Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Since The Gryphon and I wanted to swim in the outdoor swimming pool at our resort, he suggested we go for a dip early Tuesday.

After we had our bathing suits on, we discovered it was raining, so we got our showers, got changed, ate breakfast, packed lunches, and headed for Epcot, wearing our ponchos.

We got a Disney bus to the park.

My first view of the geodesic sphere was a gray one. Impressive, nevertheless.

Epcot is laid out in two main areas: Future World, which is the front section, and the World Showcase, which rings an artificial lake, called the World Showcase Lagoon, and features areas representing a number of different countries, namely Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the United States of America, Japan, Morocco, France and the United Kingdom.

We headed straight for Future World's Mission: SPACE, one of their newer attractions. I had heard a lot about it and was anxious to try it. The ride is essentially a flight simulator where you feel what it's like to take off in a space shuttle, then go on a mission to Mars. (I took the photo below later in the day, once the weather cleared up.)

I don't believe I have ever seen so many warnings for a ride, starting with a sign out front that said if you suffer from motion sickness, you should not ride this ride. They even gave the option of doing a milder version of the ride, called the Green Team. Or, even milder, you could opt to observe the mission from an observation room. When you choose your ride option, they give you a ticket with your team color on it, which repeats the warnings about the intensity of the ride.

We chose the Orange Team, or the most intense experience. The Gryphon and I figured we could handle it. I had rarely experienced motion sickness, save when I was young and reading in the car for long hours on family trips.

The warnings continued, both in the initial load area and then in the final waiting area, where you receive your final instructions. Screens remind you about the intensity of the ride and tell you that, if you would rather exit, you should contact a Disney staffer, or cast member.

Still, I figured I was fine, and I got on. The initial feeling of taking off was pretty amazing, especially once you reach weightlessness. That might have been the point in the ride where we were actually spinning, this being, after all, a flight simulator. But then you enter turbulent conditions, and the machine jerks around, as well as your visuals. I began to feel ill, and I was really glad when the ride was over.

Much to my surprise, it took me quite a while to recover, and I wouldn't feel 100 percent again for a couple hours. So if you get the opportunity to ride Mission: SPACE and you have any doubts about whether you'll have difficulties, opt for the Green Team. You'll have a much more pleasant experience with a smaller chance of side effects.

As we exited, we walked through a long, white exit hall. I appreciated this, because it gave me time to readjust in an environment that wasn't terribly stress inducing. From there, we entered a colorful room, filled with space-related activities, including a multi-user video game where you compete to fix a shuttle for a mission to Mars.

The Gryphon and I headed straight for a booth where you could record a video postcard to send to a friend. He sent it to me. That way we could forward it to as many people as we liked. Here's a still from it.

We then tried a video game where you're on Mars, trying to rescue members of your crew. I did poorly until The Gryphon started handling the jump button for me, while I just moved the joystick. Unfortunately, playing the game aggravated my feelings of nausea, so while The Gryphon played, I walked around and took pictures.

We had to take it easy after Mission: SPACE, because I worried I'd get a migraine if I did anything particularly stressful. The best solution, I felt, was to desensitize as much as possible.

So, at The Gryphon's suggestion, we did Ellen's Energy Adventure next, which was a much more sedate ride, which consisted of a video presentation and then a slow moving ride through various scenes, featuring animatronics and special effects.

The Gryphon says the attraction had been revamped since he'd last been to Epcot in the mid-'80s. That was, incidentally, just when the park was beginning to take shape, and throughout the park you'll see evidence of '80s style design, with use of bright, pastel abstract shapes, such as on the building above, the Universe of Energy where the ride is located.

Ellen DeGeneres, along with Bill Nuy, the Science Guy, now hosts a presentation about energy: where it comes from, what alternatives exist and how we can make a difference. The show was entertaining and informative without being preachy. I thought it was a great way to energize — pardon the pun — both kids and adults about energy issues.

