Queenofthecastle
<font color=red>I may be the Queen, but the Tag Fa
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2003
- Messages
- 698
<b>Monday, May 19th 2003.</b>
This morning I am determined to make the most of today, after yesterdays time warping episode. T says hes feeling a bit under the weather this morning with a sore throat. Uh-oh. Hes still up for everything today though. Yay! This mornings breakfast is at the Roaring Fork again: T gets a breakfast sandwich and water. Im not feeling hungry. Cost: $8.21. We get to the boat dock just in time this morning. The ferry is already there and waiting. This ferry doesnt make a stop at Fort Wilderness. It heads straight for the MK! Yay, we save about 4 minutes! We then transfer to a monorail that is headed to Epcot. Its very bright this morning and it feels like its going to be a hot one today!
I love how the monorail goes over parts of Futureworld at Epcot before it backtracks to the station. Im excited to see that there are hardly any lines to get in, even though its 9:15am and the park just opened. We walk in and I see those gigantic monoliths that everyones been talking about. Yikes. I really hope these arent permanent. Good thing no one is forcing us to stand there and stare at them. They could at least put them somewhere else in the park. And whats with the giant Mickey hand over the Geosphere? I sure hope that isnt permanent. I love the first Mickey & Minnie topiary we see. Take the picture already so we can get going please! Right about now T is in a mood for an ice cream bar of some sort. He remembers these Mickey head ice cream sandwiches he saw a couple days ago at another park. So we go in search for it. Unfortunately at this hour, most of the food carts are still closed! And the ones that are open sell all kinds of ice cream except the Mickey sandwich! Oh well, well keep our eyes peeled.
First stop, Test Track. Ten minute wait? No thanks! (Were spoiled now, remember?)
We grab a FP to come back later. I suggest we do Ellens Universe of Energy next. I remember really liking this show last time I was here. We still see no Mickey ice cream sandwich so T breaks down and buys a Nestle Tollhouse one. Its actually very good! We inhale that on our way to Universe of Energy. I love the moving theatre, and I love all the dinosaurs, especially the ones that spit at you. We head over to Innoventions next. We test out some of the different showcases, until its time for our Test Track FP. Yes, no waiting! Im really excited about this ride as I missed it back in 1998. I think they were doing a soft opening that time back in July. After the ride I tell T that I really like the end of the ride where you go around the track really fast, but all of the tests like the bumpy road, heat/cold, ABS breaks and stuff were lame. Creative, but lame. I do acknowledge the complexity of this ride though. Two thumbs up to the Disney Imagineers for that!
At this point we head back to Innoventions. We both really like all of the different exhibits. We spend almost two hours there. We stop at IBMs Think-a-ma-jig(I think thats what its called). You know, the game where you play with 10 or so other people and work together to create a treasure-hunting submarine. T ended up being #1 and I came in at #3. Ugh!
Boy am I glad its lunch time. That ice cream sandwich just didnt cut it. We have a 12:10 PS at the Garden Grill in The Land. This is one of my favorite restaurants. I cant tell you how many times Ive dreamt of their marinated flank steak over the past five years. So juicy and tender mmmmmmmm. Oh, and the fact that the restaurant rotates is pretty cool too. We grab a FP for the boat ride on Living with the Land before we head upstairs to the restaurant(arent we just efficient?). We are seated in about 10 minutes, not bad. Mickey comes around first. Is it just me or does he look effeminate in his farmers outfit? Its probably just me being lightheaded from lack of nutrients. Dale stops by to say Hi! to T. Dont they look like long-lost pals? Throughout our meal we hear two birthday celebrations. Lucky kids, why cant it be my birthday? T is still not feeling that great so he doesnt eat very much. I guess Ill just have to finish all of this all-you-can-eat food myself! He does order a second helping of the mashed potatoes and gravy though. Im a bit disappointed at the flank steak this time. It was just too sweet, too much sauce. But still good. I do order more of the fried catfish. Wow, these are AWESOME! I love em! For dessert T has the strawberry shortcake and I have the worms in dirt. Now, even though its off of the kids menu, its the best chocolate pudding Ive ever had. Im serious. Ok now that weve stuffed ourselves, its time to go sit on a boat ride. Doesnt that sound like fun? I enjoy this ride. I love all the hydroponically grown veggies. I cant believe the size of some of these! T mentions he wants to see this flower presentation Container Gardening. So we ask a CM on our way out if he knows where its showing at. He doesnt but asks another CM for us. Some how we end up talking about our Pal Mickey that T is toting around. Theyve never seen him before so we give them a quick lesson on how he works. Throughout our trip we get a lot of comments from CMs everywhere. I guess Mickeys the talk of this town!
