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Sunday, June 27, 1999 - Day 2
| (When last we left the Canetti
family, they had just begun their vacation in WDW. Having spent the first day at EPCOT and
experiencing the Florida rains, they are now ready to set out once more for the expanse of
the Environmental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow.) Try getting five people, including
three women, with one bathroom, out in a reasonable amount of time. All I can say is that
it’s lucky we never were in a rush to get out in the morning. The advantage of being
veteran WDWers. We woke up at 8:00 and didn’t get out of the room until 10:30. We
drove over to OKW to check in. There was no line at check in and it went smoothly. Of
course the room wasn’t ready yet. We were able to borrow some tape to try and patch
the air mattress. We hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so we decided to see if we could get
into Olivia’s. Unfortunately, it was a character breakfast morning, so that idea was
squelched.
We decided to go back to EPCOT to pick up where we left off last night. We went out to
the bus stop and watched a couple of busses go by that weren’t EPCOT. The next bus
that came along was for the Magic Kingdom, so we decided to hop it and catch the monorail
from the TTC. No sooner do we pull away, than I see an EPCOT bus pull up behind us. Oh
well. On the monorail, we met a family from St. Louis who were on the seven day cruise
land/cruise package and were going on their first cruise. We gave them as much info as we
could squeeze into the trip, which they appreciated.
It’s here where we really missed the convenience of the kitchen in OKW. We still
hadn’t eaten and were getting very hungry. It was already 11:30 so we decided to skip
breakfast and have an early lunch at Le Cellier. There was no problem getting a table,
since Le Cellier opens at 11:30 and when we got there at noon, it was still a little early
for the lunch crowd. I had always wanted to try it in the past, but didn’t think it
would be good for the rest of the family, since I assumed (wrongly) that there would be no
good vegetarian choices. Judy and the kids had the Serpentini with pesto sauce, Elana had
the kids pasa and I had the special, a 10 oz. Buffalo steak and I just had to try the
cheese soup which was as good as I’ve always heard. By the way, for trivia fans, the
soup is the only original item left on their menu.
Elana decided she wanted to get a World Showcase passport this trip, so we picked one up
outside of Canada and then went inside to see O’ Canada! I had to remember
that since Judy and I were there twice without the kids, they haven’t seen a lot of
World Showcase since 1996. They really enjoyed the 360 degree movie. After the movie,
Elana got her first stamp and while we were doing that, Judy had wandered over to the UK
where the World Showcase Players had started their act. So we joined her and laughed at
the show. The players are three actors who do a humorous version of the King Arthur story
using two guests from the crowd to play Arthur and Galahad. Some of the puns are downright
groaners. When they went into the crowd looking for someone to play Galahad, it looked
like they were going to pick out Seth, who was leaning against a lampost, but they passed
him by. |
Elana got her stamp in the UK and we headed to
France, where we saw Impressions de France. Does anyone know how I can get the list
of music used for this film? By the time we got out, it was close to Off Kilter’s
first performance, so while Judy took Elana to get her next stamp, Seth and I walked back
to Canada to save some seats. Most of the benches are in the sun, but we sat in the front
left bench which has some shade from the trees next to it. This was the first time we
heard Off Kilter and now I know what everyone is raving about. I never heard bagpipes
played like that before! It sure isn’t Amazing Grace.
After the show, we decided to start making our way to the front of EPCOT to head back
to OKW to get our room. First, we checked out Test Track and there was an hour wait. So,
we decideed to use what we learn about on these baords and volunteered for the singles
line. Elana, who like her mother doesn’t like roller coasters or rides with big
drops |
 Off
Kilter |
decided not to try it until we
could report back to her what Test Track was really like. The singles line was backed up
to the stairs and shortly after we got on line, the ride stopped due to technical
difficulties. Since the way my luck had been going, I knew if we got off the line, the
ride would start up shortly after, we waited it out. It was back in operation shortly
after and we ended up waiting about 40 minutes to get on. I liked test Track, but after
all the hype and waiting, I guess I expected more. I definitely would not wait an hour for
it, especially in the hot sun. But, the singles line is a great idea and makes the wait
much smoother. The only thing we missed from not riding together is the picture, and since
we’ve made a habit of collecting a picture from each ride that offers them,
we’ll have to get on the regular line eventually. On the way out, we each had a
chance to try out the test simulators.
We had noticed the dark skies, when the Test Track car went on the outside track and sure
enough, when we walked outside, it was pouring. This time we had our ponchos with us and
we tried to make our way out, but it was raining too heavily, so we ducked into |
Centorium.
We then made our way out to the covered area connecting the west part of
Futureworld with the center area. Lots of people were waiting the storm out here and CMs
were running all over the place with walkie-talkies. Judy called OKW to see if the room
was ready and by now it was. I got what I requested, in building 43 (I requested buildings
40-44 near the Turtle Pond Pool). The rain finally let up enough for us to brave our way
to the busses and back to OKW. Judy and the kids went ahead to the room, while I went to
the Hospitality House to get the car. We got room 4314 and I think I found the location of
my dreams. It backs up to the pond (is it called Turtle Pond?) and the view is gorgeous.
We unpacked, then drove to Crossroads for dinner. I decide to see how bad Hotel Row was
and found that while there is construction going on, it was quite passable. We ate dinner
at Pizzeria Uno and then went to Goodings for some supplies. Judy wanted to go to Downtown
Disney (translation: shopping) so I dropped then off and went back to the room to watch
the Women’s World Cup game that I had taped earlier in the day. |
 Sara,
Elana and Seth on the back porch |
  
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