Every night in the house so far I have enjoyed the large soaking tub. I don my swimsuit and JJ and I enjoy a bubble bath with Copaiba EO to help my old muscles;) Last night, just like every other night, he announced he was tired, got out of the tub before me, and put himself to bed. To be totally honest Faith and Grace had a huge row the first morning we were here so we removed Faith from that room and she sleeps on the floor of JJ and Superman's floor. So when I say that JJ puts himself to bed what I really mean is that when I go check on him he is snuggled up next to her on the floor like he would normally be with me. But, hey, he is going to sleep without me so it is a win for me!!
Anyway, we got to Epcot late as we had a Fast Pass to what we remembered to be our favorite ride - Test Track. We had to go through metal detectors at this park, unlike the other ones, so I was worried that we would miss our time (they are effective for one hour from the time we signed up to be there). We made it with minutes to spare (sound familiar...happened to us yesterday too...that is just the way our family rolls;) But it didn't really matter because Epcot was not busy at all that day so the lines were all under 15 minutes of wait time:) We all loved this ride and went on it several times this day.
We went on the ride Soarin'. My husband was ADAMANT that he would NOT be riding that ride so the rest of us went. We had hoped that the line would short since we were pushing it for another fast pass to expire. But then...they came and announced that there were "technical difficulties" and there would be a delay. It wasn't more than a 15 minute delay. I was texting with my husband and he said he saw someone running with a spray bottle toward the entrance while waiting for us. I suspect (I know it is wrong to assume) that someone vomited on the ride... Anyway, we finally all got on the ride. I knew what to expect from last time but Buddy had not gone on it. You are put on racks of seats and seat belted in. Then the racks are elevated so you are all facing a concave movie screen like you are in it. There are two rows across and 3 back which means that the front row ends up very high up in the air when everyone is put in front of the screen. If you are scared of height either DON'T LOOK DOWN or don't go on the ride. The racks of seats sway like you are riding in a hang glider (but sitting, not prone). The movie was different than last time and was really, really incredible. But it is like you are in the air and I am not embarrassed to say that my stomach was in knots, I clutched the handles beside me very tightly, and I closed my eyes and thought of something else during scenes when I knew it would be showing us tipping over the edge of something. The kids LOVED IT. Yeah... must be because I am, er, 29;)
We missed our Fast Pass but the line to Spaceship Earth was very short so we just walked in anyway. That one is the big ball that one thinks of when they think of Epcot. It is another low fear ride when you sit in a open bench and they talk about technology and the future of technology.
You can see the Spaceship Earth in the background. You can not see JJ because he is refusing to be in the picture and is off to the right... Because, of course, not all of our day ran smoothly... Because that would be an unrealistic expectation;)
There is a Living With The Land ride that is like pontoon boats that you sit in and they talk about agriculture, etc. It is a neat ride. And safe. Very safe. And on.the.ground.
We also went into Mission Space. We did not do this one last time we were here. I was a little reluctant and my husband went on it once and refused to go on it again. It is a simulator for being in a space shuttle. There are two levels you can go on, green and orange. Green is for me - low key. So my husband, JJ, and Grace went on that one. Buddy, our son-in-law, Superman, and Faith went on the other one. You sit in a "capsule" 4 across and are harnessed in. Then the control panel comes toward you and the capsule moves while you watch a screen as if you are on a space mission. There is a narrator who tells you what to do (push buttons depending on if you are the Commander, Pilot, etc). Grace and JJ loved that they got to push buttons, my husband felt claustrophobic, but it really was very low key and not scary at all if you are ok with being in a small place (they have hair blowing right on your face - I assume to help you not feel claustrophobic). The other 4 said that there was a LOT more g-force on the orange one. They all went on it twice and loved it.
After many of the rides at Disney are educational or fun things to do. This was the one after Mission Space.
The "rides" at Disney World are far more entertainment or educational "experiences" than a thrill ride. I think we all understood that better this time so we adjusted our expectations accordingly. If we just want thrill rides we will find an amusement park:)
We stood in line to get pictures with Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie. Kids loved that. We started to stand in line for other characters but I fail to see the point of standing for 30 - 60 minutes to get a picture with someone dressed up in a costume of a fictional character so we...didn't do that anymore.
The back part of Epcot is a big lagoon with a walking road around it. Around that are a bunch of buildings set up as if they are from different countries. Like Canada, United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, Germany, etc. The buildings and the entertainment (music, juggling, etc) are themed to be like the country. The bathrooms are even set up with similar themes lol! Believe me, we experienced each of the bathrooms at the parks numerous times and found out which ones had the shortest lines and the "companion bathroom" for our child who cannot handle public restrooms. Clean bathrooms with short lines are a beautiful sight!! It really is a very interesting place to see. Not much to do since there is only 1 ride back there (Frozen) and the wait for that was way over an hour so we did not do it) and the rest is all stores, but the older people all thought that was great. Of course there is a lot of alcohol sold specific to the countries as well. We did not see anyone who appeared intoxicated, but it was present. I don't remember that much alcohol last time but last time we left Epcot earlier and this time we stayed for the fireworks so I think it was just a time of day difference.
JJ loved that there was a funnel cake booth so we got funnel cakes for my birthday cake:)
The fireworks are put on from barges in the middle of the lagoon, and there is music and lasers incorporated into the show. The largest barge is a huge globe that lights up where the continents are. The fireworks show is amazing. Amazing. We found a place to sit almost an hour before the fireworks. I was SO thankful we got to sit as my feet and legs were killing me by 6:00 every day...or earlier. Our son in law has a mileage tracker on his phone and we walked 5 - 6 miles every day. As a funny aside, he was able to look at where he had gone during the day and the squiggly lines from when we were on the roller coaster were hilarious!
The top picture is of the globe being brought in during the day with the globe reloaded with fireworks for the nights show. There are several barges. The bottom one is what the globe looks like during part of the fireworks show - we are facing North and South America lit up... The middle picture is of our family right before the fireworks show with the Epcot ball in the far background.
Anyway, after the show I carried JJ on my back to the tram and we rode to our van. Epcot is actually set up so the walk to vehicles is relatively short if you want to walk it. Unlike Magic Kingdom where you have to take a ferry or mono rail.
We got back to the house late (the fireworks were at 9) and we got everyone in bed. JJ and I enjoyed our soak, he put himself to sleep again (AWESOME!), and we were thankful that Beautiful had a good day after we left so she could come with us the next day.
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