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Published: March 25th 2010
Day Twenty Two 6 March 2010
Location: Orlando
Hotel: Pop Century Resort, Walt Disney World
Our forth day in Orlando started early. I had received a message from the concierge desk late the previous night informing me that one of our bags had been found and that it would be available in the morning. While I was over the moon that we would have at least one bag back, I was disappointed that one was still lost and that American Airlines didn’t have the decency to actually contact me to provide me with this update. Disney was only aware of the problem as they had been given the lost bag at the airport.
The bag arrived a few minutes later and I quietly hoped that it would be Erin’s. I was managing okay with the jeans and jumpers that I had, but Erin needed more clothes (especially her jackets) and also had more need for her toiletries than I did. Unfortunately for Erin, it was my bag they had found and upon inspection, I was happy to find everything intact.
We got ready quickly and I got into some completely clean clothes for the first time in days.
It was a nice feeling, but I didn’t say too much as I didn’t want to upset Erin, who was still stuck wearing the clothes she had arrived in or purchased.
We grabbed some breakfast from the restaurant (pancakes again) and made our way out to the shuttle. I had my video camera on me this time and we were heading back to Animal Kingdom to do the Safari again.
Upon arriving at the park, we noticed it was much busier as it was now Saturday and the parks were brimming with tourists and locals alike. We quickly make our way to the ride (having already enjoyed the park earlier in the trip) and while the line was longer, we still managed to get into a car pretty quickly.
This time we saw most of the animals again and even saw a hippo that was out of the water. They are huge! The giraffes were also running around again and much closer to the car this time. It was great.
We decided to head towards the Asia section and along the way we noticed that a bird show was starting in a few minutes. We decided
to wait and a few minutes later entered a large outdoor amphitheatre. The show started about 10 minutes later and was an educational, but highly entertaining show about the various breeds of birds that are cared for at the park. Many of the birds were beautiful and surprisingly intelligent. The bald eagle was fantastic to see and we couldn’t believe how massive the bird was. Erin thoroughly enjoyed the show, but she was unlucky and didn’t get chosen for audience participation.
At the end of the show we made our way back out and decided to skip the other attractions as the crowds were growing and we had already done them. I was disappointed to not ride Expedition Everest again, but we had a lot to do today and not long to do it.
Next we headed back to Epcot to enjoy the World Showcase Lagoon during the sunny daylight hours. Even Epcot was bustling with people and we couldn’t believe some of the lines. We went and grabbed a fast pass ticket for the Test Track as we wanted to do that again and on the way we given fast pass tickets to Soarin’. We were really
lucky as the line for Soarin’ was almost two hours long and there is no way we would have queued for it. With the fast pass in hand, we only had about a 20 minute wait before we boarded the ride and enjoyed soaring over California again. It was even better the second time.
We still had a while to wait before our fast pass ticket would be valid for the Test Track, so we decided to go and watch the Ellen’s Energy Adventure show. This 45 minute show is hosted by Ellen Degeneres and gives patrons an enjoyable look at where energy comes from. It’s not the most amusing attraction, but the ride portion is impressive, as they practically move the entire audience through a number of themed environments.
After the Ellen ride, we were able to head over to the Test Track and ride it again. We had a blast and were happy that we had done it a second time.
By this stage, it was early afternoon and we were starting to get really hungry. We hadn’t yet had lunch and were hoping to enjoy some delicacies from some of the countries located within
the World Showcase Lagoon. There are 12 countries located around the lagoon. In clockwise order they are: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, International Gateway, United Kingdom and Canada.
We started at Mexico, as it was the nearest to our location. Here we picked up a couple of very potent margarita’s and enjoyed the walk while we sipped our cocktails. In Germany we picked up some bratwurst and rolls and a pretzel to share and enjoyed our meal while looking over the lagoon. It’s a wonderful location and as we strolled I think it grew on us more and more. I had initially thought that this park wouldn’t be all that much fun, but it was soon becoming our favourite and Erin was loving every moment.
As we came round to Japan, we noticed a huge Japanese themed shop and went in for a look. While strolling through the store, I noticed that they had an oyster pool and people could select their own oyster and the pearl that lays hidden within it.
I promptly decided to surprise Erin and went to purchase an oyster. When Erin came over she was thrilled with idea
and stepped up to the counter to select her pearl. The woman at the counter started the oyster opening ceremony and many people had gathered around to watch. Slowly she opened the shell and revealed a rare silver pearl. It was gorgeous and apparently only 5% of all pearls are this colour. Erin was thrilled and upon measuring it was really happy with her size seven pearl. We had watched other people and Erin definitely picked a great oyster!
