The next morning, we were heading down to our free contintental breakfast at the hotel by 7:00am. Not a bad time considering that I hadn't packed up before we went to sleep. Hubby kindly filled the Brita filter water bottles with ice while I loaded the water mister fan. (I would later find that he threw away the filters because they took up too much room in the bottle! Oh well, it's the thought!) Rechargable camera batteries from yesterday were put into the charger and swapped for fresh. I even strapped on my pedometer so I could give a report on how far we walked.
Last, but far from least, I grabbed my PassPorter. I can not rave about this book enough. I tore the map out of the spirals and put it into my fanny pack. I found this map smaller and easier to read than the actual park maps. The only tip I have about the PassPorter is splurge for the 3 ring binder if you can afford it. It about killed me to pull that map out, knowing that I couldn't put it back the same way.
Food at the hotel was nothing spectacular, but none of us are breakfast people anyway. That is unless my husband finds himself in a Denny's or IHOP. Then, don't get between him and his plate unless you don't need some of your appendeges. Anyway, we ate and headed out.
The park opened at 9am and we got there by the advised 8:30. I could not believe it, but we were parked in the front row. Where was everyone?!? (Maybe they had paid better attention to Jeanne than I had or maybe I was just in denial about it.) We had brought our own double stroller so we just wheeled the boys right on up. Security checked our bags as well as all others, but it was a very quick and painless experience.
There was a very small crowd waiting at the rope, so we kind of hung back on the left hand side. I noticed CM along with his robot standing to the side. Since there was nothing else to do, we went over to take a look at it. Here comes that Disney magic again. Francis the talking robot was there with his handler and gave my sons his complete attention. The boys were called by name (remember those GOH badges?) and engaged in quite a conversation with them. After finding out that my oldest son was 4, Francis assumed it must be 4 months old, because at 4 years old he would be so obsolete that he would have already be made into a toaster. My boys thought that was too funny!
As we were enjoying Francis, the music came up and suddenly a double decker bus full of Mickey and friends (and a few not so friends like Captain Hook) drove up to the rope. Poor Francis, after that he might as well had been that toaster. My sons were enthralled. When the rope dropped, the boys never looked back. I send my apologies out to Francis and his handler. You guys were great, but there is no one like Mickey Mouse.
As we walked into EPCOT, the first things that I noticed were the changes that had happened since the last time I was there. The giant hand and wand at Spaceship Earth didn't bother me. In fact, I liked the brightness and sparkle. Very Disney. Not so with the "Leave a Legacy". They reminded my of highway barriers and really messed up the open welcoming feeling at the entrance. They just smacked of cheap commercialism.
Ok, here is where we run into a scene that I am totally embarrassed to tell everyone here on the boards about. As we walk past the "Leave a Legacy" atrocity, I stop and say "What do you want to do?" and pull out the map. Months of research and reading and I don't have a plan. Sheesh!
We quickly decided to head onto Spaceship Earth since there were no lines. Son #1 asks the whole way up the ramp, "Is this going to be scary? Am I going to get scared? Is it scary in there?" (I point this out because you will be amazed at what this child will do in a few days.) We all enjoy it and decide that the next attraction is Universe of Energy.
But first we have to go all the way back around to pick up the stroller. As we are starting off that way, I spot the Guest Relations building. I ask DH if he would mind if I take our 2 yr old while he and other son go get the stroller. The little guy and I head off to pick up a birthday pin for him. CM gave him one with a cheery "Happy Birthday!" This pin is really neat with Happy Birthday written in several languages..at least that's what I think it says. This was another one of those things that I learned about from these boards. Talk about invaluable information! If he hadn't had this..., well, I'll get to that later.
Off we go to Universe of Energy. The boys love playing with dinosaurs, so I thought this would be great. Just up their alley. Son #1 starts up with the "Is it scary?" routine before we even see the building. <sigh> I thought that we had taken care of that with the first ride. Oh well.
