Day Two, She says:
Okay, this is technically still pre-trip. But I had to come up with an idea of what we could do to show the cast our appreciation. So I put Wesley to work. He made cards for everyone in the cast (except the dancers
because, as he told me, I dont know them, so Im not making them cards!). Some of the cards were really cute. As an example~For the Beast Prince: Beast, I am glad you are nice now. Love, Wesley. He put several hours worth of work into those cards. 13 cards, in all. Then I got a silk rose for each princess, plus one for the Fairy Godmother. Put ribbons and tags on them. While I was at work. Because my boss had an out-of-the-office meeting Thursday morning. So thats how our last hours before the trip were spent.
At last it was Thursday noon, and it was time to leave! The drive down was mostly uneventful. Except that Wesley kept sneezing. And we didnt have any Dimetapp with us. Not that I hadnt TRIED to bring it. But Kroger was out. So. We stopped in Ocala for Dimetapp. Then back on the road.
Check in at CBR was quick and painless. As I mentioned, we had never stayed there before, but from the looks, I was kind of hoping for Jamaica. We hadnt made any specific requests, though. First bit of pixie dust: were in Jamaica! Off to the room. To find that only one of our (three) keys opens the door. And Mark complains that the room smells of cigarette smoke. I dont think it was smoke. Hes not kidding when he says he has a good sniffer. Its like a mutant sense of smell. Seriously. Its a weird kind of thing. I agreed that the room had some sort of smell, but I still maintain that it was NOT smoke. After all, MY allergies didnt bother me, and mine are worse than his. And subsequent times that we returned to the room, I didnt really even notice the smell. So there! I talked him out of asking for another room, so he settled for going to check on our room keys. We headed for MK. I mean, Epcot. Because there were no PM Extra Magic Hours that night. Epcot it is. We had dinner in Mexico. The skies looked threatening. We decided to call it a night.
Actually, it was a good thing. We decided wed try the Little Ones EMH at MK for Friday morning. Which meant getting up EARLY. By our standards. Back at the room, only one of our (three) keys worked. And it was a different one than worked earlier. Maybe its a game theyre playing with us. Who cares, as long as ONE of them does, in fact, work. But Mark went back to get new keys. Again. They insisted that it was because we were getting them too close to our cell phones. Only problem with that was that we didnt have them near our cell phones. Unless being in the same room as a cell phone counts. Finally got Wesley settled down and asleep, around 10pm. I was reading Deception Point, and got to a stopping place around 10:30. I left Mark awake, reading Angels and Demons. I TOLD him not to stay up all night reading. Did he listen? NO! Said he finished around 2:45. Way to go, Babe. The alarms going off at 6:15!!
And it did. Or rather, the phone rang. Stitch babbled at us. Mark insisted that I get up and get my shower first. And get Wesley ready. So he could sleep more. (Didnt I tell him not to stay up all night reading?!) The plan worked, though. And by 7:30ish we were headed to the MK.
We arrived just at 8, and proceeded to Fantasyland (the only thing open). First thing we saw was Snow White, standing in front of her ride! Well, that, and the Disney folks trying to recruit people to do their little focus group thing. So after some quick discussing, and assuring Mark that we would be fine without him for an hour, he decided to do it. Then we went to see Snow White. And then we went to ride Peter Pan. Peter and Wendy were in front of their ride, also, playing games with several kids. But Wesley insisted he did not want to see them, so off to ride. After the ride, he did stand there while they played Red Light, Green Light. But he moved, oh, maybe 2 inches. Too many other kids around. He likes the characters to himself. Spoiled, I know. So we backtracked, to ride Snow White. Then we rode Pooh. We were just coming back around to Snow White, and there she was, with Dopey! Wesley got to ride with Dopey, Snow White was right in front of them. Time for one last flight to Neverland, then the hour was over.
