Before we started our Disney festivities, we went to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and then looked for a camera for my Mom. Mom’s trusty camera broke, so we needed to find a replacement. She found one at a Sony that seemed like a great camera, so that mission was accomplished. We went back to the hotel and settled in for the night, figuring out when the shuttle would leave the next day, etc. I think I was just getting over a cold / scratchy throat myself, so I wasn’t entirely up to par this trip, but felt better by the end of our trip.
We met out in front of the hotel the next morning, waiting to board the bus for Epcot. It was a short bus drive to the park. We started out at Epcot Center for Day #1 (Saturday), as we had reservations for a Princess Breakfast at the Akerhaus in Norway. When we arrived, we waited a few minutes and were then escorted into the building. Little girls were in line to get their picture taken with Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.” Ava smiled excitedly when she saw Belle. We got our picture taken with Belle, but both kids are leaning as far away from her as they possibly could. Pretty funny.
There were princesses greeting patrons throughout the restaurant. We then sat down at a table, were waited on and told we could go to the breakfast buffet. They had a nice selection of fruit, yogurt, eggs, bacon and sausage. While we were eating, someone came on over the speaker and announced that there was going to be a princess procession. Aurora from Sleeping Beauty came over to our table and asked if Ava would like to be part of the procession. She was a little shy at first, so DOUG was part of the princess procession, going around the restaurant holding Ava’s hand as they danced / walked as part of the procession. Most little girls wore their princess dresses, but I forgot to pack Ava’s Cinderella dress. (Actually Doug mentioned he didn’t think she would wear it, so I didn’t pack it). Ava really enjoyed getting to meet each of the princesses. The only one who wasn’t there was Jasmine from “Aladdin”. I think she is the only princess Ava didn’t get her picture taken with while we were at Disney. We did see her in the park, but the line was incredibly long, so we passed.
There was another princess procession that Ava walked in by herself, before we finished breakfast. The waitress then delivered a cupcake to Ava and one to Liam with a candle in it, along with a card that said “Happy birthday.” I have a feeling Melissa, upon making the reservation, told the restaurant that Alana and Ashley were celebrating a birthday. They weren’t there to celebrate, so we made sure to make good use of the cupcakes. J We were then given a package with pictures in it, which were taken when we first arrived and saw Belle. It was a nice way to start our time at Disney.
Epcot was like a ghost town! The weather could not have been more beautiful. It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky, but still slightly cool. After heading through Norway for the Princess breakfast, we made our way counter-clockwise through Epcot. We saw the Terra Cotta Army in China. I bought a few souvenirs in China, one was a wrap for myself, the other was a pretty blue mandarin outfit for Ava. While in China, we watched a panoramic movie in a standing-only theater. It was very interesting!
We came across a model train village, which Liam absolutely loved. There were tunnels, bridges, buildings, trains, etc. He clutched his own Thomas the Train as he watched the other trains go through the tunnels. Who knew that this would be such a huge attraction for him? ;-) He actually took a nap shortly after the model trains. When he woke up, he pointed back in the direction of the trains, asking if we could go back. Interesting that he didn’t lose his sense of direction toward those trains, even with a nap…
We watched some very cool Japanese female drummers in Japan. There were three of them with huge drums and drumsticks. Ava says she wants to by a girl drummer like these women when she grows up J
We then went back to “America”. J I was anxious to see the colonial drum and fife corp. Ava was a little shy and didn’t want to participate in the parade by herself, so I went with her. We marched together with all of the other kids, holding a copy of the constitution in the parade. All of the kids were deemed the sons and daughters of freedom. It was very cool to be a part of something so American!
We passed through France and Italy, Doug taking architectural pictures all the while. In France, we saw two men stack chairs very high, with one balancing on the top chair while juggling wine bottles. Throughout the park, we saw princesses and stopped to have Ava’s picture taken with Belle and the Beast. Liam woke up just in time to see them. When I asked if he wanted to have his picture taken with the Beast, he said “No, he will eat my train.”
Mom did really well walking throughout the park with her knee. I was worried that the constant walking might really be painful for her. She never once complained and didn’t seem to be in any pain, thankfully! It was nice to be able to share this experience with her. I think I had more fun watching the kids reaction than seeing things for myself.
Ava and Liam both loved the Nemo ride. It was pretty cool! When we were in line, it looked like we were underwater, seeing ships with barnacles on them, etc. We sat in a clamshell and were moving through the ocean. Nemo was projected onto the HUGE t.v. screens that were part of the ride. We also talked to “Crush”, the turtle from “Finding Nemo”. The crowd asked questions of Crush, about the ocean and animals within the ocean. Crush was a cartoon, but the person speaking for him was live and within the room or next room. I’m still curious how they made the cartoon’s lips move in sync with the voice…
When we left the Nemo ride, we saw that an airplane had written in the sky: “U + God = J Jesus”. I thought that was pretty cool to see and snapped a picture of it.
We decided to head back to Mexico for dinner. This in honor of Doug’s legendary experience when he visited Epcot with his family back in 1989-1990. He supposedly finished everyone’s leftover food that trip, because he liked the Mexican food that much. We went to the sit-down restaurant in Mexico (it seems like there is at least one casual / cheap / outside restaurant in each “country” along with a nicer sit-down restaurant). We opted for the sit-down restaurant. I mean, how expensive can refried beans be? Boy, was I wrong. It was a more expensive Mexican dinner than I bargained for. I think my meal alone was somewhere around $22. I had some sort of pork dish that was super yummy. We would’ve opted to go somewhere else, but by that time were wiped-out from the day’s festivities. It was nice to have a reprieve from the heat, though, too.
After we had a little R&R at dinner, we headed back over to the front of the park. Ava was very anxious to see what was in the “big silver ball”. Toward the end of the day, we got in line for Spaceship Earth. It was a fun ride! It was nice, too, to be able to take Liam on all of these rides, even given his age / height.
We had to be back to the shuttle by 7:30 or so, which wasn’t a bad thing, given such a full day with the kids. We made our way back to the hotel and settled in for the night. The kids had a blast with the jacuzzi tub in our room. It lit-up underwater and even changed colors. The kids thought it was the best thing going. Cheap entertainment. After that, we settled in for the night, to rest up for the next day at Magic Kingdom!
Peace, love and mouse ears,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam
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