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

[norybell]

Lovely stroll around to France. I love how you describe EPCOT as giving a peaceful feeling, as opposed to MK evoking one of whimsy and excitement.

I agree, those large hardscape things are odd- just like you say, oversized hat boxes. The topiaries for F&G are so much better!

Odd that those women had such a strange way of standing in the wrong place, then being offended at someone who was in the right place. But maybe a tad bit of extra libation was worth the confusion.

Nice pan shots all around!!

Between posting this, and reading some other TRs, I am practically drooling for an Epcot stroll right now.

Yeah, the F&W decor always seems to leave something to be desired. I like F&G so much better, all around!

I can't take too much credit for the pan shots...my old camera did them for me!

 

[KatMark]

What an awesome update of Nory's travels around Epcot. I love Epcot...it is just so peaceful and serene most of the time and just so many beautiful sights.

 

[norybell]

What an awesome update of Nory's travels around Epcot. I love Epcot...it is just so peaceful and serene most of the time and just so many beautiful sights.

I love it so much, too...if someone put a gun to my head and forced me to choose between Epcot and the MK, I'd have to hesitate!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

EPCOT is very different from Magic Kingdom, but I love it almost the same. I think the difference in feels, but still the Disney Magic that comes out makes them the two best parks. And I love those little cake sets they have for the Food & Wine Festival, though I think you're right about comparing them to hatboxes, they sure do look like them. I hope you made use of your FP for Test Track. It is such a fun ride and I think makes for a little thrill in your EPCOT time. I love your World Showcase pictures, especially the pans and the one of Japan where you can see the Characters In Flight balloon from DTD behind it. That is a pretty awesome sight! I'm sorry you had to deal with rude people at your World Showcase leisurely walk and just getting a nice little smoothie. Good thing, those CMs noticed and they even gave you a bigger slushy! Very nice. Can't wait to see how you finish your leisurely stroll through EPCOT is!

 

[PrincessEeyore]

The weather was perfect, the kind of temperature that you don’t even notice because it’s exactly right.

This sentence is absolutely delightful. I can just imagine the atmosphere of that night, nothing short of perfection I'm sure! Glad you enjoyed your stroll, I'm so eager to take one right now.

 

[Poolrat]

I agree that EPCOT, especially WS is so peaceful. You can really lose yourself staring at the lagoon during twilight.


So sorry the ladies could not tell "enter" from "exit" and then shot Nory a dirty look.


An extra large slushie is not a bad compensation.

 

[glennbo123]

I hate it when you can see a queue mishap approaching and there's really nothing you can do about it.

But I'm glad the cast member made sure to take Nory's order after the ladies (using the term loosely) and yes, she got a very generous serving!

 

[norybell]

Just popping in to say hello! This past week or so has been kicking my you-know-what with all of its work craziness! But since the craziness came from having to train my new assistant (I will never get sick of saying "my assistant". It's almost -- though not quite -- as good as saying "my husband," which I'm still not used to!), it will lead to increased calmness in the end.

Hopefully soon.

EPCOT is very different from Magic Kingdom, but I love it almost the same. I think the difference in feels, but still the Disney Magic that comes out makes them the two best parks. And I love those little cake sets they have for the Food & Wine Festival, though I think you're right about comparing them to hatboxes, they sure do look like them. I hope you made use of your FP for Test Track. It is such a fun ride and I think makes for a little thrill in your EPCOT time. I love your World Showcase pictures, especially the pans and the one of Japan where you can see the Characters In Flight balloon from DTD behind it. That is a pretty awesome sight! I'm sorry you had to deal with rude people at your World Showcase leisurely walk and just getting a nice little smoothie. Good thing, those CMs noticed and they even gave you a bigger slushy! Very nice. Can't wait to see how you finish your leisurely stroll through EPCOT is!

Wow, I've been keeping you in suspense for so long as to whether or not I rode Test Track...how in the world have you been handling it?!

This sentence is absolutely delightful. I can just imagine the atmosphere of that night, nothing short of perfection I'm sure! Glad you enjoyed your stroll, I'm so eager to take one right now.

