TR: Father/Daughter Take on the World 2: Expedition Hidden Mickeys **Day 6 Posted**

[ScoJo15]

TR: Father/Daughter Take on the World 2: Expedition Hidden Mickeys

Cast:
Me – 35 year old Disney Loving IT Manager from Canton, GA
DD – 8 year old WDW veteran anxious to get back to the World

Photopass pictures:
http://disneyphotopass.go.com/DPI/r.d?i=751265176

Background:
As some of you may remember, we did this trip last year after our school district switched to year round schedules, giving DD the third week of Sept off. Add the free dining plan on top of it and it was an offer we could not refuse. A trip report was made and you can find the link in my signature…so this year when free dining was announced again, we decided to re-visit our favorite place to re-live some of the magic from last year and create some new memories as well. I hope you enjoy reading along & feel free to let me know what you think!


Day One – Arrival at Pop Century/MGM/Boma/DTD

Our trip officially kicked off around noon when we made the drive down from a relative’s house just north of Orlando. We decided that since we had some extra time, we’d check out the Disney Outlet store located right across the interstate from WDW. I’m not one to “outlet shop” but was really impressed with the selection at the Disney store! While the selection was dominated by clothing options for the whole family, there was really something for everyone…with most items reduced to a reasonable price. We didn’t purchase anything simply due to the fact that we wanted to save our cashola for the parks, but decided that we could stop back on the way home if we wanted to.

From there we made that magical drive into the Happiest Place on Earth. There is really nothing like driving under that sign welcoming you to Walt Disney World. I’m sure watching people go from one side of that sign to the other would be like seeing George Jetson go thru that machine that takes him from pj’s to business suit, only you’d be seeing families go from tired & stressed to happy and joyful. You drive under that thing and it’s like you are cleansed from all of your troubles and worries from the everyday work and home routines…once you’re in Disney, it’s darn near impossible to not be happy and to feel like you’ve just escaped from the world for a while.

Wow…two whole paragraphs and we haven’t even checked in yet….

So, on to the Pop Century Resort!

Unlike last year, there was actually a line to get checked in. We waited approximately 15 minutes (probably the longest wait we had all week for anything…oh yeah, except for that nightmare bus stop incident…just a teaser to get you to keep reading lol…but it really did happen, and I’ll really tell you about it…patience, young grasshopper, patience) but we finally made it to the CM who pleasantly assigned us to room 9438 which was already available (so much for the 3pm check in ), and told us to have a magical day.

We drove to the 90’s parking and promptly made our way up the Rubik’s Cube stairway to our wonderful room on the top floor. 15 minutes and one sweaty dad later, all of our stuff was on the beds and it was time to figure out what to do.

“Dad, let’s hit the parks”….. “OK! Where to first?” ….. “MGM!! Rock and Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror!” … “sounds great!....but wait a minute….we haven’t eaten!”

So our nice leisurely paced vacation started off with a sprint to the Pop Century food court (where we located two hidden mickeys) for burgers and chicken strips and a dash to the bus stop where the bus to MGM was already waiting for us.

Now here is the thing with Disney transportation….sure, it could have taken much less time to just drive to the park, but when you sit in 3 hours of bumper to bumper rush hour traffic every day you just don’t want to see the steering wheel when you’re on vacation. So we sat back, relaxed, and were quickly transported to MGM where our park hopping commenced.

Upon entering, I must say that I LOVE the new finger scanners. They’re so much easier for people to use and the lines moved way quicker than they did previously. A quick glance of the big hat, a right hand turn and within minutes we were headed thru the turnstiles for the Rock N Roller Coaster. Wait time showed 5 minutes and that was only because of the pre-show…we walked right up to the doors to the recording studio and were in our limo (the super stretch) in no time. It is here that we also spotted our first two (and pretty cool) theme park hidden mickeys. If you don’t want to know exact locations, skip to the next paragraph…..good, you’re still with me  So the first one is located on the back of the “limo” on the upper right hand corner of the license plate in the form of a reflective sticker and the next one is located on Box #15 on the exit of the ride…the o in the word Box forms a Mickey.

