The Mellado's Disney Adventure ReportDates: 6/26-7/5, 1999 (ten day trip) Adventurers:
Copyright 1999-2006 |
Day 5: Wednesday, June
30, 1999 Since we had had such a long day yesterday, we slept in a little today, which meant waking up at 8:00. It was hard getting the sleepy heads up, so the morning shower helped them a lot. We had our usual breakfast of cereal & granola bars. I had bought the cereal in snack bags (looks like potato chips), so the kids did have a choice of which cereal they wanted. Dad & Lucila didn't really have breakfast, just a nice cup of coffee to wake them up. We arrived at Epcot at 9:30. The lot was filling fast, and when I flashed my AAA parking slip, the CM gave me the "yeah right" look, and waved me through with the rest of the pack. I thought that was funny. Despite our plebian parking status, I thought we got a good enough spot. Parking never did bother us. At the entrance we got out our hopper passes, and once through picked up a few maps of the park. I don't care how many we got; we always seemed to lose a few. There were some nice topiaries and pretty flowers, and I was reminded of the Flower & Garden Show back in May. Someday I'd like to do that. I also noticed the fences up that surround construction sites at Disney - bummer. But, like I said earlier, no one else in our group knew what to expect anyway, so it wasn't bad. Now, I had read on the boards to just skip Spaceship Earth and do it later in the day when the lines were lower, but my non-board-reading companions were averse to ride-hopping, and wanted to do them in the order we came to them (this is the way we usually do Disneyland at home, & it's always worked for us). So, we got in the line for Spaceship Earth. The boys had purchased yo yos at Animal Kingdom and were playing with them (the kind of item us parents think, "Now, why do they want to buy something if it doesn't say the name of the place you're visiting???" But, it was their money, and the yo yos weren't expensive - plus, that's what they wanted). We just made sure they didn't do them in line. All we needed was for them to conk someone on the head. The line wasn't that long, and soon we were inside. This ride ended up being one of our favorites. We all enjoyed it. They had good detail, even to the smell in the burning of Rome scene. From there we went to Universe of Energy-no line - just walked into the building. On the way, I noticed Goofy playing in a fountain with some kids - that was so cool. Universe of Energy was a great attraction. After the preshow we went into a theater, and sat down. Dad & I noticed that the theater seats were in three sections, and realized that we would be moving. I had no idea how they were going to accomplish this. It was so cool. There is a funny film with Ellen Degeneres & Jamie Lee Curtis playing Jeopardy, and Bill Nye the Science Guy shows up. Lucila and Dad didn't know who he was, so I amused myself by asking our kids one at a time, "Who's Bill Nye?" Response, "The Science Guy." I told Dad, "Just about all the kids know him, and proceeded to ask a few other children who Bill Nye was They all answered, "The Science Guy," without a hitch. (I'm amused at very little) Anyway, the adults now know who he is. So, Bill Nye the Science Guy shows Ellen all about energy, and we get to ride along. The 3 sections also travel, so one at a time they went through the ride. The sections all met up for another screen show. I was very impressed with how this attraction was made. The kids did end up learning from it. I know because I quizzed them (my friend accuses me of making every vacation a field trip -I quiz her, too lol). From there we went to the Wonders of Life Pavilion. While the kids went on Body Wars (walked right on), we explored an exhibit that had computers with various information about 'life.' I didn't want to go on the attraction & get jerked around (as I had read so many people complain about), and warned Dad & Lucila they probably wouldn't enjoy it. The kids loved it. From there they tried their hand at hitting a baseball and getting some pointers. They all liked that. By now it was time to head on over for our PS at Le Cellier at the World Showcase. There were some solar cars on exhibition, and I learned that they were part of Sunrayce 99, a solar car race that started at Washington D.C., & ended at Epcot. Soon we were at Showcase Plaza, where Future World meets World Showcase. The view of World Showcase was so beautiful we had to stop and admire for a bit. The kids took that opportunity to play with some bubble makers that a nearby vendor was selling. One of the neat things about a place like Disney is that the CMs (most, at least) really seem to enjoy playing with the kids. Often we would be walking and a vendor CM would suddenly throw a huge ball at the children, or squirt from a mister fan, or blow bubbles at them. You know, sometimes we adults are so intent on getting to our next destination that we are pretty focused. The children, who aren't on any timetable, take the time to look around and stop and play when the opportunity presents itself - like playing with a vendor. We easily found Canada, and made our way to Le Cellier. The setting for Canada was absolutely beautiful. We walked past a small waterfall to the entrance of the restaurant. This was such a nice restaurant. The cheddar cheese soup was excellent (and we HAD to try it after Cathy Canada's hearty recommendation). The bread was excellent, too. I should have stayed with the soup bread and a salad. I was already getting full, so when I ordered the Reuben sandwich, it was a little too much for me, and I didn't care for it too much. Everyone else loved the food at this restaurant. Also, once the kids tasted cherry cokes at the Prime Time, they always wanted cherry cokes; so even when it wasn't on the beverage menus, the CM's would make it for them. Le Cellier was no exception. The food was good, atmosphere, excellent, and it was a good restaurant to bring kids to. After lunch, we decided to watch the film showing, "Oh, Canada." What a great film. Afterwards, we came out of the show, and walked right through the store there. I would have liked to have more time to browse, but we needed to get back to Future World. We went back to Wonders of Life to see
