Cast: Julee, 27 (AKA Happy) 1st trip to WDW. John, 29 (AKA Grumpy) 1st trip to WDW
I forgot to mention in my last post that when we got back to our hotel room we found a nice surprise left by the housekeeper. There was a huge flower made out of towels and washcloths on my bed. I knew that the housekeepers were known to do cute things with stuffed animals but I really didnâÂÂt expect anything since we had none with us. This really brought a smile to my face.
Monday Nov. 13 (Day 2)
I woke up from my nap feeling refreshed ready to tackle Epcot. Then I looked at the clock and realized it was already 5:00pm. Mr. âÂÂIâÂÂm not tired. I donâÂÂt need a napâ and I had been asleep for almost 4 hours! We got dressed and hopped on the bus to Epcot.
I was really excited to visit Epcot, but I didnâÂÂt really know what to expect. I was hoping I wouldnâÂÂt be as disappointed as I was with MK. We got off the bus and took the short hike to the entrance. I couldnâÂÂt believe how beautiful it was! By the time we got there it was getting dark so Spaceship Earth was all lit up looking quite spectacular. It was a beautiful evening and Epcot wasnâÂÂt nearly as crowded as MK was. I immediately began to scope out Ice Station Cool because I couldnâÂÂt wait to get John to try the Beverly soda I had heard so much about. John had a headache but luckily the gift shop near the entrance had nothing short of a pharmacy under the counter.
We walked right on to Spaceship Earth. I loved this ride. ItâÂÂs far from the most exciting ride at WDW, but I loved the thought of being inside that big silver globe. My favorite part is when you get to the top and you can see all the stars. Although I have to admit it is a bit scary going down the big incline backwards hearing the squeaking of the track.
From here we went over to The Living Seas. The preshow movie was a bit boring and the ride itself seemed a bit senseless, but John loves fish (he drinks like one, remember) and we enjoyed walking around looking at all the displays.
We were starting to get hungry so we decided to find some place to eat. We walked into a couple of fast food places but nothing sounded good. We were going to ride Test Track but the line was really long and they were out of Fast Passes. Then I spotted Ice Station Cool. When we walked in and saw the snow on the ground I new I would be in trouble (John likes to though things, like snow, at me). John turned around and gave me an evil mischievous look. Just at that moment a big chunk of snow dropped down into the back of his shirt. The look on his face was priceless! We continued on into the room with all the soda and began tasting. I didnâÂÂt see John make any faces yet that would indicate that he had discovered the Beverly. After I was sure we had tried just about everything I spotted the Beverly and asked if we had tried that one. John said, âÂÂI donâÂÂt think soâ and proceeded to take a big gulp. Another priceless face! Of course I couldnâÂÂt stop laughing and I had to confess that I knew about Beverly before our trip. I decided to take a small sip myself to see what all the hype was about. I immediately felt bad about playing the trick on John. YUCK!
Our thirsts were now quenched, but we were still hungry. I didnâÂÂt plan on making it over to World Showcase but we werenâÂÂt having any luck finding food in Future World.
We made our way over to WS and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the World Showcase Lagoon and all the countries lit up around it. It was breathtaking and a lot bigger than I imagined. The Food and Wine Festival was going on so we thought weâÂÂd just try some different samples of food instead of sitting down at a restaurant. First we tried strawberries with 3 different chocolate sauces to dip them in. They were very yummy but far from filling. We kept walking trying to find something else we would eat and really didnâÂÂt have any luck until we got to France. Here I tried some sort of chicken in a wine sauce with mushrooms. It was really good.
We stopped to watch the street performer that is dressed up like a statue. This guy is hysterical. If youâÂÂve never seen this before, there is a person dressed all in white (including white facial makeup) that stands completely still to look like a statue. People walk up to him to have their picture taken and then heâÂÂll move and do something silly like grab their hair or something. One guy who went up to him was wearing a Superman T-shirt and the statue made a pose that looked like he was flying. This is very interesting because it appears that the statueâÂÂs eyes are closed so I donâÂÂt see how he knows what is going on around him.
