Day 2 of our Disney Day was a whirlwind. The plan was to go to breakfast at Cape May Cafe, and then spend the day at Epcot for the Festival of the Arts. But then we discovered that Animal Kingdom had extra magic hours that morning, and I hadn't managed to score a Fast Pass for Flight of Passage, so I knew that would be our opportunity to be able to ride. I had no idea when we planned our trip, however, that this day would be President's Day...
Arrival at the front gate at Animal Kingdom Monday morning:
Walking into Pandora!
They routed us back across the bridge to the Africa area of the park.
Finally, the waterfalls of Flight of Passage!
The inside queue was lovely. A whole jungle I had never seen!
And a very cool science lab.
And this incredible avatar waiting in the science lab:
And a massively enormous wall mural.
Finally we made it into the pre-show. Ugh this part drives me nuts. Not the pairing with an avatar, but the scientist guy who is just so obviously stalling for time.
I learned from a friend while we were chatting in the queue on messenger that the Cast Member crew who worked the ride when it opened made up t-shirts with a drawing of Cinderella's castle and a caption that said "You can...uh...fly!" Cracks me up. I totally want one of those t-shirts.
If you look closely you can see my reflection in the view screen.
Of course the ride itself was incredible and totally worth the wait as always. I don't know if I'd wait three hours for it, but it's definitely worth an hour, and I wouldn't say that about many rides at Disney World.
We headed over to the buses and waited to go to Beach Club for our (delayed, thankfully I could push back our reservation time on the app) breakfast.
My outfit on this day was a Gelatoni Disneybound. I do love Gelatoni...the Italian artist friend of Duffy who paints with his tail using gelato. (what? lol) Since he's an artist, I thought he would be a good choice to bound for Festival of the Arts.
We arrived at the Beach Club, and I got to take my photo in the glamour chair. I always love the photos Tom takes of me when I pose in these chairs!
We were seated in a booth this time, instead of the table that we seem to always get when we go to breakfast. The booth was right by the kitchen, which meant that our empty plates got cleared very quickly.
We talked to Daisy about what a bear Donald is going to be when it's his turn to celebrate his 90th birthday like Mickey and Minnie.
We told Donald he should celebrate his 90th with a whole decade of celebration instead of just a year like Mickey and Minnie.
We asked Minnie if she helped make the breakfast at all, and she was emphatic that she did not.
And I don't recall what we said to Goofy, but later on when I was using the facilities, he apparently walked by Tom on his way to a break and patted him on the back so hard he lost his breath for a moment. LOL
We took the boat to Epcot, just in time for our Spaceship Earth Fast Pass. We passed by this art booth on our way there though, and this artwork was so lovely I had to have Tom snap a picture for my friend Brittany.
We took the shortcut to Future World and we were thrilled to see that the flower quilt for the Flower and Garden Festival is out! So beautiful.
From there, I got my first taste of Beverly of the trip, and we stood and watched the living statues for a while. They were so creative and fun to watch!
We then made our way to the Festival Center, where I had seen a few YouTubers stop and get a custom screen printed t-shirt for the Festival. You can choose from a variety of different shirts, and from a variety of designs, and your ink colors, and they will screen print it right in front of you. I loved the idea of getting a shirt for the festival that was actually made using an art form.
And here's the result of my choosing: a purple-ish gray t-shirt (very soft) with rainbow Spaceship Earth and Figment design.
A few of the chalk artworks we walked by on our way to World Showcase.
I love that this artist let park guests color the individual squares, and then did her art. Such a lovely idea.
We had a Fast Pass next for Frozen Ever After, but just about at the front of the line, we suddenly heard all the noises of the ride operation halt, and they shut it down. Thankfully there was a CM standing at the exit scanning magic bands so that we would get a top level Fast Pass of our choice anytime that day.
We strolled through World Showcase, and somewhere near Germany, there was a kiosk selling the Figment ears I'd admired from the festival. This was the only place I saw them for sale! I tried them on, and admitted I liked them very much, but didn't buy them yet.
In America, we stopped to take our photos as The Scream and Mona Lisa.
And then it was time for a mid-day sit down for a moment. We found a cozy table in a quiet spot in America, and got drinks and our first ice cream sandwiches of the trip.
↓ My favorite Disney snack
We continued, after our break, walking around the various art booths for the festival, and remarked to each other that there just weren't many artworks that stood out to us. That is, until we came to this booth and saw the beautiful sculptures of Jacinthe Lacroix.
Right around the transition between Morocco and France, I found a Disney art booth with an artwork for which I fell, smitten. I actually teared up a bit when I saw it. I took a picture, and decided to think on it, since I really don't need more art unless I think about it.
I walked on to the next booth, and there was a sampling of Paige O'Hara's art hanging, with a Cast Member standing beside it. If you don't obsessively Disney like I do, Paige O'Hara is the voice actress who voiced Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She IS Belle.
