Sonya
Kaki Gori veteran
- Joined
- Sep 16, 1999
- Messages
- 4,136
Saturday, June 16
We had been out late and knew it was going to be hard getting up, but we had a tour scheduled and couldnt be late. Of course we overslept! I couldnt even shower; we had to leave right away. Grabbed a granola bar and headed to the bus stop. We had heard bad things about WL transportation, but we had absolutely no problems. We got to Epcot with time to spare and met our tour guide, Daphne, who told us it was her 1st time giving the tour. She was from the Netherlands. We got started on our Undiscovered Futureworld tour and it promptly started to rain. Not much, we were OK. She told us how the rain was being channeled into Spaceship Earths legs and funneled into the WS Lagoon. We heard it doing this later on in the day. Then on to the Living Seas, and of course it poured. Tropical storm time. My socks never dried out! We were taken in to the VIP lounge and it was beautiful. You can rent it out if you have the money. She told us that the force of the water is what keeps the glass in place. The caulk is just to prevent leaks. Wow!
Then on to the Land, we got to go into the Passholders lounge here and relax, and she told us how the hot air balloons represented the seasons. The suns on those balloons were from different countries; some countries believed in a male sun, and some a female one. We got to eat lunch here and we were given 45 minutes. It was not enough time! I couldnt believe how slow the place was. After lunch we met another castmember who does the gardening tour and he took us backstage inside the greenhouse and told us a little about how they grew some of the hanging plants. We could see the boats going by and they could see us, it was pretty neat. They use the veggies they grow in some of the nicer restaurants in Epcot.
We then went to the Imagination ride and she took us upstairs where the old interactive play place used to be, all that is there now are the pin tables, and we got to play with them for awhile, 8 grownups playing like kids with their hands under the table, making (polite) hand gestures. We found a Hidden Mickey here, a tree that had been pruned in the shape of a Mickey head. She just told us a little about the ride and we moved on.
Next was the Dinosaur ride, Ellens Energy Adventure, we got to go backstage here as well, but this time it was really cool. We waited until the people had gone by on the ride, then we went out on to the floor and saw all the Dinosaurs reset themselves. It went momentarily dark and then the steam started again and the noises started over, and she explained a bit about what it took to make the animatronics and how they decided what they should look like. Then the next group of people were getting ready to come in so we hurriedly got out of there so they wouldnt see us. It was neat seeing everything close up and at our own pace.
We walked to the Wonders of Life pavilion and found another hidden Mickey in the artwork on the walls. She told us a little about what was in there and then we left for the Space pavilion. Its not done yet but you can see its going to look really cool when it opens next year. I hear you are going to go weightless!
Test Track was next and we went to the place where you can practice getting into the car from a wheelchair. You only have 30 seconds to do it. She told us that the cars have more computer power than the whole of the Magic Kingdom! Maybe that is why the ride goes down so much. Too complicated. We then went backstage from Test Track and saw the track where you go over 60 mph. Daphne also took us inside the castmembers building, this is where they take breaks, lunch, have lockers, get their costume, etc. They have a bus stop out front and they have painted the walls with murals. It was a pretty cool place. The costuming alone was huge. She also showed us how the Test Track building was next to the Mexico building, at least backstage. Not so on the outside! She took us into a trailer and we got to meet 2 students on the foreign exchange program and ask them questions. They were both very interesting people but as Daphne was an exchange went momentarily dark and then the steam started again and the noises started over, and she explained a bit about what it took to make the animatronics and how they decided what they should look like. Then the next group of people were getting ready to come in so we hurriedly got out of there so they wouldnt see us. It was neat seeing everything close up and at our own pace.
We walked to the Wonders of Life pavilion and found another hidden Mickey in the artwork on the walls. She told us a little about what was in there and then we left for the Space pavilion. Its not done yet but you can see its going to look really cool when it opens next year. I hear you are going to go weightless!
Test Track was next and we went to the place where you can practice getting into the car from a wheelchair. You only have 30 seconds to do it. She told us that the cars have more computer power than the whole of the Magic Kingdom! Maybe that is why the ride goes down so much. Too complicated. We then went backstage from Test Track and saw the track where you go over 60 mph. Daphne also took us inside the castmembers building, this is where they take breaks, lunch, have lockers, get their costume, etc. They have a bus stop out front and they have painted the walls with murals. It was a pretty cool place. The costuming alone was huge. She also showed us how the Test Track building was next to the Mexico building, at least backstage. Not so on the outside! She took us into a trailer and we got to meet 2 students on the foreign exchange program and ask them questions. They were both very interesting people but as Daphne was an exchange went momentarily dark and then the steam started again and the noises started over, and she explained a bit about what it took to make the animatronics and how they decided what they should look like. Then the next group of people were getting ready to come in so we hurriedly got out of there so they wouldnt see us. It was neat seeing everything close up and at our own pace.
