Future Guy's Summer Nightastic Trip Report
Posted: Aug Tue 03, 2010 5:36 pm
As a Florida native, I know better than anybody that spending large amounts of time outside in July and August is about the stupidest thing you can do. However, the lure of Summer Nightastic proved too much to resist, and so we reserved a room at All-Star Music for the night of July 31. My only concern was that a late thunderstorm might cause the fireworks to be cancelled, or that the bad behavior of tour groups might ruin the whole trip. I was especially worried by reports of tour-group members at the Value resorts running around making lots of noise in the wee hours of the morning. Were any of my fears realized? Well, let's see:
The plan was to sleep in on Saturday morning, then leave Gainesville no later than 11 AM and head to Animal Kingdom for our 1:30 lunch reservation. However, due to Future Gal’s extreme eagerness we ended up leaving a hour-and-a-half earlier than that, around 9. I was wondering just what we were going to do with the extra time, and as we neared the Downtown Disney exit on I-4 the answer presented itself in the form of the Characters In Flight balloon rising into the sky. We decided to head over to Downtown Disney and take a ride in the balloon, since it was a nice, sunny day and it probably would not be as hot 400 feet in the air.
Unfortunately, we ended up on the opposite side of the balloon from where we were in January, so I wasn’t able to get any aerial shots of EPCOT or the rest of the property, but the pilot did take our picture.
Future Gal also got this shot of the balloon’s shadow being cast on the lake below
After the balloon ride and a quick turn through the World of Disney store, we went back to the car and headed for Animal Kingdom. It was a little after 1PM by this point, and the parking lot was as hot as the surface of Mercury. Unfortunately, the tram was leaving just as we arrived, so we had to wait a while for the next one.
We eventually made it to the park entrance, and on our way into the Rainforest Café for lunch we stopped to take each other’s picture with the giant frog:
After lunch it was off to ride the Kali River Rapids. We stopped and rented a locker. I changed into my Crocs and Future Gal changed into her bathing suit and shorts. By the time we finally made it across the park, we were hot and ready to get soaking wet! Unfortunately the wait time was something like 60 minutes! It wasn’t like we had anything else to do, so we got in line. It was humid and uncomfortable, but the wait did give us a chance to appreciate all the detail in the queue area. After about a half-hour wait (wait times are often shorter than what’s posted) we were boarding our raft. We had a refreshingly drenching ride, and on our way out of the park Future Gal asked a friendly cast member take our picture.
Well, we left Animal Kingdom and made the short drive to All-Star Music. Upon entering our room we were met by the Mickey-shaped towel arrangements that Housekeeping always leaves.
We put our stuff in the room and headed for the pool, hoping to get some relief from the scorching heat, but the pool was warm! It was like stepping into a bathtub! After a few minutes in the pool we went back to the room and rested up for our evening at the Magic Kingdom.
We went to the bus station, and just as we got there the Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon bus pulled up. Followed by the EPCOT bus. Then another EPCOT bus. Then another Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon bus. Then an Animal Kingdom bus. Then another Typhoon Lagoon/Downtown Disney bus! Just when I was beginning to wonder if the Magic Kingdom had reached capacity and stopped letting people in, the Magic Kingdom bus arrived.
The first thing we did at the Magic Kingdom was get Fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear, then board the TTA. I'd heard that they'd finally added some audio during the ride through Space Mountain (including a page for Mr. Tom Morrow) and I wasn't disappointed! After we got off the TTA, we headed across the park so Future Gal could ride Thunder Mountain. There was a 30-minute wait for Thunder Mountain, and as she got in line I headed off toward Adventureland and ended up riding Pirates. It was almost a walk-on, and I was able to ride it and make my way back to Frontierland before Future Gal was finished with Thunder Mountain.
We headed back to Tomorrowland together, where I prepared for my wife to beat me at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin once again. A funny thing happened, though: I beat her! For some reason, I had always believed that you could only score by hitting a target once; that subsequent hits on the same target wouldn't count. Well, I finally figured out that it wasn't true, and now my lifetime win/loss record stands at 1-356,000. Yay for me! Next we rode the Carousel of Progress (the final scene looks so much better with the new TV!) and then we went to Cosmic Ray's to get something to eat.
