Epcot

Our last park day was Epcot! 

We got an early start, but it didn't seem too crazy compared to the previous day. Our resort was crazy close to Epcot and it just took a few minutes to drive there. Another bonus of arriving early is getting a good parking space, I've had lots of memories of hiking for what felt like miles in the parking lot. 

We arrived well before 9:00, and knew we needed to be in front of the pack to ride both Test Track and Frozen Ever After on standby since we decided to use our FastPass in that tier for Soarin'. It also made sense for our plans since the goal was to essentially do one big loop around the whole park. 

Hello, gorgeous! 

We waited here under spaceship earth for quite a bit. It gave us time to use the restrooms as well as Scott and Michael to grab a coffee from the Joffery's kiosk by the gate (it was slow). We were entertained by the garden crew playing on trash cans (what!? I thought I was on vacation from that!) but a cool moment was when a mom from the crowd volunteered to show her stuff and she was awesome! 

We hoofed it right over to Test Track but we were still clearly behind a big group of people and we are not sure how they beat us there as we were right at the front before the park opened. I am sure they were just walking faster than we were but side note: they also let people with wheelchairs and ECV's into the park a little bit before the rope drops so they have a chance to make it to their destination without a pack of people around them. 

Michael had a bit of a technical issue with his design station and had only less than a minute to do his design. He was pretty bummed about it but still got it the way he wanted pretty fast. I wish they had an app for designing cars like this: it is really fun and one of Michael's favorites. We had a good ride and then the girls headed to Frozen while the boys stayed back to do some of the games in the Test Track pavilion as well as ride Mission Space. 



We followed this plan in this blog post and our experience was largely the same. It seemed like a long line for Frozen, but it was mostly people waiting for the princess breakfast. There was a bit of a wait at Frozen, maybe 25 minutes but it went quickly. I loved the Wandering Oaken's store! 

We all LOVED the ride and it was so magical. It was not terrifying at all so we are confused as to why we are making those faces in the photo-hehe. The animatronics are so cool and it really felt special. The girls loved seeing Elsa and I'm happy Brynn braved the ride even though she was really hesitant about it being so dark. The lovely (and beautiful...are all people from Norway beautiful and blonde?) cast member offered to lend her his flashlight which was sweet but we passed. 

After the ride, we stopped in the bakery for the famous school bread. I had heard so many good things about this treat so I bought three....and ended up eating two just by myself because the girls did not like it. :( It was really unique and I enjoyed it but I can see how the non-traditional flavors would not appeal to a four-year-old. I recommend it! 

Denise and I loved the rosemaling in the shop as it reminded us of our grandma's house (she lives near Decorah where the National Norweigan-American Center is located). 

There was a short wait posted to meet Anna and Elsa (again maybe 20 minutes?) but it went by quickly. It was fun to explore their Sommerhus. 

Brynn was making stinky faces but it was all smiles once they saw Anna and Elsa! 

I hope I never forget these sweet looks on my girl's face. :) 

They were quiet as mouse meeting the characters but afterward they burst into chatter: "Anna liked my hair! Elsa said she would freeze the courtyard and we could go ice skating with Sven!". 

So, so cute!

We had a bit of time to explore the Norway pavilion while waiting for Scott and Michael which was a nice change of pace. It was not busy at all. The girls also got to choose a souvenir from the gift shop: Anna chose a new Elsa doll and Brynn chose a little playset with the kid versions of Anna and Elsa. 

The Vikings Gods exhibit in the stave church looked really neat but we just did a drive through, mainly noting that Loki was also a Viking God in their mythology, not just a Marvel villain. :) 



"Can someone please document this great hair day I'm having? Okay kids you can be in the photo, too. "



The boys returned with some world delicacies as a snack such as ....donuts from the Joffery's stand. :) hehe, they did hit the spot. We had a bit of time to wait here as they do a separate rope drop for the World Showcase at 11a.m. I was pleased with how much we had accomplished in the first two hours and it could have taken us much longer. 

Up next was the American Pavilion. They started the first show as soon as we got there to just a handful of people. The cast member was really funny because it was clearly only him working the attraction on this morning. He welcomed us downstairs, then ran up the stairs to let us into the theater, ran down to do the intro to the show, and then ran back up to close the doors. Give that guy a raise, Disney! 




The American Pavilion was a must do on my list for this trip. It is beautiful inside and the show is very moving. Do not skip it! The theater is large and is a great chance for a sitting rest (or nap like the girls did) if you need it. 









The show is fairly long, a healthy 30 minutes with animatronics, music, and video. I loved doing these patriotic attractions on this trip, I think it was mainly fueled by the fact I was also reading Michelle Obama's book on the trip. 

Afterward we had plenty of time to use the restrooms and backtrack to Germany for our lunch reservation right at noon. 





I was originally going to do sack lunches for this day but booked Biergarten at the last minute and I was glad I did. These breaks away were really nice and it gave us a chance to break out of our normal food choices. I love the buffet (and beer) here and we all left stuffed. Even Michael found delight in the chicken drum sticks and pretzel bread with butter. 

