Hello everyone and welcome back to part 2 of my Florida recap. After
wrapping up all the festivities from the
NFFC convention and World Chapter meeting it was time to start the
second phase of the trip.
Epcot’s 25th Anniversary – 10/1/07 : This was a day that I could
not wait for. I have always been a big Epcot Center fan and
really was looking forward to the 25th Anniversary. As I entered the
park I noticed the 25th Anniversary logo’s and the classic symbol
of Epcot Center in the flower bed behind
Spaceship Earth.
The first big event of the day was the Re Dedication of Epcot at
10:01 am. I made my way to the rope and moved quickly to be in the front
row for the presentation. The ceremony was very reminiscent of opening
day but on a much smaller scale. Throughout the day I was able to see
Marty Sklar give his wonderful Epcot presentation and explore the new
historical exhibit ‘Epcot Creating the New World of Tomorrow‘. I
will be featuring images from this great nostalgic collection in an
upcoming photo memories article. I also contributed to Magical
Mountain’s ‘
The Epcot Thing‘. The event surpassed all of our expectations with
attendance and enjoyment! My biggest contribution was hosting an
Epcot History Tour featuring Ron Schneider and Jim Hill
. I enjoyed meeting so many great people that day and I like to think I
made some new lasting friendships!
In the early evening the rains came and poured on the park. What would
an anniversary be without a little Walt’s Weather? Everything cleared
out for the finale and the crowd was really getting excited for the
special anniversary fireworks. One last flash rainstorm delayed the show
but then Illuminations: Reflections of Earth began… The crowd
was ready and after the normal show ended an announcement was made for
the special Epcot 25th Anniversary finale! Disney did not
disappoint as the fireworks tag was spectacular. The combination of
classic Epcot Center
music and the overwhelming volume of explosions was breathtaking!
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party – 2007 : For the fifth year
in a row I have attended the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween
Parties. This hard ticket event is my favorite of these after hours
parties. I love the
Halloween theme and there is always something fun to do or see. Disney has
really gone all out this year with new Halloween decoration all over
Main Street USA.
This years ‘Boo To You‘ parade may just be the best ever! It has
two all new floats from the Pirate & Princess party’s ‘Enchanted
Adventurers‘ parade. The Pirate ship float features Mr. Smee
as the lookout, Captain Hook behind the wheel and a crew of
pirates!
Closely following Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship is Tick Tock. He is
very impressive swaying down the parade route and appears very similar
to the Tick Tock float from
Disneyland’s Fantasmic. Another new character for this years parade is
Captain Barbossa from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Barbossa strolls the parade route with bitten apple in hand menacing
the kids. Unchanged are the usual great party highlights, Happy
Hallowishes, Trick-or-Treating, the Villains Mix & Mingle
and the kids Halloween themed dance parties.
Production Update: I am deep in production on Trick or Treat 4
(Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party 2007 Edition) for a release later this
week. Upon completion of the
Halloween DVD I will start work on my
Epcot’s 25th Anniversary Celebration DVD featuring the re dedication,
Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, Epcot’s 25th Anniversary fireworks
finale plus the Epcot Center historic display and much more! Please
check back soon for release information and more details.
As always, if you want to request a future DVD idea, Photo Memory topic
or comment on anything, just drop me a line at
suggestions@JeffLangeDVD.com.