EMPTY Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

My step-son and his fiance are tying the knot in about 6 weeks and they asked if Cindy and I would get their photographers into EPCOT this past Saturday so they could take some pre-wedding photos. It has been quite a while since Cindy and I have had the opportunity to enjoy EPCOT (or ANY of the parks, for that matter) alone so we decided to stay and tour the World Showcase and enjoy a light lunch.

But we really had no idea HOW alone we would be. We have never seen so few people in EPCOT on a Saturday, not even after 9/11. I told Cindy instead of Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow it was EMPTY Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. Look at this sparse street scene in the normally crowded and bustling United Kingdom pavilion.



That was at 2pm in the afternoon, and it was almost like having the park to yourself. I'm NOT complaining as it made the visit much more enjoyable, but I AM stunned at just how few visitors there were that day, not only in the World Showcase but in the Future World area as well.

Here are a few more photos. First up are two picture I took with my BlackBerry and uploaded to TwitPic to share with my Twits who follow me on Twitter; here is Cindy at EPCOT and then me at EPCOT.

Then here is one I shot of Wendy, Jeremy and Cindy when we first arrived at the park before we went our separate ways.



Cindy with Spaceship Earth in the background across the lake.



Finally, just one of my "art" shots, lol.



I was not happy with almost all of my shots because a camera setting was wrong, but I may try to work on them in Photoshop and possibly upload the salvageable ones up to Flickr in the next few days.

We enjoyed a light lunch at Boulangerie Patisserie in the France Pavilion, a quick-service restaurant that dishes up a small assortment of sandwiches, quiches, French pastries and beverages. I had a turkey and cheese on baguette with an apple tart for dessert and Cindy had a ham and cheese croissant with a chocolate eclair for dessert. We sat on the stone planter in the courtyard and watched people (the few there were) walk past us.

It was while watching those people that I observed something I had not seen before and it left me somewhat confused. If you've ever seen what I'm about to describe, I'd be interested in hearing about it. A very attractive young woman and her, I assume, boyfriend, walked past. I could tell she was attractive because she was wearing tight jeans and a form-fitting, low-cut top. The confusing part was she was also wearing the traditional Muslim hijab, but with the front lower portion that would cover her chest thrown back across her shoulder which exposed her cleavage. It was a true clash of values or views or however you'd like to phrase it. The casualness of most Western attire with the symbol of modesty (in this case, almost modesty since the front was thrown back) required of Middle Eastern females appearing in public. Very difficult to reconcile, for me.

Anyone else ever witnessed this or something similar?

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