Cinema Sunday: Everything Everywhere All at Once

Today's Cinema Sunday post turns it's focus on this year's Oscar winner for Best Picture. 

It's time for Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Sometimes when I do a post about a movie I've seen in this Cinema Sunday forum, I might provide some kind of plot synopsis.  

Well, I will NOT being doing that today.  Because this movie delivers what it says in the title: 

Everything.

Everywhere.

All at once. 

But really, what the hell is this thing? 

OK, here goes.... something? 

The film follows Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American immigrant who is dealing with a lot of stuff.

• Running the laundromat she owns with her husband, Waymond.
• Waymond is trying to serve Evelyn divorce papers.
• Evelyn's demanding father is visiting.
• She's planning a Chinese New Year party.
• Her daughter is dating someone new who is NOT Chinese and also is a woman so she's having trouble wrapping her head around that. 
• And Evelyn's business is being audited by the IRS.  

It's at a very tense meeting with the IRS agent that something happens to Waymond. He's all confident, strong and talking really fast. 

Waymond has been taken over by Alpha-Waymond, a version of Waymond from the "Alphaverse." 

Wait! What?

It's a multiverse thing. 

In the Alphaverse,  Alpha-Evelyn developed "verse-jumping" technology, which enables people to access the skills, memories, and bodies of their parallel-universe selves by performing bizarre actions that are statistically unlikely. 

Alpha Evelyn is dead and the Evelyn of our world is the one who can save everything.  The multiverse is threatened by Jobu Tupaki, the Alphaverse version of Joy who intends to destroy all off the multiverse using a bagel with everything.  

Look, I can't make this any clearer.  All reality is doomed unless Evelyn can quickly learn to master "verse-jumping" to stop a world destroying version of her daughter from annihilating the multiverse with an everything bagel.  

Then... things get weird. 

Evelyn channels skills and talents from other versions of herself in multiverse such as kung fu and singing. 

Some of the alternate Earths are really weird. There's the universe where everyone has hot dogs for fingers. The upside is that Evelyn is really good at using her feet. 

And the universe where Evelyn and Joy are just rocks, communicating through words that silently float in the air of a lifeless world.  

Back in Evelyn's world, all this chaos is just about too much for Waymoud to stand and he pleas for everybody to stop fighting and to instead be kind even when life doesn't make sense.

Evelyn has an epiphany. Instead of fighting Jobu Tupaki, to try to defeat or destroy the Alphaverse Joy, Evelyn starts using her verse jumping to help people.

The everything bagel will be stopped.... with love.  

OK, that sounds kind of sappy but hey, we've earned this. We've been through everything everywhere all at once. We're due some love and affection in the end. 

Evelyn is not an easy character to love. As much as she bristles under the shadow of her demanding father, she too can be demanding. She condescending towards her husband ("He's probably making things worse," she mutters to herself as Waymond successfully negotiates another delay in the IRS audit) and is critical of Joy's life choices.  But when Evelyn's world begins to unravel, shattered by the chaos of a multiverse gone mad and the intrusion of other versions of herself, we peel away why Evelyn is the way she is and it is a most poignant tale of choices questioned and dreams deferred.  

Michelle Yeoh won the Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of Evelyn and it is most assuredly well deserved as Michelle has to be stern, confused, sad, angry, joyous and loving in rapid succession, sometimes in the same scene as Evelyn comes to grip with not only her role in the multiverse but her relationships to those important to her, to the people she loves.  

Ke Huy Quan deserves his Best Supporting Actor win as Waymond who takes turns being a mild mannered goofball and serious minded action dude.  

(When he was a child actor, Ke Huy Quan played Short Round in Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom. The reunion of Ke Huy Quan and Harrison Ford was a sweet, sentimental moment.) 

The team of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won the Oscar for Best Director and damned if the Daniels didn't earn that too. With a near infinite number of worlds to play with, this movie could've easily been a muddled mess but the Daniels have it all make sense and with a sense of humor and a heartfelt emotion.

