Underappreciated Epcot – The Seas

Posted on May 13, 2015 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Today it may be called “The Seas With Nemo and Friends”, but it’ll always be “The Living Seas” to me. I think this attraction area has a lot to recommend it (as I mentioned in my previous attempts to raise interest here and here). My fried Nick would call it “Edutainment” for the educational/entertainment factor The Seas offers Epcot guests, but the draw for me is in the entirety of the experience. Calm, relaxing, fun, and yes, even with a lesson to teach here and there.

Maybe I’m aquarium-deprived since I live in rural Louisiana and it’s a pretty long haul to Audubon’s Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans (which is awesome, by the way), but there’s something about Epcot’s version of aquatic-animals-on-display that makes me ridiculously happy and magically transforms this little corner of the World into a must-see for me on every visit. Seriously, don’t skip it – there are a lot of awesome things to see besides the Nemo ride (cruisin’ in Clammobiles!) and Turtle Talk. I’ve mentioned the Manatees before and how fun it is to watch them eat lettuce (no, I’m not kidding). But wait! There’s more!

Underappreciated Epcot – The Seas

Bob? Sheldon?

Dory!

Peach!

Jacques the Cleaner Shrimp

Next time you go, give it a try. I think late morning (before maybe heading to the World Showcase for lunch) or mid-afternoon are great times to visit The Seas. Our family likes to start in the main building to leisurely make our way to all the fish tanks and animal exhibits before we see Turtle Talk. Then we wrap up the visit with Nemo and Friends – if we had small children, I would have them look for fish on the ride that we’d seen on display in the exhibits.

Depending on the crowd levels, The Seas could be explored in 60-90 minutes. Short on time? Allow 20-30 minutes to see the exhibits, then decide if you can afford to wait for the Nemo and Friends ride and/or Turtle Talk with Crush (FastPasses may be booked in advance). Pre-school and lower grade-school-age children will appreciate those two attractions the most. RM-Epcot-Aquarium-Fish

Have you explored The Seas in Epcot? What are your must-do attractions or exhibits?

For Love of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth

Posted on April 17, 2015 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

The iconic heart of Epcot’s Future World, this much-photographed geosphere is a beloved park favorite at Walt Disney World. Spaceship Earth is both a weenie and an attraction – and adored by legions of Disney fans around the world. The ride inside Spaceship Earth takes us on a slow and easy journey through time for a peek at various innovations in communications technology and how those discoveries influenced human lives through the ages (and will shape our future, perhaps).

For my family, this 16 minute tour of both past and future never gets old and we’re not alone in our love for this attraction! We’ve been known to ride Spaceship Earth many times during a single vacation – even multiple times in a single day. Is it the animatronics? The narration? The smell of Rome burning? The peek into our personalized future on Earth? No! I believe there’s no single moment of the experience, but the perfection in the combination of all the components, the small details and the expansive scenes.

Once again, I asked and you answered. Twitter followers and Facebook friends were happy to respond to my request for shout-outs, in Haiku form, expressing feelings for Epcot’s icon. I’m happy to share these gems of poetic beauty with you now…

For Love of Epcot’s Spaceship Earth

From Facebook, there were only two entries, but both were highly creative!

Submitted by Anastasia:

Golf ball cool and dark
Invites me to sit and rest
I can haz nap now

Gaylin posted her fondness this way:

Bright golf ball of love
Beckons all to ride away
Past to future slow.

On Twitter, the response was overwhelming! (If you’re looking for Disney friends on Twitter, you should follow all of these awesome folks!)

From @BerryMary92, a beautiful poem:

One of Disney’s icons
beautiful site to behold
stands proud in Epcot

From good friend (and occasional guest writer) @AndrewCfran:

At Epcot Center
Lies a geodesic dome
Called Spaceship Earth

@bscala1986 composed this very touching entry:

Grand and miraculous.
A symbol of immortality.
Tomorrow’s child awaits.

@WDWParkHopper captured Spaceship Earth’s best moments:

Thank the Phoenicians
I can smell the fire in Rome
Time to head back home

@Bekka_C writes of her own Spaceship Earth memories (Bekka – stay awake & you’ll remember it better!):

Every time I ride.
I swear it is new inside.
What a great sleep ride.

@HLebischak also captured the spirit of Spaceship Earth with:

Time traveling sphere –
in the center of EPCOT –
thank you, Phoenicians.