We head over to a place right across from Innoventions for the flower show. On our way we see a CM on a Segway and T just about flips out. We watch the CM show it off, answer questions and he tells us that we can actually rent these over in the town of Celebration. Perfect, I say. I also want to visit Celebration on this trip. I love the houses that Ive seen online. So we make a note to do that. We find the flower show and sit down. There is an audience of about 30 people. All about +70 in age. Great, I think. I could use a nap right about now. A CM comes on stage and introduces himself. I forget his name, but hes the horticultural manager at Epcot. Or something like that. Hes going to talk to us about Gardening with Wildlife. What? says T. I thought this was container gardening.
Darn it, this is the show before container gardening. Well now that its already started we have to sit through it, we dont want to be rude. Im glad we missed container gardening. At least gardening with wildlife sounds a little bit more interesting, and it is. He talks about how we can encourage birds, frogs, snakes, bats
.all kinds of insect eating creatures to our garden. Very interesting. This air conditioning feels so nice!
We head over to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I cant wait to see Ts reaction to this. Even though this is an old attraction, I think its just the best! I see T jump when the little flying disk guy comes out towards us. Hehehee! And the snakes and lion, yikes! I think he likes it. Some how we fit in Cranium Command and Body Wars. T comes off Body Wars dizzy and slightly nauseous. Perfect, he must have enjoyed the ride then! Just kidding. He now mentions he might have an ear infection in addition to a sinus infection. Great. He is insisting that hes not sick though. He just has a sinus infection, probably from something he ate that irritated his throat. I suggest we stop by a store and get him some meds. No, Ill be fine. Okkkk .if you say so .
Finally, we can leave Futureworld and head over to the World Showcase, my favorite part of Epcot. But not before snapping a photo with Minnie on her swing! Decisions, decisions, which way should we go around the World? We decide on left so we get to start with Mexico! I cant wait to see the inside of this pavilion. I loved it the last time I was here. Ts got another plan though. He says we should just walk around the OUTSIDE of the pavilions today. He thinks going in and out of the air conditioning is making him sick. But but but .oh ok. Fine. I remember its only Monday, and we have plenty of time to come back to Epcot another day. Im in agony as we walk by all the different countries. Oooh that shop looks interesting .oooohhhh I want to eat in there. But no, we keep marching along. At least we get lots of good outdoor photos. Heres Germany. The statue in Italy is having a ball with the tourists. Hes stealing womens purses as they stand next to him for a photo. Its very funny. We have our picture taken in Italy too. By the time we get to France it starts to sprinkle. It looks like it could pour at any time though. I take this opportunity to suggest a bite to eat at Beaches and Cream. T is so agreeable! We walk through the International Gateway and as we get closer to the Beach Club Resort it starts to pour buckets. Not just pour, but pour BUCKETS. I tell T we should run to the Beach Club and go through the lobby. T says no, we can get there from the main pool, hes pretty sure, itll be faster. I dont know why, but I follow him. I follow the person who has never been here before. While its pouring buckets. We get to Stormalong Bay Pool. Theres no way to get in from the outside! We ask the CMs at Hurricane Hannahs Grill. They say we have to go in through the lobby. Ha! We head back towards the Beach Club lobby, huddling underneath big trees along the way, even though it doesnt help much. While waiting underneath a tree T says we should wait out the storm here. The lobby is about 20 yards away. I tell him we should just run, so we do. As we enter the lobby we are completely frozen. Not from surprise or anything like that, but from the air conditioning! It was freezing in there, and we were completely drenched. Drenched as in worse than Kali River Rapids drenched. This cant be good for Ts cold(or sinus infection, ear infection, or whatever it is). We find a bathroom and Im so glad that there are actual washcloths in there instead of paper towels. I dry myself off and towel dry my hair. T finally comes out of the mens room, and we both are feeling a lot better. Still a bit chilly, we make our way through the resort to Beaches and Cream. Chicken noodle soup sounds really good right about now. We sit at the bar and order two bowls of the Mickey chicken noodle soup and share a Frozen Sunshine. The soup is good, but a bit too salty for my liking. And the pasta shape is a distorted Mickey. It could be anything really. But I am too hungry to try and figure it out. We finish with perfect timing. Cost: $16.50. It has stopped pouring!
