Disney Vacation Day 1: Epcot, Hollywood Studios
Posted April 5th, 2009 @ 09:45am by Erik J. Barzeski
1) Depart Clearwater, FL at 5:00am to drive to Disney World. Epcot opens at 8, and we have to pre-check-in to the hotel (Pop Century, a Disney resort).
2) Epcot - Soarin', Test Track, Crush Live Show, Pops, etc.
3) Le Cellier for lunch
4) Afternoon nap
4) Hollywood Studios - Fantasmic, Toy Story
5) Late dinner at hotel
Soarin' was eh. The technology was fine and worked well, but there were no transitions between the different "flights." One moment you were flying high (and kind of slowly) over mountains, and then instantly you were speeding along over a white-water river in a canyon.
Test Track was great - we'd ride it on our last day twice. Fantasmic, Toy Story (a 3D virtual shooting game/ride), both great. The Crush live show is pretty interesting from a software perspective - it's really just a 3D game running with some custom pre-built moves, but it's incredible for kids who aren't aware of the technology yet…
One of the best portions of the trip for Carey and I was the dining. Our vacation included the Disney dining plan, so we left only tips all week - well worth it since most of our meals would have cost $90 or so.
Today we ate at Le Cellier. Carey got a steak fillet salad and some chocolate mousse (shaped like a moose), while I got chicken sausage on some sort of sweet corn mash, a prime rib sandwich and fries, and crème brulée. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
The last - and only - time I'd been to Disney World I don't remember much, but what I do remember is the big ball at Epcot and the dancing water. We obviously saw the big ball, I saw the water, and some other things slowly came back to me, but much of Epcot is updated and/or new, so I was able to try other things as well.