Let's see what this family does flying solo - the POST trip report!

[nilla]

I forgot to mention that this is to be the trip of neurotic step counting for Dylan and me. I am enrolled in Virgin Health Miles through work, a program that allows me to attain a certain number of virgins when I get to heaven that is proportionate to the number of steps I take while here on Earth. Either that, or I can get gift certificates and cash rewards for exercising. I didn't exactly read all of the fine print, so the terms and conditions are a bit sketchy to me.

Part of my motivation for enrolling was the impending Disney trip, where I knew I'd be able to rack up the steps. Joining me in my quest is Dylan, armed with his Pokewalker. To those who are not familiar with this wonderful tool designed to get kids active, it came in his Pokemon Soul Silver Nintendo DS game and allows him to get bonus items and Pokemon that he can use in the game based on how many steps he takes physically. I truly believe the Pokewalker helped us push him through the parks during our trip.

This is actually his second Pokewalker unit, since some idiot put his original (in Dylan's shorts pocket) through the wash the day after he got it. $15 plus $10 express shipping and we had a new one in time for the trip. And now, as Martin Lawrence might say, we're going to "get to stepping!"

 

[nilla]

Alarm goes off at 7:00, and we rush to get out the door by 8:30. Some more pictures of our water view, and it's off to Bus Stop 1, outside El Centro.

Both kids are pin trading this year, and Dylan makes his first for a Jack Skellington birthday pin, though it's not even close to any of our birthdays. He and Emily are loaded down with "lame pins" we bought off eBay with the sole intent of getting rid of them.

My excessive carrot eating pays off again as I can see the Epcot bus from 500 yards out. It's time to go!

 

[nilla]

The bus to Epcot is rather empty, and we get there in time for rope drop. We have now split up - Kristin and the kids are headed for Test Track, while I make the Soarin' Run (sm) for Fast Passes. "It's a Small World" moment as I hear people behind me talking about the Iron Pigs's baseball stadium, which is about two miles from my house.

CMs come out in the Test Track car and Mickey and the gang arrive, and I'm tearing up. That's just how I do, so if you have a problem with it, tough. I teared up at the Wiggles concert. I teared up at the Vikings game. I tear up in Disney. Accept it, and learn to love it.

The rope drops and it's off to The Land. The CM at Circle of Life smiles and waves, and I briefly ponder how stunned she would be if I actually tried to walk into the theater at that time. Nope, not today, though - I'm on a mission, as is everyone else in this herd. FPs for around lunch are in hand, then back to TT.

Kristin and the kids have ridden once, and they're more than happy to go again. This is one of Em's favorite rides, and she puts her hands up (much to our terror) once we get outside for the high speed runs. This is actually a favorite for all of us, though I can't believe Bill McKim would have the nerve to subject us to environmental test #7 again. His coworker questions the decision, but nonetheless, here comes #7.

 

[nilla]

I forgot to mention (which is becoming a habit in this report) that we are attacking Epcot with a different strategy this year. Since we have four planned days in the park, we're doing nothing but Future World today and will not even go near World Showcase, which is a tough decision but seems to make sense. Dylan and Emily cool down in the car wash, which is always entertaining. We're wondering where the car is, though. This place is apparently a soda stand now, too. Was it always, and I'm just that unobservant?

 

[nilla]

Old Crow and Vanilla Rally Cola has started to flow here in the present, so please excuse any typos or rambling that may occur in the next few posts.

Back to April 22nd, Epcot Center, which the bus driver told us stands for "Every Person Comes Out Tired". Not scared - keep those steps coming! Health Miles, baby!

Kristin disappears somewhere (not sure where) while I take the kids to the butterfly garden...

...and Pixie garden.

Dylan and I then hit Mission Space, Green Team of course. I keep telling myself that I will eventually do the Orange Team, but this is not the time. Emily played in the little play area at the exit of MS, and we sent funny emails to friends and family. Kristin and Dylan played the big team game there, then it was off to lunch.

 

[nilla]

We hit the Land around 11:00 and eat almost immediately. The early lunch plays out extremely well over this trip when it comes to finding seats and avoiding lines. If you haven't figured out already, it's Sunshine Seasons for lunch, which just may be my favorite counter service in the WDW.

No Muenster cheese sammy this year, which is a small letdown, but the Turkey and Monterey Jack Cheese on Foccacia was awesome, as their sammies always are. Kristin is feeling Japanese (she really thinks so), so she goes for the Ginger Mongolian Beef. I treat her like a total stranger, and a Cyclone Ranger. Dylan wolfs down a PB&J Uncrustable and falls in love with my Butterfinger Cheesecake. I'm not a huge dessert guy, but do love me some cheesecake, and this is one of the best I've had.

