Mike Jones
<font color=993300>....nothing clever to say... ju
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 1,372
The Cast:
Mike, 39, chief organiser, driver and brew maker
Heather, 40, wife and mum
Bethany, 11 (going on 20!), coaster addict, hates getting wet.
Adam, 9, (going on 8!), hates coasters (except BTMRR), LOVES getting wet!
DAY 8 CHRISTMAS DAY, THURSDAY 25TH DECEMBER 2003
Todays plan : EPCOT
Alarm woke me at 545am (thought it wouldnt do any harm to get to the park a touch earlier today!). Made coffee and enjoyed the quiet for a few minutes, before waking Heather and the children. Their presents consist totally of $$$ in cards from their various relatives they amass about $140 each. (In case you are wondering, mine & Heathers presents were unwrapped about 8 days ago at Manchester airport this holiday!) We telephone my parents and our friends back in Blighty mate Scotts kids are renowned for getting him up at ridiculously early times on Christmas Day well, he reports a new record this year: 0030am. Mine would be ex-kids if they tried that.
Breakfast and usual ablutions later and were off! Its relatively cool outside, but clear, with the promise of another sunny day later (I know, I know, its hard, but were coping, were coping!) (Oh, and the folks report that its wet and cold at home. Shame!) We leave at 745am and video the approach to Epcots parking lot (what do you mean sad? This is the last time we will be passing these hallowed portals this trip and who knows how long before we can come back to Florida?) Parked in Imagine 58 and walk straight over to the entrance. It looks like the park is fully open IT IS! We are inside at 805am and running for Mission Space! There are modest numbers of other people around, but the unexpectedly early start has given us the edge! Come on, Beth!
We had discussed Christmas Day before and during the holiday, and our conclusion was that, provided we got into the park (and it was always and only going to be Epcot you couldnt pay me enough to go to MK or MGM today) we wouldnt be bothered if we DID any attractions. We just wanted to cruise the World Showcase and enjoy the atmosphere and street entertainers, before our dinner reservation for Akershus at 510pm (although I now have some doubts about the timing, but more of that shortly). Any rides etc. would be treated as a bonus. Well, wed not figured on being let loose in a virtually empty park, so we try to repeat our last Epcot start Heather and Adam trot off to TestTrack for FastPasses while Beth and I leg it to MS. We are in line before 815 and move smoothly through the inside of the building (giving us a better chance to look around than last time, and I like the theming, especially the slowly revolving 2001-esque space station.). We are assigned the same mission roles as on our first trip and are teamed up with a young Japanese couple who havent ridden before. Naturally, we seasoned professionals take them under our collective wings and show them the ropes! Everyone more or less gets their jobs right and we narrowly avoid falling down the crevice (again!) We exit at 830(!) and walk next-door to meet Heather and Adam. They are already there, as they have decided not to ride due to the standby wait being posted as 25 minutes. Our FastPass slot for TT is 9:00-10:00, so we choose to walk across Innoventions to The Living Seas pavilion. (Isnt the wave-pool feature outside lovely? Vaguely reminiscent of Sea World.) Its quiet here and we are admitted without delay. We dont do the theatre show, preferring to take the Hydrolators straight into the main aquarium zone. We spend about an hour here, browsing the various tanks and displays I got some eerie footage of the jellyfish! The dolphins and the manatees are a bit elusive, but otherwise were happy.
930 now, so back to TestTrack for our ride. The standby line is extended well outside the building now, but I fail to notice what the wait time is. This time Bill selects exactly the same tests as on our previous rides (!) and we enjoy the full circuit without any stops or delays. I video the final part of the journey from the barrier test onwards and it turns out great! I have a last, hungry look at the GMC van in the post-show area and we march Adam through the shop with his arms pinned to his sides and proceed over to the World Showcase (open from 10:00am today).
We walk past Mexico and go to Norway. I have been thinking about our dinner reservation and, given our Pavlovian tendencies regarding eating opportunities, Im not sure that we can wander the World for the next 7 hours without pigging ourselves to the point where an all-u-can-eat buffet at Norway would be an expensive waste of money! Heather agrees, so I approach the Restaurant Akershus to see if I can bring it forward to lunchtime. At first glance, it appears unlikely that there will be any chance there are dozens of people standing around outside, doing a cracking impression of hungry visitors trying to bag the last 2 places at the lunchtime sitting! Wait a minute a bell tinkles somewhere in my head - Norway hosts a Fairytale Storybook Breakfast thingy at the moment, doesnt it? It seems that it does, and the crowd are actually already booked in and awaiting their tables! A very helpful Norwegian CM at the outside podium listens to my request and takes me to an inside terminal to make the change. We now have PSs for the lunchtime buffet at 1210. Result.
