Okay... I've got 25 minutes left in my break.... go!
Sorry Folks, Park’s Closed. Mouse out Front Should’ve Told You.
If you hadn't said "Mouse out front..." I definitely was going to!
It has been a wet spring.
That's... interesting? Weird? Geologically speaking, we're not
that far apart. Same continent/hemisphere. And yet... we've had a really dry spring.
I’ll be trying to keep up with everyone else as I can, but if my comments are shorter than usual, I’m sure you can understand why.
I'm super busy right now.
So I will if you will!
I awoke early Thursday morning. For 2 reasons, really. I wanted to get out and explore the resort a little bit and we wanted to head out in time for EMH.
Three actually.
1. wanted to go out and explore
2. wanted to be on time for EMH
3. wasn't dead or comatose.
That last one is usually a really good reason why you wake up.
I walked out the door and took some pictures around the resort as I went to fill our mugs and get some pastries for DW and me to eat with the cereal we had back in the room.
Thanks for those pics. Brought back some great memories from our first visit to WDW with the DDs.
We stayed in Magnolia and really liked it.
We arrived at the turnstiles
Tapstiles.
We went in and having just spoken with the security guard, we were headed to the Seas to find Nemo.
um.... dude?
Now taking that information into account, I haven’t been in EPCOT for a morning EMH since sometime in the 90’s. I’ve done some evening EMHs there, but no mornings.
I don't remember if I've ever done EMH (morning or night) at Epcot.
I might have... I just don't remember.
I assumed that it worked like every other park. When it opens for morning EMH, you can ride most of the rides they have. I didn’t even think to do any research about this.
I did the same thing on my solo trip.
Went to MK morning EMH.
"I'm going to ride BTMRR now!"
Nope.
Splash? Nope.
Pirates? Nope.
HM? Nope.
We parked the stroller and approached the entrance to Nemo where a CM told us they wouldn’t be open until 9 am.
Well… ok
ouch
Circle of Life and Sunshine Seasons were the only things open inside the Land pavilion.
Living w/the land was down? It's supposed to be open for EMH.
At this point we weren’t even going to try checking on Imagination.
Good call there at least.
We also tried to stop for a restroom break, but again, DD refused to cooperate.
You've mentioned this before and will again.
Did she go on her own at home?
Just wondering if she felt you were stepping on her independence or something.
We stopped and got a bottle of water and went to wait at the Character Spot.
We were first in line.
Well... there's that....
We stood and chatted with a CM who was a really nice older guy. He was from New York and said he lives in Florida and works in Disney World in the winter, but he returns to New York in the summer where he manages the hay operation for a dairy farm. It was kind of neat to talk farming with him and talk about some of the similarities and differences between what he does and what I do. It really made the wait fly by.
All the other guests had fled in terror... but you were happy, so it's all good.
DD had asked to see Mickey, but when we got in she was feeling a little bit shy.
Not surprising. That's one massive rodent.
But next up was Minnie and it was like a switch flipped. She got down and went right up to Minnie. Minnie twirled her and they danced and played and then posed for some pictures.
Awwww....
It was really awesome of Goofy to be aware of everything and try to make it fun, despite being snubbed. I’m sure it helped that we were the first family through there that morning and they weren’t slammed yet.
I dunno. They seem to not rush the kids. Plus with all the breaks they get... I dunno.
After we finished in there, we noticed Baymax’s character meet was open. We’d never met him before and DD and DS had become big fans of his movie
Still haven't seen that movie.
We walked through the 7 miles of queue and got right into a clamshell for our ride.
That queue....
If there's ever more than six or eight people in there at any one time...
we decided to skip Turtle Talk and move on to the Land.
Too bad. Turtle Talk is awesome.
I think most of you know that I have a farm background and studied crop science in school
It actually sometimes gives me ideas of things I want to try on a small scale for our garden at home, but that never seems to happen. You know, time, or lack thereof and all.
Huh! If you ever do, I'd like to hear about it.
We headed in to see Figment and there was actually a line. I don’t think we waited more than 2 or 3 minutes, but they actually stopped us where the FP and standby lines merge.
A line? At Figment?
No. Just... no.
As always, we enjoyed the ride. I know it sucks, especially the skunk part. But one of the memories I have from my first ever trip was meeting Dreamfinder and Figment, so this ride has always had a little bit of nostalgia to it for me.
