Flores - December 2005

Day 4 - Sunday December 4, 2005

Park: Epcot and MVMCP

I woke up this morning feeling pretty good about getting some sleep. I decided I need to wash clothes. I decided to go down to the gift shop and get a big bag to carry my clothes in. I bought a couple of things and went back to my room. I had brought soap from home. It was not crowded in the laundry mat. I loaded my clothes and started the wash. I chatted with a nice fellow from the north.

I decided to go and get some breakfast. After breakfast I went back out and switched my clothes over to the dryer. I went to the front desk and had a statement printed of my room charges. I went to my room for a while and decided to watch the information channel to learn what is happening in the parks. My clothes finished and I took them back to the room.

It was still early, and I decided it was time to go to Epcot. The park was already open, but I had one goal: to get a fastpass for Soaring. I got to The Land and went downstairs and got me a fast pass which was an hour later. I walked over to the Living Sea and decided to explore a little bit. I did get to see the manatees, and they stayed underwater quite a bit. I learned that the two manatees were rescued I walked over and started looking at the different aquariums. I saw a diver in one of the aquarium and I waved at him. I went looking for the dolphins, but a cast member told me they were on the other side. I went downstairs and saw a really neat playground for kids. It had the shark from finding nemo and kids played all around it. I saw the turtle talk show, but I was not interested. I did learn a lot about sharks.

I went to right beside the Living Sea and found all of the Disney characters. I walked around the building and got in line to get my picture taken with all of the Disney friends. I really did not mind the wait. I got a picture with Mickey, Chip, Dale, and Donald. I got to Minnie and I gave her a kiss on the nose. She blushed although I think Mickey was not happy with me. Donald was not happy with my pin lanyard. He told me that I must go and get a Donald pin. I ran into a group doing the Segway Tour.

I walked out and headed back to The Land. I had about 20 more minutes until my fast pass time. I sat down and relaxed a bit. My time got closer and I stood up and started chatting with a nice cast member. I watched the clock very carefully. When 10:15 hit I held up my fast pass and zoomed through the entrance. Soaring is a ride that was brought over from Disneyland California in celebration of Disney land 50th anniversary. I was getting closer to the front, when a cast member came out and said that he needed a single rider. I jumped out and held out a one, and I cut through the line really fast. I was put into a preflight area and the listened to the instructions. I was in zone 2. The doors opened and the cast member pointed us to our seats. I buckled myself in and did not know what to expect. The ride started and we were taken up quite a ways. It really did feel like a glider and I loved it. We made turns and dives as we watched a movie about California. As the movie turned so we did to. I put my hands out and just absolutely had fun. I was extremely impressed by the film of the San Diego naval base. As the ride ended I made a mental note that I must do this again. I was a little apprehensive beforehand, as I have a little problem with motion sickness. But I turned out to be fine.

I walked into the world. I went to Canada. I got something to eat and walked over to Canada. I was bound and determined to do a lot more in the World Show case. Since it was Christmas season, there was story telling in all the countries. I sat down and listened to the story teller in Canada. I decided I wanted to go and watch, "O Canada". They did not have seats and they had nine screens. It is called circle vision 360. I took some great pictures of the architecture. I really liked the totem pole. I walked to the United Kingdom and saw a really neat show about King Arthur and Sir Galahad. I saw a lot of pubs, but did not feel like going in. I started cross the international gateway, and this guy started asking me about pin trading. I remember Jeff's warning about pin sharks being out there so I politely brushed this guy off as he scared me. I only trade with cast members or small kids who might want one of my pins. I got into France and decided to see the Impressions de France movie. Although I can't remember much of it as I went to sleep. In Morocco I went and browsed through some of the shops. The cast members in the world show case are brought in from that country. I got some really nice pictures taken in Morocco. As I went into Japan, I knew I wanted to get a lot of pictures. The ancient houses are beautiful and breathtaking. I stopped by a shop and got me a flip fan. The nice cast member's name was Yuki. I got to hear a storyteller talk about Kwanza. I walked over to the American Adventure and went shopping on the far right side of the building. Carolers stood outside the center entrance to the building. I found the entrance to the American Adventure and walked in. This is an animatronics show that describes the history of America. As I walked out it was early afternoon and I looked over at the theatre for Candlelight Processional. I could not make it tonight as I had the Christmas party at the Magic Kingdom. I really enjoyed walking through Italy and taking some pictures. I noticed this guy juggling hull a hoops. He did not talk, I think he was a mime. Walking through Germany I decided to browse the shops. Germany is known for authentic Christmas ornaments. I saw a lot of little stands selling German Beer. I saw the Germen story teller discussing the German Christmas traditions. He said the Christmas tree came from Germany. I walked over to Norway and saw the Maelstrom ride. I really wanted to do this, but the stand by time was 45 minutes. I continued on to Mexico and went to, "El Tiempo de Mexico. It is a boat ride and I really did learn a lot about Mexico. Coming out of the World Showcase it was already 4:00 PM and I wanted to get back to the resort and get ready for Mickey Very Merry Christmas Party.

