Rigel Kent
Space Mountain Stampeder
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2005
- Messages
- 118
These rookie mistakes did *not* spoil our day. But,
they just left me kicking myself, mentally---"Why did
I do that!" "Oops, can't believe I did that!" "What an
idiot I am!" "I planned for everything except that!" etc.
Rigel Kent's Rookie Mistake #1: We tried to get to
Epcot 30 minutes early, and we actually got there only
20 minutes early.
Correct Procedure #1: Forty, forty, forty, forty, forty,
forty, forty, forty, forty, forty, forty, forty, forty.
That's 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40.
I looked again at the Unofficial Guide, and there it is,
plain as day: "Arrive 40 minutes before the official
opening time."
Why I had to kick myself #1: Of course, 30 might have
been early enough, but we got there only 20 minutes early.
At MGM and at Magic Kingdom, it didn't matter. But Epcot
has a very inefficient turnstile procedure, compared to
MGM and MK. Specifically, at MGM and MK, you go through
security bag check, and then there is a great big open
area where you wait in line for the finger things.
At Epcot, there seemed to be only about 5 feet between
the bag check and the finger/turnstiles. So, if the finger
check was moving slowly, it backed up through the bag check.
Then when those people got through the finger check, we
had to wait for the next people who moved up to bag check.
I watched people get through and go up to the rope,
and then I saw the rope drop! And I wasn't in there!
Waaaaah! Cry, cry, cry! Kick myself!
When we finally got in, we booked in high gear to Soarin,
where I believe the posted wait was already 30 minutes.
(It probably took 20 minutes, actually.)
--------------------------------
Rigel Kent's Rookie Mistake #2: When I saw a line
inside the Living Seas, I thought "Oh, I wonder what that
line is. Well, I'll explore an aquarium a little
and then go see what the line is."
Correct Procedure #2: At WDW, when you see a line,
go get in it *now.* *Then* ask what it is. If it turns
out it's a line for the bathroom of opposite gender (as
illustrated in UOG?), then get out of line *after* you
find out!) Caveat: I'm not promising that this
procedure always works. But it would have worked for us.
Why I had to kick myself #2: Of course, the small line
I saw was for Turtle Talk with Crush. But the line of
people hid the sign. So we go look at fish swimming
around, and I'm thinking "I wonder where Turtle Talk
with Crush is. I need to ask someone where Turtle
Talk with Crush is. Why is that small line now becoming
humongous. Where is Turtle Talk with Crush. Hmmmm,
some of those people have moved....the sign says.....
OH Crap...it's Turtle Talk with Crush!" When we got
there, if we had joined the small line, we would have
seen the very next show. As it was, we had to wait
in line for about 30 minutes. (P.S. Yes, you *have*
to see it.....DD10 and DD7 loved it. I also thought
it was gnarly, dude.) Worst *wait* of our day, so I
guess I can't complain too much. But I'm still
bruising myself over that one. This was our worst
mistake.
--------------------------------
Rigel Kent's Rookie Mistake #3: Memorizing how
long you can expect to wait for an attraction, without
paying any attention whatsoever to how long the
attraction actually is!
Correct Procedure #3: Shows are longer than rides!
Just because the wait for the attraction is 5 minutes,
does not mean that in 10 minutes you'll be going to
the next item on your list. If you wait 5 minutes,
and the show itself is 20 minutes, guess what! It will
be 25 minutes until you're done!
Why I had to kick myself #3: Well, really this was
just annoying to me personally. It threw off my pacing
of where I thought we would be, and when. My brain
was still in Magic Kingdom mode: one hour=4 attractions,
maybe? Maybe more? But at Epcot, typical
hour= 1.5 attractions? Maybe, if you're lucky.
Maybe less. (Your mileage may vary.)
--------------------------------
Rigel Kent's Rookie Mistake #4: I think it will take
X minutes for us to walk to {the next attraction,
the next country, a counter service restaurant,
an air conditioned building} (select one).
Correct Procedure #4: It will take 2 times X minutes.
