Marching Along We're Adventurers ... FINAL UPDATE - Jan 20 Posts #108, 109, 110
- Thread starter Cdn Friends of Pooh
- Start date
still sitting at my keyboard..............
homie, the weekend passed.
or were you talking about this coming weekend?
Cdn Friends of Pooh
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When we wrapped our last instalment we had finished up our Secrets of the Sideshow Tour at Universal and decided to head over to MK to check out the HM refurbs. Since we didnt take any pics at the MK well just wrap it up briefly. If you havent seen the changes to the HM and dont want the surprise ruined, skip the rest of this post.
We knew you couldnt resist reading on we got to the MK at about 7:00 pm and made our way over to the HM. We deliberately hadnt read any of the reviews of the changes so we wouldnt find out what the changes were until we rode it ourselves. We were a little bit nervous about seeing what they did to our favourite ride. We could only imagine the caretaker being replaced with Eddie Murphy or Gilbert Gottfried's voice as the new Ghost Host.
We didnt have to wait at all and just made it in before the CM closed the doors. We didnt think the stretching room looked bad before but it looks so much better after its been cleaned up and refreshed. Once we got on the ride itself we liked the addition of the portraits in the hallway like they apparently have at DL. The cleaning job was apparent throughout. It was really noticeable when looking at the floating candelabra effect at the end of the hallway. Over the past few years it had gotten to the point where it was hardly noticeable unless you were really watching for it but now it really stood out and was noticeable.
The next real change we noticed was the Escher-type staircases with the ghostly footprints appearing and disappearing on the way up to the attic (replacing the fluorescent spiders & webs). The attic itself was vastly different and we both agree the change was for the better. The bride has been replaced with a new bride whose face is a projection (similar to Little Leota at the end of the ride). It is revealed that the bride is a black widow who had murdered several husbands (can a guest host spot on The View be far behind for this blood-stained bride?).
After the attic we got to the one part of the refurbishment we viewed as heresy levitating Madam Leotas ball. Our own opinion is next to the hitchhiking ghosts, Leota is the most recognizable icon of the HM and should not have been tampered with. It could have been much worse though they could have replaced Eleanor Audleys voice with Jennifer Tilleys movie version.
We liked the one change they made to the Ballroom scene, being the addition of a hearse crashed through the wall and ghosts coming out of it. The cemetery looked great. Were not sure if they replaced the scrims or just cleaned everything really well but whatever they did was excellent.
We had hoped the audio would be repaired as before there would occasionally be dead zones where one of the audio tracks didnt work in a particular section. Unfortunately we didnt have the voice track when we exited the cemetery so they obviously didnt get it all fixed. Overall though we were quite impressed with the changes to the HM after all there was only the one thing we didnt like compared to everything else that really impressed us.
After riding it a few more times and doing a bit of shopping we decided to make our way over to Cosmic Rays for a bite. As we were approaching it we noticed the crowds were really starting to fill up on Main Street and Wishes would be starting soon. Having fought the crowds leaving MK after Wishes on other occasions, we decided to skip Cosmic Rays and make for the exit.
We ended up seeing Wishes from the ferry to the TTC which was already filling up with others who were trying to beat the Wishes mob.
Up next MGM Studios
We knew you couldnt resist reading on we got to the MK at about 7:00 pm and made our way over to the HM. We deliberately hadnt read any of the reviews of the changes so we wouldnt find out what the changes were until we rode it ourselves. We were a little bit nervous about seeing what they did to our favourite ride. We could only imagine the caretaker being replaced with Eddie Murphy or Gilbert Gottfried's voice as the new Ghost Host.
We didnt have to wait at all and just made it in before the CM closed the doors. We didnt think the stretching room looked bad before but it looks so much better after its been cleaned up and refreshed. Once we got on the ride itself we liked the addition of the portraits in the hallway like they apparently have at DL. The cleaning job was apparent throughout. It was really noticeable when looking at the floating candelabra effect at the end of the hallway. Over the past few years it had gotten to the point where it was hardly noticeable unless you were really watching for it but now it really stood out and was noticeable.