When we got there, however, Future Gal didn't see anything on the menu that she wanted. So we went over to the Tomorrowland Noodle Station, but it was closing for the night. So, she decided that she could eat some chicken nuggets, and we went back to Cosmic Ray's, where we dined on chicken while being entertained by Sonny Eclipse. By this time it was around 9:30, and headed out to find a spot to view the fireworks.
We ended up at the foot of the bridge to Tomorrowland, which turned out to be a great location. The Summer Nightastic fireworks are excellent! The show is "hosted" by the Fairy Godmother and the fairies from Sleeping Beauty, who must repel an attack on the castle by Captain Hook. I always thought that pirates' natural enemy were ninjas, not fairies. After the fireworks we went over to Adventureland to ride Pirates again, and on the way back to the hub to find a spot to watch the Main St. Electrical Parade, I got a Dole Whip (Future Gal didn't want one, for some strange reason). We watched the parade from the hub, right in front of the bridge to Liberty Square. I enjoyed it a lot more than I though I would. I especially like how Alice and Pete from Pete's Dragon interact with the audience. One thing, though: the Up With America float at the end is so huge and overdone that it reminded me of Sam the Eagle's "Salute to All Nations (but mostly America)" from MuppetVision 3D. If anyone from outside the USA sees it, they might get the impression that America suffers from the same condition as a 5-foot-tall man who drives around in a giant Hummer.
Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the parade or the fireworks; our camera is small and crappy, and doesn't do well in low-light conditions. Maybe before our next multi-day trip (which probably won't be before fall 2011) I can get us a nicer one.
After the parade, we headed back to the bus station. The second and final day of our trip loomed, and we needed to get some sleep. So far, we hadn't seen any obnoxious tour groups. Would they make an appearance before our trip came to an end? Would they keep us up all night with their noise? Would they be sleeping in the preshow areas at EPCOT the next day, making them impassable? (note: this has actually happened)
Fortunately, there were no disturbances during the night. We woke up around 8, had breakfast, then loaded the car and headed off to EPCOT!
Once we got there, we quickly realized we had a problem. The shirts we were wearing were too thick and didn't breathe well. Future Gal headed off to Mouse Gear to shop for new shirts, and I went to The Land to get Fastpasses for Soarin'.
Unfortunately, the Fastpass return time was 1:35-2:35, which conflicted with our 1:45 lunch reservation at the Coral Reef. So we would not get to ride Soarin', although I did get a nice picture of the inside of the pavilion:
I rejoined Future Gal at Mouse Gear. She had picked out a Tinkerbell shirt, and I got the green V-neck retro EPCOT shirt with the pavilion logos. We changed in the bathrooms near Test Track, and then she went off to ride Test Track while I went to Mission:Space. I decided to choose Orange Team this time, and although I'd done it before with no ill effects, I was a little worried about motion sickness spoiling our upcoming Coral Reef lunch. The Orange Team wait time was 30 minutes when I got in line. I never realized how much queue area there is outside the building. I'd always assumed that it was all inside, but in fact there's quite a bit outside, near the door to the VIP lounge. The line moved slowly, and once we were inside the building near the Gravity Wheel a voice came over the loudspeaker to inform us that our wait would be "longer than anticipated"? Had one of the simulators broken down, like it did on our last trip? Or had someone had a protein spill during the ride, necessitating a cleanup? I really don't know. As the line inched forward, Future Gal texted me to say she was done with Test Track and was going to ride again. She got a picture of herself in the queue area:
. . . and another of the "Single Riders" sign, probably to let people know that I didn't ride with her:
However, I was rocking the G-forces on Mission:Space, something she refuses to do.
I eventually made it to the front of the line and received my mission briefing from Lt. Dan. There were only 3 people in our simulator, which is fortunate because my pith helmet wouldn't fit in the storage compartment with my backpack, so I had to stick it in the unused one. The ride didn't make me sick, just left me feeling mildly dizzy for the next two days. The G-forces were cool, but I think that I'll Green Team next time.
I got off Mission:Space right about the time Future Gal was getting off of Test Track for the second time. I met her in the Test Track post show, and on the way out I picked up one of the newer retro EPCOT shirts, the beige one with the monorail.
We rode Spaceship Earth next.
