After our late night at MK's EMH the night before, my friend Stacie and I got up at 7 AM so we could be at Epcot half an hour before opening. That was the incredible thing about this trip -- normally if I'm up late it's hard to get up early, but on this trip I was so raring to go that I never wanted to sleep! =)
We got to Epcot about fifteen minutes before opening, and then we raced to Soarin'. I am obsessed with this ride at Disneyland, and it is easily my #1 favorite ride in all of Disney World. It is SO AMAZING!!
We headed over to Test Track next, but I wimped out at the last minute. I just HATE thrill rides and when I saw the cars zooming fast on the track overhead, and I heard the screaming, I was like, "Okay, not for me." So Stacie rode it while I shopped at MouseGear -- what an awesome store!! I was in heaven! =)
After the shopping, I got a Mickey Bar (my new favorite treat!) while Stacie rode Mission:Space. And then, we headed over to World Showcase!! I was SOO excited to go here after reading so much about it and seeing all the amazing pictures. And it absolutely did not disappoint! I LOOOOVED it!!
Our first stop was France, the pavilion I was most excited about!! I'm part-French and I half grew up in Paris, but I haven't had a chance to go back in five years!! So going to Epcot's France was the next best thing. It was so completely authentic! I loved the shopping and exploring, and then it was time for our lunch at Chefs de France. DELICIOUS!! I got a window table as I'd requested, and the restaurant was so beautiful and reminded me so much of the cafes on Champs-Elysees or the Rue de St. Germain. I started with the onion soup, which was sooooo good. Then I had the Quiche Lorraine, equally delicious! And then, the waiters surprised me with a delicious free birthday cake! What a treat!
Afterward, we saw Impressions de France. What gorgeous music!! I had goosebumps! Loved the movie, I could have watched it twice!
Then we continued our tour of World Showcase, going through all the countries and shopping along the way! We had a blast bumping into Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie in Morocco and taking pix with them, and meeting and taking pix with Alice and Mary Poppins in England. I found such great and unique souvenirs and gifts for family and friends in some of the World Showcase stores. It was soo much fun!! But I think next time I go, I'll devote two days to World Showcase, cuz it was a wee bit hard pushing through to see all the countries in one day. But still, it was so magical!
At 6 PM, it was time for dinner at Alfredo's! Now, THIS was the surprise of the trip. I had read such horrendous reviews of Alfredo's, both on this site and others, but I was determined to keep the ressie because of me and my family's love for Italy, and the idea of strolling musicians singing Italian classics that I'd grown up with was just too hard to resist. I am SOO glad we went there, it was definitely one of our favorite dinners and a must-do for next time! First, the restaurant was GORGEOUS!! The murals covering the walls, the decor, omg! Beautiful! Second, barely a wait for our table, we were seated before our reservation time! Third, the strolling musician was playing and singing to all the tables, it was so special. The fact that I grew up with Italian music made it all the more special. And then, the food -- YUMMMMMM!!!! I ordered the sampler entree which included the famous fettucine Alfredo, the lasagna bolognese and the gnocchi. The fettucine was SOOOOOO AMAZING, I was practically yelling with joy when I started eating it. It was totally like that scene from "When Harry Met Sally", LOL! The bolognese lasagna was equally amazing! The only thing I didn't love was the gnocchi, but that was no problem because after I polished off the fettucine, I only had room left for half the bolognese. So then, we ordered the Nuttella cake for dessert, and that was heavenly!! Seriously, the idea of a Nutella cake is genius! Well, after we finished our dessert, the waiters came and sang Happy Birthday to me in Italian and gave me a free birthday chocolate mousse! Of course we managed to eat that too! =)
So after our perfect dinner at Alfredo's, we continued exploring World Showcase until it was time to leave for our FIREWORKS CRUISE!! We boarded the FriendShip boat to the Yacht & Beach Club marina, and then we saw my boat had been all decked out for my birthday: balloons, a Happy Birthday sign and everything. Soo special!! And before we left, we met a woman named Dee who was celebrating her 90th birthday with her family on an IllumiNations cruise! Our boat driver, Jody, was soooo awesome, too. After a long day pounding the pavement at Epcot, it was HEAVEN to lie down on that cozy boat as it sped across the lagoon, and it was really cool getting to see the sights of the BoardWalk, and Jody even took us to MGM and back.
So then it was time for IllumiNations. WOW!!!!! I can't say enough about this! The Wishes cruise was incredible, but if you guys have to choose one to do, IllumiNations is it! It was truly UNBELIEVABLE and AMAZING to be right on the lagoon, in the center of everything!! The fireworks, music and everything just blew me away, I couldn't believe what we were experiencing!! It was too good to be true! And then Dee's boat was parked next to ours as we watched the fireworks, and we became friends and she just sent me a card in the mail! It was so special!!
After the cruise, we took the bus to Downtown Disney for some shopping!! We found some great stuff at World of Disney and Disney Tails. And then, by 11:30, I was literally having to walk backwards because my feet and back hurt from so much walking! I was telling everyone who looked at me strangely that I had "shopper's fatigue."
