kimmar067
TAGS?? It's all about the 'likes' now!
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2001
- Messages
- 154,985
Thursday, August 1 ~~
Wow, I can hardly believe that it is August already. Time seems to "stand still" when you are visiting the "World". Today is our "Epcot" day, so we have plenty of activites planned. However, the "commando-style" park-hopping is beginning to take its toll, and my family members aren't as eager to wake up as early as I had hoped. My reasoning for the "up-and-at-'em" attitude was that, we could enter a particular park, leave by noon to return to the WL, and have a go at "round 2" in the evening. This way, we could pace ourselves, enjoy all that the WL has to offer, and not get so frazzled by being with each other ALL DAY LONG!! I guess it didn't help that 4 of our family members decided to try out PI the night before, only to return to the WL after 1AM......
!!
After a "quick" breakfast at Roaring Fork, we decided to meet up with everyone at the bus stop. The first clue that this was going to be a "trying" day, was that my DS-in-L, along with my 2 oldest DS's, were "trapped" in the arcade. Meanwhile an "Epcot" bus came and went, followed by several other park buses. Fifteen minutes later, along with the beginnings of some "attitudes", we were finally on our way. (you see, Epcot seems to be the "least favorite" park of my DS's and my DS-in-L) All I kept hearing, was the mumbling of "It's boring, why do we have to go to Epcot?, I HATE Epcot, etc." I think it's because they are afraid that they might actually LEARN something about the planet they inhabit ~ God forbid....
Again, we waited at the rope drop, to make a bee-line to Test Track. The rope was not even dropped yet and there was a 45-minute wait already!! (I guess WDW anticipated this by the crowd size). Our party of 13 were soon separated - my DH, my DS's, my girlfriend, and I were near the front of the stand-by line, while the rest of our "crew" managed to get several yards behind us. I have ridden on TT many times; this was the 1st time that we experienced so many "problems" or "breakdowns" with it. It really became very annoying ~ especially when we were directly underneath the vents in the "cold chamber"!! Brrrr!! When the ride was finally finished, we quickly exited the ride to preview some of the latest cars they have displayed in the showroom. Back outside, we waited for the rest of our party to join us....by the look on my DS-in-L's face, something was definitely amiss. "That was the W O R S E ride I've ever been on!" was all she could say. Hmmmm, did we just go on the same ride???
We headed to Innoventions E and W, but my DS was famished by this time (he neglected to grab anything to eat back at Roaring Fork). I was sadly disappointed to find out that "Pure and Simple", located in "Wonders of the Body", no longer offers egg omelets on croissants! Drat! Okay, we had to "settle for" freshly made waffles, with frozen yogurt and fruit (but I DO miss those delicious omelets...
) . We met up with our gang in front of "Ellen DeGeneris/Universe of Energy" and decided to go inside. After this, we "crossed over" to the other side of "Future World" to experience some of the highlights there. But, standing in front of "Imagination", suddenly no one wanted to "do" anything, and the consensus of the group was to just head back to WL!! What a pity....we did manage to get a quick ride on "Spaceship Earth" before leaving Epcot, though, and I knew we've be back for our PS's at the Garden Grill. Sadly enough, my DS-in-L wanted her memory "refreshed" as to where we were eating this evening. When I answered her, someone else replied, "Oh, no, not that place that revolves around the plants and stuff?? Yukkk, that place is AWFUL!!" Well, I proceeded to remind everyone that THIS was one of the reasons why I had insisted on a "family Disney meeting" at my home, to get feedback on just this sort of thing. So, twice I had made reservations for the Garden Grill and twice I didn't get to actually eat there...
Well, long story short, we wound up, yet again, opting for something at Roaring Fork. Now, don't get me wrong - they have great service and their menu is really tasty, but it is limited, and the selection of food really is "fast food" type of fare.
