Tiggerific04's DFTW Trip Report 8/10-8/25
- Thread starter Tiggerific04
- Start date
Tiggerific04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
Day Fourteen -- Segway Tour!
(FYI, sorry for the lack of pictures, but we weren't allowed to take any until we stopped in Italy)
I had seen pictures and read about the Segway Tour for quite awhile, and I had debated booking it because I knew DH would probably really enjoy it. I was hesitant because I am the least coordinated person I know. I can't even ride a bike. No, really. Everyone tried to teach me, and I would fall and hurt myself every single time until I just gave up completely and they came to grips with the fact that I couldn't do it. I'm not even very good at walking without bumping into things or hurting myself in some way.
I figured it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing and when better to try it than on our honeymoon? I went ahead and booked it towards the end of our trip (just in case I did injure myself... or others) at 9:30am.
I was getting more and more nervous as the day approached, but everyone assured me that it was virtually impossible to fall off. DH was psyched about it, so I knew I had to at least TRY and see what happens.
We actually got up when the alarm went off at 7:00am because I didn't want to risk being late and missing it. We took showers, got dressed, and cleaned up the room a little bit so it would be easier for us to pack tomorrow night. We walked down to the car and were on our way to Epcot.
The park wasn't open yet, and I knew we were supposed to go to Guest Relations, so that's what we did. The CM there told me that we actually had to go to GR inside the park, behind Spaceship Earth, so we waited on line and then went straight there when we were allowed in. They had the whole left side blocked off for the crane, so we had to walk around, but we eventually got to where we needed to be. We walked in and were greeted by a CM named Charlie who had us sign liability waivers and handed us our nametags. It was only 9:00am, so he told us to hang out and come back around 9:20, and that he was going to be our guide.
We went outside and sat on the ledge there for a little while. There was a "Undiscovered Future World" tour group that came out so we got to overhear some interesting facts about Spaceship Earth -- something about the height requirements of structures in FL... if they are over 200 feet high, they need to have a light on top for the airplanes. So they built SSE at, like, 199 feet to get around it. I don't remember the details, even though I told myself at the time to pay attention so I could report back here!
We had a lot of time to kill, so we went to check out Project Tomorrow inside SSE. They had a bunch of virtual reality games. I tried out a racing one and DH tried some kind of surgery one, lol. My tummy was starting to act up because I was getting really nervous about this whole Segway thing, so I ran across to Fountainview Cafe to the bathroom. I got back just in time for us to go back to GR.
We walked in and two others from our group were already in there, a father/son team. Our other instructor, Jason, was there as well demonstrating some things on the Segway. Once everyone else showed up, Jason led us over to Innoventions to Segway Central. He showed us two new Segway models and told us that there is going to be a new tour at Fort Wilderness using the "off-road" Segway. DH was immediately intrigued. We also saw the new 4-wheel Segway that looked kind of cool. Jason told us it has a ability to do a constant wheelie, but I didn't understand why you would do that -- wouldn't you just get a regular one then? Either way, there's only two of them in existence right now and WDW has one! How cool!
We were let inside and we watched a safety video inside that dome-thing at Segway Central. Jason went over how to get on and off the Segway and what would happen if we tried to go too fast. It has a built-in speed monitor thing that will stop you by pushing the handlebars back into your stomach.
We were then told to go ahead and pick out a helmet and then come outside and choose a Segway. My stomach was doing flips, but I was good and went over to find a helmet. I have an abnormally small head and the smallest helmet they had was a medium -- it kept sliding off the whole day and I constantly had to readjust it. DH had some trouble finding one that would fit him, but he finally did find one and we couldn't get the strap to snap together. Everyone else was outside already, so I told him to just come on and one of the instructors would have to help him.
I wanted to get Segways that were next to each other so in case I started to panic, I could just whisper to him and not cause a huge scene. Well of course that didn't happen. I was all the way on the left in the last row, and he was all the way on the right in the row ahead of me. The only good thing is that there was no one in front of me -- I had the whole area in front of me open. What they do is set up 4 rows of segways -- the first three rows had 3 across, and the last row (mine) was 4 across. We were each in our own "lane" separated by little orange cones.
We were told again how to turn on the Segway and then how to get on. Jason and Charlie went one-by-one and helped each of us get on. I was shaking and serisouly considering backing out, but I didn't have a chance because Charlie was standing in front of me before I knew it and he told me to relax and don't think about it -- just look straight ahead, put one foot on and then the other. I did and I was fine! The guy next to me had wobbled all over the place, and I had been so afraid that would happen to me, but my Segway hardly moved!
They're really sensitive and will move just from your heartbeat, so you have to constantly compensate for that and move a little forward, a little back. You move forward by shifting your weight to your toes, and you move back by shifting your weight to your heels.
