"Feel the Magic" Trip - 11/30-12/7, 2002: Complete About This Page:

[TINKN]

Another great installment. I hope they added some buses to get those people back to PO. I think they usually do that when it is very crowded.

[maggieworkman]

Day 4: Dec. 3, 2002 - MVMCP or “Mom, do we really get to stay up until 1 am?”

Today, since we were going to go to Mickey’s Christmas Party and stay up late, we decided to rest during the day. Also I had to find a place I could log onto the internet so that I could turn in my grades that were due today. I had brought my laptop, but I didn’t have a dial-up number to log into the internet! I ended up going to the Hilton, one of the Downtown Disney Hotels. They had a business center, or at least what they called a business center. They put me in this little room with a computer. They logged in for me. It was $10 for 15 minutes and then 67 cents a minute after that. I was on for about 30 minutes and she charged me $10.67. I don’t know how she came up with that number? But it worked out great.

Mickey woke us up at 8 am with his “up and at ‘em”. We sat around the room and watched the Disney channel for awhile. DH went to the food court to fill up our mugs and get some pastries. He bought 2 cinnamon rolls, a danish, a milk and a chocolate milk ($11). We watched TVsome more and got ready for the day. It was difficult to get the girls to get ready. They were enjoying sitting around the hotel room watching cartoons. That is one thing that I found difficult on this trip. Usually at home, we give the girls a bath at night. But at WDW they always were so tired at night that they fell asleep right when we got back. So they had to take their baths in the mornings, which really added to our time getting ready to go to the parks. But, there really isn’t any other option. We ate lunch in the food court - pepperoni pizza, meatball sub, garlic breadsticks, a kids meal chicken nuggets with corn and a fruit cup ($20.62). The girls then wanted to swim. It really had been too cold to swim up to this point, but today was tolerable (at least for the kids) so I said ok. I put a load of laundry into the washer (our disney sweatshirts and some jeans). I had brought some dryer sheets but not any detergent. We use liquid detergent and I couldn’t figure out a good way to bring it with us. I knew I wouldn’t be doing much laundry, so I figured I would just buy it there. I sent DH to the gift shop to buy detergent and some hair conditioner. My little travel bottle of conditioner had been used up! I guess I didn’t think about how much conditioner 4 people for 7 days would need! Whew! It was $5.75! But I couldn’t do without it. While the girls swam, DH watched them from the sidelines and I went to the Hilton to turn in my grades. When I got back from the Hilton, they were all back in the room - but apparently a tornado had passed through and I missed it! The room was a mess. There were towels everywhere, snacks everywhere, clothes everywhere, books and toys everywhere! Isn’t it funny how mom can leave for 1 hour and this happens! I cleaned this up while everyone else got ready.

