Nory Report III: In the Third Person! After 3 Years, the Final Update! NEW 2/6

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

It's too bad that woman wasn't a fan of Soarin. It was nice of you to try to keep her calm though! I wonder how high you actually go up, it never feels that high to me (and I always request the front row, I can't stand to see the feet!).

I don't like when courses are brought out so quickly either - but I'm thinking it might have made slightly more sense at La Hacienda since they were two appetizers, probably they move out of the kitchen quicker. But still, you should have been able to finish your soup! I had enjoyed La Hacienda, I thought the decor there was very nice!

 

[eandesmom]

I need to try that soup next time. I had the taco trio as my entree as well. It was good but not as good as my appetizer (the chiles and chorizo, whihc was amazing) so maybe I'll swap the tacos for the soup next time.

 

[Poolrat]

I tend to book it for the bus too. On the rare times I get distracted ( 50% ) I always seems to miss that bus by mere seconds, like pulling away as I walk out the door. You would think I would learn my lesson.

 

[MEK]

"every sip of alcohol safely in your stomach". Great saying! I might have to borrow that because its so true.

I can't imagine not liking or loving Soarin!

Great update. Lovely pictures!

 

[norybell]

I too, know just that spot at CSR. My husband and I stayed in Casitas 4 on our anniversary trip back in February 2010. It was our first Disney trip together. Beautiful location at a beautiful resort.

Love Soarin' and your meal at Hacienda looks so good. I want to try it eventually.

More great updates.

I often think about what resort I should take my DH to for his first WDW trip. I haven't decided, yet...but CSR might be a contender!

I need to try that margarita. Looks delicious!

Great update. This may sound strange but I like the font you chose. It's very readable.

Thanks! I actually gave quite a bit of thought to the font, so I'm happy to hear that! (It's Franklin Gothic, by the way.)

Ohh, too bad that woman didn't like Soarin'. I can only imagine how horrible that ride is if you are afraid of heights. I love soarin' too, but I think you're going a little far calling it the best ride in Epcot. You clearly are forgetting Universe of Energy (on second thought... you're totally right )

mmmm... you had me at chili powder rimmed margarita. I may have to put the hacienda on my list for next trip.

I'm a sucker for a spicy cocktail. They're the best.

It's too bad that woman wasn't a fan of Soarin. It was nice of you to try to keep her calm though! I wonder how high you actually go up, it never feels that high to me (and I always request the front row, I can't stand to see the feet!).

I don't like when courses are brought out so quickly either - but I'm thinking it might have made slightly more sense at La Hacienda since they were two appetizers, probably they move out of the kitchen quicker. But still, you should have been able to finish your soup! I had enjoyed La Hacienda, I thought the decor there was very nice!

It never feels that high to me, either, though I never look down, so who knows?

I need to try that soup next time. I had the taco trio as my entree as well. It was good but not as good as my appetizer (the chiles and chorizo, whihc was amazing) so maybe I'll swap the tacos for the soup next time.

The soup is really, really good. I had the pork with mole sauce last time I was there -- apparently it's the one sorta authentic thing on the menu, as they all got really excited when I ordered it! -- and it was really good, too.

I tend to book it for the bus too. On the rare times I get distracted ( 50% ) I always seems to miss that bus by mere seconds, like pulling away as I walk out the door. You would think I would learn my lesson.

Bus-bookers unite!

"every sip of alcohol safely in your stomach". Great saying! I might have to borrow that because its so true.

I can't imagine not liking or loving Soarin!

Great update. Lovely pictures!

Safely in my stomach is the bet place for yummy alcohol to be!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I ate at La Hacidenda in May and I agree-it was GOOD! We had those same tacos (but as an appetizer), yum, yum.

I just read your update about relaxing at CSR too - sounds like a pretty perfect afternoon. CSR is such a beautiful resort, I loved your pictures!

 

[norybell]

I ate at La Hacidenda in May and I agree-it was GOOD! We had those same tacos (but as an appetizer), yum, yum.

I just read your update about relaxing at CSR too - sounds like a pretty perfect afternoon. CSR is such a beautiful resort, I loved your pictures!

I really think La Hacienda is my new favorite Epcot TS spot...at least it is when I'm dining alone, for sure!

I hope to post another update today; still chugging along here, albeit slowly! I was actually back in WDW last weekend for a whopping two nights. October is definitely my favorite time of year to go! This year's trip didn't compare to last year's (the one in this TR), though. This trip I'm writing about has hands down been my best WDW trip ever -- I've been back four (!) times since then, and none of those trips has compared!

 

[norybell]

Nory considered heading up to America for the American Adventure after dinner. She’d only seen the show once before, really enjoyed it, and wanted to experience it again. But the World Showcase was so busy with Food & Wine revelers, she decided instead to return to Soarin’ and use her second fastpass.

