A Visit to Epcot

I was thinking about this in relation to reading I did on Epcot Central about many issues with that park, as well as past reading at other sites (like some posts at FutureProbe and discussions at MiceChat (which I link to from MiceAge).

Epcot is our favorite park. But when I asked my 8 year old son (who is a pretty smart kid in my opinion) what he likes best about Epcot, why it is his favorite park, his answer: "I like Test Track and Mission: Space, and my favorite ride is Soarin'." When I ask my younger son, he pretty much copies his older brother, but did add, "I like Spaceship Earth and the part where we push the buttons on the computer at the end and then watch the video."

Then I asked my wife. Her answer was that she loves the World Showcase and loves the dining options and the shops.

I thought about their answers, because they are all part of why it is my favorite park, too. But there's more to it for me. I love the ambience of World Showcase, the architecture (which FoxFurr over at Passport to Dreams writes about in this article entitled From Paris To Provinces). I love the dining choices, even if we have only tried the food at Mexico (food quality - fair), Japan (good), Italy at the restaurant that is gone now (good), Morocco (good), France (very good), and Canada (excellent). (We've also eaten at the Coral Reef but my wife was so sick that it put a damper on the experience and the Garden Grill (fair).)

I love the faux sense of culture you get as you walk through these pavilions. I love the Beatles tribute band. I love the show at The American Adventure. I love the look of Spaceship Earth. I enjoy the fireworks show (that is more than just fireworks), though my wife and kids are not crazy about fireworks in general. I love the themes of The Land and of The Seas, and I love the music as you walk through the park. I loved the fountain, too, though it was behind the renovation walls and I hope they are making it even better. I love the kinetic energy of the monorail as it loops through FutureWorld.

In other words, I just love the FEEL of the park. The attractions, the food, the ambience, the appearance, everything works to make it a unique Disney experience.

But one thing I noticed that I didn't really care that much about, nor did my kids or wife, was the educational aspect, or lack of it, in the pavilions. The Spaceship Earth ride was fine. It was interesting to listen to Dame Judi Dench detail the history of western civilization while observing the animatronic figures. And it was fun to do the computer thing at the end. But otherwise, what did I learn?

Not much, really. Living With The Land is an interesting ride through the greenhouses and such, but it feels so staged after the first couple of times through it. I didn't learn much at the Seas or at any of the other pavilions, nothing that I didn't know or that wasn't pretty superficial. (We did get to see a cochlear implant of the exact same model that Grandma wears, but not much else excited me or the family.)

The Museum of Science and Industry, and the Adler Planetarium (a fine attraction in Chicago, even if John McCain obviously didn't know what it really was when he referred to funding for their overhead projector during the campaign) probably do the "science education and inspiration" far better, and in far more depth, than Epcot does. Should it be that way? That's for others to argue about.

Even without the education aspects, Epcot is still a fine experience and it is and will likely remain my favorite park to visit on my Disney World excursions.

Disney Theme Parks and the Sense of Wonder

As I read my new book by Jeff Kurtti, I found myself very interested with some of his characterizations of the theme park embodied in Disneyland. Kurtti writes:

For Walt, Disneyland was a world seen through fantasy, a place of warmth and nostalgia, full of 'illusion and color and delight'. A 1953 proposal for Disneyland promised, "Like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass, to step through the portals of Disneyland will be like entering another world."

And further on:

In a sense, the Park is a form of "virtual reality," because it is a place that, although not real, creates its own reality.

Today, is there anything "real" about Disneyland? The parks at Walt Disney World? I mean, in the sense that people really suspend disbelief when they pass through the turnstiles? Or are we jaded and cynical to the point where nothing on Planet Disney can break through this shell?

I'm not talking simply about enjoyment; the parks are full of enjoyment for one and all. There's something there for everyone. But I find it hard to imagine that there is the same sense of wonder about the places that there probably was when they first opened.

I wasn't around then. I never went to Disneyland before 2008. And I only went to Disney World one time, that being in high school, when I visited with our high school band, and we drummers were more concerned with chasing girls from a band from the New England area than appreciating the park. (And that was in 1975!)

I'd love to experience these parks as something really new, something that had never been done, or even tried before. There is still some of that, since most places fall far short of the Disney ideal. Marriot's Great America (now Six Flags Great America) tried to theme their areas according to parts of the country, but as the big coasters invaded, the theming disappeared.

I love experiencing the parks today; I love seeing them through my sons' eyes, and I love the enthusiasm that they both have for discovering new and fun things about different parks. But I know I'm in a theme park, and not just academically.

Maybe I'm just too old. Maybe I've got too much life experience. But I do wish I could have seen them as those early visitors did, as something that didn't exist until Disneyland was opened by the visionary we call Walt Disney.

Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends - John Hench

I did purchase one book while at WDW in Florida - Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park - and I hoped it would provide some inspiration for both me and for my blog here.

A paragraph on John Hench resonated with me, considering the many discussions and articles I read online.

"But the resemblance to Walt didn't end just there," Sheila Hagen wrote. "He also had the same philosophy as Walt on how to operate Disneyland - not everything had to make money. He would point out that a popcorn wagon by itself would not make money, but in the long run, it would all even out. It was all about 'show,' about creating an environment that when the sum of its parts was totaled up, would create a richer and more satisfying experience."

It's a particularly relevant quote, considering how so many things at the Disney theme parks seem to be judged on how much revenue they produce and not on how much they support the overall 'show' at the park. I'm not privy to internal decision making, obviously, and I don't have specific examples, but I've read in many other blogs and in articles (by Kevin Yee, for example, on MiceAge), that things go away for no other reason than it isn't considered 'cost effective' to maintain them, apparently by some in management with a beancounter mentality.

John Hench wasn't one of those types, and neither was Walt Disney.

RIP Robert Broughton, 1917 to 2009

I noted in the Sunday Chicago Tribune that longtime Disney cameraman Robert "Bob" Broughton died on January 19th in Rochester, Minnesota, at the age of 91.

Some of the memorable camera effects Mr. Broughton helped create for Disney films included the penguin waiter scene in MARY POPPINS, where Dick Van Dyke danced with the animated penguins, and making Hayley Mills appear as twins in THE PARENT TRAP. He also worked on Hitchcock's THE BIRDS when the director contracted out the special effects work to the Disney studios.

Mr. Broughton retired from Disney in 1982, according to the Tribune obituary.

I see that there is also a post about Mr. Broughton at 2719 Hyperion.

Best Dining Experiences at Disney World

I qualify this entry by stating that I'm by no means a restaurant reviewer, nor do I play one in the blogosphere. I just know what I like, and sometimes I know why I like it. (Much like my commentaries on books, movies and music.)

So here's what I really liked. I was totally impressed with the meal at Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion of Epcot. The steak was done as well as the best places I've been in Chicago, including David Burke's, Wildfire, and Capital Grill. It was tender, juicy, and tasty. And the mushroom risotto is excellent as well. Of course their Canadian Cheddar and Ale soup (I don't remember the exact name) is a tasty treat. And their iced tea is nice and light; I could probably drink it without a sweetener.

I was also quite impressed with the California Grill. It's the first time we've eateh there, and I was a little disappointed that they couldn't accomodate us as far as a seat with a view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks, especially since we got there early and we had requested such a table when we made the reservation, then earlier in the day. (It was my birthday that day, and they were aware of that also.) We were a party of six, which makes it harder... But the food and service made up for it. Their soup was excellent. I could have made a meal out of just that. And the duck was sensational. It was pricy, no doubt, but it was also the best meal we had while there.

Our lunch at the Yak and Yeti was pretty darned good, as well. I had a dish which featured skewered shrimp, and I didn't leave a single one. I love the Asian flare there, and our service was almost as good as at the California Grill.

Other meal stops were the SciFi Drive In, Tony's, Chefs De France, and Portobello's in Downtown Disney. And we went offsite one night for a meal at a local Persian restaurant called Shiraz (on Westwood Blvd, just off of I-4 and north of DTD). The meal at Shiraz was excellent also.

I have to say, though, that we've had better service in all of those restaurants in the past. The service was excellent at California Grill, and at Yak and Yeti, and it was very good at the Sci Fi Drive In. I can't say that the service was BAD at any of the other Disney restaurants. It just was - well, maybe uninspired is a good word. In the past, even when the food was pedestrian, the service has been outstanding.

I regret not sampling either of the dining establishments at our home resort, Jiko or Boma. Next time.

UAL and Disney's Magical Express

I guess my title could be a bit confusing, because there is no link between these two items. But I wanted to touch on both things, and figured I could do so in a combined post.

First, DME. I love this service. It makes that Disney feeling start right at the airport. It really feels, to us at least, like you're being transported to somewhere very special.

I love the convenience of the transportation to and from the airport, and for us, it has always worked flawlessly. It is so nice to not have to handle our baggage from the moment we check it in Chicago to the moment we pick up our bags at the carousel back in Chicago. This is especially true since my wife is the classic over-packer. We almost move in when we go somewhere. I'd be okay with a small carry-on sized case myself, but hey! I'm a guy! In any case, on this trip we had six full sized suitcases for 4 adults and 2 children. Plus carry-ons.

