After a morning in Future World and a few hours in World Showcase, it was back to Future World to see if Mission: SPACE had opened that day for previews.
When I got to Mission: SPACE, the CMs said that the wait would be about 65 minutes. If this was true, then that meant I would not be able to get out in time to still be able to see if Mulan was doing greets at Innoventions like the CM had told me that morning. I decided I would go to Innoventions first and then return to Mission: SPACE after that.
At Innoventions, I found the Storytelling area that the CM had described and did, indeed, find Mulan there. Mulan was very nice and signed an autograph and posed for a photo. Princess Aurora was also there and also posed for a photo and signed an autograph. I don't think I had gotten an autograph in close to 5 years so it was fun to add a few new ones to my collection. So far things had worked out very well. After meeting the two of them, I headed back to Mission: SPACE to see how the wait was.
The wait was still 65 minutes, but I went ahead and decided to do it anyway. When I got inside the queue, the line seemed to be moving very fast and ended up being no longer of a wait than 30 minutes or so. I had heard a lot of great things about the ride so my expectations were pretty high. After doing it though, I have to agree this is a great ride- probably the best in EPCOT. You really feel like you are blasting into space and flying on Mars. It was absolutely incredible. There's been a lot of hype about it being too nauseating, but I didn't think it was too bad at all. It didn't seem any worse that Tower of Terror at MGM in that respect. The only time I felt close to sick was when I saw that big giant spinning space station in the queue. After a while, I had to stop looking at it because it was making me so dizzy. After buying a Mission: SPACE key chain for my collection, I headed back to World Showcase.
While Mission: SPACE was a great ride, I defiantly felt like I was in need of a little time to relax after it. The closest pavilion was Mexico so I decided to do El Rio Del Tiempo. The ride was great, very relaxing and enjoyable. After that, I looked around the marketplace for a while and caught the musical act performing in there. It wasn't the usual Mariachi Band, but a band with more of a Tex-Mex type of sound. It was pretty cool and it had a lot of the people in the pavilion dancing to the music, including the waiters and waitresses in the restaurant. Norway was next. I basically just spent a little time here watching the entertainment here and taking a quick peek in the pavilions shop. I checked the entertainment schedule and noticed that the last performance by American Vybe for the day would be happening soon. I decided to head to the American Adventure to see their show.
When I got to the pavilion, it wasn't quite show time, so I browsed the pin cart and gift shop in the pavilion before heading into the rotunda. When I got there, the Voices of Liberty was inside performing. I wasn't expecting to see them, but it was a nice surprise. It was a wonderful performance as usual. After they finished their set, American Vybe came out. I had never seen them perform before (I usually seem to be at EPCOT on their days off for some reason) but I really liked them. I love the type of jazz and swing music they do so it was a real treat. Another surprise was seeing Jennifer McGill performing in the group. I remembered her back when she use to be on the Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney Channel years ago. I had heard online that she was singing with the group now, but had forgotten until I saw her performing. She was a great singer back then and she was a phenomenal singer now.
After that, it was back to China. I wanted to see the new Reflections of China CircleVision movie. It was very well done. It now had a lot more of modern China as well as the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, and all the ancient wonders. Very nice, and just a tad dizzying.
Next it was back to Morocco. I went to the back of the pavilion first to see if there were any characters around. Aladdin was doing meet and greets in the back and had no lines. I got a picture of him and then went to France to see if anyone was out. No luck, but I did manage to see a little of the new mime's act. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but was OK.
I next returned to Morocco to have some dinner at the Tangerine Cafe. The food was good and the atmosphere was pretty good as well. There was a breeze which made it very pleasant. After this, it was back to France. Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Clopin were all doing meet and greets in the courtyard, but when I got there, the character greeter with them was shouting to everyone that they only had a minute left for greets and that they had to get on the bus to the Magic Kingdom now or they would get left behind. Many parents and kids were upset because the entertainment schedule said the characters would still be doing greets for another 15 minutes. I can understand the character's predicament, but it seems to me like it would be better to not put on the entertainment schedule that characters would be out when their actual schedule obviously says they will not be. Too bad they were leaving; it would have been a great picture. I had intended on seeing the concert at the American Gardens Theater next, but the weather began to look like a storm was coming, so I decided to skip the show and try to get to get back to the Riverside and check in before it started to rain. The plan worked out well and I was able to get to my room before the skies opened up. All in all, it was a great day and a wonderful start to a Disney vacation.
