Mykelogan
Long time, no see!
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2005
- Messages
- 2,183
Welcome back dear readers. Join me now as we see what happens when I return to Epcot for the second time during this trip. That first afternoon was hot, humid, and very sunny... as you will soon see, this day was far from that!
I was again up early as I wanted to keep on track with my goal to be at each park for opening. I had gotten a muffin and juice at the Everything Pop food court last night knowing Breakfast this AM would need to be on the run. It was again predicted to be raining all day though not as severly as the beginning of yesterday. I was hoping the rain would have the same effect on the crowds today as it did yesterday.
After stopping to buy another poncho (I destroyed yesterday's while looking for the head hole! LOL) I was out at the bus stop a little after 8am. There was no torrential rain at this point but it was on and off steadily coming down. Once again we few brave Disneyphiles were the only ones out at busses. Most were heading the early hours park or on the breakfast busses, but myself and two other people hopped on the Epcot bus that soon arrived. I was very excited to see what happens when they open Epcot. By the time I made my way from the bus stops to the entrance area the rain had become a light drizzle/mist so it was not bad at all.
It was now around 8:30 or so, and pretty much every other word out of people's mouths was "Soarin" or "Test Track" so I knew as soon as the opening hoopla was over I would need to motor my way quickly to The Land. I was determined to ride Soarin today as I could not even get a Fast Pass on Monday.
Around 10 of 9am they started letting us and we could go as far as the ropes in front of Spaceship Earth. I made my way as far to the right front as possible knowing that would get me to Soarin the fastest. Soon after we heard the music start and then the Characters on Holiday bus appeared!! I just have to say there is such a group energy present at the opening of a park it truly is almost overwhelming. So many people, especially the children excited just to be there. I won't lie, I get a bit teary at stuff like this, all happy tears of course!!
The characters soon encourage us to follow them into Epcot. And we do, en masse! On my way to The Land I saw the strangest thing, characters standing around waiting to do pictures and autographs and no one visiting them!!! The crowd (which I am sure was tiny compared to most summer mornings) was 50% headed towards Test Track/Mission Space & the other half running to Soarin'. I even heard one kid say, "But mom it's Pluto!" and the mom says, "Tell Pluto we will see him later we need to get our Fast Passes for Soarin'!" haha!
I steadily made my way to The Land and another gentleman in an ECv pointed out where the elevator was to get down to the attractions. Let me say that The Land looked great renovated! It was so nice to be able to go inside again. The entrance to Soarin' looks just like the check in gate at an Airport. So cool!! I grabbed a Fast Pass for later and then headed right in. There were probably 4 or 5 people ahead of me in line! Seems most people were grabbing FP and leaving. So I was on in less than 5min! What a ride! The mechanism of the seating is just amazing and then the actual film/ride is a lot of fun. The smells, the sense of motion, and the gorgeous filmwork all add up to one sensational ride. I liked it so much I rode it two more times in a row so I could try out all three rows. I agree with other reviews that the first row is the most immersive but all were good in my opinion. After Soarin' I went over to Living With The Land. Still a nice attraction but this was my first time on in a long time and I miss the old music soo much! hehe The mickey veggies were cool though!
I next went over to Test Track. Always fun, especially when you car stops in the warm room! hehe We were only stopped for like 20 secs, but one of the kids in the car said, "We're gonna cook!!" Test Track is fun, just not as thrilling as other rides even though you go so fast. I think it is because you are doing all of this in a car and as an adult you can drive a car 65mph anyway! hehe. After TT I went to Universe of Energy. I love the Jeopardy framing and Jamie Lee Curtis as the know-it-all. I do think the concept of the attraction is still very strong but I think it could use a technological upgrade.
I was disappointed to not be able to go into the Wonders of Life pavillion as it was always my fave as a kid but I dealt with that ok!
I decided to tour through Innovations next. It is fun to play around with the games in there and the science experiment type displays. I think my enjoyment is a throwback to my school days and the science fair! hehe!
