Darth Macho's 2012 Dream Trip: Day 12 of 14

[darthmacho]

Darth Macho’s Dream Trip, Day 12
When Are We Going On Rides?

The Cast:
DM: Darth Macho (41yo)
DW: Darth Wife (41yo)
DD1: Darth Daughter 1 (11yo)
DD2: Darth Daughter 2 (8yo)

The Stage:
Epcot’s World Showcase, Canada to Japan

The Report:

When I planned out the 14-day trip, the idea was to visit AK and DHS twice, and Epcot and MK three times, and do each park in sections, a plan we’ve been using to tackle the Magic Kingdom for several trips now. The only problem with this plan is that 3 days in MK is still not enough for me, and while it was great to take in Epcot in three days, it was a bit of slow going for the kids. Take for example this day. We had covered Mexico through USA on our first visit here, so that left us with just Canada through Japan to go. The glitch? No rides. It was the first thing that the kids noticed when we arrived. Ideally, we should have save Agent P for this day, but we were all anxious to try it the first day, so we had already experienced it once. I found it a bit tedious, so I didn’t suggest doing it again, however I’d have to come up with something to keep the kids from getting too bored.

We got off to another late start (not me, I was up early catching up on laundry again.) Thankfully, the crowds were pretty sparse once we got to the park. We were hungry for lunch, but no one could agree on where to go. Finally we split up, and I took DD2, and we walked to Japan, while DW and DD1 grabbed some fish & chips at UK and met us there where we ate in quiet comfort. Everyone seemed satisfied. We decided to start exploring in Japan, inside and out, and DW purchased a few items in what is one of her favorite stores in WDW. The girls got some shaved ice and we got to watch the amazing drummers before we moved on to Morocco.

Morocco is a fun pavilion to explore, but once we browsed, and I got DW a mint iced tea, we were done. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the belly dancers, but I think I was the only one interested in that anyway. Next, we moved on to France, where last trip we had a wonderful meal. This time, however, there wasn’t much to do, so we went into the pastry shop for a snack. DD2 suggested the cream puff, but I decided on the éclair, which I thought would pair better with my glass of white wine. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I have very few food complaints for this trip, but this was one of them. The éclair was dry, limp, and a little stale for my liking. I should have gotten the cream puff.

Next was a momentous occasion, or should I say, a “monumental” occasion? It was the first official meeting between Darth Macho and Gary’s Column. Now I’ve got plenty of pictures, including one of my kids loitering with him in 2010, but this was the first time we were formally introduced, because hitherto, I hadn’t realized The Column was sentient. Column was gracious enough to allow our picture to be taken together, and I asked him to say hi to the Intercot gang back home. It was a nice little highlight of the trip!

We explored UK some more, and sadly, we never ran into the World Showcase Players, so I am putting them on my “must do” list for next time. I had a back-up plan however, because I decided that we should get to the Italy Pavilion early for our ADR at Via Napoli, so that we could catch the Ziti Sisters, because we had never seen them before, and the time guide showed them appearing at 4PM.

We still had some time to kill though, so we explored the Canada Pavilion, where DD1 reminisced about the steak she got when we had lunch there in 2010. I thought that was cute, because now she often orders steak when we eat out.

As time for our ADR got closer, the plan was to hop the boat to Germany for a shorter walk over to Italy, but the boat dock on the Canada side was closed for the day. Sadly, the boat on the Mexico side was also closed, so it looked like we were going to have to hoof it. Before we did that, however, there was another momentous meeting between Darth Macho and Duffy the Bear. We caught him just before his designated “cookie break”, and got our picture with him just as a boat arrived at the dock across the way. It was a tremendous run of luck! I probably jinxed it though by making the decision NOT to by a Duffy to take home with us, because I had been hedging all week. I have two teddy bears, Boone and Binky that I got on vacations in Maine and New Hampshire respectively, and I wondered if Duffy would make a nice addition to the family. I ultimately decided that he’d probably be a “third wheel”, so I didn’t buy one. I’ll probably regret that at some point, but at least the kids got their stuffed Yetis!

As I alluded to, however, our string of dumb luck had run out, but with only minor repercussions. We had taken the boat ride over to Germany and walked over to Italy to wait for the Ziti Sisters to arrive. They didn’t. I decided to consult the times guide, and realized that they don’t appear on Thursdays! What a bummer. It was still a little early, but I decided to check in at Via Napoli right away since we weren’t going to see the show. We had a good meal there, and the service was some of the best we encountered on the trip, very friendly and attentive. I promise I’ll get caught up with dining reviews soon. After dinner we did catch the mime with the whistle and the soccer balls, and at least got to enjoy his show.

Meanwhile, the day was winding down, but I had promised the girls some rides. I did want to check out the stores in Germany first, but then we made stops in Norway to ride Maelstrom (twice) and Mexico to ride Fiesta Tour. We lingered long enough that it was starting to get dark as we exited through Future World, but not before one last ride on Spaceship Earth, which is always a nice way to wind down a day at Epcot if you’re not staying for the fireworks. Like AK and DHS, I got the sad feeling in my heart as we left Epcot for the last time on the trip. It’s hard to complain though, because we spent three magical days there, a first for us. I’m certainly grateful for that.

Back at Pop, the girls wanted to swim, and even though DW and I were tired, we took them to the Bowling Pin Pool at their request, but not before stopping at Petals for some libations first. It ended up being the last chance we got to swim, so I’m glad we made the time. We had one more full day, and one more park, left for the trip, and of course that was going to be Magic Kingdom. We all hit the hay, exhausted and excited, happy yet sad, as we headed into Day 13 of our 14-day WDW Dream Trip.

Stay tuned for that one!

[SBETigg]

Aw, the trip is nearing an end! But you visited the Column! It must have been so happy to see you.

[January-2007]

Thanks for reporting.

[Dopey's Girl]

Yeah for some Column time!

Another great day. I can't believe your reports are coming to an end!

[faline]

Even 14 day trips must eventually come to day 14 - sorry your trip is winding down!
Even with a few snags, you had a lovely day!!

[DisneyorBust]

The World Showcase can be a bit difficult for the young ones to enjoy, it would be nice if there were a couple more rides. Sorry to read that it's your last day in Epcot, I know the pain as it's probably my favorite park.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Thanks for the report, its always sad saying goodbye to WS...

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

Thanks for the reminder to visit the column!

I can only imagine the bittersweetness of day 13!!!