It seems that, every time we visit WDW, I never truly get to experience World Showcase ~ darned if that was gonna happen again!! I really wanted to, at the very least, see the Living Statues in France. So did my girlfriend, so once back at Epcot, we made a mad dash for France!! We met up with her sister, dad, and niece there, too, much to their delight. Finally, via cell phone, we instructed the rest of the family members to meet us near the pub in England. We were greeted by a CM who led us to one of the gated patios that was directly "on the water" of the lake. Another CM was just putting on the finishing touches to our Illuminations Dessert Party. Moments later, I was greeted by a general manager, followed by a certain Ms. Janice Reindl (not sure what her title is, but she is a "peach"!) A table was in one corner of the patio, complete with trays of wonderful confectionary goodies, including one of my favorites, miniature napoleons!! Yummy!! Brewing were pots of regular and decaf coffee, with offerings of chocolate shavings, cinnamon, and freshly-whipped cream! Not to be outdone by the coffee-drinkers, there was a small pot of hot water, along with an assortment of Twinings teas (at least 7 ot 8 different choices!). For those not in the mood for a hot beverage, Nestea Iced Tea and lemonade were available. Now, snack and beverage in hand, we settled down for a SPECTACULAR view of Illuminations. By the way, this offers a better view than the Illuminations Cruise (or, we were told so by our server, Warren), because, at a certain time, the cruise boats must stay at the entrance of the "river" that leads to BC/YC, Boardwalk, etc. and are not permitted on the lake, while we are situated in front of them, directly on the water! This experience is one I will not forget for a long time, and was definitely one of the highlights of our vacation....
The "Illuminations" show now over, we relaxed at our little spot, sipping on the last of our coffee and sampling just one more treat, letting the crowds die down, before deciding to head back to WL. We opted to take a "peek" at the Boardwalk instead of going towards the direction of Spaceship Earth, and caught a bus to DTD, tranferring onto another bus to WL.
What seemed to start out as a "horrendous" day, really turned out to be quite lovely. I guess it's just some of that "Disney Magic" working up a little "miracle"!!
Wow, I can hardly believe that it is August already. Time seems to "stand still" when you are visiting the "World". Today is our "Epcot" day, so we have plenty of activites planned. However, the "commando-style" park-hopping is beginning to take its toll, and my family members aren't as eager to wake up as early as I had hoped. My reasoning for the "up-and-at-'em" attitude was that, we could enter a particular park, leave by noon to return to the WL, and have a go at "round 2" in the evening. This way, we could pace ourselves, enjoy all that the WL has to offer, and not get so frazzled by being with each other ALL DAY LONG!! I guess it didn't help that 4 of our family members decided to try out PI the night before, only to return to the WL after 1AM......
!!After a "quick" breakfast at Roaring Fork, we decided to meet up with everyone at the bus stop. The first clue that this was going to be a "trying" day, was that my DS-in-L, along with my 2 oldest DS's, were "trapped" in the arcade. Meanwhile an "Epcot" bus came and went, followed by several other park buses. Fifteen minutes later, along with the beginnings of some "attitudes", we were finally on our way. (you see, Epcot seems to be the "least favorite" park of my DS's and my DS-in-L) All I kept hearing, was the mumbling of "It's boring, why do we have to go to Epcot?, I HATE Epcot, etc." I think it's because they are afraid that they might actually LEARN something about the planet they inhabit ~ God forbid....
Again, we waited at the rope drop, to make a bee-line to Test Track. The rope was not even dropped yet and there was a 45-minute wait already!! (I guess WDW anticipated this by the crowd size). Our party of 13 were soon separated - my DH, my DS's, my girlfriend, and I were near the front of the stand-by line, while the rest of our "crew" managed to get several yards behind us. I have ridden on TT many times; this was the 1st time that we experienced so many "problems" or "breakdowns" with it. It really became very annoying ~ especially when we were directly underneath the vents in the "cold chamber"!! Brrrr!! When the ride was finally finished, we quickly exited the ride to preview some of the latest cars they have displayed in the showroom. Back outside, we waited for the rest of our party to join us....by the look on my DS-in-L's face, something was definitely amiss. "That was the W O R S E ride I've ever been on!" was all she could say. Hmmmm, did we just go on the same ride???