After touring Innovations I made my way over to the Living Seas. Crowds were still not too bad as it was raining more steadily now though eerily sunny. I miss the "ride" in the Living seas and am glad to see them adding the Nemo themed attractions as it really feels like such an underused space with great potential. Still, the "Hydrolators" always give me a chuckle! "Turtle Talk with Crush" was outstanding! Children and adults alike were laughing and getting into it. Dory's appearance at the end was a nice treat too!
The World Showcase was now opening so I thought I would head that way and I was trying to pick a lunch location. I had a dinner PS at San Angel Inn so I was thinking Morocco or Paris for Lunch. For stretches of time I think I was the only person besides the CMs in the WS! It was eerie! hehe! I started counter clockwise so I would end near San Angel Inn. (I had an early PS because it was all I could get!) I had pretty much seen all of Canada on Monday so I made my way into the UK quickly. The Winnie the pooh cast and Mary Poppins Topiaries in the UK were gorgeous. heck, the landscaping everywhere was amazing! The Flower & Garden festival was definitely something to see. I went in several shops in France. Made a mental note to come back to the Wine Shop to get something for my dad for Father's day and then was going to have lunch in France but it seems the food establishments open after the shops in the WS so i decided to move on to Morocco, and I was glad I did.
The rain had stopped for the time being as I approached Morocco. I explored the market area as it was all opening and then attempted to eat at the Tangeriene Cafe but was told to come back in 10min so I went outside to people watch. While I was doing that outside the Cafe a group of gentleman in suits carrying notebooks and cameras came to Morocco. They started discussing the physical set-up of the area and discussed making changes to the fountain. Eavesdropping I was able to find out that they were planners walking through the entire WS looking at changes they could make to the country areas for cosmetic and body-flow reasons. As they left I realized I could eat lunch so in I went. I got the Chicken & Lamb Shawarma platter, a coke, and Baklava. Can I tell you how amazng this meal was?? The platter had nicely seasoned slices of chicken and lamb, the kind you may get in a gyro, and also cous cous salad, tabbouleh, amazing hummus, and fresh Moroccan bread. The tastes were fresh and complimented each other so well. Now the Baklava I was not really looking forward to as I had some from the snack stand in Morocco in Feb and was disappointed. This piece of Baklava was 1000 times better than that other piece. Oh my! It was crispy and sweet with delicious honey and nuts. Hands down the best baklava I have ever had. Very satisfied with my lunch choice I made my way back to France to see Impressions de France which was ok and then over to the Mitsukoshi department store in Japan. Oh, my friend the rain returned as I was leaving France.
I realized from the show guide that Miyuki would be setting up soon so I found a nice sheltered spot near her stand. If you have not seen her and her candy magic you need to! She is amazing and sooo friendly!! The things she can do with a blob of corn syrup are breathtaking. When she got started, "wake up candy, happy candy!", another couple had joined me. She told us to pick up what we wanted and the couple wanted a swan and I wanted a Unicorn. Within moments a gorgeous white swan appeared and minutes later a purple unicorn! I am so upset I did not get a picture of it but I forgot. I brought it home for my niece who loves the color purple. As this continued a huge swarm of folks came out of the store to see what was going on and I decided to leave. I wanted to see if I could get my traditional kaki gori but the cart was closed I assume due to rain. Instead I went over to the American pavillion and saw the drum/bugle corp and then saw the American Adventure for the first time ever if you can believe it! hehe! It was nice and the theater is gorgeous. Oh, since I could not get a kaki gori in Japan I settled for a red white and blue Sprite from the American Showcase. Get ready now for my celebrity encounter!!!
After America I made my way to Italy and decided to sit on a bench with my Sprite and people watch for while out of the rain. While sipping my sugary concoction I hear someone say "Hope this rain stops soon, don't you?" I look and it was Warwick Davis!! Who is Warwick Davis you ask? He was the lead in Willow, plays the Leprechan in the same titled horror films, and the reason he was at WDW... he was Wicket the lead Ewok in Return Of The Jedi! I did not want to act star struck so I just made small talk with him. I did say, "You must be in town for the Star Wars weekend at MGM" and he said yes that he and his wife were being shown Epcot by a CM. His wife and the CM were shopping in Italy at the moment. It was just a 10-15min small talk chat about Disney but it was very cool. I made my way on as his wife returned. Very cool moment for a Star Wars fan!
