BroganMc
It's not the age, it's the mileage
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2005
- Messages
- 2,991
Tuesday, 4/15: Did you all get your taxes in? We did, as did several thousand other Disney visitors it seems (or else they're all on the lam down here).
The weather forecast today was cold. No, not "a little cool" or "refreshingly mild", nope we had bone-chilling, "wish I hadn't packed only shorts and tank tops", "didn't January end like 3 MONTHS AGO?!" frigid cold. Fortunately we still had some warm weather outfits (the ones we left Maryland in 10 days ago). So we woke up, bundled ourselves in long sleeves, extrra fleece jackets and set out to brave EPCOT.
But first let me seque a bit and explain one of the reasons we haven't been doing any "God how early is it?" mornings. See Marriott has this insidious plan to turn all their guests indolent. It involves these new fangled heavenly soft mattresses and down comforters. You slip into one of their cushiony beds for a quick nap and the next thing you know you absolutely refuse to leave. Add in the fact my dad turned up the heat last night and even though I woke up at 7am, I just wasn't moving until after 9. Happy, sleepy dream time for me. No breakfast, but then who cares when you are that comfortable.
Our itinerary for the day calls for lunch at the Garden Grill in the Land. It's our only character meal and totally new restaurant for us. Now in my surfing of the DIS last night I read a pretty horrible review. I feared the worst, but at least it would get us to the busy Land pavilion in time to grab a couple FastPasses for Soarin' or jump in line after. On these long vacations, Dad and I are used to hanging in the Soarin' standby for 60 minutes. And that's what we usually see on weekdays in the off-season.
We get to EPCOT by noon and arrive at the baggage check just as a busy tram unloads. It takes us 20 minutes to get through the gates and to the Land. Along the way all we see are people. The line for Spaceship Earth goes out and around the building. People are tripping over one another in Future World. The flood of people in and out of the Land is as bad as what we saw NYE. A big sign at the door loudly announces no more FPs for the day. WHAT?! It's only noon! Easter ended 3 weeks ago. It's bone chillin' cold and just where did all these people come from?
While I check in at the Garden Grill, Dad pops down the escalator to see what the standby wait is for Soarin'. 150 minutes. Yep 2 1/2 hours for a 5 minute ride. Now we have seen long waits like this once before. Two years ago (give or take) when the ride first opened we tried to spend our last day (a Saturday) in EPCOT. The wait reached 180 minutes that day and we swore off Disney theme parks over the weekend ever since. But seeing this kinda wait on a Tuesday? Something is just not right.
Here's what the place looked like at the time... a human zoo.
Ok, so we still have lunch at the CM working the Front Desk tells us we have just 15 minutes to wait. We get called in 10 min and head to our seat on the upper deck. Along the way we realize this restaurant spins... very slowly making 1 revolution an hour through rainforests, deserts and farm country back to the people zoo. Or waitress Karen (who speaks with a chirpy Minnie Mouse voice and is a veteran full timer) tells us she is shocked by the crowd as well. Seems all the CMs are taken by surprise since this is supposed to be a slow time of the year. We learn later that it is also Spring Break for Alabama and Upstate NY, as well as all those Brits. Oh well, they are all due to go home this weekend.
The characters include Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale. Some may wonder why two adults would want to visit a character meal. Well for us it is the fun banter we get to have with these guys. They always love Grandpa Mohawk's doo (below is Pluto trying to imitate it) and I give them a send up story (this time it was warning Mickey he better keep working these tables to pay for Minnie's girl's day out he sent her own). I will say the best character interaction we've ever had was at Cape May though. Garden Grill comes close.
Our meal turns out to be a delicious family style affair of fried catfish, steak and chicken with string beans and potato chedder casserole. They are all promptly served and devoured in extra helpings. Dessert is the perfect puffed and stuffed custard strawberry tart. We consume two of those. Then we decide our plan for the day... skip EPCOT and hop a Friendship ferry to MGM. There are still several shows we didn't see yet and all are inside away from the biting cold.
So we pay our bill (DDE strikes again saving us so much we've already paid for it and then some) and scoot over to the International Gateway. It's a nice leisurely boat road of some 25 minutes, most of it Dad naps through. See, here he is at the Yacht Club.