We headed out to MK. We had PS for Liberty Tree Tavern at 5:55 so that we could stay in the park when they closed up to get ready for MVMCP. We arrived at MK about 4:30. First we went to the Diamond Horseshoe Revue. DD#2 got an ice cream cone and we watched part of the show. It was pretty cute. DD#2’s ice cream fell off of the cone onto the floor after about 2 licks. But they gave her another cone for free! How nice! Then we went to the Hall of Presidents. I really enjoyed this show. So did DD#1. She has been learning about the Constitutional Convention and such in school. Now it was time for our PS at LTT. We were called after about a 15 minute wait “The Workman Party from Illinois!”. Dinner was very good. This was another meal that we thought was very tasty. I could have lived off of the butter. It was very sweet. Maybe it was honey butter. There was a family next to us and I heard the grandpa say, “Here, try this. This butter is so good.” So it wasn’t just me. I really liked the stuffing. The turkey and gravy was yummy. The server said the gravy was homemade, and it tasted like it. I think the mashed potatoes were homemade too. The smoked pork was good. I think there was a kind of beef there too. This is all served family style. The character interaction was good. They were all dressed up colonial style yet with Christmas touches. This was a great meal and we would do it again ($79.80). Even DH said he enjoyed it and would eat there again. There were supposed to be other Passporters at LTT at this time, but I didn't see any of you. [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] After this, it was time for the MVMCP! Yay! The first thing we did was ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Twice in a row since there was no wait. This is a great ride at night. Then we went on the Haunted Mansion. Again we walked right up to the stretch room. The girls really liked the hitchhiking ghost. They were trying to poke them in the eyes and such. You know, sugar and spice and everything nice. We had opted to view the second parade and were glad we did because there were no lines for anything. We walked around a little and bought us each a Christmas hat. DH got the Santa hat with Mickey ears, DD#1 got the Minnie version of the Santa hat that has a minnie bow. I got a headband that had Minnie ears, a little santa hat and a bow. We bought DD#2 one of the toddler santa hats that has a little stuffed Minnie in the band. (About $48 for all four hats.) The CM that we bought the toddler hat from had a Cinderella pin on her lanyard and DD#1 was with me. So she went and got DD#2 (who is collecting Cinderella pins) so that she could trade. She explained to the CM how her sister was trying to get all the Cinderella pins. Well, the CM said, “Let me see your lanyard.” and DD#2 showed her. Then the CM said, “Well, I have this special lanyard pin that has Cinderella on it.” and she pulled one out of her pocket and gave it to her. DD#2 was so happy. So was I, because I knew the significance of the pin. The CM explained to her that this pin was very special and that the only way people can get this pin is if a CM gives it to them. DD#2 treasured it. Then, we got to see Cinderella herself with her special pumpkin coach. The coach was all lit up. We got a really nice photo of the girls with Cinderella in front of the coach. We also got a nice picture of DD#2 trying to get the sword out of the stone. It’s funny because she has one leg up on the stone trying with all her might to pull the sword out. After this, it was time for the Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks. These were really neat. Rudolph made his ride tonight from the castle. These fireworks were amazing and sort of in 3-D. Well, they were shot off around the perimeter of the Magic Kingdom. It was spectacular. We then moved on to Tomorrowland for Mickey’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas show. I thought it was going to be Mickey reading the story, but it was a musical. This was one of our favorite shows for the whole trip. We especially liked it when the bears came out in their TuTus trying to dance the Sugarplum Fairy dance from the Nutcracker with the ballerina. This was held in the Galaxy Palace Theater. We then, of course, rode Space Mountain. What was this? The fifth time maybe?? There was no wait. We got one of those cards from the CM at the entrance and had to give it to the other CM when we got on the ride. This helped them judge the wait time. On this ride, we rode in the cars that were to the left. All of the previous times were on the right side cars. I think this ride was much rougher and scarier. I asked the CM at the exit if it were different and he said the only difference is that it is the mirror image of the one on the right. On the way towards the Castle, we ran into Alice and the Mad Hatter. They were fun. The Mad Hatter had a little Christmas tree with him named George, or something. Shortly after we visited him, he had to take George the tree in to be watered because he was so thirsty! What a great exit line.

Now it was time for the Christmas Parade. While we were sitting there, DH noted that only at Disney World would people wear some of the silly hats and things that they were wearing. I personally couldn’t believe that DH would wear the Mickey Santa hat with no fuss. But people had these big Christmas tree hats with lights. Some had hats that were big birthday cakes with candles. Most were wearing the Santa Mickey hats. But there were also Santa hats with Goofy ears and Eeyore ears. There were Tigger Santa hats that were Orange and Green instead of Red and Green. Everyone had the Christmas Spirit. We lined up and got good seats on the curb. We watched this from Liberty Square. The only problem is that we were in a spot where they had to make a turn, so I didn’t have a lot of time to get a good picture. But several came out nice. There were lots of singers and dancers in this parade. Each float had a Christmas Song theme. I think my favorite float was the one where Chip and Dale were baking cookies. It was very cute. After the parade, we got our free pictures taken. Up until this point there was always a big line to get this done, but here there were 2 groups ahead of us. Basically you sat down and they snapped the picture and you were off. It turned out pretty well. We looked pretty good, considering it was nearly 11:30 pm and we had ridden BTMRR twice and Space Mountain. Then the girls wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again, so I said OK. This made 3 times tonight! I insisted we then go ride Pirates of the Caribbean because we had yet to ride this our whole trip. We enjoyed this ride. It was a nice way to slow down. It was now midnight and time to go. So we headed down main street with our Mickey Christmas hats on singing Christmas carols and holding hands and skipping. We had such a fabulous night.

