Day 81- Epcot & The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Posted on December 4, 2014 by maymiller

Now this is funny: today is our 81st day and the temperature today is 81 degrees! I love this double number day! Even with the temperature being 81, it is nice outside since there are clouds and a great breeze. I even heard a man walking near us on the way to the front gates say, “It actually feels kind of cool right now.” It’s amazing what clouds and a nice breeze can do to cool off a Disney park.

We are park at Epcot and head for the front gates. We arrive and are looking forward to the new Holidays Around the World. Each country has a presentation for their holiday celebration, explaining the holiday traditions for that country. We have been looking forward to seeing these, but first, we have a FastPass+ for The Seas with Nemo and Friends.

Today it is nice and the wait time for the Nemo standby line is just 10 minutes! I might want to go back through, since there is so much to see. We scan our MagicBands and enter the line queue. There is a short walk before we scan our MagicBands at the second station and go on through the maze of railings. We walk right up to the short line, step onto the moving sidewalk, and are seated in our “Clamshell” vehicle. I love shell rides! It makes me happy to have my own shell to sit in.

As we exit from the Nemo ride, it is beginning to rain. We are head for Starbucks to get out of the drizzle. As we order and wait for our drinks, we find that the rain has stopped. Yay! Let’s find a place to sit and drink our tea and coffees. I love sitting near the Christmas tree, and watching all of the beautiful ornaments sparkle in the sunshine, as the gray clouds float by. We have a nice visit as we watch people go in and out of the Port of Entry shop.

The park is busy, but quieter today. It seems like it was a perfect day for riding rides and seeing the countries, but we will need to make this a short day today! I love seeing how much joy and happy smiles happen when people get their picture taken with the Christmas tree in the background.

It is a good day, and a perfectly wonderful cool night! Happy Christmas month at Disney, where dreams come true! Thank you, Mickey Mouse.

Day 49- Epcot: La Hacienda de San Angel, Canadian Lumberjack Show & Spaceship Earth

Posted on November 2, 2014 by maymiller

Happy Sunday Morning! It is cool and breezy on this sunny day, so we threw on our ugly sweaters and headed for Epcot!

We arrive at the park and ride the tram to the front gates, check in at bag check, scan our MagicBands, and head for Mexico! We have lunch reservations at La Hacienda de San Angel. We are seated quickly and look at the menu. Tooti has been talking about the Queso Fundido cheese dish at La Hacienda de San Angel. We are served chips and 2 salsas, the red one is hot, and the green one is not. Soon, we have our tacos and Queso Fundido, gluten free. It is a nice lunch.

There is a concert tonight with 38 Special. I was not the right age for this group, but the concert is packed out with people standing along the edges! We took a minute to listen and see the huge amount of people watching. Already, the line for the next show is growing.

Our next stop is the UK Pavilion for a Chai, and next-door is the Canadian Lumberjack Show! I have tried for a couple of weeks to be here at the right time to get to see them. It is a great show, and very fun! At the close of the show, they said they are going to be available for handshakes and pictures. The kids got a picture with them!

Next, we have a FastPass+ for Spaceship Earth! It is a very chilly walk, and I am so glad that the ride is much warmer inside. I really like Spaceship Earth and the story of how communication began and transformed over the years. Then, near the end of the ride, they put together a little video specific to you and your choices to the multiple-choice questions they ask. It is really cute and fun.

Now we are off to the front gates, it is dark and even cooler outside. The tram is very full, to the point the tram attendant said, “We are full, so full that I have to say there is no more boarding, since there is no more room.” I agree, we have 3 of us already in out row, and then a very tall, large couple got on our row, and kept scooting us over. I put my arm behind Twinkie, and the lady kept pushing me over, saying, “Excuse me!!!” I had to not laugh, there was room for 1.33 of them and they were 2+. We kept ooching over until they both fit. If I had the breath to chuckle, I would have. I did enjoy the family behind me, and I had to tell the grandmother, “I love your accent!!!” She was bashful and said, “It is not much of one,” in a very thick British accent, “It is not very good, not very sophisticated.” I said, “I am from Texas and this is what I have!” She laughed so hard, “Texas?” “Yes, but we moved down here in the summer!” “Oh, so you are living the dream!” she said. We laughed and then it was time to disembark! We all shouted, “Have a wonderful evening!” and we were off to walk to our cars. Nice to be in the warm car on a cool day!

Day 34- Epcot & Captain EO

Posted on October 18, 2014 by maymiller

Today is a pretty day, so we are off to Epcot! We are parking in the Wonder parking lot; I have never seen this area! As we pull in, the tram is filling up quickly and is taking off as we get out of the car. We have about 3 minutes before the next tram comes and it fills up quickly, too! Off we go! Soon, we are at the entrance and getting off the tram. A quick bag check, a scan of our Magic Bands, and we are in Epcot!