The next real change we noticed was the Escher-type staircases with the ghostly footprints appearing and disappearing on the way up to the attic (replacing the fluorescent spiders & webs). The attic itself was vastly different and we both agree the change was for the better. The bride has been replaced with a new bride whose face is a projection (similar to Little Leota at the end of the ride). It is revealed that the bride is a black widow who had murdered several husbands (can a guest host spot on The View be far behind for this blood-stained bride?).
After the attic we got to the one part of the refurbishment we viewed as heresy levitating Madam Leotas ball. Our own opinion is next to the hitchhiking ghosts, Leota is the most recognizable icon of the HM and should not have been tampered with. It could have been much worse though they could have replaced Eleanor Audleys voice with Jennifer Tilleys movie version.
We liked the one change they made to the Ballroom scene, being the addition of a hearse crashed through the wall and ghosts coming out of it. The cemetery looked great. Were not sure if they replaced the scrims or just cleaned everything really well but whatever they did was excellent.
We had hoped the audio would be repaired as before there would occasionally be dead zones where one of the audio tracks didnt work in a particular section. Unfortunately we didnt have the voice track when we exited the cemetery so they obviously didnt get it all fixed. Overall though we were quite impressed with the changes to the HM after all there was only the one thing we didnt like compared to everything else that really impressed us.
After riding it a few more times and doing a bit of shopping we decided to make our way over to Cosmic Rays for a bite. As we were approaching it we noticed the crowds were really starting to fill up on Main Street and Wishes would be starting soon. Having fought the crowds leaving MK after Wishes on other occasions, we decided to skip Cosmic Rays and make for the exit.
We ended up seeing Wishes from the ferry to the TTC which was already filling up with others who were trying to beat the Wishes mob.
Up next MGM Studios
i love the hm also.
if you stayed behind once everyone left the "stretch room" you would hear the voices of the statues talking and laughing.
you have to be the last one out of the room to catch it.
had computer glitches, couldn't get on the disboards and was so aggravated knowing another installment was waiting to be read here.
glad you're back bonny and lee!
if you stayed behind once everyone left the "stretch room" you would hear the voices of the statues talking and laughing.
you have to be the last one out of the room to catch it.
had computer glitches, couldn't get on the disboards and was so aggravated knowing another installment was waiting to be read here.
glad you're back bonny and lee!
thunderbird1
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Glad to hear you liked most of the HM changes, too. Though I must confess I liked the kicked up a notch Madam Leota, I was also relieved they really didn't incorporate much, if any, of the HM movie. Much like POTC--a little nod to the movie is fine, but don't mess with a classic attraction.Keep it coming--I'm overdosing on Christmas and I count on your TR for a little Halloween to balance it out! Though looking at your photo of Santa in the chimney is a nice little blend of both.
Cdn Friends of Pooh
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After a few days of technical difficulties were able to resume our TR. Lees laptop is going to have to go in for repairs after the silly season is over and you can get near Best Buy without needing combat training.
The next morning we slept in again then started our day at MGM Studios.
Naturally the first place we headed for was the Character greeting at the Big Hat. We had all the ones that were out that day but we decided wed go get a pic with Donald and Daisy since we hadnt seen them out together before:
While we were there we decided to take a few pics of the hat:
Next we headed over to the Animation building. When we were at WDW in May it was just before Ratatouille came out so we didnt get to see those characters. We were hoping wed get pics with Remy and Emile this time.
Unfortunately there was no Emile this day but we did get a pic with Remy:
We knew wed be going back to MGM again so we werent really too wound up about missing Emile that day. As a bonus, Frozone was there in the Incredibles room and he was the one we missed in May:
On the way out we decided to take this pic of the Mickey & Walt statue:
Since we had slept in and skipped breakfast, we were getting a bit hungry so we headed over to the Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre for lunch. We didnt have an ADR but we were still seated within a couple minutes:
After we ate we decided to check out the wait time for Muppetvision 3D. We have to admit that over the years this attraction has gone from a must see to a only if the wait isnt too long to a only if theres no wait. This time there was a wait of about 30 mins so we decided to pass on it. We did take a few pics of the fountain while we were there:
Since we had never had a pic taken with Woody, we decided to head over to Als Toy Barn. We timed it to arrive just as Woody was leaving so we had to wait about 20 minutes for him to get back. While we were waiting we were talking with one of the CMs about the characters and she mentioned that Bullseye and Jessie dont come out for pics anymore except for the Halloween and Christmas parties. We made a mental note to try and get these characters when we went to MNSSHP. While we were waiting we took a couple pics:
Woody finally came back and we got our pic:
We knew we were going to be having a late night at HHN so we decided to do a little browsing in the shops then go back to the hotel and rest our feet for a few hours. We snapped this pic on our way out:
Up next...another night at HHN
TRIVIA: This relates more to our last update but in which Christmas Special do we hear the Ghost Host from the WDW Haunted Mansion as the voice of Santa Claus?
