Florida - Epcot

When we first talked about our mini vacation, we had planned to just spend two days at the parks.  But, after we got there we changed course and decided we'd add one more day, albeit a short one, to our itinerary.  So, we bought a day pass to visit Epcot.

We got up in the morning, packed our things, put them in the car, and off we went.  Thankfully, the Skyliner was close by.  So we climbed aboard.

Because we travelled by Skyliner, we arrived at the International Gateway rather than the front entrance.  And because it is located between France and the United Kingdom, the body of water between the two is called the English Channel.

We had arranged for a lightning lane pass for about 11:00 at the newest attraction, so we decided to make our way to another popular spot located towards the front of the park.  

And there it was - Soarin Around the World.  Similar to Soarin at California Adventure, this is one of my favorite rides of all time.  Not just visual entertainment but amazingly, you even get some of the smells.  

Believe it or not, Ron filmed the entire event as he soared around the world!

And then we headed back to where we entered the park (hint: it's in France) so we could get to our reservation window at......

It is a 4D experience where you feel like you've shrunk down to Chef Remy's size while he takes you on a daring culinary caper where you zip, dash, and scurry through the bustling kitchen and dining room and walls of a famous Paris restaurant.  Ron took some photos but without the 3D glasses, the effect is quite a bit different.  It's only available in Paris and Florida so if you get to either place, be sure to see it.

And then we started the long stroll around Crescent Lake which is 1.2 miles around the perimeter.  This is the "Epcot" part of the water that connects Epcot to Hollywood Studios.  Out in the middle is where the Harmonious nighttime spectacular, which is a fireworks show, opened in October, 2021.  Of course we weren't there late enough to view it but we did hear fireworks from our resort room each night - not sure which park(s) they came from.

We passed by a few friends as we walked.

The first country we came to was Japan.  When we were there in 2019, we had dinner at a very fancy restaurant there for my birthday.  

We stopped at American Adventure, a production featuring 35 Audio-Anamatronics and images on a 72 foot screen where you watch America's story unfold.  The auditorium was intended as a "people's mansion" which took design cues from landmarks such as Colonial Williamsburg, Independence Hall, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, and the Old State House in Boston.  The best part of the show was the comfortable seats and air conditioning!

Along the way we stumbled across a beautiful miniature model train in Germany.

And then we got a nice view of the most well known symbol at Epcot, Spaceship Earth.

This is visible from most sections of the park.

Inside is a time-travel journey through history to the past and future of communications.  Since we'd experienced the ride in 2019 and we were exhausted by the time we got there, we walked on by.  Getting old sucks.

The International Flower and Garden Show was in full swing so I snapped a few photos.

With that we stumbled back to the Skyliner and made our way back to our truck.  And that's where we found the prettiest flowers of all which reminded us of a plant we left behind.

Hibiscus, our favorite flower

It was a great visit, despite the heat and humidity, but we were anxious to get 'home'.  Bye-bye, Disney World.