As usual, the TV was on while we got ready to let us hear
Stacy, the Ultra Happy Disney Immortal be snarky about how FastPass was
included with park admission.
We got to see the Phineas and Ferb Mission Marvel painted bus while waiting for our return to
EPCOT. I’m not sure if anyone got to
ride it. There may have been some issues with the hero licensing from Universal.
Maybe it just had to drive around empty.
We usually clump the EPCOT visits on trips, even when they
aren’t as compartmented as this one was.
The place contains such vast spaces and locations; it makes it feel like
one long cohesive visit if the days there are in close proximity
We must have been slowing down toward the end of the trip,
once again arriving shortly after park opening.
It was still early enough that Spaceship Earth had no line, allowing us
to symbolically return to “original” EPCOT to kick off the day.
The bulk of the ride, excluding the interactive “what language”
“what future” screen in the cars hadn’t changed since its inception. Dame Judy Dench’s relatively new narration
served to indicate progress in views and historical information about the
animatronics.
I continued trying to pay attention to little details and
surprises I missed before. There’s quite
a bit in the sound bites connected to each section. It’s great that they kept
the footage of the first moon landing, allowing early Big Ball narrator, Walter
Cronkite, to have a cameo.
Anabelle didn’t show up in the video she and Rosa created at
the end. We theorized it was because the
face she made was far too silly for the computer to handle. Luckily, we still had a FastPass Plus for
this ride later, and remembered some positioning tricks we had figured out on
previous vacations.
One ride into our second and final day in EPCOT and I could
wait no more. I was having deep fish meditation time withdrawal that could only
be cured by visiting the Living Seas.
The pavilion is much better with a ride. Whether it was the
original immersive (ha!) journey under the sea, or the new Nemo based one, it
adds a sense of occasion to the entrance.
For the most part, the new scenes were animatronics, with minimal ainima-ing,
and video images superimposed on a real tank.
The overall effect still evoked both the tone of the film and the
grandeur of the underwater world.
“Take me with you! They keep singing it over and over!”
Rosa and I were wearing Nemo themed shirts from our first visit as a family, but Anabelle had grown out of hers. We found nearly all the
merchandise in the gift shop was seagull based.
Sometimes, memes are a pain in the keister.
Anabelle was going to buy a book about sharks…but after
coming home to the big tank, Daddy bought that for her. Also, we found a tie-dye
Nemo tank gang shirt for Anabelle on the way out, hidden behind some seagull
wear. Now all in matching gear, we could
pose in front of the fish statues near the pavilion entrance.
We hurried over to catch the end of our FastPass Plus window
at Spaceship Earth. Yes, we were going
again, Long Live Educational EPCOT! The
normally bright green Mickey indicators flashed an ominous red when we tried to
enter. We had just missed the edge of the window. I pulled out the SmartPhone in an attempt to
bump the time, something designed into the system, because Disney is awesome
and doesn’t want to freak out the schedule minded vacationers it was built
for. The Cast Member said he could do a
manual override, but seemed desperately concerned we were wasting a FastPass on
his fifteen minute line. He near
insisted that we switched it for Soarin’ or Test Track. We already had Soarin’ programmed for later
in the day. As for Test Track, attempts
to explain my Magnetic Levitation Man issues generated a nervous
uncomprehending stare, and I switched gears to, “My wife doesn’t do thrill
rides, and my daughter doesn’t care about cars.” Eventually, he let us in, highlighting the
lack of understanding how best to use the new system in this location. The FastPass line bypassed the outside
portion of the queue, but not the inside.
If it did, using the “express lane” would have netted us the zero wait
time one would expect when the real line is only a quarter of an hour. Instead, we shaved off the thirty seconds it
would have taken to walk around a couple outside turnstiles to reach the line
proper.
My daughter cemented herself as a true Disney McGinley by
speaking along with the door warning in both English and Spanish. Due to the
other side of the family, it was the best Spanish door warning ever done by a
McGinley.
Based on the earlier photo failure, Anabelle and I worked on
positioning her properly at the start of the journey through the history of
communication. It created a successful
video at the end of another trip looking for new details. I did remember noticing several times in the
past, something when Dame Judy said, “Far from the dying embers, Islamic wise
men preserve ancient wisdom and weave a rich network of new knowledge linking
east and west.”
The individuals bore a striking resemblance to other “Wise Men”
from the East, primarily known for trying to smoke a rubber cigar. What I didn’t remember noticing, and I’m not
sure how I missed it, is the chubby guy hanging around with Pharaoh who looked
an awful lot like Victor Buono’s King Tut from Batman.