We walked to the Wonders of Life pavilion and found another hidden Mickey in the artwork on the walls. She told us a little about what was in there and then we left for the Space pavilion. Its not done yet but you can see its going to look really cool when it opens next year. I hear you are going to go weightless!
Test Track was next and we went to the place where you can practice getting into the car from a wheelchair. You only have 30 seconds to do it. She told us that the cars have more computer power than the whole of the Magic Kingdom! Maybe that is why the ride goes down so much. Too complicated. We then went backstage from Test Track and saw the track where you go over 60 mph. Daphne also took us inside the castmembers building, this is where they take breaks, lunch, have lockers, get their costume, etc. They have a bus stop out front and they have painted the walls with murals. It was a pretty cool place. The costuming alone was huge. She also showed us how the Test Track building was next to the Mexico building, at least backstage. Not so on the outside! She took us into a trailer and we got to meet 2 students on the foreign exchange program and ask them questions. They were both very interesting people but as Daphne was an exchange student too and we had already asked her lots of questions we didnt have very many. So we left and she took us to see some of the drums to the Tapestry parade, and the Earth barge and the fire barge to Illuminations sitting in the backstage lake. At about 5:00 they raise the bridge between Africa and China to get the barges into the main lake for the nightly show. From here we went back onstage and into China. Here we said good-bye, but first she had some parting things for us. We got pins that had Undiscovered Futureworld Tour on them, she told us our name badges would get us a percent off at Akershus or Nine Dragons, she told us that our names were down to get into a special VIP area in Italy to watch Illuminations, and we also got special VIP passes for Test Track. These were not Fastpasses, but actual take me to the front of the line now passes.
Overall it was a good tour and we had a great guide, but it didnt really tell me much new. It was worth it though to go into all the back stage places.
Seth and I decided to go by Test Track and I could use one of the passes. (he doesnt ride) If the ride hadnt been down it would have been wonderful. But I had to wait 10 minutes. Oh well. It was still a lot of fun. Then he and I went through Ice Station Cool for some relief, this time I accidentally got some Beverly, some really gross and bitter cola from Italy. I like the one that taste like apple. Then we thought some food would be nice so we went to the Fountainview Café and had a nice little fruity thingy and watched the fountain. On to Spaceship Earth and we found a Hidden Mickey! The smell of Rome burning and the music of the Renaissance was wonderful. We went to call my mom in the big phone booth after the ride, and while we did this it poured down rain. So we got out the ponchos so we could go back and get in line and do the ride again. There was no one waiting! We road one more time then left Epcot; we wanted to ride the monorail one more time. We got on and road the Epcot loop. It was so nice and cool and relaxing. The rain had stopped. Its fun when it comes back into Epcot and you get to see everything from the air. We took lots of pictures.
Back in to Epcot we discovered it was almost dinnertime. So we made our way back to Japan and ate sushi at the Matsu-no-ma lounge. While we feasted on sushi we could also watch the parade. After a nice dinner we went to France and saw the film, then just kind of walked around, eating our last kaki-gori, until it was time to get our spot for Illuminations. We found the VIP place and the 2 castmembers looked like people had been coming up to them all evening begging to be let in. They asked, So whats your excuse? I said, We dont need an excuse, we have a name! Of course we got in, just 15 minutes before the fireworks, and got a spot on the railing. So cool! And this was a great place. We had never been this close before.
All too soon it was over and time to leave. We took our time getting around the lagoon, enjoying the sights of Epcot at night. We hit Mouseworks one last time then found the sidewalk with the lights. We took one last picture of the Big Ball and then found a bus for the ride home. And of course, it was waiting for us! We went back to Wilderness Lodge and decided we needed a snack from the Roaring Forks, then went upstairs and went to bed.
Sunday, June 16
We have to leave today. Its so sad. We had thought to go swimming one more time, but it poured down rain all morning. Really poured, as only Florida rain can. So we had breakfast in our room, packed, and left. It was really nice having the bellhop to help us; it would have taken many trips without him. We said goodbye to the lodge and drove off.
Hope you have enjoyed my trip report! Seth took so many good pictures, they are on our website if you want to see. Email me, pm me or whatever if you have questions.
