Delicious Indeed!

[RachelNinja]

Monday, February 21: Hot Sauce and More

After the ride, we went around the little marketplace area. I thought it was cute how they had the Donald pinata that they have in the ride.

They had lots of pretty figurines to examine. It's amazing that all these things are done by hand.

Rawr.

In all the countries, I always look for places that could be "apartments" that I could live in. Haha. This would be too loud for me though.

More pretty colors. Too bad we can't register for these parrots because seriously, who doesn't want a random wooden parrot in the house? Please note that I am joking ...

Headless mannequin.

I remember having a purse like this when I was little. I actually think it was my mom's because she went to Mexico on a family vacation growing up. Nowadays it would never work for me because I need to have a BIG bag!

Mexican Donald!

And now Mexican Duffy!

Who's there in that picture?

It's Nik buying herself a souvenir! I never though there'd be anything worth getting in the Mexico pavilion (haha, unless you like hot sauce with bottles with men's faces on them), but Nik proved that there is really cute stuff! She got a really pretty bracelet.

Haha, none of us purchased any of the hot sauce.

The Three Banditos have different faces dependong on the heat level!

It was pretty cool seeing Cava Tequila because I've read about it on many TRs. It's not really a place I'd visit, but I could be lured by guacamole.

Adios! I think it's funny that there's that tall guy with the hat underneath it because it doesn't look very Mexican.

Pretty!

I love how looking at the pavilion, you can really forget that you're indoors and that if you look up, there's a ceiling there.

Howard's version.

The fountain that everyone always sits on so that it's difficult to get a butt-free picture.

Howard and I waited around for the 3 of them to be done looking. We're not really shoppers, so we didn't have much to do. Plus, I think it's because we knew how much more there was to see! Soon it was time to head out, but we did take a look at the scary art pieces on display.

Hungry?

Well, we weren't. Still full from our lunch! But still energized to keep checking out World Showcase!

 

[RachelNinja]

Monday, February 21: Kim Possible Mexico Mission

Be forewarned! I will be writing about the Kim Possible mission in Mexico, and I will be writing about the clues and whatnot. If you don't want any spoilers, please don't read this! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Before we picked up our Kimmunicators, we headed inside the Stave Church in Norway because I wanted to be freaked out by Norwegian figures. Haha, just kidding. I knew there were displays in here, but I had neve been inside before. I thought it was just a building! It was only until I read about it in TRs that I knew. Now I want to go back though because of KK4, of course.

We passed by the bakery, but I didn't take a peek in just yet.

We saw that the wait for Maelstrom was much too long for us, so we got FP. Yup, we got FP for this ride, haha. I mean, it's there, so we might as well! Last year, we started waiting in line and then walked out because it was barely moving.

This sign got Howard and me excited because it was one of the signs used in Joni's PTR game!

I was still being the "mom" and holding on to everyone's tickets. So much easier this way.

Decor shot taken by Howard.

No more huge Viking ship!

OKAY, it was time to pick up our KIMMUNICATOR!

I was very excited for the 3 of them to experience it since Howard and I had done one the year before. At the same time, I wasn't sure if they'd be into walking from place to place looking for clues. Haha, it didn't look so good when they went to sit down on a bench as I picked up the Kimmunicator and the CM explained the mission to me and not them!

But then things started to pick up! And they really got into it, yay! We actually headed back to Mexico for our mission. It was SO COOL! I kind of didn't want Mexico because we were just there, but it was so worth it. I didn't read about some of the clues we had, so they were new for me!

This was my FAVORITE clue. We were searching for these pinatas by the fountain. Never woud've thought anything of them while just taking in the Mexico pavilion.

Probably wouldn't have even noticed them at all!

Well, when we stood underneath the piñatas and pressed the button, lit numbers showed up!!! It was the code that we needed to input into the Kimmunicator.

Another clue had us go by the parrot, and that started talking. I had already read about this one so it wasn't as fun. Plus, it was a little expected.

Here's the vide of it. It's funny that the bad guys wanted to buy sombreros, haha.



I gave the phone to Nik to hold so that she could have fun pushing the buttons and making things happen!

For example, this skeleton guy started shaking around and talking! It was funny because there was a father and kid there at the time, and when we pressed the button and it started moving and speaking, they were startled! They didn't know that we had done it either.

