“We are now Disney professionals.”
Let me make a suggestion. If you are ever tempted to make such a declaration on the second day of your Disney trip, don’t. Because you’re not. Nope. Not close. And fate will find a way of pointing it out to you.
I made this comment while boarding the bus to Epcot Center. Turns out we only thought we were going to Epcot. The bus had other ideas. It was going to Animal Kingdom. The sign on the bus even said so, but we hopped aboard anyways, because we assumed the bus would then go on to Epcot. After all, the bus depot listed three parks, including Epcot, so…..
Turns out we then had to disembark at Animal Kingdom and then wait twenty minutes for the Epcot bus. We did learn some things on the second bus from a driver named Patti, from New Jersey. Things we learned:
The back of the bus is ten degrees cooler than the front of the bus, so if it’s really hot, sit in the back, if you are soaked from the rain, make it to the front.
If you buy things at any Disney gift shop, you can have them ship it to your hotel if you are staying on the Disney property. It will arrive after 1 p.m. the next day. For a fee, they will ship it all the way to your house.
If you are late for a dinner reservation, blame it on your bus driver. In most cases, they will accommodate you.
Armed with the new information, we descended on Epcot. We did have to modify the wonderful plans of Connie Ison, but found ourselves back on track in short order. Our first stop was to the Chevy Test Track, where the group got to design their own race cars and then hopped into a car and “tested” their design.
Other highlights were The Land, Mission: Space and of course, Spaceship Earth (where you go up inside the big ball). But the ride of rides, for me at least, is Soarin’. On Soarin you come as close to flying this side of being turned into a bird and taking flight.
No trip to Epcot is complete without taking a tour of the World Village. We watched a movie with Martin Short in the Canada Pavilion, rode with the Vikings in Norway, and had a great time with Donald Duck on a ride in the Mexican Pavilion. And the meal at Chef De France was beyond excellent. Another interesting thing about the International Pavilions is everyone who works in each of the country villages is from that country. They get to stay and work here for a year, then they go back home. So when they folks there talked about their country, they really knew their stuff.
After leaving Mexico, we returned to our hotel for some late night swimming. At the end of the night, I may not have become a “Disney Professional” but at least I was no longer a newbie. And for the record? We got on the right bus for the trip home. Things are looking up.
Tony Acree 
After almost two dozen visits I still manage to get things wrong from time to time. Though I guess I was a child for most of them in fairness. Anyway, I’m the hippy looking Brit that met and it was a pleasure to make the acquaintance of you and your family. All the best and have a safe trip home!
That should have read “that you met”, too many cocktails whilst listening to the musicians in downtown Disney!
Mark, thanks for looking us up! Send me your address to Tonyacree@gmail.com and I’ll send you a copy of my book. I will make the correction on my Facebook post. Typing after too much food is always a bad idea!
And same to you, Mark. Safe flight back across the pond!