Nov 7 – 14, 2022 – First Trip with 2 Kids Under 3 – Day 2

On our second day, things took a turn for the worse. I have what, I think, is an unpopular opinion about Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. These were things I saw as an inevitability when I looked at the overall failure of the FastPass+ system. Disney was not going to return to the legacy FastPass ticket pull system (which I though was the best way if line skipping was going to be a thing at all). If they went back to it now (and they won’t), I would consider it a good move. Personally, I just think they should forego line skipping systems altogether because these things extend stand-by wait times. Anydangway, I think once they worked the kinks out of Genie+, it is superior to FastPass+, but not legacy FastPass. I like the idea that you’re limited to day-of acquisition of lightning lanes and the 2-hour rule. These things kind-of throw back to the legacy system. The extra cost is, indeed, an ouch or a gouge depending on your group size, BUT, I think it does keep people from booking Lightning Lanes and not using them like some people did with FP+.

All that said, if there was any day we were going to try this new system on for size it was going to be this day. We agreed going in that we were only going to purchase this cash-hog once, and it would be at Epcot. The rest of our trip was going to be on the mercy of the stand-by waits. We went all-in. Lightning Lanes for GotG Cosmic Rewind and Genie+ with our first LL at Soarin’. We would rope drop Test Track. RRA was booked up before we could select it. We took advantage also of the resort guest early entry. We go to Test Track, and with 2 kids, had to do Rider Switch. The first time would be my parents and I, and the second would be Christy and I. Christy and my parents like thrill rides, but have a low tolerance for back-to-back thrills so I almost always end up being the one to go twice My parents and I got in line and the ride broke down “temporarily” for like 20 minutes and then we gave up, being that when we walked in, the wait was 45 minutes. Leaving Christy alone with 2 kids for that long wasn’t going to go well and we had bigger fish to fry.

We moved on the GotGCR. Christy and I went first with our LL. We got right to the point just before entering the pre-show and the ride broke down for about 10 minutes. We didn’t give up on this one though. We paid for it. I was not disappointed! What a ride! To me it was like RnR and SpaceMountain had a child and the child learned a few new tricks of its own. Full disclosure, I am a GotG fan, and zooming and pivoting around to the tune of Everybody Want to Rule the World by Tears for Fears was a blast! Christy on the other hand, had too much and just closed her eyes. It really threw off her equilibrium, but she didn’t hurl or anything. My parents and I went in next and wouldn’t you know it broke down AGAIN! This time it was for 30 minutes. Everyone sat down in the queue. But when we finally did the ride to the tune of Conga by Gloria Estefan though, my parents said it was worth the wait.

Then we encountered our next great challenge, doing a LL at Soarin’ and the WALLS!!! Those things are a pain in the butt. Epcot already involves a lot of walking, but these things really double it. We got there and my parents went on first, then Christy and I. This one didn’t break down. On a side note, Frozen and RRA broke down multiple times during the day too. With now unhappy children we went to our ADR at La Creperie in France. Here the food was great! The service was sloooooooow. And I’m still missing all the cultural representatives they used to have. The kitchen seemed to be operated by French people, and one server, but the other servers including ours were American. This just diminishes the authenticity of things. We tried the fixed price option here. Christy got the Salad for an appetizer, while I got the cold (intentionally) potato and broccoli soup. The salad was…a salad. The soup, surprisingly tasty! For drinks, Christy got a Cappuccino, while I got a hard cider which was what I expected and hoped. It was a good hard cider, the Brut, but somehow with a French flavor twist. I can’t really explain it better than that. It’s like how French wines taste so much different to me in comparison to Italian or American counterparts.

For entrees, I got the chicken, mushroom and cheese savory crepe (Poulet) and Christy got the cheese, bacon, onion, and ham (Savoyarde) crepe. I’m not French language inclined, so consider yourself lucky I’m even trying to spell these things Both of these were very very good, but I liked the Poulet a bit better. For dessert, I got the Poire (pear, chocolate ganache, whipped cream) crepe, and Christy got the Melba (peach, red berries sauce, almonds) crepe. My parents got all similar things to us throughout the meal. The Poire was again very good. I’m a sucker for chocolate, but the the Melba was to me, actually better. A bunch of fruit never tasted so good!

Again, the food here was good. The service was slow. Our kids were cranky. So I can’t say I thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience, but I did love the food. After this, Ariel needed a good visual stimulation, so we went through the Seas with Nemo & Friends and that made her happy, as did seeing the aquarium. We tried to LL at Spaceship Earth on our way out, but again, ride broke down. We left in the mid-afternoon with no plans to return to the chaos. Christy mentioned she was forming a complaint letter in her mind.

Back at the room, we just relaxed. The kids took long naps, and so did we. When we awoke, we munched on snacks (I bought a Mickey Ice Cream Bar from the gift shop) and at my parents’ request, watched the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie which was a nice restful end to an otherwise mostly un-fun day.

In conclusion, we decided Epcot is not worth the Genie+ nor really our time until those walls come down. The problem, as we later found out wasn’t Genie+ specifically, but that the attractions at Epcot just keep breaking Why Disney? Why? I miss the good ole days when Disney opened an attraction and it was basically guaranteed to work for a year because it was carefully planned and put together. Now they apparently just half-a** it and when it breaks just do band-aid solutions. Disney, with the prices you’re charging, you really can afford to do better. I’m predicting more of the same when Tron opens at MK. Prove me wrong, Disney. Prove me wrong!

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