Sleeping Jedi Beauty
Jedi Knight seeking his Disney Princess
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 824
As the bus leaves Animal Kingdom, I begin to realize just how tired I am. It's been a long day, and that's a good thing. There's nothing better than being able to realize what we've done to this point. One of my goals for the trip, in addition to meeting a certain Princess famed for her beauty sleep, was to take breaks in the parks. As a seasoned Disney veteran, I know that breaks are important, but WDW is so vast that you could lose hours of time if you have to return to your room for a break when you factor in transit wait time. So, what I'm hoping to do is find things in the parks that provide me with the necessary break. I understand that this may not work when I have kids, but for now, I don't, so I'm going to try it. Well, between lunch and watching the African dancers, I had an hour to rest, and now the bus ride is about 15 minutes long. Plus, it's not that crowded, so theres' a seat.
Upon arrival at EPCOT, once again there is a line caused by the biometric scanner. I'm really beginning to hate that thing and it's only the first day. The CM who takes my ticket is surprised that I have a Disney shirt from New York. When my mom went with Ewok on a high school choir trip, she brought us back New York souvenirs with Mickey Mouse on them. The only reason I got a little Statue of Liberty figurine was because I had requested that specifically. Everybody else got only a Mickey shirt. Yup, that's my family. We are all Disney nuts. Mom was proudest of the fact that she bought them at the World of Disney store on 5th Avenue for $5. I told the CM where my mom got the shirt from, and then we were into the park.
As I looked up at Spaceship Earth and heard the Disney love songs playing over the loudspeakers, it hit me. I was really in Disney World. Even though I had technically been in Disney World all day, it hit me at EPCOT. When I think of WDW, I think of EPCOT. For you see, at Disneyland, we already have a castle, so Cinderella Castle, while marvelous, is something that we have seen before. But at Disneyland, we don't have anything like the geosphere which contains the promise of new and wondrous Disney experiences. And I have to say that I love the touch of playing the Disney love songs over the speakers. I don't know if this is specific to Flower and Garden Festival, or if it's year round, but I like it. The songs instantly transport me to Disney, to a warm and happy place. This is what DCA desperately needs. When you walk through the park, you hear California beach music, and you're transported out of Disney and onto a beach boardwalk. So as the strains of Once Upon A Dream float through the air, I can't help but smile. I'm at Disney World. I can't quite believe I'm here.
Mission: Space. The Final Frontier. This is the one ride at Walt Disney World that I have wanted to do from the moment that I first heard about it. My buddy who's been a few times repeatedly told me about this ride and I was so jealous. I wanted Disneyland to put this ride into Tomorrowland to replace Lameoventions. And now that I'm here, I am determined to go on this ride. It shouldn't come as any back surprise that I also like Star Trek. Space exploration fascinates me. I remember playing astronaut as a little boy after the Challenger tragedy. Even then, space travel was inspiring my imagination and dreams. So, now that Disney has built a ride that simulates a shuttle launch, naturally, I want to go on it. I've read all the stories about motion sickness and barf bags on this ride. I've read about the tragedies of those who had pre-existing conditions aggravated by this ride. I worried that the ride would be closed after the most recent accident. I warned my mother that dad may need to sit this one out on account of his high blood pressure. From the DIS, I learned what to do when the ride got intense. Take deep breaths and keep looking at the screen. I'm as ready as I can be to do this ride. And there it is, the ride itself. I've seen this building in my Disney World dreams. I can't wait. As we get ready to hop in line, who should we see but that lovable astronaut Goofy. I love Goofy. I once cried in terror at a church activity where we watched the cartoon where Goofy hunts the tiger as I was terrified that my friend would get eaten. As we all know, Goofy escaped the tiger, and now he's an astronaut preparing to go into space. What a brilliant idea Disney came up with. We'll educate our visitors about space travel and have some of our most beloved characters dressed as astronauts to get the kids excited. Of course, we get our pictures taken with him.
