After a nice, 'early' bed time and a really great night of sleep, we got up and went to Epcot for our 4th day in Disney.
We really didn't know what to expect with Epcot. I had heard there was alot of educational stuff there and I knew the kids would be learning alot. I also knew it was a pretty big place, so because of that, I planned 2 days there. Some people had told me that the kids would get bored there and that just 1 day would be plenty, but I really love doing extra educational things with our kids and they really like that stuff as well, so I thought we'd be just fine with 2 days there.
We got to Epcot just after they opened up the tapstiles. We had a 9:15 fastpass for Test Track, so I really didn't feel the need to get there any earlier than 9. To be honest, that was kind of how our entire time at Disney was! I had been able to get our first fast passes no later than 9:30, so there really was no need for us to arrive at the parks any earlier than 9. Anyways, they had allowed people to enter Epcot about 8:50, but none of the rides were running yet. I was fine with that. It allowed us to kind of stroll in and get the 'lay of the land'. They had CM's all over the place with bubbles and we had alot of fun with those. The kids gave lots of "high 4s" to CMs and just skipped and hopped their way through the entrance area. We stood and watched the fountain for a really long time as well. I don't know what it was about that thing, but the kids were absolutely mesmerized by it!! This is a picture I took of the kids while we were waiting for everything to open up. It was a pretty chilly day.
We got to Test Track at 9:30 and the wait was already 40 minutes. I wasn't surprised by this at all because I had been watching the wait times in the Disney app every morning for a week, but Hubby was pretty surprised by the wait time soo early in the day. We used the fast pass lane and I'll be honest, I felt kind of badly for the people who were in the standby line. It kind of felt like we were cheating.....but it was SOO nice to not have to stand and wait. Let me just say, we LOVED Test Track!!! The kids really loved designing their cars. Those touch screens are pretty awesome...and I'm not going to lie, I did look around and think "I don't even want to think about how much all these screens cost!". The ride itself was great! I've decided it's one of my favorite rides in Disney. I just love the last part when you are zipping around on the track at the high speed. I just loved it!
We had 10:30 fast passes at the character spot and it wasn't quite time for those yet, so we decided to see what Living With the Land was all about. We REALLY enjoyed that ride! We only had to wait about 10 minutes to get on it and we all really liked looking at everything in the greenhouses. The kids thought it was all really neat and after we got off the ride, I told them that we'd be doing the Behind the Seeds tour on the next day we'd be in Epcot. They were thrilled to hear that.
Next stop, the character spot. To be honest, I really wasn't impressed with the fast pass selections at Epcot. I knew we'd want Test Track, but other than that, nothing was really screaming "pick me!". So, I decided to pick the character spot so that the kids could get up close and personal with some characters. I didn't know if they'd have a chance to really meet characters without the fast passes, so since nothing else seemed worthy of a fast pass, that's what I chose. The kids had already met Mickey and Goofy, by Minnie was new to them. Maddie was especially excited to meet her and after we got our pictures with her, she said the funniest thing ever...."Mom, Minnie was wearing blue eye shadow!!". Really, kid? LOL!!! You just met Minnie Mouse and your first comment was about the color of her eye shadow???
The kids REALLY wanted to see Baymax who was in an area across from the character spot. We went inside, looked at the line, and promptly decided we'd come back to see him later. The line was just too long. By that time, the World Showcase had opened and we decided it was time for some lunch before taking Maddie for her special surprise. We got to the UK and got some awesome fish and chips from Yorkshire County Fish Shop. My goodness those were good! We sat and ate and watched the birds stalk the humans. I will say that I was pretty surprised at how bold the birds were there. I realize they were used to getting food from people....whether being fed or stealing it...but I was still surprised Disney hadn't figured out a way to keep the birds away. They were a nuisance in terms of staring at your while we ate. We also saw one steal a fry off of a guy's plate!
After filling up on the fish and chips, we were off to Japan. I had seen Japan had a Pick a Pearl and I thought Maddie would really enjoy that. Maddie really loves pearls. We told Maddie she could pick 2 oysters...one for a pearl for herself and one for a pearl for her best friend. Luke also said he wanted to pick one, and since Maddie got to make a light saber during Luke's special thing, I decided he could pick a pearl during Maddie's special thing. So, the kids picked their pearls, listened to the instructions from the girl, "SAN-NEE-ECHEE!!!!!"......and there were their pearls.
