It seems that work and other things don't seem to understand that I have a trip report to finish....sorry for how long this is taking....
Day 3....We were a bit nervous about today for sure, based on 2 factors; we had heard that Epcot was huge (my wife has MS and long walks aren't her favorite) and we had also heard that Epcot was a little on the boring side....
Our day started at 8:30 am and after all the prerequisites we were in the Epcot bus line outside of Pop Century.
It was a fairly quick ride to the park and there was hardly anybody on the bus....I guess a lot of people had similar questions about Epcot.
We arrived and as soon as you find your self in front of Spaceship Earth it was another moment of disbelief....we had seen this ball so many times over our lives and here we were standing at its base. It was quite a sight to see.
First on my list was getting fastpasses for Soarin so Nicole walked over to the Canadian pavilion to see how the rest of the world sees us and I headed for The Land. Even at 10:00 am the return time for Soarin was 1:30 pm, so we had a little time to burn. With fastpasses in hand I met Nicole on the park benches over looking the water in front of the gates to Le Cellier. We strolled around the Canadian pavilion and soon realized that Canada is mostly mountains and totem poles.....I never knew.
With hunger pains and lunch time drawing near we made our way back to The Land for lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Today was or first day on the dining plan and we were a little nervous about how this would work. What do they consider an entree What do they consider a drink...a dessert? but a few minutes later we were well taken care of and beginning to realize that Disneys portions are a little different than the outside world.
After I inhaled my lunch we still had a little time left before we could head to Soarin so Nicole finished her dessert as I headed over and grabbed fastpasses for Test Track. I eventually found Nicole in the madness that was quickly becoming the food court in The Land and we took in The Circle of Life. Great show/message for the kids...and the majority of us adults.
Soarin was up next. I was seriously looking forward to this one as, during my research for this trip, I had never read a single negative review about it.....everyone loves it. I am quickly starting to see why FastPass is so awesome. Why people dont use it is beyond me. Do people not know what is it? what is does? or what is costs? (nothing). Granted it runs out but MAN is it convenient. We literally passed hundreds of people in the stand by line and were in the queue within 5 minutes. If you havent had the oppourtunity to ride Soarin put it on your list, its awesome! You feel as though your hand-gliding over California with the wind in your hair and the smell of the ocean and orange groves all around.
Finding Nemo is one of Nicoles favorite movies and we knew that The Living Seas and Turtle Talk with Crush were going to be must sees in Epcot. Neither disappointed. Even though more for the kids Turtle Talk was one of my favorites. Now I must preface the next sentance with, there is ALOT of Disney World I will never understand, but, How does this attraction work???? Crush is literally interacting with the kids (and everyone else), but its everything, its his facial expressions and his movements...this one was a great time.
On our way to Test Track we decided to have a look around Mouse Gear. I had heard (due to a thread I had started here) that this was THE souvenir store in Epcot, boy is it ever. This place was huge. If you cant find it there....well, your just not looking hard enough. This place had it all.
We also stopped into the Character Spot and spent a few Minutes with Donald and Goofy (neither of which we had seen yet).
With a few purchases headed to our room (the next day...whatever) we were on our way to Test Track. Now to be fair neither Nicole or I are fans of speed so why go on Test Track? you ask well....from the beginning we decided that we were going to try things even if we were to chicken...Test Track fell into that category. Although we fastpassed this ride was still spent at least 30 minutes in this line up. Once we got into the final line (if youve never been to WDW dont be fooled by the end of the particular line your in.....OH NO, in the case of Test Track there is a total of 4 lines you stand in before getting in the car) there was a long period of time where nothing was coming or going....obviously a problem. MAN this was a fast one, Im not gonna ruin it for any one that hasn't had the opportunity to ride it but, once outside it gets a little hairy!
Once Test Track was behind us and my stomach had settled again we decided to take a stroll around the World Showcase. Initially we didnt know if we would try this as it would be a lot of walking for Nicole but she was feeling great and off we went.
We had a great time, but, I dont know if it was the time of year or time of the day but there was nothing going on in any of the pavilions. Most had a movie that you could watch but for the most part it was just restaurants and gift shops...Im sure its different during busier times of the year.
We ended our walk in the U.K pavilion where we had a 7:45 pm reservation at The Rose and Crown Pub. I had requested and received a balcony seat for Illuminations and once seated (there was quite a wait but it was worth it) we settled in to try and decide what was for dinner. We had a great waiter (Kyle from Scotland) who suggested the Cornish Game Hen for me and man was he on point with that one! As Nicole enjoyed her fish and chips I sat down for, probably, the best meal I had during my entire stay in WDW. If someone can think of a better view in WDW than eating dessert on the Rose and Crown balcony while Illuminations takes place right in front of you Id be interested in knowing about it. As far as the Cornish Game Hen If you eat here order this....coupled with the sticky toffee pudding for dessert this is a home run of a meal!
As our meal came to an end the park was almost empty and it was time for us to make our way back to the bus for Pop.
This park is BIG...plan it out and take your time. Not as scary or boring as we had heard but probably a half day park when we return next year. Another great day in the books in WDW. Tomorrow is our first full day in the Magic Kingdom and to say Nicole is looking forward to it would be an understatement.
