Mission Space, one of many rides I skipped.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
Each year Anne and I take one (1) road trip to a different part of the United States and see attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home. One thing we rarely do is fly. We’d much rather drive than be flown unless we absolutely have to…or are given some pretty sweet incentives to do so. Fast-forward to December 2022 and a most unexpected opportunity: The Powers That Be at Anne’s rather large place of employment recognized her and several other employees nationwide for outstanding achievements in the field of excellence. Their grand prize was a Disney World vacation! We could at last announce to friends and family, “THE GOLDENS ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!”
For Anne it was officially, legally a business trip. Much of the time, she’d have to work. Not ME, baby…
Touring EPCOT solo felt less lonely and awkward as the day wore on and I got used to it. I couldn’t linger too much longer, though. Anne’s company had scheduled a celebratory dinner for all employees and their plus-ones at 5 p.m. The exact location was TBA, traditionally kept secret every year until hours beforehand. One of Anne’s coworkers was a previous winner whose shindig was held in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. There was no guaranteed hers would do the same, but if it were, that would mean we’d indeed get to see all four Disney parks in Orlando on the same trip. We crossed our fingers and hoped for the convenience.
In the meantime, I had a few more sections of EPCOT to see.
EPCOT’s World Showcase area continued with Disney’s Norway!
The Norway pavilion is the home of their Frozen ride, but the wait was an hour long and my time was growing short.
Salute to Norwegian runner Grete Waitz, a longtime marathon veteran and Olympic Silver Medal winner.
I failed to get an establishing shot of Disney’s Mexico. This art was my first pic in that pavilion.
Live music courtesy of Mariachi Cobre.
Plaza de Los Amigos is the place to be for Mexican souvenirs, Day of the Dead paraphernalia, or merch from Pixar’s Coco.
Skulls for sale.
Not for sale: Sugar Skull Wall, a 2017 installation by Alba Hernandez Santiago, an artist from Oaxaca.
Still more skulls hung from a tree of orange leis.
Another 2017 piece, Bridal Couple by Felipe Linares Mendoza.
I understand they put on quite the Day of the Dead celebration every year.
Unofficial special features around the Wold Showcase Lagoon included ibises…
…and an actual egret. Florida welcomed so many birds we don’t see ’round the retention pond behind our house.
Back in the vicinity of gift shops sans specific nationality, Marvel fans can now fill their entire kitchen with logos.
One of many shops commemorating Disney World’s 50th anniversary.
I am Groot!
I was pretty tired by the time I reached the World Discovery section, filled with thrill rides such as the Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind.
…and my one-man walkabout wrapped up around 3:00. I boarded the monorail and headed back to the Grand Floridian for some much-needed rest. Maybe I’d return one day, but I wept lightly inside, for there would be no new EPCOT worlds to conquer.
Well…at least I thought I would weep. At precisely 2:00 Anne had texted me from one of her mandatory work meetings to inform me the location of the celebratory dinner had been revealed unto all guests at last.
The night’s festivities would be held at EPCOT. So I would, in fact, return much sooner than anticipated, for better or worse.
To be continued!
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Spotted on my way out: a 16-foot acrylic fountain installed in December 2020. Farewell for a couple hours, EPCOT!