DAY 12 - TUESDAY 2ND JUNE
We’re up
by 7.30am this morning as we’re off to Disney’s
Hollywood Studios in order to ride Toy Story Mania. After
breakfast we knock on Susan and Grandma’s door. No answer.
We guess they are waiting for us down at the boat dock and, sure
enough, we find them sat there.
It turns out that Susan has accidentally turned the clock back
one hour when setting the alarm and they both got up at 5.45am!
Susan says that it’s better to be one hour early than 5
minutes late due to the amount of stick I always give her over
punctuality. Fair point.
We get the boat to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and meet Sharon and Evan at the entrance. We get inside just at the rope drop and Evan, me, India and Georgia walk swiftly ahead to get Fastpasses, then join the ladies who have walked up more slowly and are now in the standby queue, which is already showing a 40 minute wait. In reality it’s more like 20 and we all enjoy this excellent new attraction. It’s so much fun and a great ride for young and old to enjoy.
It’s over to Rock ‘n Roller Coaster next and Tam, me and Georgia ride in the last car, it’s certainly faster from there. What a great ride this is, but I still feel a bit wobbly when I come off.
The ladies get Fastpasses for Tower of Terror and we then split up. Evan wants to audition for American Idol, so he heads off there with Sharon. Grandma, Susan and me watch the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I haven’t seen this for a few years so it’s nice to see it again.
It’s now
time for lunch and we all meet up again with the exception of
Evan, who’s still auditioning.
We eat at the Studio Catering Company where we share a chicken
wrap with beans and rice. The food’s not too bad here, not
brilliant but passable for counter service food. Still no Evan.
Off to Lights,
Motors, Action. Evan has now been gone for nearly two hours. He
eventually rings Sharon to tell her he’s on his way and she
says he sounds a bit down. We take our seats on the left hand
side of the stadium and soon see Evan walking in. He’s
wearing an American Idol lanyard saying ‘Vote for me’
and an audition number pinned to his shirt. He’s only gone
and passed the audition and he’ll be singing on stage in the
6 o’clock show!
The only thing he’s not too happy about is that they’re
making him sing ‘Achy, Breaky Heart’ by Billy Ray
Cirus. Tam and I tell him we probably won’t be able to vote
for him then.
The Lights, Motors, Action show is better than I remember. We’ve only seen it once before and it was raining then, so it’s enjoyable seeing all the stunts.
After the show we decide to go back to the Boardwalk to shower before Evan’s big moment. We have to be back at the American Idol theatre by 5,30pm as we are VIP guests. I knew I’d find my rightful place in the world sooner or later, I think I was born to be a VIP. VIP stands for Vacuous, Inebriated Person, right?
A quick trip to
the swimming pool, back to the room, showered and changed and
we’re ready to head back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
by 4.45pm. We enter just after 5.00pm, at least some of us do.
Grandma has left her pass in the room. Tam, Susan and Grandma go
to Guest Services to get a new ticket sorted out, while the rest
of us meet up with Sharon just inside the entrance.
New ticket sorted, we all walk to American Idol where we are
allowed to enter early while they give the 3 contestants some
instructions and allow them to try out their songs on stage.
It immediately becomes apparent that Evan will have his work cut out as the other two contestants, a girl and a bloke, both have Disney songs to sing. Surely this is a little unfair? Anyway, they all take their turn and to give them their credit, are all very good.
The photos we took inside American Idol are not that good, but at least you get the general idea.
After Evan sings, the judges give their verdict. The ‘nasty’ one tells Evan that if they ever have karaoke at Hooters, he should be first in line. I believe that this is meant to imply criticism, but Evan shouts ‘Yeah’ and I sit with tears of pride streaming down my face. No greater praise could there be.
Eventually they
have the voting and the girl that sang ‘Part of My
World’ wins. To be fair, she was very good; perhaps
she’ll get to work in Hooters one day.
We meet up with Evan afterwards and he says that he really
enjoyed the experience. Fair play to him and all the contestants,
it takes a lot of guts to stand up and sing to what was a packed
audience.
We all walk up
to Tower of Terror next and all ride except me, Georgia and Tam.
Tam and I grab a couple of beers and wait outside. We are a bit
concerned over whether will be ok. She loves this attraction, but
all that zooming up and down can’t possibly be good for an
84-year-old body.
Once again she proves us wrong by skipping off the ride full of
the joys of spring.
We now leave the park, but stop to watch the maintenance men street theatre group on the way out. I love these guys, they’re so much fun.
Notice how the 4 young people hang out together
We take the boat to Epcot and me, Evan and the girls walk on ahead to stake out a place in front of Norway for Reflections of Earth. Even at 8.15pm all the railing places are taken and we are lucky to get a spot when a couple of people leave.
While we are waiting for the fireworks to start, Grandma and Susan split a club sandwich, a huge almond pretzel and a cream horn. Not only have they got the constitution of teenagers, they have the appetite too!
After
Reflections of Earth (which is much better from my preferred
viewing spot) we walk round to China where India wants the beef
noodle soup and I introduce Evan to the wonders of Tsing Tao.
On to Morocco where Tam and I have the chicken and lamb platter,
while Evan and Georgia walk over to the UK to get fish and chips.
You may be
wondering how we manage to get food from the counter service
places after Reflections of Earth. Well, it’s Extra Magic
Hours tonight and Epcot is open until 1.00am.
We sit around a table in Morocco eating our various foods while
Evan tells us stories about his college roommate’s
disgusting toilet habits, believe me, you don’t want to
know.
It’s now past 11.00pm and Tam, me, Grandma and Susan head
back to the Boardwalk while India and Georgia decide to stay out
with Sharon and Evan to ride Soarin’.
As it turns out, they return not long after us as the wait is
more than 50 minutes. I guess this confirms what I’d heard
about Extra Magic Hours, it doesn’t automatically mean
shorter queues.