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Day 3 - Sunday, July 25, 2004
Plan for the Day: Animal Kingdom, Epcot, IllumiNations Cruise
We're planning on doing Extra Magic Hour at Animal Kingdom tomorrow, so we decide to go to the first Festival of the Lion King show
today. After that, we head up and decide to grab a Fast Pass for Kilimanjaro Safaris. I know, I know, don't waste your time just
sitting around waiting for your Fast Pass return time, but it really felt like a good idea. We got our Fast Passes and the return time
was like 20 minutes away, so we grab a bite to eat and rest in the shade for a bit. When we get off the Safaris, we head to Kali River
Rapids, but the wait is 40 minutes and we decide to pass on it today. We do It's Tough to Be A Bug and then skip out on the park.
We head back to the hotel and end up taking a LONG nap before heading to Epcot this Evening.
Around 4pm, we get up and going and head to Epcot. We do Spaceship Earth and make our way to the Friendship Ferries to grab one over to
Morocco. We sign up for the little tour which was very interesting and since we have 45 minutes before our Priority Seating, head to
Japan to watch Matsuriza. Josh then wants to look through the Japan pavilion and picks out some Pokémon for his younger brother. We go
back to Restaurant Marrakesh for dinner and while it was strange, it was edible. Funny thing is the chicken tastes just like
chicken! :) We head back to Japan to get one more thing for Josh's brother and then grab the boat back to Canada. We stop by to see Off
Kilter perform (awesome!) and before I know it, it's 8pm - YIKES! We're supposed to be at the Boardwalk dock right now to meet up with
everyone by 8:15pm for the IllumiNations Cruise.
We quickly walk to the International Gateway dock, but the boat was no where to be seen and could easily be another 20 minutes, so I
decide to walk. It really is a short walk but along the way, Josh decides he has to "go"- NOW! Ok, when we pass by the ESPN Club, I
know he's been there before, so I send him in and tell him to HURRY! When we finally arrive, Jud and the others are already there waiting
for us. After introductions and such, Jud presents me and Josh with Peanut M `n M's. Apparently I mentioned them in my trip report last
summer and he picked up on it. Thanks Jud! (Oh and if anyone is reading this trip report, for future reference, I also like
Strawberry Daiquiris, Daisies, and Cash). As it happens, I brought a bit of Maine in the form of Salt Water Taffy to share with everyone
and happily hand it out. Unfortunately, Captain Jeff, the driver I requested was off that day and Erin had to step in for him. She was
great, especially since it was only her second time, and lots of fun, but (sorry Erin), she just wasn't Captain Jeff. (Actually, I'm
pretty sure she's glad for that too!)
Well, around 8:30pm, we still had 6 seats unfilled, so with people getting off the Ferries from Epcot/D-MGM, we "sell" 3 seats. Jud
goes up to the Boardwalk to do a final check for Lisa and her kids (yes Jud, her name really was Lisa). They were no where to be found
and since it was past 8:30, Jud manages to sell 4 more seats :) I know, 3 + 4 does not = 6, but we were on vacation and good math
skills were not required that night!
The cruise was great and to answer the Million Dollar question everyone has been asking - Jud is really like . . . well, Jud.
Sorry I couldn't dunk him in the lake Steve, but he just never got close enough to the edge. Closest I could get was when he was
sitting on the floor taking pictures, but the door opened in and he was sitting up against it. Sorry to disappoint you! We all had a
great time together, especially being basically strangers and after it was over, we cruised around for a bit, then headed back to the
Boardwalk, said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Josh & I headed back to the hotel, Josh called home, then lights out around
10:30.
Day 4 - Monday, July 26, 2004
Plan for the Day: Animal Kingdom, swimming and resting, Magic Kingdom E-Ride Night
We were up and out by 7:30am today, against my better judgment. I let Josh pick what he wants to do so we head over to Kilimanjaro
Safaris. The wait said 10 minutes which turned into 25 minutes. The animals were out in force this morning. More than I've seen during
Extra Magic Hour before. With the delay in line, it's now 9am, so we get a Fast Pass for Dinosaur and headed to Primeval Whirl, which says
it has a wait of 5 minute that turned into 25 minutes. This is SO NOT worth more than a real 5 minute wait!!
