Chapter 14: Our Last Day
We had one mission this morning. Well, two missions if you count Mission Space. My main mission was to get Alex on Soarin’. The poor guy had two requests when I booked the trip. He wanted to go on Expedition Everest and he wanted to go on Soarin’. No way I was going to let him miss it so we got up early and headed to Epcot. All week it had just been too busy to catch Soarin’ without a wait of at least 60 minutes. It’s good but there’s no way I’m waiting that long! The girls, of course, were sleeping in.
I took a picture of the Boardwalk because it was so lovely to see it empty after the crowds last night. It was just us—walkin’ to soarin’.
And this is what I love about the International Gateway. Entering in the morning just gives you the feeling that you’re the only person at Epcot.
Straight over to Soarin’. The line was already up to the entrance and it was only about 9:05. It appeared to be moving fairly quickly so we decided to get in line first and then get in line for fast passes. Yes, you had to queue just for the fast passes. Spring Break. Yuck.
Alex was getting annoyed with all of those who waited for a fast pass and then crowded through the line to meet up with their party. I told him to just let it go and try to enjoy himself. We ended up being in the back row. I’d never had that one before. The feet didn’t bother me as much as being able to see the bottom of the screen. That really distracted me. Alex really enjoyed it so we stopped and got a fast pass for later and then decided to get the heck out of The Land.
The rest of the park was much less crowded. I had decided to try Mission Space now that they have a non-spinny version. This was practically a walk on. In fact, Alex and I were assigned a—a what? A capsule? As we were listening to our instructions before entering our capsule, my cell phone rang. I thought it was Caitlin so I answered the phone saying, “What do you want? I’m on my way to Mars!” I got a very confused response from the receptionist at my dentist’s office. Poor thing, it was time to board so I told her I’d call her back. I can only imagine the discussion that ensued after she hung up.
Okay, so it was just Alex and I in our space capsule. I was the navigator and he was the commander. I made him lean over and press the other buttons—just in case. We almost crashed as it was—what would have happened if I hadn’t made him do that? Oh, and we had a question we discussed after the ride—when the heck did we build a runway on Mars?
I quite enjoyed the non-spinny version. I’m not claustrophobic so that didn’t bother me at all. I thought it was very well done.
We had missed Spaceship Earth earlier in the trip so we headed that way. How weird is it that the line is longer for Spaceship Earth than it was for Mission Space?
This was great. Rome still smells like hotdogs. Riding backwards into the future makes my back hurt, though. It’s my most disliked part of the ride.
Then we took a spin on Figment’s ride. I wanted to try Honey, I Shrunk the Audience but Alex told me that he didn’t feel like it. Since he never says yea or nay to a ride, I took him at his word and we skipped it and visited with Figment and Eric Idle instead. I’m having trouble with some of the pictures but doesn’t the one with Eric Idle in the moon remind you of the creepy, creepy baby in the moon on Teletubbies? I only let Caitlin watch that show once—it was like a bad acid trip and freaked me out.
There wasn’t that much more that we wanted to do and since we were both feeling peckish, we decided to go to lunch while we waited for our Soarin’ fast passes. We had lunch at the counter service place in the Land. We both had grilled salmon with mashed potatoes. It was very yummy—particularly for a CS. I decided we needed a dessert so I went back and got us a butterfingers cheesecake to share while Alex guarded our table from the zillions of people looking for a seat. Wow. Alex was most impressed with my choice and I even kind of surprised myself. That was some good cheesecake!
We counted down the last few minutes until our Fast Pass time and then got in line. Again. Even the Fast Pass line ended up taking about 30 minutes. We were sent to the right and then I saw the Dream Team CM’s walking down behind us. And then turning LEFT. I started to get a bit upset and then I thought, “What the heck am I doing? You’ve already won once, you greedy thing, just be happy for that.” So I was. Happy for what I had won and and happy that someone else would win something and happy that we were able to go to WDW this year. I out-optimisticked Pollyanna.
We were in the next group to go and they were looking for a group of 3. The single rider guy behind us said, “Hey, we’re a group of 3!” and introduced himself as we walked down. I wanted to say, NO, NO, NO, we want the top row but it seemed a bit churlish. I know he was trying to get all of us in quicker but I would have preferred to wait for the front row. Feet and the bottom of the screen again. Avoid this if possible.
At that point, we’d done all we wanted at Epcot. The girls checked in and they were still getting ready but wanted to go to Animal Kingdom. We hadn’t done Dinoland at all on this trip so we thought we’d head over there and meet up with them later. We were kind of tired after a busy morning but it was our last day so we wanted to do as much as possible.
We also hadn’t been on the monorail yet so we walked through Future World and out the front entrance for the first time in several years. The monorail arrived just as we reached the top of the ramp, then when we arrived at the TTC, the bus for the Animal Kingdom arrived just as we got to the bus stop. It was perfect. Not dream fast pass perfect but let’s be nice to them; it’s their last day perfect.
Except for the crowds. Oh. My. Gosh. As we arrived in the park, it was SOOO crowded. Like Christmas week crowded. And HOT. It had been so cool at Epcot earlier that I had worn a jacket all day. But it seemed about 20 degrees hotter at AK. Is it because it’s supposed to be Africa? Disney just pumps more heat into the park?
We decided to try Dinosaur first which had about a 20 minute wait. The family in front of us realized they’d lost dad and a child while getting in line so mom went back to find them while the kids waited. After observing this man through the line, I could see he was a dawdler. He’s lucky he wasn’t married to me. I’d have put a leash on him. There was plenty of time to see everything and yet he dawdled—holding everyone up. He also did it as he was leaving the ride. I took some pictures in the line since we had to wait anyway.
