ltjrrich
01-18-2010, 07:10 PM
Cast: Me - 24/25
Mom - 53
Dad - 56
Kim, gf - 22, and her first trip
Terribly sorry for the delay in continuing the trip report, but I was sidetracked by work and my general forgetfulness. Hockey and the football playoffs didn't help either. With that said, on to day 3.
Day 3, 1/5 - My birthday:
Part of the reason for this trip was as a 25th birthday present to me, which fell on the third day of the trip. As originally planned by my mother, we were going to sleep in late and head to Epcot in the late afternoon to do the World Showcase. However, on Monday my girlfriend made the "mistake" of telling me Epcot had morning EMH on Tuesday.
Kim: "Does this mean we're going to be getting up early now?"
Me: "Yep."
Might as well take advantage of EMH, right? Especially as it was for my birthday at my favorite park. Yes, Epcot is my favorite park and always has been since I was 3. What can I say? I was a boring kid. We had actually gotten most of Future World done on Monday afternoon before dinner at the Rose & Crown, so we made our primary mission to hit Soarin' immediately. As you may remember from my previous post for day 2 that there was a tiny smidge of an almost problem with getting a table at R&C. While we were waiting for our eventual table, we were chatting with the hostess - a delightful young lady from Sheffield, England (Michael Palin's hometown, for any Monty Python fans) - and we started talking about Soarin' and its huge line. She told us "It's one of those rides where you do it once, and that's it." After riding it on Tuesday, I'd have to agree. It was great to do once, but now I'm good. I wouldn't bother with it again unless I happened to catch it on a day where the line was no more than 10 minutes - not exactly a common sight. In fact, I daresay that I would call the ride Borin'. That gave Kim a giggle, and feel free to use it for friends and co-workers. I have a million of 'em! After our ride on Borin', we moseyed over to Honey, I Was Shrunk by Rick Moranis (see? There's another one you can use).
Digression Alert!
This is a story about HISTA that did not happen on this trip, which is why I gave the Digression Alert. If you're only interested in things that happened on this trip, then feel free to scroll down to the Digression Alert Over signal. This is a story about my trip in 1995, only a little while after HISTA opened. As it was a brand-new attraction, it was quite crowded. My parents and I waited on a very long line outside, to be crammed into the pre-show room where we had to wait longer and suffer through that horrendously boring original preshow (anyone else remember it? Wasn't it dreadfully dull?). We finally got into the theatre, sat down, put on our 3-D glasses, and nothing happened. We saw CMs running around the stage in those Imagination Institute lab coats, and we heard the audio for the ride but the curtain was still down over the screen. However, you know that small 2-D screen above the podium where the CM stands to deliver the announcements? That screen was working, so we were all watching it assuming the 3-D part came later - remember, I said this was when HISTA was brand new. Eventually the CM came to the podium and told us that there were technical difficulties and that we'd have to exit. Nobody moved, because we all thought it was part of the show. LOL. The entire audience laughed, thinking "Right. 'Technical difficulties.' Then we get shrunk and the movie begins." It took a few minutes for the CM to convince us that we really did have to leave, and that the film truly was not working. We finally got the hint when the exit doors opened and several other CMs came in saying something to the effect of "No! Really! It's not working!" We were so angry at being forced to wait so long for a movie that they knew wasn't working. We never got to see it for the rest of that trip. Still to this day we get a little nervous when we go see it, wondering if it'll really be working. Also to this day my parents will say, "No! Really! Please exit!" when it ends.
