Bornieo goes to Disney World - The Official Trip Report

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Day 6 - EPCOT

The day began at EPCOT and it was so amazing seeing the giant Spaceship Earth peaking over the horizon. Unlike the other parks it was pleasant to see that the main icon of the park was at the front and since it wasn’t open due to the referb, I sadly missed seeing all that was inside the spheres. I just can’t imagine what fits inside but hopefully one day I will see it. The future world area was all that I’d hoped it would be. My absolute favorite aspect of this area is the walkways - it seems so "80's" but I just really loved the stilted walkways above the water and how everything was just so open.


Aww, welcome!!

My first attempt at attractions at EPCOT was Test Track and as I figured there was a long wait time and oddly enough the Fastpass’ were already gone - so I made use of the Single Rider line, which went pretty fast. I got placed up front of the car and I was off. Having no experience to compare this too, since I’ve never ridden the previous attraction that was there - I thought it was very educational and interesting and had a nice little thrill to it. It wasn’t a massively wonderful experience but I was satisfied with what happens.


Test Track!

Next, I wandered over to Mexico and began working my way around the large mass of water. It was a beautiful sight to see all the "countries" surrounding the lake. Earlier I had purchased my EPCOT Passport to have stamped at the different countries - which was pretty cool - but I missed Morocco and Japan, so I’ll have to get those two next time.
In Norway I rode Maelstrom, which was a bit of a disappointment in that it was so very short, a slight slide, I won’t even call a drop, and a bunch on the history of Norway - which is fine, but I was surely expecting more of a thrill from what I gathered from the descriptions. After the exit of the ride, I knew I was in for an eyeful of "Education" when the little theater contained a large group of Senior citizens and Me. Seemed like everyone else had made for the exit. But it was a beautiful film about the country and I was glad I saw it.

Food & Wine!

My first experience with the Food and Wine Festival, which was limited this day, was at the Ireland exhibit - I got a very butter/ greasy Potato Pancake and a small cup of Baileys frozen Irish Coffee topped with whipped cream. The Potato Pancake was greasy with a small cube of butter on top. The Baileys was very YUM! But a bit pricey ($7) for just a small plastic cup. As I ate, I got a message from Louis (DLRP_bopazot) that the shuttle was launched from the nearby Cape Canaveral and I looked toward the sky and only caught the cloud that still hung in the air from the launch. I was so sorry I missed seeing it go up.



Next I breezed thru the other countries and made my way to the American Adventure, which I had heard so much about. Animatronics walking up stairs etc. and I was very eager to see this show. The building was just glorious and the whole rotunda waiting area was just stunning. The paintings on the walls from the likes of Herb Ryman -a Disney Imagineer were just beautiful and the exhibit "National Treasures" contained artifacts like Lincoln’s Hat and items from the Space Program. The main show was just a glorious celebration of the American History and it was all that I had hoped for. I’m not a hand over your heart patriot at all really, but it was very touching and the seeing the various animatronics was awesome.


Me and the American Adventure!

The Rotunda

On the way out I had a real odd moment - some dude was walking out with the crowd, came walking next to me and asked me if I liked pictures. The guy reeked of creepy and I could swear I saw him on To Catch a Predator - because he says something like "I"m Joe Bob from Tennessee. Can I take your picture?" and then without waiting for a response, he takes his disposable camera and shoots a flash picture of me. Then starts blabbering on about liking to take pictures and was asking me where I was from with a strong southern accent. It was very weird and I "lost" him when I went to get my Passport stamped.

I skipped thru Japan and Morocco and headed to France where I knew Louis was working Impressions de France. Nearby I spotted Sleeping Beauty standing around, so walked over and got a picture with her. If you notice the low angle of the picture - her "handler" was a midget.



I didn’t spot Louis, so I went into the pre-show, which was filled with many photo’s of France and then into the theater where the host for the show was Louis! He gave his spiel and the it was time for the ½ circle vision presentation. Such a beautiful show and at the end Louis came out and told us all to get out. I congratulated him on his performance and we walked out together. Lucky a passer-bye’r was nice enough to snap a picture of us - then I got to witness his work in the preshow area.

There’s Louis!


Me and Louis!

It was now time for Lunch and I went to Chefs de France to check out the menu. It was pretty easy for a party of 1 to get a seat and I got a nice table right by the window where you could see the pavilion and the waterway. I ordered for what amounted to a toasted Ham & Cheese sandwich, with a salad and bread. Keeping with the atmosphere I chose the "recommended" wine, which name I could not remember and it was a nice peaceful meal truly filled with French atmosphere. The waiter, accent and all, introduced himself and told a small bit about his hometown in France, somewhere along the boarder in the mountains, if I recall correctly. Lunch ended with an very, very tasty Creme Brulee that was just unbelievably perfect.



I want one of these!!