Evelyn's plunged into the multiverse opens explorations of neurodivergence, depression, identity and generational trauma.  Even at it's most absurd, Everything Everywhere All at Once compels you to think and to feel and to experience as the best movies should. 

I don't want to oversell this Everything Everywhere All at Once was an extraordinary experience for me as a movie fan and deserves all the accolades it has received.   

Next week Cinema Sunday lowers its sights a bit with an action comedy from 1990 in what might be Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movie role.  

Movie Time: Zootopia 2

It's....Movie Time! 

Today's post is about a movie that came out last November and proved Disney still had it in them to produce a really good animated film that people wanted to see.

Here is Zootopia 2, the second-highest-grossing film of 2025 and the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time, all to mostly positive reviews.

Andrea and I did not get to see this movie when it came out last year but she had expressed interest in it since it came to Disney+.  Since last weekend was Mother's Day, I thought it would be a good idea to give this a go. 

Here's my blog post about the first Zootopia from (can this be right?) March 2016? It's been THAT long?!  Ten years ago?

But as far as bunny Judy Hopps and fox Nick Wilde are concerned, it's been one week since they became  partners in the Zootopia Police Department (ZPD).

They say opposites attract and boy, Judy and Nick do seem to have opposite visions of what to do with their new positions with the ZPD.

Nick thinks they have a pretty sweet gig and doesn't want to lose it (or Judy) and thinks the best course is to play it cool, stay low, just go with the flow and see where life and their ZPD career takes them.

Judy...eh, not so much.  Bursting with boundless energy, Judy is determined to make a splash, solve a big case and prove without a doubt their worth to the ZPD and without a doubt a bunny and a fox can be partners.  

Judy's desperate desire to take the initiative does lead to an arrest but also to a lot chaos, carnage and some other 3rd word that begins with "c". 

Which causes their ZPD chief to doubt Judy and Nick's worth to the department and if a bunny and a fox can be partners.  

Nick reiterates his position to play it cool, stay low, just go with the flow.

Judy can't do that.  At the crime scene of the bust that went awry, she found a piece of snake skin.

Which can't be right: a snake has not been seen in Zootopia in a hundred years.   

Judy coerces Nick into joining her to infiltrate the Zootennial Gala. hosted by Milton Lynxley.

Zootopia was founded 100 years ago with Milton's grandfather created the weather walls that regulate Zootopia's climate zones.

The story of how those walls were created is detailed in a revered and closely guarded book. 

A pit viper invades the Gala to steal that book.  

Once more we've got chaos, carnage and some other 3rd word that begins with "c". Milton demands that Gary be killed and the book burned. Judy thinks something is up and, with Nick in tow, helps Gary escape.

At Milton's urging, Gary, Judy and Nick are declared fugitives from the law.   

Nothing is what it seems. 

Although if it seems like the Lynxleys are up to some shady shit, well, you're on the right track.  

With the help of Nibbles Maplestick, a very talkative conspiracy theorist beaver, Judy & Nick arrive at Marsh Market, a secluded area of Zootopia where reptiles hide. 

Eventually their paths cross with the pit viper (named Gary De'Snake) and his accomplice, Pawbert Lynxley who is defying his family's sinister proclivities.  

It seems the official story of the founding of Zootopia is not the real story and the book Gary stole will reveal the truth. 

But still to be found: a missing page from the book that will reveal the true creator of the Zootopia weather walls.  

Caution: all is still not as it seems. 

There is a LOT going on with this plot and things don't get any easier with Judy and Nick constantly at odds on what to do next. Ironically, these disputes that are driving them apart are born from a mutual fear of losing each other. 

Along with the surprising dark turns of the plot and the unfolding drama between Nick and Judy, there is a still a lot of fun to be had with animal themed and pop culture based puns flying fast and furious.  And speaking of "fast and furious", the action sequences are fast and clever.  

Zootopia 2 is packed with jokes, action and drama. This movie is a lot of fun.   

The "It's That Person Who Was In That Thing" Dept.

