Day five and the Metcalfs are still talking to one another ... in short,
terse sentences maybe, but still talking.
Declining the original invitation of our alarm clock in favor of a
little extra sleep, we rolled into the Epcot parking lot about
10am--only to park in exactly the same row as we did on day 1! I guess
it's true what they say about attendance dropping off sharply the week
after New Years.
After a repeat of Thursday's cinnamon pecan crossoints and cafe mocha at
the Fountainview Cafe, we took in the Futureworld attractions that the
crowds had frightened us away from last week:
"Honey I Shrunk the Audience" wasn't too bad a show. No spoiler alert
needed, but the effects do extend beyond the funny glasses. I
particularly liked the rats... Michael Jackson, for all his other
faults, does dance better than Rick Moranis, though.
The new movie at the Land pavilion is called "Circle of Life", and stars
Timon, Pumba, and Simba. It's clearly aimed at attracting a younger
audience than the original film (which was somber to the point of
boredom, despite excellent photography), but does not insult the
intelligence of the mature viewers (us). A difficult taks, but one well
met here. I was amused that some of the footage of environmental
accidents included the results of the Exxon Valdez spill. Has anybody
told the dinosaurs about this?
"The Living Seas" continues to be the one attraction were we can be
counted on to spend appreciable time, even though the displays haven't
been updated since the birth of the manatee in 1991. Mind you, they are
very good, and little they say has become incorrect, but there has been
some recent progress in this area, hasn't there? (Note: If you haven't
been, ignore the above and go anyway.)
Lunch at the Coral Isle Cafe, just because we like the place's attitude.
The Remember the Magic Parade at the Magic Kingdom was something we felt
we couldn't miss. Perhaps we should have. We asked two Cast Members, one
at Town Hall and one where he sent us, where the float with Tigger would
stop. Both of them were wrong. Wrong too was Disney's choice to involve
young guests in the parade. Can you imagine teaching a dance step to a
three year old in 30 seconds? How about a dozen three year olds? Yeah,
that's about how good it was. Now add camcorder-toting stage mothers,
characters in suits who can't see small children at their feet, and a
sound track too loud for shouted instructions to be heard. Can you say
"emotional overload?" The poor kids ended up damp at both ends. All one
can hope is that they didn't make too many memories.
A train ride, a visit to Pirates, and the crowds finally got to us--the
Brazilian tour groups had arrived. Time for a quick trip to Disney
Marketplace. The new Rainforest Cafe is pretty awesome--snarling
leopards, elephants squirting water at each other, a trained parrot
show, and the whole thing topped off with an erupting volcano. I don't
normally use the term "dining experience", but I'm afrait this place
qualifies. Unfortunately, the line to make reservations was just as
awesome. We'll try again next trip.
Over half of the Marketplace has been built, rebuilt, or relocated since
our last visit two years ago. The Pleasure Island end of the complex has
been closed completely, with most shops relocated to the opposite end,
and in the middle, the justly renound World of Disney. Largest Disney
Store on earth? Doubtless. Complete source of Disney Character
merchanise? Not hardly--we could list several whole categories that are
missing. Best and most ambitious decorations of any Disney Store?
Without question--and we've seen a dozen of em. Oh, the big pyramid of
plush? A bust! It was just two stories of shelves.
A cruise up the Sassagoula River to Port Orleans for a nice relaxing
dinner at Bonfamillies should have put a nice cap on the evening.
Unfortunately, the car was still back at the Polynesian. The one big
flaw in the Disney Transportation System is that it has absolutely no
provision for travel between two resorts. Taking the advice of the PO
concierge, we bussed to Epcot, took the monorail to the TTC (leaving
just ahead of the Illuminations Stampede), transfer to the Resort
monorail, to Polynesian and the car. We had excellent connections, so it
only took an hour and a quarter to get from PO to our hotel room.
There's *got* to be a better way!
()_()
 (_)  Bruce (bussed out) Metcalf
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