I browsed the shops of Italy & Germany. There really should be an attraction at these showcases. They need some actual rides out there. I was a few min late for the showing of Reflections of China so I made my way over to Norway to ride the Maelstrom.
After Maelstrom, I went back to China to see the film. It was again cool. I love how a 360 movie fools you into thinking you are moving some times! After the film I realized I was still an hour away from my PS for early dinner so I I decided to loop around again back to France to get the wine for my dad. I also took some great pictures of the Beauty & The Beast character topiaries at the entrance to the WS. As I was doing that, the Characters on Holiday bus showed up and I got some good character pics as I people watched. I then made my way through the ever increasing crowd, it was warmer, less rainy and sunny now, back over to France and bought my dad several bottles of wine and a wine stopper with a silver mickey head on it. (Remember this for when we reach the last day of my Trip Report... can we say foreshadowing???) Passing Japan again I saw the Kaki Gori cart was open, so I got one! It is just shaved ice with syrup for those who do not know but it is much more refreshing than a drink. I got the "rainbow" flavor which is strawberry, green melon, and tangeriene. It was heavenly on a warm day!
As I entered the African Marketplace part of the WS I noticed the gates to the bridge were closed!! They had to bring out one of the boats and the draw bridge was going up!! Basically unless you want to turn around and walk all the way back around, you are trapped! The CM at the gate said it should be quick, no more than 15-20min!!! and it was indeed about 10-15min before we could progress again. Who knew there could be a bridge up in Epcot?? I didn't! LOL After that excitement it was definitely time for me to go to the San Angel Inn. I had a few extra min before I needed to check in so I went for a quick spin on El Rio De Tiempo and then was seated for dinner.
Now the San Angel Inn is one of my past favorites, let me say that. And at 5pm, they were pretty much empty. So I expected the same service I had gotten before and was sure I would not fall victim to the poor service others had expressed in their reviews. Well I was wrong. My waiter seemed very preoccupied throughout the meal even though he had only three tables; me, a couple, and a family of three. No rushing needed! I will say I loved my seat, it overlooked El Rio de Tiempo so many times I got to wave at children yelling hello from their boats! LOL It wasn't that bad! hehe My food was pretty good however. I had the Traditional Sope for an appy. It was a nice thick corn tortilla grilled and topped with spicy chicken, beans, fresh queso blanco and veggies. Then I had the Pollo a las Rajas which was grilled chicken served over spicy & bell peppers, onions, potatos, chorizo, and chili sauce, topped with cheese, It was a bit overcooked. For dessert I had the flan, it was ok, not very impressive as it tasted like it had been made the day before and sat. Sadly my first not so good experience at SAI!
After dinner I was pretty much Epcotted out! hehe I decided I would make my way back to POP to go swimming. It was gorgeous out when I got back to the hotel and I swam for over an hour. It was refreshing and fun! After showering and making a few phone calls to check on my cat, I decided I would take a stroll around POP see what i could discover. I went out by Hourglass lake and found a very cool seating area. I visited the other pools and then wound up at Classic hall. Dinner being a bust I decided to see what piqued my interest in the food court. I got a chicken wrap and my fave, the Twinkie Tiramisu. I brought them and a drink out by the pool area as it was not too hot and there was not as big of a crowd as there was in the food court (at like 9:30!! weird!) The wrap was outstanding! So fresh and loaded with good stuff. The Tiramisu was of course yummy. After that I went back to my room and watched a movie. Tomorrow would be my designated "sleep in" morning as I was going to MGM and planned to be there for Fantasmic. I was also going back on Saturday for Star Wars fun anyway. So I went to sleep happy with another day well spent!
