Here’s one final look back at the Disney portion of our vacation, focused specifically on a few pictures that didn’t seem to fit anywhere else, starting with me at Epcot’s World Showcase at the two places in the world I’d most like to visit: Germany and England (with Eeyore, of course!):
I managed to get a selfie with each of my daughters on a ride they really liked (the teacups, Dumbo, and the carousel):
And another pair of pictures of me at the Magic Kingdom…same day, but with an outfit change!
I think that’s about it for things I wanted to share…it certainly was the trip of a lifetime!
Without question, my favorite thing about EPCOT is the World Showcase. It’s the thing I most remember from my childhood trip to Disney, and it was just as cool as in my memories! Here’s a look at the various countries, starting with our neighbor to the south, Mexico. I think it’s really cool that the two ports of entry are the countries that border the US to the north and south!
I loved the stave church that represents Norway:
China’s architecture is unmistakable:
I might be biased but I think Germany was my favorite country to visit:
Italy looks just like I imagine the actual country does:
We breezed through America pretty quickly because, let’s face it, we already live here!
I loved the blue accents in Japan:
Morocco is the country I remember the most from first Disney trip, but we didn’t get to walk around it too much this time because our time in that country was spent huddling under an archway during a storm:
France is as charming as you would expect:
After we visited France, we crossed the “channel” and entered the United Kingdom. If Germany wasn’t my favorite country, the U.K. definitely was!
We ended our around-the-world journey in Canada, which is a mix of native design, and something vaguely similar to the U.K.
This may be as close as I ever get to international travel, but at least I got to see some really cool things (and eat some regional foods) at EPCOT!
We thought this day would never come! We finally made it to Disney World and EPCOT (this would be the last and only time before my final park entrance that I didn’t get flagged by the metal detector)!!!
The had a really cool camera set up at the front of the park that took a very unique photo of the Fab Five:
My family tells me I ran to hug Minnie Mouse…I thought I was walking at a perfectly normal speed. I don’t know what actually happened, but I will say that I was not expecting to be so excited to meet Minnie…it was a total thrill!
After going on the Frozen ride in Norway we went on the new Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind roller coaster (our song was “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”). I was not prepared for how, um, intense the ride would be, and I can’t say that I’d go on it again. I’m glad I got to experience it with my family, though, and I’m really happy they all loved it (except for maybe Chickadee, who was about as thrilled as I was).
We then made our way back to the World Showcase, which is definitely my favorite part of EPCOT.
We tried to experience something special in each country. I was surprised to discover that one of my very favorite things was the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros in Mexico. It was such a chill, fun boat ride, and it inspired us to watch The Three Caballeros pretty much as soon as we got home!
We saw a mime in Italy:
We didn’t eat a full meal at EPCOT, but we sampled foods in several different countries…here’s a look at a few of of the things we tried: Kringla in Norway, a Mickey Mouse shaped pretzel in America, and a niçoise sandwich in France (not pictured: pretzel bread with ham and cheese in Germany, chicken potstickers in China, and fish and chips in England):
This may be as close to Germany as I get!
There was quite a bit of rain while we traveling the world (although we did get a chance to dry off a bit while we waited to ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure), so we were still pretty soggy for the rest of our visit. We enjoyed walking around the rest of the park, anyway, and took in the sights inside and out:
The geodesic sphere that houses Spaceship Earth (which we road before the fireworks show) looked beautiful as the sun was going down:
And stunning reflecting off the water after dark!
The fireworks were amazing…the whole show was choreographed so well, the musical choices were excellent, and the reflections on the water were gorgeous! It was probably the best of the fireworks shows we saw (although it’s hard to compete with the display over the castle at the Magic Kingdom!).
One last look before we left:
Up next: Our most hands-on day at Disney World when we visited Hollywood Studios!
