We had so much fun our first day at Epcot (read part 1), as did our daughter (read part 2), that we decided to spend our last Disney day at Epcot to see what we couldn’t the first time around.
By this time we were all pretty tired and planned to take it easy. We got the park somewhat later than planned and headed to the two countries we previously missed – Canada and U.K.
The Canadian Pavilion was interesting and I really enjoyed the waterfall and gardens. What I loved even more was the air-conditioned gift shop. It was just plain hot, so hot that it felt as if we were melting. We stayed here for a while patronizing the leather engraving booth. We got some really nice bag tags as gifts and a personalized bracelet for my daughter. There’s a movie called ‘O Canada’ here but I heard it was boring so we opted to move on to U.K.
In the U.K. Pavilion we saw some nice houses with flower pots down one lane. A little boring but nice. I can’t remember much about the shopping area since I mostly used it as an A/C escape to get from one side of the pavilion to the other. Sorry. It was all a blur until we decided to make our way back to Future World. We were going to visit the hotels by ferry but couldn’t bring the electric wheelchair we rented.
Ah, now I truly understood the beauty of dark/boat rides. We were so glad that we saved the slow rides for the end! Not only could we save our strength but we also got the opportunity to reflect on the enjoyable time we had. The first attraction on the way back was Journey Into Imagination With Figment. We all thought it was innocently cute. Some online reviews seemed to consider this inferior to the previous installment but as this was my first time, I quite liked it.
Next was Living with the Land, a slow boat ride through Disney green houses. They gave some explanation of their high-tech, new-age growing techniques but I kind of tuned it out. You would think the climate in a greenhouse would be stifling but it was very comfortable, actually. The plants and the manners in which they were growing were fascinating.
We decided to skip the Circle of Life film while we were in ‘The Land’ area. We wanted to relax, not go to sleep. Off we went to The Seas with Nemo & Friends. The display in front with seagulls exclaiming “Mine! Mine!” cracked me up! The ride itself was mediocre. You sat in a shell-shaped car and basically circled an aquarium with images from Finding Nemo. Interesting but not a must-see.
What you should make a point to see is the aquarium below. Such a treat to see two rescued manatees! I’ve always thought they were ugly but cute at the same time. Other interesting marine life was on display including eels, starfish, sea horses, and Horseshoe Crabs (seriously odd creatures). A bit of posing with the ‘sharks’ and we were ready for one last stop.
The huge golf-ball looking globe that Epcot is famous for is home to Spaceship Earth. Why have I never heard much about this ride? After you board the ride, you are told to look into a camera. None of us had any idea why but we all smiled like the photo goofs we were.
The ride took us through a series of settings with animatronic figures. It traced the beginning of communication from drawings on walls, to the invent of writing on papyrus, to the personal home computer. Surprisingly, the characters did not creep me out at all. It was a rather interesting journey, much of which we could relate to. We ascended to the top of the globe before turning backwards and going down.
The small screen in front of you begins to ask your choice on several questions regarding your preferences (city or country, if you like tv, are green-conscious, etc.). Remember the picture taken earlier? Well that was used to place you in a virtual ‘future’. Based on the answers you gave a scenario was created featuring your faces! How cool is that! Hey, I’m easily entertained…
My daughter sat with my mom and theirs was hilarious. Mostly because of how my daughter’s picture turned out. When the camera took the picture, my daughter had her hand up as if to wave. Somehow her hand was associated as part of her head. That meant she had three hands throughout their video.
So we finally finished our Walt Disney World experience. We had a great time but were ready to go home. One thing was sure – we all had a memorable vacation to reminisce about for years to come.