Well, while were here we might as well pick up a couple of coffees from the bakery. We resist the temptation posed by the cakes on display we can just about manage 1.5 hours without calories and we find a bench alongside the lagoon between Norway and China to enjoy. The weather is warm now and the legs come off my zippys! The kids understand the coffee ritual ( Leave us alone while we drink coffee! simple isnt it?) and they play with the stick things (2 wands, which you use to keep a weighted, feathered rod spinning gracefully about your person or launch at unsuspecting passers-by!) at the Chinese stall a few yards away. Adam decides these are the bees knees and the dogs wotsits and MUST have some NOW. I use all my trained-negotiator skills to persuade him of his folly ( No you cant have your Christmas money to buy that junk!) and we move on. We enter the large Chinese store at the rear of the pavilion. Me and the kids are through it in about 10 minutes its a glitzy sort of place with lots of promise, but it never quite seems to deliver for me - I mean just where would you put a fake, 3 foot, jade and onyx dragon when you got it home, or a pair of nylon-imitation-silk panda slippers? Heather, however, commences a detailed stock-take of the entire store I keep going back to see where she is and shes still reading the packaging on some incense sticks near the entrance door! We admit defeat and find a sunny bench outside the rear part of the store. BTW does anyone know why this part of the China shop has all the charm of a Salford warehouse? It has been like this since at least 2001, looking like the re-fit didnt get that far and dont worry, well have the proper displays and floor coverings and a few more windows or lights here by Monday, Tuesday at the latest, honest Guv, so why dont you just spread out the really nasty rails of tat and soiled t-shirts to cover the floor space for now, eh?
Ive stopped now, sorry! Seriously, any theories about this would be welcome. It didnt in any way spoil my mood on Christmas Day, it never does I always visit the store just to see what treasures are destined for this gloomy corner. Ah, well, back to the report oh, hang on a sec
.AND another thing about the China pavilion (which on the whole I like, I really do, and the CMs are charming and courteous, and the little acrobats are soooo cute ) why, I say WHY dont they have a Souvenir Penny machine?!! This is the ONLY pavilion in Epcot that doesnt, and Adam is not terribly forgiving as his squashed penny collection (18 cents and 2 squashed quarters now!) could really do with one to complete the tour around the Epcot lagoon. I do actually ask a couple of CMs for an explanation, as I did last year, but they havent a clue why not either.
Moving on we decide to stay in this area of the World until lunch, and wander back to the Mexico pavilion. I have always been intrigued by the ring carver stall next to the small, lakeside store, and I spend a few moments looking over the goods. We enter the main building (Aztec Temple theme Id love to climb those fake and dangerous looking steps to the sacrificial altar on top! Bet the views good!) and mooch the various stalls. Now I know why it still seems quiet outside theyre all in here! Too crowded for me, and I dont really need a new rain-stick, so I take the kids outside while Heather gets stuck into the serious browsing. I decide to give into my impulses and have a ring carved with my DWs name on it.
12:05 now and we make our way to Norway again for lunch. There are a fair number of people waiting in the reception area but when I book in we are seated almost immediately. The CM who takes us in gives us a quick tour of the buffet area and explains that they have changed the format since our last visit. To maintain quality and presumably to cut down on waste, only the cold food is self-serve at the buffet tables. All hot dishes on the menu are ordered from the server and then individually prepared for each guest. You can, of course, order as much as you want and as many times as you desire.
