lorapinky
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2004
- Messages
- 845
Hello everyone,
This is our EPCOT report, I hope you enjoy it and please do ask any questions that you may have.
Although we enjoyed every park at WDW, EPCOT was out third favourite, which tied with MGM. MK was our favourite followed by AK, this is just our choice though please be reassured we loved each park for various different reasons. The highlights for EPCOT were Soarin, Test Track and Honey, I shrunk the audience, and the lowlights were journey into the imagination with figment and not being able to get fresh cotton candy anywhere!
When you walk into EPCOT at the entrance you can get the ‘leave a legacy’ plague, I thought this was a good idea and wasn’t too expensive. I am looking forward to seeing it when we go back this year. When we had the photo done I thought it looked okay, though my neck looked really fat in it? But as Mark was really shy and didn’t like doing things like this I didn’t want to start complaining and turning it into a photo shoot. We were given a receipt and were told that a picture of the plague would be sent to us in a few weeks. By the time we got home it arrived within a week. You get a little pack with a lithograph with your picture on and other bits and bobs. We are going to do this again when we go this year as they only keep your picture for a few years so we will do one each time we are there.
This is Mark outside the EPCOT geosphere, we enjoyed the Spaceship earth ride that was in the geosphere, it was quite enjoyable and a nice chance to cool downs and has a rest. I had stupidly put my sunglasses on my head for this ride as it was fairly slow, it was when we were going up and I was looking around that we heard a clashing noise. Yes my sunglasses had fallen off. Mark made a sound of complete disbelief before turning to me and saying ‘that wasn’t you was it?’. I started to panic as I had vision of my sunglasses getting stuck on the tracks and causing an accident, I looked in the empty seats that were behind us but as it was so dark inside I just couldn’t see them. Mark kept on shaking his head whilst I kept looking for them. Luckily for me when we got off the ride I quickly scanned the back seats and they were there. I was so relieved and I had learnt my lesson. I was also happy as I loved those sunglasses.
Test track was an awesome ride and I can’t wait to ride it again. The bit where you go really fast was so much fun, I wished it had gone on a little bit longer but the build up to it was a blast.
Mark really enjoyed this ride too, which I think surprised us both as he doesn’t like fast rides and isn’t a car fan unlike my brother who would have been happy to spend all day looking at all the car bits before and after the ride. We were very lucky when we went to WDW as each time we went to the parks we had hardly any queues.
Soarin is a FANTASTIC ride, it is so much fun. It isn’t a big scary ride so it means that most people no matter their ride limits can go on it. The first time we went on it we were lucky and got on the front row. I didn’t really know what to expect but once we got lifted into the air and the show started I just grabbed onto Mark as it felt so realistic I was a little weary about falling off my seat. But once the smell of oranges hits you and the wind blows in your hair you feel like you are on cloud nine. I really enjoyed it, we went on again though this time we were on the back row, to be honest there isn’t much difference in the experience though if you look up you can see peoples feet dangling!
I went on mission space though Mark did not, it wasn’t his cup of tea. So I left him to study the park map and have a drink. I was a little unsure to be honest what this ride entailed and I wasn’t expecting what I got. When we were shown to the box in which we were to go on the ride I felt a little panicky, I suffer from mild claustrophobia and didn’t like it when they strap and shut you in. I did enjoy this ride don’t get me wrong the pressure bit when you launch is very effective and that I did enjoy all the other bits, in fact the ride was honestly good. I just didn’t enjoy being in such a confined space. I only rode it once but will probably go on it again this year.
When I met mark I was feeling a little queasy and ready for a sit down whereas he was in the mood for another ride now that he was refreshed. Typical!
A ride that I really loved was Universe of energy, this was great fun. I happen to like Ellen so maybe this helped? But I thought it was on the whole a good ride.
The circle of life show was good with some educational factors too.
The Journey into imagination with figment for us was a ride that we won’t do again. We just didn’t get it. We like rides that are aimed at the little ones but this was just not entertaining for us at all. I know some people love figment, I guess he was cute but also annoying.
We took some pictures of ourselves at the email booths and sent some emails to friends and family. This is where you can have different backgrounds and change the picture, I loved doing this as I also sent them to ourselves and printed them off, it’s a nice souvenir.
