9) Mirror Mirror On the Wall.
This was Wednesday and had been selected as the day to see Fantasmic. There were two reasons for this
1) If Fantasmic was rained off we still had another day left on our park hoppers and so another chance to see it.
2) The forecast was good that day with only a 30% chance of rain.
Why do forecasters always say a 30% chance of rain? Are they all pessimists? Why don't they say a 70% chance of staying fine.
Anyway so as to get value from our Disney tix we worked out a plan backwards from Fantasmic. We would do a large part of Epcot, starting early. Take a break then go to MGM in time for the afternoon parade. Do all the good stuff there and finish off the night with Fantasmic.
We decided on Cracker Barrel for breakfast. The manager remembered us from a few days earlier and he made a fuss of the kids. Everyone knows Disney staff are very friendly but I do find in general that Americans working in the tourist industry seem to enjoy the interaction with their customers. I'm not knocking the British service industry but honestly I think that some of the people in it while not exactly hating the human race can maybe take it or leave it alone and maybe would be happier working in a chicken slaughtering factory or something. The last time a restaurant manager in Britain remembered me was when I skipped without paying the bill. - Joke btw. The quality of Cracker Barrels breakfasts is first class and heartily recommended. My breakfast came on three different plates today. Definitely a light lunch today!
We got to Epcot before everything was open. They seem to open Spaceship Earth early so on we went and all enjoyed it. It's a good intro to Epcot because it mixes the entertainment with the education element and so sets the scene for the rest of the park. The ropes had dropped when we came off and we made straight for Journey into Imagination. I don't think this was working properly or completely as we stopped several times and seemed to by pass a few sections. Maybe it was too early. There was not another guest anywhere in sight as we wandered through all those hands on exhibits in the exit area. We went straight into Honey I Shrunk the Audience, a great favourite. Once again the place was practically empty. Outside HISTA the kids were fascinated by those fountains where the water jumps from one bowl to another, as indeed was I. We could have watched them for hours but we were in commando mode as Epcot is so big.
We went into Universe of Energy Pavilion, the one where the whole theatre is a car. Ellen de Generes gets a mixed press in reviews of this attraction. personally I think it's an improvement on the last show. Then we went on Cranium Command, a hit with everyone. Body Wars, OK but not a patch on Star Tours. The crowds were still pretty light and we were virtually straight on Test Track. What a disappointment. Maybe I'm not the best one to judge though because I have to use the M62 quite often and believe me that's a much better way of testing cars' reactions. Not to mention the driver's sanity.
We went into the land pavilion and went on the Living with the Land boat ride and then despite the size of our earlier breakfasts decided on lunch. In the land pavilion is an enormous food court. For fast food the quality of most of it is pretty good. You can get chicken, ribs, cold sandwiches, salads, soups, curry, oriental snacks, fish, fruit and yoghurts. Unusually for an American food court you can't get a burger. In fact I've never before been in an American food court that didn't have burgers. So no prizes for guessing what the kids wanted for lunch. Cost of five burgers, fries and cokes at the Electric Umbrella $47. Quality, so-so.
We went back to the villa for a swim, a sleep and a shower, then it was off to MGM. I was by now routinely adding 30 minutes to any estimated journey time due to the Kia Sportage continually getting lost. This time though the car showed no inclination to explore new areas so we waltzed through the MGM gates at 4.20. Fortunate because the Stars in Motor Cars parade we wanted to see was starting at 4.30 and not at 5.00 as I had thought.
We found a good spot on the first corner so we were able to see the parade approaching as well as when it passed us by. Soon into the parade came the villains with Hook winding up the crowd. Grr. The Wicked Queen stood directly in front of me, pointed her finger, fixed me with an unblinking gaze and said " WHO IS THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL"
"You are" I replied immediately.
