cocoa's family
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2005
- Messages
- 11
Monday, April 17 (DH, DW, DD9 and DD13)
We got up early to be at opening for Epcot at 9. Our entry line turned out to be a slow one because the people at the front had problems with their tickets scanning, so we watched lots of other lines begin moving through the gates without us. Noooooo! Once we made it through, DH headed for Soarin' to get Fast Passes, while DW and DDs went on to Journey into Imagination. The fast pass area was totally mobbed. It took well over five minutes just to get near a pass station. I scurried through the crowd to meet the family and we walked onto Figment's ride. The building was virtually empty. We played with the ImageWorks computers and sent e-mails of morphed photos of the DDs. A small crowd began to fill the room as we left. Next we walked onto Spaceship Earth, one of DW's favorites. Then we headed for Ellen's Universe of Energy. Last year we missed part of the pre-show video, but this time we got there a few minutes before it started and
caught it all. After Ellen we got FPs for Test Track, and headed for Soarin' -- where we ended up seated in the front row. Even with the FPs there was about a 10 minute wait in line. DW would wait longer happily. She likes this one a lot. (Standby was 80 minutes at this point.) After an early lunch at the Electric Umbrella, we headed for World Showcase, where we walked through Canada's gardens and waterfall, then to U.K., where we took photos of the Pooh topiaries, then France, where we watched the Impressions de France film, which was very enjoyable (although the snowy mountain scenes nearly put me to sleep, through no fault of theirs. The late night before was catching up with DH.) We walked through Morocco, where the DDs bought finger cymbals. DW and DD 9 rode the Maelstrom in Norway while DH and DD 13 rushed back to Test Track to use our FPs with about a 10 minute wait (We paused long enough to grab FPs for Maelstrom to ride when we got back.). We hadn't made it to Test Track last year, and we enjoyed the whips and turns it took. A polite little girl asked if we minded if she sat in the third seat, so she joined us. Since DW and DD 9 had decided not to ride it, we had 2 extra passes, and headed back in for a second ride. Unfortunately, just as we reached the holding area to go into the video room (at about 2:30) the ride had a breakdown. Since they didn't know how long it would be down, we got our passes back and were told we could come back anytime before nine, and we rushed back to Norway where we all rode Maelstrom together, then headed for Club Cool to try out some of those free nternational soft drinks. We liked Israel's lemon drink best. We decided to go back to the hotel at 3:30 so DW and the DDs could swim and DH could rest.
DH also powdered and mole-skinned his feet to prepare for more fun. (The day before we left for vacation, we ran some last minute -- multi hour -- errands, which left DH with a blister on one heel before we even got to Disney. The wonders of moleskin patches carefully placed around it made it quite tolerable. I applied some along the arches of my feet as well when I felt some hot spots developing. I was fine the rest of the trip. I can't recommend moleskin highly enough. I also used the Arrid cream anti-perspirant on my toes that others on DisBoards recommended for keeping them dry and blister-free. After dinner at Pop Century's food court we headed back to Epcot where we rode Spaceship Earth again (no wait). We saw that Test Track's fast pass line was backed up to the building entrance when we walked by, so we gave up on taking another ride on it. We snapped pictures of some of the topiaries and flowers in the center of Future World and the entrance to World Showcase, then rode Mexico's El Rio del Tiempo (no wait). It's kind of tacky, what with the hot tub party scene, but the Day of the Dead celebration has some fun bits to view. The little skeleton band is really cute. We took lots of photos around World Showcase, then stopped in France again for a box full of pastries and headed back for the hotel before Illuminations began, since tomorrow was going to be a very early day -- and we had some serious snacks to enjoy before bedtime. (We skipped the great films in China and Canada this year since we'd had the chance to see them last year. If we'd had a longer stay, we would have taken them in again.)
