Superstars Day three
Epcot
So here we are at the entrance
We went Counter Clockwise, in the "real world" section starting with Mexico. Great hand authentic hand carvings were on display
Inside the very laid back water ride in Mexico. Always loved the Day of the Dead icons.
Authentic Mayan Temple .... un huh...
Now in Norway, here is Liza, posing with a fat gnome, and there is a statue in the pic too.
Recreation of the old wooden churches found in Norway
Lovely meditation lake in China. We watched one of those 360 degree movies in the round on China that Disney is so famous for.
On to Germany...
Where they have this cool outdoor miniature train and village area. Cast member in pic for scale purposes :-)
And on to Venezia! Great craft store with the paper mache masks the Venice is so famous for.
The Mini Venice facades
In Japan they had a wonderful Japanese water garden. We were very hungry so we stopped for.....
Sushi. By far Liza and I agreed that this was the MOST incredible Susi we have ever had. Go figure.
This was the susi bar we were in
When we got outside they were doing a nice Japanese Drumming demonstration
At this point we looked at our watch and realized that we were running short on time, and frankly my pictures in the other parts of the park didn't come out very well. We stopped in France looking for creme brulle but no one seemed to sell it. Morrocco was neat to walk through as well, seeing many of the types of beautiful brass plates and leather goods I see at my father's house. We went straight on through England and Canada so we could go in to see some of the "Future World" exibits in the front part of the park.
However they were having a great flower celebration and I thought these roses were quite exceptional. One of the Gardeners was trimming some purple ones and she gave one to Liza which actually made it home pressed in some magazines.
I just thought this was cool so I snapped it.
At first we thought this was Cirque du Soliel, but we were never completely sure, they were doing amazing bendy people statues.
We did up a email Postcard to Alex via a green screen background as well at the future world pavillion called Innoventions East. Heh.
By the time we were done our feet were sore and frankly we had quite enough of Epot. It is fun and all, but unless you bring a big appetite or lots of cash it's not really that interesting. The Cultural exibits are nice and all, but having been to some of the places that they recreated like Venice and Paris I can safely say that they really don't "Get" it right.
Furthermore, I did not see the point in buying Authentic wares from foreign countries in Orlando. How is that better than in a good inexpensive import store? Or for that matter from the real country.
But I digress... the food is unbelievable I can safely say. When I was there last (for the CableShoppe a few yrs ago) I ate at the Smorgasboard in Norway and the food was as incredible as the susi we had in Japan. So if you go to Epcot, bring your appetite and your wallet for shopping. Otherwise it's very commercial operation.
Formal Awards Dinner
We got back from Epcot in time to get changed for the formal dinner reception. The dinner was really outstanding and I had the luck of sitting next to the new VP's husband who shares lots of the same interests as I: Computers, Science Fiction, Hawkwind and the Grateful Dead, etc etc. Liza's manager Brian got the Manager of the Year, only the second person ever to get that award twice, the other being one of the top VP's in the company. So I would say that Brian has quite a future upwards and onwards with Hillman if he wants it.
We did have a professional photographer available throughout the weekend so I quickly scanned two of the pics from formal night below.
L to R
Manager Brian, Ron, Liza, Mike and Greg. All from Brian's District
Mike and Liza in our Florida formal wear....
Margaritaville Again...
Believe it or not we closed Margaritaville again on Saturday night. Originally we were going to just go do a bit of shopping and then go to bed, but one thing led to another, and that great band was there again, so we just ended up staying till 2am again.
It was very empowering for Liza because she is now considered a "player" with the big producers in the company. I do not mean to insuate that you have to get drunk to be recognized by the other sales people. Some of them were drinking soda's. It was the fact that she was out there with them that mattered. Both the number one and number two sales guys in the whole company came up to her to speak to her as did a number of managers. The bottom line is that this was the recognition by her fellow employees that she deserved and finally got.
All in all it was a very rewarding night for her and I was so pleased she was recognized as a "player" by the Big Dogs, because she is a Big Dog too.
