Morning came very early for us this day. We were still tired from the day before, but we rolled out anyway. Our plan was to get to the parks at opening, and that's what we did. After grabbing a quick breakfast, we headed to the bus so that we could be at Epcot at opening. Epcot is one of my favorite parks; I especially love the World Showcase.
We knew that our top priorities for rides were Test Track and Soarin', so we high-tailed it to Test-Track as soon as we got in. We were able to ride almost immediately, and Sam had a great time. They've added a new element to the queue, so you design your "car" while you wait in line. During the actual ride he hid his eyes the whole time, but since he was giggling hysterically, we knew he was good.
After that we headed over to Soarin', which is easily one of Anthony's favorite rides. It really is super-neat, and it's a ride that almost anyone will enjoy. After that, we hit up Under the Seas with Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush, Living with the Land, and a few others. It's amazing what you can get done in the first few hours. I don't have a ton of experience, but I think that as long as you are at the parks the second they open, and you know exactly what your priorities are, you can do a lot no matter what time of year you visit WDW.
After meandering around Future World, we headed over to the World Showcase for character pictures and food. Getting pictures and autographs was one of Sam's favorite parts of the trip. We bumped into Chip (or Dale?) and he took some time with us. I can't ever get Chip and Dale straight. I just know one of them has a black nose.
Excuse the ugly sweater I have on. The hood makes me look like I have the worst posture in the world, which is probably true. This was really the only day that it was a little chilly, and by the afternoon, we all ditched our jackets.
While walking through Mexico, we spotted Donald. This was major because he is one of Sam's favorites. Donald was very sweet, but he made sure to sign his name bigger than Mickey's.
I think these pictures are cute, but Sam's hugging position cracks me up.
Ok, so the next few pics take some explaining. When we were going to grab lunch, we spotted a whole bunch of characters in one area. When we got Sam over there, the characters were leaving. We asked one of the "cast members" if they would be back at a certain time, and she said, "I may or may not be able to tell you that they'll be here again around 2:00." We thanked her, grabbed some lunch, and killed some time. When it was almost 2, we camped out in the area we thought they would be. Sam had no idea, but we kept watching the gate. Right after 2, a whole bunch of them came out at once. He was sooo excited, and we were, too. The pictures of them coming out of the gate are either super cute, or really creepy. I can appreciate how some children freak out when they see large, silent, characters headed their way.
Sam met Pluto, Goofy, Max, Donald, (again) Chip and Dale, Mr. Smee, Mickey, and Rafiki. If you're wondering who Max is, he's Goofy's son.
I wish that we had gotten to meet more villains, but Mr. Smee is as close as we got. Does Mr. Smee even count?
We tried to play a cute little Phineas and Ferb scavenger hunt that was set up, but Sam was wearing down at that point. He was not in the mood to focus on clues. Can you tell?
Waiting in line to meet Aurora. Can we discuss what the girl in the background has on? What in the world?
She was his first princess, and boy, was he smitten. The characters who talk are really wonderful, especially with the little ones. He had found a gold pin on the ground earlier in the day, and he insisted on giving it to her. She gratefully took it, and told him she would keep it somewhere special. She then proceeded to give him a tutorial on how to pose like a prince. By the end of the week, he was a pro.
She's adjusting his arm placement.
Nailed it.
Then he discovered the phone booths in the U.K. He was absolutely fascinated. Don't get me wrong, I love a good red phone booth, but I never thought they were the entertainment they proved to be. Sam played in and around them for a good 20 minutes. He was in the background of an older couple's picture because we couldn't convince him to get out, and they laughed and told us to leave him there. They just wanted to know his name so that they could tell the story when they got home.
To finish up our day, we checked out the "Where's the Fire?" exhibit, which was a big hit with fireman Sam. I wasn't sure if we would ever get out of there, but we finally managed to pry him away.
It was a long day, but we had a blast. If we went back tomorrow, I'm pretty sure Sam would just skip the rides, and hang with the characters, play in the phone booths, and stare at the model trains in Germany.
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