| We got up pretty darned early, because we had to make the trip from the Hyatt to OKW, and wanted to get to Epcot as soon as we could. We dressed and packed quickly, and headed down to the lobby. I have to admit that I had myself a bit confused about where Tiffany was going to pick us up, and the guy at the front desk was no help. A quick cell phone call to Tiffany, and I found out that we needed to head for the hotels valet parking area. A driver from Tiffany was already there waiting for us. We quickly loaded up, and were off to WDW!
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| Tiffany is $95 now for a round trip to WDW. I know that there are even more ground transportation options now, but I still consider Tiffany Town Car to be well worth it. They are courteous and friendly, and will talk to you on your journey as much or as little as you are in the mood for. And it is nice to sit back and relax in complete comfort, without having to worry about where you are going. Once at OKW, we went ahead and checked in, though we knew they would not release the room until later in the day. We were able to get a ground floor room, which was important to Debbie. We also got a room near to the bus stop, though not near to a pool. We decided the bus stop was more important, since you will deal with the walk to the bus stop at least twice every day. This turned out to be a really nice location.
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| Since we had no room, but needed to get to the parks, we checked our luggage in to bell services. This was a smooth operation, and they gave us a couple of special claim tickets for the laptop bags. Naturally, we kept our cameras with us, but did not have need of much else on such a nice, warm day. With all that planning, we still were done with the luggage and room quite some time before the park opened. So, we hung out at OKW fro a while. We bought some donuts and a couple of drinks in the general store, and hung out by the boat dock, taking in the weather and feeling the excitement of really being here. It was a gorgeous day, and this is a gorgeous little place to rest and soak it in.
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| While we were walking around at OKW, and eating our donuts and juice, one of the CMs walked up to us and gave everyone a Saint Pattys sticker for their clothes. It was, after all, Saint Patricks Day, and we would want to show that we were in the spirit. We did walk over and look at the new sandcastle themed pool and slide. It looked really neat, but we never did take advantage of it. Our room was close to one of the smaller pools at the back of the property, and the boys found it was easier just to walk over to that pool, rather than taking the bus up to the hospitality house.
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| We still were in Epcot a little bit before 9. They were letting people in, but did not start up the rides until 9. On the way towards Spaceship Earth, we stopped and showed Dalton our pictures on the Leave A Legacy display. I had the presence of mind to check our papers and write down the number of our location before we had left home. The queue for SE was pretty short, and this was a sign of the way things would be for most of the week. This remains one of the best rides on property, in my opinion. Nick likes it now more than ever, as history has become his passion, and this ride certainly provides a sweeping view. Dalton was properly impressed.
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| The last part of the ride still holds up fairly well, but most of that stuff is here and now, certainly not the future. But, it is an interesting, aesthetic perspective on how amazing modern communication is, especially after you have been reminded where we came from. If you were going to try to predict the future of communication, it would not be easy, considering where we are now. We then sent the boys to pull a fast pass on Test Track, while Debbie and I walked leisurely in that general direction. Debbie found a place to sit, as she was not interested in going on Mission Space, and that was where the boys and I were headed as soon as we got our Fast Pass.
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| The Fast Pass for Test Track was less than an hour away. The line at Mission Space was nearly non existent. Again, the crowds generally seemed very light. Mission Space was great. It is a good deal more fun then what I remembered. Dalton liked it, but I think may have found it a bit intense. I have to admit that the g-forces during lift off are quite an experience.
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| I also have to say that Mission Space is a great example of what makes a Disney park special. This is no mere thrill ride, but is filled with richness and detail that addresses a powerful subject and pulls the guest into the experience. I admire the artistic theming in the front of the ride, and love the model of the moon with the landing sites and exploration areas marked. We actually killed some time in the gift shop at Mission Space. I found a nice t-shirt and a neat polo shirt. The boys insisted on spending some of their money on this strange whirring string toy. We had everything sent back to the room, which is a huge advantage of staying on site.