There wasn’t a big wait for a bus. We made it back to the room around 1 am. The girls were still up, but not for long. They put on their PJs and fell right to sleep. So, YES girls. You can stay up to 1 am.

Memories of our Fourth Day: The weather today was … sweatshirt weather.. The best thing today was … Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at night. The worst thing today was … we didn’t get to see all the Christmas shows (I guess we just need to come back next year). The funniest thing today was … Mickey Christmas hats. Today we tried … MVMCP … and the result was … so much fun. The most magical moment today was … singing Christmas carols while skipping down Main Street.

Next installment, “How to eat your way around the world.”

[ 12-26-2002, 02:09 PM: Message edited by: maggieworkman ]

[tiggerlvr]

We were at LTT on 12-3 also, I looked for you and other passporters and I did have on my passporter pin, which was a conversation piece with several CM's. We were there at 5:45 sorry I could not find you!! We also loved MVMCP and it was not crowded at all, it was not sold out for that night, we also had no waits for any rides at all....

[Smee]

One of my priorities for my next trip is going to be BTMRR at night. In particular, I'm going to try to be on BTMRR when the fireworks are going off. I'm really enjoying your TR so far.

[Dsnymom]

Just got around to reading your TR so far. I am loving it. Sounds like you had a really good time. Now I really want to go back soon!!!

[Marv]

Maggie,
I just got caught up on you TR. It's great! I can feel the magic as if I'm there right now. I've got to say, I can't imagine you throwing your arms out and yelling "To Infinity and Beyond"! I know I only met you once, but you seemed too reserved for this! (My kids die of embarrassment when I sing "walking down Main Street USA", so I know how you feltwhen DD was embarrassed.)

I think your husband is quite a trooper to wear a grumpy shirt. My husband should wear one, he gets this grumpy look whenever I mention WDW! I loved your comment about Prince Charming. You're a clever writer. I'm enjoying your style.

I have a question. You said you didn't go on the teacups. Is it because of motion sickness? If so, you could do star wars o.k.? I wanted to take my DS on star wars, but I was afraid of the motion. Even space mountain leaves me a little queasy. [img]graemlins/dizzy.gif[/img]

[maggieworkman]

Before I post the next installment, I wanted to answer a few of your questions.

tiggrlvr - Sorry we missed you. I looked around but didn't see anyone. I almost yelled out "Passporter" but thought against it. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] We were in a little room off of the entrance to the right.

Smee - BTMRR was great at night. We did it again later in the trip during the day and it just wasn't the same.

*Disnymom* - I want to back again too!

Marv - I guess I got a little wild at WDW! I didn't go on the teacups because of motion sickness. I can't do things that go in circles. I could have tried it, but I would have been "car sick" for the rest of the day. Star Tours was no problem. The only simulation ride that made me sick was Body Wars. I was "car sick" for a long time after that one.

I will have the next installment up soon!

Maggie

[maggieworkman]

Day 5 - Wed. Dec. 4, 2002 - EPCOT

Since we had stayed up late for MVMCP, we decided to sleep in and didn’t request a Mickey wake-up call. We woke at 9 am. I went to the POR gift shop and bought a box of Entenman’s mixed donuts ($3.39) and a pint of milk ($1.00) and filled our mugs with coffee and hot water for tea in the food court.

Then we headed out to EPCOT. We entered EPCOT. Not much problem going through security and the turnstyles. DD#2 who has a child AP, would always put in her AP and then do the finger scan, even though you don’t need to with a child AP. It was so cute. The security check here is right before you go through the turnstyles. It wasn’t crowded when we went, so it wasn’t a problem. But I imagine it can get backed up here when there are lots of people. The first thing we did was Food Rocks. This was really cool. A lot of the “singers” here are some of my favorites. I guess that ages me. I really like Sting and the Police so the “Refrigerator Police” were great. I also like Peter Gabriel so the “Pita Gabriel” was funny. So, DH and I both liked it a lot because of the music. The kids thought it was fun too. Next we went to Honey I shrunk the Audience. This was very cute and we all enjoyed this. I always liked these movies. We then got FP for Test Track. We looked around Innoventions East awhile until the FP window opened up. FP was fun. They say it is the longest ride at WDW, but it didn’t seem that long. I really enjoyed the “crashing” into the wall part. The hot and cold test areas were fun too. Unfortunatley, Journey into your Imagination was closed for repairs, as was Ice Station Cool. Darn! Two of my must sees. I really wanted DH to drink the Beverly.

