crcormier
<font color=green>We laughed, as it was quite appr
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2003
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Was up again after about 4 hours of sleep to make sure I had everything packed and ready to go so I would have time to call bell services to come transfer my bags over to the Boardwalk and get a bus over to Epcot, since my own transportation was still sleeping in Sleepy 71, (ah, sweet irony.) All collected and checked out I went out and grabbed the bus over to Epcot.
Arrived at Epcot about 8:15 and headed over to the group to wait for the tours to start. Hadnt had breakfast yet, so into the photo shop to see what I could scrounge. There wasnt much so I settled for Mickey Shortbread Cookies. Recommended Daily Allowance of saturated fat, 23%. Per cookie. Damn! Well, its better than nothing. I munch on these and have a Coke to wake up and pick up a new pair of sunglasses, since I realized I left mine with my luggage, and I could use a new pair anyway.
You know who as part of the Flower and Garden Festival
We met up with our guide for the Hidden Treasures of the World Showcase tour, a very nice woman named Sallie. Sallie has worked for the company for about 7 years, mostly doing business courses with the Disney Institute, since she is a freelance photographer and journalist. No sign of Twocat from the DIS (real name: Donna) who was also supposed to be on this tour. Finally we headed over to the turnstiles to head in and Donna appeared, so we had the full group. (And Donna was very nice, and it was nice to have someone who wasnt a complete stranger to chat with. See Donna? I was very kind to you in my report, no reason not to be.
)
The tour started in Canada and worked its way around to Mexico. Since it was only 9AM, the Canada pavilion was unfortunately not yet opened, so the best scenery wasnt around yet.
But we did get to go backstage and see the Rockies from behind. We also got to go backstage in France to see the Eiffel Tower and how massive it really is. (That should read, its not, for those who missed my oh so subtle sense of sarcasm.)
The tour was actually quite good, Sallie was a little awkward, she kept checking her notes in between pavilions so Im not sure if she was new to this tour or not, but she was very nice and had quite a bit of real world travel experience to share against the pavilions. What I really did enjoy about this tour, however, was that it really was a great way to really take your time walking through each and every pavilion and can take in all the detail in each one, and notice things you didnt notice there before. A couple of examples, there is a museum of art in Morocco that is absolutely beautiful, and also is the area where cast members of that pavilion of Muslim faith can go there during the day to say their prayers. I had never been in there before in all my trips. Nor had I known you could actually go into the Stave church in Norway. Or that the buildings in England vary from centuries of architecture as you follow them from the street all the way back to the gazebo where the British Invasion performs. Or that the recreation of the Beijing temple that serves as the entrance to the film in China is built to amplify sound if you stand on the small circle in the middle of the room. (Try it, stand on the circle and say something out loud, youll be amazed. And people will look at you strangely. Then they will try it themselves.) So though its not the most exciting tour that is offered, I found it very worthwhile and enjoyable.
Twocat (Donna) with our tour guide Sallie
As I said, (unless youre jumping paragraphs,) the tour ended in Mexico, so Donna and I chatted our way back around the WS since I wanted to try out the Teppanyaki house at Japan and she was going to head over to MGM for lunch. Parting our ways, I headed in and was seated at a table with a family from Florida originally from Colorado and a couple that lived in Stepford I mean Celebration. They were nice enough, really, just a little um off The meal was great though, and our chef was very entertaining, cracking jokes, playing with the food, etc. At one point he took three onion slices and arranged them into his boss, Mickey-san before slicing them up explaining this is why he no get a raise. I also got a chestnut cheesecake for dessert. Oh, and I also realized that this is pretty much the only restaurant in the WS that doesnt have the DDE discount. Oops. Great meal regardless.
Tomokazu gettin' all Iron Chef-fy...
Full of Japanese food and beer, I decided it was time to face the music on the car. I swung through the Land to get a fastpass for Soarin, so I could see it later. The wait time for it was 80 minutes! And the Living with the Land boat ride was 40 minutes, which Im glad to see, because it really is an interesting attraction that is very educational, and I think a lot of people pass it by. Armed with my Fastpass I headed over to Guest Services to get serviced. A call to central lost and found, as well as Guest Services in the MK turned up no key, so the die was cast. I had called the rental company the night before and their policy was not to keep extra keys due to security and it was my responsibility to have a new key made. Unfortunately all cars nowadays have those freakin computer chip keys, and even with AAA, it was going to cost me $110 to get a new key made. Oy. I tried the locksmith the rental company recommended, he sounded pretty shady, and after offering his service for $130 I told him Id try AAA first and he then said $125. $120. Nevermind sir, I dont really trust locksmiths who haggle.
