We caught the 7.21 which got us there pretty early, but it allowed us to get through security, bag check and the ticket check with very little queuing. Main Street USA had it's shops and eateries open and I clocked Starbucks for when Clare and Matthew were on a thrill ride. I'd go back and get something to drink and eat (I'd deliberately not eaten much already). We found a photographer to take some picture of us whilst it was quiet and he turned one into a 'Magic Shot':
Clare picked out a spot by the castle to watch the opening show and also be ready to dash off to get to Peter Pan - as that is what we were 'rope dropping' (which means charging towards your first ride of the day). We had about half an hour so Clare went and got park maps whilst Matthew and I sat on the (now dried out) pavement.
Opening show complete, we 'charged' towards Peter Pan. But disaster! Over-careful Disney Cast Members had blocked our chosen route (round the side of the castle). Something to do with letting the opening show performers leave (there's no way they could have used our path, as it's separated from the castle by a moat!). Anyway, the queue for Peter Pan wasn't too bad when we arrived so we were able to see the new queuing area and get the ride done fairly quickly.
We then headed for one of my favourites Haunted Mansion which was very quiet and we were through the doors and done pretty quickly on that one too. Clare and Matthew had a Fast Pass for Mine Train, but we thought we'd try and sneak a quick Pirates of the Caribbean in before we got there. Nearly a big mistake! The posted wait time of 10 minutes was actually about 25. Still, we got through that one alright and there was plenty of time for Clare and Matthew to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train whilst I went to Starbucks.
I was pretty hungry by this point, so was looking forward to something to eat but the queue was massive! Lines and lines of people. I wasn't sure where to head to instead, but a friendly Cast Member pointed me to Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland. It was quiet in there and I ordered some gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and a coffee. Bit of a faff with getting my order - some Cast Members behind the counter seemingly unsure of where the order was to go to, despite me waving at them and saying it was mine! Not so magic! Anyway, refreshed I headed round the shops of Tomorrowland whilst Clare and Matthew rode Space Mountain with another Fast Pass they had. They declared to be not as good as the California's version, which has a much smoother track and is more fun.
Another favourite ride to chill out on is the PeopleMover, which takes you round Tomorrowland and we spent and enjoyable, relaxing time on that. Then it was another old fave - Carousel of Progress. It's still a great show - which we must have seen over half a dozen times previously! Matthew stopped for a donut from the Joffrey's stand before we headed to Momento Mori which is the little shop that sells Haunted Mansion stuff. I wanted some Disney World labelled merch (to go with my Disneyland pin badge) but didn't find anything. Then it was off to lunch...
Lunch was to be at the Be Our Guest Restaurant, which Clare had been really looking forward to.
You enter into Beast's castle (from Beauty and the Beast) and then queue for what seems like an eternity before ordering your food on touchscreens. I couldn't find the allergy menu at first, but a Cast Member helped me and it was super-easy after that. Matthew had just stuffed a huge donunt, so wasn't hungry, but Clare went for the Croque Monsieur - as did I - but the gluten-free version. We then found a table in the large ballroom area and waited. The food is delivered by a Cast Member and I have to say it was delicious. Clare thought it was some sort of millet bread on my GF sandwich, but whatever it was, it was very good - as was hers. On the way out, there's some good theming. In fact, the whole place was themed very nicely. The queue at the start was a pain, but once inside everything was great and I'd recommend it.
We decided that we hadn't done that many character photo spots yet - so headed for Pete's Silly Sideshow to meet Donald Duck and Goofy. The Astounding Donaldo was on fine form - and these things have to be done when you holiday in Disney!
We found Matthew a hot dog from The Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland which he declared to be very good. He'd save the crisps for later. He also had a Coke slushie which he loved too.
We had a Fast Pass for Jungle Cruise which was now valid, so headed down there for another family favourite. The skipper did very well with all her terrible jokes. I can only assume half the boat didn't understand them as she wasn't getting much reaction except for us at the back making faces at every one of them!
Clare had showed me how to book additional Fast Passes using the app. Once all three have been exhausted, you can starting searching for more. I found some Small World ones, so whilst we waited for that - Clare and Matthew rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. They had a short wait as everyone was watching the parade. I wandered up the main road in Frontierland, ducking in and out of the shops because it was raining heavily now. I ended up in the General Store, which had a good selection of 'Snacks With Character'. These are 'healthier', often gluten-free snacks. They have them in our resort, but I hadn't seen them in the park. I had a Chocolate Sunset Bar, which was good.
We then all met back up - and dodging a rain shower - hit its' a small world - still as terrible and as wonderful as ever! Clare then hit on the idea of riding the monorail back to EPCOT. It was mid-afternoon by now and normally we'd be flagging, but perhaps the cooler weather was helping. We decided to head out of the park and go back to the hotel via EPCOT and the Monorail.
We headed to the station and caught the two monorails needed to get to EPCOT. Once inside we headed straight for the old favourite Spaceship Earth. We then headed to Club Cool to get some free Coca Cola samples from around the world. Some similar to the ones we'd had at Disney Springs so we picked some favourites. Revived we wandered round the Food and Wine festival building and the Odyssey building (which had a small exhibition on the 35th anniversary of EPCOT). We then watched one of the 'Eat To The Beat' concerts - this one had Postmodern Jukebox performing some classic covers. We sat on the edge of one of the fountains and watched.
By the time we'd got back we'd been out 12 hours! Smashing our previous record. I think the cooler weather definitely helped our staying power. Clare and I popped up to the lounge for a pudding or two and then that was the day done!
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