We didn't make rope drop but we still arrived at the Epcot gates at a very reasonable hour. After going through the bag check process, we went to the character meet and greet to see Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie. Along the way, we saw a line of people waiting to get their pictures taken with Pluto, one of Joy's favorite characters. But, we made a very common mistake and said, "We'll do that later." Naturally, we didn't but, the character interaction with Minnie, Goofy, and Mickey was still very good.
After the character meet n' greet, we got in line for Spaceship Earth. I rode with Caleb, Joy rode with Lily, and Molly rode with Sophie. We've been on the ride several times before but I still enjoy it, if only for the cool settings and practical effects that Disney employs on there.
Joy and Lily on Spaceship Earth
The silly video that plays near the end of Spacsehip Earth
A little while later, we headed over to the Electric Umbrella to have lunch. The upstairs dining area was open but we opted to sit outside. I'm glad we did because the temperature was very comfortable and there was a nice breeze. Plus, we got to hear the Epcot area fountain-view music that I love so much. A few years ago, we ate outside at the Electric Umbrella and the birds that hung around outside were a bit of a nuisance. In fact, one of them took a french fry right out of Caleb's fingers--and he wasn't even trying to feed it! He was literally holding a french fry with the intention of eating it and the bird kind of flew up and took it! This time, Caleb saw one of the birds (not sure what kind) pick up food from the ground and feed it to another, larger bird. I'm no ornithologist and I'm really not familiar with Florida birds at all but, this really puzzled Caleb and me. We were wondering, why is this seemingly adult bird feeding the other, larger bird? Truly deserving of some cursory internet research.
Lunch at the Electric Umbrella
After lunch, we rode Test Track. We all enjoyed creating our cars and then seeing how they "performed" during the ride. The car that Caleb and I (mostly Caleb) designed was pretty cool and did pretty well. The cars that Joy and Lily, and Molly and Sophie designed were appropriately funky and fun.
Joy and Lily's Car
Sophie and Molly's Car
The Car Caleb and I created
We headed over to the Seas area and rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends. This ride is simple and cute and includes some music from the Finding Nemo the Musical, an excellent production that still runs over at the Animal Kingdom.
Since we were already there, we spent some time at the Seas area and looked at some manatees, a diver in the aquarium with a HUGE stingray, and we saw a diver enter the lockout tank.
A clown fish at The Seas (a.k.a. Nemo)
The diver is in the lockout tank.
Leaving the Seas behind, we went over to the Land.
The whole Land area really used to be a very busy location. Always, there were crowds outside, crowds of people inside, and so many people eating at Sunshine Seasons that the place really felt alive. This time, though, it was very different. Not empty, to be sure, but definitely not the crowded area we were used to. Joy and I both attribute this to one thing: Soarin' is currently closed. Set to reopen this summer, Soarin' always had crazy lines and, unless you had a fast pass, you would easily be waiting over an hour to ride it. And rightfully so, because I think Soarin' was an awesome experience. I hope the revamp of the ride maintains the secret recipe that made it such an amazing attraction to begin with.
At least the sign is still there.
After we left the Land area, we saw what looked like storm clouds approaching so we decided that we needed to seek out another attraction that was indoors. (Also, the butterfly garden was closed and that was one of Sophie and Lily's must-do's.) So, Journey into Imagination was the solution.
Joy and I rode Journey into Imagination when we first visited the park back in 1996 and I really didn't remember anything at all about the ride, other than the music (thanks Subsonicradio!) and the fact that we found it boring. I know, I know. That isn't nice but, since I didn't visit Epcot as a child in the 1980's, I never grew attached to Figment or this attraction. Still, it's a cute ride.
After Journey into Imagination, Molly, Caleb, and I went to Fountainview--which doubles as a Starbuck's--and got a couple of drinks. We met Joy at the playground and we were able to visit the butterfly garden (I probably have this out of order so, Caleb or someone can correct me).
At the butterfly garden
The Phineas and Ferb: Agent P's World Showcase Adventure was something that Caleb was really looking forward to doing. Quite honestly, I was looking forward to it too so, we were all pretty disappointed when we saw the "recruitment" station already closed at 5:30pm, even though the signage clearly showed it open until 6pm. But, as we were coming out of the playground area, Caleb could see a cast member opening the little kiosk area back up so we headed on over there and signed up.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Disney has updated the phones they use for this experience from older flip phones to smart phones. Also, you can use your own device to go on the Adventure. I almost used one of Disney's devices for the experience but decided against it when the cast member told me that if you use one of their devices, the experience times out after 10 minutes of inactivity. Using your own device has no time-out limit. Knowing that we have six people in our family with different interests, I decided to use my own phone.
This worked out great. We were able to do the mission in the UK and in France. After that, we decided to take a break and restart in Mexico since that was where we were going to eat dinner. Unfortunately, when I gave Caleb the phone in the Mexican pavilion, the "quit" icon was accidentally selected rather than continue. Caleb was extremely disappointed at this and so was I. But, at least we did get to solve a couple of missions.
Speaking of the Mexican pavilion, Joy's plan was to eat at the outside, quick service restaurant, La Cava del Tequila and watch Illuminations from there. When we finally got there after 7:30 (later than planned), we saw that a lot of other people had the exact same idea. In fact there was absolutely no where to sit and eat. Thankfully, though, it took a ridiculously long time to get our food and, by the time I picked our trays up, we Joy and the kids had found a table.
After dinner, Lily had to use the bathroom so Joy took her and Molly, Caleb, Sophie, and I waited just outside the cool Mexican pyramid, listening to the countdown to Illuminations. Joy and Lily came out of the bathroom just in time for us all to enjoy watching the show.
After Illuminations, we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros. I love that ride. It is so simple and laid back. Kind of like It's a Small World, only with WAY better music and theming.
Love this ride. That's an order, not a comment.
Sophie and Lily, pre-fight formation
Singing their song
Leaving the Mexican Pavilion, we decided to ride Test Track one last time and I'm glad we did. Riding that at night was totally worth it.
For the return home trip, we were able to get on the first bus back to Pop Century, even though we had to stand. Thankfully, Sophie was able to sit right away and before we left the parking lot, a lady gave up her seat so that Lily could sit. Sophie fell asleep quickly on the bus and Lily asked me, "Can I take a nap? My eyes are shutting down." I thought that was so cute! And she did fall asleep, if only for the fifteen minute ride back to our resort.
Well, that was probably way too detailed but, as I write this post this Wednesday morning, there's been a crazy thunderstorm going on. In fact, it's supposed to storm pretty much until at least 1:00 today. We were supposed to go to Animal Kingdom today and then take tomorrow off but, it's looking like we're taking today off and going there tomorrow. So glad we built some "off" days into our schedule.
Until tomorrow...
No comments:
Post a Comment