Today we woke up with an alarm clock and the sun peeking through the blinds… It was our first full day at Disney!
The plan for today was EPCOT. This park is, and remains, DS7’s favorite park, and for me it is a real toss up between EPCOT and MK! But we all were very excited to head over there, because it is a favorite for all in the family.
I didn’t have to do much in the way of “ waking” today. when I got out of the shower, there were two little boys waiting and raring to go! I made coffee and bowls of cheerios for the boys. DH got in the shower, everyone was dressed, the WallE bags packed with my beloved binder-thingy, water, a few snacks, and juice boxes, and off we went! We rolled out of OKW at 8:20, and were parked at EPCOT about 8:45… we strolled to the entrance, dealt with the bags and the entrance gates and stepped foot into the park at 9am!
Our plan was for DS7 and DH to head to Mission Space. I don’t care for it (especially “orange”!) and since DS4 can’t ride it anyway, the “green” version is pointless, so DS4 and I went straight to "The Land" for FPs (along with half the world!!!) and after we got those, we rode Nemo… NO line. Like NO LINE. Empty clam shells!!!! So we rode it, rode it again, then went back to Mission Space for DH and DS7 – I bought a frozen Mocha at the coffee stand near the misters/fountain, right as you head into the MS and Test Track area… it was NOT on the
DDP, but I knew that from last trip, and was ready to pay for some OOP stuff. It hit the spot! DH and DS7 appeared shortly after we got there -- the ride was slow to load this morning for some reason, and we walked over to Test Track. The line was already 50 minutes, and we had 30 minutes yet til our next FP, so we casually made our way over to Space Ship Earth (15 minute wait) and got on the “cotton ball” – DS4’s affectionate term for the EPCOT icon! While on the ride I managed to get a shot of DS7 and me and our adventure…
Lady Lallie had a picture of herself on this ride in her TR and I just thought it was sooo funny so I managed to get ours. I tried to hand DH the camera in time to get DS4 and his, but we missed the shot. Oh Well. NEXT trip!!! We headed over to get our FPs for Fast Track, and then walked towards the World Showcase, as it was just getting to be 11am… DS7 and 4 had some pretzels and juice along the way and our first stop was Mexico! We had never been on “Donald’s Boat Ride” – this was a first! It was a first and great fun! After, we went to Maelstrom! We thought this was fun last trip, and DS4 loved it. NOT this trip.
He rode it, but covered his head with his hands in our lap this time around. I will be curious about his reaction in December! We took some pictures, but a great plus at this point, was that again there were no lines on either of these rides! Here they are outside Maelstrom.
We did not have lines, but, it was HOT. The heat required something... namely the Margarita stand
– well consider it our before lunch cocktail!!! And with that in hand, we strolled over to catch the boat across the lagoon to make it to France for our ADR at Chef’s!!!
We were excited as it was another new restaurant choice. I made our reservation during Remy’s visit, so I was excited to see him there and for the boys to see him (they had no idea). We checked in for our 12:30 reservation time, and were seated pretty quickly. Our server was very nice. We had a great table at the window, and could see outside. The temp today made me glad to sit inside!!!! This lunch was our OOP lunch. We had just purchased the TIW card the day before and intended to use it here. I had the Salad Nicoise and the onion soup. My DH had the Croque monsieur and green salad, and the onion soup. We each had iced tea, and both DS’s had the meal which was the French version of a hamburger and fries… but the bun was buttered and toasted brioche. We didn’t do dessert here, b/c we had snack credits to satisfy a sweet tooth after! Just before we started eating, who should appear but this guy!!
DS’s didn’t know what to make of him. I think they were a bit shy! She stayed for a minute, chatted, then continued to roll past to other tables… they continued to watch her and the antics along the way, but were quickly distracted again by the performance artists outside.. I can't remember who they are, but we dubbed them the "French Chef acrobats"!
This was our highlight at lunch for certain -- great fun to watch and enjoyable entertainment. Sadly the Salad Nicoise was not so enjoyable.
It was hugely disappointing to be honest. It was essentially a big dollop of tuna salad, not chunks of cooked tuna. So it was very unappetizing. I picked at all the good stuff, and left a plate of sloppy lettuce and an excess of tomatoes. Everything else, however, was very good, the soup and sandwich, and my boys had burgers that were cooked just right, not dry, and the burgers were big in my opinion. We will be back, so I can try it again with a better choice!
Here the boys are waiting after lunch and waiting for DH to settle up the bill...
After lunch and the bill were taken care of, we got crepes to satisfy our sweet tooth, and headed back towards "The Land" to ride Soarin’!!! What a great ride. The smile on the faces of our boys on this particular ride makes the whole trip to Disney worth the energy, time and expense involved. We were in the first row...
I love watching them on this ride.
After Soarin’ we secured another evening FP for it, and then decided to head back to the resort for some R & R. We left the park close to 2pm, taking a few photos before we left. We were excited to come back later that evening to use our FPs and to eat dinner in Japan, specifically Tokyo Dining! And of course to see Illuminations!!!
A BREAK TO CHAT ABOUT OLD KEY WEST...
OKW is a nice resort. I find the public areas a little small for the size of the resort, but that is likely due to the fact that it is Disney’s first DVC… The rooms are HUGE. But the parking, the shop on site, the QS counter, and the pool area seem too small for the number of people who could potentially be there at the same time. Most afternoons we would arrive at the pool and not find chairs free. This may have been the holiday crowds, but the pool deck area isn’t that big. And limited seating inside or outside. They do have a bar right next to the pool, though, and YUMMY onion rings, so I am not complaining!
The soft serve ice cream was a great snack, huge and very good! I actually took these photos on a later day, but since I started talking about the resort I thought I would add them here. These I took one afternoon when DH and DS4 were napping... DS7 and I stayed at the pool a little longer...
This is actually our villa building! #62, we are the third floor balcony in BLUE. Notice the hidden mickey's?
I didn't take a photo of the main pool, I don't know why but I got these off Trip Advisor, so you could see if you have not been there...
Okay, Back to your regularly scheduled TR!!! and our EPCOT evening! Next POST!
Thanks for joining me!
The cotton ball pictures are hysterical.... I vow to do a better pose this year so I can post my results too! 
I just was given a ton of garden fresh green beans and Salad Nicoise sounds very refreshing. Hmm..
Soarin' too!I have to go back and read from the beginning later but wanted to say "hi" and let you know I'm here.
Thanks! I really enjoyed taking pictures when I could remember! I didn't take photos of things as much as I would have liked to sprinkle through my TR, but I guess that is a sign I was very much IN the moment of having fun... Yes, Epcot was great. BOTH days!!! 
ginger cake...... 
