Epcot

I thought I would try to blog from the park today from Al's phone and gave it a whirl at lunch. It wasn't the easiest to do, and so I think I will go back to a nightly entry instead.

The day started out pretty good. About five minutes after we got to the bus stop a bus pulled up for Epcot. We got to the park and checked out the pin kiosk outside before heading in. After some pictures out front in front of "The Big Ball" we headed inside for Spaceship Earth. The kids all thought it was cool to be on a ride inside. This is one of those slow moving Disney rides that actually entertain and teach at the same time. This one told the history of communication through video and animatronics. At the end there is an interactive area where the kids where able to put together a virtual skeleton while wearing 3-D glasses. The kids all thought it was cool.

From there it was on to Test Track. This one simulates a GM testing facility and we rode in a test car through various tests they actually perform. The first half of the ride is inside, but the second half circles the building going over 60 miles per hour. It was hard to tell if the kids had a better time on Test Track or on Mission: Space. During that ride we train to be astronauts of the future preparing for a trip to Mars. Of course, there are problems and we have to manually land our shuttle. The kids all got off the rides wanting to ride them again. With so much to see, we told them that we would head back later in the day to try them again.

In the afternoon it was Ellen's Energy Universe, some character meet and greet, Turtle Talk with Crush, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Dinner was at The Garden Grill which is a family style dinner with Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. Next it was onto Living with the Land. This boat rides goes through greenhouses in Epcot where they are trying new ways to grow plants that are more "green" and some of the food is actually served at the park. Next was Soarin', another favorite of everyone.

Then it was onto what I am sure will be the highlight of everyone's vacation, Journey into Imagination with Figment! We made it to the building with five minutes to spare! I would not have been happy if we would have missed it. And some other great news, I have another Figment lover. Charlie absolutely loved him! Everytime Figment would appear in the ride Charlie would talk and babble to him. When we walked through the gift shop after the ride (I love how so many of the rides deposit you right into a gift shop now) Charlie saw the Figment stuffed animals and started talking to them too. So Peg and Dewy had to buy him one. How could they not?!

We spend some time playing at the jumping fountains and took some pictures by the upside-down waterfall. I tried to have my boys recreate the picture we took back in 2008 but couldn't remember exactly how they were standing. I did the best I could:

Amazing how much the boys have changed in two years!

We had a few hours before the firework show so we let the boys pick what they wanted to do. It wasn't that hard of a choice, and we headed back to Test Track and Mission: Space and rode them both again. We had just enough time to get an ice cream before finding a spot to watch the firework show. Then it was the long trek back to the bus and hotel.

Today was a much better day weather-wise. Although it was still near or at 90 degrees, the humidity was down and there was a nice breeze most of the day. Tomorrow's forecast is 90 degrees once again with a 10% chance of rain. It is also Christopher's birthday tomorrow which should make for some interesting conversations between the Wilinski boys!