Welcome back non-spoiler types! Naturally, we decided to check into the Hollywood Tower Hotel next. We spotted the eyeglass hidden mickey upon entering the lobby but since there was no wait, we didn’t have time to search for any others. We boarded pretty quickly and enjoyed our first ride on the Tower of Terror.

We then wanted to go ahead over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and check out the scenery there before our scheduled dinner at Boma.

AKL was a really nice place. The inside of the lodge was beautiful, with all of the woodwork…the smell…and the massive window overlooking the savannah outside. The outside was pretty impressive…we saw zebra, giraffes and other animals walking right up to the surrounding rooms. I can only imagine how cool it would be to step outside in the morning and see the animal activity. We found our favorite hidden mickey of the trip in the vinework just outside of the doors.

We were seated early for dinner which worked out great considering we were gonna try and catch Fantasmic after the meal. The meal itself was really outstanding! Most of their food was cooked with fruits/apples/cinnamon and provided for a really different but wonderful taste. I had a bunch of stuff including salmon, prime rib, pasta, rice and those incredible zebra domes!! I also had a glass of South African wine, a cabernet, which was quite delicious as well. The highlight for DD was the smoothies! Since we were on the free dining plan, the waiter suggested she order both kinds…the strawberry one and the mango one…which she did and decided that the strawberry was the clear favorite. She didn’t get too adventurous and stuck with chicken, mac and cheese, fruits and vegetables. She did try some of my rice and liked the taste.

After our wonderful dinner, we were deciding on whether to go see Fantasmic or hit Downtown Disney. She left it up to me. So I chose both! We hopped on the bus back to MGM and snuck in one more ride each on RnRC and ToT before taking our seats about 15 minutes prior to showtime. No crowds = don’t have to get there early  We found seats in the middle, a little closer to the water than we’d like but good enough. The show was awesome as usual but I noticed one major change….what happened to the character boat?? They performed a quick musical number on stage this time instead of making the trip around the water on the boat. It just wasn’t the same…I really liked seeing all of those characters together on the boat but oh well…what can you do? LOL.

So we left MGM and were faced with the “how to get to DTD” dilemma. We decided to head back to POP and drive the car over to Downtown Disney. I know what I said earlier about the transportation, but due to the fact that it was 9pm and we had a big day ahead of us we figured the quicker we got there and back, the better.

DTD was pretty much the same. I noticed a nice refurb at Legoland with some great additions to their play area. Other than that, we hit the World of Disney and the Toy Store where DD picked up a ‘Littlest Pet Shop’ toy on clearance for $4 (it was really a good find!)

We made it back to the resort around 10:30pm and I placed the request for a 6:30am wake up call. When I went to set the alarm, I realized that the clock radio wasn’t working…it kept flashing the time and emitted a continuous low hum…but instead of calling so late and running the risk of being woken up, I put off the maintenance call until the next morning.

So our first day was pretty hectic and we were both pretty tired. Monday would bring a trip to the Animal Kingdom in the morning (Extra Magic Hour included) and then a visit to the Magic Kingdom at night for the Spectromagic parade and Wishes. It was nice to fall asleep knowing that we’d wake up to Stitch telling us to get the heck out of bed, with a full day of Disney awaiting us.

 

[toystoryduo]

Hey Scott!

A great start to your trip report! You really should consider becoming an author someday. You are an excellent writer! I can't wait for your next installment! It's already done, right?!?!?!

Have a good evening,
~Tracy

 

[plgrn]

Subbing! How special that you get to enjoy this father/daughter time! She will treasure it for years to come.

**from an only child daddy's girl

I'm glad to hear that the new finger scanners work better than the old ones.

 

[Cass]

. We found our favorite hidden mickey of the trip in the vinework just outside of the doors.