Tues., Apr. 18
DH got up at 5:00, the rest of the family got up between 5:30 and 5:45. We made it to the bus stop by 6:30 and caught the bus to MK for the 7 a.m. opening. The ceremony was kind of minimal. Goofy and Chip & Dale greeted the crowd at the right doorway where we waited. Last summer when we were at opening, the train pulled into the station and lots of characters got out and waved, and there was a big song. Much more festive. I guess they're cutting costs for all the EMHs over the Easter weeks. We stopped long enough to videotape the DDs meeting Chip and Dale, with hugs and muscle flexing by Dale. I'm glad I bought that camcorder. I taped nearly every ride today. We raced over to Indy Speedway, then we went to Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan twice with no wait. It was like coming home again. We remembered the CM at Peter Pan, Leslie, from our trip last year. We walked on Dumbo, Snow White, Pooh, Splash Mountain (three times with no wait!), Big Thunder, Pirates, Magic Carpets (twice), and then went to the Tiki Birds show. (DW was disappointed that the old songs she remembered from her Tiki record album when she was a kid were no longer a part of the show.) We did all of that by 10:30. That's when the crowds arrived. I videotaped rides wherever it was allowed. Since the camcorder didn't have a light to disturb anyone, I hoped that no one riding would mind. (And since we had some of the rides pretty much to ourselves at times, there wasn't anyone to be bothered.) We took in Mickey's Philharmagic again, then went to Tomorrowland for an early lunch at Cosmic Ray's. (Avoid the double cheeseburger. DW and DH split one, and found it a bit tough. The DDs liked the chicken.) Having the chicken and burgers at two separate order stations was a bit inconvenient, and the toppings bar was on the opposite side of the building from where we found seats. But at least we found seats. Lots of other early lunchers had shown up at the same time. Last we stopped in Toon Town, which was very crowded by this point. DDs waited in line about 10 minutes to meet Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. DH got some nice photos. Then we took the train from Toon Town to the front gate and went back to the hotel.
After a short rest we headed for Disney-MGM Studios. We had a list of must-sees and do's, which were made easier when two nice teenagers who were leaving asked us if we'd like their fast passes for Tower of Terror. We rode Star Tours with no wait, then entered Muppets 3-D a few minutes before the TV intro began. We waited 20 minutes for the Great Movie Ride. (Since we had some time to kill before the next Beauty and Beast performance, we didn't save the movie ride for a less crowded evening time. I'd never recommend wasting time standing in line. The pre-ride movie clips are fun to watch, but not when you're there long enough to see them twice.) We took a few minutes to watch part of the afternoon parade before DW and DD 13 took the FPs and headed for Tower of Terror while DD9 and DH, with his trusty camcorder, got center seats behind the tech area for Beauty and Beast's show. DD 13 and DW made it back in time for the start of the show, although they missed the great singing of Four for a Dollar in the pre-show.
The show's a bit truncated, cramming as much of the story as they can into 30 minutes with a limited cast, but still enjoyable. Afterward we hit the ABC Commissary for dinner, then rode Star Tours twice more with no wait. DW had had enough of it after that. We shopped at the big Sorceror's Hat for pins, then headed back to the hotel at 8:30, since the skies were pretty dark and threatening-looking by then. Tomorrow was going to be another early day. We got back to our room in time to watch Veronica Mars on TV, then got some sleep.
We got up early to be at opening for Epcot at 9. Our entry line turned out to be a slow one because the people at the front had problems with their tickets scanning, so we watched lots of other lines begin moving through the gates without us. Noooooo! Once we made it through, DH headed for Soarin' to get Fast Passes, while DW and DDs went on to Journey into Imagination. The fast pass area was totally mobbed. It took well over five minutes just to get near a pass station. I scurried through the crowd to meet the family and we walked onto Figment's ride. The building was virtually empty. We played with the ImageWorks computers and sent e-mails of morphed photos of the DDs. A small crowd began to fill the room as we left. Next we walked onto Spaceship Earth, one of DW's favorites. Then we headed for Ellen's Universe of Energy. Last year we missed part of the pre-show video, but this time we got there a few minutes before it started and
caught it all. After Ellen we got FPs for Test Track, and headed for Soarin' -- where we ended up seated in the front row. Even with the FPs there was about a 10 minute wait in line. DW would wait longer happily. She likes this one a lot. (Standby was 80 minutes at this point.) After an early lunch at the Electric Umbrella, we headed for World Showcase, where we walked through Canada's gardens and waterfall, then to U.K., where we took photos of the Pooh topiaries, then France, where we watched the Impressions de France film, which was very enjoyable (although the snowy mountain scenes nearly put me to sleep, through no fault of theirs. The late night before was catching up with DH.) We walked through Morocco, where the DDs bought finger cymbals. DW and DD 9 rode the Maelstrom in Norway while DH and DD 13 rushed back to Test Track to use our FPs with about a 10 minute wait (We paused long enough to grab FPs for Maelstrom to ride when we got back.). We hadn't made it to Test Track last year, and we enjoyed the whips and turns it took. A polite little girl asked if we minded if she sat in the third seat, so she joined us. Since DW and DD 9 had decided not to ride it, we had 2 extra passes, and headed back in for a second ride. Unfortunately, just as we reached the holding area to go into the video room (at about 2:30) the ride had a breakdown. Since they didn't know how long it would be down, we got our passes back and were told we could come back anytime before nine, and we rushed back to Norway where we all rode Maelstrom together, then headed for Club Cool to try out some of those free nternational soft drinks. We liked Israel's lemon drink best. We decided to go back to the hotel at 3:30 so DW and the DDs could swim and DH could rest.
