faline
02-20-2011, 04:46 PM
Travelers :
Dear Daughter
Me
Date: February 12, 2011, Saturday
Plan for the Day:
Epcot with lunch at Boulangerie Patisserie and dinner at Le Cellier.
How the Day Went:
I slept much better. Still, I woke up a few times. I woke up around 6:30 and figured I’d get up in a “few minutes”. When I next rolled over, it was 7:29 a.m.! I got up just before the phone began ringing with the wake p call!
We manage to get out the door by around 8:45. The weather this morning is sunny but it is rather chilly with temperatures in the lower 40’s. We take the two monorails to Epcot. Our first stop is The Land where the stand-by line for Soarin' is already at 20 minutes so we get fast passes.
From there, we head to the Living Seas where we find Nemo and learn about sea turtle life from Crush. We had a couple of special treats here – a porpoise was zooming around in one of the tanks. I find it’s pretty rare that we see one out and about like this. Our other treat is how playful the manatees are. They are nudging each other and splashing the water – it’s like kids at play! We wander through the tanks, head out, and return to The Land for Soarin'. Even with the fast passes, we probably wait 10-15 minutes to get on the ride.
We cross over to Mouse Gears. Carolyn has forgotten her sunglasses back at the resort and buys a pair here. I buy a pair of scarves (I find they keep me so much warmer – it’s almost like adding another layer of clothing). We grab a pair of fast passes for Test Track and then head into World Showcase.
Carolyn says she is hungry so we walk into San Angel Inn and they are able to seat us within a few minutes. We both have a pulled chicken dish which is quite tasty. Our waitress is nice and quite attentive until it comes time to settle the bill, at which point she seems to disappear. It takes quite a long time to get her attention and get the bill settled.
Lunch finished, we ride the boat ride and explore the shops in the pavilion before heading back out to World Showcase. Outside the pavilion, Carolyn purchases a ring from the ring carver. We explore Norway, ride with the trolls and wander through the China pavilion.
It’s now time to pick up Carolyn’s ring so we retrace our steps. Since we’re headed in that direction, we go over to Test Track and use our fast passes. From there, we ride Mission:Space – green side. Carolyn is not impressed with this ride. Since we’re in the area, we head to Spaceship Earth. The changes to the ride also do not impress Carolyn.
We head back towards World Showcase, spending a few minutes along the way to watch the Fountain. This time we head towards Canada but decide not to spend any time in this pavilion as we’ll be returning for dinner this evening. The United Kingdom pavilion seems really crowded. We pop into Rose n Crown which is a mob scene so exit as quickly as we entered. We do explore the shops before moving over the bridge towards France. Here, we explore the shops and then have a glass of champagne. While sipping, we watch the chair acrobat – what is this act called? before moving on.
We wander all the way to Germany, stopping in the shops of each of the pavilions along the way. Carolyn finds a purse in Italy she likes and purchases that. We watch the fife and drum in the American pavilion for a bit. After exploring the shops in Germany, we make a u-turn and head back towards the Canadian pavilion.
Once in Canada, we check in out by the walkway where the cast member tells us we’re quite a bit early (25 minutes) for our reservation and may not be seated any earlier. We tell her that’s okay as we’re tired of walking and head into the restaurant to wait. We do wait about ½ hour before we’re seated.
We each have a cup of the cheddar cheese soup for an appetizer. I have the filet mignon for dinner while Carolyn has the gnocchi. She finds her dish just “okay”. With dinner finished, we make our way out of Epcot and onto the monorail.
At the Ticket and Transportation Center, we exit the Epcot monorail to make our way over to the Resort Monorail. Before I realize it, Carolyn takes a right hand turn onto the ramp for the express monorail at the same time as a group of loud cheerleader types run by to the same ramp. As they are a-hooping and a-hollering, I turn around to see Carolyn marching up the wrong ramp and it takes quite a loud yell to catch her attention but she does hear me and quickly makes her way back down the ramp so that we can enter the correct ramp.
We arrive at the Contemporary just a few minutes before the fireworks are scheduled to begin. As we head towards the crossover to Bay Lake Tower, we can hear the fireworks. We stop on the bridge to watch but Carolyn is really cold so we head into the building. We walk down the hall to the next set of elevators where we can watch the fireworks from inside the building. When they are finished, we return to our room for the evening.
Last night, I was the really tired one. Tonight it is Carolyn. We’ve been home for about an hour. Carolyn has disappeared into her room and I suspect she is already asleep though it is only just a little past 9 p.m. now!