Even though it was a mild ride, the different types of sensory input — visual, audio, motion, temperature — threatened to upset the delicate balance of my body. I told The Gryphon that we really ought to do something that didn't involve any sort of excessive sensory input until I felt more on an even keel, because if I developed a migraine, the day would essentially be ruined.

He suggested that we check out the main pavilion for the wine and food festival being held that week at Epcot.

Inside the pavilion we saw primarily vendor booths for wine and wine-related merchandise. Then we noticed a roped off section of tables and chairs, with people waiting to be let in. We read the sign and learned they were holding wine workshops, and that one would begin soon. We got in line, although the person who was doing line control cautioned us we might not make it in.

The Disney cast member who sat us noticed our "Just Married" pins and asked us our names. When he introduced the main speaker, he announced there were newlyweds in the audience, gave our names and had us stand while everyone applauded. Sweet.

At each of our places sat four wine glasses with a sample of four different wines, which the presenter discussed as we sampled them.

The speaker introduced us to wines from the Carneros region of California, and he explained the character of those wines. First was the Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut, a sparkling wine with cherry overtones. I liked this one. The Buena Vista Chardonnay, however, I found oaky, and the Buena Vista Pinot Noir didn't hold my interest. The Buena Vista Pinot Noir Estate, however, had hints of bluenberry, anise and cloves, and was my overall favorite.

It turns out I have expensive tastes, as my favorites, the Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut and the Buena Vista Pinot Noir Estate, were the pricier wines.

The wine workshop was a nice respite, and by the time we'd finished it, I was feeling much better. So I agreed to go on a ride The Gryphon wanted to go on, the Test Track. This is a ride where you learn about what goes into testing vehicles for safety. The waiting area, which we got to bypass by using the Fast Pass, looks like a work area for vehicle testing.

If I haven't mentioned it already, I should mention that, while every attraction at Magic Kingdom tells a story, every attraction at Epcot teaches something.

This was a car-style ride, and you go through sections that test different types of roads, various extreme conditions, and braking. Then, of course, you get to drive outside onto the track, where you hit top speeds. We had a good time, and my stomach had recovered sufficiently that I didn't feel sick.

In the exit area we passed through a showcase of both concept cars, like the one below, and 2008 models.

By now, we were starting to get a bit hungry. We'd had our lunch a couple hours earlier and were reaching snack time. Instead of having the Kashi bars and apples we'd brought, we searched for sushi in the Japan section of the World Showcase.

We wanted to eat at a place called the Matsu No Ma Lounge, which supposedly offers sushi and cocktails, but we couldn't find it. So after wandering around the Japan area — which isn't, admittedly, that large — we tried the Yakitori House, which was just a basic lunch counter restaurant.

They offered two different sushi rolls: a Tokyo Roll, which was a lot like a California Roll, and a Spicy Tuna Roll. We each had one roll and split another.

After enjoying our sushi and some iced green tea, we stepped back outside, just in time to catch some taiko drumming.

Two of the three drummers were women, and they had amazingly muscular backs. They really put on an impressive show. Got to love strong women! It was inspirational.

The rain started up again, so we ducked inside the Mitsukoshi department store, which is a big Japanese chain. While there, we picked up a few gifts for some of my family members. Following a family tradition, throughout our stay, we bought inexpensive keepsakes of our trip for everyone in my family, including Disney plush toys for my niece (Cinderella) and nephew (Mickey Mouse in a spacesuit).

Then we strolled along the World Showcase, sampling wines from the various booths. The regular food stands in each of the different sections were offering wines from those countries. There were also special Wine and Food Festival booths that offered 3-ounce glasses of wine, paired with foods from the nations represented. It was about $3-4 for each of the wine samples, which we shared so that we could each taste them.

Among our favorites were the S.A. Prume Spatlese, which had an apricot or peach undertone and a mineral character. We also liked the L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah, which is a Mexican wine with hints of blueberry, but is a little tanic. Perhaps our favorite was the Bunratty Honey Mead Wine, which tastes like honey, of course. We had this at the Irish booth, paired with a heavenly cheese plate served with sourdough bread and a mango chutney.

