Trip Log:

Started off the morning with a 6am wake up call then a quick stop at Everything Pop on our way to Oak Trail for another quick 9 holes.  Was back at Pop Century for showers and a bite to eat by 9:30ish and out waiting for the Downtown Disney bus by 10:00am.  Waited almost 25 minutes for the bus then had to stop at Typhoon Lagoon so it was a long bus ride too.  Arrived at the Marketplace and made my way through the shops including the new Lego store and then onto the West Side to see the Car Maters Weekend festivities.  Continued on for a quick trip through Disney Quest before heading back to the busses and over to the Beach Club (another long bus trip with a lot of stops).  Walked through the International Gateway and into EPCOT.  Stopped by the Pixar Central area to see the character meet and greets and then headed to a late lunch at Le Cellier.  After lunch strolled to Future World and made our way through Innoventions and over to the Festival Center (old Wonders of Life).  Doubled back to Innoventions and then headed over to the Contemporary via Monorail to check in for Destination D.  After checking in headed back to EPCOT.  Walked over to Mission Space to see Buzz and then wandered back to Pixar Central before continuing on around the World Showcase checking out Ratatouille in France, Bugs in between France and Morocco, the Toy Story gang at the American Adventure.  Made it to the start of the 6:30 Herman Hermits set then it started to drizzle so I ran for cover just as the real rain started.  The storm blew through and we spent some time hiding under cover and then wandered around Italy before going back to get a seat for the 7:45 show.  After the show strolled around World Showcase and stopped in Mexico for the ride before finding a spot for Illuminations.

Thoughts & Observations:

• We started the morning off again at Disney's Oak Trail course for a quick 9 holes of golf. This morning it was more crowded with several groups waiting around, and by the time we finished it was backed up at the first tee.
  
  
• Overall the busses seemed on the slow side today, not sure if our good luck was running out or just our patience...
  
  
• W headed to Downtown Disney and the Car Masters Weekend event. This featured Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Finn McMissle from the Cars 2 film, some new Cars 2 models at Ridemakerz as well as screenings of Cars at the AMC. There were also some interactive exhibits and other tents set up. On Saturday and Sunday there was a classic car show too. I thought this was a nice promotion and can see it bringing excitement into local malls, events as it circles the country. The line was fairly solid during our brief visit. I did not wait and go through the tents but took some pictures from the outside looking in to get a flavor for the event.
  
  
• Stopped by DisneyQuest after the Car Masters event. We were all surprised at how crowded it felt for just opening and a nice day outside. There were several loud groups of kids roaming around too that made for a somewhat unpleasant experience. So we only did a brief tour then headed out. Also interesting they directed us around the main elevator and to the first floor, which seemed odd.
  
  
• EPCOT had special event going on this weekend too. It was Pixar's 25th Anniversary Weekend celebrating Cars 2
• There were Character Meet and Greets set up around both Future World and World Showcase as well as a large one inside Pixar Celebration Central (the old Millennium tent). This large one reminded me of the Family Fun Weekends Disneyland had this past winter where there were a lot of character opportunities and they kept cycling different groups through.
  
  
• On Saturday and Sunday they had several speaker sessions, I was disappointed that I could not make those due to the D23 event. I talked to some who attended and the retiredgeeks did check one out on Sunday (so I will have pictures posted from in our Sunday pictures) all said they were interesting and well attended.
  
  
• Ate a late lunch at Le Cellier and had a great meal as usual. Has anyone tried a dinner there now that it is a signature dining experience?
  
  
• The Festival Center was open daily this year but limited hours, 10am to 5pm. When I stopped by there was one presentation going on and not much else, but it was mid afternoon on a Friday. I was a little disappointed to not see the making of the festival video playing in the theater, instead it was playing clips/ads for the HGTV shows.
  
  
• I took a couple hours in the afternoon to head over to the Contemporary and check in for the D23 Destination D event. Checkin was a breeze with only a couple minute wait and a friendly group of CMs helping out. The merchandise line on the other hand was a bit longer. I took a look at the offerings and opted not to wait and buy anything. I would have liked a pin or something but the price points seemed a bit above what I was willing to spend.
  
  
• The group this weekend was Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone. They put on one of the best shows I have experienced in a while. It is too bad one of the shows got rained out in the middle. Be sure to watch the videos included in the pictorial update for a sample of their show.
  
  
• After making it back to the room we starting hearing fireworks around 9:45 somewhere near by. It seemed to be coming from toward the sports complex. I did not go out and look around too much but it was much louder than the park fireworks are usually.
  

Pedometer Information for the day:

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