Fun and Interactive

We had a pretty relaxing Saturday today here at Disney.  We spent the morning working on group projects (or sleeping in some cases).  We have divided into groups to work on poster presentations of the projects we have been working on.  The posters will cover the following: an optimal tour of Magic Kingdom, an optimal tour of Epcot, an analysis of single rider lines for Expedition Everest and Rock n Roller Coaster, and an analysis of the throughput for Kali River Rapids and Tower of Terror.

We had a well deserved change of pace spending time at Camp Hardy. Dr. Marvin Hardy is a Furman grad, classmate of Dr. Harris, and dear family friend of Kate. The Hardy family was incredibly gracious and thoughtful to invite the group over to their  house which happens to sit on a lake. We were greeted with friendly faces and a Mexican feast put together by Mrs. Carla. Kate's dad was in the area for business and able to contribute with his famous homemade guacamole and two delicious desserts and to participate in the fun of course.

After some yummy food and conversation we began to hear the rumbling in the distance of an approaching storm. During the downpour we got a chance to flip through Dr. Hardy's old Furman yearbooks, finding photos of family members and friends including Dr. Harris. Our favorites included the "Harry B-Shucker" intramural football team of Dr. Harris, Dr. Hardy, and friends and the one shown to the right. We recognized a few friendly faces from the 1991 Furman Mathematics Department.

We decided that we could never let a thunderstorm rain on our parade, so once the lightening and thunder ceased, some of the most daring of the group braved the rain to hit the lake for a thrilling turn on the tube slipping and sliding across the lake. I will refrain from mentioning any names, but some were definitely more prone to flying into the lake than others. Whether watching baseball on the couch, conversing on the porch, or being slung back and forth on the tube, all are thankful opportunity this afternoon to regenerate our energy for the final stretch of our time in Orlando.

After a relaxing time at the lake, we returned to the hotel for a little down time before dinner.  We ate at the Nine Dragons Chinese restaurant in Epcot.  The food was delicious.  Popular orders included honey sesame chicken and a ‘fun and interactive’ mix your own noodles dish.  Several of us also tried caramel-ginger ice cream, which was delicious.

After dinner we stayed to watch the Illuminations fireworks show.  We received a Fastpass+ for a special viewing area as part of our Epcot Undiscovered Worlds Tour yesterday.  We got to watch the show from a small overlook in Italy.  We had a great view of the images projected on the rotating globe as it moved through the lake.  The fireworks were amazing.  We were in the front of the crowd, and even the shorter members of the group (i.e. me, Stella) had a great view.  Tomorrow we are going on a behind the scenes Illuminations tour, and we cannot wait to find out how Disney creates such a beautiful display.

Kate and Stella