Our First Magical Disney Vacation Together

[giggy3310]

Gillian and Dave’s Magical Disney Vacation 2006

The Cast: Me, Gillian , 24, and my DF, Dave , 28

My fiancé and I go away a few times a year and I began to look around in about April for an end of summer vacation that we would both enjoy. The two choices for destinations for us were quite easy as my fiancé and I are moving in April ’07 from Windsor, Ontario to the USA for DF to go to school. The school has two campuses, one in San Diego and one in Orlando. It’s called PGCC and is a professional golf school. In talking to both schools, reading, and more research, we decided that it would be best for both of us to move to Orlando, so this was our final choice. Plus, neither of us had been there in about 10 years and it was time to return.

When I started looking for the pieces of our trip, I was a bit discouraged at first, as they were all very expensive. As I said, we like to travel at least twice a year but I like to find a good bargain and then build from there. My luck would soon change, as I stumbled onto Disney’s travel site and found a link that would make our dreams come true. When I first read the offer, I was very skeptical. It’s just too good to be true.

The Offer: 5 nights at a Disney Value Resort, 2 6-Day Magic Your Way Park Ticket with Park Hopper Options, and the Dining Plan for both of us, all for $950, with trip insurance of course.

I called and was assured that the offer was in fact real and I booked it as soon as I told my DF that that’s what we were doing. Now I wasn’t so crazy about the Value Resorts, but I would soon find out that that’s all we really needed anyway. Our time frame was quite tight, as my grandparents had their 50th wedding anniversary on the 26th of August and I had to return to my job teaching high school science on September 5th. So I booked August 28th to September 2nd.

With the resort and tickets booked and paid for, I set out to research the rest of our trip. I read almost everything that I could find and then looked for more. I subscribed to Tour Guide Mike and began planning our trip out hour by hour.

Our Flight: Round trip booked through TD Canada Bank Travel Visa, Northwest, for $200 each, leaving from Detroit Metro Airport. We used some of our travel points that we had accumulated in the past and only paid about $120 for the two tickets in the end. We left home on the 28th at 6 am and were taking off at 9:30 am, landing in Orlando at exactly 12 pm to start what would end up being our most memorable vacation yet.

Next Up: Checking in and our first day at the park.

 

[toony]

oh a couple-TR. Go on, please! I enjoyed your first installment, though it was a little bit short.

 

[giggy3310]

Monday, August 28th, Day 1 of 6, Arriving in Orlando and Checking in
Warning! All Days reports are quite long, but you’ll learn a few things and I’ve tried to be entertaining, or at least engaging. Pics will eventually be included!

The first thing that I noticed when we landed was that it was hot. The humidity could be felt walking off the plane and down the corridor to the terminal. Now I’m not complaining but it has to be noted if you plan on traveling during this season in the future. We headed through the airport to baggage claim a little faster than we usually would, as I wanted to be at the resort by 2ish to check in.

I have to pause here and tell you just how carefully I planned this week. I actually had a schedule, columns and all, listing where we should be at what time and when we needed to leave to get there. My restaurant resos were also listed, with the confirmation number if needed. Park hours, including EMHs were listed where relevant, our tour, tee times, and meetings, all marked clearly. We had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. But, I didn’t actually want to feel rushed. Very technical you see.

So we grabbed our luggage and golf clubs as they came onto the carrousel and excitedly looked around for the Disney Welcome Center and the Magical Express. To our amazement, there were no signs. We were informed when we asked that it was way on the other side of Terminal A on the first floor. We were on the 2nd or third floor of terminal B. So now I’m not feeling so magical as we trek across this airport with very heavy luggage. After a few quick stops for more directions, we were finally at the Magical Express desk and were shortly thereafter being whisked away on a nicely air-conditioned coach bus, our luggage stowed away underneath. Why did we lug our luggage around you ask, when we could have had them delivered right to our room? Well, with the new regulations that restrict your carry on items, I wanted to have a toothbrush and some lip-gloss when we got to the resort, rather than having to wait a few hours as they warned was the norm.

