Day 12 – Epcot and the Studios
Wednesday 25th May
Today is an Epcot day! Apart from our first day here and a quick viewing of Illuminations the other evening, we haven’t set foot in the park, so it’s time to put that right.
We reach the International Gateway entrance by 8.55am and walk through the UK and Canada past all the roped-off sections. We then split up and I go to get FPs for Soarin’ while Helen gets in line to meet the characters. I make it back just in time for her to reach the front of the line, and we say hi to Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy – trivia fact, we later find out it’s Goofy’s 79th birthday today – he looks pretty good for it, don’t you think?
While we’re in the character mood we put out towards the entrance for Emma to meet with Daisy, and then it’s Spaceship Earth which is nice and cool. As the kids are getting a little older the history explained on the ride means more and more to them, and Ryan tells me they are due to study the Greeks next year, so it’s of particular interest to him. Not quite as good as Horrible Histories though he later tells me…
I think we got Test Track passes at this point before nipping off to Soarin’. Manage to get seats in row number 1, so no dangling feet to contend with…but it is a long way up! I wonder if they’ll ever update the film to something other than California? London would be great…think of it, Big Ben, River Thames, etc.
Afterwards we walk down to Living with the Land which is a 10 minute wait, and queue for this. We get front of the boat seats this time, which is nice when you are weaving through the greenhouses. Shame the woman behind us was on the phone all the way through it…but impressive you can still get a signal deep inside the show building
The phone even worked in here!
Back to Test Track for Helen and Ryan to ride, and then we head off for lunch at Chefs de France to see Remy and the crew. We have the most wonderful server, Flavie who was just amazing with the kids, staying to draw pictures with them, encouraging them to try new foods, and to broaden their tastes. Truly in all the years we’ve been to Disney she was the nicest server we’ve met. Emma loved her so much that at the end of the meal she asked if we could get her autograph in her book, and get a photo…aaahhhh. Flavie obliged and even drew a small work of art in her book for her.
As we were leaving she stopped back and gave us her email and said if we were ever in France to let her know, and to keep in touch. Oh, the food was gorgeous too
The lovely Flavie
And the masterpiece she drew for Emma
By the time we are finished it’s around 2pm now, so we leave Epcot and head off to the Studios to take in the afternoon Pixar parade which we’ve managed to miss so far. As we’re passing through bag check a guy wanders over and hands me 4 FPs for Rock n’ Roller Coaster for 90 mins time – result! Aren’t some people lovely?
Once inside we get a bench near the start of the route and wait it out. Lovely to see a new parade (for us), and the kids get some interaction too, especially from Russell from Up.
Emma then gets some more character time with the Little Einsteins while Ryan and I do the animation tour. Emma then wants to queue up for the Incredibles while I take Ryan on Rock n Roller coaster – his favourite ride, using the FPs from earlier. By now we’re all worn out, so we walk back to the BW and have a nap for an hour or so.
Feeling a little refreshed we decide to go to Beaches and Cream for some food, and walk over to the Beach Club. The wait is about 30 mins for a table, but the kids play around the arcade and the time passes quickly enough. Once inside the kids have hot dogs, Helen a cheeseburger, and for me it’s a roast beef sub plus butter pecan milkshake…my one time of the whole trip. It’s delicious and a real treat.
Lovely dusk picture of the Beach Club resort
And of the Boardwalk, too
We finish quickly and leave around 8pm to catch a boat to the Studios. It’s packed and seems to take forever to get there, but by 8.40pm we are seated in the centre section of Fantasmic, about 3 rows from the front. A few Mexican waves later the show starts and the crowd goes wild. It’s easy to forget just how many people are seeing the show for the first time, and that little piece of awe is wonderful to hear. Everything goes perfectly in the show, and lots of applause at the end. We get out of the amphitheatre as quickly as we can, and then catch 2 last rides on Star Tours, finally able to take some pictures of the queuing areas. I get picked by the system as the ‘spy’ on the first flight, which the kids think is hilarious.
10pm and wide awake still
Leave soon after 10pm and walk back to the BW, hearing the 10.30pm performance starting in the distance. It’s been so nice to see the Studios busy and open later in the evening on this trip, with Fantasmic running so often, usually twice each night. If it was an experiment on Disney’s part, I hope they notice a difference in the crowds and the money spent in the parks.
Finally all in bed by 11pm, the end of another long but lovely day.
