7.12: Once again, we were up early... insanely early. Someone once told me you're supposed to relax on vacation, but I think he was lying to me. At this point we were pretty settled in at the BC and with the crowds and heat decided we'd definitely take a pool break. For those who have never stayed at the BC, the pool is downright beautiful... sand bottom and all. Depending on the time of day it can get busy, but Disney designed the pool well so that children are almost sectioned off into two distinct areas. Also, the pool features a pretty fun slide and depending on the day can be busy or dead.
Since we were in the Epcot loop we stuck with DHS today. This was high on my list for the trip as it would be my first experience with ST (2). I really enjoyed it, loved the reference to the original pilot in the que and really started to notice Disney's "lost but not forgotten" element in their designs. I found the experience to be much smoother, although for some reason I have an issue with my eyes staying focus during 3D attractions. I have 20/20 vision and never have an issue in day to day life but the attraction went soft on me and then would back into a crystal sharp image. Despite this small issue I think its a major step up for DHS. I really enjoy the thrill of randomization, ultimately between a few evening EMH and park visits we rode this about 12 times and experienced all of the major destinations. I read somewhere that there are about 54 difference variations (number could be way off, shooting from this hip on this one) but they must be very small as I didn't notice too many variations.
Not sure if I mentioned this but ToT is amongst my favorite attractions, and again possess the element of randomized drop sequences which is amazing. We really wanted to ride this as much as we could but found some challenges with the crowds. Needless to say we rode it as much as we could considering the limitations we faced.
We were really in vacation mode at this point and eating way too much. Here at home I'm a relatively light eater, mainly due to my wife who just doesn't eat all that much. This trip was a first for many QS and dining experiences for us. For lunch we tried the Backlot Express... which was a key move as we beat the rush and avoided the tour groups. Again, nothing special here just a burger and fries. But dinner was a great surprise for us...
Mama Melrose. We had a nice and early ADR at 5:50 and were seated promptly. There is somewhat of an open kitchen but it is no great shakes and could use a clean up! Our CM was a nice guy, British... and was great about coming exactly when you needed him. We started it off with a flatbread, which needed some work... overcooked slightly, not enough cheese. For our entrees Rachel went with the classic chicken parm, and I went for the chicken campenella (requested to spice it up a bit). I was a bit nervous going into this ADR as many had written negative reviews of the restaurant. Is it the finest italian cooking? No, not by a longshot but it's also much better than the chainy feel of an Olive Garden. I actually enjoyed my meal and with entrees at the sub 20 dollar range I was pleased with the experience. As a genuine foodie this is a place you should visit, especially in DHS which really lacks dining options.
We finished off this day with a viewing of Fantasmic. I'll probably get a lot of flame for the following statements. 1.) This was my first time seeing it, 2.) it wasn't all that impressive. I honestly felt like it was more of a trailer for Disney movies since so much of the show relied on the waterscreens. The on stage aspects of the show were fantastic but again, a little light on live action, heavy use of the water screens / previews. I wasn't all that impressed, considering we showed up like 1.5 hrs before and had to wait in a massive line, albeit we had awesome seats.
