Split Stay Get Away - Day 10: “Wave breakfast... Epcot... rode Mission (Space) Orange"

[Stewboy]

The Index

Sunday 3rd June 2018

Today was a mixed day. It was our last full day, and we’d decided, in hindsight, to try to cram too much into the day. But we’ve all been there - trying to wring the last few drops of Disney out of the holiday!

We started the day off in the usual manner - coffee in bed etc. - before heading to the Contemporary Resort for breakfast at The Wave; one of favourite breakfast destinations on property. Although, in the future we’ll probably only do it on the dining plan as it’s kinda pricey!

The food was nice, although I think as well as doing it on the dining plan, I also think it’s a great place to do at the start of the holiday - by the time you get to the last day you’re probably a little fed up with Mickey Waffles etc. - as nice as it may be.




The Wave


Good drawing!




Nice but expensive

Even though we’d spent all of yesterday afternoon and evening (and a couple of days at the start of the trip) at Epcot there were loads of things we still wanted to do, so after our breakfast we made our way there.

It was about 10:45am when we were queuing for the monorail in the Contemporary. There was a long line, and the monorails were busy. So busy in fact that we couldn’t get on the first two - it was like rush hour on the tube!


Joining the monorail queue

Usually it wouldn’t be that big a deal, aside from dislike of waiting, but today it was doubly annoying as we really wanted to get over to Innoventions see the new SpectacuLAB interactive show at 11:45am - if we missed it the next one wasn’t until 2pm and we weren’t planning on being at Epcot at that time as we had a load of Magic Kingdom FastPasses booked for the afternoon.

It was 25 minutes of waiting until we finally got the monorail, and by the time we got to Epcot via the Transportation and Ticket Center it was 11:40am!


Not that one


Or that one


Finally

Innoventions is a fair distant from the entrance, and we still had to get through bag check. Amazingly we got to the SpectacuLAB at 11:50am - five minutes late. There was a CM who was shutting the gate and walking away - we were gutted, as the main reason we’d gone to all the effort to even get to the park was for this show.


We made it!

A minute later the CM returned and Jo asked him if he would let her in, explaining how we’d rushed to get over here and the hassle we’d had with the monorails. At this point a middle aged American couple who had arrived just as we did and also wanted to see the show said they were with us. Usually I would’ve been happy to help fellow guests out, but I didn’t want the two extra people mean that we weren’t allowed in, so didn’t interact with them!

The CM said he wasn’t supposed to let anyone in after the doors were shut but that he would see what he could do and disappeared inside the show.

A minute later he reappeared and said as long as we were quiet and sat at the back we’d be ok. We thanked him profously and ducked inside, followed by the American couple - I’d have been happy to acknowledge them at that point but we’d been told to be quiet so I continued to ignore them!

The show was basically an interactive science show aimed at kids, and despite being told by the CM to sit up the back and be quiet, Isabella wanted to go and join the other kids down the front; next thing we know she’s up on stage taking part in an experiment!

The SpectacuLAB show lasted about half an hour and was a lot of fun, and very educational for both adults and kids - Isabella really enjoyed it, and as Jo is a science tutor she was very happy.




Isabella on stage




SpectacuLAB

[Stewboy]

It was now about 12:15 and this is where the day started to go a little downhill. Worried that we hadn’t done enough of the things that Isabella wanted to do on this holiday - which in hindsight I’m not sure was even true - we decided to let her choose what she wanted to do. Again, in hindsight doing that on the final day when we were time pressurised perhaps wasn’t the smartest idea.

Anyway, she said she wanted to meet Baymax, an as no FastPasses are available we said we’d check how long the line was. Looking at it, we that it would probably take about 15 minutes, but what we hadn’t factored in was how long everyone was spending with him, and the fact that the character would take a break halfway through.

That 15 minutes came and went, and it wasn’t until 45 minutes later that Isabella finally got to meet Baymax. And when she did the whole experience was fairly underwhelming. But she was happy, although I don’t think Jo and I were - it had got a little stressful in the queue to be honest!




Baymax queue








Meeting Baymax

While we’d been queuing we’d been discussing what else she might want to do before we finish at Epcot. Isabella said that she really wanted to do Mission Space. We had actually had this FastPassed for yesterday but as we’d been with Jo’s stepbrother and family we’d decided to cancel it.

Jo had a look on the My Disney Experience app and the wait time was about 20 minutes - which we thought wasn’t too bad. So off we went to join another queue…

Before leaving Baymax Isabella got a pressed penny, with what turned out to the last of the quarters (remember this, it’s important…).


Pressed penny

Isabella was really excited, as she was going to do the Orange Mission for the first time. The wait actually did turn out to be 20 minutes, and Isabella really loved it. Jo and I hadn’t done Orange Mission since before Isabella was born and we both enjoyed it too - we also really weren’t impressed with the the new Green Mission last time around, so it’s Orange all the way from now on!




