England to Endor (via WDW!) - June 2010 TR UPDATED 02/19 - THE WAVE!

[Bookstamper]

Love the Tinkerbell picture! We have some like that -- two of us will look horrified at whatever the magic is while two will be thrilled!

Hi wlake, many thanks for reading! I'm glad we're not the only ones to add some surprised, or downright horrified looks, to all those magic shots!

Our "Tink" picture is the ToT...they say look scared and we just look goofy!! I still have not lucked out on getting many special effects pictures.
Great update!! As always!

Hi TinksThree! You have some great photopass pics in your TR but that one of Keith trying the Beverley is really funny - I hope your DS was pleased with his reaction! Should have another update coming soon

Just read through your whole TR. I hate when I do that because I never remember to comment on everything I wanted to. Need to keep a notepad by the computer.

Too funny that you keep submitting yourself to beverly. I think my stepdaughter nailed it, "it's good until you swallow it".

Sorry you didn't care for DisneyQuest. I can only take so much of it, but sure wish you had tried out the Pirate game. It is my favorite.

Those Spaceship Earth emails always end up in my junk folder, but somehow I don't find them for weeks.

That was awful about your sandwich, I'd been upset too.

I like Maelstrom also. And I am one of those that skips the movie, but I think I will stay next time. I honestly can't remember if we have ever watched it.

And you were at SWW the day before we were and you almost sat at the exact same spot as we did. It was a great location.

Hi and welcome jmskinner! Thanks for reading along! Glad you enjoy Maelstrom, I would highly recommend the film - even if it's not that memorable.... Hope you enjoyed SWW too, we have some more Star Wars stuff coming up!

 

[Bookstamper]

DAY FIVE cont.

So when I last left off we were headed out of EPCOT and back to POP for a relaxing afternoon of lunch and....laundry! Yep, you've guessed it: rather embarrasingly we had run out of clothes less than half way into our trip, so a trip to the laundrette was much needed! Luckily this is located right near the 60s building (just behind the Petals bar) and was pretty quiet during the day. The only problem was the soap dispenser was broken...hmmmm Luckily, a really nice lady came to our aid and gave me her massive bottle of Whisk washing detergent. It turns out she'd brought this for her vacation, hardly used any and couldn't take it back home due to liquid regulations on the flight. What a nice woman - she wouldn't accept any money for it or anything and I was SO grateful to her!

With our laundy in we headed to Everything POP for lunch: Sal got some noodles whilst I got pizza and breadsticks which were really tasty! (Sorry, no pics of this!) Afterwards we hung out by the pool a little, waiting on the laundy and then headed back to our room. Sal was pretty tired and fancied a rest as we had plans to hit up MK that evening and power through til 1am - woo hoo! I, on the other hand, REALLY wanted to get out and explore the POP resort so off I headed....

My first idea was to go for a jog but the mid-day sun was something else, so it became more of a leisurely walk! First I headed out of the 60s building, here's the view from our stairwell:

I love how you can even see thumb prints on these animals - that's Disney detailing for you! Then I headed over towards the unfinished half of POP:

You can see the huge numbers on what was intended to be the front entrance I guess:

Here's the Generation Gap bridge which leads to the other POP building, at first I though I could cross this but there are barriers in place halfway:

I have to say I found the deserted, unfinished building site a bit eerie! I definitely wouldn't want to walk around there, and I'll be glad when they re-open it as the Animation Resort - that sure sounds like a fun theme! Next I headed around the resort, by the lake and ran into this couple:

I love Mr Potato Head in the new TSM3 film - what a hero!

On the pathway by the Lake they have a load of signs, one for each year between 1950-2000. So I had to get a picture from the year of my birth:

Next I looked around the 70s, 80s and 90s areas. There is a seperate pool over here and they have some really cool games areas, which were very popular with families. Remember Twister?