Tomorrow, MGM!! Stunt Show! Little Mermaid Problems! Banana Fanta! Brown derby for the first time! And of course... Fantasmic...
Stay tuned for Part 5!
Mike
I was again up early as I wanted to keep on track with my goal to be at each park for opening. I had gotten a muffin and juice at the Everything Pop food court last night knowing Breakfast this AM would need to be on the run. It was again predicted to be raining all day though not as severly as the beginning of yesterday. I was hoping the rain would have the same effect on the crowds today as it did yesterday.
After stopping to buy another poncho (I destroyed yesterday's while looking for the head hole! LOL) I was out at the bus stop a little after 8am. There was no torrential rain at this point but it was on and off steadily coming down. Once again we few brave Disneyphiles were the only ones out at busses. Most were heading the early hours park or on the breakfast busses, but myself and two other people hopped on the Epcot bus that soon arrived. I was very excited to see what happens when they open Epcot. By the time I made my way from the bus stops to the entrance area the rain had become a light drizzle/mist so it was not bad at all.
It was now around 8:30 or so, and pretty much every other word out of people's mouths was "Soarin" or "Test Track" so I knew as soon as the opening hoopla was over I would need to motor my way quickly to The Land. I was determined to ride Soarin today as I could not even get a Fast Pass on Monday.
Around 10 of 9am they started letting us and we could go as far as the ropes in front of Spaceship Earth. I made my way as far to the right front as possible knowing that would get me to Soarin the fastest. Soon after we heard the music start and then the Characters on Holiday bus appeared!! I just have to say there is such a group energy present at the opening of a park it truly is almost overwhelming. So many people, especially the children excited just to be there. I won't lie, I get a bit teary at stuff like this, all happy tears of course!!
The characters soon encourage us to follow them into Epcot. And we do, en masse! On my way to The Land I saw the strangest thing, characters standing around waiting to do pictures and autographs and no one visiting them!!! The crowd (which I am sure was tiny compared to most summer mornings) was 50% headed towards Test Track/Mission Space & the other half running to Soarin'. I even heard one kid say, "But mom it's Pluto!" and the mom says, "Tell Pluto we will see him later we need to get our Fast Passes for Soarin'!" haha!I steadily made my way to The Land and another gentleman in an ECv pointed out where the elevator was to get down to the attractions. Let me say that The Land looked great renovated! It was so nice to be able to go inside again. The entrance to Soarin' looks just like the check in gate at an Airport. So cool!! I grabbed a Fast Pass for later and then headed right in. There were probably 4 or 5 people ahead of me in line! Seems most people were grabbing FP and leaving. So I was on in less than 5min! What a ride! The mechanism of the seating is just amazing and then the actual film/ride is a lot of fun. The smells, the sense of motion, and the gorgeous filmwork all add up to one sensational ride. I liked it so much I rode it two more times in a row so I could try out all three rows. I agree with other reviews that the first row is the most immersive but all were good in my opinion. After Soarin' I went over to Living With The Land. Still a nice attraction but this was my first time on in a long time and I miss the old music soo much! hehe The mickey veggies were cool though!
I next went over to Test Track. Always fun, especially when you car stops in the warm room! hehe We were only stopped for like 20 secs, but one of the kids in the car said, "We're gonna cook!!" Test Track is fun, just not as thrilling as other rides even though you go so fast. I think it is because you are doing all of this in a car and as an adult you can drive a car 65mph anyway! hehe. After TT I went to Universe of Energy. I love the Jeopardy framing and Jamie Lee Curtis as the know-it-all. I do think the concept of the attraction is still very strong but I think it could use a technological upgrade.
I was disappointed to not be able to go into the Wonders of Life pavillion as it was always my fave as a kid but I dealt with that ok!
I decided to tour through Innovations next. It is fun to play around with the games in there and the science experiment type displays. I think my enjoyment is a throwback to my school days and the science fair! hehe! After touring Innovations I made my way over to the Living Seas. Crowds were still not too bad as it was raining more steadily now though eerily sunny. I miss the "ride" in the Living seas and am glad to see them adding the Nemo themed attractions as it really feels like such an underused space with great potential. Still, the "Hydrolators" always give me a chuckle! "Turtle Talk with Crush" was outstanding! Children and adults alike were laughing and getting into it. Dory's appearance at the end was a nice treat too!