So AAA arranged a locksmith on his way, and he actually beat me to the parking lot, and I told him Grumpy 71, not remembering exactly where the car was at this point. Luckily we drove right above it on the monorail so when he called back confused I was able to give him the correct spot, and as I hoofed over to the lot I met him just as he was pulling up.
The locksmiths name was Gary, and he was very nice. He asked if I had called the rental company, if I had checked with lost and found, if the key was in the car, etc. He jimmied the lock to search the car to make sure I hadnt left it in there, and that there wasnt a spare in the trunk. Since all those avenues had not panned out, he set about to making a new key. While waiting for the key to program we were chatting and I had mentioned how I had gone to China for work a couple of times, and this got him very excited. Apparently Gary is learning Chinese at night on the internet, by using a headset and chatting with folks over in Beijing, helping them learn English while he learns Mandarin. And he was excellent. I only know a few words but have heard enough conversation through my job to know his pronunciation was great. So here was this guy from Virginia, with a southern drawl and in overalls who could speak Chinese fluently. Just goes to show you can never judge a book by its cover, and can learn to do anything you set your mind to. Well, unless youve set your mind on finding a lost rental car key. That doesnt always work out quite so well.
After about two hours from the when I walked into Guest Services to when I drove off, I headed over to the Boardwalk to check in, armed with a new stupid floggin $110 computer chip key and a service key that only unlocked the doors. Gary suggested (in English) keeping the latter on me and locking the former in the car, so next time it wouldnt cost so much. Good suggestion, though the irony is that once I got to the Boardwalk I didnt really plan on driving anywhere else until I headed back to the airport. Ah well, things happen, it already cost me several hours of my vacation, I certainly wasnt going to let it ruin the rest.
After getting checked into the Boardwalk, and hiking the three miles to the third from the last possible room, I settled in for a few until Bell Services arrived with my bags. Once I had the room settled I headed back over towards Epcot to experience Soarin. I breezed through the Canada pavilion on my way over, since I didnt get to earlier, and I wasnt disappointed. Sigh. I also noticed something that I hadnt seen in the last few days. Crowds. Epcot was really quite crowded. When I got over to Soarin, the wait was down to 45 minutes, with 35 on the Land, so I got in line. Oddly enough, the fastpass line and the standby line were virtually the same, by the time they met up, so the total wait was about 20 minutes or so. This attraction really is impressive. The mix of the visuals with the smells and the flying sensation really blend to make for an amazing experience. And whats really nice is that they could update it at any time.
Donna and another DISer were planning on meeting up at Jellyrolls later, but I decided to go for the extra magic hours wristband instead to make up for the lost time today. I then proceeded to do Spaceship Earth and Journey Into Imagination. I wanted to head over to the Living Seas to catch Turtle Talk with Crush, but it had gotten too late. I headed back over to Canada for dinner around 8, unfortunately there was nothing available, the hostess was very sweet though. I wended over through England through the major crowds, even the Fish and Chips window had a long line, and considered going over to the Boardwalk or Beach Club to grab a bite, but decided to head back to Canada instead and see if I could get some pretzel bread to go as I had heard about here. Well, I asked the hostess and she looked at me and my birthday button with great pity and said hold on and went inside. She came back out and told another party that they were all booked and then looked at me and said Youre all checked in, sir. See? See why I love Canadian girls?
A very bad photo of a very cute hostess
I had a great meal of beef barley soup and the salmon, and to top it off, got a Happy Birthday chocolate mousse on the house along with a birthday card signed by the staff. And I got out just in time to watch Illuminations. So despite an expensive detour in the days plans, the day went very well.
Le Yum!
I ended up staying in the park until 11:30 or so doing Test Track and Mission Space in that time, and any thoughts of meeting up at Jellyrolls were gone, my body was dragging, every muscle was tired. So instead I just headed back to the room and Stacey and I got some much needed sleep. Well, Stacey actually just talked all night. But I slept.