The bus ride lasted only about 30 minutes and we got to watch a cute video on their check in policies, resort info, and other stuff, hosted by the Disney characters of course. When we arrived at the All Star Music Resort, there were only a few other people in line to check in. It was about 1:45pm so we were ahead of schedule. Ed, a very nice older gentleman, checked us in. He got us a non-smoking preferred room location, with a king size bed, and got us set up with our park tickets and dining package. Our room was actually ready so we hauled our luggage off to building number 9, room 9403. When we opened the door, we knew that this was just a value resort, as it wasn’t the nicest place we had stayed in. But it had a bed and a bathroom and that’s all we needed. DF immediately laid down for a cat nap and I took a quick shower and washed my face.

At about 3 pm we were off to the Magic Kingdom on the resort transportation buses. What I was amazed at was that there wasn’t a single person other than us on the bus. Very odd… But never the less, we were off to Disney!!

When we got to the Magic Kingdom, again, we wondered where all the people were. Last time I visited Disney was Christmas time in 1996, and the people were so thick you couldn’t breath. A sea of strollers, crying kids, irritated moms and dads, were nowhere to be seen.

We entered the park and where immediately hit with the sights, smells and sounds of Disney, the blue sky and the castle in the background. I forgot how magical it really is.

The first thing we did was grab something to eat at Casey Corner, our first DP meal, which was a hotdog and fries, good but not good for you! We sat outside on the patio, watching the sidewalks getting thicker, as people waited for the parade to start. We decided that heading over to Tomorrowland might be our best bet as it wouldn’t be very busy because of the parade. Thanks TourGuideMike (TGM)! Our first stop was Stitch’s Great Escape. We walked right into the preshow room and right onto the ride, which was only half full when we were all in sitting. The show was very cute, but seemed to be a little frightening for the younger people. There were quite a few kids crying because it gets dark and misty. Watch out for the chilly dog!

Now, I’m not going to say it again, because I would be saying it with every ride that we entered. We didn’t wait for a single ride all week long, except for a FEW things that we got Fast Passes (FP) for. Not one. This is the week to go if you can swing it, as most of the kiddies are already back in school. I couldn’t have been happier when we realized that this would be a continuous thing with all the parks.

We finished up Tomorrowland, Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear being our favorites. And for the record, I got the highest score on Buzz because of TGM!! Also, we saw Buzz himself hanging out in the area, but we didn't want to wait to score a pic with him, as the line had about 6 strollers, 10 kids and twice as many adults in it. Instead, we headed over for our first treat of the day. With a frozen snack in our hands, we headed off to Fantasy Land. Now, for all you adults out there, these rides aren’t exactly very thrilling, but they were all very cute and definitely worth going on. We got a FP for Snow White with a return time of 6:15 pm and headed off for the others. We loved Peter Pan’s Flight and It’s a Small World has to be ridden at least once, it’s the law. One thing that we saw for the first time was PhilharMagic. WOW! I loved the animation and it was filled with all of your favorite Disney songs. Try to catch the objects and bring an umbrella! The 3D movies have now become my fave attaction, and not because of the cool glasses that you get to wear.

Because we had a while before our FP for Snow White, we headed over to Toontown to check out Mickey and Minnie’s pads. Very cute, especially Minnie’s working kitchen and Mickey’s messy one. DF thinks his looks like ours sometimes.

Because we never waited for anything and the crowds were nonexistent, we still had time before our FP so we headed over to the Haunted Mansion. I love the walkway up, it’s so spooky. And the lady watching you at the door from her stony grave is properly disturbing. The ride itself is one of my personal Top 10 rides at Disney. Once done, we were ready to head back to Snow White. It was 6:12pm but the nice CM made us stand there for 3 min before he would let us on. Now I understand that rules are rules but this one was very annoying. Anyway, as it turns out, this one was my least fave of all of them in this area but I was glad we saw it once.

