MKFan-PR
Certified MK Freak! Work is what I do for Vacation
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2002
- Messages
- 495
THE CAST:
MKFan-PR: Me, 34. Disney nut since my parents took me when I was 5. This is my 10th trip overall, number 6 with my DW and number 2 with my DD.
Carmen: DW, 38. Her 7th trip (6 with me). Knows a little English but enjoys Disney a lot.
Larissa: DD, 3.5. This is actually her 2nd trip, but this is the first that she will actually have memories of. Has been excited about the trip ever since she saw the vacation video.
We live in Puerto Rico, so a trip to Disney involves quite some planning and investment; it is very difficult to go more than once a year. With Larissa starting school this will be the first time that our family will NOT be going off-season, and who knows when we'll be able to return, so this trip is extra-special for my DW and me.
8/4: Day 4-Epcot and the missing Tapestries
First, to all who have read and posted on the trip reports so far...thank you!
Second, an omission... In the day 3 posting I forgot to report on the 'Stars and Motrocars' parade. We had a blast with it. I think it's not as 'colorful' as some of the older parades but it 'fits' perfectly with the park theme. Larissa loved Mickey's car and the Hercules car. I liked the car with Hades, while Carmen loved the Mary Poppins car. I had Larissa on my shoulders so she could see. I couldn't see very well, so I tried to snap pictures by holding my camera high. I recently got them developed and...well, let's just say I'll have fond memories of a guy's t-shirt and a woman's hair! LOL!
And now, back to our Day 4 report....
Again, no alarm clock this morning (ahhh...vacation!
). I wake up at about 9:30 PM. We repeat yesterdays's drill (get Larissa dressed, then I head with her to OPR while Carmen gets ready). Breakfast is mostly a repeat, although I chose an omelet and Larissa also wanted fruit. Instead of Orange Juice, I use the mugs and I get Poppin' Pink lemonade for my morning citrus boost. When I'm done I see that it's about 11:15 AM, so the 1:30 PM PS for lunch in Le Cellier seems too close. I call Dining to change it to 2:30 PM. No problem there. We finally head out to the Bus Stop, which is empty, of course. Everyone else is doing the 'sensible' thing: starting early.
We grab a bus and in no time we're at the security desk. Again almost no wait. From previous experience and from postings here we didn't expect this park to be much crowded, and we were right. We posed for our 'traditional' photos in the garden in fromt of SE. We love looking at them and see how the surroundings have changed in these 8 years we've traveled as a couple.
Larissa, who at first is absorbed with the 'Epcot kids guide' they gave her at the entrance , is now mesmerized by the size of this 'ball'. Me and DW see that the line for the SE ride is practically non-existent, so we ask her if she would like to go inside. Without taking her eyes off the 'ball' she just smiles and nods yes. These are the moments that give you 'goosebumps'!
We enjoy the ride, and I noticed (tipped by a posting in these boards) that the news displayed when you are heading down backward really are 'recent' news (they were displaying news about the kid from N'Sync [?] who's training to go to space with the Russians).
We played a little in the AT&T area at the end of the ride, then continue through the right side of SE. We see the tip board, and notice that, except for TT, everything else is mostly walk-on. We decide to continue through the right side on our way to Canada, figuring we would get there by the time our PS time came around (we would be right, again...
). We watched the fountain show (where the fountain dances with music).
We entered The Living Seas. We bypassed the briefing, but in so doing we also bypassed the 'chari ride' to the Hydrolators, which was actually one of the things we wanted to do... Oh well... We went directly to the Hydrolators (thumbs up from DD, since she likes elevators), and int 'Seabase Alpha'. Not much has changed here in the years we've come, but the variety of fish and sea creatures is amazing. We were impressed by the Rays, the jellyfish and a squid-like animal that was being fed small crabs: he just sucked them up! I missed the manatees though.
