Joe
11-10-2003, 01:53 PM
Thursday. This is the day we are going to spend our entire time at EPCOT. I know there is no way to see the entire park in one day, but we are going to give it the old college try. Our first stop was TT to check on FastPasses, then to Mission Space to see what their time was. Mission Space won with a shorter return time, so we got FPs for there. While killing time for the FPs to open, we did the Energy and Life pavilions. Cranium Command is one of those rides that I can do almost every time we go, it just has such a cool premise. By the time we finished up in Life, it was time for the Mission Space ride. We ran over to TT and got FPs for it, then back to Mission Space for our inaugural ride. I have to admit there was some trepidation on my part about going on this ride, and all of the warnings they give you as you are entering didn’t help it much. Only 5 of the 8 of us were willing to ride this one, and that was probably a good thing. The other 3 are prone to queasy stomachs. I really liked the entry areas, mission control rooms, and the general theme of the ride areas. The ride itself was fun, but I was very glad it did not cover the round trip. Stopping where it did was perfect. From there, it was off to lunch at Electric Umbrella (yes, right after Mission Space). As the Food and Wine Festival was going on, the adults wanted to wait to eat and see what was available around the World Showcase, so just the kids and I got lunch. Wandering the booths of the F&W festival yielded some interesting snacks, but nothing that really jumped up and said “Eat Me!”. I was very glad I had decided to eat the Electric Umbrella. Cathy, Gary, Karen and Shirlee had a couple of tidbits, but were still looking for real food as we headed back to Test Track to ride with our FPs. We did the FP ride, then all decided to go through the Single line for one more trip as the wait was only 15 minutes. I think the wait was more like 10 and we were on. This is a great way to ride TT again, if you are looking for a quick turnaround and don’t mind being separated. Once that ride was over, the younger girls decided it would be ok for a third ride, and hit the Single line again! After the third round, it was Turkey legs for all the adults that didn’t get lunch, as they were getting weak from hunger. We made a PS at Japan hoping to work it so we finished dinner just about the time Illuminations started, but could only get one for 8:30. We took it anyway and decided we would get there early and see how crowded they were. After a visit to the Living Seas, we were off for a stroll to World Showcase to get to Japan and dinner. We showed up at Tippanyaki around 7:30 and were told we would have a 20-minute wait for our party of 8. That’s just enough time for a Kirin in the bar and off to our table. While we really enjoy the Tppanyaki style of cooking, our cook this evening was not very animated or interactive. He also cooked the chicken a bit longer than he should have, and it dried out. I would try this restaurant again, because I always give someone a second chance, and would hope they typically do a better job than we saw. The really great part was we finished dinner and paid the check at 8:58, just enough time to head on out to the second story deck for Illuminations! What a great show, we always love watching the evening shows at WDW, and our first timers were suitably impressed. Their comment was that Disney sure pulled out all the stops for their fireworks shows.
Friday was our last day with anything near a goal, and we wanted to finish up Disney Studios and Fantasmic. On arrival, we got Fast Passes for ToT because we didn’t get to ride it on Wednesday. Our return time was several hours off, so we saw the Making of the Haunted Mansion, Backlot Tour, and Star Tours in the interim. We also had lunch at the counter service place between Star Tours and Indiana Jones. This was a great lunch and will very likely take over for the ABC commissary in our plans. I have not been happy with their offerings since they started playing with the menu in there. The latest change offers a Cuban Sandwich that is more like a Ham, Turkey and Swiss on a hard flat bun. Just didn’t really get my motor going. After lunch, it was time for ToT, so off to the other side of the park for the death drop. This was our first time riding with the change from lap bars to seat belts, and I have to admit I like the seat belts better. We got through the FP line in about 20 minutes, and the kids decided to go again. As we had gotten 8 FPs and only used 5 the first time, the Cathy and the 2 girls went for a second ride. It was getting toward time for Indiana Jones, and this was a show Gary wanted to see, so off to the other side of the park and the stunt show. Done with Indy and its time for Beauty and the Beast. This is a great show, and if you have the hour or so, I would strongly recommend it. We had done about all that we were planning for the Studios, so it was time to shop while waiting for Fantasmic to open. With the 8 of us, shopping was an adventure, but not too chaotic. We closed the day with Fantasmic, another great show, and dinner at Cape May in the Yacht Club.
Saturday – This was the day I had kind of planned as a catch-up day. One to use to go back and see anything that absolutely had to be seen one more time, or fill in any huge holes. I pretty much left it up to everyone else as to what we did, and the decision was pool hopping. We decided to head over to the Polynesian pool for a bit and then see what developed. I have to caution, that even though you call over to a resort’s desk to check on the availability of pool hopping, it’s usually better to go over to the desired resort and check it out for yourself. I did call the Poly and ask if they were allowing pool hopping for the day and was told that you were only allowed to hop to other pools at DVC resorts. Knowing this to not be the case, we headed over anyway, but were fully prepared to come back to the Boardwalk if there was a problem. When we got there, we found that there was no problem with our being at the pool, and the kids dove right in. Playing in the Poly pool was fun, and we stayed there until lunchtime when we headed back to the Boardwalk for the afternoon. The rest of the day was spent in the Luna Pool at the BW. The kids took a vote, and they decided they liked the BW pool over the Poly, and it was a dead heat for Stormalong Bay. So, I think I know where we will be spending our pool time when we wander from the OKW. Dinner was at the Brew Pub and Grill on the BW, good food and brews! We had a 7:00 AM flight on Sunday, so this was an early night to let everyone get some rest before heading back to reality…..