That's a tough one to spot coz it's a sideways view

After our wonderful dinner, we were deciding on whether to go see Fantasmic or hit Downtown Disney. She left it up to me. So I chose both!

Awww... you're just a big kid, aren't ya Scott?

 

[Mouse's Shadow]

Can't wait to hear more. I get to start looking for hidden Mickeys in 3 days.

 

[SamIAm21]

Great start Scott!!

A father/daughter trip!! How cool is that!

 

[mommyintn]

subscribing, can't wait to hear more

 

[kimwim8]

Awesome start, Scott!! Don't leave us hanging too long!

 

[Cass]

Scott where are you?

 

[ScoJo15]

I'm here I'm here LOL

Day 2 is taking a while...it was our most jam packed day and I'm long winded about it. I can guarantee that it will be posted no later than tomorrow night

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments!!

 

[CACruisin']

Scott, great start on your trip report. We are going to Boma our first night at WDW. I am glad to hear that you really enjoyed it. Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!

 

[kaw1218]

I just stumbled across your TR.... great start so far! When I have time I am going to go back and read your TR from last year.
Can't wait for more!!

 

[kimwim8]

Wassup with that guarantee?

Must be all that running...

 

[ScoJo15]

TR: Father/Daughter Take on the World 2: Expedition Hidden Mickeys

Cast:
Me – 35 year old Disney Loving IT Manager from Canton, GA
DD – 8 year old WDW veteran anxious to get back to the World

Background:
As some of you may remember, we did this trip last year after our school district switched to year round schedules, giving DD the third week of Sept off. Add the free dining plan on top of it and it was an offer we could not refuse. A trip report was made and you can find the link in my signature…so this year when free dining was announced again, we decided to re-visit our favorite place to re-live some of the magic from last year and create some new memories as well. I hope you enjoy reading along & feel free to let me know what you think!

Day Two – Animal Kingdom/Spectromagic/Wishes

Ok, does anyone know exactly what Stitch is saying at 6:30 in the morning?? Either he is talking too loud and quickly or I’m just not a morning person….anyway, he woke us up with his loud banter and our first full day in Disney had begun. Our goal was to shower, get dressed, gather the park touring stuff, get DD some light breakfast and be on a bus to AK by 7:30. Did I mention this was gonna be a nice relaxing trip? Oops! Today was Extra Magic Hours in the morning at AK and we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to ride Expedition Everest with some hopefully light crowds. Last year we didn’t wait for anything…and were hoping that this year would be the same.

So we rushed out the door at 7:25 and raced to the steps while I crammed a Frosted Brown Sugar Pop Tart down DD’s throat. Ok, it wasn’t that extreme…just sounded good for the report I did manage to call maintenance to have them look at the clock radio while we were away before we made it out the door….and DD slowly ate the pop tart, finishing just before we reached the bus stop.

It was so cool to see the finished Everest on the horizon as we approached Animal Kingdom. Last year, it still had scaffolding around it and was not completely painted. Now it looks like the real thing (or so I think) towering over the park. Our excitement grew as we pulled into the bus stop….first full day and first rides on Everest!!

We made it in just as they opened so we didn’t have to wait for anything. We quickly walked with the rest of the crowd over to Everest via Dino Land USA (we later learned that going thru Asia may be faster?). When we got there, we noticed empty trains running thru the mountain and a line forming outside of the entrance, just past the fastpass machines. We entered the line and a CM approached us and informed everyone that Everest was experiencing technical difficulties and did not know when it would open, and mentioned that the fastpasses, if we opted to take them, would be good all day (DUH!! They are anyway people!) A BUNCH of people then left the line. I told DD that it’s always a good sign to see the trains running and that we should stick it out for 10 minutes or so and she agreed to give it a shot.