We were all hungry, so we decided to go get something to eat at World Showcase. Mexico was the closest and it sounded good, so we headed there. DH and I had a sort of disagreement about the best path to take. I won out since I had done all the research, but my way ended up being longer. DH was right. But let’s not mention that. I thought the only way to go into World Showcase was through the center gates through the canopy. DH wanted to take the path from Test Track, but I said it didn’t go all the way through. Ooops! His way would have brought us out right near Mexico. Oh well. We ended up getting a nice picture taken at the center gate with the big ball in the background. So, see, I wanted to do that all along. We decided we were going to try to “eat our way around the world”, so at the Cantina de San Angel we got something to share. We ordered some nacho chips, side of cheese sauce, a coke, and the child plate - which was chips and a beef burrito and a drink. This came to $8.44. But the nachos did not come with salsa! So we went back and ordered a side of salsa for about $0.50. This satisfied us for now. Then we went into the Mexican pavilion. Here the girls started their EPCOT masks. I went and bought a Passport for them ($9.95). They then got their passport stamped and the guy signed it. He personalized it with their names. I think because of their Guest of Honor pins that had their names. We rode the Rio del Tempo. This was enjoyable - no wait. But nothing spectacular. On to Norway. The girls played in the boat for awhile and I got a cute picture of them on it. We then went on Maelstrom. It had a short wait - maybe 5-10 minutes. The ride was fun. I liked going backwards. But it wasn’t exactly a thrill ride. We decided to skip the movie. We looked through the shop a little. We also got the mask stamped and the passport signed. I took the girls picture with the troll. Isn’t that a requirement??? We then ate at the bakery. We got a lefse, a cream horn and a cup of fruit ($7.82). DH ate the lefse and said they were ok, but not great. The girls gobbled down the fruit. It was mostly grapes. That’s two countries down, more to go…

We then headed to China and saw the Wonders of China movie in the pavillion. This was great and made me want to go to China. I had never been in a 360 degree theater like that before. It was quite amazing. But be prepared to stand during the whole 10-15 minute movie as there were no seats. I never realized the variey of climates/ecosystems in China. It was quite amazing. We also looked around the pavillion at all the artifacts. The girls got the passport signed and the masked stamped. I think it was a little unorganized here. We stood in line to get the things stamped. When we were next, the girls sat down to color their masks a little. Well, apparently this took them out of line because the ladies wouldn’t sign their masks! We had to stand in line again! We got two egg rolls and a coke at the counter place ($4.99). I didn’t have high expectations because I had read all bad reviews about the Chinese restaurant, but these egg rolls were very good. The Chinese pavillion is really beautiful. We saw a guy “juggling” a stick with two other sticks. It was interesting.

