Disney Trip: Epcot

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Here’s a recap of our Disney trip, post 2 of 4! We spent our second day at Epcot. If you missed it, here’s our Magic Kingdom day.

Our Epcot day was my favorite! The morning was much smoother, our meals were better, and I love virtual reality rides. (Spoiler alert: Guardians of the Galaxy was my favorite ride of the whole trip!)

We were up and at ’em again at sunrise. We are all early risers, so this worked well for us. We were asleep most nights by 9:30, so getting up wasn’t too hard.

Breakfast

This day I tried the “Superfood Smoothie” from the hotel café and it was just ok. It was chocolate coffee flavored and needed milk or bananas!

Genie+

Again I purchased our Genie+ at 6:45 am and then at 7:00 (when you can make your first reservation) I paid another $45 for us all to get Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL) at Guardians of the Galaxy for 2 pm

Since Guardians is SO popular, it isn’t part of Genie+ you either have to wait in a virtual line and then a real line or pay extra. We decided our time was priceless, so we paid to skip lines whenever possible. It was a very good decision, as we never waited more than 10 minutes or so for any Genie+ or ILL ride.

I booked Frozen for Genie+ right after that and the first available time was 11:40 am! Another super popular ride.

Walking To Epcot

We left our hotel at 8 am again for an 8:30 early entry park opening. Our hotel, the Swan Reserve, is considered one of the “Epcot resorts” because it’s about a 10 minute walk across the Disney Boardwalk to Epcot. We loved being able to walk and not have to wait for a bus!! Huge plus. It was a beautiful morning for a walk!

We entered through the back/side entrances, and the lines were much shorter too. Such a smoother morning than we had at the Magic Kingdom.

Ratatouille with Remy (25 min wait)

We were in a shorter line, at the back entrance, and it was only 8:18 am when we entered Epcot. And the Remy line was already 40 minutes long according to the signs!!

We knew it was now or never (since it’s not a Genie+ either) and we almost didn’t go. But we are so glad we stuck it out because we ended up waiting about 25 minutes and it made the top 5 list of favorite rides. The 25 minutes we waited was the longest we waited for any ride all week. Since we were fresh in the morning it was not too bad.

The ride uses the newer magnetic technology to guide your car through the ride, and there were screens with 3D effects. We all loved when the mop shot water sprinkles on our car and when we felt the heat when we went in the oven!

Soarin’ (15 min wait)

After Remy, we walked down to Soarin’ to try to get in a few more rides before the park’s official opening at 9. We waited about 15 minutes to get on. This ride is like an iMax and you are sitting in a swing as a group. Birch started out liking it, but he got scared halfway through so I had to cover his eyes. When we left Soarin’ the Land of the Living the line was a bit too long so we passed on that one.

Nemo (No wait)

Birch LOVED the Nemo ride!

It was similar to Little Mermaid in that you ride in a clam shell and look at scenes along the way. This was probably Birchie’s favorite ride of the trip!

I didn’t enjoy it because on the way in we saw a little boy throwing up and I got immediately nauseous, worried that we were all getting it too. I felt so awful for his mother because the boy was covered in it.

The Seas Aquarium

After the ride, we spent a little time in the aquarium there and saw sharks, fish, and manatees.

Mission Space (G+)

I was able to book Mission Space on the spot with Genie+ to do before we headed up to Frozen. We did this 2 and 1 with Thomas and Mazen going on the green “easy level” queue and me going on the orange “super intense” version after that. There was a little playground inside that Birch liked while he waited with the opposite parent.

If you are claustrophobic, I would skip this one. I am slightly, and I almost had a panic attack when we first got locked in!! The ride was INTENSE. Def the scariest for me of the trip. There were kids younger than Mazen on it with me who seemed unfazed. You’re in a spaceship and the screen is a virtual reality ride to Mars. The G force and weightlessness effects were amazing!

Frozen (G+)

We were all excited for the Frozen ride! We waited about 10 minutes to get on and all sat together. Birch didn’t like the snow monster and said he didn’t love the ride because he was “a little scared.” It was a very well done boat ride with effects like cold smoke and great music of course. And a medium-sized drop at the end!