And if you are looking for a double-dip, like an
*air conditioned counter service restaurant*,
it may take 4 times X to 10 times X minutes.
Why I had to kick myself #4: I knew Epcot is twice
as big as MK. I didn't know that this is *not* because
there is twice the stuff. In fact, it seems to me
there is the *same* amount of stuff, it's just
twice as far apart. Sometimes this just threw me
off my mental pacing expectations. Sometimes it
caused a disaster....please see next paragraph.
--------------------------------
Why I *really* had to kick myself #3 and #4 combination:
We're sort of getting hungry for lunch. Not hungry
enough to eat, but I bet we'll need to eat soon.
We're at the Land. Here's our brilliant idea: let's
squeeze in one more attraction, then we can hit an
air conditioned counter service restaurant.
Let's go see Universe of Energy.
Then we can head up toward Mexico and go clockwise
until we find some food in a cool building.
All of you who know Epcot at all must be laughing your
heads off.
But it's OK isn't it? Because when we get to Universe
of Engergy, the line isn't too bad, so we can just
watch the next show and then stroll over to World
Showcase right?
I know, I know, it's pretty funny to me, too.
Good thing I can laugh at myself, because I'm
getting a pretty good laugh now, too.
In reality, how long is that Universe of Energy,
45 minutes? Probably.
And then how long do you think it takes to walk
to Mexico? Double it.
Now, where do you think you're going to find an
air conditioned building to eat? Forget it.
Of course, we're screaming at each other because
we're all tired, hot, and hungry.
Finally we find the Norway bake shop.
(A Princess meal might have been nice, but
the menu would have appealed only to me.)
Hmmm....let's just stand here *forever* in this
air conditioning while we pretend we're trying to
decide what to eat. Finally we pick out something
for the DD's. The table area there, while not
A/C'ed, is shaded and pretty breezy. I walk back
to Mexico to get something for DW and me.
--------------------------------
Amazingly, even after all these mistakes, we still
did most of what we had planned, and left by maybe
6 pm. Our plan was not all-encompassing. Just selective.
Friday, 8/5/05
(Touringplans dot com's best park
for today: Epcot or AK. We're going to Epcot!)
Plan:
At Land:
Soarin
Living with the Land
Circle of Life
(4 years ago we ate at Garden Grille for lunch.
It was a great favorite of ours! I had read that
it was no longer as good. Is that true? We skipped
it this time.)
Probably skip Imagination, but if do it:
Figment
Honey I shrunk
BUT if skip Imagination, go back later for the
email exhibit. Or do it now.
Living Seas:
Living seas show (didn't know what that meant, but I wrote it)
Turtle Talk
Spaceship Earth
Universe of Energy (ha ha...even in my planning notes, I wrote
"45 minutes." Rookie Mistake #5 = not reading what I wrote!)
Innoventions West, including Igloo
Mexico, the clockwise until want to leave
Norway
China
USA
France
Canada
Actual:
Soarin (sign said 30 minutes, actually only 20?)
Living with the Land (20 minutes or less wait)
Circle of Life (no wait...but it still takes time!!)
After each of those, I checked the FastPass return
time for Soarin, but it was too early.
Skipped Imagination Pavilion, because our DD's
hate loud noises and unexpected flashing lights
(like thunder and lightning)
Living Seas--I was so confused here. I did not
know whether to get on the hydrolators or see
the movie. I didn't know where to stand for
cutting in line....oops, I mean beating the crowd.
We skipped the movie, then we didn't know where
anything was.
Turtle Talk--as I said, gnarly!!
I went back into the Land to get Soarin FP's.
I sent the others to the talking water fountain.
Universe of Energy. (Family Tip: our DD10 did not
want to go on this, but when I told her it had
Bill Nye the Science Guy, she said "Bill Nye the
Science Guy! He's funny! I want to do that!")
Eat at Norway, with food from Norway and Mexico.
Maelstrom. Family Tip: Regular readers of my
touring reports
may recall that DD10 hated
Pirates of the Caribbean. Very scared. So why
is Maelstrom one of her favorites? I would think
Maelstrom would be scarier.