Quick word about the restaurant: Akershus is presented as the hall of a medieval palace and fortress the original overlooks Oslo harbour, apparently and the dining rooms are furnished with traditional, heavy tables beneath arched or beamed ceilings. The effect is pleasing and comfortable. The food is offered as a buffet at both lunch and dinner, a traditional Norwegian affair known as a koldtbord, literally a cold table although the fare includes a wide selection of hot dishes to complement the cold meats, assorted salads, seafood, cheeses and breads. Our server is Camilla, who takes our drinks order first: Ringnes Norwegian Lager for Heather and Mike, (very nice, and Im not a lager fan) smoothies for Beth and Adam. We all attack the cold tables (everything looks pristine and fresh in bowls standing in heaps of ice) and we enjoy a selection of meats, (including smoked salmon, smoked turkey, ham, rare beef, cured and fresh seafood) a tasty range of prepared salads and lovely breads. Back at our table we order from the kitchen. Both kids want meatballs and pasta (the Norwegian meatballs are lovely, BTW), although they could have had hot dogs, macaroni cheese, PB & J sandwiches or grilled cheese from the Little Viking Menu. We are offered the choice of Braised Lamb (with thyme infused cabbage), Kjottkaker (beets, gherkins, onions with ground beef & pork, braised white cabbage & beef demi), Pan Fried Trout, Seared Atlantic Salmon (with spring greens & sherry-bacon vinaigrette), Pasta Akershus (fettuccine with wild mushroom ragout & Jarlsberg cheese) and Hearty Viking Favourites (mixed, seasonal vegetables with rutabaga and meatballs). Wow! We both have the Lamb to start, and a dish of the veggies. Its excellent, and we find space for seconds Heather has the Pasta (scrummy) and I order the Trout, which is first class.
After a respectable interlude, we order dessert. They offer small but perfectly formed mousses, cakes and other delights for about $2.50 each (Beth has a choccy thing and Adam has paint your own cookie at last he can play with his food legally!) or you can order a whole plate of 6 different ones for about 10 bucks. What a dilemma! Obviously Heather and I decide on the whole platter but we DO split it between us.
The restaurant is full over the time we spent there, but the atmosphere is relaxed and we are not rushed in any way. We notice that a high proportion of the other diners are young Japanese couples and groups (I wonder for a moment if the Japan pavilion restaurants are similarly populated by young Norwegians, but it passes) and they seem to be as satisfied as we are. The only bum note I heard was an elderly American chap moaning about the restaurant design to his companion, as he had to move aside whilst in line for the buffet tables, to let the servers pass through to the kitchen. Merry Christmas, sir.
The lunch buffet is priced at $13.99 for adults and $6.99 for children. With drinks and dessert and tax it comes to $82 and I leave $100. We exit, stuffed and happy, at 2:00pm.
The avenues are much busier now, but still not oppressive. We are walking (clockwise) past Italy when we are drawn in by Boccelli & Brightman doing their thing for the Masquerade. Its hard to explain the appeal of this (favourite) attraction a number of gowned and masked (slightly eerie) characters walking around the pavilion to loud opera music but I love it. We send the kids for coffee (vendor cart near US pavilion one of the servers there last year christened my regular coffee with a double shot of espresso orders depth-charges, and asked me how I slept!) and sat in the piazza to watch and listen. Following the end of Masquerade, we are treated to a Christmas Narration from an Italian lady CM. Very relaxing. However, the kids are getting twitchy weve not moved for 20 minutes and they fear bedsores or deep vein thrombosis so we move on. Its gone a bit hazy now and isnt just as warm, but its still comfortable.
3:00pm approaches and we set off clockwise again, heading for Canada and Off Kilter. Bethany takes a walkie-talkie and peels off at America to get some bits from the shop. By the time we reach the Off Kilter stage I reckon she must have called me 7 times to report her position (still in the store) and I tell her not to call me again unless shes been kidnapped. She calls back to tell me not to be silly, as obviously the kidnappers will not let her phone home.
The Off Kilter Boys arrive and kick off with Irish Rover followed by a rap number! Both receive significant applause! For anyone not familiar with O.K., they are a self-styled Celtic, rock n roll bagpipe band and we think they are great! The show seems to be over way too soon, and, after Bethany arrives (6 calls whilst in transit from US to Canada) we move on to the UK for restrooms and shops. However, although weve avoided them for 3 years, we are drawn in by The British Invasion playing Beatles tunes on the bandstand in the UK gardens. Im gob-smacked against all my expectations that a Beatles Tribute band could possibly be any good, guess what? They ARE! We join the crowd sitting around the gardens and tap our feet for the rest of the set.
