Hijinks & Shenanigans but not much Mayhem@The Dark Side+Disney:Link to DL/Hawaii TR

[teekathepony]

No midnight swim fully clothed tonight? Bummer.
Yeah, that whole "Let's just walk over to Epcot!" thing has really got me excited. Walk to Epcot. November 2015 can't come fast enough!!
Yummy! Karamell Kuche!

I thought, “Maybe I will just watch the show and not take any pictures”

Sometimes I think that too!

... with the same end result.

What a lovely evening!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

You do realise I'm never going to be able to eat an apple normally again

Gotta love strolling into Epcot late in the evening and it's even better when you end up in a sweet shop

Love that you considered watching illuminations without taking photos (even if it was only for a nanosecond )

For closing down the park-who cares that it closed at 9pm you still made it until the close

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

OK, that apple is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

Haha, I wish I got money every time I said, maybe no pictures this time. Just doesn't happen, so I will remain poor. Why is it so hard to stop???

 

[Pixel Dust]

I thought, “Maybe I will just watch the show and not take any pictures”

Yeah... I think that a lot too. It never seems to happen.

 

[natebenma]

No midnight swim fully clothed tonight? Bummer.
Yeah, that whole "Let's just walk over to Epcot!" thing has really got me excited. Walk to Epcot. November 2015 can't come fast enough!!
Yummy! Karamell Kuche!

Sometimes I think that too!

... with the same end result.

What a lovely evening!

No swim tonight! I was all out of pjs

You will absolutely love how awesome that walk to EPCOT is when you are staying at one of the near by resorts. No hassle Illuminations. Taking a quick jaunt to France or Morocco or Japan for some take out. 7 minutes to a Grey Goose Slushie.

It is pretty sweet!!!

I knew I would have some kindred spirits in my photo compulsions. I guess the only way to really guarantee that you won't take pictures is to leave the camera behind, eh? And even that doesn't work if you have your phone!

You do realise I'm never going to be able to eat an apple normally again

Gotta love strolling into Epcot late in the evening and it's even better when you end up in a sweet shop

Love that you considered watching illuminations without taking photos (even if it was only for a nanosecond )

For closing down the park-who cares that it closed at 9pm you still made it until the close

OK, well if you make some art when consuming your next apple, I want to see it!

The Karamell Kuche shop is definitely a welcome addition to the World Showcase! Such a nice place for a huge selection of inexpensively priced treats. The biggest dilemma is which to choose!

I may have even said out loud to Mark that I wasn't going to take pictures and I'm sure that was met with rolling eyes (rightfully so).

Yup, that's us, 9 PM Party Animals!

OK, that apple is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

Haha, I wish I got money every time I said, maybe no pictures this time. Just doesn't happen, so I will remain poor. Why is it so hard to stop???

I copied that apple picture from the internet ages ago, with no particular purpose, but I think it fit quite nicely here!

Hey, didn't you actually view Wishes once with only one picture?

Yeah... I think that a lot too. It never seems to happen.

Sounds like we all need a 12-step program. Or an f/12 stop program. Or something like that!

 

[momabbate]

Sound like a great way to end your day. A night like this could sell most people to BC or YC. I know it had me. One day...
As for closing the park at 9. It's not your fault the park wasn't open later. I am sure you would have stayed if it was.

 

[KatMark]

What a lovely way for you and Mark to end the night...just the two of you in beautiful World Showcase at night. I'm glad Mark finally got to the German shop with you and you got yourselves a little treat.

You got some really nice shot of Illuminations.

It doesn't matter what time the park closed, you still closed it.

 

[MickeyT]

Yeah, that whole "Let's just walk over to Epcot!" thing has really got me excited. Walk to Epcot. November 2015 can't come fast enough!!
Yummy! Karamell Kuche!
!

One of my favorite memories....Sitting at BC with wife and grandson at 8:30. They were pretty tired from the day so I grab my camera, out the door and set up at the Japan pavilion in time to shoot Illuminations. As Dee said, 7 minutes and you are there!

Enjoy.....

