Wednesday October 2, 2002
Breakfast was very low-key today (cereal and fruit). We finished watching Evita, showered and jumped in the car to the Studios. After a bunch of Sorcerer Mickey hat photos we walked up Sunset Boulevard and Stephen rode Rock N’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. Both had virtually no lines (gotta love WDW in October). In fact, in the Tower, the CM’s didn’t even have us line up on the numbers, we just wandered right into the elevators!
Stephen joined Karen who had been shopping up and down Sunset Boulevard and we wandered over to the Brown Derby for our lunch. We shared the Quesadilla, excellent. Karen had the grouper while Stephen had the original Cobb salad. All good food.
After lunch we walked up Mickey Boulevard and to the Backlot Tour, something we hadn’t done in a long time. They changed the water tank show to mimic Pearl Harbor. After we hopped on to the trams for Residential Street, boneyard and Catastrophe Canyon tour. The lights for Osbourne Family Lights were already being put up. They don’t waste time, do they?
After the Backlot Tour we headed towards the Muppets but stopped long enough to notice disappointedly that the Hunchback Stage show had already closed! We were hoping to catch it one last time! Also, the water was turned off to the 'Singing in the Rain' umbrella! We stopped for a frozen lemonade and then afterwards he Muppets in 3D. Always a cute show.
Star Tours was next. Also very little wait! It took us longer to walk up the ramp that it was to wait to get on the Star Cruiser. We walked over to Sunset Boulevard to the Sweet shop for some goodies and then down through the masses awaiting the Stars in Motorcars parade on Hollywood Boulevard. We caught the tram to our car to return to OKW. After enjoying the quiet pool all to ourselves (we seem to be the only ones on our end of building 56 as there are no other cars). We ate our dinner of Olivia’s leftovers, even better the second time around.
After dinner we drove over to Epcot and the BCV to check them out once again. The valet guys at BC are so much nicer than the others! Through the International Gateway and over to France then around the World Showcase lagoon to Norway. Maelstrom is closed!!!!! How bummed we are. The shops were neat but not crowded (wonder if business is down when the attraction is closed).
We left Norway and stopped in the Stave Church. Serene music playing, it’s always a relaxing escape from the craziness outside! Mexico was not crowded. El Rio del Tiempo was a complete walk-on. We wandered through the crystal shop and marveled at the artisan making glass turtles. We stopped back at Norway at the Kringla Bakeri Og Kafé for desert. Karen had the Chocolate Cake (excellent) and Stephen the Chocolate Pound cake (very good but next time, the Chocolate Cake). We relaxed at our table until Illuminations began then found a decent spot lagoon-side. The show always dazzles us! Afterwards we began swimming upstream like Salmon against the crowds heading for the parking lot. Around Germany, the crowds thinned so we could leisurely walk. With music playing, a light breeze and the Countries lit up, this is our favorite time in Epcot!
We exited through International Gateway and took the Friendship Boat to Boardwalk. We walked the Boardwalk and stopped in the shops. We noticed that our old room on the Boardwalk was vacant. Beautiful view, but very noisy.
We made out way back to the Beach Club and picked up our car. The valet guys joked that our car had been ‘borrowed’. I didn’t mind as long as they returned a Mercedes! Back home we watched TV and soaked n the Jacuzzi before collapsing into bed. Another successful Disney day!