Possible explanation. For Pirates, I asked a
cast member if it scares kids, and I reported
back to the family.
But for Maelstrom, I asked
the cast members about it *while the DD's were
right there to listen to their explanations*!!
The 3 cast members discussed the ride in detail
for the DD's. They explained the darkness,
the stormy sounds aren't too bad, there is a
hill that you go down backwards and it seems
scary but it's short, there is another hill
etc etc. The CMs did a fantastic job of describing
the ride to our DD's so that they would not be
surprised about anything. It worked!
I highly recommend this procedure for families
with timid children.
The CMs also explained how we could skip the
movie afterwards. In fact, all the CMs were
very up front about "if you don't want to see
the movie afterwards, just go on through."
Next, I went to Test Track to get FPs for
DD7 and me, while DW, DD10, and DD7 did
Maelstrom again (they saw the movie this time).
At Test Track, the singles line had 20 minute
wait, so I did it (actual wait was less).
I did *not* get sick, even though I often
get woozy....I loved it! I "ran" back
to Norway. (I got FPs for DD7 and me, but
we never used them. I gave them away to
a young couple.)
All four of us did Maelstrom again!
(Maelstrom was practically a walk-on ride.
5 minute wait at the most. The sign said
10 or 20, but there is no way it was that
long.)
Darn it, I forgot to go inside the Norway church.
Something for next time, I guess!
It started to rain a little. We decide
to make our way back to Future
Then we went to Mexico. We did the boat
ride there twice (DW only did it once or
not at all, can't remember). 0 minutes wait.
Now it was really raining hard. We got out
some yellow ponchos. Most people have
new clear ones!
Igloo was closed, and boarded up.
Imagination Pavilion: very hard for me
to find the email exhibit where you can send
a morphed photo of yourself. We went in
one door, then back out in the rain to another
door, then back in the original door. Finally
found it way in the back. (Tip!: write down
email addresses of family members so you can
send them your email.) Question: If you
are too young, you can't send it supposedly.
So we entered the DD's birth year to be
my birth year. Send the FBI after me, I
guess. What procedure did you all use?
Soarin at 5:10 pm. Used our Fast Passes.
Holy smokes, the stand-by wait was 80 minutes.
I heard someone say Soarin was wonderful,
but it wouldn't be as good the second time.
I disagree--it was even better the second
time. It was even fun just to listen to
the reactions of other people who were going for
the first time!
Motion sickness *minor* alert: On Soarin,
there is a spot where it switches from daytime
to nighttime. I don't know what the cinematographer
was doing, but *yikes* the movie picture bobbed a
little bit, and it made me woozy. It happened
in exactly the same place, both times
we rode. I didn't lose anything, but I didn't
like it. This was the only bad spot for me.
The rest of the ride was super!
When we left Soarin, the stand-by wait was
100 minutes. Incredible.
Last stop of the day: Spaceship Earth. 5 minute
wait at the most. Wonderful ride. The DD's wanted
to go again, but sorry (I know, we're evil
parents).
-------------------------
Today's Meals without the Meal Plan, for four
Bkfast at AS Movies food court $16
Lunch at Norway and Mexico $27
Supper at AS Movies food court $48
Snack at Epcot (popcorn/water) $5
Today's total: $96
-------------------------
Re-cap of "multiple" rides, so far:
MGM:
Twice: Star Tours
MK (so far):
Lots: Town Square Exposition Hall Secret Cartoon Theater
Twice:
Buzz (all of us)
Cinderella's Carrousel (DD10, DD7, and me)
Epcot:
Three times:
Maelstrom (DW, DD10, and DD7)
Twice:
Mexico boat ride (DD10, DD7, and me)
Soarin (all of us)
Maelstrom (me)
-------------------------
We hadn't yet decided what theme park we would
go to our last day. It turned out we went
to MK for a 3rd day. BUT DD10 had a lot of
trouble deciding Epcot vs MK! Her faves at Epcot:
Soarin, Maelstrom, Mexico boat ride, and
Spaceship Earth.
they just left me kicking myself, mentally---"Why did
I do that!" "Oops, can't believe I did that!" "What an
idiot I am!" "I planned for everything except that!" etc.
