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Day 2 - July 23 (my birthday!)
We had a PS for 7:30 at Cape May Café for Goofy's breakfast. After a couple of wrong turns we ended up at the Beach Club with plenty of time to
spare. We were seated right at 7:30 and had a great table right at the edge of the dining room, where it seemed as if there were always characters around.
We hit a minor bump in the road here, as Kim winded up not feeling well (long story but she'd hurt her back the weekend before and took some meds
on an empty stomach, causing her to lose her appetite.) She rebounded quickly though and was feeling better after breakfast, although she missed
the wonderful meal and the great fun we had while we were there. Chip came over a couple of times, as did Minnie Mouse. We did not see Dale and we
only saw Goofy at the end but we have no complaints. The buffet had plenty of hot food on it and wonderful fruit as well. As I was sitting there
finishing my coffee, Jen reached for the camera, which should have triggered to me that something was up, since she very rarely picks it up
(I'm actually surprised she knew how to use it!) But I really didn't have time to think about it as a split second later our server yells out to the
room, "can I have your attention please?!" And then something along the lines of "Today is Lisa's birthday and MINNIE MOUSE needs your help in
singing Happy Birthday to her!!!" Ever since I was little, I would get embarrassed by this attention, and although this was no exception to that,
I was able to thoroughly enjoy the occasion!!! How totally special and I owe it to Laurie at The Magic for Less, for noting it on our reservation!!
Minnie gave me a balloon with Chip and Dale, Goofy and her signature on it, as well as the cake "specially" made just for me {grin}. Hopefully I
didn't hurt her feelings when I only had a bite (we ARE going to Epcot after all!). It was a wonderful experience, with the characters as well as
the wonderful server we had, who also kept us entertained with various trivia about hamburgers, ice cream and French fries. After this Kim met
back up with us and we walked out of the Beach Club and headed over to the International Gateway, taking pictures along the way.
There were hardly any people gathered here (it was 8:30am). So we waited until 9am (a couple minutes after actually) and then headed over to
Mission: Space. The plan was for Jen and I to ride that (Cora had done it in February with us and didn't like it too much and Kim was afraid it would
hurt her back) and for Cora and Kim to grab fast passes from Test Track for us all. Jen and I jumped into the single rider lines and didn't have to
wait more than 5 minutes (pretty much the theme of the weekend!) before we were blasting off to Mars! This was actually the most enjoyable experience
I've had on this ride I'm not sure why because I've sat in the Navigator seat before and didn't quite enjoy it as much as I did today.
After the ride we got some water and coffee at the cart near the exit and then went over to Ellen's Energy Adventure, which I hadn't done in years.
(We pretty much try to do M: S, TT and at least one or two other attractions that we hadn't done in a while in FW before heading to WS. In
February we did The Land and Imagination so this time it was the Universe of Energy's turn).
This ride was, for the most part, better than I remembered, probably because it had been awhile. After this we headed over to Test Track to use
our FP. Hopped right on and loved it again! When we rode it in February, I felt as if they'd made it faster or something because I really enjoyed it
in Feb. and did again this trip.
After this it was about 11am so we headed over to Mexico for our usual nachos and margaritas. After this we went into the Mexico Pavilion and
browsed through the shops and rode El Rio del Tiempo, which was a walk-on. We also toured the replica of the Mexican house, where they have the kidcot
station. This is the first time Jen and I noticed this, and we've been in here about 5 times in the past two years. It's pretty neat?
After Mexico we went to Norway, where we again looked around. We realized that there was no wait for Maelstrom so we hopped on. After this, Cora and
Jen stayed to watch the movie while Kim and I started looking through the shop, until they caught up with us. Kim had purchased the perfume they
sell here last year and had run out so she purchased another bottle.
By the way, the magic had continued as I had gotten a birthday button for Epcot and every now and then someone would notice it and wish me a Happy Birthday.
After going through the Stave Church we purchased a Carlsberg and were on our way to China. Here Jen and Cora made their traditional stop for a
smoke. I am an avid non-smoker but have to say that I enjoy stopping with them for their smoke breaks. I have met many wonderful people in this area
and have enjoyed some great conversations here as well. I think it's because people are actually stopping and sitting down and relaxing a bit as
opposed to running from thing to thing?
After this we walked around the back through the shops and spend a bit of time just exploring all of the merchandise.
On to Germany This is one of my favorite countries to explore. I enjoy the shops, especially the area where they have all the glasses and crystal, as
well as the candy! Haribo is my favorite brand of gummy bears, and we always joke that the cast members are making fun of us Americans, paying
$2.75 for a bag of this candy in Epcot when you can get it at home for $.99. The issue for me is that I'm always dieting at home and therefore
don't buy it, however on vacation we all know everything is zero calories and zero fat! So I buy away! Actually, the line here was long and I didn't
feel like waiting so I didn't buy any this trip. We're going back in November so I can bide my time until then.
The four of us split a red wine tasting German wine is not really our favorite, but we try to do this every other time, to see if anything has changed. It hasn't?
We spent quite a bit of time in the area where they have the glasses and crystal. Jen and I were deciding whether or not to purchase the I don't
really know what to call them they are blocks of crystal with different characters etched on the inside. Tigger is my favorite, with Pluto not far
behind. They had two really neat etchings that I wanted, one with Tigger and Pooh and the other with Pluto, who had a bone in a thought bubble above
his head. They were a little pricey, plus I don't really have anywhere to display them at this time. So we decided to wait.
