Where Adventures Begin...
It was back to Epcot until at least mid-morning - today was a split day, with the kids spending the evening at Simba's Cubhouse, and DW and I having a dinner alone and perhaps a few drinks around the Seven Seas Lagoon.
We didn't hurry to Epcot so we missed Rope Drop, but we weren't planning on hitting Soarin' today so it wasn't a big deal. We went to Test Track first (before the lines got long), and then we all rode Mission: Space together on the green side.
We all then went to Ellen's Energy Adventure, and this time it was working. However, at one point, when entering the large room, a man hopped out of one of the vehicles and then lifted his kid out and carried them to an exit door and left. I was expecting that the ride would shut down completely when that happened - it is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to exit a moving ride - even if it is still at the moment, and doesn't move fast when it does. But the ride went on.
We then walked over to the Kim Possible Adventure station on the bridge to the World Showcase, to get our "assignment". What you actually get is a Fastpass, in a sense. It tells you a time and a location to be at. Ours was Italy at 12:15pm.Where Adventures Begin...
Since we had time, we finally saw Honey I Shrunk The Audience for the first time since 1999. DD#1 had kept saying before the trip that she didn't want to see it, but she finally relented, and may have been prepared after seeing the similar Shrek 4D. The last time we saw it, the preshow was an incredibly long rendition of the song "True Colors", with photographic images. Great rendition of the song, but after that you're hearing it your head for a month. Now, there were a bunch of small screens and they do a presentation about the Imagination Institute. It is a large, open ampitheater like area, but with absolutely no seats, and you are repeated admonished not to sit on the floor, but it can be a long wait. For the actual show theater there are seats though.
After that, we decided to make our way towards Italy for our Kim Possible Adventure a bit early. When we reached Canada I said I'd go ahead and get drinks for DW and I at the Rose & Crown, and picked up the pace. Unfortunately the wait was pretty long to get the drinks (Guinness for me, Welsh Dragon for DW), and when I came out, the family was nowhere to be found - the beginning of some miscommuncation that resulted in our first and (hopefully) last lost child experience.
I tried calling on the cell phone but got no answer. I waited a few minutes to no avail, so I started around the World Showcase with drinks in hand, drinking mine as I went. By the time I got to Japan I had finished my drink and had a hand available and called again. DW answered, and she asked me, "Where's (DD#1)?" Uhhhh...wasn't she with her? She met with me - apparently DD#1 said she'd wait for me, but after DW left, suddenly realized that she didn't know where I went - she looked around for me in Canada because she thought I was somewhere there, but didn't see me anywhere. A woman sitting on a bench noticed and got a CM for her, who took her over to where the First Aid station is at the Odyssey restaurant.
DW backtracked to where she would have been, where a CM on a Segway noticed her looking around, and said that he had just seen a CM taking her to the first aid station. DW went there, and apparently DD#1 wasn't alone...this probably happens more often than you'd think.
They met us in Italy (now well after our KP mission time, not that it matters that much), and we began our KP Adventure.
You receive a "Kimmunicator", which is a Verizon cell phone but with special firmware installed (don't bother snatching one - it would be useless outside Epcot), and an RFID tag attached. You take it and you'll hear from Kim's friend Wade, who will explain what your mission is. You then proceed to the appropriate country (in our case, Germany - I believe be default they give you the closest one, but if you've done it before they can assign you another), and you need to perform some task or find some object based on the clues. For instance, you need to find the singing beer steins in one of the Germany shops, and when you push the button on the Kimmunicator they will sing for you.
Once you are done with a mission, you have the option to do another mission, or if you are done, it tells you where the nearest hidden location to drop off the Kimmunicator is.
