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Old 03-20-2005, 10:39 AM   #151
BabieeMelly
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

Beaches and Cream looks SO good...we definitely have to try it on our trip in July! I'm glad you had a fun, relaxing Christmas Eve... I can't wait to hear all about your Christmas!
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Old 03-20-2005, 11:08 AM   #152
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

You really make me want to try Beaches & Cream. Looks delicious! Great update. Can't wait for Christmas day.
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Old 03-20-2005, 12:35 PM   #153
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

Great update Cheryl!! That sundae looks so good! The Beach Club is really a beautiful place!
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Old 03-20-2005, 01:08 PM   #154
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

That ice cream is amazing! My kids are very envious. Can't wait to hear about Christmas Day!
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Old 03-20-2005, 05:13 PM   #155
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

What a great update Cheryl Glad Delores was able to wait on you again Great pictures too I wish we had made it down to the YC to see their decorations

More please
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Old 03-20-2005, 05:51 PM   #156
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

Another great update Cheryl! That ice cream looks great!
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Old 03-20-2005, 11:03 PM   #157
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

Yummy, that sundae looked fantastic!! Very neat Christmas Eve dinner!

I'm loving all your pics and experiences. I hope someday we'll be able to do Christmas week at Disney but until then, your reports are the very next best thing! Oh and I was happy to see a picture of Art! I was looking for him when we at the BCV in mid-Nov so perhaps he was out sick at that time. Glad to hear he's back and as smiley as ever!!

Looking forward to hearing about Christmas Day!!
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Old 03-21-2005, 01:56 AM   #158
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

Saturday 25 December – part one: Santa calls and an early morning dash to Epcot!

Original plans:
Lunch – Fresh, 11.30 a.m.
Dinner – California Grill, 7.10 p.m.
No plans for the day, although I know we’ll certainly avoid the Magic Kingdom! If it’s nice weather, we’ll probably enjoy Stormalong Bay for a while and we might head into Epcot for a while. Here’s hoping for a window seat at the California Grill!

I was awake not much after 7.00 and was keen to get up and see what Santa had brought us this year. That’s one of the things that I love about spending Christmas Day at a Disney resort – you usually get something left on your door by old St. Nick and, sure enough, today was no exception. A WDW bag with candy sticks and chocolate in it – a lovely touch.

I figured that the parks would be busy, as they usually are on Christmas Day, so suggested an early start. Epcot was on early opening today, so it seemed like a perfect choice to me. We were out of our room by 7.50 and when we got to International Gateway, it still hadn’t opened. That did annoy me a bit, as previously we’ve been let in about 10 minutes before the official opening time here, as the Cast Members know that it takes you about 10 minutes to walk to part of Epcot that’s actually open, but that didn’t happen this morning.

There were only 13 of us, in three groups, waiting to go in, so I figured it might be quite quiet at Epcot and I was right. When we got to Test Track, they were still testing it and the standb wait was already 25 minutes, so we grabbed FastPasses, which would be good in 35 minutes time. We used that time to go and get breakfast at the Electric Umbrella, French toast for me and a fried breakfast for Mark, all of which came to $9.57. Just as we finished, our FastPass time opened up.

As we walked in, the first thing we noticed was how quiet it was inside:



… but we found out why just as why it was so quiet just as we were about to board: “vehicle testing has been suspended due to a technical fault” OK, so our no wait time turned into 20 minutes, but during that time, we got talking to a guy in line behind us. It was his first time on Test Track, but he was a test engineer on Spaceship Earth when it opened in 1982. He pretty much confirmed what the rumours have suggested for a long time about that attraction – that they can’t really take the ride out because it’s integral to the structure of Spaceship Earth. As far as I’m concerned, that’s good news! He also told us how they had to add a lot more motors to get the ride to work. Originally, they thought they needed about 200, but then it became clear that another 100 were in fact required.

Soon enough, we were off for our test ride and, despite my fears, it was a good ride and we got round without any problems. I was convinced that it would break down halfway round, after we’d waited so long for it to get going.

The same thing couldn’t be said of the people who were on just after us. As we came out, we heard the squeal of emergency brakes and watched a car grind to a half on the fast 60 mph section just above the entrance:



We walked over to Universe of Energy, but were told that, due to having “technical difficulties”, they were temporarily closed. Obviously not a good day for Epcot today. As we walked back past Test Track, the poor family trapped in the car were still there, this time they were being helped by a Cast Member. The sick part of us had to go over and watch:



This was not a good advert for Test Track. From there, we headed to Future World East and got diverted into Innoventions, as Mark was convinced we hadn’t seen this one, but of course we had with Maureen and Kevan. We sent them a quick postcard as there was no-one around and then Mark found the video games. I was able to get through a couple of levels on the Monsters Inc. game, before it really got way too complicated for me. Why was it that I followed the instructions to get Sully to jump on the boxes and it wouldn’t work? When Mark did it, it worked just fine. Absolutely typical!



Later on, I saw a small kid next to Mark and the speed that his fingers went across that console was just frightening. There is no way I could ever be that fast! Watching him just made me feel very old! Mark was in there for about half an hour, before I finally managed to drag him away. Hey, it was Christmas Day and we had better things to do than play in there all day…

Next: not enough Turtle talking and sampling the Mediterranean market…
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Old 03-21-2005, 03:56 AM   #159
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

Glad you had a good ride on TT before it broke down, that thing is always breaking down isn't it? . Can't wait to hear about the rest of Christmas Day .

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Old 03-21-2005, 05:48 AM   #160
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

What a quiet start to Epcot today Cheryl Can't wait for more
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Old 03-21-2005, 06:36 AM   #161
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

[ QUOTE ]
I really need some tips on how to get into Beaches & Cream!!! Every time I try, it's too long of a wait!

[/ QUOTE ]

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Old 03-21-2005, 08:30 AM   #162
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

Gosh, Cheryl, I'm sorry that the rides were so messed up this morning! You are right about you guys being sick taking a picture of that poor family that was stuck! I am also video game challenged, so I can totally relate to not being able to work those games!! My kids somehow automatically know what to do!
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Old 03-21-2005, 09:27 AM   #163
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

So you just HAD to stop and watch the car wreck (ok not REALLY a wreck). And of course you had to play on Christmas Day. It's what EVERYONE is doing.
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Old 03-21-2005, 09:52 AM   #164
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

How cool that Santa visited you! Not so cool about that poor family stuck in Test Track! DD6 wants to try this one next time - why do I just know that this will happen to us with my luck? LOL

Can't wait to hear more about your Christmas fun!
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Old 03-21-2005, 10:24 AM   #165
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Re: The AP adventure - THREAD 7 OF 7 - UPDATED 3/11!

Just catching up again Cheryl! What a wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve and day! Sorry to hear about TT... Andy and I also spent way too much time playing video games... I couldn't figure out The Haunted Mansion to save my life!
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