Mark headed off to his Super Secret Focus Group, and Wesley and I headed for Main Street, and the Emporium. Still trying to find those blasted Cars cars. They only had the ones he already has. (No worries, he will soon have them all, thanks to everyone who has been searching for the things in three states. So, a big thank you to Dawn, Keith & Michele, and both sets of grandparents!!) I thought watching Cinderellabration would be a nice way to pass some of the time, but first we paused to see the Main Street Dancers. There were about 8 people, including us, watching them. All of the ones on our side of the street were really playing to Wesley. At the end, one of them shook his hand. It was really cute! Back to the front of the castle to wait
and I was rewarded. MY Beast Prince was there! (See previous trip reports if you dont know about MY Beast Prince.) Good show, even though it was mostly unfamiliar faces. That just meant I could spend more time focusing on great pictures of MY Beast Prince. Wesley still got lots of attention. Wesley and I meandered over to Buzz Lightyear, which was a walk-on. Afterwards, we checked out the dump shop merchandise and the pin stand located nearby while waiting for Daddy. He finally came out, 50 Disney dollars richer, and we departed for Epcot.
Upon arrival, we did what we seem to always do: Wesley and I headed for Character Connection; Mark headed for FastPasses. This time, it was Test Track. We had been trying to ride this since January, and had not had any luck. Wesley was really looking forward to it. But first, we have to see Mickey and the gang. At this point, its about 11:15, and there is really no line. Mickey and Minnie were together, which you rarely see! Mark came in just as we were finishing with them. Then we saw Goofy, Donald, Chip and Dale, and Pinocchio. Mark explained that the TT FPs had come attached with bonus FPs for Mission Space. He was hoping we could trade them for Soarin FPs. Well, we couldnt
but Soarin was practically a walk-on. So
we walked on! It was almost time for our ADR at the Rose and Crown, so we started towards World Showcase. On the way, I took some pictures. Here it is, 12 noon, and WS was empty. Definitely liking this!!
Lunch at R&C was good. I thought so, anyway. Wesley had mac and cheese, that much I remember. I had the soup/sandwich~potato and leek soup, which was yummy, and a good roast beef/horseradish sandwich. I dont remember what Mark had. We also had the cheese and fruit plate, which I thought was very nice. I really liked their tea. It was nice and lemony. I tend to be more fond of pub food than Mark, though, I think. I dont think hes rarin to go back. I wish Id gotten a black and tan, since we likely wont be back for a while.
Done with lunch, we headed back to Future World for our appointment to ride Test Track. Wesley was a little nervous. We assured him hed love it. Its been a long time since we rode it. Forgot about the pre-show. Its almost as cheesy as the one for Soarin. And you people think Cinderellabration is bad!! I dont get it!! Anyway, we got into our cars and began the testing. We were right. He LOVED it. Maybe even more than Soarin. He loved it so much that as soon as we disembarked, we went right to get more FPs.
As we got to the FP machines, a man in custodial garb came up to us. Started making small talk. Then asked Wesley his name. Then he pointed at his own nametag, which read Wes. We chatted a bit, and one of the CMs working the line came over to talk, also. She seemed to know Wes fairly well. He asked if Wesley liked the ride, then asked if hed like to ride it again right now? Of course we would! (All the while wondering how a custodian had the power to get us on a ride without a wait.) He led us to one of those doors that you see all over, Cast Members Only or something like that. The doors that always make you (well, us) wonder whats behind them. Well, whats behind THIS door is the GM VIP Lounge. He introduced us to the lady behind the desk, showed us where the (FREE) sodas and coffee where located, pointed out the bathrooms, and the viewing places for the ride. Told us to enjoy ourselves, and to see the lady at the desk when we were ready to ride. We enjoyed some soda, watched the ride for a bit, took advantage of their sparkling clean bathroom facilities. Then told the lady we were ready to ride. Through some more secret type doors, then there we were, at the unloading dock. Up and down a staircase, and we were shown into a line, where a car immediately pulled up and we boarded. We enjoyed another great ride. But the whole time, Mark and I were trying to figure it out. Did the guy hear us talking, hear us call Wesley by name? Did he get close enough to see his nametag? Because it seemed as if he chose us (and that is, in fact, what he did~he CHOSE us) simply because he and Wesley shared the same name. The kid really and truly is a Magic Magnet. He generates magic, wherever we go. I am fairly certain that the man was not actually a custodian. Maybe Im wrong, but I dont think so. Either way, he created a Magical Moment for us that we will not soon forget.