We walk over to the Yacht Club to take a look around. Wow, theres a basket full of towels all rolled up at the lobby entrance. What a great idea for drenched guests! We stop by the gift shop to look around(my idea). We talk to another CM about our Pal Mickey. Another guest is interested in him. We tell him that we love ours, but in the end he decides it's too expensive.
We leave for the boat dock and wait about 15 minutes for the boat back to Epcot. We could walk there a lot faster, but why walk when you can take a boat? The boat finally arrives, but makes a stop across the lake at the Boardwalk before heading to Epcot. Its now about 8:00pm. Because of the downpour, World Showcase is not busy at all. We decide to find our spot to watch Illuminations. We find a good spot across the bridge from France, in a big courtyard. No one is there so we just sit and soak in the atmosphere. Im so happy to be here! Its almost 9:00pm and a good number of people have joined us in the courtyard, but it is by no means crowded. The fireworks show starts and we stand up next to a lamppost to watch it. A few minutes later we realize that there are a lot of mosquitoes so we try to scoot away from the lamp. I know Im just going to be eaten alive by the time this is over. T takes about a gazillion photos. We should have brought a tripod! The awesome thing is that there is a lightening storm that we can see along the horizon, and its beautiful! T catches a big flash during a show. I had forgotten how spectacular Illuminations is!
We head back towards the front entrance to catch a bus back to WL. Guess who we see along the way near the UK? Michael Jackson! As soon as I see who it is, I turn to T and tell him to follow me so we can try and get a good picture. I walk back towards the crowd that is quickly forming around him and I turn around, just about to tell T to take a picture, but T is no where to be found!
I spot him way on the other side, on the sidewalk next to the fish and chips stand. No, hes not ordering food. Hes just standing there with the camera, and blowing his nose! Ahhhh!!! My precious Michael Jackson photo! I cant believe hes just standing there! I walk over to him and he says hes just too tired, he wants to go back to the hotel. I pity him as he is sick afterall. Next time, IM carrying the camera. I mutter to myself. I forget about Michael in a few minutes. I say good night to Epcot and realize how tired I am. I cant wait to get back to the hotel too. The WL bus is there and waiting for us. When we arrive at the resort, we make a quick stop at Wilderness Mercantile. T finally gives in and buys some Sudafed, and I finally give in and buy myself that Mickey totem pole I have been eyeing ever since weve arrived. It is our last night here after all. Sniff sniff. Oh, and remember the Sudafed? T decides not to take any tonight, I dont know why. So hes up half the night coughing and snorting. In time I do fall asleep though, probably around 3am! Oh, and Ts also asking me what we are doing tomorrow. I have been keeping Discovery Cove a secret. I tell him if he guesses correctly, I would let him know. I KNOW hell never guess it. How can he? Scuba diving? No. Parasailing? No. Fishing? No. Glass-bottom boat ride? No. Swim with dolphins? OMG! How did he know?! Well I still pat myself on the back for having kept this secret this long.
Tomorrow, we move to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and spend our day with Dolphins at Discovery Cove!
0. The Making of a Disneyholic - Pre-Trip Report
1. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 1 - "I have a bad feeling about this..."
2. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 2 - "Oh my, is Chip really proposing?!" - Photos
3. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 3 - "OMG, it's 1:45pm, we have to GET UP!" - Photos
4. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 4 - "T disses Michael Jackson." - Photos
5. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 5 - "Dolphins and Discovery Cove." - Photos
6. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 6 - "Did I mention that I hate ToT?" - Photos
7. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 7 - "That snowglobe will be mine!"(AK & DQ) - Photos
This morning I am determined to make the most of today, after yesterdays time warping episode. T says hes feeling a bit under the weather this morning with a sore throat. Uh-oh. Hes still up for everything today though. Yay! This mornings breakfast is at the Roaring Fork again: T gets a breakfast sandwich and water. Im not feeling hungry. Cost: $8.21. We get to the boat dock just in time this morning. The ferry is already there and waiting. This ferry doesnt make a stop at Fort Wilderness. It heads straight for the MK! Yay, we save about 4 minutes! We then transfer to a monorail that is headed to Epcot. Its very bright this morning and it feels like its going to be a hot one today!
I love how the monorail goes over parts of Futureworld at Epcot before it backtracks to the station. Im excited to see that there are hardly any lines to get in, even though its 9:15am and the park just opened. We walk in and I see those gigantic monoliths that everyones been talking about. Yikes. I really hope these arent permanent. Good thing no one is forcing us to stand there and stare at them. They could at least put them somewhere else in the park. And whats with the giant Mickey hand over the Geosphere? I sure hope that isnt permanent. I love the first Mickey & Minnie topiary we see. Take the picture already so we can get going please! Right about now T is in a mood for an ice cream bar of some sort. He remembers these Mickey head ice cream sandwiches he saw a couple days ago at another park. So we go in search for it. Unfortunately at this hour, most of the food carts are still closed! And the ones that are open sell all kinds of ice cream except the Mickey sandwich! Oh well, well keep our eyes peeled.
First stop, Test Track. Ten minute wait? No thanks! (Were spoiled now, remember?)
We grab a FP to come back later. I suggest we do Ellens Universe of Energy next. I remember really liking this show last time I was here. We still see no Mickey ice cream sandwich so T breaks down and buys a Nestle Tollhouse one. Its actually very good! We inhale that on our way to Universe of Energy. I love the moving theatre, and I love all the dinosaurs, especially the ones that spit at you. We head over to Innoventions next. We test out some of the different showcases, until its time for our Test Track FP. Yes, no waiting! Im really excited about this ride as I missed it back in 1998. I think they were doing a soft opening that time back in July. After the ride I tell T that I really like the end of the ride where you go around the track really fast, but all of the tests like the bumpy road, heat/cold, ABS breaks and stuff were lame. Creative, but lame. I do acknowledge the complexity of this ride though. Two thumbs up to the Disney Imagineers for that!At this point we head back to Innoventions. We both really like all of the different exhibits. We spend almost two hours there. We stop at IBMs Think-a-ma-jig(I think thats what its called). You know, the game where you play with 10 or so other people and work together to create a treasure-hunting submarine. T ended up being #1 and I came in at #3. Ugh!
Boy am I glad its lunch time. That ice cream sandwich just didnt cut it. We have a 12:10 PS at the Garden Grill in The Land. This is one of my favorite restaurants. I cant tell you how many times Ive dreamt of their marinated flank steak over the past five years. So juicy and tender mmmmmmmm. Oh, and the fact that the restaurant rotates is pretty cool too. We grab a FP for the boat ride on Living with the Land before we head upstairs to the restaurant(arent we just efficient?). We are seated in about 10 minutes, not bad. Mickey comes around first. Is it just me or does he look effeminate in his farmers outfit? Its probably just me being lightheaded from lack of nutrients. Dale stops by to say Hi! to T. Dont they look like long-lost pals? Throughout our meal we hear two birthday celebrations. Lucky kids, why cant it be my birthday? T is still not feeling that great so he doesnt eat very much. I guess Ill just have to finish all of this all-you-can-eat food myself! He does order a second helping of the mashed potatoes and gravy though. Im a bit disappointed at the flank steak this time. It was just too sweet, too much sauce. But still good. I do order more of the fried catfish. Wow, these are AWESOME! I love em! For dessert T has the strawberry shortcake and I have the worms in dirt. Now, even though its off of the kids menu, its the best chocolate pudding Ive ever had. Im serious. Ok now that weve stuffed ourselves, its time to go sit on a boat ride. Doesnt that sound like fun? I enjoy this ride. I love all the hydroponically grown veggies. I cant believe the size of some of these! T mentions he wants to see this flower presentation Container Gardening. So we ask a CM on our way out if he knows where its showing at. He doesnt but asks another CM for us. Some how we end up talking about our Pal Mickey that T is toting around. Theyve never seen him before so we give them a quick lesson on how he works. Throughout our trip we get a lot of comments from CMs everywhere. I guess Mickeys the talk of this town!
