'Where's your prince' and will this tale end 'happily ever after'? Sept 11 - Complete

[Nermel9]

Great update! Isn't Soarin amazing??? I wish there was a time Soarin wasn't busy so they would just let me ride it over and over!

You are getting such great character pictures! I really wanted to meet Chip and Dale at Epcot, but whenever I would look for them, they weren't out! And I would love to do the Character Spot someday, but the line is always so long!

I didn't like Test Track when I first went on it, either. It took us til last year to finally give it another try, and now we love it! I think the fast part needs to be a lot longer. I think they might be refurbing it soon!

 

[petals]

Great trip report so far!

 

[TanzUnited99]

EPCOT! Yay!
Love the pictures with Bruce, too funny! I love all the character spot pictures too!

Yay! I love Epcot!

Thanks yes they have turned out pretty funny! We loved the character spot and are glad we decided to pay it a visit.

What a great update, Tanz. I love that Character Spot for photos (unfortunately, we didn't have time this year). So glad you loved Soarin' -- it is a favorite of ours.

Thanks Kathy! It is a great spot though the wait is the down side. I probably wouldn't want to visit every time but once in a while is fun. As it was our first visit I wanted to make sure we were able to fit it in our plans.

I can see why Soarin' is a favourite - it's soo good.

I am glad you were able to get pics with Chip and Dale. It helps remind me where they are in Epcot! (Dh loves them. We always get shots with the ones in tomorrowland, and they are in costume.)

I'm glad as well. Lol I'm happy to be of help! I've seen many photos of the tomorrowland Chip n Dale and so wanted to meet them however we did not get to do that this time round.

It sounds like a good morning at Epcot without too much rushing. I love when we see a bus pulling up. We always run too!

It wasn't nice of you to leave us hanging about your dinner ressie!

It was a good morning but I enjoyed the next few visits that are coming up as I actually got to stop and smell the roses. We tried not to run where we didn't have to but we were behind schedule today and knew we needed to get back to Pop pretty quickly.

Sorry! I will probably post later on in the week however if you really want to know then you can peek in at my dining review - it has the answer!

I don't know if it's my computer or what but I can't see your photos

From what you wrote it seemed like a wonderful day at Epcot!

Aaw I'm sad you can't see my photos They seem to be working fine for me so not sure what the problem is.

It was a great first day at Epcot but I enjoyed this park more later on in the trip.

I love the strawberry short cake, I wish I had one now!

Soaring in our favorite ride there, followed bt TT then Nemo. Turtle Talkw/ Crush is amazing as how he does chat with guests.

I love that strawberry shortcake as well and need to find a substitute I can have all year long - it'll be tough but I think that's going to be my upcoming task!

I totally agree with Soarin'. Not sure about TT (need to give it another shot) but agree with Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush. I know - it's so cool how he does that and can tell you everything.

We've not done the character spot yet, mainly because we usually meet all of them before hand or in different parks. Maybe next time!

I hope you made your ressie, and Illuminations!

The main reason for me doing that character spot was to meet Donald with my shirt on - don't think I would have been as keen otherwise.

I think you know the answer to that one

Great update! Isn't Soarin amazing??? I wish there was a time Soarin wasn't busy so they would just let me ride it over and over!

Thanks! Oh Soarin' is AWESOME!! I don't think I can actually describe how good that attraction is I would love to keep going on it again and again as well. I did get to go on it more than once but it still wasn't enough times

You are getting such great character pictures! I really wanted to meet Chip and Dale at Epcot, but whenever I would look for them, they weren't out! And I would love to do the Character Spot someday, but the line is always so long!

They are great, aren't they? Aaw that's a shame that they are never out when you are in the park. Hope you get to see them on a future trip. We were lucky in that we came across them whilst we were walking from one part of the park to another. The line is always long for the Character Spot - I'm not sure I would rush to do it again but it is fun once in a while.

I didn't like Test Track when I first went on it, either. It took us til last year to finally give it another try, and now we love it! I think the fast part needs to be a lot longer. I think they might be refurbing it soon!

That's good to hear! I'll have to give it another try. Ooh I hope it does get refurbed soon

Great trip report so far!

and thank you for the compliment

It's my first TR so I hope I am doing a good job.

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

I don't know if I posted...and I didn't check. I read your update earlier but had to do other things. So, here is more if I didn't...

