BhamWriter
04-19-2009, 11:04 PM
We’ve just completed our first full day – second day – of the Spur-of-the-Moment trip. My overriding question is this: What happened to Stacy? Yes, she’s still on television, but the hyper, excited Stacy with the cool jazz music and creative graphic design has been replaced with a corporate wonk. When I saw her in December, she was her same old excitable self. When my sons were here a few weeks ago, they report she was her same over-the-top self. But now, the show has changed from its kinetic origins to a presentation that would be welcome in a boardroom. To be sure, they’ve used enough of her early clips to give a taste of what’s been lost – she still says “fuhgettaboutit” – but now she introduces her segments standing in a cool blue studio with a formal hairdo and “let’s get down to business” attitude. I miss the old Stacy, the “look at those lazy people in the lazy river” Stacy, the faux streetwise moxie Stacy, the water on a hot plate sizzle Stacy! They might as well stitch together Rockabilly Elvis with Las Vegas Elvis, especially if they could stuff the latter Elvis into a Brooks Brothers suit and power tie and let him present a statistical analysis of the latest stock performance metrics. Oh, well…. Enough of my rant.
The day began nicely, with beignets from the food court. I had to check out of this room and then check into this same room (I wanted a room with a king bed, but none was available, so we stayed put), but the process was quick and painless. Following the sugar high of the beignets, we drove to Epcot to walk and play with Perry. He seemed none the worse for being separated from us overnight; perhaps he thinks he’s in a spa with personal attendants granting his every wish.
Following our romp, we entered the park a few minutes past opening. After picking up FastPass tickets to Soarin’, we rode Living with the Land. Apparently, I’ve been out of the loop for quite awhile: it’s now automated with no cast member providing insight into the latest in hydroponics. Instead, a voice is supposed to guide you through the ride; I say “supposed to,” though, because our ride was silent. Not until the room with videos – I remember a tractor – was there any narration, and then none again through the rest of the ride. I reported the glitch and moved on.
Next stop was The Living Seas. I must admit, I’m a sucker for the little Nemo ride. Perhaps I’m a closet pearl, because sitting in the clam watching Nemo hide from his dad is a treat. We then looked through the exhibits and saw divers feeding the stingrays. Sadly, I thought of Steve Irwin; but these guys seemed to enjoy eating directly from the gloves of the divers. We then took in Turtle Talk, which was a lot of fun. Crush tried to talk to a little boy who has little to say, so then turned to the boy’s dad, who was likewise reticent. But, we had fun nevertheless learning that Crush has 65 kids, all sons mostly named Crush, Jr., except for his older, Keanu. We learned the reason dudes are cool and “chicks are hot,” according to the 150-year old turtle. And, we learned that Florida surfers say “Y’all” more than “dude.”
Soarin’ was next, and was, as usual, great. The orange scent reminds me of the old, and sorely missed, Horizons ride.
Soarin’ was followed up with lunch at Sunshine Seasons, a pleasant dining experience. The key lime pie wasn’t traditional – very light and “moussee” – but was still tasty (but not tart enough).
Now for the most embarrassing part of the day: after realizing that FastPass wouldn’t get us on to Test Track before we left the park, we headed to Mission: Space. My wife, though, wimp that she is, insisted we ride the “less intense” version. So, I dutifully took my place with her in the milquetoast line. I lowered my head in shame, hoping to make no eye contact with either the other similarly abashed men or the testosterone-imbued men in the “intense” line. Yes, we rode the ride – and it was fun – but I take no pride in this “accomplishment.”
We then entered what used to be the stellar Life pavilion, which has now been reduced to lectures on horticulture. We took a few pictures, but saw little to keep our attention for long.
With the morning over and part of the afternoon as well, we shopped, took more pictures, and spent a few more minutes with Perry. We took additional pictures of him with the Epcot ball, and then returned to POFQ. My wife had never walked the grounds, to I turned tour guide, revealing to her the glories of this gem. The attention to detail always intrigues me, especially the large variety of plans and trees so neatly displayed in the various courtyards and down the prim lanes. After more pictures, we returned to the room and took a nap (a ritual I intend throughout the week).
With late afternoon arriving, it was time to visit Perry once again. We had given him heartworm medicine this morning and discovered that he had had an “accident” in his hotel room shortly before we arrived. Apparently, he had become today a poop machine. Fortunately, the kennel staff were their excellent selves and he was in good shape when we arrived. We played with him for a few minutes, then went back into Epcot to ride Spaceship Earth.
This was my first experience of SE since its rehab. I was impressed. I enjoyed the new narration with what seemed to be a more focused story. Ironically, though, considering this is Disney, it stressed the computer age to the detriment of the arts. Gone was the video clip of Snow White dancing with the dwarfs. Gone, too, were the Greek dramatists. Still, the show seemed to do a better job of telling a specific story of how we got to where we are today. I did wonder, though, why the little boy hawking newspapers was turned to the rear of the “stage” where he could barely be seen (I wasn’t sure the purpose). Spaceship Earth isn’t a radical departure from its predecessors, but was updated enough to maintain interest.
With reservations at Boma calling us to pay attention to our hunger, we drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We watched giraffes and zebras and other animals for awhile, shopped in the story, and took more pictures – do you see a pattern here? – and then it was time for dinner. Now, let me set the stage by noting a simple fact: my wife is 5’2” 94 pounds. Thirty minutes after I was finished eating, she was still going back to the buffet! I can only imagine when we left that she weighed twice the weight she was at when we arrived: half her and half carrot ginger soup and seafood stew and curry stew and a lot more.
