Around the World in 10 hours: Epcot 1/12/2016 Part 4
After riding Spaceship Earth and Test Track, I was about to enjoy some time in the Chevrolet exhibit adjoining Test Track. However, a beautiful and striking red Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray with two black thick stripes down the hood on the showroom floor stopped me in my tracks. On the floor, I was greeted by Taylor from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, a very welcoming CM. When I noticed that she was from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, I could not help but talk about South Florida, as she was from the area and I love the area and know it well. Taylor told me how she loved the area, as it was nice, quiet, and peaceful suburban area, but it was not too far from anything at all. I also told her that I know Palm Beach Gardens a little bit, as I have been to The Gardens Mall, which is a very nice mall and she agreed! Also, one of my college friends is from the area and mentioned that in order to avoid tolls driving to WDW, she uses Interstate 95 northbound to FL-528 (Beachline Expressway) westbound, despite taking more time. Taylor said that avoiding the tolls is good, but that because I-95 is closer to the Floridian coastline as opposed to the Florida's Turnpike (FL-91), which takes a more inland route to Wildwood, FL, where it meets Interstate 75. She said that from South Florida, the tolls would total to about $12/way, which is not that bad when you think about it, as that is what it costs to cross the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey to New York, so it is all relative I suppose. And plus, time is money! Taylor was impressed with my knowledge of South Florida and I told her I know the area well, as I have been there many times due to my grandparents snow birding there and would soon be moving there. When I told her that Delray Beach and Boca Raton are a couple of my favorite towns, she said that those areas are wonderful and that she loves visiting them! We then talked about the Corvette, as we both love that car! She agreed with me that it delivers excellent performance, as it is agile and has a lot of power from its 6.2-liter V8 engine! What's more? Along with Consumer Reports, Taylor stated that the Corvette delivers performance comparable to a Porsche 911 or a Ferrari, but at a cost of about $70,000 for the one on the showroom floor versus about $100,000 for the Porsche or $200,000 or more for the Ferrari!
While I could not sit in the Corvette as it was locked, I asked Taylor if she could take a picture of me next to the Corvette and she was happy to do so.
I would not have minded driving home in the Corvette, but with a cost of $70,000 as well as higher insurance costs since I am not 25 yet, I refrained from purchasing it haha! Anyway, there were more Chevrolets to see on the floor.
As I roamed the showroom floor, my eye was drawn to a new for 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. While its styling interested me, I am also very interested in this car as I like American muscle cars, so I wanted to see how the new Camaro compares to the Ford Mustang, which added more creature comforts for 2015, has a larger 5.0-liter V8 that delivers 429 horsepower, and has agile handling or the Dodge Challenger, which is more of a straight-line cruiser that has a roomy interior and a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine that has 375 horsepower . Based on early testing from magazines like Car and Driver and Consumer Reports, it seems that borrowing some architecture from the Cadillac ATS, a fun to drive compact luxury sedan that competes with the likes of the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, has made the new Camaro even more fun to drive than the previous Camaro and it also has blistering power, as it borrows the Corvette's 6.2-liter V8 and is good for 455 horsepower!
Inside, I found the Camaro a bit low but very nice at the same time. Once I dialed in for an optimal seating position by raising the seat, I decided to take a picture and Tori, the wonderful CM who was stationed nearby, was happy to do this for me.
I then inspected the interior further and based upon my brief inspection, I found it to be very nice, as the plump steering wheel had a nice feel to it, the controls appeared to be logical with plenty of hard keys to avoid going through menus, and everything appeared to be put together well. As far as demerits, while I was comfortable, the styling took a toll on rear visibility and the thick pillars made the interior a little cave-like compared to the Mustang or Challenger.
Which muscle car will reign supreme? Ultimately, I won't know until I read further reviews and test-drive them when the time comes. Here are some more Camaro pics!
After checking out the Camaro, I chatted with Tori, who was from South Carolina and we had a very nice time talking about cars. She asked me which Chevy I liked best and I told her that it was a tough call, as there are a few Chevys that appeal to me a lot. I told her that for my practical side, I like the Impala full-size sedan, as it is roomy, quiet, handles well for its size based on test-driving it for a time I had to secret shop for a Chevy dealership, has a powerful 3.6-liter V6 that delivers 22 mpg overall according to Consumer Reports, respectable for the size of the car, and offers a lot of car for the money, as the one I tested was only lacking a built-in GPS and cost $36,000, which was not bad at all. I told her it was one of the best cars Consumer Reports has tested and she was not surprised, as she admitted she read about it and it made her very happy, as it showed Chevy was building better and better cars. I also told her that I like the Camaro and Corvette, as they deliver excellent performance and are very sporty. I asked Tori what her favorite Chevy was and she said the Camaro, as she loves it styling, handling, and power. Once we were done talking cars, I bid Tori farewell, but as a very nice gesture, she gave me a couple of Chevy pins plus one for my mom, which could not have been more thoughtful, as she wanted mom to have one since she was not able to join me on this trip. Thankful for a magical time with Tori, I made my way to the Test Track souvenir shop. I perused their t-shirts, which were all very nice, however, a black t-shirt with Camaro '67 (the first model year of the Camaro) written on the front and a classic Camaro on the back which cost about $25 caught my eye. I completed my transaction with a friendly and efficient CM from Costa Rica and since I did not want to have to carry it around Epcot, I took advantage of complimentary package delivery to my hotel, which is an awesome service!
