Where I left of yesterday I was in the room with Annabelle and updating the blog. After I wrapped that up I went to the food court to grab a bite to eat and then called my mom to wish her a Happy Birthday. Annabelle woke up around 3:30 and said she was feeling much better and wanted to do something. Since it was still so hot out we decided to go check out Blizzard Beach for a short time period thinking the water would cool her core temp. We raced to get swimsuits on and walked briskly to the bus stop and waited for about 10 minutes. I looked down at poor Annabelle and she looked like a zombie. "I don't feel so well," she told me in a sad little voice so we walked back to the room. She didn't even want to jump in our pool to cool off. She immediately went back to bed. I decided that I should try to nap as well when Nate and Josie arrived around 4:45. I was a little disappointed that they came back so early given that Animal Kingdom is open until 6. I would've stayed there and taken in all the shows and parades and characters. I asked them if they did any of that and they said no. They just rode rides.
Josie came home pretty cooked and wanted to go swimming which was good because I was starting to go stir crazy in our room knowing that there is a world of fun just outside our doorway. About 6:30 I decided I really wanted to go back to Epcot and watch IllumiNations. We're kind of playing our last day by ear so I wasn't sure if I'd get to see this show at all. I finally convinced Josie that she needed to come with me and at 7 pm we were on the bus to Epcot. On the bus we checked out dining in Epcot and decided to try out the Tangierine Cafe in Morocco.
When we arrived all lot of people were leaving so we were fish swimming upstream. Something that I do that drives my family nuts on this trip is that I like to walk really fast to get to where I'm going. I'll glimpse behind me and see that they are there and take off. Since I have the map and know where I'm going I just assume that they do too but.......... upon getting yelled at many times for it I guess they really don't. This really bothers Josie and has been a contributing factor in some of her attitude issues so to demonstrate my walking behavior and see if it got me riled up Josie just started speed walking and tried to lose me. Now I may have little legs but those suckers are fast when they need to be. She couldn't lose me if she was James Bond so this sent us both into fits of giggles.
When we entered Epcot we thought we'd see if we could squeeze in Soarin' but there was a long wait so scooted over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends where we hopped right into a clam shell. Time was of the essence but after the ride Josie just wanted to dilly dally in front of the dolphin tank. If I wasn't so hungry and needed to get a good spot for the fireworks I would've let her stay there as long as she wanted. I finally was able to pull her away and we took off fo World Showcase. We soon realized that Epcot in the evening is a different monster than Epcot in the daytime. There were so many new things to see! The sidewalks lit up with little LED lights in very colorful patterns. We walked by water the fountain just in time to see small scale Bellagio type water show. When we actually entered World Showcase we could tell that patrons were having their fill of the Food and Wine Festival as most of them were quite drunk and happy. Hopping along, beer and wine in hand and singing and their native language - either that or they were so far gone that they were indecipherable. We finally made it into Morocco and grabbed some dinner. I love that Josie likes to try out different cuisine. She's more adventurous than I am. She ordered the lamb and chicken platter while I just got the boring chicken. There was a ton of food: chicken, lamb, hummus, some sort of parsley- tomato salad, and couscous along with a honey nut dry pastry thingy. Very good and way too filling neither of us finished it all. Just as we sat down th band Mo'Rockin' started so we had some ethnic music to listen too. We also noted that Nate would be bummed out knowing that he missed the live band and the belly dancer.
After dinner we settled into a spot between Morocco and Japan. Josie really wanted to ride Maelstrom in Norway so I told her I'd stay and save our spot while we went. I wasn't too worried that she'd be back in time to see the show as there was 30 minutes left. Illuminations was awe-inspiring and wonderful. I even felt a little tear come to my eye as I ws observing the wonder. It is quite amazing what the Imagineers have come up with.
After the finale Josie and I took off like rockets, zig-zagging through the crowd at warp speed. We passed thousands of people, strollers, and motorized carts. The Magic Kingdom was open until 11 pm so we made a decision to go there for a few rides. We took a bus then we took the monorail and arrived a little after 10 pm and then on to Splash Mountain. That ride takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r. We were looking forward to it being done so we could ride Big Thunder Mountain before the park closed. We were nearing the exit when the cast member mumbled something about not getting our picture taken and that we could ride it again without even asking us if that was something that we wanted to do. Not too far into going around a second time the ride stopped and stalled for about 10 minutes. Great! I don't go to Disney often enough but I can't imagine that this many technical difficulties occur. Maybe they do. We finally got going again, slept during the second trip around and bolted for Big Thunder. We made it there and soon realized that we were on the last train departing.
It's one thing to be the first to arrive at the park but I find it so much more magical to be the last one to leave. Josie and I poked around the castle for awhile, sauntered our way down Main Street, bought some ice cream and found a bench at City Hall and waited for the crowds to subside. We loved it! We finally arrived back at the hotel shortly after 12 am.
ATTRACTIONS
* Maelstrom
* The Seas with Nemo and Friends
* Splash Mountain X 2
* Big Thunder Mountatin
WHAT I LEARNED
* That it's 1.5 miles from where you driver under the Magic Kingdom sign to the point where the busses drop you off in front of the park
* Disney has 304 transportation at their disposal but this time of year they are running about 88 of them
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