The park was so busy that they were using the switchbacks on both sides of the building. Still, the line moved quickly, and we enjoyed our ride. After it was over we went to Club Cool for some free samples (I love that Chinese watermelon soda) and then we settled down in the back hallway of Innoventions West to rest in the A/C until it was time for lunch. I took a picture of Future Gal:
and she took a picture of me:
I saw the picture and said "Hey, that makes me look like a slouched-over fat guy!" Which I am, unfortunately. Still, she took another picture of me looking a litter slimmer and straighter:
Before we knew it, it was time for lunch:
I'd read some negative reviews of the Coral Reef in the past (many of them using descriptors like "mediocre", "overpriced", and "disappointment") and I'd trashed it in my blog, but since I'd never actually eaten there I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. We were seated right next to one of the aquarium windows, very close to where a sea turtle was resting:
(Apologies for the poor image quality; one day we'll have a better camera)
He stayed there the whole time, occasionally swimming up to the surface for some air.
Future Gal had a hard time deciding what to order, but she finally settled on the chicken Caesar salad with Ranch dressing. I ordered the New York Strip, cooked medium-rare. I'd heard that the portions at the Coral Reef ran small, but my steak was a good size, and between it and the potatoes it was a nice, filling lunch. I think our portions were perfect: enough, but not too much. My steak was grilled perfectly, and Future Gal enjoyed her salad and chicken, as well. She also ordered the Chocolate Wave for dessert, and loved it.
After lunch we headed off in the direction of the Imagination pavilion.
An interesting note: although it was a busy day in the park, and wait times for all the rides were longer than they are in the spring, fall, or winter, Journey Into Imagination With Doctor Nigel Channing consistently had no wait time. Every time I looked at one of the tip boards, it had no wait at all. While walking through the park, I heard more than one person comment on how they didn't like it, and at lunch a group nearby was discussing how the Nemo's ride was "almost as lame as Figment". Heck, even the Cast Member who introduced the Captain EO preshow dissed it. Which is why, if I were Supreme Ruler of Disney World, I would fix the Imagination pavilion pronto, right after I fed most of the Team Disney Orlando executive team to the crocodile from Peter Pan. Also, I would dress like this:
But I digress. Where was I again? Oh yes, on my way to see Captain EO:
Sweet mother of Optimus Prime, where do I even begin? How about the preshow? They're using the original 1986 preshow, which is kind of a "making-of" montage. You can tell that they were very glad, back in 1986, to have George Lucas associated with the project because he's in every other shot, pointing at things, making descriptive hand gestures, and telling people what to do while they listen with rapt attention. This is back when the world was still naive enough to think George Lucas was a visionary filmmaker, rather than a guy whose films often boil down to little more than overdone CGI videogame trailers with wooden acting, bad comic relief, and fart jokes.
Well, soon the preshow was over and we filed into the theater for the main event. The place was about 2/3 of the way full. The movie started and right away I wished the MST3K guys were there to riff on it. The opening narration dramatically states how a brave band of rebel fighters is struggling against the forces of evil (gee, where have we heard that one before, George Lucas?) and the fight is being led by one man. While the narrator is saying all this, we're treated to a shot of a 3-D rock spinning through space. Just a rock. I guess we're supposed to be amazed because it's 3D. I was wondering if this rebel leader the narrator was talking about was actually the rock. The movie proper, of course, is about Michael Jackson and his ragtag band of fuzzy comic-relief Muppet characters fighting with a bunch of guys that look like the Borg. Rather, Michael Jackson fights them by shooting energy out of his hands that turns the Borg into people with 1980s hairstyles. It's like he's a superhero: 80's Hairstylist Man! Zap! You've got a mullet! Zap! You've got a jheri curl! As if that isn't funny enough, he delivers all his lines as though he's about to cry.
Anyway, Michael Jackson turns the Borg Queen into Angelica Houston, and everybody goes home happy. Except the audience who wonders why they just sat through that. I'm sure it's popular in Southern California, where the official hair color is platinum blonde and the official State Chemical is botox, but for the rest of the world it's not such a great fit.
Well, after EO we went into the Imagination gift shop because Future Gal wanted to get one of those pictures done where they photograph you in front of a greenscreen and insert you into a scene of your choosing. This is what she chose:
I'd been wearing a hat all day and I had terrible hat hair, but she didn't care. "After 9 years I finally got you down on one knee!" she said.
