On advice from the hotel, we jumped in a taxi early to get to Newark Airport just in case we experienced bad traffic. So, we ended up with a 2.5 hour wait in the departure lounge – very annoying. When we checked in the airline scales said we were over. They wanted $100/lb for excess baggage! So, we jettisoned some things like washing power, and a few other items, moved others to hand luggage (!), and tried again – this time at a different set of scales. We were under by about 8 lbs, so I reckon the scales were wrong.
We landed in Orlando at about 2:15 in the arvo and stood there for over an hour waiting for our luggage:
We finally got to the Hard Rock Hotel late in the day, dumped our bags, quick change, and jumped in a taxi to EPCOT. Ellie had organised this half-day visit mostly for me (cos I’m into science [TBBT joke]).
Unfortunately, the delays at the airport meant that we missed our allotted time on the Test Track.
Instead, we headed to Mission:SPACE. This is simulation ride based on a ride from Earth to Mars, with take-off, sling-shot around the moon, zero-G, and landing on Mars. Having a simulation background myself, I was keen to see how it worked as we got in: it seemed to be a combination of movable cabin (3 degrees) and centrifuge. You take your seat in front of a dedicated display.
The combined display, audio cues, and motion platform create a VERY immersive experience. So much so that within the first 30 seconds I started to think I might be need the barf-bags conveniently located on the console. Had the ride continued for another 2-3 minutes I’m sure I would have used them. Clearly I’m not as young as I used to be… this never would have done this to me before.
I just found this YouTube video of it (only the inside of course):
We walked out (I staggered) and found some food (not sure that was a good idea), then moved on to a far more sedate ride (Spaceship EARTH) that just took you through the history of technology, then a cute Finding Nemo ride with an aquarium.
Afterwards, we just wandered around the park, mainly through the World Showcase and finished with their fireworks.