Our final day in Orlando started with a lie in, only getting up around 10am, After seeing the parks yesterday and the late night, we had decided that trying to grab a few extra rides would likely be more effort that it was worth. So we had left the alarm off and work around 9am. We washed and headed back to Perkins for breakfast.
Today I went for the French toast, with a side of Fried Eggs. Celia had an Omelette. We finished and headed back to Staybridge to check out. That done, we loaded up the car and headed to my Dad's house to say goodbye. We did try to pop into the Premium Outlets in the look for locks for the extra bags that would have to go in the hold, but after a couple of minutes looking for a parking space, we decided that it was going to be way to crowded so headed down to the 192 looking for a Walmart or Target. We found the Super Target soon after turning on to the 192 and popped in for the locks and some provisions for the flight.
After a couple of hours with my Dad & Shelley we headed to the Airport via Boggy creak road and the Gas Station on route to fill up the car fully before returning it.
At the Airport we found a Truck had decided to block the Avis return entranceway so had to divert around the car park slightly but returned the car, even though we had to park and walk to find the checkers as they had obviously got bored with no cars arriving and had wandered off.
The bags dropped off (Slightly overweight) we headed into the main area and went in hunt for some lunch, We had our final meal at Chili's. Celia had the Chili and I had a Pulled pork sandwich. Both were fine and tasty and we went through the Security scrum that is Orlando's TSA lines.
Taking the Monorail out to the gates is always a slightly depressing time, but we had Christmas to look forward to when we arrived and no work to go back to for another week. We were able to use the Delta Sky Lounge, which is pretty, but only has snack food (which we had found out - hence the trip to Chili's) and the drinks are served rather than the help yourself option in most other lounges.
We sat, used the free Wifi and waited for the announcement to head to the gate. The Flight home was uneventful, but the Entertainment system was better so I decided to watch Sorcerers Apprentice during dinner, which was a good movie for a flight not much brain power needed, but I was so wanting it to finish by the end as I wanted to try and get some sleep. I managed an hour or two. But the flight seemed really quick and soon we were on decent into Gatwick.
Being up front on the flight home meant we were first off the plane and were quickly on our way to Immigration, maybe a little to quickly as Celia' had a bit of a fall and managed to damage the pair of jeans she was wearing that we had purchased in Orlando, which was a shame as they didn't even make it home.
We made it through immigrations quickly once we had got Celia back to her feet, even with Iris closed. Our 4 bags arrived and we walked through Customs (where I am always worried that they will stop us) and waiting for us was the Taxi driver who could bring us home. And we saw the snow that had threatened to delay our return.
But the Trip was over and we moved into full Christmas mode. Even with the Hospital trip the Holiday was still a success, but we hope to return in the future at this time of year to actual finish seeing all the decorations and special treats that Disney lays on for the holidays.
Monday 31 January 2011
Thursday 27 January 2011
Trip to WDW - Day 13 Magic Kingdom - Mon 20th Dec 2010
The lack of sleep had been getting to us, so we had a slight lie in, well until 8am anyway, when the phone alarm starts up and we get through our normal morning routine.
The plan today was to catch the parades at the magic kingdom as we had missed those whilst being in hospital earlier in the week, and today was the start of the christmas crowds so we didn't expect to be able to get much else done.
We left the hotel at 9am and headed to the Waldorf to collect Danielle and Scott to go for some breakfast. We decided on the Perkins by crossroads and it was a good as we remembered having not managed to get to Perkins before today. Had to have fried eggs so went for the Tremendous Twelve (4 Bacon, 3 Eggs, Hash browns and 4 Pancakes) even with my appetite had to leave half the pancakes as it was just too much food. And we chatted and drank juice and coffee for an hour or two. In fact it was almost 11:30 when we dropped them back at the Waldorf. We finally made it in to the lobby and was very impressed but it was quiet, yes it was midday and the parks were open, but even so not sure many people are using this resort yet.
As we had bought so much stuff, we headed back to the Staybridge to check that we had enough luggage as Celia had her eye on a nice Tumi suitcase if we need one, but luckly we had enough luggage space (just) and it look like if we don't buy much today/tomorrow we will be ok for the flight.
We left the hotel again arround 2pm, and decided to try a different route to the Magic Kingdom, we headed down Winter Garden Vineland Road turning onto Disney property on Vista Boulevard, which is a back door as there is no sign that you are now on Disney property compared to the large gates on the more used entrance ways.
Driving down Vista Blvd we pass the new Golden Oaks development and Fort Wilderness before finding ourselves in the Magic Kingdom Resorts 1 way system, but just as we think we are going to be forced back down world drive, we find a sneeky left turn and head back into the car parks without ever having gone through the ticket gates so never asked to pay, so with that result we park in Sneezy in the shadow of the Speedway, so for the first time we actual do take the tram to the TTC and then as we are in no rush today, we walk to the boat dock just watching the Admiral Joe Fowler pull way, but we also see that another boat is about to dock so we wait.