While we waited for the picture to be developed, we walked across the World Showcase. I got a nice picture of the new Mexican restaurant still under construction:
Upon reaching Japan, we went into Mitsukoshi to cool off, and as is her tradition, Future Gal got a pearl. She gets one every time we go to either EPCOT or St. Augustine, and when she has enough she's going to have them made into a necklace.
Storm clouds were starting to gather to the south as we left Japan. I got a picture of the not-quite-ready-to-open Via Napoli in Italy as the storm got closer:
I also got a picture across the lagoon, with the wind blowing the trees:
It was beginning to thunder quite loudly, and the temperature dropped rapidly. As we walked past Germany we saw Snow White hurrying backstage. I'm glad she had the sense to flee the thunderstorm; we already know she'll take poisoned fruit from creepy old ladies without a second thought. We were looking for a place to duck into before it started raining, and we decided on Norway:
It hadn't started to rain yet as we moved inside. Surprisingly, when we exited the ride we found that it still wasn't raining!
Norway's attraction exit is very poorly thought out. Before Fastpass, you could choose to exit next to the main entrance (where the Fastpass machines are now) or walk through the gift shop. Now all exit traffic is funneled through the gift shop, which wasn't designed to handle all those people. To make things worse, the store smells very perfum-ey, and Future Gal has a real problem with perfumes and other chemicals. As we reached the exit, the rain came pouring down, and the teeming throng in front of us screeched to a halt. As the Cast Members shouted over the noise of the rain, and thunder that they couldn't block the exit like that, Future Gal and I donned our rain ponchos.
Even with the ponchos, we were quickly soaked from the knees down. Fortunately, the rain had abated somewhat by the time we reached Future World. We went and picked up our picture from the Imagination pavilion, and then it was time to go home.
As we passed under the monorail station, I wished that I was not going home to Gainesville so I could wake up for work in the morning, but that I was boarding the TRONorail to take me to the Presidential Suite at the Contemporary, where, as Walt Disney World Dictator-For-Life, I would plot the downfall of all who oppose me . . .
Oh, well.
We may be going back to EPCOT for a day trip in the fall, to go to the Food and Wine fest and eat at Via Napoli. TTFN!
The plan was to sleep in on Saturday morning, then leave Gainesville no later than 11 AM and head to Animal Kingdom for our 1:30 lunch reservation. However, due to Future Gal’s extreme eagerness we ended up leaving a hour-and-a-half earlier than that, around 9. I was wondering just what we were going to do with the extra time, and as we neared the Downtown Disney exit on I-4 the answer presented itself in the form of the Characters In Flight balloon rising into the sky. We decided to head over to Downtown Disney and take a ride in the balloon, since it was a nice, sunny day and it probably would not be as hot 400 feet in the air.
Unfortunately, we ended up on the opposite side of the balloon from where we were in January, so I wasn’t able to get any aerial shots of EPCOT or the rest of the property, but the pilot did take our picture.
Future Gal also got this shot of the balloon’s shadow being cast on the lake below
After the balloon ride and a quick turn through the World of Disney store, we went back to the car and headed for Animal Kingdom. It was a little after 1PM by this point, and the parking lot was as hot as the surface of Mercury. Unfortunately, the tram was leaving just as we arrived, so we had to wait a while for the next one.
We eventually made it to the park entrance, and on our way into the Rainforest Café for lunch we stopped to take each other’s picture with the giant frog:
After lunch it was off to ride the Kali River Rapids. We stopped and rented a locker. I changed into my Crocs and Future Gal changed into her bathing suit and shorts. By the time we finally made it across the park, we were hot and ready to get soaking wet! Unfortunately the wait time was something like 60 minutes! It wasn’t like we had anything else to do, so we got in line. It was humid and uncomfortable, but the wait did give us a chance to appreciate all the detail in the queue area. After about a half-hour wait (wait times are often shorter than what’s posted) we were boarding our raft. We had a refreshingly drenching ride, and on our way out of the park Future Gal asked a friendly cast member take our picture.
