As you might be able to tell from reading my trip report, while the Fort is my number one love at WDW, eating is a close number two! I grumble about the food quality overall at WDW, but there are enough things I enjoy, and enough things I havent tried yet, to keep me interested. So, despite how much we had eaten that past couple days at the dessert party and Chef Mickeys, I was ready to sample some foods from around the World.
So, on Wednesday, we decided to hit EPCOT.
Considering we had never ridden Soarin, and considering how hard it can be to get fastpasses, we decided it would be another good rope drop opportunity. We opted to drive again, and headed out to the park early. We were at the gates in line by 20 minutes before opening. They open EPCOT a bit differently from the other parks, in that they let us through the gates about 15 minutes before rope drop, and they then allowed us to stampede to a rope about halfway between the giant golf ball and the Land pavilion. They did have characters present, which was nice but since everyone was completely focused on beating everyone else to the Soarin queue, nobody really seemed to give a mouses azz about the characters.
We decided that I would run ahead and grab fastpasses while the rest of my family moved toward the standby line, in case we wanted to ride twice. So, upon rope drop, I bolted along with the sea of humanity for the pavilion. What a zoo! I wound my way into the building, toward the escalators, where the giant mass has to squish its way onto the elevators and stairs. I began to fantasize about being a super hero and being able to lead over the railing and down to the floor below, bypassing the crowd. I actually considered doing it briefly, before coming to my senses. Broken legs do not make for good trip report material.
I made my way down and got in line for fastpasses. Just one guy ahead of me at the machine I chose. And it turns out he had MANY MANY tickets to process. He took forever, and I watched the fastpass clock ticking ahead at a rapid pace. Finally he was done, I took my place, and got my 6 passes. And I turned around and there were my 3 oldest DDs. Wheres Mama and Stella?? I asked. Why arent you guys in line?.
Stella had to tinkle.. And with those four words my entire plan was beginning to crumble. How is it that 3 year olds have to use the bathroom at the worst possible moments? So, we waited. And waited. I was beginning to think this had turned into a #2 session
, when they came out of the ladies room and we took our place in the standby line. It was still only a 20 minute wait, so not too bad.
So, we finally got to the front of the line, and we got front row!
And we LOVED Soarin!! It was so cool. So, all was well, and we had fastpasses to ride again within the hour. Which we did. 2nd row the next time, which was almost as good as first row except being able to see all the feet dangling down from the front row folks above you. Which was fine when I was in the front row, but when you are in the second row you wonder why those idiots have such long legs.
Anyways, we enjoyed it.
Enough about Soarin. After doing Mission Space and the Nemo ride, it was time for the World Showcase to open. So we headed there. Hungry.
The girls rode the Maelstrom while I scoped out food options. I decided it would be fun to try a few quick service things at various countries. I wanted a pretzel from Norway but the line was too long. Guess everyone was trying to get into the Norwegian spirit what with the Nobel Prize being handed out and all. So we started with China. Had some orange chicken, egg rolls and dumplings. Actually pretty tasty, although somewhat food court tasty.
Next, we hit the country of my ancestors, Germany. Tried a Beck, bratwurst, and black forest cake. That was fun, and the Beck helped me through our encounter with the Elusive Biotch a couple pavilions over. After that, we hit Japan. Now, I like sushi, but my family doesnt, so I tried to order some things they might like. Teriyaki chicken, udon noodles and ginger cake. I have to say that all of it pretty much stunk. We didnt eat it all. But, at this point we were pretty much full, so we were ok. And we were tired, so it was time to head back to the Fort for more fun at the pool.
That evening,
I think we headed to DTD to hit Earl for dinner. My memory is fuzzy at this point, and it's possible we had hit DTD the night before. And based upon my kids' clothes in the pic below, that may well be the case. The dating on our camera was off the entire trip. Whatever....in any case, I HAD to have the holiday sandwich. It was awesome
just like I would make at home if were there for Thanksgiving. After dinner, we went to see Santa outside the World of
Disney store.
And we closed out our night with a visit to Goofys Candy Co. for the make your own treats. They have changed the approach to this a bit since April, and I wasnt as impressed as on past visits. Still good, just not rock your world good. Oh well, whats new?
Coming up
.The Candlelight Processional Dinner Package
I wonder if they'll make a sequel?
I mean, you're spending thousands of dollars. They have NO RIGHT to be mad at you, right?? 
But I guess when you run them ragged every day, there will be the occasional breaking point.
I had booked one of the dinner packages, where you book one of three “tiers” of restaurant for dinner, and you get preferred seating at the Candlelight Processional, as well as access to a preferred viewing area for Illuminations. I chose the Rose and Crown in England for dinner (I like Black and Tans 
…that was the deciding factor!) 
I love Wishes, but Illuminations is on a whole nutha level! It’s amazing. We loved it, except DD3 who was scared witless and beyond tired by this point. So, I held her, and left a bit early to begin the trek to the bus while the rest watched the remainder of the show. 