I love this attraction. Ellen is hysterical and Bill Nye has always been cool. The boys found the preshow a little slow, but not too bad before we go into the seats. DSs ended up liking this a lot, but there was some tight hand holding as we went past the T.Rex.
Wonders of Life was closed, so theoretically there was nothing else for the boys to do in this pavillion. How wrong we were! There were those fountains. Dh really wanted to try Test Track, so we sent him off while the boys removed their shoes and socks for some splash time. They weren't anywhere close to being ready to get out, when DH showed back up. It couldn't have been 15 minutes from when he left. I figured he had gotten up there and found the wait was going to be too long. Nope. He'd already ridden it and was back. There was no line at all. Can you believe it?
We continued on around and ended up behind the 'big ball' at another pin station. We let the boys trade for another pin each. They had fun again, but wow is it hard to stand back and watch them pass up a pin that I'd like to have. DH again said that he'd like to do it, but I couldn't talk him into going back when we had finished there.
DH wanted to try to take DS#1 on Mission Space after seeing all the other kids on Test Track, so we separated. Other son and I left for Ice Station Cool to go get a quick drink and kill some time. As we are walking in, he hears "Happy Birthday!" from the CM there. Since, DS is fresh from pin trading at the pin station, he pipes up with "May I look at your pins, please?"when he sees the CM's lanyard. Once again, he sees something special in a pin that I thought should be way down the desirability list, but what can I do? He's the trader.
We sample all the flavors, going back for seconds (and thirds) with our favorites. DS liked the lemon-lime and I loved the Chinese Watermelon flavor. Yes, I even tried Beverly, knowing the secret. How could I miss the experience? There is no telling when we'd get back there! About that time, DH and other son showed up there. DS wasn't tall enough to ride so they came back to find us.
We decided that we'd better get some lunch now since we had PS for the Ice Cream Social at 3:10. I had purchased the Quick and Casual Vouchers before we left and this was our first chance to use them. We decided to go to the Electric Umbrella where we ordered 2 bacon Double Cheese Burger meals (came with fries), 2 large drinks and chocolate cream pie for desert. I also ordered an extra bun to split the burger with the boys. (I was charged $.75). Do not be embarrassed to order the extra bun. The CM ringing me up didn't even blink and the one at the counter mentioned how smart she thought it was. We all got plenty to eat and walked away feeling like we had gotten a bargain.
Just a word about the Quick and Casual Vouchers. I know that several people have complaints about HotWire, but I had no problems at all. The vouchers were convenient, but I think you have to know what you are doing with them to save money. In other words, educate yourselves about these. Don't just assume that they are a great deal waiting to happen.
The original plan was to head back to the hotel to take a nap, but the boys were still going strong, so we made the incredible blunder of heading to World Showcase instead of resting.
On the way there, we were passing the pin station under Spaceship Earth, when husband said that he wanted to get a lanyard and trade pins. DH came back with his lanyard and a great pin of Mickey shaking the hand of a service man that he had purchased. No trading for that one!
As he was doing that, I saw a couple with the bride and groom ears on. I got a quick ok from the boys and we ran over to the newlyweds to give them a pin to trade. How fun it was to spead a little pixie dust!!
Our first stop in World Showcase was at Mexico. The river ride was cool and relaxing. There was a moment of apprehension when our DS #1 saw the dancing skeletons. Luckily, he got over it quickly, but I think he got a little hesitant again about things.
When we left there, we had almost reached Norway, when we came across Snow White all alone. A character alone?! What kind of bizarro world is this?! DS #1 didn't want to get out of the stroller to go see her. He was just fine watching his brother go there and get fawned over. And fawn over him she did. There was a hug, another Happy Birthday and an autograph. We got several cute pictures of him with her and he got to spend at least 5 minutes there alone with her. Snow White was absolutely the best character we saw there. Walt and the gang really got down her hand gestures and personality when they made a movie about this one. I wish we could have heard her sing because her speaking voice was exactly what you see on the screen. I think it was DS first crush.
