The previous night we had gone to bed at 1:30 am, and it’s really a good thing we didn’t stay up any later. Perhaps it was workout we got from wearing those hot costumes (that likely became heavier as the night wore on, as they soaked up sweat), but we were both fairly tired the next morning.
I began by heading to Old Port Royale, again taking my cameras and refillable mug to start the day with some photography and caffeine.
I made this a much shorter trip than the previous day. I had captured a lot of photos the previous day, and my path was the same, so I didn’t see many new things to capture. I did, however, decide to put my hesitance aside and head over the pool. I am normally reluctant to take photos around pools because there are people in bathing suits walking around, while I have a bunch of camera gear and am fully clothed. I don’t want people thinking I’m the sleazy photog/paparazzi trying to capture photos of scantily-clad individuals. Not sure if this is actually what people think, but it’s always in the back of my head.
Anyway, I wanted to get some cool photos of the canons in the pool. These canons are really close to the edge of the pool. I had very little room to navigate. As I’m bending down to take my shot, a little kid comes running around the site of one of the canons, almost colliding with me. Even though my camera is water sealed, I’m pretty sure it couldn’t handle falling into the pool, so I quickly ended this mission after narrowly averting disaster.
When I arrived back at our room, I got ready, and we headed to the bus stop. Again, we were spending the morning at Epcot. Since it was Food & Wine Festival, we planned on spending a lot of time there.
After we headed through the turnstiles, I suggested to Sarah that maybe she could get FastPasses for Soarin’ while I took some photos of Spaceship Earth. The sun was still at a decent point in the sky for photos, so I figured I ought to grab a few.
With Sarah busy for at least 10 minutes, I went wild with my cameras. I probably took over 100 photos of Spaceship Earth in that short time, and had a blast in the process. I can only imagine some local watching me snap so many frames, thinking, “silly tourist.”
I later discovered that my D7000 was putting oil on the high-pass filter above the sensor, which could only be removed by a professional. Or, in my case, an idiot with some household items and some swabs from Hong Kong. Yep, I actually cleaned it myself with sensor wet-swabs. These swabs left streaks that I removed with a Q-Tip. Luckily, I removed the oil and didn’t ruin the camera in the process. I was so reluctant to send the camera to Nikon (I’ve heard nothing but bad things about their service) that I actually risked my thousand dollar camera. Well, no one can accuse me of not being a risk-taker, at least!
Once Sarah purchased her gift card, which of course was a must purchase thanks to its fashionable wrist strap, we debated what to do next.
Well, it wasn’t really much of a debate. Like the people we drive past at 6:45 am in the rough parts of ton outside liquor stores, Sarah decided to line up for the Desserts and CHAMPAGNE stand. Lush.
In all fairness, she didn’t actually buy any alcohol, but I thought it was pretty funny to see her standing in line outside of a closed alcohol kiosk. I suppose my sense of humor is a little warped. Again, she purchased the Dessert Trio. This was a really smart move.
After lunch we took a leisurely route back to the World Showcase. Somewhere along the way, it dawned upon me that Be Our Guest Podcast was having its meet in the World Showcase. Through the magic of the internet, we determined that they were in France, so we made our way over there. As we headed in that direction, we spotted Don Sullivan, blue-sky photography extraordinaire and person of whom everyone else is jealous. This jealousy steams from the fact that he casually mentions dropping into the parks for leisurely activities, since he is an Orlando local. Here is an excerpt from a random conversation someone probably had with Don: “What are you doing this afternoon, Don?” “Oh, I don’t know, probably making loops on the TTA while I watch YouTube videos on my iPad and take a nap at the Swan Boat landing.”
I had been wanting to watch Impressions De France for a while, but Sarah had never seen too interested. So, in a bit of a cheap move, I appealed to Sarah to watch it in front of a few others who I knew liked the film based upon previous conversations. Of course, they gave it a resoundingly positive endorsement when I asked if it was worth seeing, so we decided to go see it. One of the first things I learned in law school was to never ask a witness a question to which you don’t know the answer. That’s probably the one thing I learned in that place that had real-world applicability.
I wasn’t expecting much from Impressions de France, but my desire to see every Walt Disney World attraction led me to want to see it. Once the film began, and the first few notes of music started playing, I was blown away. I can only describe the music as hauntingly beautiful. I know that’s a tired phrase, but it was really “beautiful” music.