As we exited on the moving walkway, I looked anxiously at my watch. It was time to hop on the monorail to head over to Epcot for dinner at Alfredo’s. One last stop before heading out. I just had to have a Cinderella crown. I know, I know, I’m 24, but what the hay, we were in Disney, and where else could I were a crown without looking out of place? Crown in place, we were ready to eat. We could have taken the train, which would have been a bit quicker, but we wanted to savor these first few hours in MK, so we walked back down Main Street to the gates. I resisted the urge to hit these shops because I figured that we would be back on Saturday to finish up the rest of the lands and there would be many more like them along the way anyway.

The ride over didn’t take long and was a nice break to cuddle, as there wasn’t anyone else with us in the car. It was about 7 pm when we got there so we had just over an hour to kill before our reso, which was at 8:15pm.

We decided to move past the Innovations areas and the surrounding pavilions to move on to the Word Showcase. Our first stop was Mexico, and the little shop outside the San Angel Inn structure. It was just beautiful outside and we were taking our time.

Next was Norway, which was quite quaint. They have very warm, cozy sweaters in the back of the last shop, an essential buy if your winters are as cold as ours are here in Ontario. If you like perfume they sell one in one of the shops that was really nice. But at $80 a bottle I could wait for Christmas. Other than that, Maelstrom is the only other thing to do here, which we put off till later in the week.

Nest was the China pavilion, which is very magical. The sights and sounds were really so different, and very peaceful at that time of night. We were lucky to catch the Dragon Legend Acrobats, which were amazing. Make sure that you get an updated show schedule and see them, we couldn’t believe what these children could do. The shops here were really great to, something for everyone. From tea and sake sets, to clothing and art. You’ll also notice that the buildings are mostly decorated in red, as this colour stands for good luck.

Next was Germany, which would quickly become one of our fave stops once inside Epcot. Most of the pavilions have little booths set up where you can buy different drinks that are native to that country. Germany had some of the best beer. We went up to a few very pretty blonds, (DF wanted to know if we could invite them to dinner with us) and ordered a beer. The one that we wanted wasn’t pouring properly from the keg, so Pretty Blond One offered to run into Oktoberfest to grab us a Lowenbrau (sp?). This turned out to be a good thing because this beer was great! Nice and cool, refreshing, not to strong, but just right. Don’t try to tip the CMs that work outside at these booths, as they can’t accept tips. Believe me, DF tried to get them to take it. Beer in hand and sporting a frothy moustache, we headed off to explore a few of the German shops. I actually saw a few things that I wanted, some of which were these beautiful pieces of stemware, from wine goblets to martini glasses. If you did want to buy them and not lug them around, they said that you could have them sent back to your resort if you were staying within Disney. I again resisted the urge to buy them right away, and instead waited till I looked around a bit. I am quite proud of myself as I am usually the worst kind of impulse shopper, buying the first thing that I see only to wish I had waited till a few shops later for something else. Patience is a virtue, or so I have been told.

Well our dinner reso at Alfredo’s was fast approaching and we needed to make our way over to Italy. We finished our beer and headed over to the hostess stand to be checked in. My reviews of the restaurants that we ate at can be found by searching Dining Plan Restaurant Reviews.

We were finishing up as show on the lagoon was almost half done, so we hurried over to watch the end. Both a little warm and fuzzy from the wine, we winded our way back to the entrance and to find our bus. It was a nice walk that day, not too busy on that side of the lagoon. We got to our bus, which was at the 13th or 14th bus stop. It couldn’t have been past 9:45pm but we were both beat.

Once back at the resort, we practically fell in the door, exhausted, and were both sleeping, snoring I’m sure, by 10:30pm.

Our wake up call was set for 7:30am.

Next up: Day 2, shorter than today. I promise!

 

[pumba]

wonderful report so far.........thanks so much for takingthe time to write it. WE get cold up here in maine too.....I love Canada.......beautiful country everywheres......thanks again

 

[toony]

Great report so far!