The adventure was interesting - it gets you in and out of the shops, and gets kids interested in the World Showcase. The one drawback is the potential log jam of adventurers at the same location which can perhaps spoil the adventure of finding things yourself, but also if you are not taking part all these people looking at cell phones that keep playing the Kimmunicator ringtone over and over everywhere...The Singing Steins
We opted to do just the one adventure this time as we had already had our own adventure, and we needed to make sure we were back at AKL in time. So we headed out, stopping for some Photopass pictures in front of the fountain, and a quick ride at The Seas (we didn't stay at all to look around), and then another photopass right at the entrance before we left. The photographer had issues reading our Photopass card, so he took a picture of it, and told us to make sure to stop at a Photopass kiosk later with the time and location to be sure they made it on to our account. There is one right at AKL, so I chercked there any everything was OK.
We then brought the kids over to Simba's Cubhouse at 4:30pm. We've never used one of the kids clubs before, and had no idea what to expect, but the kids were looking forward to it. We met a few other couples also dropping their kids off (and at least one couple like us had never done it before). Simba's Cubhouse is behind the Uzima pool, on the first floor of the building. There is a small entrance area, beyond which parents aren't actually allowed - you drop your kids off and you pick them up and that's it. You do need to fill out some paperwork, give contact numbers, let them know who is authorized to pick them up, and you're done. There were two CMs, Robyn and Tim, who would be in charge.
DW and I had early reservations (5:30pm) at Narcoosees, and decided to take the bus. We had never eaten there, and DW wasn't too sure of the menu that she read, but she decided to try anyways. Narcoosees is located at the Grand Floridian Resort, right on the water with a picturesque view of the Magic Kingdom - it must be a prime spot during Wishes similar to the California Grill. There aren't many seats, however, and they are tiered with the inner seats higher up, in a semicircular fashion since it is in round building in which it occupies the water-side half.
Apparently there was some confusion over the seating arrangements, as we were brought to a table for two and told who our server would be, but it was someone completely different - and there was confusion elsewhere. Apparently the seater was new and didn't understand which table was which.
The menu appears to change frequently at Narcoosees, so be prepared that the menu you researched is not the one you see.
For an appetizer we chose the Crispy Duck Roll, which came with a spiced apple chutney and a soy chili glaze. It was similar to an egg roll but with duck meat, and it was delicious, as was the chutney (I don't often eat the side stuff). For dinner, I chose a lamb/tiger shrimp combo with couscous, all of which was quite delicious - I'd say more but I think I ate it too quickly to remember...DW had grilled swordfish with a pesto rice and marinated mushrooms, with some pancetta on the side. She never had swordfish before, but was glad she tried it. She says it was the "best meal of my life!" The flavors were all perfect, without being too strong.
For desert, I had the Key Lime Creme Brulee, which was very good but VERY sweet - I would eat this slowly with some drink to cut the sweetness. DW had the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with a blood orange sauce, which was "heavenly."
After dinner, we decided we would take the boat launch over to the Poly, walk around a bit to walk off dinner, and grab drinks at the Tabu Lounge. We then walked over to the Transportation and Ticket Center (visiting out upside-down brick on the way) to hop on the monorail for the ride all the way around to the Contemporary Resort. We managed to get to ride up front the whole way around, speaking with the monorail driver - I forget his name now, who was from the London area so we were talking about about the England, the Premiere League and such, as well as how one of the monorails had broken down earlier.
When we finally arrived we checked out the recently reopened Outer Rim Lounge, which I believe was slightly relocated due to all the construction on the 4th floor for Chef Mickey's. It isn't a big place - a bunch of seats along the windows on the Bay Lake side, with a small bar at one end. Reminded me more of an airport bar. The view was nice, although there was a loud hum as if from a nearby HVAC unit.
After a drink there, we walked over to the Magic Kingdom (after losing the path to it in the dark and cutting across the parking lot) to catch a bus back to AKL and pick up the kids before it cost us another $22 (the kids clubs are generally $11/hour per child)...
When we arrived to pick up the children, they didn't seem all that interested in leaving - they acknowledged us, but continued on as if we were not there - they enjoyed it so much! DD#2 was even voted the CMs favorite kid ever! Apparently she knows how to fool people who aren't familiar with her devilish ways...the kids did eventually succumb to our leaving, along with all their drawings and stuff.
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