Next we practiced getting off, which was really easy, and then we got right back on. We did that a few more times until everybody was comfortable, and then they had us get on and stay on. We practiced turning in place, although I had somehow moved up in my lane, lol. I got myself back safely, and we continued our turning practice.
Now the scary part: moving forward. I was still shaking and actually having trouble standing up because I was so freaking out. I was trying to hide it, but I guess I didn't do such a good job because the instructors kept telling me to calm down and relax! Ha! I was able to go all the way up my lane, turn around, and go back. Woo!
When everyone had mastered that, they split us up into two groups. There were 10 people total: one group of 6, us, and the father/son pair. The four of us went to practice going up and down hills, and the other 6 went to practice weaving in and out of cones. I was actually glad we did the hill first because it was the hardest, so I figured if I could do that then I'd be fine.
I went reallllllly, reallllllly slow, but I did it and managed to stay in one piece. We also practiced stopping short on a hill because they said that people outside will probably just walk right in front of us and we need to be careful. That part was kind of scary because you have to pull back and shift all your weight to the back, and it feels a little like you might fall backwards.
When we were all ok with that part, we switched. We had to weave in, out, and around cones, and then we practiced just following each other around the cones in a straight line. We had to be really careful not to hit anything because apparently if the Segway comes in contact with something (like a wall or another Segway) it will try to CLIMB it. Great, something else for me to worry about.
We practiced crouching down in case there were low branches, and we practiced getting off the Segway to carry it over an obstacle. We were all congratulated, given bottles of water, and specific instructions to stay in a single file line outside. We were going to go out, and make a quick potty break before we headed into WS.
DH was in front of me, and the father/team was behind me. It felt soooo weird riding through Innoventions with everyone looking and pointing, but once we got outside I started to feel more comfortable. It was a lot easier outside for some reason. We rode over to the bathroom, took a quick break, and then got back on and continued on our way. I really wanted to be last (with an instructor behind me) because I wanted to go slower. I went slow anyway, even though there were other people behind me, lol. I wasn't going to risk it!
We headed over to Mexico, and there is a slight hill there. One of the girls towards the front apparently didn't break on the way down, because all I heard was a scream and "Whoa, whoa whoa!!!" and saw her FLYING down the hill. She was ok, but it was scary!
We went through Norway and Charlie stopped to tell us a little about the pavilion, and then we went into China, all the way around the back and down the teeny tiny walkway around the ponds. Jason stood in the corner and acted as a buffer in case any of us hit the wall! Then we moved on to Germany and on the way, the people behind me cut in front because I was going too slow for them. Haha. Oh well, that's what I wanted. I wasn't going to speed up and go too fast for me just for them. I was already going close to 5mph, and we were told that was as fast as we should be going. The father also insisted on not staying in line, and would ride over to the side of everyone. He got yelled at a couple times.
Germany was scary. We went around the fountain and through the restaurant back there, but everything is cobblestone, so the Segway would wobble all over. OMG. Then we had to go through the little narrow area where the train is. I thought I was going to die, lol.
I was actually really enjoying myself, it was such an awesome experience and I'm glad I didn't back out. They had told us in the beginning that if at any point we decided it wasn't for us, we could stop and they would try to find something else for us to do instead. We were also told that if there was anything on the tour that we didn't feel comfortable doing, we could sit it out and wait somewhere else.
Next was Italy, where we weaved in and out of the columns and went up the hill at the back by Alfredo's. Our instructors put cones out and told us that we had free roam of the entire Italy pavilion for a little while, and that they were happy to take pics for us over by the water! Yay! DH and I met up and discussed how totally awesome this tour was and then we rode around together a little bit. It was much less stressful just being able to ride wherever I wanted at my own pace. I practiced with the cones, and then just wandered around and stretched my legs a bit. Your feet and legs start to really hurt after awhile because you're putting so much pressure on them. They say that the more you ride, the better this gets because you're not so tense.
We went over and asked Charlie if he would take a picture of us and he was happy to. He saw our pins, so we talked about the wedding and our honeymoon and it was so cool!
My helmet is totally falling off
After Italy, we went into the American pavilion and there was more fun cobblestone. We went through that little garden in the back -- that was interesting as well! Lots of turns and the pathway was made out of bricks. I was the last one and the whole group had to wait for me to finish, lol.
We would stop in each pavilion and listen to facts about either the pavilion itself or the country it represents. I wish I could remember what we learned, but I was so focused on not falling over that I wasn't really paying attention!
Next was Japan. We went up the hill and over the little bridge and then they mentioned that we would have to go back DOWN the big hill and to be really really careful since it was so steep. Everyone else just went all speedily and carefree, but I took my time and braked the whole way down! We got to go through Morocco next -- we went all the way around the back and then through the shops and the other areas across from the shops (with the fountains inside?).
