Day 3 EPCOT and MK
After our commando touring day yesterday, we decided to sleep in a bit today. DD slept until nearly 9. We spent some time in the Pop Century arcade playing games for tickets for cheap prizes. Breakfast was bagels and cereal in the food court. Boy, does the food court get packed here in the mornings. The lines for the hot food can get rather long, but there seem to be plenty of cashiers, so at least we never waited in line to pay. We headed off to EPCOT sometime after 10.
Our goal was to see the rest of the countries today, but since they werent open yet, we took a ride on Figments Imagination ride first. There was no one there. There were a few characters hanging around the side of the Imagination building. I remember seeing Goofy. I think thats the first time Ive seen a character greeting going on there.
DD realized yesterday that she had forgotten to get a pressed penny in China, so we headed around clockwise again to make a quick stop there. It turns out there is no pressed penny machine in China. That would explain why we didnt notice one yesterday.
So we moved on to pick up where we left off yesterday Italy. We wandered around a bit and did the Kidcot/penny thing. We were too early for the Living Statue. We moved on to the American Adventure where we saw the show in a nearly empty theatre. Does anyone else need to take Kleenex with them to this show, or am I just a big crybaby?
We checked out the F&W booths outside the American theatre and tasted some lovely (very sharp) Vermont cheddar cheese. I couldnt talk DD into trying to milk the fake cow.
We moved on to Japan and checked out the huge store. DD saw the pick an oyster / get a pearl stand and wanted to do it. I thought that would be a nice birthday trip souvenir, so I paid for DDs oyster. DD picked out her oyster and got a 7mm pearl with a slight pink tone. It was very pretty nice and smooth and round. We left it at the counter to have it set into a necklace with DDs birthstone.
While we waited for the necklace to be made, we did some more shopping and picked up some Yu-gi-oh cards to take home to DS. We also found the Kidcot, which is hidden away inside a tin toy exhibit. We ran into a few other people desperately trying to find the Kidcot stand. They certainly dont make that one easy to find.
We also caught the end of the candy ladys show outside the shop. DD thinks this is the coolest thing, and wanted to come back for the next show so that shed have a chance at getting a lollipop. We picked up the necklace and made a short trip to Morocco where we got a photo taken with the Genie, Aladdin, and Jasmine.
After our quick visit to Morocco we ran back to Japan to get a good spot in front of the candy ladys stand. There were a few people there before us. The candy lady seems to be very good at remembering who was there first and who came back from a previous show, as everyone that was waiting for her got to choose an animal and get a lollipop. DD got a squirrel. DDs teacher hates squirrels (this is the same teacher that doesnt like sealed envelopes ), so I think DD thought it would be funny to show her a picture of her eating a squirrel.
We moved onto France, where we looked around a bit and found the Kidcot and pressed penny machine. We decided to pass on the film, and moved onto England. We spent a lot of time here on the last trip, so after finding the Kidcot and penny machine, we moved on quickly, since I saw that Off Kilter was going to be playing in Canada shortly. There arent many seats for this show, so DD went and sat up front where a bunch of kids were sitting on the ground, and I stood in the back.
We had caught the tail end of this show on our last trip, and it was definitely something I wanted to see more of. What a great, and funny, show this is. I will definitely be returning to hear them play again.
It was time to make our way to the Grand Floridian for our dinner PS at 1900 Park Faire. We thought we would see if we could catch the Land ride on the way out, but the wait was over 30 minutes. So we sat and had a Mickey bar instead. Theres nothing like having ice cream on your way to dinner.
We took the monorail to the TTC and then caught the resort monorail to the Grand Floridian. We were early, since we walked right on to both monorails, so we looked around a bit. The pool looks just like the one at the Polynesian. We walked out and saw the wedding chapel. There was a reception going on outside the chapel, so we couldnt get too close. DD loved the hotel, and wants to stay here in the future. I told her to save her money. It may be a bit out of our league. We only stayed at the Poly in May because the discount codes were good!
We checked in to 1900 Park Faire and were seated immediately. The buffet was pretty good. DD can eat her weight in cold shrimp, so its a good bargain for her. We met Prince Charming, Cinderella, Suzy, and Perla. I got in trouble for calling Perla Suzy. I couldnt remember which was which. Actually I still dont remember. There were some nice choices on the dessert board, including bananas foster, which are quite yummy over vanilla ice cream.
Since we were now less than 24 hours away from our flight home, I asked if there was a business center where I could check in for a flight. The front desk directed me to the convention center. We did a few laps around the main building trying to find the convention center. For some reason, I found the GF maps hard to read, and there were no signs pointing the convention center. I guess you arent supposed to know its there.
