It's the first full day of parks and we will start the trip off at EPCOT. The reason we are starting at EPCOT is because it is a Thursday, and on Wednesday night they had evening extra magic hours so most people hit EPCOT last night. Also the Food and Wine Festival starts tomorrow so lots of people will swamp Epcot tomorrow to get their eat and drink on. So, here we are on Thursday to avoid the masses.
As usual, our goal is to be first in line at the turn styles, I would much rather wait at the gate then wait in line later. The Picture above was taken right after the camera was taken out of the case and the lens was foggy for a while, remember to check that in the Florida heat and Humidity if your camera has spent some time cooling of in the AC.
Alden proud to be the first in line.
We always take a picture of the back of our tickets. We get a close up of each one to be abel to read the numbers just in case we lose them.
Once they let us in we took off for the Character Spot. We wanted to try to be the first ones there because the first people of the day get a picture with the whole gang. But...we got beat out by one group that walked faster. While the kids and I waited at the entrance to the Character spot Doug went over to the Land Pavilion to get Fast Passes to Soarin'. (You can no longer get paper fast passes - so don't try this in 2014!!)
We had Mickey sign a few cards for friends back home.
All smiles as we kick off the trip with a picture with Mickey.
My favorite since I was a little girl - Pluto.
A big hug from Minnie.
Minnie
Everyone's favorite Duck - Donald!
Doug made it back and was waiting by the exit and jumped in with Goofy.
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| Clair playing on the playground at Mission Space. |
After visiting with some of our favorite pals, we walked over to Mission Space. This is because Test Track was closed for a remodel. With Test Track down it makes the rope drop plan a little simpler. We choose to get a fast pass for Soarin' so we could knock out several attractions in the time it would have taken to do Soarin' right at rope drop. Even if you are the first ones to Soarin' it will take you about 25 min to complete.
While the big Kids and I rode Mission Space, Clair and Doug hung out on the play ground. To get to this area you go in the exit to Mission Space. This is kind of hidden and not too obvious that you can do this. But it is a great way to wait for your older, taller, or more brave family members.
There are also other games to play as you exit the ride. This was Sam and Alden's First time on Mission Space and they really did NOT love it. If you are claustrophobic, I wouldn't do it! It has shoulder restraints and I think that scared them a little. The rest of the trip they refused to do anything that had the word "SPACE" in the tittle, even Spaceship Earth - which is not scary at all!
Now for something a little tamer - The Seas with Nemo and Friends. The nice relaxing ride in the clam shells was just what we needed.
After the ride there are lots of interactive spots and aquariums to look at. They also have an aquarium set up with all the fish from the dentist's office in Finding Nemo.
I guess he is a human...
Lots to play with while we waited for the Next showing of Turtle Talk with Crush. My kids just love this show, but they say "Dude" a lot after it.
We then went to The Land pavilion to use our Fast Passes for Soarin' and we obtained a rider swap pass because Clair is too short. The Rider Swap allowed 3 of us to ride later in the day using the
Fast Pass line again.
Right at 11:00 we headed into France and got in on Bells first meet of the day. This line was stressful because everyone was waiting, facing the wrong direction. Bell was not out yet and there were only about 10 people waiting. Doug tried to tell the people that thought they were at the front of the line that the line was indeed the other direction and if we got at the end of the line we would in fact be first. No one seemed to believe him so he said fine and we went and stood at the "End" of the line knowing we would be first. About 30 seconds later Bell came out and we were the first to met her. There of course were some comments from behind us that we cut but Doug responded with "we tried to tell you and you told us to go where to go" The family that thought they were first was not too pleasant but when no one will listen what can you do?
The kids being goofy in Japan. We have friends stationed in Japan in the Air Force, so the Japan Pavilion was fun to explore!
The "Spirited Beasts: From Ancient Stories to Anime Stars" is an art exhibit located in the Japan pavilion and our kids recognize many of the characters in the art work.
The Mitsukoshi Department Store sells lots of Japanese items. This store has lots of great things to find. This is a picture of some candy that my friend Mandy had sent me from Japan a few months earlier, and here it is available in the US.