• Ke Huy Quan is Gary De'Snake. Quan was in season 2 of Loki and won an Oscar for his supporting role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.     
• Fortune Feimster, our North Carolina native lesbian, frequently stole the show in FUBAR walks away with a crap ton of scenery as Nibbles Maplestick, a beaver podcast host and conspiracy theorist. Nibbles has a lot to say about a lot of things,some of which makes sense.  
• Why does Pawbert Lynxley sound like Jake Peralta from Brooklyn Nine-Nine? 'Cause it's Andy Samberg is behind the mike, y'all!  
• Kronk is in the house, dudes! From The Emperor's New Groove, Patrick Warburton is the voice of Brian Winddancer, a Clydesdale horse action hero actor  who is now the the Mayor of Zootopia. 
• Quinta Brunson (AKA Janine Teagues from Abbott Elementary) is on hand as as Dr. Fuzzby, a quokka psychotherapist at specializing in partners' therapy.   

The "I Get It: It's a Pun!" Department 

• Ed Shearin is a sheep voiced by singer Ed Shearan.  
•  Michael J. is a fox voiced by (who guessed it) Michael J. Fox! 

Shirley from Community, Yvette Nicole Brown is in the movie TWICE!

• An EMT otter 
• The Bearoness, a grizzly bear gala guest.  

Alan Tudyk (Doom Patrol, Firefly, Resident Alien) is not be outdone and is in the film  for THREE roles : 

• Duke Weaselton, a weasel crook.  
• A French raccoon dog chef that oversees the catering at the Zootennial Gala.  (There's a sight gag when a rat is exposed as hiding under the chef's hat.) 
• Molt Kohl, a green iguana at the Reptile Hangout

Zootopia 2 does what you expect a good Disney animated flick to do with fast paced action, heartfelt drama and mile a minute comedy.  

Stick around for a post credit scene. A feather floats down to Judy's window sill, setting up her next case.

What about the birds of Zootopia? I guess that will wait for the 3rd film,  

Which hopefully won't take 10 years to make.   

Tuesday TV Touchbase: Ahsoka, Quantum Leap and Loki

 Before we kick off this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase, I was completely bummed out hear that Suzanne Somers died on Sunday at the age of 76.

Somers hit the big time in Three’s Company in the late ’70s and later starred in the blended family sit com Step By Step in the ’90s.  

Well, this sucks! 

(The wrong people keep dying.)

Today's Tuesday TV Touchbase takes on adventures in SPACE and TIME! 

Let's start off with... SPACE!!!   

So Andrea and I finished the (first? last?) season of the Star Wars series Ahsoka.  We had muddled through the season without the wisdom and knowledge provided by the animated series Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars that came before. 

Look, we were here for David Tennant who provides the voice of the droid Huyang. Tennant is perfectly adorable as the cantankerous old droid who has been building light sabers and training Jedi for centuries.  

Backstory? Ha! I scoff in your general direction! Who needs backstory?

Well...

A whole bunch of shit went down in the 8th episode that was targeted to the Star Wars fan base faithful.  

In the galaxy farther, farther away....

Morgan Elsbeth is gifted Mother Talzin's sword by the Great Mothers. It's not a light saber but a regular sword that crackles with a green fiery energy. It's kind of sinister and looks cool.

While Huyang hangs back to fix Ahsoka's ship, Ahsoka, Sabine and Ezra Bridger book it back to the Grand Admiral Thrawn's ship to keep him from returning to their home galaxy. (The one that is far, far away and not farther, farther away.)  

Thrawn's goons have spent 3 episodes loading his ship with... well, something important. I'm not sure what. Maybe the Rebels and Clone Wars fans have a clue.  

Our trio fights against Night Troopers who are storm troopers who have been killed but keep fighting anyway. Yep, zombie troopers! 

Ahsoka goes one on one against Elsbeth and after a heated battle of light sabers vs. fiery green magic sword, Elsbeth gets killed. 

Sabine stays behind to help Ahsoka while Ezra Bridger makes it on to Thrawn's ship just before it makes the super duper jump to hyperspace back home and Ahsoka has fuck all in the way of trying to follow the bastard.  

