Epcot
Epcot doesn't really rank particularly high on my husband's favorites list (though he does love Soarin'!), but I LOVE Epcot, especially the World Showcase.
We slept in again and got a leisurely start, and we ended up arriving with only a few minutes to wait for our reservation at Coral Reef Restaurant. I've heard a lot of bad things about the food over the years, but since we do a
Full House podcast, it kind of felt like we needed to go. I was really impressed with the decor before we even got to the dining area. The dining area itself is beautiful and romantic, with dimmed lighting and cozy booths (the view, of course, certainly doesn't hurt!).
My husband was (pleasantly) surprised that they brought us bread, though, being the picky, vanilla eater that he is, he was a little freaked out by the black Hawaiian sea salt on the butter and only ate the salt-less corner. I had checked out the menu ahead of time on All Ears, and had planned on getting the baked cheese manicotti, but it wasn't on the menu; I ended up getting the shrimp and grits (which I loved), and my husband got the grilled New York strip steak (which he deemed one of the three best steaks he'd ever eaten, high praise from him). He opted to skip dessert, but I got the Baileys and Jack Daniel's mousse, and it was AWESOME (though I wasn't impressed by the caramel crisp on top).
We headed over to watch Captain EO. I had never been particularly interested in seeing it, but I figured we should see it while we could. I thought it was trying too hard to capture the charm of
Labyrinth (but in space!), but failed miserably; Tom, however, loved it for how terrible it was.
Afterward, we had FastPasses for Soarin' (where I remarked that it would make so much more sense for Soarin' to feature the countries of the World Showcase, so I was super excited to hear about Soarin' Around the World!) and Spaceship Earth, which we rode before heading over to World Showcase.
We checked out the Christmas decorations in Mexico before heading over to Norway for my favorite Disney World treat -- school bread! When we were leaving Norway to head to China, we noticed a crowd gathered around a small stage. We stayed and watched Sigrid and Julenissen tell us about Norwegian holiday traditions, and we thought it was great (educational
and entertaining!).
At China, we finally watched Reflections of China. I thought it could use an update, but it was beautiful, and it showed me some sides of China's landscape that I hadn't realized existed.
We spent a lot of time looking at the intricacies of the little railroad garden at the Germany pavilion.
We spent a lot of time just people watching at the Italy pavilion. It wasn't crowded, and it just gave off a very relaxing vibe.
We hit The American Adventure just as the Candlelight Processional was beginning, so we sat by the fountain and listened to the choir and Gary Sinise for a bit. After a little while, we moved on to Japan and then Morocco (one of my favorite pavilions!), where we got to listen to part of a presentation on Moroccan festivals.
We finally headed to France, and realized we had time to watch Impressions de France (which we hadn't seen before) before dinner. Like Reflections of China, it was beautiful, but could probably use an update. It did make me think that all of the pavilions should have a movie that showcases the natural beauty of their countries (we didn't have time to watch
O Canada!).
We had dinner at Les Chefs de France, where I had the macaroni and cheese (very good, but not the best meal I've eaten at Disney World) and the creme brulee (excellent), and Tom had the half chicken, which he proclaimed the best chicken he's ever eaten and the best thing he's ever eaten at Disney World.
After dinner, we planned to catch the boat to Hollywood Studios and take the bus to the Polynesian, because I had planned on surprising Tom with watching the Electrical Water Pageant (which he didn't even know existed) from the beach. Tom had to go to the bathroom, and the boat left as he came out of the bathroom. The next one was running behind, so we decided to just trek back to the front of the park to catch the monorail. We got to the Polynesian much quicker than we would have otherwise, so we had plenty of time to grab a drink at Captain Cook's, find a spot on the beach (a porch swing!), and relax with our toes on the sand. Normally, I would have gotten a Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai, but I was full of French food.
It was a party night at Magic Kingdom, so I wasn't sure what time the fireworks were starting, but the Pageant started on time. I thought it was so cool how they used the old school floats with music from
The Little Mermaid! We both loved it, and definitely plan on watching again on our next trip!
We decided to take the boat to Magic Kingdom (we were right by the marina) so we could catch the bus back to Coronado Springs. While we were in the boat on the lagoon, the fireworks started; we noticed when we saw their reflection on the water. It was absolutely dazzling, and it was an entirely different experience than we had the night before (and different fireworks -- since it was a party night, they were doing Holiday Wishes, which was very impressive!). We arrived just in time to beat the fireworks, be the first ones in the bus queue (we were almost the only people on the bus period -- the driver started to pull away twice but was flagged down by people chasing him down), and watch the rest of the fireworks from the holding area.
It was a night we'll never forget!
), so we headed to Pepper Market for dinner. He got tacos (which he said looked terrible but tasted great), and I got the crab cake sandwich, which was good. We ate outside under the lights before heading back to our room to relax for the night.