We arrive at MGM just as the Block Party Bash is ending on Sunset Blvd. Our first stop of the day is Lil Mermaid. Thankfully the crowds did not follow us. Even though it is a tad more crowded than Monday it's not the zoo EPCOT was. We walk right into Lil Mermaid within 5 minutes (more due to our timing coinciding with the show and parade). Our seats are direct center and I pay close attention to Ariel's singing. The gal we heard NYE was seriously offkey. This one nails "Part of Your World" and I get a lump in my throat. (Confess, who doesn't feel like a fish outa water sometimes? Plus ya gotta love a prince with a big furry dog and who's a skilled sailor to boot.)
Mermaid let's out right into the entrance to the Animation Studio so we figure why not? After all, we want to see what's new in the pipeline. We go through the little Mushu skit, study the old animation studio windows remembering when we saw Brother Bear, Mulan and Lilo & Stitch being drawn there. Our eyes go to the main attraction though... storyboards of Wall-e. There's some interesting stuff there including a futuristic cruise ship for robots. The artwork is just stunning.
Speaking of artwork, we stop in the gift shop where I fall in love with a Thomas Kincaid painting of Cinderella's Castle. It is called "A New Day At Cinderella Castle" and costs $2500. Not having a wall (or wallet) big enough, I settle for a smaller $15 print instead. I also pick up a set of postcards with princess stainglass designs for $3 a piece. I am a sucker for Disney artwork.
By the time we exit, the High School Musical show is set to start. Dad insists on seeing it certain there are new songs for the sequel movie. He loves HSM because it is "good clean teenager fun" with good music. (Did I mention he was a rebeliious teenager at heart?) So we head to the Sorcerer Hat and the crowd has already formed. But a CM directs us to the wheelchair spot and we go single file so we don't take up too much space. (We'll do this at kiddie shows and parades when Dad can stand in the back and lots of lil' kids can just stand in front of me. It's party of the Disney sharing.)
Turns out Dad was right and HSM has all new songs from the second movie. They get the kids involved and it turns out to be a much better show than the Block Party Bash. The sun even shines despite the biting wind.
When the show ends, we decide to take in Muppets 3D. The last time we did this was 3am NYE with only 5 people and a very tired CM in the theatre. This time, it's packed. But that adds to the fun, especially when Waldo tells us "everyone thinks I'm talking to them but I'm really talking to YOU". We stop off in the Muppets gift shop and have a big time enjoying all the funny little signs and props.
My parents' basement with all the stuff my siblings have packed away:
See the Mickey pants?
We even find an oxymoron for sale: (This is why DHS is not sticking with me yet.)
Our last stop is another ride on Star Tours, one of my favorite rides in the park. We exit after and meet a very nice lady from Alabama who got separated from her party and ended up waiting in the exit with her ECV. Seems the CMs miscommunicated and the lady's family forgot to save her a seat on the ride. So we all waited along with another CM and chitchatted about the day and our mutual fear of ToT. (My heart races just talking about the ride. Man, I am spooked.)
Dad tries to talk me into riding it just once. He'd even go through the queue with me and help me with the boarding. Instead, I notice the time (near 7:30pm) and recommend we hop the ferry back to EPCOT where we left our car. We can either catch the fireworks (again) or see if the line for Soarin' has abated any.
Luck is with us as the ferry is there just as we arrive at the dock. (This is a big improvement from the last time I used the ferry system in October when my waits were 10-15 minutes longer than the busses.) Still we hop off at Swolphin and race our scooters to the International Gateway to the delight of the crowd in the Yacht Club. (We had cheering spectators, for real.)
We get to the Land and find the wait has gone down to 65 minutes. It's far too cold to sit outside for fireworks, so we opt to ride instead. We sit in row 1 section C, but again I forget to be the last one in that row so you sit in the middle. We end up on the furthest end. Not terrible but not ideal. Along the way we meet a young girl who's taking her maiden flight but is scared. She rides dirt bikes, loves ToT and yet is afraid of Soarin'. Ah ignorant youth. (She loves the ride, btw.)
When we finish (making sure we catch the hidden Mickeys in the movie), it is 8:50pm. Dad still doesn't want to brave the cold wind, so we pop over to Seasons (another of our secret favorites) for a bowl of hot split pea soup and double chocolate cake. We hear the fireworks overhead but linger over our meal so the park has a chance to clear.
By the time we exit, the crowd has finally left. Whew! I take a side route by Innoventions and discover more LED sidewalks (can you guess where the one below is?) and we head home to our heated apartment and heavenly beds.
Assuming I can climb out of mine early enough tomorrow, the day calls for Animal Kingdom. Weather should be a warmer 70 degrees. Hopefully the crowds will go elsewhere.
Till the next time, I hope you enjoy the report.
