Two Chips and a Dip (The Appetizer Trip) Nov 30 thru Dec 5, 2007 - With Final Thoughts - COMPLETE - Updated 2/21 - Page 19 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I think the fact that we weren’t getting much done on this trip was starting to eat at me. Not that I’m Commando Karen or anything, but I like to be in the parks as much as possible. I really felt as if I was spending waaay too much time in the room for my tastes.
Which is probably why I woke in the middle of the night and had trouble falling back to sleep for hours and hours, if ever. I got up at 7:30 and made as much noise as possible while taking a shower and getting dressed. Unfortunately, the boys were blissfully unaware of my more subtle attempts at waking them up and I had to resort to more overt “GET OUT OF BED, YOU LOUTS!!” procedures. Calder risked his entire cache of Christmas presents by announcing, just as we were stepping out of the room on our way to the buses, that he had to go to the bathroom and that it would be a “while”…
Finally, at 9:15, we were out at the buses. Now it was the Bus Fairy’s turn to disappoint. Bus after bus went by and none of them were for Epcot. Ugh. We literally saw four MK buses go by in a row!! To stem the flow of steam coming out of my ears, Bob approached the 4th MK bus driver and asked what in heck was going on? Apparently, the GPS system was having a problem and buses weren’t being allocated properly. Problem was, the drivers cannot reprogram the buses on the fly – they MUST stop at each depot and complete the route or the buses get, as Jiminy Cricket would say, “in an awful mess.”
“But... just when things look bad… oh-hoh-ho!! It’s the Bus Fairy” (Sorry… couldn’t resist the Wishes paraphrase! )
Yes… SCORE!! an Epcot bus showed up and we got to the park. Bob was carrying a bag so had to go through the not-so-cluster-you-know-what while Calder and I breezed through the guests without bags line. Calder took the momentary break from his dad to do a little shopping at the pin cart right there and I kept a lookout for Bob. Zoiks… in the three minutes it took Calder to complete his transaction, Bob zipped by me without my noticing. Calder and I waited by the pin cart. We even walked over to the CYKW to see if he was trapped there. Nope! We had to resort to cell phones to figure out what happened so we could regroup up at the Fountain of Nations. The boys wanted to do Test Track (which I don’t enjoy – it’s just kind of a “meh” experience for me because I spend so much time in Mom’s Taxi…) and Mission:Space (which my sinuses weren’t keen on doing at the moment.) I took their APs and went to climb Mt. Epcot for Soarin’ FPs.
Oh, and some coffee!! (Which, if I’m being completely truthful in my retelling, I'll have to admit to something that put a serious chink in my Disney-know-it-all status with my boys…) See, I was halfway across the courtyard between MouseGear and Character Chaos when I realized that I should’ve gone to the espresso cart near the Energy pavilion. Thinking on my feet, I doubled back and went into the Electric Umbrella – ooops!! It was only 10:30 and they didn’t open until 11. Didn’t know that one! Shamefacedly, I continued on to the Land to get the FPs. As soon as I stepped into the building, it hit me. I could’ve gotten coffee here without all the backtracking!!
I picked up FPs for 12:15 and then, coffee in hand, went back up to the benches by the door to enjoy it. Of course, “enjoying” myself included talking to as many random strangers as possible and handing out advice willy nilly. (I’m incorrigible, I know.) One woman actually asked me for a pen and paper to take notes --- and her husband was a travel agent and they came to Disney EVERY YEAR. She’d never heard of Annual Passes, didn’t know about the discounts, and had revealed to me that they made just about every classic planning blunder in the book! I handed her a card from my pouch that has the PassPorter and AllEarsNet.com info on it and told her to take the reins from her DH for the next trip!!
Around 11:15, the guys called to say they’d meet me at the Seas in a few minutes. I said my goodbyes to my adoring fans and headed out. There was a bit of a line to get to ride the Nemo ride, but the guys wanted to see it again. While in line, we noticed a little girl in full Cinderella garb who was terrified of the ride and just wouldn’t believe us that it was a slow, non-scary ride. She was convinced that we’d go underwater or get splashed or that big sharks would bite at us. No matter what Calder told her about the ride, she was still petrified. Once my gang started giggling at the “pretty big butt” in the ceiling of the waiting area, she seemed to calm down a little. The very princessy, pink clammobiles helped further still. Afterwards, I asked her if she thought it was scary and she squealed with delight and chanted that she wanted to ride it again and again and again!!
The Lloyds wanted to see Turtle Talk with Crush, but a show had just gone in so, while waiting, we contented ourselves with the shark displays…
… where Calder got into a staring contest with Anchor the shark
I have to say that I thought the new waiting area for Turtle Talk is brilliant. So much more interesting than standing in the middle of the main room with nothing to do. The games were fun and the tank with the small rays was really cool.
And not that I’m bragging about my superior knowledge of the underwater world or anything… but… catch a gander at the certificate I won!