I love that you had the front row with no feet for Soarin. I love that you ducked for the golf ball!

We enjoy Living with the Land and ride it every trip! My girls often want to ride it twice! My family enjoys it so much, we are actually going to do the Behind the Seeds tour in December. At least you had time to write in your journal...

I love the queue for the Nemo ride...I think more than the ride itself...odd I know. We need to do it again though, so we can tour the aquarium! Such an awesome addition to EPCOT that I don't think people even know about.

Great meet and greets!

I think that you made your ADR!

 

[PixieMama]

Yay, so glad you loved Soarin'!

Aren't the characters the best? Love the interaction you had with Donald!

 

[rndmr2]

I read the dining report yesterday so I decided to read the regular TR today.

Doing great so far, I love all the character Meet and greet pics you have gotten. I haven't met any characters in my past few trips, my DH isn't one for character pics with no kids so I guess those will have to wait...

I love Soarin'! I love the scents as well, the orange is my favorite, that may be a nostalgic thing for me though because it reminds me of Horizons (the attraction that Mission Space replaced) where there was a scene with an orange grove and you could smell the oranges.

 

[TanzUnited99]

I don't know if I posted...and I didn't check. I read your update earlier but had to do other things. So, here is more if I didn't...

No worries - thanks for posting more. I love reading all your comments

I love that you had the front row with no feet for Soarin. I love that you ducked for the golf ball!

We were so pleased that we got front row on our first Soarin' ride. We did notice the difference in being in the middle row later on in the trip. Yeah, that was funny! We were laughing about it afterwards but as I wasn't expecting it my natural instinct was to duck!

We enjoy Living with the Land and ride it every trip! My girls often want to ride it twice! My family enjoys it so much, we are actually going to do the Behind the Seeds tour in December. At least you had time to write in your journal...

I can see why Living with the Land would be fun and I did like it but Zaheer enjoyed it that much more. Ooh I look forward to reading about the Behind the Seeds tour and how you find it. Yes, I sure had plenty of time to write in my journal!

I love the queue for the Nemo ride...I think more than the ride itself...odd I know. We need to do it again though, so we can tour the aquarium! Such an awesome addition to EPCOT that I don't think people even know about.

That is odd...don't think we paid that much attention to the actual queue this time. I'll have to pay more attention on a future trip to see why you like it so much.

That is a great addition and although we knew about it we just didn't spend that much time there. Another reason to return...the list is endless!

Great meet and greets!

I think that you made your ADR!

Thanks!

All will be revealed tomorrow

Yay, so glad you loved Soarin'!

Thanks! I knew I would fall in love with Soarin' but wasn't sure about Zaheer especially with the heights situation. However he loved it as well...looks like his fear is of drops not heights!

Aren't the characters the best? Love the interaction you had with Donald!

I loved the characters and had I been on my own would have stopped in loads more places as well. The interaction with Donald sure was a highlight - he was awesome!

I read the dining report yesterday so I decided to read the regular TR today.

and thank you for reading the TR and the dining report

Doing great so far, I love all the character Meet and greet pics you have gotten. I haven't met any characters in my past few trips, my DH isn't one for character pics with no kids so I guess those will have to wait...

Tell me about it! Although we did do quite a lot meet and greets this trip Zaheer did get tired of them and was not as willing to wait later on in the trip. I guess I just have to take someone who doesn't mind meeting characters.

I love Soarin'! I love the scents as well, the orange is my favorite, that may be a nostalgic thing for me though because it reminds me of Horizons (the attraction that Mission Space replaced) where there was a scene with an orange grove and you could smell the oranges.

Yay another Soarin' lover!! That orange smell sure is the best...I can just imagine smelling it right about now! Ooh I never got to experience Horizons which is probably just as well as I would probably miss the orange smell even more. However my feelings for Mission Space are split as you will see later on

 

[QuirkyButterfly]

All caught up . I am glad that Zaheer got back into the swing with character photos. This was one of my favourite parts, the characters were so fun to interact with. Adam had a great time talking to them as well, so he would point them out when he saw them so we could jump in line. Pop sounds like it was a good resort, that multi coloured cupcake looks yummy. I am jealous that you had 2 days in Animal Kingdom, we found that one day was just not enough, despite everyone on the boards saying that it is only a 1/2 day park. I wasn't too thrilled with Test Track either, I thought it was boring, I just didn't get it. Can't wait to read more, sorry this has been a bit of a random post.