The weather forecast today was cold. No, not "a little cool" or "refreshingly mild", nope we had bone-chilling, "wish I hadn't packed only shorts and tank tops", "didn't January end like 3 MONTHS AGO?!" frigid cold. Fortunately we still had some warm weather outfits (the ones we left Maryland in 10 days ago). So we woke up, bundled ourselves in long sleeves, extrra fleece jackets and set out to brave EPCOT.
But first let me seque a bit and explain one of the reasons we haven't been doing any "God how early is it?" mornings. See Marriott has this insidious plan to turn all their guests indolent. It involves these new fangled heavenly soft mattresses and down comforters. You slip into one of their cushiony beds for a quick nap and the next thing you know you absolutely refuse to leave. Add in the fact my dad turned up the heat last night and even though I woke up at 7am, I just wasn't moving until after 9. Happy, sleepy dream time for me. No breakfast, but then who cares when you are that comfortable.
Our itinerary for the day calls for lunch at the Garden Grill in the Land. It's our only character meal and totally new restaurant for us. Now in my surfing of the DIS last night I read a pretty horrible review. I feared the worst, but at least it would get us to the busy Land pavilion in time to grab a couple FastPasses for Soarin' or jump in line after. On these long vacations, Dad and I are used to hanging in the Soarin' standby for 60 minutes. And that's what we usually see on weekdays in the off-season.
We get to EPCOT by noon and arrive at the baggage check just as a busy tram unloads. It takes us 20 minutes to get through the gates and to the Land. Along the way all we see are people. The line for Spaceship Earth goes out and around the building. People are tripping over one another in Future World. The flood of people in and out of the Land is as bad as what we saw NYE. A big sign at the door loudly announces no more FPs for the day. WHAT?! It's only noon! Easter ended 3 weeks ago. It's bone chillin' cold and just where did all these people come from?
While I check in at the Garden Grill, Dad pops down the escalator to see what the standby wait is for Soarin'. 150 minutes. Yep 2 1/2 hours for a 5 minute ride. Now we have seen long waits like this once before. Two years ago (give or take) when the ride first opened we tried to spend our last day (a Saturday) in EPCOT. The wait reached 180 minutes that day and we swore off Disney theme parks over the weekend ever since. But seeing this kinda wait on a Tuesday? Something is just not right.
Here's what the place looked like at the time... a human zoo.
Ok, so we still have lunch at the CM working the Front Desk tells us we have just 15 minutes to wait. We get called in 10 min and head to our seat on the upper deck. Along the way we realize this restaurant spins... very slowly making 1 revolution an hour through rainforests, deserts and farm country back to the people zoo. Or waitress Karen (who speaks with a chirpy Minnie Mouse voice and is a veteran full timer) tells us she is shocked by the crowd as well. Seems all the CMs are taken by surprise since this is supposed to be a slow time of the year. We learn later that it is also Spring Break for Alabama and Upstate NY, as well as all those Brits. Oh well, they are all due to go home this weekend.
The characters include Mickey, Pluto, Chip & Dale. Some may wonder why two adults would want to visit a character meal. Well for us it is the fun banter we get to have with these guys. They always love Grandpa Mohawk's doo (below is Pluto trying to imitate it) and I give them a send up story (this time it was warning Mickey he better keep working these tables to pay for Minnie's girl's day out he sent her own). I will say the best character interaction we've ever had was at Cape May though. Garden Grill comes close.
Our meal turns out to be a delicious family style affair of fried catfish, steak and chicken with string beans and potato chedder casserole. They are all promptly served and devoured in extra helpings. Dessert is the perfect puffed and stuffed custard strawberry tart. We consume two of those. Then we decide our plan for the day... skip EPCOT and hop a Friendship ferry to MGM. There are still several shows we didn't see yet and all are inside away from the biting cold.
So we pay our bill (DDE strikes again saving us so much we've already paid for it and then some) and scoot over to the International Gateway. It's a nice leisurely boat road of some 25 minutes, most of it Dad naps through. See, here he is at the Yacht Club.
We arrive at MGM just as the Block Party Bash is ending on Sunset Blvd. Our first stop of the day is Lil Mermaid. Thankfully the crowds did not follow us. Even though it is a tad more crowded than Monday it's not the zoo EPCOT was. We walk right into Lil Mermaid within 5 minutes (more due to our timing coinciding with the show and parade). Our seats are direct center and I pay close attention to Ariel's singing. The gal we heard NYE was seriously offkey. This one nails "Part of Your World" and I get a lump in my throat. (Confess, who doesn't feel like a fish outa water sometimes? Plus ya gotta love a prince with a big furry dog and who's a skilled sailor to boot.)