Here's the video of it.



As you can see, Howard was standing back from us and taking pictures during the entire mission!

It was difficult for all 5 of us to see the phone, but it looks like he had fun shooting in Mexico again.

(continued in next post)

 

[RachelNinja]

(continued from previous post)

Okay, this is a HUGE spoiler alert because the end of the mission had us stand at the balcony thing by the entrance overlooking the pavilion. Then when the button was pushed, we saw the "rocket" being shot out of the volcano to the right of the pyramid! So cool! We were commenting and wondering if the people on the ride at that moment noticed it!

Here's the video of it. You can see the teeny tiny dot shoot out from the volcano. As small as it was, we thought it was very cool!



Haha, where are we now?

Nik and I are super cool.

Okay, I'll be honest. I'm only cool when I'm standing next to Nik.

Dani and Ray were thirsty so they went to the Mexico CS to get free water. I think they also got a Mexican soda too. They thought it was going to be the same one as the one in Club Cool, but I think it was a little different. It's good to know that there are other soda drinks to get that aren't the typical Coke and Sprite.

After they were hydrated and feeling better, we went back to Norway to explore ... and to do another Kim Possible Mission! YAY, it had given us the option to do another one! Woohoo! Last year in April, we didn't have that option, so we were super excited. Stay tuned for Norway!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Oh my god, I hate rule breakers too! I'm so with you on that. I think it stems from the fact that I used to work at a theme park. It was the people that were rule breakers that would turn around in a hot second and sue because they got hurt breaking the rules.



I had the same Mexican purse. Maybe it was just a thing when we were kids....

 

[RachelNinja]

Oh my god, I hate rule breakers too! I'm so with you on that. I think it stems from the fact that I used to work at a theme park. It was the people that were rule breakers that would turn around in a hot second and sue because they got hurt breaking the rules.



I had the same Mexican purse. Maybe it was just a thing when we were kids....

That kid was clearly old enough to have heard the rules or to even know logically that that wasn't smart. Even if he didn't know, his parents or guardians should have said something! But when we saw the older person doing it a few rows in front of the kid, we were like, "Oh, well, that's who he has as an example." I actually recorded a video of the kid touching everything so that there was proof that he was being the stupid one!

Haha, that purse fit a few coins and like, tissues. That was it!

 

[wdwgirl03]

The Mexico KP mission is one of the few I haven't done-I think along with China. Must try that one sometime!

The Mexico pavilion is really starting to grow on me. I love the pyramid and the atmosphere inside of there.

 

[RachelNinja]

The Mexico KP mission is one of the few I haven't done-I think along with China. Must try that one sometime!

The Mexico pavilion is really starting to grow on me. I love the pyramid and the atmosphere inside of there.

Howard and I have only seen Mexico, Norway, and the UK. There are so many more that we want to do! I do wish that the clues didn't have to be read aloud so slowly though, haha. I just want to go searching for the next clue!

Yeah, as a kid, I never really liked the Mexico pavilion except for the fact that it had a ride. Maybe I didn't like the darkness. Now I really appreciate the atmosphere. Closest I'll ever get to the real Mexico!

 

[RachelNinja]

Monday, February 21: Kim Possible Norway Mission (and Maelstrom!)

After we finished our mission in Mexico, we said YES to the option of doing another mission. We chose Norway since we wanted to explore the country anyway. Like before, be warned that I WILL be posting spoilers! Skip this update if you don't want to know what happens in some of the clues.

Accidental photo! Or ... did I do it on purpose? I don't remember.

This mission was different in that the bulk of it was outside. I can't imagine doing these things in the dead of summer.

When we got up to this part, we were excited because I knew that we were going to have our picture taken.



As you see in the video, we were standing in the wrong spot, so we decided to do our own version of it! We posed like the fantastic models we are. Well, we tried to.

Haha, we had to try it again because I was laughing.

Back to the clues!

We went to this runner statue, and we heard her talk. Thankfully there was no statue movement!

This clue didn't seem like much of a clue. Look, there's a flag.

It's so cool how it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. And I thought it was funny when I saw this picture again AFTER reading KK4 because they mention it as a clue. I was like, "Did they make it up?" Then I saw the picture and apparently we saw it too!

No more flag!