Our first stop is Captain EO! I am surprised that we have never see this. I really liked the 4D and the story line of “Change the world!” He, Captain EO, was freeing the people from the dark side with his music. It was a fun 4D experience!

We headed toward the exit as a young girl found a lone pair of sunglasses and tried to catch the owner, but she lost him. I suggested maybe she could turn them into the cast member that was down front. Her family seemed pleased to know what to do with a lost/found item.

My favorite jumping water fountains are just outside Captain EO. I watch as so many kids, young and old, try to catch the water as it jumps over the sidewalk. There are little ones trying to jump up and catch it. A sister uses her brother’s ball cap to catch the water as it jumps over! Then, her brother has to try to catch it with is hat! Funny stuff!

We decided to sit for a minute as we were going towards the World Showcase Lagoon. As we were sitting there a guy came up and put his hand out running past us saying, “One for the home team!” We don’t know what that means, and as we sat there looking at him walk off, he yelled back, “Is it because of Ebola?” We laughed and said, “No! Food Allergies!” EW!

After our laugh over the awkward situation, we head towards Canada! There is the new Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, but the shows stop at 5:15pm. Again, we sit to decide what we want to do next. As we watch the floods of people go by, we find ourselves enjoying watching people that go by. There are so many people and so many accents! It is fun hearing so many different people talk, and watching as kids see Twinkie’s Frozen backpack and smile at her! The Food and Wine Festival is in full swing; all of the countries are so packed with people eating and drinking their way around the world.

As we head toward the front of Epcot, we catch the water in the fountain dancing to the music! It is spectacular! We look at the new pin releases on our way out. The new Snow White pin even has red rhinestones! We had a wonderful early evening at Epcot!

Day 3- Epcot

Posted on September 17, 2014 by maymiller

We headed for Epcot today and had a perfectly wonderful afternoon and evening. The day is cooler with cloud cover and the park was less crowded.

On the way…

to Epcot!

Getting close!

The entrance

Parking lot

Monorail

The first ride we went to was Maelstrom in Norway! So, after passing through Future World, you go past Mexico and before China, you find Norway! The line was pretty long and with the FastPass+, you just walk up, scan your magic band and walk in to ride the ride. Best thing ever! We took pics and enjoyed Twinkie’s favorite ride. Maelstrom will be closing down for refurbishing and a redesign into a Frozen themed ride that will open in 2016. We are SO excited to see what it looks like!

Norway Pavilion

At the entrance…

About Maelstrom

In Line…

Part of the ride goes backwards and looks like you are about to go over a waterfall… eek!

Troll hugs!

On the way to France, I stopped and got a strawberry shaved ice (Kaki Gori) with sweet milk in Japan. We took pics for couple that asked as we passed by them… just a part of being at Disney. Fun!

In Japan

The Menu

Strawberry & Sweet Milk

There are the most amazing crème brûlée in many of the restaurants, but if you don’t have a reservation, then Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie (in the France Pavilion) is a great choice! The chef came out and made us some freshly torched crème brûlée. There are many beautiful desserts and breads to choose from, so we ask for some that have not been near any of the other bakery treats. If you are gluten-free or have food allergies, you totally understand… The chef there is wonderful! After great thanks and appreciation for our special sweets, we headed out!

Heading into France

The bakery

The treat menu

Creme brulee!!

One of our faves!

Rainbow of Macarons

Drinks

A place to sit

French themed merch…

We took a break and sat by the water fountain in France and a little girl was going to throw pennies when her mom and grandmother said they were out. “Oh, I have some!” So, I pulled out my change and found 5 pennies! She readily took them and had fun throwing them in as her grandmother and I talked, she said that she usually has to give her quarter and dimes. I told her a story, “when mine were little, we would get a roll of pennies and go to the mall. Of course, they shared most of them with the other little kids there, but it was a lot of fun!” She said that that was really a good idea… we smiled and said our goodbyes. Cute little kid!

France Pavilion

The sun was beginning to set so we started back to Spaceship Earth, i.e. the Epcot ball. That ride is packed in the mornings, but in the evenings you can just about walk straight up and get on quickly, just a hint if you plan on riding that ride.

Pretty clouds!

A garden full of birdies!

Ducks and birds coming to rest at the beach…

We are looking forward to the opening of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival that opens on this Friday, September 19 and runs until November 10, 2014. There will be feasting, festivities and special events, including awesome concerts.