Chapter 13: A Whole Lotta Meh
So here we are in EPCOT, having just finished lunch…and with not a whole lot to do.
We know we can’t ride Test Track. No FP’s available and the wait time is in excess of 90 minutes. I searched on the
MDE app, and lo and behold, there were FP’s available for Hoverin’ Around The World. So I asked the kids if anyone wanted to go on it, and…everyone said no. I was a little shocked at that, but I guess it speaks volumes as to how much my family disliked the changes to Soarin’. It went from a multiple-ride headliner to a one-and-done.
Same with Mission: Space. None of us like the training mission enough to want to do it more than once on this trip. It was more clear than ever that Epcot needs some serious help.
We ended up wandering the World Showcase. Drew was still eager to do more spy missions, so we could easily occupy some time with that.
We made it to Japan, where I amused myself by screwing up Julie’s scenic photo.
You can see the size of the Guardians coaster building to the right.
We kept on going into Morocco. Drew was still stopping for Kidcot Passport stamps at each location, so that helped fill the time as well.
Next stop, France. You can really cover a lot of ground here.
Always remember: when you cross the bridge, you can see both the England and France pavilions. There is no more appropriate location to loudly declare: I see London, I see France!
When we arrived in England, Drew spent quite a bit of time saving the country with the help of Agent P. Retrieving a golf ball from the phone booth is always a hit with my kids.
At some point, the CM’s must have been bored as well, because the started a spontaneous limbo challenge. As you can see, Drew had no issues with it.
Perhaps more impressive was the fact that Sarah (of the recent spinal surgery) was able to join in.
The skies were darkening, so we moved on to Canada once we were finished saving the world. I did not pick up any Beaver Butt soap this time around, but I still felt the spiritual presence of
@pkondz and
@Terra Nova guy .
I’ve always liked this little “hidden” pathway through the Canada Pavilion.
And of course, the gardens are beautiful, too.
We had one last FP for Spaceship Earth to use, so we started walking back to Future World. As we walked, we started to feel a few drops of rain. Nothing serious, but the afternoon shower was close at hand. Julie wondered aloud if we should stop at one of the gift shops by the World Showcase entrance to take cover.
I reasoned that it was only a little bit further to MouseGear. We could go in there and take care of some souvenir shopping for the week.
More raindrops fell. Julie started angling for the small gift shop. I pressed on. “We can make it!” I said.
More rain. We turned onto the main walkway between Future World and World Showcase. My shirt was starting to get wet.
“We can make it,” I said with less confidence.
The heavens opened, like we were at God’s kiddie play area in the swimming pool where the huge bucket at the top fills up with water and suddenly tips over. We were apparently right underneath it.
“We’re not gonna make it!” I declared, just so everyone around me would be fully aware of the now dire situation we face. The only move left was to make a break for it and sprint.
We dashed through the curtain of water to MouseGear. Sarah was the first to make it, followed by me pushing Drew in the stroller. We barged into the shop and took refuge. Scotty and David were next, already trying to shake water loose from their drenched t-shirts. Now that we were all indoors, we figured we’d just have to wander the store until the rain let up.
Wait, something wasn’t quite right with that statement…
Where was Julie?
I counted everyone again—there were only 5 of us. How did that happen? I tried texting Julie…no response.
After about 10 minutes or so, Julie entered the store, soaked from head to toe. As it turned out, she had tried to take cover at one of the little souvenir kiosks halfway down the walkway while the rest of us had made a run for it.
Apparently, that strategy had backfired. She was…how do I put this?...less than pleased. Hey, on the bright side, we have a fun story to tell now, right honey?
Honey?
Sweetie-pie?
Would a cute kid help? That always helps.
It wound up being a fairly expensive trip to the souvenir shop as I tried to buy my way back into her good graces.
Gradually, the skies cleared and we started to air-dry as we walked to Spaceship Earth. Once again, I was too ugly for the camera to register that I was actually on the ride, but the others got some fun poses in.
We found a Photopass guy out by the front entrance and pretended to still like each other.
I think we faked it pretty well.
It was getting to be late afternoon and the heat was back with the sun. Drew was about done for the day.
We stopped in Club Cool just for something to do. Dave and Scotty put their heads together and, being 1) boys, and 2) bored, came up with the Beverly Challenge. Each of them would fill a cup with Beverly and then down the entire thing in one swallow. I managed to get the following priceless video of the event, which was joined by a late challenger:
We were getting hungry, and we’d already had our sit-down meal for the day. Our choices were either PB&J sandwiches or to scrounge up whatever snacks struck our fancy in EPCOT. Seeing as how we’d left the PB&J supplies back in the hotel room, the choice was made easy. Taking care to ensure a balanced diet of starch, meat, dairy, and sugar, we all shared in a veritable feast of cheddar-bacon soup, cheddar-bacon French fries, and cronuts.
You can feel the arteries hardening already, can’t you? Everything was pretty decent for a snack. The soup wasn’t quite up to the level of Le Cellier’s version, but it certainly worked for us. It was especially good once Julie revealed her master stroke: she produced six pretzel rolls from her bag, having successfully smuggled them out of the Biergarten earlier. Rumor has it we are now Delaware’s most successful crime family.
Our day drew to a close.
Rather than hang around late for Illuminations, we decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.
But first, we’d take a spin on the monorail. I’ve always enjoyed the loop the monorail makes around Epcot. As luck would have it, by the time we made the loop, darkness had fallen and we got to see some of Illuminations from the monorail as we passed by the lagoon. Rather than attempt crappy photos, we just sat and enjoyed the view. Then we walked down to the parking lot and beat the crowds on our way out.
Coming Up Next: Back to the MK on our final park day. If all goes well, we might hit a couple of milestones.
That shocked me too! Both that there are FPs still and that no one wanted to ride it. I still enjoy it (provided you sit dead center, of course.)
and thanks for reading!