When I was a kid, there was no Epcot, so I obviously don't have your connection.
But.
When the DDs were 4 & 8, they
loved that ride.
It was their favourite ride of all four parks.
When we went again four years later, they couldn't wait to ride it again.
So they did.
"We actually liked that ride before????"
Either way, I did note that we checked in 10 minutes early and were seated 20 minutes late. It was getting kind of frustrating. We were standing there waiting, past our ADR time and people were walking up, checking in and being led right into the restaurant within minutes.
Yeah, I can see how you'd get a little ticked.
I don’t know if this is because of the construction going on around Norway, or if this is how they always do it, but after we checked in they sent us to a roped off area just outside the restaurant entrance. It literally felt like a corral. We were standing around on concrete, with a rope around us with no shade and nowhere to sit down. We had to just stand there for half an hour. I’ve got to say none of us, especially the pregnant lady of the group, was very happy with the arrangement.
That sounds awful.
It was morning, so not too hot. But can you imagine being penned in there in the heat of the day in the summer??
We finally got in and DD went for the obligatory picture with Belle.
Best pic of the update.
All the little princesses were walking around and waving.
But DD wouldn’t wave.
DW told her to wave.
She said, “I Can’t. I’m not wearing a princess dress!”
Well, I suppose she has a point!
I thought the breakfast food there was excellent.
Okay... hang on...
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times, but it is hard to screw up breakfast.
The eggs and bacon were great and just what I expected. But the potato casserole was incredible!!! We had the server bring us another serving of it and we destroyed it.
Uh, huh... hang on...
Honestly, I can’t say that the food was worth the price of admission. It wasn’t. But it was a very good meal. We weren’t the least bit disappointed.
Okay. So food was excellent. Potato casserole was incredible. Excuse me, it was incredible!!!
But... the food wasn't worth the price of admission.
You sir, are a hard man to please.
And let’s face it, when you go to a character breakfast, you’re paying for the characters more than the food.
And yes... I knew that's what you meant.
And that leads me to the princesses. There really weren’t any interactions of note. DD was being shy with all of them, but she did open up a little bit with Ariel.
Good choice.
I really enjoyed Akershus. I’m glad we tried it and we really enjoyed our breakfast.
Glad you tried it and really enjoyed it but not worth it.
Got it.
I think.
Maybe.
And let’s face it, if there are 2 things a restaurant needs to get right they are the food and the service.
Would that make it worth the price of admission? No?
The characters were fine, but for the price point being not much less than CRT, I think we’d tend to lean towards CRT for the ability to dine in the castle if we’re paying out of pocket.
Agree completely.
After our breakfast/lunch, we walked back to Mexico so we could ride everyone’s favorite boat ride, It’s a Small Mexico!
We always enjoy this ride, and I loved seeing the audio-animatronic versions of the 3 Caballeros added at the end of the ride.
I liked it too. Rode it for the first time last year.
Apparently DD didn’t want to leave things alone in the marketplace area and DW saw a price tag that scared her so they got out of Mexico before they caused an international incident.
went to catch up with them and I was drinking my margarita as I walked. I emptied it and threw the cup away in Norway and I caught up with DD and DW just between Norway and China. DW just looked at me funny and asked why I didn’t get a margarita. I had to tell her that I did, but it didn’t last very long. 
wobble much?
But after we’d been sitting on the boat for 20 minutes awaiting departure, we were starting to worry that we might not make it!
20 minutes? What the heck??
Captain_Oblivious – 5 points because @pkondz is indeed a character.
Hey! I resent... I... yeah. okay. That's pretty accurate.
1. Would we make it in time to use the first FP+? (25 points)
2. Will I ride RnRC? (50 points)
3. What attraction do I get to try for the first time? (15 points)
4. Which ride breaking down really screwed up our day? (15 points)
5. What snack did I try for the first time? (15 points)
6. Where did we eat dinner? (25 points)
7. What did DW do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
8. What did DD and I do when we got back to the resort? (10 points)
Too tired to think straight, so... here goes nothing.
1. yes.
2. yes (You better!)
3. Only thing I'd pick would've been Star Wars Launch Bay, but.... so I'll pick One Man's Dream
4. TSMM
5. Carrot cake cookie
6. sci fi
7. nap
8. pool
Did it! with 5 minutes to spare!
, a nice little touch of Disney magic there. 
100% agree with this 
what a cutie!
