We split up at this point, with DW taking T back to the resort. I was hoping my wife would be able to convince T to stop at the Living Seas, but he said he was too tired (he was done after the Mexico ride). K and I set off for Norway and the Maelstrom ride. I hadn't ridden this since our Honeymoon, so I didn't remember if it was scary or not. All my wife could remember was going down the big hill backwards, so she didn't feel up for that. As it turns out her memory was faulty...The hill that you go backwards on is very mild, and even the big hill is no worse than PotC. I think my wife would have been just fine, and T would have enjoyed the gift shop (he likes Thor stuff). Oh well, next trip!
Here's the tough part...After the ride, K and I started walking to the International Gateway boat dock, so we could head over to Hollywood Studios and Tower of Terror. I was discussing our options for the rest of the day (keeping in mind our dinner plans at the Castle at 6PM), and he couldn't make a choice between staying at Epcot and doing the Living Seas or going to Hollywood Studios. He said he "couldn't choose", and that he really wanted to do both, but our plans for the evening didn't allow that much time. He got visibly upset, so we sat down for a minute to talk about it it. He grudgingly chose Tower of Terror, so we continued on to the boat dock. K still was unhappy, and by the time we got on the boat he was really upset. So much so that he was having a melt down. So I decided we should get off the boat immediately. Unfortunately the boat was just pulling away from the dock. I yelled to the deck hand that I needed to get my son off the boat. At first he refused, but I quickly whipped out our Guest Assistance Card and explained the situation, and they brought us back to the dock (it was only a couple of feet away). That GA Card really saved the day! We disembarked and walked back to Epcot, which made K very relieved.
I decided that we would quickly do the Living Seas, and then take the bus over to Hollywood Studios (I wasn't going to mention all of the other things we hadn't done this trip, like Journey into the Imagination and most of the countries!). I grabbed a single stroller on the way back into the park, and sped as quickly as I could push it over to the Living Seas. We got on right away, did the Finding Nemo ride, and didn't stick around to explore any other parts of the pavilion (not even the gift shop!).
This is the one part of the trip that Disney Transportation really worked out well. As we were heading over to the bus stop, there was a bus to Hollywood Studios just pulling in. We had to run for a bit (and yelled at some people near the bus to get the bus driver to wait), but we made it to the studios by a little after 1PM. We got another single stroller, and cruised over to the Tower of Terror. There were some dark storm clouds on the horizon, so I figured we were due for a storm. We made it into the hotel just as it was starting to sprinkle. The ride has an interesting backstory, and I was definitely feeling a bit apprehensive (remember that I'm not crazy about thrill rides). It was a pretty hair raising experience...I think I was weightless for a bit at the top as we started to descend (on a few different occasions). I can't say I enjoyed it much, but at least I can say I've done it, and I would do it again if K wants to go. As we exited the ride, we picked up a Tower of Terror pin for K on the way out.
Naturally K wanted to go on the Rock'n Roller Coaster, so we headed over there since it was right next door. K wore his earplugs for this ride, since I figured the music would be loud at least. This was one heck of a ride too, but I felt a little more secure with the shoulder restraints. I would have no problems doing this one again if the kids want to go. We left a memento at this ride for future visits, since one of K's earplugs fell out midway through the ride (and undoubtedly fell out during one of the loops). People must lose stuff on this ride all the time! We bought a pin for K on the way out, but did not buy a ride photo...I saw no need to immortalize the grimace of pain/fear on my face! We finished up here at around 2PM.
More in a bit!
That's always a sad day...