The next morning we slept in again then started our day at MGM Studios.
Naturally the first place we headed for was the Character greeting at the Big Hat. We had all the ones that were out that day but we decided wed go get a pic with Donald and Daisy since we hadnt seen them out together before:
While we were there we decided to take a few pics of the hat:
Next we headed over to the Animation building. When we were at WDW in May it was just before Ratatouille came out so we didnt get to see those characters. We were hoping wed get pics with Remy and Emile this time.
Unfortunately there was no Emile this day but we did get a pic with Remy:
We knew wed be going back to MGM again so we werent really too wound up about missing Emile that day. As a bonus, Frozone was there in the Incredibles room and he was the one we missed in May:
On the way out we decided to take this pic of the Mickey & Walt statue:
Since we had slept in and skipped breakfast, we were getting a bit hungry so we headed over to the Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre for lunch. We didnt have an ADR but we were still seated within a couple minutes:
After we ate we decided to check out the wait time for Muppetvision 3D. We have to admit that over the years this attraction has gone from a must see to a only if the wait isnt too long to a only if theres no wait. This time there was a wait of about 30 mins so we decided to pass on it. We did take a few pics of the fountain while we were there:
Since we had never had a pic taken with Woody, we decided to head over to Als Toy Barn. We timed it to arrive just as Woody was leaving so we had to wait about 20 minutes for him to get back. While we were waiting we were talking with one of the CMs about the characters and she mentioned that Bullseye and Jessie dont come out for pics anymore except for the Halloween and Christmas parties. We made a mental note to try and get these characters when we went to MNSSHP. While we were waiting we took a couple pics:
Woody finally came back and we got our pic:
We knew we were going to be having a late night at HHN so we decided to do a little browsing in the shops then go back to the hotel and rest our feet for a few hours. We snapped this pic on our way out:
Up next...another night at HHN
TRIVIA: This relates more to our last update but in which Christmas Special do we hear the Ghost Host from the WDW Haunted Mansion as the voice of Santa Claus?
CriminyCrafft
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Great update and photos! I've given up on my own TR for now but I love reading yours!
Cdn Friends of Pooh
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Cdn Friends of Pooh
DIS Veteran
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None of you took a shot at our trivia question? Will leave it one more time and if nobody wants to take a guess well give the answer in the next installment.
We decided we wanted to get to Universal in time to get to the Stay & Scream area and not have to wait for the park to reopen. As it turned out, we made it just in time to catch the last Horror Make-Up Show of the day. Bonnys not too big on this one but Lee never gets tired of it. Its just one of those guy things...like the Skipper hitting Gilligan with his hat.
After the show we make our way over to the Stay & Scream area where we are herded like cattle. Inside this area are a slough of midway carnival games, souvenier stands, and of course a couple of the ubiquitous HHN booze carts. The only thing missing is a place to sit down for the next hour while youre penned in.
With nothing else to do, we go get ourselves in the line-up for the NOES house. We had Express Passes for the night but we typically dont use them early in the evening. Weve learned we can usually get through several houses with little to no wait then go through them again with the EPs later on in the evening when the line ups are long.
The NOES house opened up around ½ hr before the rest of the park so by the time we got through they were just opening the gates of the Stay & Scream area. Finally we were free!! Still blind...but free. So now what?
We decided to head over to TCM but it was still closed. We headed over to F13 where we were able to walk right in. The scareactors were missing from the first half of the house but the second half was fantastic. After we finished up there we headed back to TCM which was just about to open so we got in line. After a trip through it we decided to take some pics:
At that point we decided to make our way over to see the Bill & Ted show again. With the EPs there was early entry for the first show only so we made our way over as the main gates opened and the barbarian hordes were invading. We got there and were able to get front row centre seats (second row actually as the first row was reserved for several members of the cast for the intro).