The Haunted mansion is also one of my favourite disney rides! though i was uncountable times on it (in DLRP), i still get a cold shiver running down my back.

The ride over didn’t take long and was a nice break to cuddle, as there wasn’t anyone else with us in the car.

I so agree with you using that opportunity. Me and my boyfriend always do couple-trips and it only would be half the fun without cuddling.

Nice that you and your DF had a good time in germany! (cause I'm from germany - but from the real one in europe , though i would be happy to live in a WDW pavilion,too ) Sorry, I hope you don't mind, that i show you the right spelling: It's Löwenbräu.

 

[giggy3310]

Tuesday, August 29th, Day 2 of 6, DF’s school and Epcot

Now I know that we had a wake up call for 7:30am, but I was up at 6:00am. I was too excited and nervous to sleep. You see, today was a very important day for the two of us, as it was going to be the first time that we saw the school that DF is planning on attending. So, at 6:00am, I was worried about a hundred things. Is he going to like it, am I going to like it, I hope he likes it, I hope that we play well, I hope that it isn’t so hot that we can’t play well…You get the picture. I looked over at DF and he was sound asleep. I nudged him to wake up and got a grunt and his back turned on me. So it looked like I was on my own.

I got up quietly and crept to the bathroom. This is when I had my first pains of remorse over not staying at a nicer resort. There was no coffee maker. And I tripped over my suitcase on the way to the bathroom, as the room was so small. Anyway, I turned on the shower and stood under the hot water.

That out of the way, I laid back down to hopefully catch a nap before we really HAD to get up. Next thing I knew the phone was ringing. Dave didn’t budge so I leaned over him to grab the phone. And I started to laugh. It was Stitch. “GOOD MORNING! NO SLEEPING! HAHAHAHA! And then a lady came on, “Sorry folks, Stitch must have escaped form the park!” This would become my fave part of getting up in the morning, the wake up calls. It’s a nice, magical touch.

Now DF was up and brushing his teeth so I could finish getting ready without worrying that he would go back to sleep. By about 8:50am we were all ready to go. Nervous…check, anxious…check, purse…check, clubs…check, golf shoes…check, wallet and room key…check and check. So off we trek down to the lobby. I couldn’t believe how many people were already at the pool. There were little kids with their parents everywhere. As I was staring at them in wonder, they were staring back at the two of us. And I know what they were thinking. It’s too hot to go golfing. They’re nuts! Or maybe they were admiring my new hot pink skirt with coordinating white polo tee. I don’t know.

Once in the lobby, we knew that we had to find our own transportation to this golf course, as it isn’t Disney owned. The school itself is associated with Disney, in that the students get to play their courses as part of their daily round, but as it was off property, we had to pay for the cab over. There were a few waiting at the front so I wandered over to one of them and asked if he would bring us to Orange County National Golf Course. He looked a little confused so I showed him the address. Then he asked me if it was a Disney course. This should have been my first clue. So, he says that he is pretty sure where it is and he opens the trunk for our clubs. We get in and he gets on the phone. His English isn’t that great, so we get handed the phone to tell the lady the address. At this point I should have jumped out of the car and walked there, it would have been more convenient. Anyway, he seems to know where he is going at this point so we leave the resort property and head down one of the highways. Next thing we know, he is stopping on the side of the highway to call again!

Now I’m only mildly irritated at this point, as we have about 50min before we have to meet Jim, the Director of the program at the school. I figure that we would get there at about 9:30am and be able to wander the pro shop for a bit before heading down to see him for 10am. Well, three toll roads, one dead end, two turn arounds, one near accident, a cabbie telling me to be patient, and 50, yes, 50 min later, we were pulling into the driveway of this course. There was a sign that pointed you towards the school and one that pointed you towards the clubhouse, and this guy insisted that we go to the clubhouse, even though we pointed him towards the school. He just kept saying that, “We go to clubhouse?” We didn’t argue at that point. He turned off the meter about a half hour before as it was creeping up on $60, and ended up asking for $40. I was seething. I just got out and walked in. Not such a great start to what should have been a Disney day. But, this was our first lesson that we added to our What I Learnt a Disney List. #1: Not all cabbies know where they are going.