The General Joe Potter takes us across the seven seas Lagoon, and we so find ourselves at the gates to the Magic Kingdom.
As we have finally got a warm day and the car is so far away at the Magic Kingdom, we hire a locker and put our jackets, some bags and the tripod in the locker for later and head into Town Square. I go to see if I have time to get a haircut before the Christmas parade , but the barbers is busy and come 2:30 more people arrive with reservations, so I go out and join Celia on the kerb to wait for the Christmas parade, and we both comment on how much busier this park is that even Epcot was yesterday.
Come 3:20 the parade finally gets to the Town Square.
Once the parade came to an end, with hunger starting to return as although we had been at Perkins for a while, we did finish eating way before then. We headed up Main Street in search of food, We had received a voucher attached to the Times Guide for 30% if we ate between 3pm and 4:30 (which was was now) at various locations including the Tomorrowland Terrace which we decided to go for. We got there to find that it was mobbed, probably due to the voucher helping to spread out eating lunch from the normal times till now. But after a 10 min wait we ordered, a Burger for me, with fries, Chocolate milk and a bottle of water, and a Citrus Salad for Celia, who got the better of the deal as the burger was poor but the salad got a thumbs up.
Even though the terrace was crowded Disney had decided to close the lowest terrace to get ready for the desert party so finding a table was chaotic at best, but finally we managed to share a large table with another group and were able to eat.
Suitably refreshed we decided to go and grab a Fast pass for Jungle Cruise for later and then as all the wait times were 40 mins plus we went back to Main Street for a wander through the Emporium and failing to find a sweatshirt that we had seen before we bought nothing, but did wander over to the Confectionery where I had to get my supply of Fudge. There were some new flavours for Christmas in the fridge. I went for the box of 6 and was slightly disappointed to only get a cardboard box rather than the display tin we had received in previous years. But the choices were made, Chocolate & Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Rocky Road from the standard choices, then Celebration (which is Chocolate and Peppermint), Candy Cane & Pumpkin.
I have almost finished them now and must say that they are all good in different ways, the Pumpkin is probably the most different, but is spicy and I think (having never had it) the flavour of Pumpkin Pie.
With these purchased and the park still heaving, we dropped the fudge off into the locker and took a boat to the Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread house. Which is larger that i had in my head, especially as I didn't realise that they sold the smaller items from a window in the actual house.
Deciding that we did not have enough time to get to get to the Beach club which was the other resort I wanted to see, we went up stairs and just wandered the shops of the Grand Floridian, which did give us a good view of the Christmas tree and the Big Cheese & Misses.
Completing a wander of the Grand Floridian we took a walk down the path to the Polynesian, stumbling across a Wedding that was coming to an end at the Wedding pavilion. We also spotted an Otter in the seven sea's lagoon as we got to the Polynesian but by this time the Sun had set and it was impossible to get a good shot of the otter.
Once at the poly we headed onto the Monorail and went back to the Magic Kingdom, having remembered that we had not done the Railway and also wanting to get our coats. We got back to the Magic Kingdom and headed up to the train station, as we relised that it was less than 24 hours till we would fly home I got out the mobile and checked us in via the BA mobile site.There was a worry as i had not quiet completed the routine as the Train came into the station and we were able to board. But time was good for us and we got the confirmation that we were all checked in as the conductor called "All Aboard" and we were off for a lap of the Magic Kingdom, from the ride it was easy to see that the crowds were bad, with even a large queue for Splash mountain even with the temptutures being in the Single digits (in C).
I did have a slight regret as we passed by Toontown as it will be gone by the time we return, but as we saw the crowds from the Station there was no feeling to get off the train. We completed our loop and headed back out the park and the walk to the Contemporary.
The walk is well signposted and quicker that queuing for a monorail.
We had an ADR for the Wave at 7:40 but it was nearer to 7:20 when we tried to checked in, where we saw a cast member with the name badge....
We were warned that it could be while to get a table to Celia headed up to the Concourse level to see if she could find that Sweatshirt, but just a minute or two after she had gone, we were buzzed and I had delay the table till she got back. The Food at the Wave was delicious and just the right size. The portions were not as large as they were definalty going for Quality over Quantity. Again the Chef came out to help discuss the menu with Celia over her dietry requirements and an agreement on what could be ordered. Almost as soon as the Chef went away the Waitress brought out the bread (including 2 Tapioca rolls for Celia) and after mentioning that she also could not have butter, the waitress offered to get some olive oil for dipping instead.
I went for the Black bean chilli to start which was warming hot rather than a searing heat and I could quite happily had a large bowl of this as a full meal, but the small dish and muffin were a great size for a starter. Celia began with a modified version of the pan seared Sea Scallops, which were juicy and flavourful. We both commented at that time that this was a great last meal and we would be back (assuming at that time that the rest of the meal would be as good).
The mains were Apple Brined Pork Tenderloin for me and Chili-rubbed Flat Iron Steak for Celia, and these were as good as the starters.
