Monday, 7-16-01

Another busy day . . . well, for some of us. The girls slept till noon, "chilled," ate and then joined us at Epcot, where we had been since around 9:30. Ron and I set a leisurely pace, but the hours just flew by. I rode Test Track, in the back seat for the first time and discovered you really do get blown apart back there (the windshield must block some of the wind for the front seat passengers, which I never realized before). We saw the British Invasion (in England, natch) who performed songs by the Dave Clark 5, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and primarily the Beatles. Our timing was great for most of the shows we went to see and overall the lines weren't bad at all. In fact, Epcot at times seemed downright empty . . . until the evening that is.

The future Mission: SPACE, by Compaq.

We dined at Le Cellier in Canada. Earlier in the day, after making reservations, we decided to double-check the menu to make sure there was something for everyone to eat. There was a young woman standing next to where the outdoor menu was posted (with the wonderfully French-Canadian name of Barb) to explain the menu or answer any questions. She was dressed in a yellow, long-sleeved shirt and dark pants while standing in the unforgiving mid-day tropical sun. Even I considered this cruel and unusual punishment, and wondered how quickly the dress code would be changed if some lofty executive who shall remain unnamed (but has the initials ME) had to stand outside for an hour in the blistering sun wearing a long-sleeved shirt and tie. That poor girl was standing out there five hours later when we returned, but yes, she had been relieved and rotated. Anyway the food was great, although our server was somewhat lacking in that Disney sparkle. The steaks were juicy and tender and the garlic-herb mashed potatoes outstanding. Apparently the seafood penne pasta was pretty good as well, judging from the speed with which it disappeared from Jeannine's plate! They served three different types of bread as well, one of which looked and tasted like a soft pretzel.

Daughter #1 is happy to pose with the boys from Blast . . . or is it the other way around?

"'The Power of Blast,' featuring selections from the Broadway hit combining musical precision of brass and percussionists with high-energy dancers," was performing at the American Gardens Theater. It was an outstanding show, vibrating with energy, plus they did a meet and greet after the show. Earlier, we had heard the Voices of Liberty perform in the American Adventure rotunda; they sang a particularly moving rendition of "Sheandoah," and the same gentlemen we saw back in 1989 is still directing them! He certainly does an outstanding job.

The Tapestry of Nations parade was still going on, so we got to see that while it was still daylight. Jeannine got a lot of attention from the performers, surprising in that they usually show more towards small children than big ones. She really perked up. Illuminations was spectacular, as always, better than I remember, a great display of fireworks that lit the sky as bright as day, combined with lasers that gave a colorful glow to the residual smoke.

We ended the evening at Beaches and Cream (we have to go to one of these ice cream places earlier in the day so Jeannine and I can indulge in an elaborate chocolate concoction) - at least some of us ended it there. After a quick shower, Jenny went off somewhere with - you guessed it - Jeff and Jesus, "clubbing" (they did end up at PI tonight).

No rain again today unless you count the brief sprinkle around 6:00; we didn't even pull out our ponchos. The weather person said it was because the humidity was so low. But it did get hot; it's the first time this trip I really felt the heat - NOT that I'm complaining.

Tuesday, 7-17-01

Time for more fun in the sun and water, this time at Typhoon Lagoon. Being on this lazy river is like floating through the Jungle Cruise. The water here felt a little warmer, too. But did it ever get crowded - at times it was like rush hour on Castaway Creek.

Again had a brief shower around 1:00, but with blue skies all around us. Couldn't say the same at 3:00, though - it got dark and ugly and breezy. We packed up our things and started to head out at the first rumble; by the time we hit the parking lot, they were evacuating the pools. The first drops started falling just as we reached the car - talk about timing once again!

The rain continued through our showers and some shopping time in the hotel gift shop. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood, where we were joined by "the boys" and Jeff's parents. It was a noisy and distracting dinner. Afterwards, we strolled Downtown Disney West Side for the first time, which has some fun and unique shops. We also stopped in the Disney Quest gift shop; I wasn't impressed with their merchandise selection - Chicago's (which will be closing in September) is better.

We all journeyed to Port Orleans Riverside - formerly Dixie Landings - to see Bob Jackson perform again. We were pleasantly surprised that all four younger members enjoyed him as much as we did. Bob had a lot of fun with Jesus; and he, Jen and Jeff were eager volunteers when Bob asked for "the kids" to come up and help him on songs like "Hands, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." We had as much fun here was we did a year ago when we "discovered" him. Bob is quite the entertainer, and it's so nice to go somewhere like this and experience wholesome, family entertainment! The jokes are corny, and there is much encouragement of audience participation; but hey, as Bob says, "You'll never see any of these people again!" Alcoholic libations are available, but the wait staff is not pushy; in fact, it's not unusual to see a guest flagging down a server while grabbing their throat in thirst!

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