We quickly got freshened up and talked about what we wanted to do for dinner. Originally we were going to grab some fish and chips from the UK. However, when we started talking about it, we agreed that we really weren’t that hungry and we weren’t in the mood for that anymore.
So we decided we would split a meal in the Pop food court before we headed back to Epcot. We decided on the bacon double cheeseburger meal that came with fries. For our drink we got a Monster to save and for dessert we got a chocolate cake. We used Tom’s refillable mug for a drink with our meal. The meal would have been $17.23 but we used a CS credit.
As we walked out to the bus stop, I was really glad I had traded my sweater for a heavier sweatshirt. It had really gotten cold! While we waited for the bus, we chatted with a family that was there celebrating their daughter’s college graduation. They were really friendly and we enjoyed passing the time with them.
Before long the bus came, and we made it back to Epcot by 5:30pm. We stopped to take a few more pictures.
While Tom was snapping away, I saw a young couple trying to do one of the self-portaits where you hold the camera out away from yourself. I offered to take their picture for them and they were very appreciative. Tom commented that it was nice that I did that and I said, “Just passing on the magic.” For some reason he thought that was hilarious and it became a common joke during the trip.
We had two sets of fast passes for Soarin’ from earlier in the day, so we headed that way. However, as we got close to Spaceship Earth we saw that it was only a 10 minute wait. So we hopped in line and pretty much just walked right onto the ride.
Can you believe this was my first time EVER on this ride? I loved it! However, our pictures at the end showing our future never showed up. I really would have liked to ride it again, but we had other things to do, so we moved on.
We made our way to the Land Pavilion. Tom saw the sign for the Circle of Life and thought it was interesting that they labeled it “an environmental fable.” Hmmmm…
When we got to Soarin’ there was quite a crowd and even with our fast passes we ended up waiting close to 20 minutes. Still not bad, considering the time of year, though. This time we ended up in the second row. Even with the feet dangling in front of us, it was still an awesome ride!
When we walked out, we tried really hard to get a good shot of the fountain, but this is the best we got.
It was now close to 7:00pm and I wanted to be in place by 8:30pm for Illuminations, which was scheduled for 9:30pm. So we started walking toward World Showcase and scoping out a good place to sit. We were hoping to find a bench and not have to sit on a curb or on the pavement. We figured if we found a good spot, Tom would go ahead and hold it while I shopped in the UK for Sarah’s tea set.
Righ where Canada ends and the UK begins, we found the perfect spot. There was a bench right in front of the railing overlooking the lagoon. No one else was there yet, and the trees weren’t blocking our view. Tom grabbed a spot and used my sweatshirt to hold a spot for me. This was our view (sorry for the blurriness).
I set off for the UK and stopped in the first shop there. This is where I found out about a special Disney was running. If you spent $25 or more, you could get a tote bag for $10.95; if you spent $40 or more, you could get a throw blanket for $15.95. I inquired and they said if I spent $40 or more, they would let me have both; I wouldn’t have to spend $65 to get both. However, this shop didn’t have the tea sets, but they assured me that all the shops had the special blankets and totes.
So I continued down the little cobblestone street (I absolutely fell in love with the UK pavilion!!!), and went into the tea shop. I quickly found the set Sarah wanted and then looked around to see what else they had. I ended up just getting a Cadbury chocolate bar, but they did have some delicious sounding teas and honey-covered spoons!
Here’s what I ended up with:
Raven loves my new blanket, too!
They very kindly shipped my purchases back to Pop for me and I set off on my next mission: a Grey Goose Slushie!!!
On the bridge into France, there was a photopass photographer set up. There was a very short line, so I hopped in and had some shots taken. We ended not getting the CD, so I can’t share them here, though.
I continued on my journey and came upon the slushie kiosk. I had to wait in line behind a few people, and while I was waiting I noticed that they also were offering the Pomegranate Kir. Oh, no! What should I choose? Both drinks came very highly recommended and I really wanted both. However, my decision was made for me when I got up to order. They were sold out of the Pomegranate Kir. Oh, well! I got the Lemon Slushie and my oh my was that good!!! I slowly sipped it as I walked back to the bench to join Tom.
He was chilled by this time, so he left me to hold the bench while he went and got a coffee. When he got back, he surprised me by bringing me some popcorn to nibble on while we waited for Illuminations. It would have been $3.25, but he used a snack credit.
Things get really boring here now. It was only about 8:00pm, and Illuminations didn’t start until 9:30pm. So we sat and waited. And waited. Tom played games on his Blackberry and I people-watched. It started to drizzle, so we put our ponchos on. It got really, really cold. I won’t lie, I seriously considered scrapping the whole idea and leaving. But I had never seen Illuminations the whole way through, so I stuck it out. More and more people were gathering and then I witnessed the most appalling case of rudeness ever. Tom had to put his hand on me to keep me down, and I was begging him to say something.
There was a family near us that had two children, a girl that was about 5 and a boy that was about 7. They had a stroller with them but neither child was in it at the time. A little bit later a young couple came over and took the spot next to them. Everything is good at this point; the two families are close to each other but not in each other’s space at all. The little girl must have been tuckered out, because she climbed up in the stroller and was out like a light. The dad pulled the “hood” of the stroller down as far as he could to shield her from the breeze. So we’re all there giving up our Epcot time to hold our awesome spots, and about 5 minutes before the show starts here comes this older couple who obviously feel they deserve a good spot without waiting. I kid you not, the woman pushed and squeezed her way between the young couple and the stroller with the sleeping girl. She actually had to contort her body so that she wasn’t touching them! Well, as the minutes passed, she very casually was spreading herself out to make room for her husband. You could see the young couple inching away from her, but they really didn’t have anywhere to go. All of sudden, the older woman shifts and bumps the stroller, waking up the little girl and startling her. I was livid and it wasn’t even my kid!
I didn’t have time to stay mad, though, because the show started shortly after that. It was incredible! We didn’t even attempt pictures, we just stood and enjoyed it. The special holiday “Peace On Earth” addition at the end was especially pretty!
Epcot was having EMH that night, and we still had one more set of Soarin’ fast passes to use, but we were both exhausted. So we decided we would look for someone to give them to. To “pass on the magic.”
We ended up in the Land Pavilion and saw two teenage girls heading to Soarin’. We asked them if they had fastpasses, since the wait was well over 60 minutes. They didn’t know what we were talking about, and even pulled out their park tickets and asked if that was what we meant. We explained how the fast passes work and they were really excited to have them.
We slowly made our way out of the park, enjoying the fiber optics in the sidewalk. I wish I had gotten a picture of that.
Right at the end of Illuminations, I had started with some heartburn and now it was really bad. So we stopped at one of the soda machines near the bus stop and I got a Coke to see if that would help. It helped some, but not completely, and my heartburn medicine was back at the room.
The line for our bus was so long, but there was a CM there monitoring the stops. He had a walkie talkie and was apparently requesting extra busses for the busy resorts. So even though the line was long, we really didn’t end up wait too awful long.
We made it back to the room and got ready for bed. After I finished washing my face and brushing my teeth, I noticed that the backs of my hands were itchy. There were a few red spots, too. I showed it to Tom, but didn’t really think anything of it, because my skin is very sensitive in the winter and I had just been in the water, which bothers my skin.
We taIked about our plans for the next day. It was our Hollywood Studios day, and we had the Toy Story Mania party in the evening. Since we would be getting unlimited rides on TSMM, and after the non-crowds we had experienced today, we decided that a rope drop was not necessary and no alarm was set. We would just wake up whenever and then head out.
I snuggled down in the covers and was out almost instantly.
Up next…Hollywood Studios...