We made our way to America and sat down to wait for the Tapestry of Nations parade. I was really excited to see this. Luckily I wasnâÂÂt let down. This is a beautiful parade and I was a little sad that it would be gone after the millennium celebration is over. We still werenâÂÂt having any luck finding food we would like so we moved on to Italy. All I can say is WOW! Italy is beautiful. I was so amazed at all the details each of these countries has and at this point we really hadnâÂÂt walked through any of them yetâ¦just by them. By this time it was almost time for Illuminations so we gave up on our food quest and decided to find someplace to sit. However, by this time everyone and their brother had all the good views. We ended up watching from Italy, but I had to stand on my toes to even see what was going on in the lagoon. I was a bit let down by this. I had heard how great it was, but I liked Fantasmic at Disneyland better. Maybe it was because I couldnâÂÂt see very well. Oh well.
After Illuminations my feet were killing me again so it was lucky Epcot was closing. We walked around the rest of the lagoon past the countries we hadnâÂÂt seen yet. Each one was amazing. I still canâÂÂt pick a favorite. Of course now that everything was closed John and I found lots of things we would eat on this side of the lagoon at the Food and Wine Festival booths. But at this point I was thinking more about my aching feet rather than my growling stomach. I still canâÂÂt believe how incredibly huge Epcot is!
We finally made it to the bus stop only to see a HUGE line of people waiting for the DxL/PO bus. By this time we were ready to collapse. There was a very obnoxious child behind us who found it necessary to stand right next to me and swing on the rope while kicking me. Of course his mother said nothing, but I was too tired to say anything. We waited over 30 minutes to get on a crowded bus. John fell asleep on the way home and I just prayed we would somehow get magically transported back to our beds.
When we got to the hotel we were still hungry so we went to the food court and each got a cheese pizza and refilled our mugs. The pizzas were ok, but nothing to write home about. It was fine for a midnight (ok, 11:00pm) snack. I decided to take a warm bath to soothe my aching bones. It really helped.
Of course because I had a 4-hour nap earlier in the day I wasnâÂÂt tired enough to fall asleep. I stayed up examining our plans for the rest of the trip. We were supposed to go to Animal Kingdome the next day, but I decided we should go to MGM so we could avoid early entry days from now on. This of course would throw off other plans so I stayed up for 2 hours re-planning the remainder of the trip. I told you I was planning obsessed. I began to wonder what I was going to do when the trip was over and there was no more planning to do.
I forgot to mention in my last post that when we got back to our hotel room we found a nice surprise left by the housekeeper. There was a huge flower made out of towels and washcloths on my bed. I knew that the housekeepers were known to do cute things with stuffed animals but I really didnâÂÂt expect anything since we had none with us. This really brought a smile to my face.
Monday Nov. 13 (Day 2)
I woke up from my nap feeling refreshed ready to tackle Epcot. Then I looked at the clock and realized it was already 5:00pm. Mr. âÂÂIâÂÂm not tired. I donâÂÂt need a napâ and I had been asleep for almost 4 hours! We got dressed and hopped on the bus to Epcot.
I was really excited to visit Epcot, but I didnâÂÂt really know what to expect. I was hoping I wouldnâÂÂt be as disappointed as I was with MK. We got off the bus and took the short hike to the entrance. I couldnâÂÂt believe how beautiful it was! By the time we got there it was getting dark so Spaceship Earth was all lit up looking quite spectacular. It was a beautiful evening and Epcot wasnâÂÂt nearly as crowded as MK was. I immediately began to scope out Ice Station Cool because I couldnâÂÂt wait to get John to try the Beverly soda I had heard so much about. John had a headache but luckily the gift shop near the entrance had nothing short of a pharmacy under the counter.
We walked right on to Spaceship Earth. I loved this ride. ItâÂÂs far from the most exciting ride at WDW, but I loved the thought of being inside that big silver globe. My favorite part is when you get to the top and you can see all the stars. Although I have to admit it is a bit scary going down the big incline backwards hearing the squeaking of the track.
From here we went over to The Living Seas. The preshow movie was a bit boring and the ride itself seemed a bit senseless, but John loves fish (he drinks like one, remember) and we enjoyed walking around looking at all the displays.