There was, however, a huge issue with my eye! It started KILLING me out of nowhere, and I had to go to the bathroom in Norway to see what was wrong with it. It wasn't an eyelash (that happens often with me). It was a tiny BUG! You can see the tiny speck on my finger because my eye made it into one blob. GROSS!

I was very excited about this clue!

Since I knew what it was, I had the camera prepared to record it. You can hear our nervous laughing as we approached the CM at Maelstrom. Obviously they hear it all day long, but it was funny that we were a group of 5 young adults saying, "Vikings are all the rage!"



What's great about the missions is that you can close the phone and return to it later. When it was time for our Maelstrom FP, we went to ride!

My recounting of the Norway events are out of order, I think. Those polar bears were so cute! Totally the opposite of the creepy tall polar bear on the Norway ride that made us girls shriek!

Hidden Mickey! I know my picture's not that clear, but you can see that one of the Vikings has a Mickey ear hat on!

I thought Mexico had the greatest CM outfits, but I really liked theirs too!

The ride was really quick, but it was "fun" in that we were actually scared. When we were going backwards and saw the huge (but thin) polar bear, a few of us screamed! Haha, I know I did. Then I was telling Nikki that there were trolls especially the one who emerges from the rocks right before the drop. She moved in towards me since she was sitting on the outside. Here's the video of the anticipated drop ... that was much shorter than I remembered. Haha.



Manly (and EXPENSIVE!) sweaters!

The boys, of course, had to pose with their sweaters of choice.

Then we realized they weren't facing the right way so they had to do it again. Haha, Ray started cracking up!

Let's try that again ... HAHA. Can't do it.

(continued in next post)

 

[RachelNinja]

(continued from previous post)

We left the gift shop after a while and continued with the mission.

We think simple things like smoke coming out of chimneys are amazing!



Wanna crawl in there? Someone I know did.

I'm not quite sure how though because it looks really slippery!

The mission brought us back inside the store to find a particular painting.

It had to be kind of scanned by the phone by matching up the picture on the phone with the actual painting. Pretty cool! Haha, you hear in this video that it's pretty loud!



I wonder how many of these types of pictures Howard will take during our Disneymoon.

Vinylmation everywhere!

The final clue took us a while to find because we didn't realize that we were to walk more towards the ride and leave the store.

Here's the video of the last clue. The clip they played was a bit long. Haha, don't know we care more about finding the clues and seeing what part of the pavilion we can change for a short time? Haha, we don't care so much about the storyline.



The last part of the mission told us to put the Kimmunicator in here, but we decided to hold on to it just in case we wanted to do a mission in another country. I think we chose Japan or something.

Yeah, my recollection of this part of the day is out of order because now I see in Howard's pictures that we're about to get on the ride! Haha.

I was really into checking out Kringla bakery because DISers love it so much. It wasn't what I was expecting. I have to admit that it was a little bit dingy in my opinion. But I thought seeing the school bread was cool because it was like seeing a celebrity!

I would much rather have a sweet pretzel!

We left the store and bakery, and sat down to wait for Ray and Dani. We had no clue where they were. It ends up that Dani bought her first pin!!!

And this is where my Epcot pictures end. I didn't charge the battery the night before, so the battery light started blinking and alas, that was it! Thankfully, HF still had his camera! He was able to get a better picture of the CM costumes. Haha, it looks like that guy likes the costumes too ...

At this point, we decided to split up. Dani, Ray, and Nik wanted to check out more of World Showcase especially because they wanted to explore and do more shopping. I had told them about some of the interesting things in the countries and how they could Pick a Pearl in Japan and all that. Howard and I wanted to head back to Innoventions for some rides, like Spaceship Earth and Mission: Space. Though we didn't get to experience this part of our day together, I'm very glad that we split up! I know they preferred the shopping and exploring, and I just wasn't up for that anymore.

The next few updates will be about my time with Howard!

 

[RachelNinja]

Monday, February 21: Back on Test Track

In the last update, I mentioned that we decided to split up. Well, we did decide that but not yet! We all went back to ride Test Track first since we had our FP. I was excited about it because it was Howard's and my turn to sit in the front. Yay!

Queue theming.

More creepy body parts!

The hidden Mickey washers.