DH also powdered and mole-skinned his feet to prepare for more fun. (The day before we left for vacation, we ran some last minute -- multi hour -- errands, which left DH with a blister on one heel before we even got to Disney. The wonders of moleskin patches carefully placed around it made it quite tolerable. I applied some along the arches of my feet as well when I felt some hot spots developing. I was fine the rest of the trip. I can't recommend moleskin highly enough. I also used the Arrid cream anti-perspirant on my toes that others on DisBoards recommended for keeping them dry and blister-free. After dinner at Pop Century's food court we headed back to Epcot where we rode Spaceship Earth again (no wait). We saw that Test Track's fast pass line was backed up to the building entrance when we walked by, so we gave up on taking another ride on it. We snapped pictures of some of the topiaries and flowers in the center of Future World and the entrance to World Showcase, then rode Mexico's El Rio del Tiempo (no wait). It's kind of tacky, what with the hot tub party scene, but the Day of the Dead celebration has some fun bits to view. The little skeleton band is really cute. We took lots of photos around World Showcase, then stopped in France again for a box full of pastries and headed back for the hotel before Illuminations began, since tomorrow was going to be a very early day -- and we had some serious snacks to enjoy before bedtime. (We skipped the great films in China and Canada this year since we'd had the chance to see them last year. If we'd had a longer stay, we would have taken them in again.)
Tues., Apr. 18
DH got up at 5:00, the rest of the family got up between 5:30 and 5:45. We made it to the bus stop by 6:30 and caught the bus to MK for the 7 a.m. opening. The ceremony was kind of minimal. Goofy and Chip & Dale greeted the crowd at the right doorway where we waited. Last summer when we were at opening, the train pulled into the station and lots of characters got out and waved, and there was a big song. Much more festive. I guess they're cutting costs for all the EMHs over the Easter weeks. We stopped long enough to videotape the DDs meeting Chip and Dale, with hugs and muscle flexing by Dale. I'm glad I bought that camcorder. I taped nearly every ride today. We raced over to Indy Speedway, then we went to Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan twice with no wait. It was like coming home again. We remembered the CM at Peter Pan, Leslie, from our trip last year. We walked on Dumbo, Snow White, Pooh, Splash Mountain (three times with no wait!), Big Thunder, Pirates, Magic Carpets (twice), and then went to the Tiki Birds show. (DW was disappointed that the old songs she remembered from her Tiki record album when she was a kid were no longer a part of the show.) We did all of that by 10:30. That's when the crowds arrived. I videotaped rides wherever it was allowed. Since the camcorder didn't have a light to disturb anyone, I hoped that no one riding would mind. (And since we had some of the rides pretty much to ourselves at times, there wasn't anyone to be bothered.) We took in Mickey's Philharmagic again, then went to Tomorrowland for an early lunch at Cosmic Ray's. (Avoid the double cheeseburger. DW and DH split one, and found it a bit tough. The DDs liked the chicken.) Having the chicken and burgers at two separate order stations was a bit inconvenient, and the toppings bar was on the opposite side of the building from where we found seats. But at least we found seats. Lots of other early lunchers had shown up at the same time. Last we stopped in Toon Town, which was very crowded by this point. DDs waited in line about 10 minutes to meet Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger. DH got some nice photos. Then we took the train from Toon Town to the front gate and went back to the hotel.
After a short rest we headed for Disney-MGM Studios. We had a list of must-sees and do's, which were made easier when two nice teenagers who were leaving asked us if we'd like their fast passes for Tower of Terror. We rode Star Tours with no wait, then entered Muppets 3-D a few minutes before the TV intro began. We waited 20 minutes for the Great Movie Ride. (Since we had some time to kill before the next Beauty and Beast performance, we didn't save the movie ride for a less crowded evening time. I'd never recommend wasting time standing in line. The pre-ride movie clips are fun to watch, but not when you're there long enough to see them twice.) We took a few minutes to watch part of the afternoon parade before DW and DD 13 took the FPs and headed for Tower of Terror while DD9 and DH, with his trusty camcorder, got center seats behind the tech area for Beauty and Beast's show. DD 13 and DW made it back in time for the start of the show, although they missed the great singing of Four for a Dollar in the pre-show.
The show's a bit truncated, cramming as much of the story as they can into 30 minutes with a limited cast, but still enjoyable. Afterward we hit the ABC Commissary for dinner, then rode Star Tours twice more with no wait. DW had had enough of it after that. We shopped at the big Sorceror's Hat for pins, then headed back to the hotel at 8:30, since the skies were pretty dark and threatening-looking by then. Tomorrow was going to be another early day. We got back to our room in time to watch Veronica Mars on TV, then got some sleep.
