The 192 Flea Market is housed in 4 or 5 long barn-like buildings with blue metal roofing. The buildings are open and not air-conditioned, which can make them a little uncomfortable in extreme weather, but they are shady and open enough to promote a breeze now and then. The vendors here carry everything from clothing to stun guns to Disney beach towels to electronics. I also knew there were 3 or 4 luggage vendors, which is what I was looking for.
Looking for a bag or not, I figured I might as well browse the whole place; I've often found interesting little bargains in the flea markets that can't be found anywhere else. I wound up buying a bottle of jewelry/glass cleaner, and a bill organizer that my mother had been looking all over to find, and a plastic gimmick that's supposed to let you make omelets in the microwave. [Note: I've tried it a couple of times since I got back, and it works like a charm. Omelets in 3 minutes with no hot frying pan to clean up!]
I looked through three luggage vendors before I found what I was looking for: a small bag, the size of a gym bag, with side pockets and a shoulder strap. There were two sizes available. I opted for the smaller of the two, which was small enough to count as a carry-on when I flew home. It cost $7.
Test Track, I found out a few minutes later when I arrived at the queue, had a 75-minute stand-by line and all FastPasses for the rest of the day had been sold. I was stunned; I had never heard of any attraction selling out all the FPs for the rest of the day, especially at 1:30pm. I hadn't ridden TT yet this trip, and knowing from previous experience that the stand-by line would not get any shorter toward the end of the day, I figured I wouldn't get to ride it before I went home.
The heat and humidity outside had taxed me to my limits; I was on the verge of exhaustion from the brief walk between Test Track and the Wonders of Life. In a stroke of pure genius, I had left my water bottle behind yet again today, so I was feeling the heat far more than I should have. But sitting in the quiet food court next to Pure & Simple (directly under an air-conditioning vent), nursing my float, and writing some trip notes in my notebook, I cooled off and rested for quite a few minutes. After about 15-20 minutes, the float was finally gone, my notes were caught up, and I felt my energy level return to normal, so I went into Cranium Command just before a new show started.
I just love Cranium Command! Even after all these years, I laugh out loud at each joke as Buzzy the recruit pilots the most unstable craft in the fleet (a teenage boy) through a typical day of trial and triumph in high school. Buzzy is assisted by a 'body crew' that includes Charles Grodin, George Wendt, Jon Lovitz, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey in their Hanz and Franz personas (Left Ventricle... Right Ventricle... Up and Pumping!).
Ellen's Energy Adventure was a hoot as always, notwithstanding the CMs who tried to cram all the Guests into half of each row in the cars. The cars were only half full, yet the CMs went from row to row asking people to please move down. By the time the car doors closed, the inside half of each car was empty and the outside half was full of sweaty, grumpy, cramped Guests. Needless to say, as soon as the doors began closing, we all spread out in the rows and enjoyed the ride in comfort.
When I came out of the Universe of Energy, it had started to rain. Great, I thought, I ditch the poncho, and half an hour later the skies open up! It was only drizzling, but the cloud cover and the electricity in the air told me that it was getting ready to rain hard, and very soon, so I went back toward Innoventions and ducked inside the West half of the place just in time to avoid a deluge.
I also took a couple of pictures showing the crowds hiding out in Innoventions and the huge clouds of steam coming off the big fountain in Innoventions Plaza.
After about 30 or 40 minutes, I got tired of waiting and decided to buy a new poncho and go. I got one from one of the carts in the breezeway outside Innoventions West, shattering my sunglasses when I ripped open the plastic bag the poncho was packaged in, and wrapped myself up to brave the rain. As an extra precaution, I put my camera in the big Ziploc bag I always carry when I'm at WDW; I found that a 1-gallon bag fits over my camera perfectly, sealing it against the elements. I cut the corners off so the clips of my camera strap can fit through, and I can leave the camera hanging around my neck. In this configuration, I would have to actually immerse the camera to get it wet, since the bag is water-tight; the only openings are the small holes where the strap goes through, and they are small enough to stop any splash from getting at the camera inside.
Of course, when the camera is in this bag, it's absolutely impossible to take a picture. But as I trudged across the Epcot landscape through the lead sheets of rain, I saw something I wanted to take a picture of: the rain pounding into one of the many landscaped pools that run through Future World was turning the surface of the water into a gray/green stucco. This presented a problem, as there was no place under cover near to the pool where I could safely take the camera out of the baggy. My solution was to simply take a risk; I opened the seal of the bag, kept the camera inside, pointed it blindly at the pool, and shot the picture in fully automatic mode. Then I sealed the bag up and continued on.
I found out later that the picture had turned out very well. The stucco-like surface of the water can be seen pretty clearly, as can the heavy downpour that caused it.
I asked a CM how to get there and was directed to the elevator near the podium for the Garden Grill, the rotating restaurant in the Land pavilion. The lounge itself had darkened windows that looked out over the Living With The Land ride, a couple of soda dispensers, and some big, fluffy, comfy chairs and sofas. I grabbed a Coke and flopped down on one of the big sofas to watch TV and rest. I ran into PammyK at the soda dispenser; she was there with some friends to see Shockwave, as she does every weekend, but they, like everybody else, were waiting out the rain in the Lounge.
While vegging on the sofa, I got a visit from Chip, sans Dale, and from Farmer Mickey, who thought he was being clever leaning quietly over me from behind the sofa. But he missed the fact that there was a wall of dark, reflective glass right in front of me, and I saw every move he made. I tried shooting a picture of him leaning over me, but my flash reflected in the glass and washed out the whole scene.
I didn't like this new development at all.
I was also sorely disappointed to see that the entire room where the manatee exhibit had been located was closed off and boarded up. I don't know what sort of changes were in store, whether a simple rehab of the manatee area or a replacement with something else, but not seeing the manatees was the straw that broke the camels back for me. I love the manatees; they're my favorite part of the Living Seas, and not seeing them completely ruined the experience for me. I left, via the exit hydrolators, taking a couple of pictures of the inside on the way out. I do love the hydrolators.
I finished watching The Peacemaker and went to bed.
Walk Miles: 6.5