Cast of Characters:
Me, Lori, 36. Disney nut and compulsive planner. Starts planning the next trip before the last one is over.
DH, Craig, 37. Not as crazy about Disney as the rest of us, but has recently stated his intention to become a bass fishing excursion guide at Ft Wilderness when he retires. Im sure I can be talked into retiring to Orlando
DD, Jessica, 9. Also a Disney nut, needs to be talked into going on the big rides, but would discover that Rock n Rollercoaster was actually a FUN ride this trip. DD is part fish and will give the pool slides a workout.
DS, Ryan, 5. Loves Disney, but would happily spend his entire vacation in the pool. Also not the bravest child on the planet when it comes to rides, but loved Mission Space (go figure).
DSIL and DBIL, 30-somethings (technically DBIL just turned 40, but close enough). Big Disney fans, recently purchased DVC points at Saratoga Springs, so this will be their last non-villa Disney stay.
Day 3, Sunday May 9th
This was Mothers Day, so after our late night last night, we slept in this morning. The plan was to get to EPCOT around lunch time and go straight through until Illuminations and extra magic hours. That was before we realized just how hot May afternoons could be
We also had a small world moment this morning. While DH and I were sitting out on the balcony before the kids woke up, we see one of DSs friends from preschool walking by with his mom. They were in a room about 5 doors down from us. What are the odds of that? Strangely enough, while we would often see them walking to breakfast in the morning we never ran into them anywhere else, even though we spent a lot of time in the hotel pool. It wasnt until the very end of the week that DS saw his friend.
When we finally crawled out of bed it was still a bit early to go to EPCOT, so the guys took the kids out on the mouseboats for a half hour. I was going to check out the pin cart for the Mothers Day pin, but DH said to wait until we got to EPCOT so the kids could get it for me. The new version of the mouseboats have a bit more zip to them than the old ones. We eventually got to EPCOT just before noon. Since it was Mothers Day, they were handing out carnations to all the women. We headed straight across the park for our 12:30 PS at Alfredos.
Our waiter here was absolutely hysterical, and was actually the best part of the experience there. I dont remember his name as he didnt have a name tag on (maybe he didnt really work there?). We had a plate of antipasto, and various entrees, including the signature fettucini Alfredo and chicken parmagiana. We thought the food was pretty good, though a bit over priced. I prefer a creamier Alfredo sauce this was very sticky and cheesy. Desserts were the best part of the meal. We had a chocolate mousse (with which DD would continue her chocolate quest) and profiteroles. These were the best profiteroles weve ever had. Definitely try them if you are at Alfredos.
We checked out the pin cart after lunch, and the Mothers Day pins were gone. Now DH is in trouble. I have started a collection of group pictures for each Disney trip displayed in shadow boxes with the limited edition event pins for that visit tacked to the mat. I was planning on a Mothers Day pin and Flower Garden Expo Pin for this trip. We couldnt find either one in EPCOT. I was bummed
The kids started masks at the kidcot station in Italy. We headed over to Japan, where we were just in time for the candy lady. Since it was Mothers Day, the mothers got to choose the animals and keep the candy today. We watched her make a koala and a dolphin, and then I got to pick. She made me a very cool pink flamingo. If youve never seen this little show, she is very interesting to watch. DD was asking me all week if I was going to eat my lollipop. I think she wanted me to offer it to her sorry kid its Mothers Day, and its mine
After the candy making show, the kids found the kidcot station and added to their masks. Afterwards, we watched some of the drummers show in Japan. We also stopped at the kidcot in Morocco. We overshot the kidcot station in France, and it was just getting too darn hot to double back, so we just continued on to England. We found the kidcot station there, and also found Pooh, Tigger, and Mary Poppins posing for pictures and autographs.