Well, we left Animal Kingdom and made the short drive to All-Star Music. Upon entering our room we were met by the Mickey-shaped towel arrangements that Housekeeping always leaves.
We put our stuff in the room and headed for the pool, hoping to get some relief from the scorching heat, but the pool was warm! It was like stepping into a bathtub! After a few minutes in the pool we went back to the room and rested up for our evening at the Magic Kingdom.
We went to the bus station, and just as we got there the Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon bus pulled up. Followed by the EPCOT bus. Then another EPCOT bus. Then another Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon bus. Then an Animal Kingdom bus. Then another Typhoon Lagoon/Downtown Disney bus! Just when I was beginning to wonder if the Magic Kingdom had reached capacity and stopped letting people in, the Magic Kingdom bus arrived.
The first thing we did at the Magic Kingdom was get Fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear, then board the TTA. I'd heard that they'd finally added some audio during the ride through Space Mountain (including a page for Mr. Tom Morrow) and I wasn't disappointed! After we got off the TTA, we headed across the park so Future Gal could ride Thunder Mountain. There was a 30-minute wait for Thunder Mountain, and as she got in line I headed off toward Adventureland and ended up riding Pirates. It was almost a walk-on, and I was able to ride it and make my way back to Frontierland before Future Gal was finished with Thunder Mountain.
We headed back to Tomorrowland together, where I prepared for my wife to beat me at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin once again. A funny thing happened, though: I beat her! For some reason, I had always believed that you could only score by hitting a target once; that subsequent hits on the same target wouldn't count. Well, I finally figured out that it wasn't true, and now my lifetime win/loss record stands at 1-356,000. Yay for me! Next we rode the Carousel of Progress (the final scene looks so much better with the new TV!) and then we went to Cosmic Ray's to get something to eat.
When we got there, however, Future Gal didn't see anything on the menu that she wanted. So we went over to the Tomorrowland Noodle Station, but it was closing for the night. So, she decided that she could eat some chicken nuggets, and we went back to Cosmic Ray's, where we dined on chicken while being entertained by Sonny Eclipse. By this time it was around 9:30, and headed out to find a spot to view the fireworks.
We ended up at the foot of the bridge to Tomorrowland, which turned out to be a great location. The Summer Nightastic fireworks are excellent! The show is "hosted" by the Fairy Godmother and the fairies from Sleeping Beauty, who must repel an attack on the castle by Captain Hook. I always thought that pirates' natural enemy were ninjas, not fairies. After the fireworks we went over to Adventureland to ride Pirates again, and on the way back to the hub to find a spot to watch the Main St. Electrical Parade, I got a Dole Whip (Future Gal didn't want one, for some strange reason). We watched the parade from the hub, right in front of the bridge to Liberty Square. I enjoyed it a lot more than I though I would. I especially like how Alice and Pete from Pete's Dragon interact with the audience. One thing, though: the Up With America float at the end is so huge and overdone that it reminded me of Sam the Eagle's "Salute to All Nations (but mostly America)" from MuppetVision 3D. If anyone from outside the USA sees it, they might get the impression that America suffers from the same condition as a 5-foot-tall man who drives around in a giant Hummer.
Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the parade or the fireworks; our camera is small and crappy, and doesn't do well in low-light conditions. Maybe before our next multi-day trip (which probably won't be before fall 2011) I can get us a nicer one.
After the parade, we headed back to the bus station. The second and final day of our trip loomed, and we needed to get some sleep. So far, we hadn't seen any obnoxious tour groups. Would they make an appearance before our trip came to an end? Would they keep us up all night with their noise? Would they be sleeping in the preshow areas at EPCOT the next day, making them impassable? (note: this has actually happened)
Fortunately, there were no disturbances during the night. We woke up around 8, had breakfast, then loaded the car and headed off to EPCOT!
Once we got there, we quickly realized we had a problem. The shirts we were wearing were too thick and didn't breathe well. Future Gal headed off to Mouse Gear to shop for new shirts, and I went to The Land to get Fastpasses for Soarin'.