The World Showcase was now opening so I thought I would head that way and I was trying to pick a lunch location. I had a dinner PS at San Angel Inn so I was thinking Morocco or Paris for Lunch. For stretches of time I think I was the only person besides the CMs in the WS! It was eerie! hehe! I started counter clockwise so I would end near San Angel Inn. (I had an early PS because it was all I could get!) I had pretty much seen all of Canada on Monday so I made my way into the UK quickly. The Winnie the pooh cast and Mary Poppins Topiaries in the UK were gorgeous. heck, the landscaping everywhere was amazing! The Flower & Garden festival was definitely something to see. I went in several shops in France. Made a mental note to come back to the Wine Shop to get something for my dad for Father's day and then was going to have lunch in France but it seems the food establishments open after the shops in the WS so i decided to move on to Morocco, and I was glad I did.
The rain had stopped for the time being as I approached Morocco. I explored the market area as it was all opening and then attempted to eat at the Tangeriene Cafe but was told to come back in 10min so I went outside to people watch. While I was doing that outside the Cafe a group of gentleman in suits carrying notebooks and cameras came to Morocco. They started discussing the physical set-up of the area and discussed making changes to the fountain. Eavesdropping I was able to find out that they were planners walking through the entire WS looking at changes they could make to the country areas for cosmetic and body-flow reasons. As they left I realized I could eat lunch so in I went. I got the Chicken & Lamb Shawarma platter, a coke, and Baklava. Can I tell you how amazng this meal was?? The platter had nicely seasoned slices of chicken and lamb, the kind you may get in a gyro, and also cous cous salad, tabbouleh, amazing hummus, and fresh Moroccan bread. The tastes were fresh and complimented each other so well. Now the Baklava I was not really looking forward to as I had some from the snack stand in Morocco in Feb and was disappointed. This piece of Baklava was 1000 times better than that other piece. Oh my! It was crispy and sweet with delicious honey and nuts. Hands down the best baklava I have ever had. Very satisfied with my lunch choice I made my way back to France to see Impressions de France which was ok and then over to the Mitsukoshi department store in Japan. Oh, my friend the rain returned as I was leaving France.
I realized from the show guide that Miyuki would be setting up soon so I found a nice sheltered spot near her stand. If you have not seen her and her candy magic you need to! She is amazing and sooo friendly!! The things she can do with a blob of corn syrup are breathtaking. When she got started, "wake up candy, happy candy!", another couple had joined me. She told us to pick up what we wanted and the couple wanted a swan and I wanted a Unicorn. Within moments a gorgeous white swan appeared and minutes later a purple unicorn! I am so upset I did not get a picture of it but I forgot. I brought it home for my niece who loves the color purple. As this continued a huge swarm of folks came out of the store to see what was going on and I decided to leave. I wanted to see if I could get my traditional kaki gori but the cart was closed I assume due to rain. Instead I went over to the American pavillion and saw the drum/bugle corp and then saw the American Adventure for the first time ever if you can believe it! hehe! It was nice and the theater is gorgeous. Oh, since I could not get a kaki gori in Japan I settled for a red white and blue Sprite from the American Showcase. Get ready now for my celebrity encounter!!!
After America I made my way to Italy and decided to sit on a bench with my Sprite and people watch for while out of the rain. While sipping my sugary concoction I hear someone say "Hope this rain stops soon, don't you?" I look and it was Warwick Davis!! Who is Warwick Davis you ask? He was the lead in Willow, plays the Leprechan in the same titled horror films, and the reason he was at WDW... he was Wicket the lead Ewok in Return Of The Jedi! I did not want to act star struck so I just made small talk with him. I did say, "You must be in town for the Star Wars weekend at MGM" and he said yes that he and his wife were being shown Epcot by a CM. His wife and the CM were shopping in Italy at the moment. It was just a 10-15min small talk chat about Disney but it was very cool. I made my way on as his wife returned. Very cool moment for a Star Wars fan!
