Lesson learned. Need more days in Disney!!! Aug 2010 (NEW 1/20-COMPLETE)

Chapter 6. Day 2 pt.1- Let the step-by-step touring BEGIN!

Our first full day at a park. Park of choice? EPCOT! I think I touched on this topic in my PTR, but let me explain to you further why Epcot was chosen as our first park.

Everybody has a tradition for starting their trip at WDW. Some folks go to DTD on their first night. Some must be at Magic Kingdom on their first day. I'm part of the crowd that goes to Epcot first. I've only ever been to WDW once EVER, so it's not much of a tradition, so it's the start of one! On my last trip, Epcot was our first taste of a Disney park. The order we went in was Epcot, HS, AK, and MK. Our reasoning for this is because we wanted to go from the least Disney-fied, to the most Disney-ish thing. Or the least to most exciting I think? Ofcourse, I learned they are ALL filled with their own Disney magic and that I should've done more research before that trip.

So because of this simple (and VERY bad) reasoning, I've decided that all my WDW trips should start with Epcot. It just seems right. Also, there are practically no lines for M:S and TT after 5pm.

This is also my first time experiencing rope drop at Epcot. On my last trip, I only attended AK's rope drop because we stayed off site and the earliest shuttle buses to the parks often missed rope drop. Tragic, I know.

Oh! One more thing before I start the day. I am one of the many people here that own at least one copy of the Unofficial Guide to WDW. And like all the others, I LOVE MINE. It's my BIBLE, dudes. I bought mine during the Fall of 2009, reading it from cover to cover. I kid you not, I even read the part about going with kids and offsite hotels.

So, this being my first copy and my first ORGANIZED trip to the World, I decided to give the itinerary guides a try. For science! I thought it would be a cake to stick to it and not deviate but......that's pretty much what happened.

Here's what you REALLY need to know about those touring guides. Even though they're a guide for the whole day, the only part you really need to follow is everything before lunch. All the biggest rides are packed into the morning time, leaving you plenty of time the rest of the day to go on the ones that don't have a long wait. That's pretty much what I learned from the guide. I'm extremely thankful for everything I learned in this book. I was able to go on the biggest rides multiple times with little to no wait. I'll definitely be getting one in 2013.

SOOO, let's get Day 2 started already!

We woke up bright and early with a wake-up call at 8am. Ok, another tangent. How do I set up a character wake-up call? I thought they would have a button for it on the phone, or it would be an option, but I couldn't find it. I also forgot to ask about it every time I was down at concierge. So, will someone please tell me how to do it. I REALLY wanted Stitch to wake me up on this trip.

I laid everything out the night before, had my water bottles filled up and everything ready to go so the morning was very easy. Got up, got ready, grabbed my energy bar for breakfast, filled our mug up with POWERADE and was at the bus stop by 8:20am.

Oh yes, today was also ANDREW'S BIRTHDAY :cheer2: So he wore his birthday button on the day bag I packed for him. He got MANY well wishes today. It really took him by surprise, but I think he liked it. There's a funny story about this later in the day.

Andrew's a fan of shadow pictures, so here's the ONLY one of the trip that he took.
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Pretty cute huh?

The day before, I really wanted a photo of us in our ears, but never got around to it. So after getting off the bus, we took this.
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This is also a photo shout-out to my dear friend Jordan (jordanyosh) with his trademark, tongue-picture.

After a typical bag check, we go through the turnstiles cause we're just in time for the in-park rope drop. This is our surroundings, waiting on the right side of the entrance to get our first FP's for the trip. Take a wild guess what ride it's for.
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So many peoples!

At this point, I was videotaping Andrew and saying how it's HIS BIRTHDAY!! Then I ask him, "How does it feel to be 23?" He says, "I'm 22." AHAHAHAH. Oops, my bad! So I go, "OH YEAAAAH!!! I guess I was thinking of Scott Pilgrim." If you don't know Scott Pilgrim, he's the star of a comic book series by the same name, written and drawn by a CANADIAN artist. There are only 6 volumes in the series and it's super awesome.