Rigel Kent's Rookie Mistake #1: We tried to get to
Epcot 30 minutes early, and we actually got there only
20 minutes early.
Correct Procedure #1: Forty, forty, forty, forty, forty,
forty, forty, forty, forty, forty, forty, forty, forty.
That's 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40.
I looked again at the Unofficial Guide, and there it is,
plain as day: "Arrive 40 minutes before the official
opening time."
Why I had to kick myself #1: Of course, 30 might have
been early enough, but we got there only 20 minutes early.
At MGM and at Magic Kingdom, it didn't matter. But Epcot
has a very inefficient turnstile procedure, compared to
MGM and MK. Specifically, at MGM and MK, you go through
security bag check, and then there is a great big open
area where you wait in line for the finger things.
At Epcot, there seemed to be only about 5 feet between
the bag check and the finger/turnstiles. So, if the finger
check was moving slowly, it backed up through the bag check.
Then when those people got through the finger check, we
had to wait for the next people who moved up to bag check.
I watched people get through and go up to the rope,
and then I saw the rope drop! And I wasn't in there!
Waaaaah! Cry, cry, cry! Kick myself!
When we finally got in, we booked in high gear to Soarin,
where I believe the posted wait was already 30 minutes.
(It probably took 20 minutes, actually.)
--------------------------------
Rigel Kent's Rookie Mistake #2: When I saw a line
inside the Living Seas, I thought "Oh, I wonder what that
line is. Well, I'll explore an aquarium a little
and then go see what the line is."
Correct Procedure #2: At WDW, when you see a line,
go get in it *now.* *Then* ask what it is. If it turns
out it's a line for the bathroom of opposite gender (as
illustrated in UOG?), then get out of line *after* you
find out!) Caveat: I'm not promising that this
procedure always works. But it would have worked for us.
Why I had to kick myself #2: Of course, the small line
I saw was for Turtle Talk with Crush. But the line of
people hid the sign. So we go look at fish swimming
around, and I'm thinking "I wonder where Turtle Talk
with Crush is. I need to ask someone where Turtle
Talk with Crush is. Why is that small line now becoming
humongous. Where is Turtle Talk with Crush. Hmmmm,
some of those people have moved....the sign says.....
OH Crap...it's Turtle Talk with Crush!" When we got
there, if we had joined the small line, we would have
seen the very next show. As it was, we had to wait
in line for about 30 minutes. (P.S. Yes, you *have*
to see it.....DD10 and DD7 loved it. I also thought
it was gnarly, dude.) Worst *wait* of our day, so I
guess I can't complain too much. But I'm still
bruising myself over that one. This was our worst
mistake.
--------------------------------
Rigel Kent's Rookie Mistake #3: Memorizing how
long you can expect to wait for an attraction, without
paying any attention whatsoever to how long the
attraction actually is!
Correct Procedure #3: Shows are longer than rides!
Just because the wait for the attraction is 5 minutes,
does not mean that in 10 minutes you'll be going to
the next item on your list. If you wait 5 minutes,
and the show itself is 20 minutes, guess what! It will
be 25 minutes until you're done!
Why I had to kick myself #3: Well, really this was
just annoying to me personally. It threw off my pacing
of where I thought we would be, and when. My brain
was still in Magic Kingdom mode: one hour=4 attractions,
maybe? Maybe more? But at Epcot, typical
hour= 1.5 attractions? Maybe, if you're lucky.
Maybe less. (Your mileage may vary.)
--------------------------------
Rigel Kent's Rookie Mistake #4: I think it will take
X minutes for us to walk to {the next attraction,
the next country, a counter service restaurant,
an air conditioned building} (select one).
Correct Procedure #4: It will take 2 times X minutes.
And if you are looking for a double-dip, like an
*air conditioned counter service restaurant*,
it may take 4 times X to 10 times X minutes.