Digression Alert Over
Back to Day 3. After HISTA Kim and I got hungry, so we went to look for breakfast. We went to the Electric Umbrella which was closed, and then over to Odyssey which was also closed. We ended up back where we started at The Land to eat there. That was a lot of walking (what other kind of walking is there at WDW?), and I have to say - my shoes are fantastic. My feet never bothered me once on this trip. Shoe technology is incredible these days. To all of you with problem feet like me, I wholeheartedly recommend New Balance shoes. I alternated between an old pair of 1010 cross trainers with Dr. Scholl's gel inserts and a brand new pair of 575 health walking shoes. Both were fantastic. We got breakfast using our DDP, and we shared a Smirnoff Ice. Yes, that's right - drinking in the morning in Epcot. And why not? I was surprised they had them for sale at 10:30 AM, but Kim wanted one and I certainly had no complaint with sharing. Happy birthday, indeed! Kim and I then went to the WS to explore for a couple of hours, as my birthday lunch was at Le Cellier. We went to the Mexico side first and did Mexico. As I said in the first report, my parents and I had not been to WDW since '03 and Kim had never been there, so I had yet to see the new Gran Fiesta Tour. I must say I prefer the old El Rio de Tiempo. I will say the new video screens in the ride are much clearer, and that the old grainy film needed to be replaced, but I think the old ride was more educational. Also, Donald Duck isn't Mexican, nor is José Carioca for that matter. It went from being a ride about Mexico to being a ride that happens to be in Mexico. At least Maelstrom is the same, which is what we did next. Here's an observation from Kim, the first timer: Why does Disney warn about water on the water rides, but not in the shows? Almost all the 3-D movies spray you with water, but there's no warning about that. On Malestrom there are signs everywhere that say "You may get wet!" even though at most there will be a couple of drops of water. Fozzie's squirting flower in Muppetvision 3-D gets the audience wetter than Maelstrom does, but there's no water warning for that. Isn't that weird? I never paid attention to any of the water warnings before, because it's usually so hot in Florida that being wet is a blessing. This trip being wet was unthinkable. Anyway, we wandered through the WS and arrived at Canada for lunch.
Le Cellier was, and still is, my favorite restaurant in all of WDW. The food was delicious, as always. I had the cheddar cheese soup for the first time, and I must recommend it to everyone with a mouth and stomach. If you are able to eat, then run - don't walk - to Le Cellier for that soup. The strip steak was fantastic too, and I'm not even a big fan of steak. Dessert was blood orange sorbet, and it was one of my favorite desserts that I've ever had in my 25 years. To my surprise, our server brought out a birthday card for me saying "Happy 25th Birthday" and it was signed by everyone working at Le Cellier. That was such a great surprise! I was stunned that they knew it was my 25th birthday, as my birthday button only said "Happy Birthday" and had my name on it. Our server (Jason from Winnipeg, MB) only said "A little mouse told me." My mom and I then remembered that when she made the reservation online there was a box that asked if we were celebrating anything and she entered my 25th birthday. I just thought all Canadians were psychic, or that they at least had psychic mice. Or that Mickey really did tell them it was my birthday. I wouldn't put it past him. That mouse knows how to celebrate. BTW, does anyone know who I would call or e-mail to compliment an employee? I'd really like to commend Jason from Winnipeg for a great birthday.
That afternoon we went out shopping in Orlando. We drove to the TTC after our extracurricular shopping trip and took the ferry to the MK. I hadn't taken the ferry in years - always either the monorail or a resort bus. The ferry has a fantastic view of the MK, especially as it was dusk when we went and all the lights were on. Upon making landfall at the main gate Kim and I separated from my parents and agreed to meet in front of Tony's later. Kim and I did some shopping, and she bought those Minnie ears that look like a headband. These were like a semi-circle that framed the face and had Minnie's ears on them. That's the best way I can explain them. They were actually youth size, but we both thought they were nicer than the adult equivalent which had sequins on the ears. We then went to the Montsters Inc. Laugh Floor, which I think is the most genius attraction ever devised. I can't begin to say how much I love it. It was utterly hilarious, and Kim got picked! The second monster said he was going to do mind-reading, and he said there was someone in the audience with a special mind-reading hat. Lo and behold it was Kim in her brand-new mouse ears! And I got to be part of it too, thanks to my birthday button! That might be my new favorite attraction anywhere in WDW. We only had the time to do just that, because then we met up with my parents and left the MK to go to Chef Mickey's for my birthday dinner. For the first time I got to be one of the birthday people and not just one of the napkin twirlers! My parents saw the absolutely worst behaved children ever while waiting for our table. They were running all around Chef Mickey's, and even climbing up on the furniture and my parents. It was so bad that my father actually went into a legitimate panic when a table near us was being cleared for a large party. Luckily, it wasn't for those people, but we did see their children on the buffet line running around, and actually running through people's legs! At least we never had a problem. I just hope they didn't cause trouble for anyone else. And that concludes my birthday.
