CJK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2001
- Messages
- 7,594
No more early entries for us! Our busy days were starting to take their toll! We slept in today. I'm pleased to report that there were no prank calls last night and we didn't notice any noise outside our room! Had a quick breakfast in our room and took our luggage to Bell Services. We were moving to the AKL today. I usually enjoy our stays at All Star Sports, but after this visit, I was happy to make the move. We decided to go back to Epcot today and try to see attractions we had missed on our first day. First stop was the land pavillion. We really enjoy the ride in there and especially enjoy the greenhouse portion. We found some really fun hiddden mickey's here. In the laboratory window at the end of the ride (in the greenhouse), check out a tray of test tubes that are vertical to the window. They've been placed in the shape of a hidden mickey! Food Rocks was about to begin so we went in after finding the hidden mickey made out of the spotlights at the entrance. Well done! We were on a roll this trip for finding new hidden mickey's! Dh wanted to do the land ride one more time before leaving so we went (no line at all today).
We then went to see Figment at the Imagination building. The ride still doesn't have the magic of the original, but it is loads better now that Figment is back. I just love the surprise at the ending! We went into Innoventions East where there were lots of activities going on for the Flower Festival. We saw Paul James of "Gardening by the Yard". We continued to wander around and admired much of the artwork before going to Ellen's Universe of Energy. I often hear people criticize this ride/show, but I really like it. Cranium Command is ALWAYS a must-see for dh. We found the hidden mickey in the mural above the store to the left of Body Wars. We thought that one was particularly good.
If you haven't seen the Kristos perform by the fountain in future world, try to catch them on your next trip. There are three people on a little podium doing gravity defying ballet/stunts to music. Absolutely outstanding! We were able to catch them before heading over to World Showcase. I never knew the human body could contort into so many positions! We walked through the doggone maze and thought it was very well done. Goofy was my favourite of course but the dalmatation topiaries were pretty cute too. We went to the UK (I love saying that!!) and got to see British Invasion. As usual, they did a great job. People really got into it and started dancing.
It was approaching 3pm so it was time to leave Epcot and go to Beaches & Cream on the boardwalk. Going at a really "off" time is the only way we've learned to get seated without having to wait. We always split a burger/fries so that we have room for a sundae. We have our priorities!!
The sundaes are just heavenly here! We rolled out of B&C and were able to catch the boat back to Epcot right away. We wandered around World Showcase and managed to get to Germany at the top of the hour for the little show! That was fun to see because I had heard about this before but had never had the right timing to see it. We shopped around a bit more in WS and decided to ride the Mexico boat ride again. I find it romantic! We rode Spaceship Earth on our way out (walk on) and decided to take the bus to AKL to check in.
We had booked a standard room at the AKL with a discount code. When we arrived, we discovered that we had received a free upgrade to a Savannah view room!!
I can't even describe how thrilled we were!! We thought we'd have a view of the parking lot but ended up with a view of giraffes eating palm trees!!! Was I dreaming??? The CM said that since POFQ was closed, a lot of people from there had been moved to AKL which probably had a lot to do with why we got the upgrade. We checked into our room and immediately went to our balcony. There were so many animals right outside our room! We phoned bell services and our suitcases were there and they brought them right up with no problems. Our room was gorgeous. It was so peaceful and serene. This hotel is just stunning. We wandered around for a while and went to the storytelling at 6:30pm at the campfire. The CM did a wonderful job and really kept the kids interested.
After the story, we changed into our swim suits and went for a swim and hot tub! Ahhhh! I was in pure heaven! We got the hidden mickey clue list from the main desk and spent a few minutes finding some. We suddenly realized we hadn't eaten anything for a while so we got some a bite to eat at Mara and ate in our room. We'd look for the other hidden mickey's later. We were really struck by how quiet our room was compared to the All Star Room. We didn't hear a sound from the hall, Savannah or from the floor above. We would sleep well tonight.........with visions of giraffes and thompson gazelles dancing in our heads......
We then went to see Figment at the Imagination building. The ride still doesn't have the magic of the original, but it is loads better now that Figment is back. I just love the surprise at the ending! We went into Innoventions East where there were lots of activities going on for the Flower Festival. We saw Paul James of "Gardening by the Yard". We continued to wander around and admired much of the artwork before going to Ellen's Universe of Energy. I often hear people criticize this ride/show, but I really like it. Cranium Command is ALWAYS a must-see for dh. We found the hidden mickey in the mural above the store to the left of Body Wars. We thought that one was particularly good.
If you haven't seen the Kristos perform by the fountain in future world, try to catch them on your next trip. There are three people on a little podium doing gravity defying ballet/stunts to music. Absolutely outstanding! We were able to catch them before heading over to World Showcase. I never knew the human body could contort into so many positions! We walked through the doggone maze and thought it was very well done. Goofy was my favourite of course but the dalmatation topiaries were pretty cute too. We went to the UK (I love saying that!!) and got to see British Invasion. As usual, they did a great job. People really got into it and started dancing.
It was approaching 3pm so it was time to leave Epcot and go to Beaches & Cream on the boardwalk. Going at a really "off" time is the only way we've learned to get seated without having to wait. We always split a burger/fries so that we have room for a sundae. We have our priorities!!
The sundaes are just heavenly here! We rolled out of B&C and were able to catch the boat back to Epcot right away. We wandered around World Showcase and managed to get to Germany at the top of the hour for the little show! That was fun to see because I had heard about this before but had never had the right timing to see it. We shopped around a bit more in WS and decided to ride the Mexico boat ride again. I find it romantic! We rode Spaceship Earth on our way out (walk on) and decided to take the bus to AKL to check in.We had booked a standard room at the AKL with a discount code. When we arrived, we discovered that we had received a free upgrade to a Savannah view room!!
I can't even describe how thrilled we were!! We thought we'd have a view of the parking lot but ended up with a view of giraffes eating palm trees!!! Was I dreaming??? The CM said that since POFQ was closed, a lot of people from there had been moved to AKL which probably had a lot to do with why we got the upgrade. We checked into our room and immediately went to our balcony. There were so many animals right outside our room! We phoned bell services and our suitcases were there and they brought them right up with no problems. Our room was gorgeous. It was so peaceful and serene. This hotel is just stunning. We wandered around for a while and went to the storytelling at 6:30pm at the campfire. The CM did a wonderful job and really kept the kids interested.After the story, we changed into our swim suits and went for a swim and hot tub! Ahhhh! I was in pure heaven! We got the hidden mickey clue list from the main desk and spent a few minutes finding some. We suddenly realized we hadn't eaten anything for a while so we got some a bite to eat at Mara and ate in our room. We'd look for the other hidden mickey's later. We were really struck by how quiet our room was compared to the All Star Room. We didn't hear a sound from the hall, Savannah or from the floor above. We would sleep well tonight.........with visions of giraffes and thompson gazelles dancing in our heads......