We exited and went into Imagination. We had time to do either the ride or the HISTA movie, so we chose the movie. Excellent choice since we waited only 2 minutes before being led into the pre-show area. I love the Kodak pre-show (it's another of my 'goosebump' moments, even though it's basically one long commercial). Larissa loved the colors, Carmen understood most of the messages (she doesn't speak English well, but reads it better), and I, well... I just tried to compose myself (Carmen, wiped a tear from her face then said to me when I saw her: 'What's the matter with me? Am I pregnant or something?' Big LOL!).
We always love HISTA. Larissa covered her eyes at first, then saw the whole show. She covered again with the snake, butb only when people screamed. She's not scared by movies (we've gone to the movies with her without incidents since she was 3 months old). When the dog sneezed at the end she actually said 'Salud!' ('Bless you!'), then laughed!
We played with the jumping fountains for a while, then went into the 'JII' ride with no wait. I was prepared to give this new 'incarnation' the benefit of the doubt. The verdict: better than the first lifeless refurbishing, but not as magical as the original. Seeing Figmanet again was nice, though. We then took a leisurely stroll to Canada. Perfect timing, as it was now 2:30 PM and time for lunch at Le Cellier. We loved dining here back in '96 or '97 (when they first changed it to a Restaurant), and we spent all our last trip in '99 trying to eat here but we couldn't.
We had a nice lunch (although right now I can't remember what we had
). We did miss the bread. The previous time they had a nice selection of breads. This time they just gave us three 'sticks' (one of each type). Maybe it's because it was lunch. We had a nice time anyway.
We strolled rather quickly through WS. We stopped a while to catch a Living Statue in France. We're always mesmerized by them! We finally stopped in Morocco. Carmen loves the bazaar. I played around with Larissa on the 'streets' while Carmen browsed the shops. It was getting very hot. We stopped on another shop on the other side (closer to the lagoon) and bought a couple of 'decorated' rings for Carmen at some nice prices. We got to the US pavilion right on time for another of our must-do's: Shockwave. Wow! What a great show! The guy in 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was hilarous!
By this time it was incredibly hot, so we headed to Liberty Inn for some cooling down while sipping lemonade. Nice!
We moved forward, stopping a while at China and Norway to browse the shops. I was bit disappointed with 'Maelstrom' being closed. I wasn't sure if it would be open (I think I read it would be closed, but I wasn't sure if it was just a rumor), but once there I was sad, since I thought Larissa would enjoy that one.
We were about 1/2 hour from Parade time. The heat had gradually disappeared and now it was a bit windy with cloudy skies. We were now at the Mexico pavilion, so we decided to go inside (in case it rained), then come out to see the Parade. I love this pavilion. It really gives you a feel of being 'somewhere else' and 'away from it all'. Carmen browsed the market, then we went into the 'Rio del Tiempo' ride. It's an ultra-simple ride, but it's always nice and relaxing. After the ride, we promised ourselves to return later in the week to have lunch at San Angel Inn.
When we got outside, we were starting to park for the first 'Tapestry' parade but... this would be day of the missing Tapestry; due to 'inclement weather and wind conditions' it was cancecelled! I guess they did it as a prventive measure, since it was a bit windy, they expected rain, and it would be problematic with the tall 'puppets'. But it didn't rain. I understood the reasons, but I was disappointed because We've wanted to see this parade since it was 'Tapestry of Nations' for the Millenium Celebration. Oh well,... maybe the second showing...
We finished the trek through WS and headed for TT. Larissa fell asleep on the stroller along the way. The standby line was 45 min. and the FP was for 1 1/2 hrs later. Just as Carmen convinced me to try the Single Rider line, they shut down the ride because it was about to rain (again, it didn't). So we headed on to WOL since it was close to 7:00 PM. We did the Child Swap at BW with no wait (first time I tried it: it was great. We were two of the last rides), We headed then to the last showing of Cranium Command (one of our favorites). While in it, I was carrying our sleeping beauty, and, near the end of the show, I feel something warm in my shirt and belly. Whoops! The sleeping beauty turned into the pee-peeing beauty! No problem (we expect things like this, plus there was no mess, since my shirt served as diaper! LOL!
