Another so-so night. One filled with the sounds of Ein Klein Nacht Toilets. I don%26#39;t think anyone in the Big Wheel building sleeps at night. They%26#39;re too busy flushing the potties. I rolled out of bed at 7:30 and got ready for my big morning at Epcot. Epcot is hands-down, without a question my favorite park. It has my favorite ride (Soarin%26#39;) and all of those wonderful alcoholic slushy drinks. You%26#39;ve got to try the orange one in France. It%26#39;s to die for.
I%26#39;d made sure that I had a Coke IN THE ROOM before I went to sleep last night. That%26#39;s good. There won%26#39;t be any repeats of the vending machine incident this orning. I had my Coke, some leftover fruit and a bottle of chocolate milk for breakfast. That bowl of grapes from dinner was huge. I ate on it for two meals and still ended up throwing grapes out. (BTW, last night%26#39;s veggie lasagna was pretty ho-hum. I thought it would be made with layers of eggplant and zucchini but it was more like traditional lasagna with TVP crumbles instead of meat. I ate about half of it but I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;d order it again. The problem with me is that I%26#39;m funny about meat and that limits my options.)
In addition to being (Yippee!!) Epcot day it%26#39;s also moving day for me. Today I%26#39;m picking up my rental car and checking into the condo at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas. I%26#39;ve enjoyed Pop Century but I%26#39;m looking forward to moving over to the much, much larger condo and really settling in. I%26#39;d never really unpacked so it was only a matter of a few minutes before I had gathered my things and said goodbye to room 367. I walked around and took a few pix before I took my bags over to the check-in and asked if there was any way that they could hold them for me. Check-in was empty and everyone was super nice, no Pascal in sight. I was told to bring them over to the luggage people outside. The luggage people were also very nice and efficient at storing my bags.
The bus to Epcot wasn%26#39;t very full at all. I even had a seat! I sat down next to a guy in an LSU cap. Hubby Scott is a rabid, fanatical, borderline insane LSU fan so we chatted about the Tigers most of the way to Epcot. To be honest, I don%26#39;t give a hoot about LSU. I worked for them for years and it kind of soured my sense of school spirit. It probably doesn%26#39;t help that from August until January (or maybe December if I get lucky and they don%26#39;t get a bowl) Scott is emotionally unavailable. His every fiber of feeling is overwhelmed with fretting over LSU football. Still, it was nice to have someone to talk to on the way to Epcot.
I got to Epcot before it even opened which was great since I needed time to get through bag check. I%26#39;m not one of those people who can just hop over to a theme park with nothing but my ticket in hand. I%26#39;ve got to have my stuff. I want my water bottle and my camera and my sunglasses and my reading glasses. I need a sweater in case I get chilly. I absolutely must have my phone. I need my phone just in case anything should happen with PawPaw back at Green Acres. PawPaw has gotten a little unruly lately and begun to fall a lot. We%26#39;ve started to look into nursing homes but I don%26#39;t know how I feel about that. For now I need my phone.
Here%26#39;s a bag check tip: When you%26#39;re choosing someone to check your bag don%26#39;t go for a woman. She%26#39;ll do a nice thorough job, make you unzip every blasted zipper and take forever. Go for the older guy, the one who%26#39;s laughing and chatting. He%26#39;ll just give your bag a pat and send you on your way. If you have a choice between two jovial old guys pick the one with the reddest nose. Just the voice of experience speaking here.
We were let through the turnstiles a few minutes early and everyone bunched up on the right hand side, the Soarin%26#39; side. I was pretty far to the back of the crowd with a group of girls from a soccer team. Liz%26#39;s boyfriend is a soccer player so we chatted until the characters showed up to open the park. I think I%26#39;ve conquered my ';speaking to strangers while alone'; problem. Poor everyone else at Disney. You%26#39;re now all facing the possibility of having to listen to some middle-aged woman yadda on and on at you while you%26#39;re trapped in the Test Track line.
Okay, Epcot is officially open. Yippee! I found another advantage to traveling by yourself. You can move so much quicker. I started up at the back but, by the time the mob reached the bottom of the stairs at the Land the soccer team and I were right up front. I didn%26#39;t wanted to ride. My goal was to secure an early FastPass. I got one with a 9:45 return time...perfect.
I hurried out of the Land pavilion and over to Test Track. At Test Track I used the single rider line. This, I discovered, is the great advantage to going alone. I%26#39;d use the single rider line at Rock-n-Rollercoaster before because Scott can%26#39;t ride it. At Test Track I realized that, on my own, I could use them all. Kewwl. I got on right away but ended up sitting with a family of five. Felt a little bit like an unwelcome hitchhiker. It was pretty obvious that they wanted the car to themselves.
