WDW Weekend
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Today, it's EPCOT.  We left the room about 0815 and took the pair of monorails to EPCOT. By 0906 we were through the gates and at 0920 we were in line at Soarin’. At 0930, in the 1st two seats of the 1st row we were airborne for the 5 minute flight which was excellent. Staying in the land, we took the Living with the Land boat ride.  Then it was on to Imagination and Journey into Imagination and Honey I Shrunk the Audience.  It was now after 1100 so we walked out to World Showcase. We enjoyed the Canadian movie and the walked out to the American Adventure.  I got a brat and sauerkraut and Lyd got chicken fingers and we split a Lowenbrau. We enjoyed the Voices of Liberty and the American Adventure and then walked back and enjoyed Impressions du France.  As we headed for the gate we had a photopass picture taken. We noticed there was no line for Spaceship Earth so we made that our last attraction of the day and took the pair of monorails back to the hotel, enjoying cocktails at 1530.  Dinner will be at Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge.
EPCOT
EPCOT is two parks.  Future World is in the front of the park and World Showcase in the back.
Mickey's hand on Spaceship Earth.  Spaceship Earth is a slow moving ride that curves up and around inside the ball.  It provides a chronicle of the history of communication. Across the lagoon, the American Adventure is visible.
Soarin' The Land Imagination Canada France
Soarin' is the newest attraction. The simulation is of a hang glider. Though the actual motion is gentle rocking, the visual and aural sensations provide a sense of flying. Living with the Land is a slow boat ride through man's encounters with the land. It goes through experimental greenhouses. Imagination is a slow ride that explores the senses followed by a 3D movie, Honey, I Shrunk The Audience. Canada features a circle vision tour of Canada. France has a theatre movie of Impressions of France.
The sign says the wait time is 30 minutes, but we waited only 20. Giant Pumpkins Green bananas The entrance to Imagination Canada A Parisian street
The American Adventure
In a beautiful building reminiscent of Independence Hall, this show, hosted by Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain, is a combination of film and audio-animatronics that tells the story of The American Adventure
The American Adventure The "Voices of Liberty" sign folksongs before the show. The "cast" features some of those most prominent in American History.
<<< Artist Point >>>
Artist Point is located in the Wilderness Lodge, just a short boat trip from the Contemporary Resort.  It features cuisine and wines from the Pacific Northwest.  With dinner we enjoyed  a Chateau, Ste. Michelle 'Cold Creek', Columbia 04 Riesling ($42)
Lyd enjoyed a touch with a topiary of Mickey behind our hotel These boats run around Bay Lake from the Contemporary to The Wilderness Lodge to the Ft. Wilderness Campgrounds Smoky Portobello Soup with Roasted Shiitakes and Chive Oil ($7) was our significant  disappointment.  Long our favorite, this time it was too salty, too smoky and too thick. Lyd's Frisée Salad with heirloom apples, walnuts and aged white cheddar ($8) was very good.  It is shown, here, nearly finished, next to the not-to-be finished soup Tom's Grilled beef tenderloin with celery root mashed potatoes, sauteed Swiss chard and dried Cranberry-Espresso Sauce ($32) was excellent. Lyd's Braised Penn Cove Mussels with Fennel and Grilled Sourdough Toast ($12) was very good. Our waitress, Khatuna, is from Georgia and has been in the US for 7 years.