what we had missed. We did see The Making of Me - very
cute show. Nick & BJ have already had their
'instructional class' at school, so I wasn't too worried
about BJ, and Kelly sees enough of the Discovery &
Animal channels to kind of know what goes on. Still, I
watched the kids' expressions carefully to see if they'd
start snickering - but they didn't. I thought the show
was well done, and it was even funny. It stars Martin
Short. Now it was time to cross over to the West Side. By now it was really cloudy and even starting to sprinkle (this WOULD be the one day we didn't bring our ponchos). Innoventions East was closed off, but the Electric Umbrella was opened. The fountain in the middle was starting to dance, but it was a little breezy, so we didn't stay to be splashed. I longingly looked at Innoventions West, but knew it would have to wait until another time. Instead, we went over to the Living Seas. I snapped a pic of the kids in front, and into the pavilion we went. Right after we entered it started raining hard. We could hear it from inside the building. I was very impressed by this attraction. After a short film about man's relationship with the ocean, etc., we got on a "Hydrolator" for a mock decent, and then we got on some omnimover cars (like those in The Haunted Mansion) for a very short trip through a viewing area for the tank. It was so cool to see all of the fish swim around us. We then got off and were in Sea Base Alpha, which looks like an undersea research center of the future. There were people diving we could see, and a tank with dolphins. Kelly declared this to be her favorite exhibit of the day. We also were able to see some manatees up close - very interesting. Afterwards we went in one of the shops, and Kelly saw a dolphin backpack that she fell in love with (guess what her favorite animal is). She forgot her money, and as soon as her grandfather noticed that, he bought her the backpack. Talk about huge smiles. She wore that backpack the rest of our trip. It was finally time to explore a little more of Future World, so we left the Living Seas, and walked as fast as we could, since it was still raining. Next came Living with the Land, and we walked as fast as we could since it was still raining. There are three attractions in Living with the Land: Circle of Life - film with Timon & Pumba - on an environmental note; Food Rocks - musical with Animatronic fruits, veggies, and food packages that sing nutritional songs to 80's music; and our favorite, Celebrate The Land, which is an informational boat ride that shows our relationship with the land, and goes through Disney's experimental greenhouses. This was a great attraction, and we saw ways fruit & vegetables could be grown without using soil. The lemons they had were absolutely HUGE. We were told that WDW uses all of the food grown here. We also went under the Garden Grill Restaurant. After these shows it was time to go to Journey Into Imagination. As we entered the pavilion, we passed the Fountain Court, with its upside down waterfall. It was pretty interesting, but with the rain, there wasn't really a chance to stop & admire. (Can't believe I left that poncho!) The only attraction there was Honey I Shrunk the Audience. We have this one at Disneyland, but Dad & Lucila hadn't been on it, nor BJ. It's the same show, without the preshow we have here at home. I always like this one. I won't go into the details because I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but it's fun to see everyone's reaction. By now it was late afternoon, and still raining. The folks wanted to head back to the resort. First though, we went to the Sunshine Season food court at The Land, and had a bite to eat. I shared chicken fingers with the kids - they were pretty good. We went back to the resort, and upon opening the door to our room I noticed that the tv was on, and that it was turned towards one of the beds. I didn't remember leaving it on, and neither did the kids. I didn't think that the housekeeper had much time to relax and watch tv in the guest rooms. Then Yes, then we found out the TRUTH! It was Kelly's beanie babies! You know, the ones she had just bought at the RFC at AK, Iggy the Iguana and Mel the Koala. Now, we all know those rascals Chip & Dale can get into all kinds of mischief, but Iggy & Mel were just as bad! Could this be the character conspiracy? Do Chip & Dale give classes or something? Those BB's were relaxing on the boys' bed with the remote control in their little paws, watching the Disney Channel. You should have seen Kelly. Oh my gosh, she started laughing and called the rest of the group into our room to see these naughty beanies. She did scold them, however, so we were sure we wouldn't see anymore of this type of activity (we found out later that beanies are very mischievous critters). We went to the food court to fill up our mugs. There were a few guests relaxing in some chairs. The CBR is set up so the walkways are on the outside, and there are chairs so guests can sit in them and relax. There was a group of people who enjoyed sitting out there and talking. As we passed, we heard, "Oh, there go the yellow people." Lol The kids decided to go swimming, since we were back for the evening, and went to the Jamaica pool. They preferred the quiet pools to the Main Pool because they were warmer (or so they told me). I settled in for a nice relaxing evening in our room. I hadn't watched any of the Disney channels, so I took the time to do so now. After awhile, the three kids came back, took their showers, and relaxed with their Gameboys. We didn't go to bed too late since tomorrow would be another early start for us. Day 6 coming up - Kennedy Space Center
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