bengunn
Pirate Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2001
- Messages
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Day 9 Epcot and the Magic Kingdom
Previous episodes:
Prequel
Day 1 The trip to Orlando
Day 2 Animal Kingdom
Day 3 Magic Kingdom
Day 4 Typhoon Lagoon, Shopping and Illuminations Cruise
Day 5 - Islands of Adventure
Day 6 Epcot
Day 7 Seaworld
Day 8 Universal Studios
The Cast:
Richard (bengunn): Chief planner
Kathy : DW, just wants to go on holiday
Josie : DD 20, at Reading University, Assistant Planner, not very good at getting up
Sam : DS 17, just done AS exams, can get up very quickly when he wants to
Saturday 24th August
We had a bit of a lay-in today; got up at 07:50, left the villa at 10:30, parked at MK (in Daisy 31), walked to TTC because there was a big queue for the tram, and then took the monorail to Epcot where we arrived at 11:20. We had not rushed today because World Showcase does not open until 11:00 and the pace was getting a bit relentless.
The plan for today was to work our way round World Showcase, possibly do the bits of Future World that we had missed on our first Epcot day, then make our way to MK for Spectromagic and the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks in the evening.
The first job was to visit Guest Services and make a PS for an early dinner (at 17:30) at Alfredos in Italy.
We started in Mexico where we looked at the art exhibition and rode El Rio del Tiempo; which is a Mexican version of Its a Small World. We had a leisurely look around the market but did not buy anything.
Norway was next, Maelstrom was closed for refurbishment but we had a look round the Stave Church and then had lunch.
After lunch we had a long look around the exhibition in China while we were waiting for the film. The 360 degree film was good but seems a bit dated (I understand that a new one is being made).
A quick look round Germany and Italy as there is not much to look at apart from shops then on to the USA and The American Adventure; this is much better than we remembered and I am pretty sure that they have changed it since 1992.
Japan was next with a strange baseball exhibition and some interesting shops.
Next we moved on to France to see the statue; it was the man this time and he was not as good as the lady we saw earlier in the week.
On to Canada which was mostly covered in scaffolding; saw O Cananda which is a great 360 degree film but does remind me of the start of the Naked Gun and Police Squad where the car appears in strange places.
Back to Morocco which had some good exhibits hidden away and a band (Morockin) which played an Arabic(?) version of Holly Vallances song Kiss among other songs.
Finally, back to Italy for our PS and an excellent meal at Alfredos; a bit pricey though $110 for four main courses and drinks! Sadly no time for the nice looking desserts as it was very busy and service had been a bit slow.
The Tapestry of Dreams parade had started so we caught the boat across the lagoon from Germany to avoid the crowds. This was when we noticed that there are two ToD parades (see my Day 6 report).
It was now about 18:30 so we decided to have a quick look in Innoventions East; we managed to get a tour of the House of the Future; interesting but they dont tell you much about the really interesting bits.
After that, we left on the monorail at 19:30 and arrived at MK by 19:50; on the way I spotted an armadillo which was the first one that I saw on the holiday; sadly everyone else missed it.
We managed to get a space (just) on the left corner at the end of Main Street where it joins the roundabout in front of the castle. We had to wait about half an hour until the 20:30 Spectromagic but it was well worth while; we had quite a good view as well.
After the parade, we crossed over to the right hand side of the roundabout so that we could see the wire from the castle to Tomorrowland (Tinkerbell flies down this but dont tell anyone). We had quite a wait until 21:30 but then got a good view of both Tinkerbell and the fireworks.
I seem to remember that the park was heaving when we were leaving but I dont think that we had to wait too long for a ferry. I think that we walked back to the car but I am not too sure. I know that it was a long and tiring day (again).
Apologies for an even longer gap between episodes; I have again been very busy; I really must finish them soon as we have been back for almost five months and I still have 13 reports to go. It was frightening how little detail was in my notes for this report; hopefully, the notes for the others will be better.