Speaking of carrot ginger soup, it is actually my favorite dish on their extensive menu. It’s wonderful. But all the soups and salads are great. The desserts are excellent as well. My least favorite aspect of the meal is the selection of entrees: the meats are less exciting and satisfying than the other courses. Even so, I could barely walk leaving the restaurant.
Now we’re back in the room. Tomorrow we expect rain and storms – the only day forecast to have them this week. So, we’ll see. Right now, I’m ready for nothing more than to digest large quantities of African cuisine.
The day began nicely, with beignets from the food court. I had to check out of this room and then check into this same room (I wanted a room with a king bed, but none was available, so we stayed put), but the process was quick and painless. Following the sugar high of the beignets, we drove to Epcot to walk and play with Perry. He seemed none the worse for being separated from us overnight; perhaps he thinks he’s in a spa with personal attendants granting his every wish.
Following our romp, we entered the park a few minutes past opening. After picking up FastPass tickets to Soarin’, we rode Living with the Land. Apparently, I’ve been out of the loop for quite awhile: it’s now automated with no cast member providing insight into the latest in hydroponics. Instead, a voice is supposed to guide you through the ride; I say “supposed to,” though, because our ride was silent. Not until the room with videos – I remember a tractor – was there any narration, and then none again through the rest of the ride. I reported the glitch and moved on.
Next stop was The Living Seas. I must admit, I’m a sucker for the little Nemo ride. Perhaps I’m a closet pearl, because sitting in the clam watching Nemo hide from his dad is a treat. We then looked through the exhibits and saw divers feeding the stingrays. Sadly, I thought of Steve Irwin; but these guys seemed to enjoy eating directly from the gloves of the divers. We then took in Turtle Talk, which was a lot of fun. Crush tried to talk to a little boy who has little to say, so then turned to the boy’s dad, who was likewise reticent. But, we had fun nevertheless learning that Crush has 65 kids, all sons mostly named Crush, Jr., except for his older, Keanu. We learned the reason dudes are cool and “chicks are hot,” according to the 150-year old turtle. And, we learned that Florida surfers say “Y’all” more than “dude.”
Soarin’ was next, and was, as usual, great. The orange scent reminds me of the old, and sorely missed, Horizons ride.
Soarin’ was followed up with lunch at Sunshine Seasons, a pleasant dining experience. The key lime pie wasn’t traditional – very light and “moussee” – but was still tasty (but not tart enough).
Now for the most embarrassing part of the day: after realizing that FastPass wouldn’t get us on to Test Track before we left the park, we headed to Mission: Space. My wife, though, wimp that she is, insisted we ride the “less intense” version. So, I dutifully took my place with her in the milquetoast line. I lowered my head in shame, hoping to make no eye contact with either the other similarly abashed men or the testosterone-imbued men in the “intense” line. Yes, we rode the ride – and it was fun – but I take no pride in this “accomplishment.”
We then entered what used to be the stellar Life pavilion, which has now been reduced to lectures on horticulture. We took a few pictures, but saw little to keep our attention for long.
With the morning over and part of the afternoon as well, we shopped, took more pictures, and spent a few more minutes with Perry. We took additional pictures of him with the Epcot ball, and then returned to POFQ. My wife had never walked the grounds, to I turned tour guide, revealing to her the glories of this gem. The attention to detail always intrigues me, especially the large variety of plans and trees so neatly displayed in the various courtyards and down the prim lanes. After more pictures, we returned to the room and took a nap (a ritual I intend throughout the week).
With late afternoon arriving, it was time to visit Perry once again. We had given him heartworm medicine this morning and discovered that he had had an “accident” in his hotel room shortly before we arrived. Apparently, he had become today a poop machine. Fortunately, the kennel staff were their excellent selves and he was in good shape when we arrived. We played with him for a few minutes, then went back into Epcot to ride Spaceship Earth.
This was my first experience of SE since its rehab. I was impressed. I enjoyed the new narration with what seemed to be a more focused story. Ironically, though, considering this is Disney, it stressed the computer age to the detriment of the arts. Gone was the video clip of Snow White dancing with the dwarfs. Gone, too, were the Greek dramatists. Still, the show seemed to do a better job of telling a specific story of how we got to where we are today. I did wonder, though, why the little boy hawking newspapers was turned to the rear of the “stage” where he could barely be seen (I wasn’t sure the purpose). Spaceship Earth isn’t a radical departure from its predecessors, but was updated enough to maintain interest.
With reservations at Boma calling us to pay attention to our hunger, we drove to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We watched giraffes and zebras and other animals for awhile, shopped in the story, and took more pictures – do you see a pattern here? – and then it was time for dinner. Now, let me set the stage by noting a simple fact: my wife is 5’2” 94 pounds. Thirty minutes after I was finished eating, she was still going back to the buffet! I can only imagine when we left that she weighed twice the weight she was at when we arrived: half her and half carrot ginger soup and seafood stew and curry stew and a lot more.
Speaking of carrot ginger soup, it is actually my favorite dish on their extensive menu. It’s wonderful. But all the soups and salads are great. The desserts are excellent as well. My least favorite aspect of the meal is the selection of entrees: the meats are less exciting and satisfying than the other courses. Even so, I could barely walk leaving the restaurant.
Now we’re back in the room. Tomorrow we expect rain and storms – the only day forecast to have them this week. So, we’ll see. Right now, I’m ready for nothing more than to digest large quantities of African cuisine.