Mom - 53
Dad - 56
Kim, gf - 22, and her first trip
Terribly sorry for the delay in continuing the trip report, but I was sidetracked by work and my general forgetfulness. Hockey and the football playoffs didn't help either. With that said, on to day 3.
Day 3, 1/5 - My birthday:
Part of the reason for this trip was as a 25th birthday present to me, which fell on the third day of the trip. As originally planned by my mother, we were going to sleep in late and head to Epcot in the late afternoon to do the World Showcase. However, on Monday my girlfriend made the "mistake" of telling me Epcot had morning EMH on Tuesday.
Kim: "Does this mean we're going to be getting up early now?"
Me: "Yep."
Might as well take advantage of EMH, right? Especially as it was for my birthday at my favorite park. Yes, Epcot is my favorite park and always has been since I was 3. What can I say? I was a boring kid. We had actually gotten most of Future World done on Monday afternoon before dinner at the Rose & Crown, so we made our primary mission to hit Soarin' immediately. As you may remember from my previous post for day 2 that there was a tiny smidge of an almost problem with getting a table at R&C. While we were waiting for our eventual table, we were chatting with the hostess - a delightful young lady from Sheffield, England (Michael Palin's hometown, for any Monty Python fans) - and we started talking about Soarin' and its huge line. She told us "It's one of those rides where you do it once, and that's it." After riding it on Tuesday, I'd have to agree. It was great to do once, but now I'm good. I wouldn't bother with it again unless I happened to catch it on a day where the line was no more than 10 minutes - not exactly a common sight. In fact, I daresay that I would call the ride Borin'. That gave Kim a giggle, and feel free to use it for friends and co-workers. I have a million of 'em! After our ride on Borin', we moseyed over to Honey, I Was Shrunk by Rick Moranis (see? There's another one you can use).
Digression Alert!
This is a story about HISTA that did not happen on this trip, which is why I gave the Digression Alert. If you're only interested in things that happened on this trip, then feel free to scroll down to the Digression Alert Over signal. This is a story about my trip in 1995, only a little while after HISTA opened. As it was a brand-new attraction, it was quite crowded. My parents and I waited on a very long line outside, to be crammed into the pre-show room where we had to wait longer and suffer through that horrendously boring original preshow (anyone else remember it? Wasn't it dreadfully dull?). We finally got into the theatre, sat down, put on our 3-D glasses, and nothing happened. We saw CMs running around the stage in those Imagination Institute lab coats, and we heard the audio for the ride but the curtain was still down over the screen. However, you know that small 2-D screen above the podium where the CM stands to deliver the announcements? That screen was working, so we were all watching it assuming the 3-D part came later - remember, I said this was when HISTA was brand new. Eventually the CM came to the podium and told us that there were technical difficulties and that we'd have to exit. Nobody moved, because we all thought it was part of the show. LOL. The entire audience laughed, thinking "Right. 'Technical difficulties.' Then we get shrunk and the movie begins." It took a few minutes for the CM to convince us that we really did have to leave, and that the film truly was not working. We finally got the hint when the exit doors opened and several other CMs came in saying something to the effect of "No! Really! It's not working!" We were so angry at being forced to wait so long for a movie that they knew wasn't working. We never got to see it for the rest of that trip. Still to this day we get a little nervous when we go see it, wondering if it'll really be working. Also to this day my parents will say, "No! Really! Please exit!" when it ends.