Thanks, PrincessEeyore! The whole trip had that same perfect weather -- I really lucked out in that regard!

I agree that EPCOT, especially WS is so peaceful. You can really lose yourself staring at the lagoon during twilight.


So sorry the ladies could not tell "enter" from "exit" and then shot Nory a dirty look.


An extra large slushie is not a bad compensation.

An extra-large slushie is good compensation for anything, in my mind!

I hate it when you can see a queue mishap approaching and there's really nothing you can do about it.

But I'm glad the cast member made sure to take Nory's order after the ladies (using the term loosely) and yes, she got a very generous serving!

Ha, "a queue mishap approaching" -- I love that!

 

[tinacaplan]

Thanks for the relaxing stroll through my absolute, all time favorite park. I think you captured its essence so well...

Whereas walking down Main Street and seeing Cinderella’s Castle always fills Nory with intense feelings of nostalgia and childlike joy, walking into Epcot always provokes a different, but equally wonderful, reaction: peace. On the vast paths that rarely feel too crowded, with the dramatic swoops of the electro-orchestral soundtrack filling the air and the perfect symmetry of the geodesic dome towering above, walking into Epcot always feels, to her, like coming home.

It helps that she considers very few rides in the park to be must-dos, much as she enjoys some of them. Epcot, in her mind, is primarily the perfect place for a wonderful, beautiful, relaxing walk.

Totally agree with ALL of this.

She admired the lagoon from the World Showcase Plaza, and wondered if she’d regret not staying at an Epcot resort—with its easy walking access to Epcot—for the first time in her adult life.

Sorry...this made me so super excited, as I will be staying at an EPCOT resort very, very soon!

She continued to sip while she strolled. The weather was perfect, the kind of temperature that you don’t even notice because it’s exactly right.

Great sentence...perfect way to describe that perfect temperature.

Another great update Nory!

 

[eandesmom]

Nory stepped up and ordered a Grey Goose Slushie. As they made it, the girls apologized to Nory, saying that she had been in the correct place all along. Nory laughed and reassured them that it was no problem, really. But they insisted on giving her an extra-large slushie, anyway.

*** [/COLOR]

for extra large slushies. I am sad to say I had the opposite expeirence on the May girls trip and wasn't alone. I felt robbed! At the price, I want it with the swirl on top. Oh well, the slushie stands stinginess was Italy and Mexico's gain.

I that walk around the world. Pure peace is right. At least when it's not too crowded.

Just popping in to say hello! This past week or so has been kicking my you-know-what with all of its work craziness! But since the craziness came from having to train my new assistant (I will never get sick of saying "my assistant". It's almost -- though not quite -- as good as saying "my husband," which I'm still not used to!), it will lead to increased calmness in the end.

for an assistant, that's very exciting!

 

[norybell]

Sorry...this made me so super excited, as I will be staying at an EPCOT resort very, very soon!

That's so exciting! Which one?

for extra large slushies. I am sad to say I had the opposite expeirence on the May girls trip and wasn't alone. I felt robbed! At the price, I want it with the swirl on top. Oh well, the slushie stands stinginess was Italy and Mexico's gain.

Aw, that sucks! I guess you just needed some rude people in line to make the slushie-servers feel sorry for you!

 

[norybell]

Nory paused occasionally to take in the beauty of the park in the dusky light.

By the time she reached Mexico, Nory realized she felt a little peckish. She had a reservation at Nine Dragons, the Chinese restaurant, for a little later in the evening. But she decided she might be better off snacking for dinner, and getting back to the resort nice and early. So she stopped at the Mexico Food & Wine kiosk.

Am I lame for stopping here first? she wondered. After all, she lived right next door to an amazing Mexican restaurant. But she was hungry, and she was in Mexico, so she decided it was all right not to be more adventurous. Besides, she didnt have such high expectations for the festival food in general - she was sure it must be difficult to make truly delicious dishes on such a large scale, outdoors. She might as well just eat what was convenient.

