I got up early because I was able to pick up our group incentive packet starting at 7am. While everyone else was snoozing, I got dressed and went out to El Centro.
I headed over to the conference center area:
I entered the ballroom and our group pretty much had it all to ourselves. The check in area was to one side and there were some snacky-type buffets in the middle of the room. Lemonade is one thing, but potato chips and pretzels at 7 am was just not what I was looking for.
I headed back to the room and thought I'd take a picture of this very clear day:
Here's my building as you walk from El Centro along the lake path:
I got back to the room with our cool red t-shirts (we have a special day for those) and people were getting around. So we had some breakfast and headed to the car to drive to Epcot.
I wasn't sure what to expect. Sunday was Morning Extra Magic Hours and we didn't arrive at the turnstiles of Epcot until 8:50am.
I was prepared with a second GADGAD voucher so we could get special Fastpasses for Epcot today as well.
(Aside: I don't know what we would have done without those GADGAD Fastpasses. We certainly would have been spending much more time in line or not seen what we wanted to see. I'm very glad we had them.)
We entered the park and split up. Stefan wanted to go on Spaceship:Earth, one of his fave attractions on property and Bryan wanted to do Sum of All Thrills. I went with Stefan and Cate went with Bryan.
Stefan and I finished first so we walked over to Innoventions to see how they were doing. Bryan and Cate were in the simulators when we walked up. There was a lot of upside-down going on so I think they had a lot of loops in their custom designed roller coaster.
When they got out, we decided to use our Fastpasses for Test Track. We got the passes, entered the Fastpass line and in less than 10 minutes, were in a ride vehicle.
Now, this was a first for me. I had never ridden Test Track before. The lines had always discouraged me. Plus, part of me was, "What IS the big deal here?" I don't stand in lines. It's not part of the fun for me. So I just haven't done it.
Well, I see what the big deal is now. It was very enjoyable, snarled hair and all. I don't know if the speed readout is the same for all cars, but ours read 65.8 MPH as we flew by.
I was just reading the Disney Parks Blog and the update on the Radiator Springs Racers that is being constructed at DL. It's using the same ride tech as TT and looks super fun.
Anyhow, back to the story...After TT, since we were there, we decided to walk over to Mission:Space. We all LOVE M:S. It was a 10 minute wait for Orange so we just walked on.
If you aren't familiar with M:S, there are two ways to experience this attraction: Green and Orange. Orange is the original setup with the centrifuge, feeling the G-forces, etc. It's labeled as "more intense." Green has none of that; you just see the stuff on the screen. At least as far as I know; I've never ridden on the Green side.
As usual, we all enjoyed it. It's probably the closest I'll ever get to spaceflight in my lifetime.
And, of course, we stayed in the Advanced Training Lab to do the Mission Space Race. As a family, we rock this game. We've never lost whether we've been Team Triton or Team Orion. It's just too much fun. We stayed for the game after to be mission control support.
At that time, Stefan needed a Mickey Ice Cream Bar so we had a minor snack break before heading off to the Land pavilion for Soarin'.
Again, thank goodness for those FastPasses. Although I was surprised that the return times were before 4pm, it was great to be able to walk right through. We still had to wait probably 15-20 minutes before getting on the ride itself.
While it's a nice experience, it just doesn't jazz me. I know a lot of the online fans seem to think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I agree that it's a great attraction, but the wait times for this thing really are not justified.
By the time we got done, people were seriously hungry. We just headed to Sunshine Seasons Food Court. Wow. It was crazy busy. But it was also noon. Let's see: Cate got the Salmon, Stefan got the quarter chicken and Bryan and I had some sort of Asian platter.
Bryan wanted to take Stefan to Sum of All Thrills and Cate wanted to go to Living Seas. So we split up again.
Did I mention it was freakin' hot? Seriously, I know I sound like a broken record, but good grief, it was hot and humid.
Cate and I hooked up with the boys once they were done with Sum of All Thrills. That attraction has a two-thumbs up from everyone in our family. If you haven't had the chance to check it out, give it a try.
We headed over to World Showcase and it was dead. I mean, there were very few people walking around. Hello; it's 1pm on a Sunday in June. All the smart people are staying out of the heat and humidity in the middle of the day and here we are, doing the opposite.
We took in Maelstrom and then Bryan decided he needed Rice Cream from the Kringla Bakery. So did everyone else, it seemed. Or they were in there pretending to order so they could get into the A/C. By the time Bryan got out, I was ready to head out.
Stefan wanted to hit Japan for some ridiculous YuGiOH something or another. Ugh. The boys raced ahead. Cate and I stopped for A/C and water on the way. Then she wanted a Funnel Cake. Really? In 100+ degrees, you want a Funnel Cake?
We got that, met the boys and walked around the rest of the World Showcase and back to the car.
Here's a picture of what World Showcase looked like:
Not very busy.
We got back about 2:30pm-ish. The kids went to swim. I jumped in long enough to get wet, but again, the pool was very warm and not refreshing at all.
I headed back to the room, took a shower and just reveled in my A/C and watched some TV.
Dinner time approached. I didn't have a plan for dinner - or at least no reservations. I suggested we head out to 192 and see what grabbed our fancy.
Big mistake on my part. I was actually thinking a Ponderosa would be great. In MN, we have this one Ponderosa that was fantastically clean, great service, above average food and that's what I was thinking about.
I'll admit that I never really got what the online Disney people were griping about when they said that they wouldn't be caught dead at a buffet, Disney or not. I can honestly say that I've never been to a buffet that has been sub-par.
Well, I have now.
I have to give two-thumbs down to the Ponderosa on 192 that's closest to Animal Kingdom. While the entrees that we ordered were passable, the buffet was just not good-looking. And talk about over-priced.
So I get what people are saying about icky buffets now. But I have to say that I have never seen anything like that at a Disney buffet. I will definitely continue to patronize my Disney favorites.
Now I know to just stay away from 192 unless I'm going to Olive Garden or something.
We ended up going home and feasting on our snacks. Thank goodness for that grocery run.
We needed to head to bed early tonight because tomorrow was going to be very early. We needed to get up at 5:30am because the buses were leaving at 6:30am to take us to Magic Kingdom for our exclusive early Extra Magic Hours.
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