We then went back to the room to get warmer clothes on for the evening, as we had PS at the Rose and Crown for 7:30 to watch Illuminations. We got back to EPCOT in plenty of time for our PS at Rose and Crown. I wanted to get there 30 minutes early to request a patio table. We did, and I did. The CM at the podium gave his customary reply of, “We can’t guarantee any table. It is whatever table comes next.” I said ok. He gave us a beeper and said it only worked in the UK pavillion. So we hung out there awhile. We heard the end of the British Invasion, but didn’t get to see them. Iliked this pavillion. The red phone booths are cute. The garden was beautiful. It made me think I was Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibilities. We also looked in the shop a little. They had some toy soldier guys that were nearly $200! Wow! I wanted to find a little St. Andrews souvenir for one of my students who is a big golfer and dreams of going to the St. Andrews course. But 3 golf balls were nearly $45! Wow again! I said I didn’t need them that much. About this time our beeper went off. So we headed to the R&C podium. I again asked for a patio table. The CM gave his blah, blah, blah speech. A different CM seated us. We were on the patio, but on the side. We could still see, but not the best. But overall I was happy. At least we weren’t inside. Shortly after we were seated, two older couples were seated at the table beside us (on the side a little further back than we were). The one guy complained and asked to be switched to a better seat. The poor girl explained how it was whatever table became available. These people harassed her for nearly 15 minutes until she finally called someone else over (the lady who schedules the tables) and she switched them. Nothing like being rude to get what you want! I was a little mad because I wanted better seats too but I was courteous and took what was available and didn’t complain. (I wasn’t mad at the R&C. I was mad at these rude people who harassed the waitress.) DH ordered the prime rib, I ordered the fish and chips, DD#1 ordered the PB&J, and DD#2 ordered the hot dog. DH also got a mixed drink called an English Rose. It was some fru-fru drink with vodka or something ($5.75). I was surprised. I thought he would surely order a Guiness or some other beer. Our food arrived shortly. I was a little disappointed in my fish. I thought it would be fish and chips like at the counter service. But it was this HUGE piece of fish (I would say at least 18 inches long!). I ate what I could, but didn’t really make a dent in it. The girls ate their meals ok. When we were finished, we still had about 45 minutes until Illuminations. So I told DH we had to stall for time. He gladly ordered dessert. He got the Lemon Posset. I ordered some tea and he got some coffee. We managed to drag it out the 45 minutes and Illuminations began. We were on the corner/side and could see pretty well. The show was breathtaking. I didn’t really know what to expect except fireworks, but that doesn’t begin to describe it. I really liked the globe part. We all enjoyed our dinner and Illuminations. The bill came to $75.07. Overall, I am not sure we would try the PS at Rose and Crown again. I think you could probably stake out a better place if you don’t mind waiting. The food was ok, but I would prefer the fish and chips at the counter place. It was something to try, at least.

We then headed with the rest of the crowd out to the buses. We made it back to the hotel shortly and fell quickly asleep.

Next installment - Oh my God! What are those guys doing?”.

Maggie

[ 12-27-2002, 06:32 PM: Message edited by: maggieworkman ]

[tikibird]

Okay, now I want to go and put on my Santa Pooh hat (wore it to work last week - my boss took one look at me and said "It's not Halloween!" [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] I wore it all day anyway! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I love how you sampled different things around the countries [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] and sounds like you enjoyed MVMCP.

Looking forward to more....

[maggieworkman]

Day 6: MK EE, EPCOT - “Oh my God! What are those guys doing?”
Today was EE for MK, so we decided to get up early for this. We were having so much fun at MK and there was still some stuff we wanted to see and do. I guess going on Space Mountain and BTMRR over and over doesn’t leave time for much else. So, we made it for EE and were very proud of ourselves. But we hadn’t eaten breakfast and we were all hungry, so we stopped at the Bakery on Main Street. Many other people had the same idea, therefore the line was a little long. But we waited. The Barbershop Quartet stopped in and serenaded us while we waited. I think because it was sprinkling outside. We ordered a mini banana bread, an apple danish, a cherry danish, a chocolate chip muffin, a bottle of chocolate milk, a coffee and a tea. ($15.22). This was WAY too much food. We could have ordered half as much, but nobody wanted to share. AND we had PS for the Princess Breakfast at EPCOT at 10:20. After we ate everything, we decided to go on … what else?? Space Mountain. As much as I tried to convince them to do Jungle Cruise or something else we hadn’t see yet, they wanted Space Mountain. Hey! I want them to have fun, so I said OK. DH decided to sit this one out and sat at the exit with our backpack and our leftover breakfast. Then I did manage to get everyone to go to the Tiki Room. On our last trip, this was closed, so I really wanted to see it this time. It was enjoyable. I never saw the original version, so I have nothing to compare it to. But we like both Zazu and Iago, so it was fun. The girls wanted to ride on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, so we did this next. Well, only the girls. I shopped while DH watched them in line. When they got close to it being their turn, he came and got me so I could get a picture of them on the ride. As I am standing there waiting to get a picture, Aladdin and the Genie walk by. I say Hi. Then they walk around and say Hi to everyone on the ride. Then, I get DH’s attention and say, “Oh my god! What are those guys doing?” Aladdin and Genie were getting into the Magic Carpet with my girls!!! I nearly passed out with excitement. DH thinks I am overdramatic. I click off many shots with the camera. I never really get a great close-up picture when they flew by because they always had the carpet up as high as it would go! The girls later said Aladdin kept saying, “Up! Up! Up!” What a great magical moment. And to think I wanted them to skip this ride! After this Aladdin and Genie were signing autographs, so we got in line. Just as we finshed, Jasmine came running up. But they didn’t want to stand in line again for her autograph. Next I wanted to go on Jungle Cruise, but the wait was about 20 minutes and no FPs. We thought we would try later. We decide to head over to EPCOT now. On our way out I insist we stop for a Dole Whip, as I have never had one. I wanted to be able to vote in the Dole Whip vs. Mickey Bar argument. The Dole Whip was sooo good. It reminded me of Orange Sherbet, but with a Pineapple taste. On the way out of MK, we stopped to get our pictures from the other day. Apparently they hold these for 4 days. It was great getting them in the middle of the day when there was no line. While I was selecting the pictures, a couple came up beside me to get the Annual Pass pin. So, of course I decide I needed one too! I was also able to get one from last year, because they still had some left. I left happy with our pictures and my two pins. This pin thing can sure be addicting. We then took the monorail to EPCOT.