I felt that these areas had quite a different feel to the 60s building up at the front of the resort. Don't get me wrong: I really liked the more laid-back atmosphere, which is great: I'm not sure if there is a "bad" place to be at this resort! In the 80s section I found this cool walkman, which sure did take me back: I had one just like this as a small kid:

This area is really cool and the fooseball players are mahoosive! As the World Cup was on during our stay, it seemed like this would have been an appropriate place to stay:

So after about an hour of just looking around I headed back to the room where Sal was up and getting ready to head out again. We had an ADR at O'hanas that evening and I couldn't wait! I think this is one restaurant where we both LOVE the food - especially those sticky wings, I could just eat a whole plate-full. So around 16:45 we headed down to the bus stop and took the bus to MK - it was going to be a fun night!!

Coming Up: Dinner with Cousins and MK til midnight and beyond!

 

[TinksThree]

Hi TinksThree! You have some great photopass pics in your TR but that one of Keith trying the Beverley is really funny - I hope your DS was pleased with his reaction! Should have another update coming soon

Thanks! I wish we could have gotten more photopass pics but I am happy with what we did get...so I cannot complain!! I love getting pictures of people on their first attempt of the Beverly! Chris had been busting at the seams to get Keith to try it and he wasn't disappointed!!

Awesome POP pictures! I can't wait to see the new Animation reort either! It looks like a very cool theme! Mr. Potato Head is just awesome!! One day I plan to stay at POP and see all of this in real life!!

 

[jmskinner]

I sooo want to stay at Pop sometime, it is always booked or only a preferred room is available and the price is more than a moderate.

I had one of those walkmans also. Wonder if Mom still has it somewhere?

And you made me feel so old showing that sign from 1983, I remember watching that MASH episode when it aired. I won't say how old I was, then I just give my current age away.

Love the wings at Ohana's also!

 

[lilkitty819]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time....Reading all the trip reports are getting me in the mood for my trip in Oct..

 

[Bookstamper]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time....Reading all the trip reports are getting me in the mood for my trip in Oct..

Hi lilkitty819, thanks for reading! Wow - your trip is getting really close now, you must be sooo excited! Are you going to do a PTR?

I sooo want to stay at Pop sometime, it is always booked or only a preferred room is available and the price is more than a moderate.

Hi there! Pop is a great resort, you would love it! Although I'm not sure the preferred rooms are worth the extra - we had a great location at normal rate, and if anything it is nice to be facing away from the pools as it's a bit quieter!

And you made me feel so old showing that sign from 1983, I remember watching that MASH episode when it aired. I won't say how old I was, then I just give my current age away.

Sorry! I LOVE MASH - I watched the last season with my flat mate a few years back and though it was great. According to Wikipedia (I know, not always a reliable source...) the 2010 Superbowl surpassed the record that MASH set for the most-watched show, I wonder if they'll change the sign?!

 

[Bookstamper]

DAY FIVE cont.

So our first stop this evening was O'hanas! We monorailed round to the Poly and checked in around 18:00. Well, the whole 1st floor level by O'hanas and Kona was MOBBED There were crying kids, irate couples, and a load of people who didn't have reservations being turned away - I guess those wings and pot stickers are a big draw! We checked in at the podium and were told it would likely be quite a wait as they were running behind schedule (and we had checked in early). Well, we figured that was fine as we could look around the shops - including the BouTIKI (which I think has to take the award for best-named gift store).

Here we are hanging around, waiting to be seated - and I promise I hadn't had a drink at this point, despite appearances!

Our wait actually wasn't too bad at all - and after around 15 minutes we were seated at a great table for 2 where we could see the cooking area. Our server was really friendly and the food was great as always (no pictures I'm afraid though!) During the meal, this guy came round with the uke:

He was on great form, and did some cool songs for people's birthdays, anniversaries etc. and for the kids. I've seen in some other people's reports that a lady is sometimes doing the entertainment at O'hanas but we have only ever seen this guy - and I think he's great!

After dinner we waddled over to the monorail station and headed back to MK - which was open into the early hours! Woo hoo! We must have got in there around 20:30 as it was just getting dark and the entrance was all lit up:

As was the castle, which looked amazing:

There was a parade scheduled at any moment so all of the Main Street pavements and Castle area was roped off, and the crowds were out in force! Well, we decided that since we wouldn't get a good spot for the parade at this late stage we may as well hit up some of the attractions - but getting anywhere proved to be tricky! The crowds meant we couldn't cross over the street to Frontierland or Adventureland and neither could we get through the castle...or so I thought. Sal is obviously more of a rebel than me, because whilst I was meekly dithering around on Main Street wondering how we would ever get out she ducked under 2 rope, through a "don't cross" area, evaded a CM, went "the wrong way" up the castle ramp area and through the middle of the castle. Well, what was I going to do? Follow of course!