 

[natebenma]

Sound like a great way to end your day. A night like this could sell most people to BC or YC. I know it had me. One day...
As for closing the park at 9. It's not your fault the park wasn't open later. I am sure you would have stayed if it was.

It was really nice. Mark and I have loved visiting EPCOT since our first trip together 30 years ago as high school sweethearts. This was the first time in about 20 years that we were able to enjoy the park just the two of us.

What a lovely way for you and Mark to end the night...just the two of you in beautiful World Showcase at night. I'm glad Mark finally got to the German shop with you and you got yourselves a little treat.

You got some really nice shot of Illuminations.

It doesn't matter what time the park closed, you still closed it.

We had such a wonderful evening! A fantastic dinner with my family and dear friend, followed by a stroll with a real sweetie! I mean Mark. Not the popcorn.

Well. Both!

And, for our next incredible example of endurance, we will close down Animal Kingdom at 7 PM!

One of my favorite memories....Sitting at BC with wife and grandson at 8:30. They were pretty tired from the day so I grab my camera, out the door and set up at the Japan pavilion in time to shoot Illuminations. As Dee said, 7 minutes and you are there!

Enjoy.....

This was not the first time I had popped over to EPCOT to end the day with Illuminations, but I am usually solo. It was really nice to have the company now that the boys are a bit older and responsible enough to be left alone for a little while.

 

[MEK]

to Curly! I have a friend who always dresses her cat in outfits and post their picture on FB. Too funny!

What a lovely evening at Illuminations. Always helps when its a stone's throw away. Beautiful view along the world showcase.

Hey - whatever it takes to close a park!

 

[Wood Nymph]

This was not the first time I had popped over to EPCOT to end the day with Illuminations, but I am usually solo. It was really nice to have the company now that the boys are a bit older and responsible enough to be left alone for a little while.

I would usually run back into Epcot by myself to watch Illuminations, too. My DH was never a big fan. But on our last trip it worked out perfectly for all four of us, sister, friend and DH, to hang around after our delicious dinner at La Hacienda so that we could see Illuminations from inside Epcot. There really aren't a lot of fireworks that you can see from outside the park. Most of the show has low fireworks. I watched Illuminations from our balcony at the BC and there were long periods without any visible fireworks at all.

 

[natebenma]

to Curly! I have a friend who always dresses her cat in outfits and post their picture on FB. Too funny!

What a lovely evening at Illuminations. Always helps when its a stone's throw away. Beautiful view along the world showcase.

Hey - whatever it takes to close a park!

I have a friend who makes outfits for her chickens!

Such a great night!

I would usually run back into Epcot by myself to watch Illuminations, too. My DH was never a big fan. But on our last trip it worked out perfectly for all four of us, sister, friend and DH, to hang around after our delicious dinner at La Hacienda so that we could see Illuminations from inside Epcot. There really aren't a lot of fireworks that you can see from outside the park. Most of the show has low fireworks. I watched Illuminations from our balcony at the BC and there were long periods without any visible fireworks at all.

Same with my family. They don't care if they see Illuminations or not most of the time.



I have been known to drag my feet walking through the World Showcase at night so that my family will be tricked into staying.

And then they enjoy it, of course!

 

[tiggerfan77]

Sounds like a wonderful and relaxing evening! And who doesn't like caramel goodies! I love how the parks take on a different persona at night. Epcot is definitely my favorite park to be in at night! I how all the countries are lit up and the dancing lights on the pathways as we exist. Sounds like a perfect night to me!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Mmm Karamell Kuche!!! We had caramel apples there twice this trip!!
DH and I would definitely be walking over for illuminations alone too. The boys have no interest anymore, unless they are sitting on the patio of Rose & Crown of course. Lol
And how could you watch WITHOUT taking pictures...I know the feeling. My DH says just watch and enjoy it.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[glennbo123]

Sounds like it was a great evening -- dinner with a dear friend and then closing down Epcot with IllumiNations. You're like me, just can't resist taking pictures.