Then we headed into France and we had to use our crouching maneuvers to get under the trees -- very cool! We went around the fountains and then over to the side through the gardens area, and then over the bridge towards the UK. We stopped on the bridge for a little bit to hear about the Eiffel Tower at Epcot as well.
All this time, we were passing cast members who would stop and wave and say hi to the "Segway Parade" -- it was so cute because they must see this all the time, but they all seemed genuinely excited to see us. I love Disney!!
We got to the UK and we went through the gardens and into the square, and then up the street and out towards Canada. Obviously there wasn't really anywhere we could go in Canada, and now WS was opening up, so there were lots of people around. We went back towards Innoventions and got lots of cheers and claps from people passing by. Also lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" and "Cool! I want to do that!"
We were passing in front of the Land and this one lady with a stroller refused to wait for us all to go by and she tried to walk right in front of me. The instructor behind me had to rush forward and ask her to stop and be patient and just wait. I was the last person anyway, she could easily wait another 10 seconds for me to cross. Thank goodness he stopped her, otherwise I would have had to really stop short to avoid hitting her or her stroller!
We got back to Segway Central and Charlie and Jason told us what a great job we did while they handed out cool Segway pins! They look just like the little Segway graphic on our nametags. We thanked them, handed back our helmets, and were on our way. We also found out that this was Charlie's first tour on his own, so we all clapped for him and told him he did a great job!
We were on cloud 9 when we left and just talked about the tour the whole way back to the car (and back to Pop... and for the rest of the trip... and even now!). DH LOVED it and wants to do the one at Fort Wilderness next time. He also told me that when we were inside practicing at the very beginning, he started to move backwards and couldn't stop! He had to put his hand out to avoid hitting the wall (and possibly climbing it!) but no one noticed.
We took some pictures on our way out:
So, moral of the story: Segway Tour is AWESOME!! I highly recommend it. It's pricey, but it was soooo worth it.
Continued...
(FYI, sorry for the lack of pictures, but we weren't allowed to take any until we stopped in Italy)
I had seen pictures and read about the Segway Tour for quite awhile, and I had debated booking it because I knew DH would probably really enjoy it. I was hesitant because I am the least coordinated person I know. I can't even ride a bike. No, really. Everyone tried to teach me, and I would fall and hurt myself every single time until I just gave up completely and they came to grips with the fact that I couldn't do it. I'm not even very good at walking without bumping into things or hurting myself in some way.
I figured it was a once in a lifetime kind of thing and when better to try it than on our honeymoon? I went ahead and booked it towards the end of our trip (just in case I did injure myself... or others) at 9:30am.
I was getting more and more nervous as the day approached, but everyone assured me that it was virtually impossible to fall off. DH was psyched about it, so I knew I had to at least TRY and see what happens.
We actually got up when the alarm went off at 7:00am because I didn't want to risk being late and missing it. We took showers, got dressed, and cleaned up the room a little bit so it would be easier for us to pack tomorrow night. We walked down to the car and were on our way to Epcot.
The park wasn't open yet, and I knew we were supposed to go to Guest Relations, so that's what we did. The CM there told me that we actually had to go to GR inside the park, behind Spaceship Earth, so we waited on line and then went straight there when we were allowed in. They had the whole left side blocked off for the crane, so we had to walk around, but we eventually got to where we needed to be. We walked in and were greeted by a CM named Charlie who had us sign liability waivers and handed us our nametags. It was only 9:00am, so he told us to hang out and come back around 9:20, and that he was going to be our guide.
We went outside and sat on the ledge there for a little while. There was a "Undiscovered Future World" tour group that came out so we got to overhear some interesting facts about Spaceship Earth -- something about the height requirements of structures in FL... if they are over 200 feet high, they need to have a light on top for the airplanes. So they built SSE at, like, 199 feet to get around it. I don't remember the details, even though I told myself at the time to pay attention so I could report back here!
We had a lot of time to kill, so we went to check out Project Tomorrow inside SSE. They had a bunch of virtual reality games. I tried out a racing one and DH tried some kind of surgery one, lol. My tummy was starting to act up because I was getting really nervous about this whole Segway thing, so I ran across to Fountainview Cafe to the bathroom. I got back just in time for us to go back to GR.
We walked in and two others from our group were already in there, a father/son team. Our other instructor, Jason, was there as well demonstrating some things on the Segway. Once everyone else showed up, Jason led us over to Innoventions to Segway Central. He showed us two new Segway models and told us that there is going to be a new tour at Fort Wilderness using the "off-road" Segway. DH was immediately intrigued. We also saw the new 4-wheel Segway that looked kind of cool. Jason told us it has a ability to do a constant wheelie, but I didn't understand why you would do that -- wouldn't you just get a regular one then? Either way, there's only two of them in existence right now and WDW has one! How cool!
