My First Trip Report--Day Three--Checking in at BWV and going to Epcot!

[niks81]

Day Three....June 8, 2002
Check in at Boardwalk and head to Epcot!

We woke up around 7am so that we could get ready and all packed and then head over to the Boardwalk to check in. Once we got all packed we decided to have bell services transfer our luggage. We were a little apprehensive about it because of some past comments on the boards, but we decided to chance it anyway. We used Express Checkout so there was no need to go to the front desk for anything. Instead, we went down to the bell stand and requested a cab to the Boardwalk. A very nice gentleman (he seemed to be a supervisor or manager of some sort) said it would be 20 min for a cab so he would just take us in the WL transportation. We hopped in a suburban and headed to BWV. We think that he did not realize we had checked out and were going to stay at another resort because he asked if we were just going over for breakfast. I don't think he cared too much though He was having some fun with Mike because he was a first timer and so he was trying to pump him up for the big rides. He called Space Mountain a carousel in comparison to Rockin Rollercoaster! We got to Boardwalk in a matter of minutes which was nice. We went to the front desk to check in. I was not very happy about the desk staff. They were all in a snotty, bad mood. I ended up getting some girl that wasn't even supposed to work at the front desk and by could you tell she did not want to be there. We were checking in as DVC members and we got none of the things we got at our VWL check in (information, etc.) I realize that sometimes places are short staffed but I was just very surprised at the difference in service between the two resorts.I decided I was not going to push it and ask if any of my room requests had been met (I REALLY wanted a Boardwalk view!!) because this cm was in such a bad mood I thought she might purposely see that I not get it. After that pleasant experience we went out to the boat dock and waited for the boat to Epcot. We could have walked faster, but it had been awhile since I'd been and I didn't remember that. The boat ride was nice and we were dropped at the International Gateway promptly. We had already decided to head right for Test Track, which I'm sure is a given for many people. The park had been open for about a half hour by that time. When we got to Test Track we saw the line was, of course, huge....and Fastpass return time was already noon! The park didn't even seem that crowded! We decided to do the singles line like we had done in previous years. We were in the briefing room in about 5 minutes so that was a good choice. It ended up that Mike and Erika were in the same car and I was alone. Mike seemed to like it pretty well though I think. From there we decided to head to the Journey Into Imagination pavilion since Honey I Shrunk the Audience is a huge favorite of Erika's and mine. There was no wait again so we didn't even bother with FP. We got in there in less than 5 minutes. The show was, as usual, good. Mike like that a lot...especially when the dog sneezes on you. After that we headed straight for the Imagination ride with Figment because that's all I've heard about since I've joined the board I had never ridden the ride before...EVER...so I had nothing to compare it to. I liked it, and Figment sure is a cutie Then we decided to head over to Innoventions to explore a little. Erika and I had sent photo postcards the last time we went so we were looking for that. We ended up doing the Knowledge of Vortex and then just walking around. We saw the Forests of the Future and Communications Dream Forum. The House of Innoventions looked neat but there was a line so we decided to pass at that point in time. We saw IBM's exhibit, but there was a line, and we didn't remember having to do that before. There were just little pods for the pictures and they were not there....maybe we missed it?? So we left Innoventions and headed to The Land because they had a food court there for lunch. We had a PS at Coral Reef, but Erika is still in college and she didn't want to spend so much money on food. I would have liked to go though...Mike loves animals and I think dining while viewing a tank would have been tops for him. We got to the Land and it was crowded as usual, but I've always enjoyed eating here. The surroundings are nice for a fast food center We all decided on the BBQ stand and got in line. I got a cheeseburger with fries and a cookie. It was pretty good actually. Mike got the chicken tenders and he loved them. I personally think Disney has some really good chicken tenders anyway...JMHO. Erika got the BBQ chicken sandwich and she did not like it AT ALL. Very dry. Just as we finished eating lunch we decided to pass on the rides there and headed outside. Can you say TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR?? So....the Living with the Land ride was suddenly a great idea The line was long, I was surprised. We waited about 35 minutes or so. It's a fairly mellow ride....very informative. Mike thought it was ok. Once we got done with that the rain had slowed so we passed up Circle of Life and Food Rocks. Living Seas is not far from The Land so we decided to try it out. None of us had ever done the Living Seas exhibit before so I was anticipating it a bit. We ended up getting on in about 10 minutes and we walked through the little sections. I really enjoyed it. My fiance is an animal lover so he just loved looking at the fish. We saw a few sharks and this HUGE sea turtle. I got some great video. I sure was glad we stopped there. Once we left the Living Seas the rain had stopped completely which was nice, so we decided to go towards the famous