We left Norway to head straight to Test Track. We were all hoping that there would be FPs available. Yeah. Um. No.
The FPs were all gone. The standby wait was something insane like 160 minutes. Wow. And there were people standing in line for it even. It blows my mind. I guess there are circumstances in which you would be willing to wait so long. Personally, none come to mind.
DS handled it like a champ. This IS his favorite, but he completely understood not waiting over 2-1/2 hours to ride it. We didn't have THAT much time before our KP appointment. It was likely that the wait would be less during EMH.
Did I mention that it was hot? Thus far the temperatures had been in the upper 90s. The humidity level had sent the heat index over 100 and on several days up to 105. Amazingly enough, we were pretty pumped to be away from Houston at this time. There was record setting heat going on there. I don't recall if it was temperature or heat index of 112 at home. It was just plain hot.
After using the facilities close to TT, we regrouped at the fountain area, which was teeming with kids. DS had NO interest in entering into that foray. He wanted to cool off. But he wasn't quite tall enough to get the benefit of the little spray shettlers. DH helped him out.
Nothing else in the near vicinity sounded especially wonderful to the men. So we decided to check out Innoventions, which we never have before.
We entered into an area discussing UL product testing.
Have you been here? There were many different interactive displays. No lines in air conditioning. Worked for us. For one, you pulled back on a sort of ramming pendulum, trying to hit a television screen with as much force as you can. There are videos that show television safety testing and what is a pass on the screen shatter test. DS enjoyed pounding the televisions screens.
DH tried to get the doors to slam. You jump on these pads and it causes the doors above to slam shut with a force directly related to how fast and hard you impacted the pads.
There were several other displays where you looked through a window into an otherwise inaccessible room to twist electrical cords and vacuum cleaner hoses. The other most FUN display thing was one where you have to touch six different points on two different poles. The poles are the support for a big arch thing with lights and sirens all over it. If you touch the six different points I think you complete a circuit and all the lights and sirens go off. DS liked doing that. Then he liked showing others how to get the job done.
We continued on around through Innoventions. There was some sort of fire in a house experience. The line was super long. We moved along. We walked toward the other side of Innoventions. I wanted to see how the character meet and greet line was. Too long. I got directions to the Chase Visa charcter meet and greet in that Innoventions.
The deal with that character meet and greet is that they won't tell you who is there. The line wasn't TOO long. There were little video game displays right next to it. I stood in line to gauge how fast it was moving while DH and DS amused themselves. I could see the Segwey exhibit where you can try one out. That would be fun if you didn't have to wait in another LONG line to do it.
As I stood in line, I realized that this must be the area that my SIL was talking about when we were discussing Epcot. She said how much she HATED Epcot. I was surprised. I thought she might get a kick out of it. She might dislike all the walking. She's more of a I'll find a quiet place to read my book while you do something active kind of person. She said, Epcot's the place with all those video games, right?
HUH? Video games?
Her BF didn't want to leave the Innoventions areas. He kept her in them the ENTIRE time they were at Epcot. She didn't really know any better. So she didn't complain about not going anywhere else.
After the men had pretty much exhausted the entertainment value thereabouts, and I realized that we hadn't MOVED, I decided that we could move on and find something else to do. DS briefly wanted to try the piggy bank activity. There was a very short line waiting for their turn to get into the area. After a minute, DS decided that it didn't really seem that appealing. We could move on.
It was getting closer to our KP appointment. We decided to meander over in that direction. We found ourselves passing the Honey, I Shrunk the Audience show. For our 2007 trips, I knew enough to know that this show was off limits. It had been so long since I had researched it, I didn't remember WHY I had decided that we shouldn't do it.
We walked right into the air conditioned lobby. We only heard the announcement that the show may frighten small children once. We were toward the middle of the group, so we got a middle of theater seat, centered on the screen. I honestly couldn't remember what it was about the show that made it such a no no two years before.
Until the part.
