Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

I am by no means a Disney expert but one thing I have noticed is that no kid here gets even close to the required amount of sleep. Maybe they should change their tagline to “The Land of Sleep Deprivation”. What do you think?
Finally we got a gorgeous sunny Florida day. Our mission today was to attack Epcot and squeeze as much fun as we can out of it in one day. We asked the kids to chose where we should go at Epcot today. The kids researched all the available rides with alacrity and they gave us their plan. Step one = Mission SPACE. This ride is supposed to be a training session for making a mission to Mars. The training modules are basically simulators but they were very well done. Chantal and I wimped out and took the less intense “training session” while the boys when for it. This ride puts you and three others in a space capsule and you are put through a launch sequence, a blast off, a shot into orbit, a sling shot around the moon and even a landing on Mars. The effects were amazing but I did regret not taking the more intense session. Maybe I’ll come back and try it again. Before we went in to Mission SPACE we FastPassed the GM Test Track ride which is supposed to be the fastest ride at Disney. After our Mars landing we went around to check out which other attractions we might be able to squeeze in. We did the ride that is housed in the big Epcot sphere which takes you on a journey through the history of communication. Voila! Another MoHo-schooling history lesson completed! We then grabbed lunch before heading over to the GM Test Track. Much like their cars (in my opinion) there was much potential for this ride, which was supposed to be a simulation of some of the test procedures they put their cars through, and much like their cars, although it was pretty good, it just did not manage to meet its potential. However, it is the fastest ride at Disney and that part was very cool. It sends you flying on a banked track around the outside of the curved building at over 70 mph (110 km/h) resulting in you getting pressed into your seat cushion with very high down force. Lots of fun. Then we headed to the 3-D Movie, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. It was fun but it was better suited to younger kids than ours. Of course, to be fair, it was our fourth 3-D movie in as many days so that may have “taken the bloom of the rose” a bit. The ride we wanted to go on next was a hang gliding simulation called Soarin’. Unfortuately there was already a 5-hour wait to use a FastPass to Soarin’ so we completely passed on that. Instead we started cruising the different countries at Epcot. China had an excellent 360 degree film. Note to self: go to China to experience some of what it has to offer. We also cruised Morocco, Japan, Norway, Germany, and Italy. In Italy, Chantal ended up getting selected from the audience by a street performer and was cast as a princess. She held her own and even had some people from the audience come up to her afterward to compliment her on her performance. We ended our stroll at France. The laid back classic French accordion music they were playing was so soothing that it almost compelled you to just sit down with a glass of wine on one of the little patios along the typical French streets there. But … we had to get the kids home to bed, so it was au revoir Epcot.

Today’s word:

alacrity \uh-LACK-ruh-tee\, noun:
A cheerful or eager readiness or willingness, often manifested by brisk, lively action or promptness in response.