World Showcase
We enjoyed walking around the World Showcase though we didn’t spend a lot of time here in our trip. We liked the buildings in Canada but we didn’t see the motion picture O.Canada though we hope to do this in September this year. When we were walking around we noticed that here was a pin trading fair on, we decided to take a look. Wow was this worth doing. We can’t quite remember how we got our free pin but when we got there I think you could claim one. You could then queue up and change it if you liked. There was an exhibition of rare Disney pins, as well as people who were keen Disney pin traders who had vast amounts of Disney pins on show. This was so much fun. There was also an exhibition of Limited edition pins that were on sale. Some only had 250 pins available ever made (some fewer) some were 500 to 1000, which considering how many people were at the exhibition and wanted to buy them it wasn’t many. A few were already sold out. We decided to buy some and debated for a while which ones that we wanted, we went for a cruella de vil one and a few lilo and stitch ones. They were a little more expensive to normal pins that you buy from the shops in WDW but they weren’t badly priced, each price differed for the pins, they were between $15-30 ish (I think this is right?). This was a lovely treat to go to this exhibition and we were lucky too as it was the last day of it, it was purely by accident that we found it. This was one of our highlights of EPCOT, when we go back this year we will keep an eye out for it.
Another fond EPCOT memory I have is at the Rose and Crown in the UK. Like many Bristish people we wanted to check out the Bristish grub. When we went we were seated very quickly and were taken to a corner of the restaurant which had a good view of the pub. We were impressed with the attention to detail in the pub, the décor was very authentic. We had a lovely waiter who was from Lancashire and was in his last year of a tourism degree and was working in WDW for a year as part of his course (please sign me up for that course!). He seemed very interested in us but wasn’t too overbearing. We were given a menu and were left to debate which meal we wanted, Mark went for the fish and chips and I went for the bangers and mash.
This is a picture of the fish and chip meal, he said it tasted like a pub meal and not fish and chips from the shop but he enjoyed it and we are going to do the take out version this year. It was a little costly to eat here but it was a nice to change from having burgers and fries.
The mash was very creamy and tasty, the sausages are nice too though for me they tasted very strong. This is just my personal preference as I only eat meat 2/3 times a year so it may have just been my taste buds. We both agreed that it was nice to do the Rose and Crown and we really enjoyed the meal though next time we go we will just do the take out bit.
Now the special bit regarding our meal. Our waiter realised that we were on our honeymoon and was so happy for us. He came out to us after we had our meal and brought us a certificate that all the staff had signed wishing us congratulations. It was really sweet, he also gave us a few mementoes such as a menu and some of the ‘newspaper’ that they wrap the fish and chips in. He was so nice. We were really touched by this.
If anyone goes to WDW and are on their honeymoon I strongly suggest you mention this when you are having a meal as you may get an extra little treat that will make the whole experience a little more special.
This is Mark with the butter dish in the Rose and Crown, can anyone else spot the hidden Mickey?
After the meal we walked around the UK, we went to the Crown and Crest and had a look around the souvenirs. I saw that they sold Cadburys flake and they were really costly, I can t remember how much but I remember it was a fair few dollars $$$$$, I think that I can wait until I get home before I eat another flake at that price! We had a look in all the shops in the UK, the Magic of Wales was a nice shop, my DH nana is from Wales so we went shopping for something for her. We decided not to get anything as most things were quite expensive but it was nice to have a little look around.
This is Mark posing with the red phone box, it is a shame that we don’t see many of them in the UK anymore as they are apart of our culture. We had great fun in the UK though I wasn’t looking forward to going back to the real UK.
Next we headed over to France, we enjoyed the detail and effort that had gone into making each country feel authentic. When we were walking through one day there was some street entertainers that did a few tricks with some chairs, I am sure most of you have seen this. We enjoyed it greatly, it was another surprise that added to the trip. I stood with the crowd whilst gasping in awe at the tricks where as mark not liking any possibility of being selected to take part in anything hovered at the back and looked on suspiciously. The entertainers were really good and I was amazed at the balancing chair trick, if we are walking passed when we go next time I will defiantly watch them again.
Next we wandered over to Morocco, as we were walking around we saw that there was a queue to meet Aladdin and Jasmine, I was so excited to get a picture with them both together and quickly joined the queue. We had waited quite along time when it looked like it was going to rain, the CMs looked worried and started to whisper to each other. I was very nervous that they were going to tell us all that we couldn’t get our photos with them but luckily for us they walked us around to a sheltered spot and we ad our photos taken then.