Inside the castle area (where it was a lot less crowded) we spent a while checking out the murals. I'd never seen these before but they're so detailed:

Once in Fantasyland I suggested Sal choose our first ride and she chose: It's a Small World! Now I have to say that I'd rather sink than ride this, but hey, we all like different things and she has patiently watched the American Adventure many times for me! In the queue (which was, thankfully, pretty short) we saw the IASW clock open, which was pretty cool - 8:45pm:

We had a fun ride, despite my misgivings and it was cool to spot stuff from each country. It was also pretty funny as some good-natured debate would crop up in our boat as to which nation was which at times!

Our voyage around the (ever so small) world must have taken exactly 15 minutes as we saw the clock open at 9pm again on our way out! Our next stop was the Hall of Presidents, where I was really keen to see the new additions they'd made. Whilst we waited for the show, we took a chance to look around the exhibition area at the front and I had to take a picture of this, as we are both Big West Wing fans:

On the show, a character strikes up the debate about whether the eagle used to be looking at the arrows, instead of the olive branch and I understand that was the case for a while? But not in the Hall of Presidents!
We both really enjoyed the show - although I was surprised that President Obama made a speech at the end, as I'd read that this part was going to be removed (in the Unofficial Guide, I think). So it was a nice surprise!

As we came out we saw the Spectro parade taking place, and here is the eagle again:

We stayed to watch the end of the parade and then moved on to Adventureland, for a date with some Pirates! By now it was around 22:30 and the ride was a walk on - a little too much so for the little girl ahead of us! As we queued up in rows, a boat came along and took the first 2 or 3 people from each row. Well, in the line ahead of us a little girl was waiting with her folks. She was SO keen to get on the boat that she leapt in behind some other people (not in her party) and the boat moved off leaving her parents on the dock! Needless to say the CM reversed it, and they were all re-united but it was fairly funny.

We had a great ride on Pirates, and then decided to hit up another boat ride: the Jungle Cruise!

This was hilarious! We had such a great Skipper called Rob, who veered off the normal script and really made this a fun ride. For example, when we were going the tunnels in the dark he would sing "it's a small world" in a really eerie voice which cracked me up - especially as we'd just been subject to the more perky version!

After that we decided it was nearly time to call it a night -so we wandered back through Fantasyland and made a wish in the fountain by the Castle:

Then we slowly made our way out of the park along with about 10,000 other people! We had had such a fun evening, even though we didn't stay until the early hours. Outside the transport situation was crazy as people piled on to monorails, boats and busses - it was soo busy (I was seriously envious of people staying at the Contemporary who we saw just walking on back..) Nevertheless we queued up and got on the 3rd (or maybe 4th?) bus back to POP - what a night!

Coming Up Next: Midway Maniacs!

 

[Bookstamper]

DAY SIX: June 8th

I woke up to beautiful blue skies at 07:00, got up and was ready to hit Hollywood Studios! I don't know how it happened but I somehow then managed to fall asleep again and the next thing I know it's 08:00, whoops! I guess that's what happens when I don't get my coffee! Nevermind, I woke Sal up and we managed to make it down to the bus stop by 08:35, just in time to arrive for park opening!

Our mission today was to check out as many rides as possible, this time without the Star Wars Weekenders. So first stop was, of course, TSM. Now our plan almost fell at the first hurdle when I saw Minnie heading out to meet folks, on our way to Pixar Place:

I sooo wanted to meet Minnie, having never had my pic taken with her before. But Sal was adament that this wasn't the time: if we didn't grab those TSM Fast Passes, they'd be gone before 09:30, whereas Minnie would probably be around for a while, sigh! So I hurried on and sure enough by the time we crossed over towards that area, the queue for TSM looked to be several hundred people long, stretching all the way back to One Man's Dream! As we arrived I had to do a double take: er, nope....that's just the queue for FastPass collection - - so I got in line ASAP!