I can't repeat enough that the Wave is great resturant and happy to sugest that you all book this on a visit (unless we are also heading to WDW so that we can still get a booking, I can't believe that we managed to book this just a couple of days ago)
We finished with Celia getting a good coffee (not nescafe) with Soya milk and I got the American Flavors desert which was mini versions of Mississippi Mud Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream , Key Lime Cube with fresh citrus whipped cream, Boston creme pie
We paid up and headed back to the Magic Kingdom expecting to arrive as the first Electrical parade was gone, but as we got through the turnstiles we realised that the parade had not yet left Town Square, so we hung back and cleared out the locker and got the deposit back.
So when we finally went into Town Square we saw the parade heading up Main Street and the park was absolutely heaving. To the extent that to get up main street Disney had opened up Back stage so we headed off though the gate between Exhibition hall and the Chapeau into the back stage area where we were guided to between the Plaza and Tomorrowland Terrace. As we got out there we got our first real view of Cinderella's castle in all its evening christmas glory.
As the parade had finally left the hub and headed into Liberty Square, the crowds started to head back down Main Street and we were able to sneak our way to the Castle side of the hub. The Crowds seemed even worst than during the daytime, but could have been just more people where in the hub, main Street area and not in the rest of the park.
At 10pm Holiday Wishes started and we were a little bit close to the castle to get a great view but we were also planing on watching the stage show.
Holiday Wishes is a great variant to wishes with the christmas music and the fireworks are great, my personal best bit was when the fireworks were launched on the castle.
After the show, we were able to move to more central to the stage, especially as the number of people in the park was diminishing quickly after Wishes.
As part of the holiday week on the Castle Stage they were showing Celebrate the Season. This is one of the shows from Mickey's Christmas Party that is shown in the Magic Kingdom during Holiday week. The Show is Classic Disney, with the Characters and Dancer's coming onto to stage and performing to music. The show is fun and entertaining and I always like Santa Goofy.
As soon as the show was over we were able to turn around and be at the Kerb for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Which after a few minutes the lights started to go off on Main street and we could start to see the floats heading our way.
I love the little bug vehicles that spin around
But my favourite float is Elliot (the Dragon from Pete's Dragon)
Once the parade had passed us by we headed to Adventureland to use the Fast Passes we had for Jungle Cruise. This gave the whole holiday a circular completion as it had started with the Weird Al Yankovic concert and his Song Skipper Dan (see Day 1). We ended up with Skipper Matthew from Brazil and even though English was not his first language his timing was great and played with the guests on the boat.
It was the perfect end to the trip, compared to the previous trip when the skipper was very poor, so with that and the fact that it was almost 12pm we decided to head home. Stopping briefly on Main Street as it started to Snow.
We left grabbed the Monorail and headed back to the TTC, the tram went out via Minnie etc, but at the furthest point it sneeked across the road and we were at Sneezy, We drove back via World Drive and the I4 and were back at the Staybridge by 1am. Setting an Alarm for 10am and having arranged earlier a late checkout, we had our last night's Sleep in Orlando
The plan today was to catch the parades at the magic kingdom as we had missed those whilst being in hospital earlier in the week, and today was the start of the christmas crowds so we didn't expect to be able to get much else done.
We left the hotel at 9am and headed to the Waldorf to collect Danielle and Scott to go for some breakfast. We decided on the Perkins by crossroads and it was a good as we remembered having not managed to get to Perkins before today. Had to have fried eggs so went for the Tremendous Twelve (4 Bacon, 3 Eggs, Hash browns and 4 Pancakes) even with my appetite had to leave half the pancakes as it was just too much food. And we chatted and drank juice and coffee for an hour or two. In fact it was almost 11:30 when we dropped them back at the Waldorf. We finally made it in to the lobby and was very impressed but it was quiet, yes it was midday and the parks were open, but even so not sure many people are using this resort yet.
As we had bought so much stuff, we headed back to the Staybridge to check that we had enough luggage as Celia had her eye on a nice Tumi suitcase if we need one, but luckly we had enough luggage space (just) and it look like if we don't buy much today/tomorrow we will be ok for the flight.
We left the hotel again arround 2pm, and decided to try a different route to the Magic Kingdom, we headed down Winter Garden Vineland Road turning onto Disney property on Vista Boulevard, which is a back door as there is no sign that you are now on Disney property compared to the large gates on the more used entrance ways.
Driving down Vista Blvd we pass the new Golden Oaks development and Fort Wilderness before finding ourselves in the Magic Kingdom Resorts 1 way system, but just as we think we are going to be forced back down world drive, we find a sneeky left turn and head back into the car parks without ever having gone through the ticket gates so never asked to pay, so with that result we park in Sneezy in the shadow of the Speedway, so for the first time we actual do take the tram to the TTC and then as we are in no rush today, we walk to the boat dock just watching the Admiral Joe Fowler pull way, but we also see that another boat is about to dock so we wait.
The General Joe Potter takes us across the seven seas Lagoon, and we so find ourselves at the gates to the Magic Kingdom.
