Disney Trip : Day Two

We started the day by going to Epcot. I wanted to start with a tame ‘dark’ ride that would help Emily make the transition from the stuff she rode at Disneyland to now. It didn’t start great… because I forgot that there is a small simulated thunderstorm at the beginning of the Living with the Land boat ride. She whimpered for a little bit… but the ride lightened up and so did she.

Next on the agenda was to watch two shows… one was an educational show about conservation that used the Lion King characters, and the other was a little show called ‘Turtle Talk with Crush.’ You know… the sea turtle from Finding Nemo… the one who talks like Bill or Ted. The show is very funny and very innovative. Somehow they have created a computer animated image that can be interactive with the audience. In other words, there’s a dude behind a wall somewhere that is talking into a microphone like Crush… and as he talks… the computer animated image mimics the words that are said. It appears like Crush is actually talking to the audience. They even have cameras hooked up so 'Crush' can see his audience... he can single people out by what their wearing... It was a very cool show… and it was Emily’s favorite attraction at Epcot… by a long shot.


After looking at the fish tanks, we saw Ellen’s Energy Adventure… which was freakin’ loud. I had to cover Aaron’s ears and Melissa had to cover Emily’s ears because the film portion of the ride was so loud. We stopped for lunch… and used our free dining plan for the first time on the trip. The total bill was around $30.00. We finished our morning at Epcot by visiting Spaceship Earth… the huge geosphere that is the park’s icon. I have always enjoyed this ride… even if it’s about the history of communication… it’s still pretty well done. It needs a major update at the end of the show to reflect the last ten years or so… but other than that… it’s fun.

We tried to give ourselves some time each afternoon to nap, relax, go to the pool, or whatever. Each afternoon break got longer and longer as the week went on. I was very tired by about day three. I’ll definitely rethink doing the parks five days in a row next time around.


That evening, we went to dinner at the Contemporary Resort at a little place called the Concourse Steakhouse. I ordered the Filet Mignon which cost $29.00… but our meal plan covered it… along with an appetizer, a dessert, a drink, and the tip. The bill for Melissa, Emily and I came to $110.00. Much more than we would have ever spent for a meal at Disney… but the free dining plan was really, really cool.


Once we finished our meal, we took the monorail around to Magic Kingdom and took in the Country Bear Jamboree (which Emily really enjoyed) and the SpectroMagic Parade (which Emily really enjoyed, except for the times when there were Disney Villians on the floats.) We tried staying around for the fireworks… but the Magic Kingdom was extremely crowded on this particular night. (not a big surprise, I know) We decided to leave in the middle of the fireworks… which was kind of disappointing to me, as Disney firework shows are among the most unique, well timed, and well themed shows that I’ve ever seen. Oh well. I learned in a hurry that we wouldn’t be able to see everything...