I was upset that the locker wasn't there anymore that had all this random stuff in it like a sandwich and a Koosh ball. I posted about that in the April 2010 TR.

Waiting waiting waiting.

And now we're ready to go!

I keep trying to see the eggs that are supposedly being cooked in the hot room.

I also keep trying to see the ice cube tray in the cold room.

Because my battery ran out, I actually used Nik's camera to record the ride. I asked her for the video, but I don't know if she ever downloaded it. If so, I'll add it to the TR, but for now, all you have is this pictue of a picture!

And NOW is when we really split up! What would Howard and I do? Well, there was a ride that I had never been on and was determined to conquer ...

 

[RunningGirl]

Wow you are really setting a blistering pace of updates! I enjoyed reading about your KP missions. We only did one - in Great Britain - and my kids did not enjoy it. I think they just got impatient with it.

Glad you got some time with just you and Howard. Groups are fun, but I always need some time away as well.

 

[RachelNinja]

Wow you are really setting a blistering pace of updates! I enjoyed reading about your KP missions. We only did one - in Great Britain - and my kids did not enjoy it. I think they just got impatient with it.

Glad you got some time with just you and Howard. Groups are fun, but I always need some time away as well.

I JUST finished typing up the updates for Epcot right now! I'll post the rest of it tomorrow. Phew! Now I can move on to the SECOND full day of vacation, haha. I'm terrible.

Yeah, the missions are a little long in terms of the explanation. I would like to be able to skip over the dialogue that occurs. Just give us the clue so we can find it and push the button! Haha.

We definitely had so much fun going at our own pace and doing what we wanted. I can't wait for our Disneymoon! We really can plan the days exactly for us!

 

[RachelNinja]

This isn't the video I took of Test Track using Nik's camera, but it's the one that Howard took on his camera. It's only of the ride during the outside laps, but it was still fun!

 

[Jennifer48]

Whew! Updates galore!

I love how you wrote seeing School Bread was like seeing a celebrity, I know exactly what you mean! I always say to DH, "oh that was on the DIS!"

I really need to dedicate a whole day just to the World Showcase. There are just so many nooks & crannies I have yet to explore!

 

[ShaylaLynn]

Great updates! Ahhh the Duffy bear store! Iam 22 but I still want
to go in there!! i agree HWB is cuter!! I like that Ray,
Dani, and Nik like to shop I would fit right in!! Can't wait
for more updates!!!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Omigosh Rachel, so many updates!! That just means you'll be getting a long reply from me. Get ready!!!

Melted cheese curds are SOOO good though. You need to come up to Canada to try some really GOOD poutine!

DUFFY STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!!!!!!!!

You should know by now that I love Duffy and especially my Duffy McDuff.

That picture of HWB? McDuff has the EXACT SAME OUTFIT. I love that green hoodie on him and he has cargo pants just like his "dad", Andrew who loves cargo pants!

It's DEFINITELY not weird for you to want a bear. I mean, Duffy is HUGE with adults in Japan, and I wanted Duffy! Also, BAB has such adorable outfits.

I agree with you that BAB has better quality clothes. Most of Duffy's outfits are one-pieces, but all the BAB outfits are two pieces. Because I have a Duff bear though, BAB hats don't fit him. I really wanted him to get the Ironman costume, but the BAB mask just doesn't fit.

I want that St.Paddy's day costume. And those wristlet Duffys!

Wow, the store looks so cool. Where is this store?

Those shot glasses look really cool. Andrew and I collect shot glasses from the places we've been. I'll have to keep these in mind for when we go back.

I've never really wanted a Kooky pen, but that ToT totally stands out to me!

Wow....a display shelf thingy for Vinylmations. Do people really carry those around to trade?

I love all your photos of Mexico! I hardly take any pictures but they never turn out nice. I also like that you took lots of pictures of the ride.

Oh my gosh, I hate rule breakers tooo. I actually do yell at other kids....I've been doing that since -I- was a kid, haha! I once yelled at a kid for swinging a swing so that it loops the top bar...do you get it? Yeah....I think I would've yelled at that kid in the boat. Or at least made loud comments about it.

I love the fireworks part of the ride too! They're just so pretty!!

Oh, I can't believe I never noticed the hot sauce. Those faces are so funny.