After lunch, it's Soarin', Circle of Life, and Living with the Land. This pavilion rocks!

On a side note, the bathroom makes me feel like I've been teleported to Frontier Land. Not sure what the point of me telling you that is, but there it is.

 

[nilla]

Wow, I'm only halfway through documenting our first day at Epcot, and I'm tired! Now you see why we planned four days in this park. More to come tomorrow!

 

[nilla]

Oops, forgot to mention that on the day we arrived, we bought two brand, spankin' new Disney refillable mugs, even though we have two perfectly good mugs from last year sitting at home. We also will NOT be pool hopping or renting any motorized scooters, unless my trusty Vikings Crocs don't mix with torrential rain and I blow out my knee at the Magic Kingdom on day 4, which COULD happen. You won't know until you read on. Don't you love the suspense?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I teared up at the Vikings game.

I'd tear up too if every time my quaterback went back to pass, I was afraid his head was going to fall off becaise he was so old.

Anyway, I'm happy we were able to talk you into CSR.

 

[honeydiane1953]

Such a good trip report. You have an awesome family and r quite good at the trip writing report stuff.

 

[Mogambi]

I can't wait to read more. We were at CSR the same time you were with kids the exact same ages. We also bought some "lame pins" off of ebay!

 

[nilla]

Report time again! This next part is so unbelievable that you're going to swear I'm lying, but I assure you, it's a 100% true story.

After exhausting the Land Pavilion by learning how much humans suck via the "Circle of Life" movie, it was off to Innoventions to get our character pictures courtesy of our Disney Visa cards. On the way there, we pass the Epcot Character Spot and decide to hop in there first. A Japanese teen/twentysomething in line is paging through a book on WDW that's entirely in Japanese, which to me makes it the coolest book EVER. Kristin and I love the Japanese visitors, since they always seem to have the coolest outfits and Disney merchandise. One day I'll learn to speak and read Japanese, but until then, I can just imagine the awesomeness that book contains.

But back to the story. Anyway, the kids run the gauntlet of Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy...

...and we're done. We decide to head over to Innoventions East to check out Sum of All Thrills. When we get there, we notice the line for the Disney Visa pictures is quite short, so in we go. Here comes the crazy part. Any of you who have done this know that you do not know who the characters are until you get inside, so we're curious. In we are led, and who is in there but MICKEY AND PLUTO. I am NOT putting you on. I mean, we walked directly over from meeting them at the Character Spot and somehow they're here before we are. It defies logic. I know you're probably thinking we're either nuts or drunk (or both), but remember, we're skipping World Showcase on this day, and while we are admittedly a bit off, it's not in a way that would have us thinking we saw what we didn't see. It was Mickey and Pluto, I swear. I would show you the photographic evidence, but it's currently in a holding pattern with our Photo Pass CD. I suggest you try it if you don't believe me - you're be amazed.

The other thing of note about this experience is that I think I may have left Mickey hanging on a hi-five after the picture was taken, which is something I will probably feel bad about for the rest of my life. Then again, Mickey might not have been so friendly had he seen Minnie hitting on me in this very same room last year.

 

[nilla]

I would like to pause to say "thanks" to all who have commented on this post. I am glad you are enjoying my very first trip report. This makes writing it much more fun!

Actually, I should say "thanks to all except for Flightless Duck", who is an Eagles fan. I think we all know what those people are like

Mogambi - how did you like CSR? We fell in love with it and will, without question, be returning there next year.

 

[nilla]

Pictures are done (for now), and Kristin and Dylan are off to ride Sum of All Thrills. They choose the coaster and have a blast. It really is a neat ride if you get the chance to hit it.

Emily, who is below the height requirement and is without shoe lifts, and I do the Waste Management game instead, and we have a lot of fun in our own right. I think we would've set some world records if I had not docked the truck in the wrong port on the first game. Oops. We'll never know just how great we could've been.

After that, it's off to Club Cool. After some success with tricking total strangers into trying Beverly in past years, Dylan is trying again, but his flaw is that he refuses to drink it so the ruse is quite transparent. Kristin actually likes the stuff, making her and Flightless Duck the only two people I've ever heard express any positive feelings for the stuff. To me, it tastes like non-alcoholic, fizzy gin. If it tasted like Shlivovica, I'd be all over it, but I'm really not a gin guy.

All the same, I do drink it, because I just different experiences, even if they're bad ones. Here's how I'd rate the drinks, by country:

The best: Costa Rica, Mexico, China
Also good: Germany, Japan, Israel
Not thrilling: Mozambique
Awful: Italy

Though I really don't like Beverly, I would wear a Beverly shirt in a heartbeat, and we often wonder why there is no merch in this store representing anything other than the American Coke products. I guess Zazzle is my only hope - be on the lookout for my new "Beverly - Get You Some!" t-shirt, coming soon!