As we have finally got a warm day and the car is so far away at the Magic Kingdom, we hire a locker and put our jackets, some bags and the tripod in the locker for later and head into Town Square. I go to see if I have time to get a haircut before the Christmas parade , but the barbers is busy and come 2:30 more people arrive with reservations, so I go out and join Celia on the kerb to wait for the Christmas parade, and we both comment on how much busier this park is that even Epcot was yesterday.
Come 3:20 the parade finally gets to the Town Square.
Once the parade came to an end, with hunger starting to return as although we had been at Perkins for a while, we did finish eating way before then. We headed up Main Street in search of food, We had received a voucher attached to the Times Guide for 30% if we ate between 3pm and 4:30 (which was was now) at various locations including the Tomorrowland Terrace which we decided to go for. We got there to find that it was mobbed, probably due to the voucher helping to spread out eating lunch from the normal times till now. But after a 10 min wait we ordered, a Burger for me, with fries, Chocolate milk and a bottle of water, and a Citrus Salad for Celia, who got the better of the deal as the burger was poor but the salad got a thumbs up.
Even though the terrace was crowded Disney had decided to close the lowest terrace to get ready for the desert party so finding a table was chaotic at best, but finally we managed to share a large table with another group and were able to eat.
I have almost finished them now and must say that they are all good in different ways, the Pumpkin is probably the most different, but is spicy and I think (having never had it) the flavour of Pumpkin Pie.
With these purchased and the park still heaving, we dropped the fudge off into the locker and took a boat to the Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread house. Which is larger that i had in my head, especially as I didn't realise that they sold the smaller items from a window in the actual house.
Completing a wander of the Grand Floridian we took a walk down the path to the Polynesian, stumbling across a Wedding that was coming to an end at the Wedding pavilion. We also spotted an Otter in the seven sea's lagoon as we got to the Polynesian but by this time the Sun had set and it was impossible to get a good shot of the otter.
Once at the poly we headed onto the Monorail and went back to the Magic Kingdom, having remembered that we had not done the Railway and also wanting to get our coats. We got back to the Magic Kingdom and headed up to the train station, as we relised that it was less than 24 hours till we would fly home I got out the mobile and checked us in via the BA mobile site.There was a worry as i had not quiet completed the routine as the Train came into the station and we were able to board. But time was good for us and we got the confirmation that we were all checked in as the conductor called "All Aboard" and we were off for a lap of the Magic Kingdom, from the ride it was easy to see that the crowds were bad, with even a large queue for Splash mountain even with the temptutures being in the Single digits (in C).
I did have a slight regret as we passed by Toontown as it will be gone by the time we return, but as we saw the crowds from the Station there was no feeling to get off the train. We completed our loop and headed back out the park and the walk to the Contemporary.
The walk is well signposted and quicker that queuing for a monorail.
We had an ADR for the Wave at 7:40 but it was nearer to 7:20 when we tried to checked in, where we saw a cast member with the name badge....
We were warned that it could be while to get a table to Celia headed up to the Concourse level to see if she could find that Sweatshirt, but just a minute or two after she had gone, we were buzzed and I had delay the table till she got back. The Food at the Wave was delicious and just the right size. The portions were not as large as they were definalty going for Quality over Quantity. Again the Chef came out to help discuss the menu with Celia over her dietry requirements and an agreement on what could be ordered. Almost as soon as the Chef went away the Waitress brought out the bread (including 2 Tapioca rolls for Celia) and after mentioning that she also could not have butter, the waitress offered to get some olive oil for dipping instead.
I went for the Black bean chilli to start which was warming hot rather than a searing heat and I could quite happily had a large bowl of this as a full meal, but the small dish and muffin were a great size for a starter. Celia began with a modified version of the pan seared Sea Scallops, which were juicy and flavourful. We both commented at that time that this was a great last meal and we would be back (assuming at that time that the rest of the meal would be as good).
The mains were Apple Brined Pork Tenderloin for me and Chili-rubbed Flat Iron Steak for Celia, and these were as good as the starters.
I can't repeat enough that the Wave is great resturant and happy to sugest that you all book this on a visit (unless we are also heading to WDW so that we can still get a booking, I can't believe that we managed to book this just a couple of days ago)
We paid up and headed back to the Magic Kingdom expecting to arrive as the first Electrical parade was gone, but as we got through the turnstiles we realised that the parade had not yet left Town Square, so we hung back and cleared out the locker and got the deposit back.
So when we finally went into Town Square we saw the parade heading up Main Street and the park was absolutely heaving. To the extent that to get up main street Disney had opened up Back stage so we headed off though the gate between Exhibition hall and the Chapeau into the back stage area where we were guided to between the Plaza and Tomorrowland Terrace. As we got out there we got our first real view of Cinderella's castle in all its evening christmas glory.