We headed to Innoventions E and W, but my DS was famished by this time (he neglected to grab anything to eat back at Roaring Fork). I was sadly disappointed to find out that "Pure and Simple", located in "Wonders of the Body", no longer offers egg omelets on croissants! Drat! Okay, we had to "settle for" freshly made waffles, with frozen yogurt and fruit (but I DO miss those delicious omelets...
) . We met up with our gang in front of "Ellen DeGeneris/Universe of Energy" and decided to go inside. After this, we "crossed over" to the other side of "Future World" to experience some of the highlights there. But, standing in front of "Imagination", suddenly no one wanted to "do" anything, and the consensus of the group was to just head back to WL!! What a pity....we did manage to get a quick ride on "Spaceship Earth" before leaving Epcot, though, and I knew we've be back for our PS's at the Garden Grill. Sadly enough, my DS-in-L wanted her memory "refreshed" as to where we were eating this evening. When I answered her, someone else replied, "Oh, no, not that place that revolves around the plants and stuff?? Yukkk, that place is AWFUL!!" Well, I proceeded to remind everyone that THIS was one of the reasons why I had insisted on a "family Disney meeting" at my home, to get feedback on just this sort of thing. So, twice I had made reservations for the Garden Grill and twice I didn't get to actually eat there... Well, long story short, we wound up, yet again, opting for something at Roaring Fork. Now, don't get me wrong - they have great service and their menu is really tasty, but it is limited, and the selection of food really is "fast food" type of fare.
It seems that, every time we visit WDW, I never truly get to experience World Showcase ~ darned if that was gonna happen again!! I really wanted to, at the very least, see the Living Statues in France. So did my girlfriend, so once back at Epcot, we made a mad dash for France!! We met up with her sister, dad, and niece there, too, much to their delight. Finally, via cell phone, we instructed the rest of the family members to meet us near the pub in England. We were greeted by a CM who led us to one of the gated patios that was directly "on the water" of the lake. Another CM was just putting on the finishing touches to our Illuminations Dessert Party. Moments later, I was greeted by a general manager, followed by a certain Ms. Janice Reindl (not sure what her title is, but she is a "peach"!) A table was in one corner of the patio, complete with trays of wonderful confectionary goodies, including one of my favorites, miniature napoleons!! Yummy!! Brewing were pots of regular and decaf coffee, with offerings of chocolate shavings, cinnamon, and freshly-whipped cream! Not to be outdone by the coffee-drinkers, there was a small pot of hot water, along with an assortment of Twinings teas (at least 7 ot 8 different choices!). For those not in the mood for a hot beverage, Nestea Iced Tea and lemonade were available. Now, snack and beverage in hand, we settled down for a SPECTACULAR view of Illuminations. By the way, this offers a better view than the Illuminations Cruise (or, we were told so by our server, Warren), because, at a certain time, the cruise boats must stay at the entrance of the "river" that leads to BC/YC, Boardwalk, etc. and are not permitted on the lake, while we are situated in front of them, directly on the water! This experience is one I will not forget for a long time, and was definitely one of the highlights of our vacation....
The "Illuminations" show now over, we relaxed at our little spot, sipping on the last of our coffee and sampling just one more treat, letting the crowds die down, before deciding to head back to WL. We opted to take a "peek" at the Boardwalk instead of going towards the direction of Spaceship Earth, and caught a bus to DTD, tranferring onto another bus to WL.
What seemed to start out as a "horrendous" day, really turned out to be quite lovely. I guess it's just some of that "Disney Magic" working up a little "miracle"!!
Last edited:
Krissy
