Epcot

EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. It is divided into 2 distinct areas - Future World and World Showcase. It is more than twice the size of Magic Kingdom and the saying is that Epcot really stands for Every Person Comes Out Tired.

FUTURE WORLD

Test Track - We started our day on Test Track with Emily and she LOVED it. We boarded 'test vehicles' to ride around a track which will test your car through braking, speed, turns, temperature, and finally a spin from 0 to 60 miles around a circular track. Testing vehicles is just a lot of fun!

MIssion Space - This is a flight simulator type ride which simulates a shuttle launch. Jacob, Emily and I went on the tamer verision while Allan, Nathan, Joshua, Tiffany, Erica, Ashley and Andrew went on the original version. Some of the group refused to ride it a second time after riding it earlier in the day and feeling sick.

The Seas - This is a huge saltwater aquarium which is home to a huge collection of fish and marine life. This is a highly educational exhibit but the presentations are such fun the kids just aren't going to realize they are learning because they are having so much fun!


Soarin Over California - This is the most popular ride at Epcot. When you enter the theater you are seated in one of 3 rows on a huge metal structure. You actually feel as though you are flying. It is quite difficult to describe! It involves a giant IMAX screen and a huge riding structure where you are seated and then rise high into the air. Using flight simulator technology you then feel as though you really are flying over California. Disney went into the details by adding the smells as you fly such as citrus smells when flying over the citrus trees.

Soda tasting - In one of the builidings, they have soda from all over the world to sample. There were a couple that tasted like medicene.
Earth

After riding this one, we played a few games. The point of this game was to move energy to the houses that needed it. Emily and Rachel also took a turn. Joshua and Andrew had fun hanging out together. They spent some time on this car game.


World Showcase is located around the lagoon - a 1.2 mile trail around 11 countries of the World.

Canada - Thirty foot tall totem poles, beautiful gardens, a chateau and a water fall await you at the Canada Pavillion.

The United Kingdom - Enter a quaint maze of streets representing many different ages of British buildings. The stores sell traditional goods and the restuarants the traditional food.

France - A replica Eiffel Tower dominates your view of this French pavillion.

Morocco - For a taste of the exotic head to the Morocco Pavillion. With it's street market feel, bright colors and narrow back streets you feel as though you have stepped into a different world. The window shopping here is excellent with some unusual items.

Japan - The imposing 5 story pagoda greets you at the entrance to the Japanese Pavillion. There is a peaceful garden and a gallery which houses Japanese art, and stores that sell Japanese items.

The United States - The buildings here are huge colonial style buildings. With short on time, we breezed through this country except we did end up eating our Thanksgiving dinner here.

Italy - There is no mistaking that this is Italy! A coffee stall at the entrance, a huge imposing bell tower leading to a piazza and stores selling everything from wine to hand painted masks.

Germany - Traditional Germanic architecture, German music, and a large shopping area make this country distinctive. The main attraction here is the buffet restaurant The Biergarten. We were planning on eating here until we saw the price tag, $37 a person.

China - This country had amazing architecture that reflected the Chinese nation.


Norway - All of the Norwegian architecture dating back to the 14th century gives a authentic feel. Maelstrom is a water ride which sails through dark Viking legends of storms and trolls with a movie presentation at the end. After watching the movie, we walked through the gift shop looking at some amazing things from Norway. Emily was left behind here looking around. As soon as I walked in the store, I could hear her crying. This is the worse sound a mother could hear. She was lost for about long minutes for Emily.

Mexico - Most of the attractions of the Mexico pavillion are housed inside a giant ancient pyramid. This really is a fun place. There is a bustling market place with a restaurant and a boat ride attraction.

One of the most spectacular fireworks displays at any of the Disney parks is Epcot's Illuminations Reflections of Earth. The firework display uses lasers and pyrotechnics all set to a brilliant musical score. It was impressive!
It was great eating Thanksgiving Dinner with all of these people at Epcot. It was not the traditional meal but very memorable.

Magic Kingdom

Disney World is all about Mickey. We saw him all over the park.

Magic Kingdom - We spent 2 Days here, Monday and Friday. Our favorites at Magic Kingdom were Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Jungle Cruise,
and Mickey's Philharmagic. Allan, Nathan, and Joshua all said Space Mountain was their favorite and Emily rode it twice and loved it. Emily's favorite was People Mover and Rachel loved Peter Pan and Country Bears. Stitch's Great Escape...fun but not a must. This was fun because this was the only ride Emily and I went on together. It was just us.
Emily and Joshua were not familiar with Tom Sawyer but loved playing on the island - crossing the bridges and hiding in the cave.

Rachel loves things that are just her size. Right next to the Winnie the Pooh ride is this cute house. Rachel LOVED playing here.

Thanks to my parents, we have seen a ton of Disney movies lately and my family loves Monster Inc. It was a treat to see Sulley and Mike.
Waiting in line is usually the worst part about Disneyworld, but not at the Haunted Mansion was fun. We walked through a graveyard filled with elaborate crypts.
Want to put the books away? Try. Different books are always coming out.
A sea captain's crypt spouts water in leaks that jump and shift. By another grave, a quill scribbles on paper, occasionally pausing, stuck, until a rider shouts out a suggested word.This tomb of a composer where instruments carved in the stone play music when touched. Aboard the Liberty Belle

Rachel did so well over the week. She loved stickers and collected them.
The highlight at Magic Kingdom had to be the Mainstreet Electrical Parade.





We loved that we got to watch this parade with cousins.

Wishes Nighttime Spectacular was one of the best shows ever. The castle was lit with Christmas lights and the sky was filled with fireworks. The Magic Kingdom is indeed a magical place, especially at night with Cinderella’s castle lit up. We loved the way the lights on the castle changed and even more when the 200,000 twinkling lights. At Disney it’s all about the details.

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade had many of our favorite characters.





These parades were made for 3 and 6 year old girls. Rachel's favorite princess has been Cinderella for a long time. Last Christmas, she and Emily received 7 princess barbies. Rachel took Cinderella and Tiana and let Emily have the rest. Tiana was fun for a couple days but she has loved Cinderella for almost a year now.

Disney parades are made for the kids but so are the shows.

A highlight had to be seeing Cinderella's castle. It was one of the first thing Rachel noticed.To end our trip, we had to visit Mickey but Rachel finally crashed.