We did rent a car, as soon as we could upon arriving in Orlando. We got to our hotel, found our room, and then went right down to meet the Alamo shuttle. And a nice Dodge Caravan mini-van was waiting for us. (Not a bad car - beat the heck out of the Ford Windstar we got the last time we were a bigger group.) Early morning reservations at character dining at the Contemporary (this trip) and Polynesian (last couple of trips) are much easier to make if you don't have to depend on the Disney inter-resort shuttles. And late nights at the parks become a little more palatable when you don't have to carry a six year old off the shuttle because it was a 20 minute wait to get on the thing, and then another 30 minutes to get back to the hotel. Drop off was convenient, too. We all got in, dropped it off at the Car Care Center, and the Alamo shuttle took us straight to Epcot for our last day of park visits.

I'd recommend the DME to anyone if for no other reason than the baggage handling.

Now onto United: We were supposed to fly out at 12:35 pm, so we had to get the shuttle at 9 am. Which meant a pretty early wake up time (6 am for my wife, and thus for me...). But after being loaded on the flight, we were removed after 1 1/2 hours. Mechanical difficulties. (No air conditioning during most of that hour and a half, either.) So we are finally told that we'll be on a plane from LA, and will depart at 6:30 pm. This works for me. Except that THAT flight also had mechanical difficulties. They finally cancel our flight completely at around 7 or 7:30 pm. Give us vouchers for a hotel (offsite, of course) and meal vouchers. We are told that we will be on a 6 am flight in the morning. And it sounds like this isn't guaranteed - they have to have a plane available to fly us out on, and it sounds like they're counting on being able to get one of the two planes with mechanical difficulties from our original flights ready to fly. If not, who knows? Great. With all six bags that we didn't want to touch till we got back to Chicago, and two small kids in tow, we're supposed to get up to catch the 4 am shuttle back to the airport.

Well, we made it. But what a stressful, downer way to end the trip.

But we will definitely be back. Probably sooner than later.

Disney Vacation

Okay, we're back. I must say, it was probably the worst Disney vacation I've had, though not for anything Disney did. And since most of our Disney vacations have been great, being "the worst" is not necessarily bad. But...still...

First there was the stresses of worrying about the weather, and whether we were going to get airborn on Saturday the 17th. Well, the weather cooperated. So we found ourselves a-wing to MCO Orlando, and the magic of Disney.

Which, for me, starts the minute you get to that Disney Magical Express line. We boarded our bus bound for Animal Kingdom Lodge, and off we went. My kids watch the video with the enthusiasm they usually reserve for their video games, so even THAT seems magical.

The hotel was gorgeous. It's a fabulous place, and we were the only ones on the bus going there, so the driver was telling us about the restaurants (which we didn't get to eat at on this trip) and the animals and such. The lobby is spectacular, right up there with the decor of the Polynesian (up until now, our favorite resort, and it still may be), and the grounds are just as nice.

The service at the front desk was good, but not as good as I'm used to at Disney. There were little things they didn't give us - like our "Perks" book, and no one said "Welcome Home" like they always have everywhere else we've stayed since buying into the DVC. The concierge service was good; we haven't had much occasion to use the ones at the other hotels, but this time we needed to get park tix for Grandma and Grandpa.

Our room was fabulous, but then it should have been - we treated ourselves and the grandparents to a two room DVC villa. The views were good. We could see the animals out in front of our window every morning, though we could see the fences that enclosed them clearly. No illusion there. Those animals weren't going to be roaming off the grounds.

We rented a car that night and headed right to a park. Most stuff was pretty much walk-on, which was what we were hoping for during the week. It was a nice night, too...cool but not cold.

But of course, as the week went on, the temps dropped, and on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, it was actually pretty darned cold outside. And it was CROWDED! Everywhere we went it seemed like there were crowds. Lots and lots (and lots and lots) of tours, many from Brazil. Those tour directors were standing in the Fastpass lines, with stacks of tickets, collecting Fastpasses for their group members. I guess that, coupled with the holiday on Monday, was enough to boost the crowds, but still... None of the popular rides was what I'd call "walk-on", except for Big Thunder Mountain for a while on Wednesday morning when we got to the Magic Kingdom early.

It did finally warm up on Friday, and we spent a great day at Epcot, topped off by a really good dinner at Le Cellier. And that night was Extra Magic Hours at Epcot, so that would have been nice, if we weren't leaving on Saturday at 9 am. But as it was, we had to get back to the resort to pack, and we had an early wakeup call, so even though my boys were whining about having to leave "so early" (it probably was still close to 9 pm when we left), we closed the books on our Disney vacation.

I'd write now about the flight, but this is long and I have to move on. So I'll save that mild horror story for another post, maybe Wednesday.