Digression Alert Over
Back to Day 3. After HISTA Kim and I got hungry, so we went to look for breakfast. We went to the Electric Umbrella which was closed, and then over to Odyssey which was also closed. We ended up back where we started at The Land to eat there. That was a lot of walking (what other kind of walking is there at WDW?), and I have to say - my shoes are fantastic. My feet never bothered me once on this trip. Shoe technology is incredible these days. To all of you with problem feet like me, I wholeheartedly recommend New Balance shoes. I alternated between an old pair of 1010 cross trainers with Dr. Scholl's gel inserts and a brand new pair of 575 health walking shoes. Both were fantastic. We got breakfast using our DDP, and we shared a Smirnoff Ice. Yes, that's right - drinking in the morning in Epcot. And why not? I was surprised they had them for sale at 10:30 AM, but Kim wanted one and I certainly had no complaint with sharing. Happy birthday, indeed! Kim and I then went to the WS to explore for a couple of hours, as my birthday lunch was at Le Cellier. We went to the Mexico side first and did Mexico. As I said in the first report, my parents and I had not been to WDW since '03 and Kim had never been there, so I had yet to see the new Gran Fiesta Tour. I must say I prefer the old El Rio de Tiempo. I will say the new video screens in the ride are much clearer, and that the old grainy film needed to be replaced, but I think the old ride was more educational. Also, Donald Duck isn't Mexican, nor is José Carioca for that matter. It went from being a ride about Mexico to being a ride that happens to be in Mexico. At least Maelstrom is the same, which is what we did next. Here's an observation from Kim, the first timer: Why does Disney warn about water on the water rides, but not in the shows? Almost all the 3-D movies spray you with water, but there's no warning about that. On Malestrom there are signs everywhere that say "You may get wet!" even though at most there will be a couple of drops of water. Fozzie's squirting flower in Muppetvision 3-D gets the audience wetter than Maelstrom does, but there's no water warning for that. Isn't that weird? I never paid attention to any of the water warnings before, because it's usually so hot in Florida that being wet is a blessing. This trip being wet was unthinkable. Anyway, we wandered through the WS and arrived at Canada for lunch.
Le Cellier was, and still is, my favorite restaurant in all of WDW. The food was delicious, as always. I had the cheddar cheese soup for the first time, and I must recommend it to everyone with a mouth and stomach. If you are able to eat, then run - don't walk - to Le Cellier for that soup. The strip steak was fantastic too, and I'm not even a big fan of steak. Dessert was blood orange sorbet, and it was one of my favorite desserts that I've ever had in my 25 years. To my surprise, our server brought out a birthday card for me saying "Happy 25th Birthday" and it was signed by everyone working at Le Cellier. That was such a great surprise! I was stunned that they knew it was my 25th birthday, as my birthday button only said "Happy Birthday" and had my name on it. Our server (Jason from Winnipeg, MB) only said "A little mouse told me." My mom and I then remembered that when she made the reservation online there was a box that asked if we were celebrating anything and she entered my 25th birthday. I just thought all Canadians were psychic, or that they at least had psychic mice. Or that Mickey really did tell them it was my birthday. I wouldn't put it past him. That mouse knows how to celebrate. BTW, does anyone know who I would call or e-mail to compliment an employee? I'd really like to commend Jason from Winnipeg for a great birthday.
That afternoon we went out shopping in Orlando. We drove to the TTC after our extracurricular shopping trip and took the ferry to the MK. I hadn't taken the ferry in years - always either the monorail or a resort bus. The ferry has a fantastic view of the MK, especially as it was dusk when we went and all the lights were on. Upon making landfall at the main gate Kim and I separated from my parents and agreed to meet in front of Tony's later. Kim and I did some shopping, and she bought those Minnie ears that look like a headband. These were like a semi-circle that framed the face and had Minnie's ears on them. That's the best way I can explain them. They were actually youth size, but we both thought they were nicer than the adult equivalent which had sequins on the ears. We then went to the Montsters Inc. Laugh Floor, which I think is the most genius attraction ever devised. I can't begin to say how much I love it. It was utterly hilarious, and Kim got picked! The second monster said he was going to do mind-reading, and he said there was someone in the audience with a special mind-reading hat. Lo and behold it was Kim in her brand-new mouse ears! And I got to be part of it too, thanks to my birthday button! That might be my new favorite attraction anywhere in WDW. We only had the time to do just that, because then we met up with my parents and left the MK to go to Chef Mickey's for my birthday dinner. For the first time I got to be one of the birthday people and not just one of the napkin twirlers! My parents saw the absolutely worst behaved children ever while waiting for our table. They were running all around Chef Mickey's, and even climbing up on the furniture and my parents. It was so bad that my father actually went into a legitimate panic when a table near us was being cleared for a large party. Luckily, it wasn't for those people, but we did see their children on the buffet line running around, and actually running through people's legs! At least we never had a problem. I just hope they didn't cause trouble for anyone else. And that concludes my birthday.