Day 2 - 6/29
Psst.... It's time to wake up. Did you sleep well? How was your one-night vacation in a Fort Wilderness cabin? Now it's time to check into Old Key West. We'll be staying in a studio this time.
Check-In is pretty crowded. Why don't you get comfortable in the member's lounge and I'll take care of the paper work? That didn't take long at all and I got you a ticket for E-Ride on Tuesday night. We'll be in villa 1520 and it's ready right now so we can go unpack. Welcome to our studio villa.
I hope you won't be disappointed, but we planned on a leisurely vacation this time. We know that it's going to be hot and crowded and we're going to slow down and relax. We've discovered that our vacations are more pleasant if we let the kids get their shopping out of the way. This means we have to hit Downtown Disney and Japan today if we want peace and quiet for the rest of the trip. Hop in the van, we're heading for the Marketplace!
Oh, good, here's Basin. Gene read an article about this store on the internet and has been wanting to come here. It has bath supplies, including something we never heard of before - shampoo bars. The guy in the article bought a shampoo bar and loved the way it lathered so he went back and bought more. We're intrigued and we want to try a shampoo bar. And just smell all the different soaps. We're each going to pick out one. This could take all day. Anything interest you? Here, smell the Tahitian Vanilla... isn't that yummy?
I want to go to the World of Disney and the kids want to go to Once Upon a Toy. I'll meet you in a few minutes. The one other store Justin just has to go to is the Virgin Megastore. Of course that's waaaaayyy on the other end, on the West Side, so we'll be driving. Of course there's a video game he just has to buy. Who goes on vacation to WDW and buys video games? Only a teenager.
It's lunchtime, are you getting hungry? How about eating at the Pepper Market? We ate here before and it was pretty good. I think I'm going to get the Fettuccine Alfredo, just like last time. It's a strange set-up, the way you have to get your ticket stamped, but it seems to work.
But the main reason I wanted to eat here at Coronado Springs is to get more pictures. Being DVC members, we're allowed to pool-hop except for busy times of the year. Starting tomorrow is a busy time, so today is the only day of our vacation that we can pool-hop. I've heard good things about the Dig Site, but I've never seen it close up, so I really want to swim here. And this pool is just as nice as I've heard. There's plenty of room and the pyramid is gorgeous. Did you try the slide? I flew down it and got a nose full of water!
Looks like a storm is brewing, the sky is getting very dark. We're going to head back to the room and rest for a couple hours. You have time to take a nap if you like, that's what I'm going to do. :)
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Well, are you going to sleep all day? We're going to drive over to the Boardwalk and walk to Epcot. It's pouring out, so don't forget your poncho. It gets really hot inside those things. You can wear mine and I'll wear this cheapie one I bought at the dollar store. It's more like a thin trash bag and I won't feel so hot. WHOA - did you see that lightning?!?! I don't want to go to Epcot anymore, let's go back to the room and rest. Fine, I'm outnumbered. Let's at least wait here under shelter until the boat comes over. Then we'll make a run for it.
Well, we're here... and the rain is letting up. Let's get the kids to Japan so they can do their shopping and we won't have to listen to them nag. Wow, they have really renovated the Mitsukoshi store. This place is beautiful! Gene and I keep coming back to the clocks, I imagine we'll have to buy one of them some day. The kids are busy looking for Anime toys. They always find things to buy here. And after toys, they make a beeline for the candy and snacks. Now I know I'm a picky eater, but there are some really gross things here. Look at those tiny, dried out crabs in that bag. Ewwwww. And Gene just loves wasabi peas. I think I'll just hold off on a snack for now.
Our next stop is going to be the American Adventure. We're early, but there's plenty to see and we have a very talkative cast member to tell us all about the attraction. He makes the time fly by and before we know it, it's time for the show. I take lots of pictures, but I don't use flash, so I don't know how clear they'll be. Did you know that Ben Franklin is the only audio-animatronic figure to go up stairs?
Are you ready for dinner? We're going to try someplace new tonight. Rachel is on a Japanese kick; she loves Japanese Anime, she's trying to learn to speak some Japanese with the help of dictionaries and CDs and she's planning on taking Japanese in high school. So we're going to try the Yakitori House. We've eaten at Teppanyaki and Tempura Kiku, but this is our first time at Yakitori. It helps that there is a picture of the various dishes. It's very good and we're all happy with our choices. Would you like a bite of my shrimp tempura? Isn't that good?
We're about finished at Epcot for the evening, let's start walking over to the International Gateway. You know, Illuminations is going to start in about 15 minutes and Epcot isn't crowded at all. Would you like to stay and watch? There's a good spot down here by the lake, you can stand by the railing. The view is great. Did you like the show? Fireworks don't thrill me, but this has always been one of Gene's favorites.
We might as well walk back to the Boardwalk. The boat isn't here, yet, and there are a lot of people waiting for it. How would you like some dessert? We're going to stop at the bakery and get some desserts to take back to the room. Pick out whatever you want because I don't think any of us are going to share. :)
And that's enough fun and excitement for one day. We're still not fully recovered from the drive down and we're ready to sleep. I'm too tired to even finish my cake. See you in the morning.