By the time I reached the front, it was obvious that some people were collecting 20+ FPs each, I guess they were tour group leaders? Or just had really large family gatherings?? Anyhow, this slowed the queue a good deal so we ended up with a FP return time of 11:15 but I think we were lucky to get a FP at all! (Passing back by Pixar Place around 10:00 they'd all been distributed for the day!)

With Fast Passes in hand we could relax a bit, and I was keen to scout out some coffee! On our SWW day, we'd enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the Writer's Stop so we headed in that direction....but all was not well in this small corner of the park! On heading inside, we found 2 more senior CMs eyeing the coffee machine and shaking their heads. I approached the counter and asked for 2 cappuchinos, apparently the staff were not normally scheduled to work at this cafe and they couldn't (or wouldn't?) opperate the cappucino machine Hmmm...it seemed a shame, as the machine itself wasn't broken but I could see it looked difficult to make (steaming the milk etc.) so I tried again, could we just get 2 black coffees instead? No, again the CMs had no idea and didn't want to try this Now this would have made me angry if it hadn't been so funny! The coffee machine was just a push-button dispenser, and I nearly jumped over the counter and offered to serve myself but at that moment a delivery man arrived with that day's order of fresh muffins! Muffins? Even without the coffee, those sounded good to me! But it wasn't to be as the staff weren't able to sign for the delivery and couldn't find anyone who knew where a supervisor might be!! By now the situation was kind of ridiculous and we left coffee-free but highly amused!

Minus caffine we staggered around the Streets of America and decided we may as well get some good pics whilst the crowds were low:

Ah, San Francisco, I bet they do coffee there....

After looking around, we headed back towards the Backlot Tour where the next trip was about to depart - awesome! We had missed this as it was being refurbished on our last holiday, and I couldn't wait to survive Catastrophe Canyon again! Luckily there were some really good sports in our group, including a honeymoon couple who were only to happy to get involved in the Harbour Attack re-enactment scene at the start. The show co-ordinator was really fun and we enjoyed this whole section of the tour:

Next up was a walk-in attraction, which was supposed to be a props warehouse. Eye balls going spare...

Finally we boarded our tram and headed out around the backlot to see some of the larger props and design areas. I was delighted to see this from POTC2, I just love the scence where Captain Jack and Will take this for a spin down hill - hilarious!

I thought this topiary copy of the Ears Water Tower was really neat as well:

Whilst we were driving round we could hear the cars from Lights Motor Action warming up on the driveway behind the main stage, plus we saw some of the stars of the show:

Finally, we made it to catastrophe canyon and Sal knew she was in for a soaking!! Just an ordinary truck....

With some added fire and water...

This was really fun and we didn't miss the live guide at all (sorry, that makes it sound like we had a corpse on board...I meant they've now replaced the announcer with a recorded audio commentary, but we found it just as enjoyable - and a little easier to hear). So after our tram ride we finished up at the Villains area, which I think is a new addition? This was REALLY interesting to look around and I could easily have spent an hour in here. Naturally, we found the Star Wars area and Sal was keen to pose with Vader as we'd missed him on SWW:

Inside the exhibition they had a list detailing the Top Villains as voted for by the American Film Institute. I'm not sure Vader would be pleased to know he only scored in 3rd place - pipped to the post by Hannibal Lecter of all people!
Talking of Hannibal we were getting pretty hungry, so after looking around the exhibition we headed over to Starring Rolls where they COULD make cappucino AND serve muffins! Woo hoo! We sat outside and enjoyed our snacks in the sunshine - it was really heating up out there!

By now it was around 10:45 and we still had some time before TSM, so we wandered over to American Idol where the doors were just opening for the 11:00 show!

Continued in next post....

 

[Bookstamper]

Here we are waiting for the show to start and thoroughly enjoying the air con!

This was a great contest and the judges were on good form. I didn't take any photos but remember that all 3 singers were good. We were rooting for a girl from the UK who was on holiday with her folks, but she lost out to someone else who did a great Kelly Clarkson impression, so I guess that bodes well! After AI, it was finally time to get our game on at TSM so off we went.

And the result?

