Florida Vacation - Day 2 EPCOT

Our first full day in Florida was Sunday, and we went to Epcot. We got there just after 8 a.m., purchased our tickets, and then got in line (which was already about 20+ deep). The park opened at 9 a.m., and the lines for entry were getting long. About 8:45 a.m., a cast member came along and asked my kids if they wanted to be pirate and princess for the day and open the park! Well of course they did, so we followed the cast member into the park before it opened, and there they got to sign Mickey's autograph book (good thing Charlotte has been practicing writing her name - she did it all by herself!!) Click on any photo to view it larger for more detail.





....and then they received a special Tinkerbelle Wishes Do Come True pin, and got to hold a sword/wand to assist in the countdown to opening the park.

(Uh, Charlotte, it's a wand, not a sword, lol.)

Ten, Nine, Eight.....

And the next best part was the cast member gave us this yellow pass for one free "fast pass" on any ride or show we wanted to use it on (you get to pass up the long lines and go to the head of the line without actually getting a fast pass.) Awesome!! We hit Test Track first thing and got on right away. Both kids loved this ride, so much so, that we went on it again later in the day. We also loved Turtle Talk with Crush (an interactive talk with Crush from Finding Nemo), Living in the Land (educational boat type ride), and of course, Soarin'. That was absolutely my favorite ride out of both parks. You really feel like you're flying through the air like a bird or something. Awesome. Charlotte really enjoyed Journey into the Imagination (all except getting sprayed with the skunk smell, lol.) I thought the Honey I Shrunk the Audience show was pretty cool, and actually screamed out loud when the rats got loose (I don't know how they do it, but you feel like there's a rat brushing past your feet. Creepy effect!)

Spaceship Earth was really cool too (Eric loved this.) We also sent our Spaceship Earth postcards home after the ride, and here they are:

Close up of Spaceship Earth

We got out of Future Land around 2 p.m. having finished up everything there we wanted to do and see, and headed into World Showcase (different countries.) They had their Food & Wine Festival going on, so we sampled some treats along the way. We ate in Canada, France, Germany, and Morocco. The pastries in France were incredible, as was the Grand Marnier slush drink. I had a couple people even ask me where I got it! Actually, all the food in World Showcase was very good! A few scenic shots.....






While in one of the shops in England, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time when Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger walked in and were third in line to get photos and autographs (and we still waited nearly 15 minutes!) Eric really seemed to get into it more so than Charlotte. I think their size or something sort of freaked her out. She's not the first, I'm sure.




We hung on long enough to view the grand finale fireworks/laser/water show over the lagoon. That was cool, but it was hard for the kids to see without us lifting them up (we refused to stake out a viewing spot 1+ hours ahead of time, but instead spent the time going on Test Track again and sampling more food, lol!)

And thus ends our second day in Florida. Tune in tomorrow for more stories of adventure and of course, more photos!