Day 1231: All the Spaceship Earth

My mom was making fun of me lately for how many pictures of Spaceship Earth I take while in the park, and she's right, I do take a lot. Usually I'm stocking up on pictures to use for Spaceship Earth Sunday on Instagram, but when it comes down to it, I have more pictures of Spaceship Earth than anything else at Walt Disney World, I'm positive. I figured it might be fun, then, to count up how many I have from my last trip in January, and the number is sort of amusing.

Any guesses?

One Hundred and Sixty pictures of Spaceship Earth...in one trip. Now, that's counting every picture that has Spaceship Earth in it at all, including both interior pictures and those with me in the picture as well, but the large majority of them are of the exterior of the attraction. Other trips are relatively the same, especially since I got my first iPhone, which quickly enabled me to take even more pictures of Spaceship Earth.

This habit goes much further back than January of 2016 though, as I definitely remember the days when I'd have my parents, especially my Dad, take pictures of Spaceship Earth for me, or when I'd take them myself with one of my first cameras. In fact, my Dad was taking plenty of pictures of Spaceship Earth even before I came along!

It's not just pictures either, because there's definitely a good collection of video of Spaceship Earth as well, which I'll be counting up soon, and with our estimate of somewhere around 175 trips on the big golf ball to date, I suppose none of this should come as a surprise. 

Maybe one of these days I'll try to actually count up how many pictures I have in total of Spaceship Earth, but if we consider 160 to be a typical number in recent years, I can only imagine how many hundreds or even thousands I've taken in my lifetime. 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1149: Pesticides

Here we go again with the whole environmental science class correlating with something I've learned at Disney World. This time, my studies bring me to Epcot, specifically The Land, where I've heard for years and years about how they're working to find natural ways to control pests instead of the pesticides, which was the topic in my class not long ago. So basically, while we watched a movie about the book Silent Spring, I sat there thinking about Ladybugs.

Disney is actually doing a lot of really great stuff in regards to environmental science though, and the Land is just filled with new growing techniques that are more fruitful, natural, and better on the environment, all of which is needed in today's society. It's been a while since I've headed on the Behind the Seeds tour in The Land, although these pictures are rather recent since my mom took the tour this past January. Who knows, maybe after taking Environmental Science this semester I'll have to go on the tour myself in May!

Here are some behind the scenes pictures from The Land though!

The Land is definitely one of the most underrated areas of Walt Disney World if you ask me, and honestly it was kind of sad to see how the entire pavilion looked this past January while Soarin' is closed. It seems that heading there isn't worth while these days unless there's a thrill attraction involved, even if we really could learn something by going there. 

Have a magical day, and be sure to check out the Land the next time you're at Epcot! 

Day 1111: Exclusive

I just realized that it's Day 1111, and for those of you who don't know, I tend to see 11:11 everyday, twice a day. It's literally like a curse.

Either way, we're here to talk about something much more fun than some sort of curse! Try the Test Track Lounge instead! I'm lucky enough to have some great friends in the Disney community, where I've definitely learned that it's all about who you know. Thanks to a friend of a friend, we had the chance to head up to the VIP Private Chevrolet GM Lounge (long name, I know) that's usually reserved for employees and special guests. Luckily I can share just a bit of the experience with you!

The lounge is made up of two areas once you get upstairs via elevator, the front area (on the left) and then the outside window area (right). In the front area there's some brilliant seating and then two custom design stations as well as a receptionist desk and a soda/coffee bar. A connecting hallway then opens into the outside area that features the wall-length window looking out to future world, and let me tell you, the view is absolutely AMAZING. 

Not only do you have one of the best views of Spaceship Earth in the world, but you're also able to look out to all of Future World (you can see The Land and Imagination on the left), and then down below to the outdoor loop from the attraction, which shakes more than you'd imagine. The cars also go by much faster than you'd think, as even when I put my phone in slow motion video with 120 frames per second, the car still seemed to race by. 

From there we learned just about everything there is to know about Test Track, as well as a few other Future World Pavilions before heading onto the attraction for a quick ride through (we even skipped designing our car and went right on), which pretty much made the whole experience feel absolutely exclusive and VIP-like. 

I can't even describe how awesome it felt to be able to head up to the lounge, and I can't wait for the DVC lounge to open in the Imagination Pavilion so I can see more of the Undiscovered Future World (I really should go on that tour too). Thank you so much to my friends who made this trip to the lounge possible! I'll have to repay the favor once that DVC lounge is open! 