Sal beat me on the very last game, I couldn't believe it! I have NEVER won at TSM and I was sure this was going to be a victory for me but I guess it just wasn't to be - still, we had a blast playing and it's still my favourite ride at DHS, despite my unfortuante record!

Next Up: A trip to the Temple of Doom and a ride on the Ant Boat!

 

[TinksThree]

I keep hearing good things about Ohana. We have been there for breakfast but not dinner...it is definitely tops on my to-do list!!

Pretty good scores on TSM! I love that attraction!! And I wanted to do the Back Lot tour just for Catastrophe Canyon...it was so cool!!!

 

[Bookstamper]

I keep hearing good things about Ohana. We have been there for breakfast but not dinner...it is definitely tops on my to-do list!!

Hi Tinks! I would LOVE to do the O'hana breakfast - we have been to breakfast at Kona and the O'hanas always looks really fun in the morning! Am I right in thinking that it's a character meal? Should have another update coming soon, have a great day!

 

[TinksThree]

Hi Tinks! I would LOVE to do the O'hana breakfast - we have been to breakfast at Kona and the O'hanas always looks really fun in the morning! Am I right in thinking that it's a character meal? Should have another update coming soon, have a great day!

It is a character meal. Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. I am not a huge Stitch fan but I love this character breakfast and somehow become a Stitch fan in this one place! Plus the food is really good and the atmosphere is great!!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Subbing! I've had so much fun reading your TR so far and can't wait to read more!

 

[Bookstamper]

Subbing! I've had so much fun reading your TR so far and can't wait to read more!

Hi there and welcome! Really glad that you're enjoying the TR - I see from your PTR that this time next year you'll almost be at POP - excellent choice, I think you'll have a lot of fun there!

 

[Bookstamper]

DAY SIX cont.

So when I left off, I'd just lost out to Sal on TSM...again! After all that virtual plate smashing and hoop throwing, we were getting hungry and decided to try somewhere new for lunch so we wandered over to the Backlot Express.

They have loads of seating outside, under the shade, and the menu looked pretty good. Sal ordered a turkey and cheese melt sandwich and I opted for a chicken ceasar wrap (sorry I don't have any pics of this - I must have been way too hungry!). Now this is one of those what was I thinking moments? I don't even like chicken ceasar! So luckily Sal took pity on me and we swapped lunches. Plus as we were eating kind of early (it must have been around 11:50) they didn't have any fries available so everyone was given a family-sized pack of lays chips with their meal. Yep, you've heard right: family-sized....each! Needless to say we saved a pack for later!

After lunch we didn't have any firm plans so we wandered over to Tower of Terror, before deciding that it would be a bad idea to ride on a full stomach Instead we headed back towards Pixar Place where we could feel the lure of TSM pulling us back! We checked out the wait time for the standby line and it said 85 minutes. 85 minutes? That sounded awfully long but I felt sure that was an over-estimate. So after some gentle persuasion, Sal and I hopped in line and decided to time it.

Using the FP queue earlier, we'd missed out on an audience with Mr. Potato Head:

So it was great to see the full queue area this afternoon. And see the FULL queue area we did! Yep, you've guessed it, the wait was exactly.....85 minutes! Disney do not lie when it comes to ride times! Oh well, we had an absolute blast on the ride - but whilst Sal had improved, after lunch things had sadly gone downhill for me and I lost yet AGAIN!!

After TSM, we noticed that the Indiana Jones show was starting up soon so we headed over in that direction and grabbed some great seats about half way down towards the stage. I'd never seen this show before and really enjoyed it! There was some great opportunities for people wanting to take part in the show, plus some funny twists that I didn't see coming (I won't give it away but let's just say be very suspicious of the guest from Bulgaria!)

You'll see that the photos are a little blurry - the action tends to happen pretty fast in this show!

Sorry this has been such a short update - more from Day Six coming up in a bit....

 

[tankgirl427]

Hi, I just wanted to say I haven't read your whole trip yet, I started with the more midway mania, but I had to write when I saw your comment about Indiana Jones, since my BF is from Bulgaria!

We never made it to the show when we went, I wish we had and I wish we were at yours, we never see anyone from Bulgaria!

