TooGoofy
07-27-2007, 08:54 PM
The Zen of Disney...Day Three
Cast: Meg: 43: trip planner and tour guide; 6th trip to the world
Dave: 51: general all around great guy: 6th trip to the world
Today was the Fourth of July! :flag:
We knew it would be hot and crowded today, so we planned to do “American” or “patriotic” activities today. We got up, got ready and had another quick breakfast in the room. We went to the bus stop to hop on a Magic Kingdom bus. While we were waiting at the bus stop, we were treated to the sight of two F-15 fighters streaking through the air! They were doing a flyover for the naturalization ceremony at the Magic Kingdom.
As we entered the gates of MK, we were greeted by CM’s handing out American flag pins to everyone. We took ours, put them on, and then walked through the tunnel onto Main Street USA. It was very crowded, but beautiful. Every building was decked with red, white and blue bunting. There were red, silver and blue balloons in the shapes of stars tied to the light posts. The Dapper Dan’s were singing and all the “streetmosphere” characters were out in force. We strolled down Main Street, soaking in the atmosphere, and then headed to Liberty Square. We walked right in to the Hall of Presidents, and enjoyed the show. We were a bit surprised that Liberty Square and the Hall of Presidents were so quiet. We thought other people might be doing patriotic things too.
After the show, we were starting to get a bit hungry. More importantly, it looked like the entire world’s population was trying to get into the MK. We hopped the monorail to Epcot and made out way to the American Adventure. We walked in and got two cheeseburgers. Dave had the apple slices with his, I had freedom fries! (Hey, it was Fourth of July! Do you think I’d have French fries?) We both had water to drink. It started to rain while we were eating, but we had a nice treat when the Fife and Drum Corps marched through the restaurant.
After we were finished eating, we went and heard the Voices of Liberty in the American Adventure pavilion. They were just wonderful! They did a special salute to the armed forces and they asked anyone who had served or was serving in the military to stand up and be recognized. Since Dave was in the Navy for 20 years, he stood up and everyone clapped for him (and all the others).
By then it was raining pretty hard again, so we knew that the Fife & Drum Corps would not be coming out again. We decided to just go back to the room for our afternoon shower and nap.
After the nap, it was still raining, but we headed out anyway. A little rain wouldn’t hurt us. We went back to Epcot, and had supper at the American pavilion again. After supper, the Aretha Franklin tribute band called Respect caught our attention. We watched the last few songs, and then wandered over to Japan to look through the store. Then we headed back to the American Gardens Theatre to hear an entire set by Respect. They were very good, and we really enjoyed the concert.
Then we headed back to our new favorite spot to watch Illuminations. It was crowded, but we still had a good view. The fireworks were amazing! After the regular finale of Illuminations, the globe continued rotating, showing pictures of presidents, national monuments and other Americana. They shot off gorgeous red, white and blue shells. It was intense! The sky was absolutely filled with sound and light. As this was going on, they played the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Many people (including myself) were singing along. We had an incredible sense of both patriotism and togetherness. As we walked out to the park, the globe kept rotating, showing pictures of great Americans and American scenes, while patriotic music played around us. We sang along to Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” and then listened to several great Sousa marches. It took a while to walk out of the park, with the huge crowd, but everyone seemed to have a sense of community, and everyone was polite and friendly.
There was an enormous crowd, but I think every bus in the fleet was on duty that night, and we caught the third bus back to CSR. We showered and then went to bed. We both said that it was well worth the crowds to be able to be part of the Fourth of July celebration at Epcot.
Next up: Dave has a date with his pillow; I have a date with dolphins! :dolphin:
Cast: Meg: 43: trip planner and tour guide; 6th trip to the world
Dave: 51: general all around great guy: 6th trip to the world
Today was the Fourth of July! :flag:
We knew it would be hot and crowded today, so we planned to do “American” or “patriotic” activities today. We got up, got ready and had another quick breakfast in the room. We went to the bus stop to hop on a Magic Kingdom bus. While we were waiting at the bus stop, we were treated to the sight of two F-15 fighters streaking through the air! They were doing a flyover for the naturalization ceremony at the Magic Kingdom.
As we entered the gates of MK, we were greeted by CM’s handing out American flag pins to everyone. We took ours, put them on, and then walked through the tunnel onto Main Street USA. It was very crowded, but beautiful. Every building was decked with red, white and blue bunting. There were red, silver and blue balloons in the shapes of stars tied to the light posts. The Dapper Dan’s were singing and all the “streetmosphere” characters were out in force. We strolled down Main Street, soaking in the atmosphere, and then headed to Liberty Square. We walked right in to the Hall of Presidents, and enjoyed the show. We were a bit surprised that Liberty Square and the Hall of Presidents were so quiet. We thought other people might be doing patriotic things too.
After the show, we were starting to get a bit hungry. More importantly, it looked like the entire world’s population was trying to get into the MK. We hopped the monorail to Epcot and made out way to the American Adventure. We walked in and got two cheeseburgers. Dave had the apple slices with his, I had freedom fries! (Hey, it was Fourth of July! Do you think I’d have French fries?) We both had water to drink. It started to rain while we were eating, but we had a nice treat when the Fife and Drum Corps marched through the restaurant.
After we were finished eating, we went and heard the Voices of Liberty in the American Adventure pavilion. They were just wonderful! They did a special salute to the armed forces and they asked anyone who had served or was serving in the military to stand up and be recognized. Since Dave was in the Navy for 20 years, he stood up and everyone clapped for him (and all the others).
By then it was raining pretty hard again, so we knew that the Fife & Drum Corps would not be coming out again. We decided to just go back to the room for our afternoon shower and nap.
After the nap, it was still raining, but we headed out anyway. A little rain wouldn’t hurt us. We went back to Epcot, and had supper at the American pavilion again. After supper, the Aretha Franklin tribute band called Respect caught our attention. We watched the last few songs, and then wandered over to Japan to look through the store. Then we headed back to the American Gardens Theatre to hear an entire set by Respect. They were very good, and we really enjoyed the concert.
Then we headed back to our new favorite spot to watch Illuminations. It was crowded, but we still had a good view. The fireworks were amazing! After the regular finale of Illuminations, the globe continued rotating, showing pictures of presidents, national monuments and other Americana. They shot off gorgeous red, white and blue shells. It was intense! The sky was absolutely filled with sound and light. As this was going on, they played the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Many people (including myself) were singing along. We had an incredible sense of both patriotism and togetherness. As we walked out to the park, the globe kept rotating, showing pictures of great Americans and American scenes, while patriotic music played around us. We sang along to Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” and then listened to several great Sousa marches. It took a while to walk out of the park, with the huge crowd, but everyone seemed to have a sense of community, and everyone was polite and friendly.
There was an enormous crowd, but I think every bus in the fleet was on duty that night, and we caught the third bus back to CSR. We showered and then went to bed. We both said that it was well worth the crowds to be able to be part of the Fourth of July celebration at Epcot.
Next up: Dave has a date with his pillow; I have a date with dolphins! :dolphin: