Day One, Part Two
The bus dropped me off at Epcot and I was jumping out of my skin with happiness!
In some ways, I wish I could go to The World multiple times a year... or even once a year. In other ways, I think not going as often makes it so amazing because it's that much more special.
I have to say that I had fantastic luck with the busses for this trip. In fact, the Epcot bus was waiting for me (JUST for me... haha) at the resort and that was pretty much my experience the whole time. Either a bus was already waiting or it pulled up within seconds of me getting in line. So not a single, solitary complaint about the busses. And even if I had to wait, one of the huge benefits of a Disney trip for me is not having to drive. I hate it with a fiery passion, so the fact that I didn't have to do it for five days just makes it that much better. In fact, Disney has pretty much ruined all other vacation destinations for me because I would actually have to figure out transportation!
Anyway, I got through the bag check quickly and then it was the moment of truth. Would my Magic Band work at the gate?
Mickey turned THIS color so I was good to go!
I loooooved my Magic Band! I didn't have any problems and I love the convenience of it. My only minor complaint (and I when I say minor, I'm talking first-world-how-can-you-even-notice-something-so-stupid) is that because of the way it was packaged in the box, the Mickey head was never positioned on a convenient part of my wrist, so I kind of had to contort my arm to get it to work sometimes. Like I said. MINOR!
My first order of business was getting something to eat. I had the yogurt at the airport and a bag of animal crackers on the plane, and I was getting kind of hungry... and thirsty! So I headed straight for Sunshine Seasons, because I knew they had a great selection.
When I got there, a CM was out with a big old pin board. My sister had given me this set for Christmas and told me that I HAD to do some pin trading! My niece loves doing it and they wanted me to play along too.
The trouble was deciding which pins to leave at home and which ones to bring with me to actually trade away. Getting rid of Stitch would be easy, but ultimately, I wound up bringing Stitch, Goofy, Donald and Daisy with me. My very first trade was Stitch for a Tiana pin. Whether or not the Tiana was a "real" pin or not... who knows.
But it was fun!
Okay, time to actually EAT. I wound up getting a turkey and Monterey jack sandwich on focaccia bread, potato salad, an iced tea, and some strawberry shortcake.
The sandwich was really good... the potato part of the potato salad was good. I wasn't hugely fond of the other stuff in it, so I just kind of picked the potatoes out. The strawberry shortcake was AMAZING!!! I know someone on here recommended it, because I had it in my notes to try it, but I don't remember who it was. But I could very much go for some of that right now!!! YUMS!!
At some point while I was eating, I got a text to check with the front desk about my room. I was under the impression they would just text me the room number, so at this point I was convinced I was being upgraded to the Dream Suite. Hahahaha. It's okay to be delusional at Walt Disney World, right??? I briefly entertained the idea of heading back right away, especially since I was wearing jeans and it was HOT. But I had JUST arrived. I wasn't ready to leave yet, even if it was just to go to the resort!
Since I was right there, I headed to Living with the Land instead. I love this ride and I need to add the "Behind the Seeds" tour to my bucket list. I think I would really enjoy that.
I love reading the quotes on the wall:
I hopped in my boat, and I was on my way. I'm not a gardener, but I love flowers and homegrown fruits and veggies. And I like getting a nice dose of Vitamin N(ature). Relaxing little ride.
I debated going into the Circle of Life movie, but I had seen it before and didn't feel terribly compelled to watch it again... I decided to check out the standby wait for Soarin' and kept going. I had a FP+ later in the day, so I didn't see any reason to stand in a 70 minute line. It didn't feel crowded in the park, although there were LOTS of people, many of whom were proudly wearing their medals from the Princess Marathon.
I walked outside and snapped a couple pictures before heading on my merry way!
Up next: Quality time with the fishies!