PamNC & Uncle Albert Day 3 - Epcot & AK!

[PamNC]

Day 3: Epcot and AK

Cast of Characters: PamNC and her wonderful DH, Uncle Albert
Resort: Beach Club

We woke up, sans Stitch, and realized we hadn’t even thought about where we would have breakfast. DH decided we would “let the force lead us.” We did know that our first destination of the day would be Epcot. So, we walked down to the lobby of the Beach Club and saw Cape May and decided that is what we wanted. Wondering if we could even get in, we walked up to the podium and admitted that we had no ADR’s but asked if we could possible get in and the answer was, “of course!” They took us in within minutes. The hostess said she ha a nice “seaside table” for the two of us. (We were seated beside a lovely seaside painting). I’ll have to say that I don’t typically like buffets, but the food was very good and fresh. We were there pretty early, about 8:00 a.m. and to our surprise, it wasn’t crowded at all.

The characters were sparse, just Minnie, Goofy and Chip or Dale (I say or because it never seemed like they were both out on the floor at the same time). Goofy and Dale visited us, but not Minnie. However, she did wave at my husband once. I have to tell about our visit with Goofy. He asked us, in his own little silent goofy way, if we were married. And we told him, “Yes, for 13 years.” So, he grabbed a pen and wrote a note on the paper that covers the table, “Well, you must have gotten married at 12.” DH said to Goofy, “what about you, you must be at least 75 and you look great.” Goofy wrote “plastic surgery” and tapped on this plastic head. Goofy was in good form that morning.

Quite the magical breakfast but time for Epcot. I love the ability to walk to Epcot. No stress, no strain. We headed straight for Soarin of course. Along with the rest of the free world. Typically what we do is grab a fast pass for Soarin, ride it, then ride Living with the Land and by then it’s time to do Soarin for a second time. This time we decided to grab a fast pass for Soarin and head straight to Test Track before the line got long because we hadn’t done Test Track the last couple of trips. The wait was about 20 minutes already and it wasn’t even 9:30. Did Test Track and when we were looking at the picture a CM gave us a photopass. Apparently Test Track is one of he first, if not the first, attractions where you can use fast pass for the on-attraction photos. Brilliant idea! We went over to the exhibit about Hybrid technology because we just bought a Prius a couple of months ago. Then, I saw a Saab 93 convertible and my DH took my picture in it. It was very nice, but I have a 2003 93 convertible and I like mine much better although it’s 4 years old. It was before they, as my husband calls it, “GM-ified” it. I really don’t like how they’ve changed the interior of the Saab.

Now it was time for me to step up to the plate and FINALLY ride Mission Space. I know it opened a while ago, but me being a chicken had not gotten up the nerve even with the green side being added. I did it, green side of course, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. DH had done the orange side a couple of years ago, all by himself of course. So glad I finally did it and hopefully I can get the nerve to do the orange side next time.

At this point, it was time for our fast pass for Soarin. We got the front row, which is what I think everyone wants to get. Loved it as usual and then we did Living with the Land, about a 10 minute wait. After we finished up the Land we went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. It was about a 20 minute wait. I love what they have done with this pavilion. I think the new ride is very cute and imaginative. We also got in to see Turtle Talk, something we hadn’t been able to do the last time or two because the lines were so terrible. They’ve expanded the theatre and the waiting area before the show is quite enjoyable. There are stingray exhibits and other interesting learning stations. For instance, I didn’t know that jellyfish had no heart or no brain, only a nervous system. Talk about Type A!

After the Seas, we decided to head to World Showcase. We were a little bummed that we couldn’t do Spaceship Earth…can’t wait to see what they do with it but I hope it’s not too terribly different because I love it the way it is. Our first stop was Mexico because we wanted to see the new boat ride and we always buy hand blown glassware there, a piece or two at a time. We have 6 drinking glasses, a nice pitcher, and now we needed 2 more margarita glasses to complete that collection. The boat ride? Well…..I didn’t like it at all! I don’t think adding the ducks was any type of improvement. They were just sort of thrown in there in an almost annoying way. Oh well, this wasn’t a blockbuster type of attraction anyway but I do think I’ll miss the original. As we left the Mexico pavilion there was a group performing, Vive de Mexico I think, not the Mariachi band that we so love. But, I guess they deserve a vacation too and this group was very good. We love the entertainment at World Showcase and always take our time to soak it all up.

