Kaycee
Magic is everywhere if you know where to look
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2001
- Messages
- 4,641
Sunday, December 19, 2004 Part 2
I got to Epcot around 11:45am. Helen had been there for a while. She had been on Test Track and Spaceship Earth so far and had a fastpass for another ride on Test Track. We decided to have lunch while we were waiting for her fastpass time. Since we were in Future World, we stopped by the first place we came to, which was Electric Umbrella. After lunch, we grabbed fastpasses for Mission:Space then Helen used her Test Track fastpass while I rode Spaceship Earth. I adore this ride, and it was just what I needed after the morning I had.
We looked around Mouse Gear while we waited for our Mission Space fastpass time. I found gloves that matched the hat I bought the day before. I didnt really need gloves, but how could I resist Mickey gloves to match my Mickey hat? I had talked myself out of buying them, but Helen convinced me they would look so cute with my hat I just had to get them.
We rode Mission:Space at our fastpass time. This is one of my absolutely favorite rides; I just cant get enough of that belly-tickle sensation when you are taking off. I was a little concerned about having to ride with 2 strangers because you never know if someone is going to get sick. I knew Helen wouldnt be sick; shes like me and never gets sick on anything. We were paired up with a man and his son. The boy was probably around 7 or 8. He was adorable, and he did really great on the ride. And no one got sick woo hoo! Helen loved the ride as much as I do, but then I just knew that she would it seems to me that any thrill ride fan would have to love Mission:Space!
After Mission:Space, we walked over to the Wonders of Life pavilion. I was thrilled to find Cranium Command was open; it had been closed when we were at WDW in June, and I hadnt heard whether it would be open for this trip or not. I think its a great attraction; it makes me laugh every time I see it. Maybe its because I have two sons so I can relate. After Cranium Command, we went to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Helen saw this on her first WDW trip and it was one of the things she was really looking forward to seeing again. I had only seen it once several years ago and didnt remember it being that good, but I think that was because we had just gotten caught in the middle of a torrential downpour and I was freezing; that always puts a damper on things. It was much, much better this time than what I remembered. Im really glad Helen talked me into giving it another try.
We decided to save the rest of Future World for the next day and headed over to World Showcase. As we walked through Canada, Off Kilter was just starting a set. Let me just say that I love this band. I wasnt sure what Helen would think of them though. She started out standing by me near the stage, but she soon decided to go and find a seat back by the lagoon. I took this as a bad sign, but she assured me later that she liked the music, just not that loud. And she actually asked to go back to see them later, so I think she meant it.
We stayed in Canada to hear the holiday storyteller, Papa Noel, then we strolled through the shops in Great Britain. World Showcase is tied with the Magic Kingdom as my favorite part of WDW; I could stay there for an entire vacation. In fact, I practically did this trip, as youll hear later.
We stopped by France because I love Impressions de France and I thought Helen would too, but the movie wasnt showing for some reason. We moved on to Morocco, and it was really starting to get cold out so we decided to get a cup of coffee. Helen was adventurous and got the Moorish espresso, which she said was very good. Normally I enjoy trying different coffees, but tonight I was buying more for the warmth than the taste and I didnt want an espresso size serving, so I opted for the regular Nescafe.
We decided to have dinner at Tangierine Café, but we werent quite ready to eat yet, so we strolled on around the World Showcase, stopping to take a look in Japan and the U.S.A. We thought about seeing the American Adventure, but it was quite a while before the next showing so we headed back to Morocco to have dinner. We had a great meal at Tangierine Café; I did a review on the restaurant board if youre interested in details.
After dinner, we walked to the front of Epcot to catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. The plan was to watch Spectromagic and Wishes. Before leaving Epcot, we stopped to pick up our CP package tickets. When we got to the monorail, I asked if we could ride up front. There was already a couple waiting to ride, but since four people can ride up front the CM let us join them. We waited several minutes for the monorail, and right before it arrived a family of four tried to jump ahead of us and get in the front of the monorail. Luckily, the CM saw them and told them that others were already riding, and there wasnt room for more. They looked rather indignant about the whole thing; I just dont get some people.
Helen didnt know that you could ride in the front of the monorail, and she was excited about it. We had a nice trip to the TTC, although Helen said it was a little scary up there. This from a woman who will ride any thrill ride with no hesitation; go figure. At the TTC we thanked the monorail driver for letting us ride with him then caught a monorail to MK.
When we got to the MK, we realized that the hours had been changed. Instead of having the parade at 9 and fireworks at 10, the parade was scheduled for 10 and the fireworks for 11. We hadnt planned on spending that much time in MK this evening because we anticipated that it would be very crowded, and it was. We did a quick change of plans. We went to see HOP because we knew it wouldnt be crowded, it never is, and Helen wanted to see it again. Then we caught the monorail back to Epcot in time to watch Illuminations. It was so cold out, that we hung out in the department store in Japan until right before show time. We walked around World Showcase looking for a good viewing spot, finally settling on a spot in Germany. The first time I saw Illuminations was from the balcony of the department store in Japan. I dont know if it was because it had been raining the first time I saw it and the smoke just hung in the air, or whether the view really is better from ground level. For whatever reason, I enjoyed the show this time much, much more. The sound was definitely better too. The extra song added to the end was done very well, and fireworks finale was breathtaking.
After Illuminations, we walked quickly to the front of the park and caught the monorail to the MK. The park was packed, but we still found the same viewing spot just off the bridge to Tomorrowland that we had on our first night. We saw Wishes for the first time during MVMCP, and we didnt realize that some parts were added just for the party. Even so, we still loved the fireworks, and Tink flying directly over our heads. It was even worth the mad dash from Epcot and fighting the throngs of people to get out of the park afterward. We caught the bus back to the Swan and were in bed by 12:30am. A day that had started out so sad ended on a good note for us.