You might know it from the movie of the same name starring Micheal Cera(ugh) who in my opinion is TOTALLY inappropriate for the role, but the movie kicked SO MUCH A$$ that I don't really care. The director did a LOT to please us comic fans and non-fans still enjoyed it. KUDOS Mr.Director. Kudos. Best comic-to-live-action movie adaptation EVER MADE. For reals.

Oh, where was I? Oh yes, Epcot rope drop. I've heard there isn't much of a show here compared to the other parks, and they're right. A couple of minutes before the park opened, Goofy showed up with some ride-operating CMs and led a countdown to park opening. "5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" *cheers* I told Andrew to stay close as we moved with the hoards towards The Land pavilion. We tried to move as fast as we could without moving very fast at all. After lining up for my first FP of the trip, we got ours without much trouble at all. I was so scared we might be stuck behind a broken machine, but we weren't!

Armed with FPs for Soarin', we headed straight across Future World to Test Track, as the UG told us to.

The stand-by time was 20 mins, but as I have learned from numerous TRs, the actual standby line is always shorter than the posted time. We hopped right into it and it was practically a walk-on! There was no stopping until we reached the briefing room. Here are some photos of the line. I really LOVED this queue. There was SO MUCH to look at, and so many Hidden Mickeys to look for!
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The great thing about this queue is that even in the FP/single rider line, there is something new and different to look at. You need to go through both to see everything.

I couldn't help myself here.
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A hidden mickey in the briefing room!
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This is both our first times on this ride, so we were really excited about it. WE LOVED IT!!! It was SOOOO MUCH FUN! Sure, my hair got in my mouth and it was almost too bright to see anything, but I had a blast. I love how fast the ride is and the tight corners we took.

Here are some photos of the area after we get off the ride.
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I just LOVE that Disney continues the theming after the ride has ended. All these extra little things is why we love coming back so much.

I'm super pumped after my ride, so I temporarily forget that the touring guide tells me I should head to M:S next and we decide to jump into the single riders line on TT for a 2nd go around.

WOOHOO!!!! So much fun again! This time, we tried to look for the hidden Mickeys during the ride and was able to find a couple. But what will this deviation mean for my touring plans???

Up next: What? Our ride ACTUALLY had a sum?

 
Epcot is my favorite park !!! Last year it moved UP Judy's list as she did the World for the first time and loved it !!!!
 
Epcot is my favorite park !!! Last year it moved UP Judy's list as she did the World for the first time and loved it !!!!

Epcot is definitely my favourite park now too. I mean, my favourite ride is in another park (ToT), but there's just so much more to love about Epcot.
 
oh, the Soarin rush is crazy! I think that and the Toy Story Mania stampede are the worst ones.

I love the Test Track line queue, too! There is so much to look at that the wait goes by faster than most rides.
 

oh, the Soarin rush is crazy! I think that and the Toy Story Mania stampede are the worst ones.

I love the Test Track line queue, too! There is so much to look at that the wait goes by faster than most rides.

TSM was down during my trip....I guess I'll experience that rush on another trip! But boy, that Soarin rush is just CRAZY.

Space Mountain's new queue looks cool too. I didn't have much time to try out the games though.

Hey there! I was curious if I could find the necklace you have (the Mickey one with Swarovski Crystals) on Ebay...it's not exact...but...*shrugs*

http://cgi.ebay.com/DISNEY-MICKEY-M...tches_CostumeJewellery_CA&hash=item5ad5c92931

Oooh, that's a very cute necklace! Unfortunately, my pendant and the accompanying Minnie Mouse heart pendant is no longer in production. I've been looking for the Minnie one myself and am having a real hard time finding it. I'll bet if you find it on ebay, the price will be WAAAY jacked up. :sad2:
 
We started our last 2 trips with Epcot! You doing really great with hitting up the thrill rides so far. My favorite thrill ride is TOT too! I love to loose my stomach.