Norway was next – and when we arrived a band was playing. Very nice and relaxing. At this point we were getting a little hot and just a tad hungry but not hungry enough for a full-blown lunch. DH wanted a pretzel from Germany and I wanted good old fashioned popcorn. We sat outside the American Adventure pavilion and had our snacks. Then, we shopped a little here and there. I found a purse in Italy that I really really wanted – it was suede and beautiful but $99.95 and I just didn’t feel right spending that much money on a purse. DH encouraged me to, but I just couldn’t do it.

At this point we were getting a little tired, and it was a bit hot so we decided to head back to the BC for a rest. As we left the international gateway entrance, a friendship was docked waiting for us. So instead of walking we decided to take it. Met a nice family on the boat that was staying at the Yacht Club. It was their first time so they had some questions for us – we were glad to be able to help them. Such a cute family. DH decided the pretzel wasn’t quite enough, so we got off at the Boardwalk and went to Seashore Sweets for a snack. Where else can you have candy, pretzels and popcorn for lunch and not feel guilty? After we enjoyed the sweets we went back to the room with full intentions of getting in Stormalong Bay but we were too tired. So, we just sat around in the cool…DH actually napped a little. I guess we relaxed an hour, maybe two but I had a lot of pent up energy for some reason so DH said, “let’s go to Animal Kingdom.” We decided that we wanted Italian food that night so I called WDWdine on the in-room phone and made ADR’s for Il Mulino for 8:30.

Off to Animal Kingdom. We arrived about 4:00 which is about the time it does start to clear out. We went straight to Finding Nemo the Musical which was a 4:45 show. Got a great seat and thoroughly enjoyed the show. This was our second time seeing it and it was just as good as I remembered. I got the best “giggle” of the trip while waiting on Nemo to begin. You know how you get an occasional glimpse of Nemo in the bubbles on either sides of the stage? It always amuses me to hear the kids scream out when they see him but this time was particularly amusing. These adorable kids from the UK were behind us and every time Nemo would appear they would scream out “saw him.” But it sounded more like “sar him.” A little “r” in there somewhere. I laughed and I heard the parents say, “my goodness she’s encouraging them.” So, for much of the trip we would say “sar him” (translated “saw him”). It’s really hard to explain this in writing so I hope it makes sense to everyone. You had to be there, right?

Next we decided to attempt a ride on Expedition Everest but of course the line was long, actually it wasn’t horrible, 35 minutes. But we opted for the single riders line. The wait was about 10 minutes and we got on the same train, just not next to each other. I rode beside an adorable little girl who was scared to death and asking me questions the whole time. Like, “is this the big drop?” I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the worst part wasn’t the drop.

After EE we had a couple of photopass pics taken and then wondered off to the Safari. Hardly any wait, I’d say less than 10 minutes. This was a particularly good safari, most likely because it was later in the day. Not sure if anyone has seen the baby white rhino yet, but he is adorable and got very close to our car. Even shook his head at us as if he were going to play with us. The animals were all over the place, even got a good look at the cheetah. They have changed the spiel a little. I hate that the warden no longer says, “Ms. Jobson, no one in Africa calls them Thomson’s Gazelles, they are tommies, tommies.”

At this point we needed to head back and freshen up for dinner. And so we did. Il Mulino was absolutely fabulous – food and service. We got there around 8:00, about 30 minutes prior to our ADR and got in within about 10 minutes. I had a pizza margarita and DH had a pasta dish with seafood. Both meals were excellent. We’ll definitely be going back. For some reason, I was especially exhausted this evening. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to walk back to the room. Somehow I made it and slept like a baby…I don’t even think I remember going to sleep.

Stay Tuned for Day 4: Our first visit to Crystal Palace (if you can believe that), Magic Kingdom and Artist Point