We go back over the bridge to France next crowds are getting thicker now and stop to gawp at Le Serveur Amusant one of the performers is building, and climbing an increasingly unstable tower of dining chairs atop a dining table. He tops out by doing a handstand at least 18 or 20 feet up! Respect! The act ends to much-deserved applause and we continue anti-clockwise as far as Japan (only regret about today is that we forgot to stop at Morocco for a browse I bought a really tasteful traditional robe there last trip but havent found anywhere I can wear it in the UK without people howling with laughter) where we re-do the store and Heather buys some calligraphy brushes. The kids want to wait for the next display by Miyuki, who creates candy animals while-u-watch shes brilliant, try and see her as they both managed to get picked and come home with their own animal lollies last trip! This is at least 30 minutes off, so Heather and I leave them to it. We stay for the current Matsuriza show drummers who do fantastic, stirring performances on oversized, traditional (and beautifully crafted) drums on the terrace of the Temple. Again, IMHO, un-missable! We are peckish now, so we go to the US pavilion where Heather tucks into apple pie from the Liberty Inn and I grab a brownie and another coffee from a stall. The 5pm Candlelight Processional is starting and I watch the first part from the walkway before returning to Japan for the kids. I arrive in time to video them both being selected for candy animal carers Bethany got an elephant and Adam chose an Alligator. This is an unusual and curiously addictive show please have a look if you are passing! She talks for the animals as they are born from the raw candy wake-up, Flolida Arrigator, Wake-up! Arrigator say ouch, ouch (as she users clippers to form the limbs!) Its fascinating!
(Footnote: they managed to get the animals home more or less in one piece and they are currently cluttering up our Welsh dresser!)
We walk back to Heather in the US and catch the end of the CP very stirring stuff, but I didnt fancy the lines! Very crowded now, nearly 6pm, and we are flagging. After all, weve been here for 10 hours! No chance of lasting until Illuminations, so we quit while ahead and walk slowly back to the car. We stop at the supermarket to collect the vital ingredients for Black Velvet (Guinness and Champagne) and are back at the villa by 7:15pm. The kids watch The Simpsons in the bedroom and we watch Friends whilst testing the Black Velvet for alcohol content. Find it satisfactory!
Only 2 slight negatives Im starting with a cold (thanks Adam) and am sad that we wont see Epcot again for an unknown length of time. Overall its been a lovely day and once again the weather has been very kind to us. We watch Terminator until 10:00 ish and are all asleep by 10:30.
Tomorrows Plan: Lazy Day and possible Water Park.
Mike
Mike, 39, chief organiser, driver and brew maker
Heather, 40, wife and mum
Bethany, 11 (going on 20!), coaster addict, hates getting wet.
Adam, 9, (going on 8!), hates coasters (except BTMRR), LOVES getting wet!
DAY 8 CHRISTMAS DAY, THURSDAY 25TH DECEMBER 2003
Todays plan : EPCOT
Alarm woke me at 545am (thought it wouldnt do any harm to get to the park a touch earlier today!). Made coffee and enjoyed the quiet for a few minutes, before waking Heather and the children. Their presents consist totally of $$$ in cards from their various relatives they amass about $140 each. (In case you are wondering, mine & Heathers presents were unwrapped about 8 days ago at Manchester airport this holiday!) We telephone my parents and our friends back in Blighty mate Scotts kids are renowned for getting him up at ridiculously early times on Christmas Day well, he reports a new record this year: 0030am. Mine would be ex-kids if they tried that.
Breakfast and usual ablutions later and were off! Its relatively cool outside, but clear, with the promise of another sunny day later (I know, I know, its hard, but were coping, were coping!) (Oh, and the folks report that its wet and cold at home. Shame!) We leave at 745am and video the approach to Epcots parking lot (what do you mean sad? This is the last time we will be passing these hallowed portals this trip and who knows how long before we can come back to Florida?) Parked in Imagine 58 and walk straight over to the entrance. It looks like the park is fully open IT IS! We are inside at 805am and running for Mission Space! There are modest numbers of other people around, but the unexpectedly early start has given us the edge! Come on, Beth!
