Our Uncle and Aunt (more like our second parents), Gregory and Brianna (our cousins), and my sister (Kaitlyn) and me. Fam<3
Kait and I saw this hat the first day and both bought one– So cute and perfect for the park!
Monday morning arrived quickly. It was our second full day at Disney and it would be spent at Disney’s Epcot (this is the park with the giant “golf ball”). We began the day by eating breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant (The Artist’s Palette) and then, set out for the park. It can be determined that any day that starts with Mickey waffles is a very good day. If you’re going to Disney, you have to have Mickey waffles at least once (or twice in my case); I promise you they’re better than regular waffles.
THROWBACK: This photo is from Epcot 4 years ago (2013). We spent a lot of time visiting the different “countries,” which sit around the water as pictured. I didn’t get a photo of them this year.
Epcot is probably my favorite park after Magic Kingdom. (It’s a close call between Epcot and Hollywood Studios.) I love walking around the countries and seeing the “world.” Unfortunately, we had a fast pass schedule to keep and lots of things on our to-do list so, we didn’t get to spend a lot of time checking out the countries like we have in the past. If you’ve never visited the countries at Epcot, I’m highly recommending– especially if you like to travel like me! Honestly, to do everything at Epcot, you need about a day and a half.
The new Frozen ride, Frozen Ever After, is now in Norway and we fast passed this one. This was a priority for Brianna and the wait can be quite outrageous because it’s a new ride and very popular with the little ladies. It used to be a Norway-themed boat ride, but it now features characters from Frozen and some of the songs from the movie. It’s really cute—if you’re into building snowmen. (Side note: Anna and Elsa are available nearby for photos and autographs. Many happy little girls anxiously awaited the sister duo.)
My favorite of all the Disney rides (until this year– more on that later) is at Epcot and recently re-done. Soarin’ featured new places and it seemed way more high-def. This ride simulates a hang-glider ride above attractions such as waterfalls, The Great Wall, and the Eiffel Tower to name a few. Though you don’t actually move much, it always leaves me breathless and I never want it to end! Disneyland has the older version of this ride—Soarin’ over California (featuring the Golden Gate Bridge and other Cali hotspots.) Looking forward to doing it again next week!
Another one of my all-time favorite rides is at Epcot—Test Track. The only thing that could make this one better is if it was Ford-themed, instead of Chevrolet! For this ride, you create your own test vehicle by changing the shape of your car on a touch screen to personalize the power, responsiveness, efficiency, and capability. Then, the ride is a “test track” that allows you to see how you rank in each of the four areas against the others riding with you. Coming from a family of car people, this one is most definitely a favorite of mine. The end of the ride is the best part! After the ride, be sure to stop by and see your score. My champagne-colored sports car scored a 206 overall, but it was the fastest! 😉
We also did the Pixar Short Film Festival to get out of the short-lived drizzling rain. I always like the little Pixar shorts before movies. There are some really cute ones. We also did Journey Into Imagination with Figment (I’m not recommending this one if you don’t have a fast pass. Don’t wait in line for it unless you have little kids that really want to do it). The one cool thing about this ride is afterwards, there is a green screen area where you can get a picture that superimposes your face onto someone else. We did two separate ones and they turned out pretty funny. We also did the The Seas with Nemo and Friends ride, which is pretty basic, but still a must-do and easy on this old stomach! Turtle Talk with Crush is great for little kids and always entertaining for “big kids,” as Crush the turtle interacts with the children in the audience and as usual, gushes over his wife, Shelly.
My sister’s boyfriend, Justin, celebrated his 22nd birthday at Epcot!
We ate dinner at a restaurant on property called The Garden Grill. This restaurant is family style and had pretty amazing food! The restaurant has characters that come around and greet you and provide photo opportunities for the kids– and umm… big kids. :p It took us a while to notice it, but this circular restaurant actually spins so slowly that you barely notice it— until all of a sudden the backdrop of your dinner is suddenly different than it was a half hour ago! By the time we finished dinner, we were back to the starting point. This restaurant is located near Soarin’. There are tons of restaurants in Disney’s Epcot. Many of the restaurants are located in the country portion of the park with cuisine from all around the world.
To end the night, we finished with one of our family favs, Spaceship Earth. This one takes place in the Epcot ball. When the ride takes your photo at the beginning– smile pretty because it won’t be the last time you see this photo. I love what this one does post time-travel. I’ll let the rest be a surprise. 🙂
xoxo,
Ash
SHOP MY DISNEY LOOK
(Monsters University ball cap from Hollywood Studios– available online, similar VS tank linked, bralette in Blue Legend)
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