Disney Trip: Epcot

Our last day of fun at Disney World was spent at Epcot. It fell on Sunday, which happened to be Mother's Day. We hadn't factored that in to the equation when we were planning our trip. It was a little strange not to be at church on Mother's Day and of course I hated to be gone from my mom. But it was such a blessing to have the chance to celebrate with Curt's mom maybe for the first time since we got married.

I knew Epcot was having the Flower and Garden Festival at the time and I suspected that Cozy and I would really enjoy getting to see that on our special day.

That morning we were at the bus stop bright and early of course. There was a women's triathlon going on at Fort Wilderness and the buses were supposed to be a little delayed. It was neat to see the ladies biking on the road. I wish I cared about doing something like that. Later at the hotel, we saw three ladies dressed in matching pink workout clothes. It looked like a girl my age, her mom, and her grandma. They were pushing grandma in wheelchair. I think they had all done the competition together, which was a really neat thought. Grandma must have been injured or too tired to walk. Or maybe she had just been a spectator all along. Annabeth, I would do it for you, my dear! Bibby, what do you think? Maybe you'll have some super bionic knee by then.

We arrived well before the park opened and were first in line behind the ropes. Our first stop was "Soarin,'" which is supposedly the most popular attraction at Disney World. People wait in line for hours for it. It seemed like the whole crowd headed straight there. Curt, Cozy, and Jackson went first and then Curt and I went together when they were done. It was really cool but I don't think I would wait hours on end to do it.

Then we went to do the Finding Nemo ride. We loved that. The aquariums in the building were awesome. Curtis had to pry me away from watching the dolphins. Next was "Turtle Talk with Crush." This was really clever and funny. They had all the kids sit on the floor in front and talk to Crush. They let the kids ask questions and it was my first experience of being a little scared of what might come out of my kid's mouth if they called on him. They called on slightly older kids, so it was all good.

At this point I left to find the baby care station to feed Annabeth. It was not hot yet and the crowds were low, so I enjoyed walking around and seeing the flowers. It was just beautiful. While I was doing that, Jackson got to do "Journey into Imagination," "Maelstrom," and "Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros."

We caught up with the rest of our peeps around Norway. I saw the Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and thought about how different our trip will be next time when Annabeth is older. We will have so much fun meeting all the princesses. This time we only saw Snow White.

After meeting her, we were ready for lunch. We found a beautiful Italian restaurant called Tutto Italia. Cozy and I had no expectations of a nice Mother's Day lunch, but we certainly got one!

We spent a long time wandering around the World Showcase. It really is a sight to see. It was getting absurdly hot by then and we were desperate to be inside. That's when we found the building that housed the "character spot." We waited in line quite a while but at least we were in the AC! We hadn't met Mickey or Minnie and we were leaving the next day, so we had to do it. It was totally worth it seeing how excited Jackson was. I was pretty excited too.

Next Curt and I did "Mission:Space," which simulates an astronaut's ride to Mars. That thing was insane.

We were finally ready to head out, so we grabbed some popsicles and headed to our bus stop. It took forever and ever amen for our bus to arrive. But it's all good. We made it back to the Wilderness Lodge without any awful meltdowns. We had to rest up so we could go back to Magic Kingdom for our last night!

Here are our Epcot pictures.

It was a long walk from the bus stop to the front gates.



Annabeth was out of control cute that day. You have no idea how much joy this outfit gave me. You can't see it, but she had on bloomers with red ruffles on the hiney. It's amazing what you can find on Etsy.



There were incredible topiaries of all the Disney princesses.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.



Curt, happy to be with his mama on Mother's Day



Fantasia.



The cast members gave carnations to all the ladies. Jackson was playing with one of ours.



Goofy!



Pluto!



Pluto welcoming Jackson to Epcot.



I love this one!



The Nemo ride.



Shark bait.



The flowers were so pretty.





Characters from Beauty and the Beast.



Mrs. Potts! Oh how I missed my tea.



That tent housed a butterfly exhibit that we never saw.



This is where the Moore family had the worst Mexican food of our lives back in 1994. That's a funny thing to remember 15 years later, isn't it? It was that bad! I remember that the only other people eating there that day were all from Texas, too.









It says "The Joy of Tea."







Annabeth's first time to meet a princess!







This was the Italy section. I think this building was supposed to look like The Vatican. I have been there, but it's been a while.



How precious is this?



Sirly Whirly eating a big cracker thing.



Chocolate gelato is a boy's best friend.



Annabeth losing her paci.









The Aladdin topiary frightened me.





England, I heart you.



I think this was Canada.



Meeting Mickey!





Minnie liked her Minnie-Me. Annabeth slept through her shining moment.







How I longed to jump in this water.



Beauty and the Beast.



My personal favorite, Princess Aurora. I can't remember her Prince's name. It must be Curtis.



There's Cinderella.



So stinking hot. Jacks was wearing Daddy's hat.



Here he is looking in at Annabeth. Is that funny or what?



Hopefully I have enough stamina to finish this thing. I'm so close to the end!