 

[TanzUnited99]

All caught up . I am glad that Zaheer got back into the swing with character photos. This was one of my favourite parts, the characters were so fun to interact with. Adam had a great time talking to them as well, so he would point them out when he saw them so we could jump in line. Pop sounds like it was a good resort, that multi coloured cupcake looks yummy. I am jealous that you had 2 days in Animal Kingdom, we found that one day was just not enough, despite everyone on the boards saying that it is only a 1/2 day park. I wasn't too thrilled with Test Track either, I thought it was boring, I just didn't get it. Can't wait to read more, sorry this has been a bit of a random post.

Yay and thanks for catching up!

I'm glad he was willing to wait - he was more excited at the start of our trip. The characters sure were great and none of them made us feel uncomfortable for being without kids. I'm happy to read you both enjoyed the characters and that's great of Adam to point them out so you could wait in line. Pop was great - I'm happy our first trip was at this resort and that cupcake was yummy! Zaheer tried the cheesecake later on and enjoyed it. I never got to taste it though.

When I was planning the second day at AK I was a bit dubious especially after having read all the comments on these boards. However that was the best thing we did as even with 2 days we still felt we could have spent extra time at this park - we loved it! Sorry you never managed to get to see everything you wanted at AK.

They were exactly my thoughts on Test Track. We were sat with someone from the single riders queue who was returning for the third time so though it would be good. However, when it was over we both just looked at each other and thought 'is that it?'

No worries on the random post - am glad you are here and hope to post more soon

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

The queue isn't that exciting at all...I just enjoy the beach feel to it, and the little signs... honestly, you didn't miss anything!

 

[kathleen27]

I'm glad you loved Soarin'!

Sounds like more charcter fun, especially with Donald!

The strawberry shortcake looks good! One of my favorite desserts!

Sorry you didn't enjoy Test Track as much though! We had trouble with that line last time too.

 

[Pinkocto]

The queue isn't that exciting at all...I just enjoy the beach feel to it, and the little signs... honestly, you didn't miss anything!

Oh no, don't retract your thoughts, I totally agreed with you, I love that queue. It totally stages the ride. You start off at the beach and you gradually are walking under water. It gets darker and there are barnacles on the railings, and there's a boat above you. It's fantastic!

 

[TanzUnited99]

The queue isn't that exciting at all...I just enjoy the beach feel to it, and the little signs... honestly, you didn't miss anything!

That's good to hear - will still be paying better attention to it next time

I'm glad you loved Soarin'!

Sounds like more charcter fun, especially with Donald!

The strawberry shortcake looks good! One of my favorite desserts!

Sorry you didn't enjoy Test Track as much though! We had trouble with that line last time too.

I'm glad as well.

Donald was a hoot! We loved meeting with him

That strawberry shortcake is one of my favourite desserts now as well!

Yeah it just wasn't what we expected and the long waiting time didn't help.

Oh no, don't retract your thoughts, I totally agreed with you, I love that queue. It totally stages the ride. You start off at the beach and you gradually are walking under water. It gets darker and there are barnacles on the railings, and there's a boat above you. It's fantastic!

I obviously didn't pay enough attention! Will have to enjoy the queue on a future trip.

 

[TanzUnited99]

So when I last left off we were trying to make it back to Epcot for our reservation at Les Chefs de France. I was ready and waiting on Zaheer. We left the room at 7.10pm and realised the DSLR was back in the room. Zaheer went back to get it and I walked onto the bus stop. There was a bus for DHS and one for MK but none for Epcot - go figure! Zaheer caught up and finally a bus for Epcot arrived. It was 7.25pm and we were just getting on the bus. Our reservation was for 7.30pm so we had 5 minutes to get to Epcot, go through bag check and walk all the way to France. Would we make it?

Our bus driver went so slow - where as this morning it took us 5 minutes now it took us 15 minutes. This means it was now 7.40pm! We got off the bus, were first through bag check and went to the same entrance as this morning to find it had now turned into the exit turnstiles!! We went to the right entrance and then legged it to France. The next few pics of me are really bad as I was sweating non-stop by the time we had arrived at the restaurant!

Luckily we checked in and they said they could still seat us. There were so many people trying to get a walk in without much luck. They were turning everyone away unless you had a reservation.

We had a bit of a wait so took some pics by the fountain and restaurant stand whilst waiting.

