Epcot & All Its Glory

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Arithmetic is being able to count up to 20 without having to take off your shoes. Mickey Mouse

Epcot. WOW! One of THE most stunning places to come upon. You drive up and see this huge 180 foot tall spaceship earth sphere at the entrance to the park which takes your breath away. Al remembers seeing a picture of it as a kid and he COULD NOT believe he was standing under it, finally after all those years. (Awww Al!)

And at night it's even more impressive if you can believe. OMG. This place is mesmerizing once you walk through the gates. For those that have never been here, you have a pass card that you scan and you also scan your index finger (biometrics at its finest) & it has to match up to gain entrance to the park. Once both align, the Mickey Mouse head on the turnstile blings green in the shape of Mickey's head! All your bags are thoroughly checked (mostly by seniors who have a great sense of humor). I think one guy called Al a "Prince". You'd think the lines would be long but Disney is SO efficient that we'll be ruined with expectation of this kind of service when we go home.

EPCOT is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. A Utopian future city planned by Walt himself. It has Mission Space, Wonders of Life, Science & Technology, Nemo and Friends etc. More of your "education" type of theme park. And let's not forget the World Showcase which is a large area reminiscent of a world's fair containing 11 pavilions representing 11 countries. They host annual food & wine festivals that bring people from all over the world. I may just HAVE to come back for that (wink wink!) OH, and it's a place where an adult can get a "grown" up drink. Now we're talkin'!

As probably mentioned, Magic Kingdom is dry; no alcohol at all (Al was grimacing not being able to have some suds! However, Be Our Guest, the French restaurant has allowed wine & beer on the menu as part of the gourmet dining experience as of last year). However the 3 other parks sell alcohol if you so desire.

I can see given it's a children's paradise they don't want a bunch of drunks hitting on Cinderella (for those who make a fool of themselves & we saw a few of them at Epcot in a pub Friday night). But if there was ever a time a parent needed a drink it might just be at Magic Kingdom! It's hot, you're dealing with line-ups, kids are nagging you to buy expensive crap, crowds, strollers & scooters are running you over, kids are having meltdowns & music is blaring from every corner. Ahhh. I bet those that have never had a sip of alcohol in their life just might be desperate enough for mouthwash about near the end of the day.

So after our full first day at Magic Kingdom it was so nice to wrap up the night at Epcot after our downtime at the condo. It was easy to get to as well. maybe a 15 minute drive & parking is efficient & well organized. Once parked you jump on the tram and in a few minutes you're walking through the gates. Once you pass the sphere, there's a reverse waterfall that shoots water up instead of it falling down and it's lit up in colors at night and too is a gift to your eyes. Spellbinding. There's very little in DW that's not spellbinding to be honest.

We had a "meet and greet " photo opt with Mickey, Goofy and Minnie. Goofy was hilarious and put on quite a show for us! It seems he didn't know how to use the pen to sign their autograph books (I bought books at home for the girls to bring to get the character signatures!)

Next up was Mission Space for Al, Lara, Rory & Ava which is a simulated thrill ride much like an astronaut would take. They LOVED it. I tell ya, Ava is scared of nothing! They were rocked to Mars in a 4 crew mission and Ava was the Commander. They have signs posted to be in good health to go on these rides due to the intensity. Many people have experienced nausea, headaches, vomiting after getting off this G force ride. I on the other hand, decided that was not how I wanted to start my night off by staggering around feeling sick after a ride. (I'd rather do that after a couple of those "Red Nose Zebra" drinks see below...hahahahaha).

Meanwhile Marth and I checked out the world's fair, all built around a lake which is stunning at night, illuminated with twinkly lights, torches and Christmas decorations. I don't think there are letters on my keyboard that could put together a proper explanation of how it looks and feels to experience this. And what came later for the IlluminNATIONS stumped me completely, and left some of us in tears because it was so moving (that was me). I'll talk about it later on.

First up on your dining/drinking tour is Mexico, if you work your way to the left upon entering Epcot. Next stop is Norway, then China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and then you wrap things up at north of the border...yep Canada! (Thank god for shuttles home after all that). They have designed "Hotel du Canada" which is modelled after the Chateau Laurier Hotel. We didn't quite make it to Canada, but I wondered if they had beaver tails on the menu? I betcha Labatt's Blue is though...

One of the signature "holiday" cocktails there is Red Nosed Zebra; a chilly concoction of aged rum, strawberry liqueur, fresh lemon & lime juices. One order pour moi, garcon! (And I don't even drink rum!) It just sounds festive doesn't it?

And on the food side, lots going on at Epcot; and one of their zippidy do da food creations is a savory seasonal waffle. So they take the elements of a traditional holiday feast, turkey, gravy, dressing, cranberry and stuff it between two waffles. Eat one and grab the Lipitor. There's no shortage of decadent, rich, artery clogging food which would make it the perfect place for a cardiologist conference (Lots of victims to snag!)

I do look forward to the food & drink every where I go. Cindy from Philadelphia who follows my blog asked me if I watch Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations & Parts Unknown and we sure do. He is SO humorous (not a show for kids even though it's about food & culture) and he travels to places that are generally not tourist attractions (envision Gaza, Beirut, Congo) and it's by far the MOST entertaining show on TV. He's quite a character; very riveting. Watch it...I dare you.

OK I will finish this blog up to post pics and get ready for our next adventure. I will tell you more about Epcot, the countries & about IllumiNATIONS when I find the words and the time.

For those trying to keep track of what we've been doing, so far this: Friday was Magic Kingdom, Friday night was Epcot. Saturday was Hollywood Studios which is much smaller & conquerable, with some very cool rides like Aerosmith Rock n" Roller coaster (I thought my scalp would blow off!) And Tower of Terror - I am not sure I will ride an elevator without quaking again.

Off to Downtown Disney & some shopping in Orlando

PS I have never seen so many types of Mickey Mouse ears in my life. Just when you think you've seen 'em all, another pair comes along! And the outfits, T shirts, dresses, shoes...head shaking. I got my eye on a pair of Christmas Mickey Mouse ears just for you Mom & Dad for the holidays (hee hee!) Sorry I'm just being GOOFY!

PSS we've had glorious weather every day. Sat. was humid with an index of 35. Our sweat was sweating.

Sally-rella, sister of CINDY-rella!

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Comments

[zully Alvarado]

Awesome photos!!!
Having a good jolly good time..Aren't you. xoxo and Hello to each one of you. Great running shoes for all the walking. Love and Peace of the season.

[Playagal]

Awesome
Hey Zully having a great time; and yes we all have good shoes. Having a jolly golly good time! Wish you were here.