Date: Saturday, August 30, 2008
Plan for the Day:
Epcot
Biergarten for Lunch
Big River Grille & Brewing Works for Dinner
Mileage: 5.14 miles
What Actually Happened:
Today dawns hot, very humid, and sunny. It’s already 80 degrees and it’s not even 7 a.m. yet. Gustav is now a category 3 hurricane and is heading into the gulf. Hanna is getting strong but her exact path is still unknown.
We rise and again have breakfast from the
Old Faithful Club. A small bagel and cream cheese, Danish, fruit and a latte for me. Gene has a decaf coffee along with a bowl of cereal, Danish, and mini muffins. We each bring a glass of juice back to the room with us while we finish getting ready for the day.
Despite the sunny start, it’s mostly cloudy and looking rather threatening when we arrive at the Epcot bus stop. Within five minutes, we’ve seen buses for just about every possible destination (including Downtown Disney) except for Epcot. A few more buses and 20 minutes of wait time and we’re on board an Epcot bus. The sun is now shining once again.
Entry into the park is quick. I expect there will be a long line for Spaceship Earth but we’re able to walk right on. We’re also able to walk right on Test Track and directly into Ellen’s Energy Adventure. It’s raining as we exit – steady but not torrential. Still we raise our umbrellas while we walk to our next destination.
The green side of Mission Space that we selected is a walk-on though the orange side posts a 10 minute standby line. Once we’ve successfully completed our mission to Mars, we wander through both sides of Innoventions.
We tour Mouse Gears but purchase only an Epcot magnet. At Living Seas, we successfully locate Nemo. While waiting to enter the Crush show, a ray seems to be trying to escape the pool. It repeatedly tries to climb the wall above the water level. While watching the ray’s antics, another couple mistakenly believes a little girl of around 3 is with us. The little girl has obviously had a visit with a Fairy Godmother in training at the Bippity Boutique so the other couple asks us about the cost of this. When I realize their assumption, I state the child is not ours and she says she thought the child might be our grandchild. I’m not sure if they were embarrassed by the mistake or simply thought we were odd for venturing into Crush unaccompanied by a toddler! In any case, Crush was amusing as always!
The manatees were particularly playful and active today. Every other time, I’ve seen them, they’re rather sedately munching away on lettuce. Today, they’re rushing around the pool using their fins to propel them more quickly by sticking them into the sand at the bottom of the pool and pushing. Quite fun to watch!
As we start our walk to the Germany pavilion, it begins to rain again and it’s time to raise those umbrellas again. This will only be the second time we’ve ever been to
Biergarten and the first was a number of years ago.
Once we’ve checked in, we’re handed beepers. While we’re waiting in this comfortably dry location, we can see that the rain outside has now turned torrential! It is certainly coming down!
When our beeper notifies us that our table is ready, we’re seated with an adult family of six – none of whom acknowledges us until one young woman says goodbye as they’re leaving. Oh well.
The food is okay but certainly not something I would put on my list of favorites. I thought the pork selections, including the freshly sliced pork, was rather dry. The show was good but it is very short. Overall, is was a pleasant experience but does not deserve rave reviews.
Following our lunch, we head to the Land. The rainy weather is continuing but it is not pouring as it was earlier. I assume Soarin’s standby will be quite long but figure we might be able to get on Living with the Land. As we head toward that pavilion in the drizzle, we hear the unmistakable rumble of thunder. Not many people are around as we walk along. As we enter the Land, it appears we’ve found where all the guests have gathered. This pavilion is mobbed! Living with the Land lists a 5 minute standby time but one look at that line is all that is needed to know that the standby time needs some drastic updating! We’ll save this for another day and decide to head home.
Once again, a bus is at our stop when we arrive and we have a quick and easy trip back to Wilderness Lodge.
I’m still moving at an easy pace and don’t have as much stamina as I generally do. Also, it’s pouring rain at 4:30. We scrap plans to head to Boardwalk and the Big River Brewing Company for dinner. I know. Let’s stay in tonight!
We decide to see what the Concierge Club will offer for dinner tonight. Pulled pork sandwiches. That’ll do! Along with wine for me and beer for Gene, we’re quite contented with our decision to stay “home”.
I watch the fireworks from our balcony once again but Gene is already sleeping by time they start.
September Sojourn – Part 4
Thanks for the reports
Linear Mode
