brewcrew26
04-25-2008, 04:10 PM
Day 3 – Epcot’s World Showcase and Fantasmic!
Since we had such a late night, we slept in. What a treat! Normally, I need to be up by 4 a.m. for work. DH is generally an early-riser, but even he took a few extra hours in stride. We decided we’d take Epcot slow, doing bits and pieces since it’s so spread out and it can be a bit overwhelming and overload the senses.
Brett was in the mood for sushi, but since no counter service sushi places in the Japan pavilion have an extensive menu and are covered by the DDP, we decided to try Lotus Blossom Café in the China pavilion. Honestly, as much as I love Epcot, I’ve never been to the China pavilion to eat. The menu is small, but I had the sesame chicken. Nothing spectacular, but it was filling with the large amount of white rice, plus a dessert of red bean ice cream. I really enjoyed the ice cream. DH had the ginger ice cream and it was really tasty with huge chunks of ginger. Very refreshing! Plus, they had boba tea (or bubble tea), a very cool and refreshing, almost slushy-like drink that has gelatin or tapioca beads in the bottom. You need to use a spoon or really large straw to drink it. It hasn’t really caught on everywhere, I’ve found, except cities with large Asian populations, so it’s a real treat when I can find it.
After lunch, we backtracked to Mexico to take a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour. I have to say I miss El Rio del Tiempo. It was kitschy but it had Cheech Marin in it! The new take is even more colorful and at least it introduces new generations to the Three Caballeros. The shops in the pavilion are pretty much as I remember it – the woven ponchos, sombreros, random knick-knacks, glassware, and tequila. Still, there’s a bit of magic when you walk inside a fake Mayan pyramid to find it to be dusk in the middle of Orlando.
We then made our way to Norway to experience the Maelstrom. I don’t know why I always get tense before I go on that ride, but I do. It’s not at all scary, but I always think those tricky goblins are going to make the drop worse than it really is. The wait was about 20 or 30 minutes. But since I hadn’t been on it in nearly seven years, it was worth the wait. I just couldn’t seem to remember where the hidden Mickey was on the large mural in the loading area. For some reason DH thought it was on one of the ships, but I didn’t have time to see it. Oh, well. We bypassed the movie. I doubt it’s been changed in a few years, right? So, I did some browsing in the shops. I absolutely LOVE the Norwegian wool sweaters. I have a fake one but it’s just not the same. But, I can’t bring myself to spending close to $300 on something I’ll just wear during the winter.
Finally, it was nearing our dinner ressie. I made a semi-early ADR at Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion. So, we made our way over there to gander at the gardens and the shops. I think the second-level shop facades should really be open. Otherwise, I didn’t find much to do besides the O Canada! Film. We checked in a few minutes early and were seated fairly quickly. The restaurant was far from full. You can read the full review in the Dining section. I was very impressed. DH and I both agreed that Le Cellier will be on our must-do next trip to see if its just as good.
When dinner was over, we hopped on one of the boats outside the International Gateway to Hollywood Studios (I kept slipping the entire trip wanting to call it MGM). We decided to fit in Fantasmic! It was just about 7 p.m. when we got to the Studios and we saw a huge line outside Tower of Terror. We quickly found it was the line to the Fantasmic amphitheater. The theater filled up really fast when they opened the doors up 90 minutes before the 8:30 p.m. show. My butt fell asleep as we waited so long. We didn’t have much to do just being two of us, so we called our families while we waited. There was also a family in front of us with a very obnoxious teen son who kept yelling at his parents and siblings trying to save an entire row of seats for about 5 people. I thought the vein in DH’s head was going to explode if this boy shouted one more time.
But, it was all worth it once the lights went down. We’d seen Fantasmic at Disneyland, but it’s not the same. Everyone crowds around the Rivers of America sitting on the ground. I liked being able to be elevated. I felt I could see more of the show. There were a few minor differences, but otherwise it was just as spectacular. I always get a little verklempt when the steamboat rolls buy with all the characters and Steamboat Willie is steering.
It was a pretty fabulous and full day. We ended it by going to our room and watching old Disney cartoons on Channel 98. By the end of the week, we cycled through all the cartoons but it was fun nonetheless since I hadn’t seen most of those back when the Disney Channel played old cartoons on Mousterpiece Theater. (Bet you haven’t thought about that show in a long time!)
When we came back to the room, someone from the hotel had left an envelope on our bed. It was a certificate from the Disney Wedding people congratulating us on our honeymoon. It was really cute. So we put it next to the signed picture we got the day before from the CM in the CBR gift shop of Mickey and Minnie.