Have a magical day! 

(Note: This blog post was written on December 24 due to travel).

Day 1006: Watching It Grow

For some reason, I'm in a Spaceship Earth kind of mood today. Maybe it's just because I miss home despite the fact that I have less than 100 days left now until my return, or maybe it's because I think about Spaceship Earth far more than I probably should, but I figured it would be a great time to take advantage of those thoughts and share a few Spaceship Earth Videos with you! Plus, that makes this blog post an extention of the birthday celebrations from the other day!

Even back in the day Disney was thinking about making YouTube videos! Just kidding, but this time-lapse video of the creation of Spaceship Earth is pretty darn awesome!

Want to learn the entirety of the narration by heart like I did? You can find a recording of the current version right here! 

Pre-2007 Spaceship Earth more your style? Same here! Check out this recording and reflect on the memories of 1994-2007 (aka my entire childhood). 

Want to learn more about how Spaceship Earth was created? You can find "The Spaceship Earth Story" right here and learn about how this meraculous spaceship came to be! 

And finally, if you want to go even further back, check out this 1994 recording ot Spaceship Earth! 

Just like communication itself, Spaceship Earth has come a long, long way since 1982, and I'm sure it will continue long into the future. IN FACT, I've been so inspired by Spaceship Earth through my personal experience and reflecting on the attraction through thi blog post that you can probably expect to see a YouTube video about it sometime soon! 

Have a magical day!

Day 534: 24 Epcot Hours

Remember back last year when I decided that my blog provided a good way to continue procrastination on my homework? If you don't remember what I'm talking about, it's specifically the time I decided to figure out how long it would take to see everything in the Magic Kingdom, and you can read that post HERE.

When I was coming up with blog post topics, all of a sudden I was struck with yet another terrible idea...let's do that post again, only this time with Epcot, because of course that's a good idea. So let's explore my personal favorite park a bit...

It would take you approximately 3.7 hours to just experience every attraction at Epcot, without your average wait time. Pretend as though you were able to just walk right onto any attraction, just like snapping your fingers. Goodness, wouldn't that be nice?

When I calculated the wait times (at exactly 11:45 A.M. EST on October 30, 2014), you'd have to wait approximately 4.4 hours to just get ON the attractions, with the longest wait time being 60 minutes for Test Track (Soarin' was close behind with 55). This, of course, is relatively low for wait times, as when I'm there it's not uncommon for both of these attractions to hit 90+ minutes.

Remember that those above numbers don't include the time it takes to WALK from one attraction to another, which, in Epcot, could take you easily over an hour, if you're walking fast. 

After yet another couple hours of calculation and time spent on AllEars, I figured an approximate amount you would spend to try absolutely every dish in every restaurant at Epcot. You'd spend around $8,660 on 2,235 options at a calculated 32 locations. This isn't including any sort of coffee shop or ice cream, as well as not including a couple of other places based simply on the fact that their menu is similar to another in the park. This also doesn't include alcohol, and I don't even want to know what you'd try to spend on that. This also isn't including the Biergarten or Akershus, which add on just under $100 if you, alone, eat at both. These numbers also don't include kids meals of any kind.

Throughout Epcot, you'll have a chance to meet approximately 24 characters, although that number changes daily as surprise characters appear. For instance, I met Flynn Rider and Rapunzel at Epcot in March, but neither are included in the total of 24 previously stated. It's also not including duplicate characters within restaurants or other locations.

I didn't spend a ton of time adding up the hours of background music, but on my homework playlist (with the addition of Illuminations), I regularly listen to 141 minutes of background music from Epcot. Goodness who even knows how much there is throughout the whole park because really...most of that is just the music around Spaceship Earth.

I also didn't include the time it takes for any of the shows, since those continuously keep changing and the only real one you could say for sure would be Illuminations, although one should also probably include the Fountain show. Oh, and throwing it in there that this isn't including the time it takes to see any of the special events, such as Food and Wine Festival, Flower and Garden Festival or the Christmas special events.