Dear Daughter
Me
Date: February 12, 2011, Saturday
Plan for the Day:
Epcot with lunch at Boulangerie Patisserie and dinner at Le Cellier.
How the Day Went:
I slept much better. Still, I woke up a few times. I woke up around 6:30 and figured I’d get up in a “few minutes”. When I next rolled over, it was 7:29 a.m.! I got up just before the phone began ringing with the wake p call!
We manage to get out the door by around 8:45. The weather this morning is sunny but it is rather chilly with temperatures in the lower 40’s. We take the two monorails to Epcot. Our first stop is The Land where the stand-by line for Soarin' is already at 20 minutes so we get fast passes.
From there, we head to the Living Seas where we find Nemo and learn about sea turtle life from Crush. We had a couple of special treats here – a porpoise was zooming around in one of the tanks. I find it’s pretty rare that we see one out and about like this. Our other treat is how playful the manatees are. They are nudging each other and splashing the water – it’s like kids at play! We wander through the tanks, head out, and return to The Land for Soarin'. Even with the fast passes, we probably wait 10-15 minutes to get on the ride.
We cross over to Mouse Gears. Carolyn has forgotten her sunglasses back at the resort and buys a pair here. I buy a pair of scarves (I find they keep me so much warmer – it’s almost like adding another layer of clothing). We grab a pair of fast passes for Test Track and then head into World Showcase.
Carolyn says she is hungry so we walk into San Angel Inn and they are able to seat us within a few minutes. We both have a pulled chicken dish which is quite tasty. Our waitress is nice and quite attentive until it comes time to settle the bill, at which point she seems to disappear. It takes quite a long time to get her attention and get the bill settled.
Lunch finished, we ride the boat ride and explore the shops in the pavilion before heading back out to World Showcase. Outside the pavilion, Carolyn purchases a ring from the ring carver. We explore Norway, ride with the trolls and wander through the China pavilion.
It’s now time to pick up Carolyn’s ring so we retrace our steps. Since we’re headed in that direction, we go over to Test Track and use our fast passes. From there, we ride Mission:Space – green side. Carolyn is not impressed with this ride. Since we’re in the area, we head to Spaceship Earth. The changes to the ride also do not impress Carolyn.
We head back towards World Showcase, spending a few minutes along the way to watch the Fountain. This time we head towards Canada but decide not to spend any time in this pavilion as we’ll be returning for dinner this evening. The United Kingdom pavilion seems really crowded. We pop into Rose n Crown which is a mob scene so exit as quickly as we entered. We do explore the shops before moving over the bridge towards France. Here, we explore the shops and then have a glass of champagne. While sipping, we watch the chair acrobat – what is this act called? before moving on.
We wander all the way to Germany, stopping in the shops of each of the pavilions along the way. Carolyn finds a purse in Italy she likes and purchases that. We watch the fife and drum in the American pavilion for a bit. After exploring the shops in Germany, we make a u-turn and head back towards the Canadian pavilion.
Once in Canada, we check in out by the walkway where the cast member tells us we’re quite a bit early (25 minutes) for our reservation and may not be seated any earlier. We tell her that’s okay as we’re tired of walking and head into the restaurant to wait. We do wait about ½ hour before we’re seated.
We each have a cup of the cheddar cheese soup for an appetizer. I have the filet mignon for dinner while Carolyn has the gnocchi. She finds her dish just “okay”. With dinner finished, we make our way out of Epcot and onto the monorail.
At the Ticket and Transportation Center, we exit the Epcot monorail to make our way over to the Resort Monorail. Before I realize it, Carolyn takes a right hand turn onto the ramp for the express monorail at the same time as a group of loud cheerleader types run by to the same ramp. As they are a-hooping and a-hollering, I turn around to see Carolyn marching up the wrong ramp and it takes quite a loud yell to catch her attention but she does hear me and quickly makes her way back down the ramp so that we can enter the correct ramp.
We arrive at the Contemporary just a few minutes before the fireworks are scheduled to begin. As we head towards the crossover to Bay Lake Tower, we can hear the fireworks. We stop on the bridge to watch but Carolyn is really cold so we head into the building. We walk down the hall to the next set of elevators where we can watch the fireworks from inside the building. When they are finished, we return to our room for the evening.
Last night, I was the really tired one. Tonight it is Carolyn. We’ve been home for about an hour. Carolyn has disappeared into her room and I suspect she is already asleep though it is only just a little past 9 p.m. now!