Miffy2003
<font color=orange>I've got Saratoga Springs - mak
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2003
- Messages
- 12,175
Thursday 16th December
Today we are going to Epcot, specifically to visit Future World. We aren't actually hunting for a Heffalump today, but I couldn't resist using the word as a title! We have a quick breakfast in the food court and set off in the car, arriving early enough to secure a space right at the front of the park. Julie & Derek wanted to go to the American Adventure and as we had not yet had any park time apart, we suggested this would be a good time to go off and meet again a few hours later. When we had booked the holiday, we had all agreed that we would go off and do our own things sometimes, but Julie & Derek seemed reluctant to do this now we had arrived. Anyway, we now agreed to meet again three hours later and Jon & I and the girls headed off to The Land.
We had never seen Living with the Land, the Lion King themed environment show so we headed here first. There doesnt have to be a reason to listen to the Lion King soundtrack, does there?! This was pretty much what we expected but the inclusion of the characters from the Lion King kept it interesting for the children. This film actually had a profound effect on Amber, who spent the rest of the holiday asking why people werent nice to nature.
As we left the show we noticed the Nestle Junior Chefs were about to start. The girls took no persuasion to join in with this. Lots of fun for them and actually pretty entertaining to watch too. There was lots of humour from the CMs and the girls were very pleased when the magic oven immediately turned their cookie dough into cookies. All the children taking part were having a great time and I chatted to an American lady whose children apparently insist on doing this every trip!
Now onto Ambers favourite; the Living Seas.
The addition of the Finding Nemo characters has really breathed a new lease of life into this attraction. I dont imagine it cost much in terms of time and money but it has made it more appealing to children (and adults) I suspect. The fish exhibits were really good and we spent quite some time in here identifying all the characters from Finding Nemo.
We got into line for Turtle Talk with Crush and I was surprised we didnt get in as the line was quite short, dudes. The show doesnt accommodate that many so this is something to have in mind. I had read a lot of great feedback on this new attraction so it was no hardship to wait.
Shortly we were ushered in it is quite an intimate setting with seats in an oval for the grown ups and the children go down and sit at the front. Its quite dark and this focuses you totally on the screen. Soon, Crush appeared. It was great! He moved, talked and interacted totally with the whole room. The girls were thrilled when they both got selected to ask him a question: Yo, little dude in the red shell, what do want to ask me? It is quite short but we really enjoyed this, and Im certain the children thought it was actually Crush talking to them.
We spent quite some more time in the Living Seas, looking at the dolphins, sharks and other aquatic creatures. The girls liked Bruces Den area too this had little games and facts about sharks, and of course the opportunity to have your photo taken in at close quarters with Bruce.
Amber is really keen on animals so she got a lot out of it here. Hopefully this makes up for the fact that we didnt take her to Sea World as we had promised .
We were horrified to discover our three hours was nearly over; time had passed in a flash so we dashed to the Electric Umbrella and shared two meals between the four of us for lunch.
We met up with Julie and Derek and while the girls and myself were keen to explore the World Showcase, they had been doing this all morning and wanted to head out, so we decided to go and explore the Crossroads area. This is just up from Downtown Disney and is a collection of restaurants and a few shops. We were pleased to find Hallmark Cards as Amber and Erin were desperate to get a Hoops and Yoyo toy. For those who have not come across Hoops and Yoyo, they are zany cartoon characters (the type where its hard to identify exactly what animal they are meant to be, but we think they are cat and rabbit).
For anyone interested in checking them out, go to www.hoopsandyoyo.com. Unfortunately not only did the Hallmark not stock them, the girl had never even heard of them.
Julie and Derek went into Goodings to get some groceries and we went into Foot Locker to get some feet. Sorry, trainers! We didnt find any footwear at all but did pick up a couple of lovely warm fleeces (it was still cold!) for $20 the pair.
We thought we would try and find the Premium Outlets which we knew were nearby, but without a map couldnt track them down. Had we been on our own Im sure we would have stumbled upon them sooner or later, but Julie & Derek were getting stressed about getting lost. This wasnt about to happen, but to calm their nerves it seemed sensible to try the Lake Buena Vista Factory Outlet instead as we drove past that.
We bought quite a lot here, with a few purchases in Gap, a shoe shop which I forget the name of (I bought a lovely pair of Sketchers for $18), and some other bits and pieces. Having found a Red Lobster at the Crossroads we headed here for tea; much earlier than we like to on holiday (it wasnt even six by now), but Julie had become quite vocal about our eating habits (ie, eating at 8pm or so) not being too good for her. We had a great server here, and a good meal. The Pina Coladas were out of this world too!
Back to ASMo where we sampled a few more cocktails and the girls played outside. Id love to say it was a balmy Florida evening but we were all in trousers, fleeces and coats! It was worth it to relax by the pool bar, though. Some hardy souls were in the pool!