We head over to a place right across from Innoventions for the flower show. On our way we see a CM on a Segway and T just about flips out. We watch the CM show it off, answer questions and he tells us that we can actually rent these over in the town of Celebration. Perfect, I say. I also want to visit Celebration on this trip. I love the houses that Ive seen online. So we make a note to do that. We find the flower show and sit down. There is an audience of about 30 people. All about +70 in age. Great, I think. I could use a nap right about now. A CM comes on stage and introduces himself. I forget his name, but hes the horticultural manager at Epcot. Or something like that. Hes going to talk to us about Gardening with Wildlife. What? says T. I thought this was container gardening.
Darn it, this is the show before container gardening. Well now that its already started we have to sit through it, we dont want to be rude. Im glad we missed container gardening. At least gardening with wildlife sounds a little bit more interesting, and it is. He talks about how we can encourage birds, frogs, snakes, bats
.all kinds of insect eating creatures to our garden. Very interesting. This air conditioning feels so nice! We head over to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I cant wait to see Ts reaction to this. Even though this is an old attraction, I think its just the best! I see T jump when the little flying disk guy comes out towards us. Hehehee! And the snakes and lion, yikes! I think he likes it. Some how we fit in Cranium Command and Body Wars. T comes off Body Wars dizzy and slightly nauseous. Perfect, he must have enjoyed the ride then! Just kidding. He now mentions he might have an ear infection in addition to a sinus infection. Great. He is insisting that hes not sick though. He just has a sinus infection, probably from something he ate that irritated his throat. I suggest we stop by a store and get him some meds. No, Ill be fine. Okkkk .if you say so .
Finally, we can leave Futureworld and head over to the World Showcase, my favorite part of Epcot. But not before snapping a photo with Minnie on her swing! Decisions, decisions, which way should we go around the World? We decide on left so we get to start with Mexico! I cant wait to see the inside of this pavilion. I loved it the last time I was here. Ts got another plan though. He says we should just walk around the OUTSIDE of the pavilions today. He thinks going in and out of the air conditioning is making him sick. But but but .oh ok. Fine. I remember its only Monday, and we have plenty of time to come back to Epcot another day. Im in agony as we walk by all the different countries. Oooh that shop looks interesting .oooohhhh I want to eat in there. But no, we keep marching along. At least we get lots of good outdoor photos. Heres Germany. The statue in Italy is having a ball with the tourists. Hes stealing womens purses as they stand next to him for a photo. Its very funny. We have our picture taken in Italy too. By the time we get to France it starts to sprinkle. It looks like it could pour at any time though. I take this opportunity to suggest a bite to eat at Beaches and Cream. T is so agreeable! We walk through the International Gateway and as we get closer to the Beach Club Resort it starts to pour buckets. Not just pour, but pour BUCKETS. I tell T we should run to the Beach Club and go through the lobby. T says no, we can get there from the main pool, hes pretty sure, itll be faster. I dont know why, but I follow him. I follow the person who has never been here before. While its pouring buckets. We get to Stormalong Bay Pool. Theres no way to get in from the outside! We ask the CMs at Hurricane Hannahs Grill. They say we have to go in through the lobby. Ha! We head back towards the Beach Club lobby, huddling underneath big trees along the way, even though it doesnt help much. While waiting underneath a tree T says we should wait out the storm here. The lobby is about 20 yards away. I tell him we should just run, so we do. As we enter the lobby we are completely frozen. Not from surprise or anything like that, but from the air conditioning! It was freezing in there, and we were completely drenched. Drenched as in worse than Kali River Rapids drenched. This cant be good for Ts cold(or sinus infection, ear infection, or whatever it is). We find a bathroom and Im so glad that there are actual washcloths in there instead of paper towels. I dry myself off and towel dry my hair. T finally comes out of the mens room, and we both are feeling a lot better. Still a bit chilly, we make our way through the resort to Beaches and Cream. Chicken noodle soup sounds really good right about now. We sit at the bar and order two bowls of the Mickey chicken noodle soup and share a Frozen Sunshine. The soup is good, but a bit too salty for my liking. And the pasta shape is a distorted Mickey. It could be anything really. But I am too hungry to try and figure it out. We finish with perfect timing. Cost: $16.50. It has stopped pouring!
