Mousefest 2006 - Epcot and the Mega Mouse Meet
Listen To The Land / Brunch (at the Ball) / RADP XI
I tried to get over my dissapointment at loosing that nice audio with Mike Demopolis and the Cyber Groove, so I loaded up a new disk and decided to try to catch a little of the new music loop of the land and take a look at the refurbrished pavilion, since the last time I had been inside was way back in 2002! As soon as I got to the sign for the Land at the base of the ramp outside I could here the new music, and it didn't take long to realize that it was made up of American Folk songs, but played in a style that masked the melodies blending in with the other electronic music of Future World, you have to really stop and listen to tell just what the tunes are that are playing. Upon heading inside I was impressed with the new look of the pavilion. Even though it was still fairly early, the place was already bustling with activity. I wasn't actually planning on taking photos of the bathroom but as soon as I walked in I realized two things:
- 1. it was empty and I could !
- 2. The speakers in there were playing the OLD outdoor music loop!
Above: Speakers for the new interior music loop. Were the old speakers out in the open like this?
Below: I decided to sit down and take in the new music loop for a bit before heading to the first meet of the morning. You can see that the microphone here has a dual bud arangement and if I use it correctly I probably could recored binaurally, I think I just need to get some of those foam ear balls like Paul Barrie uses.
Soon enough it was time for the first meet of the day "Brunch at the Ball", since, many years ago, some of the earliest RADP meets were held at the Fountainview, which has a similar appeal as this location I thought I might know some of the folks at this meet, I really didn't know too many of them but over the course of this trip and in the interveening months I have gotten to know some of them a bit many of them were Taginators of Tagrel.com. I was one of the first ones to arrive in part because I prefer breakfast food and wanted to order before the menu changed over, unfortunatly I found out that the Electric Umbrella is no longer serving breakfast, oh well, although I would have preferred breakfast I'm FAR from being a picky eater, so it wasn't to hard to find somehting I liked (more later). The Electric Umbrella was opening though and as I waited I ended up striking up a coversation with a couple from the United Kingdom, I'm not sure exactly what started it, but I ended up telling them about Mousefest and the meet that was about to start, and shortly thereafter I saw them outside at the meet and ended up seeing them again a few times later on at Mousefest related events. I had a Roast Beef and Provolone with mesquite mayonnaise and pineapple coleslaw (I put the slaw on the sandwich) and an order of French fries with cheese sauce.
For most of this meet I shared the table with Bill and Donna of the Talking Disney column of the Mickey News http://www.mickeynews.com/Columns/Column.asp_Q_id_E_26_A_column_E_26, there were some prizes given away and after a bit we all gathered together by the Fountain of nations for a group picture. By now I was ready to get started heading to the Mega Mouse Meet, but first I wanted to stop at my locker it had warmed up and I no longer needed my sweatshirt, I also decided to check the art of Disney Store out and picked up some postcards. When I think back now on just how many things I did between this meet and getting to the Mega Mouse Meet I say to myeself "what was I thinking". I knew I would be stopping at the RADP meet on my way to the Mega Mouse Meet, but I don't think I had a good firm idea of just how long it would take to walk there. On my way back to the International Gateway I saw the Canadian version of Santa Claus, and slowed down briefly to take a picture (below). As I neared the International Gateway I looked at a man sitting alone on a bench to my right, about two seconds later it hit me and I asked him if he was James from the Disney Adventure Podcast, we spoke for a few minutes before I told him I had to get going to make the Mega Mouse Meet, but I asked him to catch up to me there if he was going to attend, and he let me know he would. The RADP XI meet was held just outside the international gateway and after an all too short amount of time saying hi to some old friends and getting my picture taken for inclusion in the group photo they stitch together each year http://www.wvnh.net/radp/index.php?album=%2Fradp11%2F&image=2006bmag.jpg (Jack Marshall has a great collection of RADP meet photos including links to other folks photo pages). The Mega Mouse Meet was held at the Dolphin Hotel this year and as I set out from the RADP meet I came to a point where I had to choose which way to go to get to the other side of Crescent Lake, do I go to the side where the Boardwalk hugs the water, or to the side where the Yacht Club and Beach Club are, I really didn't know which way was quicker, so I just picked one the Boardwalk side, now that I've walked it a few times I think I probably actually picked the longer of the two paths.