We were let inside and we watched a safety video inside that dome-thing at Segway Central. Jason went over how to get on and off the Segway and what would happen if we tried to go too fast. It has a built-in speed monitor thing that will stop you by pushing the handlebars back into your stomach.
We were then told to go ahead and pick out a helmet and then come outside and choose a Segway. My stomach was doing flips, but I was good and went over to find a helmet. I have an abnormally small head and the smallest helmet they had was a medium -- it kept sliding off the whole day and I constantly had to readjust it. DH had some trouble finding one that would fit him, but he finally did find one and we couldn't get the strap to snap together. Everyone else was outside already, so I told him to just come on and one of the instructors would have to help him.
I wanted to get Segways that were next to each other so in case I started to panic, I could just whisper to him and not cause a huge scene. Well of course that didn't happen. I was all the way on the left in the last row, and he was all the way on the right in the row ahead of me. The only good thing is that there was no one in front of me -- I had the whole area in front of me open. What they do is set up 4 rows of segways -- the first three rows had 3 across, and the last row (mine) was 4 across. We were each in our own "lane" separated by little orange cones.
We were told again how to turn on the Segway and then how to get on. Jason and Charlie went one-by-one and helped each of us get on. I was shaking and serisouly considering backing out, but I didn't have a chance because Charlie was standing in front of me before I knew it and he told me to relax and don't think about it -- just look straight ahead, put one foot on and then the other. I did and I was fine! The guy next to me had wobbled all over the place, and I had been so afraid that would happen to me, but my Segway hardly moved!
They're really sensitive and will move just from your heartbeat, so you have to constantly compensate for that and move a little forward, a little back. You move forward by shifting your weight to your toes, and you move back by shifting your weight to your heels.
Next we practiced getting off, which was really easy, and then we got right back on. We did that a few more times until everybody was comfortable, and then they had us get on and stay on. We practiced turning in place, although I had somehow moved up in my lane, lol. I got myself back safely, and we continued our turning practice.
Now the scary part: moving forward. I was still shaking and actually having trouble standing up because I was so freaking out. I was trying to hide it, but I guess I didn't do such a good job because the instructors kept telling me to calm down and relax! Ha! I was able to go all the way up my lane, turn around, and go back. Woo!
When everyone had mastered that, they split us up into two groups. There were 10 people total: one group of 6, us, and the father/son pair. The four of us went to practice going up and down hills, and the other 6 went to practice weaving in and out of cones. I was actually glad we did the hill first because it was the hardest, so I figured if I could do that then I'd be fine.
I went reallllllly, reallllllly slow, but I did it and managed to stay in one piece. We also practiced stopping short on a hill because they said that people outside will probably just walk right in front of us and we need to be careful. That part was kind of scary because you have to pull back and shift all your weight to the back, and it feels a little like you might fall backwards.
When we were all ok with that part, we switched. We had to weave in, out, and around cones, and then we practiced just following each other around the cones in a straight line. We had to be really careful not to hit anything because apparently if the Segway comes in contact with something (like a wall or another Segway) it will try to CLIMB it. Great, something else for me to worry about.
We practiced crouching down in case there were low branches, and we practiced getting off the Segway to carry it over an obstacle. We were all congratulated, given bottles of water, and specific instructions to stay in a single file line outside. We were going to go out, and make a quick potty break before we headed into WS.
DH was in front of me, and the father/team was behind me. It felt soooo weird riding through Innoventions with everyone looking and pointing, but once we got outside I started to feel more comfortable. It was a lot easier outside for some reason. We rode over to the bathroom, took a quick break, and then got back on and continued on our way. I really wanted to be last (with an instructor behind me) because I wanted to go slower. I went slow anyway, even though there were other people behind me, lol. I wasn't going to risk it!
We headed over to Mexico, and there is a slight hill there. One of the girls towards the front apparently didn't break on the way down, because all I heard was a scream and "Whoa, whoa whoa!!!" and saw her FLYING down the hill. She was ok, but it was scary!
We went through Norway and Charlie stopped to tell us a little about the pavilion, and then we went into China, all the way around the back and down the teeny tiny walkway around the ponds. Jason stood in the corner and acted as a buffer in case any of us hit the wall! Then we moved on to Germany and on the way, the people behind me cut in front because I was going too slow for them. Haha. Oh well, that's what I wanted. I wasn't going to speed up and go too fast for me just for them. I was already going close to 5mph, and we were told that was as fast as we should be going. The father also insisted on not staying in line, and would ride over to the side of everyone. He got yelled at a couple times.
Germany was scary. We went around the fountain and through the restaurant back there, but everything is cobblestone, so the Segway would wobble all over. OMG. Then we had to go through the little narrow area where the train is. I thought I was going to die, lol.