The one mission made clear repeatedly since episode one was to make sure Thrawn does NOT escape his exile from the galaxy farther, farther away.  Well, that did not work out at all as planned.

Thrawn and the Great Mothers park themselves over the planet Dathomir which I gather is a big deal. 

Ezra Bridger reunites with General Syndulla and her droid Chopper and this seems to be a really big deal. 

I DON'T GET IT! 

Back in the galaxy farther, farther away, Ahosoka, Sabine and Huyang are stuck on a planet with these alien dudes I call "turtle bugs".

While Anakin Skywalker's force ghosts stands watch over them and...

What the hell? THIS is where we end this?!? 

What kind of Empire Strikes Back bullshit is this?!?! The bad guys win and the good guys are stuck? Really?!?!

Lesson learned: we can't just follow David Tennant to anything he's in without doing the homework first. 

Next up is an adventure in TIME with the 2nd season return of Quantum Leap.

How exactly are we getting new episodes of this show when every other scripted program is dead in the water? NBC made a quick renewal of the show early on which gave the cast and crew to put away about a half dozen episodes before the writer and actor strikes began. 

Anyway, season two of Quantum Leap begins with a change to the status quo. While for Ben a mere matter of hours has elapsed from his last leap to his next, in his future, things progressed differently. It seems Project Quantum Leap lost track of Ben Song and the government shut down the project, declaring Ben dead. 

It's been THREE years before Ian finally finds Ben again.  Ian swears they found Ben through dumb luck from a computer program they left running at the project. But it appears Ian may be up to sketchy shit.  Mason Alexander Park is still endearingly adorkable as every and I don't want to see Ian get in trouble over this.   

Meanwhile Addison has found love with some new guy named Tony who seems like a really nice guy and everything but damn it, she was just engaged to Ben a few minutes ago although for her it's been 3 years but still...  DAMN IT!!! 

Meanwhile, Ben is still leaping across time, life to life, putting right whatever went wrong. And like Sam Beckett before him, perhaps with no end in sight.  

Meanwhile, we play around with TIME in the 2nd season premiere of Loki.  

You know I was complaining earlier about how some stuff with Ahsoka didn't quite make sense because I wasn't there for the backstory. 

So I was there for the backstory for Loki and so far. what the hell is going on with season 2? Has my brain gotten too old to keep track of a classic "time has fractured" plot? 

Take a deep breath, Dave-El. You can do this. 

Plot summary for Loki Season 2: Time is fucked.

Well, my work here is done! 

OK, one more thing: a big old shout out to Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once) who joins the cast as TVA technician Ouroboros ("O.B."), a wonderfully eccentric science dude enhanced by Quan's perfect comedic timing.

By the way, Loki is looking for Sylvie and finds her working for a McDonald's in 1982. 

Side note: I worked for a McDonald's for a few weeks in the summer of 1982. Seeing Sylvia in that god awful brown polyester uniform brought back some PTSD.  

To be honest, the bloom is a bit off the rose for me in terms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but Loki is enough of it's own strange thing to keep me interested. For now.   

Next week, Our Flag Means Death. 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.  

Cinema Sunday: Shazam! Fury of the Gods

This week's Cinema Sunday is reflects on a movie Andrea and I went to see 2 weeks ago in it's opening weekend. 

Let's turn out gaze towards Shazam! Fury of the Gods! 

It's been a couple of years since Billy Batson and his fellow foster family kids "SHAZAM'd" up as super heroes and defeated the nefarious schemes of Thaddeus Sivana. In the intervening time, these heroes have become the...

Well, certainly not the pride of Philadelphia. 

The local media refers to this collective of heroes as the "Philly Fiascos".  

Case in point, a bridge begins to collapse and hundreds of motorists are in danger. Billy and his "Shazamily" swoop in and save 162 lives with no injuries or deaths. 

But they can't stop the bridge from collapsing. 

Philadelphia's collective response? "You SUCK!" 

Philly sports fans are mean assholes and damned if they ain't the same way with their would be super heroes. 

Billy is trying to hold the gang together but they're getting older and itching to do their own thing. Mary wants to go to college but has to work. Billy is on the verge of turning 18 and aging out of the foster program, meaning he may have to leave his foster family. 