Sunday morning saw Scoobey from Atlantis picking us up in the Super Stretch at 5:00 AM. The girls were, once again, living the dream. We warned them, again, that this was a one time deal and not to get used to it. Even the princesses had to get ready for the jolt back to reality. A quick ride to the Airport, and we were on our way back to Denver. Now, picture this; we leave WDW where the weather has been in the mid-80s, sunshine and fabulous. When we arrive in Denver at 10:30 AM, it is foggy, misting and in the upper 40’s! Talk about a rude, rude shock out of vacation mode and back to reality! Our quests are asking me how Disney controls everything in their environment so well, even down to the weather…..lol. On the ride back to Colorado Springs, we have time to reminisce about the trip. All in all, it was a great trip and taking a first time family with us was a blast. Seeing the World for the first time through their eyes was a great refresher for us folks that have been there so many times. I did learn patience on this trip. There is just no way to get 8 people moving quickly without acting like a First Sergeant. And we also learned that while you can just walk up to most restaurants and get a table for 3 this time of year, a party of 8 takes more planning. PSs were certainly a help for those meals we wanted to sit down and enjoy, but a cold walk-up meant a long wait at most places. Since we did not want to plan that much for this trip, we did a lot of improvising and counter service eating. And the cool part is; we are already discussing the next trip to finish up a lot of the things we did not get to see and make a trip over to Kennedy Space Center. Gary is really excited about going over there and seeing everything on the complex. Will have to see if I can get a personal tour of a couple of the launch pads for that trip.
Friday was our last day with anything near a goal, and we wanted to finish up Disney Studios and Fantasmic. On arrival, we got Fast Passes for ToT because we didn’t get to ride it on Wednesday. Our return time was several hours off, so we saw the Making of the Haunted Mansion, Backlot Tour, and Star Tours in the interim. We also had lunch at the counter service place between Star Tours and Indiana Jones. This was a great lunch and will very likely take over for the ABC commissary in our plans. I have not been happy with their offerings since they started playing with the menu in there. The latest change offers a Cuban Sandwich that is more like a Ham, Turkey and Swiss on a hard flat bun. Just didn’t really get my motor going. After lunch, it was time for ToT, so off to the other side of the park for the death drop. This was our first time riding with the change from lap bars to seat belts, and I have to admit I like the seat belts better. We got through the FP line in about 20 minutes, and the kids decided to go again. As we had gotten 8 FPs and only used 5 the first time, the Cathy and the 2 girls went for a second ride. It was getting toward time for Indiana Jones, and this was a show Gary wanted to see, so off to the other side of the park and the stunt show. Done with Indy and its time for Beauty and the Beast. This is a great show, and if you have the hour or so, I would strongly recommend it. We had done about all that we were planning for the Studios, so it was time to shop while waiting for Fantasmic to open. With the 8 of us, shopping was an adventure, but not too chaotic. We closed the day with Fantasmic, another great show, and dinner at Cape May in the Yacht Club.
Saturday – This was the day I had kind of planned as a catch-up day. One to use to go back and see anything that absolutely had to be seen one more time, or fill in any huge holes. I pretty much left it up to everyone else as to what we did, and the decision was pool hopping. We decided to head over to the Polynesian pool for a bit and then see what developed. I have to caution, that even though you call over to a resort’s desk to check on the availability of pool hopping, it’s usually better to go over to the desired resort and check it out for yourself. I did call the Poly and ask if they were allowing pool hopping for the day and was told that you were only allowed to hop to other pools at DVC resorts. Knowing this to not be the case, we headed over anyway, but were fully prepared to come back to the Boardwalk if there was a problem. When we got there, we found that there was no problem with our being at the pool, and the kids dove right in. Playing in the Poly pool was fun, and we stayed there until lunchtime when we headed back to the Boardwalk for the afternoon. The rest of the day was spent in the Luna Pool at the BW. The kids took a vote, and they decided they liked the BW pool over the Poly, and it was a dead heat for Stormalong Bay. So, I think I know where we will be spending our pool time when we wander from the OKW. Dinner was at the Brew Pub and Grill on the BW, good food and brews! We had a 7:00 AM flight on Sunday, so this was an early night to let everyone get some rest before heading back to reality…..
Sunday morning saw Scoobey from Atlantis picking us up in the Super Stretch at 5:00 AM. The girls were, once again, living the dream. We warned them, again, that this was a one time deal and not to get used to it. Even the princesses had to get ready for the jolt back to reality. A quick ride to the Airport, and we were on our way back to Denver. Now, picture this; we leave WDW where the weather has been in the mid-80s, sunshine and fabulous. When we arrive in Denver at 10:30 AM, it is foggy, misting and in the upper 40’s! Talk about a rude, rude shock out of vacation mode and back to reality! Our quests are asking me how Disney controls everything in their environment so well, even down to the weather…..lol. On the ride back to Colorado Springs, we have time to reminisce about the trip. All in all, it was a great trip and taking a first time family with us was a blast. Seeing the World for the first time through their eyes was a great refresher for us folks that have been there so many times. I did learn patience on this trip. There is just no way to get 8 people moving quickly without acting like a First Sergeant. And we also learned that while you can just walk up to most restaurants and get a table for 3 this time of year, a party of 8 takes more planning. PSs were certainly a help for those meals we wanted to sit down and enjoy, but a cold walk-up meant a long wait at most places. Since we did not want to plan that much for this trip, we did a lot of improvising and counter service eating. And the cool part is; we are already discussing the next trip to finish up a lot of the things we did not get to see and make a trip over to Kennedy Space Center. Gary is really excited about going over there and seeing everything on the complex. Will have to see if I can get a personal tour of a couple of the launch pads for that trip.