I was actually really enjoying myself, it was such an awesome experience and I'm glad I didn't back out. They had told us in the beginning that if at any point we decided it wasn't for us, we could stop and they would try to find something else for us to do instead. We were also told that if there was anything on the tour that we didn't feel comfortable doing, we could sit it out and wait somewhere else.
Next was Italy, where we weaved in and out of the columns and went up the hill at the back by Alfredo's. Our instructors put cones out and told us that we had free roam of the entire Italy pavilion for a little while, and that they were happy to take pics for us over by the water! Yay! DH and I met up and discussed how totally awesome this tour was and then we rode around together a little bit. It was much less stressful just being able to ride wherever I wanted at my own pace. I practiced with the cones, and then just wandered around and stretched my legs a bit. Your feet and legs start to really hurt after awhile because you're putting so much pressure on them. They say that the more you ride, the better this gets because you're not so tense.
We went over and asked Charlie if he would take a picture of us and he was happy to. He saw our pins, so we talked about the wedding and our honeymoon and it was so cool!
My helmet is totally falling off
After Italy, we went into the American pavilion and there was more fun cobblestone. We went through that little garden in the back -- that was interesting as well! Lots of turns and the pathway was made out of bricks. I was the last one and the whole group had to wait for me to finish, lol.
We would stop in each pavilion and listen to facts about either the pavilion itself or the country it represents. I wish I could remember what we learned, but I was so focused on not falling over that I wasn't really paying attention!
Next was Japan. We went up the hill and over the little bridge and then they mentioned that we would have to go back DOWN the big hill and to be really really careful since it was so steep. Everyone else just went all speedily and carefree, but I took my time and braked the whole way down! We got to go through Morocco next -- we went all the way around the back and then through the shops and the other areas across from the shops (with the fountains inside?).
Then we headed into France and we had to use our crouching maneuvers to get under the trees -- very cool! We went around the fountains and then over to the side through the gardens area, and then over the bridge towards the UK. We stopped on the bridge for a little bit to hear about the Eiffel Tower at Epcot as well.
All this time, we were passing cast members who would stop and wave and say hi to the "Segway Parade" -- it was so cute because they must see this all the time, but they all seemed genuinely excited to see us. I love Disney!!
We got to the UK and we went through the gardens and into the square, and then up the street and out towards Canada. Obviously there wasn't really anywhere we could go in Canada, and now WS was opening up, so there were lots of people around. We went back towards Innoventions and got lots of cheers and claps from people passing by. Also lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" and "Cool! I want to do that!"
We were passing in front of the Land and this one lady with a stroller refused to wait for us all to go by and she tried to walk right in front of me. The instructor behind me had to rush forward and ask her to stop and be patient and just wait. I was the last person anyway, she could easily wait another 10 seconds for me to cross. Thank goodness he stopped her, otherwise I would have had to really stop short to avoid hitting her or her stroller!
We got back to Segway Central and Charlie and Jason told us what a great job we did while they handed out cool Segway pins! They look just like the little Segway graphic on our nametags. We thanked them, handed back our helmets, and were on our way. We also found out that this was Charlie's first tour on his own, so we all clapped for him and told him he did a great job!
We were on cloud 9 when we left and just talked about the tour the whole way back to the car (and back to Pop... and for the rest of the trip... and even now!). DH LOVED it and wants to do the one at Fort Wilderness next time. He also told me that when we were inside practicing at the very beginning, he started to move backwards and couldn't stop! He had to put his hand out to avoid hitting the wall (and possibly climbing it!) but no one noticed.
We took some pictures on our way out:
So, moral of the story: Segway Tour is AWESOME!! I highly recommend it. It's pricey, but it was soooo worth it.
Continued...
Tiggerific04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
Continued...
So we left Epcot and drove back to Pop so that we could eat and nap -- we were exhausted! We parked in front and stopped in at the food court. I had a yummy pizza and cheese danish and DH had the chicken alfredo and a brownie.
When we finished we went back to the car and drove around to our building. We passed out as soon as we got in the room. I set the alarm for 3pm, but we actually didn't end up waking up until 4:45pm! We got changed and then headed back to Epcot because we had an ADR at Le Chefs de France for dinner that night.
Guess where we went when we got there? Did you say Club Cool? Why, yes, you are correct!
We then went straight to the UK to catch the next British Invasion show. While we waited I decided to give the little hedge maze a try and take some pictures, because Lord knows, we don't have enough of those.
We were highly disappointed because they told all the same jokes as the other day! The songs were different, so at least that was good. We have never stayed to take a picture with them after the show, but I've always really wanted to. We figured we would do it this time, so we got in line. We were second. After the first person finished, I started to walk up and then all these people came out of nowhere and cut me off. Ok, fine. I waited. I tried again, got cut off. This happened 3 more times and I was getting really annoyed. This one woman behind me told me I needed to be more aggressive and I said that other people needed to be more polite. I was all flustered so I told DH I just wanted to go and forget about it.