Day 5 - Revenge of the Millionaire Jedi Action DISer
Arrived at Epcot about 8:15 and headed over to the group to wait for the tours to start. Hadnt had breakfast yet, so into the photo shop to see what I could scrounge. There wasnt much so I settled for Mickey Shortbread Cookies. Recommended Daily Allowance of saturated fat, 23%. Per cookie. Damn! Well, its better than nothing. I munch on these and have a Coke to wake up and pick up a new pair of sunglasses, since I realized I left mine with my luggage, and I could use a new pair anyway.
You know who as part of the Flower and Garden Festival
We met up with our guide for the Hidden Treasures of the World Showcase tour, a very nice woman named Sallie. Sallie has worked for the company for about 7 years, mostly doing business courses with the Disney Institute, since she is a freelance photographer and journalist. No sign of Twocat from the DIS (real name: Donna) who was also supposed to be on this tour. Finally we headed over to the turnstiles to head in and Donna appeared, so we had the full group. (And Donna was very nice, and it was nice to have someone who wasnt a complete stranger to chat with. See Donna? I was very kind to you in my report, no reason not to be.
)The tour started in Canada and worked its way around to Mexico. Since it was only 9AM, the Canada pavilion was unfortunately not yet opened, so the best scenery wasnt around yet.
But we did get to go backstage and see the Rockies from behind. We also got to go backstage in France to see the Eiffel Tower and how massive it really is. (That should read, its not, for those who missed my oh so subtle sense of sarcasm.) The tour was actually quite good, Sallie was a little awkward, she kept checking her notes in between pavilions so Im not sure if she was new to this tour or not, but she was very nice and had quite a bit of real world travel experience to share against the pavilions. What I really did enjoy about this tour, however, was that it really was a great way to really take your time walking through each and every pavilion and can take in all the detail in each one, and notice things you didnt notice there before. A couple of examples, there is a museum of art in Morocco that is absolutely beautiful, and also is the area where cast members of that pavilion of Muslim faith can go there during the day to say their prayers. I had never been in there before in all my trips. Nor had I known you could actually go into the Stave church in Norway. Or that the buildings in England vary from centuries of architecture as you follow them from the street all the way back to the gazebo where the British Invasion performs. Or that the recreation of the Beijing temple that serves as the entrance to the film in China is built to amplify sound if you stand on the small circle in the middle of the room. (Try it, stand on the circle and say something out loud, youll be amazed. And people will look at you strangely. Then they will try it themselves.) So though its not the most exciting tour that is offered, I found it very worthwhile and enjoyable.
Twocat (Donna) with our tour guide Sallie
As I said, (unless youre jumping paragraphs,) the tour ended in Mexico, so Donna and I chatted our way back around the WS since I wanted to try out the Teppanyaki house at Japan and she was going to head over to MGM for lunch. Parting our ways, I headed in and was seated at a table with a family from Florida originally from Colorado and a couple that lived in Stepford I mean Celebration. They were nice enough, really, just a little um off The meal was great though, and our chef was very entertaining, cracking jokes, playing with the food, etc. At one point he took three onion slices and arranged them into his boss, Mickey-san before slicing them up explaining this is why he no get a raise. I also got a chestnut cheesecake for dessert. Oh, and I also realized that this is pretty much the only restaurant in the WS that doesnt have the DDE discount. Oops. Great meal regardless.
Tomokazu gettin' all Iron Chef-fy...
Full of Japanese food and beer, I decided it was time to face the music on the car. I swung through the Land to get a fastpass for Soarin, so I could see it later. The wait time for it was 80 minutes! And the Living with the Land boat ride was 40 minutes, which Im glad to see, because it really is an interesting attraction that is very educational, and I think a lot of people pass it by. Armed with my Fastpass I headed over to Guest Services to get serviced. A call to central lost and found, as well as Guest Services in the MK turned up no key, so the die was cast. I had called the rental company the night before and their policy was not to keep extra keys due to security and it was my responsibility to have a new key made. Unfortunately all cars nowadays have those freakin computer chip keys, and even with AAA, it was going to cost me $110 to get a new key made. Oy. I tried the locksmith the rental company recommended, he sounded pretty shady, and after offering his service for $130 I told him Id try AAA first and he then said $125. $120. Nevermind sir, I dont really trust locksmiths who haggle.