The woman stood next to me gave me a look that said 'wimp' but what did she know. Men are from Mars etc. The men reading this will know what I mean. For the ladies, let me try to explain. OK, if I was a cartoon turning up for a blind date I'd be more pleased to see the Wicked Queen or Cruella De Ville standing under the station clock than say Snow White or Belle. Now don't get me wrong. I like Belle, Aurora, Snow White and Cinderella. But as a brother likes a sister. Imagine having a date with Cinderella. She'll go ice skating sure, maybe even bowling. But a club later for a tequila slammer race? Or the Rocky Horror Show in fancy dress? I don't think so. And as for coffee at your place. No chance. She has to be in too early anyway. Midnight. No. Sorry. Not for me. A bit goody two shoes. Well actually, goody one shoe, if you know the story.
The parade was OK. Afterwards we saw the Muppets 3D show again and waited an hour to go on Star Tours, the longest wait of the whole holiday. It was posted for 20 minutes or we wouldn't have bothered. I was disappointed to find, when we finally got to the front, less than half the simulators in action. Maybe they messed up the staffing rota. We missed Indiana Jones because of it.
Due to the light crowds all week and due to the fact we didn't want an early dinner we hadn't booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package. We had planned to do another two or three rides/shows but we kept overhearing CMs telling guests how important it was to go to the Fantasmic show really early, up to two hours before showtime, to get a seat. Even though instinct told me not to I heard it so many times I started to get nervous about getting five seats together. It was crowded walking down to the fantasmic theatre but when we got there there was loads of room. Later people would arrive 15 minutes before the show and get seats. There are no bad seats. The show is indescribably good. If anyone is thinking about skipping this show take my advice. Don't.
We went to Bennigans for dinner and not for the first time we were entertained by a 'balloon animal maker'. A strange choice of career you may think but hey don't knock it. They work for tips but can be at a table for as little as two minutes picking up two to five dollars per party. You do the maths. Not bad money. I started to wonder if they had a union. Then I thought of how many I had seen up to now and how much money was being generated by their activities. Obviously this is being controlled by the mob. Picture the scene. It's a sit down in a restaurant. Only one table is being used. Ugly guys are guarding the door. There are three men at the table. The middle one says. "This war must cease. Now listen to me. Rocco you will have the numbers, off-track betting and prostitution, and you Vincenzo, you will have the balloon animal makers in Kissimmee."
To be continued...
This was Wednesday and had been selected as the day to see Fantasmic. There were two reasons for this
1) If Fantasmic was rained off we still had another day left on our park hoppers and so another chance to see it.
2) The forecast was good that day with only a 30% chance of rain.
Why do forecasters always say a 30% chance of rain? Are they all pessimists? Why don't they say a 70% chance of staying fine.
Anyway so as to get value from our Disney tix we worked out a plan backwards from Fantasmic. We would do a large part of Epcot, starting early. Take a break then go to MGM in time for the afternoon parade. Do all the good stuff there and finish off the night with Fantasmic.
We decided on Cracker Barrel for breakfast. The manager remembered us from a few days earlier and he made a fuss of the kids. Everyone knows Disney staff are very friendly but I do find in general that Americans working in the tourist industry seem to enjoy the interaction with their customers. I'm not knocking the British service industry but honestly I think that some of the people in it while not exactly hating the human race can maybe take it or leave it alone and maybe would be happier working in a chicken slaughtering factory or something. The last time a restaurant manager in Britain remembered me was when I skipped without paying the bill. - Joke btw. The quality of Cracker Barrels breakfasts is first class and heartily recommended. My breakfast came on three different plates today. Definitely a light lunch today!
We got to Epcot before everything was open. They seem to open Spaceship Earth early so on we went and all enjoyed it. It's a good intro to Epcot because it mixes the entertainment with the education element and so sets the scene for the rest of the park. The ropes had dropped when we came off and we made straight for Journey into Imagination. I don't think this was working properly or completely as we stopped several times and seemed to by pass a few sections. Maybe it was too early. There was not another guest anywhere in sight as we wandered through all those hands on exhibits in the exit area. We went straight into Honey I Shrunk the Audience, a great favourite. Once again the place was practically empty. Outside HISTA the kids were fascinated by those fountains where the water jumps from one bowl to another, as indeed was I. We could have watched them for hours but we were in commando mode as Epcot is so big.
