Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Epcot
 | Some of the pages in this trip report are up to my old standards, some are not. This one is one of the ones that is not. But, this has taken forever to get posted, and better this than nothing. So, some freeform text, and a handful of pictures. And, I still have one more trip to write about!! |
 | Weather was generally good. Had a downpour in the late afternoon. I thik it only lasted about 15 minutes. Ironically, it hit right when we came out of the rough weather place at Epcot. |
 | The mail back from SE did not owrk, but the one from the Runnning Space (IBM) did. |
 | Thank goodness that stupid hand is gone from the top of SE. It was a nice touch at the millenium, but the Epcot labeled hand got really, really old really, really fast. SE looks like it is supposed to again. Rode on Spaceship Earth, IBM game (Inoventions), Storm Chasers (inoventions), Slapstick Theater (Inoventions), monorail (:), Mission Space, Energy, Soaring, JIYI. |
 | Lunch was unexpected and very good. Japan, new steakhouse place. New incarnation, but similar to old place here. Debbie and I steak and shrimp, very tasty. Nick steak, seemed to like it. Debbie and Nick also added a beef roll, which they said was really good. Debbie and I split a tempura appetizer, was good. I had green tea pudding, was very very good. Not too sweet, kind of a sophisticated taste. Debbie and Nick both had soft serve ice cream, said was good. Chef was good, amuzsing, not as animated as what I was seeing at other tables. Food was very well prepared, though. Sat with a woman and her grandson, who were also from Colorado, and had a nice conversation with them. Told us they left DIA on Monday (we had loeft on Saturday), and they were stuck on the runway for 3 hours because of the weaterh. Also, a nice family of 3 from Kentuky, who did not seem like they had been to WDW before. After lunch, shopped in Japan. Got some good luck cats. Dinner at Rose and Crown was lovely. Mushroom medely is gone. Had a cheese and meat appetizer plate that was ok. Nick and i both had bangers and mash. I loved it again, the English sausage, excellent mashed potatos, rich brown gravy, sour cabbage. Nick just seemed to like it ok. Debbie had fish and steak, letting her have steak and still have the fish from fish and chips. She liked it a lot. Debbie and I boht had apple crisp, which was good but not great. Nick had celebration cake, which he seemed to like. |
 | Although our dinner res was for 7:20, we were still there at 9:00, and they let us stay. We were taking our time, and the waitress knew it. Lovely young girl with a realy thick british accent. WE were on upper deck, they raised the awning for Illuminations. But, the lamp on the lower deck was still on, and it was right in our line of sight. So, a good view, but not perfect. Beautiful, moving show. I enjoyed it greatly. Nick and I were supposed to ride the monorail to the MK, and take the bus home, just to ride on the monorail. But, we got seperated, and he ended up taking the bus instead. I did ride the monorail, and was glad I did. What would a trip to Disney be without a ride on the monorail? |
 | All three home pretty late. pictures, tr, bed. The new spaceship Earth is still good. But, I liked the old one better. Nick described it as dumbed down, because some of their historical explanations (like cheap books being the main fuel of the renaisance) were kind of simplistic. I just think the old commmunications story ws more sweeping, and held together better. A lot of the original dioramas are there, but they are trying so hard to make them not about communication, but about invention, it just does not hold up as well. I do think they highlight a couple of really important events, like the gutenburgh press and the moon landing. But, Walt Disney and Oedipus Rex are gone. As important as the computer is to modern life, their handling of it was a little clumsy. I also did not like the need they felt to describe the ancient world in computer terms. And I am a major computer geek. |
 | The new ending is also just OK. I appreciate the attempt to customize the end experience, but its just on a computer screen in your car, and we all have computer screens at home by now. Also, not super high end presentation. But, the cut and paste of the faces is interesting. I do like the world map in the big room after the ride that shows where everyone is from. The lower area was new to us. Did the body building game and the eye/hand/memory thing. I really thought these were nice additions. It is good to have some more hands on stuff at Epcot. There used to be alot of that, but a lot of it is either gone or dated, and this is a welcome fresh addition. The game at the IBM area of Innoventions where they stick your digitized imaage into a video game also fits this description. Freash and amuzing. WE also did storm chasers at Innoventions. I really liked this a lot. Nice 3D, special effects, kind of neat little interactive learning, an exciting subject. Also, really neat because it was new to us and novel. |
 | The other thing we did in Innoventions was the Slapstick Theater presented by Velcro. It was just kind of Ok. The pair of live CMs doing it tried really hard to be amusing, and the couple of interesting facts avout Velcro weere interesting. But, it maybe could have been funnier. Soaring is a wonderful, wonderful ride. The sights, the sounds, the feel and even the smells. Just a great sensation of hang gliding over California, very well executed. Someone got yelled at for video taping during the ride. aRe you kidding? some people have no sense. Ellen's Energy Adventure is still fun. have seen it A LOT by now, but it can still make you checkle, and the dinosaurs are among the best animatronics areound. The energy survey at the end could use an update, but its biggest drawback is that it suffers so much from being politically correct, and I doubt that could be fixed. I still think this is a fun attraction, though. |
 | Did JIYI. It is a cute ride, we mourn the original. But, this is a fun little farce now. Mission space. Even the orange side is not that rough, but I think it is toned down from the original opening day version. It makes me a little nervous when waiting to get on, but is really no big deal once you are underway. I do honestly enjoy it. We spent very little time in the post ride area, but I did find a nice t-shirt in the shop. The outside facade of this place is amazing. |
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