Well, lo and behold….about 3 minutes later, the line opened!! We dashed thru the queue and made it out on the second train of the day, nicely seated in the very back row. Here we are ready for that first ride:

So I had read all of the reviews, watched on ride videos and even viewed those specials on TV about the design and construction of the ride. I am a roller coaster fan at heart and love higher, faster, longer…the more intense, the better…and I was prepared to experience a nice ride, but nothing special. All I can say was that we were really pleased with how much fun that ride is!! The backwards part thru the darkness pulls some pretty decent G’s…almost giving you the sensation of going thru a loop. And the dive out of the mountain (where they take your photo) is pretty exhilarating too! All of that combined with excellent theming made for an instant favorite. We immediately got back in line after riding and queued up for the front car. The view from the front is amazing when you get to the broken track part on top of the mountain…you can see Epcot, MGM and MK clearly from up there. It really puts perspective on how high up you actually are. We ended up with 4 rides and a fastpass for later in less than an hour! Needless to say, we planned on returning to ‘Nepal’ later for some more rides on this awesome coaster…but it was time to go check out some other stuff we’d never done in AK before.

First up was Dinosaur. DD really struggled with if she wanted to ride it or not. She’s a thrill seeker, but doesn’t like scary stuff too much. But for this year’s trip, we decided we’d ride things we haven’t in the past…and by the time we left, we wanted to say that we rode everything that WDW has to offer. So she made up her mind that she could get thru it, and if it was scary, she’d close her eyes and hold her ears. She was a bit nervous as we got in our jeep thing (what’s it called again?) but made it thru the first part of the ride pretty easily. Of course, once we got to the first ‘scary’ dino, her eyes closed and she held on for dear life. I thought it was way less scary than I anticipated but could see how some people could be a tad freaked out by it. It’s pretty loud and dark in there…and those last couple of T. Rex’s kind of take you by surprise. Funny thing is that when we got off, she immediately wanted to ride again (lol…sense a pattern?). “I closed my eyes, but I want to do it again so I can see what was happening at the end”…who can resist that? We got back in line but the line wasn’t moving…we figured something had broken down and ended up exiting the line, not wanting to waste time in case there really was a problem.

Next up, we took a spin (literally) on Primeval Whirl. It’s a sentimental favorite as it was where we realized she was finally 48” last year…and became her first coaster at the new height requirement. While it’s neat to be spun around like you are, we agreed that it does not pack the same punch as a lot of other rides, so we decided to leave Dino Land and go catch the next Safari.

We were pleased to see that it, along with everything else, had a less than 5 minute wait, so we quickly found ourselves in our safari truck exploring the savannah of Asia looking for some nasty baby killing poachers. Now the general rule of thumb with the safari has always been get there early, ride it first as the animals are much more active in the morning…and that’s what we did last year. This year it was around 10:00 and I have to say, the animals were a lot more active then I remember from our previous visit. We saw all of them, including a very up close and personal giraffe, except for the lions that were sleeping on a non-visible side of ‘pride rock’. All in all, it was an excellent safari adventure…and good to see that we caught those poachers once again 

We ventured over to the Flights of Wonder show next. We missed it last year and heard how good it was so we did not want to miss it during this visit. We were ushered in just before the 11am start time after hanging out with a large owl outside of the entrance. We were about 8 rows back on the aisle and enjoyed the beginning of the show. During the part where he asks for a child volunteer, DD promptly raised her hand and was picked!!! She got to go up on stage and throw a half grape high into the air, which the bird swiftly flew up and picked off in mid flight! I was so proud of her for volunteering and getting up there in front of everyone! It’s not something she normally would do, she’s more on the shy side when it comes to being outgoing like that…so to see her take advantage of that opportunity really made me happy. It made me realize how much she is growing up. The rest of the show was awesome…some of those birds were really amazing, and to see them fly so close overhead was incredible. This show is a definite hidden gem and not to be missed.