So if we put it together, in order to do everything at Epcot TODAY, it would take you around 8.3 hours to experience it all. Now while this isn't physically impossible, you must remember that this number isn't including the time it takes to walk from one place to another, go through the gates, eat, bathroom breaks, waiting for character meet and greets, actually meeting those characters, staking out a spot for Illuminations or shopping. Plus, this number is calculated with the assumption that you would go on each attraction once. AND it doesn't include the time it takes to stop and appreciate the area. Epcot is the biggest of the Disney Parks in reference to areas guests are able to regularly walk, so there's a huge distance you'll have to cover.

I'm getting better at calculating these things though. This time, instead of 3.6 hours, it took me about 2 to calculate all this information. Thank goodness.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 30).

Day 491: Make a Change

Day 11 of the Disney Photo Challenge: A picture of the thing you wish you could change about the parks. 

Blast from the Past: 

Something I would change about the parks...hmmm. This is a lot harder than you think. 

I guess something that I wish was different is Epcot. It was such an amazing park back on its opening day almost 30 years ago, and since then it's gone through so many changes, many of which aren't exactly great. Most of the opening day attractions are either completely gone or changed. Actually, the only attractions that still resemble the original on opening day are Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land and slightly the Universe of Energy. 

World of Motion has been replaced by Test Track, which is now once again being updated (I really hope it's open when we go, but there's been talk that it won't be...), Horizons has been replaced by Mission Space. The Living Seas is now "The Seas with Nemo and Friends" and has been dumbed down (don't get me wrong...I love Nemo, but there's just something different about it now...it's not as educational). The imagination Pavilion was changed, taking out the classic addition of "Dreamfinder." Communicore has been changed to Innoventions. The Land has several changes...the movie has been changed (although it hasn't been since The Lion King came out...and I can see it being updated, because it's not obviously stuck in the 90's, but the Lion King idea will probably stay the same), Soarin' has taken over the area that used to house "The Kitchen Kabaret" and then "Food Rocks." Living with the Land has been updated, but has stayed fairy similar to how it originally appeared. Club Cool, which needed an update badly, has been given one, but there's just something different about it when you don't have a giant snowplow out front. And finally, the Wonders of Life Pavilion has been closed altogether, now only used for special events. Even my Spaceship Earth has been changed...taking out some of my favorite portions of the ride and replacing it with an interactive program, which is...unique and amazing in its own way. But there's just something missing when the City of Tomorrow and the hope of the future doesn't follow you out of the ride. 

Epcot was a truly amazing park, and I'm not saying that it's not anymore...it still very much is, but I just wish Future World hadn't changed so much. Everything has been dumbed down, making it easier for people to understand. You know, back in the 80's, people understood very easily what everything meant, and now people can hardly figure out things as simple as the history on Spaceship Earth. And this is why I try to spend some time in one of my favorite locations in the park each trip...the Jumping Fountains that, until recently, even I had forgotten about. I hope those fountains never leave, because it's just one of the things reminding us of the city and the community that Walt had envisioned in his last public appearance. 

"We call it Epcot. Spelled E.P.C.O.T. Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow."

Back to the Future: 

I try to figure out my current answer before I go back and look at what I said two years ago generally, although sometimes I remember what they were. This time I honestly don't remember what I said though, so I'm going to go ahead and give my answer as it is right now:

If I could change one thing about the Disney Parks, it would most certainly be the number of characters you can meet, along with the selection. I understand that it's really difficult to care for all the costumes and constantly have the staff to pull something like that off, but you have no idea how sad I am that I always missed the Long Lost Friends weeks last year.

I mean, most of my own favorite characters can generally be found somewhere in the parks, and I'm more excited every single day about meeting characters in January with my friends, but there are a few I wish would be easier to find all the time.

Namely Flynn Rider.

I know, I know. You're reading this saying "But Lizzie! You've met Flynn!" and yeah, that's very true, but it was honestly by accident. He's not out every day, and for the most part at Disney World he's not there at all. So finding Flynn was like...HUGE. On that topic, I honestly just think that all the Princesses should meet with their Princes. I mean, we all love us some Phillip and Naveen for sure, right?

Plus I really want to meet Olaf. Someone, please...figure that out for real. And Kristoff, who is in the parks right now for Frozen Summer Fun. God, I would love to meet Kristoff.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 19).

Day 382: FAF: The Universe of Energy

It's time for the second Featured Attraction Friday. Last week we looked at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom, and to continue our theme of "Starting Out," we're headed to Epcot. And since I have most of the big name attractions (Ahem...Spaceship Earth), waiting for June, we're heading to a different part of Future World: The Universe of Energy!