Next up: MGM and MK at night!
We got to Epcot about fifteen minutes before opening, and then we raced to Soarin'. I am obsessed with this ride at Disneyland, and it is easily my #1 favorite ride in all of Disney World. It is SO AMAZING!!
We headed over to Test Track next, but I wimped out at the last minute. I just HATE thrill rides and when I saw the cars zooming fast on the track overhead, and I heard the screaming, I was like, "Okay, not for me." So Stacie rode it while I shopped at MouseGear -- what an awesome store!! I was in heaven! =)
After the shopping, I got a Mickey Bar (my new favorite treat!) while Stacie rode Mission:Space. And then, we headed over to World Showcase!! I was SOO excited to go here after reading so much about it and seeing all the amazing pictures. And it absolutely did not disappoint! I LOOOOVED it!!
Our first stop was France, the pavilion I was most excited about!! I'm part-French and I half grew up in Paris, but I haven't had a chance to go back in five years!! So going to Epcot's France was the next best thing. It was so completely authentic! I loved the shopping and exploring, and then it was time for our lunch at Chefs de France. DELICIOUS!! I got a window table as I'd requested, and the restaurant was so beautiful and reminded me so much of the cafes on Champs-Elysees or the Rue de St. Germain. I started with the onion soup, which was sooooo good. Then I had the Quiche Lorraine, equally delicious! And then, the waiters surprised me with a delicious free birthday cake! What a treat!
Afterward, we saw Impressions de France. What gorgeous music!! I had goosebumps! Loved the movie, I could have watched it twice!
Then we continued our tour of World Showcase, going through all the countries and shopping along the way! We had a blast bumping into Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie in Morocco and taking pix with them, and meeting and taking pix with Alice and Mary Poppins in England. I found such great and unique souvenirs and gifts for family and friends in some of the World Showcase stores. It was soo much fun!! But I think next time I go, I'll devote two days to World Showcase, cuz it was a wee bit hard pushing through to see all the countries in one day. But still, it was so magical!
At 6 PM, it was time for dinner at Alfredo's! Now, THIS was the surprise of the trip. I had read such horrendous reviews of Alfredo's, both on this site and others, but I was determined to keep the ressie because of me and my family's love for Italy, and the idea of strolling musicians singing Italian classics that I'd grown up with was just too hard to resist. I am SOO glad we went there, it was definitely one of our favorite dinners and a must-do for next time! First, the restaurant was GORGEOUS!! The murals covering the walls, the decor, omg! Beautiful! Second, barely a wait for our table, we were seated before our reservation time! Third, the strolling musician was playing and singing to all the tables, it was so special. The fact that I grew up with Italian music made it all the more special. And then, the food -- YUMMMMMM!!!! I ordered the sampler entree which included the famous fettucine Alfredo, the lasagna bolognese and the gnocchi. The fettucine was SOOOOOO AMAZING, I was practically yelling with joy when I started eating it. It was totally like that scene from "When Harry Met Sally", LOL! The bolognese lasagna was equally amazing! The only thing I didn't love was the gnocchi, but that was no problem because after I polished off the fettucine, I only had room left for half the bolognese. So then, we ordered the Nuttella cake for dessert, and that was heavenly!! Seriously, the idea of a Nutella cake is genius! Well, after we finished our dessert, the waiters came and sang Happy Birthday to me in Italian and gave me a free birthday chocolate mousse! Of course we managed to eat that too! =)
So after our perfect dinner at Alfredo's, we continued exploring World Showcase until it was time to leave for our FIREWORKS CRUISE!! We boarded the FriendShip boat to the Yacht & Beach Club marina, and then we saw my boat had been all decked out for my birthday: balloons, a Happy Birthday sign and everything. Soo special!! And before we left, we met a woman named Dee who was celebrating her 90th birthday with her family on an IllumiNations cruise! Our boat driver, Jody, was soooo awesome, too. After a long day pounding the pavement at Epcot, it was HEAVEN to lie down on that cozy boat as it sped across the lagoon, and it was really cool getting to see the sights of the BoardWalk, and Jody even took us to MGM and back.
So then it was time for IllumiNations. WOW!!!!! I can't say enough about this! The Wishes cruise was incredible, but if you guys have to choose one to do, IllumiNations is it! It was truly UNBELIEVABLE and AMAZING to be right on the lagoon, in the center of everything!! The fireworks, music and everything just blew me away, I couldn't believe what we were experiencing!! It was too good to be true! And then Dee's boat was parked next to ours as we watched the fireworks, and we became friends and she just sent me a card in the mail! It was so special!!
After the cruise, we took the bus to Downtown Disney for some shopping!! We found some great stuff at World of Disney and Disney Tails. And then, by 11:30, I was literally having to walk backwards because my feet and back hurt from so much walking! I was telling everyone who looked at me strangely that I had "shopper's fatigue."
Next up: MGM and MK at night!