I had a great time snapping pictures of the different areas, which looked very realistic, such as this street from the Germany section. We joked that we'd tell people we'd gone around the world on our honeymoon.

As we were strolling once more in the Future World section of Epcot, we saw a rainbow. I tried to take a photo using the manual settings on my camera, which was washed out, but then I tried the automatic setting, which was a success.

So I retook some of the photos I'd taken earlier in the day that had been all washed out, and on our way out of the park also got some great shots of the geodesic sphere.

That evening we had planned on returning to the Magic Kingdom, catching the fireworks display, and then leaving in time to make our dinner reservations, which we thought were at 9:30 at the California Grill in the Contemporary Hotel.

However, as we were waiting at the bus stop, I asked The Gryphon to confirm the dinner reservation time, and he discovered our reservations were actually at 7-something in Citricos, a French restaurant in the Grand Floridian Hotel.

This meant we had to head straight for the hotel, but luck wasn't on our side. We missed a crucial monorail that would have brought us there right on time; instead, we arrived 10 to 15 minutes late. Still, the desk staff were very accommodating, and soon we were seated.

The atmosphere in Citricos was a little more formal than Flying Fish Cafe, the decor a cross between contemporary and Victorian styles, much like the hotel.

For my main course, I ordered a special, which was Wild Atlantic Salmon served with couscous and vegetables. I particularly liked the couscous and vegetables, which added a light touch, but the salmon couldn't compete with the glazed salmon I'd eaten at our wedding reception. The Gryphon ordered one of their specialties, the Braised Veal Shank with carrot-potato puree and roasted veggies. He said he enjoyed it very much.

We ordered the creme brulee for dessert, and seeing our "Just Married" buttons, the kitchen decorated the plate with "Congratulations" and sprinkled it with candy Mickey Mouse confetti, which was sweet in both senses of the word. The dish was full of surprises: topped with blueberries, raspberries, mangos and whipped cream, with a white chocolate stick and two pieces of chocolate covered biscotti.

From there, we walked around the courtyard of the hotel. A band was playing '20s jazz versions of standards and, of course, Disney songs. I got a few photos of them. One thing I've noticed around Disney: when a cast member notices you taking a photo, they tend to give you a big smile, such as the bass player did here.

We browsed in the stores, as well. As the name implies, the Grand Floridian is Disney's most impressive hotel, and it's right next to the area where many couples get married at Disney. The stores, especially the clothing stores, were a bit above our price range, stocked with the nicer Disney merchandise as well as designer clothes. Of course, it was geared towards vacation wear, with plenty of polo shirts and cabana wear.

The Gryphon suggested catching the monorail back to the transportation center, where we could hop a bus back to Port Orleans - Riverside. He suggested we find out if we could sit in the front with the driver. Now, I didn't even know you could do such a thing, but The Gryphon asked a Disney cast member working the platform, who asked the operator. The operator waved us up front.

The operator held the door open for us, and we discovered two little benches up there. We had seen some children do that earlier in the day, and The Gryphon had done this on a previous visit. As we rode, two other small groups of people came and left.

It was an unusual view. Of course, the windows were steamed up, because it was night; and I couldn't get any good shots without a flash. We had a good time talking to the driver about his job. He said it's pretty easy, even in all sorts of weather. When there's limited visibility, he's still fine, because he can see the track markings. Also, the different train operators keep in touch.

Before we got off, he let me get a picture of him. I told him he looked a bit like Walt Disney, that he could be a long-lost brother. He said he's heard that before.

Just for the heck of it, we got off at the Polynesian to scope out their hotel, in case we wanted to stop by later in the week. We browsed the shops and even looked through a gallery of original paintings by the renowned seacape artist Wyland, whose work I've loved for years, as well as some paintings collaborated on by Beach Boy Brian Wilson.

From the Polynesian, we caught a bus to the transportation center, then another to our resort.

More Musings on Alyce's honeymoon:

Honeymoon Index

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

October 2007 Index

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