I browsed the shops of Italy & Germany. There really should be an attraction at these showcases. They need some actual rides out there. I was a few min late for the showing of Reflections of China so I made my way over to Norway to ride the Maelstrom. After Maelstrom, I went back to China to see the film. It was again cool. I love how a 360 movie fools you into thinking you are moving some times! After the film I realized I was still an hour away from my PS for early dinner so I I decided to loop around again back to France to get the wine for my dad. I also took some great pictures of the Beauty & The Beast character topiaries at the entrance to the WS. As I was doing that, the Characters on Holiday bus showed up and I got some good character pics as I people watched. I then made my way through the ever increasing crowd, it was warmer, less rainy and sunny now, back over to France and bought my dad several bottles of wine and a wine stopper with a silver mickey head on it. (Remember this for when we reach the last day of my Trip Report... can we say foreshadowing???) Passing Japan again I saw the Kaki Gori cart was open, so I got one! It is just shaved ice with syrup for those who do not know but it is much more refreshing than a drink. I got the "rainbow" flavor which is strawberry, green melon, and tangeriene. It was heavenly on a warm day!
As I entered the African Marketplace part of the WS I noticed the gates to the bridge were closed!! They had to bring out one of the boats and the draw bridge was going up!! Basically unless you want to turn around and walk all the way back around, you are trapped! The CM at the gate said it should be quick, no more than 15-20min!!! and it was indeed about 10-15min before we could progress again. Who knew there could be a bridge up in Epcot?? I didn't! LOL After that excitement it was definitely time for me to go to the San Angel Inn. I had a few extra min before I needed to check in so I went for a quick spin on El Rio De Tiempo and then was seated for dinner.
Now the San Angel Inn is one of my past favorites, let me say that. And at 5pm, they were pretty much empty. So I expected the same service I had gotten before and was sure I would not fall victim to the poor service others had expressed in their reviews. Well I was wrong. My waiter seemed very preoccupied throughout the meal even though he had only three tables; me, a couple, and a family of three. No rushing needed! I will say I loved my seat, it overlooked El Rio de Tiempo so many times I got to wave at children yelling hello from their boats! LOL It wasn't that bad! hehe My food was pretty good however. I had the Traditional Sope for an appy. It was a nice thick corn tortilla grilled and topped with spicy chicken, beans, fresh queso blanco and veggies. Then I had the Pollo a las Rajas which was grilled chicken served over spicy & bell peppers, onions, potatos, chorizo, and chili sauce, topped with cheese, It was a bit overcooked. For dessert I had the flan, it was ok, not very impressive as it tasted like it had been made the day before and sat. Sadly my first not so good experience at SAI!
After dinner I was pretty much Epcotted out! hehe I decided I would make my way back to POP to go swimming. It was gorgeous out when I got back to the hotel and I swam for over an hour. It was refreshing and fun! After showering and making a few phone calls to check on my cat, I decided I would take a stroll around POP see what i could discover. I went out by Hourglass lake and found a very cool seating area. I visited the other pools and then wound up at Classic hall. Dinner being a bust I decided to see what piqued my interest in the food court. I got a chicken wrap and my fave, the Twinkie Tiramisu. I brought them and a drink out by the pool area as it was not too hot and there was not as big of a crowd as there was in the food court (at like 9:30!! weird!) The wrap was outstanding! So fresh and loaded with good stuff. The Tiramisu was of course yummy. After that I went back to my room and watched a movie. Tomorrow would be my designated "sleep in" morning as I was going to MGM and planned to be there for Fantasmic. I was also going back on Saturday for Star Wars fun anyway. So I went to sleep happy with another day well spent!
Tomorrow, MGM!! Stunt Show! Little Mermaid Problems! Banana Fanta! Brown derby for the first time! And of course... Fantasmic...
Stay tuned for Part 5!
Mike
