After Celebration VI, our next stop was Disney World. On our first day to Disney, we went to my
favorite Disney park, Epcot! :D I went to Disney World back when I was six and it had been my favorite park then(strange that a six year old would pick that park as their favorite, but I know why :) ).
We got up early that morning and drove to Epcot. When we got there, the parking lot was pretty empty which was surprising.
Neat sign :)
Kind of funny to see Disney and Epcot on road signs
Entrance into Epcot
I remember the ball back when I was six and thinking it looked like a golf ball(I still do, in fact). It was kind of weird coming here again at first since I remembered it but it seemed quite different at times.
My sister, brother, and I in front of the ball.
Water fall near the ball
We were going to start with the World Showcase first thing since there was a high chance of rain that day but since it didn't open till later, we spent our time riding some of the rides and watching videos. The first thing we road was Soarin'(which I'll talk about later) but since my Mom couldn't ride it the first time since my brother wouldn't do it we rode it again later by getting an Express pass.
The Land
Imagination! Ride
We could see part of Canada but it was closed till 10:00
This was really neat- the water leaped from blue/red circle to blue/red circle. It was relaxing to watch.
We rode the Imagination! ride which I thought was pretty funny but my brother didn't and kept freaking out(several shows and rides scared him). After we rode the ride, you could play around in this science area that explored the senses. After this ride we went and watched the short Science Fiction film(George Lucas was executive producer) Captain EO which starred Michael Jackson. Being a sucker for anything science fiction, I enjoyed the movie even though it was cheesy.
Baby duck
The sign to the Soarin' Ride(why does it have to leave out the G? Why?). It was really cool and fun to ride. It's like being in a hang-glider and flying over various areas of the US. They even had wind effects, sound effects, and scents that matched what we saw happening on the large screen. When we first rode the ride, we had technical difficulties so we had to wait for a bit in our seats. After that we watched a video with the Lion King that talked about preserving the environment(a good message). Then we went and rode "The Land" ride.
They grow a variety of plants here from all over the world.
They also have a plethora of animals like fish and alligators. They even had eels.
I think my Mom wanted one of those white swirling things with plants on them :).
The Earth
We were finally able to do the World Showcase and this time we decided to go in the opposite direction then we did last time. We started with Canada and looked at the different shops and even watched a video about Canada. One part of the vid I really liked was when they were showing famous people from the country and they showed people like Avril Lavigne and Hayden Christensen(I yelled 'Hayden!' when I saw him pop up on the screen XD).
Me in front of a telephone booth. I really wish I could have found a police box but sadly they didn't have any at Epcot.
I remember this area from when I was six.
Pretty garden
If you haven't noticed yet, I'd like to point out that I'm wearing my favorite shirt- the Obi-Wan Kenobi t-shirt I got for Christmas! :D I love the shirt! :D
Canadian trading post
We decided that as we went from country to country that we would take a picture wearing a hat from each place. Here's me in a Canadian ball cap.
Our next stop in the showcase was the amazing country of England! :D(there was also Scotland, Ireland, and Wales stuff in the shops). I love England so I was excited to be there. I also have ancestry from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales for that was cool too :D
Look, I'm at Buckingham Palace!(kidding)
"Keep Calm and Carry On"
While we were in a shop, we saw that Mary Poppins, Pooh, and Tigger were signing autographs. My Mom held us a spot in line for Pooh and Tigger and hopped into the short line for Mary Poppins. She was really nice and she knew that my sister and I weren't twins!!!!!!! YES! Finally someone who knows we aren't twins! She said we looked enough alike to be sisters but not twins. We actually got to talk to her for a bit and that was pretty neat.
My sister, brother, and I with Mary Poppins
I had brought my old autograph book I'd gotten when I was six with me to Disney so I had all my old and new autographs in there now :).
My brother getting Tigger's autograph.
Me giving Pooh a hug :) Even though I'm a teenager, I still love Winnie the Pooh(I grew up with it). :) I'd gotten their autographs when I was six but I wanted to get them again so I did :). Back then, we had done the character breakfast at the Crystal palace. When Pooh had come by our table(my sister had on a Pooh hat) he plucked my sister's hat off her head and tried putting it on himself. We laughed so hard at that! XD We also marched around the room which was really fun! :D I wish I could post pictures of my last trip. When I get them, I'll post them on here :)
My sister, brother, and I with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger
My parents got a picture too
Me in a hat from England
My siblings and I on a street in England. I loved how they had everything set up. It was all really pretty and well done :).
My sister, brother, and I getting Alice's autograph.
Our picture with Alice. She was quite pretty :)
On our way to France. I have French ancestry as well so that was really neat! :D I really wish I could visit all of Europe.
France
Marie from "The Aristocats" movie
When we got to France it rained several time(which it did periodically throughout the day). That wasn't much fun :p
Me in a French hat :)
Morocco. I really like how they did this place- it's so pretty. :)
Morocco and other places like it have really unique art and ways of making things. I love how diverse the world is :)
My siblings and I on the streets of Morocco
A Temple
Garments worn in Morocco
Me in a hat from Morocco
Me in a Fez(Doctor Who fans will get it). >:)
Arriving in Japan. This was my sister's favorite country(she loves all things Japan) but since we were in a hurry to get to Germany(we had reservations at one of the places for lunch). We did come back later and look around longer at everything.