We had discussed Christmas Day before and during the holiday, and our conclusion was that, provided we got into the park (and it was always and only going to be Epcot you couldnt pay me enough to go to MK or MGM today) we wouldnt be bothered if we DID any attractions. We just wanted to cruise the World Showcase and enjoy the atmosphere and street entertainers, before our dinner reservation for Akershus at 510pm (although I now have some doubts about the timing, but more of that shortly). Any rides etc. would be treated as a bonus. Well, wed not figured on being let loose in a virtually empty park, so we try to repeat our last Epcot start Heather and Adam trot off to TestTrack for FastPasses while Beth and I leg it to MS. We are in line before 815 and move smoothly through the inside of the building (giving us a better chance to look around than last time, and I like the theming, especially the slowly revolving 2001-esque space station.). We are assigned the same mission roles as on our first trip and are teamed up with a young Japanese couple who havent ridden before. Naturally, we seasoned professionals take them under our collective wings and show them the ropes! Everyone more or less gets their jobs right and we narrowly avoid falling down the crevice (again!) We exit at 830(!) and walk next-door to meet Heather and Adam. They are already there, as they have decided not to ride due to the standby wait being posted as 25 minutes. Our FastPass slot for TT is 9:00-10:00, so we choose to walk across Innoventions to The Living Seas pavilion. (Isnt the wave-pool feature outside lovely? Vaguely reminiscent of Sea World.) Its quiet here and we are admitted without delay. We dont do the theatre show, preferring to take the Hydrolators straight into the main aquarium zone. We spend about an hour here, browsing the various tanks and displays I got some eerie footage of the jellyfish! The dolphins and the manatees are a bit elusive, but otherwise were happy.
930 now, so back to TestTrack for our ride. The standby line is extended well outside the building now, but I fail to notice what the wait time is. This time Bill selects exactly the same tests as on our previous rides (!) and we enjoy the full circuit without any stops or delays. I video the final part of the journey from the barrier test onwards and it turns out great! I have a last, hungry look at the GMC van in the post-show area and we march Adam through the shop with his arms pinned to his sides and proceed over to the World Showcase (open from 10:00am today).
We walk past Mexico and go to Norway. I have been thinking about our dinner reservation and, given our Pavlovian tendencies regarding eating opportunities, Im not sure that we can wander the World for the next 7 hours without pigging ourselves to the point where an all-u-can-eat buffet at Norway would be an expensive waste of money! Heather agrees, so I approach the Restaurant Akershus to see if I can bring it forward to lunchtime. At first glance, it appears unlikely that there will be any chance there are dozens of people standing around outside, doing a cracking impression of hungry visitors trying to bag the last 2 places at the lunchtime sitting! Wait a minute a bell tinkles somewhere in my head - Norway hosts a Fairytale Storybook Breakfast thingy at the moment, doesnt it? It seems that it does, and the crowd are actually already booked in and awaiting their tables! A very helpful Norwegian CM at the outside podium listens to my request and takes me to an inside terminal to make the change. We now have PSs for the lunchtime buffet at 1210. Result.
Well, while were here we might as well pick up a couple of coffees from the bakery. We resist the temptation posed by the cakes on display we can just about manage 1.5 hours without calories and we find a bench alongside the lagoon between Norway and China to enjoy. The weather is warm now and the legs come off my zippys! The kids understand the coffee ritual ( Leave us alone while we drink coffee! simple isnt it?) and they play with the stick things (2 wands, which you use to keep a weighted, feathered rod spinning gracefully about your person or launch at unsuspecting passers-by!) at the Chinese stall a few yards away. Adam decides these are the bees knees and the dogs wotsits and MUST have some NOW. I use all my trained-negotiator skills to persuade him of his folly ( No you cant have your Christmas money to buy that junk!) and we move on. We enter the large Chinese store at the rear of the pavilion. Me and the kids are through it in about 10 minutes its a glitzy sort of place with lots of promise, but it never quite seems to deliver for me - I mean just where would you put a fake, 3 foot, jade and onyx dragon when you got it home, or a pair of nylon-imitation-silk panda slippers? Heather, however, commences a detailed stock-take of the entire store I keep going back to see where she is and shes still reading the packaging on some incense sticks near the entrance door! We admit defeat and find a sunny bench outside the rear part of the store. BTW does anyone know why this part of the China shop has all the charm of a Salford warehouse? It has been like this since at least 2001, looking like the re-fit didnt get that far and dont worry, well have the proper displays and floor coverings and a few more windows or lights here by Monday, Tuesday at the latest, honest Guv, so why dont you just spread out the really nasty rails of tat and soiled t-shirts to cover the floor space for now, eh?
