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Woke up early again (surprise) so I snuck
out with a big bag of laundry and my laptop and went downstairs. The
laundry room is right near the main entrance to the Sago Cay building.
I checked out the machines and found them empty at 6am in the morning. :-)
Ran to Gasparilla Grill to fill my mug and get about 10 dollars in quarters.
Its $2.00 per load to wash, $2.00 per dryer cycle (jeans took two cycles
to dry) and the detergent and fabric softener are also $2.00 each. We
brought our own laundry tablets and fabric softener sheets (they pack well,
but make sure to double or triple seal in Ziploc bags. Fired up the
machines and then went out to the near by lobby chairs to type some of my
trip report. It took a couple hours, which gave the rest of the family
time to wake up, and other guests had started showing up to use the machines.
(There were only 2 washers/dryers per building, so I can see where they might
get busy as the day goes on) It was nice to have a fresh supply of
clothes so we could re-wear our favorites.
Time for another DVC ad: I really missed our DVC room again while
washing laundry. The one bedroom units have a built in washer and
dryer to use free of charge. It is SO nice to just toss in a load
when you leave and we find we can pack a LOT less clothes this way.
Looking forward to our one bedroom this coming July for many reasons!
Ad off.
Went back upstairs and got ready for another Grand Floridian Cafe breakfast.
Yum! Used the vouchers again for the adults, and paid about 10 bucks
cash for a $100 breakfast! Some may not find this a good use of American
Express points, but it sure worked for me. There is something luxurious
about ordering the most expensive breakfast, and not thinking about PAYING
for it! :-) Once again, everything was wonderful.
This morning we were splitting up. Grandma and I were headed for
Epcot while Kristen and the girls were going to relax - allowing time for
the girls to play with their new toys and go play on the beach (little chilly
for swimming, but playing in the sand was almost as good!).
Grandma and I caught the monorail to the TTC, and then jumped on an uncrowded
monorail to Epcot (around 11:00 am). We entered Epcot pretty quickly
and headed for Mexico first. Today we planned to tour all the way around
World Showcase. Mom loved the Mexico pavilion, and bought some nice
hair barrettes for the girls. Very pretty and reasonably priced by
Disney standards. As we were leaving we found the Three Kings telling
their Christmas Story. They did a nice job, and we enjoyed hearing them.
On to Norway. Mom was not impressed with the Trolls, but I think
they were pretty cool. When we headed out we saw the Norwegian Gnome
storyteller. He was a lot of fun with an interesting sense of humor.
;-) I loved seeing the storytellers. I just wish we could
have seen them all!
Grandma was really looking forward to China and we spent quite a bit of
time walking through some displays of old Wedding garb from various cultures,
and then through the shops. Mom found many items she really liked -
we should have done this on our Candlelight Processional day and saved that
15%, but it just didn't work out time wise. I was hoping to catch the
Monkey King Storyteller, but they didn't show up while we were there.
On to Germany. I really enjoy looking through all the Cuckoo Clocks
and Christmas shop here best. I've purchased many Steinbach figurines
and ornaments over the years, and Mom recognized several she had received
as presents.
We didn't find a storyteller in Germany, but we did see Snow White posing
for photos. I was amused to see two mid twenties men go up to get there
picture taken with her, and quick as a flash, the nearby CM grabbed their
beer glasses before a photo could be taken. Can't have pictures of
Snow White carousing with young 'drunken' men, now can we?!
Next thing you know she'll be changing her last name! :-)
On to Italy where the Masquerade show was just finishing.
I never seem to find many interesting items (at least to me) in the Italian
shops (and I'm a quarter Italian, so it isn't for lack of interest!)
But I love the architecture and beauty of the pavilion.
Somewhere through here we had also seen the Spanish pavilion, but it is
easy to miss and easier to forget. It needs some serious work if it
is going to remain. Even if it is only temporary, it was very unimpressive.
Disney could do much better.
Next was the American pavilion and a nice Hot Coco and cookie break.
While relaxing at a nearby table the Fife and Drum players came out playing
Christmas Carols. It was a great show and drew quite a few spectators.
We went inside just long enough to see the Flag from the World Trade Center
and to look through the shop.
We had made it into the Japanese shops before the Candlelight Processional
(Mom babied her new Bonsai tree all the way back to NY) so we zipped through
here fairly quickly.
Morocco was fun to walk through and we did catch the Storyteller here
and learned about Ramadan. We saw Aladdin and Jasmine posing for photos
in the back, and hoped to return later with the girls and see them again.
Jasmine is a favorite princess, and they have asked several times to come
see her here.
We were getting tired now, so France , the UK and Canada went pretty quickly.
Mom loved all the countries, and really enjoyed our afternoon in World Showcase.
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