As DF lugged the clubs in, I was starting to cool off. Literally. This place had a beautiful clubhouse, very nicely done up. I guess that it has to be as it is home to the PGA Tour Q-School qualifying events, which is where people qualify for their tour card so that they can play in the PGA tournament events. The nice guys at the desk called us a golf cart to take us down to meet Jim. It was 10:10am and I felt bad that we were late.

Good for us that he didn’t seem to notice, as he seemed kind of upset over another event. A new semester was starting and his assistant died suddenly, leaving them at a loss. He was actually leaving shortly to go to the funeral. That said, he was very nice, a larger man with a red face and a big smile when he realized who we were. He told us that he had booked a tee time for us on Crooked Cat for 11:00am and that he would like to talk to us after we played.

Back up to the clubhouse we go, and out to the range to hit a bucket of balls. We were both hitting them really good and I knew that we would have a great round. So, 11am comes and we head over to the first tee. A young kid asked us where we were from and looked at us like I said the moon when I told him Ontario, Canada. “That’s reeeelly far from here ain’t it?” Off we go, Dave teeing up first. Our GPS wasn’t working so that was a bummer as we were looking forward to using it.

Once we got going, we couldn’t believe how beautiful this course was. Nothing like what we have here in Essex County. Some of the features of Crooked Cat were considerable elevation changes, rolling fairways and large, contoured greens. But with fewer trees than a lot of courses, wider landing areas, native heather and mounding framing the fairways, Crooked Cat has more of a links-style look. It may well be the most beautiful course that we have played together. DF played from the back tees so he could just rip it off the tee. Exactly what he likes. I on the other hand played from the forward tees, NOT the lady tees as they are sometimes called. We both noticed that the back nine was significantly harder than the front, because each hole is SO long. Even the par 3s were 200+ yards. I liked the course because they had bathrooms along the way, I got a significant advantage from my tees, and the cart girl was sufficiently efficient. They even came around at about the 11th tee to offer us a mango-scented towel, which will forever be a long-standing joke between us.

When all was said and done, Dave shot a 79 and I shot 100, which is about where we usually are. We headed back down to see Jim, who took more time with us, showing us around and answering our questions. The only thing that I was disappointed with was that there were no students there to talk to. I guess that I thought there would be more going on. But, I already had found out a few weeks prior that I had gotten my dates wrong because we wouldn’t be able to play in a tournament like I thought we would, as it was the next week. It was a miscommunication between the school and us. Oh well.

Now we had to find our way back to the resort, which meant that we had to find a cab that knew where the course was AND knew how to get back. Maybe too much to ask. Lucky for us, Jim offered to drive us back into Orlando’s Disney area, as he had a long drive home in that direction anyway. It was nice to get to ride with him, as we learnt a little more about himself and his family, as well as the school’s various events and classes. Imagine our surprise when the ride only took 12 min back. Honestly, 12 min, I timed it. And it took us over an hour to get there. At that point, I could laugh at it but I’m still shaking my crowned head even now as I write this.

So it was about 4 pm when we got back to the resort. We both were sticky and not feeling so fresh, as it was really hot, sunny and humid that day. Again, I’m not complaining. We showered, I redid my makeup (yes, I wear a little makeup even while on vacation!), and changed clothes to head out for dinner. While I did all of that, Dave showered quickly and took a quick nap. This would become our daily afternoon routine, which suited us just fine. I found that we felt better after showering and resting a bit so that we could still enjoy our evenings out.

