Month: January 2016
Location: Orlando
“We make people
happy” – Walt Disney
One of my earliest memories in life is my dad getting me a ‘Walt Disney’ comic book. I had never seen a comic before and from that
day onward; I fell in love with the world of ‘Disney’. Over the years as
I followed the exploits of “Mickey &
Donald” in comics and TV shows, I learnt about the magical place called ‘Disneyworld’. I quickly put that on my list of places that
I wanted to visit, but it never quite happened. I came close though a few years ago. I had gone to Orlando with some buddies, but
while we visited Universal Studios’
and ‘Epcot Center’, ‘Disneyworld’ did not make the cut. As my involvement with ‘Make-A-Wish’ started, as a ‘Wish
Granter’ it became apparent that ‘Disneyworld’
was by far the most popular destination for the kids. “I am
going to Disneyworld”, has become one of the more iconic statements and I
have even had the privilege of having heard it in person. But even then my turn never came; until now, since I had decided to make Florida my
destination for January.
Well, technically I landed here on December 31st. But I am sure we can overlook that. I took a cab to my hotel and as soon as I
entered inside, I was greeted by a huge sea of Blue and Gold. "Michigan Football Team" was playing a ‘Bowl’ game in Orlando this weekend and
their fans had taken over the hotel. I
dropped off my stuff and then asked the concierge for some lunch ideas. He dispatched me to an area that was 5 minutes
away, and to a Cuban place called ‘Cuba
Libre’. When I arrived there, I learnt that it was only open for dinner and
so I made a reservation for my last night in town. Around me there were several choices and I
went to a British pub called, well, “The
Pub”.
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| My first stop before visiting the parks |
After lunch I had some time to spare before my evening plans
and decided to go to the nearby ‘Ripley’s
Believe It Or Not Museum’. Now,
there are several such museums across the country, but I doubt if they are
inside a building that looks like it is sinking in the ground, because that’s
how the exterior of this one appears. The
museum itself is as quirky as you can expect, and full of trivia around every
corner. I spent a little over an hour
here and was thoroughly entertained in doing so. I called an ‘Uber’ to head to my next destination, which was ‘Epcot Center’. On a December 31st in another
lifetime I had come here, and the “New
Year’s” celebration had been spectacular.
Around a central pond of ‘Epcot’
are arranged zones celebrating different Nations of the world. Each section has been setup according to the
prevailing customs of the region, its food and drinks and of course a shopping
area. I remember that at midnight there
had been spectacular fireworks, starting near the region that was furthest
East, since they welcomed the ‘New Year’
first and working all the way West towards the US. It had been fantastic and one of the reasons
why I had chosen tonight as a time to be at ‘Epcot’.
 |
| The signature globe of 'Epcot' |
My ‘Uber’ driver
was a friendly chap and we chatted about being here for the ‘New Year’s’. He dropped me off at the entrance, just as
twilight was beginning to set in, and I could already see a lot of people
starting to come in. Whenever one see’s
a picture of ‘Epcot’, what stands out
is the giant globe, which has become a signature landmark for the park. Inside the orb is actually a ride called “Spaceship Earth” and while there was a
line to get in, it wasn’t too bad. Soon
I was inside the building an onto a moving car which takes one on a spiral
journey all the way through the inside of the globe, climbing up to the apex
and then back down. As one goes on this travel, the sides have displays of the history of civilization, all the way from the “Stone Age”, through the “Renaissance” and “Industrial Revolution”, to the present “Tech Era” complete with mannequins and sound effects. It was dark when
I emerged from the globe and the number of people had also doubled. After a couple of other rides which moving
cars as well, I was ready for the ‘World
Showcase’ section.
It was still early, but people had already started
assembling around the central pond in preparation for the fireworks that were
still hours away. I started at the ‘Canadian’ area and their famous 360
degree “Circle Vision”. We were taken to a room with screens all
around us and a Canadian tourism film was shown using all those screens
disparately, giving one a truly immersive experience. After the film, my next goal was to find some
food. As I passed the ‘British’ zone, I saw a line which
seemed like it was a mile long, and it was for the only true cuisine of England
– “Fish and Chips”. The ‘French’
area looked charming as one would expect from a place in France. What it did have was a long line for food…a
really long line. However, looking at
the goodies inside, I decided to wait and after a good 20-30 minutes I reached
the counter, where I proceeded to order the classics like “Lobster Bisque”, “Croque
Monsieur”, “Crème Brule” and a
glass of Champagne of course. This I
proceeded to eat standing next to a garbage can since that was the only open
spot. I could feel the weight of
disappointing all the French Chefs whose food I have enjoyed over the years!
 |
| Personalized Calligraphy at 'Mitsukoshi' |
I continued making my way around the pond and stopped at a
store called ‘Mitsukoshi’ in the ‘Japanese’ section. They advertised as being in business since
1673, though I’m sure they meant in Japan, not here. It is an all-purpose General store with lot
of traditional Japanese gift items and when I purchased a fan, the lady even
inscribed it in Japanese calligraphy. I
continued making my way through the ever growing crowd and there was a party
going on at every station, with music and lasers. I saw a unique concept where people had been
handed headphones of 2 different colors and they were listening to one of 2 ‘DJ's’ who was wearing their particular
color. The interesting thing was that
only they could hear the music and the rest of the folks watching them had no
idea why they were dancing wildly. Plus,
because there were 2 different beats, people were going into their frenzy at
different moments and it was fun to watch.
I wanted to try it out, but there was a huge line for one of these
headphones and I would have had to wait till dawn for my turn. It was coming up to 11 pm and I made a
decision.
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| The "Silent DJ" party |
I had come here tonight for the fireworks, but many other people had a similar idea. It was going to be a big party, meaning exiting the park afterwards would take hours. Furthermore, finding a cab and getting back to the room would be another few hours, leaving me a couple of hours to sleep before my big day tomorrow. So I decided to leave. I asked for directions to get out of the park without going back the same way that I had come, and I was guided down a path which took me around the back of all the rides where every few hundred feet or a so, a poor employee had been stationed to give directions. A lonely job if there ever was one. It took me over 30 minutes to get out and find a cab. As we drove away I saw hundreds of cars on the expressway on their way to downtown. There was no way these people would make it there in time. I arrived at my hotel at the stroke of midnight, just as the first wave of fireworks would have commenced at ‘Epcot’. Would I have loved to have stayed - of
course. But not at the expense of what I
had planned for tomorrow.
To Be Continued…
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