Epcot (with Jacob)

Wednesday, February 25:

Last night, we all played Monopoly after Jacob went to bed. I bankrupted John first, then my husband, and then Katherine. It was down to my mom & I, and I pretty much owned 3/4ths of the board with hotels and still had a pile of $500's. We called it a night around 11 p.m., but I think I won. :)

This morning, we headed off to Epcot. We sent Jeff for fastpasses to Soarin’, and we headed off to Test Track. We got a “baby switch” fastpass for Test Track and let John & Kat go first, while we checked out the cars in the “Inside Track” exhibit near the ride exit. Jacob liked sitting in the Hummer, Corvette, and the G8. After John & Kat rode, Jeff and I took our turn. Jeff and I agree that the ride could use a little overhaul in the beginning part. It’s kind of tired.

Next, we headed to Mission Space, a ride that I didn’t want to ride. Neither did Kat. But, my brother now works for HP, and HP has this cool hospitality suite in the Mission Space ride for HP employees. We got to stroll Jacob right through the Mission Space entrance, and then took this nearly hidden door and had to be buzzed in, etc. After a ride up an elevator, we were in a lounge area with beverages, a TV, computers, the postcard email thing for Mission Space, etc. They also had HP photo printers that you could print some pictures. Pretty neat! I talked to the attendant, who mentioned that Epcot used to have 11 such suites hosted by various sponsors, but is now down to three: this one, the GM one at Test Track and the Siemens one at Spaceship Earth. The attendant also commented on how well behaved Jacob was, and that she couldn’t believe he was only 2. He’s been such an amazing kid!!

John & Jeff decided to ride Mission Space. Katherine & I took Jacob over to the Epcot Character Spot. Wait in line one time and see about 5-6 characters. The line was quite a bit longer than it was in December 2007 when we came. I estimate Katherine and I waited at least 45 minutes with Jacob. John & Jeff even had time to go ride Soarin’ using the fastpass and still got back over to us right when we were getting to the front of the line. Jacob got really antsy about one-half way through the line, but we managed to get through using peppermint candies, dried apples, and chocolate Teddy Grahams. Thank goodness for snacks and the magic they hold for 2 year olds! We got some more good pictures w/ Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Donald and Goofy!

After we finished with the characters, Katherine and I were ready to ride Soarin’, so Jeff and John took Jacob over to the Living Seas pavilion and Jacob checked out the dolphins and sharks, etc. Katherine and I used our fastpasses and waited about a total of 18 minutes to get onto Soarin. It was so relaxing riding it, but I missed being able to do it with Jeff. And Jacob is just 2 inches too short to ride. So close!

Katherine and I headed to meet up with Jacob, Jeff and John at the Living Seas. John said that Jeff and Jacob had just gotten in line for the Nemo ride, so I rushed to join them. Back when Jacob was 16 months old, we tried to ride that ride about 3 times and Jacob would flip out in line, and we’d use and emergency exit. I’m not sure why we kept pushing it, but we did. When we finally got him onto the ride, he flipped out, so I was eager to see how he would do this time. The line moves really fast for this ride, so it’s an easy wait. We finally winded our way up to the clamobiles, and so far so good. Jacob was fine most of the ride, and then there is another scary part with a scary looking fish and Bruce (the shark) is pretty scary on this ride too. Then you are stuck in this Crush the Turtle part forever. Jacob got a little apprehensive or scared during the ride. But he seemed fine by the time we got off and he didn’t say it was too scary like he did after It’s a Bug’s Life.

Since it was already 1 p.m., we decided to head back to the car. John wanted to pick up pizzas for lunch, so we did that. It took a while, and so Jacob had slept in the car for at least thirty minutes. By the time we got home, he wanted to eat pizza with butter and while we laid him down for a nap, he didn’t go to sleep. John & Katherine decided to hop in the pool, and offered to take Jacob swimming. So after he’d tried to go back to sleep for about 30 minutes, we got him up and let him swim. He loved it. He had fun with Kat & John in the pool and we got some good pictures.

After the swim, we started showering & bathing for dinner. I took a little nap too. We left here around 4:40 to head to Ohana at the Polynesian. It’s a Hawaiian-themed family style / Brazilian steakhouse type place. They have grilled shrimp, pork, turkey, and steak. This was my third trip to Ohana. Let’s just say it was quite different with a two year old. Just as soon as we got there, Jacob wasn’t interested in eating. And just before the food started coming out, the Hawaiian singer came out. She leads the kids around and sings and dances with them, as well as gives them leis. Jacob was by far the smallest kid out there, but wanted to join in the fun. So, I had to follow him around the restaurant to keep an eye on him. He didn’t want to eat, but at least he enjoyed himself. I got a bite or two of food every now and then. When the “show” ended, Jeff finally convinced Jacob to sit down and I was able to get him to eat a little bit. We finally all had our fill of meats and got the dessert - bread pudding a la mode with a caramel sauce. And, the server brought Jacob his own bowl of ice cream with Mickey sprinkles. He was pretty excited about that and ate a good bit of it. Then the singer came back and he had to go dance and play maracas. Jeff followed him around that time. I think Jacob’s patience is waning. I’m not sure how much longer he is going to keep humoring us. We’ll see. Tomorrow we are finally going to Magic Kingdom, where 85% of the park is geared towards younger kids. I know there is so much there he will enjoy. And, we are supposed to have lunch with Pooh as well at Crystal Palace!