We stepped to the side and picked a nice ring setting for the pearl and left it with the shop to complete while we went to wander around the rest of the lagoon. We grabbed another cocktail and looked around the remaining countries. I was thrilled to find some hockey shirts in the Canadian section, but disappointed to find that they only had crappy Canadian teams and no Crosby gear.
At about 4:30pm we went back to the Japanese store and picked up Erin’s ring. It looked great and the experience was well worth the cost of the pearl and ring.
By this point, we were feeling pretty tired, but we wanted to watch one of the night
time shows at Magic Kingdom. We were planning to get in an hour or two’s rest back at the hotel before heading to the park, but we had been enjoying Epcot so much that time had gotten away from us.
We walked to the entrance of Epcot and jumped on the monorail to take us to Magic Kingdom. The monorail is much faster than the buses and within a few minutes we were standing at the entrance of Magic Kingdom. We entered the park and we’re not prepared for the crowds that had swallowed up the streets and made it nearly impossible to move.
We had about two hours to wait until the show “SpectroMagic” would begin, so we thought we could get on a few rides beforehand. I wanted to ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Erin wanted to do Space Mountain. As we were closer to my choice, we decided to do that coaster first before heading across the park to Space Mountain.
When we arrived at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad we were stunned to see that the wait time was approximately 60 minutes and we figured that all the rides were going to
have lines this long. We didn’t relish the thought of wandering the park for two hours waiting for the show to begin, so we decided to jump in the line and wait for the ride. It was without a doubt the longest wait I have ever experienced at any theme park I have attended. The only good part is that the line is somewhat outside, so you can still enjoy some fresh air. If we had been waiting down in the tunnels of Space Mountain I believe the wait would have felt a lot longer.
We finally got on the ride and enjoyed the two minutes of coaster action before departing the cart. This time I managed to convince Erin to leave her hands up for most of the ride (I had an hour to talk her into it), but at one point she was not prepared for a sudden rise and drop and I was in hysterics as she quickly grabbed for the bar.
By this point, we didn’t have enough time to do another ride before the show and really didn’t want to spend another hour in line, so we decided to find a good vantage
point from which to watch the parade and then grabbed some ice creams to enjoy while we waited.
At 7:30 the parade started and it was visually stunning. The parade consists of all manner of floats and performers all lit up like Christmas trees. The colours, songs and overall effect are brilliant and everyone was having a great time. Erin even got winked at by a mechanical fish. It was hilarious!
After the show, we decided to skip trying to do anything else in the park and made a beeline for the buses. Unfortunately everyone else seemed to have the same idea and it was pretty slow going. We finally arrived at the bus and found more people waiting. We ended up crammed into the bus and I felt like a sardine for the 15 minute ride back to the resort.
It had been a long day and we were ready to kick off our shoes at relax!
We had just shut our eyes when the phone rang about 11:30pm. I thought it was quite late for a call, but I was glad I answered as it was the concierge and they had just received Erin’s
bag downstairs. They were apologetic, but thought that we would want to know that the bag had finally arrived. We were greatly appreciative of the call and a few minutes later a gentleman dropped it off at the room for us.
Erin was really happy and immediately opened it to examine her clothes. Everything look fine, except we were pretty disappointed to see that customs had decided that cutting open her makeup bag was more efficient than using the unlocked zipper. The contents had spilled and toothpaste was over much of her toiletries. But luckily none of it had dripped onto the clothes.
We never received an update from American and if given the choice, I will never use the airline again. The entire experience from the moment we entered the terminal to the moment we finally received our bags was disgusting and I can’t believe they are the primary carrier in the US.
We were soon back in bed and ready to sleep before our last full day in Disney World.
Paul & Erin
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Sharon Knerr
non-member comment
American Airlines
I picked up your blog when I did a search about visiting Rome (I just got back yesterday). I'm enjoying a virtual vacation with you and Erin. :-) Just wanted to tell you that you are not alone with you disdain of American Airlines. My family will not fly AA; their service is about the worst. I was sorry to hear about the lost bags but am glad that you were in the Disney area due to the services available. We've really enjoyed our numerous visits to Disney and am glad to read that you are also having a very good time. Looking forward to reading about the rest of your travels. Wishing you safe, and very happy, travels!!! PS - If you happen to get to the Austin, Texas area, and want some suggestions, please feel free to contact me.