Orange Mission!

Isabella saw another pressed penny that she wanted, and waited while the girl in front got one. As Jo looked for quarters in her purse, it turned out we were all out, so Isabella couldn’t get that last pressed penny.

Disappointed, we left and made our way towards World Showcase - Jo and I wanted one final Tipsy Ducks in Love before we left!

As we were walking the most wonderful thing happened. Without us realising at first, the teenage girl who’d been getting a penny in front of Isabella came running up to her, and quietly gave her the penny she’d got - it was the one that Isabella had said she’d wanted. The girl told Isabella it was a secret and then she ran off again!

Now, I have no idea who that girl was, but it was such a lovely thing to have done and I’d be very proud if that was my child. It really topped off Isabella’s afternoon: she’d met Baymax, ridden Mission Space, and now got given a penny by a stranger.

Despite the fact that it had been a stressful morning, and it was 2pm on our last day - and we hadn’t really achieved much - Isabella was happy, and maybe in the rush to do the attractions, and get to your reservations, it’s easy to forget that sometimes it’s nice to just take it easy and do a few things that you really want to do, despite the queues (although I still wouldn’t want to wait more than half an hour for a ride!).

Epcot was really busy this afternoon, turns out today was the Epcot ‘Gay Day’ so World Showcase in particular was super busy. We got to Joy of Tea to find yet another line. Surprisingly no one in the line bought a Tipsy Ducks in Love aside from me - do people not know how amazing this drink is?!


Joy of Queues...


Joy of Tipsy Ducks in Love!

Fifteen minutes later, Jo and I were enjoying our drink. Sadly, it was time to leave Epcot - we’re not sure when we’ll be back, so that made it doubly sad. Walking towards the entrance there was a single shoe on the ground, quick as a flash Isabella said “It must be Cinderella’s”...

We headed to the Monorail and over to Magic Kingdom via the TTC. We were lucky with the Monorails, and 20 minutes later we were heading into Magic Kingdom. On the way Jo had managed to rejig some of the Magic Kingdom FastPasses so that we were still able to do the rides we wanted to do.




Last time this trip

The park was busy and everyone was waiting for the parade, however the sky was looking threatening and as we walked through the park on our way to Fantasyland we felt the first drops of rain. When the rain came down, it came down really hard! Fortunately we made it to the Peter Pan FastPass queue before we got wet. I felt sorry for all those people that had probably been in prime parade watching position for up to an hour - it had all been for nothing as the parade was definitely going to be cancelled - the announcement 15-20 minutes later confirmed it.

After flying over Neverland, we returned to Fantasyland to find it was still raining, and we needed a snack. We braved the rain to get over to Pinocchio Village Haus - we’ve not eaten in here for years.


Muscles

Jo had mobile ordered, and we picked up our food and headed upstairs to one of the tables on the mezzanine floor, where there never seems to be anybody and you get a nice view.

We’d ordered a Kids Cheese Flatbread, a water, and a yoghurt for Isabella, as well as fries and garlic breadsticks to share. It was a nice snack, and now we were ready to head back out for our next FastPass at Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid; fortunately the rain had eased a little.










Pinocchio Village Haus

Before our next FastPass with Winnie the Pooh, we wanted to ride the Walt Disney World Railroad so we headed into Storybook Circus to the Fantasyland station. It had been a ‘must-do’ for this trip as Isabella had never done it, and I’d only done it once on my very first visit to Disney World 13 years ago! Unfortunately, there was a really big queue and we’d had enough of queuing today. Disappointed, we returned to Fantasyland and rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.




Wet wet wet




After Winnie the Pooh we headed back to Main Street and stopped in Starbucks for an Iced Tea, and to purchase the new Magic Kingdom Starbucks ‘You Are Here’ mug.


We may be smiling, but we're crying inside


Cheers! (It's ice tea!)




MK Starbucks ‘You Are Here’ mug

It was almost 5pm now, and we were leaving Magic Kingdom for the last time. We made a quick stop in the Emporium on Main Street where Isabella bought herself a Princess snap band, and we bought her a pair of birthday Mickey ears for December - it’s a surprise though so ‘shhhh!’


Ssshhh


Mickeys!


So many Minnies!

As we exited the park, the Flag Retreat ceremony was happening so we stopped to watch as the Dapper Dans sang ‘God Bless America’ and the Main Street Philharmonic played the “Star Spangled Banner’ then finished the ceremony with a medley of songs and a procession down Main Street.


Dapper Dans


Flag ceremony


Main Street Philharmonic

Isabella still had one final pin to trade, and got two for one thanks to the CM who let her choose a pin from the pin mannequin behind the counter in the shop - another lovely Disney moment for Isabella.

