Epcot

May 10, 2014

I literally couldn't sleep! I tossed and turned all night with excitement and even got up before my alarm went off!! I am not really sure who was more excited- me or the kids :) The night before, we packed our lunches, snacks, and got our backpack ready for the day. This was the biggest help each morning. All we had to do was load our cold stuff into the cooler bag and go. We didn't cook breakfast on Disney mornings, we just ate Pop Tarts, cereal bars, etc. The kids were SO excited to go that morning. I think they would have tried to run there if we had let them. The magic of Disney on the first day- the anticipation, the unknown, so much fun to see it in the eyes of our children. Let's GO to Epcot....

The parks opened at 9am each morning. Luckily, my research told me that they usually opened about 15 minutes early- which ended up to be true! We got to the parks around 8:30 each morning and anxiously waited for the magical gates to open.

Thankfully I had warned everyone not to stop at the Epcot ball and oohh and ahh, we could come back up front later for pictures if needed. Don't let the crowd ahead of you!! These first 2 hours in the park are the most important. First stop was Test Track. Both of our kids were too small to ride and Grandmama & Grandaddy were not interested in riding so they headed to Mater's Playground while we rode. We didn't even wait 5 minutes! We were in and out pretty quickly. A new feature that they have added is that you can design your own race car while you wait in the que to go in. Addison enjoyed this part and she also loooved the ride! There is one part that goes pretty fast and I was a little afraid for her but she was laughing when we slowed back down, ha! And I took a picture of our picture on the ride they had listed on the screen for us to buy, yea, I'm that person.

One thing to keep in mind with kids is that your schedule has to be flexible. You see, before Test Track (keep in mind we had just walked into the park), Grandmama & Grandaddy had to take a potty break. Then after we all met back up we all had to take another potty break. Next on our plan was to do Mission Space next- just the 4 "younger adults" but everyone chickened out and did not want to ride a simulator ride in fear they might get queasy. So we headed over to the Character Spot to meet Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy. Caleb was SO excited! This was their first signatures in their books too. Kailyn clammed up as expected and we had to hold her most of the time. We did not have a FP for this either but we walked right in with absolutely no wait.

After meeting Mickey and friends, we headed over to the Nemo section of Epcot. We had FP times starting...time to test it out and see how I did. Our first FP was for Turtle Talk with Crush from 9:40-10:40. I decided to go towards the end of that hour so that we wouldn't have to wait for our next FP time which was right next door: Nemo and Friends from 10:45-11:45. It worked out great! The kids loved Turtle Talk- Crush was so cute and funny. Of course, everyone had to take another potty break afterwards!! Then we still had a few minutes to explore the aquarium area upstairs before heading down to the Nemo ride. Caleb decided he liked riding with Josh, Jessica, and Addison on almost every single ride, which actually hurt our feelings a little bit. At least Kailyn still loved us!

Once we finished in the Nemo building and walked outside, it had gotten very hot and very crowded outside. It was almost lunch time and so far our plans had worked out fantastically!! Our next attraction was to ride Soarin' in the Lands building, which I planned that way because there is a huge quick service restaurant area inside and I knew we would be able to eat our picnic lunches inside. We found an empty corner off to the side and had that entire area to ourselves the whole time. I would say this was another great thing we did this trip- packed lunches, drinks, and snacks. But we had strollers to haul it all in. Once the kids outgrow strollers, this obviously wouldn't be an option. We had a nice lunch then Grandmama & Grandaddy took our 2 again so we could ride Soarin'. They are big on the "grown up" rides and once again, our 2 kids weren't big enough to ride. Kailyn was starting to get tired and it sounds like she made Grandaddy struggle a little, but thankfully they were able to walk around and went inside the Innoventions building to explore and play in the air conditioning. We all had a blast riding Soarin' and again, Addison loved it! Once we met back up together, we saw Chip N Dale outside the Character Spot where we had met Mickey and friends but right as we got in line, they were going on a break so we decided to head over to the Worlds and see what other characters we could find!

On our walk over to the World Showcase, we spotted a butterfly house that was temporarily there for the Flower & Garden Festival that was going on during the month of May. Kailyn loves butterflies, so of course we decided to detour and go through!

All of the hedges were amazing walking through Epcot too and the flowers were gorgeous. It was fun just walking around looking at everything! We even spotted a few ducks along the way.

Our first stop in the Worlds was the UK where we met Mary Poppins. She was so sweet and took her time with us. There was barely even a line for her, I think one family in front of us. Kailyn was sooo sleepy at this point and did not even want to get out of her stroller, so we just pushed her right up to Mary Poppins. The group decided to forego Pooh and Tigger since the kids don't watch them and we had just missed Alice in Wonderland...we actually spotted her walking down the sidewalk going on her break.