I went up the room and dropped off my digital camera . I left the resort and prayed that the buses would run a little better than Sunday. The park was being emptied of all the general public. I got the queue really quick and was given a wrist band. The idea was to jump on the rail road and go to Adventureland. Well I come to find out that the trains are down. So I had to walk. The Christmas party was a separate ticket event that allows a smaller number of people to go into Magic Kingdom and get on rides without hardly any waits. I hit the hub in the middle of the park and grabbed an info packet. I found out that everything was shut down until 7:00 PM so I decided to go and get something to eat. I went into Frontier Land and looked for Pecos Bill. I had eaten here before and I liked it a lot. I got me a bacon cheeseburger meal. I finished up and started forming a plan for the night. What I knew is that there was a meet 1 hour before the second parade at the shooting gallery. I walked around and found the shooting gallery and could not help myself, I had to play. I did not win anything, so I was disappointed. I decided I wanted to go to the Haunted Mansion. I had never been here so I did not know what to expect. The ride was ok, but I guess it was more for children. I am in the car that goes through these different rooms and I saw ghost. I went to Fantasy Land. I had planned to try and hit all of the rides, but that changed. I got in line for "it's a small world." I really liked this a lot as it was a representation of the entire world themed toward children.

I decided I wanted to see Mickey's PhiharMagic. I was discovered by other members of the meet, and was happy to once again have some friends. The show was really neat as it was an orchestra, music of some of the Disney movies. I always like 3D shows. Carol, Mike, Binnie and I decided to head over to Tomorrow Land. I was desperate to do Buzz. It was actually about 9:00 and we needed to find a spot for the Wishes show. We got to Tomorrowland and decided to sit down at the noodle shop. Mike went and got us hot coco and cookies. I sort of knocked my coco over. I loved our spot for the fireworks because on Friday out on the water I realized that the fireworks are on the right side of the castle. I kept whining that I wanted to do Buzz Light year, so I finally won. The stand by line said 15 minutes, but I decided to time our wait until we boarded. All four of us decided we would get into separate cars. I clicked the stop button on my cell phone as I boarded and it said 9 minutes 54 seconds. On the ride, I can never get the back of the big robot; you get big points if you hit the bull's eye. I did get 90,000 when the ride was over. We walked out and realized that the 4 of us needed to be at the meet spot in 15 minutes.

I freaked because I was still a novice. We all got single file into a line and decided to get over to Frontier Land. I doubted that we would make it there, but I should have known that my friends new all of the short cuts. A lot of people were leaving the Christmas party so it made things easier. . It was a very quick walk. Of course we made it. I decided I wanted to get me a Christmas hat. I walked to Liberty Square but could not find the store I was looking for. I asked a cast member and I finally saw it. I walked in and started looking for a hat. What I really wanted was a light blue hat like Carol was wearing, but they did not have any out. I asked a nice cast member and she said she can go upstairs and get some. She brought out a different one than I wanted, but I decided that one was all right. I picked out some things that I knew I wanted. I went to a register and remember someone saying that they do personalization here. I found that register at the back of the store, but the line was long. I got up there and filled out the paperwork. She told me that it would be Tuesday before it was done. I told her that was fine, and I decided to get it shipped to the resort. I stopped by one of the carts and picked me up something to drink on the way back to the meet spot.

I got back to the meeting and Heather had arrived. She was the host of this meet. I learned that we are actually at the end of the parade, which is kind of nice as we won't be stampeded when everyone runs to get out of the park. I got my gift and was very happy as I got me a snow globe. The parade was really good. I enjoyed the Christmas theme.

After the parade was over, we decided to and ride Pirates of the Caribbean. This was very good as it included lots of special effects. Afterwards we found the picture studio and we all wanted to get our free picture. It was decided that we would do a group picture, which made the cast members kind of unhappy as they had to do more paperwork. It was near midnight, and it was time to get back to the resort. I said good bye to everyone.

Exiting Magic Kingdom I kind of groaned at the length I would have to walk to get the Pop Century line. I guess they put the cheaper resorts at the end. I finally arrived at number 18 and made my way through the queue. I got back to my resort, and set my wake up call for 7:45 AM. I went to sleep very quickly.

High point of day: Getting to do a lot more of World Showcase.

Low Point: the walk from the park exit to the Pop Century bus.

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