Today we are going to Epcot, specifically to visit Future World. We aren't actually hunting for a Heffalump today, but I couldn't resist using the word as a title! We have a quick breakfast in the food court and set off in the car, arriving early enough to secure a space right at the front of the park. Julie & Derek wanted to go to the American Adventure and as we had not yet had any park time apart, we suggested this would be a good time to go off and meet again a few hours later. When we had booked the holiday, we had all agreed that we would go off and do our own things sometimes, but Julie & Derek seemed reluctant to do this now we had arrived. Anyway, we now agreed to meet again three hours later and Jon & I and the girls headed off to The Land.
We had never seen Living with the Land, the Lion King themed environment show so we headed here first. There doesnt have to be a reason to listen to the Lion King soundtrack, does there?! This was pretty much what we expected but the inclusion of the characters from the Lion King kept it interesting for the children. This film actually had a profound effect on Amber, who spent the rest of the holiday asking why people werent nice to nature.
As we left the show we noticed the Nestle Junior Chefs were about to start. The girls took no persuasion to join in with this. Lots of fun for them and actually pretty entertaining to watch too. There was lots of humour from the CMs and the girls were very pleased when the magic oven immediately turned their cookie dough into cookies. All the children taking part were having a great time and I chatted to an American lady whose children apparently insist on doing this every trip!
Now onto Ambers favourite; the Living Seas.
The addition of the Finding Nemo characters has really breathed a new lease of life into this attraction. I dont imagine it cost much in terms of time and money but it has made it more appealing to children (and adults) I suspect. The fish exhibits were really good and we spent quite some time in here identifying all the characters from Finding Nemo.
We got into line for Turtle Talk with Crush and I was surprised we didnt get in as the line was quite short, dudes. The show doesnt accommodate that many so this is something to have in mind. I had read a lot of great feedback on this new attraction so it was no hardship to wait.
Shortly we were ushered in it is quite an intimate setting with seats in an oval for the grown ups and the children go down and sit at the front. Its quite dark and this focuses you totally on the screen. Soon, Crush appeared. It was great! He moved, talked and interacted totally with the whole room. The girls were thrilled when they both got selected to ask him a question: Yo, little dude in the red shell, what do want to ask me? It is quite short but we really enjoyed this, and Im certain the children thought it was actually Crush talking to them.
We spent quite some more time in the Living Seas, looking at the dolphins, sharks and other aquatic creatures. The girls liked Bruces Den area too this had little games and facts about sharks, and of course the opportunity to have your photo taken in at close quarters with Bruce.
Amber is really keen on animals so she got a lot out of it here. Hopefully this makes up for the fact that we didnt take her to Sea World as we had promised .
We were horrified to discover our three hours was nearly over; time had passed in a flash so we dashed to the Electric Umbrella and shared two meals between the four of us for lunch.
We met up with Julie and Derek and while the girls and myself were keen to explore the World Showcase, they had been doing this all morning and wanted to head out, so we decided to go and explore the Crossroads area. This is just up from Downtown Disney and is a collection of restaurants and a few shops. We were pleased to find Hallmark Cards as Amber and Erin were desperate to get a Hoops and Yoyo toy. For those who have not come across Hoops and Yoyo, they are zany cartoon characters (the type where its hard to identify exactly what animal they are meant to be, but we think they are cat and rabbit).
For anyone interested in checking them out, go to www.hoopsandyoyo.com. Unfortunately not only did the Hallmark not stock them, the girl had never even heard of them.
Julie and Derek went into Goodings to get some groceries and we went into Foot Locker to get some feet. Sorry, trainers! We didnt find any footwear at all but did pick up a couple of lovely warm fleeces (it was still cold!) for $20 the pair.
We thought we would try and find the Premium Outlets which we knew were nearby, but without a map couldnt track them down. Had we been on our own Im sure we would have stumbled upon them sooner or later, but Julie & Derek were getting stressed about getting lost. This wasnt about to happen, but to calm their nerves it seemed sensible to try the Lake Buena Vista Factory Outlet instead as we drove past that.
We bought quite a lot here, with a few purchases in Gap, a shoe shop which I forget the name of (I bought a lovely pair of Sketchers for $18), and some other bits and pieces. Having found a Red Lobster at the Crossroads we headed here for tea; much earlier than we like to on holiday (it wasnt even six by now), but Julie had become quite vocal about our eating habits (ie, eating at 8pm or so) not being too good for her. We had a great server here, and a good meal. The Pina Coladas were out of this world too!
Back to ASMo where we sampled a few more cocktails and the girls played outside. Id love to say it was a balmy Florida evening but we were all in trousers, fleeces and coats! It was worth it to relax by the pool bar, though. Some hardy souls were in the pool!