I hope riding a second time didn't throw you off too much. The dangers of repeating!:scared1:
 
Love your trip report so far Yuki! It makes me want to be there RIGHT NOW :laughing: I love Epcot. For some reason completely unknown to me, it always seems to be the last park I visit on every trip. Not planned. Not a tradition. It just... happens. I guess you could call it a tradition now! I had never noticed that hidden mickey in the briefing room before. I'll keep an eye out for it next time. The ears are adorable :goodvibes
 
Ooooh, test track rocks! We love this ride! I didn't think we got to ride it as much this time, but it really is one of our favorite rides.

It looks like a great day so far at TT. And we too like going to Epcot first on a trip. although this trip we were sticking to a schedule so we visited MK first as a treat.
 
I love TT, but I LOVE M:S Orange line better. Usually when we go to TT we get through the cue too fast to look for hidden mickeys. Maybe one of these trips will be dedicated to trying to find as many HMs as possible.:thumbsup2
 
We started our last 2 trips with Epcot! You doing really great with hitting up the thrill rides so far. My favorite thrill ride is TOT too! I love to loose my stomach.

I hope riding a second time didn't throw you off too much. The dangers of repeating!:scared1:

I used to be SO AFRAID of dropping rides. I have a fear of falling which might explain that. But ToT is just so much MORE than just dropping, you know???

No, the second time was JUST AS GOOD. Especially since this time we were looking for hidden mickeys on the ride. The outside part of the ride was still just as awesome.

Love your trip report so far Yuki! It makes me want to be there RIGHT NOW :laughing: I love Epcot. For some reason completely unknown to me, it always seems to be the last park I visit on every trip. Not planned. Not a tradition. It just... happens. I guess you could call it a tradition now! I had never noticed that hidden mickey in the briefing room before. I'll keep an eye out for it next time. The ears are adorable :goodvibes

Aw man, I wish I could be there at this moment too! I'm really aching for some Disney.

It's funny how Epcot ends up being your last park. Maybe it's cause Bubba spends SO MUCH TIME there?

I love my ears. I can't wait to find a reason to wear them again.

Ooooh, test track rocks! We love this ride! I didn't think we got to ride it as much this time, but it really is one of our favorite rides.

It looks like a great day so far at TT. And we too like going to Epcot first on a trip. although this trip we were sticking to a schedule so we visited MK first as a treat.

Ooh, MK as a treat, that DOES sound nice. To be thrust into all that magic at the start of your trip.

TT is for sure one of the top rides for me. The rush of the outside part is just the best! Even with hair in my face and the sun in my eyes!

I love TT, but I LOVE M:S Orange line better. Usually when we go to TT we get through the cue too fast to look for hidden mickeys. Maybe one of these trips will be dedicated to trying to find as many HMs as possible.:thumbsup2

YEES, M:S orange is a must. This is probably one of Andrew's favourite rides. He loves the technology behind it all. We rushed through the queue too, but were stopped a little before heading to the area before the briefing room and noticed some hidden mickeys that can only be seen by FP or single riders!

Looking for HMs is just a great way to pass the time in the line. Especially when you have NO IDEA where to even begin!
 
Chapter 7. Day 1 pt.2-Touring plans? What touring plans?

After our 2nd time around the TT, Andrew asks me, "So what's next?" After a blank stare I go, "Oh ya! Mission: Space! Oh snap, I hope the line isn't too long!."

We walk (not run, wth right?), over to M:S right next door and see that the stand-by line is 25mins. Well...UG told us to not wait for any ride that posts waits longer than 20mins.... So, we grabbed an FP and decided to move on to the nearest attration, Universe of Energy, hosted by my favourite talk show host, Ellen Degeneres!!! *applause* Touring guide, what guide?

I think the sign for this ride is one of the most beautiful in the world World. What do you think?
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We walked in right when the pre-show was just ending. I love Bill Nye the Science Guy. I learned so much from his shows. In elementary school, our teacher would show us episodes from his show and the Magic School Bus! I loved Miss Frizzle.