Flying high after that encounter, we thought wed have our Disney Visa pics taken, but the line was fairly long. Instead, we went to meet Figment, something Wesley has always wanted to do! At least, we THOUGHT we were going to meet Figment. But he wasnt there. So we rode the ride, instead. Then we went back to Innoventions to try again for the Visa pics. We still had a little wait, but once we got inside, we realized why. Goofy and Minnie (Goofy in particular) were OUTSTANDING. They took lots of time with each family. Right away, Goofy noticed our nametags. He pointed to each of them, and showed Minnie. He also pointed to the nametags of the CMs in the room. Then made more motions, as if to say, Wheres MINE? Minnie followed suit. Goofy really played it up. Had himself a little protest, right there! He was hilarious. Wesley absolutely ate it up. He was definitely one of the most animated Goofy(s) wed ever seen. We also got some great pictures.
Now we backtracked (again! No wonder my feet always hurt after a day at Epcot!) to have our picture made with Figment. Wesley was very excited about meeting Figment, hes wanted to do that for a long time. Figment has a nice little place fixed up, so I guess hes permanent?? We then went AGAIN to the front of the park, to get our free Disney Visa pics. And to ride Spaceship Earth, which remains one of Wesleys favorites.
Then we again traversed Epcot, to return to World Showcase. In Canada, we saw Koda and Kenai. I guess they are out more now to promote Brother Bear 2. They were playful and fun. Wesley likes them a lot, which I find interesting, because he slept through the movie, Brother Bear. So did I, come to think of it. We bypassed UK for the moment (so we can backtrack AGAIN!), and headed for France. As we crossed the bridge, we could see that Belle and Beast were out, with a short line. Aurora was also out
with NO line. None at all. She was standing there by herself, swishing her skirt back and forth. Really. She was that bored. Mark took off running (youd think we had never seen Aurora before!!), but by the time we got there, she had a line. Of one. When it was Wesleys turn, they shared a big hug, and I think she kissed him. She told him that after Prince Phillip, HE was her favorite prince. Wesley beamed. We trotted over to see Belle and Beast. The character attendant, Jim, had already closed the line. But he said the Magic Magnet could get in. And then he knighted the Magic Magnet. And told him his duty was to find a princess to guard. After a picture with Belle and Beast, they departed. We went back to Aurora. And found Jim there. Apparently he was attending her, too. We told him that Wesley had found his princess to guard, and here she was! Another hug and several more pictures, and we left. To go to the UK. We must walk 30 miles at Epcot, every trip. There, we saw Mary Poppins briefly, and then Wesley played with Thomas the Train. Keep in mind that we have, AT OUR HOUSE, more Thomas trains, destinations and track pieces than The Toy Soldier has in stock. But when we are there, Wesley MUST play with Thomas. Evidently, its the law. Well, what should we do now? Oh! I know! Lets go BACK through France to Morocco. See if we can catch Jasmine and Aladdin! We did! They were feeding the ducks. Wesley got to feed the ducks with them. We thought it was pretty neat. As did Wesley. Their attendant was less than pleased. Pulled Aladdin aside and gave him a talking-to. After a pic there, we went to listen to MoRockin for a few minutes. And, of course, watch the Belly Dancer. Theres a story there, too, but Ill let Mark tell it. After their set, Mark and Wesley had their picture taken with the BD. She seems very nice. Theyve gotten a couple of pics with her previously.
Heres an idea, lets keep walking in the same direction this time, instead of backtracking. At least for now. In America, we stopped to hear Voices of Liberty. They rock. Really. Love to hear them. We walked on Maelstrom, in honor of our dear Viking friends. And then we walked on El Rio del Tiempo. And rode it twice. Cause its one of Wesleys favorites. Then began more backtracking. In China, we stopped to watch the acrobats. Holy crap!!! They must start training before they can walk. They are awesome! I got some eggrolls, and we continued backtracking. We were headed to Tangierine Café, of course. I mean Les Chefs
oh please, were not fooling anyone anymore. Mark was hurtin for that shwarma platter. As we walked through America, we ran into someone we knew. From here. Another preacher and his wife. Weird, huh?? I stopped to buy a pin, and I ran into someone Mark went to high school with. On to Tangierine Café, where Mark indulged in his favorite, I had my eggrolls, and Wesley ate his usual: PB&J with a juicebox.
One last ride on Test Track, and it was time to go back to CBR. We had planned on staying for Illuminations, but decided that we needed rest more. (I cannot BELIEVE we made that decision.) Of course, we were also thinking that wed be back in less than two weeks
had that not been the case, no way would we have left.
Back in the room, Mark and I debriefed and reviewed the day, and Wesley went to sleep quickly. We turned in fairly early, too. A good nights sleep was had by all!