We were hungry when the show let out, so we headed over to the Tusker House to enjoy some free counter service food. The rotisserie chicken was really good, and Megan enjoyed her Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese. You know, in Disney you can’t just say “mac and cheese”…it must be preceded by the word Stouffer’s. Just like after the preshow of Dinosaur…you are reminded every three seconds that the exhibit is there from a generous grant from McDonalds…..and don’t even get me started on the whole Kodak/Honey I Shrunk the Audience bit…it’s the longest darn commercial preshow in existence. Why are park prices going up again? Sure as heck isn’t because they can’t get endorsement deals. Oh well…I digress….back to the report…(brought to you in part by a wonderful grant from Microsoft)..

It was time to scope out a few Hidden Mickeys!! The book said there were a few just outside of the Tusker House and we found them! They were all on the pavement and it was neat to see them….it’s just amazing how many people pass by these hidden gems without ever knowing they are there (heck, I did on my previous 10 visits LOL). Here is a pic of DD next to a neat Hidden Mickey on the ground (pebbles forming the outline):

We then stopped in a gift shop where something unknown to me happened….DD was browsing the stuffed animals (of course) and found an elephant with a red bandana on it. It turns out that it was “Red” (from the Safari) and Red gets hidden throughout the day by a CM. If a child finds it, they get a Magical Moments certificate! So here is DD, with Red and her certificate (neat!):

Next up was a walk over to Camp Minnie Mickey for some autographs. We passed Lilo and Stitch on the way there, so we stopped for some signatures and photos. This photo has become one of my favorites:

Timing was on our side and the Lion King show was in the middle of a performance, meaning the character trails were completely empty. We got photos and autographs from Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy in quick fashion and its good that we did since the show let out while we were in the last line. Those trails get packed when a performance lets out.

Since we had spent the last hour or so relaxing with food, HM searches and autographs, it was time go get back to some attractions! Guess where we were headed? LOL Correct!! But not before a quick stop at the Tree of Life theater to catch a showing of It’s Tough to Be a Bug. Now I like this show, especially the stinkbug and the hornets…BUT…for some reason the 3D effect doesn’t work that great for me. Does anyone else have this issue? All the other shows are fine, but my eyes just can’t adjust to this one for some reason. I always end up with watery eyes. Anyway…

We soon found ourselves back in Asia and back in line for Expedition Everest. There was absolutely no wait and we rattled off 6 more rides on it! You see, after a couple of rides, we realized that we could hit a ride count in the double digits….that along with the fact that we were having fun posing for the on ride cameras…(how many times can you say the word ride in a paragraph?)…made it our mission to ride the thing at least 10 times. And we did just that, 10 rides on Expedition Everest and it wasn’t even parade time yet! Oh yeah….the parade…

We got there about 10 minutes early to find a spot and the funniest thing happened…there was no one waiting for it! So we grabbed a couple of drinks with our snack credits (read: FREE) and plopped down in a great place to see our favorite parade in WDW. Now I love the parade, but I love the CMs working it just as much. You see, before the thing started, they were playing four square and invited the kids out there to join them. DD jumped in on the fun and had a blast. It was such a great way to pass the sometimes boring time before parades. They even passed out Styrofoam bird gliders to all the kids who were gathered just before it started. The parade was great as usual. I love the music and the self powered floats and think it’s just a fun thing to see.

It was now 4:30 and with the park closing at 5, we had time to squeeze in two more rides on Dinosaur before heading for the gates, wrapping up a very successful day in the Animal Kingdom. Of course, our day wasn’t even close to being done as it was time to head over to the Magic Kingdom for Spectromagic and Wishes.

We took a bus (which we were the ONLY ones on!) over to the Transportation and Ticketing Center so that we could ride the monorail over to MK. We seized another opportunity to do a little known thing here. There was a pretty nice line forming to board the next one direct to the MK…so we asked a CM if we could ride up front. Of course, no one knew about this so we jumped on the next train and got to ride with the pilot. If you’ve never done this, it’s a hidden gem and so neat to see the track out there before you…gives a whole new perspective and is great for videos and photos. People always look and wonder “wow..how’d they get to do that”…and all you have to do is ask  After a great ride and brief chat with the pilot, he gave us our co-pilot licenses and we were off to the Magic Kingdom.

