Afternoon around the World Showcase at Epcot
After our lunch at Biergarten we got Matthew settled in for a nap in his stroller and he immediately fell asleep. Therefore, he will not be in most of the photos for our afternoon (other than as a blanket covered stroller!). We got the kids started on their Kidcot Masks while we were still in Germany:
Rick and I took turns browsing the store while they colored and when they were finished we let them pick out a candy from Germany. They chose gummy bears! Not too original, but it made them happy.
Upon leaving the store we paused for some photos in front of the fountain at Germany:
We were all pretty full from our lunch and were really enjoying the Florida sunshine, so spent some time soaking it up here:
Then it was on to find the train:
The kids loved this and we spent much more time just hanging around in Germany than I had thought we would. Our only plan for the afternoon was to enjoy the World Showcase while Matthew napped, so we weren't in any hurry. When the kids were ready to move on we headed over to Italy, added a stamp and charm to the masks and took some photos in front of the fountain there:
The kids absolutely loved the fountains and wanted change from us to throw into each. Note to self: next time bring more change! That was definitely a big hit for them.
While we were enjoying the fountain in Italy there was a family with two young boys eating ice cream on a stone bench nearby. The older of the two boys fell and smacked his head very hard and there was much screaming and blood everywhere. By the time we left Italy a little while later they had EMT's there and everything. I felt so bad for them! The poor boy was still screaming and there was blood all over his pants from his head. What a way to ruin a nice afternoon at Epcot. I sure hope he was okay.
Next up was The American Adventure. Soon after we arrived, this started:
The kids, however, were more interested in this:
After the Fife & Drum Corps. was finished we found the Kidcot stop. The CM here was a little strange! There was no one there, so she was cleaning up and wiping the tables. She made us wait and wait and the kids were really getting antsy! I certainly don't mind waiting, but geesh!
We moved on to Japan next. Sam, Madeleine and I spent a lot of time on the waterfall path in Japan while Rick stayed with a sleeping Matthew down below.
When the kids had enough of the waterfalls we did the Kidcot stop and then they picked out a candy from Japan. I had wanted to get them a Kaki Gori, but I couldn't find the kiosk anywhere. (Passed it on our way back! Next trip I guess.) After we came out from the candy kiosk this started:
Very entertaining, but unfortunately it woke Matthew up when we had been hoping he would sleep a little longer. From here we walked over to Morocco. We did the Kidcot stop and then had to see this, of course:
At this point I was beginning to tire of walking around the Worlds and knew that France and UK were next, two of my favorites where I wanted to spend some time. Sam was also starting to ask when we would do more rides, so instead of continuing on we decided to head back to Future World to hit a few more attractions before heading out for the day. We had one and a half more days planned at Epcot so figured we'd have plenty of time to explore the rest of the Worlds at a later date.
Instead of heading back to Future World the way we were going, we decided to turn around and go back the way we had come. I have no idea why we decided to do that since I can clearly see by looking at the map that it is longer that way!
Blame it on a worn out mommy I guess! At any rate, we started our trek back and couldn't resist a quick stop at The Outpost for some drumming:
And a stop in Mexico for this whacky picture in front of yet another fountain:
I have a picture of myself that dh took on our honeymoon, in this exact spot wearing one of these hats. Amazing to see what 7 years will bring! I'll try to dig it up and scan it to post it later if anyone's interested. Sam was itching for a ride so we did the boat in Mexico while we were there and it was enjoyed by all. Much rocking and clapping from Matthew.
We had stopped at Norway to ride The Maelstrom on our walk back as well, but it had been down.
Once back in Future World Sam took me on Soarin' for the first time (he had ridden it that morning with Rick and we had picked up a Rider Swap then) while Rick took the other two back to Finding Nemo. Sam kept trying to trick me while we walked down, telling me all I was going to see was NY city and nothing else. He likes to be tricky like that.
I absolutely loved Soarin' and couldn't stop smiling the entire time. What an awesome attraction!!!
My new favorite ride! We met the others outside of Nemo and all went on again for one last ride of the day.
It was around 5:30pm at this point and we decided it was time to call it a day. On the drive back I again asked everyone about their favorite and least favorite parts of the day. For favorites, Rick, Sam and I all said Soarin'. Madeleine said, "The Fishy Ride" (Finding Nemo) and we all agreed Matthew had liked the Mexico boat ride the best. As for least favorite, Rick said he hadn't been feeling the greatest that day (news to me but a sign of things to come), I had been frustrated with trying to keep Madeleine and Matthew occupied in the basement of Soarin' while waiting for Rick and Sam to ride that morning (they really need a better way to get a Rider Switch for that ride than taking ALL of the children through that building, down the stairs and all the way to the back!), and Sam said he didn't like "the hot room" on "the fast car ride" (Test Track) but that he liked the rest of the ride.
We ordered a take-out pizza to be delivered to the house for dinner, put the kids to bed early and relaxed in the hot tub for a bit before Rick left for the airport to pick up his daughter and I headed to bed. All in all, another fantastic day!
Coming up next: The teenager and in-laws arrive for a day at MK.