A few days previous, I had watched a YouTube video where someone said "and here's Paige O'Hara signing autographs." Tom casually said at the time "can you imagine if she's still there when we get there? I couldn't even handle the possibility.
I asked the Cast Member as casually as I could mention, "oh, is she here?" and she said "her next signing will be from 5-7pm, but you need to get a wrist band to get in line."
...............................................
What?
She was HERE?!
I, with some horror, admit that I immediately started tearing up and getting emotional. I asked the Cast Member for more details. How did one get a wrist band? Did one have to buy one of Paige's artworks? (I'd be happy to, but I had just found that artwork I loved so)
I went back to the previous booth, bought the art print, and...Tom and I got our wristbands. This just got real.
We walked back over to Future World, and I had to sit and calm myself. Of course I overthought everything. Would Paige be offended my artwork wasn't by her? What would I say? How would I express to her what Belle means to me?
Tom asked if we could go visit Joy and Sadness, and I suppose I needed a distraction. He had worn his infamous and very popular Sadness and Baymas t-shirt.
Sadness pointing to his delightful shirt.
Joy and I talking as Tom and Sadness went to the exit to wave at Baymax.
I asked Joy if she thought Baymax could possibly help Sadness at all. She seemed skeptical.
Then it was time to get in line to meet Paige. The line was quite slow-moving, but it was because she was giving each person their proper time. A good reason.
This person ahead of me had the most lovely watercolor/lineless tattoo of the enchanted rose.
There was a whole group of early 20s girls behind me in line who were driving me absolutely batty with their conversation, and I was a bit nervous I would not be able to properly quiet my mind to give this experience the sanctity it deserved.
While waiting in line, I saw Belle stop by to see Belle. How wonderful.
It was everything I could have hoped. When it was our turn next, Tom turned to hand me the wad of tissues we had gathered, and I said “just keep it on hand, I don’t know if I’ll need it.” He pressed it into my hand anyway, and I’m so glad he did because the second she looked over, I started welling up.
She gave me a giant hug right away, and held my hands as I told her how I was eleven years old when Beauty and the Beast came out, and as soon as I saw Belle, I felt known. I told her she was a massive formative influence on my life...my job at a library, my love of reading, all that I aspired to. Belle has been the number one fictional role model in my life. And I emphasized, I didn’t just mean Belle as she was written, but HER Belle. I have no beef with Emma Watson’s portrayal, but it left me cold because it wasn’t Paige’s Belle, imbued with everything she brought to her.
The whole time I was choking out this story, she was, as I said, holding my hands, looking at me, hugging me occasionally. She told me I was lovely and looked like Belle (I only wish) and had kind, old-soul eyes. “Howard Ashman told me Belle was supposed to be an old soul.”
I don’t even care if she says these words to every babbling fangirl she meets. She said them to me, looking in my eyes. She said them with Belle’s voice...you can still absolutely hear it as she talks...and with her spirit. She signed my print, we took photos, and I walked away to a park bench, where I promptly fell into Tom’s arms bawling. A lady on the bench told me it was so sweet what I said, and everyone who heard it was moved.
I meant every word. I’ve read a lot of books and watched a lot of films in my 38 years. There are some very inspiring characters, and Anne Shirley is right up there, but no one beats Belle for sheer formative influence. There’s a reason why I cry every time I am reminded of that.
By this point in the day, it was about 5:45 at night, and we had been going and going since 7am that morning, with no real rest. I was sweaty, frizzy, and a mess. But I don't care a whit.
You can see how nervous and emotional I was here.
This was an experience I will truly remember the rest of my life.
Here was the artwork that so moved me. I simply had to have it. This moment when Belle sets out on her adventure in the great wide somewhere, not knowing what would happen, full of fear and worry for her father, just really struck a chord with anxious and fearful me. The liminality of this moment, between her village life and her new life at the castle, and the incredible lighting and painterly quality of the work really stood out to me.
I find it so sweet that she puts quotation marks around Belle. No question. She is Belle.
A closer look at the artwork.
I was exhausted by this point, so we walked slowly over to the Land Pavilion so that we could use that free Fast Pass we got earlier in the day to ride Soarin, which Tom hadn't ridden since the ride film had changed.
This flowering tree made me think so much of spring, I had to take a picture.
Tom was underwhelmed by the ride, but I was growing more and more tired. We sat at Sunshine Seasons and had some dessert.
We then popped over to Disney Springs, so that we could check out the World of Disney store, which really didn't have anything new either of us much wanted. I took a photo of this marvelous display:
We also stopped by Uniqlo so that I could get a pair of bike shorts for the next day to wear under my skirt.
I also fell for this gorgeous navy pocket t-shirt with an embroidered Belle. How could I not get it after I met Belle earlier that day?
Two of our four Disney days over, and we had already fulfilled one of Tom's Disney bucket list experiences, and one of my LIFE bucket list experiences.
Day three would include trips to three out of four of the Disney parks, and a marvelous dinner with Snow White, and even more wonderfully, the Evil Queen. (Just don't call her that)
Stay tuned!
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