After breezing through the empty queue barely pausing to admire the scenery, it's time to go. Lt. Dan(I can't remember his character in Apollo 13) is instructing trainees on what to expect. Soon we board the X-2 and it's time for liftoff. I can hardly wait. As the X-2 prepares for launch, I break into a huge smile as the simulator tilts backwards. Soon, the smoke from the launch begins to fill the screen before me as we are pushed into space. As the stars come into view, I realize that Mission: Space is all at once the most incredible and intense ride I have ever experienced in my life. The sensation is awesome. The pressure is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I take deep breaths and begin to relax. I'm amazed at how incredible this ride is. While I know that the button pushing doesn't affect the outcome of the ride, I enjoy feeling like a part of this mission. This isn't just another theme park ride. It's an experience. Once we disembark, Goofy needs a little while to collect himself. While he liked the ride, he doesn't do the teacups and M:S is the teacups on steroids. I'm a bit dizzy, but it passes quickly. I will do this ride again
Quickly recovered, we move onto Test Track, which also has very little wait. We hop right on and do the ride. I wasn't really sure what to expect on this one. While billed as an E-ticket it doesn't really seem like a thrill ride. It's more of an educational attraction about what cars go through before they make it to the dealership. Well, it's interesting, and the cruising part is fun, but this is a ride that's not worth a super long wait in line for me, although it's interesting to learn about what brakes can do for your car. I don't quite get why they wanted to put us through the corrosion test though. I don't need to feel that. Make the snow test longer, especially on those hot and humid Florida days even if it hasn't been too hot out today. After getting off Test Track, my cell phone rings. There is something to be said about having a cell phone at Disney. If your group splits up, you can coordinate with them and find a place to meet up. Donald wants to know where we are as they are now over by Test Track changing my nephew's diaper. We walk over to the diaper changing station, which is actually closer to World Showcase than Test Track and meet up with them, where I find that people have already started souvenir shopping. Donald and Princess have WDW hats. Behold the power of the Disney marketing machine. You realize that the sun is bright and you need a hat. We learn that the rest of my family has done the following things today:
1.Shopped for hats in the MK.
2.Ridden POTC once.
3.Come to EPCOT and sat around waiting for my nephew to get a new diaper.
Ewok bitterly tells me to wake her up next time, and I remind her that we tried to wake her up, but she wanted to sleep. I tell her that I can try, but she has to be the one to wake up. I'm not going to force anyone to tour with me on this trip if they don't want to. Eventually, my sister-in-law emerges with my mom and my nephew, all changed and happy now. For what it's worth, nearly 5 hours after emerging drenched from head to toe from Kali River Rapids, I have finally dried off. As it is now 5:30, there's not time to chance another attraction before our ADR at Le Cellier, so we're heading there. Of course, nobody knows where Canada is in EPCOT and nobody bothered to grab a map when they entered the park. Oh wait, scratch that. While I didn't grab a map, I didn't need one. I've got one in the trip binder, which I pull out and tell everybody to follow me. Everybody, except Goofy who has already learned that I know what I'm doing, looks at me and asks why I'm leaving so fast. They all sound confused and I just say follow me. When they catch up to me, I tell my mom that all the planning has given me an idea of how to get around an unfamiliar place. As I think about it with all the time I spent on the DIS, I've spent days planning for this trip.
We check in at Le Cellier and then play the waiting game. The waiting game isn't too bad and in about 20 minutes we're taken to our tables and greeted by our lovely waitress Natalie, who hails from Windsor, Ontario, and has been working at Le Cellier through an international work study program that could have placed here anywhere on earth and ended up placing her at Walt Disney World. Not a bad gig. Very proud of her heritage and culture, she recommends appetizers and we order. As it turns out as soon as wait staff started seeing our party, they kept trying to trade tables with Natalie. As we were on the DDP, this wasn't about a tip, but rather the ability to see my nephew. This kid is famous already. Being a smart girl, Natalie did not agree to the trade, and was very quick with the service. We never had to wait long at all before she had refilled a drink. Soon, she brings out our appetizers and we dig in.