And there's a dark and ominous plot afoot from immortal beings known as the Sisters of Atlas, seeking revenge on the Wizard for killing their father, stealing their powers and always forgetting to put the toilet seat down.   

So the sisters are on a tear to get back the powers from those upstart heroes in Philadelphia. 

Beyond that, well, the sisters are not in agreement vis-a-vie their long term goals. One of them is seriously pissed at humankind and ready to destroy the world.  

There's some obstacles to be overcome, battles to be fought, secrets to be revealed, sacrifices to be made....

Well, it all works out in the end. 

Is Shazam! Fury of the Gods a great movie? Not really.

At the very least, is Shazam! Fury of the Gods a good movie? Well...

Look, I came out of this movie feeling sufficiently entertained and amused.  

But sitting here writing about it, I am kind of hard pressed to explain exactly while I was entertained and amused. 

One my favorite bits from the movie involves the Shazamily, their sentient magical pen they named "Steve" and a letter they dictate to the Sisters of Atlas.  When Steve takes dictation, he literally writes everything the speaker (or anyone around them) says. 

So we have a sequence that begins with adult Billy beginning the letter with "To the Sisters of Atlas, violence is not the answer..."  

A moment later, the sisters magically receive the letter and the one played by the great Helen Mirren reads the letter:  "To the Sisters of Atlas, violence is not the answer. Oh, that's a great opening. Yeah I thought we needed to set the right tone. Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah, right. Violence is not the answer. I propose we should meet for a peaceful negotiation. Wow, that sounds so grown up. We need the Sisters to take us seriously." And so on and so on. 

I and everyone else in the theater was laughing so hard at this bit. It is just too damn funny hearing Helen Mirren read this stream of consciousness dreck.  

But I think where the movie falters is the see-saw between these bits of outright comedy and also trying to be a straight up super hero action film. Hell, this goofy movie ends with people frickin' dying. 

In one case, death is reversed with help from a cool cameo from Wonder Woman. (Gal Gadot is still with us for one more movie.) 

Scenes with Billy as an adult super hero are always played for laughs and scenes with Billy as a teen-ager are always played for drama. So when adult Billy has to make a sacrifice play to save the Earth from being destroyed, one might wonder where the hell did that come from? How is this big goofball suddenly the dramatic core of our big save the world ending? 

Billy spends most of the move in his adult form played by Zachary Levi and has very little to do in his teen-age persona played by Asher Angel. OK, we get it. The funniest moments from the first film was a teen-ager mucking about in a super powered adult body so let's give everyone more of that, right?

 But there is a disconnect when the boy is more mature than the boy in the man's body. In the sequel, Billy is now 17 while Zachary Levi is playing adult Billy with the mentality of someone closer to 13.  

As I said before, I came out of  Shazam! Fury of the Gods feeling like I had a good time. But upon reflection, I wish that good time had been with a better movie. 

Next week, Cinema Sunday visits this year's Oscar winner for Best Picture.

It's Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Movie Time: Going My Way

 It's Sunday and it's time to go to church.

Specifically, that church is St. Dominic's Catholic Church in New York City.

It's Movie Time and time for a 1944 Oscar winner starring Bing Crosby as a priest.

Going My Way is an American musical comedy drama film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Barry Fitzgerald. 

St. Dominic's Catholic Church is a stodgy old church in a troubled neighborhood in New York City. The church is troubled too, in debt to the bank on a past due mortgage.  

Father Fitzgibbon is a stodgy old priest who has little patience for the new priest sent to assist him, Father Charles "Chuck" O'Malley.   

O'Malley is unconventional compared to Fitzgibbon. 

O'Malley likes to dress informally in sweatshirts of his beloved St. Louis Browns baseball team.

He likes to play golf.

He's a musician for crying out loud. He sings, plays the piano, writes songs and even knows current pop music tunes. 

O'Malley is progressive and proactive where Fitzgibbon is conservative and reactive.