Nory stood in the Soarin’ fastpass line, wondering why it always moved so slowly, wondering why there’s nothing remotely interesting to look at in it, wondering when she would finally be able to switch her iPhone service from AT&T to Verizon, when something bumped into her legs.

She turned around and saw an adorable little blonde boy, maybe around five years old.

His mom gently pulled him away. “Turner, what have we learned about personal space? You have to give the people around you their personal space, remember?”

Nory seriously loved this.

“Turner, why don’t you apologize to the lady?” his mom continued, and Turner stammered out a “sorry,” his eyes cast down at the floor.

“That’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Nory replied. “Are you excited to ride Soarin’?”

Turner nodded, looking up at her hesitantly.

“Why don’t you ask the lady if she’s ridden this ride before?” his mom prompted.

“Have you ridden this ride before?” Turner whispered.

“I have…it’s really fun, it’s my favorite ride at Epcot,” Nory said. “What’s your favorite ride?”

“Soarin’!” he said, louder this time.

“Oh, so you’ve ridden it before, too?”

He shook his head.

His mom cut in again. “Turner, why don’t you ask her what her favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom is?”

“What’s your favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom?” Turner asked Nory.

“Hmm, I have to think about that one…maybe Peter Pan. I really love Peter Pan.”

“I WAS PETER PAN FOR HALLOWEEN!” Turner yelled, excited now. And he proceeded to tell Nory all about their time at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party the night before. As he chatted away, his mom explained that they were working on his conversational skills. Nory was impressed: When she was that age, she’d been too shy to talk to grown-ups at all. Between “personal space” and “conversational skills”—this family was working on some really important life stuff.

Talk had moved on from Turner’s description of the Halloween festivities, to a discussion between Nory and his parents about good park shoes, when Nory heard some magic words from farther down the hallway:

“Party of one! Is there a party of one?”

“Oops, that’s for me!” Nory said, making some quick good-byes to her new park friends before she bypassed the rest of the line. Solo traveling certainly has its advantages.

She was happy to be directed to the “C” section for a change, and thoroughly enjoyed her second flight of the evening.

***

By the time Nory exited The Land building, it was dark: time to stake out her perfect, top-secret spot for Illuminations.

She headed toward the back of the World Showcase, stopped in Italy for a prosecco, and was looking at her favorite fireworks-viewing spot by 8:30.

The problem was, two women were standing in it.

Nory sighed. Usually she had no problems walking straight into this spot as late as 8:45, but the Food & Wine crowds were working against her. I guess I can survive being five paces away from my spot, she thought, and stationed herself against the railing. A man with a beer and an empty stroller stood a few feet past her on her left, and the two women were a few feet to her right. This new spot wasn’t particularly different from her favorite one, anyway. And not like that one was officially hers in the first place: She’d been introduced to it on her first solo trip by two wonderful fellow Disney World-lovers, who not only kept her company over dinner at the Jiko bar, but also insisted on driving her to Epcot and sharing their top secret Illuminations spot.

If only they had been there, instead of the two women—it would have been such a happy reunion!

As she sipped her drink and tried not to stare at her intended spot with too much longing (she didn’t want to give those two women the wrong idea—it wasn’t their faults they were spot-stealers), she suddenly heard the man to her left holler into his cell phone.

“Don’t worry, dude, we’ve got a whole area saved for the fireworks.”

A moment later, he yelled across Nory to the women in her spot:

“Mom, I just called Steve and let him know we had this whole row saved, all the way to the end.”

Until that moment, there’d been no sign whatsoever that the man to Nory’s left and the women to her right were together; there were at least ten empty feet between them.

Empty except for Nory, that is.

She couldn’t help but hear the man’s not-too-subtle message: Get out of our spot, girl! We had this saved!

But so far as Nory could figure, if you didn’t have anything or anyone holding the space, it was fair game. She was determined to hold her ground.

After only a few minutes, her resolve wavered. The man seemed a bit tipsy, and kept yelling over to the women. Soon he was joined by another man and a few little kids, and she could practically feel them glaring at her. It was very uncomfortable. So she reluctantly decided to cut her losses and move around them to their left.

Disappointed in herself for giving in, she looked for a good spot nearby. But most of the empty ones had views blocked by treetops.

Screw it, she decided. I’m taking my spot back.

She returned to the original area and walked just to the right of the women, this time. Nory didn’t push anyone out of the way or anything like that: There was plenty of room for Nory and the two women, and they still had a bunch of empty space at the railing, presumably waiting to be filled by the rest of their party. She noticed their dirty looks, but they didn’t ask her to move, so she decided not to let it bother her.

