The Cast:
Me: 30 y/o Male, compulsive planner
DW: 31 y/o Female, likes to sleep in
Joe: My best buddy from high school. A theme park commando who's motto is "It's not a vacation, it's a competition!"
Lisa: Joe's wife and Queen of the Timeshares. She owns or co-owns 5 weeks at various Central Florida resorts.
Day 2 - Epcot
Weather: Sunny, hot and humid, low 90s.
We used several factors to determine which day to hit which parks, but we mostly relied on info from the Unofficial Guide's website which has been updated to account for EMH. Our choice for Sunday was Epcot. As you can guess by the above description of the Cast there was some conflict as to how we would tour the parks. The boys were up at 7am ready to go, while the girls stumbled out of bed at 10am. This was a major departure from my last trip when DW and I made it for rope drop every morning. We bought our discounted 5-day Park Hopper Plus passes from the Vistana desk and landed at Epcot around 11am. At that point the commando boys sprung into action
We immediately grabbed FPs for Test Track and made a bee line for Mexico. We rode El Rio del Tiempo and Maelstrom in quick succession followed by lunch at China's Lotus Blossom Cafe. I love the bubble tea, but the food was sub-par. Chinese food is better at malls, and as all true New Yorkers know mall Chinese food sucks! After lunch our Test Track window was open, so we had a fun ride. Gotta love the Test Track souvenir shop! I'm pretty sure it's the only theme park gift shop where cars are for sale. From there we went to the Land for "Food Rocks." It's corny but I think it's hilarious. Then we ducked into the Living Seas for a short tour. TLS is not the same without the ride. Several people in our hydrolator complained about the elimination of the ride. I hope it comes back in some form in the future. After that we all agreed that we had our fill of Future World. The great thing about repeat visits is that you don't feel compelled to ride absolutely everything. Our last trip in 2001 was DW's first ever Disney visit and we did wall-to-wall touring. This trip was much more laid back.
After a brief stop in Ice Station Cool for the obligatory shots of Beverly we headed back to World Showcase for a little shopping. As we were walking from UK to France Lisa's cell phone rang. It was MY mother! What on earth was my mother doing calling my friend's wife's cell phone
Soon I would know the unfortunate answer. My DW's family was desperately trying to reach us but our phone was turned off. Her family called my mother, who in turn called Joe's mother who gave her Lisa's cell phone number. My mother told me the sad news that DW's grandfather had passed away. 
Now what do I do? How am I supposed to break it to my wife in the middle of Disney World that her grandfather died? I put my hand on her shoulder and just said it as straightforward as I could. She walked away to collect herself. The rest of us were at a loss for words.
If there is any silver lining to this at all, it was the fact that we knew this was coming. DW's grandmother warned her a few days before we left for WDW that Grandpa was not doing well. Most of the crying had already been done by the time we left for Orlando. It was a tough decision to make the trip at all, but DW's grandmother encouraged her to go anyway. Grandpa had Alzheimer's and had not been himself for a long time. As DW put it, Grandpa died long before his heart stopped beating. She decided that we should stay and try to have a good time. And stay we did - the entertainment in France and shopping in Japan helped keep our minds off the news. We finished the day with some comfort food at the Liberty Inn, which makes a surprisingly good root beer float.
After Epcot, none of us felt much like cooking so we went to Outback Steakhouse and called it a night.
Next - Day 3: Islands of Adventure. "I'm never riding Hulk again!"
Me: 30 y/o Male, compulsive planner
DW: 31 y/o Female, likes to sleep in
Joe: My best buddy from high school. A theme park commando who's motto is "It's not a vacation, it's a competition!"
Lisa: Joe's wife and Queen of the Timeshares. She owns or co-owns 5 weeks at various Central Florida resorts.
Day 2 - Epcot
Weather: Sunny, hot and humid, low 90s.
We used several factors to determine which day to hit which parks, but we mostly relied on info from the Unofficial Guide's website which has been updated to account for EMH. Our choice for Sunday was Epcot. As you can guess by the above description of the Cast there was some conflict as to how we would tour the parks. The boys were up at 7am ready to go, while the girls stumbled out of bed at 10am. This was a major departure from my last trip when DW and I made it for rope drop every morning. We bought our discounted 5-day Park Hopper Plus passes from the Vistana desk and landed at Epcot around 11am. At that point the commando boys sprung into action
We immediately grabbed FPs for Test Track and made a bee line for Mexico. We rode El Rio del Tiempo and Maelstrom in quick succession followed by lunch at China's Lotus Blossom Cafe. I love the bubble tea, but the food was sub-par. Chinese food is better at malls, and as all true New Yorkers know mall Chinese food sucks! After lunch our Test Track window was open, so we had a fun ride. Gotta love the Test Track souvenir shop! I'm pretty sure it's the only theme park gift shop where cars are for sale. From there we went to the Land for "Food Rocks." It's corny but I think it's hilarious. Then we ducked into the Living Seas for a short tour. TLS is not the same without the ride. Several people in our hydrolator complained about the elimination of the ride. I hope it comes back in some form in the future. After that we all agreed that we had our fill of Future World. The great thing about repeat visits is that you don't feel compelled to ride absolutely everything. Our last trip in 2001 was DW's first ever Disney visit and we did wall-to-wall touring. This trip was much more laid back.After a brief stop in Ice Station Cool for the obligatory shots of Beverly we headed back to World Showcase for a little shopping. As we were walking from UK to France Lisa's cell phone rang. It was MY mother! What on earth was my mother doing calling my friend's wife's cell phone
Soon I would know the unfortunate answer. My DW's family was desperately trying to reach us but our phone was turned off. Her family called my mother, who in turn called Joe's mother who gave her Lisa's cell phone number. My mother told me the sad news that DW's grandfather had passed away. Now what do I do? How am I supposed to break it to my wife in the middle of Disney World that her grandfather died? I put my hand on her shoulder and just said it as straightforward as I could. She walked away to collect herself. The rest of us were at a loss for words. If there is any silver lining to this at all, it was the fact that we knew this was coming. DW's grandmother warned her a few days before we left for WDW that Grandpa was not doing well. Most of the crying had already been done by the time we left for Orlando. It was a tough decision to make the trip at all, but DW's grandmother encouraged her to go anyway. Grandpa had Alzheimer's and had not been himself for a long time. As DW put it, Grandpa died long before his heart stopped beating. She decided that we should stay and try to have a good time. And stay we did - the entertainment in France and shopping in Japan helped keep our minds off the news. We finished the day with some comfort food at the Liberty Inn, which makes a surprisingly good root beer float.
After Epcot, none of us felt much like cooking so we went to Outback Steakhouse and called it a night.
Next - Day 3: Islands of Adventure. "I'm never riding Hulk again!"