Lunch in Morocco at Spice Road Table

After Frozen we walked through the countries looking for lunch. It was quite hot and sunny! Several places were too crowded and we wondered what we would do until we stumbled upon Spice Road Table in Morocco.

I had just been chatting with my friend Emily about it, so we peeked in and were able to get an outdoor table with a view.

The boys got to have special drinks (most expensive kid drinks ever). I had a sangria!

Hummus fries

Trio of house specialties, hummus and pita + cauliflower

Note there wasn’t much of a kids’ menu there. Birch basically just had pita bread, and Mazen got calamari.

Guardians of the Galaxy

After lunch we walked back down through the countries and made our way to Guardians for our 2 pm reservations. Mazen and I went together on this one.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was AMAZING!! A combination of Space Mountain (roller coaster in the dark) and all the cool virtual reality rides. The cars of the coaster train moved side to side as well as front and back, and Mazen and I in row 9 (the back) ended up being in the FRONT at one point. The music was great too! 1,000% worth the cost of paying for a short line ($14 x 3 people) and going right in.

Thomas went right after us while Birch and I played in the mist for a bit.

Spaceship Earth (G+)

I booked Spaceship Earth via Genie+ while in line at Frozen. We didn’t really need a reservation though because the standby line was basically at zero! This ride is a slow-moving seated ride through the eras of time. It’s a bit outdated, but we really enjoyed the relaxation in the afternoon. Birch was a bit scared at first, but warmed up once we got out of the ice age.

Winnie the Pooh!

Look who we found looking for butterflies!

Figment (G+)

We went to the Figment ride next and also didn’t really need a reservation. We walked right in. This ride also felt pretty dated as you rode on cars through scenes (kind of like the People Mover).

Fountain Games

After we’d done all of our rides, it was nice to have some chill time before dinner. The boys played in these fountains for about 20 minutes.

Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along

I love any show that encourages singing! We did this right before dinner back in France. Mazen stayed outside, but the rest of us loved the short movie. Even Thomas sang!

Dinner at Chefs De France

We wanted to eat at the Space restaurant, but we never got a reservation. Then we had a Coral Reef Restaurant for weeks. But on the day of our visit, I just knew we’d rather eat by the countries rather than by the rides. So I canceled Coral and switched to France, which would put it right near the entrance for us to head home after.

The food was just OK here. Mazen put it best: “This food is good but not great.” That’s how we felt about just about everything we ate on our trip. Nothing was mind-blowingly good.

Birch eats French fries for almost every meal. Here he is having French French fries!

I had a salmon dish – just ok. Mazen had a burger. Thomas got a goat cheese salad.

Walking Home

Leaving dinner it was simply magical out. So pretty at Epcot!

Ice Cream Shop

We walked back through the Boardwalk and stopped at the ice cream shop there! I must give a shout out to this shop because the sundaes and shakes were a very good price.

Vanilla sprinkles!

Late Night Swim

When we got back, Birch and I took showers while Mazen and Thomas went for a late-night swim at the pool. Then we were all in bed by 9!

Epcot Overview

We really loved our day at Epcot. I remember thinking it was “so boring” when I was young, but it was my favorite park this trip! I loved the slower pace and better food. We noticed so many more grown-ups here and a lot more alcohol being carried around.

Epcot is very spread out, so we did the most walking this day. This also helped with the crowds – it was easier to get around than Magic Kingdom which was SO packed with people.

There was a lot of construction going on in the middle of the park with big walls up (I have no idea why) so that made the lower half of the park kind of odd.

I wish we could have stayed for the fireworks.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Frozen, and Remy were some of my favorite rides of the trip, so I think that’s also why I loved Epcot so much!

Our Epcot Itinerary

Remy
soarin’
Nemo
Aquarium
Mission Space (G+)
Frozen (G+)
Lunch at Spice Road Table
Guardians of the Galaxy (ILL)
Spaceship Earth (G+)
Figment (G+)
Beauty and the Beast Sing-along
Dinner in France
Ice cream at the Boardwalk

How to Go Healthy

Disney Trip: Epcot • Kath Eats