After our long day in AK, we didn’t want to commando a bunch of stuff so we really took it easy and enjoyed the sights. We did walk over for a no-wait ride on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and then made our way back to Main St. and grabbed dinner from Casey’s. We took our dogs & fries and found a nice spot on the curb outside of the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor where we’d park it until the parade began. We loved the food and even indulged in some ice cream for desert. We even ran into one of DD’s friends from her class in school!! Now, what are the odds on that happening?

CM’s were again entertaining the crowds before the parade and DD seized the opportunity to do some hula hooping. How often can you get a shot like this one?:

The sun finally set and we watched both Spectromagic and Wishes. Spectromagic was great as usual, but I think I’m a little tired of it. Could be the same repetitive music over and over…or maybe the coolness wears off after you’ve seen it…but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Wishes was awesome. We had a great view and got to see Tink fly. Something about that little girl singing gets me every time. I have to say that Wishes is my favorite nighttime park closer (with Fantasmic a very close second and Illuminations a very close third).

So we figured that was enough for one day LOL and made it back to the Pop Century by 10:15pm. I think DD was asleep within 5 minutes of hitting the room and I was pretty tired myself. This was our most eventful day of the entire trip and we had a blast…it was a great way to kick off a fun filled week. Tuesday would be our Epcot day…no park hopping, but meals scheduled at Coral Reef and Teppanyaki. I dialed for the wake up call, set the now functional alarm and drifted off to dreamland in anticipation of more fun to come….

 

[kimwim8]

What a GREAT report, Scott! I'm so thrilled that you and your DD had such a good time, and were sprinkled with some pixie dust!

Don't keep us waiting!

 

[AmyBeth68]

Awesome reports Scott. Wow...almost felt like I was there with you guys!

So Dad of the Year Award goes to......

YOU!!!!

It's so wonderful to read about your special moments with DD. And I can tell you were really cherishing every minute...having loads of fun....and taking advantage of the optimal disney conditions!!! No crowds...Free Dining! NICE!!!!!

Thanks for sharing all those magical moments!

 

[Cass]

Awww, that is adorable

Great report, Scott ~ you're such a fun Dad

 

[SamIAm21]

Every Megan I know is an awesome girl! I should know, I have a Megan of my own!

Scott, thanks for the tip about Little Red. We are going to have to do this on our trip in November. My daughter would love trying to find him too!

And you with Lilo and Stitch.... PRICELESS!! Ten trips on Expedition Everest! I think it might be a record for one day huh!!

Keep up the great writing!!

 

[ScoJo15]

TR: Father/Daughter Take on the World 2: Expedition Hidden Mickeys

Cast:
Me – 35 year old Disney Loving IT Manager from Canton, GA
DD – 8 year old WDW veteran anxious to get back to the World

Background:
As some of you may remember, we did this trip last year after our school district switched to year round schedules, giving DD the third week of Sept off. Add the free dining plan on top of it and it was an offer we could not refuse. A trip report was made and you can find the link in my signature…so this year when free dining was announced again, we decided to re-visit our favorite place to re-live some of the magic from last year and create some new memories as well. I hope you enjoy reading along & feel free to let me know what you think!

Day Three – Epcot

After the brisk start to our trip, it was nice to see an easy day at Epcot was awaiting us on the schedule. Sure, I know you can do a lot of walking there but we wouldn’t be in commando style and we were both ready to take it slow for a while.

After the normal morning routine (Stitch yelling at me, showering, dressing, eating pop tarts) we were quickly whisked away to Epcot via WDW bus transportation.