Unfortunately, the Fastpass return time was 1:35-2:35, which conflicted with our 1:45 lunch reservation at the Coral Reef. So we would not get to ride Soarin', although I did get a nice picture of the inside of the pavilion:
I rejoined Future Gal at Mouse Gear. She had picked out a Tinkerbell shirt, and I got the green V-neck retro EPCOT shirt with the pavilion logos. We changed in the bathrooms near Test Track, and then she went off to ride Test Track while I went to Mission:Space. I decided to choose Orange Team this time, and although I'd done it before with no ill effects, I was a little worried about motion sickness spoiling our upcoming Coral Reef lunch. The Orange Team wait time was 30 minutes when I got in line. I never realized how much queue area there is outside the building. I'd always assumed that it was all inside, but in fact there's quite a bit outside, near the door to the VIP lounge. The line moved slowly, and once we were inside the building near the Gravity Wheel a voice came over the loudspeaker to inform us that our wait would be "longer than anticipated"? Had one of the simulators broken down, like it did on our last trip? Or had someone had a protein spill during the ride, necessitating a cleanup? I really don't know. As the line inched forward, Future Gal texted me to say she was done with Test Track and was going to ride again. She got a picture of herself in the queue area:
. . . and another of the "Single Riders" sign, probably to let people know that I didn't ride with her:
However, I was rocking the G-forces on Mission:Space, something she refuses to do.
I eventually made it to the front of the line and received my mission briefing from Lt. Dan. There were only 3 people in our simulator, which is fortunate because my pith helmet wouldn't fit in the storage compartment with my backpack, so I had to stick it in the unused one. The ride didn't make me sick, just left me feeling mildly dizzy for the next two days. The G-forces were cool, but I think that I'll Green Team next time.I got off Mission:Space right about the time Future Gal was getting off of Test Track for the second time. I met her in the Test Track post show, and on the way out I picked up one of the newer retro EPCOT shirts, the beige one with the monorail.
We rode Spaceship Earth next.
The park was so busy that they were using the switchbacks on both sides of the building. Still, the line moved quickly, and we enjoyed our ride. After it was over we went to Club Cool for some free samples (I love that Chinese watermelon soda) and then we settled down in the back hallway of Innoventions West to rest in the A/C until it was time for lunch. I took a picture of Future Gal:
and she took a picture of me:
I saw the picture and said "Hey, that makes me look like a slouched-over fat guy!" Which I am, unfortunately. Still, she took another picture of me looking a litter slimmer and straighter:
Before we knew it, it was time for lunch:
I'd read some negative reviews of the Coral Reef in the past (many of them using descriptors like "mediocre", "overpriced", and "disappointment") and I'd trashed it in my blog, but since I'd never actually eaten there I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. We were seated right next to one of the aquarium windows, very close to where a sea turtle was resting:
(Apologies for the poor image quality; one day we'll have a better camera)
He stayed there the whole time, occasionally swimming up to the surface for some air.
Future Gal had a hard time deciding what to order, but she finally settled on the chicken Caesar salad with Ranch dressing. I ordered the New York Strip, cooked medium-rare. I'd heard that the portions at the Coral Reef ran small, but my steak was a good size, and between it and the potatoes it was a nice, filling lunch. I think our portions were perfect: enough, but not too much. My steak was grilled perfectly, and Future Gal enjoyed her salad and chicken, as well. She also ordered the Chocolate Wave for dessert, and loved it.
After lunch we headed off in the direction of the Imagination pavilion.
An interesting note: although it was a busy day in the park, and wait times for all the rides were longer than they are in the spring, fall, or winter, Journey Into Imagination With Doctor Nigel Channing consistently had no wait time. Every time I looked at one of the tip boards, it had no wait at all. While walking through the park, I heard more than one person comment on how they didn't like it, and at lunch a group nearby was discussing how the Nemo's ride was "almost as lame as Figment". Heck, even the Cast Member who introduced the Captain EO preshow dissed it. Which is why, if I were Supreme Ruler of Disney World, I would fix the Imagination pavilion pronto, right after I fed most of the Team Disney Orlando executive team to the crocodile from Peter Pan. Also, I would dress like this:
But I digress. Where was I again? Oh yes, on my way to see Captain EO:
Sweet mother of Optimus Prime, where do I even begin? How about the preshow? They're using the original 1986 preshow, which is kind of a "making-of" montage. You can tell that they were very glad, back in 1986, to have George Lucas associated with the project because he's in every other shot, pointing at things, making descriptive hand gestures, and telling people what to do while they listen with rapt attention. This is back when the world was still naive enough to think George Lucas was a visionary filmmaker, rather than a guy whose films often boil down to little more than overdone CGI videogame trailers with wooden acting, bad comic relief, and fart jokes.