After we got out of B&T we headed over to play with the camera shutter settings taking pictures of the ferris wheel:
We also decided to take a few lagoon pictures:
We skipped Jacks Funhouse and went through The Thing house with our EPs. After we finished up there we decided to take a few pics in the Freakshow street area (we refuse to call it a scarezone):
After this we took our EPs and went through all 3 sound stage houses (NOES, Dead Silence, Psychoscareapy). We took this pic of the bikers they had this year to go along with the carnival theme:
We headed back up towards the Jaws ride and decided to hit F13 again with our EPs. Unfortunately the location of the house prevented them from having a separate entrance for the EP holders so we had to wait in the main line for about 20 mins until we got to where the Express line branched off.
After F13 we headed to Vampyr. While in line we were watching an individual in the other line that had been a tad overserved doing everything he could to get his backside kicked by the police and event security. This was the one time the Express line actually moved quickly and we ended up funneled into the house just as it was getting interesting.
After Vampyr we headed back to do TCM with our EPs. It took about 45 mins to get into the house but it was still a blast.
We always go to HHN the same 2 weeks in October and in all our previous years with EPs weve never had to wait more than 5 minutes to get into a house. This year, we never waited less than 15 minutes with the average wait being about ½ hr. I guess Universal figured they could make a few more bucks by selling more EPs this year.
We did take more pics but since were at our limit for this post well save them for another installment.
Stay tuned...
We decided we wanted to get to Universal in time to get to the Stay & Scream area and not have to wait for the park to reopen. As it turned out, we made it just in time to catch the last Horror Make-Up Show of the day. Bonnys not too big on this one but Lee never gets tired of it. Its just one of those guy things...like the Skipper hitting Gilligan with his hat.
After the show we make our way over to the Stay & Scream area where we are herded like cattle. Inside this area are a slough of midway carnival games, souvenier stands, and of course a couple of the ubiquitous HHN booze carts. The only thing missing is a place to sit down for the next hour while youre penned in.
With nothing else to do, we go get ourselves in the line-up for the NOES house. We had Express Passes for the night but we typically dont use them early in the evening. Weve learned we can usually get through several houses with little to no wait then go through them again with the EPs later on in the evening when the line ups are long.
The NOES house opened up around ½ hr before the rest of the park so by the time we got through they were just opening the gates of the Stay & Scream area. Finally we were free!! Still blind...but free. So now what?
We decided to head over to TCM but it was still closed. We headed over to F13 where we were able to walk right in. The scareactors were missing from the first half of the house but the second half was fantastic. After we finished up there we headed back to TCM which was just about to open so we got in line. After a trip through it we decided to take some pics:
At that point we decided to make our way over to see the Bill & Ted show again. With the EPs there was early entry for the first show only so we made our way over as the main gates opened and the barbarian hordes were invading. We got there and were able to get front row centre seats (second row actually as the first row was reserved for several members of the cast for the intro).
After we got out of B&T we headed over to play with the camera shutter settings taking pictures of the ferris wheel:
We also decided to take a few lagoon pictures:
We skipped Jacks Funhouse and went through The Thing house with our EPs. After we finished up there we decided to take a few pics in the Freakshow street area (we refuse to call it a scarezone):
After this we took our EPs and went through all 3 sound stage houses (NOES, Dead Silence, Psychoscareapy). We took this pic of the bikers they had this year to go along with the carnival theme:
We headed back up towards the Jaws ride and decided to hit F13 again with our EPs. Unfortunately the location of the house prevented them from having a separate entrance for the EP holders so we had to wait in the main line for about 20 mins until we got to where the Express line branched off.
After F13 we headed to Vampyr. While in line we were watching an individual in the other line that had been a tad overserved doing everything he could to get his backside kicked by the police and event security. This was the one time the Express line actually moved quickly and we ended up funneled into the house just as it was getting interesting.
After Vampyr we headed back to do TCM with our EPs. It took about 45 mins to get into the house but it was still a blast.
