Trip Report "Dreams Really Can Come True" 6/1/09-6/8/09 - COMPLETED 7/19 - Page 20 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Ah Epcot. Being a teacher, this is really my favorite park. Magic Kingdom is all "that" and a bag of chips, but honestly, I could spend 2 or 3 days at Epcot, all by myself.
The Plan: Get to Epcot 30 min early for opening ceremony, fp Soarin’, Test Track, Mission Space, Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo/Crush, Journey/Imagination, The Circle of Life, Soarin’, lunch, back to AKL to rest, back to Epcot, Spaceship Earth, Innoventions, Gran Fiesta boat ride in Mexico, China, Italy, Morocco, France, Back to Japan for ADR Tokyo Dining @5:30, visit Japan, UK, see Illuminations.
Ambitious – yes. Realistic – sadly no.
What really happened:
We actually made it in time for the opening ceremony on accident. My plans for this week were long thrown out the window, but we found ourselves in line to get in right before 9am. It was a gorgeous day – clear skies and warm.
The CMs let us in a little early – wow there was a lot of people! We walked along en masse and some stopped off at Spaceship Earth. We made it as far as the front of the fountain when we stopped. Oh right – the rope! We got to see a lucky family being greeted by the Fab Five.
They turned to greet us and at 9:05am, then the rope dropped and I heard the William Tell Overture finale (just kidding!) as people took off, practically running to the Land for Soarin’. I held onto DS7’s hand so he wouldn’t get lost in the current of people. I looked back and saw DH and DS4 way back there in the herd. I didn’t even know where I was going, but I knew to follow the crowd. I thought everyone was headed for the fp machines, but most folks went right to Soarin’. We got the fastpasses (3rd in line) and my other boys showed up. Man, it can get decidedly “un-magical” at those fp machines. I even rolled my eyes a few times – newbies, sheesh!
The bottom right corner of the fp was stamped 9:07am. It took us 2 minutes (?!) to get there from the rope drop, not unless my camera time is off (possibly). Probably more like 4 min. Ahh, we could relax. But wait, the touring plan says we should head over to Test Track next. So at a moderate jog this time, instead of a sprint, we crossed over to the east side. (My little one just barely hung in there that morning until we got the stroller. ) I can’t remember, but I think the wait time for Test Track’s stand-by line was only 20 minutes. It was only 18 min from the time stamp on the Soarin’ fp to the first pic I took at TT’s ‘briefing room”.
(I had been wanting to get more pics of the awesome queues, but we were just moving too fast.)
DS7 had been looking forward to Epcot because of the “big 3”. Some of the rides made him nervous at MK and it was starting to show and even become an issue later that day and in days to come. He began worrying about the safety restraints on the rides and on TT, he wanted to know where the lap bar was. We had to explain that it was a “car”, and it didn’t have any, just the seat belts. We had the car to ourselves and DH sat in the back with him. Our soon-to-be known as “daredevil” 4 year old was up in the front with me. It was a great ride, of course, but DS7 had to be reassured throughout. He said it was fun when it was over, but in a sort of “heh heh” kind of way. DS4: "Disney rocks!" (I’ll post the ride pic when I get it off photopass.)
Next was Mission Space.
This ride made me a little nervous because of the rumors, the warnings, etc. I had some Dramamine on me and I was willing to give the orange side a try. The kids had been gung-ho about it, but when we got in the queue, that all changed.
At first, I thought it was the darkness that was making DS7 worried on the rides. As we got closer and closer to the “holding area”, he was looking down-right scared. It was all the warning signs. There are warning signs everywhere and my little concrete thinker’s eyes grew bigger by the moment. It didn’t help that it was so realistic. By the time we got to the door to enter the “holding area”, he was done. “Mom, I don’t want to do this.” “Are you sure? It’s okay.” He nodded yes, and we caught the attention of the CM. We got out of the orange side and stood by the door to the green side. (I was secretly relieved!) He was in tears by then, but you could tell he was trying his best to “man up”. He was able to calm down and enjoy the ride (especially when we choose him to be Commander ). Mr. Sinise’s calming voice, I imagine, helped a lot, plus pushing cool buttons. We went to Mars and made it back to Earth in fine style.
continues…
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We had plenty of time before our flight over California, so it was a good time to get a stroller. While we waited for DH to grab it, we met some celebrities.