Like O'Malley's approach with the boys in the neighborhood, boiys inclined towards vagrancy, vandalism and theft.  

O'Malley actually takes the local boys under his wing to attend baseball games and then convinces them to form a boy's choir. 

Or what about that matter of the young woman who ran away from home because she wants to be a singer in New York's night clubs? O'Malley does encourage her to return to her parents  but he also slips her $10 to tide her over and gives her singing lessons to help her be a better singer.  

Fitzgibbons meets with the Bishop to have O'Malley removed.

Only to discover the truth that O'Malley hasn't shared with him yet.

The Bishop didn't send O'Malley to St. Dominic's to assist Fitzgibbons.

The Bishop sent O'Malley to St. Dominic's to replace Fitzgibbons.

Distressed over this information, Fitzgibbons runs away from home. But after hours of wandering around in a rainstorm with nowhere to go, he returns to the church and acquieces to whatever O'Malley wants to do.

While O'Malley was sent to take charge of St. Dominic's to make it stable and viable, he still considers Fitzgibbons as the pastor and will always have a place at the church.   

On the matter of getting the church on a more secure footing, well, that means money and one way to get that is if O'Malley can sell his song compositions to a music publisher.  But so far, no one is buying.   

 Working with Jenny Tuffel, a singer who is a pre-priesthood ex-girlfriend and some help from the conductor and orchestra at the  Metropolitan Opera (where Jenny is a star) as well as the church's boy choir, O'Malley arranges for a performance of his composition, "Going My Way" for music publisher Max Dolan.

Who is suitably impressed but still declines to buy the song.

An impromptu performance of another of O'Malley's songs, "Swinging On A Star" also impresses Max Dolan and this song, yeah, he'll buy it. 

It's enough money to pay off the church's mortgage. 

With St. Dominic's saved from foreclosure, O'Malley is transferred to a new assignment.  

But there are still challenges to be faced by Fitzgibbons and the church before he can leave.

But even in the face of a fresh new disaster, the church and Fitzgibbons are in a far better place and more than ready to face the future as O'Malley takes his leave.  

Life imitates art: Risë Stevens who played Jenny would go on to become a star performer at the Metropolitan Opera.

The "It's That Person Who Was In That Thing" Department

• An uncredited William Frawley is Max Dolan the music publisher.  Frawley was Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy.
• Barry Fitzgerald who played Father Fitzgibbons was Aloysius Gogarty, Mrs. Random's gardener in Bringing Up Baby. 

Barry Fitzgerald has the really difficult role of playing a cantankerous curmudgeon without making him completely unlikable. His performance in this role is quite remarkable and deserving of his Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor.  

Going My Way did very well at the Oscars with ten nominations and seven wins.

In addition to Barry Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby won for Best Actor and Leo McCarey  took home the Oscar for Best Director.  The movie itself won Best Picture.  

The record set by Going My Way was not  matched until 2022 by Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Going My Way resulted in Paramound delaying the release of the completed Road To Utopia, a Bing Crosby/Bob Hope "road picture" until 1946.  The studio didn't want the absurdist comedy of that picture possibly screwing up Crosby's chance at a Best Actor Oscar for his role as Father O'Malley.

And Crosby's earns that trophy with an understated performance filled with grace and gentle humor.  

Going My Way may not convert you to Catholicism but it is a warm and positive reminder of the good that come when someone actually tries to live up to the ideals of their faith. 

Let's have Bing and the boys of the St.Dominic's boy choir take us out with "Swinging On A Star".

Disney Daze - Part Three

And now, another exciting installment of Dave-El and the El Family as they explore the Friggin' Happiest Friggin' Place On Friggin' Earth....

Part Three 

Tuesday, December 6^th, the El family made our way to EPCOT. But first….WAFFLES!

If you get breakfast anywhere on site at Disney World, chances are you’ll find waffles but not just any old waffles, no sir. These are waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head!

Of course, precious little in Disney World does not have the imprimatur of Mickey’s head in some form or fashion. Still, these waffles look unique and they taste great. Seriously, there are few things that taste better than a Mickey Mouse waffle.  So our day began with a short walk over to the Old Port Royale to find some waffles. Which we did. What we didn’t find, right away at least, was a place to eat them.