We always go to HHN the same 2 weeks in October and in all our previous years with EPs weve never had to wait more than 5 minutes to get into a house. This year, we never waited less than 15 minutes with the average wait being about ½ hr. I guess Universal figured they could make a few more bucks by selling more EPs this year.
We did take more pics but since were at our limit for this post well save them for another installment.
Stay tuned...
Cdn Friends of Pooh
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Merry Christmas to all. Hopefully you all had a good time and Santa was good to you.
Well nobody took a guess at our trivia question. Just in case anyone cares, the answer was that Paul Frees, the voice of the Ghost Host, also provided the voice of Santa Claus in Frosty the Snowman.
We got up fairly early the next morning and made our way down to the hotel lobby for our breakfast. After a quick bite to eat, we headed for the Magic Kingdom. You can tell from the cloudless sky that we brought our rain gear with us.
We first checked out the characters around the entrance to see if there were any out that we were missing. As it turned out Chicken Little was posing for photos and we were able to get a photo with him. We also got another cute pic of him blowing a kiss...
We took a few more pics around Main Street.
A few trips back, we had a really hard time trying to find the Lady & the Tramp pawprints out front of Tonys Town Square Restaurant. We were so proud of ourselves when we finally did find them that we have to take a picture of them every time we go back:
Our next stop was Adventureland. Every time weve passed this way before were either just arriving and wanting to get to our favourite rides or heading for the exit after weve had enough and are just wanting to leave. As a result, weve never been in the position where weve wanted to stop for a Dole Whip. This time we were determined to stop and try one since everyone raves about them. Bonny had the plain Dole Whip while Lee had the Dole Whip Float. Both were fantastic and we could see why people are so enthusiastic about them.
While we were there, we got a pic with Timon & Rafiki.
We also snapped a quick pic of one of our favourite Adventueland attractions - the Enchanted Tiki Room. Personally we feel its a little less enchanted since they revamped the show a few years back but its still good when you want to take a short break and sit a few minutes.
Our first ride was POTC. As much as we enjoy this attraction, its gotten to be a real pain with the constant flash photography occurring throughout the ride. We had a chance to chat with one of the CMs at POTC once and we asked about the no flash photography rule since the refurb and he was telling us the rule is still in place but theyve basically given up on trying to enforce it. While we didnt take any throughout the ride itself, we did take these in the queue:
After POTC, we headed for the HM. We rode it twice and snapped a pic as we were approaching then another two of the ceiling in the stretching room...one under normal lighting and another when the lightning is flashing and you can see through the cloth ceiling:
After the HM, we headed for Tomorrowland for another couple personal favourites. As corny and dated as it is, we both love the Carousel of Progress and arent sure why Stacey doesnt screech about it on her Top 7 list.
Another we enjoy is the TTA. Its just a relaxing ride thats great after several hours of walking and theres a lot of opportunity to take some good pics along the ride:
We decided at that point to make our way back to Main Street to do a little browsing through the shops before we left. Along the way we decided to take another castle pic. We have dozens by now but we just cant resist taking more of them each trip.
After doing some shopping, we headed for the exit and snapped a few pics on our way out.
Well nobody took a guess at our trivia question. Just in case anyone cares, the answer was that Paul Frees, the voice of the Ghost Host, also provided the voice of Santa Claus in Frosty the Snowman.
We got up fairly early the next morning and made our way down to the hotel lobby for our breakfast. After a quick bite to eat, we headed for the Magic Kingdom. You can tell from the cloudless sky that we brought our rain gear with us.
We first checked out the characters around the entrance to see if there were any out that we were missing. As it turned out Chicken Little was posing for photos and we were able to get a photo with him. We also got another cute pic of him blowing a kiss...
We took a few more pics around Main Street.
A few trips back, we had a really hard time trying to find the Lady & the Tramp pawprints out front of Tonys Town Square Restaurant. We were so proud of ourselves when we finally did find them that we have to take a picture of them every time we go back:
Our next stop was Adventureland. Every time weve passed this way before were either just arriving and wanting to get to our favourite rides or heading for the exit after weve had enough and are just wanting to leave. As a result, weve never been in the position where weve wanted to stop for a Dole Whip. This time we were determined to stop and try one since everyone raves about them. Bonny had the plain Dole Whip while Lee had the Dole Whip Float. Both were fantastic and we could see why people are so enthusiastic about them.
