Eeyore1954
<font color=purple>A smart man who realizes that p
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2002
- Messages
- 5,327
Gotta Finish Epcot!
On our 1st day at Epcot, I got tied up waiting for a cancelled Dolphins in Depth tour, then a backstage tour of the aquarium, then running around Journey. Alas, we didn't get to do much that day. This day -- commando touring of Epcot. Arrive by 8 a.m. -- don't leave until the park closes. My feet were already screaming at me and I had not even gotten out of bed yet!!
We decided to drive over because we wanted to swing by PI after Epcot. (I know -- we were gluttons for punishment, but isn't that what vacations are all about?). We snagged a great parking space in Journey row 3 and headed for the gates. Amazingly, the gates opened at 8:25 a.m. We zoomed in and rode Spaceship Earth. Afterwards, we goofed around in the AT&T display until the park opened at 9.
The crowds were small again, so Test Track was walk-on. We snapped pictures outside the Mission:Space area and took a spin through Wonders of Life.
My only regret was the waste of time spent on Universe of Energy. Oh well, lesson learned. Not all rennovations are worthwhile. Shoulda listened to other DIS-ers on this one.
We had some time before WS opened, so we headed by Living Seas. John (CM) outside gave us some great tips on pin-trading and collecting. He was short 2 pins on his lanyard and he called over what looked like a Disney exec with a lanyard. The magic hit and I was able to trade for a retired AK Tigger pin from the exec! This replaced my original one I traded away on a previous trip (dumb, dumb, dumb!). Inside LS, we got to watch a CM feeding some of the small sharks in the coral reef exhibit.
We found we were just in time for the fish feeding demo in the aquarium. Scooter (CM) was explaining how they feed the stingrays and other fish. Mark (CM intern) was one of the divers -- it was great watching him interact with the fish. The rays have to nudge the feeder, then Mark gives them some shellfish by hand. Then came the fish feeding -- Mark surfaced to get the fish food and immediately the water bacome clear as glass. Scooter told us to wait and watch.
In a few seconds we saw a huge swarm of fish slowly descending and in the middle of the swarm we could barely make out Mark! He was slowly swimming along. Scooter said he has to keep going in 1 direction only, otherwise he might hit the fish and the fish might begin to bite him. The fish sometimes bite anyway in their desire to get some food. It was an amazing site to watch.
We wanted to "do lunch" at the Food and Wine Festival, so we headed to WS. There were some good hits and a few misses. We loved the Australian meat pie, Ireland flan (yum!!!!), Chinese noodles, polish kielbasa. We skipped the octopus in Spain. The beef stroganoff and braised duck in Russia were tasty.
We stopped in Canada to snag a Beavertail, but were very disappointed this year. I guess the humidity got to it because it was awfully limp -- almost like it had not been cooked. Oh well, there's always next year.
We had a nice time exploring the Spain temporary pavilion. In Italy we arrived just in time to watch the living statue lady perform. That was absolutely hilarious -- but I am not sure what was better -- the lady's absolute control (how does she keep from busting up laughing?) or the guest's responses. One lady "lost" her purse and the statue kept lifting her hand and arm higher and higher preventing the lady from moving the strap. Finally the lady thought and un-did the latch on one side, snatching her purse and running for dear life!
In the afternoon we did the Ice Cream Social at The Land. This was a nice break in the day and my feet (and tummy) thanked me! After this we headed to the Circle of Life film. Jessi (CM) saw the Sword and the Stone pin (#61) that I had on my lanyard. She had been collecting the series, but forgot her lanyard that day. I could tell the pin meant more to her than me, so I pulled it off my lanyard and handed it to her. At first, she said she had no pin to trade. I told her that was ok -- it was an opportunity for me to create a little magic for a CM and that was worth more to me than a pin.
When we got seated in the theatre, Jessi came in and presented me with a Magical Moments certificate. She saw my name on my GoH badge and wanted to say thank you for creating a magical moment for her. For me, this was the highlight of the entire trip!
Dinner was at Alfredos (I'll post a review on the RB); then grab a Kaki-Gori for me and Funnel Cake for DW before we snagged a location for Illuminations. The show, as always, is incredible. This trip I did not miss the opportunity to buy the music CD. I can relive the show each time I play the CD.
After a long day we did a quick swing to PI. A stop by Adventurer's Club did our hearts a world of good and gave our tired feet a short break. We tried to make it to the NYE celebration, but our bods just pooped out. Around 11:30 p.m. we had to head back to the room -- I guess we're getting too old to party all night.
When we got back to our room, our Mousekeeper, Carmen, left us a surprise: a big towel Mickey logo and a towel animal rabbit with flowers. It was the perfect end to an incredibly magical day!
