It's EPCOT day! We get ready and meet at the bus stop about 8:00. Mom and Dad drive their car, so we meet them outside the turnstiles. We probably arrive at the park around 8:30 for a 9 am opening, so we have some time. We all head in and head toward Test Track.
Everyone gets right on, while Taryn and I stay with the kiddos. Barrett is a little sad to not be able to go with everyone else, but we walk about the Chevy displays at the ride exit before everyone returns. The boys go on to do Mission Space, while the girls decide to head over the the aquarium. We stop to meet Chip and Dale on the way and then make it to see the fish. When the boys are set, we head next door to the Land to meet back up. We have Soarin' FP+ for 9:55, and decide to split up. Mom, Dad, Andy and I walk on the ride around 10:15 and are quickly in. That ride is so calming and cool. Then, we swap with the others. Mom is on Landry duty, while Dad, Andy, and I take Barrett on Living with the Land. We get stuck right at the end and have to wait about 10 minutes in the boats, but we make it off just as everyone else is exiting Soarin.' We head to do Journey into Imagination which is a success. Barrett plays with all of the interactive stuff before we walk back to the aquarium. Another FP+ for Seas with Nemo!
This is another good, relaxing one. Afterward, we spend some time in the aquarium before splitting up. Andy and I slowly make our way into the World Showcase, making stops to sit every few countries. It is another sunny, comfortable day. We make it to Via Napoli in Italy for our 12:45 reservation just a few minutes behind schedule. Andy and I split a pizza (huge, but we somehow finish it). Others get varieties of pizza or pasta and all is super tasty.
The boat ride at the Mexican pavillion isn't anything special, but I wanted to do it. We got popcorn quickly, and walked right on to the ride. At this point, everyone else had made it to the park and were eating in various countries. We met up with my parents at the caramel place in Germany and discussed what to do next. We had missed the showing of American Adventure, so after some mulling we decided to go to Impressions de France. Of course we miss a show by seconds, and wait for the next. This show is actually really great. It's almost like Soarin' but in a theater. The images were beautiful and it was a nice thing to do since we were tired. Afterward, dad and I stopped in the Les Halles bakery (umm yummy) and got a chocolate eclair. It was awesome.
At this point it was about time to start Illuminations, so we caught up with the group in Canada. I will say we didn't have the greatest view and at this point it was pretty chilly outside. The show was still a spectacle and we follow the rush of people to the buses. We hop on and Tissieres get the last few spaces just before we pull away - close call. It's bedtime.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
We wake and are at the bus around 8:15 for a 9 am Animal Kingdom park opening. Tissieres had driven and picked up my parents on the way, but we met up just fine as crowds were really minimal. After opening, we head to the back of the park to hop on Safari right away. I was really disappointed in this attraction. I am not sure what I expected but I wanted to see more animals. (Also, this ride has a pregnancy warning which I ended up ignoring, but won't be doing so in the future. It actually is really bumpy. And yes, I see the eye rolls from here Taryn and Allyson.)
I was super sore and tired already this day. We had FP+ for the 10:00 Lion King show, so Mom, Andy, and I went to reserve seats while the others walked through Pangani. The show was good and not too long. I went with Allyson to the child care center and sat while she fed Landry. The others went to do Expedition Everest. We met up with Tissieres who weren't on the ride and were able to see the others as they rode. It was lunchtime and we had planned to do Yak and Yeti counter service just down the way. We decided to go inside the sit-down restaurant and this ended up being a good call. We only had to wait a few minutes as the restaurant was just opening. Andy got a burger and I got orange chicken, which was awesome. I ate the whole plate for sure.
It was nearing 1:00 and Andy and I wanted to check out the souvenirs for baby. AK did not have a great selection so this ended up being a bust. Then we called it a day and went to the bus. This was definitely the most disappointing day of the trip because I felt like I did not see much of the park at all. But at this point I was so exhausted that all I really needed was a nap.
We quickly got on a bus and go home for a really long nap. We decided to leave for dinner around 5:45, so we hop on a bus to Magic Kingdom. We aren't staying to enter the park, but decide to take a boat ride across Bay Lake to the Polynesian for our dinner reservation at 7. It was around sunset, the weather was nice, and the boat ride was pretty short. We got to Ohana in plenty of time so people get various drinks and we eventually meet up with Joe, Dad, and Mom.
We get called to a table shortly after our 7 pm time slot and they happen to sit us at the most perfect table. We were right next to the window with a perfect view of Cinderella's Castle. But it was time to scarf, man..
I actually like that the menu is decided for you and is "all you care to eat." It was simple since we were a big group and everything tasted awesome. First, we were served welcome bread. I think this was pineapple something if I remember. Not everyone was a fan but I thought it was fine. Next we got lettuce wraps, which were delicious. Moving on to entrees, we got sweet and sour pork loin and sirloin steak - both really good. These were served with egg noodles and stir fried veggies. I am not sure what made the noodles so tasty, but they just were. They finished with bread pudding with bananas, ice cream, and caramel sauce. This doesn't sound good, but it's just amazing. I don't think I've ever put so much food in my stomach in my life. And I'm okay with that because it was worth it.
As we were eating, Wishes was going on. The restaurant played the music so we had all the bells and whistles to go along with the nice view. We take the monorail back to MK and hop on a bus for the hotel. It was a nice, rejuvenating day in prep for our big finish in the Magic Kingdom!
And yes, I am literally posting every picture I took. That is how terrible I was at photographing this trip. Oh well!
No comments:
Post a Comment