Merida Makes Trip "Magical" -- Day Four

[MrPeetrie]

Epcot

I woke up around 6:00 - 6:15 a.m., my usual vacation wake-up time, showered, dressed, and took my newly purchased resort mug to Sassagoula's for some Nescafe. (I think that's who makes the coffee.) My wife purchased us mugs the previous day and I thought it was a mistake. Turns out, it was a great idea and I wish we had done it on arrival day.

My wife was up and in the shower when I returned, but the kids were giving me a hard time. We had 9:00 ADRs at Chef Mickey's and we were running late, so I called Mears and had a cab meet us in the lobby's front around 8:30. (I saved their number from last trip. Gotta love smart phones. Everything's in there. )

We made it with a few minutes to spare. Checked in. Got in line for pictures. DS2 REFUSED to look at the camera.

Food was its usual terrific self. As I worked my way down the line, I kept wishing I had more room on the plate because each offering seemed better than the previous.

My wife, who has a much more refined palate, got lox and bagels. I tried it. Delicious.

Characters where in a clowning around mood, especially Donald. I blushed when I got my picture taken with Minnie. She's my favorite.

Our pictures arrived with three of us smiling and DS2 looking for the five-legged goat on the mural. We ordered pictures anyway.

We took the monorail over to Epcot. I really love that ride. I always schedule Epcot after Chef Mickey's.

It was sunny and brisk around 10:15. Because there was no Test Track, FastPasses for Soarin' were flying out the door. 3:00 p.m. when we arrived. 3:50 p.m. by the time we exited Spaceship Earth. 4:10 by the time we passed under Innoventions. 4:30 by the time I got them. That was really going to screw things up.

By the way, my impression of the refurbed Spaceship Earth: Great, until the decent. Then it's like they took a short cut. Turn off the effects and have everyone look at the tiny computer screen in the vehicle. What a horrible way to end such a terrific attraction.

We rode The Seas with Nemo. The Mine, Mine, Mine Birds were not working, as wasn't the water effect. That was disappointing. We all enjoyed the ride. Then, I took them upstairs to allow them to see the aquarium better. In all the years of going to Walt Disney World, we never knew there WAS an upstairs. I saw it on YouTube and we checked it out. That was amazing. You feel like you're walking into the aquarium.

From there, we crossed passed the fountain and rode Ellen's Energy Adventure. Wait time for Mission: Space - Orange was only 20 minutes, so DD9 and I rode that while DW and DS shopped in MouseGear. We dilly-dallied a bit, trying not to get too far from the Land Pavillion. We ate a late lunch there and waited for our FastPasses to be valid.

After riding Soarin', we headed into the World Showcase. We started at Mexico and made our way around. I had a Margarita to start the world-wide trek. I rarely -- if ever -- drink. But I do like Margaritas. That's a good way to start off the World Showcase.

We saw Wonders of China. It's different from before, but still amazing. We took our time getting around, stopping to shop at each pavillion.

When we got to the UK, I decided to sit in on a set from the Brittish Revolution. I'm glad I did. They were really great! DW & DD9 got up and danced. It was fun.

By the time we reached Canada, it was 8:00 and our 8:15 ADRs were ready. Dinner at Le Cellier was a surprise for my wife. That's her favorite restaurant.

The restaurant was running behind, but my DS2 was in a kooky mood and kept the front staff laughing.

Our meal was amazing. We started with the lump crab appetizer. Then, she had lamb (i think). Whatever she had, she said it was the best she's eaten. I had the steak with a wine reduction. Unbelievable. I just loved it.

Because they were running behind, we ended up missing Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. We went through MouseGear on our way out.

Bus ride back to French Quarter. Tubbies. Brush teeth. Stories. Squish. Another fantastic day was over. (Man, this trip is flying by. That would be tomorrow's theme.)

[yjgirl32]

Great report- thanks for sharing.

[Dopey's Girl]

Another great day!

Can't wait for Le Cellier later this month. Mmm.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Sounds like another great day ... I love exploring Epcot!

[hoop de do]

Another great one !
I enjoy your reports - Keep em' comin'.

[DisneyorBust]

Nice meals to start and end your day! I love the monorail to Epcot as well, by far the best way to arrive there.

[faline]

One thing you can count on with a 2 year old is that you can't ever count on them to behave the way you would think!! Fun day even if you did miss Illuminations!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[January-2007]

Thanks so much for reporting!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.