[LLaffinPlace]

Day 5, Part 3 - February 10, 2002: An Illuminating Tapestry

We strolled counterclockwise around World Showcase to Germany, and walked through the shops, and then turned around and headed back towards the American Adventure (AA). We were in time for the Fife and Drum Corps, and then heard Voices of Liberty prior to the show--a wonderful interlude. They performed "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor" (as fond as I am of this song, it was somewhat ironic for theme park goers [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ) and "Oh, Susannah".

After AA, we went to Norway and rode Maelstrom. Deciding that it was cooling off, we made our way to the exit to head back to the WL to retrieve our jackets in preparation for Illuminations. We stopped in at MouseGear on the way and I bought gel pens for my journal. [I should explain that it has black pages and that it takes a gel pen to write in it legibly; I bought a couple at the MK last year, but this year I could hardly find a decent gel pen in 4 parks, Downtown Disney, and several resorts! [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img] ] Our bus was a while coming; although we didn't wait that long, others had waited a lot longer. They were pretty good-natured about it and joked a bit; there was in fact talk of hijacking a tram.... [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[I should take a moment to mention that before the trip we had prepared envelopes for "Mousekeeping" (AKA Housekeeping) for daily tips. These had the date and a picture of the resort where we were staying. We left the one dated for a particular day out when we left the room for the park in the morning. Also, Bob had a Sorceror's Apprentice Mickey beanie, and early on I had purchased a 2002 "Ears to You" Mickey (I told you I'd explain later [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] ). Thus, we had set the stage for what we found when we returned.]

Once back at WL, we return to the room and what should we find, but the Mickeys splayed out on my bed, covered with towels (washcloths) with a bottle of lotion between them--they're at the spa! Really cute. I'll take a picture before taking it apart. I pulled my shoes off, had a couple pieces of candy (chocolate with peanut butter [img]graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] ) some water, and got caught up in my journal. It was nice to sit for a while because I am a bit tired today.

Refreshed, we caught the bus back to Epcot. We grabbed a pretzel each in Germany while waiting for the Tapestry of Dreams (ToD) parade to start. We had seen Tapestry of Nations (ToN) the previous year and we looking forward to seeing this one. We were very close to where the parades started and stopped. [For anyone who did not follow that, there are actually two parades that start from different spots and the first ends where the second started out.] If you pick a place to watch near here, then you can see more parade!

Earlier we had found the Annual Pass (AP) viewing area for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth (fireworks display) for this evening. It was not the little island across from Italy as it often is, but just to the right facing the World Showcase Lagoon because there was a wedding and a reception occupying the island tonight (we pumped the CM on duty for the info [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] ). We thoroughly enjoyed the ToD parade--I was delighted that they had kept a lot of the elements from ToN, especially the revolving drums, which are just too [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img] for words. The puppets interacted a lot, particularly with the kids. We saw the end of the other parade too, and then made our way to the AP viewing area and wiped some of the water off the wall (it had been sprinkling) and perched for the 15 minute or so wait for the fireworks. Woohoo! Still a stunner and probably the best view of the show that I have had. Afterward, we were quite disappointed that the bakery in Norway was closed !

We made our way to the bus stop with the horde, and once again I enjoyed the fiber optic lights embedded in the sidewalk. What a neat effect. We waited for the bus for about 15 to 20 minutes. A WL bus--fully loaded--pulled out just as we had arrived at the stop. It was sprinkling as it had been throughout the parade and fireworks, but never enough to bother with my jacket's hood.

Back at the WL, Bob called his sister Marti to bring her up-to-date and to check on her schedule--no change. We went down to the Mercantile and I bought a disposable camera, which I used to take a picture of "The Mickeys at the Spa", and then we were off to RF for iced brownies as our snack/dessert. Then up to the room to crash for the night. Another great day! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Coming Up: More Fantasy, But The Real World Intervenes

[ 03-09-2002, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: LLaffinPlace ]