This is another ride that is a first for Andrew and I, so we really didn't know what to expect. I mean, I'd read about it online and in the UG, but nothing really prepared me for this attraction. Especially since there was no real "line", just a big room with a large screen. For a minute, I thought that was it! Epcot is filled with those kinds of shows, so I was almost about to leave, despite how much I actually looked forward to seeing Ellen.

BUT, then the pre-show ended with us being invited into Ellen's dream! The wall opens up and we see rows and rows of seats. Still don't know what to expect. We headed to the further row and scooted all the way down to the end of it. What was going to happen? I think these seats move, but they're HUUUGE!!

The show starts and I notice this is a pretty "old" Ellen. Well technically she's a lot younger but you get the drift. Ofcourse, it makes sense cause this ride was probably made when Bill Nye was still relevant to children.

When the seats start to move and we head into the age of the dinosaurs, I start to get a little scared. I'm terrified of the Dinosaur ride at AK, so I was PRAYING this was nothing like it. Nobody told me this ride was scary!

One thing I noticed in that room where the screen is 360 and images are popping up all over it, people don't tend to look around. I noticed the same thing when watching OH! Canada! It's a 360 room people! The point is to see ALL of it. I would turn around to look and see rows of people staring at me like -I- was the crazy one.

Of course, in Canada, I WAS the only one cheering during the show....GO TORONTO!!!

Moving on! I enjoyed the show. I laughed at parts. Mostly, it was a nostalgic feeling of seeing and hearing Bill again. And Ellen is just pure AWESOME. I don't think I'll be going on it again for a while. Maybe my cousins would like to see it, but it's pretty out of the way for a cool break.

At this point, we abandoned all previous touring plans and just did whatever we wanted! I sort of sabotaged the plan by going on rides the night before anyways.

I had meant to do this last night, but we decided to do this now. We went over to Innoventions West and got in line for Sum of All Thrills without even looking at the stand-by time! Ok, I gave it a glimpse. 30 MINUTES!! Holy smokes. We decided to just stay in it. Might as well, right? Maybe the wait wouldn't be THAT long.

It was. It was just THAT long. My feet were starting to hurt too. But I so desperately wanted to go on this ride, and didn't see any other time to try it. We whipped out the trail mix I had prepared for the trip and nom-ed on it. MMmmm, pumpkin seeds.

When we finally got to the end of the line, the CM noticed how tired I looked and asked us how many days we had been there. Andrew told him it was only our 2nd day. The CM was like, "And already tired??? (to Andrew) You need to carry her for the rest of the day!" and Andrew said, "But I'm the birthday boy! Shouldn't she be carrying me?" We laughed and joked some more and the CM wished Andrew a happy birthday.

In the pre-show, the tv-guy went on and on about how engineers are everywhere and everyone can be an engineer and how they build the coolest things! I kept nudging Andrew and asking him, "Hey! Mr.Engineer! Is that what you do? Build rollercoasters? Build a rollercoaster for me Mr.Engineer!" Yes, I can be SOOOO annoying. He's an electrical engineer, so he only writes programs.

We chose to build a rollercoaster. I had NO IDEA that the jet was more extreme. I'll be choosing that next time. Meanwhile, we put in a corkscrew, a "thread the needle" some other twisty thing and a very steep drop. In fact, we pushed the numbers to the MAX when designing everything. We tried to get the most extreme ride we could muster up. We're thrill seekers, can you tell?

We named it the Flaming Star. I actually wanted to name it Flaming (something else), but Andrew chose star for me cause it's my favourite shape. He's sweet, but Flaming Star just doesn't sound that hardcore to me.

At the end of our ride, we noticed there was a number on the screen. Our "sum"? It was a measly 300-something. The top score was over a thousand! We didn't know there was an ACTUAL sum!!! This means we MUST come back another time to get a higher score.

Maybe even something....OVER 9 THOUSAND!! Ok....that was a very geeky joke. If you get it then, HOORAH!