@scottquaile seems to feel the latest Disney technology has not been good for SSE!

My Magic Plussed
Long lines it has
EEHHHHHHHHH…

@TacoMan945 submitted this beautiful piece:

Jeremy Irons
Many think you’re a golf ball
Smell in burning Rome

@GoAwayGreen played along this time with a profound piece of art!

Most fragile transport
Of the knowledge collected,
Analyzed and shared

In @YoPaulieNJ’s entry, Paulie weighs in on SSE’s most recent updates:

The last ride descent
Once so very inspiring
Now a dumb cartoon

Finally, I am proud to bring you the artistic talents of @AmyBethCombs, who didn’t just compose one poem – Amy’s obvious love for SSE could not be contained in a single Haiku. Amy is the clear winner of today’s game (Congratulations, Amy) with this Ode to Spaceship Earth composed of several entries…

Spaceship Earth is cool.
Spaceship Earth is really cool.
Wow I love Epcot.

Look at those three guys.
That guy’s hat looks like garlic.
I love Spaceship Earth.

Hey, do you smell smoke?
Oh no! Rome is on fire!
Well, there go the books.

Thank the Phoenicians.
You know what they invented?
The alphabet, chump.

How did they do that?
The cave painting on the wall.
It moves. That is cool.

When it turns backwards
That can be kind of scary
The angle is steep.

Each entry was awesome – some of their expressions of love, others for their honesty. How do YOU feel about Spaceship Earth? Which attraction would you like to see tributes for next?

Springtime in Epcot

Posted on January 31, 2015 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Today Nick and Barbie take us far away from the cold winter weather to see Epcot in bloom! If you have an upcoming visit to Walt Disney World scheduled, the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival runs from March 4 – May 17, 2015. Nick and Barbie can be found at the Disney Musings Blog / Disney Musings on Twitter / Disney Musings on Instagram / Disney Musings on Facebook

Springtime in Epcot

By: Nick

Back in March of 2014, Barbie and I took a cruise, with one of our stops being Cape Canaveral. We took an excursion over to Epcot to have lunch at Le Cellier and to photograph the topiaries throughout the park for the International Flower and Garden Festival, which officially started on March 5th and runs through May 18th.

Spring arrives today in the Northern Hemisphere, so I thought it would be the perfect time to share some photos of those topiaries, as well as other flowers in bloom.

Directly behind Spaceship Earth, we find these beauties depicting Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto.

The flowers around and in the water features in Future World are beautiful.

Heading into World Showcase, we are greeted by Sorcerer Mickey, as well as other characters from Fantasia.

Around to Canada, we find Bambi, Flower, and Thumper.

The gardens in Canada are lovely regardless of time of year.

The United Kingdom has several Topiaries as well as a Tea Garden.

Around to France, where there are Princesses and their Princes, as well as trees blossoming.

Beauty and the Beast topiaries can also be found here as well.

Continuing around World Showcase, we have Miss Piggy and Kermit, promoting “Muppets Most Wanted”, which opens in theaters tomorrow!

In Germany, we are greeted by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Even though Barbie and I took several photos of this display, we managed to miss getting a photo of Happy.

Rafiki and Simba at the Outpost.

Pandas in China and a troll in Norway.

There were a few areas that weren’t yet viewable when we were there, as well as topiaries we probably missed, so there is even more to enjoy at Epcot if you visit during the Flower and Garden Festival!

Disney Collectibles – Epcot Preview Guide

Posted on January 24, 2015 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Today’s Saturdays With Nick article blasts us into the past to 1982 and EPCOT Center’s opening day. This Epcot preview guide book was an amazing find and a wonderful addition to Nick’s impressive Disneyana collection! Don’t forget you can find Nick’s Disney Musings on all your favorite social medias: Disney Musings Blog / Disney Musings on Twitter / Disney Musings on Instagram / Disney Musings on Facebook

Epcot Center Opening Day Guide

by: Nick

I’ve seen this guide book listed on eBay as the Opening Day Guide, although there is nothing on the cover to indicate as much. When I bought it at an antique store many years ago, the white label that someone annoyingly put on the cover, and which, as you can see, I unsuccessfully removed, stated that it was a pre-opening guide. I payed $10 for it.

The inside cover.

Page 1.

The back cover.

Regardless of what it is, I love it. It is like a time capsule, showing many beloved attractions, some still with us, others changed or extinct, pavilion sponsors, and those terrific Epcot Center logos.