Disney World 2012 Day 2: Epcot

I must preface this post by saying that my husband planned out our entire trip in the months leading up to our vacation. He used Tour Guide Mike and the Unofficial Guide to Disney. He worked on our itinerary for hours and hours and hours. I teased him relentlessly about his spreadsheets and schedules. I may have even mocked him and called him "Disney Dad." ;) However, I had to eat every single one of my words! His hard work totally paid off, and we wouldn't have had nearly as wonderful of a trip if it weren't for his detailed itinerary. I am so grateful for all of his planning! He always plans the best vacations - I love that about him!

That being said, we decided to go to Epcot as our first theme park. He suggested that because a) it was projected to be less crowded than the other parks on that particular day and b) he figured that Epcot would be a let down for our kids if we visited one of the other parks first. I think that was a smart decision. We were all tired from our travels the day before, so we got to Epcot at 9, left around 3 to go back to the hotel and nap, and then returned to the park at 7 to get a spot for the IllumiNations show.

As soon as they let us through the turnstile, Disney Dad (Love you, Babe!) ran to get fast passes to Test Track, while I shuffled the children (Drew was in the stroller) through the crowds to Soarin'. We met up at Soarin' and rode it all together. It was very cool. Both of the boys loved it. When we finished we went to the Turtle Talk with Crush show. Clayton got picked from the audience to talk to Crush (he actually interacts with them, it isn't just a pre-taped thing). He thought he was big stuff! :)

After the Turtle Talk show, it was time to use our Test Track fast passes. The boys loved that as well. Drew looked terrified, but declared it to be "awesome!" as soon as we got off of the ride. We got fast passes for Mission Space and then went to lunch in the France area. We were pretty frugal with our dining choices while we were at the parks. We only ate out once a day - we bought breakfast stuff to eat in the room and stuff to make sandwiches for either lunch or dinner each day. Our kids cared about meeting characters and riding rides - we weren't there for the cuisine. Ha! However, at Epcot, we had a wonderful meal at the French cafe. Wade even talked Clayton into trying escargot. He was not a fan, but we were proud of him for trying it. ;)

One of the waiters pushed around a cart with Remy from Ratatouille. He was automated, and Drew thought it was the coolest thing. He still talks about that silly rat! He mentioned him just this morning. Crazy kid.

After lunch, Wade & I took turns taking Clayton on Mission Space. They had a neat play area and computer games at the end of the ride where Drew could play while we waited. Clayton loved Mission Space, but it made me a little queasy. I knew that I was in trouble when I saw the motion sickness bags at each seat. I pushed through though, for my boy's sake. ;)

At this point, we were all ready for a nap. But, I felt sorry for my little Drew who kept saying, "I want to meet Mickey and his friends." So, we stood in line for 30 minutes at their character spot. Drew was over the moon thrilled to meet the characters, so it was totally worth it. :)

My goofy boys with Goofy

After a long nap for all of us, we went back to the park for the IllumiNations show. Wade had a plan for exactly where we should sit, of course. He staked out a table in the perfect spot. We ate our sack lunch and then I took the boys on Spaceship Earth while Wade manned our table. The IllumiNations show was really pretty and the fireworks were spectacular. It was a great way to end our first day at the parks!

Next up.... the Magic Kingdom.