Daisy was very impressed that we had a pink Sharpie for her!
I asked Stitch for a hug and he shook his head and motioned “no way”! I was actually shocked! Then he gave me a hug and a big ol’ smooch on the cheek. That rascal! Watch out Goofy…
With DS4 chillin’ in his stroller, we headed back to the Land. We were excited about Soarin’ – maybe because of all the hype and the "running of the peoples" earlier. The queue was a little dark, but we had no problems with nervousness. I’m so glad we didn’t push DS7 to do something that would have frightened him. I asked him if he was scared and he told me, “Why would I be, everyone wants to fly over California.” Well alrighty then. (Plus the warning signs were not so glaring…) Cali was as beautiful as I remembered, except there were these strange shoe shaped birds flying above us…
Sunshine Season Food Fair was right there, so we stopped for a bite and a bathroom break. We had a little something in our room that morning so we were in the mood for light snacks. It wasn’t time for lunch, as it was only 11:30. There was a lot to choose from and practically no one there.
Since we were already in the Land, we got in line for my favorite Epcot ride, “Living with the Land”. There was a 5 minute wait.
Mickey lettuce!
DH wanted to know if “that was it”. Meaning, “are there any more rides”. Yes, there was Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Innoventions, Nemo and Crush, Journey into Imagination… “Are they educational?” Yes, but fun! More like edutainment. “Don’t they get that enough at home?” Looks like we were going to forego some cool stuff at Epcot. Sigh. We settled on TT one more time, Nemo and then Innoventions to let the boys blow off some steam. They had been velcro’ed to us for all this time and they just needed time to run around or explore. As we were walking over to TT, we noticed the fountains. It was hot and the spray was refreshing. I could have spent a good 10 minutes just sitting and watching the water play.
We got our fps, then headed over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends.
continues…
I can’t remember the wait time for the ride, but the queue was moving pretty well and soon we were in our clamobile. We were actually able to soak in some of the atmosphere of the queue this time. The boys liked that it looked like we were underwater. We found Nemo fairly quickly and then went to find Turtle Talk with Crush. A show had just started so we waited by the stingray tanks.
I don’t know what they fed those rays, or if they were trained rays (lol), but those guys were actually pushing themselves out of the water a bit. It was fascinating to watch. DS7 got to do some of the interactive games while we waited. Soon it was time for the next show and we got seats on the benches in the front row. All the kids sit up front on the “blue carpet not the green carpet”. They were told that many times. They were also told to wait for their parents when the show was over. The show was really fun. I don’t know how they do it, but it is some Disney magic. We learned about turtles and Crush learned about humans. DS7 got picked to ask Crush a question. “Do you really have 66 kids?” “No. I have 65.” It was so totally rad, dude!
Afterwards, we spent a little time with His Toothiness, Bruce and his shark pals. I hoped he liked ham.
We toured Innoventions next – West, I think. The kids didn’t do everything, but they got to play with robots, do a little gaming (video games, for all you non-hip folks ), and spent a while in the velcro area. They got to create their own velcro frog to take with them. Finally, DH and the boys went to the IBM area and created their own video game. He sent it to our email address and they play it at home. It was hilarious watching them, as they have to do specific moves with their bodies. DH even got to spend some time at Segway Central and got to play on a segway. We didn’t do everything, but it was fun. The Great Piggy Bank Adventure looked like fun, but we were on our way out. We headed back over to TT to ride that. I wish the bumpy part was bumpier, but the speeding around the track makes up for it.
It was about 2pm when we left TT. It was time to go back to the resort to eat lunch and relax. All of a sudden, I just knew that we weren’t going to make it for our ADR at Tokyo Dining at 5:20 - we wouldn’t be hungry yet. I called Reservations and we were able to get a spot later on at 7:15. Whew! (Tip: don't try to call anyone right outside of TT - too loud!)