Our first stop of the day was of course Soarin’. The wait time was showing 10 minutes and we went ahead and grabbed a fast pass (just in case) and entered the stand by line. Don’t know where the 10 minutes came from as we walked all the way to our little gold preshow gliders without stopping. We weren’t picky this time and we found ourselves in Row A2 (edge, middle). While our flight was awesome, I definitely prefer Row B1 over all others, but this still remains one of the top attractions in all of WDW regardless of where you sit. So we decided to get right back in line again and request our favorite seats. The wait time was changed to 5 minutes now and we again walked right up to the preboard area. We requested B1 (along with the people behind us) and our wish was granted. Needless to say, we loved the ride more the second time and were satisfied with our Soarin’ fix for the day.

We decided to hit Test Track next since it was sunny outside and it was actually running (seems like every time I’m there, it has broken down for one reason or another, either mechanical or weather related). We grabbed a fast pass just in case, and entered the standby line. No one was there, so we went right to the preshow…bypassing most of the queue. We really like the ride, especially the outside part. There is nothing like pure speed to get your blood pumping a little. We noticed the new photopass system has been set up underneath the ride photos. It was sweet…you just held your card up underneath the monitor that displayed your photo and it’s transferred to your photopass. I LOVE this concept and can’t wait until it’s installed on all of the major rides…(I would have loved to have had our pics from EE when we were posing).

We exited and decided that it was time to ride Mission: Space. This was our first time ever on the ride and DD was especially nervous with the events that had occurred there recently. We selected green team (less intense) training and made our way to the preshow staging area (I love September!! No lines!!). After Gary briefed us twice on our responsibilities, we boarded the capsule. DD became instantly obsessed with pressing every button and flicking every switch in reach! The ride itself was pretty cool and I can’t wait to do the regular version someday. DD loved having a role to play and M:S was an instant hit!! So…..we went on it again. This time it was just us…having to play two roles each! Too bad DD’s hands can’t reach the other buttons, but it was cool to see that if the person responsible does not push the button at the correct time, the voice says “computer override”…certainly makes it more realistic.

We left that area of the park and headed over to the Coral Reef restaurant. We had ADR’s for 2pm, but with a dinner ressie at 7pm that night, we wanted to see if we could get in earlier. I had called on the few days before and nothing was available at an earlier time. We had to wait a little bit for the 11am opening but once it opened we entered and the greeters politely took care of our request. It didn’t start seating until 11:30 and we would be called after that appx 15-20 minutes later. We decided just to hang out there for a while and wait for our table to be called. Well, at about 11:40 our time had come. I liked the way the waitstaff did not announce the name for the waiting guests, but came right to you instead…made for a real nice touch. We were seated in the third ‘row’…we had wanted down by the tank, but our request to be seated early kind of ruled that out. DD still thought it was really cool to be dining with the fish…and she liked the little fish guide they give you. I was really impressed with the atmosphere and quality of the food there. I was also impressed with the service…

You see, DD has a severe peanut allergy. We were given the all clear at the previous restaurants but the chef himself came out here….he said that they do make one dish on the grill that uses peanut products and in order to avoid cross contamination, he would prepare her fish on a separate grill. It was nice to see this level of treatment and it makes DD feel special that they’d give her attention…sure does make up for not being able to eat some foods (read, candy lol ) It was nice to see a real kids menu also. She had lobster soup, mahi mahi and the make your own sundae (total hit!). I had crab claws, Tilapia and a yummy butterscotch brulee. This gem of a restaurant was recommended to me and I’d recommend it to anyone…what a great experience.

We decided to keep with the sea/fish theme and headed over to the big tank, otherwise known as Living Seas. First up for us was Turtle Talk with Crush…something we’d never done. We thought the line was really long and contemplated coming back later, but once we saw how many people got in at once (pretty much the entire queue waiting area) we queued up and had about a 10 minute wait. The attraction itself was really cool and Crush was pretty funny. It’s neat to see the way that technology can be utilized. I also liked how the kids got to sit up front so they could be picked to participate.

