[Govac24]

Day 3!

Well we survived Halloween. It was great. We will do it again but probably not next year. Maybe go earlier, however you have to experience Halloween at Disney! It’s great.
Today our plan is to go to EPCOT and back to MK to catch the rides we’ve missed. At EPCOT they are holding the Food & Wine Festival, so we want to see what’ that’s like. We want to have a nice dinner tonight & go to Pleasure Island for a bit. The thing my DH wanted to do most of all is to see the EPCOT fireworks from our room. Since we leave tomorrow it will be fun to see if we can get it all in.
We take the boat over to EPCOT. It’s a very little used entrance so there is no wait. When you walk up the hill it puts you right at England and the bridge to the World Showcase. Since we were there at 9am the Showcase wasn’t open yet. We are going to head over to Soarin and try to get on that. We hear the lines are so long but we have time. As we head over to The Land we pass many small booths. These are part of the F&WF. Each booth is a country. Can’t wait to see these when they open.
There are lots of folks heading into The Land but when we get on line we find we are able to walk quickly to the standby queue. The waiting show is quick. We are ushered into the ride. DH is a little nervous. He hates heights but he wants to ride. We are in row 3 so we aren’t that far off the ground. The ride is beautiful! You can even smell oranges as you “fly” over the orange groves. As we crested the mountains, I found myself lifting my feet so I didn’t hit top. The scenery is beautiful! DH had a death grip on the handle but he enjoyed the ride. He said he would go on it again. The ride gently turns slightly as your vision turns. It is not a violent ride but it does put you up in the air. My Lt from work described the ride as “the cat’s a@#.” He’s a very colorful character & quite the Disney fanatic.
While in The Land we check out the Living with the Land ride. This is quite the ride. It’s a slow boat ride but going through the green house is awesome! DH and his family were black dirt farmers for years so he really got into the things going on in the green house. We both did. As we traveled though “time” on the ride I was happy to see that in the prehistoric time Disney had taken the time to show all creatures and plant life. It’s not often you see the prehistoric EXIT sign! There in the middle of the forest is the elusive green exit sign attempting to blend in. We laughed all through the ride.
Now after leaving The Land we want to get on Test Track and Mission Space before they get too busy. Test Track is first. Maybe a five minute waits here. Now that I know where the camera is I was already to ham it up. Just as we go through the doors I give the two thumbs up and a sly grin then grab on for the speed. It is so bright outside right now I wish I had left my sunglasses on. The ride is over so quick. As we get off there we are stupid grin & all! No we didn’t by the picture.
Mission Space is the next ride. I have ridden this ride several times before and I still get nervous. Well this time it got the better of me. The only part of this ride I don’t like is during “takeoff” Once we get though the clouds I’m fine. This time I just freaked out. We got right to the door & I just panicked. I was in tears. I can’t explain it but I could not get on that ride. DH was very supportive as first he tried to urge me on but when it just got worse he walked me out. I told him to stay & I would meet him outside but he stayed with me. Can you see why I love this guy? The staff there was very kind too. When they saw us coming they asked if I was okay and said that there is no problem with not riding this ride.
After getting myself together, we head off to check out the World showcase and F&WF. I need a drink! Sooo we decided it was time checkout the booths! During a conversation with a CM we got on the subject of the F&WF. She raved about the Mead at the Irish booth. Now I thought mead was a form of beer. Boy was I wrong. We decided to try the mead & Irish Cream from the Irish booth. The Bunratty Meade Honey Wine (very light white wine with honey & spices) was very different and the O’Mara’s Irish Cream was very smooth. The Irish cream is heavier and richer tasting than it’s Bailey’s counter part). It’s a little pricey for just a taste but after the Mission Space fiasco I needed one. If we had thought more we would have bought a bottle of each. It’s about $20.00 for a bottle. Lets recap the morning, no breakfast, getting upset and now drinking. The morning was getting better.
