Trip Log:

Today we got to sleep in until 6:50am since room service was arriving at 7:00am.  Then it was off to EPCOT via Monorail to catch our 8:30am Segway tour.  After the tour we wandered through Future World and World Showcase on our way to the International Gateway.  Once there we hopped on a boat to the Yacht Club then ate lunch at Beaches and Cream.  Here we split up and two took a bus to the Magic Kingdom to head to the Contemporary for fishing then the other two of us took a bus to the Animal Kingdom.  Hiked out to the Safari for Fastpasses, only a 20 minute wait.  Strolled through Pangani to see the Gorillas then decided to just go in the Standby line since it was a posted 10 minute wait for the Safari, it turned out to be a walk on.  After our Safari we grabbed some popcorn and a drink and wandered to toward the entrance.  Stopped on the bridge to see if we could spot the shuttle launch but it was too cloudy so we missed it.  Continued on toward the front of the park and hopped on a bus back to the Contemporary.  Once there rejoined the fishermen and two decided to give parasailing a try and the other two of us rented a pontoon boat and circled Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon.  Once back on dry land stopped by the room to switch out some gear then headed to the Magic Kingdom by foot.  Strolled down Main Street and into Tomorrowland.  Got in line for Buzz and then decided it was too long so headed for Carousel of Progress.  After the show grabbed an icee.  Drank that as we roamed through Fantasyland, Liberty Square, and Frontierland.  Decided to head for Pirates and walked right on.  Then headed for Main Street.  Needed to make a quick stop at the candy store to buy a snack and then hopped on a boat over to the Grand Floridian for dinner at Narcoosee’s.  After dinner went on a fireworks cruise out of the Grand Floridian and were dropped off at Contemporary then headed for the room and to call it quits.

Thoughts & Observations:

• We started off the day with the Around the World Segway Experience at EPCOT. This was my third time on this tour. The tour itself is nearly identical in flow. You spend the first 45 minutes or so learning to ride then the last hour riding around World Showcase. One item of note this time there was a guest relations CM and a Segway CM that went with us. In the past it seemed both were always guest relations (or at least had the same costumes on). Overall the guest relations CM threw some nice little factoids of World Showcase into the tour, but nothing new jumps to mind.. I thought both CMs on the tour were friendly and knowledgeable but neither seemed that outgoing and they seemed more interested in talking to two other CMs who were on the tour than the rest of us. Also they seemed a lot more safety cautious than previous tours, even the one we took in December at Fort Wilderness. They would not allow me to keep my camera bag with me.. nice for my shoulders but I would have liked to have had the lens choices for the photo stop.
  
  
• I did overhear them talking about a new Segway Experience that was being tried out/developed at EPCOT. Neither of these two would comment/speak about it when I asked them but from what I overheard they were not happy with how it was coming out. Our guide on a different tour (the Backstage Safari) mentioned he had tested a developmental Segway tour a few days ago and he thought it was good. The only details he provided were you ride the larger wheeled off road Segways and you go around backstage at EPCOT. He also said it was longer, nearly 3 hours instead of the traditional 2 hour Segway tours. The CMs at EPCOT seemed to think the tour was lacking Segway ride time, but again it was hard to hear as I was ease dropping and nothing was first hand so I may have missed portions so treat this as hearsay at best...
  
  
  
• We had lunch at Beaches and Cream. This is my vote for the best burger on Disney property and the Sundaes are among the best too. To top it off we lucked out and it was not crowded at all.
  
  
• After lunch we headed to the Animal Kingdom. The park was relatively dead. The Safari had a posted 20 minute wait that dwindled to 10 minutes and when we decided to walk through ended up being a walk on. As we were heading for the entrance we decided we wanted a Sprite and some Popcorn. Seems our timing is terrible. The one stand had a huge line. The second stand we went to near the entrance had a broken computer and would not take our cards so we ended up walking all the way from Dinoland around to Camp Minnie Mickey to get a box of popcorn. Then we wanted a bottle of Sprite (so we could take it with us) and after stopping by three stands realized that most the ODV carts only had Coke, Diet Coke, and Water, which seemed odd.. so we caved and just bought a fountain drink.
  
  
• We stopped on the bridge from the Oasis to Discovery Island in an attempt to see the Space Shuttle launch. Due to the clouds and the limited view through the trees we missed the launch.
  
  
• My parents decided they wanted to go parasailing (my brother and I had no interest in it so we rented a pontoon boat and took pictures). We had gone parasailing years ago when they had the bench/chair that you could sit in, now you strap into a harness. Overall they enjoyed the trip and we have some pictures, not many as its a brief ride and they were enjoying the view. Again this was one of those experiences that was nice since it was on the plan but for the 8 minutes they were in the air not sure it was worth the $181.
  
  
• As we roamed the Magic Kingdom I finally came across a location that sells regular/plain old boring cherry icee's. The stand at the base of Rocket Tower Plaza in Tomorrowland. As we roamed the parks and others got their mixed and various flavored icees I kept my eyes pealed for the one flavor I like... and I finally found it. The Magic Kingdom was not crowded at all either, same as Animal Kingdom. We were able to walk right on Pirates and many other attractions if we had time/chosen to.
  
  
• After dinner we went on a Fireworks cruise out of the Grand Floridian marina since we had dinner at Narcoossees. The cruise itself was nice and relaxing. For those that have not done one before you pick up your pontoon boat at one of the marinas and then head out to the lake. Most of the time you leave early enough that you can do a circle of the Seven Seas Lagoon and over to Bay Lake before lining up in front of the Magic Kingdom for Wishes. Over the years these cruises have evolved slightly. The base cruise, which is what was included on our plan, no longer includes any snacks or drinks. The other big change is now the boats have speakers/radios on board so you can hear the show. Before there were speakers on the island and then the sound from the Magic Kingdom itself. This is still a very popular event as we noticed over a dozen boats out every night of our trip. Its kind of funny to watch them all jockey for and then hold their position. Everything from the pontoon boats to the Grand I (the yacht) to the larger Pirate Cruises/Party Cruise boats (the old Animal Kingdom boats). Also a nice plus at the end, we were dropped off back at the Contemporary which saved us the monorail trip from the Grand Floridian.
  

Pedometer Information for the day:

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