March 16 & 17, 2006

March 16 & 17, 2006

Disney World / Epcot & Davenport, Florida

YEAR 2 DAY 272 & 273

 

Thursday ; < singing > M - I - C ..... K - E - Y .......... M - O - U - S - E

Today was sunny and very warm. This morning we headed for Disney World, about 11 miles from our campground. A few miles north on Hwy. 17 / 92, a few miles west on Hwy. 54 / Ronald Reagan Parkway, then a few miles north on Interstate 4. You know you're getting close to Disney World when the utility poles on the side of the highway stop having horizontal cross members at the top, and they start having big circles resembling mouse ears. HA HA HA !

We arrived at Disney World, and headed for the Epcot theme park. Disney World has 4 theme parks ; Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Epcot is "where the magic of Disney comes together with the wonders of the real world". It's split into 2 basic parts. The first is a series of pavilions that exhibit wonders of nature, science, and technology. The other part is a series of pavilions of nations around the world. We parked, walked the long distance from where we were parked to the admission gate, then I walked back to the truck to get the camera that I forgot < sigh >. As we were buying our admission tickets ( GASP ... U.S.$134.20 for 2 ! ), the ticket agent gave us some recommendations that were helpful.

Our first destination was the pavilion called The Land ( sponsored by Nestlé ). The hottest new attraction in Epcot is at The Land, an exhibition / ride called Soarin’. The wait time for Soarin’ was 110 minutes, so we exercised the first of our FastPass privileges. Each ticket holder is allowed a couple of FastPasses per day. Insert your admissions ticket into the FastPass machine, and a ticket is produced with a reserved entry time for later in the day. Works great. We got FastPasses for admission to Soarin’ between 4:00 and 5:00 P.M.. From The Land we walked over to Imagination ( sponsored by Kodak ). We went on a ride called Journey Into Imagination With Figment, a cute kid’s ride with an animated character, Figment, and Dr. Nigel Channing, played by Eric Idle. From Imagination, we walked a long distance over to The World Showcase, the pavilions of nations around the world. We decided to bypass the pavilions of the countries we’ve been to. That narrowed the field down a lot, leaving us only a handful of pavilions to visit. First stop was Morocco. Each pavilion is comprised of buildings reflecting the architecture of the region, restaurants featuring local cuisine, stores selling local wares, exhibitions and sometimes demonstrations of local culture. We had lunch at the Morocco Pavilion, at Tangierine Café .

After lunch as we were walking to the China Pavilion we stopped to watch Sergio, a mute, juggling, street performer in front of the Italy Pavilion. Great show ! We also stopped briefly to watch a demonstration of candy making in front of the Japan Pavilion. An artist was making animal figurines out of soft candy mix, then presenting to audience members who would hold them in front of a little fan until they hardened. Very interesting souvenirs for a lucky few. As we walked by the U.S. Pavilion, the Spirit Of America Fife & Drum Corps were performing in the street. Yeah, yeah ... Rah, Rah, God Bless America. We finally made it to the China Pavilion. We watched a performance of a musician playing an odd Chinese stringed instrument, then watched a video called Reflections Of China in a Circle-Vision 360 theatre. Once back outside, we sat down to watch a street performance of the Dragon Legend Acrobats. WOW ! From China we headed to Norway. Great looking food in the Norwegian bakery restaurant. We decided we would return to Norway for supper. We went on Maelstrom, the boat ride "around" Norway.

After Norway it was time to return to The Land for our reserved time at Soarin’. WHAT A RIDE ! ! ! We climbed into airplane type seats, in a sort of mock up of the interior of a large airplane. Suddenly, all the seats lifted from the floor, and stacked vertically, as if the airplane had been tilted nose up. The seats could tilt side to side, and front to back. In front of us was a huge, bowl shaped screen which displayed the view as if we were racing along in a very fast, very low helicopter, over California sights and scenery. The movement of the seats, along with the video, created an illusion of flying so realistic we were inclined to lift our feet so they wouldn’t hit the tree tops, and push our heads back into the headrests to keep from falling out of our seats. WOW ! ! ! ! ! From Soarin’, we went to another attraction in The Land, called Living With The Land, and got another FastPass. Our FastPass time for Living With The Land was for an hour later, and we were already pretty tired from walking around the World Showcase, so we went to a fast food court to have a snack and rest while we waited.

Living With The Land was a guided boat tour through an exhibition of horticulture research and developments. Amazing fruits and vegetables, with a bit of fish farming thrown in. Many of Disney’s attractions are “boat rides” that are like slow moving roller coasters on water filled tracks. From The Land we headed over to Test Track ( sponsored by General Motors ). I went on the Test Track ride, which simulates a series of automotive tests. It’s an excuse for some hair raising roller coaster experiences. I went on Test Track by myself, because Joanne wasn’t interested, and the wait time for single riders was a third of the wait time for couples or groups. She went to Mouse Gear, the Disney merchandise store, and watched parent after parent dish out a hundred bucks for Disney’s Princess outfits. Next stop was Spaceship Earth, where we went on a ride chronicling milestones in communications, from cave paintings to space communications. A bit of a yawn, after Test Track. I wasn’t yawning for long. Next stop was Mission : Space ( sponsored by Hewlett Packard ) and the ride of the same name. It’s a space craft simulator, and very realistic. It moves in all directions, and somehow generates “G” forces that result in vertigo, and nausea ( and I’m an IFR trained pilot ! ). I was a bit worried about Joanne, but she weathered it just fine. I guess all that flying with me, “scud running” from Ottawa to Toronto or Stratford conditioned her. HA HA HA HA HA ! After our “trip to Mars”, we sent silly e-mails “from Mars” to my sister, and myself. I couldn’t remember Joanne’s sister’s e-mail address off the top of my head. DUH !