After only a brief wait, she took her tamale to one of the tables on the veranda of the Mexico pavilion, and managed to ignore the smokers next to her enough to enjoy it, pleasantly surprised by a spicy little kick to the sauce. The tamale was nice and warm, filled with a generous portion of moist-enough chicken, and she felt much better after eating.

Hm, what now? Nory wondered. I've finished my whole trip around the World Showcase, and I'm pretty tired, but it's only seven, I can't go to bed yet!

She looked around. From her peaceful vantage point, she could see that the World Showcase was gradually getting a lot busier - the downside of Food & Wine. Then she realized her answer was literally right in front of her nose.

She hadn't been on the Mexico ride in ages, and not at all since it had been revamped some years ago. With no expectations other than a time-killing boat ride and little to no line, Nory decided it was time to give The Gran Fiesta Tour another chance.

She entered the dark, mysterious Mexico pavilion, with its twinkly lights and glowing fountain, and walked toward the ride entrance in the back, past colorful booths selling sombreros and Oaxacan animal figurines. Within minutes, she was floating peacefully past images of Donald and the Three Caballeros projected onto screens. And while she's never particularly impressed by Disney rides that lazily resort to whats little more than TV, she did enjoy the Small World-inspired Mexicans at their fiesta.

Though she'd given up on the idea of Nine Dragons for dinner, Nory figured she'd still need to eat a bit more, if she wanted to avoid dying of starvation right before bed. She went straight from Mexico to the Argentina Food & Wine kiosk. Nory ate the best beef of her life in the real Argentina many years ago, but she didn't expect her chimichurri skewer to compete.

Again, she was pleasantly surprised: The beef was very good, and the sauce was tangy and delicious. The empanada, on the other hand, was just an empanada. It didn't distinguish itself in any way.

The sky was dark by the time she finished her snack and ventured back into Future World. When she reached Test Track, one of Epcot's most popular rides, she considered hopping in the single rider line - posted at five or ten minutes - but decided to use her fastpass, instead. As she wound her way through the queue, she experienced a moment of panic: I haven't ridden this ride since my accident! she thought. Over ten years ago, she'd been hit, on the driver's side, by a Greyhound going 55 mph on the highway, and ever since then she's been pretty skittish about driving. What if I freak out while I'm on the ride?

It seemed too late to do anything about it, so she vowed to be brave.

She reached the point where the fastpass line merges with the standby line, and she began to regret not choosing the single rider option: That line seemed to move much more quickly. Though it's always hard to tell with such things. Maybe it was all in her imagination, a grass-is-always-greener situation.

When she finally reached the front of the line, the CM asked her how many were in her party. One, she answered. To her dismay, the CM motioned her to move over to the front of the Single Rider line, and began seating the next few groups that had been after her in the regular line.

That's not fair! Nory thought. I shouldn't have to wait for a single spot to open up! I was in the normal line...they should seat me immediately, then use single riders to fill the spots next to me.

Luckily, it only took a few minutes before a party of two boarded, and the CM motioned Nory to join them. She did her best to forget about such a blatant case of solo-traveler discrimination, and climbed into the car next to a father and his young daughter.

Nory had always thought Test Track was a pretty dull ride. All those road tests, the heat, bumpy roads, anti-lock brakes, dull, dull, dull. So when the car reached the speed test - when it accelerates to 65 mph in just a few seconds - she was totally unprepared for the thrill. The speed! The joy! The wind in her hair!

It was awesome. She didn't remember it being that awesome.

Wow! I've been so wrong about Test Track, for all these years! I'll have to ride this one again tomorrow.

By the time the ride was over, it was nearly 8:00, and Nory decided it was plenty late enough to journey back to Port Orleans Riverside and call it a night. She just had one mission to complete first: She knew she wanted to have a glass of wine in her room before bed. But she didn't want to buy an entire bottle and have to transport it, open, to her new resort the next day. She hoped she could buy one of those cute little half-bottles, which she remembered seeing somewhere in Epcot during her last visit.