Randie’s hated enemies had struck. Random Cheerleader Zombies were EVERYWHERE! All ponytailed and perky, giggling and babbling. Seriously it was like being at a convention of human sized tour guide Barbies. It was more than a large crowd of cheerleaders. It was an infestation.

Eventually seating was secured thanks to a very kind and friendly man who was cleaning up after the Random Cheerleader Zombies.

And the waffles? The waffles were so GOOD!

And now… off to EPCOT!

EPCOT was the 2^nd Walt Disney World theme park opened in Florida after the Magic Kingdom. EPCOT is about SCIENCE! Centrally located near the entrance is what I called EL GOLF BALL DE GRANDE! 

Disney calls it Spaceship Earth which made the news the night before by being transformed into the Death Star in advance of the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. (Coming to a theater near you. Check your local listings.)

Inside the EL GOLF BALL DE GRANDE… er, Spaceship Earth is a ride that takes you through time, watching mankind evolve from cavemen drawing on walls and using rocks for tool to developing into the advance beings we are today, bitching about slow Wi-Fi connections and voting for Donald Trump. We have come so far, haven’t we? 

Meanwhile, over this wonderful land of knowledge, a storm was brewing. Heralded by a fast moving wind, a hard rain began to fall. This prompted us to buy our first souvenirs of the day: Disney rain ponchos. 

Here’s the thing about Florida: it hardly ever rains and then it does… a LOT!

Here’s how the weather goes in Florida:

No rain.

No rain.

No rain.

No rain.

No rain.

No rain.

No rain.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!

No rain.

No rain.

Protected by the mighty shields of our plastic Disney rain ponchos, we made our way to Mission Space. This is a simulator ride that replicates a journey to Mars. You’re sent on your way by Gary Sinise. 

I know that seems oddly specific but there he is on screen, going down the list of stuff we have to do to get into space, get to Mars and NOT DIE! There are two versions of the ride: wussy and extreme nausea. We opted for wussy, much to Randie’s disappointment and Andrea and I’s relief. Andrea could not handle the extreme version of this ride. She could barely handle the wussy level. Here’s the deal: Gary Sinise barks out orders on which buttons the riders are supposed to push in order to survive the ride and make it to Mars. Thank God this ride is pretty programmed to do its own thing because Andrea’s over in her seat flailing away, slapping at whatever blinking button that might be blinking in front of her.

Next up is Soarin’. Sad to say we did not get to this ride at all in 2009. Without a Fast Pass or a donkey load of camping equipment for the regular line, it just ain’t happening. We did get in for 2011 with a Fast Pass and we had Fast Pass ready for Soarin’ this year. Once again, a rather famous person shows up on screen to give us instructions, Patrick Warburton who played Puddy on Seinfeld and was the voice of Kronk in the Emperor’s New Groove. By the way, Mr. Warburton will be Lemony Snicket in the new Netflix adaption of An Unfortunate Series of Events.

Soarin’ is another simulator ride that makes you feel like you’re flying free high in the air over cities and mountains and oceans and forests and… oh, it’s such a marvelous experience. Even with the old couple sitting next to me commenting on everything.

“Ooh, Harold! It’s the Eiffel Tower!”

“Sure is tall, ain’t it?”

“I think it’s romantic!”

“You think everything’s romantic, Edna.”

“Is that the Taj Mahal, Harold?”

“Could be, Edna. Don’t smell any curry, though.”

“Oh no! We’re getting really close to those mountains, Harold!”

“It’s just a simulation, Edna.”

“Look, Harold! We’re over the Artic!”

“I think it’s Antarctica, Edna.” 

“Isn’t Antarctica in the Artic, Harold?”

“No, Edna. Antarctica is in Antarctica.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Harold.”

Speaking of talking, we stopped by for an exhibit in The Living Seas where Crush the Turtle from Finding Nemo chats with people in the audience. It’s actually kind of funny and cool. Yes, it has been updated to include new characters introduced in Finding Dory. Amazingly enough, Crush can react to individual people in the audience.