Ive stopped now, sorry! Seriously, any theories about this would be welcome. It didnt in any way spoil my mood on Christmas Day, it never does I always visit the store just to see what treasures are destined for this gloomy corner. Ah, well, back to the report oh, hang on a sec
.AND another thing about the China pavilion (which on the whole I like, I really do, and the CMs are charming and courteous, and the little acrobats are soooo cute ) why, I say WHY dont they have a Souvenir Penny machine?!! This is the ONLY pavilion in Epcot that doesnt, and Adam is not terribly forgiving as his squashed penny collection (18 cents and 2 squashed quarters now!) could really do with one to complete the tour around the Epcot lagoon. I do actually ask a couple of CMs for an explanation, as I did last year, but they havent a clue why not either.
Moving on we decide to stay in this area of the World until lunch, and wander back to the Mexico pavilion. I have always been intrigued by the ring carver stall next to the small, lakeside store, and I spend a few moments looking over the goods. We enter the main building (Aztec Temple theme Id love to climb those fake and dangerous looking steps to the sacrificial altar on top! Bet the views good!) and mooch the various stalls. Now I know why it still seems quiet outside theyre all in here! Too crowded for me, and I dont really need a new rain-stick, so I take the kids outside while Heather gets stuck into the serious browsing. I decide to give into my impulses and have a ring carved with my DWs name on it.
12:05 now and we make our way to Norway again for lunch. There are a fair number of people waiting in the reception area but when I book in we are seated almost immediately. The CM who takes us in gives us a quick tour of the buffet area and explains that they have changed the format since our last visit. To maintain quality and presumably to cut down on waste, only the cold food is self-serve at the buffet tables. All hot dishes on the menu are ordered from the server and then individually prepared for each guest. You can, of course, order as much as you want and as many times as you desire.
Quick word about the restaurant: Akershus is presented as the hall of a medieval palace and fortress the original overlooks Oslo harbour, apparently and the dining rooms are furnished with traditional, heavy tables beneath arched or beamed ceilings. The effect is pleasing and comfortable. The food is offered as a buffet at both lunch and dinner, a traditional Norwegian affair known as a koldtbord, literally a cold table although the fare includes a wide selection of hot dishes to complement the cold meats, assorted salads, seafood, cheeses and breads. Our server is Camilla, who takes our drinks order first: Ringnes Norwegian Lager for Heather and Mike, (very nice, and Im not a lager fan) smoothies for Beth and Adam. We all attack the cold tables (everything looks pristine and fresh in bowls standing in heaps of ice) and we enjoy a selection of meats, (including smoked salmon, smoked turkey, ham, rare beef, cured and fresh seafood) a tasty range of prepared salads and lovely breads. Back at our table we order from the kitchen. Both kids want meatballs and pasta (the Norwegian meatballs are lovely, BTW), although they could have had hot dogs, macaroni cheese, PB & J sandwiches or grilled cheese from the Little Viking Menu. We are offered the choice of Braised Lamb (with thyme infused cabbage), Kjottkaker (beets, gherkins, onions with ground beef & pork, braised white cabbage & beef demi), Pan Fried Trout, Seared Atlantic Salmon (with spring greens & sherry-bacon vinaigrette), Pasta Akershus (fettuccine with wild mushroom ragout & Jarlsberg cheese) and Hearty Viking Favourites (mixed, seasonal vegetables with rutabaga and meatballs). Wow! We both have the Lamb to start, and a dish of the veggies. Its excellent, and we find space for seconds Heather has the Pasta (scrummy) and I order the Trout, which is first class.
After a respectable interlude, we order dessert. They offer small but perfectly formed mousses, cakes and other delights for about $2.50 each (Beth has a choccy thing and Adam has paint your own cookie at last he can play with his food legally!) or you can order a whole plate of 6 different ones for about 10 bucks. What a dilemma! Obviously Heather and I decide on the whole platter but we DO split it between us.
The restaurant is full over the time we spent there, but the atmosphere is relaxed and we are not rushed in any way. We notice that a high proportion of the other diners are young Japanese couples and groups (I wonder for a moment if the Japan pavilion restaurants are similarly populated by young Norwegians, but it passes) and they seem to be as satisfied as we are. The only bum note I heard was an elderly American chap moaning about the restaurant design to his companion, as he had to move aside whilst in line for the buffet tables, to let the servers pass through to the kitchen. Merry Christmas, sir.
The lunch buffet is priced at $13.99 for adults and $6.99 for children. With drinks and dessert and tax it comes to $82 and I leave $100. We exit, stuffed and happy, at 2:00pm.