I enjoy meeting the characters, people who aren’t Disney fans always wind me up about this and say silly things that ‘you do realise that they are people dressed up in costumes…yadda ya ya’. Oh how wrong they are. Each characters greeting in special and I love getting their autographs.
This is mark trying on a hat in Morocco; I think he looks the part don’t you?
Next we headed towards Japan, we liked the shops there and there were some lovely things, though we didn’t buy anything. I enjoyed reading about the Disney in Japan. The buildings were lovely as ever.
Next we went to the USA Adventure, in which I had a funnel cake. Yuk! It tasted like fried gunge with icing sugar on it. For me this was gross! I loved almost everything I tried at Disney (my favourite being cotton candy) but this snack was unpleasant. To take the taste away I had an ice cream (any excuse!) and we walked around Italy and Germany. Next we went to china, I loved this country. The reflection of china was a great show. I loved the 360oc theatre, I really felt like I stepped into china. I could have happily watch this twice.
We then strolled to Norway in which Mark bought some lovely after shave which he wears for special occasions back home. We plan to get him at least two bottles when we go back this summer, it really is nice. The large trolls in the shop were a little scary, did anyone else think this? We went on the Maelstrom ride which was nice enough, I like the bit where you turn around and can be seen from outside.
Lastly we headed towards Mexico and went on the El Rio Del Tempo: The River of Time ride, this was pleasant enough, it reminded me slightly on the ‘it’s a small world’. I like the restaurant in Mexico and we tried on some of the sombreros.
When we go back next time I think we will spend more time looking around the countries in more detail.
No night at EPCOT is complete without watching Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, this was truly a perfect way of finishing a night at WDW. The first time we watched this we were blown away. The globe that comes out had caught my attention earlier in the day, I had seen I in the lagoon and was puzzled as to what it could be. We found out later that night. It was so beautiful. The music at the end was really romantic and mark and me danced with each other overlooking whilst overlooking the lagoon, you can’t beat that for romance.
This is our EPCOT report, I hope you enjoy it and please do ask any questions that you may have.
Although we enjoyed every park at WDW, EPCOT was out third favourite, which tied with MGM. MK was our favourite followed by AK, this is just our choice though please be reassured we loved each park for various different reasons. The highlights for EPCOT were Soarin, Test Track and Honey, I shrunk the audience, and the lowlights were journey into the imagination with figment and not being able to get fresh cotton candy anywhere!
When you walk into EPCOT at the entrance you can get the ‘leave a legacy’ plague, I thought this was a good idea and wasn’t too expensive. I am looking forward to seeing it when we go back this year. When we had the photo done I thought it looked okay, though my neck looked really fat in it? But as Mark was really shy and didn’t like doing things like this I didn’t want to start complaining and turning it into a photo shoot. We were given a receipt and were told that a picture of the plague would be sent to us in a few weeks. By the time we got home it arrived within a week. You get a little pack with a lithograph with your picture on and other bits and bobs. We are going to do this again when we go this year as they only keep your picture for a few years so we will do one each time we are there.
This is Mark outside the EPCOT geosphere, we enjoyed the Spaceship earth ride that was in the geosphere, it was quite enjoyable and a nice chance to cool downs and has a rest. I had stupidly put my sunglasses on my head for this ride as it was fairly slow, it was when we were going up and I was looking around that we heard a clashing noise. Yes my sunglasses had fallen off. Mark made a sound of complete disbelief before turning to me and saying ‘that wasn’t you was it?’. I started to panic as I had vision of my sunglasses getting stuck on the tracks and causing an accident, I looked in the empty seats that were behind us but as it was so dark inside I just couldn’t see them. Mark kept on shaking his head whilst I kept looking for them. Luckily for me when we got off the ride I quickly scanned the back seats and they were there. I was so relieved and I had learnt my lesson. I was also happy as I loved those sunglasses.
Test track was an awesome ride and I can’t wait to ride it again. The bit where you go really fast was so much fun, I wished it had gone on a little bit longer but the build up to it was a blast.