We walked around the exhibits afterwards and didn’t stay too long. We do have the worlds largest aquarium here in Atlanta (plug!) and after you’ve seen a few fish tanks…you’ve seen them all (sorry all you fish lovers!) I do wish the new ride was open though…we noticed a tunnel that the ride moves through but couldn’t see anything else.

We then headed over for our free Disney Visa Photo and our private meeting with characters. This time it was Donald and Pluto there to greet us, and they gave DD lots of attention before posing for some photos. It’s nice to get some reward for plunking down the money on a visa card 

It was now time to hit the World Showcase. On the way there, just past the fountains, we decided to get a little crazy…each of us took turns putting on a sorcerer mickey hat, and then stood in the middle of the path doing our personal rendition of Fantasmic LOL It was a priceless moment captured on video! We even got some applause from random tourists watching us (for some reason) LOL!!

Canada was the first stop since Off Kilter had just begun their set….we watched a couple songs and then DD wanted to do a mask again this year so we stopped at the Kidcot station and got the thing all colored in. Upon leaving Canada, the clouds started rolling in and it looked like we might get our first rain of the trip. Koda was out from Big Brother so we grabbed a quick autograph and headed for UK and the safety of their gift shop. It never really did start raining, so we pressed on to France where we saw Belle and Beast over by the lagoon….of course as soon as we got there, it started sprinkling so the characters returned to their quarters. We hit the Kidcot stop and pressed on to Morocco. It was there that the sky opened up and we found ourselves sitting at an umbrella table at the Tangerine Café. Luckily the rain didn’t pass long and we were able to resume our tour of the countries.

I won’t bore the report with all of the details about each country, so here are a few highlights….we did get to see Belle and the Beast finally after the storms passed, Beast was a first for us….as was Gepetto and Pinocchio over in Italy, where we also stopped for some delicious gelato (yum!)…we did manage to visit each country and DD got her mask stamped at each Kidcot stop. She bought a gift for her mother in Mexico and needed it sent back to the hotel so we didn’t have to carry it around…the CM there was nice enough to include the mask she made in the same bag so we didn’t have to tote it around either!

After our world tour, we went back over to Test Track and surprise it was closed due to the threat of inclement weather…so we opted for another journey to Mars on Mission:Space. The ride was still a big hit with DD and we would have gone on again, but it was time to head over to Japan for our dinner. So we hopped on one of the boats and cruised across the lagoon and shortly thereafter found ourselves at the Teppanyaki restaurant.

Teppanyaki was awesome! We had eaten at many hibachi style establishments before and the food here was excellent. I had filet mignon and DD had chicken. The only disappointing thing was that there was no option for fried rice…it was steamed only.
Our chef Kenji was very funny and did all the signature tricks…including this one when he saw that I was going to take a picture of the onion volcano:

All in all, it was a great experience!

Unfortunately when we left, we found that the rain had once again started and it was coming down at a good clip. Others had started gathering for Illuminations there on the balcony so we decided to join them that way we could both stay dry and see the show.

I have to say that Illuminations from the Teppanyaki balcony is awesome! You get a great view of everything along with a nice rail to lean on It was also good to see the flaming barge back …as it was absent last year due to an explosion and the show is just not the same without it.

The rain never did let up so we threw our .88 cent Kmart ponchos on and started the long trek back to the buses. By the time we got back to future world, the rain had let up. We stopped at the photo place and picked up our free Disney Visa shot and then officially called it a day.

Our visit to Epcot was a great one, with Mission: Space being a definite highlight of the trip. We still had much more to do though, and Wednesday would bring a trip to the Magic Kingdom and a possible return to Animal Kingdom to see the park at night due to evening EMH there…..stay tuned!!

 

[Cass]

We like coral reef too, what a great break from a busy park. Your TR is awesome and your daughter adorable (you're not so bad yourself)

Can't wait to read more