Breakfast
I love my carbs, don't get me wrong, and I think waffle machines are great fun, but I think that some people need to rethink where they spend their money. Yes it is a free breakfast, but 10 different forms of solid carbohydrates and sugar do not equate to a real meal and when you can't afford dental care for your family, you should not be spending the required cash for any of the parks ... even the Holy Land Experience. Teeth come first.
Anyway, after a little judgemental dining (on my part) where people were preparing to go into public wearing really inappropriate clothing that did not go with their missing teeth (I exaggerate), we were ready to head to our first of two Disney parks for the day ... Disney's MGM Studios.
MGM Studios
Betty was very nice about taking my money in exchange for $170 for two fun filled days at Disneyworld. The happiest place apparently includes a mortgage for a family of four. However, since my baby has four legs and does not like rollercoasters, people or travel it was just Frank and me at the park. We opted to get the Park Hopper which allowed us to visit any of the parks throughout the day.
MGM Studios is the Disney version of Universal Studios. Everything is themed around the movies or television. Our first destination was to head over to the Rock and Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror (TOT). When it comes to theming the TOT wins hands down. The Twilight Zone theme caused a mother and daughter to discuss whether their souls would be endangered by riding the ride. Yawn. By the looks of it the mother should be more concerned with trying to deceive her husband that she is a blonde and the daughter obviously enjoyed the waffle machine at her hotel ... if you know what I mean. People ... YOU ARE AT DISNEYWORLD on the TOWER OF TERROR. You should be more concerned that there are people that could be fed for year with the amount of cash you dropped to walk in the door.Anyway, TOT is a great ride and then we headed off to find other attractions that would hold our attention. We did the backlot tour, saw the stunt show and wandered in to the Chronicles of Narnia exposition where apparently it was a like "Employee Park Swap" day! The poor girl could not pronounce C.S. Lewis and the story was reduced to kids ... war... ward ... robe... witch and eat good. Why they were eating was never explained and I've never seen so many people wandering what we were supposed to do and why we couldn't understand the girl's English. After lunch, we we jumped in our car and headed to Epcot with hopes of hitting a few rides and taking a stroll around the world before meeting Bev and Dan for dinner in Paris. Ooh la la!
Epcot
Epcot is a funny place in that it feels like a world's fair from the 70's, one that should have been dismantled. There are pavillions, which house educational exhibits and the futuristic fountains and such. It's interesting but compared to the countries that surround the lake, a bit sterile. We did enjoy the Soarin' attraction which is originally from California Adventure. Oddly, if you didn't read the map you wouldn't know what the attraction was or why you were flying over California, instead of say, Florida or countries of the world. I mean it couldn't be that difficult to swap orange groves and keep the scent or fly over the Atlantic instead of the Pacific and still smell the salt air. Great attraction ... odd location.
I did enjoy the countries, though we were at this point doing just a walk about and wandering whether we had selected the best pair of shoes for our two-day romp. We made it to France and sat down with about 15 minutes to spare. Bev and Dan found us and we were off to dinner.
Dinner in Paris
After a full day on our feet, we sat down in Paris to wait for Bev and Dan. It would be our first event for two days together and the first time that Dan and Frank would meet. Bev recommended the upper room and it was an excellent choice. Apparently the staff are aunthentic (i.e. from France) and all have very thick accents. Thick like a steak thick. William, the English translation of our waiter was an attractive young man who after determining what kind of water we would have questioned Bev whether "Madam" would like to start with a Kir Royal. Now mind you, we have been sort of having a conversation with William for five minutes. It was that awkward, do we get a glass of wine or a bottle? Do we order the Prix Fix menu or ala' Carte? So having navigated some of the table arrangements the men at the table were not going to take the first step and determine whether we would be having Kir Royals or not. Besides, Frank was feeling ill and would not be having alcohol. Now, Bevy had gone into what I like to call the language zone; that place where you nod your head like you are having a grand old time, but really you are thinking of that your son's girlfriend left her underwear at your house and you washed them.
Would Madam care for Kir Royal?
Madam?
Huh?
Would Madam care for Kir Royal?
It was kind of like watching a deer in the headlights. There was no way in hell Bev knew what William was saying or what a Kir Royal was or why he was asking her if she would like one. I think it was the first time I've seen Bev for a loss of words. She was caught and we were not going to help her out of the zone.
Uhh, no thanks!
Way to go Bev. I have to agree with her when she stated that it was a good thing that she and Dan had not seen the Pink Panther movie prior to dinner. Having since seen it, the scene with the Hamburger is right on target and absolutely hysterical. Needless, to say, our meal was excellent, we missed half of what William was saying and had a great time together.
It was the start of a meal that was filled with laughter and stories, unlike the couple seated next to us. Personally, I thought the couple was on a bad first date. They did not speak. She would not try any of his food. We carried on. They remained silent. We enjoyed wine. They did not speak. By the end of the meal, I was determined to get a picture of the waiter. The couple held hands ... and had wedding rings; there went the first date theory. It must have been painfully obvious how dull they were or how obnoxious we were!
As everyone headed to the exit and to the restrooms, I eyed William and had to get his picture. Luckily, with Bev there, it didn't seem creepy. We could have been like the table just down from us who photographed him pouring the wine, holding the menu, lighting dessert on fire. The poor boy is a trapped bird in a cage singing for his supper, leave him alone! Anyway, not wanting to let the opportunity pass, I said Pardon moi (oui ... in French!) but Madam would like a picture with you! He feigned surprise and asked, "You want a picture with me?" Of course she did ... married women are alike and since he brought her such great pleasure and the rest of us, I'm glad I did. More on that later. This is William and Bev!
Epcot Fireworks
After our very non-Disney dinner we headed out to the lake to see the fireworks. I'm sure it has a name, everything at Disney does. The show is very impressive and includes a giant globe of the earth that floats out to the middle of the lake, includes video displays and is synchronized to music and fireworks. Our first Disney day was only a taste for what would come on Day Two! Our friends were great park companions and we had Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom to conquer.
Live the moment!