“Pshaw! I see an old dude with white on top and a red Polo shell. What’s your name dude?”

“Oh my, Harold! That turtle is talking to you!”

“I don’t think so, Edna.”

“Not cool, dude! Talkin’ to ya right now, dontcha know.” 

“This is so exciting, Harold!”

“OK, I’m gonna to talk to one of the little humans instead. Hey, little dude! What’s your name?”

“I peed my pants.” 

"You know, I'm gonna swim back into the big ol' blue, dudes."

Eventually we made our away over to the World Showcase. If the main part of EPCOT is dedicated to science, this part of the park is about cultures around the world. Areas dedicated to replicating even in just a small way various parts of the world such as Mexico, Italy, Japan, Morocco and England.  

There's even a section of the World Showcase that looks at that strange and exotic land known as... AMERICA! 

Inside the American exhibit (AMERICA!) is a show combining film, animations and automatons to tell the story of... AMERICA! While we were there, there was an exhibit of Washington buildings and such made out of gingerbread.

Inside the capital were little gingerbread politicians. You could tell they were politicians; they weren't doing anything.

(RIM SHOT!) 

AMERICA! 

Right across from EPCOT's America (AMERICA!) was a performance by a choir and orchestra performing Christmas music. 

In our previous visits in 2009 and 2011, we had dinner in the Norway exhibit. In a bid to keep me from saying the word "fjord" way too many times with what I think is a perfectly acceptable Norwegian accent, this trip we had dinner in China at a restaurant called Nine Dragons. It was a very lovely place to eat. Randie had a fish entree that was not deep fried in stick form. 

I'm not sure what the story is with Randie's expression in this photo. Maybe this is the part where I explained just how much food costs in Disney World. 

I really like EPCOT's World Showcase at night. Yes, it's a collection of facades to look like different parts of the world but in the place of shadows on light, one can almost get lost in the fantasy of strolling through a different country. And the lights along the edge of the lagoon at the center of the showcase are always a beautiful sight to see.

Speaking of the lagoon...

We stayed to watch EPCOT's fireworks show which takes place in the heart of the lagoon. I groused a bit about having to stay for the show in the Magic Kingdom the night before. But this is one show I can really get behind sticking around to watch. First of all, fireworks are just a part of the spectacle. At the center of it all over the water is an illuminated globe with light and images dancing over it's surface. The sky is split with lasers while plumes of fire dance on the water. And then there is the fireworks which are among the most spectacular I have ever seen. I don't have any pictures of it because it's such an entrancing spectacle, I don't even think to hold up my phone.  But here's a pic I found online to give you a taste of it.

And a fun time was had by all. 

But it was time to go. 

And fun time was over.

We had spent even longer at EPCOT on Tuesday than we did Magic Kingdom on Monday so we were very tired. Still, we had to stagger with what felt like thousands of people as we all made our way to the exit. My feet felt like a pair of cacti that were on fire as the bones in my lower back were grinding to dust. Finally we make it to the bus. Where's it's standing room only once more. At least this time the Random Cheerleader Zombies were relatively few in number and not causing too much trouble. 

The previous night we made the mistake of disembarking our bus at the Martinique stop because our rooms were in the Martinique section of the Caribbean Beach Resort. This time we were smart and exited at Old Port Royale instead. 

And wandered about as we wondered where our room was. Our room was in building 25. We found building 26, then 24, then 26 again. After much painful weary wondering about, we finally found our building and eventually found our room. It took two nights of trial and error but we finally figured out how to get back to our room. 

Ah, the joys of being on vacation.
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Hey there! The blog goes live with another post at 5 PM Eastern Time in the United States as we look at Wonder Woman's employment status. Answer: not good. 

And we're back live with another post 12 hours after that as my family's adventures continue in the Friggin' Happiest Friggin' Place On Friggin' Earth with Part Four of Disney Daze.

Until next time, remember to be good to one another. 

This is a panoramic shot taken by Randie of the World Showcase lagoon shoreline.