Out of all of the chapters for this trip report, this has been the one I have been dreading the most. Not that it was necessarily a bad part of the trip, but we really had to roll with the punches and keep changing the plans that it can get a bit confusing to follow. Hopefully, the way Ive written it out is clear enough to understand.
Just to set the stage, heres a look at what our original plan was for the rest of the day at EPCOT:
- Make our way to Future World to see the next performance of the Christmas show Joyful! A Gospel Celebration of the Season at the Fountain Stage.
- Go to Mexico to see Los Tres Reyes Magos aka The Three Kings storytelling in Mexico (a special request from Mom)
- Go to The American Adventure to see the Candlelight Processional
We still had some time before we needed to be in Future World for the show so Buzz, Mom and I planned to get there by continuing the walk around the lagoon and exploring a few countries on the way while Dad decided that he would rather take the Friendship Boat across and meet us later in Future World.
Mom, Buzz and my next stop was France, my favorite of the World Showcase pavilions. Like the others, it too was decorated for the Season.
One of my favorite little nooks in the pavilion- Belles Library.
A glimpse at the
Beauty and the Beast inspired window in the Library.
After looking around France a bit, I decided to do a little searching for characters and headed over to the United Kingdom. Since I hadnt seen Mary Poppins on my last few trips, I got in line to see her. Shortly after this, it began to rain again and the CMs assisting Mary attempted to bring Mary, Alice in Wonderland (who was nearby) and both of their lines across the pavilion and into the toy shops to continue the meet-and-greets in as close to an orderly manner as possible. It was a bit on the confusing side with the three lines (one for Mary, one for Alice and one for Pooh and Tigger) all getting confused in the small space and spilling out through the gift shop. I give the CMs credit for trying to make it work, but did they ever have their work cut out for them! At one point, the characters just began going down their lines just doing autographs and no photos, so, not really caring about autographs, I decided to give up and thought I might try to see Mary a little later once she was doing photos again.
After unsuccessfully meeting Mary Poppins, I found Buzz and Mom. By now, the rain had stopped again and Father Christmas came out to do some storytelling.
After the storytelling, I tried again to see if things were a little less chaotic with Mary Poppins, but it turned out that her line was now closed and that she would be back in 20 minutes- about the same time the Joyful! Gospel show was going to start. Since the times for that, the Kings and Candlelight all interfered with Marys schedule for the rest of the day, meeting her seemed pretty unlikely.
Leaving the UK, we continued on towards Future World to meet up with Dad and, wouldnt you know it, it started to rain again- harder than before. Being hopeful that the rain would let up, we stuck around for a bit near Club Cool, but, alas, the performance was cancelled. With Joyful not being an option at the moment, we came up with a new plan:
- Go to Mexico to see if the Three Kings would still come out in the rain (maybe theyd be indoors?)
- If the weather clears up, see the next (and last) performance of the day for Joyful
- Go to American Adventure for Candlelight Processional
Mom, Dad and Buzz decided went to Mexico, but I was pretty sure that the Kings didnt come out in the rain, so I took the opportunity to return to the United Kingdom and see if I could finally meet Mary after all.
By now, Mary and Alice were doing their meet-and-greet together which cut down the confusion somewhat, and things seemed to be running much smoother. Plus, having the two of them together made for a nice photo opportunity. While I was in the United Kingdom, I got a phone call from Buzz saying that, much to my surprise, the Kings were indeed out in Mexico, so I went to join the rest of the family.
It turns out that after Buzz called, they found out that they were just out walking around the indoor marketplace and not doing their storytelling, which Mom really wanted to see. As long as we were in Mexico anyway, we decided to take the chance to do some exploring including looking in the new tequila bar to see what it looks like. Mom even did some shopping and bought a new angel ornament for the family's Christmas tree.
An otter sculpture from the gallery in the entryway.
Surprisingly, while we were in Mexico, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and we saw the first bit of blue sky of the whole day! This brought another revised set of plans:
- Hang out in Mexico for about 20 minutes while waiting for the next Three Kings storytelling
- Go to Future World just in time for the last performance on Joyful
- Go to American Adventure for Candlelight Processional
A Christmas piñata.
While waiting, we decided to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour again. There was a somewhat longer line than we usually tend to see, but it was fast moving.
The Three Caballeros.
After the ride, we headed outside thinking that we might be able to get a few photos outside before the Three Kings came out only to find the blue skies again gone and that the rain had returned! This brought one last change in the plans:
- Throw all other plans out the window and go to American Adventure for the last performance on Voices of Liberty- a group we know will be out rain or shine
Next chapter: Entertainment around EPCOT