Finally we left Magic Kingdom, again we don’t know when we’ll be back, and it was a sad moment as always. Next stop was the Red Lobster at Crossroads for dinner.


Two pins!


Snapband!

[Stewboy]

We arrived about 6pm. Jo had another voucher for a free appetizer, so we got some calamari to share, and also had salad and the cheddar bay biscuits (of course!).

For our mains we ordered the following:

• Me: Fish Tacos
• Jo: Crab Linguini Alfredo
• Isabella: Mac & Cheese

It was a nice meal, the only disappointment was that Isabella didn’t get to stroke the lobster like she did the last time we came here.


Red Lobster


Calamari


Salad


Biscuits


Fish Tacos


Crab Linguini Alfredo


Mac & Cheese

After dinner we drove over to Disney Springs. After parking in the orange garage we had a browse around some shops in the West Side, including Disneystyle where Isabella bought herself some badges. They have some really cool t-shirts in there too, but we didn’t end up buying any even though saw a few we liked as they’re quite expensive.




Disneystyle


Gimp Mickey!


Disney Springs sunset

We then headed to Marketplace where we got some Ghirardelli chocolate, and some Fathers Day gifts - there was an issue with the payment machine not accepting my credit card, it went through after the second attempt but this had implications later on!

Isabella and Jo then got some Ghirardelli ice cream to share and we sat on the wall opposite while they enjoyed their dessert. We had to pay cash because the machine wouldn’t accept the credit card; the lady thought it was her machine though as it had been playing up, so we thought no more of it.


Ghirardelli chocolates




Ghirardelli ice cream

Jo was still looking for a bag, so we went into the Marketplace Co-Op and looked around. She found a Dooney & Bourke bag that she liked, and after some deliberation decided to buy it. Once again we were having trouble with the credit card, After a couple attempts it wasn’t being accepted. The CM kept asking if it we could be out of funds - to the point that she was really beginning to annoy me as I knew that we wouldn’t be as we had a large limit and hadn’t spent that much on this holiday!

I was able to check the balance on my phone anyway and confirmed it was fine. The CM who had been serving went off to do something else, and as I made another attempt to pay, there was a new CM serving. While this was going on, another CM came and started talking to us about some random Disney World related stuff. I think he may have had special needs, and it was nice that he had come to talk to us, but it really wasn’t the right time!

However, he did have some pins, and Isabella had decided that there was a pin that she’d previously decided to keep that she actually wanted to trade.

After one more unsuccessful try to pay for the bag, we decided to give up.The CM was very apologetic (even though it was not her fault at all!) and suggested we try the Ever After Jewelry Co. & Accessories shop in Town Center.

As we walked from Marketplace to Town Center my phone rang. I didn’t recognise the number and assumed it was something annoying so didn’t answer - turns out that was a mistake as I realised later that it was the bank!

Ever After Jewelry Co. & Accessories had the bag, but once again the card we declined. We did have other credit cards, and debit cards, but this card is a Halifax Clarity card that has no foreign exchange fees which is why we always use it on holiday, and didn’t want to use any other cards and get charged extra - the bag wasn’t that cheap to begin with!

Feeling annoyed and disappointed we called it a night and headed back to the car. Back home, Isabella had a bath and went to bed, and I looked into what to do when you have issues with the Clarity Card abroad. I sent them a tweet, hoping for a reply tomorrow as we would need it to get petrol on the way to Tampa.

By midnight Jo and I had showered and gone to bed. Tomorrow we were heading home and had no real plans in the morning, except maybe to head back to Disney Springs to try and get the bag - depending on what happens with the credit card.

Thanks for reading!

[mick]

A good last day spoilt by problems with your credit card

Joan

[DISNEYLIZ]

Another great day. Hope Jo got her bag in the end

[florida girl]

You packed a lot into your last day. How annoying about the card payments. The food at Red Lobster looks good. Definitely going to try a Tipsy Ducks in love when we go to Epcot.

[Pumba75]

What a brilliant last day - despite all the queuing.

Really kind of that girl to give Isabella the pressed penny.

Gimp Mickey is brilliant 😂

Thanks for sharing

[Cinderella]

I hope Jo gets her bag👍

[Floridaagogo]

Gimp Mickey 😂😂😂

[collybird]

I think I’d have had to say something about the American hanger-on couple! Nice to see a review of SpectacuLAB, I didn’t even know it existed until I was working out my itinerary and saw it scheduled, we’re going to try and squeeze it in. It’s nice to see Future World getting something new.

Aw looks at Isabella’s little face with Baymax, I’m sure she appreciated you letting her call the shots.

What a lovely girl giving Isabella her penny, such a nice memory for you all.

I am on tenterhooks, did Jo get the bag!?