As the parade had finally left the hub and headed into Liberty Square, the crowds started to head back down Main Street and we were able to sneak our way to the Castle side of the hub. The Crowds seemed even worst than during the daytime, but could have been just more people where in the hub, main Street area and not in the rest of the park.
At 10pm Holiday Wishes started and we were a little bit close to the castle to get a great view but we were also planing on watching the stage show.
Holiday Wishes is a great variant to wishes with the christmas music and the fireworks are great, my personal best bit was when the fireworks were launched on the castle.
After the show, we were able to move to more central to the stage, especially as the number of people in the park was diminishing quickly after Wishes.
As part of the holiday week on the Castle Stage they were showing Celebrate the Season. This is one of the shows from Mickey's Christmas Party that is shown in the Magic Kingdom during Holiday week. The Show is Classic Disney, with the Characters and Dancer's coming onto to stage and performing to music. The show is fun and entertaining and I always like Santa Goofy.
As soon as the show was over we were able to turn around and be at the Kerb for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Which after a few minutes the lights started to go off on Main street and we could start to see the floats heading our way.
I love the little bug vehicles that spin around
But my favourite float is Elliot (the Dragon from Pete's Dragon)
Once the parade had passed us by we headed to Adventureland to use the Fast Passes we had for Jungle Cruise. This gave the whole holiday a circular completion as it had started with the Weird Al Yankovic concert and his Song Skipper Dan (see Day 1). We ended up with Skipper Matthew from Brazil and even though English was not his first language his timing was great and played with the guests on the boat.
It was the perfect end to the trip, compared to the previous trip when the skipper was very poor, so with that and the fact that it was almost 12pm we decided to head home. Stopping briefly on Main Street as it started to Snow.
We left grabbed the Monorail and headed back to the TTC, the tram went out via Minnie etc, but at the furthest point it sneeked across the road and we were at Sneezy, We drove back via World Drive and the I4 and were back at the Staybridge by 1am. Setting an Alarm for 10am and having arranged earlier a late checkout, we had our last night's Sleep in Orlando
Friday 21 January 2011
Trip to WDW - Day 12 Epcot - Sun 19th Dec 2010
We are awoken by the alarm again, oh how it sounds so much better than the noises in the Hospital, but we get up and get sorted as we have a plan and a request to take some friends for their first ever trip to Epcot. Celia tries to call her mother via the AT&T Mobile and Skype to go, but keeps getting a dead signal. The Hotel Wifi seems to be faulty and we can't get online to get any other numbers set up via Skype. We decide to get going and try again on the way.
We are out of the Hotel by 8am and on the way to the I4 we stop at the Shell to refuel the car, well putting $20 of gas in it, after failing to have a Zip code that goes with our credit car, I have to walk into the shop to prepay before being able to refuel. Which is a bit different from here. We are then on our way and a quick call to Danielle to warn her, we reach the I4. Celia tries the mobile again but again can't get through, We are on and off the I4 and by 8:15 we are at the Waldorf Astoria, As we are still struggling to get through to Celia's Mum, we think about trying to get some more numbers set up via Skype to go via the Business Centre, but Danielle is also a gadget gal so we just grab her Ipad and head off to Epcot whilst I use that to add some more credit to the AT&T account and set up Celia's Brothers and Sister in law's numbers in Skype.
We arrive at Epcot and park in Imagine 61 and walk to the front of the park, whilst we walk Celia starts trying numbers and finally get through to her sister-in-law who says that everyone if fine but Celia' mum's mobile has a fault. Relived we get through the bag check and queue up at the turnstiles.
We notice again the baubles at the entrance are Globes so get a photo this time.
After the turnstiles are opened we walk a bit more slowly this time to central plaza, knowing that we will be held by the rope when we get there. If fact we have time to grab a snap with Topiary stitch.
We get to the Plaza, and the same routine of the characters and the car, but this time I am off to the Right with Celia, Scott & Danielle over on the left. Once the rope is dropped I head off to the Land to get Fast passes for us all for Soarin' will Celia leads Scott & Danielle for their first attaction, Mission Space, After deciding to go on the full spining version Scott and Danielle head off to ride, I join the route march to Soarin' peeling off at the last moment to get in the queues for the Fast Passes, I get them for 9:50 helped slightly by a machine failing causing a slight delay for some of the other waiting guests. Passes grabbed I start the jog back across the park, meeting back up with Celia just outside Mission Space, We then both go into the gift shop to wait for the other 2.
After a quick wander in the shop we head to the Arcade section and play with the video machines whilst we wait for anyone to come out the ride, finally after 10 mins or so of waiting the 1st ride must have come to an end and they all troop past, Scott and Danielle must have been in the 2nd Centrifuge as they are in the next batch to come into the arcade. and they had loved the ride, i think them both being adrenaline junkies and a love of space and NASA this was definitely the best ride to start them on.