We arrived in EPCOT. We had decided to skip the Princess Breakfast. We were still full from our breakfast snack at the bakery on Main Street. Plus, we had already seen most of the princesses at Cinderellas Breakfast. Also, we plan on coming back to WDW in June with my niece, so this would be good to do with her. I was pretty proud of myself for not getting so bummed when my plans didn’t work out. This had happened a few times and I was ok with it.

Today we were doing the Candlelight Processional at 8:15 with an early dinner at Le Cellier with the CP package. So today was shopping day at EPCOT. I wanted to make good use of our 15% off coupon for the CP package. Yesterday we had started around the world in Mexico and went clockwise. So today we started in Canada and went counterclockwise. The fist stop was in Canada. Off Kilter was just beginning to play, so we stayed to watch. They were as great as expected. They were funny and played great. (plus they didn’t look too bad in those kilts!) We all enjoyed this. Both girls danced. Even DH was smiling and commenting on how good they were. Later I looked at their CD, but it was around $30, so I decided against it. I did some shopping in Canada. I bought an Anne of Green Gables mug for myself. I love those books. I had it sent back to the hotel. They also agreed to include the pictures I had bought in MK in the package. I hadn’t thought about sending those to the hotel. The girls got their masks and passports stamped. Next we moved to UK. I wanted to buy my mom a Royal Dalton tea cup and saucer here as her souvenir. She always talks about the time she went with her sister to the high tea at the Grand Floridian and drank out of these cups. DD#2 and I pick out a nice one (Country Roses) and DD#2 insists on getting a little gold spoon too. The cup was $37 and the spoon $3, but it wasn’t too bad with the discount. We sent this back to the hotel too. We look around some more in the UK pavillion. We go in the garden again. Then we head to France. We can’t help but eat in the Bakery again. We get a coke, a baguette, a strawberry tart and an éclair ($12.03). DD#1 ate the whole tart by herself. DD#2 and DH shared the éclair. It had a chocolate filling, which I don’t think was expected, but they still enjoyed it. We all munched on the baguette. We ate in the little chairs/tables outside the bakery. It was like we were in France with the little “rues” and the pastries. What fun! We liked it here. We then saw Impressions de France. This was a beautiful movie and makes me want to go to France. It was nearly a 360 degree theater, but not quite. The back wall wasn’t included. We shopped in store a little and the girls get their masks and passport stamped. I was hoping to see Beauty and the Beast, but they weren’t around. We had already seen Belle at CRT, but I wanted to see the Beast! After France we move to Morocco. We were so stuffed from France that we didn’t eat here. I wanted DH to at least get a coffee, but he wouldn’t. This was a beautiful pavillion. I really liked the room that was made out of all those little tiles. I got a great picture of us in there. The shop is set up like a bazaar, straight out of Aladdin. And who do we meet here?? Jasmine! I was so glad since we had missed her earlier in MK. I got a great picture of the girls with her too. Then they got their masks and passport stamped. We now move on to Japan. The drummers are playing so we stop and watch them. There is a girl drummer playing the really big drum. I wonder if they let girls do that in Japan?? They were good. I liked all their dramatic movements as they play the drum. We decided to grab a little to eat here. We eat in the Yakitorri House. It is up the stairs and is a counter service. We get the child combo and a coke ($6.30). The child combo has both chicken and beef terriyaki and rice. The chicken was on a skewer, but the beef was on the plate. This was plenty for us to eat. The girls and I shared this. I got some great pictures of all of us eating with chopsticks. (We love to eat Chinese/Japanese food. DD#1 could eat with chopsticks when she was 2!) The setting here was very nice. I used the bathroom here and it was relatively new looking, but it was nearly pitch black in there! Turn up the lights!! At first I thought maybe a light was burnt out, but I came back a different time and it was the same. We get our masks and the passport stamped. We shopped a little in the gift shop. This is where the girls pick out their souvenirs. DD#1 gets a “How to draw Anime” book. She loves to draw, especially anime, so it was perfect. It was a little pricey and she used up her money, but she was happy. DD#2 wants to get everything Hello Kitty. I don’t really let her because we can get this at home (there is a Hello Kitty store here) plus we are limited on space in our car on the trip home. Although she gets a Hello Kitty pen and a fold out fan. Whoa! Some of those fans are pricey, but thankfully she picks out a relatively inexpensive one ($9.50). DH gets a Dragonball Z shirt. He is happy.