Being a boy, he got over it quickly when he saw the Viking ship in Norway. They all climbed on that before we rode Maelstrom. We all enjoyed this except for, guess who? DS#1 didn't like the trolls at all. Once we got off, he didn't think it was so bad, but he wasn't interested in doing it again. Instead we stopped at the kidcot station to let the boys do a mask. They had fun and even learned to say Thank You in Norwegian. That was the only time we worked on the mask, but if the boys had been older, it could have really been fun.
We walked slowly through the gift shop on our way out admiring all the different things. One of the CM at the perfume section noticed the birthday pin and followed DS out of the store. She told him that for his birthday she wanted to give him his first cologne. With that, she presented him with a sample of men's cologne. I've got some cute pictures of DH dabbing it on him and DS wrinkling his nose at the smell. I looked around to see if I could find where the pixie dust was coming from but never found its source.
By now it is almost noon, and the boys are beginning to start showing signs of grumpiness. Since we hadn't left earlier for nap after lunch, I was concerned that we wouldn't make it back in time for the Ice Cream Social. We decided to press on. We set off at a good clip to try to get to the American Pavillion to see the Fife and Drum Corp.
We got there with just a couple minutes to spare. DH took the boys over to a pin cart while we were waiting. One of the CM there noticed the birthday pin and asked if DS had talked to Goofy yet. Not knowing what he was talking about, he shook his head. The CM reached behind him and punched something in on a phone behind him. He told DS if was for him and handed him the phone. I'm not sure what was being said but DS stood entranced. Just another bit of magic....but it got better!
We saw the Corp starting up our way, so we said goodbye and went over to watch the show. DS #1 LOVES marching bands, especially the drums, so I knew he'd enjoy this. The Corp did a great show and at the end asked all the children to come up to lead us in the Pledge of Allegience. There were maybe 10 kids there including mine and they couldn't have been more proud of themselves. Of course, my little guys didn't know the words but had a ball being up there anyway. Again, lots of pictures, lots of smiles! Great job Fife and Drum Corp!
When that was over, we wandered into the American Adventure. I was pretty sure that the boys were in no condition to sit through the show, but I wanted to see the Voices of Liberty who would be singing before the show. They were fantastic (as expected). DH even commented that it really shows the state we are in when Britany Spears and other singers are making millions when these incredibly talented singers were probably making just over minimum wage! Just not fair.
Just after the end of this show was when my absolute favorite memory of the trip happened. While the singers were doing a quick 'meet-n-greet' before the American Adventure started, one of the last members still out kneeled down to shake DS #2 hand. She noticed his birthday pin and GOH badge. Although the rest of the singers were almost in the back again, she called them back out. The hall was almost completely empty, but they proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday" to my son. He was so unsure what to do. All this beautiful sound being directed right at him. He didn't even know where to look he was so amazed. It was an absolutely incredible moment. I get teary eyed just thinking about it again.
It was all thanks to you people on the boards! If you hadn't written about the birthday pin, it never would have happened! Thank you! Thank you!
What could we do to follow up that wonderful show except try to hit another one. So off we went to the UK where The British Invasion would be performing. We sat on the curb to enjoy the show. DH (a huge Beatles fan) and I sang along while the boys danced in the street. Near the end of their set the band noticed the same newlywed couple that we came across earlier, sitting on a bench. The band called them up to the front where they had the couple do a wedding dance while they played. It was great!
Unfortunately, all that dancing had made the boys hot and even more tired and cranky. Since we had about 45 minutes before the PS, we decided to go to Journey Into Imagination to cool down and relax before ice cream.
Again, we weathered the "Is it scary?" storm before the ride. Luckily there was no line, so we got right on. I always enjoy this ride, but this time the boys were fidgety and whining. It was impossible to enjoy. All I could do was hope that the thought of ice cream would keep them going.
