The original plan was for me to drive down after work on Friday, stay at the All Star Movies and hang out with WWDRH drinking cold drinks while catching up. I started a new job so I haven't been getting out before 8-9pm, so driving down after work and hanging out unfortunately had to be cut. It looks like this worked out for the best as WWDRH had friends at the same hotel, so it gave them time to catch-up and I was planning on taking up too much of their time on Saturday anyway.
Sooo, 5am Saturday the alarm gets me up. After a wake-up shower, I jumped into the car for my day trip to the World. I'm about 2.5-3 hours away so I figured I would be good leaving by 6am. I arrived at the EPCOT parking lot around 8:40 and called WWDRH and told him I would be there shortly as I was only in the 2nd row. I met up with him and his lovely wife at the front gates and we stood in line trying to talk over the super loud speakers playing the "background" music.
We got in and went straight to Soarin' with the rest of the herd of cattle. It was only a 5 minute wait so we went ahead and got a FP for later and got in line. Both times we rode, we were on the 3rd row. I guess I am bad luck but it was still awesome nonetheless. We left there and WWDRH asked where I wanted to go. This is where I had told him and his wife that I am blessed enough to get down to Disney quite frequently and that everything we were going to do that day would be totally up to them. I had no plans whatsoever. And WWDRH was correct, I asked his wife if she thought he was crazy for listening to Disney music all of the time. I basically asked because my wife thinks I am weird for it, so I just wanted to hear another wives perspective. I was very happy to hear that she thinks the same as my wife and it wasn't just me.
I won't reiterate what WWDRH has already reported on. But I will say that the beer in Germany was probably the best beer I have had in a LONG time. It was super cold and I really enjoyed the time we shared sitting at a table talking and watching the SQUIRREL... building a nest in a drain pipe. I could have stayed there the rest of the day and been just fine. Sorry guys, we don't have a total amount that was spent as we shared the cost of the beverages. I haven't been drinking as much lately as I have been on a strict diet so, let's just say I was already feeling a buzz after beer #1 (Oktoberfest). Beer #2 (Carlsburg) shortly followed in Norway. Then came La Cava... awesome as usual and I do really like the Jalapeno margarita. I was surprised at how mild it was. By this time I was feeling pretty good. Hopefully my NC family was not noticing a slur in my speech or my really slow reaction time.
This was when we were accosted by the stupid bear. We attempted to get pics of the bear boozing it up, but apparently Disney was ready for that and they don't allow it. After beating the bear senseless, sorry no pics of that because they were confiscated by Disney, we left to go get something to eat at the UK. I had never tried the Fish N Chips, so that is what we had, along with beer #3 (Harp's). It was really good but after all that alcohol, 2 fish strips and some fries were not enough to soak it up. Nevertheless, I'm a trooper, so onward we go... This is where we found the best kept secret in EPCOT. We stopped to use the restroom and when we were done WWDRH mentioned that he had read that the phone booths in the UK actually work if you called them. So, WWDRH called one of them and I went in to investigate and alas, I was talking to a familiar voice complete with a British accent! Well, you know what happened after that... We sat there for a good hour reaching out to anyone who would answer. WWDRH was a natural, we of course, were laughing histerically with other people we had never met. My favorite had to be the CM that actually answered. We then moved on to Canada for beer #4 (Moosehead). I was planning on taking this one slow as I knew I was near my limit. WWDRH had mentioned that we could take our beverage into the movie so off we went. The CM outside must not have gotten that memo as she wanted us to finish before the movie started which was a mere 7 minutes away. I couldn't throw it away for 2 reasons. First off, it was $7.50 and I wasn't throwing that away. Secondly, I didn't want to appear weak in front of my long lost brother. So.... I downed it as fast as I could... wrong choice... We walked into that 360 degree theater and immediately I was looking around for trash cans because my head was spinning. Luckily there was one not too far away. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and was able to fight off whatever was coming. I felt much better when I was walking out. But I was officially DONE. It didn't matter anyway as we had made the decision to go ahead and leave EPCOT as it was getting hotter and later in the day.
I told WWDRH that I had no plans and they graciously invited me back to their hotel for some swimming. I wasted no time as WWDRH said and was already in the pool by the time they got there. When we were done WWDRH said goodbye to me as they were going to rest a little then go back to EPCOT later. It was almost 5pm and I didn't have to be back at a certain time, so I decided to run off to the MK. Unfortunately, my shorts were soaked while riding on the bus over. As luck would have it, it really didn't matter as it started pouring on the way over. It was a major downpour as I made my way from the bus to the front gate. So now, my whole body was drenched, including my shoes as the puddles were insane! Water was up to my mid-calfs in that walkway area between the boats and the baggage security lines!
I needed more food in my system and it was my intention to try out some snacks that I had never tried but always heard were good, so off to Casey's Corner to try some Corn Dog Nuggets. MMmMmmMmmm... that is all you need to know. Highly recommend them. In fact, I immediately sent a text to WWDRH to let him know that I just had some. After that I headed towards the Jungle Cruise. Unfortunately, the storm that had just passed included lightning and thunder so it was closed. So, where would you head if you were drenched? Yep, I went to Pirates. It was a walk on which is odd because it is indoors and it was raining outside. I quickly found out why. It is REALLY cold in there when you are wet from head to toe. I was hoping that the short lines would continue so I headed towards Splash and BTMRR. But alas, they were still closed. I decided to go ahead and look for packwingfn since I had asked him where he would be working that night. He was working on the boat so I went that way. Luckily he was walking toward me when I got over there. Unfortunately the boiler was down so he was given the rest of the night off and he was heading home as he was tired. I only got to see him for a minute or two but he gave me a great tip. He said that rumors are floating around about the Country Bears losing a few non politically correct songs when they reopen later this year and that if I wanted to remember the original show I needed to go see them one last time. That's exactly what I did.
After that I went over to see how the new Fantasyland was shaping up. I saw both Dumbo's for the first time, but they were still down from the storm so I went over to the Casey Jr play area to check that out. It is a really neat area and it was even better because it was not working due to the storm so I was able to get some close pics without getting sprayed by anything. If I get another chance I'll try and upload them.
I did the CoP and peoplemover as they are traditional staples. Then I decided to go over to Sleepy Hollow to try out another snack, the waffle sandwich. I got in line and decided to try the spicy chicken waffle. Unfortunately, I did not read the menu close enough. They do not serve the sandwiches after 5pm... Come on, seriously... So, I went back over to Casey's. This time I tried the BBQ slaw dog. It was a huge foot long on a sub roll with BBQ pulled pork, BBQ sauce and coleslaw. Clearly meant for 2 people, I finished it in about 5 minutes. Very good but I could barely taste the hot dog for all of the pork and slaw.
It was just after 8 so I figured I should probably get going. I took the monorail back to EPCOT and back to the car. An uneventful ride home got me home just after 11pm. A great day with great people.
I really want to thank WWDRH for letting me hang out with him and his great family. They were very cool with letting me tag along for most of the day. It really felt like we were old friends and I hope I get the chance to do it again sometime in the future.
The phone booths sounded like a lot of fun 
It's sad that after all this time, they are just now deciding that due to the nature of the show, it's going to change. 