The only thing that wasn’t practically perfect in every way about the new set-up is the way people cram up at the doorway to get good seats – it was a little frightening with the worry of small children getting trampled.
Once again, the show was brilliant and the kids had great interactions with Crush. We saw the bikini and the whale (which, if you haven’t seen this show yet probably sounds a little kinky!)
By the time we got out of the Seas, Bob was very hungry, but willing to squeeze in our Soarin’ FPs first. After a short wait (where we chatted with a mom traveling with her mom), we found seats on the far left arm in the middle row. I got a kick out of leaving my Crocs on the ground by my feet I saw the Hidden Mickey again and got very misty-eyed seeing Disneyland – it totally made me miss my travel pals from March!
Calder’s first words once we were back on terra firma were “I have to have an ORANGE!!” (Ooooh, that subliminal advertising wins another one!!) Good thing that Disney now offers fruit at most of the ice cream and drink stands in the parks! That orange was FAN-tastic!! Absolutely delicious, but did nothing to assuage our now ravenous appetites…
So, off to Mexico we went! I nabbed a seat by the water at the Cantina de San Angel while Calder and Bob went to the counter to order. (I also took an opportunity to call Karen and gush about the warm weather – to which she responded that the cold front was now heading our way, just in time for her arrival )
Calder got an order nachos (of which he really only eats the chips) and Bob and I split a combo plate that had beans and a taco and other goodies that I can’t recall (and aren’t listed individually on the receipt.) What I do remember was that it was all delicious, made even more so by the lovely margarita Bob had brought with it. Ahhhhh, joy and contentment! A seat by the water on a bright, warm & sunny December day, eating food with the fam and sipping on a frosty adult beverage. <<sigh>>
Oh, and my tip: don’t bother ordering a “side” of guacamole. It comes in one of those little pill cups and, therefore, is about ½ an ounce for $2.95. Total waste of our money!
And Bob’s tip – don’t forget to ask for a complementary cup of tap water! He thought that was such a great deal
We wandered around a little and enjoyed the sights of World Showcase before deciding on a break. The boys were feeling good and wanted to show off their joie de vivre to everyone with a little heel-clicking:
Unfortunately, it looks instead as if they both need to visit a rest room…
By the time we hit the Fountain of Nations, we all wanted a little ice cream so we stopped at the stand in front of the Electric Umbrella and got two Mickey Bars (Calder and me) and an ice cream sandwich (Bob). We sat down to gorge on the goodness while watching the blackbirds that puff themselves up before squawking or pooping. (Calder especially liked it when they pooped!)
A quick worship of our Leave a Legacy tile and we headed back out to the buses. Back at the resort, I decided to take a nap while the boys went in search of Gorillas in the Mist over at the main pool.
[Up Next: Calder goes out of this world to “merchandise…”]
BTW – I don’t know what I was thinking in last update’s “Up Next.” Donald had *already* exposed himself the previous day…
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Sorry the boys were sleeping in while you were ready to go, go, go! (wonder if that comes backs to bite ya after the girls arrive with the big a## spreadsheet and commando style touring)
In any case, sounds like after you finally made it to Epcot, you made the most of it. Nice of you to share your Disney wisdom with the folks around ya!
danielle
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~Shoot for the moon, if you miss, you will land among the stars~
Of course, “enjoying” myself included talking to as many random strangers as possible and handing out advice willy nilly.
That is so funny! I'm sure they all went back home with stories to tell (We were sitting there, minding our own business, when this woman sits down and.....)
Excellent update! Glad you got to give out some advice. Not sure why a travel agent wouldn't know about the annual passes. You would think he would be more into researching things out.
another great update!! I like the idea of having the cards with the web addresses on them, who knows how many people you have helped have a magical time at Disney!
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Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down, in the most delightful way!
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I am totally caught up and laughing myself silly over your great TR! I must remember to abuse random teenagers at Club Cool.
Please add my congratulations to Calder on his Black Belt. What a great accomplishment.
I am loving all of your comments and wishing I was at WDW. Our next trip is in April, so it is not so awfully far away. OH! And we will be staying at POFQ for the first time!
Looking forward to the next update (nudge, nudge, , ).
Great update Eileen!!! I loved the story about the woman and her husband who was the Travel Agent but didn't know too much about Disney. I guess his specialty wasn't Disney World so I hope he was booking too many WDW trips!!!! Don't you just love giving out Disney advice to people who are newbies!!!
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“But... just when things look bad… oh-hoh-ho!! It’s the Bus Fairy” (Sorry… couldn’t resist the Wishes paraphrase! 
)
Didn’t know that one! Shamefacedly, I continued on to the Land to get the FPs. As soon as I stepped into the building, it hit me. 
I could’ve gotten coffee here without all the backtracking!! 
I saw the Hidden Mickey again and got very misty-eyed seeing Disneyland – it totally made me miss my travel pals from March!
I hope he's not helping too many people who come to Disney.
Love the kickin' heels picture 
And congrats on the certificate 
ANGIE
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