You can see it coming a MILE away. There have been just enough effects to let you know that YES, this was going to be the part that would on ALL accounts FRIGHTEN small children. Unless it made them scream with laughter. You could see and hear the WAVE as it progressed from the front of the theater to the back. The anticipation of what it would actually be like, the self bracing you do, because now that you are here, you HAVE to experience it, STILL doesn't quite prepare you for the reality of it. I shouted. Oh yes. My whole family did.
When we were discussing our up and coming trip with DH's sisters' families to WDW, DS said emphatically that he didn't want to do this attraction again. He certainly wasn't traumatized. No nightmares. But once was enough.
It filled the time perfectly and we headed over to Norway to get our KP Kimmunicators.
I could do this job. I like to pick out the different ones that I could handle doing throughout WDW, as if I would someday live close enough that I could work there. Being a KP CM is DEFINTELY one that I could do. They are having a good time. We are a playacting family, as I described before, so DS was all over it.
He got that Kimmunicator, looked all around as if the bad guys were hiding, and sneaked out of the area so that we could find the perfect hiding spot for ourselves to get our mission. DS hunkered down into a ball so that no one could possibly see him. Um. Son. WE can't see what's going on.
This would be a continuing issue for us. DS took this thing SERIOUSLY. He wanted to act the whole thing out. He wanted to be sneaky, on a stealth mission. Don't let the masses know that the world is in danger. We will save the world. No need to get them all upset.
Our first mission was in Mexico. I didn't realize that it wouldn't be Norway. Frankly, I was thrilled that we were headed for an air conditioned area that was a short distance away. Did I mention how hot it was? This was the first time that we were really out in a park at this time of day. It was HOT.
We headed over to Mexico. Don't you just LOVE the Mexican pavillion?
DH and I met in college. We both went to Trinity University in San Antonio. SA is a great town. There is an area there called the Riverwalk, where the San Antonio river winds it's way through Downtown. The river level is below street level. Down there you will find restaurants, bars, some shopping, etc etc. It is a really fun place to hang out, day or night.
Whenever I go into the Mexican pavillion, I'm transported back to San Antone. It just feels so nice in there to me. I was happy to wander around it for the KP mission.
Your Kimmunicator is a modified Verison wireless flip-style cell phone. In the screen on the top part, Wade talks to you. Just like he talks to KP. If you don't know, Wade is the genius in middle school? that serves as the home based computer guy that can hack into the most secure system in less time than it takes to describe what he's doing. He will explain which villian is doing what dastardly deed that is threatening the entire world and what you have to do in order to stop him.
There is a speaker on the back side of the phone that will help the group hear Wade. The protocol is that the words that Wade says are also visually displayed in the screen. You hit a button to continue or repeat.
At times, Kim herself may make an appearance. So might Ron.
The mission is a scavenger hunt. Wade tells you what you are looking for and then an actual photograph of what you are looking for is shown.
You have the ability to do these missions at your own pace. You just stop. Do something else. Then you pick up right where you were and hit the continue button and continue following the directions.
When you find what you were looking for, you push a button on the phone. This button acts as a remote control and will activate some sort of something to happen. There is a button to replay, incase you missed it, or incase you thought it was really cool and want to do it again!
I'm in a big debate here. If you are reading TRs, then it's likely that you don't care about spoilers. In fact, you may be looking for spoilers. You want to be in the know. Prepared to the nth degree. And often, I will oblige, not hold back, give every detail I possibly can. But I have to say that the wonder of what the Disney Imagineers concocted to put these things together is part of the fun. Really. So. I will SPOIL ONE ITEM ONLY on each of the three missions that we did. There are about 5 things to find for each one. If you don't want to read about these spoilers, then please stop reading now. I will end this post with the KP missions. You won't miss any other details from my TR.
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At the base of the left-side ramp as you enter into the lower area of Mexico, there is a parrot in a cage. At one point in the mission, you will need to find this parrot. This parrot was privy to a conversation between Dr. Drakken and Shego. Fortunately, this parrot has learned the art of speech and can mimick the entire conversation, which he will do when you activate him with your Kimmunicator.