Spaceship Earth. We got right on, no wait. I love that ride....it's not a thrill ride and it's educational, but I have to ride it everytime Erika thinks it is boring. Mike thought it was kind of neat. We had done all of Future World at that point except for Universe of Energy and Wonders of Life. I had never seen Universe of Energy before and neither had Erika....I like the Wonders of Life pavilion a lot but after 5 trips of not doing that attraction I told them let's try Universe of Energy. I was pleasantly surprised. I don't find energy all that interesting, but they did a great job with this presentation if you ask me. There are a combination of different visuals used and that's neat. We waited briefly (about 10 minutes) and got right in. After that we decided to just forget Wonders of Life and take a midday break. We went back the Boardwalk and our room was not ready yet...it was 3:55pm. Finally at about 4:05 it was done. We were room 3001. We got a Boardwalk view!!! That totally made my day..actually, my entire trip really. Our room was THE FARTHEST room from the elevators....Erika and Mike kept complaining about that, but I used selective hearing We got a Boardwalk view and that was worth the walk. Our unit was a dedicated one bedroom unit also. It was huge. I loved how it was set up. The bathroom is great...two vanities was a great deal with two women It was very nice to have two balconies too! I loved our room. It was in the Crest O' the Wave building overlooking the Boardwalk. We called Bell Services to have our luggage brought up. It was brought up shortly, but they couldn't find my box of groceries that I had bought (netgrocer.com) and had sent there. This worried me a bit because I had heard several people had done this...they ended up finding them shortly after though. We relaxed as much as we could but there wasn't much time for it. We had a PS at San Angel Inn at 5:30pm. We hurried and got ready and caught the boat to Epcot. We had to ready hotfoot it over to Mexico. We barely made it! We were seated immediately. I absolutely loved the atmosphere there. Mexico is my favorite anyway, but we'd never eaten there before. It was a great setting for dinner. Mike thought it was a little too dark though, but he really enjoyed it. Both him and I ordered the Plato Mexicano which came with a steak, a burrito, an enchilada, beans and rice. It was very, very good. We also had strawberry margaritas. They were delicious! Erika ha Camerones con Fideos which was a pasta like dish with shrimp in it. She liked it but she was expecting something different I think. There was absolutely no line for El Rio del Tiempo so we rode that. We had our own boat! I like this ride...Mike and Erika did too. We took a few pictures of us with sombreros on and then left Mexico. When we got outside we saw Tapestry of Dreams going on. We walked towards Norway and I got some video and photos of the parade. I thought it was great and so did Mike! The music was awesome I thought. We got into Maelstrom just before the parade crowd which was a huge plus. Maelstrom is a fun ride but it is too short I had seen the movie too many times and I knew Erika and Mike would not be interested so we sprinted through the theater to the open doors on the other side. We were laughing so hard because this family that could not speak English really was behind us and ran too and they were laughing also. I hope we didn't make them think that's what they were supposed to do From there we continued on to China. We didn't stop to look, just kept walking. In Germany we went in a few shops and looked at the miniature city. That was pretty cool. We also went through Italy and the American Adventure without stopping to browse. In Japan we put the camera on a block of cement and posed for a picture together with the Epcot ball behind us. Then we passed Morocco also. In France there was a street performer and he was very entertaining. He was picking kids out of the audience to come up to the front and he kind of poked fun at them but would always make them a balloon hat or something. He was pretty funny! After France we decided to head back to our room. We had walked through the UK and Canada twice on our way into Epcot at the International Gateway so they didn't think we needed to go back. we ended up walking back to the BW at it sure was a short walk! what a nice deal! We walked around the Boardwalk. erika got a crepe and Mike got ice cream. She had to wait forever for that thing and she didn't think it was that good, not to mention she got powdered sugar all over! We got back to the room and just vegged out. I unpacked what food we had gotten and we watched some tv. At 9pm we could see some of Illuminations from our balconies. Not everything because we were on the 3rd floor, but some of it. That was a great treat. We sat on our balcony for quite awhile just watching the people....they are so interesting. It was also a lot of fun because right below our room they had a morphing mirror of some sort and everyone would stop and look at themselves in it. The drunk ones were the funniest of all. The Boardwalk was a happening place that night and it was absolute luxury to be able to sit out and watch them

DAY FOUR TO COME SOON

 

[pumba]

my most favorite food snack is chicken fingers too....somehow I have not found any areas that taste as good as those...Isn't the mexico food great....we loved it...and TOD is top on our list too.....can hardly wait for more

 

[yepod]

I'm sooooo jealous about the DVC thing!

I totally agree with you about the chicken fingers (& I wouldn't have tried them except we got them for our DD in a sand bucket with shovel at CBR & of course dad had to help her eat them LOL)

Thanks for the post, looking forward to #4