Sunday, June 12, 2016

Day 4 - Mother Daughter Disney Adventure

Day 4 - Epcot - In Which We Travel the World
Thursday, June 2, 2016

After our extra tiring day the day before, we decided to take it easy on our last park day. We didn't want to skip it all together, but neither did we want to try to pack too much into it. So we threw most of the plans out the window (bye-bye fast passes) and just played it by ear. Originally, our plan was to get pictures with whoever was at the Character Spot, ride Spaceship Earth and maybe Soarin', and then head over to the World Showcase, starting with lunch at the Rose and Crown Pub in the United Kingdom, and then wandering the countries. 

Instead, we took our time, sleeping in a bit, and upon arrival at the park (this time I got selected for the random metal detector screening), getting a few pics with the big "golf ball" that is Spaceship Earth. We actually did arrive in time to make our Character Spot fast pass, but we decided we'd rather explore the countries before it got too hot, so we headed straight to the World Showcase, deciding to start on the Mexico side to make our way around to lunch.

Norway
We were walking through Mexico when I remembered that all the stuff in World Showcase didn't open until 11, so we had some time to kill. We found a table under a roof next to the bakery in Norway, and sat down for a while. A lovely duck literally walked right up to us, and looked at us like "ok are you going to feed me?" We had no food, so she waddled away to beg from somebody else. We heard the bell ring and the announcement that the bakery was open, so we decided we should probably give up our table to people who actually had food. We got up, took a few pictures of the Stave Church and then moved on.


China
We wandered back into the China Pavilion and into one of the shops. Mom decided she wanted a bamboo fan to go with the one my Dad got her when he was in China in the 70's and the one his Dad had brought back from the war (WWII). So we browsed through, looking at all the neat stuff. And then finally at the back of the shop, we found the fans. She found the one she wanted, and after making her purchase, we went and sat down on a bench to figure out what to do next. 

We were at the exit to the theater, and thought about seeing the Reflections of China movie, but we weren't sure. But as we walked to the entrance of the Pavilion and the entrance to the theater, we decided to go ahead and watch the film.  I am so glad we did. It was amazing - China is a beautiful country, with some spectacular scenery. 

Germany
With visions of China in our heads, we headed off to the next country. Seeing as how much of our ancestry is German, we went in the shops in Germany to look around. Mom found some magnets that she wanted and some mustard for Dad.  I teased her, asking if she planned to buy something in every country we shopped in. The answer was yes, she was. (and I think she did.)

Italy
We sat down on a bench in Italy when we heard horns and drums, and saw some guys with flags marching in. And once again, we had randomly stumbled upon something cool, the flag waving act called "Sbandieratori Di Sansepolcro" (which, according to wdwinfo.com,"brings [a] 500-year tradition to Epcot. They use hand-painted flags, period costumes and live music to entertain the crowd with their choreographed flag-throwing.")  

Japan
After a quick potty stop at the American Pavilion, we went to Japan. We thought about doing the "Pick-A-Pearl" but it was crowded and we didn't have a lot of time before our lunch reservation. So we just wandered around in the shop. We found some cool stuff for my brother (he's a big fan of Japanese anime).

Soon we realized that we needed to head toward lunch, so we breezed through Morocco and France (where my favorite princess was greeting a line of guests; but alas, I didn't get to meet provincial Belle (in her blue dress) this time around), and headed to the United Kingdom.

United Kingdom
We checked in for our 1:25 reservation at the Rose & Crown Pub. I had been telling Mom for months how good the fish & chips were, and for the first time on our trip, I was actually hungry. But the piece of fish I got was huge, and no matter how good it was (and it was) or hungry I might have been, there was no way I was going to finish it. So I ate what I could (so did Mom, she got the same thing), and we ordered dessert. I fell in love with the Mickey sprinkles on my trifle and Mom just liked the look of her Banofee Tart, so we did the foodie thing, and took pictures.


 After lunch, we considered waiting for a pic with Alice, Mom's favorite character when she was small (she had an Alice in Wonderland watch, which was mentioned several times over the course of the week), but decided not to. We looked around in the shops, where, again, Mom bought some stuff. I fell in love with a tartan scarf, but didn't love the price tag, so it remained for someone else.We got some pics of the lagoon with the "ball" in the background and headed for the next country.


Canada
Our trip to Disney coincided with my Dad's annual fishing trip to the Canadian Wilderness, so we went to Canada too, at least for a few minutes, just to say we were there at the same time Dad was.

The Land and The Sea
And then we were done with the World Showcase and we headed back toward Future World. We rode Living with the Land and thought about riding the Nemo ride at the Seas, but ended up skipping it (poor Nemo got no love from us this trip).

Our Disney Adventure Is Nearing the End
We went back to our resort, had dinner at the food court (I had pizza; Mom had a salad), and then starting packing up our suitcases. We had to go home the next day.

Our amazing adventure was over - We stayed in an amazing resort (thank you Disney magic and pixie dust); we visited all 4 parks; we had fun, made memories, and dreamed about future trips with the rest of the family. All in all, I'd say the trip was a success.  

I'm so glad i was able to share the Disney experience with Mom. It was something I'll never forget. I hope that she enjoyed it as much as I did.





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