Before we left though, we made a quick phone call home to our kids. Well, not human kids, but two furry ones, a Himalayan named Lexie and a Siamese named Liam. Meaghan, one of our friends, was house sitting and cat sitting for us and we needed to check in to make sure that mainly the kids were OK. We were very grateful to her for watching them because that’s always our greatest worry when going away. She did a great job being a substitute mom and we felt much better after talking to her that afternoon.

We left the room to head over to Epcot at about 5 pm, right on schedule. I pulled one of my 3 copies out of my purse to make sure. When we got back to the resort, it was still beautiful outside. When we left to go back to the bus stop, the sky was getting blacker and blacker by the second. I started to worry, because Ernesto was suppose to hit the area that day or the next. I was totally bummed that it was quite possibly going to ruin our night. And the next day for that matter. But, DF said not to worry and was trying to be positive about the situation so I had to cheer up for him. We got onto the bus anyway, and headed out to the highway. Next thing you know, it just pours, rain was just dumping on the bus. You could barely see out the windows.

Pulling up to the bus station, you could see all kinds of people pulling out ponchos and opening umbrellas, trucking off to the park entrance. At the same time, people were pouring out of the parks, crying kids and Mickey bags in tow. What to do, what to do. So, we ran for it, making a beeline for the gift shop that is just outside the gates. It seemed that everyone had the same idea, as there had to be 20 wet people stuffed into this little gift shop, all waiting in line for the same thing. We finally made our way up to the counter and bought two ponchos and an umbrella. $30 later we were ready for anything. Bring it on Ernesto! The ponchos were clear with a Mickey on the back and the umbrella was black with the same print of Mickey on it. Very stylish.

As we head out of the store, I open the umbrella, waiting to be soaked from the rain, the second offender who was threatening to ruin my Disney day. And instead I was greeted with sunshine and hot, humid air. I looked at DF and we both laughed. Go figure. Shoving our ponchos into my already full purse, we headed into the park, relieved that I didn’t insist on turning back to avoid the rain. DF said that I should listen to him more often, as he was ALWAYS right.

 

[giggy3310]

Day 2 Continued

Because we hadn’t eaten since about noon, we decided to head over to the Land pavilion and grab a bite to eat. On the way over, we discussed what else we would do this afternoon before our dinner reso at San Angel Inn at 8:15pm. DF didn’t seem much to care much as he was starving. I didn’t realize that I was too until we walked in and smelt the food. The food court down there was great. We had a chicken caesar salad, a turkey sandwich with cranberry mayo on a ciabatta loaf, a Soarin’ brulee and a cinnamon bun. DP meal #2 and #3. They were really good, just excellent. The service there was really good as well, as they were all smiles and helping hands. I was worried that we were too full too close to dinner but DF reassured me that he would be hungry again by the time our reso rolled around.

Soarin’ s line was 45 min and the FP return time was 8:15 pm, so we disappointedly skipped that this time in here. I was kind of mad too because Living With the Land was closed for renovations, and this was interesting when I was last here. We left the pavilion and headed back to the Innovations pavilions. We wondered through the one closest to the Land and played with a few things.

Because Ernesto was scheduled to “for sure” hit on Wednesday, we figured that we had better head around the other side of the lagoon to the World Showcase pavilions that we hadn’t seen yet. We could hit the Sea, Test Track, etc. the next day. So off we head counterclockwise around the lagoon.

When we were walking over we took the straight path away from the big golf ball. I love the fountain in the middle. The water moved in time with different music. Really cool to watch. I think that this was the only time that I actually saw it in action, as it must be on a cycle as to when it does it’s thing and I never caught it again. Last time we walked over, we took a shortcut around the side so I didn’t get to see the whole lagoon like I did this time. It’s like being in the center of the world, with all of the most interesting countries just a short walk away. This was our second tip that we added to our What I Learnt a Disney List. #2: Short cuts aren’t always the best route to take. Although, I think that TGM would argue that point with me.

