Day 2 - EPCOT Day (updated & finished!)

Day 2 – EPCOT

Today was to be a full day with an initial plan to open and close the park! Although it was to be a bit warmer today, it was still very chilly. As I’m usually cold, I ended up wearing both a long sleeve shirt and sweatshirt. We grabbed snacks from the room that we’d brought from home and headed to EPCOT through the back entrance from the Yacht Club about 8:15am. We needed to check our prior tickets to see how many days we had left and Kara needed to turn in her volunteer voucher. As she volunteered through the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program, she had an extra benefit. (I did this too, but will use mine on Tues.) Most people are using it for a free 1 day/1 park admission ticket. However, if you already have a multi-day ticket like we do, there’s another option: the little-known FastPass Exchange Card. First, FastPass is a system where you can use your regular ticket to get a pass that gives you an assigned time to return to an attraction and wait in a shorter line; you can only have one FastPass at a time. Second, the FastPass Exchange Card (FPEC) gives you an immediate return time, so you can get in the shorter FastPass line at a moment’s notice instead of coming back hours later! We decided to use this during this trip since it is peak spring break season and would help us to be more efficient (like we are during the low season).

Kara had one and only one initial goal: go to Soarin’ ASAP. Soarin’ is a newer ride that is incredibly popular, but since it is not a continuously-loading ride, the line is insanely long nearly all day. So at rope drop, we began jogging through the front of World Showcase to Future World. Sadly, they had all the short cuts blocked. For once, they were holding everyone in the center of Future World. After an official opening, they led the two groups (West toward Soarin’ and East toward Test Track & Mission:Space) in a deliberate walking pace so that no one would get trampled. It was initially frustrating, but we were glad they did it, as it was the much safer option.

As we approached The Land, where Soarin’ is housed, I told Kara to get in line while I went to get FastPasses. We used our regular tickets to get the future return time instead of the FPEC because it was so early in the day. Already I was behind about 5-6 people at my machine and there are 10-12 machines. By the time I got the FastPasses, there were at least 50 people just in the FastPass ticket machine line.

Luckily, Kara turned her phone on and she talked me up through the line where she was. I felt bad and I’m sure people were ticked that I was forcing myself up through the line. L By this time, Kara was already at the front of the line waiting for me. We made it on the ride (simulated paragliding over the major sights, sounds, & yes – smells – of California) very quickly. We got to ride in the front row, which is the best!

We then headed across the building to “Living with the Land”, where we used the FPEC, waiting about a minute & a half and was right on. This is a calm boat ride explaining the environment and how crops are grow in non-traditional settings, like growing corn in sand. By the time we were done with this, we only had a few minutes to wait before our Soarin’ FastPass was valid at 9:54am. This allowed us to skip the entire stand-by line that was already at a wait time of 100 minutes. Again, we were on quickly and got the front row! After this, we took a deep breath and escaped the masses in The Land, where the Soarin’ FastPass return time was already well after noon.

Next, we headed across the park to Test Track (a ride that takes your car through the proving ground tests that concludes with a 65 mph speed test, which is especially fun with the 45 degree banked turn!). We were concerned because even the FastPass line was out the door. The regular return time was also well after noon; the stand-by line was at 60 min.; and the single rider line was at 30 min. So we used the FPEC and were on the ride in less than 20 min. J

We happened to be here during the annual Flower & Garden Festival, which Kara was excited about. Me? Not so much. So we headed to the next pavilion that housed the primary focus of the Festival. It had some cute things, but not really anything we were in to.

It was now only about 11:30am, when we were trying to decide what to do next. Although we weren’t really hungry, I recommended having lunch before the crowd thought the same thing. As we had a big dinner planned, we simply split a burger & fries at the Electric Umbrella. Before we were even done eating the line contained at least 30 people & all the tables were filling up. Yet again, we patted ourselves on the back for our strategic decisions! Lol!

Next, we headed to an attraction that would be new for both of us – Mission:Space. We had never gone on this before, as there were constant stories of people getting motion & physically sick on this ride. About a year or so ago they altered half of the ride, so one side would be a less intense experience. So we again used the FPEC and selected what we referred to as the Wimpy Line! The simulator for space shuttle launch and travel to/landing on Mars, was ok, but you could definitely tell it would have been better in the original version.

Next we headed back across Future World to “The Seas with Nemo & Friends” (previously The Living Seas), where Kara experienced the new Nemo ride. It’s relaxing & cute, but definitely meant for the kids. The park was packed, and to my horror, people were actually sitting on the grass! Have some respect people!