We finally found it, only to find the business center closed at 5. It would have been nice if the person at the front desk knew that, since it was already after 5 when I asked. Fortunately, a CM wandered by and asked what we needed. I guess we looked lost and a bit out of place in our park touring closed when everyone else wandering around was in wedding reception dress. I told her I was hoping to check in for a flight. She was kind enough to let me in and asked me to close the door behind me. She didnt even charge me to use the computer and print my boarding passes. Thank you, whoever you were! Love that Disney service.
We hopped on the monorail and headed to MK. It was still crowded, but not nearly as crowded as the night before. There was no parade scheduled this evening. We saw Mickeys Philharmagic. We started to head over to Splash Mountain, but DD, who on our last trip proclaimed this her favorite ride, got cold feet. I still dont know what that was about, but since this was supposed to be her trip, I didnt push the issue.
The Liberty Belle was sitting in the dock getting ready to go, so we decided to jump on. I havent been on this in years. We saw a lot of trees down from the hurricane. There were places where trees had fallen towards the river, and they had chainsawed off the end a few feet from where the Liberty Belle passes, so there are these big fresh stumps sticking out over the water. Poor trees. We had a nice time just leaning on the railing and chatting. It was a lovely mom and daughter bonding moment. Can I keep her at this age forever, please?
We saw the Country Bear Jamboree next, where DD and I both agreed that we prefer the Christmas show. We walked down to the Jungle Cruise. The wait time was posted at 35 minutes, but we could see no one in line. We walked right on. Our captain was very funny, but I cant remember her name. She had some jokes Ive never heard before. When riding by the hippos, her lines were these hippos look very hungry hungry, hungry hippos but fortunately none of us are little white marbles, so we should be okay. There were quite a few people that didnt get that one, but DD and I laughed.
There was no one at all in line when we got off the cruise, so we went around again to get a different captain. We should have quit while we were ahead, because she wasnt nearly as funny.
It was nearly closing time, so we decided to shop our way down Main Street. I got a new Mickey watch in the jewelry store, and we picked up a few things to take home for DS and DH. DD didnt want to stay for fireworks, so we said our goodbyes to the MK and headed back to the hotel.
After our commando touring day yesterday, we decided to sleep in a bit today. DD slept until nearly 9. We spent some time in the Pop Century arcade playing games for tickets for cheap prizes. Breakfast was bagels and cereal in the food court. Boy, does the food court get packed here in the mornings. The lines for the hot food can get rather long, but there seem to be plenty of cashiers, so at least we never waited in line to pay. We headed off to EPCOT sometime after 10.
Our goal was to see the rest of the countries today, but since they werent open yet, we took a ride on Figments Imagination ride first. There was no one there. There were a few characters hanging around the side of the Imagination building. I remember seeing Goofy. I think thats the first time Ive seen a character greeting going on there.
DD realized yesterday that she had forgotten to get a pressed penny in China, so we headed around clockwise again to make a quick stop there. It turns out there is no pressed penny machine in China. That would explain why we didnt notice one yesterday.
So we moved on to pick up where we left off yesterday Italy. We wandered around a bit and did the Kidcot/penny thing. We were too early for the Living Statue. We moved on to the American Adventure where we saw the show in a nearly empty theatre. Does anyone else need to take Kleenex with them to this show, or am I just a big crybaby?
We checked out the F&W booths outside the American theatre and tasted some lovely (very sharp) Vermont cheddar cheese. I couldnt talk DD into trying to milk the fake cow.
We moved on to Japan and checked out the huge store. DD saw the pick an oyster / get a pearl stand and wanted to do it. I thought that would be a nice birthday trip souvenir, so I paid for DDs oyster. DD picked out her oyster and got a 7mm pearl with a slight pink tone. It was very pretty nice and smooth and round. We left it at the counter to have it set into a necklace with DDs birthstone.
While we waited for the necklace to be made, we did some more shopping and picked up some Yu-gi-oh cards to take home to DS. We also found the Kidcot, which is hidden away inside a tin toy exhibit. We ran into a few other people desperately trying to find the Kidcot stand. They certainly dont make that one easy to find.
We also caught the end of the candy ladys show outside the shop. DD thinks this is the coolest thing, and wanted to come back for the next show so that shed have a chance at getting a lollipop. We picked up the necklace and made a short trip to Morocco where we got a photo taken with the Genie, Aladdin, and Jasmine.