I love this shot my Mom got- it's so cool! :)
Streets of Japan
Stone Samurai statue
They had a neat museum that talked about how the folklore had evolved into the anime we know today. All very interesting.
Passing through the United States section. We came back later and looked around.
Birds
Passing through Italy.
Germany!!! Since my family and I have quite a lot of German ancestry I thought this was a cool place. Both my parents have been to Germany and they say it's a wonderful place. I hope to go someday.
My siblings and I before the restaurant we ate at.
Inside the German restaurant. The place had a lot of great German food and the chef came out to tell us what my Mom and I could and couldn't have. He even brought us some bread rolls, fish, cookies, brownies, and chocolate bars for us. He was very nice and stood and talked with us for awhile. :)
I LOVE German food!!! I've always loved eating it and getting some from here was pretty cool. My favorite German dishes are Spaetzle and Schnitzel(my Mom makes really good dishes of both of the above) but really I love it all. They had especially good pudding- I must have had four bowls :).
Band playing at the German restaurant.
My siblings and I in Germany.
My little brother in a German hat
Me in a German(Mickey Mouse) hat.
German Mickey Mouse Soccer Ball
Replica town.
We went back to Japan and I took a picture in this Japanese hat. My sister bought herself a Pikachu backpack from the shop and my brother got a Power Rangers set(we'd got a Christmas ornament at an earlier place). Japan definitely has awesome stuff!! :D It's definitely my second place to visit after Europe.
While in the Japan shop, my sister saw a place where you could try on and buy real Kimonos. My sister of course wanted to try one on. She put on this one(a summer one, if I remember correctly). She wasn't able to buy it but hopefully she can get it either for her birthday or for Christmas.
Several Katanas on display. I love Japanese swords- did you know that the Katana is what a lightsaber is based off of?
Japanese garden
Stopping in Italy.
An Italian town.
Statue of Neptune
Me in my hat from Italy.
When we went back to the US we watched a short video on America. Here I am in my hat from America.
Next stop was China. I was disappointed because we missed the times for getting an autograph for Mulan but I still looked looking at China's places- it was all really pretty.
The three of us standing in front of a Chinese temple.
I love this picture.
Army of thousands. Really cool replica.
China
Me in a Chinese hat (why do I have my hands clasped like that? I don't like it when I see that. -_-)
Leaving China.
Entering Norway. Norway is another special place for us since
we have quite a lot of Norwegian ancestry(I also have ancestry from Sweden, Finland, and Denmark). In fact, my great, great, great Grandfather came from Norway to the United States. So yes, I am a Viking(or a Valkyrie...how about BOTH)!! Mwhahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD
My sister, brother, and I with a Viking. Last time we came to Disney ate at the Norwegian place- I remember trying Goat Cheese while there. Inside the above building is a small museum about Vikings which you'll see a picture of in a little bit.
Me dressed up in as a Viking. (this counted as my hat from Norway)
Us three Vikings before a Troll. (My brother with blond braids XD).
The Viking museum was pretty neat. I really liked the fact that they had the Lord of the Rings soundtrack playing!!! :D Oh, and I want that shield.
Our last place on the World Showcase was Mexico. Since we were running short on time and since we'd been to Mexico(well, not my brother, but he was born in Guatema) we didn't stay too long. However, we did get pictures with hats from there(here's me in a huge sombrero)
Pretty sure this is a Mayan temple(which is pretty cool since my brother is Mayan).
Once we had finished the World Showcase, I made sure we went and rode "Mission Space". I had ridden this ride back when I was six and loved it so I of course wanted to ride it again(apparently, they'd added a less intense version of the ride so I road the more intense one both times! XD). Okay so I'll say that THIS IS THE BEST RIDE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've decided that simulation rides are my favorite and this one is the coolest!! :D Basically you are in a training mission and are preparing to land on the planet Mars. My Dad, sister, and I all went and rode it- since we only had three people in our shuttle and since you need four people I had to, once again, push two buttons(the same thing had happened when I was six- though that time it was my Dad and this other guy we didn't know). I've always had a fascination with space so feeling as if I was taking off from the Earth's surface and traveling to the world of Mars was so exhilerating. I was assigned the roles of Navigator and Pilot, my sister was the Commander, and my Dad was the Engineer(fitting since he's an engineer in real life). In the ride you take off, you go into a hyper-sleep, you have to to navigate around a field of asteroids around the planet, fly over the planet, before crashing near the end of a Martian cliff. I kept yelling with glee during the ride it was so awesome!! I could have ridden it another ten times but we didn't have time for that. Though, it was just as awesome as I remember it being!!! If you ever go to Epcot RIDE THIS RIDE!!! :D :D :D
Next we rode the ride "Spaceship Earth" which takes place in the large ball. It was a really cool ride as well and I loved doing it. We explored the world's, and human's, history. At one point it mentioned Neil Armstrong and I heard his famous "One small step for man- one giant leap for mankind". Since this was the day after his death, I actually started crying a little bit when I heard him :'(.
The ball at night is so very pretty; I love the vibrant lights.
The clouds look like those of a Tornado storm.
Before leaving the park, we watched the night-time firework show. It was pretty neat and the music was great! :D
It was late by the time we got back to the condo and we were all very tired. And our shoes were wet. Though we all enjoyed ourselves and were looking forward to the next day.
Sorry it took so long to post this- it takes a lot of time to upload photos. I hope you enjoyed reading the post! :D
May the Force be with you....Always :)
Jedi Shena Tokala signing out
