Forever Magical
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Day Six
We got up extra early so we could enjoy breakfast at the Concourse Steakhouse. We enjoy watching the super crowded monorails pass by above and enjoy the sticky Mickey Sticky buns. They used to bring them out to the table when you arrived and they were piping hot. This time we had to order it, it wasn’t hot, in fact it seemed a bit stale. I almost wish we’d have just let the memory of last visit there linger as this time didn’t match the memories.

DisneyQuest

That afternoon we visited Disney Quest. Last time we were there we didn’t play any of the games that required additional payment. However this time the basketball and skeeball areas seemed to be calling our names. Doobie and I had a lot of fun going to head to head. I won’t say who is better at shooting hoops (me!!). We took their drawing class and learned how to draw Donald Duck. Although neither of us is an artist we managed to create recognizable images, enough to satisfy a noisy kiddie at dinner when needed. The Radio Disney booth where we got to make our own CD was a hoot! It begins with music style options such as Just 4 Fun, Swing, Rock, etc. Then you pick male or female vocalist. As the song plays choices appear on the screen. In a style similar to Mad Libs you are given 12 or so choices to complete the song’s lyrics. Part way through the process we were invited to personalize the CD by recording a message. We recorded a birthday greeting (I hope she isn’t reading this.) and finished up the song. After all the lyrics are done you can change the song’s style and choose to use several styles and singers or just one and the image that will appear on the CD cover.

Next it was off to the Magic Kingdom to catch a ride on Winnie the Pooh before the Park’s official close and the beginning of E Ride Night. Unfortunately the queue for Winnie the Pooh is not ECV accessible and they requested I transfer to a wheelchair but none were available. We waited for 10 minutes while more and more people entered the attraction line but still no wheelchair. The ride was apparently down and so no wheelchairs were being returned. When the ride began operations and a wheelchair did appear we weren’t sure we wanted to wait the 50 minutes. But then fate smiled on us and our friends John was offered three FastPass tickets from a family who decided not to ride so we entered the FastPass queue and were on the attraction within moments.

Winnie the Pooh attraction

Winnie the Pooh transports the guests into a Winnie the Pooh story. We were blown around along with Piglet on the blustery day and bounced through the Hundred Acre wood with Tigger. Way too cool! Now it was time to eat so we headed to Tony’s on Main Street. Surrounded by images from Lady and the Tramp we perused the menu. Doobie is a vegetarian and didn’t see anything so we asked the server about vegetarian entrees and he informed us the chef would stop by the table to discuss it with us. The chef was very charming and tossed out several ideas of veggies, pasta, and cheeses before he and Doobie finally settled on one. I selected a very, very tasty lemon chicken with noodles dish. It was a large portion and I only ate half. The server teased us all about the fact we did not finish our meals. I wish they could package express back to the room because I knew I’d be hungry later. Oh well.

An empty Tomorrowland on E-Ride Night

Off to E-Ride night. Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with the E-Ride it is an evening when select popular attractions are open for three hours after park close to resort guests who have purchased the E-Ride ticket for $10. The attractions that have traditionally been open include Splash Mountain, Country Bear Jamboree, Haunted Mansion, Astro Orbiter, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, TimeKeeper, and the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Most of the rides are available throughout the evening with little or no wait. I love going on Buzz over and over again, I really enjoy the odd images and the opportunity to turn my vehicle this way and that as I try to hit the available targets. Unfortunately after the fourth time through my hand usually starts to cramp up and I’m forced to land. If not for that my husband would probably never be able to pry me out of that attraction. The castle is beautifully illuminated in Florida with various colors and with the very low capacity crowd you can get a reallly good look at its beauty.

Day Seven
Our lunch at the Grand Floridian Café was capped by a delicious banana and chocolate dessert. We’d overheard our server recommend it to the surrounding tables and by the time he suggested it to us we were sold. We made the right choice. It was superb.

The Grand Floridian Cafe

Doobie then piloted a pontoon boat around the Seven Seas Lagoon for a half hour and then it was off to Epcot to establish our spot for Illuminations. We stopped by the Leave a Legacy area and searched out our friend and LaughingPlace columnist Rick West. Then I called him and we chatted about where the spot was. It was a great adventure.

Rick West and his wife are in the center

Unfortunately our Illuminations trip didn’t go as well. We selected the handicapped area near the souvenir shop at the entrance to the World Showcase. It provides a great view and you can feel the intense heat from the fires at the beginning but you cannot hear the wonderful score over the fireworks. I don’t know if it is always this way or if a speaker was out but it was disappointing and yet I loved being so close to the powerful explosions so it was worth the trade-off for a single performance. If it were the only chance I had to see it however it would’ve been very disappointing.

Illuminations 2000: Reflections of Earth