We headed over to France because I noticed that they have a Photopass photographer there now and I wanted pics of the two of us.
DH wanted to watch Matsuriza again, so we went over to Japan and I decided to get a Kaki Gori that everyone raves about.
I got the rainbow and it was soooo good!
DH pointed out that Miyuki was due to come out after the drummers, so after the show we wandered over to her booth. No one else was there except for one teenage girl. Miyuki came over a couple minutes later and she immediate said that the other girl could go first because she had been there earlier and then we were second! I was shocked -- I thought she only made candy for children, but I guess since there really wasn't anyone else around, we lucked out!!
We decided we wanted a green dragon so that's what we asked for.
When she was done, we left to make room for other people. Tons of people stopped and asked us about it for the rest of the night and they were all amazed. I guess a lot of people don't know about her?
Continued again...
So we left Epcot and drove back to Pop so that we could eat and nap -- we were exhausted! We parked in front and stopped in at the food court. I had a yummy pizza and cheese danish and DH had the chicken alfredo and a brownie.
When we finished we went back to the car and drove around to our building. We passed out as soon as we got in the room. I set the alarm for 3pm, but we actually didn't end up waking up until 4:45pm! We got changed and then headed back to Epcot because we had an ADR at Le Chefs de France for dinner that night.
Guess where we went when we got there? Did you say Club Cool? Why, yes, you are correct!
We then went straight to the UK to catch the next British Invasion show. While we waited I decided to give the little hedge maze a try and take some pictures, because Lord knows, we don't have enough of those.
We were highly disappointed because they told all the same jokes as the other day! The songs were different, so at least that was good. We have never stayed to take a picture with them after the show, but I've always really wanted to. We figured we would do it this time, so we got in line. We were second. After the first person finished, I started to walk up and then all these people came out of nowhere and cut me off. Ok, fine. I waited. I tried again, got cut off. This happened 3 more times and I was getting really annoyed. This one woman behind me told me I needed to be more aggressive and I said that other people needed to be more polite. I was all flustered so I told DH I just wanted to go and forget about it.
We headed over to France because I noticed that they have a Photopass photographer there now and I wanted pics of the two of us.
DH wanted to watch Matsuriza again, so we went over to Japan and I decided to get a Kaki Gori that everyone raves about.
I got the rainbow and it was soooo good!
DH pointed out that Miyuki was due to come out after the drummers, so after the show we wandered over to her booth. No one else was there except for one teenage girl. Miyuki came over a couple minutes later and she immediate said that the other girl could go first because she had been there earlier and then we were second! I was shocked -- I thought she only made candy for children, but I guess since there really wasn't anyone else around, we lucked out!!
We decided we wanted a green dragon so that's what we asked for.
When she was done, we left to make room for other people. Tons of people stopped and asked us about it for the rest of the night and they were all amazed. I guess a lot of people don't know about her?
Continued again...
Tiggerific04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
Continued...
I wanted to walk through Morocco so we went over there and looked through all the shops.
We decided we should go hang out in France while we waited for our ADR time, so we started walking that way and stopped to take a picture of SSE:
A CM who had passed us earlier and congratulated us asked us to stop and told us he would take our picture:
He said that he was able to block out the crane, but I definitely see it so I'm not sure what he meant!
Then as we were taking pics in France, someone stopped us and told us they would take our picture if we took theirs. No problem!
We were hungry and DH wasn't thrilled with the dessert offerings at Le Chefs, so we paid a visit to the bakery and decided to get something yummy now just in case we didn't like dinner. We decided on the chocolate mousse (we split one):
We sat at one of the little tables in the shop in the back and ate and talked about the Segway tour some more, lol. The mousse was soooo, soooo yummy. This nice CM came over, congratulated us, and offered to throw out our garbage for us. I thought it was strange and felt bad so I said we could do it, but she insisted so I let her and we thanked her.
Coming up: Le Chefs, my mini-meltdown, and then our very last day
I wanted to walk through Morocco so we went over there and looked through all the shops.
We decided we should go hang out in France while we waited for our ADR time, so we started walking that way and stopped to take a picture of SSE:
A CM who had passed us earlier and congratulated us asked us to stop and told us he would take our picture:
He said that he was able to block out the crane, but I definitely see it so I'm not sure what he meant!
Then as we were taking pics in France, someone stopped us and told us they would take our picture if we took theirs. No problem!
We were hungry and DH wasn't thrilled with the dessert offerings at Le Chefs, so we paid a visit to the bakery and decided to get something yummy now just in case we didn't like dinner. We decided on the chocolate mousse (we split one):
We sat at one of the little tables in the shop in the back and ate and talked about the Segway tour some more, lol. The mousse was soooo, soooo yummy. This nice CM came over, congratulated us, and offered to throw out our garbage for us. I thought it was strange and felt bad so I said we could do it, but she insisted so I let her and we thanked her.
