We enjoyed the beautiful flowers, listened to a lecture on herbs, and wished Jonathan had been with us in the butterfly garden. We almost tried out the new ride, Soaring, open only to passholders, but it broke down while we were in line and we chose not to wait. We had waited two hours in a similar situation with Test Track before it opened, and once was more than enough.
Wandering in a desultory fashion around the park, we made sure to take in a few old favorites before bidding farewell for the foreseeable future to EPCOT, our favorite Disney park. Having heard that the movie at China had been updated, we had to see it. At the risk of being an old stick in the mud, I like the old movie better. It actually seemed like China. In this one there is much more emphasis on China as a cosmopolitan country—lots of views of modern Shanghai and Hong Kong, and emphasis on European influence. Their exultation in having acquired Macao and Hong Kong was also a little unpleasant.
While we were waiting for the movie, we browsed their store. I was intrigued by the CD's they had to offer, but lost respect for the clerk when he insisted a CD that included a hymn to Chairman Mao was "traditional Chinese music."
My hands-down favorite EPCOT movie is Impressions de France, which I believe hasn't changed since we started coming 20 years ago. I have to see it every time we go to EPCOT. The music is fantastic, and I get the feeling the French are proud to show us their country; if we like it, fine, but otherwise it's our loss.
I wonder why Disney keeps exporting my least favorite park? Why is it always "Disneyland" Hong Kong, or Paris, or whatever? Not that I've ever been to any of them, but I assume they are mostly similar to the Magic Kingdom. EPCOT is Disney's best park, I think (Animal Kingdom second), although it has gone downhill markedly in the past 5 years or so. It was always the girls' favorite park, too, even when they were five and two years old.
It's a good thing our passes have expired, as we can't afford being able to go there for free. We spend to much at the restaurants. This time we ate lunch in Italy, at L'Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante. We weren't left with much appetite for dinner, but managed an appetizer and dessert (along with the fabulous mint tea) at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco. Our first choice had been Akershus in Norway, which used to have a fabulous smorgasbord. Unfortunately, it has been taken over entirely by "character dining." We were assured, "the food is still the same," but we were definitely not in the mood for "a princess experience." It didn't seem to fit with the Viking atmosphere, somehow.
I can't say that any Disney park is worth the extravagant ticket prices, and can't honestly recommend Disney World to anyone who must pay for admission. It can be pretty nice, however, if you manage to get in for free, and I truly will miss some aspects of EPCOT. The restaurants are good, and World Showcase has a pleasant, cosmopolitan atmosphere, albeit somewhat artificial. Certainly in no place outside of the Boston subway have I heard so many different languages, spoken by the foreign nationals who work at EPCOT and the great variety of international tourists.