The cinematography was also awesome, and really made me want to visit France. It was like Soarin’, except without the simulation of flying and didn’t conclude with a fly-over of Disneyland Paris. Oh, and it was set in France, obviously. If someday French people stop s__________g, we might just consider visiting France (just kidding, France). I guess that’s the point of the World Showcase pavilions, though, right? I mean, why else would the countries (or corporations in the host countries) sponsor the pavilions?
We had been keeping in touch with some photographers on Flickr who would be attending the weekend, and we received word that they were on their way to the World Showcase, so we headed in their direction. Once we met, we stood around Canada for a few minutes chatting. I would estimate that there were around 10 people or so. It was good to catch up with the other photographers, many of whom I correspond with regularly, and would consider friends.
That said, as soon as we started moving through World Showcase, I could tell this wasn’t going to work for us. I’m an incredibly impatient person. Sarah calls it “only child syndrome.” I don’t mind conversing with others, and relaxing, but in the setting of Walt Disney World, I find it to be a waste of time to aimlessly wander around with no set purpose or destination in mind, and I don’t like standing in one spot and conversing. Conversing over dinner or while waiting in line are another story, but standing around or slowly wandering around are not things I enjoy. Even when I take photos, I don’t work methodically.
People who have traveled with us have remarked upon this in the past, surprised that I don’t devote more time to taking photos. Usually, my strategy is quickly walking ahead a bit, and taking a photo in the time it takes Sarah to catch up to me. If the photo isn’t what I had in mind, oh well, I move on. At night, I typically take more time, but attractions usually aren’t open when I do my nighttime shooting, so I’m not really interfering with any normal “park-activities” then. This is just my preference, and my impatience is definitely a fault of mine.
Because of this, I don’t really like to partake in anything where decisions are made by committee. It wastes time and is generally inefficient, in my opinion. I could tell that there was a strong chance the pace was going to be the slow on this day, so I thought I would set the standard, and walk in the front of the group. The group stopped several times. Finally, Sarah and I kept going, figuring either people would follow, or we’d meet up with them later. It was too hot for us to do wander the World Showcase taking photos, anyway.
Even though it was hot, we realized we didn’t have many photos of us together, and the sky looked gorgeous, so we made a brief stop at the second story of the Japan pavilion to snap a couple of photos before continuing on to the Hops & Barley kiosk to get another one of the excellent Pumpkin Mousse snacks. In case you didn’t read the last installment, this is an amazing snack, and for only $1.50, it’s an absolute must-try. Given its cult-like popularity on the internet this year, expect Disney to adjust accordingly for next year and price it at $7.95.
From here, we finally had some air-conditioned relief from the heat, as we stepped inside of the Mexico pavilion and rode Grand Fiesta Tour. As we approached the San Angel eating area, something dawned on me...you enter inside a temple, and on the inside, you’re outside again? On top of that, there are more temples outside on the river, which is also inside a temple. “Trippy.” Somewhere on the after the little museum inside the temple, do you actually “leave” the temple? I couldn’t make heads or tails of it (truth be told, I’m just now thinking of it; had I thought of it at the time, I would’ve looked to see if you exit the main temple when you enter the outdoor courtyard that’s actually indoors.
As we completed our several hour circuit of the World Showcase, we just had to stop for another snack at the Dessert & Champagne kiosk. We wanted to try something different, so Sarah ordered a snack that wasn’t the Dessert Trio. Unfortunately, neither of us can read, and she actually ended up just ordering one of the snacks in the Dessert Trio. As the kids say, “Grand Fail” or something like that.
Next stop was Club Cool for some afternoon caffeine! While there, I spotted an Asian couple decked out in Tokyo Disneyland gear. The last time I tried to talk to people wearing Tokyo Disneyland attire (I offered to take their photo in June 2010), disaster ensued, as I think they thought I was trying to harass them. Truth be told, I’m just really excited about Tokyo Disneyland, and am likely to stop anyone wearing Tokyo Disneyland attire (be warned!) and ask them their thoughts on the park.
I don’t remember about what, exactly, we talked, but there was a bit of a language barrier. They were really nice, and I think they more or less understood me (I only know one Japanese word, and it wasn’t helpful here, so I relied on their knowledge of English). They seemed really enthusiastic about Tokyo Disneyland, calling it their home park (I think), and they said they also really liked Walt Disney World.
Sarah just laughed at this, surprised that I would stop some random people and start randomly talking to them. I explained that this was a special case, as these people were Tokyo Disneyland experts! Of course I had to stop them!
As we exited Club Cool, we met up with Nick, and walked to Disney’s Hollywood Studios through the International Gateway.