Several people were quite astonished to hear the parrot talk as they were walking by. Especially since the parrot talks in such a non-parrotlike voice. It is actually Dr. Drakken and Shego that you hear. I explained to the inquiring that we were doing a KP mission. A what? It was amazing to me how many people had absolutely NO CLUE what I was talking about. Seriously people. Do you do ANY research before going to WDW?
It made my men feel that much more special that I DO do research and find out about cool, fun things to do like KP missions. Which, honestly, I thought a TON of people would know about. Didn't really think that I had uncovered a secret activity. But, then again, there are people who don't understand the FP system too, and think THAT is something special for only SPECIAL people.
The Mexico mission didn't take too long to do. It was really fun. DS got a kick out of all of it. DH and I were impressed with the level of ingenuity involved in what you could activate. Mexico was a lovely first, air conditioned mission to do.
We had been warned that there was the possibility that we would be asked if we wanted to do another mission when we completed our first one. It would all depend on how many Kimmunicators were out and active and how many KP volunteers were currently operative in the different countries.
It just so happens that we WERE asked to do another mission. We had a choice between two different ones I think. We opted for the one in France. We headed on over there.
On the way, DH and I spied a vender that had a coffee based drink for a snack credit. The Refreshment Station. They were iced. DH got a vanilla cappacino, which was very tasty, better than my iced mocha. We got DS some ice water. We decided that a bench in the shade would be a lovely sit for some sipping and people watching. Just for a minute.
Then we headed over to France again.
We paused to watch the last number of Off Kilter. I think we might have actually stayed to watch more of this band. As I mentioned earlier, we have recently gotten into the whole Rock Band video game. We have been having a good time with it. DS has expressed a very real interest in wanting to learn to play guitar. I realized that it has been a long time since DS has heard live music. I think he would have liked to hear a bit more of the band and see them in action.
We saw Mary Poppins. The line was a bit long and I reminded the men that we would see her at breakfast the next day. So we continued onward.
Along the France mission, you will need to find something inside the Impressions de France. I think it is a cinema. I would have liked to spend more time leisurely pursuing the different locations that the missions landed us in. As you can see from the intensity of DS's expression, these KP missions were serious business and there was NO time for leisure.
Inside the cinema, you find this little guy.
He looks normal until you activate him. Then his eyes light up (they aren't normally bright glowing blue) and a bee sticks out of his mouth. I can't quite recall the significance of the bee. There is also a very funny buzzing sound that accompanies the transformation of the statue. This. Made us TOTALLY crack up. We had to do it again. and again. and again. I think that I ended up laughing more at DS's laughter because he REALLY thought this was hilarious. We finally pulled away when we sensed that other KP operatives were in the area. We didn't want to spoil their surprise.
The France mission felt SUPER short. I hadn't really been back into the France pavillion before. It's not very big. Therefore, you don't really have far to go to progress through the different locations of the scavenger hunt. We were definitely up for one more mission.
This time we had a choice between six different countries. I had read great things about Japan and Germany. I think. But the day was progressing forward as it will. Our 6:00 PM FPs for Soarin' weren't too far into the future. We decided to save our legs and pick UK.
We headed over there.
As part of the UK mission you get into the lone phone booth close to the Rose and Crown. While in the phone booth, you will do whatever it is you do (I can't remember exactly) to retrieve a golf ball from the booth. It comes rolling down a shoot you might not otherwise notice, similar to a bowling ball return.
And nice lady saw DH taking the picture and offered to take one of all of us.
You end up using the golf ball to activate another thing in UK. But I'm not going to share that with you, because I said I would only spoil ONE thing for each mission.
There was a street act performing while we were wandering around UK. It sounded pretty funny. There are so many little things in WDW. There isn't a way to catch them all. I think if you catch a few, then you have a nice trip as well as something to always look forward to for your next one.
Back in the garden area, there was a Photopass photographer. We didn't stop right away for pictures as we were intent on saving the world. By the time that we could take a few, the photographer had moved on.
At the end of our UK mission, we again had a choice to do another one. We decided to pick Japan, thinking that we might do it after dinner, which was in France. Meanwhile, we took a little break from the KP missions to do a little shopping in UK.