 

[TinksThree]

My 2nd time around on TSM is always worse...my arm gets tired really fast!

I loved Indiana Jones! Our guest was from Morocco and it was too funny!! That is a really fun show with lots of laughs!

 

[Bookstamper]

We never made it to the show when we went, I wish we had and I wish we were at yours, we never see anyone from Bulgaria!

Hi Tankgirl! and many thanks for reading! Indiana Jones is a great show - I would definitely go see it again, although I'm not so sure the Bulgarian stunt guy is actually Bulgarian?! From TinksThree's post I'm thinking they may keep changing the character?? Still, he had me fooled!

My 2nd time around on TSM is always worse...my arm gets tired really fast! !

Me too! If we get the chance to go back I'm going to get in training way before the vacation. I see that there is now a TSM game for the Wii, so I bet that provides some good practice!

 

[Bookstamper]

DAY SIX cont.

So after our escape from the Temple of Doom at the Indiana Jones show, we decided it was time to escape from DHS altogether! We browsed a few shops and made our way towards the exit, but not before we got a few Photopass shots on the way out:

By now it was around 14:30 and we had an ADR at EPCOT scheduled for the evening, so it seemed like a good plan to head over there in advance and check out some rides before dinner. Hmmm...now how to get there? The bus stops seemed pretty deserted, and we weren't in a big hurry so I suggested we try out the boat. This was a first for us, and I was really looking forward to the ride - all aboard!

Now as you can see from the sign, this is by no means a direct route! First off we sailed to the Swan and Dolphin area. I have always been a bit dubious about the design of this resort as it seems to dominate the skyline so much, and kind of ruins the Victorian-esque boardwalk area. BUT I have to say that on closer inspection it seemed like a great place to stay, and the transport links looked fab (we saw several people just walking along to DHS via the towpath - how cool to be able to do that!) Next up was the Yatch club:

This is such a cool area, and I really wanted to walk along the beach front to the International Gateway but Sal was enjoying the relaxing boat ride and a stroll in 90 degree heat obviously didn't appeal! Our conversation went something like:

Me: Come on, it'll only take 5 minutes, we're really close to EPCOT!
Sal: I'd rather stay on the boat- and it'll take ages to walk round in this heat
Me: I bet I could walk round to EPCOT faster than this boat
Sal: No way! You'll be ages...
Me: No I won't...I'll race you...

And with that I had jumped off the boat at the Yatch Club leaving Sal and the camera behind! Next thing I know, I was power walking round past the beach club whilst the boat was headed in the opposite direction all the way to the Boardwalk:

And who won?? Well, I did of course - and I have to submit I was a little smug about it! Here I am just waiting for the boat to come in....

Next Up: Donald takes a beating and is that Jar Jar Binks??

 

[Bookstamper]

DAY SIX cont.

So now that we'd experienced the slow boat (Sal more than me!), it was time to check out some faster rides at EPCOT! We made our way through the International Gateway entrance and moseyed over to Test Track. BUT....the wait time was showing at 120 minutes! After our 85 minute queue stint at TSM, we didn't really fancy another wait - and all the FPs had been distributed. Across the way I spied Ellen's Energy Adventure, and we decided it was time to swot up on our science:

I took this in the queue whilst waiting to be let in for the pre-show:

Finally we made it inside to see Ellen and the Science Guy do their thing! It always surprises me that they don't allow folks to sit down during the pre-show? Really? Surely it would be better to have everyone seated in the dark than randomly wandering around? Oh well... So Ellen did the intro, which I love:

And then we headed off to the land before time! It always seems a bizarre mix of dinosaurs and stand-up comedy, but I really enjoyed this ride (plus 45 air-conned minutes are hard to come by on a hot day at Disney!). Whilst riding through the prehistoric scences, Sal thought she spotted Jar Jar Binks (or at least his dinosaur double):

After our Energy Adventure we made our way towards World Showcase - and our first stop? Mexico!! I have a long-term love of the Three Caballeros, so we jumped onboard the ride and throughly enjoyed the festival atmosphere:

Poor old Donald doesn't seem to be having such an easy time of it though:

After our ride we checked out the Mexican gift store area and got some sweets for our friends back home (dried chili chews, anyone?). I was delighted to come across a Donald pinata, as featured in the Three Caballeros:

Unfortunately, we decided that this just wouldn't fit in our cases for the return home (another victim of luggage allowances..) BUT if we get to visit again I am definitely taking one of these back...where there's a will, there's a way!