Next, we walked over to France and spotted Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty in a gazebo by the river. Daddy had just got Kailyn to sleep in the stroller so they waited in a shady spot while we met Aurora. Again, the line was very short and we were up to meet her in no time. She was so nice and spent a ton of time with the kids.

Next up...potty break, again! Couldn't resist this cute shot of the kids with Grandaddy. Kailyn was still snoozing in the stroller.

It wasn't quite time to meet Belle yet, but we found where she meets (thanks for my secret character finder map!)and decided to take a break there. It was so hot outside and we spotted an icecream cart right next to this sidewalk! The BEST ice cream I have ever had. Apparently it was French! Soo creamy and thick. Yum.

Thankfully, Kailyn woke up a few minutes before time and had a few minutes to wake up. I hate that she missed the ice cream treat but we were thrilled that she napped in the stroller. Just as the kids started getting antsy, Belle walked up! She was super cute. We were first in line, which was fun. Caleb and Addison went then we actually talked Kailyn into going up to her by herself. I love the picture of Belle showing her the signature she drew in her book. As with all of the characters, Belle was so into her role and it felt like we were in the movie with her. So cool!

Unfortunately, Addison started feeling bad as we were waiting on Belle's meet and greet. She was hot, as we all were, but she started getting sleepy and asking for a nap- not like her at all. And she said her tummy hurt. So Josh and Grandmama decided to head back to our house and let her rest. It was a good thing they did because she had a pretty high temperature that she kept for the next 36 hours or so.

Since we just had our 2 kids and they were enjoying the characters SO much, we decided to head over to Aladdin and Jasmine's spot and wait for their next meet. This and our wait for Belle were our longest of the day- but only because we got to both of their spots early and wanted to be first up. Actually, for Aladdin and Jasmine, we were 2nd in line. It was hot out and we were in the shade with cold drinks and snacks- so we were happy! When it was almost time for them to come, we were ushered into their little room. It was so cute! Caleb even found a Genie lamp but was too scared to rub it and see if he came out. Ha! Aladdin was super nice and great with Caleb, Jasmine was nice too but Caleb and Aladdin bonded. Kailyn got a little shy and Daddy had to take her up. Then we decided to get a few family shots too and I am so glad we did. Super cute! Aunt Jessica kept Addison's book for her and got a picture with them- what a good Mommy.

Of course, the boys had to go on yet another potty break- the new theme for our trip. Maybe it was a game I wasn't included in... Pee in every potty at Disney World?!!! Here they are in Moroco as we were waiting (patiently) for them. Kailyn enjoyed the wait, she was dancing to the music playing.

After Morocco, we walked past Japan, America, and Italy. It would have been nice to stop and explore but it was starting to get SO crowded, we decided to just keep going. As we were walking by Germany, we spotted Snow White! I thought we would be too late to see her but we made it. There were 2 families in front of us in line, so we maybe waited 5 minutes. I think they closed the line right after we got in it- lucky, huh?! Snow White's spot was super cute too- right by a little wishing well. As Caleb was telling her bye, she kissed his cheek and left red lips on it!! He was also excited to name several of the dwarfs for her! Then, as we were about to leave her, Kailyn spotted a lizard. You would have thought the lizard was covered in diamonds. She squealed, jumped up and down, and clapped her hands. Everyone in line giggled and thought she was so cute. But Snow White laughed, got up, and came to get Kailyn by the hand to go and look at the lizard. They both watched it for a few minutes and talked about it's tongue and how it changes colors. This was BY FAR my favorite character we met the entire trip because of this. Not only did she do an amazing job staying "in character" but she took that extra step and made such a special memory for Kailyn.

Oh, and while we were in line waiting for Snow White, Daddy went next door and got himself and Aunt Jessica a German beer. I don't think they were very impressed. Oh well, at least it was a cold drink on a hot day!

The last country to visit is Mexico! We spotted Donald Duck in his Mexican attire right away. Another lucky timing! There were just 2 families in front of us and we were the last family let in line. Donald kept putting up one finger, saying he was #1...reminding us that he is #1, not Mickey. Too funny!

I'm not sure if we were all too hot or tired, or both, but we decided to head out after meeting Donald. Aunt Jessica and I had spotted a Chuy's Mexican restaurant the day before in town close to our house and really wanted to eat there. After being in Mexico, of course we were all craving some cheese dip and tacos! Yum :)