). Once we exited, we changed Larissa (who was awake now; for some reason she doesn't like sleeping wet! 
) and I changed shirt (Advice to parents: be prepared!). My fanny pack cleaned up nice with wet towels. We stored the wet clothes in a plastic bag in a separate pocket in our handbag, then exited.
Since FW was now mostly closed, and we didn't want to trek back to WS to see the second showing of the second showing of TOD, we decided to take a tour on the Monorail. We headed out (the 'ball' was even more impressive to Larissa now that it was starting to illuminate) and boarded the Monorail for a ride to the TTC and back. Larissa loved it and for us it was a great way to relax and rest our feet prior to the rest of the evening. We got back to Epcot at about 8:20PM. Plenty of time to stroll over to France, just beyond the bridge, to park ourselves for IllumiNations. We shared a Mickey bar (which right now I have no idea where I got it
). We then were awed by IllumiNations. Excellent! To me, it's really a lot better than the original, and that's saying a lot!
We exited through the International Gateway, bypassed the boats and strolled straight to the BW. We took a few pictures, sat down and relaxed while we people-watched (and DD-watched, since Larissa played around nearby). We then shared a ham pizza at the Spoodles take-out window (yummy!), then walked to the BWI/BWV lobbay and on to the Bus Station for a Bus to DD and a transfer back to CBR. The bus took forever, but it finally arrived and we transferred at the MP to the CBR bus. We finally crashed in the room at about midnight, but we were happy we thoroughly enjoyed the day. We had a missing Tapestry, but we would see it later in the week (but now I'm getting ahead of myself!...)
We decided then that we would take the next day off, to do whatever we felt like doing, without committing to a specific park. I love those days.
We surprised ourselves with the choices we made...
Next - Fun in the heat!
Stay tuned...
MKFan-PR: Me, 34. Disney nut since my parents took me when I was 5. This is my 10th trip overall, number 6 with my DW and number 2 with my DD.
Carmen: DW, 38. Her 7th trip (6 with me). Knows a little English but enjoys Disney a lot.
Larissa: DD, 3.5. This is actually her 2nd trip, but this is the first that she will actually have memories of. Has been excited about the trip ever since she saw the vacation video.
We live in Puerto Rico, so a trip to Disney involves quite some planning and investment; it is very difficult to go more than once a year. With Larissa starting school this will be the first time that our family will NOT be going off-season, and who knows when we'll be able to return, so this trip is extra-special for my DW and me.
8/4: Day 4-Epcot and the missing Tapestries
First, to all who have read and posted on the trip reports so far...thank you!
Second, an omission... In the day 3 posting I forgot to report on the 'Stars and Motrocars' parade. We had a blast with it. I think it's not as 'colorful' as some of the older parades but it 'fits' perfectly with the park theme. Larissa loved Mickey's car and the Hercules car. I liked the car with Hades, while Carmen loved the Mary Poppins car. I had Larissa on my shoulders so she could see. I couldn't see very well, so I tried to snap pictures by holding my camera high. I recently got them developed and...well, let's just say I'll have fond memories of a guy's t-shirt and a woman's hair! LOL!
And now, back to our Day 4 report....
Again, no alarm clock this morning (ahhh...vacation!