As a long time watcher of Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Simpsons, and Mystery Science Theater 3000, I've become fluent in making fun of Canada. Once I even wrote a parody called I'm Proud to be a Canadian in honor of Canada Day for a friend of mine. Well, after eating at Le Cellier, I resolve to stop making fun of Canada. They make a great steak and cheese soup. Plus, Princess didn't like her kabob appetizer so I got to eat that as well. Mmmm, steak kabob, cheese soup, and filet mignon, which I will describe in three words: Best. Steak. Ever. The raspberry sorbet is a light dessert and the perfect touch because I am stuffed silly and thrilled about it. This dining plan thing is wonderful. I think I'll have to get it every time I go if only for the whole eating at Le Cellier experience. Where we easily exceeded and then some, the cost of the DDP that day in our one meal at Le Cellier. As my parents traditionally celebrate their anniversary the first week of May on account of dad's being an accountant, I tell the staff that my parents are celebrating their anniversary. Natalie brings them out a card with a mountie on it signed by all the Canadians at Le Cellier. I'm excited they got a mountie postcard because of the whole Dudley Do-Right connection, so there goes my resolution to stop making fun of Canada. On account of this incredible meal, I hereby resolve to mock Canada less, since those hosers make a great meal, eh. Goofy has also taken to flirting with Natalie and getting some quick French lessons from her, which will play an important part later on this trip. Here we see a stuffed Goofy showing off his chocolate moose dessert that he will eat later.
We were so pleased with the service and food at Le Cellier that we left an extra tip for Natalie, who was deeply grateful for it. My guess is it will go towards paying for college, but we all felt good. The service was excellent, the food was outstanding, and at 8:45pm, we're rolling out, and I do mean rolling, of the wonderful Le Cellier. Just a few minutes until Illuminations. We could go to the MK for EMH, but the others are thinking about doing AK EMH tomorrow morning for the safari, so we decide to stay and watch Illuminations. I'm just tired and figure that I won't need EMH if I keep up the pace I'm doing, but that pace does require rest, so we stay in EPCOT for Illuminations. We have an ADR at Rose & Crown for Illuminations the last night of the trip, but it's a good idea to see the show now in case the wind blows smoke towards us for the Saturday evening show. One of the things I like about Illuminations is that it's a different fireworks show. It isn't necessarily aiming to wow you by shooting off fire high into the sky. Instead it attempts to capture what brings us together as human beings. We get excited when we see the Golden Gate Bride, a familiar landmark from home. I get excited when I see St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, a place where I lived for two years on mission for my church. The show is very much in keeping with the purpose of EPCOT as we learn that we're not as different as we think. In the end, we are all children of God, no matter where we're from, what color our skin, or what language we speak. As I think about it, Illuminations is a lot like It's A Small World except you can watch it twice in a row without beginning to lose your mind.
After the show, we make our way out of the park and head towards the bus to take us back to Scopa Towers. This is where those refillable mugs become so worth it. We all make runs to the food court and fill up those mugs. Even with dinner, we're still very thirsty and it's great to fill up your mug with the refreshing soda or slushie like drink of your choice. As I contemplate future Disney trips, I think Scopa Towers will be in play every time simply because of the slushie option. Even Ewok, who insisted last night that she didn't want the refillable mug is sure glad that she has it now. And so we head back and get ready for bed, or at least I attempt to sleep. Mom has tuned the TV to Lifetime to drown out my dad's snoring, which has the net effect of waking me up more during the night than my dad's snoring would have. And let me tell you, there's nothing quite like waking up in the middle of the night while on vacation at Disney to some random movie featuring people who have really difficult problems. I have a difficult enough time sleeping and these sad movies aren't helping me. I need to consult an expert about sleep. But in the meantime, maybe I can try the Ralph Wiggum approach. I'll be a Viking, so I can ride Maelstrom in my sleep. There is however one advantage to the difficulties sleeping. I have no trouble getting out of bed in the mornings and heading to the parks since I don't want to schedule a wake up call that will wake everyone else in the room up also. It saddens me that I won't get to hear Mickey or Stitch wake me up, but there's always next time. Getting to see Mickey though more than makes up for not having the mouse wake me up.
