Disney Day 3: Epcot

The next goal to be attained was Mission Space at Epcot. We also wanted to ride Test Track, a goal of Papercup Mixmaster. Epcot was beautiful, and filled with massive space-shaping structures. Much less cluttered with small attractions than the Magic Kingdom style. The downside, is that everything is a long walk from everything else. As the sun finally started to break through the clouds, we encountered Florida Sun for the first time, made soft by the cold New York winters.

That place is huge, and everything in it is huge. We got tired just walking from one ride to another. We get our fastpass for Test Track and go right to Mission Space. We are a little nervous, because caution signs are everywhere. I mean, I didn't think I had trouble with confined spaces, but by the 10th caution sign, I was starting to wonder if I might spontaneously develop a problem. This is one of the brand new rides, and so the line process is much more sophisticated than on the older rides. The idea is, if you make the walkway really long, then people will be mostly walking, and not feel as grumbly as if they are standing still. Also, we are walking through a maze surrounded by cool space stuff, and short video broadcasts preparing us for the mission ahead.

Finally, when we are "on deck" two teams of 3 or 4 line up on designated spots on the floor. Then, as the video is "giving our final briefing" they spotlight each one of us to tell us our job. Wuggie Norple is the Commander, and feels pretty good about this. We each have buttons to push to assure the success of our space mission. As the simulation begins the rocket blasts off into space. Now we are getting used to each "straight up" being followed by "terrifying plunge down" but this one just keeps going, right into space. Eventually there is a problem with the launch and we are forced to go to manual controls. Wuggie Norple yells out instructions to his crew. We land safely. Wuggie Norple is thrilled. We are let out into a "Training Center" that is filled with video games and a climbing gym. I sent a couple you goofy messages from the e-mail message center. We are ready for whatever's next.

For some reason there is also an aquarium in Epcot. This becomes a Nemo attraction, of course. This line starts outside, and there is no fast pass. It is hot now, and the line is moving very slowly. The heat is making us grumpy. The ride is okay, it combines real fish, and movie projections and we head right into the line for Turtle Talk with Crush. We are kind of at the end of our ropes, but it ends up being nice, even though Crush doesn't answer Wuggie's question. We need lunch. We had heard that Norway had good food, and since it was only a mildly long walk, we went for it. Unfortunately, Exploding Poptart was the only one who likes Lefse, and even the live Norwegian music outside could not turn the day around for Wuggie Norple and Papercup Mixmaster.

Fortunately our return route to Future World lead us right through a butterfly garden, which turned out to be Exploding Poptart's favorite part of Epcot. A little butterfly sanctuary that had a quiet peace to it even with one of the sidestreets leading right through it. And, more good luck, there was a playground right next to it, and a set of fountains that shot right up through the ground to help keep those daring enough to run through it wet and cool. We were getting some of our rope back. There were even chairs for parents to sit and enjoy a cool drink. There was a special garden show at Epcot, and they were showing off not only their impressive displays of chemically induced flowers, but also made a number of nods at ecology, including a living dog-house roof, and a water reclamation display. Exploding Poptart pondered the irony, and began noticing the Disney recycle bins all over the parks and at the bus stops, and the "certified green hotel" signs at the hotel. It turns out that something like 30% of Disney World is set aside as open space wetlands. Exploding Poptart was not sure how to feel about the ironic juxtaposition, and decided that ultimately whenever the corporate overlords decide to get on the green bandwagon it is a good thing.

The great disappointment of the day came when we went back to Test Track and found that there were huge lines in the brutal sun, even with Fast Pass. Blerg.

The next part of our plan seemed crazy. We had heard that you could take a boat from Epcot to the restaurant where we had dinner reservations, departing from the "International Port." This seemed crazy and doomed to failure, but in fact we took the first of our lovely ferry rides around the lagoon to the circle of high-rise hotels connected to Epcot. The Swan, where we had gotten reservations because we knew Goofy and Pluto would be hosting, turned out to be very elegant and fancy.

After all the crowds, restaurant almost empty. Pasta Bar! Luxurious mini deserts! Wuggie Norple could get as many helpings of "pasta his way" (plain spaghetti with butter and parmesan cheese) as he wanted. Plus there was a special kids buffet at kid-height with silver lidded containers of chicken nuggets and roni cheese. Plus, Goofy walked us to our table, and Pluto paid a personal visit. This meal serendipitously turns into one of the best parts of our whole trip!

We realized that if we took a boat to Hollywood, we could get the bus home, it would be a shorter commute. We were getting to like this boat thing.

We were exhausted, but mom was a little sad to leave before the famed fireworks display, so she went down to the main beach at the hotel to see if the lifeguard was right, that from just the spot fireworks could be viewed. What a perfect ending to the day, fireworks in a hammock at a private beach. No crowds, no lines. She vowed to bring the family the next night, and everyone turned in early. Wuggie Norple is bright red with sunburn, and we are all exhausted. We decide not to get such an early start in the morning.