DAY 12 - SUN 27th SEPT

After our late night we sleep in until 9:00. The mornings are getting later as the nights get later.

We are going to Blizzard Beach but as it doesn't open until 10:00 we drop in on the Coronado Springs Resort for a look round.
This place is BIG. The swimming area is very nice but if I were staying at a moderate then I think I would prefer Port Orleans.

At Blizzard Beach we base ourselves by Tikes Peak and the girls have a play on the slides.
After letting them play for a while (and having a bit of relaxation time ourselves) we head off for a go on some of the slides.
The girls and I go up on the chair lift but Tammy walks up as she has a bit of a thing about heights. The view from the top is quite spectacular and, if you look carefully, you can see the centrepiece of all 4 parks.
We come down on the Teamboat Springs raft ride which is longer, faster and better than the Typhoon Lagoon family raft ride.

After a slow drift round Cross Country Creek, trying to avoid the occasional icy drenching, we head across to Runoff Rapids. I am not sure whether Georgia will be able to do this but she rides with me in a double tube and has a great time. We all do the left and right open sides and then take turns to do the centre enclosed dark tube run. This is fast and fun. They only allow single tubes on here so Georgia has a little sulk as she cannot ride.

Lunch at Lottawatta Lodge is next. The girls share fries (what else?) and onion rings while Tammy and I split a tuna roll with potato salad and meatballs, linguine, garlic stick and Caesar salad. This is fine for the money.

After lunch we get the customary mid-afternoon moaning session from Georgia. First she wants an ice cream, then, after she has been given the one she asked for, she wants the one that India has got. When she can't have this she says she doesn't want hers because it is too cold! If anyone out there can provide Disney with a recipe for hot ice cream, Georgia would be most appreciative.

It has been sunny most of the morning but the clouds begin to bubble up around midday.

Back to the hotel, shower and off to Epcot at 5:00. This is going to be an evening for just wandering around World Showcase, looking, drinking and snacking on the way.
Mexico is first. We get a childs meal of nachos, burrito and churro, a beer for me and a margarita for Tammy. Georgia is asleep in the stroller so Tammy goes into the pavilion to buy a present for her mother while I get a table by the waters edge.
It is at this point that I have one of those Disney moments. Just sat there quietly staring across World Showcase Lagoon and watching the world go by, beer in hand.
Amid all the hustle and bustle of the attractions and shows some of my most memorable times have just been sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the sights, smells, sounds and atmosphere of Walt Disney World. It is something that you can't really make happen, it just sort of sneaks up on you and you suddenly feel warm, content and above all, happy.

Tammy returns and sits with Georgia while I take India on to the River of Time ride before we move on to China.
A beer and the child's meal of sweet and sour chicken are taken here. The chicken is very good, we are thoroughly enjoying our trip around the 'world'.
India buys a fan and some little nodding turtles, at which point Georgia wakes up and has to have a fan as well. There are some beautiful shops, with some beautiful price tags as well, although the girls have spent their money very wisely overall.

In Italy the girls get their passports stamped and are busy making spaghetti and meatballs from wool and paper plates so I back track to Germany to pick up a Beck's beer.

We are aiming to get around to the UK and Canada to watch the bands and so we have to get a bit of a move on from here.
As we pass France we pause to watch the Living Statues. They certainly are very lifelike (should that be non-lifelike?) and one seems to fall in love with a watching lady. You could practically hear his stone heart cracking.

On to the UK and the only disappointment of the night, it is Sunday and the British Invasion are not playing. Never mind, it means we get to watch Off Kilter twice.
I try to get a beer in the UK and the girl asks me for ID. Yes! Tammy bet me that I wouldn't be asked this time as I have passed 40. I return with Tammy and she agrees that perhaps I am old enough after all and tells me that many British people resent being asked. I tell her that, far from being resentful, I take it as a compliment, in fact it has made my night!

On to Canada for the first Off Kilter show. If you like to have a good time then make sure you see these boys. They really look like they enjoy what they are doing, but then again who wouldn't? Doing something you love in a place like WDW. Yeah, I can think of worse things in life.
We fit in the Oh, Canada show, mainly because Tammy really likes the music, before the second Off Kilter show.
A beer in Canada for me is accompanied by a beaver tail for Tammy.
By the way, Julian sent me an e-mail and suggested I try a beer in Canada that is 8% alcohol. All I can say that is that at the end of a trek around the 'world' it is probably just as well that I stuck to the Moosehead.
Some people may feel that this particular evening involved too much drinking but I prefer to look upon it as a cultural experience where we sampled the fine brews from across the globe. In fact it would be almost impolite not to take up the opportunity. (Hic!)

The hour or so that she slept in the stroller has done Georgia the world of good and she is raring to go. India is happy 95% of the time anyway. The exception to this is Illuminations. We watch from the steps in front of Canada and poor India is not happy again. Two minutes after she is back to normal and skipping about.
She asks if she will have to see it again and I tell her just once more when we meet Ronnie on our last night. She is afraid that Ronnie will think she is silly for being scared, so I explain that everyone is scared of something and not to be worried. I know this is true because the end of the holiday is approaching and I am pretty flippin' scared about that!

Now I don't want to alarm you good people but it did not rain once today. Not a drop. The two days we were supposed to get the worst weather have been the best of the whole trip, so far. Don't you just hate weather forecasters?

A near perfect Disney day.

Oh yes, a last thought.
I'm not stupid (no, really I'm not) and I fully understand that all this is artificial, created, but I don't care. If there is anywhere more beautiful than the Disney parks at night then I have not found it yet.
Mind you, I am biased.

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