What's On The Map:

The Epcot Park map say s specifically Ellen's Energy Adventure, since that's what the nae was officially changed to when they redid it years ago. Take a multimedia romp through time and Ellen DeGeneres' subconscious. "The show begins with a film (featuring a few familiar faces). In it, Ellen DeGeneres is watching Jeopardy! One of the contestants is Ellen's annoying college roommate, Judy. Ellen plays along but keeps striking out, particularly in the Energy category. As she watches, her neighbor Bill Nye, the Science Guy pops in and is aghast at Ellen's ignorance. Shortly thereafter, Ellen dozes off. Ellen dreams she is a contestant on the show, competing against Albert Einstein and her former friend Judy. This time, all of the questions are about energy" (Birnbaum Guide).

"Thankfully, her friend and neighbor Bill Nye is on hand to tutor her, and you're along for the ride as they embark on a time-traveling quest for energy knowledge. Then witness the Final Jeopardy! showdown as Ellen is pitted against her college rival, a brainiac doctor she sardonically refers to as "Stupid Judy," and see how much you're learned about energy" (WDW Website).

A Brief History Lesson: 

This week's history comes from Lost Epcot!

The Universe of Energy opened on October 1, 1982, one of the original attractions of Epcot, and became Ellen's Energy Adventure in 1996. Originally, it was sponsored by Exxon from the years 1982 to 2004, and while the story has changed a bit, it's always been all about energy!

The first version of the Universe of Energy also had a preshow, although "the screen was made up of 100 turning sections that almost resembled cubes. They were not technically cubes though because they had three sides: one black and two white for projection. The five projectors and the turning cubes were synced together to create a kaleidoscope-like show." The theme here was that "energy is never destroyed, nor is new energy created, but energy is perceived in different forms."

From there you would board the vehicles that still grace the attraction today, you know...the really big giant ones that if you stand up or put your arm out too far shut off the entire attraction (it's a problem...please don't do this). There you watch an animated film on how fossil fuels were created before heading into the most talked about part of the show: Primeval World.

Finally you'd have a presentation on present-day energy sources before heading back to the original theater for the grand finale. "The song 'Universe of Energy' was played. Among many other laser-like images, was an astronaut girl. At the time, this was the biggest computer-generated film to be projected."

In September of 1996, the Universe of Energy reopened with the subtitle "Ellen's Energy Adventure."

Fun Facts: 

• Look up at the roof. It's covered with 80,000 photo-voltaic cells that provide solar energy, captured and converted into AC, and then used to power the ride. So, as the voice over indicates during your journey, you are literally "riding on sunshine." 
• During the pre-show, when Ellen realizes she is losing badly at Jeopardy! but has control over the outcome because she's the one dreaming about it, she says, "Freeze!" Note, however, her lips do not move! Oops! 
• Fans of the 1940 Disney movie Fantasia might recognize a small tribute to Walt's most ambitious cinematic undertaking as they ravel past a confrontation between the T-Rex and Stegosaurus. The same scene can be found in the movie's "Rite of Spring" composition, depicting the creation of the cosmos through to the dinosaur's extinction. 
• As you exit the dinosaur portion of the ride, you hear a radio broadcast compliments of KNRG News Radio. Do the station's call letters bring anything to mind They are a shortened version of "kinetic energy." 

My Thoughts: 

It's kind of funny actually. I may have told you the story of the first attraction I went on at Walt Disney World: obviously Spaceship Earth. BUT, I don't think I've told you the story of the SECOND attraction I went on! The Universe of Energy was just redone when I made my first trip in 1996, since I went in October and it had just opened in September. That meant that my parents hadn't been on it previous to going on it with me, and had no idea about what was coming. 

Well, if you've been on the Universe of Energy before, you'll know that it's three things other than hilarious and awesome and ELLEN: long, dark and loud. Now, at 15 months old it's kind of hard for me to figure out all of what's going on, and when the Big Bang came along, it's really loud, and I don't remember whether or not I freaked out  (my parents probably do), but I do know that it's the reason I hated loud noises as a kid. I honestly hated fireworks and everything...all because of the Universe of Energy. 

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the attraction now (although I DO wish it were a bit shorter...45 minutes is just a really long time, especially when you're trying to get stuff done). I mean, it has Ellen and Bill Nye and those two are just hilarious. Plus it gets that Jeopardy! theme song just super stuck in your head! What's not to love?