We were starting to get hungry so we decided to find some place to eat. We walked into a couple of fast food places but nothing sounded good. We were going to ride Test Track but the line was really long and they were out of Fast Passes. Then I spotted Ice Station Cool. When we walked in and saw the snow on the ground I new I would be in trouble (John likes to though things, like snow, at me). John turned around and gave me an evil mischievous look. Just at that moment a big chunk of snow dropped down into the back of his shirt. The look on his face was priceless! We continued on into the room with all the soda and began tasting. I didnâÂÂt see John make any faces yet that would indicate that he had discovered the Beverly. After I was sure we had tried just about everything I spotted the Beverly and asked if we had tried that one. John said, âÂÂI donâÂÂt think soâ and proceeded to take a big gulp. Another priceless face! Of course I couldnâÂÂt stop laughing and I had to confess that I knew about Beverly before our trip. I decided to take a small sip myself to see what all the hype was about. I immediately felt bad about playing the trick on John. YUCK!
Our thirsts were now quenched, but we were still hungry. I didnâÂÂt plan on making it over to World Showcase but we werenâÂÂt having any luck finding food in Future World.
We made our way over to WS and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the World Showcase Lagoon and all the countries lit up around it. It was breathtaking and a lot bigger than I imagined. The Food and Wine Festival was going on so we thought weâÂÂd just try some different samples of food instead of sitting down at a restaurant. First we tried strawberries with 3 different chocolate sauces to dip them in. They were very yummy but far from filling. We kept walking trying to find something else we would eat and really didnâÂÂt have any luck until we got to France. Here I tried some sort of chicken in a wine sauce with mushrooms. It was really good.
We stopped to watch the street performer that is dressed up like a statue. This guy is hysterical. If youâÂÂve never seen this before, there is a person dressed all in white (including white facial makeup) that stands completely still to look like a statue. People walk up to him to have their picture taken and then heâÂÂll move and do something silly like grab their hair or something. One guy who went up to him was wearing a Superman T-shirt and the statue made a pose that looked like he was flying. This is very interesting because it appears that the statueâÂÂs eyes are closed so I donâÂÂt see how he knows what is going on around him.
We made our way to America and sat down to wait for the Tapestry of Nations parade. I was really excited to see this. Luckily I wasnâÂÂt let down. This is a beautiful parade and I was a little sad that it would be gone after the millennium celebration is over. We still werenâÂÂt having any luck finding food we would like so we moved on to Italy. All I can say is WOW! Italy is beautiful. I was so amazed at all the details each of these countries has and at this point we really hadnâÂÂt walked through any of them yetâ¦just by them. By this time it was almost time for Illuminations so we gave up on our food quest and decided to find someplace to sit. However, by this time everyone and their brother had all the good views. We ended up watching from Italy, but I had to stand on my toes to even see what was going on in the lagoon. I was a bit let down by this. I had heard how great it was, but I liked Fantasmic at Disneyland better. Maybe it was because I couldnâÂÂt see very well. Oh well.
After Illuminations my feet were killing me again so it was lucky Epcot was closing. We walked around the rest of the lagoon past the countries we hadnâÂÂt seen yet. Each one was amazing. I still canâÂÂt pick a favorite. Of course now that everything was closed John and I found lots of things we would eat on this side of the lagoon at the Food and Wine Festival booths. But at this point I was thinking more about my aching feet rather than my growling stomach. I still canâÂÂt believe how incredibly huge Epcot is!
We finally made it to the bus stop only to see a HUGE line of people waiting for the DxL/PO bus. By this time we were ready to collapse. There was a very obnoxious child behind us who found it necessary to stand right next to me and swing on the rope while kicking me. Of course his mother said nothing, but I was too tired to say anything. We waited over 30 minutes to get on a crowded bus. John fell asleep on the way home and I just prayed we would somehow get magically transported back to our beds.
When we got to the hotel we were still hungry so we went to the food court and each got a cheese pizza and refilled our mugs. The pizzas were ok, but nothing to write home about. It was fine for a midnight (ok, 11:00pm) snack. I decided to take a warm bath to soothe my aching bones. It really helped.
Of course because I had a 4-hour nap earlier in the day I wasnâÂÂt tired enough to fall asleep. I stayed up examining our plans for the rest of the trip. We were supposed to go to Animal Kingdome the next day, but I decided we should go to MGM so we could avoid early entry days from now on. This of course would throw off other plans so I stayed up for 2 hours re-planning the remainder of the trip. I told you I was planning obsessed. I began to wonder what I was going to do when the trip was over and there was no more planning to do.