 

[natebenma]

Sounds like a wonderful and relaxing evening! And who doesn't like caramel goodies! I love how the parks take on a different persona at night. Epcot is definitely my favorite park to be in at night! I how all the countries are lit up and the dancing lights on the pathways as we exist. Sounds like a perfect night to me!

We had a great night! I was so glad to be able to introduce Mark to the "new" caramel shop.

I love EPCOT any time of day, but you are right. It is particularly beautiful at night.

Mmm Karamell Kuche!!! We had caramel apples there twice this trip!!
DH and I would definitely be walking over for illuminations alone too. The boys have no interest anymore, unless they are sitting on the patio of Rose & Crown of course. Lol
And how could you watch WITHOUT taking pictures...I know the feeling. My DH says just watch and enjoy it.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I haven't tried the apples, but they look sooooo good. Did you have just caramel or one of the jazzed up ones?

It was nice to have some company for Illuminations.

The next night would be another test for me. We watched Wishes for the first time ever and I vowed not to take pictures and just enjoy the show.

Sounds like it was a great evening -- dinner with a dear friend and then closing down Epcot with IllumiNations. You're like me, just can't resist taking pictures.

A great, great evening!!!

It's a curse! I've got the shutterbug. I've got it bad!

 

[natebenma]

Today was July 19, our 27th Anniversary

Extra Magic Hour this morning at EPCOT. After our breakfast in the lounge, we made our way to the International Gateway


This was the view walking up:




And looking back:




Ben took this photo with his camera:




We arrived at the IG at 7:45 and they hadn’t started letting guests in yet.

Once in, we walked through the empty countries of UK and Canada. I love this!

















Past Imagination






Heading to The Land








Now came the big dilemma of the trip- It had been awhile since we have done Test Track- it was down in 2012 during the class trip. With the new FP return rules, time now matters! What are the FP return times for Soarin? For Test Track?

Should we pull a FP for Soarin before or after riding? Or FP Soarin, then go immediately to Test Track?



Let’s go check out the wait time and FP time:



20 minute wait time, with a FP return time of 9:20 to 10:20. That will work. We decided to pull and ride.

For consistency sake, let’s get a picture of the FP time for Soarin:



Fail!

Continued in Next Post
.

 

[natebenma]

Continued from Previous Post

Next stop- the new Test Track! It was too early for us pull a FP, so we got into standby: 40 minutes.

I liked the queue. Not that I’m a car lover or anything, but I found the futuristic cars on display to be more enjoyable than the whole loud noise and overly bright lights in the line from the past. I liked the crash test dummies at the end of the former queue, though.









And then we were on to the design phase. We let the boys each design their own car:
























Let’s take a spin!










When we were finished riding, I pulled my photopass card from my lanyard to add the ride photo… And you can no longer do that now unless you have Photopass Plus! GRRRR!!!

So here is my red-neck ride photo




We were able to pull a FP when we were done with the ride: Return Time 1:40-2:40

So there have been a lot of mixed reactions to the redesigned Test Track. Not much middle ground- you love it or you don’t. I really liked it. The interactive design phase was fun. I thought the neon inside the ride was really cool and the outdoor track is still a rush!


Next Up: More Future World- Wow, we haven’t done THAT in awhile!

 

[KatMark]

Great update, D. Congrats on 27 years (we'll be 31 this month).

One of my favorite things of staying at the Boardwalk is going through the "back door."

Good move on Soarin' and then going to Test Track. I never got pictures of the futuristic cars. We did the FP and I don't remember them being there. Unfortunately, I'm in the don't like category. I think boys in general would love it though.

Hmmm...we haven't done that in awhile? I'm going to take a stab that it's Universe of Energy with Ellen.

 

[tiggerfan77]

Happy Anniversary Day! I still think it's so cool that we were both in Orlando the same week for our anniversaries (Our dating anniversary is the 23rd)
Tom and I were at EPCOT in 2012 as well when Test Track was still down and we didn't get to EPCOT on our last trip so haven't down the new TT yet. I can't wait until we can go back though! I'm glad to hear you loved it. I loved the old TT so I can't imagine why I wouldn't like the new one. As long as they still have the fast loop at the end, that's all I need!