Taking her brand new gorillapod out of her purse, she set up her camera on the railing. Now they couldn’t push her out of there, even if they dared to try.

A little blonde girl from their group was watching her set up the gorillapod with great interest, and Nory gave her a big smile. But now that her spot was secure, she started to feel confused: bad for worming in on these people’s space, angry at them for trying to save too much space to begin with, and frustrated that she was fixating on something so insignificant. She tried to make up for it by chatting with the little girl about the fireworks, but that just resulted in glares from her mom. Nory could practically feel the negative vibes from this group radiating into her back.

At least the show would be starting soon.

Then something wonderful happened.

The rest of the group appeared, including a man who was clearly the patriarch of the group, the grandpa. He immediately started chatting with Nory like they were old friends. They talked about Manhattan—the family was from Pennsylvania, and he trucks building materials into the city (he’d been involved with the building of the World Trade Center, the removal of debris after 9/11, and the rebuilding since then)—and about crazy Disney-love, which it turned out his wife has felt since she was little, just like Nory. Which brought his wife into the conversation, too.

Nory could practically have hugged the man. Though she didn’t, of course.

They hadn’t been to Epcot in quite some years, and were concerned that they wouldn’t have a good view of the fireworks, but Nory assured them that they had nothing to worry about. She explained how they were standing in her super-secret, perfect viewing spot.

And before she knew it, Illuminations began.

After the show—which was breathtaking, as always—the Pennsylvania family gathered around, happily exclaiming that it had, indeed, been the perfect spot.

Nory made them promise not to tell.

Everyone laughed, and they went on their way. Nory was happy: What had begun as a passive-aggressive interaction on both sides had ended up completely friendly.

Disney-friendly.

***

 

[glennbo123]

That's nice that you had such good conversation with the little boy at Soarin' and with the older gentleman at Illuminations. I'm sure it was welcome on a solo trip.

So, you think that guy was trying to send you a little subliminal message ("You're not welcome here!") when he was shouting to the people on the other side of you?

And I haven't forgotten that you have a top-secret Illuminations viewing spot. Can you see it in this picture?

If so, yell when Mickey's over it in my ticker.

Can you believe I was looking really closely at your pictures trying to figure out what those buildings are across the lake, to try to get an idea of where your spot is? I guess I'll have to look at my panorama in normal-size and see if I can figure out what they are.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

How awesome that the family on line in Soarin' was working on conversational skills and all that. I bet that Turner is going to be great with talking to people!

Ugh. Thank goodness for some nicer members of the "we're going to save 400 feet of space for Illuminations" family. Good for you for going back and standing your ground! And I'm glad that things ended pleasantly for everyone.

 

[norybell]

So, you think that guy was trying to send you a little subliminal message ("You're not welcome here!") when he was shouting to the people on the other side of you?

Hm, it's hard to say. I mean, it was so subtle!

And I haven't forgotten that you have a top-secret Illuminations viewing spot. Can you see it in this picture?

If so, yell when Mickey's over it in my ticker.

Can you believe I was looking really closely at your pictures trying to figure out what those buildings are across the lake, to try to get an idea of where your spot is? I guess I'll have to look at my panorama in normal-size and see if I can figure out what they are.

There's a really big clue in my pictures! And yes, you can see it in yours, though it's hard for me to pinpoint it exactly...but your Mickey's getting close!

How awesome that the family on line in Soarin' was working on conversational skills and all that. I bet that Turner is going to be great with talking to people!

Ugh. Thank goodness for some nicer members of the "we're going to save 400 feet of space for Illuminations" family. Good for you for going back and standing your ground! And I'm glad that things ended pleasantly for everyone.

I was so relieved when the grandpa was nice...you can only take bad vibes for so long, you know? Especially when you're on your own -- there's no one to distract you!

 

[teekathepony]

Love the story of the mom working on her son's personal space and conversation lessons! Glad Illuminations turned out good for you!

 

[norybell]

Wow, somehow it's been a whole month! Hope you all had lovely Thanksgivings...I've been working like crazy. Like usual. Still hoping life will calm down someday soon!

Anyway, without further ado (and in the hopes I'll finish this TR before yet another year has passed!)...

***

After saying good-bye to her new Illuminations-viewing buddies, Nory hopped in the Italy Food & Wine line for another glass of prosecco. It was an Extra Magic Hours evening, meaning the park would stay open for a few extra hours, so she decided to take her time leaving, really exploring the World Showcase on her way out. Usually she’s too tired for much post-Illuminations lingering, but she was feeling surprisingly alert, despite her long day.

The new pizza restaurant, Via Napoli, added a lot to the Italy pavilion, and made it feel much larger, she thought, as she strolled among the fountains and marble.

The gardens of Japan couldn’t have been more peaceful.