She thought the Food & Wine Festival Center might be a good spot to look, since it was on her way out of the park, anyway. It actually took her a little while to find it, but soon enough she was climbing up the hill to what used to be the Wonders of Life.

Through the large front windows, she could see that the place looked completely empty: Was it closed? But the doors slid open as she approached, and she walked into a cavernous room. She had been magically transported, against her will, from Disney World to a trade show.

She saw a few CMs at a cash register, and asked if they were still open. They guaranteed her they would stay open until the park closed. Then she noticed two women sitting in an area filled with tables and chairs, and she felt a little better for being there - at least they weren't keeping the place open just for her! They were keeping it open for her and two whole other guests!

A quick perusal of the wine shop and the gift shop revealed no mini-bottles, however, so Nory escaped the convention center as quickly as she could.

Is it really worth it? she wondered. Do I really need a glass of wine this badly? She could think of one other place to look - a place she was almost certain would have the elusive mini-bottles - but it felt far, far away from where she stood in front of the Festival Center.

Yes, yes I do.

She took off at top speed. No more loitering; she was ready, now, to be relaxing in her room, and she certainly didn't want to get caught up in the post-Illuminations crowds.

She raced back to the World Showcase, back through the waiting-for-fireworks hordes, back through Canada, back through the UK, to France. The wine shop in France, to be exact.

By the time she arrived, she was out of breath. And disappointed: no mini-wine in France, either!

Oh well, she thought. I guess I'll live. And she began the long, slow journey back out to the front of the park and the busses.

***

NEXT CHAPTER: Nory Battles a Corkscrew

 

[KatMark]

What a wonderful update by Nory. Sorry she could not find a small bottle of wine. But so glad she found the fun in Test Track (one of my personal favorites). Nory's photos in the dusky light are gorgeous.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Finally, you get to Test Track! Isn't it such a great ride? That end is just such a great rush. And that beef looks really good! Why must South American food look (and taste) so good? Sorry you didn't get your mini-wine :/ Can't wait to read more!

 

[onelilspark]

But! There are mini bottles in France! Of champagne. I know because I made a mental note to find them at home so I could give them to my bridesmaids!

 

[melk]

If Nory is anything like me she likes Test Track better at night. Same goes for Thunder Mountain. It's funny how darkness can change the whole feel to a ride.

I'm hoping maybe Nory found a little bottle of wine back at the resort .

 

[norybell]

What a wonderful update by Nory. Sorry she could not find a small bottle of wine. But so glad she found the fun in Test Track (one of my personal favorites). Nory's photos in the dusky light are gorgeous.

Thanks, Kat! And now that I'm finally wrapping up Day 1, I'll finally get to CSR soon!

Finally, you get to Test Track! Isn't it such a great ride? That end is just such a great rush. And that beef looks really good! Why must South American food look (and taste) so good? Sorry you didn't get your mini-wine :/ Can't wait to read more!

Test Track was really fun! Just for that one minute, though. I could still take or leave the rest of it.

But! There are mini bottles in France! Of champagne. I know because I made a mental note to find them at home so I could give them to my bridesmaids!

I think I did see the champagne...but it seemed to weird to drink champagne alone!

If Nory is anything like me she likes Test Track better at night. Same goes for Thunder Mountain. It's funny how darkness can change the whole feel to a ride.

I'm hoping maybe Nory found a little bottle of wine back at the resort .

Not to give anything away, but you just might be right about that darkness thing...

 

[onelilspark]

I think I did see the champagne...but it seemed to weird to drink champagne alone!

What? Weird to drink champagne alone?

Since when? Why didn't I get that memo?

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I'm not sure what would be available at POR, but I distinctly remember little bottles of margaritas at CBR when I was there years ago. I'm guessing they probably had wine too. Seems like a lot of the gift shops have a section with beer and other drinks.

 

[glennbo123]

I love the speed test on Test Track, but I'm with Nory on the other tests...just get me to the speed test! I've never ridden it at night, sounds like fun!

Wow, Nory sure hiked a long way to find no half bottles in France. Bummer!