After that disappointment, we head over to Dinosaur and get right on with our FastPasses. My imagination was a little disappointed in
this, but maybe it'll grow on me. I guess I knew too much to enjoy it the first time. Oh well.
With most everything out of the way, we decide to check in early for our Priority Seating at Donald's Breakfastosaurus. We wait about 10
minutes and are seated promptly. The food is fresh and hot, better than the reviews I've read. The character interaction was ok, but
Josh wasn't really into it anyway, so I can't really judge it properly.
After we finish eating, we head up to It's Tough to be a Bug and grab a Fast Pass, then head over for the next Tarzan show. We wait about
5 minutes in line before they open the theater to everyone. Josh picks a row, near the front and we wait the 25 minutes to the show.
I think if it had been any longer, I would have gone to sleep. Our little fans were a life saver here! Tarzan is good and we head over
to It's Tough to be a Bug to use our Fast Pass. We get in and have to wait and wait and wait. It seemed as though they were a bit
confused and the stand by line was going faster than the Fast Pass. After about 10 minutes, the Fast Pass line starts to move and we walk
by a CM who is talking on his radio saying that they have to let more Fast Pass people in because the line is going all the way out the
queue. We enjoy it again and I just love watching/listening to other people's reactions! Around 1:30pm, we head back to hotel, take a dip
in the pool and are napping by 3pm.
Josh wakes me up at 5:57pm and says - Aunt Jen, it's 5:57. I'm thinking "yeah, so??" LOL I was hoping to sleep until at least 7pm,
but I guess we can get up now. We watch TV for a few minutes then open the window to a downpour. No big deal I think, it'll end soon.
By 7:30pm, it's still POURING, so we run to the gift shop, grab a couple ponchos and head to the park. By time we get to the Magic
Kingdom, it's tapered off to a sprinkle, but still wet. I decided against riding the train first, and we head straight to Cosmic Ray's
for dinner. To my disappointment, Sonny Eclipse had escaped! :( His performing area was all covered with these huge plants. Dinner
was ok, but it's just not the same without Sonny!
After dinner, we went through Merchant of Venus so Josh could find some pins for his dad and then to Tomorrowland Arcade so we could get
our E-ride bracelets. When we were done, Josh realizes he lost his envelope with ALL his spending money. Seems he tucked it between his
daypack and his waist instead of putting it in his daypack. Why, I don't know! So, he takes off out of the Arcade and I have to run out
to catch up with him as he was heading in the wrong direction. We retrace our steps to Merchant of Venus and I tell him to go ask the
woman at the register if anyone has turned any money in because he lost his. He goes to the register and there are two extra CM's
there. He speaks to one of them and the guy comes around the corner, looks around and says sorry, someone probably picked it up. Josh
comes over upset and says they didn't find it. I asked him exactly what he said to the guy. He told the CM that he lost his money. I
told him, again, to go to the register and ask the woman, specifically, "Did anyone turn in any more, I lost mine." She said
she wasn't sure but she'd check the lost & found out back. She comes back with her hands behind her back, asking him how much money he
had. He told her and I told her it was in an envelope from a bank in Maine. She said he was very lucky and someone had turned it in.
Told Josh some people are decent enough to turn it in and it all depends on HOW you ask.
From there we did Carousel of Progress, Tomrrowland Transportation Authority & The Timekeeper. From there we crossed Main Street
through the crowd watching Wishes and get right on the Jungle Cruise (which is MUCH better at night) and Pirates of the Caribbean. From
there, we crossed over to Frontierland and grab a place for the 11pm SpectroMagic.
I always enjoy this parade, but this time, Chernabog was missing and some other things too. I think it may have been because of the rain,
but I'm not sure. As soon as it was over, we did Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Mickey's Philharmagic, Space
Mountain and Buzz Lightyear (twice). Buzz broke down both times we were on it. The first it was right by the end and the car in front
of us hadn't turned around, so the Cast Member had to do it manually. The second time happened right in the volcano room. I
racked up over 800,000 points, was so excited because I was beating Jud!, but then the ride totally went down, all electronics,
everything. So, my score was reset to 0. Boo Hoo. By time we got off, after a few complete "restarts", my score was around 450,000.
We leave the park around 1:43am and are in bed by 2:22am. I like to stroll. Josh doesn't. I'm sure we could have done more, but I was
not in a hurry, nor did I want to be. Thank goodness we can sleep in tomorrow.
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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