She climbed along the paths and over the bridge, the sounds of running water louder than the shouts of distant drunken park guests. There was no one else back there; the restaurant must have been closed. As Nory spent some time setting up a photo that, despite her efforts, turned out blurry, suddenly something rustled behind her.

She jumped.

It was just another park guest, enjoying the empty pavilion. Nory chuckled at herself, then, with her moment of privacy invaded, moved on.

Nory visited the real Morocco once, on a cruise, but they barely got off of the tour bus, so she doesn’t remember it much.

Epcot’s Morocco, on the other hand, she knows well.

Finally she wound her way back to Future World.

She popped into MouseGear again, a store she’d rarely taken the time to fully appreciate before. It was too packed, though, to really spend much time. Or money, for that matter.

Then she decided to pay a visit to that famous astronaut, Gary Sinise. Nory loves Mission Space—the more-thrilling orange side, naturally—and every time she disembarks from her always-successful mission to Mars, she’s amazed, anew, at how realistic the ride feels.

If only I could get my husband here, he would love this! she thought. What thirtysomething man could resist playing astronaut?

After saying good-bye to her flight crew, Nory decided she had time for one more ride before she called it a night.

For the ride, really. The one ride that will always mean “Epcot” to her. Spaceship Earth. It was her favorite Epcot ride when she was little (she was just a nerd like that), and it still is (apparently, she’s still a nerd like that. Only now she’s a nostalgic nerd.). She loves noticing as many of the remarkable little details as she can.

She also loves letting her eyes blur a little bit as the car journeys backwards through the twinkly lights at the end. Trippy.

When it comes to choosing her future, she always tries to pick different answers to the multiple-choice questions posed. But for some reason, she only ever ends up with one of two different scenarios. The flying chess game was the winner, this time.

It was a little after eleven, and Nory finally had to admit she was tired. She’d managed to miss the immediate exodus after Illuminations, and since the park was still open for another hour, the bus lines were nearly deserted. She waited about fifteen minutes for a bus, and amused herself by listening to a young couple complain about the wait for the entire time.

She got off at the Casitas stop, near her room, but then decided to walk to El Centro for a snack. Sadly, once she got there, everything was closed. So she turned around and walked right back. She passed quite a few conference-goers on her way—the lounge must have just closed, as well—but everything was still superbly peaceful.

The walk felt long, this time, but soon enough she was back in her room, getting ready for bed, looking forward to yet another resort switch—and her first official day of Magic Kingdom research—in the morning.

***

 

[MEK]

Welcome back Nory :

Fun update and your pictures are great. What a lovely, quiet time you had in Epcot (except when you had to listen to that couple complain) I love your spaceship earth pics and the night time pics are lovely!

 

[onelilspark]

Geoff really liked Mission Space. So Nory's theory is correct, grown men can't resist playing astronaut

 

[norybell]

Welcome back Nory :

Fun update and your pictures are great. What a lovely, quiet time you had in Epcot (except when you had to listen to that couple complain) I love your spaceship earth pics and the night time pics are lovely!

Thanks! I can't believe I've been away from the DIS for a whole month...it went so fast, felt like about a week! I'm not sure I like that pacing!

Geoff really liked Mission Space. So Nory's theory is correct, grown men can't resist playing astronaut

I knew it!!!!

 

[KatMark]

Good to see you, Nory. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, but sorry work is still keeping you so busy.

Your evening pictures of Epcot are beautiful. Spaceship Earth has a special place in my heart as it was my dad's favorite ride.

 

[tinacaplan]

Oooohh...a Nory update! Your pictures are beautiful. The two you took of Spaceship Earth are particularly stunning. And I love the shot of CSR at night. You're making me miss it there... Thanks for the great update.

 

[glennbo123]

Nice update Nory! I like your nighttime pictures, especially of Spaceship Earth and CSR.

Speaking of research....how's the book coming?

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Hey Nory!

Wow, I'm seriously behind. I swear, I subscribe to these threads and then they disapper into cyberspace or something. I'm so glad to see you back. Not that you being gone this long is all THAT unusual or anything...

Once again, I'm loving the third person narration! It truly feels like I'm reading a book instead of a TR. Which is good for you of course. How's the book coming along?

Your pics are stunning as always. Particularly the Morocco ones, just gorgeous.

Would you believe I've never done Mission Space yet? I don't know why either. Weird.

I agree, Spaceship Earth is quintessentially Epcot! I love it, even the BBQ smell as you pass through Rome. My oldest DD hates that ride, she is convince it's an engineering nightmare and not the least bit safe. Strange child. What's scary about winding your way through a giant, steel framed golf ball?

Glad to hear you're doing well! Looking forward to the next update which will probably be around New Years, right?