Since we had such a late night, we slept in. What a treat! Normally, I need to be up by 4 a.m. for work. DH is generally an early-riser, but even he took a few extra hours in stride. We decided we’d take Epcot slow, doing bits and pieces since it’s so spread out and it can be a bit overwhelming and overload the senses.
Brett was in the mood for sushi, but since no counter service sushi places in the Japan pavilion have an extensive menu and are covered by the DDP, we decided to try Lotus Blossom Café in the China pavilion. Honestly, as much as I love Epcot, I’ve never been to the China pavilion to eat. The menu is small, but I had the sesame chicken. Nothing spectacular, but it was filling with the large amount of white rice, plus a dessert of red bean ice cream. I really enjoyed the ice cream. DH had the ginger ice cream and it was really tasty with huge chunks of ginger. Very refreshing! Plus, they had boba tea (or bubble tea), a very cool and refreshing, almost slushy-like drink that has gelatin or tapioca beads in the bottom. You need to use a spoon or really large straw to drink it. It hasn’t really caught on everywhere, I’ve found, except cities with large Asian populations, so it’s a real treat when I can find it.
After lunch, we backtracked to Mexico to take a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour. I have to say I miss El Rio del Tiempo. It was kitschy but it had Cheech Marin in it! The new take is even more colorful and at least it introduces new generations to the Three Caballeros. The shops in the pavilion are pretty much as I remember it – the woven ponchos, sombreros, random knick-knacks, glassware, and tequila. Still, there’s a bit of magic when you walk inside a fake Mayan pyramid to find it to be dusk in the middle of Orlando.
We then made our way to Norway to experience the Maelstrom. I don’t know why I always get tense before I go on that ride, but I do. It’s not at all scary, but I always think those tricky goblins are going to make the drop worse than it really is. The wait was about 20 or 30 minutes. But since I hadn’t been on it in nearly seven years, it was worth the wait. I just couldn’t seem to remember where the hidden Mickey was on the large mural in the loading area. For some reason DH thought it was on one of the ships, but I didn’t have time to see it. Oh, well. We bypassed the movie. I doubt it’s been changed in a few years, right? So, I did some browsing in the shops. I absolutely LOVE the Norwegian wool sweaters. I have a fake one but it’s just not the same. But, I can’t bring myself to spending close to $300 on something I’ll just wear during the winter.
Finally, it was nearing our dinner ressie. I made a semi-early ADR at Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion. So, we made our way over there to gander at the gardens and the shops. I think the second-level shop facades should really be open. Otherwise, I didn’t find much to do besides the O Canada! Film. We checked in a few minutes early and were seated fairly quickly. The restaurant was far from full. You can read the full review in the Dining section. I was very impressed. DH and I both agreed that Le Cellier will be on our must-do next trip to see if its just as good.
When dinner was over, we hopped on one of the boats outside the International Gateway to Hollywood Studios (I kept slipping the entire trip wanting to call it MGM). We decided to fit in Fantasmic! It was just about 7 p.m. when we got to the Studios and we saw a huge line outside Tower of Terror. We quickly found it was the line to the Fantasmic amphitheater. The theater filled up really fast when they opened the doors up 90 minutes before the 8:30 p.m. show. My butt fell asleep as we waited so long. We didn’t have much to do just being two of us, so we called our families while we waited. There was also a family in front of us with a very obnoxious teen son who kept yelling at his parents and siblings trying to save an entire row of seats for about 5 people. I thought the vein in DH’s head was going to explode if this boy shouted one more time.
But, it was all worth it once the lights went down. We’d seen Fantasmic at Disneyland, but it’s not the same. Everyone crowds around the Rivers of America sitting on the ground. I liked being able to be elevated. I felt I could see more of the show. There were a few minor differences, but otherwise it was just as spectacular. I always get a little verklempt when the steamboat rolls buy with all the characters and Steamboat Willie is steering.
It was a pretty fabulous and full day. We ended it by going to our room and watching old Disney cartoons on Channel 98. By the end of the week, we cycled through all the cartoons but it was fun nonetheless since I hadn’t seen most of those back when the Disney Channel played old cartoons on Mousterpiece Theater. (Bet you haven’t thought about that show in a long time!)
When we came back to the room, someone from the hotel had left an envelope on our bed. It was a certificate from the Disney Wedding people congratulating us on our honeymoon. It was really cute. So we put it next to the signed picture we got the day before from the CM in the CBR gift shop of Mickey and Minnie.