We then headed to the very front of the park. On our way, we walked through Innoventions. We had to decide if we would have our photo taken with the characters, as we get a free copy per our Disney Visa card. We’d done that a couple of other times, so instead we took advantage of the Introduction to a Segway. This was great fun, but I certainly wished we’d had more time to get the swing of them!

On the way to the front of the park, we were passing the Art of Disney store, which typically results in a purchase by me on every trip! As you’ve gleaned from past blogs/posts, Kara is obsessed with Pluto. As such, she ended up ordering two sketches of Pluto (one by himself and one where he’s jumping on Mickey). Once that was paid for, she immediately added a color print of Pluto & Mickey together. While all of that was going on, I spied a Lenox Graduation Mickey! With a gasp, I knew he would be coming home with me. Although the coloring of it is traditional cream & light blue, he will most likely be added to my office collection of Graduation Mickey & Minnies. We had all of that ordered & to be shipped back to the Yacht Club. Package delivery is a HUGE benefit if you stay at a Disney Resort hotel! (& trust me, it’s insanely easy to forget how much you’ve spent/brought this way! LOL!)

As part of the Flower & Garden Festival, Disney presents life-size topiaries of many Disney characters. At the very front of EPCOT is always the Fab Five (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, & Kara’s beloved, Pluto). On our way we took a computer survey from Disney Research on EPCOT dining experiences. Kara captured great shots of giant Pluto! As we were right there, we rode Spaceship Earth, where Kara had not yet seen the new upgrade at the end.

We then hopped over to Guest Relations, as Kara didn’t get her “Honorary VoluntEar” button this morning! At this point we meandered through many of the Flower & Garden Festival areas and took a lot of photos of the topiaries. We continued browsing these additions in the UK pavilion areas, where Twinings Tea had sponsored a special garden. We rested a little here, as it had definitely warmed up and I was getting over heated.

Soon it was off to a highlight of our day: a meal at the Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canada pavilion; this is one of the toughest restaurants to get a reservation for in all of WDW. They asked if we had a reservation – DUH, how else do you get in here?! J As it was the evening opening, the staff sang “O Canada” followed by “Let’s play hockey”! Very fitting per their latest Olympic victory.

Our server was Patrick from the providence of Ontario, who would serve as our “authentic Canadian”. (All of the EPCOT World Showcase Cast Members are specifically hired from their host countries.) Let’s just say Patrick was as charming & yummy as our meal, a definite benefit! Like most Le Cellier is one of our favorite restaurants, so we basically knew what we wanted.

First, we began with the Cheddar Cheese Soup that has a lovely beer base and is served with pretzel, multi-grain, and sourdough bread sticks for dipping. This combination is incredible. I then mistakenly asked how the onion rings were prepared. Patrick responded, “With beer; we’re Canadian!” J These were some of the best onion rings I’ve ever had, as the coating was both beer-infused, yet still very light.

For entrees, Kara ordered their best known option, the Filet Mignon with wild mushroom risotto. I chose the halibut with cream cheese potatoes. (The halibut was a mistake, as it was too bland.) Finally, we ordered some of our favorite desserts. Kara selected the Raspberry Sorbet, while I had the Maple Crème Brulee. There is nothing else like this; it was heavenly! We avoided looking at the amount on the check and slowly exited. We needed a little break to digest everything, so we headed back out International Gateway to the Yacht Club.

We took a three hour break at the hotel and headed back out. Another benefit of staying at a Disney Resort hotel is Extra Magic Hours; this is where a select Disney park opens either an hour early or stays open up to an additional three hours each night. Tonight was evening Extra Magic Hours at EPCOT. We walked back through the EPCOT International Gateway entrance and had a seat on a nearby bench. The park was still packed and we only care about hearing the music of, not necessarily seeing, Illuminations: Reflection of Earth, which is the EPCOT fireworks show.

After Illuminations, we waited for some of the crowd to dissipate and we headed to The American Adventure pavilion at the very back of the park. After showing our room key to prove we were staying at a resort hotel, we were granted access. Unfortunately, there was no opening by Voices of Liberty, since it was Extra Magic Hours. The regular movie/audio-animatronic show was nice as usual, although we did both proclaim “Oops!” when the picture of Tiger Woods appeared!

Next we headed back to the Canada pavilion to watch the 360 degree film “O Canada” in preparation for our 2011 trip to Vancouver for the inaugural Disney Magic sailing to Alaska! I’d caught my third wind of the day and was skipping & dancing to the Canada pavilion! Nighttime at Disney always has that effect on me! Anyway, going to this attraction was great because there were only five of us in the entire theatre, so we were able to plop down on the floor to watch the 15 minute film in comfort! This was a calm way to end our evening and avoid the chaos of people at the front of the park fighting for the thrill rides.

We got back to our room around 11:30pm and called it a day!