Florida, February 21, 2012

Today we spent all day (and evening) at Epcot. It was our first time back for at least fifteen years. Much is still the same, but several things have been added and some have been updated and changed. It was not as crowded as the other times we've been here in the summer, which was nice. Not that the place was empty.

The young man in the ticket booth had grown up in the Portland area, which made for a bit of interesting conversation. And the whole entry process didn't take too long.

The first thing you come to upon entering is the big globe, the symbol for Epcot.

Canada

From there one walks all over the grounds. We headed first to the national pavilions, starting with Canada. We had to wait a bit till they opened at 11. Their presentation was one of several good films in the national pavilions.

We then made our way around the lagoon through the countries with a stop for lunch at a Fish 'n Chips place in the England area. When we reached the U.S. pavilion, there was a very small fife and drum corps playing in the front (two fifes, two drums, one flag). In the U.S. pavilion a small singing group performed before we all went to the animated presentation of US History. Amazing robotics.

China

Italy

After a couple more films and short rides in Norway and Mexico, we finished our world tour by mid afternoon. Then we headed back to the exhibit pavilions of Future World. We were able to visit all the exhibits and rides we hoped to except "Soarin'" which had a wait time of up to 2 1/2 hours. Maybe next time if we come back. The most adventurous ride was the spaceship to Mars. Pretty good.

After dinner at one of the many eating establishments, we found a place along the lagoon to watch the fireworks show. Actually, it's called "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" and includes fireworks, lazars, fountains, and music. We had a pretty good spot.

 After the show, it was exit time. Getting out was not as much hassle as we thought it might be, since the crowds were smaller. By the time we got to our car in the parking lot, it was fairly empty and no real trouble getting out. On the way out of the park, we got one more good view of the Globe, lit up.