Heiss Family Boondoggle - January 2008

Date: January 12-19, 2008
Cast: me, Beth, (ageless) - DH, Mark, (kid at heart) - DS, Matt, (kid, 19)

DAY 7 - Friday

Our last day, and historically we call it our "killer" day. We try to hit the highlights and bounce between parks until we can't stand.

We start with an early breakfast and then drive the Delta Flyer (we've gotten pretty good at starting the thing but I still have a problem with turning it off) over to Epcot. We're going to start the day at MK, but we'll end at Epcot so we want to have the car there. We take the monorail to the TTC and then to the MK and we're walking down Main Street by 9:30. We're all cranky and tired and the weather is gloomy and overcast and just a bit drizzly. This is not the way a Disney vacation should end.

We head to Tomorrowland so Mark and Matt can go on SM. I head over to Buzz (no, I don't get anywhere near 715,800 this time), and then take the TTC around the park. By the time I'm done Mark and Matt are done at SM after riding it twice. We're all in much better moods so we hit Buzz one last time and then head through Fantasyland.

The crowds that weren't here all week? They're here, in droves.

We ride on IASW, because it's the one ride we missed when we were here Sunday (the line was really long because the queue is under cover and it was pouring Sunday). We walk onto the HM, dh's absolute favorite ride. We then get FPs for BTMRR (my favorite MK ride) and then head to Cosmic Ray's for an early lunch (ds's favorite MK restaurant).

After lunch we go through Adventureland and the line for POTC is 30 minutes long. We don't want to spend that much time so we head over and ride BTMRR and then check out the Tiki Room. The line for Pirates is even longer, so we bid adieu to the MK and monorail over to Epcot.

It's even more crowded than the MK. Lots of cheerleaders.

We head to the single rider line for TT. There's a guy in this line holding a toddler. It isn't until he gets almost to a car that the CM points out that this is the single rider line and he has to get in the other line. We all get into cars at about the same time so we all finish at the same time and then head over to Spaceship Earth. DS has run and gotten us FPs for TT for later in the evening.

We're exhausted and our feet are soar so we take the boat over to World Showcase. DH offers to go back to Soarin' and get FPs while Matt and I roam over to Japan and then back to Italy where we watch a rousing version of "Romeo and Edna". Hmm, I'm an English teacher and I don't remember this version. I certainly like it more than "Romeo and Juliet". After the last applause we head to Germany where we're meeting Mark and having an early dinner at the Biergarten.

We sit with a family from Sarasota, and when we comment on the crowds they tell us that there's no school today because exams were that week and the kids have a long weekend. That helps explain the crowds.

We have a lovely dinner and then stroll through World Showcase. At the International Gateway, DH, who left his sweatshirt in the car, decides he's cold and he runs back to get it while Matt and I head over to ride Spaceship Earth. We stop at Innoventions and I plop myself into a chair while Matt goes exploring. He comes back a few minutes later and says there's a Segway demo at 7 and he REALLY wants to try it. I call Mark and he meets us at Innoventions and we all get to try out the Segway (although I've done it before - I did the World Tour a few years back when I went to WDW with my sister). Matt's happy as a clam, and we head over to Soarin'.

It's evening EMHs at Epcot, so we all have our wristbands.

As we're waiting in line at the gate, I overhear a conversation in the "regular" line (we have FPs). There's a man complaining that all the people with FPs get to cut in line and that just makes his wait that much longer. Being the logical minded people we are, we do some math. If 10% of all riders get FPs, then the wait would be, hypothetically, 10% longer. That means for a 70 minute wait (which is what it is when we get there), his wait would be 7 minutes shorter if it wasn't for those darn FP people.

Hey, we planned in advance, what can I say?

We walk over to Livin' with the Land and get our very own boat, then to TT and then head over to watch Illimunations. We get a great spot right between the gateway and Mexico. We munch on our popcorn and watch the show and then dart back to Futureworld and Ellen's Energy Adventure (which is a nice, long show with lots of sitting). We schelp our exhausted (but happy) bodies out of the park around 10:30 and collapse into bed by 11.

-Beth in CT
still recuperating

DAY 8 - Saturday

Yeah, I know I said day 7 was our last day, but since our flight doesn't leave until 4:45 we still have time today. Since we didn't see half the stuff at the Kennedy Space Center we decide to go back there and then head to the airport. We check out and wave good-bye to WDW - we'll be back!

Our GPS is having trouble with Florida again and can't find the Denny's we went to three days ago. We end up at an IHOP instead, which is fine. A nice, relaxing breakfast and lots 'o coffee. GPS- lady also can't find the space center, but she can find the Astronaut Hall of Fame museum, which is right down the road from the space center, so that's what we set her for.

There are two 3-D IMAX movies here, and the one filmed by the astronauts and cosmonauts on the space station is playing in 10 minutes so we grab some popcorn and head into the movie theatre. The film is wonderful. It makes ds almost want to go into space (dh has wanted to since he watched "Lost in Space" as a kid and wanted to be Will Robinson. I always liked Penny better). We don't have time to see the other movie, so we head over to the shuttle launch motion simulator.

This ride is absolutely awesome. It's amazing. You really feel like you're blasting into space. You can feel the g-forces and then you almost feel weightless. Personally, I think it's cooler than Mission:Space. Way cooler.

We're short on time so we walk through a few exhibits. There's one on the history of space flight that Mark goes through and Matt and I opt for the exhibit that shows the wildlife that's part of the preserve that the space center is situated on. We all meet up and walk through the Rocket Garden - an outdoor exhibit of the different rockets that have gone into space. There are two capsules that you can go inside, so Matt and Mark pose for pictures and then we head back to the airport. We still haven't seen everything - we will absolutely head back here next time we're in Florida.

All in all it's a wonderful trip. Matt has to head back to school after a 5-week semester break (he's a sophomore physics major at UCONN), and Mark and I both have to head back to work.

Next trip? Maybe another Disney cruise...

-Beth in CT
already planning

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