I got to Epcot around 11:45am. Helen had been there for a while. She had been on Test Track and Spaceship Earth so far and had a fastpass for another ride on Test Track. We decided to have lunch while we were waiting for her fastpass time. Since we were in Future World, we stopped by the first place we came to, which was Electric Umbrella. After lunch, we grabbed fastpasses for Mission:Space then Helen used her Test Track fastpass while I rode Spaceship Earth. I adore this ride, and it was just what I needed after the morning I had.
We looked around Mouse Gear while we waited for our Mission Space fastpass time. I found gloves that matched the hat I bought the day before. I didnt really need gloves, but how could I resist Mickey gloves to match my Mickey hat? I had talked myself out of buying them, but Helen convinced me they would look so cute with my hat I just had to get them.
We rode Mission:Space at our fastpass time. This is one of my absolutely favorite rides; I just cant get enough of that belly-tickle sensation when you are taking off. I was a little concerned about having to ride with 2 strangers because you never know if someone is going to get sick. I knew Helen wouldnt be sick; shes like me and never gets sick on anything. We were paired up with a man and his son. The boy was probably around 7 or 8. He was adorable, and he did really great on the ride. And no one got sick woo hoo! Helen loved the ride as much as I do, but then I just knew that she would it seems to me that any thrill ride fan would have to love Mission:Space!
After Mission:Space, we walked over to the Wonders of Life pavilion. I was thrilled to find Cranium Command was open; it had been closed when we were at WDW in June, and I hadnt heard whether it would be open for this trip or not. I think its a great attraction; it makes me laugh every time I see it. Maybe its because I have two sons so I can relate. After Cranium Command, we went to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Helen saw this on her first WDW trip and it was one of the things she was really looking forward to seeing again. I had only seen it once several years ago and didnt remember it being that good, but I think that was because we had just gotten caught in the middle of a torrential downpour and I was freezing; that always puts a damper on things. It was much, much better this time than what I remembered. Im really glad Helen talked me into giving it another try.
We decided to save the rest of Future World for the next day and headed over to World Showcase. As we walked through Canada, Off Kilter was just starting a set. Let me just say that I love this band. I wasnt sure what Helen would think of them though. She started out standing by me near the stage, but she soon decided to go and find a seat back by the lagoon. I took this as a bad sign, but she assured me later that she liked the music, just not that loud. And she actually asked to go back to see them later, so I think she meant it.
We stayed in Canada to hear the holiday storyteller, Papa Noel, then we strolled through the shops in Great Britain. World Showcase is tied with the Magic Kingdom as my favorite part of WDW; I could stay there for an entire vacation. In fact, I practically did this trip, as youll hear later.
We stopped by France because I love Impressions de France and I thought Helen would too, but the movie wasnt showing for some reason. We moved on to Morocco, and it was really starting to get cold out so we decided to get a cup of coffee. Helen was adventurous and got the Moorish espresso, which she said was very good. Normally I enjoy trying different coffees, but tonight I was buying more for the warmth than the taste and I didnt want an espresso size serving, so I opted for the regular Nescafe.
We decided to have dinner at Tangierine Café, but we werent quite ready to eat yet, so we strolled on around the World Showcase, stopping to take a look in Japan and the U.S.A. We thought about seeing the American Adventure, but it was quite a while before the next showing so we headed back to Morocco to have dinner. We had a great meal at Tangierine Café; I did a review on the restaurant board if youre interested in details.
After dinner, we walked to the front of Epcot to catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. The plan was to watch Spectromagic and Wishes. Before leaving Epcot, we stopped to pick up our CP package tickets. When we got to the monorail, I asked if we could ride up front. There was already a couple waiting to ride, but since four people can ride up front the CM let us join them. We waited several minutes for the monorail, and right before it arrived a family of four tried to jump ahead of us and get in the front of the monorail. Luckily, the CM saw them and told them that others were already riding, and there wasnt room for more. They looked rather indignant about the whole thing; I just dont get some people.
Helen didnt know that you could ride in the front of the monorail, and she was excited about it. We had a nice trip to the TTC, although Helen said it was a little scary up there. This from a woman who will ride any thrill ride with no hesitation; go figure. At the TTC we thanked the monorail driver for letting us ride with him then caught a monorail to MK.
When we got to the MK, we realized that the hours had been changed. Instead of having the parade at 9 and fireworks at 10, the parade was scheduled for 10 and the fireworks for 11. We hadnt planned on spending that much time in MK this evening because we anticipated that it would be very crowded, and it was. We did a quick change of plans. We went to see HOP because we knew it wouldnt be crowded, it never is, and Helen wanted to see it again. Then we caught the monorail back to Epcot in time to watch Illuminations. It was so cold out, that we hung out in the department store in Japan until right before show time. We walked around World Showcase looking for a good viewing spot, finally settling on a spot in Germany. The first time I saw Illuminations was from the balcony of the department store in Japan. I dont know if it was because it had been raining the first time I saw it and the smoke just hung in the air, or whether the view really is better from ground level. For whatever reason, I enjoyed the show this time much, much more. The sound was definitely better too. The extra song added to the end was done very well, and fireworks finale was breathtaking.
After Illuminations, we walked quickly to the front of the park and caught the monorail to the MK. The park was packed, but we still found the same viewing spot just off the bridge to Tomorrowland that we had on our first night. We saw Wishes for the first time during MVMCP, and we didnt realize that some parts were added just for the party. Even so, we still loved the fireworks, and Tink flying directly over our heads. It was even worth the mad dash from Epcot and fighting the throngs of people to get out of the park afterward. We caught the bus back to the Swan and were in bed by 12:30am. A day that had started out so sad ended on a good note for us.
