Thursday, June 14, 2012

WDW Trip Report Part 3.1 - Chef Mickey's & First Half Of Epcot

After the night we had at the Halloween party, today required a little sleeping in.  We had a ADR for Chef Mickey's at 10:30am, so we got up and got ready to catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom.  From there we hopped on the monorail over to the Contemporary Resort.  It is so amazing to see certain hotels and structures with your own eyes that you have seen soo many times in photos.  The Contemporary Resort is one of those hotels.  Thinking how awesome it was that the monorail went through the hotel is one of the few memories I have from WDW when I was 5.


In case you didn't notice, there was NO food at all in my last post.  Just know that all I had to eat the day before were the couple things we had at tea.  There was no time for us to eat at the party so I was STARVING by the time we got to breakfast. 

 
Thank goodness it was a buffet!  I loaded up on two plates of food and went to town.  French toast, croissants, fruit, scrambled eggs, Mickey waffles, potatoes and biscuits and gravy.  It was very yummy.


While we were eating, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald all made the rounds to our table for some fun photos.







 


The waitress brought me a birthday cupcake with a candle and Goofy led the whole restaurant in a birthday song that involved waving around our napkins.  It was a fun time!



After breakfast we did a quick little look around the hotel to get some photos and then we headed back up to the monorail.


We had to take the monorail to the TTC so we could switch to the Epcot monorail.  While riding on the monorail was when I got my first look at Spaceship Earth!  Oh man, I was soo excited to see it finally!  Of course it was just as awesome as I imagined as well.



 We got into the park and spent the next couple minutes taking photopass photos, photos of the ball and just taking it all in.  I could have stood there and took photos for hours! Lot's of photos! HA!







After we were finished with our photos we headed over to The Land quickly to grab fastpasses for Soarin'.  I really do not like the location of Soarin'.  It is weird.  Almost like it was in a mall.  Kinda weird.




After we got the fastpasses we went on The Seas with Nemo and Friends.




This was really cute.  It was almost the same as the Finding Nemo Subs, but instead of a sub we were riding in  almost the same cars from The Little Mermaid ride.  I liked it.  I wish I had a photo, but it was hilarious to see Heather, Kendall and I all crammed in the ride car together because we totally did not fit comfortably, AT ALL.  LOL!

I had seen photos of people in the mouth of Bruce the shark so I wanted to make sure I got one of those photos before we left this area.  The whole thing was just a load of Nemo fun.


Next up was Test Track.  I was super excited to go on this one.  Mostly to just make Chris jealous because I know how bad he wants to go on this one.


We decided to wait out the line that way we could get a photo of all three of us on the ride together the first time.  The wait wasn't too bad.  Luckily there was a TON of stuff to take photos of while we waited!





I really enjoyed this ride.  It wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be, I think it was better!

After Test Track we headed back over to ride Spaceship Earth.


I really had no idea what to expect with this ride.  I did know that was slow moving and went around inside the ball, but other than that I didn't remember anything of the ride from when I was little.  I was pleasantly surprised!  Not only was the ride kinda fun and different, but it was a good way to escape the heat for a little bit.  I probably could have rode it 3 more times!


The interactive screens with the photos of our "story" were hilarious!  Overall this was a great ride.


  After we finished up at Spaceship Earth we went to Innoventions West to take advantage of the Visa Character Spot.  Lucky for us, Heather is a Disney Visa card holder which is why we were able to get in.  It is always a combination of the fab five characters, but what makes it so great is that you can take your time.  You are in a private room with just the people in your party.  No one in line behind you making faces for taking tot long is always nice.  We got to have a really nice interaction with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy.  Lots of hugs were given.


After the character fun, we started over to the Imagination Pavilion. This was another one I was excited for because I LOVE me some Figment.  I don't know why.  Maybe because he is something that I clearly remember from when I was little, but I just love him.  The area surrounding the Imagination Pavilion was so pretty.


The giant fountain and sculpture is awesome and the water goes backwards!  There are also the jumping water fountains that are fun.



After taking some photos of the outside area we headed in to ride Journey Into Imagination.


This ride was just as cheesy as I was expecting it to be.  The only thing that makes it bearable is getting to see a bunch of Figment running around.



My favorite part had to have been when you exit the ride and have to go through the gift shop that has a bunch of Figment stuff!  Of course I had to buy a couple little things and a Figment shirt for my mom.  I had no idea that they could send your stuff to your resort for you!  I had to buy stuff just so I could do that! LOL!



Next up was Captain EO.  We probably wouldn't have done this one if Kendall hadn't said she had never seen it before!  The moment she said that we knew we had to see it. 


I personally love Captain EO so I totally didn't mind.  I don't think Kendall was very impressed, but at least now she can say she has seen it.




After Captain EO we headed back to The Land to use our Soarin' fastpasses and grab a bite to eat.  Even though I think the outside and location of Soarin' is super awkward, once you get in line it is pretty much the same as the one out here.




After Soarin' we decided to eat at Sunshine Seasons, which is right next to Soarin' inside The Land pavilion.  It is a quick service place and was kinda neat because they had a couple different sections for you to choose food from.



Kendall and I both got the GIANT turkey and Monterrey jack sandwich with chipotle mayonnaise.  It was pretty good! A little too much mayo for me, but it definitely filled me up.  I liked the dill potato salad that came with it too.


Heather got the oak-grilled rotisserie chicken with yellow rice and it looked pretty darn good too! 


After we ate, we sat at the table re-organizing and getting ready for the 2nd part of our day, the World Showcase!

Stay Tuned!!



1 - Finally Being Able To Scrap A Album
2 - MNSSHP
3 - Wearing My Custom Bow Minnie Ears
4 - Tea At The Grand Floridian
5 - Tower Of Terror
6 - Photopass Photos
7 - France
8 - Figment Merchandise
9 - Illuminations
10 - Rock N Roller-coaster
11 - The Tree Of Life
12 - Phineas & Ferb
13 - Vinylmation Trading
14 - Test Track
15 - Magical Express
16 - Yak & Yeti
17 - Tomorrowland Transit Authority
18 - Extra Magic Hours
19 - Boma
20 - Splash Mountain & Space Mountain
21 - The Big Hat
22 - Finding Nemo The Musical
23 - Kilimanjaro Safari
24 - World Showcase
25 - Sci-Fi Dine-In
26 - Country Bear Jamboree
27 - The Hotels
28 - Pressed Pennies
29 - Spaceship Earth
30 - Earl Of Sandwich
31 - 1st Visit & Happy Birthday Pin's
32 - Haunted Mansion
33 - Dole Whip
34 - Animation Academy
35 - Seeing Heather in action on Toy Story Mania
36 - Meeting Lots Of Characters
37 - Expedition Everest
38 - Meeting Heather & Kendall
39 - First Vacation On My Own
40 - Walking Down Main Street
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