That Time We Didn't Do Anything in Epcot...
Hi Everyone! Before I start my update, since I'm not sure if I'll have the time to be on here tomorrow, I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
Saturday, 11/30 Part 2
Now that I've had my Starbucks (IN DISNEY, which I still kind of can't get over!) and Brandon was off the phone, we were ready to go explore Epcot! Except for one small problem...while Brandon was talking to his family, I was trying to link his Magic Band to My Disney Experience so I could maybe make us some FastPass+ reservations. I linked mine with no problem, but I couldn't get his to link. So we first had to go ask a Cast Member what to do, and they told us to go to Guest Relations. So that's what we did.
Guest Relations is right near Spaceship Earth, which I had no idea even existed! I mean, I know I've walked by it a million times, but I never had any reason to go in there since I've never had a problem at Disney World! The CM's in there were super friendly, one of them just took my phone, erased Brandon's park ticket and gave us a brand new one (even though we just bought them maybe 45 minutes before!) and linked it right there! It only took about 15 minutes, but it seemed like we wasted so much time! But whatever, I was happy I could finally make FP+ reservations! Of course, there was nothing available for that night, so I figured I'd just play around with it later for tomorrow or something!
We walked over to the World Showcase, and just like every year, I was amazed by the tree!
It's just so pretty! And it's even better at night, I love how it sparkles!
We took a left because I was contemplating getting a margarita in Mexico, but for some reason, I didn't think it was the best idea. As much as i wanted one, I skipped it, I was terrified of getting a migraine and having it ruin my first day (spoiler alert...I made it through this ENTIRE trip migraine free!
I think that's a Disney first!) so we just kept walking to Norway.
It was super crowded over there, which was giving me kind of a bad feeling...I knew it would be crowded, since it was Thanksgiving weekend, but I didn't expect that level of crowds, so I was hoping they would thin out. I tried to just ignore it and focus on being in Disney.
Brandon wanted to stop and get a beer from the cart in Norway, so I went over to the side and took some pictures of the lagoon. The sun was blinding, and I could barely see what I took pictures of because it was so bright, but when I looked at my camera later, I was surprised at how beautiful they turned out!
Brandon was taking a long time to get his beer (they had to replace the keg, so it took longer than normal!) so I just wandered around Norway a little.
I saw the line to meet Anna and Elsa, which was insane! I've heard it gets up to 3 hours, which is just crazy! If characters are that popular, they should have them in other parks, so that one place isn't the only option! Imagine wasting 3 hours in line to meet a character? And I thought 45 minutes for the Dwarves was bad!
Anyway, Brandon finally got his beer and I wanted to ride Maelstrom, but it was a 40 minute wait! So we skipped it and moved on!
We just leisurely strolled around the World Showcase for a little while. The Candlelight Processional was starting in an hour or so, and Brandon wanted to see some of it, since Gary Sinise was narrating. Forrest Gump is one of his favorite movies, so he just wanted to see him in person I guess!
We looked around in Japan a little
and Brandon was thinking of getting sushi while we were there. I didn't want to eat until we left Epcot and got to a resort near the Magic Kingdom, so I suggested to him that maybe he should wait and he could get sushi at Kona Island, that little place right next to Kona Cafe. He agreed, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of the night (however, I'm not sure if I'll get there in this update, so you'll have to stay tuned to see why!)
I didn't want to go too far away from America, so we wouldn't have to come back once the CP started (we weren't trying to get in to sit, we were just going to watch from the back for a little while) so we just hung out there. I got a jalepeno pretzel from this little pretzel area they now have in America, but it just wasn't as good as the ones from Animal Kingdom!
While I was eating, I sat near the tree and took a ton of pictures! I just love the tree in America for some reason, I think it's so beautiful, and the American pavilion looks perfect!
Once I finished my pretzel, we went in the new bathrooms in America...which is like, ok, great, new bathrooms, but these bathrooms are insane! I couldn't take pictures, because honestly, I didn't want to be that creep taking pictures inside the bathrooms, but they are beautiful!
Even when Brandon came out, he was impressed, and he never cares about bathrooms!
Once we got over the amazement of these new bathrooms and composed ourselves, we went over to the fountain. The fife and drum guys were out, and they were playing Christmas music! It was awesome, I love those cute little extra things you find in Disney that just make your trip extra special! So we listened to them for a while, and then watched the ducks swim around the fountain
and then finally it was time for the CP to start!
It was beautiful, we watched the first few songs until we decided to move on. If we did the longer trip that I wanted to do in the first place, I would have done the dinner package, I even had it booked for that night, but I had to cancel once we had to shorten our trip. But Brandon was happy he got to see Lieutenant Dan in person, haha!
The sun was starting to go down, which is my favorite time to be in Epcot, because everything just looks so amazing, and there's really nothing better than a Florida sunset!
At this point, it was pretty obvious that we weren't going to do any attractions in Epcot that night, because I wanted to go to the Poly and the Grand to see the Christmas decorations, and then hop over to MK, so we decided we should probably head out. I didn't mind, I didn't think we would really do much that night, but I thought maybe we'd get to do a few of the less popular attractions! It was ok though, just being in Epcot, listening to Christmas music and seeing the decorations was good enough for me!
We stopped in France for a few minutes, because I wanted to check out the bakery, which was just packed with people so I couldn't even see if they had what I wanted (macarons...which I think they did, but I only wanted one and I think you had to buy a whole package or something?) so we left and went back outside.
France is always decorated beautifully for Christmas, but this was the first time I saw these snowflakes!
I thought they were cute, simple but Christmasy!
We also stopped in the new ice cream shop, and I was so tempted to get some ice cream with vodka poured over it, but I again, I wasn't sure how much my stomach would like that combo, never mind not getting a migraine from it! So again, I skipped it, but I was hoping I had time to go back in the next few days. I love that they give it to you in a martini glass, so classy!
We walked through England, and I think Brandon stopped for another beer here, so I had to entertain myself like I always do and take pictures...I loved this Mary Poppins topiary, so cute!
Sadly, it was super crowded, you can't really tell from these pictures, but it was crazy that night, almost Food and Wine crazy, so I was kind of happy to be leaving Epcot, which is strange for me to say, considering it's my favorite place ever! I was so happy to be in Disney, but this wasn't the way I envisioned our night going! We only had 4 days and I was nervous we wouldn't get to do anything because of the crowds! I started whining to Brandon about it and he just told me to calm down and relax. I didn't even realize it, but we ended up right near the Fountain of Nations, so maybe that's what made me snap out of my almost bad mood too...you can't really be upset near this fountain, it's not allowed! Especially when there are palm trees in front of you.
Almost bad mood vanished, we were on our way out of Epcot and ready to go see some Christmas beauty at the Poly and the Grand! And eat! I was starving by that time, so I couldn't wait to get to the Poly! But first, I had to have a little photo shoot with my love, Spaceship Earth, the colors from the sun made it look even more beautiful than ever:
Yeah, and I've got like 20 more...you should see my phone when I get home from Disney, there are hundreds of Spaceship Earth pictures. I think I take more pictures of it than Cinderella Castle. It's a problem.
It's just so pretty, and so perfectly Epcot!
I probably could have taken more pictures, but we were really starving by that point, and we knew what a pain it was to get to MK, park, and then get to the Poly, so we had to hurry!
Bye Stitch! See you next time!
Up next...Christmas at the Grand and Poly!
I'm reading the ones I'm subbed to, but I just don't have time to comment on all of them, but I do read them!
I love Starbucks at Disney, I can't wait til more of them open!
