Now that we are done with Kennedy Space Center and Universal studios it was time to return the car. We are staying at a Disney World Hotel and it includes a shuttle/monorail system to all the parks so you really don't need a car. I figure this means you save about 75 dollars a day in gas, car rental and parking. We dropped the car off and got on their shuttle. The driver said it was faster for both us and him if he took us to the Grand Floridian as long as we didn't tell anyone. They frown upon non hotel guests getting dropped off.
By dropping us off at this hotel instead of at the park it meant he avoided the car line up and we could do security there and catch the monorail. It worked out great as the security line was empty and the monorail drops you off on the other side of security at the park. I now didn't feel bad about tipping him a bit more than normal. He had a beautifully displayed tip jar with high denomination bills from various countries as well as a story about moving to England next week. Might not have been true but his drop of plan worked great so it was worth it.
We started our day on Buzz Light year where I masterfully scored more points then the entire family combined. Being able to shoot space aliens with lasers is a critical skill that I need to teach to others. Our next destination was the Tomorrow Land speedway. It was finally time for Carter to drive the car on his own as he's tall enough and can reach the pedals. I drove with him this time but next time I think he'll be okay with a car on is own. Driving a car on a track where you can only go forward is also an important skill.
We continued our day with our first Fast Pass which Kerry had woken up at 4:00a about 3 months ago to book. We are allowed 3 per day to start and can book more after we've used them. The first was Big Thunder Mountain which is a fast moving train, followed by Splash Mountain where I think we got about as wet as we ever have. We finally convinced Callie to go as we've been trying for years. It has a big drop that you can see from outside which scared her. We knew she had been on much bigger rides though and as expected I think she was a bit underwhelmed.
Next up was the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Space Mountain where we met up with Callie's school friend again. We have plans to go to the same park every day so we expect we will meet up with them when we can. They are already two families and to have three families try to coordinate our days is not a good idea. I saw a group of 12 try to get on one of the rides and it looked like a nightmare. They had to wait on the side until there was enough room on a single train car. It's much easier to get more rides in as a group of 4.
We like to break longer days up so we took the bus back to our hotel for an afternoon by the pool and a snack. There is a very friendly squirrel that seems to be around whenever we are there. It was begging for food at our table like a tiny dog. I think if we had asked it to sit and shake a paw it probably would have listened. Kerry also took some time to do a load of laundry. Another thrifty move of hers is to bring our own laundry detergent and fabric softener. Much cheaper than buying it there.
We started our evening on the people movers with the idea that the wait would be short and we could collect our thoughts. It's a slow moving ride through Tomorrow Land but for some reason it had a line up. We figure it must have broken down for a bit. We had Fast Passed Pirates and after a brief stop to watch a portion of the fireworks we got on to check the recent changes. It seems there is a lady pirate and they auction chickens instead of women. I think the changes are fine but as anticipated they are still controversial. Tomorrow we are at Epcot.
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