We walked over to Australia’s booth to try the BBQ Shrimp. Very tasty. The BBQ sauce snuck up on you. Sweet at first then, a little spicy. Very good! Oohhh they have Riesling wine. We love Riesling wine. If I have another glass right now I’ll be crawling back to BWV. So we decide to hold off. The three little shrimp aren’t enough to fill us so we decide to grab a bit to eat in EPCOT. After checking the brochures and seeing the sky getting cloudy we decide to eat inside at Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion. On the way over we have to stop at Germany and check out the wine and shops there. Okay so we break down and have a taste here. We shared a tall glass of strawberry flavored sparkling wine. Very tasty.
Lunch at Le Cellier Steakhouse was very nice. Our server wore a nametag with Jeffery on it but that wasn’t his name. We decided to try the Canadian Cheese selection for an appetizer with a Labatt Blue beer for DH and a glass of Cave Springs Semi-dry Riesling. The cheeses were nice. A goat cheese, Canadian cheddar and a blue cheese. All of them very strong tasting cheeses. Ryan suggested we start at the goat cheese & end with the blue cheese because the blue cheese is very strong. Very tasty. The bread is done as sticks and when brought to the table is placed in what looks like a vase. Very nice touch.
We spoke to Ryan our server about where he was from and how he got here. He is a fireman in training. That got DH’s attention since he’s a volunteer firefighter. Ryan has seven more months to go before he heads back to Canada to complete his training.
DH is having the Calgary Maple Barbecue Chicken Sandwich with Canadian bacon and Black Diamond Cheddar Cheese and served with Creamy Celery Root Slaw. I am having the Grilled Steak burger with cheddar cheese. Both are very good and come in good size portions. Total for lunch came to about $70.00. A bit pricey for lunch but we felt you did get your money’s worth.
When we start back to the boat it has started to sprinkle but not enough to worry about it. We stop off at BWV then off to MK again! The rain is starting to come down a little steadier. Our first stop today is Thunder Mountain. Now that’s an experience to ride that in the rain! It was so fun!! We try to get over to Tom Sawyer’s Island to check that out but it is closing soon. We get over & check out the mine area then get right back on the raft. The rain is really coming down now. Country Bear Jamboree is closed to get ready for the Christmas show.
We go over to Adventureland & walk through Swiss Family Treehouse. The view is nice. The jungle cruise ride was packed and the tour guide was very funny. We had to check out the Enchanted Tiki room. Love that show! And what’s a trip to Adventureland without the Pirates ride.
Lets try one more time to see the Haunted Mansion. Third time’s a charm! It’s open. That made the trip! From Haunted Mansion through the rain to it’s a small world. The ride looks great. We hadn’t been on it since the refurbishment. It’s very bright. We can’t believe all the coins thrown into the water. I hope it brings good luck.. From it’s a small world to Mickey’s PhilharMagic show. Boy is it cold in here. Almost everyone is wearing poncho now, not us! When we come out of the show the rain is coming down hard. We are now soaked. As we head to the bus we have to walk through a pond so now our shoes are soaked. The bus is cold too. This is not ending up as a good day.
Once we get back & try to dry off we decide not to go to DTD and PI tonight. So we pick up a bottle of sparkling wine and order from ESPN Club. We order some steak dinners. DH goes and gets our dinner while I set up the table in front of the balcony doors. Since it was pouring out and the rain was blowing under the awning, I set up the table just inside the opened door. DH called to have me look outside toward MK. From the balcony I could see the MK fireworks! It was great!
DH & I had our romantic dinner in our room. We turned on the Resort channel and had that music playing low in the background. Then 9pm hit & the EPCOT fireworks started. It was awesome! They are so close. We can hear some of the music from Illuminations. This room is great!
We hate to start packing but we have to. We have to leave tomorrow. Hopefully our clothes will dry out enough to pack..
Tomorrow – Downtown Disney and home.