After another wander round the gift shop and the purchase of a Spinning R2D2 we head off to Test Track, which is showing a 20 min wait, we get in line as we would still have about the same till we could get a fast pass. The queue moves quickly and we are soon boarding our car, being joined by a mother and daughter from the single rider line. Test Track is good until we get to the increasing lateral forces when our car slows to a crawl and just as I am starting to think that ride is going 101 and we will be walked off, it starts to speed up again, and by the time of the speedo we are doing 60+ miles an Hour.
As we leave I try to tell a cast member of the slowness but he seems not to care.
We then walk over to the Land, and as we get down to the lower level we have decided to get some food and drink before soarin' and the queue for Living with the Land is HUGE showing 30 mins, so a tactical grab of 4 fastpasses for 30mins later seems a logical thing to do.
We get some food from Seasons, Me and Celia have some fruit, Scott and Daniellle had ignored the suggestion to have eaten by the time we arrived so get a full breakfast. Which looked and they said tasted good.
After the food break we head to Soarin' and find ourselves in the same row as the previous time. Still love Soarin and it is a success with the newbies. Its then time for our Living with the Land FP's so we cross the floor and although the queue has died down it was still showing 20min. We get the front row of the boat and head off into the greenhouses. During this journey we see a group on the Behind the Seeds tour but this is not mentioned as its a recorded spiel rather than a Cast Member. We also notice that since last week they have decorated the Rosemary bush for the holidays.
We leave the Land and head for the Seas's but the queue for the Nemo clams is 30 mins and we decide that that is not worth it, but we do go in via the back door and go to see Crush, we are just to late and have to wait for an entire show, but as I watch Danielle and Scott whilst they watch the show, the dawning on them that Crush is actually talking to the audience and not just a recorded film is a great moment and I understood real joy of taking someone new to Disney as you get to experience the park for the 1st time again.
We start to realise that the park is busier today than expected and the ride queues are getting long, as the day also starts to warm up. We head to Spaceship Earth walking through Innoventions and find the queue is up the side of the globe and intro a roped section, but Celia really wants them to see this ride and we should just have enough time before we need to be in Germany for lunch at Biergarten.
We enjoy the ride up and actually we also really like the silly cartoon on the way back down.
We also like the Globe at the exit which we didn't see/wasn't there the last time we road this.
Unfortunality we didn't have time to have a good look round the exit area as our Lunch ADR is due in 10 mins and it is a good walk to Germany from here.
But a quick walk round World Showcase and we make it in time, We check in and are given a pager and after checking where you can go with it we wander round the stores of Germany.
We are called in and seated to the side and the waiter lets us know that the Chef will be out to walk Celia through the buffet selection. and most of it is OK and all of it is delicious. This is a gem in Epcot and the lunch buffet is full of meat and veg with very little Carbs to load up and bloat up which makes a good change.
As we sit down with our starter and drinks I was on antibiotics but Celia loved her Wine and the beers got some great comments from the other 2, the Oompah band came on.
They came on and did a short set, went off and then came back, it seemed like 15-20 min sets on the hour and half-hour.
I can't say how much we enjoyed this meal. and it will definitely be on the list for next visit.
After we finished the meal, Danielle wanted some caramel and seemed to buy most of the shop, I remember Popcorn, a caramel apple, some chocolates and some chews for Scott.
We leave Germany and head to American Adventure. The Museum bit to the right of the Rotunda was interesting and I did see a purple heart.
The Show is a bit silly and Danielle and Scott seemed apologetic for being American by the end.
We left America and headed back the way we had come from so we started in Italy and wandered the shops. We almost skipped Germany but the Gluwine was calling so with that in hand we continued round to the Outpost where I grabbed a Hot chocolate as the temperature was dropping again.
In China, we went to see the Terracotta Warriors.
and bought a jade buddha for Celia's Mum who collects them.
We went on to Norway but the queue for Maelstrom was 40 mins so we just had a walk through the shops and headed to Mexico.
Now in Mexico there are somethings that just have to done, like pose in the Sombreros
The queue for the Gran Fiesta tour is also long so we decide against it but our eye's are drawn to the Tequila bar, and we have to partake. Even I decide that 1 little drink can't do that much damage.
As the sun had gone down it was getting cold, so we walked back out to the car to get coats and jumpers (and I got the tripod ready for illuminations). We head back into the park and head to the United Kingdom as Danielle really wanted to see it having lived in the UK for years when she was younger.
The Shops are interesting but a bit expensive when you come from the UK, however out the back of the shops the British Invasion were playing I always thought that they just played Beatles songs but it was just sounds of the sixties. with some Kinks, Manfred Mann included.
We also found that Pooh and Tigger were at the back of the toy shop so had to go and say hello.