I wanted to do the KP Challenge, so we walked to the other end of Innoventions and picked up an FP for it. We start off in Italy! Andrew videotaped me getting the FP and must've said my name because the CM said, "Konnichiwa!" to us. Of course, we just smiled and nodded. My name is Japanese, but I'm Chinese. It was still nice of her though. :thumbsup2

For some reason, we didn't take any pictures of Innoventions. I should get more pictures next time.

Oh yes! I almost forgot! After we got off the UoE ride, we saw two little boys about 3 and 6 years old with shaved heads. Except....if any of you out there are Avatar:The Last Airbender fans......they left an arrow-shaped bit of hair on their heads! Basically the arrow was a bit of thin fuzz and the rest of their head was shaven. Just like the Avatar's arrow. SOO COOL. We weren't fast enough to get pictures of them though. Their parents must be AWESOME to let them do that.

Up next: Delays in M:S, the Jammitors, and the Captain himself!
 
Ellen's Energy Adventure is fun when there are no lines. She's my favorite talk show host, too! Although I do miss her look before her current one, if you know what I mean. Before she got the make-over for Idol. ;p
 
We never got around to Ellen's Energy Adventure...would have been a nice place to TRY and get Keegan to nap when we went 2 years ago. Oh well. :P Maybe in 2012. :)
 
Ellen's Energy Adventure is fun when there are no lines. She's my favorite talk show host, too! Although I do miss her look before her current one, if you know what I mean. Before she got the make-over for Idol. ;p

I actually didn't really notice her new look.....did something change cause of Idol? I thought it was because she became the spokemodel for Covergirl.

We never got around to Ellen's Energy Adventure...would have been a nice place to TRY and get Keegan to nap when we went 2 years ago. Oh well. :P Maybe in 2012. :)

It's a nice cool and dark place to sit for 20+ mins, but it can also get kind of loud. I wouldn't recommend it for napping, but it's a nice place to rest your feet.
 
I've been really busy with work, so I haven't been able to read. I'm going to catch up today though!

Haha, I like how Andrew thinks the animatronics are either saying "Help me!" or "You're next!" I think more along the lines of the latter! Animatronics are actually kind of scary BECAUSE of the fact that they move so smoothly. If I had the chance to ride any ride with animatronics ALONE, I would pass on it!

I also laughed when you said "Oooh, they look so yummy!" when you went into the fish section of Living with the Land. When I'm with my family, we talk about how we eat those kinds of fish all the time! Very Chinese!

I've never seen the frogfish. I'll have to keep that in mind for next time!

The Niagara Falls commentary was funny when you said that you have to bring relatives there when they visit. When my parents and brother went to Toronto to visit my cousin and just go on a short vacation, they stopped at Niagara Falls!!!

HAHA, the little thing you have on your dashboard sitting on the toilet is named RACHEL!!!

I'm trying to figure out what to do in February with Epcot. I'm going with my DFi and my cousin and her boyfriend. When I'm with my family, we normally go to Soarin' to get FP and then we ride. We'll then go on Living with the Land so that when we're done, we can use our FP for Soarin. That way we won't have to walk back to that pavilion. The only thing is, I hate the long lines at Test Track, and I really want to ride all together for the first time instead of hopping onto the single rider line right away. The Test Track FP are really late by the time we make it over there. Anyway, I'm kind of intrigued by the get FP thing for Soarin' and ride standby for Test Track. But of course, that would mean more walking, which isn't good for me (I have a medical condition).

Universe of Energy is fun to do at least once. I think thereafter, it's kind of an invitation to take a nap, at least after the dinosaur part! It is a great way to learn though to be in a theater with moving seats!

I'm the complete opposite of you guys; if I were to do Sum of All Thrills, I'd make it as tame as possible!
 
Bill Nye the Science Guy is pretty much the coolest guy ever. I saw him on CNN a few months ago talking about the Gulf Oil Spill and I was like "OMG. Bill Nye the Science Guy! Do a cool experiment to show us how the oil is going to destroy the water!" But he didn't do anything cool. He just talked. Lame.

The outside of the Universe of Energy is really cool, but, for me at least, the inside is just one giant nap.

I've never seen/done the Sum of All Thrills but it sounds cool. Although, I'm not much of a thrill-seeker, so I'll probably never do it.
 
