ‘Ducks in a Row’, with LeMonte bringing up the rear, yelling “Careful! Paperwork!” I found this portion terrifying. I feel like I had a lot less control over the segway than on the carpet in the classroom. Plus, why don’t they make the ground out there perfectly level? I do not care for the little bumps and hills that you don’t notice when you are on your own two feet!
We make our way slowly around the showcase. Jordan had some interesting things to say, but I didn’t hear them because I was so slow and far behind. I also spent the whole time looking at the ground. I couldn’t tell you the exact route we went to save my life. There were some ‘challenges’ going through smaller paths and around things, but I don’t remember that either. Lovely ground out there though. The ground and I are now in an intimate relationship. Sorry Funnyman, I think you may have been replaced.
We stopped outside of Italy and the guides kindly took as many photos of us on the segways as we wanted. And we headed back around the other side. There were people making their way through the World Showcase now, and I was not fond of this. LeMonte kept reminding me to take my time. If I had heard him say ‘Paperwork’ on more time, I think I would have crashed out of spite!
We made it back and received our special trading pins. Everyone loved the tour, and for Screamer, BurgerGuy and Funnyman it was the highlight of the trip. I agree, it was a lot of fun- And I was obviously going to be the one to have the most trouble. I am very klutzy; it has been documented several times in history. I thought it was very difficult, but was starting to enjoy myself more toward the end. I highly recommend trying it to anyone who thinks they might like it. I think I would be much more comfortable doing it a second time. I was just proud that we made it through without having to fill out paperwork.
No time to dawdle. We have a date with Soarin’. After bidding our guides adieu, we make our way over to the land. The wait time for Soarin’ was about 50 minutes. Thank goodness for Fast pass. We were in our glider in less than 10 minutes. This ride is great. A bit short, but great.
Lunch was great in the Season’s dining area in the Land. And we followed that up with a visit with Figment and being shrunk with the rest of the audience, since we were in the area. We decide to finish up Future World before heading back into the showcase and make our way over to Test Track. The line here was also 50 minutes, so we Fast passed it. Funnyman and I flew to Mars on Mission Space, while Screamer and BurgerGuy sat it out and devised a plan to tackle Future World while we waited for our Fast passes time to come around.
The Plan: Innoventions East, Spaceship Earth (one of Funnyman’s favorites), Innoventions West, and then Test Track. This worked like a dream. We stopped in Innoventions West to go to the special Disney Visa Character Meet and Greet. And wouldn’t you know it- I forgot my Visa card. Luckily, Screamer had hers so we could still go in, but no free photo for me! The characters were great, even though the four of us were a little awkward. This was BurgerGuy’s first character interaction, and it could not have been better! Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy were there. The Cast Members took a bunch of picture, including some with our own cameras.
Then as we were saying goodbye, we witnessed an unheard of act: Mickey and Minnie had a ‘falling out’! We were all hugging the characters and Minnie comes over and gives Funnyman a big kiss. Mickey turns to her and looks upset. Minnie starts shaking her finger at Mickey and comes over to me, grabs my left hand, drags me over to Mickey and starts pointing at my engagement ring! Apparently Minnie is looking for a ring of her own from Mickey! I didn’t realize that Mickey had commitment issues!
Leaving Mickey and Minnie to attend a couple’s session with Goofy we headed over and enjoyed Test Track. Next up: the World Showcase. Mexico was first, where we took a boat ride on the River of Time. Screamer was dying to see the Mariachi Band (they are one of her favorites), so I found myself a nice seat on the fountain and everyone else poked around while we waited the few minutes until the next show. As much as I love each and every pavilion in the World Showcase, this is one of my favorites just to sit and people watch. The ambiance is astounding, and everyone comes in and takes silly photos with sombreros or ponchos. Plus, you can hear the Mariachi Band from anywhere inside, so my seat at the fountain was perfect, even though I could not see the band.
I spotted the Mariachi Band heading out, when they were stopped by a guest. I could not hear what they were saying, but the guest followed them up front where they started singing. The guest had asked permission to sing a traditional Spanish song with the band, and they had kindly agreed. He was quite good, because I never noticed that it was not a band member from my listening spot (the others notified me later). A few songs go by, and Screamer, BurgerGuy and Funnyman find their way back to me. Screamer is not looking too thrilled, which worries me, because she loves the Mariachi Band. The others informed me that the Mariachi Band had sung a song or two, and then introduced the guest who asked to sing with them. However, after that, other guests, without permission, started jumping in and singing with them. The band kept playing (what else are they going to do!). Screamer decided that she wanted to hear the Mariachi Band, not Karaoke Night. I agree, it’s not quite the same. So we left. Bummer.
We casually strolled around the World Showcase, stopping in Norway to ride Maelstrom, and in Germany for some brats and pretzels (these are possibly the best pretzels that we have ever eaten- I highly recommend them).
We were determined to find the elusive Mary Poppin’s lamp and carpet bag in the United Kingdom Pavilion. We made out way to the back of the shops, and there it is: In a roped of area, with Tigger and a boatload of kids waiting to get autographs. We managed to get a good shot of it, without anyone else in the photo, but no fun pictures or anything.
This is where I think we all lost our minds. It was about 8:00pm. We had gotten up at 7:00 am in the morning and had not really stopped all day. We lost any sanity we might have had left. We headed out of the shops and into the back area with the Gazebo and the hedge maze. There were people sitting every where on the curbs (we found out they were waiting for the British Invasion later).
We decide that Screamer must recreate the ‘singing in the rain’ jump with one of the lamp posts so that we can have a mid-air photo. This takes 6 or 7 attempts all of which occurred with hysterical laughter- Which just made us crazier. Screamer and I decide we want to conquer the hedge maze. In we go . . . its very tricky . . . I don’t know if we can find our way out! Just as we are making our way back out, everyone sitting on the curbs starts to clap and cheer. Screamer turns to me.
“Are they clapping because they are happy we found the end of the maze?”
She turns around and there they are: The British Invasion, walking directly toward us. We manage an awkward “Hi” and get out of that maze as quickly as we can. After humiliating ourselves in front of the British Invasion, we figure we owe them a few songs, so we find ourselves a seat along the curb as well. They played a few songs when a tiny little bunny rabbit hopped out of the bushes and went to the center and started eating the grass. I guess Beatles cover songs really do appeal to everyone.
A few more songs later I turn to both Screamer and Funnyman and say “Where is ‘All you need is love’?” This song is not only in one of my favorite movies, but is also has been the ring-tone for my mobile phone for the past 2 years, and is possible one of my most favorite songs of all time. They must have had that part of the curb bugged, because after they finished the current song, they declared that the next one would be the last, and everyone had to sing along. And wouldn’t you know it? All you need is love.
We made our way back through the World Showcase to stake our place for Illuminations. We ended up in front of Morocco with a nice view. The wall was too tall to sit to watch the show, but perfect to lean on during the show.
Illuminations was as perfect as ever, and we waited a few minutes before making our way out of the park, to avoid some of the crowds. We were home before 10pm and somehow managed to rustle up enough energy for another slideshow before bed.

 

[Jennifer48]

If anyone is thinking on doing the Segway Around the World tour, I say go for it. We all had so much fun. Kimberly815 did too even though she was watching the ground go by more than checking out the scenery!

 

[pumba]

I just asked hubby to do the Segway Tour........but he is challenged too.......ROFL........thanks so much for your report...........by the way how did you like the new menu at the Land.?

 

[KatieRenee]

wow that sounds like such a busy yet fun day! glad yall enjoyed it.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[Jennifer48]

Minniespal....you excited for Christmas??