Another reason clumping EPCOT days makes sense is the
combination of vast post show areas and the sprawling World Showcase
layout. The second day soon after the
first allows fresh memories of which areas merit a more leisurely
exploration. That’s a great theory on
paper, anyway. Since it’s us, we view all of them as worthy of a more leisurely
exploration, meaning the day isn’t that leisurely at all.
By the time I finished the game, and recovered the feeling
in my arm from over cranking the wheel to go almost straight, they had moved on
to the “brain challenge.”
Anabelle was rated “good” on every exercise, which is pretty
impressive considering she was completely wiped out from waking a million
Mickey miles every day for almost two weeks…and nine.
Rosa passed the ultimate brain test by not trying, and
therefore not letting us make fun of the effects of exhaustion on her scores.
Instead she secured a place for her and Anabelle to play the
shuffleboardy fill in the power Grid game.
I think it was supposed to teach about environmentally friendly and
efficient power sources. It turned out
to be a much better lesson in frantically moving around a very tight space
while flailing large metal sticks without killing a family member.
Anabelle scored some more stickers at the Storm Watch Eco
friendly house display and first aid kit thing, but wasn’t able to enjoy the
fun of the “Escape your burning home” simulation because they were waiting for
a real fireman arriving shortly for a presentation.
A real person?
In the classic home of awesome Disney animatronics?
Yeah, like we were going to hang around for that.
We wanted a quick lunch, which we figured we could find at
the nearby Electric Umbrella. We knew
selection would be limited going in, especially compared to the rest of the
park, but sometimes there are compromises.
Surprisingly, it was Rosa who decided there was “nothing” to eat there,
leading us to cross Future World and try Seasons in the Land Pavilion. I’m
sure the fact that we had to pass the Fountain View Starbucks again had
absolutely nothing to do with her decision.
While the experience in the upscale counter service place
was a disaster when Anabelle was five years old, with her palate twice as
experienced it became a rousing success.
Sourcing from a vast array of fresh ingredients, some grown in that very
building, the selection was amazing.
Anabelle chose the Spicy Tuna Salad, based on stealing my tuna nicoise
salad in the Beast’s castle. It turned
out to be a little too spicy, leading us to steal each other’s fish. She
enjoyed my salmon a great deal. Rosa
showed up while we were eating with her equally tantalizing and healthy roast
chicken, and the Frappachino that pulled her off our path.
Anabelle tried to take advantage of a lull in the day to
interview us about her birth as part of a homework assignment. After following my lead of taking notes on
the SmartPhone and then accidentally deleting them, she switched to the more
primitive, but reliable, notepaper.
Full and happy, we went back over to the Innoventions we
weren’t in before.
East, West, some other direction? They finally oriented the map properly, and I
still never remember which is which.
Anabelle had pretty much stopped getting autographs, because
they would all be doubles at this point, and was enjoying time with the
characters. This is a view I have always recommended, usually complaining that
autographs create such a focus on signing, they dilute the meetings
themselves. That adds to the
embarrassment of my forgetting not only did we meet Pluto two days before in
EPCOT, but we were also having dinner with him.
I dove into her backpack to grab the autograph book for Pluto,
transforming into what I had mocked.
We rode Imagination again, to say goodbye to Figment, and
his Pythonian pal. I realized the giant
end scene with multiple Figments would be perfect for a SmartPhone panoramic
picture. I cannot prove this, because
the SmartPhone can only be moved in one direction to take a panoramic picture.
That direction is not the direction I decided to move the SmartPhone in.
I already had a PowerAde with lunch, and downed the extra
one Rosa had gotten with her meal on the way to Imagination. This was to battle off any dehydration in
hopes of defeating the curse of becoming a RAVING LUNATIC on the second EPCOT Death
March. Rosa didn’t need a drink with
lunch because of that happy coincidence involving the Fountain View Starbucks
and Disney Dining Plan snacks.
Packing a double load of electrolytes and with the tripod
this time, I led my family across the bridge into World Showcase for the start
of the second EPCOT Death March. The
laminar flow fountains were firing. Due
to the oppressive heat, and Anabelle’s mourning over the loss of Goofy’s Foot,
we stopped a bit. In a cute Circle of Life type thing, a baby girl the same age
as Anabelle was on her first Disney visit (which included splashing in an EPCOT
fountain) was running through in the same full force, unconcerned manner that
she did at that age. The fact that she
ended up splashing Anabelle repeatedly added to the cuteness.