). I wake up at about 9:30 PM. We repeat yesterdays's drill (get Larissa dressed, then I head with her to OPR while Carmen gets ready). Breakfast is mostly a repeat, although I chose an omelet and Larissa also wanted fruit. Instead of Orange Juice, I use the mugs and I get Poppin' Pink lemonade for my morning citrus boost. When I'm done I see that it's about 11:15 AM, so the 1:30 PM PS for lunch in Le Cellier seems too close. I call Dining to change it to 2:30 PM. No problem there. We finally head out to the Bus Stop, which is empty, of course. Everyone else is doing the 'sensible' thing: starting early.We grab a bus and in no time we're at the security desk. Again almost no wait. From previous experience and from postings here we didn't expect this park to be much crowded, and we were right. We posed for our 'traditional' photos in the garden in fromt of SE. We love looking at them and see how the surroundings have changed in these 8 years we've traveled as a couple.
Larissa, who at first is absorbed with the 'Epcot kids guide' they gave her at the entrance , is now mesmerized by the size of this 'ball'. Me and DW see that the line for the SE ride is practically non-existent, so we ask her if she would like to go inside. Without taking her eyes off the 'ball' she just smiles and nods yes. These are the moments that give you 'goosebumps'!
We enjoy the ride, and I noticed (tipped by a posting in these boards) that the news displayed when you are heading down backward really are 'recent' news (they were displaying news about the kid from N'Sync [?] who's training to go to space with the Russians).
We played a little in the AT&T area at the end of the ride, then continue through the right side of SE. We see the tip board, and notice that, except for TT, everything else is mostly walk-on. We decide to continue through the right side on our way to Canada, figuring we would get there by the time our PS time came around (we would be right, again...
). We watched the fountain show (where the fountain dances with music).We entered The Living Seas. We bypassed the briefing, but in so doing we also bypassed the 'chari ride' to the Hydrolators, which was actually one of the things we wanted to do... Oh well... We went directly to the Hydrolators (thumbs up from DD, since she likes elevators), and int 'Seabase Alpha'. Not much has changed here in the years we've come, but the variety of fish and sea creatures is amazing. We were impressed by the Rays, the jellyfish and a squid-like animal that was being fed small crabs: he just sucked them up! I missed the manatees though.
We exited and went into Imagination. We had time to do either the ride or the HISTA movie, so we chose the movie. Excellent choice since we waited only 2 minutes before being led into the pre-show area. I love the Kodak pre-show (it's another of my 'goosebump' moments, even though it's basically one long commercial). Larissa loved the colors, Carmen understood most of the messages (she doesn't speak English well, but reads it better), and I, well... I just tried to compose myself (Carmen, wiped a tear from her face then said to me when I saw her: 'What's the matter with me? Am I pregnant or something?' Big LOL!).
We always love HISTA. Larissa covered her eyes at first, then saw the whole show. She covered again with the snake, butb only when people screamed. She's not scared by movies (we've gone to the movies with her without incidents since she was 3 months old). When the dog sneezed at the end she actually said 'Salud!' ('Bless you!'), then laughed!
We played with the jumping fountains for a while, then went into the 'JII' ride with no wait. I was prepared to give this new 'incarnation' the benefit of the doubt. The verdict: better than the first lifeless refurbishing, but not as magical as the original. Seeing Figmanet again was nice, though. We then took a leisurely stroll to Canada. Perfect timing, as it was now 2:30 PM and time for lunch at Le Cellier. We loved dining here back in '96 or '97 (when they first changed it to a Restaurant), and we spent all our last trip in '99 trying to eat here but we couldn't.
We had a nice lunch (although right now I can't remember what we had
). We did miss the bread. The previous time they had a nice selection of breads. This time they just gave us three 'sticks' (one of each type). Maybe it's because it was lunch. We had a nice time anyway.We strolled rather quickly through WS. We stopped a while to catch a Living Statue in France. We're always mesmerized by them! We finally stopped in Morocco. Carmen loves the bazaar. I played around with Larissa on the 'streets' while Carmen browsed the shops. It was getting very hot. We stopped on another shop on the other side (closer to the lagoon) and bought a couple of 'decorated' rings for Carmen at some nice prices. We got to the US pavilion right on time for another of our must-do's: Shockwave. Wow! What a great show! The guy in 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was hilarous!
