Meeko's Walt Disney World Trip 2001
In my last report, I arrived at Walt Disney World's Port Orleans Riverside and enjoyed a relaxing day by the pool enjoyed an evening at Downtown Disney.
Tuesday began at 5 am with some Classic Disney shorts on Vault Disney. Next, it was off to breakfast at the Colonel's Cotton Mill and off to the bus stop. After no time at all, the bus came and was completely empty. After a short bus ride, I arrived at EPCOT for Early Entry.
First thing, I stopped to see the "new" Spaceship Earth. I'd heard a lot about how bad it looked, but I kind of liked it. Brought a whole new feel to EPCOT, making it maybe a little more magical, and that Future World is not just white buildings and dated thoughts of the future. Next, straight to Test Track. Already there was some wait. Not too long, but I decided to do FastPass instead. Got my Fastpass and headed back to Spaceship Earth to do the ride. It was fun. This was the first time I've been on it that it didn't break down. After that, I went on to the Universe of Energy.
This is one of the few Disney attractions I hadn't done. I guess it never interested me. (Never seen either of the star's TV shows, unless you can count when Bill Nye was on the Mickey Mouse Club many years ago). It was interesting, especially how the theater moved. Next, I spent a little time at Innoventions. Saw the new Mission Space exhibit, the "design a Forest" thing, and the Jungle Book dance game (kind of fun, but I wasn't good at it at all). By this time, my FastPass for Test Track was ready. The FastPass queue was the old standby queue, and it was neat to see everything in the area without wall to wall people around it. The ride was alot of fun and there was still some time before World Showcase opened, so I decided to do the Journey into Your Imagination. I've heard lots of bad reviews for this one, but I enjoyed it. I suppose if a ride makes you feel happy for a while, I guess it's done it's job. One surprise I had was that there was a line for it and it was rather long. It turned out to be the longest wait of the day. When the ride was over, the line was even stretching outside the building! (Either Honey I Shrunk The Audience had just let out or they really should open World Showcase earlier).
World Showcase opened at it was off around the World. Explored Canada a bit. It was not crowded at all and the gardens were empty. Next it was off to the United Kingdom. Looked around here as well, as well as watch the bagpipper.
France and Moracco were next. Had lunch at the restaurant Marakesh. Thought it was very good. Even got to see some of the show there. Looked a little at Japan next. The baseball exhibit there was different. Defiantly not what I was expecting. Next it was off to Italy. There was a show going on over there, so I stopped for a while and watched it. Also had an Italian Ice (wonderful on such a hot day). After seeing the clock chime in Germany, it was off to Norway. Got a FastPass for Maelstrom and headed to air-conditioned Mexico. Did El Rio Del Tiempo, looked around the marketplace, and saw some of the Huitzilin show outside. Back to Norway and Maelostrom. Fastpass worked great here. It was literally no wait. Walked right down the queue and into the boat. Made a great ride even better. After watching the Spirit of Norway (come on, you have to see it. It's part of the experience) and looking around the gift shop, I discovered it was sprinkling lightly. Didn't want to get stuck in Norway in the rain, so I hurried for China before it started raining harder. Spent a while in the gift shop, the exhibit, and watching the entertainment (not sure what it was. some type of Chinese music) waiting for it to rain up. It let up enough that I could make it to Germany. Looked around all the shops there and headed to the American Adventure. I was planning on seeing Blast at this point, but it was raining hard enough that it wouldn't have been enjoyable. Instead opted for the American Adventure show, which is incredible. Got right in before the show was going to start, so there wasn't any wait for it.
When I got out, the weather lightened up so it was back to the American Gardens to see The Power of Blast. I had never seen this show before and it was great. If you have the chance to see this before it ends it's run at EPCOT, definatly see it. I was heading to France when Tapestry of Nations started. Decided to stop and watch it from Moracco. I was very pleasantly surprised about it. A couple trips ago when it rained at EPCOT the show was canceled. I was sure this would happen again.
After the parade, it was on to France and dinner. Got a quiche at the Boulangerie and ate it inside Les Halles. To top it off, the Living Statue was inside doing his act. Never really watched the Statue that long, but it was really funny. After dinner, I headed to Imperssions de France and watched the movie (first time since I've returned from Paris. brought back lots of memories). When it was over, the weather had completely cleared up. Went back to Canada and the United Kingdom to see a little of Off Kilter and the World Showcase Player's shows. Then, it was back to the Showcase Plaza to see Illuminations. It was a great view of the show. I could actually see what most of the stuff on the globe was. After a long day, it was back to the Riverside to rest for tomorrow.