The avenues are much busier now, but still not oppressive. We are walking (clockwise) past Italy when we are drawn in by Boccelli & Brightman doing their thing for the Masquerade. Its hard to explain the appeal of this (favourite) attraction a number of gowned and masked (slightly eerie) characters walking around the pavilion to loud opera music but I love it. We send the kids for coffee (vendor cart near US pavilion one of the servers there last year christened my regular coffee with a double shot of espresso orders depth-charges, and asked me how I slept!) and sat in the piazza to watch and listen. Following the end of Masquerade, we are treated to a Christmas Narration from an Italian lady CM. Very relaxing. However, the kids are getting twitchy weve not moved for 20 minutes and they fear bedsores or deep vein thrombosis so we move on. Its gone a bit hazy now and isnt just as warm, but its still comfortable.
3:00pm approaches and we set off clockwise again, heading for Canada and Off Kilter. Bethany takes a walkie-talkie and peels off at America to get some bits from the shop. By the time we reach the Off Kilter stage I reckon she must have called me 7 times to report her position (still in the store) and I tell her not to call me again unless shes been kidnapped. She calls back to tell me not to be silly, as obviously the kidnappers will not let her phone home.
The Off Kilter Boys arrive and kick off with Irish Rover followed by a rap number! Both receive significant applause! For anyone not familiar with O.K., they are a self-styled Celtic, rock n roll bagpipe band and we think they are great! The show seems to be over way too soon, and, after Bethany arrives (6 calls whilst in transit from US to Canada) we move on to the UK for restrooms and shops. However, although weve avoided them for 3 years, we are drawn in by The British Invasion playing Beatles tunes on the bandstand in the UK gardens. Im gob-smacked against all my expectations that a Beatles Tribute band could possibly be any good, guess what? They ARE! We join the crowd sitting around the gardens and tap our feet for the rest of the set.
We go back over the bridge to France next crowds are getting thicker now and stop to gawp at Le Serveur Amusant one of the performers is building, and climbing an increasingly unstable tower of dining chairs atop a dining table. He tops out by doing a handstand at least 18 or 20 feet up! Respect! The act ends to much-deserved applause and we continue anti-clockwise as far as Japan (only regret about today is that we forgot to stop at Morocco for a browse I bought a really tasteful traditional robe there last trip but havent found anywhere I can wear it in the UK without people howling with laughter) where we re-do the store and Heather buys some calligraphy brushes. The kids want to wait for the next display by Miyuki, who creates candy animals while-u-watch shes brilliant, try and see her as they both managed to get picked and come home with their own animal lollies last trip! This is at least 30 minutes off, so Heather and I leave them to it. We stay for the current Matsuriza show drummers who do fantastic, stirring performances on oversized, traditional (and beautifully crafted) drums on the terrace of the Temple. Again, IMHO, un-missable! We are peckish now, so we go to the US pavilion where Heather tucks into apple pie from the Liberty Inn and I grab a brownie and another coffee from a stall. The 5pm Candlelight Processional is starting and I watch the first part from the walkway before returning to Japan for the kids. I arrive in time to video them both being selected for candy animal carers Bethany got an elephant and Adam chose an Alligator. This is an unusual and curiously addictive show please have a look if you are passing! She talks for the animals as they are born from the raw candy wake-up, Flolida Arrigator, Wake-up! Arrigator say ouch, ouch (as she users clippers to form the limbs!) Its fascinating!
(Footnote: they managed to get the animals home more or less in one piece and they are currently cluttering up our Welsh dresser!)
We walk back to Heather in the US and catch the end of the CP very stirring stuff, but I didnt fancy the lines! Very crowded now, nearly 6pm, and we are flagging. After all, weve been here for 10 hours! No chance of lasting until Illuminations, so we quit while ahead and walk slowly back to the car. We stop at the supermarket to collect the vital ingredients for Black Velvet (Guinness and Champagne) and are back at the villa by 7:15pm. The kids watch The Simpsons in the bedroom and we watch Friends whilst testing the Black Velvet for alcohol content. Find it satisfactory!
Only 2 slight negatives Im starting with a cold (thanks Adam) and am sad that we wont see Epcot again for an unknown length of time. Overall its been a lovely day and once again the weather has been very kind to us. We watch Terminator until 10:00 ish and are all asleep by 10:30.
Tomorrows Plan: Lazy Day and possible Water Park.
Mike
once you are hooked I think its a great family holiday