So AAA arranged a locksmith on his way, and he actually beat me to the parking lot, and I told him Grumpy 71, not remembering exactly where the car was at this point. Luckily we drove right above it on the monorail so when he called back confused I was able to give him the correct spot, and as I hoofed over to the lot I met him just as he was pulling up.
The locksmiths name was Gary, and he was very nice. He asked if I had called the rental company, if I had checked with lost and found, if the key was in the car, etc. He jimmied the lock to search the car to make sure I hadnt left it in there, and that there wasnt a spare in the trunk. Since all those avenues had not panned out, he set about to making a new key. While waiting for the key to program we were chatting and I had mentioned how I had gone to China for work a couple of times, and this got him very excited. Apparently Gary is learning Chinese at night on the internet, by using a headset and chatting with folks over in Beijing, helping them learn English while he learns Mandarin. And he was excellent. I only know a few words but have heard enough conversation through my job to know his pronunciation was great. So here was this guy from Virginia, with a southern drawl and in overalls who could speak Chinese fluently. Just goes to show you can never judge a book by its cover, and can learn to do anything you set your mind to. Well, unless youve set your mind on finding a lost rental car key. That doesnt always work out quite so well.
After about two hours from the when I walked into Guest Services to when I drove off, I headed over to the Boardwalk to check in, armed with a new stupid floggin $110 computer chip key and a service key that only unlocked the doors. Gary suggested (in English) keeping the latter on me and locking the former in the car, so next time it wouldnt cost so much. Good suggestion, though the irony is that once I got to the Boardwalk I didnt really plan on driving anywhere else until I headed back to the airport. Ah well, things happen, it already cost me several hours of my vacation, I certainly wasnt going to let it ruin the rest.
After getting checked into the Boardwalk, and hiking the three miles to the third from the last possible room, I settled in for a few until Bell Services arrived with my bags. Once I had the room settled I headed back over towards Epcot to experience Soarin. I breezed through the Canada pavilion on my way over, since I didnt get to earlier, and I wasnt disappointed. Sigh. I also noticed something that I hadnt seen in the last few days. Crowds. Epcot was really quite crowded. When I got over to Soarin, the wait was down to 45 minutes, with 35 on the Land, so I got in line. Oddly enough, the fastpass line and the standby line were virtually the same, by the time they met up, so the total wait was about 20 minutes or so. This attraction really is impressive. The mix of the visuals with the smells and the flying sensation really blend to make for an amazing experience. And whats really nice is that they could update it at any time.
Donna and another DISer were planning on meeting up at Jellyrolls later, but I decided to go for the extra magic hours wristband instead to make up for the lost time today. I then proceeded to do Spaceship Earth and Journey Into Imagination. I wanted to head over to the Living Seas to catch Turtle Talk with Crush, but it had gotten too late. I headed back over to Canada for dinner around 8, unfortunately there was nothing available, the hostess was very sweet though. I wended over through England through the major crowds, even the Fish and Chips window had a long line, and considered going over to the Boardwalk or Beach Club to grab a bite, but decided to head back to Canada instead and see if I could get some pretzel bread to go as I had heard about here. Well, I asked the hostess and she looked at me and my birthday button with great pity and said hold on and went inside. She came back out and told another party that they were all booked and then looked at me and said Youre all checked in, sir. See? See why I love Canadian girls?
A very bad photo of a very cute hostess
I had a great meal of beef barley soup and the salmon, and to top it off, got a Happy Birthday chocolate mousse on the house along with a birthday card signed by the staff. And I got out just in time to watch Illuminations. So despite an expensive detour in the days plans, the day went very well.
Le Yum!
I ended up staying in the park until 11:30 or so doing Test Track and Mission Space in that time, and any thoughts of meeting up at Jellyrolls were gone, my body was dragging, every muscle was tired. So instead I just headed back to the room and Stacey and I got some much needed sleep. Well, Stacey actually just talked all night. But I slept.
Day 5 - Revenge of the Millionaire Jedi Action DISer
Another awesome report!! 
I should probably re-read this every morning as I have a small tendancy to let little things set me off 
Great reports!