After our quick visit to Morocco we ran back to Japan to get a good spot in front of the candy ladys stand. There were a few people there before us. The candy lady seems to be very good at remembering who was there first and who came back from a previous show, as everyone that was waiting for her got to choose an animal and get a lollipop. DD got a squirrel. DDs teacher hates squirrels (this is the same teacher that doesnt like sealed envelopes ), so I think DD thought it would be funny to show her a picture of her eating a squirrel.
We moved onto France, where we looked around a bit and found the Kidcot and pressed penny machine. We decided to pass on the film, and moved onto England. We spent a lot of time here on the last trip, so after finding the Kidcot and penny machine, we moved on quickly, since I saw that Off Kilter was going to be playing in Canada shortly. There arent many seats for this show, so DD went and sat up front where a bunch of kids were sitting on the ground, and I stood in the back.
We had caught the tail end of this show on our last trip, and it was definitely something I wanted to see more of. What a great, and funny, show this is. I will definitely be returning to hear them play again.
It was time to make our way to the Grand Floridian for our dinner PS at 1900 Park Faire. We thought we would see if we could catch the Land ride on the way out, but the wait was over 30 minutes. So we sat and had a Mickey bar instead. Theres nothing like having ice cream on your way to dinner.
We took the monorail to the TTC and then caught the resort monorail to the Grand Floridian. We were early, since we walked right on to both monorails, so we looked around a bit. The pool looks just like the one at the Polynesian. We walked out and saw the wedding chapel. There was a reception going on outside the chapel, so we couldnt get too close. DD loved the hotel, and wants to stay here in the future. I told her to save her money. It may be a bit out of our league. We only stayed at the Poly in May because the discount codes were good!
We checked in to 1900 Park Faire and were seated immediately. The buffet was pretty good. DD can eat her weight in cold shrimp, so its a good bargain for her. We met Prince Charming, Cinderella, Suzy, and Perla. I got in trouble for calling Perla Suzy. I couldnt remember which was which. Actually I still dont remember. There were some nice choices on the dessert board, including bananas foster, which are quite yummy over vanilla ice cream.
Since we were now less than 24 hours away from our flight home, I asked if there was a business center where I could check in for a flight. The front desk directed me to the convention center. We did a few laps around the main building trying to find the convention center. For some reason, I found the GF maps hard to read, and there were no signs pointing the convention center. I guess you arent supposed to know its there.
We finally found it, only to find the business center closed at 5. It would have been nice if the person at the front desk knew that, since it was already after 5 when I asked. Fortunately, a CM wandered by and asked what we needed. I guess we looked lost and a bit out of place in our park touring closed when everyone else wandering around was in wedding reception dress. I told her I was hoping to check in for a flight. She was kind enough to let me in and asked me to close the door behind me. She didnt even charge me to use the computer and print my boarding passes. Thank you, whoever you were! Love that Disney service.
We hopped on the monorail and headed to MK. It was still crowded, but not nearly as crowded as the night before. There was no parade scheduled this evening. We saw Mickeys Philharmagic. We started to head over to Splash Mountain, but DD, who on our last trip proclaimed this her favorite ride, got cold feet. I still dont know what that was about, but since this was supposed to be her trip, I didnt push the issue.
The Liberty Belle was sitting in the dock getting ready to go, so we decided to jump on. I havent been on this in years. We saw a lot of trees down from the hurricane. There were places where trees had fallen towards the river, and they had chainsawed off the end a few feet from where the Liberty Belle passes, so there are these big fresh stumps sticking out over the water. Poor trees. We had a nice time just leaning on the railing and chatting. It was a lovely mom and daughter bonding moment. Can I keep her at this age forever, please?
We saw the Country Bear Jamboree next, where DD and I both agreed that we prefer the Christmas show. We walked down to the Jungle Cruise. The wait time was posted at 35 minutes, but we could see no one in line. We walked right on. Our captain was very funny, but I cant remember her name. She had some jokes Ive never heard before. When riding by the hippos, her lines were these hippos look very hungry hungry, hungry hippos but fortunately none of us are little white marbles, so we should be okay. There were quite a few people that didnt get that one, but DD and I laughed.
There was no one at all in line when we got off the cruise, so we went around again to get a different captain. We should have quit while we were ahead, because she wasnt nearly as funny.
It was nearly closing time, so we decided to shop our way down Main Street. I got a new Mickey watch in the jewelry store, and we picked up a few things to take home for DS and DH. DD didnt want to stay for fireworks, so we said our goodbyes to the MK and headed back to the hotel.