Epcot
So here we are at the entrance
We went Counter Clockwise, in the "real world" section starting with Mexico. Great hand authentic hand carvings were on display
Inside the very laid back water ride in Mexico. Always loved the Day of the Dead icons.
Authentic Mayan Temple .... un huh...
Now in Norway, here is Liza, posing with a fat gnome, and there is a statue in the pic too.
Recreation of the old wooden churches found in Norway
Lovely meditation lake in China. We watched one of those 360 degree movies in the round on China that Disney is so famous for.
On to Germany...
Where they have this cool outdoor miniature train and village area. Cast member in pic for scale purposes :-)
And on to Venezia! Great craft store with the paper mache masks the Venice is so famous for.
The Mini Venice facades
In Japan they had a wonderful Japanese water garden. We were very hungry so we stopped for.....
Sushi. By far Liza and I agreed that this was the MOST incredible Susi we have ever had. Go figure.
This was the susi bar we were in
When we got outside they were doing a nice Japanese Drumming demonstration
At this point we looked at our watch and realized that we were running short on time, and frankly my pictures in the other parts of the park didn't come out very well. We stopped in France looking for creme brulle but no one seemed to sell it. Morrocco was neat to walk through as well, seeing many of the types of beautiful brass plates and leather goods I see at my father's house. We went straight on through England and Canada so we could go in to see some of the "Future World" exibits in the front part of the park.
However they were having a great flower celebration and I thought these roses were quite exceptional. One of the Gardeners was trimming some purple ones and she gave one to Liza which actually made it home pressed in some magazines.
I just thought this was cool so I snapped it.
At first we thought this was Cirque du Soliel, but we were never completely sure, they were doing amazing bendy people statues.
We did up a email Postcard to Alex via a green screen background as well at the future world pavillion called Innoventions East. Heh.
By the time we were done our feet were sore and frankly we had quite enough of Epot. It is fun and all, but unless you bring a big appetite or lots of cash it's not really that interesting. The Cultural exibits are nice and all, but having been to some of the places that they recreated like Venice and Paris I can safely say that they really don't "Get" it right.
Furthermore, I did not see the point in buying Authentic wares from foreign countries in Orlando. How is that better than in a good inexpensive import store? Or for that matter from the real country.
But I digress... the food is unbelievable I can safely say. When I was there last (for the CableShoppe a few yrs ago) I ate at the Smorgasboard in Norway and the food was as incredible as the susi we had in Japan. So if you go to Epcot, bring your appetite and your wallet for shopping. Otherwise it's very commercial operation.
Formal Awards Dinner
We got back from Epcot in time to get changed for the formal dinner reception. The dinner was really outstanding and I had the luck of sitting next to the new VP's husband who shares lots of the same interests as I: Computers, Science Fiction, Hawkwind and the Grateful Dead, etc etc. Liza's manager Brian got the Manager of the Year, only the second person ever to get that award twice, the other being one of the top VP's in the company. So I would say that Brian has quite a future upwards and onwards with Hillman if he wants it.
We did have a professional photographer available throughout the weekend so I quickly scanned two of the pics from formal night below.
L to R
Manager Brian, Ron, Liza, Mike and Greg. All from Brian's District
Mike and Liza in our Florida formal wear....
Margaritaville Again...
Believe it or not we closed Margaritaville again on Saturday night. Originally we were going to just go do a bit of shopping and then go to bed, but one thing led to another, and that great band was there again, so we just ended up staying till 2am again.
It was very empowering for Liza because she is now considered a "player" with the big producers in the company. I do not mean to insuate that you have to get drunk to be recognized by the other sales people. Some of them were drinking soda's. It was the fact that she was out there with them that mattered. Both the number one and number two sales guys in the whole company came up to her to speak to her as did a number of managers. The bottom line is that this was the recognition by her fellow employees that she deserved and finally got.
All in all it was a very rewarding night for her and I was so pleased she was recognized as a "player" by the Big Dogs, because she is a Big Dog too.
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