Now we decide to head over to Future World and see some of the things there, since we haven’t done much there. We took the Friendship boat over to Future World. This was fun. The first thing we did was Spaceship Earth. There was no wait - we walked right on to a car. This was fun as we have never done this. But we stopped a few times. I think they stop the ride when they transfer someone from a wheel chair. It wasn’t too bad, but we stopped once when we were on the hill going backwards (towards the end) and DD#1 was nervous because she thought we were going to fall! Next we went on Body Wars. The premise of this was cute, but it was the only ride I got “car sick” on. I don’t know if it was the combination of the simulation ride and the blood and organs part or what. I didn’t feel this way on Star Tours. I barely make it out of there and am kinda dizzy. We then go to Cranium Command. This was really cute. I like all the cameo appearences. They really picked out appropriate people to play all the parts (I love Norm as the Stomach!)

Now it was time for our 5:20 PS at Le Cellier so we head to Canada. We have a short wait, but not too bad. As we are seated, our server explains how the rooms are divided to represent all the provinces. I think we were in the Yukon. I like this because I love Yukon Gold potatoes. I don’t know if its related, but for some reason this makes me happy. With the CP package (Tier 3), we get an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert for $39.99. (The kids are $10.95) DH gets the Asian Shrimp Cocktail ($8.99) and I get the Cheddar Cheese soup ($3.99). The shrimp cocktail came in a little Chinese take-out container They were the little shrimps and had a wasabi slaw and horseradish chili sauce. DH really liked it. My soup was very good. For the entrees, DH got the Mushroom Filet Mignon ($25.99)and I got the 7 oz. Filet Mignon ($23.99). His came with a wild mushroom risotto, herb buerre Blanc, Fired onions and truffle oil. Mine came with arugula butter and roasted garlic herb mashed potatoes. I wasn’t sure about the arugula butter, but didn’t really notice it. For dessert, DH got the apple tart with caramel ($4.99) and I got the chocolate cake ($5.99). We couldn’t eat these and had them boxed up to take back to the hotel for later. We thought the food was great. The kids got a cheeseburger and chicken nuggets. As far as getting our money’s worth on the CP package, I think we did. DH’s meal would have come to $40 and mine would have come to $34. But the package included tax and gratuity, so it was definitely worth it. Although beverages weren’t included, so we had to pay about $9 for a Molson beer and a coke. I would do the CP package again. It was worth the money for the meal and also gave us priority seats for the show. Not to mention the fact that we got 15% off of all our purchases that day which saved us another $20 or so. The Tapestry of Dream Parade goes on while we are eating. So we hope to catch the later one. Anyway, the CM had told us to be at the American Pavillion 30 minutes ahead of time, so we shop a little in Italy. We wanted to find something to bring home for Grandpa (who is Italian) but didn’t find anything. He isn’t into Italian silk ties and such. Italy seemed to have all fancy stuff. They also didn’t have a counter service restaurant. But it was beautiful. Here we saw the living statue. Boy! did she look like a statue. I would have walked right by her, except for the fact that there was a huge crowd gathered around her. We watched awhile and laughed. They also had some opera (??) people dressed up in costume. They were beautiful and all had masks on. We ended up buying 3 Mickey-head shaped Italian Flag pins. The girls also got their masks and passport stamped. It started to rain while we were in the Italy pavillion. So we broke out the $1 ponchos from the Dollar Store (red ones, to distinguish from all the yellow ones there). The second Tapestry of Dreams parade is cancelled due