Disney Days - Epcot

  We had a wonderful day at Epcot!  I confess that I was skeptical about the whole idea of educational rides but it turned out to be a lot of fun and we had a truly fantastic day.  I felt much better today too which certainly helped.  Hydration is a wonderful thing!  Noel lent me a cooler so I was able to have cold water all day long which really saved the day for me.  

My serious boy

  Our first two rides of the day were Journey into Imagination with Figment and The Seas with Nemo and Friends.  The kids enjoyed the rides but they were most excited by the activities afterwards.  Charlie loved Figment and ran around looking for the little dragon.  And Will and Jon were obsessed with the shark exhibit near the exit of the Nemo ride.  They love sharks and it was hard to pry them away from the exhibit even for a ride!  

A sunny day at the Nemo ride

Part of the Epcot flower exhibit

  After Nemo, we split up and Camille, James and I took the boys to Germany for lunch. Camille's leg was bothering her so she took the boat while we walked around through the other world exhibits.  We were hoping to see Anna and Elsa from Frozen at the Norway exhibit but they were no where to be seen.  The boys were really disappointed and kept asking us to look again so I do hope we find them somewhere on this trip.  We did find a nice cool place to play drums though which was a welcome break from our long walk.  

Playing the drums

Jon on a coke truck

  We ate lunch at a German restaurant where we had a table close to a band playing German folk music.  Charlie was captivated and couldn’t look away and Jon kept begging to go up and dance.  The food wasn’t great but the place was fun and we had a very nice lunch.  As we ate we reminisced about our trip to Germany.  When I said that our trip had been fun Will became indignant, “Fun?  Germany wasn’t fun!  It was more like a blast!!”  Before we left the German area Grandma found a soft sword for Charlie so he was very happy.  He enjoyed swinging his sword and threatening “I’m going to slice your brains!”  Ah little boys...

  After lunch I took Will and Jon down to Test Track to meet up with Noel, Greg and Diana.  Charlie was sleeping in the stroller so James and Camille took him for a leisurely walk through the countries.  Test Track was amazing!!  The ride itself was fun but the best part was the car design.  Before you get on the ride each person or group of people gets to design their own car which gets scored on performance, efficiency and handling at the end of the ride.  Will and I had a great time making our purple muscle car. Between where the ride ended and the gift shop at the exit was a huge room full of fun activities to do with your car.  You could race the car you designed, create a commercial for it and take pictures with it or even make a new one.  That might not sound as much fun in writing but it was really great.  I didn’t want to leave!

Will and I pose with our car

Diana with the boys

Jon and Diana show off their car

  By the time we left there we were only able to go on two more rides before dinner, Spaceship Earth and Soarin'.  Spaceship Earth was a slow history ride full of animatronics depicting scenes from various centuries.  Charlie made it a lot of fun though because he had to say hi to every single figure in his loud and cheerful voice.  I'm not sure if he thought they were alive or if he just likes saying hi but it was pretty cute.  

Playing a driving game

  Soarin' though was another amazing ride.  The ride is made to simulate hang gliding over California and our seats are lifted up to a huge curved screen so that the movie is played on all sides.  The ride tilts and uses wind to make it feel as if we are really flying.  The movie itself is clearly not real but still it was incredible how much my body believed it.  At one point my feet felt tingly because my brain was telling them that they were hitting the water.  That doesn't explain it exactly but I don't think I can do better at this time.  

  Because Charlie was too little to go on Soarin', we did a child swap so I stayed out with him while and then got a fast ticket when the rest of my party came out.  Charlie was in true two year old form while they were gone, he kept trying to run away from me into the crowd and would pitch a fit when I held his hand.  So to keep him occupied I took him on the Living with the Land ride which is a slow boat ride through eco exhibits and gardens.  He loved it.  Really loved it.  He gasped at the thunder, said hi to the robotic animals, exclaimed at the fish and even enjoyed all the plants.  We hadn't even left the boat when he insisted that we get right back on the 15 minute ride.  So I took him again and James and Camille took him a third time after we traded off.  He was so captivated!

  For dinner we ate at the Garden Grill.  They had limited seating so Will and Jon sat at a nearby table with Nana, Greg and Diana.  The food was pretty good but the best thing was that it was a character dinner.  Charlie was sitting with us and he was thrilled.  He was so excited to meet Mickey Mouse and had to get right up and give him a hug.  He also met Pluto, Chip and Dale and all of them came around at least twice.  Every time a character came by he jumped up and had to hug them.  His smile was priceless, I wish I could show you!!  By the end he even gave Pluto and Dale a kiss on the nose.  It was adorable!  Will and Jon didn't give as many hugs but they were also thrilled to meet Mickey and friends.  They laughed and laughed when Dale came to the table and they were able to get autographs from everyone. 

Hugging Dale

Hugging Mickey

Happy to see Dale

Mickey signs autographs

Will gives Mickey Mouse a hug

  

  It was late by the time we finished dinner and we only had just enough time to rush to the World Showcase to catch the Fireworks show.  It was amazing!  Very beautiful and perfectly timed to music.  Alas I didn't get any good pictures.

Leaving Epcot

  And now it is late and I must get to bed.  Tomorrow we have the Animal Kingdom and hopefully lots of swimming in the evening.  And maybe, just maybe, a little bit of sleep!  :-)