Rosa also soaked her head in one of the water jets to deal
with the day’s weather. Apparently, I
made too many “soak your head” jokes to my wife for Karma to stand still. Whatever insect bit her under the Magic Band previously,
got me on the back of the neck. Once again smashing it to minuscule bug bits
rendered identification a tad difficult, but whatever it was left a bite that
itched for months.
Duffy had no line at all, which may explain why his
excessively thanked handlers had no issues with our incredibly soggy daughter
hugging the plush merchandise machine.
Exiting his fuzzy presence, I was ready to fight the Curse of the Second
EPCOT Death March.
We took our first family photo with the Mexico Pavilion
Pyramid behind us, and then entered it because I was travelling with the Grand
Fiesta Tour’s biggest fans. We had a
boat all to ourselves and were able to do two trips in a row. Heck, we didn’t have to get out of the boat
because of Rosa asking, “Can we go again?” in flawless South American Spanish
at the end of the first pass.
Due to growing children and shrinking fabric, Rosa and
Anabelle’s ride shirts they wore two days before didn’t fit quite right. Following a bit of confusion about who gets
which existing ones, we purchased gap filling commemorative wear, and all ended
up with red Fiesta Tour shirts. We also found mom's favorite blue glasses from the Castle which now live in the Mexico restaurant.
To continue a family tradition that dates back to me at age
two, we were startled by a parrot. This one was animatronic and talked. I’m not sure if he was connected to the Perry
the Platypus World Showcase Adventure. I
am positive, however, that the familiar faux Eastern European accent we heard
shortly thereafter was. This is because it accompanied the appearance of Doctor
Doofenshmirtz on the “rooftops” above the plaza. They need to get on having a meet and greet
with him, preferably in an area with hands-on “inator” exhibits. Maybe they could clear up the confusion with
Universal and base it on Mission Marvel.
Sorry, got distracted crossing the streams of too many geek
references.
(Ooh! There’s another one!)
The Norway photo came off well, and we were about to ride
the Maelstrom again. Disney’s boat issue
surfaced once more, stranding us next to the Viking in Mickey ears. As we were
about to give up and press on, repairs were completed and one last “backwards
in a boat” happened.
We didn’t need to use the tripod in the Africa Traders. I
still bet it’s a placeholder until another country merges with the Empire of
the Mouse. I did listen carefully to
physical needs in order to continue battling the Second Death March curse, and
grabbed the first bottle of regular Coke I’d had in years while my wife
helpfully stuffed a Power Bar into my face.
Anabelle enjoyed her first taste of the non-diet version of the classic
beverage in her life, indicating how much we’ve overly leapt on the calorie
free wagon.
Rosa also found a visor she had been looking for. It had the
EPCOT logo and a flag motif. Yes, I did
say she found a Minnie visor at the World of Disney Store. I probably don’t
need to tell the parents that Anabelle ended up wearing the pink Minnie visor
almost as soon as the receipt ink was dry.
In Italy we walked into a juggling show…literally. Sergio
was setting up his big finale, involving an audience thrown ball across the
entire pavilion. Anabelle needing to go
on her dancing stage (that statueless pedestal in the center) cleared us out of
the way. Looking around I realized that
while the other countries are represented by mini museums, rides and specialized
shops, Italy only had food, wine and loud people in the street. Once again, Disney wins at realism.
We reached the center of the Second EPCOT Death March with
no sign of me being a RAVING LUNATIC, but also knowing we’d missed the timing
for the American Adventure. Rosa and
Anabelle’s, “Awwwwww,” proved I’m far form the only sarcastic smart aleck in
the family. In fairness to them, it was
difficult trying to coordinate an arrival time at the far end of World Showcase,
when there weren’t any other attractions at the American Pavilion to kill time,
and the nearest films were three countries away in both directions.
America – the most ecologically friendly country!
Yes, I’m going to continue to base my knowledge of world
practices on this park, what of it?
In Japan, Anabelle settled on the lucky cat and owl colors
that represented patience, and being calm and relaxed. Perhaps that aided in defeating the RAVING
LUNATIC curse. There were some awesome
looking dragon shirts there, but as they cost more than all of my suits
combined, they remained on the rack.
The trek continued into Morocco. On the way we passed another of an increasingly
large amount of families all wearing matching Perry the Platypus shirts. It was
nice to see the best comedy writing on TV getting so much attention.
As authentic as Morocco tried to make its area, the Aladdin
influence was steadily growing. The lamp store was only the tip of the
iceberg. We finally identified the
headache inducing smell in that location, tracking it down to incense burning
in many of the shops. I zigged when my
family zagged in the back streets and found a hidden mini museum with some
unique fashions.
Frankly, if I wore an
ugly seventies era lampshade on my head, I’d hide my museum too.