Finally we made it Canada in time to catch the last two songs by Off Kilter. I really want to make a point to see all of this show someday. It seems to be very entertaining. Oh well for now it goes on the list of things to do next trip. At this point we were just too hot to continue. Someday well see all the world showcase entertainment, but it just doesnt fit our strategy of avoiding the parks mid-afternoon when the shows are all taking place between noon and 6PM! We stopped at the Imagination pavilion and rode the imagination ride with no wait. At least we were cooled off enough to make it back to the monorail. Time to hit the pool! We swam in the volcano pool for a few hours. While we swam, DH was able to find the Mothers Day pin at the hotel pin cart. He has redeemed himself.
Late in the afternoon when it was a much more reasonable temperature, we headed back to EPCOT. On the way in, we picked up our wristbands for the first night of Extra magic hours for resort guests. There were many CMs around the park giving out wristbands if you could produce a room key for each member of your party. Spaceship Earth had no line, so we took a quick trip on there. DS fell asleep as soon as the car turned around backwards and slept the whole way down. Of course he denied falling asleep when he got to the bottom. Hes too big for naps now you know
We needed to grab a quick dinner before checking in for our Illuminations cruise, so we stopped at the McDonalds stand. We sat on a bench and fought off the birds to eat our nuggets and fries. We went out the international gateway and walked over the Beach Club. We really need to stay at this hotel. We havent stayed there since BC (before children). The kids would love the pool. We checked in with our captain, Aaron (though he says he prefers Admiral Aaron). We had a half-hour before we needed to be on the boat, so went and got some ice cream at Beaches and Cream. I had the best vanilla malt there that I have ever had. Another thing for the list to do next time malts at Beaches and Cream
We got the kids into their lifevests and boarded the boat. Admiral Aaron took us for a ride down to MGM and then back to park under the International gateway bridge. We were tied up there with 5 other boats. DS talked Aarons ear off the entire time. Hes such a shy child. This is such an awesome way to see Illuminations no fighting for your spot, just lounging on a padded seat with a front row view. I was surprised at how much DS (5) remembered from the last trip he remembered that the globe opened up. And my Illuminations photos never come out that great, so its not that hes remembering by looking at photos.
Admiral Aaron was nice enough to drop us off at the EPCOT dock instead of making us walk all the way back from the Beach Club for EPCOTs extra magic hours. We headed straight to Futureworld, only to find that Test Track still had a 40 minute wait. Im not sure if this was just due to crowds, or the fact that it was down most of the day as well. They still had the fast pass machines running, so we grabbed a fast pass and went to Mission: Space. Disney must have scared people away from this ride, as there was only a 5 minute wait here.
The pre-ride warnings here are almost worse than the ride. DH, who wont do spinning rides like the tea cups, was very apprehensive about this, as was DD. DS was oblivious and had no idea what he was going on. I think if the wait was longer, we would have lost DH and DD. But they made it inside. This ride is amazing. DD was a bit upset during the ride, and I could hear DH telling to keep her head back and eyes on the screen. I was worried that DS next to me was scared, but I managed to look over and see a little hand working the joystick. DS was flying our ship. He was completely unfazed by the whole thing and said it was cool. We all made it off, and DH had to sit down for a bit, but he survived. He says he wont be doing again though. Neither will DD. DS and I will just have to ride it together next time!
The kids played a game in the space center on the way out. They were the only ones on their side working as mission control. DS had no idea what he was doing, and DD couldnt do it all herself, so their team was in big trouble. This at least killed enough time to get us to our Test Track fast pass time. We were able to walk by the line which was still 40 minutes long (its after 10:30PM now) and get right on. For some reason, DD didnt really want to do this, but we talked her into it anyway. This is the same DD who would launch herself down the Humunga Kowabunga slide at Typhoon Lagoon the next day, but she didnt want to go 65MPH in a convertible. Sometimes I just dont understand how my kids decide what to be afraid of.
After Test Track, we went to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience with only about 25 other people. They even let us sit down in the pre-show area. It is well after 11PM now, and we were pretty beat so we headed out. Im not sure Id call EMH at EPCOT a big success for us since we only did 3 attractions. Lines were no shorter at night and with fast passes we could have done these with the same wait during the day. But it least it was cooler at night.
