Around the World in Two Hours

The real reason I attended AIChE. Just kidding/not really kidding. After some debate, we were going to go to the Magic Kingdom on our one free day in Orlando, but then found out they were closing early for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, so we ended up at Epcot instead. It turned out to be a good decision, because the crowds were very manageable, and we were there in the middle of the food and wine festival. No, we did not drink around the world. Which is a thing that people do. 

Instead, we rode all the rides and visited all the countries in the World Showcase before ending the night with fireworks. The last time I was at Epcot was the summer after ninth grade, which was ten years ago. [Ten years. That’s crazy to think about. Also, the current college freshmen were born after 2000. They’re from a different century.] Anyway, Epcot hadn’t changed very much since 2009, which is why I think there’s construction going on there now. Animal Kingdom got blue people land and Hollywood Studios got Star Wars, so it was time to upgrade Epcot, maybe deal with any “outdated cultural depictions.” The entrance was a bit of a mess, but we found our way around eventually.

Spaceship Earth at night

The first place we ended up at was Mission: Space. I’ve been on both versions of the ride and can’t definitively say that I can tell the difference between them, but this time we rode the orange version. Somehow, without any actual training, we successfully landed on Mars. Next, we went on Test Track, which had changed since the last time I rode, though not significantly. The premise of testing a car design remains the same, but the setting was updated? futurized? – think neon lights and OnStar (it’s sponsored by Chevrolet).

Since we didn’t have a map, we then found ourselves circling the World Showcase. We didn’t spend much time in each country, mainly just looked at the architecture and what representative foods were being served. We did watch the animatronic American Adventure show about US history and get funnel cake along the way though. Because #America?

Back in Future World, we made the rounds though the rest of the rides [sadly(?) only missing Journey into Imagination with Figment]. First we walked on to the incredibly popular Living with the Land for a boat ride through some simulated biomes and actual greenhouses showcasing aquaponics, aeroponics, hydroponics, and pumpkins grown into the shape of Mickey’s head. But probably the main attraction in the Land pavilion is Soarin’, formerly Soarin’ Over California, now Soarin’ Around the World. The ride originated at Disneyland in 2001, hence California, and was brought to Epcot with the same film in 2005 before it was replaced by the current movie in 2016. So now, instead of the Golden Gate Bridge, redwoods, Half Dome, and vineyards, you soar over the Matterhorn, Kilimanjaro National Park, the Great Wall of China, and the Taj Mahal. Still a great ride.

We had time before the fireworks for the last two rides at Epcot – The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Spaceship Earth. The Nemo ride is a highly abbreviated based-on-the-movie affair probably most exciting to small children, but you get to ride in a clamobile. Spaceship Earth is inside the giant geodesic dome itself, and goes through scientific/cultural innovation through the years, from writing to the Internets. Thanks to the relatively short lines all night (I don’t think we waited more than fifteen or twenty minutes to get on anything), we rode Soarin’ again before our last event of the night – the fireworks. As part of the renovations, Epcot is transitioning from their fireworks show IllumiNations to something called Harmonious, and is temporarily showing Epcot Forever. I didn’t follow the storyline, if there was one, but there were fireworks. There were kites. We left happy.

Fireworks.  Taken without a tripod or any idea what my camera setting should have been.

Mainly, Epcot was similar to the park I visited ten years ago, except with more touchscreens, which is probably why they’re doing construction on it now. It was fun to be there during the food and wine festival, and even with that going on, the crowds were manageable, and the screeching children few. Like I said, we didn’t wait very long for anything. I think we avoided the one potential wait at Test Track by using the single rider line. We had funnel cake. We saw fireworks. We rode Soarin’ twice. It was a pretty good day.