Well, soon the preshow was over and we filed into the theater for the main event. The place was about 2/3 of the way full. The movie started and right away I wished the MST3K guys were there to riff on it. The opening narration dramatically states how a brave band of rebel fighters is struggling against the forces of evil (gee, where have we heard that one before, George Lucas?) and the fight is being led by one man. While the narrator is saying all this, we're treated to a shot of a 3-D rock spinning through space. Just a rock. I guess we're supposed to be amazed because it's 3D. I was wondering if this rebel leader the narrator was talking about was actually the rock. The movie proper, of course, is about Michael Jackson and his ragtag band of fuzzy comic-relief Muppet characters fighting with a bunch of guys that look like the Borg. Rather, Michael Jackson fights them by shooting energy out of his hands that turns the Borg into people with 1980s hairstyles. It's like he's a superhero: 80's Hairstylist Man! Zap! You've got a mullet! Zap! You've got a jheri curl! As if that isn't funny enough, he delivers all his lines as though he's about to cry.
Anyway, Michael Jackson turns the Borg Queen into Angelica Houston, and everybody goes home happy. Except the audience who wonders why they just sat through that. I'm sure it's popular in Southern California, where the official hair color is platinum blonde and the official State Chemical is botox, but for the rest of the world it's not such a great fit.
Well, after EO we went into the Imagination gift shop because Future Gal wanted to get one of those pictures done where they photograph you in front of a greenscreen and insert you into a scene of your choosing. This is what she chose:
I'd been wearing a hat all day and I had terrible hat hair, but she didn't care. "After 9 years I finally got you down on one knee!" she said.
While we waited for the picture to be developed, we walked across the World Showcase. I got a nice picture of the new Mexican restaurant still under construction:
Upon reaching Japan, we went into Mitsukoshi to cool off, and as is her tradition, Future Gal got a pearl. She gets one every time we go to either EPCOT or St. Augustine, and when she has enough she's going to have them made into a necklace.
Storm clouds were starting to gather to the south as we left Japan. I got a picture of the not-quite-ready-to-open Via Napoli in Italy as the storm got closer:
I also got a picture across the lagoon, with the wind blowing the trees:
It was beginning to thunder quite loudly, and the temperature dropped rapidly. As we walked past Germany we saw Snow White hurrying backstage. I'm glad she had the sense to flee the thunderstorm; we already know she'll take poisoned fruit from creepy old ladies without a second thought. We were looking for a place to duck into before it started raining, and we decided on Norway:
It hadn't started to rain yet as we moved inside. Surprisingly, when we exited the ride we found that it still wasn't raining!
Norway's attraction exit is very poorly thought out. Before Fastpass, you could choose to exit next to the main entrance (where the Fastpass machines are now) or walk through the gift shop. Now all exit traffic is funneled through the gift shop, which wasn't designed to handle all those people. To make things worse, the store smells very perfum-ey, and Future Gal has a real problem with perfumes and other chemicals. As we reached the exit, the rain came pouring down, and the teeming throng in front of us screeched to a halt. As the Cast Members shouted over the noise of the rain, and thunder that they couldn't block the exit like that, Future Gal and I donned our rain ponchos.
Even with the ponchos, we were quickly soaked from the knees down. Fortunately, the rain had abated somewhat by the time we reached Future World. We went and picked up our picture from the Imagination pavilion, and then it was time to go home.
As we passed under the monorail station, I wished that I was not going home to Gainesville so I could wake up for work in the morning, but that I was boarding the TRONorail to take me to the Presidential Suite at the Contemporary, where, as Walt Disney World Dictator-For-Life, I would plot the downfall of all who oppose me . . .
Oh, well.
We may be going back to EPCOT for a day trip in the fall, to go to the Food and Wine fest and eat at Via Napoli. TTFN!
(Yeah, and I actually like George Lucas and his "overdone CGI videogame trailers with wooden acting, bad comic relief, and fart jokes." Call me crazy... 
)