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| BTW, the string things were dead within a day. I assumed the batteries were shot. In order to change the batteries (assuming you wanted to buy some), you needed a phillips head screwdriver. Interesting choice for a resort gift shop. It was already time for our Fast Pass on Test Track by the time we were done at Mission Space. I still think this is one great ride, though we have been on it so many times. Everything went perfectly this particular time.
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| At this point, we parted company. The boys went off on their own, while Debbie and I did The Universe of Energy. I still found the show to be funny and entertaining. And, as a fan of animatronics, I still find the dinosaurs in this attraction to be among the best. Although people have talked about this attraction being dated, I still think it is a winner (but, where did Bill Nye go?) We were a little late arriving for our PS at Garden Grill, because we forgot how long Energy really is. Nick was a little put off with us, because he and Dalton had arrived on time. I knew he would get over it.
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| The Garden Grill--what a meal, what a show, what a neat little ride. The characters here are great, and the theming of the restaurant to the Living with the Land ride is wonderful. And the menu is back to a selection of meats and vegetables served family style, and extremely well prepared. There is a steak in a mushroom sauce, turkey with cranberry sauce, a nice breaded catfish, mashed potatoes with onions and cheese, and some great carrots and green beans. Everything was terrific, and the service was very good. I do have to mention that the characters now interact with Nick in a very different way. Nick is the biggest kid in his class, while Dalton is the smallest. People often dont know what to make of this towering figure that still acts like he is 14. Although it is still fun to watch him with the characters, you know that times have changed.
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| The boys actually skipped out before desert, and missed a nice plate of selections, again served family style. The lemon pie is the one that I most clearly remember, and it was very special. The wait for Soaring was 70 minutes, and the Fast Passes were already out near days end. Debbie and I ended up skipping Soaring today. But, Nick and Dalton had pulled a Fast Pass right after we got off Test Track, and managed to get on. Soaring was the only thing in Epcot that was pulling a huge crowd, and was doing so steadily. Well, there was some other crowding at Epcot, but we will come back to it.
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| Debbie and I rode on Living With The Land, and signed up afterwards for the behind the scenes tour (after checking my little schedule to see what day we planned to be back at Epcot). This is still an interesting little ride, and Ill give you my impressions of the behind the scenes tour when we get to that day. Am I the only person who has eaten at the Garden Grill, and did not know that when you look down from the restaurant, you are actually looking into the Living With The Land ride? Somehow, I thought they had just duplicated scenes. That was silly.
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| Debbie and I then went on Journey Into Your Imagination. This is an OK ride, but we all miss the Dream Finder. We did not spend any real time in Image Works, but strolled over to Honey, I Shrunk The Audience. We barely missed getting into a show that was starting, and had an exceptionally long wait for the next show. Part of the problem seemed to be in the way they were handling the queue, but it is not worth dwelling on. I dont think I have seen this particular version of the preshow before, and I found it pretty nice. Life is fun and sweet, take some pictures. I enjoy each of the 3D shows here, and I still think HISTA is great. This show remains fun and funny after many years. There was a Japanese girl (Id guess mid 20s) sitting next to me on the side opposite Debbie, who I am certain was here for the first time. She squirmed and jumped at each of the surprises. Its fun to notice someone who doesnt know whats coming.
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| We had some ice cream and bottled water, outside of the Imagination Pavilion, and enjoyed the nice weather, sitting and watching the monorails go by. We debated what to do next, and decided we could change the schedule, go take care of the room, have dinner at Olivias earlier, and get back to the park. We were wrong. This little detour took us forever, mainly because we could not get in touch with Nick. He would not answer his cell, so he went with the original plan of meeting us near the exit to Epcot. When we finally got in touch with him, we were behind even the original schedule. Maybe the lesson here has something to do with not trusting the cell phones too much.