The first thing that we noticed was that the Canadian CMs were in the funniest outfit that Disney’s Imagineers could have thought up. They were dressed as lumberjacks, plaid shirts and brown pants. Not at all flattering. Anyway, we headed down an inviting path that leads you to a very pretty garden, the O Canada film and Le Cellier, a steakhouse that we would thoroughly enjoy on Thursday.

After a few pics and a sneak peak at the menu, we head back up and into the one of the two shops that are there. They have some cute Roots stuff and Mickey stuffed animals, dressed as Mounties. When were leaving the store, we hear this really different music and singing. Letting our mouse ears lead the way, we head further along the lagoon, passing some totem poles along the way, and come upon these guys singing, playing bag pipes, in skirts. And they weren’t bad to look at either. I couldn’t resist wondering if they were wearing underwear under the kilt. The band is called Off Kilter and they play most days of the week for about half and hour each set. Make sure that you see them.

Next up was one of my favorite world pavilions, the UK. It’s like a little town, cobble streets and everything. The first thing that we were drawn to was the Rose and Crown Pub, mainly because it looked like a lively place to get away from the heat and humidity that was still hanging on even at that time, which was probably close to 7pm. As we entered it was like we had stepped into a real pub in England. There was a guy playing the piano and singing jolly-like songs in the corner, people sitting at little tables enjoying a pint. This was our kind of place. What to drink, what to drink. Once we had decided what we’d like, we got closer to the bar. And waited. And waited. We seemed to stand there forever before one of the inattentive bartenders came over to see what we could possibly be standing there for. Regardless, once we got our beers, we headed back out to look around the shops. I loved mine, as it was one of my favorites, Stella, and DH had a Bass. He didn’t like his, and you can imagine what he referred to it as , so I ended up double fisting as we walked through the stores.

I liked the shops in this area as they had different things. The tea store was really cute and it had nice china as well as a huge variety of English, Irish, and Scottish teas. We especially liked the Tin Soldier Toy Store. They had lots of cool, yet expensive toys for all ages. We saw Pooh, Tigger and Eyor in the back, but again, we didn’t want to wait more than 20 min for a picture, so we headed out. To add to my growing list of shopping items, they had gorgeous golf clothing in one of the stores there. But sadly, DF pointed out that I did not need another outfit to golf in. In truth, he was right. I could golf once a week all summer and not wear the same outfit twice. With one beer still in hand, we move along the canal towards France, and see the Eiffel Tower and the little canal.

The first thing that we see as we approach is the Eiffel Tower in the background, and quaint shops along a little street. We head over to the shops and enter some of the most elegant stores in the Showcase area. There was a really nicely stocked French wine store, with a tasting area and the same glassware that I almost bought the day before in German. At least I knew where else I could find it. If you are looking for very good cosmetics, this is the place, but to be honest, the smells and fragrances gave me a headache, as everyone seemed to spray the perfume in the air for all to “enjoy.”

Next was the Moroccan pavilion. I liked this one visually, as the tile work and architecture was interesting, but that was about all. We wandered through a few of the stores and DF made a face at the menus that were posted outside the restaurants. I don’t think that I have mentioned yet just how picky my DF is when it comes to food. He likes steak but only if cooked Med-Well, he’ll eat salad, but only caesar, no vegetables, no matter how good they are for you, pasta, but the sauce has to be just so, and cheese, he loves cheese. Just about the only thing that he’ll eat without inspecting it with a microscope first is chicken, and that he says he can eat everyday for every meal. I would have liked to have tried something from the quicker service place at the front of the pavilion, but we were kind of in a hurry now to get down to Mexico, as it was probably 7:45 pm.

But, my steps slowed as we walked into Japan. Wow. This was cool. We wandered down a path and entered at the far end what turned out to be the best store that we went into. It was huge and had everything. The coolest thing was a pearl exhibit where you picked your own pearl and then chose a piece of jewelry to add it to. I liked the idea of it but I knew that I wouldn’t wear it when I got home so we kept walking. Now I wish that I had at least got the pearl, even if I didn’t mount it to a chain. There’s always next time. There were also huge swords, really nice sushi sets, a whole wall of assorted chop sticks, I mean EVERYTHING.

