Days 1 & 7 of Disney - EPCOT
I originally wanted to cover each day separately, but it made more sense to cover each park as an entry. We ended up visiting all 4 parks at Disney, with 2 days at each park except for Animal Kingdom. It was a toss up between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for the park to visit only once. Animal Kingdom is really a one-day park, but Hollywood Studios is approx 50% under construction for the new Toy Story Land, opening in 2018 and Star Wars Land, opening in 2019.
Highlights of day one were starting out on Test Track: an attraction that simulates you designing your own car and testing it on their track. Love Sponge, the 2 yr old, was my partner.... so we had a little pink car with stars... very nice! She couldn't ride on the test track, but we had fun! It was very chilly that morning, hence all the snow caps. It's a lot of fun to be launched at 60mph in an open car like that!
The next magical moment, and the first one that made my eyes, um, "over produce" was Soarin'. It's this amazing simulator ride like you're gliding through various parts of the world. It's really inspiring. Not only was I in awe of the ride, but that was dwarfed by the gratefulness during the ride for the gift we had received. Soarin' was the favorite for many of us. By the time we were done with the two days, I had ridden it 4 times!
Another fun adventure was "Agent P's Adventures." It's where you use
an app to help Agent P solve a mystery in the World Showcase (the area at Epcot with all the countries.) We helped him prevent a mad scientist from affecting Mexico. It included talking to a skeleton in a box, deciphering codes on pinatas and seeing the scientist appear on top of one of the buildings and setting off the volcano. Ask the kids. It was cute.
The kids also had fun with a creative, interactive painting exhibit.
Also, on the first day, we covered France, Morocco, Canada, and the UK. UK had a British style rock back, and the kids thought I was crazy to sing along to "He-ne-ry the Eighth" by Herman's Hermits. The Tangerine Cafe has amazing schwarma plates, so we highly recommend them! Les Halles Boulangerie/Patisserie provided the kids with their first experience with French desserts.
However, the first day allowed for the first character greeting with Mickey, Goofy and Minnie. We never did character greetings 12 years ago thinking they were a waste of time, but I wish we had. They provided the most magical moments. The characters were very real to Love Sponge, and we were amazed how they stayed in character. Love Sponge was afraid of Mickey, terrified of Goofy, but liked Minnie. Note how Love Sponge is smiling but not taking her eyes off Mickey and Goofy.
The first day finished with "Illuminations" the fireworks show. It was a lot of fun... only slightly tainted by watching it at 45 degrees. :)
Day 7 brought a few more fun events. We got to meet Elsa and Anna... two favs of the little girls. If you look closely Awesome Boy, the 8 yr old, is also blushing... but not as much as he does with Belle! But, that's another day!
See how Love Sponge couldn't take her eyes off Elsa's sparkly dress and adores Anna!
It was funny when our large family came in the room. Almost all the princesses said we had brought "the whole kingdom."
On the second Epcot day, we covered Japan, America, China, Mexico, Norway (with the Frozen ride, ever so popular), and Germany. We got to eat in the German restaurant where we packed ourselves with sausages until we looked like our food.
One last funny memory on the last day was our Little Sassy finding a penny on the ground, and with as serious a face as there could be asked my Sweetie: "could you please put this in my savings account? Seriously!"
Epcot is an amazing place, and we treasured our time there. We're deeply grateful for those who made the trip possible. The above summary just scratches the surface of the exciting times. Thank you so much!!