Mark really enjoyed this ride too, which I think surprised us both as he doesn’t like fast rides and isn’t a car fan unlike my brother who would have been happy to spend all day looking at all the car bits before and after the ride. We were very lucky when we went to WDW as each time we went to the parks we had hardly any queues.
Soarin is a FANTASTIC ride, it is so much fun. It isn’t a big scary ride so it means that most people no matter their ride limits can go on it. The first time we went on it we were lucky and got on the front row. I didn’t really know what to expect but once we got lifted into the air and the show started I just grabbed onto Mark as it felt so realistic I was a little weary about falling off my seat. But once the smell of oranges hits you and the wind blows in your hair you feel like you are on cloud nine. I really enjoyed it, we went on again though this time we were on the back row, to be honest there isn’t much difference in the experience though if you look up you can see peoples feet dangling!
I went on mission space though Mark did not, it wasn’t his cup of tea. So I left him to study the park map and have a drink. I was a little unsure to be honest what this ride entailed and I wasn’t expecting what I got. When we were shown to the box in which we were to go on the ride I felt a little panicky, I suffer from mild claustrophobia and didn’t like it when they strap and shut you in. I did enjoy this ride don’t get me wrong the pressure bit when you launch is very effective and that I did enjoy all the other bits, in fact the ride was honestly good. I just didn’t enjoy being in such a confined space. I only rode it once but will probably go on it again this year.
When I met mark I was feeling a little queasy and ready for a sit down whereas he was in the mood for another ride now that he was refreshed. Typical!
A ride that I really loved was Universe of energy, this was great fun. I happen to like Ellen so maybe this helped? But I thought it was on the whole a good ride.
The circle of life show was good with some educational factors too.
The Journey into imagination with figment for us was a ride that we won’t do again. We just didn’t get it. We like rides that are aimed at the little ones but this was just not entertaining for us at all. I know some people love figment, I guess he was cute but also annoying.
We took some pictures of ourselves at the email booths and sent some emails to friends and family. This is where you can have different backgrounds and change the picture, I loved doing this as I also sent them to ourselves and printed them off, it’s a nice souvenir.
World Showcase
We enjoyed walking around the World Showcase though we didn’t spend a lot of time here in our trip. We liked the buildings in Canada but we didn’t see the motion picture O.Canada though we hope to do this in September this year. When we were walking around we noticed that here was a pin trading fair on, we decided to take a look. Wow was this worth doing. We can’t quite remember how we got our free pin but when we got there I think you could claim one. You could then queue up and change it if you liked. There was an exhibition of rare Disney pins, as well as people who were keen Disney pin traders who had vast amounts of Disney pins on show. This was so much fun. There was also an exhibition of Limited edition pins that were on sale. Some only had 250 pins available ever made (some fewer) some were 500 to 1000, which considering how many people were at the exhibition and wanted to buy them it wasn’t many. A few were already sold out. We decided to buy some and debated for a while which ones that we wanted, we went for a cruella de vil one and a few lilo and stitch ones. They were a little more expensive to normal pins that you buy from the shops in WDW but they weren’t badly priced, each price differed for the pins, they were between $15-30 ish (I think this is right?). This was a lovely treat to go to this exhibition and we were lucky too as it was the last day of it, it was purely by accident that we found it. This was one of our highlights of EPCOT, when we go back this year we will keep an eye out for it.
Another fond EPCOT memory I have is at the Rose and Crown in the UK. Like many Bristish people we wanted to check out the Bristish grub. When we went we were seated very quickly and were taken to a corner of the restaurant which had a good view of the pub. We were impressed with the attention to detail in the pub, the décor was very authentic. We had a lovely waiter who was from Lancashire and was in his last year of a tourism degree and was working in WDW for a year as part of his course (please sign me up for that course!). He seemed very interested in us but wasn’t too overbearing. We were given a menu and were left to debate which meal we wanted, Mark went for the fish and chips and I went for the bangers and mash.
This is a picture of the fish and chip meal, he said it tasted like a pub meal and not fish and chips from the shop but he enjoyed it and we are going to do the take out version this year. It was a little costly to eat here but it was a nice to change from having burgers and fries.
The mash was very creamy and tasty, the sausages are nice too though for me they tasted very strong. This is just my personal preference as I only eat meat 2/3 times a year so it may have just been my taste buds. We both agreed that it was nice to do the Rose and Crown and we really enjoyed the meal though next time we go we will just do the take out bit.
