Epcot!
Monday was our Epcot day and I was psyched because we had all our shopping and stuff out of the way. We had to leave the studios to go to Target, leave the Magic Kingdom to go to the Expo, and leave Animal Kingdom to go to the outlet mall, but there was NO WAY I was gonna sacrifice a second of my day at Epcot. And we still barely did half of the attractions in the park! ( I won't even mention the tasty treats that went untasted because there just wasn't room... tragic)
The Flower and Garden festival started the week we were there so the park had an amazing array of topiaries, flower beds, and beautiful gardens. Had to take a shot of Kell with her fav Disney character!
Another huge flower bed:
We hit the rope drop and headed to Soarin'. Rode it and got FP's for later that we (you guessed it) never used. Then rode Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, and Kellee and I did the Sum of all Thrills which I can't wait to do with my kids in Nov. You get to design your own rollercoaster and then jump into a simulator and ride it. Before we knew it it was time to head to World Showcase. The girls grabbed some coffee and I took some pics across the lagoon. This is one of fav bits of OCD Disney Trivia. Walt didn't want you to see anything outside of a park while you were in a park so that nothing shattered the magic. They are so committed to this that when they designed the Tower Of Terror, which is in the Studios, and realized that it would be visible from Epcot, they made sure that the top of the tower was architecturally similar to Morocco so that it adds depth to the country of Morocco instead of detracting from it. Unfortunately the tower has scaffolding on it, but you get the idea:
We headed to Mexico. The shopping area of Mexico is so cool. It's inside the pyramid so you feel like you are in a night market place.
By the time we finished shopping we were ready for lunch and one thing you really can't get in Korea is Mexican Food so we figured we were in the right place at the right time. I got this plate of nachos and a margarita. If I could clone this meal and have it again right. now. I'd be all over it.
Ugh, it hurts just looking at that picture. The maddening thing about Epcot is that I can't even say I'll have this again when I go in the fall. There are just way too many food venues on my Epcot "to do" list that I haven't even tried yet!
On to Norway! Ivana and Kellee outside the traditional Stave Church:
Kellee and I had stopped to get a Kim Possible device so we were NOT just here to see the sights. We had a mission in Norway so we had to zip around and make it rain. Fav moment: having to walk up to the CM greeter on the Maelstrom ride and go "You know... Vikings are all the rage." And then she gave us a secret code to continue our mission! SO FUN!
Onto China! Actually we pretty much just walked past China. I mean we live right next door and most of us have plans in the next year to visit the real thing. I wanted to see the Reflections of China film but sigh, next trip...
In Germany, the first thing we hit was the new Caramel bakery. EPIC. I got a caramel coated, dark chocolate dipped apple. I can't talk about it.
Huge bummer because after the Nachos and the apple I did NOT have room for a bavarian pretzel which was on my list... They had this great tower from "Tangled" in the gardens outside Germany. If you got close and listened carefully you could hear her singing.
Onto Italy!
They had some street performers and we stopped to watch for a while.
They also had this gorgeous Lady and the Tramp topiary.
Next up, America! Home sweet home! Many people think it's silly to have America represented as one of the World Showcase countries but it's Colonial America, not modern so it's a nice little piece of history. It was Monday so there was no fife and drum corps but we did get to hear the "Voices of Liberty" before taking in the American Adventure. They were amazing!
Then we were off to Japan! I got this cool pic of Spaceship Earth framed in the Japanese gateway thingy:
Morocco was next. I love this country because you can go down all these cool alleyways and really immerse yourself in the theming.
One of the first things we saw in Morocco was a booth selling yummy things including Baclava. Having not eaten since Germany I was IN for Baclava!
Take a closer look at the picture on the right. Look who I caught just coming around the corner!
The next country we hit was France. Zoe was in heaven with the Patisserie, the parfumerie and the soaps. I think she would have been content to spent the rest of her day here! I promised we were coming back for dinner and dragged her onward.
It was Karen's turn to be stoked in our next country. We hit the UK and she wasted no time finding the candy shop (shoppe?). She was able to get all kinds of treats from home for her son. She even showed us her hop-scotch skills!
Of course no trip to the UK would be complete without a pint at the local pub...