After Mexico we stopped by Norway and visited the Viking display in the stave church - which was pretty interesting:

Then we went to check out Maelstrom: one of my favourite Disney rides! Now Maelstrom is pretty much always a walk on or thereabouts. I think we have only had to queue twice for this and it's been less than 10 minutes each time so I don't expect the FP machines get much action! However, our ADR time at Biergarten was coming up so we didn't have time to ride before dinner, and on the off chance that we might come back that way I grabbed a FP - my first ever one for this attraction! Would it be needed???

With a FP to the high seas secured, we made our way round to Germany, where things were hotting up! Check out the queue for checking in to the Biergarten:

We finally made it to the podium and got checked in, then had to wait around 10 minutes to be seated which was no big deal. The server asked if we would rather wait and be seated close to the band area (which may take longer) or further back (the quick option!). We were both really hungry by this stage so opted to sit wherever, and we soon found ourselves in the Rhineland:

I LOVE the Biergarten (and German food in general) so this buffet was a hit! Our waitress was really friendly and our table mates were nice, although they had 3 young children, so spent much of the time keeping them entertained. At the end of the meal the waitress even brought out free gingerbread people (as sold in the gift store) for the kids, which I thought was a really nice gesture.

We stuffed ourselves with sausage and sauerkraut, and then enjoyed the band which started up towards the end of our meal:

It was really fun to hear these guys play: although mid-way through the set they started to play "The birdie song" which got totally stuck in my head. Just like the small world music, it was all I could hear for the rest of the evening!! Argh! We left Biergarten around 19:00 and walked back towards Maelstrom as those FPs were still waiting to be used. And guess what? As we turned into the Norway area we saw a queue for Maelstrom out the door, with the wait time posted at 35 minutes! That never happens! I couldn't believe it - how lucky was it that on this one evening we'd taken the decision to get FPs, so straight to the front of the queue we went!

This was such a fun ride (as always!), and I always get scared by the bit when the boat shoots backwards. At the end of our ride, the Norway film was almost full (I guess EPCOT must have been extra busy that night?) but Sal ruled that one viewing per vacation was enough so we strolled on through to the gift store.

After checking our times guide we saw that a showing of the American Adventure was coming up so we legged it over to the USA pavillion, just in time to enter via the Hall of Flags - this is such a cool area (although tricky to get good pics whilst on the escalators or stairs):

I really enjoyed the show again (we've seen it several times before, but it has so many different parts that I really think it stands up to repeat viewings). My favourite part is the film montage at the end - that always makes me tear up! Afterwards we agreed that it was nearly time to call it a night and slowly made our way towards the exit. On route we visited Test Track to see if the wait line had reduced, but it was still showing 75 minutes (and by now it was around 20:15).

We did spend some time looking around the Future World gift store, and I gave into the temptation of jelly beans (aren't they just the best snack ever invented? ) whilst Sal splashed out on a pack of taffy (we don't seem to have this in the UK so it's a real holiday-time treat...or at least that's how I try to justify it!)

Finally, as we were leaving we got a few Photopass shots to add to our collection:

The photographer was really friendly, and was interested in visiting Cambridge, which is close to where we live so we stopped to chat for quite a while. Then we finally made it out of EPCOT, towards the buses - still hoping to beat the post-Illuminations crowds. Now the POP queue was sort of confusing (I know, I know - how confusing can a queue be?) in that 2 different areas were ropped off, so we queued at the first. Turned out this was the wrong place (as both queues were intended to lead to one bus departure point) so we ended up missing the first bus and re-queueing for the second! Oh well, it was a good opportunity to try out our taffy and jelly beans

We got back to POP around 21:30 and decided to chill out in our room, so I went to fill our mugs and we then watched TV (which had a Toy Story back to back showing on! ) Nice way to end a really fun day!

Up Next: Taunted by Jasmine, and Early Risers We Ain't