Day 13 – Animal Kingdom, GF Café and Shopping
Setting the Scene and Index
Wednesday 25th May
Today is an Epcot day! Apart from our first day here and a quick viewing of Illuminations the other evening, we haven’t set foot in the park, so it’s time to put that right.
We reach the International Gateway entrance by 8.55am and walk through the UK and Canada past all the roped-off sections. We then split up and I go to get FPs for Soarin’ while Helen gets in line to meet the characters. I make it back just in time for her to reach the front of the line, and we say hi to Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy – trivia fact, we later find out it’s Goofy’s 79th birthday today – he looks pretty good for it, don’t you think?
While we’re in the character mood we put out towards the entrance for Emma to meet with Daisy, and then it’s Spaceship Earth which is nice and cool. As the kids are getting a little older the history explained on the ride means more and more to them, and Ryan tells me they are due to study the Greeks next year, so it’s of particular interest to him. Not quite as good as Horrible Histories though he later tells me…
I think we got Test Track passes at this point before nipping off to Soarin’. Manage to get seats in row number 1, so no dangling feet to contend with…but it is a long way up! I wonder if they’ll ever update the film to something other than California? London would be great…think of it, Big Ben, River Thames, etc.
Afterwards we walk down to Living with the Land which is a 10 minute wait, and queue for this. We get front of the boat seats this time, which is nice when you are weaving through the greenhouses. Shame the woman behind us was on the phone all the way through it…but impressive you can still get a signal deep inside the show building
The phone even worked in here!
Back to Test Track for Helen and Ryan to ride, and then we head off for lunch at Chefs de France to see Remy and the crew. We have the most wonderful server, Flavie who was just amazing with the kids, staying to draw pictures with them, encouraging them to try new foods, and to broaden their tastes. Truly in all the years we’ve been to Disney she was the nicest server we’ve met. Emma loved her so much that at the end of the meal she asked if we could get her autograph in her book, and get a photo…aaahhhh. Flavie obliged and even drew a small work of art in her book for her.
As we were leaving she stopped back and gave us her email and said if we were ever in France to let her know, and to keep in touch. Oh, the food was gorgeous too
The lovely Flavie
And the masterpiece she drew for Emma
By the time we are finished it’s around 2pm now, so we leave Epcot and head off to the Studios to take in the afternoon Pixar parade which we’ve managed to miss so far. As we’re passing through bag check a guy wanders over and hands me 4 FPs for Rock n’ Roller Coaster for 90 mins time – result! Aren’t some people lovely?
Once inside we get a bench near the start of the route and wait it out. Lovely to see a new parade (for us), and the kids get some interaction too, especially from Russell from Up.
Emma then gets some more character time with the Little Einsteins while Ryan and I do the animation tour. Emma then wants to queue up for the Incredibles while I take Ryan on Rock n Roller coaster – his favourite ride, using the FPs from earlier. By now we’re all worn out, so we walk back to the BW and have a nap for an hour or so.
Feeling a little refreshed we decide to go to Beaches and Cream for some food, and walk over to the Beach Club. The wait is about 30 mins for a table, but the kids play around the arcade and the time passes quickly enough. Once inside the kids have hot dogs, Helen a cheeseburger, and for me it’s a roast beef sub plus butter pecan milkshake…my one time of the whole trip. It’s delicious and a real treat.
Lovely dusk picture of the Beach Club resort
And of the Boardwalk, too
We finish quickly and leave around 8pm to catch a boat to the Studios. It’s packed and seems to take forever to get there, but by 8.40pm we are seated in the centre section of Fantasmic, about 3 rows from the front. A few Mexican waves later the show starts and the crowd goes wild. It’s easy to forget just how many people are seeing the show for the first time, and that little piece of awe is wonderful to hear. Everything goes perfectly in the show, and lots of applause at the end. We get out of the amphitheatre as quickly as we can, and then catch 2 last rides on Star Tours, finally able to take some pictures of the queuing areas. I get picked by the system as the ‘spy’ on the first flight, which the kids think is hilarious.
10pm and wide awake still
Leave soon after 10pm and walk back to the BW, hearing the 10.30pm performance starting in the distance. It’s been so nice to see the Studios busy and open later in the evening on this trip, with Fantasmic running so often, usually twice each night. If it was an experiment on Disney’s part, I hope they notice a difference in the crowds and the money spent in the parks.
Finally all in bed by 11pm, the end of another long but lovely day.
Day 13 – Animal Kingdom, GF Café and Shopping
Setting the Scene and Index