 

[Disney_Jill]

Great report! I love those laminate daily itinerary cards, and color coded to boot! I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

 

[nilla]

Next up is Universe of Energy, and while I can't stand Ellen, I must admit she is quite funny in this one. I remember that this ride (sans Ellen) was the highlight of my first trip to Epcot when I was a kid. I also remember waiting 2 hours to ride Spaceship Earth (that was the year Epcot opened), which seems insane to me. Didn't my parents have the good sense to bother to check to see if it was a 9 day?

One thing that strikes me about UoE is that they do a very good job refraining from touting or bashing any one energy source too much. It stays apolitical without seeming like it's sidestepping any issues.

After UoE, it's off the The Seas for the clammobiles. I really do love this ride and am fascinated by the technology. We once saw a huge sea turtle swim behind Nemo at one point, and it wasn't Crush. The jellyfish part is a personal favorite, too.

 

[Disney_Jill]

My daughter created a whole new evil persona named "Bad Madeline." She was 4 and when she would get in trouble she said bad Madeline did it. About a year later, one day when we were driving in the car, she admitted she made bad madeline up and it was just really her.

 

[nilla]

Backtrack about 15 minutes to where my faith in that "crowd size rating" site we all place our trust in took a big hit. Epcot was the "park to avoid" this day, presumably because of evening EMH, but before we entered The Seas ("mine! mine!"), Dylan asked me why there were no people in this park. I had to agree. VERY light crowd, which was actually a common theme at Epcot during our trip. No complaints here, though!

Off to dinner now at the Coral Reef. We ate there once before, and I liked it but was not overwhelmed. However, Kristin works her magic (and the fact that we're there early) to get us a table right up against the glass. It was amazing. Scuba divers, sharks, rays, swam by a few feet away from us, but the sea turtles were the coolest.

I am still holding out hope to see Scuba Mickey in there in one day.

As for the food, Kristin got the Mahi Mahi and I got the Catch of the Day - the Red Snapper, which was so verrrrry tasty I declined Kumi's offer to trade it for what was in the box. Kristin's not a big fish eater, so the Mahi Mahi was a stretch for her, but she loved it. She does like fish, as long as it's not "too fishy". Yes, I know. Odd.

The kids got the pizza, which Dylan didn't like. I told him he was nuts because it was delicious. I ended up eating most of his.

For desert, Kristin got the Chocolate Wave while I took the waiter's advice and chose the Bailey's and Jack Daniels Mousse. I had it before, and it was every bit as good as I remembered it. If you even remotely like hard alcohol, I cannot suggest this dessert enough. Just look at page one of this trip report to see how much I loved it, if you don't believe me!

 

[nilla]

My daughter created a whole new evil persona named "Bad Madeline." She was 4 and when she would get in trouble she said bad Madeline did it. About a year later, one day when we were driving in the car, she admitted she made bad madeline up and it was just really her.

Too funny I don't remember our son being half as nutty at 4 as Emily is. I really think it's girls.

 

[nilla]

After dinner we hit Turtle Talk with Crush, which was fun. We then skipped out of the Seas (no, not literally!) and called it an evening. I was a little upset that we missed the manatees, dolphins, and hilarious "Bruce is eating the kids!" photo ops, but those things are small in the grand scheme of this park.

As I mentioned earlier, our plan was to basically beat down Future World this first day, then go back to World Showcase to start our next Epcot day (4 days later). However, as an observant reader may have noticed, we made no mention whatsoever of Journey into Imagination. Yes, we were at Epcot from 9:00 AM to around 7:00 PM, skipped World Showcase, and STILL didn't do all there was to do in Future World, in spite of very light crowds. This park is HUGE! I would also like to dispel any preconceptions anyone might have that "Epcot doesn't have that much to do for kids". Absolute piffle. There is a ton to do for everyone, and you need multiple days to do it.

Back to CSR. We hit up Panchito's, where Emily bought some pins and a Minnie-themed Vinylmation figure. I must say, those things are pretty cool. Kristin and I got margaritas from the bar outside of El Centro, and we all walked over to the Dig Site. Wow, the pool is awesome, and the playground is really cool, too. The pics online don't really give the full effect of seeing it in person.

Lots of teens in the pool and playing volleyball in bikinis, but I'm 37 and married with kids so I don't really take notice to that kind of stuff

Back to the room, where we place the 7:00 wake up call and get ready for bed.