Epcot - September 29

The day started at 6 am. That's 3 am Idaho time! No wonder my eyes were so puffy this morning. Everyone woke up happy and ready to go until we got to Epcot. Josie decided to play the part of surly teen while waiting for the park to open. Argh. We forced some peanuts on her and she started to perk up. During this time Nate reaized he left his room key/ park entrance back at the hotel. He started to go back to the buses to go back to the hotel when I realized that this is Disney, there's got to be a way that we can get another key. Thankfully we could do that at guest relations which was good to know as halfway through the day Josie lost her key in the park.

Our first ride was Soarin'. We were able to get on within 5 minutes. The rest of the day was like that so we never even had to get Fastpasses as the crowds were fairly manageable. After several attractions we made our way to the World Showcase. The food and wine festival was happening so Nate kept steering himself toward the beers around the world. We ate lunch at Teppan Edo in Japan. Our chef was very entertaining and the food was great. The bill for lunch was $140! Thank goodness for the dining plan! (I'll probably praise this all week, just so you know.)

After lunch Nate wanted to go to the Sam Adams beer seminar so the girls and I wandered to Norway and Mexico. The seminar was full so Nate met up with us and the girls decided that they wanted to go to Soarin' again. So back to The Lands. During Soarin' we checked out the WDW Dining app on Josie's iTouch (I highly recommend this app) and decided to eat at the Liberty Tree back in the World Showcase. During dinner we sat outside and listened to Richard Marx put on a show. Man, he still sounds the same.

After dinner and the show we went to the boat dock to make our way to Disney Hollywood Studios to see the only showing of Fantasmic that we were able to catch. The kids (and Nate) started falling apart about then just as I was catching my second wind fom the giant cup of Diet Coke I'd just consumed. Just as we entered the park there was a big line forming for the show. I told Nate to take the girls to an attraction and I'd hold their place in line. We'd heard that lines for Rock n' Rollercoaster would be short due to everyone being at the first showing of Fantasmic. Boy, were they wrong. They had a 40 minute wait. We met each other at the show and it was wonderful.

After it was over, we made our way to the bus lines which were incredibly long. We kept bypassing people as we just assumed that they were going to a different resort and then realized they were all in line to go to ours after we cut into it. I feel really guilty about that. Back to the resort for snacks and showers and bed.

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
I thought I was being smart by putting my phone in my bra. Not so, the thing got too hot in there, steamed up and fried.

ATTRACTIONS
Soarin' X 2
Mission Space
Turtle Talk with Crush
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Test Track - this ride quit mid-ride we were stranded in a dark tunnel for about 15 minutes. Thanks goodness we weren't outside.
Reflections of China
Maelstrom in Norway
Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico
Fantastmic - DHS
Rock n Rollercoaster - DHS

HOW THE FAMILY FAIRED
Hmmmm......not sure how to answer this. I did well, Nate came and went and the girls fought towards the end. Not so much my vision of the perfect family vacation kick off. More along the lines of the Griswolds/ Bundys.

INJURIES
Nate's back and arm that keeps going numb also some unmentionable side effects from the pain medication
Josie has some nasty infected ingrown hairs on her knee due to volleyball kneepads