Now the special bit regarding our meal. Our waiter realised that we were on our honeymoon and was so happy for us. He came out to us after we had our meal and brought us a certificate that all the staff had signed wishing us congratulations. It was really sweet, he also gave us a few mementoes such as a menu and some of the ‘newspaper’ that they wrap the fish and chips in. He was so nice. We were really touched by this.
If anyone goes to WDW and are on their honeymoon I strongly suggest you mention this when you are having a meal as you may get an extra little treat that will make the whole experience a little more special.
This is Mark with the butter dish in the Rose and Crown, can anyone else spot the hidden Mickey?
After the meal we walked around the UK, we went to the Crown and Crest and had a look around the souvenirs. I saw that they sold Cadburys flake and they were really costly, I can t remember how much but I remember it was a fair few dollars $$$$$, I think that I can wait until I get home before I eat another flake at that price! We had a look in all the shops in the UK, the Magic of Wales was a nice shop, my DH nana is from Wales so we went shopping for something for her. We decided not to get anything as most things were quite expensive but it was nice to have a little look around.
This is Mark posing with the red phone box, it is a shame that we don’t see many of them in the UK anymore as they are apart of our culture. We had great fun in the UK though I wasn’t looking forward to going back to the real UK.
Next we headed over to France, we enjoyed the detail and effort that had gone into making each country feel authentic. When we were walking through one day there was some street entertainers that did a few tricks with some chairs, I am sure most of you have seen this. We enjoyed it greatly, it was another surprise that added to the trip. I stood with the crowd whilst gasping in awe at the tricks where as mark not liking any possibility of being selected to take part in anything hovered at the back and looked on suspiciously. The entertainers were really good and I was amazed at the balancing chair trick, if we are walking passed when we go next time I will defiantly watch them again.
Next we wandered over to Morocco, as we were walking around we saw that there was a queue to meet Aladdin and Jasmine, I was so excited to get a picture with them both together and quickly joined the queue. We had waited quite along time when it looked like it was going to rain, the CMs looked worried and started to whisper to each other. I was very nervous that they were going to tell us all that we couldn’t get our photos with them but luckily for us they walked us around to a sheltered spot and we ad our photos taken then.
I enjoy meeting the characters, people who aren’t Disney fans always wind me up about this and say silly things that ‘you do realise that they are people dressed up in costumes…yadda ya ya’. Oh how wrong they are. Each characters greeting in special and I love getting their autographs.
This is mark trying on a hat in Morocco; I think he looks the part don’t you?
Next we headed towards Japan, we liked the shops there and there were some lovely things, though we didn’t buy anything. I enjoyed reading about the Disney in Japan. The buildings were lovely as ever.
Next we went to the USA Adventure, in which I had a funnel cake. Yuk! It tasted like fried gunge with icing sugar on it. For me this was gross! I loved almost everything I tried at Disney (my favourite being cotton candy) but this snack was unpleasant. To take the taste away I had an ice cream (any excuse!) and we walked around Italy and Germany. Next we went to china, I loved this country. The reflection of china was a great show. I loved the 360oc theatre, I really felt like I stepped into china. I could have happily watch this twice.
We then strolled to Norway in which Mark bought some lovely after shave which he wears for special occasions back home. We plan to get him at least two bottles when we go back this summer, it really is nice. The large trolls in the shop were a little scary, did anyone else think this? We went on the Maelstrom ride which was nice enough, I like the bit where you turn around and can be seen from outside.
Lastly we headed towards Mexico and went on the El Rio Del Tempo: The River of Time ride, this was pleasant enough, it reminded me slightly on the ‘it’s a small world’. I like the restaurant in Mexico and we tried on some of the sombreros.
When we go back next time I think we will spend more time looking around the countries in more detail.
No night at EPCOT is complete without watching Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, this was truly a perfect way of finishing a night at WDW. The first time we watched this we were blown away. The globe that comes out had caught my attention earlier in the day, I had seen I in the lagoon and was puzzled as to what it could be. We found out later that night. It was so beautiful. The music at the end was really romantic and mark and me danced with each other overlooking whilst overlooking the lagoon, you can’t beat that for romance.
It did used to be better honest!