We went back in time, captured an iguanadon, and just missed the big meteorite. No thanks to Mr. Dawdlerpants. I’m glad that Alex keeps up because I just could not stand being with someone like that.
Next up was Primeval Whirl. The line for this was even longer than Dinosaur. But I really love it so we decided to just tough it out.
After that, I was pooped out. I called the girls and they were eating nachos at Picabu’s. Sheesh, they hadn’t even left yet! It was hot, I was tired, and it was so freaking crowded we decided to just hang it up and go back to the Dolphin. I was at that point where I wasn’t having a whole lot of fun anymore.
I finally remembered to take a picture of our room location. As you look at this, we’re in the corner on the wing—four balconies up. As we sat on the balcony, if we looked to the right, we had a fine view inside the room right there. It was a suite. Luckily, it didn’t appear to be occupied. Not our best room ever but it did have a balcony and a view of the Tower of Terror so it was much better than our last one!
When we arrived back, housekeeping was in the next room. We waited until she showed up at ours and then headed on down to Picabu’s ourselves with books and refillable mugs in tow. She was just finishing up in our room when we got back about 20 minutes later. Ah, a bit of relaxation was so nice. I was really happy to take my shoes off and put my feet up and watch tv.
Around 5:00, we dragged ourselves up for our dinner reservation at Epcot. Tonight Alex is returning to his homeland. Dinner at the Rose & Crown.
The convention was winding down—no more men in black. We saw some of them still dressed in non-theme park attire and wandering aimlessly around while shouting into cell phones. I wanted to say--Relax, people. You’re just a short boat ride away from a whole lotta fun.
We were a bit early and we knew the girls would be late. Cait had been frantically text messaging me. Apparently, the Dolphin bus hadn’t shown up and so, of all places, they’d hopped on the bus to the Contemporary. When I reminded her that that probably wasn’t the best choice—they would now take the bus to the Contemporary, the monorail to the TTC, another monorail to Epcot, and then hike all the way across Future World. Poor kid, I think she’d forgotten about the TTC—she practically started crying because she thought I was mad at her. I wasn’t though, I told her Alex and I were going to check in and eat appetizers without her.
And here's Mary Poppins rushing off somewhere!
We checked in right at 6:00. and we ordered drinks (Harps for me and coffee for Alex) and an appetizer, the fruit and cheese plate. Now I’m a huge fan of stinky Stilton (my FIL loves me because I’m the only one who’ll join him in some nice Stilton) but they’ve changed the fruit and cheese plate. The Stilton is now inside some kind of puff pastry thing. It was good but I’d been looking forward to just eating it plain.
As we were waiting, Alex was cracking up because the entire restaurant appeared to be filled with Brits. How authentic. The girls arrived and ordered drinks. We were talking with our charming waiter, Michael, who Alex discovered was from Northern Ireland. Alex lived in Northern Ireland as a child. Their conversation follows:
Michael: Sure and you’re not from Coleraine, man. You must be pullin’ me leg.
Alex: I lived there as a young lad—between the ages of five and ten.
Alex became more Irish the more he chatted with Michael. It was hysterical. As a kid, he’d worked hard to lose his Irish accent when they moved to the London area.
Then the girls realized Michael was from Ireland.
Caitlin: You’re from Ireland? Do you know Mrs. Murphy?
Alex, Michael, and I burst out laughing. The girls got very excited describing Mrs. Murphy.
Caitlin and Jen: She’s from Ireland. She’s very short and has brown hair, wears glasses, and rides a bike.
Michael: Oh, she rides a BICYCLE! Sure, I know Mrs. Murphy! If you’d mentioned the bicycle first, then I’d have remembered her right away.
Bless his heart. He was telling us that he was sad because he had to return home in a month. He had really enjoyed living in Florida. He was adorable.
The girls both had chicken pasties and Alex and I ordered bangers and mash. Alex had told me he wanted to get something else and then switch with me but I told him no way was I sharing my bangers and mash. They are too good for me to give up.
We all really enjoyed our meals. Caitlin tried to steal my mashed potatoes even though she had her own personal mashed potatoes on her own personal plate. She was after my gravy. I growled at her and tried to stab her hand with a fork.
Epcot had EMH so the girls went off to try to get on some rides. You could tell it was getting even more crowded with the Easter week people showing up. Alex and I wandered around a bit and I took some more pictures.
Just like a postcard, isn't it?
We hit a few more stores looking for MM’s elusive frosty mug. Again, no luck. I’d scoured every store in most of WDW. I’m sorry, pal, but I decided to try again at the airport tomorrow.
I was so tired by that time that we just headed back to the Dolphin to pack. The girls had an early flight out the next day—ours left at 3:30. They fussed a bit when I made them leave at 11:00 but they got over it. They did most of their packing when they got back and we all went to sleep very sad that our trip was over.
I still have one more installment with pictures. I just finally got my PhotoPass CD. We didn’t have a lot of pictures taken this trip but I do like the ones we did have taken. I'm so sad this is coming to an end.
Next Up: Chapter 15: Fun at MCO (or watch Mommy throw a hissy fit!)
And she LOVES all of it. Blech.
I think the planning is almost half the fun and then the trip, but when it gets close to the end it is downright unbearable.
Of course I don't mind! I'm glad you made it through the whole thing and I love everyone who takes the time to not only read it but to reply. Thank you so much!
I told my brother she thinks she is at a spa and I am the person who works at her make-believe spa!!
Just kidding! 
But it also made me WICKED SICK. 
You'd think the vegetation would make it cooler, not hotter. At least that's my theory.