We walk over to the Yacht Club to take a look around. Wow, theres a basket full of towels all rolled up at the lobby entrance. What a great idea for drenched guests! We stop by the gift shop to look around(my idea). We talk to another CM about our Pal Mickey. Another guest is interested in him. We tell him that we love ours, but in the end he decides it's too expensive.
We leave for the boat dock and wait about 15 minutes for the boat back to Epcot. We could walk there a lot faster, but why walk when you can take a boat? The boat finally arrives, but makes a stop across the lake at the Boardwalk before heading to Epcot. Its now about 8:00pm. Because of the downpour, World Showcase is not busy at all. We decide to find our spot to watch Illuminations. We find a good spot across the bridge from France, in a big courtyard. No one is there so we just sit and soak in the atmosphere. Im so happy to be here! Its almost 9:00pm and a good number of people have joined us in the courtyard, but it is by no means crowded. The fireworks show starts and we stand up next to a lamppost to watch it. A few minutes later we realize that there are a lot of mosquitoes so we try to scoot away from the lamp. I know Im just going to be eaten alive by the time this is over. T takes about a gazillion photos. We should have brought a tripod! The awesome thing is that there is a lightening storm that we can see along the horizon, and its beautiful! T catches a big flash during a show. I had forgotten how spectacular Illuminations is!
We head back towards the front entrance to catch a bus back to WL. Guess who we see along the way near the UK? Michael Jackson! As soon as I see who it is, I turn to T and tell him to follow me so we can try and get a good picture. I walk back towards the crowd that is quickly forming around him and I turn around, just about to tell T to take a picture, but T is no where to be found!
I spot him way on the other side, on the sidewalk next to the fish and chips stand. No, hes not ordering food. Hes just standing there with the camera, and blowing his nose! Ahhhh!!! My precious Michael Jackson photo! I cant believe hes just standing there! I walk over to him and he says hes just too tired, he wants to go back to the hotel. I pity him as he is sick afterall. Next time, IM carrying the camera. I mutter to myself. I forget about Michael in a few minutes. I say good night to Epcot and realize how tired I am. I cant wait to get back to the hotel too. The WL bus is there and waiting for us. When we arrive at the resort, we make a quick stop at Wilderness Mercantile. T finally gives in and buys some Sudafed, and I finally give in and buy myself that Mickey totem pole I have been eyeing ever since weve arrived. It is our last night here after all. Sniff sniff. Oh, and remember the Sudafed? T decides not to take any tonight, I dont know why. So hes up half the night coughing and snorting. In time I do fall asleep though, probably around 3am! Oh, and Ts also asking me what we are doing tomorrow. I have been keeping Discovery Cove a secret. I tell him if he guesses correctly, I would let him know. I KNOW hell never guess it. How can he? Scuba diving? No. Parasailing? No. Fishing? No. Glass-bottom boat ride? No. Swim with dolphins? OMG! How did he know?! Well I still pat myself on the back for having kept this secret this long.Tomorrow, we move to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and spend our day with Dolphins at Discovery Cove!
0. The Making of a Disneyholic - Pre-Trip Report
1. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 1 - "I have a bad feeling about this..."
2. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 2 - "Oh my, is Chip really proposing?!" - Photos
3. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 3 - "OMG, it's 1:45pm, we have to GET UP!" - Photos
4. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 4 - "T disses Michael Jackson." - Photos
5. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 5 - "Dolphins and Discovery Cove." - Photos
6. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 6 - "Did I mention that I hate ToT?" - Photos
7. The Making of a Disneyholic - Day 7 - "That snowglobe will be mine!"(AK & DQ) - Photos