We had been out late and knew it was going to be hard getting up, but we had a tour scheduled and couldnt be late. Of course we overslept! I couldnt even shower; we had to leave right away. Grabbed a granola bar and headed to the bus stop. We had heard bad things about WL transportation, but we had absolutely no problems. We got to Epcot with time to spare and met our tour guide, Daphne, who told us it was her 1st time giving the tour. She was from the Netherlands. We got started on our Undiscovered Futureworld tour and it promptly started to rain. Not much, we were OK. She told us how the rain was being channeled into Spaceship Earths legs and funneled into the WS Lagoon. We heard it doing this later on in the day. Then on to the Living Seas, and of course it poured. Tropical storm time. My socks never dried out! We were taken in to the VIP lounge and it was beautiful. You can rent it out if you have the money. She told us that the force of the water is what keeps the glass in place. The caulk is just to prevent leaks. Wow!
Then on to the Land, we got to go into the Passholders lounge here and relax, and she told us how the hot air balloons represented the seasons. The suns on those balloons were from different countries; some countries believed in a male sun, and some a female one. We got to eat lunch here and we were given 45 minutes. It was not enough time! I couldnt believe how slow the place was. After lunch we met another castmember who does the gardening tour and he took us backstage inside the greenhouse and told us a little about how they grew some of the hanging plants. We could see the boats going by and they could see us, it was pretty neat. They use the veggies they grow in some of the nicer restaurants in Epcot.
We then went to the Imagination ride and she took us upstairs where the old interactive play place used to be, all that is there now are the pin tables, and we got to play with them for awhile, 8 grownups playing like kids with their hands under the table, making (polite) hand gestures. We found a Hidden Mickey here, a tree that had been pruned in the shape of a Mickey head. She just told us a little about the ride and we moved on.
Next was the Dinosaur ride, Ellens Energy Adventure, we got to go backstage here as well, but this time it was really cool. We waited until the people had gone by on the ride, then we went out on to the floor and saw all the Dinosaurs reset themselves. It went momentarily dark and then the steam started again and the noises started over, and she explained a bit about what it took to make the animatronics and how they decided what they should look like. Then the next group of people were getting ready to come in so we hurriedly got out of there so they wouldnt see us. It was neat seeing everything close up and at our own pace.
We walked to the Wonders of Life pavilion and found another hidden Mickey in the artwork on the walls. She told us a little about what was in there and then we left for the Space pavilion. Its not done yet but you can see its going to look really cool when it opens next year. I hear you are going to go weightless!
Test Track was next and we went to the place where you can practice getting into the car from a wheelchair. You only have 30 seconds to do it. She told us that the cars have more computer power than the whole of the Magic Kingdom! Maybe that is why the ride goes down so much. Too complicated. We then went backstage from Test Track and saw the track where you go over 60 mph. Daphne also took us inside the castmembers building, this is where they take breaks, lunch, have lockers, get their costume, etc. They have a bus stop out front and they have painted the walls with murals. It was a pretty cool place. The costuming alone was huge. She also showed us how the Test Track building was next to the Mexico building, at least backstage. Not so on the outside! She took us into a trailer and we got to meet 2 students on the foreign exchange program and ask them questions. They were both very interesting people but as Daphne was an exchange went momentarily dark and then the steam started again and the noises started over, and she explained a bit about what it took to make the animatronics and how they decided what they should look like. Then the next group of people were getting ready to come in so we hurriedly got out of there so they wouldnt see us. It was neat seeing everything close up and at our own pace.
We walked to the Wonders of Life pavilion and found another hidden Mickey in the artwork on the walls. She told us a little about what was in there and then we left for the Space pavilion. Its not done yet but you can see its going to look really cool when it opens next year. I hear you are going to go weightless!
Test Track was next and we went to the place where you can practice getting into the car from a wheelchair. You only have 30 seconds to do it. She told us that the cars have more computer power than the whole of the Magic Kingdom! Maybe that is why the ride goes down so much. Too complicated. We then went backstage from Test Track and saw the track where you go over 60 mph. Daphne also took us inside the castmembers building, this is where they take breaks, lunch, have lockers, get their costume, etc. They have a bus stop out front and they have painted the walls with murals. It was a pretty cool place. The costuming alone was huge. She also showed us how the Test Track building was next to the Mexico building, at least backstage. Not so on the outside! She took us into a trailer and we got to meet 2 students on the foreign exchange program and ask them questions. They were both very interesting people but as Daphne was an exchange went momentarily dark and then the steam started again and the noises started over, and she explained a bit about what it took to make the animatronics and how they decided what they should look like. Then the next group of people were getting ready to come in so we hurriedly got out of there so they wouldnt see us. It was neat seeing everything close up and at our own pace.
