Wednesday December 10, 2003

I woke early this morning, skipped breakfast, and headed to Epcot. Although it was overcast and drizzly outside, the rain stopped and the sun came out as soon as I passed under the Disney arches. Spooky...

I had made certain to take my sweatshirt and my rain poncho with me today, but despite the overcast, the temperature promised to be very mild and pleasant, so I rented a locker and dumped my sweatshirt. I did keep my poncho, though; it didn't get in my way, because I was carrying it rolled up and strapped to the back of my water bottle belt.

Breakfast beckoned, so I made a beeline for the Electric Umbrella for an omelet platter with bacon.

After a nice, big, greasy breakfast, it was only natural that I would want to ride Mission: Space. I made my way over to the M:S pavilion and got into the single rider line, which was posted as having only a 5-minute wait. It actually took closer to 10 minutes to get into a pre-ride room, though, because the CMs who were loading were ignoring the single rider line. But I did finally get in and enjoyed the ride every bit as much as I had Saturday. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I went back into the single rider line and rode it a second time.

My breakfast remained securely where it was.

After my mission to mars, I felt like driving really fast, so I headed over to Test Track, and found to my surprise that the high demand for Mission: Space had not significantly impacted the demand for Test Track. The stand-by line was pretty long, so I grabbed a FastPass and wandered over to the Wonders of Life pavilion to get a root-beer float.

I sat in the nearly-empty food court next to Pure and Simple and savored the float, making a few trip notes at the same time.

When I was done with my float, I wandered through Innoventions for a while, took a bathroom break, and sat on a bench to watch the people go by. When my FastPass time for Test Track came about, I made my way back and got into the FP line for a ten-minute wait. But what I found when I got on the ride made me regret riding it at all.

When I left TT and passed through the GM car displays outside, I stopped for a few minutes to take a survey about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, which GM and a number of other car companies are developing. I certainly hope that fuel-cell vehicles become commercially viable in the next ten years, because our country's dependence on gasoline causes problems both environmental and social which would eventually go away if we could find better methods of powering vehicles.

My next stop was Honey, I Shrunk The Audience, which is always a treat. I found to my surprise, however, that the pre-show has been changed a bit. Instead of a single large screen at the front of the theater, showing a Kodak-made inspirational film (to the song True Colors), there are now a group of flat-panel plasma or LCD screens hanging from the ceiling. But the film is gone, replaced simply with the rotating Imagination Institute logo and a brief message from the Institute's director, Dr. Nigel Channing (Eric Idle).

They still need to add some seats in there!

HISTA was a hoot, as always; I remembered to sit near the back this time, because sitting near the front of 3D movies like HISTA always screws up my perception of the 3D imagery.

I put myself on the list for San Angel Inn, getting one of those round, light-up pagers, and wandered the shops in the Plaza de los Amigos while I waited. The glass blower to the left of the restaurant is fascinating, but I stood watching him work for less than ten minutes before my pager went off and I returned to the restaurant.

I was seated on the left side, about halfway back; I had hoped for a table with a good view of the Rio del Tiempe boat ride, but my table was not bad at all. My server, Miguel, appeared instantly to take my drink order, and after perusing the menu for a few minutes I decided on Pollo a las Rojas, with an appetizer of Sopa Azteca.

Sopa Azteca is a tortilla soup with cheese. It was delicious and I finished the whole bowl, although the melted cheese can make a bit of a mess. My main course, Pollo a las Rojas, is grilled chicken breast served on a bed or red peppers, onions, and chile poblano, with cheese melted over the top. Again, it was delicious, and I finished the whole thing. Miguel did a good job of making sure I didn't see the bottom of my soda glass during the whole meal (which is the best way to get a good tip from me), and I enjoyed the entire experience immensely. I'll definitely be back, probably to try the dinner menu.

Once done with lunch, I rode the Rio del Tiempe. I love this charming little ride and I hope it never changes.

I passed by the Viking ship and Kringla, and went deeper into the pavilion to the Maelstrom, Norway's signature boat ride. After chuckling at the ride's opening line, You are not de first to pass dis vay! (mostly because a few years ago I called out loudly to the whole boat "No kidding, another boat just went up there a few seconds ago!") I enjoyed a trip through Norway's history and culture, finishing up with the movie that plays in a theater just past the charming Norwegian fishing village at the end of the ride.