DF got me back on track because now we had to motor down to the Mexico pavilion. Of course, he claimed that he was hungry again. It’s funny, but you can really get lost in that store for a long time! We really had to rush when I looked at my watch, as it was 8:10 pm. We’d been through all of these pavilions the day before so I didn’t mind much. We got there just in time and entered into the little market area. It was dark and cool, very authentic little market. We walked up to the host stand and a nice young man told us that our table would be ready in a little bit. He handed us one of those beepers and we went off to explore the market. The little stands had all kinds of stuff, from super hot hot sauce, from big sombreros, to piñatas. I tried to get DF to take a picture with a hat on but he practically ran into the fountain. Since we had walked and walked, we took the opportunity to sit down next to the fountain. Our peaceful seat was soon infringed upon as a little girl played with one of the authentic drum toys. Rather than get angry, I joined her. DF looked embarrassed but I didn’t care. Remember, I was the one who wore the crown.

Finally our beeper went off 15 min later. The restaurant was very cute inside, but was too dark for my liking as I could barely see my food or if the place was clean. I wish that we had a table closer to the water, although we were almost right next to it. But I didn’t want to wait any more either, as I was getting hungry again. Our server was hard to understand and seemed very rushed when he first came over. Finally the margaritas arrived after a wait that was too long, and then they weren’t very good, they tasted off and they were too strong to enjoy. Our appetizer nachos were OK but there were only about 10 chips, not at all what I was used to at home. Usually they’re like a mini mountain, not a flat pancake of greasy chips. Our steaks that came in the trio tasted like burnt, tough rubber and the other two things were too covered in the beans (which we had said we didn't want when we ordered) to enjoy them. I guess I was expecting better, more authentic food, but instead got Taco Bell. The funny thing was, once the drinks came, the service was lightning fast. So fast, we were done in no more than 40 min. This was our third lesson that we added to our What I Learnt a Disney List. #3: Just because it is in the World Showcase, doesn’t mean that the food/service is any good. Our list was growing.

Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to get out of there. No dessert for us! We rush out and the show was just finishing on the lagoon, as it must have started early. As we walk back, I couldn’t believe that I was more tired today than I was yesterday making the same trek back. But, I was till really happy to be there with the world's greatest guy.

When we got back to the bus, it was busier than the night before and we couldn’t sit next to each other. Now, what I am going to say next may not sound very kind, but it has to be said. I was sitting at the very back of the bus, in the very corner seat. A small child was sitting next to me, talking about her day very excitedly with her mom. Next thing you know, a very large woman asks if she may sit where the child is sitting, as she can’t stand for the duration of the bus ride. Before I can get up too, the mother pulls her child on her lap and the lady wedges herself in the seat, not to mention in half of mine. So, as you can imagine, this was very uncomfortable. I was stuck up against the window with a large, smelly, sticky woman touching me. I couldn’t believe that she couldn’t tell how uncomfortable we all were sitting in the last seats closest to her. Or maybe she didn’t care. I don’t know. This was our fourth lesson that we added to our What I Learnt a Disney List. #4: Sometimes, it is best to stand.

When we got back to our room, I showered for longer than usual and got into bed, reminding myself to keep an eye out for that woman tomorrow on the way home. We watched the Disney channel for a bit , but it was lights out again at about 10:45pm.

Wake up call was set for 6:30 am as we had a long day.

Next up: Day 3!

 

[toony]

Since we had walked and walked, we took the opportunity to sit down next to the fountain. Our peaceful seat was soon infringed upon as a little girl played with one of the authentic drum toys. Rather than get angry, I joined her. DF looked embarrassed but I didn’t care. Remember, I was the one who wore the crown.

still enjoying your report.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

i love poking around in all of the shops at Epcot

Thanks for posting