Next up: Typhoon Lagoon
Me, Lori, 36. Disney nut and compulsive planner. Starts planning the next trip before the last one is over.
DH, Craig, 37. Not as crazy about Disney as the rest of us, but has recently stated his intention to become a bass fishing excursion guide at Ft Wilderness when he retires. Im sure I can be talked into retiring to Orlando
DD, Jessica, 9. Also a Disney nut, needs to be talked into going on the big rides, but would discover that Rock n Rollercoaster was actually a FUN ride this trip. DD is part fish and will give the pool slides a workout.
DS, Ryan, 5. Loves Disney, but would happily spend his entire vacation in the pool. Also not the bravest child on the planet when it comes to rides, but loved Mission Space (go figure).
DSIL and DBIL, 30-somethings (technically DBIL just turned 40, but close enough). Big Disney fans, recently purchased DVC points at Saratoga Springs, so this will be their last non-villa Disney stay.
Day 3, Sunday May 9th
This was Mothers Day, so after our late night last night, we slept in this morning. The plan was to get to EPCOT around lunch time and go straight through until Illuminations and extra magic hours. That was before we realized just how hot May afternoons could be
We also had a small world moment this morning. While DH and I were sitting out on the balcony before the kids woke up, we see one of DSs friends from preschool walking by with his mom. They were in a room about 5 doors down from us. What are the odds of that? Strangely enough, while we would often see them walking to breakfast in the morning we never ran into them anywhere else, even though we spent a lot of time in the hotel pool. It wasnt until the very end of the week that DS saw his friend.
When we finally crawled out of bed it was still a bit early to go to EPCOT, so the guys took the kids out on the mouseboats for a half hour. I was going to check out the pin cart for the Mothers Day pin, but DH said to wait until we got to EPCOT so the kids could get it for me. The new version of the mouseboats have a bit more zip to them than the old ones. We eventually got to EPCOT just before noon. Since it was Mothers Day, they were handing out carnations to all the women. We headed straight across the park for our 12:30 PS at Alfredos.
Our waiter here was absolutely hysterical, and was actually the best part of the experience there. I dont remember his name as he didnt have a name tag on (maybe he didnt really work there?). We had a plate of antipasto, and various entrees, including the signature fettucini Alfredo and chicken parmagiana. We thought the food was pretty good, though a bit over priced. I prefer a creamier Alfredo sauce this was very sticky and cheesy. Desserts were the best part of the meal. We had a chocolate mousse (with which DD would continue her chocolate quest) and profiteroles. These were the best profiteroles weve ever had. Definitely try them if you are at Alfredos.
We checked out the pin cart after lunch, and the Mothers Day pins were gone. Now DH is in trouble. I have started a collection of group pictures for each Disney trip displayed in shadow boxes with the limited edition event pins for that visit tacked to the mat. I was planning on a Mothers Day pin and Flower Garden Expo Pin for this trip. We couldnt find either one in EPCOT. I was bummed
The kids started masks at the kidcot station in Italy. We headed over to Japan, where we were just in time for the candy lady. Since it was Mothers Day, the mothers got to choose the animals and keep the candy today. We watched her make a koala and a dolphin, and then I got to pick. She made me a very cool pink flamingo. If youve never seen this little show, she is very interesting to watch. DD was asking me all week if I was going to eat my lollipop. I think she wanted me to offer it to her sorry kid its Mothers Day, and its mine
After the candy making show, the kids found the kidcot station and added to their masks. Afterwards, we watched some of the drummers show in Japan. We also stopped at the kidcot in Morocco. We overshot the kidcot station in France, and it was just getting too darn hot to double back, so we just continued on to England. We found the kidcot station there, and also found Pooh, Tigger, and Mary Poppins posing for pictures and autographs.