We walked to the Wonders of Life pavilion and found another hidden Mickey in the artwork on the walls. She told us a little about what was in there and then we left for the Space pavilion. Its not done yet but you can see its going to look really cool when it opens next year. I hear you are going to go weightless!
Test Track was next and we went to the place where you can practice getting into the car from a wheelchair. You only have 30 seconds to do it. She told us that the cars have more computer power than the whole of the Magic Kingdom! Maybe that is why the ride goes down so much. Too complicated. We then went backstage from Test Track and saw the track where you go over 60 mph. Daphne also took us inside the castmembers building, this is where they take breaks, lunch, have lockers, get their costume, etc. They have a bus stop out front and they have painted the walls with murals. It was a pretty cool place. The costuming alone was huge. She also showed us how the Test Track building was next to the Mexico building, at least backstage. Not so on the outside! She took us into a trailer and we got to meet 2 students on the foreign exchange program and ask them questions. They were both very interesting people but as Daphne was an exchange student too and we had already asked her lots of questions we didnt have very many. So we left and she took us to see some of the drums to the Tapestry parade, and the Earth barge and the fire barge to Illuminations sitting in the backstage lake. At about 5:00 they raise the bridge between Africa and China to get the barges into the main lake for the nightly show. From here we went back onstage and into China. Here we said good-bye, but first she had some parting things for us. We got pins that had Undiscovered Futureworld Tour on them, she told us our name badges would get us a percent off at Akershus or Nine Dragons, she told us that our names were down to get into a special VIP area in Italy to watch Illuminations, and we also got special VIP passes for Test Track. These were not Fastpasses, but actual take me to the front of the line now passes.
Overall it was a good tour and we had a great guide, but it didnt really tell me much new. It was worth it though to go into all the back stage places.
Seth and I decided to go by Test Track and I could use one of the passes. (he doesnt ride) If the ride hadnt been down it would have been wonderful. But I had to wait 10 minutes. Oh well. It was still a lot of fun. Then he and I went through Ice Station Cool for some relief, this time I accidentally got some Beverly, some really gross and bitter cola from Italy. I like the one that taste like apple. Then we thought some food would be nice so we went to the Fountainview Café and had a nice little fruity thingy and watched the fountain. On to Spaceship Earth and we found a Hidden Mickey! The smell of Rome burning and the music of the Renaissance was wonderful. We went to call my mom in the big phone booth after the ride, and while we did this it poured down rain. So we got out the ponchos so we could go back and get in line and do the ride again. There was no one waiting! We road one more time then left Epcot; we wanted to ride the monorail one more time. We got on and road the Epcot loop. It was so nice and cool and relaxing. The rain had stopped. Its fun when it comes back into Epcot and you get to see everything from the air. We took lots of pictures.
Back in to Epcot we discovered it was almost dinnertime. So we made our way back to Japan and ate sushi at the Matsu-no-ma lounge. While we feasted on sushi we could also watch the parade. After a nice dinner we went to France and saw the film, then just kind of walked around, eating our last kaki-gori, until it was time to get our spot for Illuminations. We found the VIP place and the 2 castmembers looked like people had been coming up to them all evening begging to be let in. They asked, So whats your excuse? I said, We dont need an excuse, we have a name! Of course we got in, just 15 minutes before the fireworks, and got a spot on the railing. So cool! And this was a great place. We had never been this close before.
All too soon it was over and time to leave. We took our time getting around the lagoon, enjoying the sights of Epcot at night. We hit Mouseworks one last time then found the sidewalk with the lights. We took one last picture of the Big Ball and then found a bus for the ride home. And of course, it was waiting for us! We went back to Wilderness Lodge and decided we needed a snack from the Roaring Forks, then went upstairs and went to bed.
Sunday, June 16
We have to leave today. Its so sad. We had thought to go swimming one more time, but it poured down rain all morning. Really poured, as only Florida rain can. So we had breakfast in our room, packed, and left. It was really nice having the bellhop to help us; it would have taken many trips without him. We said goodbye to the lodge and drove off.
Hope you have enjoyed my trip report! Seth took so many good pictures, they are on our website if you want to see. Email me, pm me or whatever if you have questions.
! I just loved all the details you gave about Cirque and the Epcot tour. Your descriptions were so great that I may have to check them out for myself. I was especially intrigued by the Epcot tour. It sounds so interesting and I don't think I have ever read about it anywhere else. The Wilderness Lodge also sounds gorgeous. I am hoping to at least eat there (at Artist Pointe) next trip so I can see it in person. Think I'll skip the flourless chocolate cake though 
Krissy
