Making A Fashionable Epcot Exit

I've always thought Epcot was the most beautiful of the Disney parks. The way that it utilizes water, angles, architecture, and lighting is breathtaking. As a knee-high young kid walking through the parks, the buildings that house the rides are a sight to behold, as they towered over me. Add in the environmental music that seems to follow you around the parks, and you have a feast for the ears and eyes. As beautiful as it is at daytime, the park is even more impressive at night.

Prior to Illuminations being shown on a grand scale in the lagoon, the Epcot night time shows were very limited in terms of seating. Rather than fight the crowds to get a seat, we skipped the shows completely. We took advantage of this - we would schedule dinner as late as the chosen location would allow us, typically at Italy. We would then proceed to dine very slowly, and by the time we left the Italian pavilion the park would be virtually empty, with not a soul in sight. There's just something about walking around the parks at night when they are not filled with crowds: the music is going, the weather and temperature are perfect, the fountains are all on. It's almost like you own the park. So, for the many years that we went before Illuminations, we would trek out of Epcot every night almost alone.

However, we weren't ALWAYS alone. I recall one particular time that we followed a young couple out of the park probably an hour after the park had officially closed. They appeared to be new honeymooners and were playing and goofing around as they exited the park. When we got to the large fountain at the entrance of the park (the original beautiful fountain with the 3 glass towers shown above), the new husband dumped his wife in. Still dripping and laughing, she chased him all the way to the parking lot.