As Avengers fans,
Anabelle and I were keen to try Schwarma, but as it turned out to be a full up
entrée, we passed on the opportunity.
Proving juvenile references is not just my hobby, some guy in the men’s
room launched into a highly skilled Morocco Mole impression.
Hey! This is Belle in
her blue dress we’re talking about here.
For our picture in England, a Latin Grandmother stood well
out of the way of our timer based camera set up. That is until the light began flashing
rapidly indicating the photo was imminent. Then she walked right between us and
the tripod. I guess she was lonely.
We did the Canada photo, and reversed direction back to
Belle.
Passing repeatedly by the edges of the World Showcase lagoon
we noticed that, while Illuminations is surely a beautiful spectacle, it
certainly required an excessive amount of crap in the water to pull it off.
The repeated passings also let me notice, for the first time
ever, that the England toy store looks like a castle from the outside.
Apparently, I’ve always been looking at the pub across the street. That probably says something about me I
shouldn’t admit publically.
We made it back into Future World after the second one and a
half times EPCOT Death March with no evidence of me becoming a RAVING LUNATIC. While
we couldn’t move the end of the day Turtle Talk FastPass Plus we didn’t plan on
using, my spirits were still high. I had
beaten the Second Death March Curse.
Sadly, we would learn the following day that I was battling
the incorrect curse.
Land Sea Imagination
Rest Rooms
There was a reference to Captain EO, causing Anabelle to
read it as:
Land Sea Weird Movie!
Our flight ended just in time for the dinner reservation at
the Garden Grill. Harry, the retired
Awesome Happy Disney person at check in asked how old Anabelle was and reminded
us to “cherish every moment.” We
explained that was why we were about to have dinner with Mickey instead of
having her attend the first couple days of school. Harry gave us an Awesome Happy Disney person
smile of approval.
Anabelle’s Nets bag remained under the table with her pink fluffy
princess book stowed for the night. She wanted to enjoy her time with the
characters:
“No signing, just have fun.”
“No signing, just have fun.”
That’s my girl.
The fresh and fantastically tasty food came and went in waves
throughout. The place rotated so slowly that we would forget, look up to see
the surroundings had changed and went, “Oooh!”
Yeah, we’re kind of easy to amuse.
Anabelle panicked and called him Chip. She apologized when he
looked disappointed (which is pretty dang impressive in a big ole head) and pointed
at nose.
We rolled out of the Land, stuffed with healthy goodness,
and split up. I hit the giant Mouseworks
gift shop with Anabelle as a near last ditch hope to find a replacement bumper
sticker, and the Mickey sneakers we’d spotted in my size.
Rosa went to get the Disney Visa Picture, and straighten out
more of the PhotoPass Plus issues, before meeting us in the store. This would have been a great plan if I didn’t
have the picture receipt in my wallet.
We grabbed some squashed pennies for Anabelle’s collection
and ran to the photo place.
Last Shop on the Left, because Disney is Awesome.
A Cast Member offered Anabelle a pin off his lanyard with no
trade because:
1) It was her birthday
2) As I may have mentioned, Disney is Awesome.
She picked cute little baby Pluto, as he had recently come
up on the Random Favorite Character Generator she keeps in her head.
With everything straightened out, we rushed to the exit in
order to beat Illuminations, and the crowd that goes with it. Sadly, that meant we had to decline getting
to go into a side room for a quick survey on the way out, and rave about how
Awesome the place was. That “sadly”
moment would turn into a benefit the next morning.
The arcade used digital tickets, which sucked the same
amount of fun out of the games that using printed receipts does in slot
machines.
She learned a valuable lesson about gambling in a “drop the
ball in the hole” game. On her first try, she hit the jackpot, and on her
second, won a whopping three tickets.
By the night’s end she had a great deal of fun and won 220
tickets. That haul translated into a small bag of slightly higher quality
plastic junk than non Disney arcades.
While cashing in, and talking about characters we saw, we
learned some groovy Disney Insider tips from the Awesome Happy Disney people.
A) There will never
be PhotoPass Photographers with Alice in Wonderland or Mary Poppins characters
due to the weird, franchise, license, legal jiggery pokery involved in using
them.
B) Megara was making
a comeback for Friday the 13th, and had been in the International Gateway,
which is where characters go for training. (We are totally detouring over there
on the next EPCOT Death March)
C) The Friday the 13th
Villain thing was going to be more awesome than we imagined.
(Crap.)
We met Rosa back in the room, displayed the “winnings” and
did some minor packing and postcarding.
Miraculously, we still ended up in bed before midnight before another early morning rise.
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