Saturday, April 5th
Hi Everybody!
We are back from our EPCOT and Hollywood Studios visits. Our day was cut a bit short do to some storms that are currently moving through the area.
We started this morning grabbing a light breakfast at the Mara before making our way to the bus depot. Something interesting I'd never seen at a resort bus depot happened this morning. There were 2 cast members at the bus depot interacting with kids in an unusual way. They had a box with secret holes. Inside the holes were mystery items like dinosaur fossils and other bones. The children had to try and guess what they were feeling. I asked one of the cast members when they started doing this and why. She replied "just recently and because some wait times for buses can be long this helps pass the time."
Here's a photo of the experience
We arrived at EPCOT just after the park opened. The topiaries at the entrance to Future World are larger than I expected. This years Flower & Garden festival theme is "Fun in the Sun", but I think it should have been "Bigger is not Necessarily Better." There are fewer topiaries this year than I remember in past years; however, the topiaries are much larger than I remember as well. Unfortunately, we never made it over to the Wonders of Life pavillion where the Flower & Garden festival acitivities take place.
Flower & Garden Program
Here are some shots of the topiaries
Beach Mickey & Minnie with Surfer Goofy
Here's me with beach volleyball Donald and Daisy Duck
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
I should also mention the park looks beautiful. The flowers are very abundant and well placed. I especially loved the flower patterns and formations along the twin lakes between Future World and World Showcase.
Flowers bordering the lake
Pluto's dog house.
Probably my favorite Flower & Garden festival element is Minnie's Butterfly Garden. I really enjoy the number of butterflies in the garden/tent. They are some very pretty and unique butterflies as well. I don't know what it is, but when I'm in the garden/tent its leaves me with a very tranquill feeling.
Minnie's Butterfly Garden
Some of the attractions we experienced at EPCOT this morning were Figment, The Seas with Nemo & the Seas Aquarium. We also used fast passes for Soarin and Test Track. I should also mention we just missed dream fast passes from the Dream Squad. As were were exiting the tunnel from the Seas aquarium the Dream Squad just finished handing them out. In fact, I thought we were going to get them since we had exited the tunnel and then the Dream Squad member made the announcement of no more dream fast passes. But, no big deal since we already had fast passes for Soarin and Test Track.
Once we finished in Future World we began making our way around World Showcase. We rode the 3 Cabilleros starring Donald Duck. Once we finished the ride we were getting hungry. I wanted to try the Tangerine Cafe (counter service in the Morocco pavillion) while Kim and Anna chose the Liberty Inn (counter service in the America Pavillion).
The Tangerine Cafe is setup like a cafeteria. There are two lines left or right; however, only one was in operation today. I chose the chicken wrap with a side of Cous Cous, lentel bean salad and Baclava for dessert. All of the food was very spicy, but flavorful. I really enjoyed it. You will need an adventurous pallet for this food. I particularly liked the pita bread served with the chicken wrap.
Here's the food. It looks like a bomb went off in my chicken wrap
.
Anna, Kim and I met at the Morrocco pavillion and took the boat back to Future World to catch another ride on Test Track. Before riding Test Track we stopped in Mouse Gear (EPCOT's main souvenier shop). Anna found a sparkly silver backpack. When we went to purchase it the Cast Member behind the counter allowed Anna to ring up the sale. She walked her through how to scan it in, push the buttons on the cash register, and scan our credit card. She also received a magical moment certificate for helping out.
Photo of Anna behind the counter at Mouse Gear
Once we finished our ride at Test Track we decided it was time to walk through EPCOT's back entrance in World Showcase and take the boat to Hollywood Studios. We had a 5:00PM ADR at Sci-Fi Dine In plus we wanted to experience a few attractions before dinner.
It was really amazing how it worked out, but from the time we entered the boat to the time we arrived at the Studios it poured rain. When we got off the boat it stopped raining. The crowd at the Studios wasn't light, but not heavy either. I think the rain drove some guests away from the park. Our first stop would be Muppets 3-D, but on our way we got fast passes for Star Tours. I must say I really love the Muppets 3-D preshow. It maybe the best preshow on property. It always seems to pass the time well while waiting for the theater doors to open.
As we heaed for Star Tours I told Kim and Anna I wanted to head for the soon to be
Pixar Place and snap a few photos. Kim and Anna went on Star Tours without me while I checked out Pixar Place, the arch entering Animation Courtyard, and the crowd on Hollywood Blvd.
Here are the photos.
The crowd on Hollywood Blvd this afternoon
The arch entering Animation Courtyard is still empty
The construction walls for Pixar Place are still up. I think it was Ronald Reagan who said "Mr. Gorbechav TEAR DOWN THESE WALLS!"
For those of you who don't already know the building (front facade) which will house Toy Story Mania and surrounding Pixar Place elements will be a replica of the Pixar headquarters in Emeryville, CA. I was even told the same style and color brick used at Pixar headquarters will be used at Pixar Place in DHS. A pretty Cool fact!
Here's a picture of the front entrance of Pixar's headquarters. The sign looks the same as a sign going up behind the walls at Pixar Place.
It was now time for our 5:00PM ADR at Sci-Fi Dine In. The theme of this restaurant is similar to an old fashioned outdoor drive-in movie complete with replica cars you actually dine in. There is one large movie screen that shows old horror clips from years past. There are also several movie posters throughout the lobby and inside the main dining area. It is a very unique dining experience. I should warn you the restaurant is very dark. I'm not sure if its so you can't see what you are eating or not...
Walking around the restaurant can be dangerous so I would suggest remaining seated in your car.
I ordered the BBQ ribs with french fries and cole slaw. Kim had a grilled chicken sandwich with fruit. We all agreed our food was above average. We wouldn't call it spectacular, but it wasn't bad either. One note, if you wish to order from the lunch menu you may do so during dinner. The lunch menu is much different than the dinner menu. For dessert Kim had the cheescake and I had a chocolate tart which was just ok. I only had 2 bites and left the rest.
Here are some photos from our dining experience.
Front enterance sign
Lobby poster signage
The car you dine in. I was dining shot gun in the back seat.
My plate of food. The BBQ Ribs.
While we were dining it was raining outside. As we were about to exit Sci-Fi it was still raining, but it appeared to be slowing down. Lucky for us it did slow down. We were able to walk to the bus depot, hop the bus back to AKL and call it a night. After I finish this report I'll be heading back down to Victoria Falls in hopes to catch the end of the 2nd NCAA National Semifinal game.
Thanks for following along everyone.
Next Up:
Checking in to Old Key West
Another trip to Hollywood Studios
Another trip to EPCOT
Dinner @ Tutto Italia (Italy Pavillion)