By this time it was incredibly hot, so we headed to Liberty Inn for some cooling down while sipping lemonade. Nice!
We moved forward, stopping a while at China and Norway to browse the shops. I was bit disappointed with 'Maelstrom' being closed. I wasn't sure if it would be open (I think I read it would be closed, but I wasn't sure if it was just a rumor), but once there I was sad, since I thought Larissa would enjoy that one.
We were about 1/2 hour from Parade time. The heat had gradually disappeared and now it was a bit windy with cloudy skies. We were now at the Mexico pavilion, so we decided to go inside (in case it rained), then come out to see the Parade. I love this pavilion. It really gives you a feel of being 'somewhere else' and 'away from it all'. Carmen browsed the market, then we went into the 'Rio del Tiempo' ride. It's an ultra-simple ride, but it's always nice and relaxing. After the ride, we promised ourselves to return later in the week to have lunch at San Angel Inn.
When we got outside, we were starting to park for the first 'Tapestry' parade but... this would be day of the missing Tapestry; due to 'inclement weather and wind conditions' it was cancecelled! I guess they did it as a prventive measure, since it was a bit windy, they expected rain, and it would be problematic with the tall 'puppets'. But it didn't rain. I understood the reasons, but I was disappointed because We've wanted to see this parade since it was 'Tapestry of Nations' for the Millenium Celebration. Oh well,... maybe the second showing...
We finished the trek through WS and headed for TT. Larissa fell asleep on the stroller along the way. The standby line was 45 min. and the FP was for 1 1/2 hrs later. Just as Carmen convinced me to try the Single Rider line, they shut down the ride because it was about to rain (again, it didn't). So we headed on to WOL since it was close to 7:00 PM. We did the Child Swap at BW with no wait (first time I tried it: it was great. We were two of the last rides), We headed then to the last showing of Cranium Command (one of our favorites). While in it, I was carrying our sleeping beauty, and, near the end of the show, I feel something warm in my shirt and belly. Whoops! The sleeping beauty turned into the pee-peeing beauty! No problem (we expect things like this, plus there was no mess, since my shirt served as diaper! LOL!
). Once we exited, we changed Larissa (who was awake now; for some reason she doesn't like sleeping wet! ) and I changed shirt (Advice to parents: be prepared!). My fanny pack cleaned up nice with wet towels. We stored the wet clothes in a plastic bag in a separate pocket in our handbag, then exited. Since FW was now mostly closed, and we didn't want to trek back to WS to see the second showing of the second showing of TOD, we decided to take a tour on the Monorail. We headed out (the 'ball' was even more impressive to Larissa now that it was starting to illuminate) and boarded the Monorail for a ride to the TTC and back. Larissa loved it and for us it was a great way to relax and rest our feet prior to the rest of the evening. We got back to Epcot at about 8:20PM. Plenty of time to stroll over to France, just beyond the bridge, to park ourselves for IllumiNations. We shared a Mickey bar (which right now I have no idea where I got it
). We then were awed by IllumiNations. Excellent! To me, it's really a lot better than the original, and that's saying a lot!We exited through the International Gateway, bypassed the boats and strolled straight to the BW. We took a few pictures, sat down and relaxed while we people-watched (and DD-watched, since Larissa played around nearby). We then shared a ham pizza at the Spoodles take-out window (yummy!), then walked to the BWI/BWV lobbay and on to the Bus Station for a Bus to DD and a transfer back to CBR. The bus took forever, but it finally arrived and we transferred at the MP to the CBR bus. We finally crashed in the room at about midnight, but we were happy we thoroughly enjoyed the day. We had a missing Tapestry, but we would see it later in the week (but now I'm getting ahead of myself!...
)We decided then that we would take the next day off, to do whatever we felt like doing, without committing to a specific park. I love those days.
We surprised ourselves with the choices we made...
Next - Fun in the heat!
Stay tuned...