Why I had to kick myself #4: I knew Epcot is twice
as big as MK. I didn't know that this is *not* because
there is twice the stuff. In fact, it seems to me
there is the *same* amount of stuff, it's just
twice as far apart. Sometimes this just threw me
off my mental pacing expectations. Sometimes it
caused a disaster....please see next paragraph.
--------------------------------
Why I *really* had to kick myself #3 and #4 combination:
We're sort of getting hungry for lunch. Not hungry
enough to eat, but I bet we'll need to eat soon.
We're at the Land. Here's our brilliant idea: let's
squeeze in one more attraction, then we can hit an
air conditioned counter service restaurant.
Let's go see Universe of Energy.
Then we can head up toward Mexico and go clockwise
until we find some food in a cool building.
All of you who know Epcot at all must be laughing your
heads off.
But it's OK isn't it? Because when we get to Universe
of Engergy, the line isn't too bad, so we can just
watch the next show and then stroll over to World
Showcase right?
I know, I know, it's pretty funny to me, too.
Good thing I can laugh at myself, because I'm
getting a pretty good laugh now, too.
In reality, how long is that Universe of Energy,
45 minutes? Probably.
And then how long do you think it takes to walk
to Mexico? Double it.
Now, where do you think you're going to find an
air conditioned building to eat? Forget it.
Of course, we're screaming at each other because
we're all tired, hot, and hungry.
Finally we find the Norway bake shop.
(A Princess meal might have been nice, but
the menu would have appealed only to me.)
Hmmm....let's just stand here *forever* in this
air conditioning while we pretend we're trying to
decide what to eat. Finally we pick out something
for the DD's. The table area there, while not
A/C'ed, is shaded and pretty breezy. I walk back
to Mexico to get something for DW and me.
--------------------------------
Amazingly, even after all these mistakes, we still
did most of what we had planned, and left by maybe
6 pm. Our plan was not all-encompassing. Just selective.
Friday, 8/5/05
(Touringplans dot com's best park
for today: Epcot or AK. We're going to Epcot!)
Plan:
At Land:
Soarin
Living with the Land
Circle of Life
(4 years ago we ate at Garden Grille for lunch.
It was a great favorite of ours! I had read that
it was no longer as good. Is that true? We skipped
it this time.)
Probably skip Imagination, but if do it:
Figment
Honey I shrunk
BUT if skip Imagination, go back later for the
email exhibit. Or do it now.
Living Seas:
Living seas show (didn't know what that meant, but I wrote it)
Turtle Talk
Spaceship Earth
Universe of Energy (ha ha...even in my planning notes, I wrote
"45 minutes." Rookie Mistake #5 = not reading what I wrote!)
Innoventions West, including Igloo
Mexico, the clockwise until want to leave
Norway
China
USA
France
Canada
Actual:
Soarin (sign said 30 minutes, actually only 20?)
Living with the Land (20 minutes or less wait)
Circle of Life (no wait...but it still takes time!!)
After each of those, I checked the FastPass return
time for Soarin, but it was too early.
Skipped Imagination Pavilion, because our DD's
hate loud noises and unexpected flashing lights
(like thunder and lightning)
Living Seas--I was so confused here. I did not
know whether to get on the hydrolators or see
the movie. I didn't know where to stand for
cutting in line....oops, I mean beating the crowd.
We skipped the movie, then we didn't know where
anything was.
Turtle Talk--as I said, gnarly!!
I went back into the Land to get Soarin FP's.
I sent the others to the talking water fountain.
Universe of Energy. (Family Tip: our DD10 did not
want to go on this, but when I told her it had
Bill Nye the Science Guy, she said "Bill Nye the
Science Guy! He's funny! I want to do that!")
Eat at Norway, with food from Norway and Mexico.
Maelstrom. Family Tip: Regular readers of my
touring reports
may recall that DD10 hatedPirates of the Caribbean. Very scared. So why
is Maelstrom one of her favorites? I would think
Maelstrom would be scarier.
