Birthday on the fly....

We certainly didn't want to feel as run down Tuesday as we did Monday, though we also wanted to get in a few rides before the crowds piled up. I didn't set an alarm, but still wasn't able to sleep past 6am! Sylvain was getting tired of having the days planned in advance, so we decided to shoot for breakfast on the fly in one of the parks. We were out of the room and ready to go by 7:30. The timetable we had listed Epcot as having early morning hours for resort guests, so we decided to head there to ride the Test Track. While on the bus, we noticed how few people were with us since the buses have usually been packed and started talking with another family sitting nearby. We were all sitting close enough for the driver to overhear, and he told us that the timetable we were using was out-dated and a new one had come out. Sure enough, none of us had paid any attention to the dates listed along the top of the brochure and Epcot wasn't due to open until 9! Since we were already on the way there and needed to visit the Will Call window anyways for Sylvain's gift from Disney, we decided to stick with our original plans. You may have seen those commercials inviting anyone who attends Disney World on their birthday to attend for free with a complimentary park pass. Since we purchases a vacation package that included Park Hopper tickets, we didn't need a pass for his birthday; instead, he was offered either a park ticket for a future date or a gift card for $75. Naturally, he opted for the gift card.

Once the park opened, we made a bee line straight to the Test Track, which turned out to be a lot of fun. Not realizing that the Akershus restaurant in the Nordic part of Epcot's World Showcase hosts the park's Princess breakfasts, there was no way we were going to be able to eat there as we had originally thought. So far, working outside of the plans wasn't going so well.

A little wary about having another rotten cafeteria lunch and questioning whether we'll be able to be seated in a regular restaurant without a reservation, I was able to phone-in a lunch reservation at the Biergarten while standing in line for Spaceship Earth. After that ride, we decided to walk the World Showcase, which is something that we had missed during all of our other stops at Epcot. It was during this walk that I found out just how intolerant of others Sylvain can be. Sure, the place was getting crowded, and I was forcing him to go shows (like the "O-Canada!" circle vision show with Martin Short); and compound on top of that his empty stomach and Sylvain became a complete pill to deal with.

Our reservation time couldn't get here soon enough, but even having a full belly wasn't improving his mood! I thought for sure that he's enjoy some of the German food; instead, he became more difficult. Help! Help! I'm dealing with a teenager! After lunch, we quickly rounded out the World Showcase tour and headed to Downtown Disney.

Now, if you read Monday's post, you're probably thinking that I've mixed up may days. Sorry, but this is how inept my plans have become. Remember that gift card Sylvain received? Well, it started burning a gigantic hole in his pocket and he wasn't going to return to his laid-back self until it was spent all away. There were times today that, I swear, if he were his 3-year-old self, he would have thrown himself onto the ground, wailing with fists and feet flying.

We spent the afternoon shopping, then headed over to Disney Boardwalk to have dinner at the ESPN Club. A live radio show was just wrapping up, so there was a little bit of a wait to get in. Dinner was okay: I had a burger and Sylvain had nachos. Neither of us were too interested in dessert, but Sylvain was presented with a birthday cupcake anyways. Afterwards, we were too tuckered out to do much of anything else other than head back to the room, watch some TV, and go to bed. Overall, Sylvain had a good and memorable 14th birthday.