Coming Next: If you're not awake yet, this combination should do the trick.
Upon arrival at EPCOT, once again there is a line caused by the biometric scanner. I'm really beginning to hate that thing and it's only the first day. The CM who takes my ticket is surprised that I have a Disney shirt from New York. When my mom went with Ewok on a high school choir trip, she brought us back New York souvenirs with Mickey Mouse on them. The only reason I got a little Statue of Liberty figurine was because I had requested that specifically. Everybody else got only a Mickey shirt. Yup, that's my family. We are all Disney nuts. Mom was proudest of the fact that she bought them at the World of Disney store on 5th Avenue for $5. I told the CM where my mom got the shirt from, and then we were into the park.
As I looked up at Spaceship Earth and heard the Disney love songs playing over the loudspeakers, it hit me. I was really in Disney World. Even though I had technically been in Disney World all day, it hit me at EPCOT. When I think of WDW, I think of EPCOT. For you see, at Disneyland, we already have a castle, so Cinderella Castle, while marvelous, is something that we have seen before. But at Disneyland, we don't have anything like the geosphere which contains the promise of new and wondrous Disney experiences. And I have to say that I love the touch of playing the Disney love songs over the speakers. I don't know if this is specific to Flower and Garden Festival, or if it's year round, but I like it. The songs instantly transport me to Disney, to a warm and happy place. This is what DCA desperately needs. When you walk through the park, you hear California beach music, and you're transported out of Disney and onto a beach boardwalk. So as the strains of Once Upon A Dream float through the air, I can't help but smile. I'm at Disney World. I can't quite believe I'm here.
Mission: Space. The Final Frontier. This is the one ride at Walt Disney World that I have wanted to do from the moment that I first heard about it. My buddy who's been a few times repeatedly told me about this ride and I was so jealous. I wanted Disneyland to put this ride into Tomorrowland to replace Lameoventions. And now that I'm here, I am determined to go on this ride. It shouldn't come as any back surprise that I also like Star Trek. Space exploration fascinates me. I remember playing astronaut as a little boy after the Challenger tragedy. Even then, space travel was inspiring my imagination and dreams. So, now that Disney has built a ride that simulates a shuttle launch, naturally, I want to go on it. I've read all the stories about motion sickness and barf bags on this ride. I've read about the tragedies of those who had pre-existing conditions aggravated by this ride. I worried that the ride would be closed after the most recent accident. I warned my mother that dad may need to sit this one out on account of his high blood pressure. From the DIS, I learned what to do when the ride got intense. Take deep breaths and keep looking at the screen. I'm as ready as I can be to do this ride. And there it is, the ride itself. I've seen this building in my Disney World dreams. I can't wait. As we get ready to hop in line, who should we see but that lovable astronaut Goofy. I love Goofy. I once cried in terror at a church activity where we watched the cartoon where Goofy hunts the tiger as I was terrified that my friend would get eaten. As we all know, Goofy escaped the tiger, and now he's an astronaut preparing to go into space. What a brilliant idea Disney came up with. We'll educate our visitors about space travel and have some of our most beloved characters dressed as astronauts to get the kids excited. Of course, we get our pictures taken with him.
