Another beautiful early morning. Ugh, more dirty water, please.
We actually ended up getting a slightly later start out of the hotel this morning; my parents in law ended up having to head to Tampa at 4am to retrieve my sister in law due to the van’s battery dying and OnStar being unable to revive it. Fail. Sadly, the few people that could pick her up with the other van and/or fix her van were all in Orlando, so they had no choice. They ended up staying at the hotel to catch up on some rest for a few hours while the Silva Jr. clan headed out.
We waited with the throngs of Disney-going crowds and foreign tour groups and finally made our way inside. We managed to catch both Daisy Duck and Stitch after entering and got the mandatory photos/autographs, then headed to the icon of Epcot: Space Ship Earth. I’m always amazed at how far us humans have come as far as technology. From cave drawings to high tech computers in the space of our existence. I can’t imagine what our world would be like had those brave and open-minded few not taken the first steps forward. We’ve learned and passed down the generations so much information, and yet there are still so many things left to conquer.
From there we checked out manatees, sea horses and dolphins in the Seas with Nemo & Friends, and advances in greenhouse techniques with Living with the Land. Again, I’m amazed by how far we have gotten in making our planet thrive despite the damage we’ve done so far, though I wish more people would accept the fact that more must be done to preserve our mother Earth. Will our children’s children have anything left to enjoy of our world if we keep this up?
We grabbed some Fastpasses to Soarin and hit Journey Into Imagination with Figment. After that we met up with the in laws at Honey I Shrunk the Audience (cute little rides/shows both of them), and decided to pick up some Fastpasses to Test Track on our way to view the World.
My husband and I dined in Mexico while the others headed to China for rice and various chicken things. They didn’t have General Tso’s chicken…boo. We hit up the singing Gran Fiesta Tour with Donald Duck and a few of us toured the World Showcase, stopping this place and that before meeting up with the rest of our party again in Canada.
Fastpasses are a great thing to have when the wait to a ride is 60-120 minutes long. We were inside Soarin within a half hour of getting into line. That ride, for me, was alright. I have a severe fear of heights and flying, but I managed not to scream, cry or wet myself as we soared over California and various water ways. It didn’t cure me of my aviophobia, nor do I want to fly on a plane anytime soon, but it was a really neat ride and judging by the tightening of my fingers on the arm rest, quite realistic. Our 5 year old had a blast and thought it was fantastic, and it only took a few seconds for our 10 year old to get over the initial shock. I definitely recommend it.
We decided instead of wandering around the park trying to catch the rest of the characters for pictures and autographs, we would take advantage of Epcot’s Character Spot. For a half hour plus wait in line, we managed to get Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy are taken care of, much to the excitement of the kids. There, we got the important ones and have no reason to track them down in Animal Kingdom on Friday. Score!
After hitting up a gift shop for RickyJr, we headed back to the hotel for a hurried dinner so me, hubby and RickyJr could go back to see the fireworks and Test Track. Our little one stayed behind to eat pie and hit the pillow with the in laws. As she said “I want to see the fireworks, but I just don’t want to walk anymore”. I promised her that we would catch fireworks sometime before we head back to Lakeland. I guess Fourth of July wasn’t enough to quell her firework fix.
Sadly we missed ComaSow because of this, but since I always download the podcasts of the shows from SomaCow Media Networks (as should you) whether we catch the live show or not, no worries.
Unfortunately for us though, Orlando was hit by heavy storms and high winds with lightning, so the Test Track was ‘suspended’ for the night. From what I gathered there was many a tornado in the area, and I hope all my Orlando acquaintances were safe. We did have a chance to ride Mission Space, but only the ‘less intense’ version because of time and such. Our next time in Epcot will see us hit the Orange version, definitely. I want to experience some G-forces, yo.
We never did make it back to Test Track before the fireworks, and I’m a little disappointed. It’s one of the first things we are going to hit the next opportunity, whenever that will be.
The sun caught up to me from the last few days, and I could somewhat pass for a lobster. We still have two more full days of theme parks, and the skin on my shoulders and my feet are protesting the thought. At this point, I’m dead on my feet and bid you all sweet dreams.
Tomorrow: Day Four and Typhoon Lagoon!
Until then, ciao!
No Method, Only Madness 