Plus...it taught us the answer to the world's most important question! What is the one type of energy that will never run out! 

And that brings us to the end of our second Featured Attraction Friday. I've still got more to catch up on though...so I'd better keep working! 

What do you think of the Universe of Energy? 

Have a magical day!

Day 161: Sushi

I love sushi.

Wait, let's try again...

Hello, my name is Lizzie and I am a sushi addict.

(As we previously did, this is where you say "Hello Lizzie!")

Anyway, it isn't exactly a secret that I do love the stuff. I will eat basically any kind of sushi, although my favorite kinds of sushi are totally those with raw fish. I mean, especially salmon, the fish just melts in your mouth.

I tried sushi for the first time at, you guessed it, Disney World. I honestly have no idea why we decided to get sushi that day, but we did and that was that. A year later my brother and I had taken two sushi classes and visited several other sushi restaurants at Disney. Fast Forward to today. Recently a friend of mine decided that she was going to try sushi, despite all the stuff she heard about it and I instantly offered to take her out to our local sushi place, because I want sushi and here's an excuse to go get some!

Anyways, I am super proud of her for trying it. And she did like it. Maybe sometime she'll even eat it again! But either way, the whole experience got me to thinking again about how much I impact my friends. I mean, she also commented that her family sang Indiana Jones driving the other day, and I think that's totally awesome. And now, when I make comments on Star Wars or jokes or something, my best friend actually understands them! Finally, when I do go on a Disney rant, they all generally at least have some clue of what I'm talking about, unless we're playing "Find something Lizzie can't relate to Disney." They get kind of lost during that.

Either way, I am an adventurous person because of Disney. There's a whole section on it in my memoir. But it's awesome to see one of my friends who used to be completely the opposite try something that is a huge something to try. Still, she did like it, and that's awesome! Next step? All of World Showcase. Just kidding.

Here's today's Disney History: 2008: Severe weather in Central Florida, including a radar-indicated tornado, forces Disney World officials to temporarily close several rides at theme parks.

Have a magical day!

Day 87: Disney Parks Music

There are often times amazing things on Youtube, and recently I found a series of videos that are simply amazing, especially if you love the parks.

Dan Gooding has put together an entire series of beautiful videos that take you through the Disney Parks from all over the world. Currently I'm listening to "We've Just Begun to Dream - Volume 1" which is the first of two videos put together for Epcot's 30th Anniversary. Each one features songs and audio from throughout the parks and they're certainly worth a listening to. 

Here's a couple of the videos and you can watch, and listen, for yourself!

Here's today's Disney History: 1910: Original Mouseketeer MC & 1992 Disney Legend Jimmie Dodd, the adult leader on television's Mickey Mouse Club, is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. A talented guitarist and musician, Dodd was originally hired by Walt Disney as a music writer. He went on to write and compose "The Mickey Mouse Club March" and all the daily opening songs for the show.

Have a magical day!

Day 56: Out on the Test Track

Continuing our current theme of sorts of Epcot Future World Attractions, I take you to Test Track.

No, not the new one that I refuse to look at until I head to Disney in July, but the old version...the one I grew up with. As excited as I am to try out Version 2.0, I'm certainly going to miss the old humor that came with the original Test Track, and the traditions my family always had riding it.

But the reason it's the part of the blog today is actually my Physics class. Today we watched a video on car crashes and the physics that go with them. It was a nice little video, but of course, I found that I had already either seen or knew most of what was in the video, and it explains why I understand Physics compared to other math I've taken throughout High School.

There was one part of the video that I almost laughed too. If you have walked through the queue for the previous version of Test Track sometime in your life, you would have seen something like this, or rather, this:

It's a test used to measure the impact of an object hitting the chest of a "human," in this case a test dummy. In today's video they used this same test to explain the different types of Energy, and everyone in my class was in awe of the impact on the test dummy. I of course just sat there and watched as I had previously, relishing in the connection to Disney. It turns out we do learn quite a bit just standing in line! 

Now I just have to wait until July to try out 2.0 for myself!

Here's Today's Disney History: 2012: Walt Disney Imagineering and cast members at Disney California Adventure bury a time capsule, containing items specific to the park, in Buena Vista Plaza. It is to be opened by Disneyland Resort cast members in 2037. 

Have a magical day!