After breezing through the empty queue barely pausing to admire the scenery, it's time to go. Lt. Dan(I can't remember his character in Apollo 13) is instructing trainees on what to expect. Soon we board the X-2 and it's time for liftoff. I can hardly wait. As the X-2 prepares for launch, I break into a huge smile as the simulator tilts backwards. Soon, the smoke from the launch begins to fill the screen before me as we are pushed into space. As the stars come into view, I realize that Mission: Space is all at once the most incredible and intense ride I have ever experienced in my life. The sensation is awesome. The pressure is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I take deep breaths and begin to relax. I'm amazed at how incredible this ride is. While I know that the button pushing doesn't affect the outcome of the ride, I enjoy feeling like a part of this mission. This isn't just another theme park ride. It's an experience. Once we disembark, Goofy needs a little while to collect himself. While he liked the ride, he doesn't do the teacups and M:S is the teacups on steroids. I'm a bit dizzy, but it passes quickly. I will do this ride again
Quickly recovered, we move onto Test Track, which also has very little wait. We hop right on and do the ride. I wasn't really sure what to expect on this one. While billed as an E-ticket it doesn't really seem like a thrill ride. It's more of an educational attraction about what cars go through before they make it to the dealership. Well, it's interesting, and the cruising part is fun, but this is a ride that's not worth a super long wait in line for me, although it's interesting to learn about what brakes can do for your car. I don't quite get why they wanted to put us through the corrosion test though. I don't need to feel that. Make the snow test longer, especially on those hot and humid Florida days even if it hasn't been too hot out today. After getting off Test Track, my cell phone rings. There is something to be said about having a cell phone at Disney. If your group splits up, you can coordinate with them and find a place to meet up. Donald wants to know where we are as they are now over by Test Track changing my nephew's diaper. We walk over to the diaper changing station, which is actually closer to World Showcase than Test Track and meet up with them, where I find that people have already started souvenir shopping. Donald and Princess have WDW hats. Behold the power of the Disney marketing machine. You realize that the sun is bright and you need a hat. We learn that the rest of my family has done the following things today:
1.Shopped for hats in the MK.
2.Ridden POTC once.
3.Come to EPCOT and sat around waiting for my nephew to get a new diaper.
Ewok bitterly tells me to wake her up next time, and I remind her that we tried to wake her up, but she wanted to sleep. I tell her that I can try, but she has to be the one to wake up. I'm not going to force anyone to tour with me on this trip if they don't want to. Eventually, my sister-in-law emerges with my mom and my nephew, all changed and happy now. For what it's worth, nearly 5 hours after emerging drenched from head to toe from Kali River Rapids, I have finally dried off. As it is now 5:30, there's not time to chance another attraction before our ADR at Le Cellier, so we're heading there. Of course, nobody knows where Canada is in EPCOT and nobody bothered to grab a map when they entered the park. Oh wait, scratch that. While I didn't grab a map, I didn't need one. I've got one in the trip binder, which I pull out and tell everybody to follow me. Everybody, except Goofy who has already learned that I know what I'm doing, looks at me and asks why I'm leaving so fast. They all sound confused and I just say follow me. When they catch up to me, I tell my mom that all the planning has given me an idea of how to get around an unfamiliar place. As I think about it with all the time I spent on the DIS, I've spent days planning for this trip.
We check in at Le Cellier and then play the waiting game. The waiting game isn't too bad and in about 20 minutes we're taken to our tables and greeted by our lovely waitress Natalie, who hails from Windsor, Ontario, and has been working at Le Cellier through an international work study program that could have placed here anywhere on earth and ended up placing her at Walt Disney World. Not a bad gig. Very proud of her heritage and culture, she recommends appetizers and we order. As it turns out as soon as wait staff started seeing our party, they kept trying to trade tables with Natalie. As we were on the DDP, this wasn't about a tip, but rather the ability to see my nephew. This kid is famous already. Being a smart girl, Natalie did not agree to the trade, and was very quick with the service. We never had to wait long at all before she had refilled a drink. Soon, she brings out our appetizers and we dig in.
