Good morning fellow Disneyphiles!!
Just sitting around this morning watching some early rounds of the US Open, wishing I was at Disney World. There was a DVC infomercial on the Travel Channel this morning...it got me all teary eyed.
So what better to do than update my TR, and relive a little magic??
This chapter will be a two-parter, b/c I've already got 25 pictures (the post limit) ready for this section...and it only takes us thru China.
So here we go, onto Sunday August 10. We go to Epcot this day, the weather is stellar, and I even get to FINALLY meet my idol...Snow White!
We got up in time to make rope drop. While we were waiting in line for the gates to open, we saw some snails:
The whole rock was just full of the little shelled critters, and the boys were in love.
As it moved closer to 9:00 and opening time, we left our shady spot and got closer...
Spaceship Earth is just so special, sitting there, keeping watch over the World and beckoning you forward...I just love it!
We decided to take it slow this morning, and just go where the wind would take us. No craziness, just enjoying the moments. It worked for us, and this was a nice, relaxed day.
We started off with a ride on Spaceship Earth, which X declared to be his favorite ride. We made it to the future:
I just missed snapping a picture of us on the big map after the ride. boo. But the kids had more important things on their mind...games.
We saw Pluto out meeting when we left the building, so we got in line for him. He was great!
The kids started asking for food, and I was really craving an iced coffee. I was caffeine deprived!!
I decided to throw away all good sense, and let the kids have ice cream for breakfast.
L had his first ever Mickey bar:
X enjoyed a Dreamsicle:
DH had a diet coke and I had a big fat nothing, b/c the kiosk with the coffees could not be found. I felt my grouchiness coming on...grr...
After they enjoyed their cold treats while I glowered at them in envy, we started toward our first FP+ of the day, Test Track (return time of 9:40 - 10:40).
L and I paired up for this, and here's our car:
I think I enjoyed the design-a-car part more than the actual ride. I mean, it was fine, we'll continue to use FP for it (unlike Soarin'...blah), but it just didn't...get my engine going. *insert laughter* (c'mon folks, this is comedy gold, right here. LOL!!)
So, as most of you know, when you ride, your car goes through "tests" and is compared to the other cars in your ride vehicle. Our pretty purple car came in dead last in whatever the first category was, but we came in FIRST in every other category. We may or may not have gloated extensively about this to DH and X.
The kids really liked this ride, and is the one they've requested a FP for repeatedly for our next trip.
I finally got my frozen cappuccino after this, and my mood improved! DH really wanted to spend some time in Innoventions, so that's where we went!
Innoventions was just not as great as I remember. We were kind of bored in here, which was disappointing. Everyone wanted to go in the Vision House, which I've never been in. How have I managed to never go in??
Guess what? I've still never been in.
We walked up and the CM said I couldn't go in with my drink. I walked to the side, waved over at DH and said, "two minutes!", meaning, "hang on for two minutes while I chug this sucker". He claims he did not hear me, and interpreted my hand waving as, "go on without me...you stay on the door in the frozen water of the Atlantic while I make like Leo/Jack and get shoved into the icy abyss."
I was a little miffed about this, but I got over it. It might have taken awhile, though.
Everyone tried to cheer me up by saying it wasn't that great, and the coolest part was the fancy toilet.
Whatever.
Next we went and watched Storm Safe, which is a huge waste of time.
Side note - This update is not sounding all that great, but I promise we were all actually having a good time!! We really do love Epcot!! I was just disappointed in innoventions this trip.
Carrying on...
After our disappointment with this part of innoventions, we skipped the other building. I decided it was time to take the kids and DH to Club Cool. First timers, LOL...you know where this is going, don't you??
Beverly.
They didn't like it. LOL!!
I actually don't hate Beverly. I mean, I'm not going to order and drink a big glass of it, ever, but it doesn't elicit quite the same reaction from me.
Rewinding for a second...I snapped a pic of the fountain before Club Cool:
We had some photopass pictures taken along the way.
It was time for another FP+, so we made our way back toward Mission Space (return time 10:50 - 11:50, I believe it was right at 10:50 when we got there). This time I went on the orange side with L, and DH went on the green side with X.
My opinion on the orange vs. the green side...The green is SUPER mild. I mean, I was just not even sure what all the fuss regarding the sick bags was all about. I was excited to do the orange and see if the thrill was there.
It was ok. It is more intense, in that the woozy/swimmy feeling was present with the movements. I did not like the heavy feeling on my chest during "take off". That was the only thing that bothered me. Would I do it again? Sure, because L wants to FP it on our next trip. But if it was just me and DH, we'd probably skip it.
I'm a thrill ride person, but Epcot's "thrills" just do not do it for me. I love Epcot, but I think I'm more into the atmosphere there.
We stopped for more photopass pics then began our journey around the World Showcase. We began in Mexico, which is one of my favorite pavilions.
Here is the worst picture ever taken of the outside of it:
We went inside and looked all around the market, and just enjoyed being there! We rode the Fiesta tour:
I love these guys:
This makes me laugh, and I always feel guilty for it:
We met Donald after this, but those pics are only on MM, which I'll share later. I mentioned that the weather was phenomenal this morning, and here's where we really appreciated it. The humidity was very low, the breeze was glorious, and the sun was pleasant and not blazing. While we were in line for Donald, a little cloud blew over and sprinkled a few drops on us. This would be just a taste of what we'd see later!
I guess meeting Donald and hearing his handler talk about him taking a churro break made us hungry, so when we got to Norway, our first stop was Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe.
L and I had school bread (one of my favorite Disney treats), X had an almond sweet pretzel (more breadish than pretzelish if you're wondering), and DH had the rullekake.
Do you see the water cups in the first picture. They were HUGE. Everywhere else we ordered water they gave us tiny cups. Norway Forever!!
I just love the Norway pavilion. Love, love, love. We took a few pictures, shopped, and used our third FP+ on Maelstrom (return time 1:30 - 2:30).
Next was China, where we arrived just in time to watch Reflections of China! We checked out the shops and the Terra Cotta Warriors.
I think the China pavilion is just beautiful. I also really enjoyed the Cast Members here. They were all very kind, and the boys had a good time talking with them.
Here's the end of part one...I'm out of picture space for this post!
Keep a look out for part two...I get to meet my girl Snow!