On our 1st day at Epcot, I got tied up waiting for a cancelled Dolphins in Depth tour, then a backstage tour of the aquarium, then running around Journey. Alas, we didn't get to do much that day. This day -- commando touring of Epcot. Arrive by 8 a.m. -- don't leave until the park closes. My feet were already screaming at me and I had not even gotten out of bed yet!!
We decided to drive over because we wanted to swing by PI after Epcot. (I know -- we were gluttons for punishment, but isn't that what vacations are all about?). We snagged a great parking space in Journey row 3 and headed for the gates. Amazingly, the gates opened at 8:25 a.m. We zoomed in and rode Spaceship Earth. Afterwards, we goofed around in the AT&T display until the park opened at 9.
The crowds were small again, so Test Track was walk-on. We snapped pictures outside the Mission:Space area and took a spin through Wonders of Life.
My only regret was the waste of time spent on Universe of Energy. Oh well, lesson learned. Not all rennovations are worthwhile. Shoulda listened to other DIS-ers on this one.
We had some time before WS opened, so we headed by Living Seas. John (CM) outside gave us some great tips on pin-trading and collecting. He was short 2 pins on his lanyard and he called over what looked like a Disney exec with a lanyard. The magic hit and I was able to trade for a retired AK Tigger pin from the exec! This replaced my original one I traded away on a previous trip (dumb, dumb, dumb!). Inside LS, we got to watch a CM feeding some of the small sharks in the coral reef exhibit.
We found we were just in time for the fish feeding demo in the aquarium. Scooter (CM) was explaining how they feed the stingrays and other fish. Mark (CM intern) was one of the divers -- it was great watching him interact with the fish. The rays have to nudge the feeder, then Mark gives them some shellfish by hand. Then came the fish feeding -- Mark surfaced to get the fish food and immediately the water bacome clear as glass. Scooter told us to wait and watch.
In a few seconds we saw a huge swarm of fish slowly descending and in the middle of the swarm we could barely make out Mark! He was slowly swimming along. Scooter said he has to keep going in 1 direction only, otherwise he might hit the fish and the fish might begin to bite him. The fish sometimes bite anyway in their desire to get some food. It was an amazing site to watch.
We wanted to "do lunch" at the Food and Wine Festival, so we headed to WS. There were some good hits and a few misses. We loved the Australian meat pie, Ireland flan (yum!!!!), Chinese noodles, polish kielbasa. We skipped the octopus in Spain. The beef stroganoff and braised duck in Russia were tasty.
We stopped in Canada to snag a Beavertail, but were very disappointed this year. I guess the humidity got to it because it was awfully limp -- almost like it had not been cooked. Oh well, there's always next year.
We had a nice time exploring the Spain temporary pavilion. In Italy we arrived just in time to watch the living statue lady perform. That was absolutely hilarious -- but I am not sure what was better -- the lady's absolute control (how does she keep from busting up laughing?) or the guest's responses. One lady "lost" her purse and the statue kept lifting her hand and arm higher and higher preventing the lady from moving the strap. Finally the lady thought and un-did the latch on one side, snatching her purse and running for dear life!
In the afternoon we did the Ice Cream Social at The Land. This was a nice break in the day and my feet (and tummy) thanked me! After this we headed to the Circle of Life film. Jessi (CM) saw the Sword and the Stone pin (#61) that I had on my lanyard. She had been collecting the series, but forgot her lanyard that day. I could tell the pin meant more to her than me, so I pulled it off my lanyard and handed it to her. At first, she said she had no pin to trade. I told her that was ok -- it was an opportunity for me to create a little magic for a CM and that was worth more to me than a pin.
When we got seated in the theatre, Jessi came in and presented me with a Magical Moments certificate. She saw my name on my GoH badge and wanted to say thank you for creating a magical moment for her. For me, this was the highlight of the entire trip!
Dinner was at Alfredos (I'll post a review on the RB); then grab a Kaki-Gori for me and Funnel Cake for DW before we snagged a location for Illuminations. The show, as always, is incredible. This trip I did not miss the opportunity to buy the music CD. I can relive the show each time I play the CD.
After a long day we did a quick swing to PI. A stop by Adventurer's Club did our hearts a world of good and gave our tired feet a short break. We tried to make it to the NYE celebration, but our bods just pooped out. Around 11:30 p.m. we had to head back to the room -- I guess we're getting too old to party all night.
When we got back to our room, our Mousekeeper, Carmen, left us a surprise: a big towel Mickey logo and a towel animal rabbit with flowers. It was the perfect end to an incredibly magical day!