After Norway, I continued on through World Showcase. As I passed the Outpost, I noticed a couple of Cast Members closing the gates at either end of the bridge leading in and paused to see what they were doing. They turned out to be preparing to close the walkway, which is actually a drawbridge; after all the Guests were cleared off the bridge, and the gates were safely closed, the drawbridge swung up, and from the hidden waterway outside the World Showcase came the various barges and floats of Epcot's Illuminations fireworks show.

I was fascinated to see the Illuminations barges up close as they passed through the drawbridge channel and made their way out into the World Showcase Lagoon, and spent several minutes taking pictures of them, until finally the drawbridge dropped back into its closed position and the gates were opened again.

Beaver Tails are a type of deep-fried pasty, covered with one of several available fruit toppings. They're only about $3, but they're almost big enough to be a meal in themselves; besides which, they're delicious.

As I was getting my Beaver Tail, I listened to the first few lines of the Canadian Santa Claus telling his story to a small crowd of Guests from a soap box nearby, but all the while the sky was darkening and the wind was picking up. Just as I got my Beaver Tail from the cheerful and friendly Canadian CMs, the sky opened up and big, fat, obnoxious drops of rain started to fall. Santa bagged it and ran for cover, as did most of the Guests in sight, and I held onto my Beaver Tail and ran up the stairs to the Canadian gift shops.

I had intended to sit on a bench to eat the BT, but the rain made it impossible to even stand outside, so I stood just inside the doorway of one of the shops, trying to eat without dripping any of my apples and cinnamon on the shop's floor. Meanwhile, those big fat drops of rain got closer and closer together, till all I could see out the door was a slate-grey sheet. And my doorway got progressively more crowded as other Guests sought refuge from the downpour.

Soon the rain slacked off to a drizzle, so I put a plastic bag over my camera, took my Mickey poncho off my utility belt and pulled it over my head, and found the bench I had been wanting to sit on all along. The bench was drenched, of course, but I pulled the poncho under myself and sat down to finish my desert while watching a few Guests begin to emerge from the various buildings. Some were wearing new Mickey ponchos, others were simply getting wet from the light rain that was still falling. When my Beaver Tail was reduced to a mere sliver, and I could eat no more of it despite its tasty nature, I tossed the remnants in a nearby trash can and set out.

While I was in the shops, I started looking for a postcard or some other piece of merchandise with the 2003 Disney World logo on it for my digital photo album. But finding something was more difficult than I imagined; the 2003 stuff was being moved out already in favor of the 2004 stuff, just as it had been at Universal. I didn't find anything in the two WS gift shops, so I moved on to MouseGear, the biggest shop in Epcot, and browsed there for a while before fatigue and cold got the best of me. I was tired, I was getting chilly, and my feet hurt pretty bad. I decided to call it a night a little early, picked up my sweatshirt from my rental locker at the front of the park, and drove out of Epcot's parking lot at about 6pm.

Boy, what a town! I had seen pictures of Celebration, but I wasn't prepared for the opulence of the place. Houses, condos, and town homes on various streets, some lit up for Christmas, others not (all white lights, no colors, probably a requirement of the town charter), all the residences I saw were beautiful, meticulously cared for, and really, really expensive-looking. I liked the place, although I thought that it was a bit bland, as planned communities with aesthetic restrictions can sometimes be.

After driving aimlessly for about ten minutes, I finally found Market Street, the towncenter of Celebration where shops and restaurants and a movie theater are located. I parked in a lot about two blocks away and hobbled on my aching feet (I was beginning to feel like I had a blister or two) to check out the towncenter and take a few pictures.

Market Street and the immediate area are very pretty, and very lively in the evening, as both locals and tourists wander the shops and restaurants. A horse-drawn carriage ride promised tours of the towncenter. A large dancing fountain with lights entertained passersby. And a sign in the middle of Market Street itself promised a nightly snowfall on the hour. Snow, in Orlando? That was a rare treat! I had seen the soap-bubble snow falling at Magic Kingdom earlier in the week, but judging from the residue on the street, the snow on Market Street was much heavier. I decided to wait around to witness the psuedo-blizzard myself, and at 7pmn sharp, to the accompaniment of Christmas music, large blowers on the rooftops began spewing a soapy concoction that not only did look just like real snow as it fell, but accumulated on the street like real snow, too!