While we were there, we got a pic with Timon & Rafiki.
We also snapped a quick pic of one of our favourite Adventueland attractions - the Enchanted Tiki Room. Personally we feel its a little less enchanted since they revamped the show a few years back but its still good when you want to take a short break and sit a few minutes.
Our first ride was POTC. As much as we enjoy this attraction, its gotten to be a real pain with the constant flash photography occurring throughout the ride. We had a chance to chat with one of the CMs at POTC once and we asked about the no flash photography rule since the refurb and he was telling us the rule is still in place but theyve basically given up on trying to enforce it. While we didnt take any throughout the ride itself, we did take these in the queue:
After POTC, we headed for the HM. We rode it twice and snapped a pic as we were approaching then another two of the ceiling in the stretching room...one under normal lighting and another when the lightning is flashing and you can see through the cloth ceiling:
After the HM, we headed for Tomorrowland for another couple personal favourites. As corny and dated as it is, we both love the Carousel of Progress and arent sure why Stacey doesnt screech about it on her Top 7 list.
Another we enjoy is the TTA. Its just a relaxing ride thats great after several hours of walking and theres a lot of opportunity to take some good pics along the ride:
We decided at that point to make our way back to Main Street to do a little browsing through the shops before we left. Along the way we decided to take another castle pic. We have dozens by now but we just cant resist taking more of them each trip.
After doing some shopping, we headed for the exit and snapped a few pics on our way out.
Cdn Friends of Pooh
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Thanks for the compliment Raven. Glad you like the pics!
Hope all went well with your trip.
Hope all went well with your trip.
CriminyCrafft
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Great update! I hope you all had a great Xmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year!
Cdn Friends of Pooh
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Thanks. We hope your Christmas was good and wish you the best for 2008!
Cdn Friends of Pooh
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After we left the Magic Kingdom we headed back to the hotel to get changed and rest for a couple hours until it was time to head to Boma for our Anniversary Dinner. 
We got to AKL a bit early so went for a walk around to check out more of the hotel since we got there after dark when we went for our dinner last year. We thought it was quite nice but we would still never want to stay there.
We went and checked ourselves in and were seated within a few minutes of our reservation. This was quite the change from last year, when we were seated almost 50 minutes after our reservation time.
After stuffing ourselves on Prime Rib and Zebra Domes (not to mention the Cous Cous Marrakech) they brought out a cookie platter with Happy 8 Anniversary drizzled in milk chocolate. Of course it was at the moment they brought out the platter we realized we had forgotten the camera.
After we finished up at Boma we headed back to the hotel to let our supper go down. Later in the evening we headed over to Old Town to walk around and listen to people trying to convince their kids they were really at WDW.
We got to AKL a bit early so went for a walk around to check out more of the hotel since we got there after dark when we went for our dinner last year. We thought it was quite nice but we would still never want to stay there.
We went and checked ourselves in and were seated within a few minutes of our reservation. This was quite the change from last year, when we were seated almost 50 minutes after our reservation time.
After stuffing ourselves on Prime Rib and Zebra Domes (not to mention the Cous Cous Marrakech) they brought out a cookie platter with Happy 8 Anniversary drizzled in milk chocolate. Of course it was at the moment they brought out the platter we realized we had forgotten the camera.
After we finished up at Boma we headed back to the hotel to let our supper go down. Later in the evening we headed over to Old Town to walk around and listen to people trying to convince their kids they were really at WDW.
Cdn Friends of Pooh
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The next morning we headed out to Epcot.
We had learned from a CM last year that Epcot is a lot busier than normal on the weekends during the Food & Wine Festival because thats when all the locals come. We did want to go to Epcot though and had other things planned for the next few days so we decided we would go but just pass on World Showcase.
Sure enough it was pretty packed when we got there but that was ok. We managed to get a decent pic of the F&WF Topiary at the entrance:
We also had to take the obligatory "big-ball" pic:
We took a stroll over to Soarin to see the fastpass return time and it was already into the late afternoon so we decided to skip it and head to Mission Space to pick up a fastpass there instead. We were glad we did because there was quite the lengthy line for stand-by.
