As I said before, Epcot is very photogenic:
Simultaneously, Kristin reminds us of the same thing about Coronado:
Travelers have long ventured into the sea, but the true final frontier is above us:
But first, I'm ridin' Test Track, single rider. With no photos. Just ridin'.
And it was great! More fun with the family, though. Still...Test Track!
Now, back to the final frontier. Have you heard it's above us? Or, in this case, in front of us?
But that's not today. I'm not flying to Mars. Green team wait is 10 minutes...but Orange Team is 110 minutes. Seriously?
Oh well. I have a different mission, anyway:
Mission: Space Race - the game I've seen for ten years, but never once played, until today. You've probably played it. Or at least seen it. And if not, that's too bad, because I didn't take any more pictures of it. Except for the "8" for the day header. That was essential.
Anyway, the game involves two teams ("Team Triton" and...well, I forget) of 4 to 12 or so players trying to maneuver blocks on a video screen into a spaceship. Four on each team get to move the blocks to their spots (and stand up front!), while the others stand at individual stations on the floor behind them, solving puzzles to send different color blocks to their teammates up front.
I started on the floor, mostly because I wanted that "8" photo. The game is really fun - you have to turn and flip pieces on the screen until they solve some sort of puzzle, then you can send the colors the others are looking for. I got pretty good at it, too.
After a while, I decided to take a shot at the front. I got teamed up with a little kid and two teenagers, and did pretty poorly. Of course, I didn't realize at first you could only move blocks that correspond with the color of your joystick. After that game, I figured it out, and it was ON.
I got quite a few games on both sides, and had it down. I was on a win streak. Not a lot of other people were lining up to play, so why not?
You got to interact with a wide range of people, too. One of my teammates was a man about my age, who shouted at the people on the floor to send us the appropriate colored blocks. In a different game, one was a middle-aged man who didn't appear to speak English, and had no clue what he was doing. His son wasn't much better. A little kid and I were, though, and we carried us the best we could. But we fell short.
In another game, my teammates were a couple and their kids. I could tell almost instantly that the mom was the kind of person who doesn't like to lose. She almost shoved the kids aside to make sure we won. Which I was cool with, since I was all about winning. We fell short, though, again.
Then, I got into the groove. I couldn't lose. And it was fun.
The best game, however, and my final one, was with a boy who wasn't very good, a teenage girl who was, and her mother, who was ok. I was on the far left, and the girl was to my right. Before the game started, I could tell she was all business, so I said, "just to warn you, I take this game way too seriously."
She replied, "so do I."
...and it was ON. We absolutely CRUSHED our opponents, and the girl said, "we won!"
"You two won," the mom laughed. The girl turned to me with a "Team Triton!", we fist-bumped, and we all went out champions...
...about two hours after I started playing. Yep. Two hours. I saw multiple shift switches. But it was a blast.
And THAT's something you can't usually do with the rest of the family.
Though Dylan would have loved it. Learn you lesson, kid: Dad = fun
