50 During 60 – (pseudo) Live Trip Report Day 3
I’ll try to keep this one a bit shorter, but no promises.
Got the day started by trying to get to AK for the early half hour and JUST made it. Walked into the park right at 8:30am. Headed back to Pandora and got another ride on FoP, with a 45 minute posted wait that ended up almost double that. At that hour, they were queueing people all the way back to the bridge coming from the Africa area. (All the way down the ‘faux’ wooded walkway.) Saw a couple ‘boat cavalcades come by – Timon with Rafiki and Donald with Daisy and Launchpad McQuack. I don’t care how many times I do this ride, it always takes my breath away. Did they make the vehicles a little bigger? The back piece came up and locked into place with no problems at all. Previously, I had to hope I could get it to lock – with or without help.
After my flight, I had to stop at Pongu Pongu for a Pongu Lumpia and a coffee. I was disappointed with the lumpia. The shell was soft and the filling seemed a bit sour. Not at all what I had remembered from previous visits. But the coffee hit the spot…
While in Pandora, I figured Na’vi River Journey needed a ride, so I went over there. Another 45 minute listed queue that ended up well over an hour. I don’t like the wait, but the ride, to me, is still worth it.
Only found a few PhotoPass photographers in the Pandora area, so didn’t get a lot of pics.
Decided that, since it was only about 15 minutes until the next show (12:00) for Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King (Can they get the name a little longer?) that I would see what the current version looks/feels like. Don’t really know what to say here – 3 singers rather than 4, no tumble monkeys, no flying for the bird girl, no real crowd interaction. Always a good show, but felt a little empty.
Since it was almost 1pm and I had a busy evening planned in EPCOT, I went back to the room for a bit of a break on the back, feet, and legs.
Left for EPCOT around 4. Maybe I was just in the right place, but it didn’t seem all that busy. Spaceship Earth was a ‘walk on,’ so I jumped right on. To be honest, SSE has not been a ‘must do’ on my last few visits. Definitely ready for it to be redone and actually get a second half.
Headed ‘right’ after leaving SSE, knowing that I was headed for Canada for dinner. Hit Finding Nemo ride as a walk on. After that checked the ‘Tip Board’ and saw Soarin’ at 30 minutes. I didn’t need to be to Le Cellier until 7:05 and it was about 5:45, so I gave it a shot. Actually finished up the ride at 6:45, so their timing was a bit off, but not too bad. Got the B3 row position, so had a decent view on the flight.
Made it to Le Cellier shortly before 7 and was seated by 7:05, my reservation time. I definitely won’t go into detail here, but I spent 2 full hours, as a solo act, for this meal! And not a second wasted.
Walked out of Le Cellier to the sound of fireworks…It was 9:03 and HarmoniUS was just underway. Truly enjoyed the fireworks and the music, but the ‘islands’ and ‘mist screens’ were underwhelming. Each ‘island’ was showing a different part of a scene and are far enough apart that you can lose focus on what is really going on very easily. The main ‘stargate’ setpiece can only really be see clearly from two points – the entrance to World Showcase and directly across the lake at the American Adventure area.
Tomorrow is an MK morning, but I might just sleep in a bit. Nothing I really need to be in the park 30 minutes early for. DHS is planned for the evening. We shall see, but this may just end up being an R&R day…
Stay tuned…..
