Third installment of my DD19 & I visit to WDW…
EPCOT–Monday, May 6, 2019
Epcot is one of my favorite parks so I was looking forward to this day…
We got off to a bit of a late start Ubering to EPCOT’s main entrance about noon.
Sleep is a priority to the Hoopers.
After taking the traditional pics in front of the “giant golf ball”, we bypassed the ride inside of it (30 min wait–Nope!) and headed to our first FPP ride–Soaring. Disney’s CA Adventure does so much of a better job creating an immediate feel for the type of attraction a visitor will be experiencing. I can’t say that for EP’s Soaring. The A/C did welcome us but that was about it. Entering the building that houses both Living with the Land and Soaring, you feel like you’ve walked into to a food court at your local mall…not very inviting…However, once we got through the Soaring FP entrance (got to love those Magic Bands) we felt much better although I did miss the excellent historic photographs of the pioneers of flight that adorn the walls of CAA Soaring. Once you take your seat, you do realize that EP’s version is excellent, and I love that it pays homage to our wonderful and diverse Earth and its inhabitants. We rode it again later in the day when there was only a 20 min wait! We missed the Living with the Land boat ride because we didn’t know it closed at 7pm…We got there at 7:05 and no go.
When we exited outside, the heat and the humidity hit us hard, and that’s when you start to realize how long of a walk it is from one side of Future World to the other. As we walked I checked TT wait time and it was over an hour so we used our MS FPPs instead. We rode for the first time the Orange version the ride (rode the green on our 2011 visit), and neither of us found it very enjoyable. The pressure of your face at the beginning of the attraction is very uncomfortable. I STARTED USING THE BREATHING TECHNIQUES I USED THE LAST TIME I WAS IN LABOR 17 YEARS AGO! to get through the first part… LOL…We both felt like we had been a victim of a bit tortured so we won’t recommend this ride. The best part of the attraction is this beautiful photo…
After MS, we braved the heat and humid to bring explore the Flower and Garden exhibits and food carts…Our first was one of our favorite characters…
To us, Daisy Duck never gets her due!
We really liked all the floral displays and congratulate all those designers, planners, and planters who made it happen…
We wondered around Mexico (loved the A/C pyramid), Norway, and then we realized it’s time for our ADR for a late lunch at Restaurant MARRAKESH. This is a great dining location to go for a lunch because it’s tucked away in the back of the Morocco showcase so you only go there if you are looking for it…usually you can walk right in. Since it was after 2:30, there was hardly any other diners so it was quiet and chill. This is an excellent way to beat the afternoon heat and recuperate. I love Moroccan architecture and the interior reminded me of our travels to southern Spain and Turkey. I APPRECIATE THAT DISNEY CONTRACTS EMPLOYEES FROM THE ACTUAL COUNTRIES IT SHOWCASES. (More on that when I review our last night at WDW and my in-depth discussion with a Roman waitress at Via Napoli). The food was very good and we were very refreshed by the iced mint tea.
Goat Cheese Appetizer
Lemon Chicken Tangine
Look at the detail of the arches (notice the belly dancer in blue)
GOT sized door! “Hodor!”
Love the intricate tile design
We wondered around other “countries” and noticed that the goods that were for sale were of poorer quality and lacked variety compared to when we shopped in EP in 2011. No high quality Venetian masks. I still have the large one I bought in 2011 hanging on my bedroom wall. Gone were the items in China and Japan like the lovely silk garments…just sad…
That was disappointing…BUT THERE WAS PLENTY OF LIQUOR TO GO AROUND AND AROUND! That’s where the $$ was to be had. There sure were a lot of tourists drinking around the world, and I don’t know how they made it out of the exits! I don’t drink before dinner because it tires me out so I found it disappointing that many inviting drinks did not have an non-alcoholic version. I found this at every park that served alcohol.
Our highlights were the character topiares…Here are our favs:
Elsa and Anna in Norway
The Lion King in The Outpost
Love Thumper and Flower near the Lake
Beauty and the Beast in France
Love the detail of The Beast’s coattail!
Got to have Hook and Peter
And Tramp and his Lady by Moonlight
We started doing some long distance backtracking to see parts of Future World that had longer lines earlier in the afternoon. Boy, we did some walking!!! On the way we stopped by Canada to try the Orange Slushy drink in the cute Birdie souvenir cup–The drink was HORRIBLE–not an icy slushy but a soon to be liquid creamsicle–It reminded my DD of the liquid antibiotic she had to take as a kid! We also tried the citrus dessert which was pretty but kinda dry.
But the $14 cup was cute!
We escaped the overwhelming humidity in the large general store gift shops that surround the lake. We especially liked the one that sold kitchen items…bought the cute Disney Snacks kitchen towels.
We rode the Finding Nemo ride and it already needs updating, sorry to say. Took a peek inside the Coral Reef Restaurant with the big aquarium and that needs updating too!
Go to DL and ride a submarine to find Nemo!
We skipped the Purple Filament ride since we couldn’t grasp whether it was worth it so we battled some rain drops to get in the single riders line for TT. This was the longest SR line of our trip–over 35 min. I liked the exhilarating end to the ride but Disney needed to do a better job of exactly the point of the ride was. I guess the 2nd time is a charm and Radiator Springs at CAA is so much more inspired. We liked it enough that we rode it a 2nd time on our last day at WDW.
Now it was on to Hacienda da San Angel for dinner, cocktails, and Illuminations. We had a reservation at 8:30 and tried to check in at 8pm but the hostess said come back at 8:15. We waited on the steps of the Mexico pyramid along with many fellow visitors feeling good after plenty of margaritas. We were allowed to check in at 8:15 and waited in the A/C lobby. The first table that was offered had no view of the lake so we said we’d wait for a better table. That move paid off because we were later seated at an elevated booth with a nice view for one of our favorite evening light shows, Illuminations. I really enjoyed the La Cava AVOCADO margarita. I thought it would be gross but it was delicious. I couldn’t taste the tequila which was fine by me. My DD had Orange Mango Fire margarita which wasn’t her favorite because of the spicy ginger (she had already asked for no hot sauce).
I’ll be sad to see Illuminations go but am excited to see its replacement.
We bought dessert from the Norway and Germany bakeries before dinner and had it later in our room. I loved the salted caramel cupcake. My DD thought the much discussed on blogs dessert, skoolbread, tasted horrible especially the odd cream in the center.
When we finally left Hacienda, the World Showcase was deserted which was so amazing…no one in sight! There is nothing like viewing the lighted buildings from each country. It was so still and peaceful. We decided to walk the entire showcase and pick up a Uber at the BC.
Once I entered Germany the ball of my right foot started heating up. I knew I would have a mean blister when I eventually got back to our room but I had no choice but to endure the walk. I can’t believe I made it to my POR room after walking in socks after getting off the bus. Luckily, my blister hadn’t filled with fluid as yet. I had packed large blister protectors, and they saved my vacation. I didn’t feel the blister again and of course, I didn’t wear the same sandals for the rest of my WDW visit.