I love that you like checking out "apartments" in the pavilions, because I like doing that too! Imagining that there's more than just a front and thinking of what it would be like to live there.

I adore the Mexican pavilion and how it feels like an outdoor night time market. It's so much more than just shops and restaurants.

I skipped over your KP posts because I don't want to be spoiled.

I know what you mean about school bread! Andrew and I tried some of their other food and it was yummy. I didn't like school bread because I don't like coconut shavings, but Andrew really enjoyed it.

Test Track! There are so many hidden mickeys in there, but it's so hard to catch them because you move through the areas pretty fast. I didn't know they had "eggs" in the heat room though. Pretty cool!

 

[RachelNinja]

Whew! Updates galore!

I love how you wrote seeing School Bread was like seeing a celebrity, I know exactly what you mean! I always say to DH, "oh that was on the DIS!"

I really need to dedicate a whole day just to the World Showcase. There are just so many nooks & crannies I have yet to explore!

I always feel a little crazy getting all excited about DIS thing, but thankfully, Howard understands! I think everyone ELSE thinks I'm crazy though, haha.

I can't wait for our Disneymoon because we'll be able to spend more time in World Showcase! As you'll see in the next set of updates, we spent more time in Future World because we really do love rides!

Great updates! Ahhh the Duffy bear store! Iam 22 but I still want
to go in there!! i agree HWB is cuter!! I like that Ray,
Dani, and Nik like to shop I would fit right in!! Can't wait
for more updates!!!

Thanks! Haha, that Duffy bear store was so cool to see all the costumes. I did a search on costumes before we left, and I hope they'll be releasing everything that I saw in the picture including that Sorcerer Mickey costume!

Omigosh Rachel, so many updates!! That just means you'll be getting a long reply from me. Get ready!!!

Melted cheese curds are SOOO good though. You need to come up to Canada to try some really GOOD poutine!

DUFFY STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!!!!!!!!

You should know by now that I love Duffy and especially my Duffy McDuff.

That picture of HWB? McDuff has the EXACT SAME OUTFIT. I love that green hoodie on him and he has cargo pants just like his "dad", Andrew who loves cargo pants!

It's DEFINITELY not weird for you to want a bear. I mean, Duffy is HUGE with adults in Japan, and I wanted Duffy! Also, BAB has such adorable outfits.

I agree with you that BAB has better quality clothes. Most of Duffy's outfits are one-pieces, but all the BAB outfits are two pieces. Because I have a Duff bear though, BAB hats don't fit him. I really wanted him to get the Ironman costume, but the BAB mask just doesn't fit.

I want that St.Paddy's day costume. And those wristlet Duffys!

Wow, the store looks so cool. Where is this store?

Those shot glasses look really cool. Andrew and I collect shot glasses from the places we've been. I'll have to keep these in mind for when we go back.

I've never really wanted a Kooky pen, but that ToT totally stands out to me!

Wow....a display shelf thingy for Vinylmations. Do people really carry those around to trade?

I love all your photos of Mexico! I hardly take any pictures but they never turn out nice. I also like that you took lots of pictures of the ride.

Oh my gosh, I hate rule breakers tooo. I actually do yell at other kids....I've been doing that since -I- was a kid, haha! I once yelled at a kid for swinging a swing so that it loops the top bar...do you get it? Yeah....I think I would've yelled at that kid in the boat. Or at least made loud comments about it.

I love the fireworks part of the ride too! They're just so pretty!!

Oh, I can't believe I never noticed the hot sauce. Those faces are so funny.

I love that you like checking out "apartments" in the pavilions, because I like doing that too! Imagining that there's more than just a front and thinking of what it would be like to live there.

I adore the Mexican pavilion and how it feels like an outdoor night time market. It's so much more than just shops and restaurants.

I skipped over your KP posts because I don't want to be spoiled.

I know what you mean about school bread! Andrew and I tried some of their other food and it was yummy. I didn't like school bread because I don't like coconut shavings, but Andrew really enjoyed it.

Test Track! There are so many hidden mickeys in there, but it's so hard to catch them because you move through the areas pretty fast. I didn't know they had "eggs" in the heat room though. Pretty cool!

YAY for a long reply!

I can only imagine how good REAL poutine is! I've seen so many pictures, and I've just been drooling. They have poutine at Pommes Frites in NYC; I wonder how authentic that is.