Coming up: Le Chefs, my mini-meltdown, and then our very last day
AInWonderland
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2000
The segway tour sounds great. Your my kind of couple getting dessert first in case you don't like the meal. I like your thinking. 
Tiggerific04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
Trust me, if I could do it, anyone can! It was a ton of fun and I am so glad I went through with it
The segway tour sounds great. Your my kind of couple getting dessert first in case you don't like the meal. I like your thinking.
Haha, yeah we like to be prepared
caryndisneydiva
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2007
i got the shirt at our engagement party! my sister saw that i wanted it in your tr and bought it for me!!! yaaaayy!
here's a pic!!!
Tiggerific04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
i got the shirt at our engagement party! my sister saw that i wanted it in your tr and bought it for me!!! yaaaayy!
here's a pic!!!
Oh, wow!! How awesome is that?!
caryndisneydiva
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2007
I KNOW!!! i'm so excited!!!
Hi Erin, I see you!! 
Tiggerific04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
kmab00
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
Pezalicious
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2007
I was going to bump this and plead for an update, too!
I LOVED your trip report! Everything seemed so perfect, I can't wait to read the rest.
I LOVED your trip report! Everything seemed so perfect, I can't wait to read the rest.
Tiggerific04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
Sorry, guys!! Here is the next one:
Continued...
After finishing our pre-dinner dessert, we walked around the corner to Le Chefs de France to check in. We were both nervous about this meal: DH is not an adventurous eater, and I don't eat meat, so it was going to be interesting. I had seen a picture of this yummy-looking macaroni and cheese dish on the DIS that I had my heart set on. DH figured he would probably get the same if there wasn't anything that appealed to him.
I gave the hostess our name and she immediately congratulated us and asked us to have a seat. The host came out, saw our pins, and had everyone waiting clap for us and then he escorted us right inside and to our table.
We waited a little while and then our server came over to introduce herself and take our drink orders. She was ok, but she wasn't "Disney-friendly" like most other CMs are. She brought us our drinks and bread and then took our orders.
DH had the calamari and the macaroni, and I had the lobster bisque and the macaroni. She made a face and walked away to put in our order. Almost as soon as she did, DH saw the table next to us receive their food and he regretted not ordering the chicken as he thought it looked wonderful.
We were brought our appetizers and they were both good. If I remember correctly, this was the best lobster bisque I had had so far. It wasn't as fishy as Coral Reef's, and it just had a better flavor than Alfredo's. I was fairly impressed at this point and was pleased with myself for choosing this ADR after all.
Well. Then our entrees came out and they looked good. They tasted horrible. They were dry, did not have enough cheese, and the pasta had no flavor whatsoever. DH took one bite and made a face. We could barely get through the dish and both of us ended up leaving most of it on the plates.
It was almost time for Illuminations to start and I was unsure if we would be able to see much with the glare on the windows and the trees outside, but it turned out we had a fantastic view!! The fireworks just lit up the whole sky and seemed to cover all the windows. It was breathtaking! The couple next to us must have assumed we had never been before, because the woman leaned over and said to me, like she was talking to a kindergartener, "This is called Illuminations." No, really?
Our server cleared our plates and brought us a dessert menu. We both decided on the ice cream puffs with chocolate sauce. I was now nervous about these as well because they too had looked good in pictures and I wasn't sure they would live up to my expectations. It turned out that I liked them just fine, but DH wasn't thrilled with the consistency of the whole thing. I think the pastry part of the puff threw him off
We paid our bill and I made a quick stop in the restroom before we headed out. Illuminations was still going on so we thought we might be able to beat the crowd but we weren't fast enough. We slowed down since this was our last night in Epcot and took some pictures on our way out.
Farewell, sparkly sidewalk
I got really emotional as we were leaving and almost started crying, but I controlled myself. DH felt it too, which I think made it worse because usually it's just me and I think I'm just being overly dramatic. The fact that he was sad too made me think that there was actually something to be sad about! We talked as were leaving about how great this trip had been and how we would never have another one like it. We'll never have all the honeymoon pixie dust, and who knows when we'll be able to make it back (the plan is next August, but it's up in the air depending on jobs and money and other silly adult stuff).
To fend off the depression, I decided that we would go swimming when we got back to Pop. I love swimming at night because there isn't any sun to blind or burn me, and we can just enjoy splashing around. We got to the room, quickly got changed, and ran down to the Hippy Dippy pool. It wasn't overly crowded, and they had a bunch of inflatable toys in there, so we played volleyball for awhile, much to the annoyance of those nearby (I'm not very good and tend to send the ball flying just about anywhere but the proper direction).
I was getting tired, so we figured we'd go back to the room and relax. I grabbed a mango margarita on the way and then took a shower and fell asleep.