Tomorrow: Discovery Cove
Previous episodes:
Prequel
Day 1 The trip to Orlando
Day 2 Animal Kingdom
Day 3 Magic Kingdom
Day 4 Typhoon Lagoon, Shopping and Illuminations Cruise
Day 5 - Islands of Adventure
Day 6 Epcot
Day 7 Seaworld
Day 8 Universal Studios
The Cast:
Richard (bengunn): Chief planner
Kathy : DW, just wants to go on holiday
Josie : DD 20, at Reading University, Assistant Planner, not very good at getting up
Sam : DS 17, just done AS exams, can get up very quickly when he wants to
Saturday 24th August
We had a bit of a lay-in today; got up at 07:50, left the villa at 10:30, parked at MK (in Daisy 31), walked to TTC because there was a big queue for the tram, and then took the monorail to Epcot where we arrived at 11:20. We had not rushed today because World Showcase does not open until 11:00 and the pace was getting a bit relentless.
The plan for today was to work our way round World Showcase, possibly do the bits of Future World that we had missed on our first Epcot day, then make our way to MK for Spectromagic and the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks in the evening.
The first job was to visit Guest Services and make a PS for an early dinner (at 17:30) at Alfredos in Italy.
We started in Mexico where we looked at the art exhibition and rode El Rio del Tiempo; which is a Mexican version of Its a Small World. We had a leisurely look around the market but did not buy anything.
Norway was next, Maelstrom was closed for refurbishment but we had a look round the Stave Church and then had lunch.
After lunch we had a long look around the exhibition in China while we were waiting for the film. The 360 degree film was good but seems a bit dated (I understand that a new one is being made).
A quick look round Germany and Italy as there is not much to look at apart from shops then on to the USA and The American Adventure; this is much better than we remembered and I am pretty sure that they have changed it since 1992.
Japan was next with a strange baseball exhibition and some interesting shops.
Next we moved on to France to see the statue; it was the man this time and he was not as good as the lady we saw earlier in the week.
On to Canada which was mostly covered in scaffolding; saw O Cananda which is a great 360 degree film but does remind me of the start of the Naked Gun and Police Squad where the car appears in strange places.
Back to Morocco which had some good exhibits hidden away and a band (Morockin) which played an Arabic(?) version of Holly Vallances song Kiss among other songs.
Finally, back to Italy for our PS and an excellent meal at Alfredos; a bit pricey though $110 for four main courses and drinks! Sadly no time for the nice looking desserts as it was very busy and service had been a bit slow.
The Tapestry of Dreams parade had started so we caught the boat across the lagoon from Germany to avoid the crowds. This was when we noticed that there are two ToD parades (see my Day 6 report).
It was now about 18:30 so we decided to have a quick look in Innoventions East; we managed to get a tour of the House of the Future; interesting but they dont tell you much about the really interesting bits.
After that, we left on the monorail at 19:30 and arrived at MK by 19:50; on the way I spotted an armadillo which was the first one that I saw on the holiday; sadly everyone else missed it.
We managed to get a space (just) on the left corner at the end of Main Street where it joins the roundabout in front of the castle. We had to wait about half an hour until the 20:30 Spectromagic but it was well worth while; we had quite a good view as well.
After the parade, we crossed over to the right hand side of the roundabout so that we could see the wire from the castle to Tomorrowland (Tinkerbell flies down this but dont tell anyone). We had quite a wait until 21:30 but then got a good view of both Tinkerbell and the fireworks.
I seem to remember that the park was heaving when we were leaving but I dont think that we had to wait too long for a ferry. I think that we walked back to the car but I am not too sure. I know that it was a long and tiring day (again).
Apologies for an even longer gap between episodes; I have again been very busy; I really must finish them soon as we have been back for almost five months and I still have 13 reports to go. It was frightening how little detail was in my notes for this report; hopefully, the notes for the others will be better.
Tomorrow: Discovery Cove