Yup, I know you love your Duffy McDuff, and I remember seeing the green hoodie on him! I linked a picture to Howard when I saw it because I was like, "Hey, HWB has that too!" HWB and Duffy McDuff should probably be best buds, hehe. I remember reading lurkyloo's Japan TR, and I saw Duffy EVERYWHERE! I was amazed that they brought it over here! Although like you said, a lot of adults have it in Japan, and here, it's more for the kids. The store, btw, is right before you start heading into the World Showcase on the left side. There's just a building by the water; you can't miss it.

Yeah, my students have Kooky pens and I never thought anything of it until I started seeing the really cool Disney ones! I did get some later on in the trip though. You'll have to stay tuned to find out which ones! Yup, I got more than one!

World Showcase is the BEST place for apartment hunting! Too bad they don't actually rent those places out, haha. That'd be pretty cool. I'd deal with the noise!

School bread looks so much like a thing from a Chinese bakery. I think school bread has a filling, right? Am I mistaken? If so, I probably won't like it.

Yeah, there are supposedly eggs cooking on top of one of the mechnical things in the heat room. I don't know where it is though because it moves too fast and the lighting is weird for pictures. I'm determined though!

 

[RachelNinja]

Monday, February 21: Tackling Mission Space

When Mission: Space first came out and I heard about all the G-forces and whatnot, I knew I would never ride it. I don't like the feeling of that pressure at all. There's no fun in it for me! Plus, knowing that the ride caused people to get sick and that there were barf bags in the capsules was enough for me to stay away for years.

Well, before this trip, I read up on the boards about the green side for the ride. I was determined to try it during this trip. I thought I'd be with the rest of the group, and they didn't want to try the orange side either. Of course, as you know, it was just Howard and me at this point, so we headed on over to tackle this ride.

I was still nervous though! I do get slightly claustrophobic even though I know it's all in my mind, so I was hoping the fun of the ride would distract me. I did keep checking to make sure it was green and that it was less intense. Haha. You know, just to make sure!

This was super cool to see. I wish we were closer to see more of the details.

We were looking at it though, and the CM was "encouraging" us to hurry up. I guess he wanted us to get in the current open room.

We stood on the circles in the room, and I kept turning to look at Howard! There was a little girl and little boy with their dad standing in the line next to us. I kept telling myself, They're going on it. It can't be that scary!"

After the little introduction in the room, we were led down the hallway to stand on our corresponding numbers there. I always think it's so cool how Disney handles people and knows exactly what directions to give to people who are probably not used to following directions (I think if my students were there, even THEY would get it right, haha). We found out what roles we had, and then we were lead into the room to climb aboard into our capsule. I put my bag in the bin in front of me (so cool how it just blends in with the design), and then the doors were closed. AH, tight space! Then the control board in front of us moved in closer to us as well. WHOA, now THAT'S a tight space!

When the ride started, I just kept reminding myself to look at the screen. Yes, I know there was no spinning, but the bumpiness and whatnot still got me nervous that I'd get dizzy. I do admit I got a teensy bit dizzy from it, but not so bad that I wouldn't ride it again. I just can't ride it two times in a row. In actuality, I think the cold air blowing on my head was what made me feel a little headache-y (I get sinus headaches from air conditioning in the car hitting my head).

Oh, BEST part of the ride was being on it with Howard. When we first blasted off into space (haha, is that the correct term or is that too cartoon-y?), he was flipping switches all around the capsule, and in such a SERIOUS manner too! Haha, it looked like he was really flying the thing. It was so funny, and I wish I could have somehow had that on video to show you guys.

The other hilarious thing about it was that as serious as Howard was taking his job, the girl who was sitting next to him (the order facing forward was this mom, her daughter, Howard, and me) was relaxing with her arms crossed giving off that "I know it doesn't matter if I push the buttons or not, so I'm not going to do it because I'm cool." When her button lights went on and she should've pushed them, I was so tempted to reach over and be like, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!" Then after the ride was over and we were back outside, we were talking about how that girl didn't do anything. Howard also said that he wanted to reach over and hit those buttons. He was like, "I just wanted to scream out, 'What kind of navigator are you?!?'" HAHA. Yes, we take a lot of unserious things seriously.