We got called and were seated. Our server Maria came over to introduce herself and take our drinks order. She was very good. We spoke with the chef and both decided on the prix Fixe 3 courses meal. Zaheer started with the salad au bleu and I got the Lobster bisque soup. Zaheer said his salad was good and I enjoyed my soup with the baguette and butter that was provided. This was yummy but I already was starting to feel full by the end of it!

For mains we both got the roasted chicken with potatoes and tomatoes. The portion size was huge and neither of us managed to finish it. It was nice though.

For dessert we both got the profiteroles and to be honest we had tasted better. We were also a bit full by this point so once again were unable to finish the dessert.

The best part about eating here was definitely watching Illuminations whilst having our meal. We had not seen this show yet but had a great view from where we were sitting and considering the amounts of 'wow' that I said whilst watching the fireworks I couldn't wait to see the show from a different view later on in the trip. We both enjoyed the fireworks so have no pics of them.

After we had eaten and cooled down from all the running we went to England and visited the sports shop. I had a look at the Manchester United shirts and boy were they pricey! We took some pics in the phone booth and made our way back to Future World.

I also took a random shot of the Fish and Chip CS.

We went in Mousegears and had a look around. I saw a couple of things I liked but decided to wait until later to purchase them.

After this we headed to Soarin' to use our FPs. I'm so glad we had got these earlier as the wait time was posted at 70 minutes! People were actually queuing as well. As much as I loved Soarin' there was no way I was going to wait that long for a ride. This was the time we were in second row and although it was a good flight it just wasn't the same as the front row. I didn't like seeing feet obscuring my view

We took this pretty shot of the fountain along our travels.

This is also when we went on the green side of MS using our FPs again. To be honest the queue for this was pretty non-existant so we didn't really need the FPs. It was a good ride but I felt a bit queasy and think I said that I would not return here in a hurry. Zaheer had decided he wanted to return and do the orange side on our next Epcot day! This guy can't do Splash Mountain but can do orange side of Mission Space. I totally don't get how his mind works

So would I attempt the orange side of Mission Space after just about getting through the green side? You will have to wait and find out!

After the ride Zaheer decided to try on some hats in the shop.

It was past midnight at this point - wow time flew and we didn't even realise it! We decided to call it a night and head out of Epcot. We got to the bus and met Sandy again. We walked back with her. I had a tablet (although my hip joint wasn't hurting I wanted to keep on top of it especially with all the walking we had been doing) and planned what we would be doing on our next day before hitting my nice lovely pillow for the night

Coming next: Would we ever get an early start and does this effect our chances of riding TSMM?

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Love your update--we had the same problem rushing to make Le Chefs!

Glad you were able to enjoy your meal and Illuminations! I wish I had known you were in the booth...I would have called you!

Very pretty dress for dinner!

 

[Chaitali]

I'm glad you had fun at Epcot! It's good to hear about your experience with Mission Space. We didn't try it last time and I'm still a little hesitant since I can get motion sick sometimes. So you felt queasy even on the tamer version?

 

[BerrysGirl]

I'm glad you liked France! Did you get to see Remy from Ratatouille? We got to see him in March when we went for lunch and he was adorable!

He wanted to come home with us until we said we had pet cats
I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't obsessed with the profiteroles. I'd much rather have the creme brulee any day!
So I've always wanted to know this... what's it like, being from England, walking through the UK pavilion? Was it interesting or did you more or less feel like you wanted to skip it to see other things?

 

[Queenofallthings]

Great update...glad they were still able to seat you! I hate having to rush, but trust me, we've done it on more than one occassion You look lovely btw!! I love the pictures of Zaheer with the NASA helmet on

 

[IheartDDuck]

I agree that the first row is definitely the best on Soarin'. It's not the same when you are in other rows.

Okay, Zaheer is too funny wanting to try Mission Space orange, but not wanting to ride Splash Mountain. I'm with you, I don't understand the logic either.

 

[Nermel9]

Great update! I'm glad Disney is understanding about being late to ADR's, sometimes it's impossible to get there on time! Glad you enjoyed Illuminations, I LOVE it!

I don't like not being in the first row on Soarin' either, this trip we actually requested being in the front!

I love Mission Space, but Brandon absolutely refuses to go on the orange side ever again, and I'm still not brave enough to do it alone! Maybe next trip!