Finally we made it Canada in time to catch the last two songs by Off Kilter. I really want to make a point to see all of this show someday. It seems to be very entertaining. Oh well for now it goes on the list of things to do next trip. At this point we were just too hot to continue. Someday well see all the world showcase entertainment, but it just doesnt fit our strategy of avoiding the parks mid-afternoon when the shows are all taking place between noon and 6PM! We stopped at the Imagination pavilion and rode the imagination ride with no wait. At least we were cooled off enough to make it back to the monorail. Time to hit the pool! We swam in the volcano pool for a few hours. While we swam, DH was able to find the Mothers Day pin at the hotel pin cart. He has redeemed himself.
Late in the afternoon when it was a much more reasonable temperature, we headed back to EPCOT. On the way in, we picked up our wristbands for the first night of Extra magic hours for resort guests. There were many CMs around the park giving out wristbands if you could produce a room key for each member of your party. Spaceship Earth had no line, so we took a quick trip on there. DS fell asleep as soon as the car turned around backwards and slept the whole way down. Of course he denied falling asleep when he got to the bottom. Hes too big for naps now you know
We needed to grab a quick dinner before checking in for our Illuminations cruise, so we stopped at the McDonalds stand. We sat on a bench and fought off the birds to eat our nuggets and fries. We went out the international gateway and walked over the Beach Club. We really need to stay at this hotel. We havent stayed there since BC (before children). The kids would love the pool. We checked in with our captain, Aaron (though he says he prefers Admiral Aaron). We had a half-hour before we needed to be on the boat, so went and got some ice cream at Beaches and Cream. I had the best vanilla malt there that I have ever had. Another thing for the list to do next time malts at Beaches and Cream
We got the kids into their lifevests and boarded the boat. Admiral Aaron took us for a ride down to MGM and then back to park under the International gateway bridge. We were tied up there with 5 other boats. DS talked Aarons ear off the entire time. Hes such a shy child. This is such an awesome way to see Illuminations no fighting for your spot, just lounging on a padded seat with a front row view. I was surprised at how much DS (5) remembered from the last trip he remembered that the globe opened up. And my Illuminations photos never come out that great, so its not that hes remembering by looking at photos.
Admiral Aaron was nice enough to drop us off at the EPCOT dock instead of making us walk all the way back from the Beach Club for EPCOTs extra magic hours. We headed straight to Futureworld, only to find that Test Track still had a 40 minute wait. Im not sure if this was just due to crowds, or the fact that it was down most of the day as well. They still had the fast pass machines running, so we grabbed a fast pass and went to Mission: Space. Disney must have scared people away from this ride, as there was only a 5 minute wait here.
The pre-ride warnings here are almost worse than the ride. DH, who wont do spinning rides like the tea cups, was very apprehensive about this, as was DD. DS was oblivious and had no idea what he was going on. I think if the wait was longer, we would have lost DH and DD. But they made it inside. This ride is amazing. DD was a bit upset during the ride, and I could hear DH telling to keep her head back and eyes on the screen. I was worried that DS next to me was scared, but I managed to look over and see a little hand working the joystick. DS was flying our ship. He was completely unfazed by the whole thing and said it was cool. We all made it off, and DH had to sit down for a bit, but he survived. He says he wont be doing again though. Neither will DD. DS and I will just have to ride it together next time!
The kids played a game in the space center on the way out. They were the only ones on their side working as mission control. DS had no idea what he was doing, and DD couldnt do it all herself, so their team was in big trouble. This at least killed enough time to get us to our Test Track fast pass time. We were able to walk by the line which was still 40 minutes long (its after 10:30PM now) and get right on. For some reason, DD didnt really want to do this, but we talked her into it anyway. This is the same DD who would launch herself down the Humunga Kowabunga slide at Typhoon Lagoon the next day, but she didnt want to go 65MPH in a convertible. Sometimes I just dont understand how my kids decide what to be afraid of.
After Test Track, we went to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience with only about 25 other people. They even let us sit down in the pre-show area. It is well after 11PM now, and we were pretty beat so we headed out. Im not sure Id call EMH at EPCOT a big success for us since we only did 3 attractions. Lines were no shorter at night and with fast passes we could have done these with the same wait during the day. But it least it was cooler at night.
Next up: Typhoon Lagoon