Ok. Here's a helpful hint. How do you know when you should have stopped long before for a nap? The anwer is: When your 2 year old is crying and saying over and over, "I don't want ice cream, Mommy." I never thought I'd ever hear those words from my sons, but here it was...happening in WDW no less! Instead of using basic common sense and heading for the exit, I tried to justify staying with the old, "Once they are sitting and have the ice cream it will be better". To some extent it worked, but they were too far gone to enjoy the interaction with the characters. We got a nice photo of the family with Chip and Pluto, but we cut the whole thing short and headed back to the hotel.
Did I forget to mention that my dad and wife had arrived at WDW that day? We had PS for dinner with them at the Coral Reef at 7:30 that night. I was not exactly looking forward to that although it would be great to see my dad.
Back at the hotel, the boys went down easily and even DH dozed. For some reason, I just couldn't sleep. Although, I KNEW we needed to stop for rest, I wanted to be at the park!!
DS#1 woke up first after a little over an hour. To let the others sleep, he and I went down the visit the gift shop and look at the pool. Once I had let him put his feet in the water he was hooked. There was going to be no getting around swimming this trip!
We went back up and found everyone awake. DH and I fortified the boys with Pop-Tarts (I know...very nutritious. I'm a bad mom!) in case they wouldn't eat at the restaurant. Then we left to go back to get our PS.
Since I am always obnoxiously early, (I think it is a gift) we decided to go into The Living Seas just a few minutes before it closed. The boys had fun looking at the fish and another great CM was there. He gave the boys some Mickey stickers that they proceeded to plaster all over themselves! As I'm covertly looking at my watch and trying not to appear to rush them through the exhibits in case we are late, they are having a great time. Finally, I can't stand it any longer. <gasp> We might be late!
We exited the building and walked around to the Coral Reef. This is one of my 'must-dos' on this vacation. I love seafood and never get it because the rest of the family won't touch it. I also love to SCUBA dive but the aquarium here is as close as I've gotten in a long time! Anyway, as we round the corner, we see Dad and P waiting for us on the bench. The boys start screaming and take off running to them! A couple that were exiting the building smiled at us and asked if they knew them. DH laughed and said that no, we had trained them to accost strangers. We all got a chuckle out of that.
The table was ready for us when we checked in and we were led to an almost tank side booth on the left side of the room. We enjoyed that view and, surprisingly, the conversation and company. The food was good, but I discovered that I am not a polenta fan. Oh well, learn something new everyday! As we were eating, I looked over and noticed DS #2 eyes were huge as he stared at the tank. I glanced over and exclaimed "Look! Look there's Mickey!" Sure enough, there was the mouse himself SCUBAing around the tank. He even stopped at waved at everyone! I think we all had a good time. We talked about hooking up at MGM on the next day and decided that Dad would call on the cell phone when they got moving.
We paid the bill and made a potty stop on the way out before shooting some pictures with the Nemo sculptures. As we exited the restaurant, our waiter, Bob, came running up to us from the direction of the park, saying "There you are!" In his hand was the daily envelope that held our money for the day. He must have passed us while we were in the restroom. We had left it on the table! I couldn't believe it! Luckily, there was not much in there, just what was left over from the rest of the day. But there is no way he could have known that. He could have been saving our entire vacation by bringing us that envelope! Astounding! Kudos to Bob. A letter is going out to WDW to let them know how great he was!
The boys really wanted to ride the monorail again, so we all loaded up and took another ride. P and I had a nice conversation while Dad sat and played with the boys. It wasn't quite as nice as the night before, but who's complaining?!? We said good night to Dad and P and left for the hotel. Both DH and I were surprised at how nice an evening we had had. No problems at all with P! I'll never know how Disney manages this kind of magic.
Back at the hotel, we let the boys take a quick swim along with some beach balls that the front desk had given them. It was a little cool in the water, but it was very relaxing sitting soaking our feet and watching the boys play.
Finally, it was time again for bed. Not having had a nap, I was ready! I checked my pedometer and saw that I had walked 12,483 steps that day. I have no idea how much distance that translates to, but it felt like a lot. Little did I know that would be the least amount of steps I'd walk while at the parks.
We all fell asleep looking back at a great day and ahead to another.