We went into Universe of Energy Pavilion, the one where the whole theatre is a car. Ellen de Generes gets a mixed press in reviews of this attraction. personally I think it's an improvement on the last show. Then we went on Cranium Command, a hit with everyone. Body Wars, OK but not a patch on Star Tours. The crowds were still pretty light and we were virtually straight on Test Track. What a disappointment. Maybe I'm not the best one to judge though because I have to use the M62 quite often and believe me that's a much better way of testing cars' reactions. Not to mention the driver's sanity.
We went into the land pavilion and went on the Living with the Land boat ride and then despite the size of our earlier breakfasts decided on lunch. In the land pavilion is an enormous food court. For fast food the quality of most of it is pretty good. You can get chicken, ribs, cold sandwiches, salads, soups, curry, oriental snacks, fish, fruit and yoghurts. Unusually for an American food court you can't get a burger. In fact I've never before been in an American food court that didn't have burgers. So no prizes for guessing what the kids wanted for lunch. Cost of five burgers, fries and cokes at the Electric Umbrella $47. Quality, so-so.
We went back to the villa for a swim, a sleep and a shower, then it was off to MGM. I was by now routinely adding 30 minutes to any estimated journey time due to the Kia Sportage continually getting lost. This time though the car showed no inclination to explore new areas so we waltzed through the MGM gates at 4.20. Fortunate because the Stars in Motor Cars parade we wanted to see was starting at 4.30 and not at 5.00 as I had thought.
We found a good spot on the first corner so we were able to see the parade approaching as well as when it passed us by. Soon into the parade came the villains with Hook winding up the crowd. Grr. The Wicked Queen stood directly in front of me, pointed her finger, fixed me with an unblinking gaze and said " WHO IS THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL"
"You are" I replied immediately.
The woman stood next to me gave me a look that said 'wimp' but what did she know. Men are from Mars etc. The men reading this will know what I mean. For the ladies, let me try to explain. OK, if I was a cartoon turning up for a blind date I'd be more pleased to see the Wicked Queen or Cruella De Ville standing under the station clock than say Snow White or Belle. Now don't get me wrong. I like Belle, Aurora, Snow White and Cinderella. But as a brother likes a sister. Imagine having a date with Cinderella. She'll go ice skating sure, maybe even bowling. But a club later for a tequila slammer race? Or the Rocky Horror Show in fancy dress? I don't think so. And as for coffee at your place. No chance. She has to be in too early anyway. Midnight. No. Sorry. Not for me. A bit goody two shoes. Well actually, goody one shoe, if you know the story.
The parade was OK. Afterwards we saw the Muppets 3D show again and waited an hour to go on Star Tours, the longest wait of the whole holiday. It was posted for 20 minutes or we wouldn't have bothered. I was disappointed to find, when we finally got to the front, less than half the simulators in action. Maybe they messed up the staffing rota. We missed Indiana Jones because of it.
Due to the light crowds all week and due to the fact we didn't want an early dinner we hadn't booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package. We had planned to do another two or three rides/shows but we kept overhearing CMs telling guests how important it was to go to the Fantasmic show really early, up to two hours before showtime, to get a seat. Even though instinct told me not to I heard it so many times I started to get nervous about getting five seats together. It was crowded walking down to the fantasmic theatre but when we got there there was loads of room. Later people would arrive 15 minutes before the show and get seats. There are no bad seats. The show is indescribably good. If anyone is thinking about skipping this show take my advice. Don't.
We went to Bennigans for dinner and not for the first time we were entertained by a 'balloon animal maker'. A strange choice of career you may think but hey don't knock it. They work for tips but can be at a table for as little as two minutes picking up two to five dollars per party. You do the maths. Not bad money. I started to wonder if they had a union. Then I thought of how many I had seen up to now and how much money was being generated by their activities. Obviously this is being controlled by the mob. Picture the scene. It's a sit down in a restaurant. Only one table is being used. Ugly guys are guarding the door. There are three men at the table. The middle one says. "This war must cease. Now listen to me. Rocco you will have the numbers, off-track betting and prostitution, and you Vincenzo, you will have the balloon animal makers in Kissimmee."
To be continued...
