There was no line at The Seas so we walked right into our Clam Mobiles. DD and DS rode with me. Unfortunately, my photos on this ride turned out horrendously so I deleted them all.
Our first stop was to visit the Manatees.
DD wasnt interested in them so DSis and DBIL went to the large fish tank viewing area. Soon DS was shouting, Bella! so it was time to find them.
They enjoyed watching the stingrays and the schools of fish.
It seemed like we were in this one area for hours. I was intrigued by a cousin of Crush and was determined to get a picture of him. The results:
Soon it was off to find Nemo! Just on the other side of this shell,
we found Nemo!
DD and DS tried their hand at the Fish Quiz. DD just kept hitting the start over button and different language buttons. I think the Deutsch one so I couldnt even try to figure out the questions for her.
DS was with DSIS and pushed her hand away each time to answer the questions all by himself. Ahhhh barely 18 months old and the terrible 2s are brewing! HAHA!
So how did my little guy do?
Perfect score! Woo Hoo! And all by himself too! DSis said it was a good thing bc she didnt know any of the answers anyway.
Turtle Talk had just started so we decided to take the obligatory picture with Bruce while we waited for the next show. DD posed with her best fish impression.
The stingrays in the waiting area of Turtle Talk kept DD and DS entertained for the rest of our wait.
DD and DS both sat on the carpet, which surprised me at least that DD wanted to. She has anxiety issues and this would be one situation that I would have thought to make her uneasy, but she was terrific. The same couldnt be said about DS. He wanted to run around and was very agitated. It was about 5:30 and I suspected that he was hungry as well.
Crush started his show, talking to all his human friends, only to be interrupted by some very loud dolphin mating calls (in the words of Crush), aka the shrills and screams of my DS. With that, I carried DS out so the rest of the audience and children could enjoy the show without further mating calls!
I let him walk around a bit and we finally settled over by the gift shop. He picked out a cookie, so I bought 2 one for DD, too! He was hungry. I grabbed an area of the wall and he sat on my lap, happily munching away on his cookie, sharing with me. OMG! Let me tell you this cookie was fantastic! Yummmmmmm! I made a mental note to buy extra cookies for home later in the trip.
Pop Pop, DD, Dsis, DBIL found us after the show was over and we decided it was time for dinner. Everyone was hungry. We had talked for months about The Kitchen Sink so we knew that would be dessert, but where to go for dinner? Pop Pop mentioned Big River Grill again, so we agreed and began our way towards the International Gateway exit.
It was a fight to get DD into the stroller; she was crabby and way overtired. I gave in and carried her, making it to the rose walkway by Imagination and she was asleep.
DSs hair is wet bc he decided to dump the bottled water over his head.
There was a boat loading passengers at the exit but we decided to walk it since DD was sleeping and DS had the cookie to hold off the dinner hunger for a bit, to allow his sister a slightly longer and much needed nap. The rest of the walk was uneventful, Pop Pop and DBIL chatting about sports, ESPN club and random things about the Epcot area hotels.
The Boardwalk area was still quite empty, but it was early. The juggler/magician kept DS entertained while DSis gave our name to the hostess at Big River. There would be a 25 30 minute wait.
If I could request a specific room and be guaranteed it at BWV, I think it would have to be on the top floor right under the O or the one next to it on the right. (Pardon the very crooked picture).
Our name was ready and I had the unpleasant job of waking a sleeping DD. We couldnt take the stroller into the restaurant and let her continue to sleep with the table they gave us and the hostess said there was nothing else available. Now I usually dont even ask to bring a stroller into the restaurant and a double stroller at that, but I had just seen 3 strollers, 1 a double be allowed in and that was the sole reason for my request. When I picked up DD, she began to stir and awoke in a rather cranky fashion, crying and unsure of where she was. DD only wanted to be held by me, and that meant that now DS who was strapped in the high chair now wanted to taken out and held as well. With a mini meltdown at our table and asking the server to give us a minute to calm things down, we finally settled in, Pop Pop holding DS and letting him hold the menu.
Whew! Now, what to eat? We agreed on the chicken nachos to start while we further looked at the menu. They came out shockingly quick. And to me, that is not a good thing. DBIL took one bite and it was as I suspected, ice cold. Probably meant for another table that was forgotten and sitting there so our server brought it out. DBIL explained what was wrong and the server grudgingly brought it back to the kitchen, after trying to insist that we order our entrees first.
This time, the nachos came out 5 minutes later by a food runner. It wasnt hot, but warm and edible. It was okay. The server came over with a Is that better? and impatiently took our dinner order. I got the kids grilled cheese and ordered a pasta dish for myself. I dont remember what everyone else ordered, but I can guarantee DBILs was some type of seafood.
I get turned off right away by a server, salesperson anyone in customer service with a hint of attitude. Having my own business, I know customer service is key and while I wouldnt grovel at anyones feet, I do correct any mistakes to ensure that the customer is happy. This server obviously wasnt trained in basic customer service, and while we understand that he isnt in the kitchen cooking, we cant go back there and tell the cook to get their act together.
My dinner was cold, the kids grilled cheese was soggy, beyond greasy and cold. Pop Pops dinner was overcooked, and DSis and DBIL tolerated their food. We didnt bother to complain or send the food back as we knew it wouldnt make a difference. Pop Pop kept apologizing for picking the place, but hey none of us had eaten there and now we know not to go back. We wont bother giving it a second chance. The kids didnt touch their grilled cheese, but did manage to nibble off of mine and DSiss plates.
We paid the bill rather quickly and headed out. The bright side to all of this plenty of room for the Kitchen Sink! DBIL bumped into one of the managers of the restaurant and gave a quick rundown of our meal. After an insincere apology, we left. DBIL shook his head, as the manager obviously didnt get the point of the message. We didnt ask for free meals, paid and complained later, but oh well
we dropped it.