So we headed back to AKL to rest. On the way out, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face on a CMs pouch – it was Animal! Oh yes, another score. I had so far added Gonzo and Beaker to Fozzie Bear on my hat and I gleefully traded for Animal. My kids had no clue who he was, but enjoyed saying, “A-NEE-MAL!” for the rest of the week. I still needed to find Professor Honeydew, Kermit, and Miss Piggy. But I still had plenty of time left. Or so I thought...
Next time – “Yes we got a great spot for Illuminations, but what happened to dinner?”
You got a lot done at Epcot! I don't know about Bruce, but I love hams, so that pic of your boys in Bruce's mouth cracked me up! Glad you were able to move your ADR. Can't wait to hear what you thought of Tokyo Dining.
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Originally Posted by goofyboysmama
The Great Piggy Bank Adventure looked like fun, but we were on our way out. score.
You can actually play this game on the Disney website. The Great Piggy Bank Adventure Financial Education Game | T. Rowe Price & Disney It really is a lot of fun. Looks like you had a lot of fun at Epcot. I can't blame your DS for being scared to go on the Orange side of Mission Space. I actually got pretty sick riding that side after it first opened up. More please
You can actually play this game on the Disney website. The Great Piggy Bank Adventure Financial Education Game | T. Rowe Price & Disney It really is a lot of fun. Looks like you had a lot of fun at Epcot. I can't blame your DS for being scared to go on the Orange side of Mission Space. I actually got pretty sick riding that side after it first opened up. More please
I'm actually glad we didn't make it. It was still a cool ride on the green side. Thanks for the link!
I'm a teacher, too, and totally understand the edutainment of Epcot! I this park. Sounds like a great day so far! Stefanie was all excited that she was able to trade for an Animal pin, too. We've got all the movies and she's watched them loads so she knew right away who he was and that is her Dad's favorite. Can't wait for more!
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Wow, you got a lot done in Epcot. Can not blame your DS for not wanting to ride MS. I still haven't been able to get on either side. Way to scary for me.
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Magic Kingdom is all "that" and a bag of chips, but honestly, I could spend 2 or 3 days at Epcot, all by myself.
) I can’t remember, but I think the wait time for Test Track’s stand-by line was only 20 minutes. It was only 18 min from the time stamp on the Soarin’ fp to the first pic I took at TT’s ‘briefing room”.
It didn’t help that it was so realistic. By the time we got to the door to enter the “holding area”, he was done. “Mom, I don’t want to do this.” “Are you sure? It’s okay.” He nodded yes, and we caught the attention of the CM. We got out of the orange side and stood by the door to the green side. (I was secretly relieved!) He was in tears by then, but you could tell he was trying his best to “man up”. He was able to calm down and enjoy the ride (especially when we choose him to be Commander 
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Then he gave me a hug and a big ol’ smooch on the cheek. That rascal! Watch out Goofy…
Disney magic. We learned about turtles and Crush learned about humans. DS7 got picked to ask Crush a question. “Do you really have 66 kids?” “No. I have 65.” It was so totally rad, dude!
), and spent a while in the velcro area. They got to create their own velcro frog to take with them. Finally, DH and the boys went to the IBM area and created their own video game. He sent it to our email address and they play it at home. It was hilarious watching them, as they have to do specific moves with their bodies. 
DH even got to spend some time at Segway Central and got to play on a segway. We didn’t do everything, but it was fun. The Great Piggy Bank Adventure looked like fun, but we were on our way out. We headed back over to TT to ride that. I wish the bumpy part was bumpier, but the speeding around the track makes up for it. 
I had so far added Gonzo and Beaker to Fozzie Bear on my hat and I gleefully traded for Animal. My kids had no clue who he was, but enjoyed saying, “A-NEE-MAL!” for the rest of the week. I still needed to find Professor Honeydew, Kermit, and Miss Piggy. But I still had plenty of time left. Or so I thought...
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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