Scott and I went on a cruise once. When it was time for our first dinner we were directed to sit at a booth with two other couples in it. They were all in their mid-seventies and clearly together. The looked at Scott and me with undisguised horror. I felt like we had the plague with giant dripping buboes hanging from our necks. I%26#39;ve never, in my life, felt so thoroughly disliked by people I%26#39;d never even met. I immediately turned heel and headed back to the maitre d%26#39; and demanded to sit somewhere else, anywhere else. We ended up at a table with a newlywed couple who put in exactly one appearance the entire week and a couple of lavishly tattooed Renaissance Fair dorks with whom we had a blast. (I%26#39;ll forgo the tats but I%26#39;d love to be a Renaissance Fair dork. The problem is Paw can%26#39;t be left alone and Scott might divorce me for being just too dweeby to stand. He%26#39;ll go to the fair with me because they have beer there and he enjoys the jousting and the ax throwing game. Unfortunately, I%26#39;m fairly sure he%26#39;d balk at my saying something like, ';Pray pardon me good sir but methinks I must make use of yon privy Woudst thou accompany me?.'; He%26#39;s not that kind of boy.)
Okay, that was a bit off topic. Anyway the point is I didn%26#39;t think I was going to be able to demand a different car so I just took the dirty looks and hopped in. Let %26#39;em pout. They%26#39;re just going to spoil their picture. Test Track was fun, even riding with the family Grump. I love the outside part. It%26#39;s the real reason I go on this ride.
After Test Track I mosied back over towards the Land pavilion. Along the way I stopped to admire and take pictures of a few of the special topiaries and things Disney had done up for the Flower and Garden Festival. I%26#39;m not much of a gardener but I have to say Epcot was looking lovely.
Back at the Land I picked up a FastPass for Living with the Land before I got in line for Soarin%26#39;. We had a wait even with FastPasses. I waited with a nice family from Yorkshire. They were sunburned, having a wonderful time and thought Florida was ';brilliant';. I love Brits. Most of the ones I met were more than happy to strike up a conversation with a lonely stranger. A lot of Americans looked at me riding by myself like perhaps they should call security.
I love, love, love the Soarin%26#39; ride. It%26#39;s just gorgeous and positively the closest I%26#39;ll ever come to hang gliding. I can%26#39;t go to Disney World without riding this one.
After Soarin%26#39; it was time for Living with the Land. It was a walk-on with my FastPass . This time I sat with a Japanese guy who wasn%26#39;t much company. I always thought this was some sort of stupid stereotype but he took pictures of absolutely everything. We were at the very back of the boat so I got my camera out and joined in.
After the Land it was time for an early lunch. I was eating early because I wanted to eat at the Sunshine Seasons food court. Like I said before, I can be fussy and Sunshine Seasons always has something I like. I had the roasted beet and goat cheese salad and a pear and it was yummy. I ate every single bite. The cashier lady told me to refill my water bottle at the coke stand if I needed to. I thought that was nice.
I had ridden everything I was planning to so I walked over into the World Showcase. On the way I stopped to look at more F %26amp; G Festival stuff. The Peter Pan garden was darling. My first country was Canada. I didn%26#39;t really stop here because Canada is without a doubt Scott%26#39;s favorite country so I figured I%26#39;d be seeing it later in the week. I did walk through the Victoria Gardens and they were beautiful. I almost bought a Beauty is in the Eye of the Beer holder shirt for Scott but decided he%26#39;d never wear it and gave it a miss. I liked it.
The UK was next. I was walking through their garden display when Scott called. He and Sam were at my Aunt Sis%26#39;s for Easter with Mom, Dad and Aunt Georgia. Aunt Georgia had already picked a fight with Aunt Katherine. Better she than I.
The pictures are wacky. Photobucket changed the rules and I have a slow learning curve.
Jennifer
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My Solo/Couples Onsite/Offsite Trip Report Pt. 6 Epcot
Great a usually...and the Aunt Georgia ..always has to start something ..doesn%26#39;t she !! lol
Disney Chicks
My Solo/Couples Onsite/Offsite Trip Report Pt. 6 Epcot
You really should write a book... I love reading your TRs. I can%26#39;t wait it see what you thought of Cypress as I am staying there in December.
Can%26#39;t wait for the next one!
Medicmome
Great pics!!! Makes me really miss it.
Seriously...you need to write a book, this is pure entertainment!
PS..I have heard about the ';orange';drinks in ';France';...can%26#39;t wait to try one...in like 18 days!
DC7
That was a fab report...When is the next installment !!!..
Excellent as usual. Are you sure you are Bill Byson%26#39;s twin, or even daughter lol?
I%26#39;ve actually read one of Bill Bryson%26#39;s books. It was Scott%26#39;s and about hiking the Appalachain Trail. ';A Walk in the Woods'; I think? Hiking is really not my thing (In fact, I would never, ever even consider something like the AT. Scott loves backcountry hiking and camping.) but the book was pretty funny.
Jennifer
you should read his one on Britain. Had me p**ing myself laughing, kinda like you.
Am waiting to hear what you thought of Cypess Pointe as I have stayed there a number of times, but always in Phase one.
I can%26#39;t wait to have the orange slush from France next week!!!!
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