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| In any event, we met up back at the room. The room, once again, was stunning. We love the 1 bedroom at OKW. There is a full kitchen, a laundry room with full sized washer and dryer, a separate sitting area which includes a pull out sofa, a neat patio, and a little dinette area with its own table. Plus, there is a two person jacuzzi, which is in a separate room from the large shower, toilet, and vanity. And, there is a second vanity area in the room with the jacuzzi. There are a couple of different floor plans, and Debbie made sure we got one with two separate entrances into the bath, too provide a little more privacy between us and the kids. I really believe the 1 bedroom at OKW is the nicest room we ever have or will stay in.
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| We had a great meal at Olivias. When we got to Olivias, we were a bit late for our PS. The hostess gave us some friendly teasing, and she was actually pretty clever. I was saddened to learn that they no longer had the key lime smoothie, which had been terrific in previous years. I had a strawberry smoothie, which was OK, but no substitute. I had the shrimp alfreddo, which was very good. The portion looked small, but was really quite substantial. I have had this dish at other restaurants, and had found it far too cheesy, but this was very different. Dalton ahd the coconut shrimp, which seemed to be quite good. Debbie had the key lime chicken salad, which she reported to be very good. Nick had a burger, which seemed fine. Debbie and I also had some conch chowder, which was very good. It reminded us of a manhattan clam chowder.
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| After dinner, we headed back to the park. At this point, Debbie and I had lost nearly four hours, which is kind of a shame for the first day. We did Spaceship Earth again, and enjoyed it even more. At this point, we picked up the bracelets for Extra Magic Hours near Inoventions. I am sorry to say that this turned out to be a bust. The standby for Soaring was 70 minutes during EMH, even a bit longer than during the day. The standby for Mission Space was over 25 minutes, which was quite a bit longer than we had waited during the day. We passed on both an headed to Test Track. The standby was so long that they had closed the ride for the evening (but were letting people already in the queue finish). So, EMH at Epcot is not much of a success. Epcot is not a park with a lot of rides anyway. But, EMH seems to squeeze an admittedly smaller number of people into just those four or five rides, and it backfires. The crowds were considerably lighter during the regular park hours. This is not something we will attempt again. Our EMH experience at other parks was better. The four of us went ahead and did Living With The Land again, which was Daltons first time, and Nicks first time of the trip. Dalton enjoyed it, though I dont think it will be on the top of his list. I found it enjoyable once again.
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| We then decided to go watch Illuminations. We just kind of stopped at the bridge crossing into World Showcase from Future World. Debbie and the boys found an empty place against a rail and across the sidewalk from the lagoon. On the other hand, I just stood behind the crowd that was nestled up to the lagoon on the opposite side of the sidewalk. At this point, people were just forming rows behind each other. I had what I considered a pretty good view, and even coaxed a few good pictures out of my digital camera (with the flash disabled, of course).
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| This is a terrific, moving, astonishing show. I enjoyed it immensely, though we have now seen this version several times. Debbie headed back to the room. The boys and I ended up riding the monorail to the TT&C, turning around and coming back. I still consider the monorail a ride, and bemoan the fact that it does not connect more places. This was relaxing and beautiful in the moonlight. The bus ride back from Epcot was less pleasant, and was extended by the driver having to deal with someone with a scooter. By the time the boys and I got back, it was fairly late, and we all felt EMH at Epcot had been a mistake. I also felt a little disappointed in how little I felt like we had done for a first day. It turns out that Nick and Dalton had managed to do some exploring in World Showcase, had done Inoventions, and had gone through the Living Seas, which included a chance to witness the feeding of the octopus. I was a bit jealous of the day they described.
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| By the time I had moved my photos on to my laptop and made some notes for my trip report, I was in bed after midnight. We had tremendous luck with the weather today. It was warm and sunny, but not terribly hot. You could not ask for anything more. It was not a perfect day. But, to be honest, it was pretty terrific. It is great to be back in the magic.
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