Anyway, we saw all the games and such that were available to play, and there was one that jumped out at us. We weren't interested in playing it, but we did see this!

Orion is the name of Howard's young nephew in Canada. Howard was working there for the summer when he was born. His name is actually pronounced "Or-eee-in" instead of "Or-EYE-in."

If this were much cheaper, I would've bought it for myself. Haha, I don't like Tron, but Howard sure does!

Regardless of price, neither of us would've bought this to wear.

Silly picture.

Well, we survived Mission Space! Yay! I was glad that we split up because I was still ready for some more rides!

 

[RachelNinja]

Monday, February 21: Enjoying Epcot with My DFi

Mission: Space was fun, but like I said in the previous post, there was no way I could do it again even though there was no line. We decided to experience a much calmer "space" ride ... Spaceship Earth!

I love this ride so much because of its educational value. As a kid, I liked it because it was a ride that moved (and smelled like smoked turkey). Nowadays, I tend to reference it a lot when I'm teaching during random times. When I taught 7th grade Bible, I taught an apologetics course, so there was a unit about canonization. There was a section that explained how the Bible was reproduced, and yes, it is a part of history, but I don't think the kids really think about how everything had to be written by hand and how there was a need for respect and reverence in this job for God's name. Words had to be properly spaced, and mistakes were not allowed. I remember my kids were shocked when they learned that an entire page would have to be discarded if a mistake was made. They were like, "Wait, so if a mistake was made on the LAST word on the ENTIRE page, it had to be written over again?" Yup! Anyway, when I taught that section, I mentioned the monks on Spaceship Earth writing everything by hand before the printing press was invented and there could be mass producing!

Anyway, the teacher in me was eager to ride again. Of course, being me, I was scared of the pharaoh scene. I just keep thinking that one day he's going to turn his head towards the ride vehicle, and he's particularly close! I have to sit on the right side, haha. Even though I have the academic side of me, I also have the wacky side of me (as does Howard!), which is why we made these faces when our picture was taken.

Yup, we really are still two big kids.

We still had a good amount of time before we were to meet up with the other 3, but I knew one stop I had to make was at Guest Relations. I thought I could last the day without getting the Guest Assistance Card, and yes, technically I did make it through. But gosh, I had some severe heart palpitations due to my vasovagal syncope/orthostatic hypotension that I knew it wouldn't be possible to deal with a park day at Magic Kingdom without it.

The CM was super nice. He was actually a young Chinese guy, and he started talking to us in Chinese because of my last name (and for those of you who are my FB friends, you know my last name isn't even a Chinese one). I got a different GAC than the previous year. I explained to him that I thought I could make it through the day without one, but it was difficult. I said that when I stand too long, I faint (Perfect for being a teacher, right? My principal knows about it, so I'm allowed to sit more often even though teachers should always be either at the front of the classroom or circulating.) He asked if i would be willing to get a wheelchair, and I said not really, so he gave me one that says, "May use alternate entrance when available." If we had that in the morning, that would've benefited us since it wasn't just the wheelchair card, which was what I got last year. That card meant that if I needed to, the CMs would provide a wheelchair for me for all the wheelchair accessible lines (most are at Epcot). I didn't want to do that because I don't want people thinking I was in a wheelchair just for the "fun" of it.

Howard took this picture of the flags.

Then he realized (I didn't know it either) that the flags are placed in the order of the countries going around World Showcase!

While at Guest Relations, I also asked for an Applause-o-Gram. I filled it in for Jeremy at Le Cellier. It said, "Applause to you for making our lunch experience at Le Cellier excellent! We'll definitely return in the future and ask for you. It's always great to see a cast member who loves his job. I'd write more, but we have to make it over to the Grand Floridian for that celery." Oh, I didn't mention that part from lunch. Basically, Jeremy asked us if we had any plans for dinner, but we were so full. He then said he had a recommendation for us. He said we could head over to the Grand Floridian for a nice dish of celery, haha.

We left in a cheerful mood. Ahh, I love great CMs! We headed over to Captain EO, but alas, it was already closed for the night as was Journey into Imagination. Oh well.

Instead, we went to have some fun with Nemo! Strangely, this was scarier than Mission Space! Why? There were like, 10 empty clamshells to the left AND right of us! We were SO ALONE, and I already don't like sea animals in the first place! Haha.

