Thanksgiving at Disney: A Trip Report - Day 7 - Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

Commonly known as EPCOT

If you've read my blog for any time at all, you know that I adore Epcot and often call it by its full name: Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. After watching video of Walt Disney explaining Epcot and his vision for it, his excitement and passion for the park rubbed of on me! The whole idea behind the park is fabulous, and its iconic Spaceship Earth is a gorgeous piece of architecture. I could spend days in the World Showcase alone! If you've read my blog, you also might recall that I cannot resist taking a million photos of Spaceship Earth when I visit the park. Come back on Friday to see where that obsession led me!

Prior to our trip we had read that Epcot was opening earlier than advertised. Guests were arriving early and being let into the park which was making the rush to Soarin' less crazed. Wanting to take advantage of this, we arrived early... only to find the rumor wasn't true at least not that early Saturday morning. We did get to see a lot of crazy going on though: one guest was claiming she was a resort guest, so she should get to go right to the front of the queue to get in. (Everyone stands in the same line.) One man on a scooter decided his scooter should allow him to simply jump the line. (My sister kindly showed him where the line started, and he kindly told her to "shove off" and sat on his scooter practically on top of us.) No matter what, though, we were determined to not let others' "I'm starring in my own movie, everyone revolve around me" attitudes get in the way of our happiness! (For more about how to get past Disney Pet Peeves, click here!) 

FastPasses! 

Touring the parks in peak crowd conditions has become my family's skill. After we made it through the turnstiles, Randy immediately took our Keys to the World cards to go get FastPasses for Soarin'. LaRae, the kids, and I took a more leisurely pace toward the Land Pavilion to meet Randy to ride Living with the Land. There was no wait for the attraction. People are missing out by skipping it!  Less popular rides with short queues are a great way to spend the time waiting for a FastPass time to arrive.

Can you read the lettuce? 

After The Land, we strolled over to The Seas with Nemo and watched Turtle Talk with Crush.  Just like Enchanted Tales with Belle, I am a firm believer that everyone should see Turtle Talk at least once! It's interactive and different every single time. Every visit I end up laughing hysterically at something a kid says to Crush or Crush's reaction to a kid! (Hint: we often try to prep the kids before Turtle Talk: "what would you like to ask Crush if he calls on you?" That way the kids will raise their hand to be included, and they'll have a plan and not freeze if he calls on them. Katelyn has a knack for getting chosen!)

I love catching sweet family moments like this one
with Katelyn holding hands with her dad.

Another short queue is over at Journey Into Imagination with Figment. Rumor is that this pavilion and attraction are going to be shut down soon for a revamp. I hope we don't lose Figment. I simply love this attraction and its song!  As a small child I remember it scaring me, and I don't remember much about Dreamfinder (except that he's pretty awesome). I do have a soft spot for the current ride though.

Our FastPasses for Soarin' came due, so we went back over to The Land to glide over California.  Mmmmm, the smell of the orange groves makes me smile every time!  Randy, our FastPass runner, took off to get Mission Space FastPasses for everyone else right before Imagination because the window opened where we could get another, so everyone else went there.  I, however, am confident in my dislike of Mission Space, so I didn't subject myself to it.  Y'all - I'm bored on the green side, but I'm scared of a brain hemorrhage on the orange side...  I went to the World Showcase (Canada, France, and Japan) instead.

Santa could be found around the World Showcase.  Can you tell what country
I was walking through when I met this plaid clad Santa?

It was, indeed, a jolly holiday with Mary!

Another Santa!

My favorite dessert from France!

I met my family in Japan (all without using a passport). During my wait, I ate a Napoleon from France and watched the shows in Japan from a bench near the Lagoon.  We ate lunch together at the Katsura Grill and had a quick photo shoot with a PhotoPass photographer.  LaRae and I went on to Italy, Germany, and China while Randy took the kiddos to America for lunch.  (They were not fans of the Japanese Quick Service.)

Another sweet family moment. I saw Randy sneaking up behind LaRae
and snapped his shot just as he surprised her with a kiss on the cheek!

Katsura Grill

Loved my lunch here!

Photo shoot!

Together again, we grabbed FastPasses for Norway's Maelstrom because that queue is highly claustrophobic to stand in the whole way. Another short queue is usually Mexico's Gran Fiesta Tour. This ride always leaves us singing along, so we went there while we waited for our FastPass window.  Afterwards we rode Maelstrom and headed out of the park for a much needed rest time!

Katelyn found the perfect fan in China!

Germany's Karamel Kuche

Josh kept toys in his backpack to play during pitstops! Clever kiddo!

So once again, just past lunch, we made it through pretty much every attraction except for Spaceship Earth, which we knew we'd hit another day, and Test Track, which was closed for renovations.  Not bad for a peak season day when the crowds were showing as Level 8-10 on most crowd calendars!

Friday's post will be mostly photos. Perhaps you can guess what you'll be seeing tons of photos of?