Once I exited the shop, my mom called. She wanted to check up on me and I was happy to let her know that I was having a magical day, as I already managed to visit two amazing attractions and tell her about the t-shirt I bought, which she said sounded like an excellent choice! She asked me where I was heading to next and I told her that I was going to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, as I had a 12:55PM-1:55PM FP+. She was not a fan of the ride-on attraction, as she found the songs a bit annoying for her taste as she is not really a Nemo fan, but thought I would have fun nevertheless, as she loved the marine exhibits and knew that I liked the attraction. While I did not mind talking to mom as I enjoyed walking through Epcot, she did not want me to waste any time. I thanked her and agreed to call her sometime before dinner. On my way to The Seas, I encountered something new! It was Baymax, from "Big Hero 6" (very good movie by the way!), who was meeting at the Epcot Character Spot adjacent to where Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy meet. Surprisingly, the line was not long and while in line, I met Tim and Tori, a young couple who was about my age from Cleveland, OH. I was curious about Cleveland, so I asked them about and they said that there were cool things to visit, like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is on my bucket-list as I love rock music! They also said Cedar Point, while not WDW, is a very cool theme park and worth a visit if I am in the Cleveland area. We also talked about how we got to WDW and they said they used Spirit, but did not care for it as while cheap, they charged for everything and had very little legroom. I told them I was not a fan of Spirit either the one time I used them to fly from New York-LaGuardia to Fort Lauderdale, FL, to visit my grandparents last minute in January 2007 as they were significantly cheaper than Delta or jetBlue from NYC-South Florida and found that while the flight was OK, the legroom was atrocious! I told them I used jetBlue, which I liked and they said they have to try it next time due to positive reviews, as they were unable to this time as they commanded a higher fare. While we were chatting, Ashley, a CM who had long curly blonde hair, complimented me on my Beatles Yellow Submarine t-shirt. About five minutes later, I was meeting Baymax!
I first gave him a huge hug, as he is a very huggable character, not unlike a certain snowman from "Frozen" (I'm looking at you, Olaf
). In addition we also did the "Bah-a-la-la-la" fist-bump which took me a couple of tries to get right, but I got it on the second try!
Since Baymax is an excellent personal health care assistant, I also asked him if he would be able to check my health? He happily agreed and was able to determine that my blood pressure levels were normal, my bad cholesterol level was low, and despite having french fries the night before, my triglycerides were still lower than average, which was fantastic!
After my wonderful meeting with Baymax, I made my way outside, but not before encountering a very nice CM, whose name escapes me at the moment and who was from Long Island, NY. The CM was very happy to know that I was from Long Island in Central Nassau County and he mentioned that he was from Mattituck, NY, which is located a little over an hour east from my home on the North Fork of Long Island. He said that it was beautiful out there, albeit quiet, as it was not that built up. I told him it was a lot different near where I live, as my area is fairly built up, as it is the land of shopping malls (I live about ten minutes from Roosevelt Field in Garden City, NY, five minutes from The Source Mall in Westbury, NY, and ten minutes from the Broadway Mall in Hicksville, NY), big-box stores, and many restaurants. We both agreed our areas are quite a contrast to each other, as where I lived has a lot of development while Mattituck does not comparatively, though nearby Riverhead to the west has quite a few big-box stores based on my last visit to that area. After conversing for a bit, I bid the CM farewell and made my way to The Seas with Nemo and Friends
.
After riding Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, I made my way from Tomorrowland to the hub near Cinderella's Castle, where I got a nice spot on the southeastern side of the castle, not far from the bridge connecting the central hub to Tomorrowland. As the show started, I was able to catch a glimpse of Tinkerbell flying overhead, gracing the Magic Kingdom with her pixie dust 
. 
. Thankfully, I was determined to let the magic continue, as I was planning to enjoy dinner either at Trader Sam's at Disney's Polynesian Village or Gasparilla Island Grill, a tried and true counter service restaurant at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort, which I have fond memories of from my last trip 
.
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With these factors in mind, we have decided to buy this house after careful consideration and we look forward to moving there in the late Summer/early Fall, as they need to build it. Can't wait to be in Florida! 
Why did we not get an Affenpinscher from the U.S., like we did with Gwendolyn and Arabella (we got them from a breeder in Massachusetts, who is now a dear friend of ours) you may ask? Well, Affens are a fairly rare breed, so they are hard to come by. When my mom saw this Affen on Facebook, my mom fell in love with her, especially due to the fact that she is lonely due to the loss of her parents/my grandparents, and expressed to this friend of her's in Russia that she wished she could have Zaava, but probably wouldn't due to the distance. Well, our friend in Russia was happy to sell her to us as she felt she would be a great dog for us and three days ago, our Russian friend's friend, who is a courier and flight attendant for Aeroflot, flew with her from Moscow to JFK and brought her to us. Zaava is a wonderful dog and I am glad to have her in our lives! 