By this time it was 4pm and the gang was ready for a break. I convinced them that since our ADR for dinner was at 6, there was no point in trying to go back to Kidani for a rest as they'd just have to turn around and come right back. So they set off to find a patch of grass and I headed out for 2 solo hours in Epcot. What an opportunity!
First stop: Mission Space and Test track! Thanks to my buddies I got to experience something that I would never have gotten to experience if they were burlier touring commando's: The SINGLE RIDER LINE!!!! Now you can't see it but the standby line behind me at Test Track says 80 minutes. I moseyed into the single rider line and power walked past a line of people that was out the door. Got to the front with no one in front of me and the CM loading the car put me right onto the ride. It was an Epic Disney WIN!
Love this one where you can see Norway and China past one of the Italian Gondolas:
On the way out the back entrance of Epcot I also got a few cool shots of France:
In November I'm taking my parents and 2 of their best buddies to the World for a long trip. We're going to stay at Kidani for 5 nights and Beach Club for 5 nights. I had never seen the BC area so I was excited to scope it out. Had I known this was there I would have told the girls to go out the International Gateway and chill on the beach for a few hours!
Beach Club Resort:
The pool here is called "Stormalong Bay". It goes on forever!
Most of it has a sandy bottom and in places there are sandbars or spits where kids can make sandcastles and play:
And this is their themed slide. You go up the spiral staircase and then slide down the mast back in to the pool area which is way to the left on the other side of the walk way!
So Beach Club looks awesome and I can't wait to stay there. I decided that since I had 35 more minutes I would walk around the Boardwalk and check out the whole area. It's another huge lake so you could loop it and head right back into Epcot. Here's the Boardwalk Resort:
Of course I had to scope out the bakery. I did not actually buy anything here. THIS proves what a truly moderate and reasonable individual I am. Actually it was more about an ADR in France coming up in 30 minutes. Hindsight being 20-20 I so should have bought cupcakes for the plane ride the next day. Bah! Rookie mistake!
Another look back on the Boardwalk Resort area. What a cool place! Can't wait to have more time to check it out in November.
Headed back into Epcot and met the girls in front of this Beauty and Beast garden.
Our dinner at the Bistro was AMAZING!!! We did the set menu with the wine paring and every bite was heaven. It lasted 2 hours. Afterwards I was gearing up for the "so where do you want to watch Illuminations from?" discussion when they told me that they were all leaving to go pack. "WHAT?!?" Ha, ha, you guys almost got me with that one. Because no one that has flown 10,000,000 miles to come to Disney would walk out of Epcot 50 minutes before Illuminations when they have the ENTIRE Next day to sleep on a plane am I right? I mean that's just crazy-talk. Seriously, does this crew look that tired:
Ladies and Gentlemen, It breaks my heart to inform you that they were serious. All 4 of them. That's what really gets me. 4 out of 5 people do NOT leave Epcot 50 minutes before Illuminations. The mind boggles. So I walked them toward the entrance still kind of convinced that I was being punked and took this shot and then they actually left. Epcot. To go pack. (We'll pause here for a moment of silence while you take it all in...)
Of course if you have only 1 person in your party, it's pretty easy to get a prime viewing location. I watched from Canada and it was beautiful.
When it ended I ran up the left walkway past the land pavillion and then somehow got ahead of the massive crowds that were powerwalking out. I just ran and ran until I was alone. Reached the buses and the AKL bus was right there and totally full. I jumped on and the doors closed and we headed off. It was another Epic Disney WIN. And I got home like 30 minutes after the girls did anyway, solidifying for perpetuity the WRONGNESS of their leaving. I have not actually severed all ties with these people either. What a long-suffering loyal friend. And, Zoe, Karen, Kellee and Ivana, here is a video of Illuminations that I am posting just for you since you missed YOUR ONE AND ONLY CHANCE EVER TO SEE IT. BAH!!!
(not that you could ever really experience Illuminations in a video.... just sayin')
I stumbled upon your trip report through the Disboards. It is by far the best TR I've read so far. Thanks for taking the time to put it together. I've always wanted to run one of the half marathons at wdw but have never been able to work myself up to running that distance. It never occurred to me that I could take breaks... Seeing the details of how it all works has given me a boost. Now to talk my husband into the idea. ;)
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