Richard Bruvofetc
Inane Merry Sag - Possunt Quia, Posse Videntur
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2005
- Messages
- 1,760
Monday 8th May.
Today we got up a little earlier than usual as Victoria and I were going to EPCOT for the Dolphins in Depth.
We started our day as normal, me showering first, then over to Sassagoula's with the re-fillable mugs for our teas and juice, whilst Avonia and Victoria showered. Having had breakfast we jumped into Miss Piggy for the short trip over to EPCOT (How many of you have noticed that misleading sign as you turn right to EPCOT which says "Wrong WAY"? It's on the other carriageway but it does look like it's on your side of the road!!).
On arriving at EPCOT Victoria and I went over to Guest Relations to await the Cast Members whilst Avonia went into the park.
Dolphins in Depth....this was an excellent experience. You get to see ther "workings" behind the scenes; you're taught an immense amount about dolphins; you see the training methods; you go to areas others never see - even the Cast Members; and the guides are really knowledgeable; and finally you get to interact with the Dolphins. There were only 8 of us and we were divided into two groups. You interact with two dolphins (they swap half way through) and get about half an hour of quality time with them. Absolutely magnificent, and an experience I would love to do again (by the way, when you're in the Living Seas look up through the water....you may just see people's legs above. The whole thing lasts about 3 hours and includes Badge, Tee Shirt and Photo:
While Victoria and I were enjoying our experience, Avonia went off to collect a few photos:
Avonia managed to get in Soarin' and a few other attractions.
We met up again in the Living Seas to take some lunch. Re-fueled, it was off for another major trek around EPCOT.
Today was another scorcher - mid 90s again! So, first stop - Ice Cool to stock up on our free drinks from around the world. We were then off again to collect more authographs (and utilise that wonderful PhotoPass):
Victoria also picked up a few more bits for her mask. After the long trek and umpteen times in Ice Cool (do visit - it's really good, especially on a hot day) we decided that with the temperatures rising again we would head back to POFQ to freshen up.
This evening we were going to the Liberty Tree for our evening meal (6.30pm). We arrived at the Ticket and Transportation Centre in plenty of time to find out that the Monorail was having "technical" problems and was not running - you should have seen the queues! So we joined the queue for the boat - another massive queue. Luckily those boats hold a vast number of people so even though we were one of the last to get on, we did manage to get on!! However, it didn't set off until 6.15 which meant we didn't get to the gates of the MK until 6.30. So once through the queues at the entrance it was a forced march to the restaurant, getting there at 6.50pm. Of course, we get caught behind the lady at the entrance who wants to change her 8.00pm booking of 8 to 7.00pm so they could watch the parade!! "We're fully booked madame"; "Why don't you move everybody on 20 minutes and fit us in then?" "Why don't you !*!*!*!........" thought I. Anyway, they opened another counter because of the queue that was forming behind her and we got our table at 7.00pm - Victoria telling them that it was my birthday (it is actually the 14th!). By the way, the lady didn't get her way.
We arrived at our table to find it nicely decorated:
The meal, as always was very good, including all the waitresses coming over and singing Happy Birthday to "Yankee Doodle", and they brought me a birthday cake as well!
Again, bloated with the overindulgance of good food, we took our customary stroll to work it off before taking up our position on the railway station to watch the evening parade.
Following the parade, it was another gentle stroll to allow the masses to leave the park:
Its amazing how many shops etc are empty at this time. Once the crowds had lessened we made our way out of the park and took the boat back to the Ticket and Transportation Centre. Miss Piggy was waiting patiently to take us back to POFQ where we stocked up with drinks before retiring for the night.
Today we got up a little earlier than usual as Victoria and I were going to EPCOT for the Dolphins in Depth.
We started our day as normal, me showering first, then over to Sassagoula's with the re-fillable mugs for our teas and juice, whilst Avonia and Victoria showered. Having had breakfast we jumped into Miss Piggy for the short trip over to EPCOT (How many of you have noticed that misleading sign as you turn right to EPCOT which says "Wrong WAY"? It's on the other carriageway but it does look like it's on your side of the road!!).
On arriving at EPCOT Victoria and I went over to Guest Relations to await the Cast Members whilst Avonia went into the park.
Dolphins in Depth....this was an excellent experience. You get to see ther "workings" behind the scenes; you're taught an immense amount about dolphins; you see the training methods; you go to areas others never see - even the Cast Members; and the guides are really knowledgeable; and finally you get to interact with the Dolphins. There were only 8 of us and we were divided into two groups. You interact with two dolphins (they swap half way through) and get about half an hour of quality time with them. Absolutely magnificent, and an experience I would love to do again (by the way, when you're in the Living Seas look up through the water....you may just see people's legs above. The whole thing lasts about 3 hours and includes Badge, Tee Shirt and Photo:
While Victoria and I were enjoying our experience, Avonia went off to collect a few photos:
Avonia managed to get in Soarin' and a few other attractions.
We met up again in the Living Seas to take some lunch. Re-fueled, it was off for another major trek around EPCOT.
Today was another scorcher - mid 90s again! So, first stop - Ice Cool to stock up on our free drinks from around the world. We were then off again to collect more authographs (and utilise that wonderful PhotoPass):
Victoria also picked up a few more bits for her mask. After the long trek and umpteen times in Ice Cool (do visit - it's really good, especially on a hot day) we decided that with the temperatures rising again we would head back to POFQ to freshen up.
This evening we were going to the Liberty Tree for our evening meal (6.30pm). We arrived at the Ticket and Transportation Centre in plenty of time to find out that the Monorail was having "technical" problems and was not running - you should have seen the queues! So we joined the queue for the boat - another massive queue. Luckily those boats hold a vast number of people so even though we were one of the last to get on, we did manage to get on!! However, it didn't set off until 6.15 which meant we didn't get to the gates of the MK until 6.30. So once through the queues at the entrance it was a forced march to the restaurant, getting there at 6.50pm. Of course, we get caught behind the lady at the entrance who wants to change her 8.00pm booking of 8 to 7.00pm so they could watch the parade!! "We're fully booked madame"; "Why don't you move everybody on 20 minutes and fit us in then?" "Why don't you !*!*!*!........" thought I. Anyway, they opened another counter because of the queue that was forming behind her and we got our table at 7.00pm - Victoria telling them that it was my birthday (it is actually the 14th!). By the way, the lady didn't get her way.
We arrived at our table to find it nicely decorated:
The meal, as always was very good, including all the waitresses coming over and singing Happy Birthday to "Yankee Doodle", and they brought me a birthday cake as well!
Again, bloated with the overindulgance of good food, we took our customary stroll to work it off before taking up our position on the railway station to watch the evening parade.
Following the parade, it was another gentle stroll to allow the masses to leave the park:
Its amazing how many shops etc are empty at this time. Once the crowds had lessened we made our way out of the park and took the boat back to the Ticket and Transportation Centre. Miss Piggy was waiting patiently to take us back to POFQ where we stocked up with drinks before retiring for the night.