Mermaid let's out right into the entrance to the Animation Studio so we figure why not? After all, we want to see what's new in the pipeline. We go through the little Mushu skit, study the old animation studio windows remembering when we saw Brother Bear, Mulan and Lilo & Stitch being drawn there. Our eyes go to the main attraction though... storyboards of Wall-e. There's some interesting stuff there including a futuristic cruise ship for robots. The artwork is just stunning.
Speaking of artwork, we stop in the gift shop where I fall in love with a Thomas Kincaid painting of Cinderella's Castle. It is called "A New Day At Cinderella Castle" and costs $2500. Not having a wall (or wallet) big enough, I settle for a smaller $15 print instead. I also pick up a set of postcards with princess stainglass designs for $3 a piece. I am a sucker for Disney artwork.
By the time we exit, the High School Musical show is set to start. Dad insists on seeing it certain there are new songs for the sequel movie. He loves HSM because it is "good clean teenager fun" with good music. (Did I mention he was a rebeliious teenager at heart?) So we head to the Sorcerer Hat and the crowd has already formed. But a CM directs us to the wheelchair spot and we go single file so we don't take up too much space. (We'll do this at kiddie shows and parades when Dad can stand in the back and lots of lil' kids can just stand in front of me. It's party of the Disney sharing.)
Turns out Dad was right and HSM has all new songs from the second movie. They get the kids involved and it turns out to be a much better show than the Block Party Bash. The sun even shines despite the biting wind.
When the show ends, we decide to take in Muppets 3D. The last time we did this was 3am NYE with only 5 people and a very tired CM in the theatre. This time, it's packed. But that adds to the fun, especially when Waldo tells us "everyone thinks I'm talking to them but I'm really talking to YOU". We stop off in the Muppets gift shop and have a big time enjoying all the funny little signs and props.
My parents' basement with all the stuff my siblings have packed away:
See the Mickey pants?
We even find an oxymoron for sale: (This is why DHS is not sticking with me yet.)
Our last stop is another ride on Star Tours, one of my favorite rides in the park. We exit after and meet a very nice lady from Alabama who got separated from her party and ended up waiting in the exit with her ECV. Seems the CMs miscommunicated and the lady's family forgot to save her a seat on the ride. So we all waited along with another CM and chitchatted about the day and our mutual fear of ToT. (My heart races just talking about the ride. Man, I am spooked.)
Dad tries to talk me into riding it just once. He'd even go through the queue with me and help me with the boarding. Instead, I notice the time (near 7:30pm) and recommend we hop the ferry back to EPCOT where we left our car. We can either catch the fireworks (again) or see if the line for Soarin' has abated any.
Luck is with us as the ferry is there just as we arrive at the dock. (This is a big improvement from the last time I used the ferry system in October when my waits were 10-15 minutes longer than the busses.) Still we hop off at Swolphin and race our scooters to the International Gateway to the delight of the crowd in the Yacht Club. (We had cheering spectators, for real.)
We get to the Land and find the wait has gone down to 65 minutes. It's far too cold to sit outside for fireworks, so we opt to ride instead. We sit in row 1 section C, but again I forget to be the last one in that row so you sit in the middle. We end up on the furthest end. Not terrible but not ideal. Along the way we meet a young girl who's taking her maiden flight but is scared. She rides dirt bikes, loves ToT and yet is afraid of Soarin'. Ah ignorant youth. (She loves the ride, btw.)
When we finish (making sure we catch the hidden Mickeys in the movie), it is 8:50pm. Dad still doesn't want to brave the cold wind, so we pop over to Seasons (another of our secret favorites) for a bowl of hot split pea soup and double chocolate cake. We hear the fireworks overhead but linger over our meal so the park has a chance to clear.
By the time we exit, the crowd has finally left. Whew! I take a side route by Innoventions and discover more LED sidewalks (can you guess where the one below is?) and we head home to our heated apartment and heavenly beds.
Assuming I can climb out of mine early enough tomorrow, the day calls for Animal Kingdom. Weather should be a warmer 70 degrees. Hopefully the crowds will go elsewhere.
Till the next time, I hope you enjoy the report.
Are the crowds back to "reasonable" now? 
I never get a chance to just look at the decor in that shop - I really enjoyed your photos of it. "Chickens ONLY beyond this point." 
), am not a child (most of the time
.
) realized. 