After we picked up the fastpasses we decided to head over to another thrill a minute attraction that had a surprisingly low wait time...Ellens Energy Adventure! We usually save this one for those times when we need to sit for a while but it was suitable as a time filler. What is brain power, Alex?
We had a bit of time left to kill so we wandered through Mouse Gear until it was time to go back to Mission Space. When we got there we were surprised to find he earlier crowds were completely gone and it was a walk-on. It was so empty we were able to take a few pics:
After finishing up M:S we headed over to the Seas to check it out and found where the people that should have been at M:S were. It was so packed we couldnt even get into the building.
As it was getting more and more crowded we decided it was time to get outta Dodge and made for the exit, stopping to take a few SE pics on the way out:
We decided to be lazy and take the tram back to the car. This doesnt happen too often...we were just about the only ones on board:
We headed back to the hotel for a couple hours then decided to head over to DTD. We had dinner ressies for Raglan Road at 7:00 but remembered the chaos trying to find a parking spot a week earlier so decided to get there early as it was a Saturday. We got there around 4:00 and had no problem finding a parking spot unlike the previous Saturday when we got there around 7:00 and had to drive around in circles for ½ hr trying to follow people to their cars until we finally got lucky.
We browsed around and people-watched for a few hours then made our way to Raglan Road for our dinner reservation. We were seated within a few minutes and a few minutes later Lee had a pint of his beloved Guiness in front of him. We had the Scallop forest for an appetizer which was really good! For our main courses Lee had the Bangers & Mash and Bonny had Its Not Bleedin Chowder. Both were absolutely fantastic and were really looking forward to going back in a few short weeks.
We spent a few more hours strolling around DTD, browsing in the shops and people-watching. By the time we finally left it was close to 10:00 and we went back to the hotel and just watched a bit of tv before bed.
We had learned from a CM last year that Epcot is a lot busier than normal on the weekends during the Food & Wine Festival because thats when all the locals come. We did want to go to Epcot though and had other things planned for the next few days so we decided we would go but just pass on World Showcase.
Sure enough it was pretty packed when we got there but that was ok. We managed to get a decent pic of the F&WF Topiary at the entrance:
We also had to take the obligatory "big-ball" pic:
We took a stroll over to Soarin to see the fastpass return time and it was already into the late afternoon so we decided to skip it and head to Mission Space to pick up a fastpass there instead. We were glad we did because there was quite the lengthy line for stand-by.
After we picked up the fastpasses we decided to head over to another thrill a minute attraction that had a surprisingly low wait time...Ellens Energy Adventure! We usually save this one for those times when we need to sit for a while but it was suitable as a time filler. What is brain power, Alex?
We had a bit of time left to kill so we wandered through Mouse Gear until it was time to go back to Mission Space. When we got there we were surprised to find he earlier crowds were completely gone and it was a walk-on. It was so empty we were able to take a few pics:
After finishing up M:S we headed over to the Seas to check it out and found where the people that should have been at M:S were. It was so packed we couldnt even get into the building.
As it was getting more and more crowded we decided it was time to get outta Dodge and made for the exit, stopping to take a few SE pics on the way out:
We decided to be lazy and take the tram back to the car. This doesnt happen too often...we were just about the only ones on board:
We headed back to the hotel for a couple hours then decided to head over to DTD. We had dinner ressies for Raglan Road at 7:00 but remembered the chaos trying to find a parking spot a week earlier so decided to get there early as it was a Saturday. We got there around 4:00 and had no problem finding a parking spot unlike the previous Saturday when we got there around 7:00 and had to drive around in circles for ½ hr trying to follow people to their cars until we finally got lucky.
We browsed around and people-watched for a few hours then made our way to Raglan Road for our dinner reservation. We were seated within a few minutes and a few minutes later Lee had a pint of his beloved Guiness in front of him. We had the Scallop forest for an appetizer which was really good! For our main courses Lee had the Bangers & Mash and Bonny had Its Not Bleedin Chowder. Both were absolutely fantastic and were really looking forward to going back in a few short weeks.
We spent a few more hours strolling around DTD, browsing in the shops and people-watching. By the time we finally left it was close to 10:00 and we went back to the hotel and just watched a bit of tv before bed.
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