When we came out of Mission ; Space it was already dark, our feet and ankles were aching, and we had had enough of ride attractions. We slowly walked all the way back to World Showcase, to the Norway Pavilion. We had a light supper at Kringla Bakeri Og Café . MMMMM ! ! ! We lingered over supper, to rest our aching feet. When we came out after supper, we went into the Mexico Pavilion next door, just to take a quick peek around. There was no wait for their “boat ride”, so we climbed in and rode around the Mexico exhibition. By then it was time to find a spot to sit and watch the nightly closing ceremonies “Illuminations ; Reflections Of Earth”.

The World Showcase is built around a large “lagoon” / lake. Each night the closing show takes place on the lagoon, and can be viewed from anywhere around the outside edges of the lagoon, where the pavilions are all located. It’s essentially a spectacular fireworks show. When it was over, we slowly walked back towards the parking lot, with thousands and thousands of other people. Did I mention that this is Spring Break week ? Half the families in North America that have children are here this week. Many of them are 3 generation groups, including Grandma and Grandpa. I can understand that. We decided as the night came to a close, that we’re not going to Magic Kingdom tomorrow. We’ll save that for next year, and maybe be able to experience it with Madeleine and Amelia, which is what I really want. Are you listening, Lorri ?

We found our way back to the truck in the parking lot, and drove back to Three Worlds RV resort. Disney designers are very adept at handling and moving large crowds of people in their theme parks, and large flows of vehicular traffic in and out. Well done, Walt ! Back at the trailer, Teddy was eagerly awaiting a meal, while Bo was eagerly awaiting a bathroom walk. No “accidents”, after a very long day alone. Good dog, Bo. We walked Bo and fed them, then went to bed.

Friday ;

Today was sunny and very warm again. We slept late this morning, exhausted from our long day at Disney World / Epcot. I went outside to do today’s preventive maintenance, checking the truck’s fluid levels. I lifted Dee-Dee’s hood, and ... ZOOM ! Five old men, peering at the engine, wanting to chat. Lifting a truck hood in a “Snowbird” RV park is an invitation to every old man within sight to hurry over and see why the truck hood is up. Reminds me of the rush of cats towards the dumpster behind every KFC outlet each night when the employees throw out the garbage. I took the laptop and went over to the office where there was a modem hook up, so I could get online and retrieve updated investment data, which I do in the middle and end of every month. By the time I finished that, it was time for lunch.

As Joanne was preparing lunch, Lorri phoned. Joanne chatted with her for awhile while I ate lunch. After lunch, I did yesterday’s accounting, then yesterday’s journal entry, which took a very long time. We saw and did a lot yesterday. I’m glad we decided not to have another day at Disney World. Two days in a row would be too tough. Our feet and ankles need a day of rest. We sat outside for much of the afternoon, appreciating Florida’s fine weather. I worked on the computer at the picnic table, listening to the boisterous conversations of the Quebecois at nearby campsites. Many of the license plates in this park are from Ontario and Quebec. There are some from the Maritime Provinces. Joanne did some trip planning, figuring out where we go from here.

We changed into bathing suits, then went and sat in the pool for an hour, chatting with people. We took Bo for a long obedience session. Pretty good, but could be a little bit better. We sat outside at the picnic table, having a cheese and crackers snack, discussing and deciding on travel plans. We’re going to go from here to an RV park near Ocala that is a “doggie destination” resort, featuring dog wading pools and outdoor heated dog baths. I downloaded and processed yesterday’s photos from Disney World, including 2 video clips of the fireworks. I need some practice with the video function on my digital camera. I got the printer out of storage, and printed the investment data updates I retrieved, and the colonoscopy preparation instructions sent to me by my gastroenterologist in Ottawa. Should be entitled "How to prepare for misery and suffering" ! Or ... "How to prepare for a sewer hose and TV camera to be shoved up your ass" !

Oh, for crying out loud ! Bo just took off, chasing 2 large Roseate Spoonbills, dragging the lawn chair Joanne left him tied up to. Quite a scene. A couple of 4 foot tall birds, walking through the campground, making very loud, irritated noises, being followed by a little dog, straining to drag a lawn chair behind him as he struggles to chase the birds.

I worked on updating investment files while I barbecued supper. After supper, I continued working on the investment files while we watched some TV. WOW ... good growth in the last couple of weeks. WOO-HOO !

DSK