Its getting near the time (7:30) for our ADR at Le Cellier and due to booking before Danielle confirmed they were coming it was only for 4 but I had seen lots of comments on being able to change a reservation at the desk. So I rushed back to Canada, leaving Scott and Danielle to get a few more UK items, and Celia walked slowly. And meeting Dad & Shelley at the entrance, we went in and I spoke to the cast member on the desk and just said that it was a party of 6. They stated that they only had 4 on the reservation, but I was adamant that it should show 6. The Manager was called and was only able to offer a table for 6 much later (expecting it to be near 9pm) as this would clash with Illuminations we confirmed what would happen, and was told that we could leave watch the show and then return to finish the meal. But obviously this would need us to wait. Danielle and Scott having arrived offered to drop out, and finally thats what we decided to do. They went off to Japan to have Sushi, and Me, Celia, Dad and Shelley went into the dining room to see plenty of empty tables (which stayed empty during the meal) including tables for 4 that could be split to make a table for 6 and one for 2.
So don't believe that you can change reservations. Next time I might try calling as soon as I was aware that we could be a 6.
The Chef came out to deal with Celia's issues with the menu and was just not that interested, and it took a while to get some compromises on what she could eat.
So onto the meal, I went for the Cheddar Cheese soup followed by the Fillet steak with Mushrooms on the side.
The meal was a disapointment it was cooked ok, but we just didn't enjoy it, possibly the fight to get a 6 seater, and then seeing all the empty spaces. But I think we will give Le Cellier a miss next time.
We paid and left, Dad & shelley had seen Illuminations last week so headed home as Shelley had work in the morning, and we went to the top of the stairs in Canada to watch Illuminations, which was brilliant, but the end Holiday tag was something else and made the night sky like daytime.
And so along with the rest of the crowd, we left Epcot and agreed to take Danielle and Scott to breakfast tomorrow before they head of to Cape Canaveral.
We are out of the Hotel by 8am and on the way to the I4 we stop at the Shell to refuel the car, well putting $20 of gas in it, after failing to have a Zip code that goes with our credit car, I have to walk into the shop to prepay before being able to refuel. Which is a bit different from here. We are then on our way and a quick call to Danielle to warn her, we reach the I4. Celia tries the mobile again but again can't get through, We are on and off the I4 and by 8:15 we are at the Waldorf Astoria, As we are still struggling to get through to Celia's Mum, we think about trying to get some more numbers set up via Skype to go via the Business Centre, but Danielle is also a gadget gal so we just grab her Ipad and head off to Epcot whilst I use that to add some more credit to the AT&T account and set up Celia's Brothers and Sister in law's numbers in Skype.
We arrive at Epcot and park in Imagine 61 and walk to the front of the park, whilst we walk Celia starts trying numbers and finally get through to her sister-in-law who says that everyone if fine but Celia' mum's mobile has a fault. Relived we get through the bag check and queue up at the turnstiles.
We notice again the baubles at the entrance are Globes so get a photo this time.
After the turnstiles are opened we walk a bit more slowly this time to central plaza, knowing that we will be held by the rope when we get there. If fact we have time to grab a snap with Topiary stitch.
We get to the Plaza, and the same routine of the characters and the car, but this time I am off to the Right with Celia, Scott & Danielle over on the left. Once the rope is dropped I head off to the Land to get Fast passes for us all for Soarin' will Celia leads Scott & Danielle for their first attaction, Mission Space, After deciding to go on the full spining version Scott and Danielle head off to ride, I join the route march to Soarin' peeling off at the last moment to get in the queues for the Fast Passes, I get them for 9:50 helped slightly by a machine failing causing a slight delay for some of the other waiting guests. Passes grabbed I start the jog back across the park, meeting back up with Celia just outside Mission Space, We then both go into the gift shop to wait for the other 2.
After a quick wander in the shop we head to the Arcade section and play with the video machines whilst we wait for anyone to come out the ride, finally after 10 mins or so of waiting the 1st ride must have come to an end and they all troop past, Scott and Danielle must have been in the 2nd Centrifuge as they are in the next batch to come into the arcade. and they had loved the ride, i think them both being adrenaline junkies and a love of space and NASA this was definitely the best ride to start them on.
After another wander round the gift shop and the purchase of a Spinning R2D2 we head off to Test Track, which is showing a 20 min wait, we get in line as we would still have about the same till we could get a fast pass. The queue moves quickly and we are soon boarding our car, being joined by a mother and daughter from the single rider line. Test Track is good until we get to the increasing lateral forces when our car slows to a crawl and just as I am starting to think that ride is going 101 and we will be walked off, it starts to speed up again, and by the time of the speedo we are doing 60+ miles an Hour.
As we leave I try to tell a cast member of the slowness but he seems not to care.
We then walk over to the Land, and as we get down to the lower level we have decided to get some food and drink before soarin' and the queue for Living with the Land is HUGE showing 30 mins, so a tactical grab of 4 fastpasses for 30mins later seems a logical thing to do.
We get some food from Seasons, Me and Celia have some fruit, Scott and Daniellle had ignored the suggestion to have eaten by the time we arrived so get a full breakfast. Which looked and they said tasted good.
After the food break we head to Soarin' and find ourselves in the same row as the previous time. Still love Soarin and it is a success with the newbies. Its then time for our Living with the Land FP's so we cross the floor and although the queue has died down it was still showing 20min. We get the front row of the boat and head off into the greenhouses. During this journey we see a group on the Behind the Seeds tour but this is not mentioned as its a recorded spiel rather than a Cast Member. We also notice that since last week they have decorated the Rosemary bush for the holidays.
