We all slept really well in our townhouse. Because Epcot has a slightly later opening time than the other parks, we were able to sleep in a bit, eat breakfast, and still make it to the park for park opening.
After our two cooler days, our Epcot day started in the 50's, but was sunny and low 70s by the afternoon. It was perfect!
Epcot is one of our very favorite parks for its great mix of things to do. We enjoy the rides, but also love walking around the various countries, seeing the shows and outdoor performers, enjoying the good food and fun snacks, and just appreciating the atmosphere.
The Festival of the Arts was going on at Epcot while we were there. We enjoyed watching the acrobats (we told Adelie this is something she could do with her incredible flexibility), checking out the chalk drawings and art tents, and listening to a Broadway series concert with a woman who played Ursela on Broadway and a man who played Timon, Chef Louie, and the Duke of Weselton on Broadway. They were fabulous! Watching the concert was one of Staley's top requests for the day.
And although Adelie was being shy about it, we enjoyed talking to the acrobats after their performance to find out how they were able to turn their skills with strength and flexibility into a career.
There were 50 of these gold statues throughout all the Disney parks as part of Disney's 50th anniversary celebration. My kids loved trying to find all the statues in the parks...and then asking to get their pictures taken with them.
While wandering around World Showcase, we enjoyed watching the drummers in Japan, eating gelato and shaved ice in Italy and Japan, checking out the American Adventure show and eating lunch at Regal Eagle (one of our new favorite meals) in the America pavilion, meeting Anna and Elsa in Norway, and, of course, spending lots of time checking out the miniature trains in Germany. We always have to make sure to schedule ample time into our day for these trains. One member of our group could literally spend all day watching them.
I loved watching his excitement as he chased the trains around, pointed out all his favorites, took in all the details, and made friends with other train enthusiasts.
Traditional meet and greets with hugs and autograph books are not back yet, but the kids still enjoyed the modified meet and greets that we did. Staley was our child who was most adamant about doing some of these meet and greets. I love that she still enjoys them!
Zach had a quick virtual meeting that he slipped away for during our Epcot day. Right after his meeting, he happened to see this friend out and about.
We fit in all our favorite rides throughout the day with minimal wait times. We all rode Soarin' (one of my very favorites) right when the park opened, Nemo (twice), Journey into Imagination, Living with the Land, and Spaceship Earth. The kids were not interested in riding the new Ratatoullie ride, which would have been a long wait had we chosen to ride it.
We fit in some shows that we had never done before, like The American Adventure (which was very well done and also educational, making me feel less bad about taking my kids out of school for a week) and Awesome Planet (which we also really enjoyed). We also did Turtle Talk with Crush, which is one of our family favorites. And to make it even more fun, Briggs was singled out to answer some questions and talk with Crush. And we also enjoyed checking out the aquarium in the building with Nemo and Crush. Unfortunately, the manatee tank was being cleaned so we did not get to see the manatees.
We had dinner at Sunshine Seasons and enjoyed eating a little healthier with salmon and fresh veggies from Epcot's own gardens and fishery. (Well, Briggs chose the mac and cheese and Adelie just wanted PB & J, so I guess we were 3/5 on the healthier front.)
The girls really wanted to do the Frozen ride and Briggs really wanted to do Test Track, two of the more popular rides that have long wait times throughout the day. We waited until the last hour of the day and then split up to get in our last rides. Zach took the girls on Frozen while Briggs and I did Test Track together. We were able to do both rides twice, finishing the ride and getting right back into line a few minutes before the park closed.
Zach and the girls finished their rides in time to catch the end of the nighttime fireworks and projection show while they were waiting for Briggs and I to finish up.
Another successful park opening to park closing day in the books. Although we walked over 13 miles, we had a great day with beautiful weather and the opportunity to just enjoy the day and the park that we all love. With each subsequent trip, Epcot makes its case for being our favorite park. It's hard to supplant Magic Kingdom, but Epcot is a very close second.