Possible explanation. For Pirates, I asked a
cast member if it scares kids, and I reported
back to the family.
But for Maelstrom, I asked
the cast members about it *while the DD's were
right there to listen to their explanations*!!
The 3 cast members discussed the ride in detail
for the DD's. They explained the darkness,
the stormy sounds aren't too bad, there is a
hill that you go down backwards and it seems
scary but it's short, there is another hill
etc etc. The CMs did a fantastic job of describing
the ride to our DD's so that they would not be
surprised about anything. It worked!
I highly recommend this procedure for families
with timid children.
The CMs also explained how we could skip the
movie afterwards. In fact, all the CMs were
very up front about "if you don't want to see
the movie afterwards, just go on through."
Next, I went to Test Track to get FPs for
DD7 and me, while DW, DD10, and DD7 did
Maelstrom again (they saw the movie this time).
At Test Track, the singles line had 20 minute
wait, so I did it (actual wait was less).
I did *not* get sick, even though I often
get woozy....I loved it! I "ran" back
to Norway. (I got FPs for DD7 and me, but
we never used them. I gave them away to
a young couple.)
All four of us did Maelstrom again!
(Maelstrom was practically a walk-on ride.
5 minute wait at the most. The sign said
10 or 20, but there is no way it was that
long.)
Darn it, I forgot to go inside the Norway church.
Something for next time, I guess!
It started to rain a little. We decide
to make our way back to Future
Then we went to Mexico. We did the boat
ride there twice (DW only did it once or
not at all, can't remember). 0 minutes wait.
Now it was really raining hard. We got out
some yellow ponchos. Most people have
new clear ones!
Igloo was closed, and boarded up.
Imagination Pavilion: very hard for me
to find the email exhibit where you can send
a morphed photo of yourself. We went in
one door, then back out in the rain to another
door, then back in the original door. Finally
found it way in the back. (Tip!: write down
email addresses of family members so you can
send them your email.) Question: If you
are too young, you can't send it supposedly.
So we entered the DD's birth year to be
my birth year. Send the FBI after me, I
guess. What procedure did you all use?
Soarin at 5:10 pm. Used our Fast Passes.
Holy smokes, the stand-by wait was 80 minutes.
I heard someone say Soarin was wonderful,
but it wouldn't be as good the second time.
I disagree--it was even better the second
time. It was even fun just to listen to
the reactions of other people who were going for
the first time!
Motion sickness *minor* alert: On Soarin,
there is a spot where it switches from daytime
to nighttime. I don't know what the cinematographer
was doing, but *yikes* the movie picture bobbed a
little bit, and it made me woozy. It happened
in exactly the same place, both times
we rode. I didn't lose anything, but I didn't
like it. This was the only bad spot for me.
The rest of the ride was super!
When we left Soarin, the stand-by wait was
100 minutes. Incredible.
Last stop of the day: Spaceship Earth. 5 minute
wait at the most. Wonderful ride. The DD's wanted
to go again, but sorry (I know, we're evil
parents).
-------------------------
Today's Meals without the Meal Plan, for four
Bkfast at AS Movies food court $16
Lunch at Norway and Mexico $27
Supper at AS Movies food court $48
Snack at Epcot (popcorn/water) $5
Today's total: $96
-------------------------
Re-cap of "multiple" rides, so far:
MGM:
Twice: Star Tours
MK (so far):
Lots: Town Square Exposition Hall Secret Cartoon Theater
Twice:
Buzz (all of us)
Cinderella's Carrousel (DD10, DD7, and me)
Epcot:
Three times:
Maelstrom (DW, DD10, and DD7)
Twice:
Mexico boat ride (DD10, DD7, and me)
Soarin (all of us)
Maelstrom (me)
-------------------------
We hadn't yet decided what theme park we would
go to our last day. It turned out we went
to MK for a 3rd day. BUT DD10 had a lot of
trouble deciding Epcot vs MK! Her faves at Epcot:
Soarin, Maelstrom, Mexico boat ride, and
Spaceship Earth.