to rain. I’m sad because I really wanted to see this. I hope it is still playing next June when we visit again. It was now 30 minutes before the Candlelight Processional was to begin. We go to the designated place and WHOA! look at all those people. The line was all the way back to Morocco! And these were all CP package people! So, we get in line with everyone else. I am a little disappointed because I wanted good seats. By now it is POURING rain. Finally it is time to enter the theater. We just make it under the sheltered seats. I think we got the last seats under the cover. But we are in the first row on the far left side. The percussion section of the band blocks our view of the middle singers (the tree shaped choir) and the choir on the right. All we can see is the choir on the left. Oh well. At least we are under the shelter. It is raining VERY hard now and I pity the people in the other seats. Marlee Matlin was the guest storyteller. Although she didn’t read. Another guy came on with her and he did the reading. I’m thinking maybe she did the sign language version while he read, but I am not sure. I couldn’t see! This was a beautiful show - at least it sounded beautiful. But with the rain and the bad seats, it wasn’t as magical as I had hoped. We will just have to do it next year again. There was a little bit of time before Illuminations was to begin, so we shopped some more. DH wanted to get a pewter mug in Germany so we headed there. We wanted to buy it when we could get the 15% discount since they were $45. He picked out a nice one that had knights or something on it. He was happy. The cuckoo clocks were amazing here. So were the dolls. These were very expensive. While we were shopping, Illuminations began, so the girls and I ran outside and got a decent spot by the Friendship boat dock. The show was amazing and we enjoyed it again. We follow the crowds out, get a bus relatively quickly back to the hotel and fall asleep.

Memories of our Sixth Day: The weather was … rainy. The best thing today … the food. The worst thing today … missing Tapestry of Dreams parade. The funniest thing today … Off Kilter. Today we tried … a Dole Whip … and the result was … delicious! The most magical moment today was … Genie and Aladdin riding with the girls on the Magic Carpet ride.

Next installment … “Whirlwind Tour of our Favorites.”

[ 12-27-2002, 11:54 PM: Message edited by: maggieworkman ]

[CRCrazy]

Loving your report - your Epcot day sounds great! I'm so glad you ran into Jasmine - she's my youngest DD's all time favorite!

[Smee]

I'm so sorry that the rain [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] spoiled your Candlelight Processional experience and kept you from seeing the ToD parade; but it does sound like you had a magical day anyway. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[tikibird]

Wow - what a full, but fun day! (BTW - I'm really enjoying all the detail you are putting into your report - I feel like I'm there with you!).

Genie and Aladdin riding with your girls is SO awesome! And what a perfect morning - the Tiki Room AND a Dole Whip! Now the big question is:
Dole Whip or Mickey Bar? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Marv]

Maggie,
Sounds like another couple of fun days since I last read your report. You put great detail in. Amoung other things, I like your detail of the food in the restaurants. I haven't been to most of the restaurants you've tried. Now, I want to try them!

[Shell_of_the_South]

And who do we see standing at the doorway - Prince Charming … oh no, that’s my husband. We all exclaim, “How did you get here before us?”

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Flattery will get you everywhere, won't it!

I've enjoyed reading your report so far. But shame, shame to be grading papers at WDW!! You're supposed to be on vacation! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[ 12-29-2002, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: MichelleC ]