It was fun hearing Scott and Margie talk about their trip to Germany and Margie even had a chance to talk to our castmember server about where he was from in Germany. He said he liked to swim in the Rhine River, Margie said swimming in the Mississippi was not quite as nice as a mountain river. :) 




Our next stop was the store in Japan which was on my must-do list after having to skip it because it was too late (it was closed) on our last trip. I *knew* Micheal would love it and I was right. It was a feast for his eyes, with so many neat things he loves. The boys explored while the girls and I browsed. We loved seeing the cast member in her beautiful kimono in the back of the store. She let the girl look it all over while she showed them her big pink bow in the back, "just like Minnie Mouse!". Side note, all the people in the Japan pavilion working are also beautiful! 




We made some candy selections at the back of the store although I wish I would have asked a castmember for recommendations. I enjoyed the mochi and although the kids were curious enough for a taste they did not enjoy it. The Hi-chews were a favorite and I later learned you can buy them at the Boone Hyvee (hehe!). The bear candies were *not* popular as they had unusual flavors like ginger or hot pepper. Margie got some fruit-filled marshmallows which were pretty good too. 



Another must-see on my list was the movie in France. This is another theater with nice seats and the movie was BEAUTIFUL! Margie loved it as they recently took a tour to France. The music was so beautiful and they should have had travel agents outside the door because we all left vowing to visit. Side note: many people in the theater were also enjoying their beverages, I think this would only enhance the experience. :)




Michael and Scott then headed back to Japan to finish browsing and pick out a souvenir while us girls finished walking the world showcase, with a goal of meeting up at 3:00 for our Soarin' fast pass. 



A stop at UK pavilion was a must, with new beers for Denise and I. Mary Poppins was greeting in the garden, but the line was already closed. :( She looked lovely! 




In the Canada pavilion, we were lured by the smell of the maple popcorn which we refilled our bucket for just $2! The refillable popcorn bucket is a good deal, I wish we had taken advantage of the refill more often. We wanted to see the Canada movie, but it had just started when we asked. 





The girls loved seeing this magic shot after the fact- they didn't know that bird had gotten on their finger! 

After the photos, we met up with Scott at Soarin'. 




Although we had fast passes, we still waited for a healthy amount of time. It was clear the kids were getting impatient of waiting at this point. :( 

The ride was AWESOME! I could ride this every day and I wish we had a chance for a re-ride, I just loved it. 




We took a little break outside the land pavilion with another beer and waters. It was a warm, sunny day and it wore on us a little bit. We enjoyed the shade and people watching. 



Bubblegum wall: are we doing this right? 




As before, although we had fast passes for Space Ship Earth, it was a long wait. The line was not moving at all, and so we think they were having some problems because as soon as they were letting people on we were on in no time. 




I love this ride, too and even though we got stopped for a few minutes it was in my favorite scene (the stars). 





After the required shot in the front of the park, we were on our way back to the condo! 





We had to leave the Disney "bubble" for a minute to grab some hamburger and beers from Walmart and wow...we had not realized how nice it was to have a resort inside the bubble until. It was tons of traffic and we were like, "what is this??". We were relieved to travel underneath the magic Disney bubble arch on our way back to the resort. 





We enjoyed taco night and some R&R while waiting until it was time for Denise and I to head back for Illuminations and for the ISU NCAA tournament game to start (at 10pm!!). 




Denise and I uber-ed over to the Beach Club so we could head to the World Showcase through the International Gateway for the fireworks. Our driver was great even though Denise botched our coverup story about why we were getting dropped off, hehe. They will let you in if you are saying you are there to eat or just look around. It was such a short walk to Epcot from there and I had never been to that area in person before- lovely! 



Free from a stroller and a million restroom stops, Denise and I wandered the Morocco Pavilion,  enjoyed a treat from France while people watching on a bench, and waited for the fireworks. It was lovely! I'm glad we got to see the fireworks as we would have felt bad if we didn't get a chance to see the ones we heard every night from our condo. 

Afterward, Denise showed me where Beaches and Cream was (so small!) and it was fun getting to chat with my sister one on one while waiting for our Uber back to our condo. It was actually really close to the Beach Club and the drive only took a few minutes. We were in an out in only about 90 minutes total which was very doable, made easier by it being just the two of us. 

After a disastrous trip back to the Magic Kingdom on our last trip, this was much easier and renewed my faith in trying to do it in the future. 




We made it back for the start of our game which was TERRIBLE. We ended up losing the first round game, which was disappointing from a talented team but we also knew was a possibility after an up and down season. :( We went to bed hoping it was just a dream but woke up the next morning with a bad taste in our mouth. I was a bit relieved as it removed literally all expectations and anxiety of the rest of the tournament and gave me a renewed sense that as a fan we literally have no control over the outcome. It is just a game and although we feel bad, I know the players and coach must feel even worse. But still, it's just a game, not life. ;)