As a long time watcher of Rocky and Bullwinkle, The Simpsons, and Mystery Science Theater 3000, I've become fluent in making fun of Canada. Once I even wrote a parody called I'm Proud to be a Canadian in honor of Canada Day for a friend of mine. Well, after eating at Le Cellier, I resolve to stop making fun of Canada. They make a great steak and cheese soup. Plus, Princess didn't like her kabob appetizer so I got to eat that as well. Mmmm, steak kabob, cheese soup, and filet mignon, which I will describe in three words: Best. Steak. Ever. The raspberry sorbet is a light dessert and the perfect touch because I am stuffed silly and thrilled about it. This dining plan thing is wonderful. I think I'll have to get it every time I go if only for the whole eating at Le Cellier experience. Where we easily exceeded and then some, the cost of the DDP that day in our one meal at Le Cellier. As my parents traditionally celebrate their anniversary the first week of May on account of dad's being an accountant, I tell the staff that my parents are celebrating their anniversary. Natalie brings them out a card with a mountie on it signed by all the Canadians at Le Cellier. I'm excited they got a mountie postcard because of the whole Dudley Do-Right connection, so there goes my resolution to stop making fun of Canada. On account of this incredible meal, I hereby resolve to mock Canada less, since those hosers make a great meal, eh. Goofy has also taken to flirting with Natalie and getting some quick French lessons from her, which will play an important part later on this trip. Here we see a stuffed Goofy showing off his chocolate moose dessert that he will eat later.
We were so pleased with the service and food at Le Cellier that we left an extra tip for Natalie, who was deeply grateful for it. My guess is it will go towards paying for college, but we all felt good. The service was excellent, the food was outstanding, and at 8:45pm, we're rolling out, and I do mean rolling, of the wonderful Le Cellier. Just a few minutes until Illuminations. We could go to the MK for EMH, but the others are thinking about doing AK EMH tomorrow morning for the safari, so we decide to stay and watch Illuminations. I'm just tired and figure that I won't need EMH if I keep up the pace I'm doing, but that pace does require rest, so we stay in EPCOT for Illuminations. We have an ADR at Rose & Crown for Illuminations the last night of the trip, but it's a good idea to see the show now in case the wind blows smoke towards us for the Saturday evening show. One of the things I like about Illuminations is that it's a different fireworks show. It isn't necessarily aiming to wow you by shooting off fire high into the sky. Instead it attempts to capture what brings us together as human beings. We get excited when we see the Golden Gate Bride, a familiar landmark from home. I get excited when I see St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, a place where I lived for two years on mission for my church. The show is very much in keeping with the purpose of EPCOT as we learn that we're not as different as we think. In the end, we are all children of God, no matter where we're from, what color our skin, or what language we speak. As I think about it, Illuminations is a lot like It's A Small World except you can watch it twice in a row without beginning to lose your mind.
After the show, we make our way out of the park and head towards the bus to take us back to Scopa Towers. This is where those refillable mugs become so worth it. We all make runs to the food court and fill up those mugs. Even with dinner, we're still very thirsty and it's great to fill up your mug with the refreshing soda or slushie like drink of your choice. As I contemplate future Disney trips, I think Scopa Towers will be in play every time simply because of the slushie option. Even Ewok, who insisted last night that she didn't want the refillable mug is sure glad that she has it now. And so we head back and get ready for bed, or at least I attempt to sleep. Mom has tuned the TV to Lifetime to drown out my dad's snoring, which has the net effect of waking me up more during the night than my dad's snoring would have. And let me tell you, there's nothing quite like waking up in the middle of the night while on vacation at Disney to some random movie featuring people who have really difficult problems. I have a difficult enough time sleeping and these sad movies aren't helping me. I need to consult an expert about sleep. But in the meantime, maybe I can try the Ralph Wiggum approach. I'll be a Viking, so I can ride Maelstrom in my sleep. There is however one advantage to the difficulties sleeping. I have no trouble getting out of bed in the mornings and heading to the parks since I don't want to schedule a wake up call that will wake everyone else in the room up also. It saddens me that I won't get to hear Mickey or Stitch wake me up, but there's always next time. Getting to see Mickey though more than makes up for not having the mouse wake me up.
Coming Next: If you're not awake yet, this combination should do the trick.
great reports, and 3 parks in one day, now thats some clued up touring,