I've been really busy with work, so I haven't been able to read. I'm going to catch up today though!

Haha, I like how Andrew thinks the animatronics are either saying "Help me!" or "You're next!" I think more along the lines of the latter! Animatronics are actually kind of scary BECAUSE of the fact that they move so smoothly. If I had the chance to ride any ride with animatronics ALONE, I would pass on it!

I wouldn't go on that ride either. I'd be too scared too! It'll just be too freaky.....

I also laughed when you said "Oooh, they look so yummy!" when you went into the fish section of Living with the Land. When I'm with my family, we talk about how we eat those kinds of fish all the time! Very Chinese!

YES!! I KNEW you would understand! They really DID look yummy....

The Niagara Falls commentary was funny when you said that you have to bring relatives there when they visit. When my parents and brother went to Toronto to visit my cousin and just go on a short vacation, they stopped at Niagara Falls!!!

Haha, it's a must-visit for all Chinese visitors to Toronto, it really is. Not so much for Caucasion families.....I'm not sure why.....Niagara Falls is definitely filled with Asian tourists.

HAHA, the little thing you have on your dashboard sitting on the toilet is named RACHEL!!!

Oh ya!!! I forgot I knew someone on here named Rachel, haha. For some reason, I've always related the colour purple to the name Rachel. :confused3

I'm trying to figure out what to do in February with Epcot. I'm going with my DFi and my cousin and her boyfriend. When I'm with my family, we normally go to Soarin' to get FP and then we ride. We'll then go on Living with the Land so that when we're done, we can use our FP for Soarin. That way we won't have to walk back to that pavilion. The only thing is, I hate the long lines at Test Track, and I really want to ride all together for the first time instead of hopping onto the single rider line right away. The Test Track FP are really late by the time we make it over there. Anyway, I'm kind of intrigued by the get FP thing for Soarin' and ride standby for Test Track. But of course, that would mean more walking, which isn't good for me (I have a medical condition).

Hm...that is a dilemma indeed......The touring plans in the guide required that we covered a lot of distance if we wanted short waits.

Maybe instead of getting an FP for Soarin.....when the park opens, some of you can get FPs for TT, get in the standby line for Soarin (which shouldn't be TOOO bad just yet), then go on with Living with the Land and ride TT with your FPs? You can make Weird do all the running instead :upsidedow


Un
iverse of Energy is fun to do at least once. I think thereafter, it's kind of an invitation to take a nap, at least after the dinosaur part! It is a great way to learn though to be in a theater with moving seats!

Yes, it's a great place to just rest a bit. Nice and cool. Too bad the seats aren't that comfy.

I'm the complete opposite of you guys; if I were to do Sum of All Thrills, I'd make it as tame as possible!

Haha, it'll still be fun! I hear the bobsled is the tamest cause there are no loops or steep hills I think.
 
Bill Nye the Science Guy is pretty much the coolest guy ever. I saw him on CNN a few months ago talking about the Gulf Oil Spill and I was like "OMG. Bill Nye the Science Guy! Do a cool experiment to show us how the oil is going to destroy the water!" But he didn't do anything cool. He just talked. Lame.

The outside of the Universe of Energy is really cool, but, for me at least, the inside is just one giant nap.

I've never seen/done the Sum of All Thrills but it sounds cool. Although, I'm not much of a thrill-seeker, so I'll probably never do it.

I just LOVE Bill Nye. It's great to see that he's still around. Not as fun, but still a great way to learn. And lol to what you wanted him to do. I think that's what the Daily Planet on Discovery Channel does. I sure miss his shows though.

If the wait is around 10-15mins, you shouls definitely try it out. They have tame versions of the rides too. It's just really cool to create your own ride and then experience it! The tamer ride is the bobsled I believe....
 
I've been on Universe of Energy twice but I can't tell you anything about it after we got on the ride vehicles. I feel asleep both times and the noise didn't bother me one bit. Someday I would like to be able to ride it and not fall asleep.
 












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