Saturday, May 7.

We were up and at ’em this morning at 7:07am, with the intention of making today our Very First Rope Drop Day Ever(tm).  We both ate breakfast in the room and got dressed, and were out the door by 8:10am.

Good morning, Epcot!

We jumped in the Camry, drove the short distance to Epcot, and were in line for rope drop by 8:30.  I have to say, mobile devices make waiting for rope drop a much more pleasant experience (well, I assume) than having to wait with nothing to do. We read our e-mail, browsed the news, and listened to the Epcot and the shouts of a Mickey-handed greeter, who roamed the crowd wishing people Happy Birthdays and Anniversaries.

By 8:45 we were allowed through the turnstiles, and we followed the cattle call into the heart of Future World to watch the opening show.  When that was finished, we were again off with the races (and by races I mean “slow moving giant crowd) and headed toward Soarin’, which even at this earliest of hours still required a 15 minute wait in line.

If you ride Soarin’ often, however, you know this isn’t really a bad wait compared to what it can be, even when you utilize a Fast Pass. Soon enough we were boarding, and were lucky enough to be assigned to the center glider, top row without having to ask. (Granted, I would have asked, but I’ve seen Cast Members roll their eyes at the request often enough to feel a little guilty about it.)  Our prime seat location offered a terrific ride, and soon we were off and gathering Fast Passes for our next ride, scheduled between 11:18-12:18p.m.

Top row center not guaranteed.

Our next agenda item? Hoofing it across the park to Test Track, where we utilized the single rider line and were on and off the ride in under ten minutes.  Next up was something we had never done – Mission Space.  Although I admit to some curiosity about the Orange side, my normal barfy feelings after a spin on the Teacups was enough to head me straight to the Green side.  The verdict? We were both impressed by the ride, but still found it a bit jerky and in the end kind of anticlimactic. So, once was probably enough for us, although I wouldn’t rule it out on a future trip. Orange side? Probably not ever.

Stitch's Great Escape might be Stitch's Terrible Imprisonment, but I still love him.

After Mission Space, we grabbed a shaded bench by the Stitch topiary and checked our e-mail, drank some water, and watched the people strolling by.  Once our feet felt sufficiently rested, we walked over to Club Cool for my favorite Mezzo Mix (dear Coca-Cola: if you are reading this, could you please, please PLEASE offer this fantastic drink in the States? I’d singlehandedly make it a profitable venture for you.) and other Coke samples.  Afterwards we strolled over to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, not so much to ride it (another once is enough each trip ride for us), but to delight in the “Mine! Mine! Mine!” seagulls and take some pictures.

Too many beans? Broccoli?

By this time it was almost 11:15, so we headed back to Soarin’ and were in the Fast Pass return line at 11:18am exactly.  I was relieved to find the wait was less than 15 minutes, and yet again we were assigned the prime real estate of the top row of the center glider without asking.  Once off, it was roughly 11:45 and we felt like we had done enough to warrant a mid-day break (to say nothing of a caffeine infusion, since we hadn’t done that yet that morning).  We got back to the Camry, headed to Celebration, and sought out the first Starbucks we could find. I delighted when I found a perfect parallel parking spot right in front of Starbucks, but couldn’t figure out why the space seemed so small. After some careful maneuvering I angled the Camry in, and then realized…I was parked in a parking spot for GOLF CARTS.  Welcome to Celebration!

Appropriately caffeinated, we headed back to the BoardWalk and stopped in at the BoardWalk bakery to pick up a blueberry and chocolate chip muffin to enjoy for a mid-day snack.  As with the day before, we couldn’t resist the siren call of an afternoon nap, and awoke around 3pm to eat the peanut butter chocolate cupcake that somehow jumped into our bakery bag with our muffins.  Restored, we headed out to Downtown Disney, where we browsed the new Lego store and sculptures; hit up World of

New Sleeping Beauty Lego sculpture - impressive!

Disney (where I promptly fell in love with the Pook-a-Looz Stitch and Sulley); and headed to Basin to browse the delightful bath products and give ourselves a free hand scrub.  We then hit up Team Mickey, the pin store, Tren-D, and Once Upon a Toy, followed by a quick browse through Mickey’s Pantry.  Unlike our October trip we didn’t really fall in love with many souvenirs we’d have to take home, so we headed over to Earl of Sandwich for sandwiches and sodas and a rest in the shade.  We rounded out our Downtown Disney visit with a brief visit to the Christmas store and the everything-under-$10 store, and then it was off to Target in Kissimmee to pick up some toiletries and some pre-packaged Starbucks coffee to tide us over in the early mornings.

Shopping completed, we headed back to the BoardWalk to relax with a beer on our balcony before heading back to Epcot around 7pm.  We leisurely strolled, taking pictures of the topiaries and beautiful gardens in France, and then decided to browse the stores there before taking in the Impressions de France movie.  The moving showing turned out to be delayed, as it was announced that a gentleman in an earlier showing had lost his wedding ring, and staff were currently scouring the theatre in hopes of finding it for him. (We never did learn how it turned out.)  A French Cast Member entertained the growing crowds with a French song singalong and France trivia, and soon enough we were seated and taking in the lovely film.

A beautiful night at Epcot, my favorite park, especially during the Flower and Garden Festival.

Afterwards, we headed over to Japan for one of our favorite snacks: Kaki Gori.  We sat outside the Japanese quick-service restaurant and fought off some wicked brain freeze as we ate.  Our sweet tooth satisfied, we headed into the Mitsukoshi Department Store for our traditional souvenir binge.  As before we purchased lucky cats and owls, sushi plates to use for mise en place when we cook, an adorable stuffed Totoro for CP, and – my favorite find of this trip – a beautiful spring scarf that goes with most everything I wear and that is a terrific reminder of our trip.  Several bags in hand, we climbed to the top of the Japan pavilion outside of Teppan Edo to stake out a spot for IllumiNations.  The show was wonderful as always, save the loud cell phone conversation had by the woman standing next to us about all things gross and medical – really, is there not a better time you could talk about catheters?

"But you have to make sure the catheter is properly inserted!" AAAAGH.

Show over, we waited out the crowds and leisurely strolled back to the BoardWalk, where we browsed through the main gift shop and headed up to our room for showers and sleep. A long day, but a pretty fantastic one.