The scary part wasn't the jellyfish part.

The scary part was when the fish with the light in front of its head swings down! Since it seems to be very random (it doesn't always swing down the same way when you pass by), I was prepared for it, but apparently, I wasn't that prepared! It happened to swing down with the loudest sound right when our lone clam passed by. it scared me so much, I actually SCREAMED even though I was expecting it.

Then i was afraid to see a real shark at the end of the ride, and there weren't any, but then suddenly we saw one and I screamed then too bc it was a shock! The shark was right behind the Mr. Ray animation, and I was looking at that and the shark just swam into view!!! AGH! Haha, at least we were alone because then I didn't have to be embarrassed by my screams.

After that ride, we went to watch Turtle Talk with Crush and it was such a small crowd, so that was interesting.

It really was such a great way to relax and get off our feet. We had our pick of seats! I'd suggest going later on at night if you want your kids to have a better chance being called on for a question. However, from my point of view, it might've been different because the audience wasn't that big. I wonder if there's a minimum number of people that have to be in there for the show to go on. I do recall there was one hilarious comment that was made in response to a question, but yeah, I don't remember what it was anymore ... oh YAY! I asked Howard, and he remembered that the kid asked, "Why do you live?" Haha, it stunned Crush for a bit because he didn't know how to answer, and he said something about it being such a deep, philosophical question.

At that point, wedecided to walk back to World Showcase to meet Dani, Ray, and Nik. We told them to text us the countries they were in along the way, but they didn't, so we agreed to meet at the China gate at 8:30 if we didn't communicate before then.

But then my stomach started hurting. I don't know if it was too much carbonation Club Cool. Over the course of the day, I had 4 cups, which is a lot more than what I usually ever drink (I usually drink just tea and water). I had to sit down on one of the planters on the path between Future World and World Showcase. We were going to wait there, but then I started feeling better, and we went to China. Funny thing is that Howard and I wanted to get food there! Haha, yes, it's not REAL Chinese food, but it was exactly what we were craving at that time. He had a noodle bowl and I had sesame chicken salad (didn't want to push it with rice and have more fiber). The CMs there were very nice, and they packed it up in a bag for us to take since we wanted to eat and watch IllumiNations. There were a lot of tables available, but I was so psyched to see the fireworks! Oh, and they asked if we wanted chopsticks. Haha, I need a trusty fork.

We were going to sit on one of the benches where the acrobats perform. As we approached, we were startled (haha, I was the one who was more startled) because there was something moving on the ground! It was a chubby bunny! Haha, cute, but it made me think about what other animals were lurking in those plants. The CM there told us that the bunny lives around there and is always around, but I wanted to move anyway. Instead, we sat on the ledge to the side of China before the bridge to the African Outpost. There wasn't anyone there, and we had a good view of IllumiNations since the fireworks are so high up and we could still see the globe and all that. We ate in peace on the side closer to the country instead of close to the railing of the lagoon where most other people are. Howard and I REALLY enjoyed it. I especially did since i hear the music on DIS Radio all the time, and now I could actually see it and know it for what it's supposed to be for!

OUR colors!

We slowly walked our way to the car after we texted the others and I reminded them where we were parked. No one had paid attention to that, but I took a picture when we got there! Thanks for that tip, DISboards! I had to keep stopping bc my stomach hurt, but we did eventually make it back.

We got lost on the way back because Howard went back out the exit to go towards Disney World again even though I pointed it out. Haha, guess he really didn't want to leave. So we had to circle around again. The gps was with us anyway so we would've been fine.

I don't remember what happened that night, but since we knew we were having a relaxing rest day on Tuesday, we all just chilled out and went online and took showers and hit the sack! Oh, except Nikki had to do some economics homework ...

Stay tuned for our rest day! I can't believe I finished Epcot way before the school year started!

 

[SoonerGirl]

You've been updating like crazy girl! So glad you and Howard had a chance to enjoy Epcot on your own It's fun to travel with a group, but nice to be able to step back and go your separate ways sometimes too.

I tried Mission:Space green side once. Once was enough for me, I still felt sick. It wasn't so much the movement that got me, but the illusion of movement on the screen if that makes sense. The tight quarters didn't help either!