We leave the Land and head for the Seas's but the queue for the Nemo clams is 30 mins and we decide that that is not worth it, but we do go in via the back door and go to see Crush, we are just to late and have to wait for an entire show, but as I watch Danielle and Scott whilst they watch the show, the dawning on them that Crush is actually talking to the audience and not just a recorded film is a great moment and I understood real joy of taking someone new to Disney as you get to experience the park for the 1st time again.
We start to realise that the park is busier today than expected and the ride queues are getting long, as the day also starts to warm up. We head to Spaceship Earth walking through Innoventions and find the queue is up the side of the globe and intro a roped section, but Celia really wants them to see this ride and we should just have enough time before we need to be in Germany for lunch at Biergarten.
We enjoy the ride up and actually we also really like the silly cartoon on the way back down.
Unfortunality we didn't have time to have a good look round the exit area as our Lunch ADR is due in 10 mins and it is a good walk to Germany from here.
But a quick walk round World Showcase and we make it in time, We check in and are given a pager and after checking where you can go with it we wander round the stores of Germany.
We are called in and seated to the side and the waiter lets us know that the Chef will be out to walk Celia through the buffet selection. and most of it is OK and all of it is delicious. This is a gem in Epcot and the lunch buffet is full of meat and veg with very little Carbs to load up and bloat up which makes a good change.
As we sit down with our starter and drinks I was on antibiotics but Celia loved her Wine and the beers got some great comments from the other 2, the Oompah band came on.
They came on and did a short set, went off and then came back, it seemed like 15-20 min sets on the hour and half-hour.
I can't say how much we enjoyed this meal. and it will definitely be on the list for next visit.
After we finished the meal, Danielle wanted some caramel and seemed to buy most of the shop, I remember Popcorn, a caramel apple, some chocolates and some chews for Scott.
We leave Germany and head to American Adventure. The Museum bit to the right of the Rotunda was interesting and I did see a purple heart.
The Show is a bit silly and Danielle and Scott seemed apologetic for being American by the end.
We left America and headed back the way we had come from so we started in Italy and wandered the shops. We almost skipped Germany but the Gluwine was calling so with that in hand we continued round to the Outpost where I grabbed a Hot chocolate as the temperature was dropping again.
and bought a jade buddha for Celia's Mum who collects them.
We went on to Norway but the queue for Maelstrom was 40 mins so we just had a walk through the shops and headed to Mexico.
Now in Mexico there are somethings that just have to done, like pose in the Sombreros
As the sun had gone down it was getting cold, so we walked back out to the car to get coats and jumpers (and I got the tripod ready for illuminations). We head back into the park and head to the United Kingdom as Danielle really wanted to see it having lived in the UK for years when she was younger.
The Shops are interesting but a bit expensive when you come from the UK, however out the back of the shops the British Invasion were playing I always thought that they just played Beatles songs but it was just sounds of the sixties. with some Kinks, Manfred Mann included.
We also found that Pooh and Tigger were at the back of the toy shop so had to go and say hello.
Its getting near the time (7:30) for our ADR at Le Cellier and due to booking before Danielle confirmed they were coming it was only for 4 but I had seen lots of comments on being able to change a reservation at the desk. So I rushed back to Canada, leaving Scott and Danielle to get a few more UK items, and Celia walked slowly. And meeting Dad & Shelley at the entrance, we went in and I spoke to the cast member on the desk and just said that it was a party of 6. They stated that they only had 4 on the reservation, but I was adamant that it should show 6. The Manager was called and was only able to offer a table for 6 much later (expecting it to be near 9pm) as this would clash with Illuminations we confirmed what would happen, and was told that we could leave watch the show and then return to finish the meal. But obviously this would need us to wait. Danielle and Scott having arrived offered to drop out, and finally thats what we decided to do. They went off to Japan to have Sushi, and Me, Celia, Dad and Shelley went into the dining room to see plenty of empty tables (which stayed empty during the meal) including tables for 4 that could be split to make a table for 6 and one for 2.
So don't believe that you can change reservations. Next time I might try calling as soon as I was aware that we could be a 6.
The Chef came out to deal with Celia's issues with the menu and was just not that interested, and it took a while to get some compromises on what she could eat.
The meal was a disapointment it was cooked ok, but we just didn't enjoy it, possibly the fight to get a 6 seater, and then seeing all the empty spaces. But I think we will give Le Cellier a miss next time.
We paid and left, Dad & shelley had seen Illuminations last week so headed home as Shelley had work in the morning, and we went to the top of the stairs in Canada to watch Illuminations, which was brilliant, but the end Holiday tag was something else and made the night sky like daytime.
And so along with the rest of the crowd, we left Epcot and agreed to take Danielle and Scott to breakfast tomorrow before they head of to Cape Canaveral.
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