After Germany we continued on to Italy, which has become another one of my favorite countries. In February, Cora and I had discovered Banfi Centine
wine, which is now my favorite. Living in PA it's difficult to get wine from out of state, over the Internet. So other than having the liquor store
order it for me, this pavilion is my source! Hey I don't mind going to Epcot to purchase a bottle of wine! After getting a glass of Centine, I
decided to buy three bottles (a red, a white and a dessert wine) as a house-warming gift for a friend at home, as well as one of the bottle
stoppers with the glass ball on top as a Christmas gift for another friend. I knew I'd be back later in the afternoon/evening so didn't yet order my
Centine. I had these purchases sent to the International Gateway for us to pick up on the way out. After I continued to look through the store some
more, Imaginum was scheduled to start so we walked out to watch. We watched her for about 15 minutes and then continued on to America.
Here is where something truly Magical happened?
When we arrived, the Voices of Liberty were just about to begin so we quick ran in as the doors were closing. We were standing around the outer circle
and they asked us to please move in and sit on the floor around the inner circle.
As the show progressed, one of the men (the one who ends up without a partner) knelt down in front of a little girl and asked him to be his
partner it was very cute. The next song was "Oh, Susannah". During this song, one of the other men came over and knelt down in front of me and held
my hand while singing the song. At the end he got up to walk away and pretended that I held him back very funny! The others admonished me too
After the show was over the man who had sung "Oh, Susannah" came over and asked my name and thanked me for being a good sport. Very nice! Somehow,
unnoticed by me, he managed to let the others know my name and the all surrounded me and sang the most beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday I'd
ever heard. It honestly brought tears to all of our eyes! I think this was one of the most magical moments I've ever had at Disney (or anywhere
for that matter)!! After they were done singing we were all hugging one another, totally giddy over the whole thing! Talk about WOWED?
Next country Japan. Jen, Cora and I were all anticipating eating sushi here but weren't quite hungry yet, so we decided to look around. We went
through the garden area, and looked at some of the biggest coy I've ever seem they were HUGE Of course I took pictures of them (I ended up taking a
total of 241 pictures this trip, over three days pretty good for me!) We continued into the shops watching them open up the oysters we can't quite
figure out if this is a gimmick or not, as every oyster has a pearl, and some of them are quite large. One was even a steely grey color. Everyone
oohed and aahed over that.
We continued on to the back where they sell Sake. This is the first time I was back here and realized that we can each taste different types of sake.
So Kim, Cora and I each chose a variety Kim's I think was the flavorful dry, Cora's was the medium dry and mine was the lightest we all preferred
Kim's.
Once again. another magical moment. While we were standing there, the cast member who helped us select the sake asked my name. She then proceeded to
write "Happy Birthday Lisa" in Japanese and handed it to me! How cool! Talk about being sprinkled with Pixie Dust
Finally, we walked up to Matsu No Ma Lounge and enjoyed some sushi and the air conditioning. We were pretty lucky with the weather no rain at all, and
only mildly humid. But as the day progressed it was getting a bit more humid and hot.
After this, we moved on to Morocco, taking it slow. We walked through the shops, taking our time, looking at all the merchandise. This was one of my
wishes for today?to take it slow. When we were here in February, the people we were with zoomed through. I think we went around the World Showcase in
about 2 hours, bypassing virtually everything I truly enjoy here! I had vowed not to let that happen this trip, and it didn't!
I think it was after Morocco, during another smoke break, Kim and I were sitting on a bench set away a bit from the smokers, just people watching
while we waited. As we were watching, a family was strolling by and the mother (I think) was saying to her son (I think) "Happy Birthday, it's your
birthday" etc. At that moment, after hearing that, Kim yells, "Hey, it's HER birthday TOO!!" pointing at me. They all turn and we all start yelling
"Happy Birthday" to one another, and then from a ways down to the left, a man yells to us that it's his daughter's birthday too, so we all start
yelling to them it was pretty funny and another magical moment!
From there we moved onto France. This is another of my favorite locations to relax in (OK ALL of Epcot is my favorite). This day was no exception.
As we walked up we noticed what appeared to be a film crew. Apparently they were filming a commercial here today. So while Jen and Cora walked to the
smoking section (which has moved slightly from previous visits, maybe because of the filming?) Kim and I sat in the background of the filming,
just watching. After about 20 minutes we all got up to continue on and noticed that Belle and the Beast had come out so we quickly ran inside to
get our picture taken with them. (It came out a little blurry ).
Since it was getting later, we realized that if we wanted to have any purchases sent to the International Gateway before we left, we'd better buy
them now. At this point, Cora and I decided we needed to walk back to Italy to get our Centine wine and have it sent to the exit. We all took our time
walking back towards Italy, and once there, made our purchases. Cora also bought a bottle of the Lemon liqueur they have for sale there. On our way
back, we passed by the American Adventure and realized that the American Vybe show was about to start. We got seats down in front and watched as the
fife and drum corp. came down to the stage. They are really enjoyable to watch as well. After that, American Vybe performed, and they are just as
good as they were the first time Jen and I saw them last year.
When the show was over we walked over to the UK area. We were all ready for some Fish & Chips from the counter service restaurant here. We all got our
meals and drinks and walked around down to the waterfront to sit on the bench. There was seating right by the railing and there was virtually no
one else here. After finishing our food we decided, since it was almost 8pm at this point, we'd wait here to catch Illuminations. Since there were
four of us we took turns going in pairs to look through the shops and garden of the UK. By about 8:45 we were all seated again, and ready for
the show.
Jen and I have viewed Illuminations from various points around the World Showcase, but I definitely enjoyed this seat the most. The view was
outstanding! And right before the show started, Kim, Cora and Jen once again sang Happy Birthday to me, and everyone around us clapped! What a
perfect ending to a perfect day.
After Illuminations we exited via the International Gateway to make our way back to the Beach Club, lugging our 9 (yes NINE) bottles of wine!! Talk
about heavy!
Part 1, 2, 3, 4
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