Up next: Opening at MK -- do we finally make it?! -- and the rest of our last day
Continued...
After finishing our pre-dinner dessert, we walked around the corner to Le Chefs de France to check in. We were both nervous about this meal: DH is not an adventurous eater, and I don't eat meat, so it was going to be interesting. I had seen a picture of this yummy-looking macaroni and cheese dish on the DIS that I had my heart set on. DH figured he would probably get the same if there wasn't anything that appealed to him.
I gave the hostess our name and she immediately congratulated us and asked us to have a seat. The host came out, saw our pins, and had everyone waiting clap for us and then he escorted us right inside and to our table.
We waited a little while and then our server came over to introduce herself and take our drink orders. She was ok, but she wasn't "Disney-friendly" like most other CMs are. She brought us our drinks and bread and then took our orders.
DH had the calamari and the macaroni, and I had the lobster bisque and the macaroni. She made a face and walked away to put in our order. Almost as soon as she did, DH saw the table next to us receive their food and he regretted not ordering the chicken as he thought it looked wonderful.
We were brought our appetizers and they were both good. If I remember correctly, this was the best lobster bisque I had had so far. It wasn't as fishy as Coral Reef's, and it just had a better flavor than Alfredo's. I was fairly impressed at this point and was pleased with myself for choosing this ADR after all.
Well. Then our entrees came out and they looked good. They tasted horrible. They were dry, did not have enough cheese, and the pasta had no flavor whatsoever. DH took one bite and made a face. We could barely get through the dish and both of us ended up leaving most of it on the plates.
It was almost time for Illuminations to start and I was unsure if we would be able to see much with the glare on the windows and the trees outside, but it turned out we had a fantastic view!! The fireworks just lit up the whole sky and seemed to cover all the windows. It was breathtaking! The couple next to us must have assumed we had never been before, because the woman leaned over and said to me, like she was talking to a kindergartener, "This is called Illuminations." No, really?
Our server cleared our plates and brought us a dessert menu. We both decided on the ice cream puffs with chocolate sauce. I was now nervous about these as well because they too had looked good in pictures and I wasn't sure they would live up to my expectations. It turned out that I liked them just fine, but DH wasn't thrilled with the consistency of the whole thing. I think the pastry part of the puff threw him off
We paid our bill and I made a quick stop in the restroom before we headed out. Illuminations was still going on so we thought we might be able to beat the crowd but we weren't fast enough. We slowed down since this was our last night in Epcot and took some pictures on our way out.
Farewell, sparkly sidewalk
I got really emotional as we were leaving and almost started crying, but I controlled myself. DH felt it too, which I think made it worse because usually it's just me and I think I'm just being overly dramatic. The fact that he was sad too made me think that there was actually something to be sad about! We talked as were leaving about how great this trip had been and how we would never have another one like it. We'll never have all the honeymoon pixie dust, and who knows when we'll be able to make it back (the plan is next August, but it's up in the air depending on jobs and money and other silly adult stuff).
To fend off the depression, I decided that we would go swimming when we got back to Pop. I love swimming at night because there isn't any sun to blind or burn me, and we can just enjoy splashing around. We got to the room, quickly got changed, and ran down to the Hippy Dippy pool. It wasn't overly crowded, and they had a bunch of inflatable toys in there, so we played volleyball for awhile, much to the annoyance of those nearby (I'm not very good and tend to send the ball flying just about anywhere but the proper direction).
I was getting tired, so we figured we'd go back to the room and relax. I grabbed a mango margarita on the way and then took a shower and fell asleep.
Up next: Opening at MK -- do we finally make it?! -- and the rest of our last day
BaBeeCee14
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
Yay Erin! I'm so happy that you updated. I'm sad to hear that its almost over 
I'm so scared about how depressed I'm going to feel about coming home from my Disneymoon. I usually come home pretty sad on a regular trip from WDW. Anyway, how have and your DH been? Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip
I'm so scared about how depressed I'm going to feel about coming home from my Disneymoon. I usually come home pretty sad on a regular trip from WDW. Anyway, how have and your DH been? Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip
Tiggerific04
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
Yay Erin! I'm so happy that you updated. I'm sad to hear that its almost over
I was SO depressed when I got home. It took a little while for me to snap out of it, and DH was concerned about me! I get sad after normal trips, too, so this was like 100 times worse! I'm doing better now, planning my next trip
Thank you very much for the update , I'm sorry your dinner wasn't what you expected; hope your last day was magical enough to compensate for that
We weren't too bummed about dinner. It was at the end of the trip and we knew it was a risk going in. We figured we didn't have much to lose!
Yeah, since I've been back I've read a couple other negative reviews of it as well. I think I was expecting a creamier more traditional version of it, and it was just completely the opposite!
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