We made it to The American Adventure and brought our Duffy's along with us from the stops in the other countries. After a short coloring session we went into Liberty Inn for lunch. We ate here because it is one of the few quick service eateries with indoor seating in world showcase. It does not serve any food that will blow you away, but it is your basic hamburgers and chicken nuggets type place. We just wanted out of the heat and away from the crazy mass of people that can be in Sunshine seasons and the Electric Umbrella at noon in Future world.
They almost cooperated for this picture.
We stopped in with OWCA or "Origination Without a Cool Acronym" and got a mission to help Special Agent P. We choose to play Agent P's World Showcase Adventure in Germany.
You get a communication device and it gives you clues as you try to help stop Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
Sam and Alden enjoyed the game, but a soon-to-be 3 year old Clair could have cared less.
More clue gathering, when you get things right it triggers things to move and dothings around the Pavilion.
After a successful mission, we met Mulan in China.
Looking for Trolls in Norway.
Found one.
Sam with some golden locks.
Doug took the big kids back to Soarin' to use the Rider Swap ticket, Clair and I slowly worked our way back to Future world to meet them when they were done. On the way there, they had one of the new test track cars out so Sam and Alden checked it out, they thought it was a little mean to show the new car while the ride was still closed.
After meeting back up, we met Chip & Dale.
On our way out of the park for the day.
The Food and Wine festival was really in full swing and all the food stands were open as we were leaving, even though it did not open til tomorrow. So if were were concerned about the food we would have gotten it today, but our crew was not interested in food or wine.
After a quick stop at Target we were heading back on property to our next resort!
Our next resort was the fabulous Bay Lake Tower!
We had a Lake View studio for a few nights. A studio sleeps 4, so we just made this cut off, because Clair was still 2 for a few more days and therefore she didn't count toward the max occupancy!
Our view straight off the balcony was of the Contemporary Marina.
To the left we could see Bay Lake.
To the Right we could see the Contemporary Resort and the walkway that connects Bay Lake to the Grand Concourse of the Contemporary Resort. To get to the quick service restaurant and Chef Mickey's, you can take the walk way. It also connects to the monorail.
When you lean out a bit you can see the balcony next door.
Clair was checking out our new accommodations.
And then she tried to escape.
We had a bellman help bring our bags up so we were unable to get pictures without our stuff everywhere.
It would look a lot nicer without our stuff. The studio has a queen bed and a pull out couch.
The elevator lobbies had great views of the Magic Kingdom.
This is the reason we picked this Resort. It is a very short walk to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. You cannot stay any closer! It would take much longer to take the monorail from the Polynesian Resort or Grand Floridan Resort to reach the gates of the park. This is the best feature of any resort on property.
After some fresh clothes we were on Main Street USA.
Almost all smiles!
First we got a Fast Pass (one again - you can't do this anymore in 2014, so don't try it today!) for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin and then headed back to Dumbo to check out the new "line" It was something we would have never done. We used to go to Dumbo at Rope Drop, but with the new playground and 2 Dumbo Rides, it speeds up the process! With the new playground the 10 minute wait was not even enough time for the kids to check everything out.
Lots of great activities and references to the Dumbo movie.
There are bleachers around the playground for the parents. The air condition and WiFi are great.
My kids are somewhere in the picture.
Our pager had gone off, and we proceeded to the short line for our flight.
All smiles now!
Love the new water under Dumbo!
The "boy team" managed to score a blue Dumbo.
Now back to use our Buzz Fast Passes.
Doug wishes they could put the actual score on the picture instead of the predetermined levels that no one actually got.
You can almost see them.
We grabed a snack and found a spot over by the Country Bear Jamboree to watch the Electrical Parade. After the parade we made our way towards the "Hub" (circle area in front of Cinderella Castle) to take in Wishes (Fireworks Show). We have never really watched Wishes from an "ideal" spot because the kids would just be looking at the butts of all the adults because they are so small. And even if they could see, then someone would throw their kids on their shoulders and block every one's view. The best part of Wishes this night was walking past the lines to the Ferry, the Monorail, and the buses to WALK right back to our room.
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