I had gotten a nice pearl cage necklace for Maddie's pearl and had gotten a matching one for her friend's pearl. In the past, her friend had gotten a set of "best friends" necklaces, but they were the cheapy kind that you get from places like 5 Below and they fell apart. I thought having matching pearl necklaces would be a nicer way to do best friends necklaces and then when they get older, maybe they could do something different and more grown up with the pearls. Tho, I will say I was REALLY tempted to get one for myself!!! I think they are really pretty!!
We left the Japan pavilion and heard the drummers doing their thing at the pagoda, so we went over to watch the show. Luke loves all things drums, so he was really into it. Maddie thought it was really interesting that the drummers were all women. After the show was over, the kids asked if we could go see if the line for Baymax was any shorter, so we walked back to check it out. The line was about half as long as it had been and I estimated it was going to take about 15 or 20 minutes to get through hit. The kids decided they were ok with waiting that long, so we got into line. It was totally worth it. The kids walked up to Baymax and Luke gave him a fist bump. He knew that Baymax wouldn't make any noises for him in real life, but Luke decided to make the noise that Baymax does with fist bumps anyways. Well, Baymax really loved that! He jumped up and down and got excited. For being a person trapped in a balloon, Baymax was pretty interactive!! He gave the kids hugs, posed for the photos, and then waved goodbye to the kids as they left. He was definitely one of our favorite characters.
The kids decided they were ready for a snack and we were ready to sit down for a little rest, so we decided to give Sunshine Seasons a try. We liked it there alot and decided that the next time we were in Epcot, we'd eat there for lunch. We saw and ate our snacks, chatted with the lady who was at the next table struggling with her young daughter. She had looked over at us and mentioned how having older kids looked alot easier than having a younger one in a place like Disney. I told her I didn't think it was easier....just different. While it's often easier to communicate with the older kids, they wants seem to be alot more complex than that of a 3 year old.
We rode Living with the Land again and then decided to find The Sum of all Thrills. The wait was only 15 minutes, so I got in line with the kids. Hubby had decided he didn't think he'd be able to handle that ride, so once we got to the CM at the front of the line, I asked if there was any way that both kids could make their own ride and then have me ride with each of them. Luke and Maddie were too young to ride by themselves, so they had to have an adult with them. He said that was something they really didn't do, but since the line wasn't too long, he thought they could manage it. Honestly, I don't think it would have taken any extra time to do it that way anyways since they'd have to ride separately if my husband had gone with them. So, in we went and they each made their rides. I helped Maddie do most of her ride and a CM who was overseeing that part of the ride realized that I was trying to help both kids and came over to help Luke with his. I really appreciated that! Then we went to the simulators and I explained to the CMs at the top of the stairs that I needed to ride with both of the kids. The one who was controlling the simulators looked a little confused, but did understand what I was asking of them. The fact that he was just a little confused about the whole thing told me that I was asking them to do something they really didn't normally do. First I rode with Maddie...she had made a fun roller coaster, then I rode with Luke who made a path for a jet plane. Both were alot of fun.
It was time to start making our way to Germany for our reservation at Biergarten. On our way, we stopped to get a picture with Spaceship Earth in the background and then another picture with Daisy.
Then we were off to enjoy some really great German food, some beer (this was Hubby's area...I don't like beer), and some good German music. We decided to take the boat across the lake to Germany. While we were waiting for the boat, I decided to take some pictures. The sunset was just sooooo pretty that night and I really liked the lights reflecting off the water. This picture is a little out of focus, but it shows just how pretty the water was.
The Eiffel Tower with the sunset behind it. I just loved the silhouette.
We ended up sitting with a neat family who, ironically, had lived in PA for a while. I was really amazed at how many people from Pennsylvania we ran into during our trip. We all commented on how happy we were to be in Florida during the crazy snow storm that was hitting the east coast.
After dinner, we used our last fast pass of the day to watch Illuminations. It-Was-AWESOME!!!!! It really wasn't a crowded day in Epcot, but the fast pass viewing area was really great. We were right in the front of the viewing area. One thing that amazed us was how we found feel the heat from the fire explosions!!! I've seen other things like that and every time I'm amazed by the amount of heat those things put out. I don't know if that will ever not amaze me.
After Illuminations, we hung out for a little bit and chatted with the CM who had been monitoring the area we were in. She sounded like she was from somewhere in Africa and she was asking the kids about where we were from and what it was like. After about 15 minutes, we decided to start to head to the main gates. The crowd was still a little too much for me, so we decided to duck into one of the shops to look at souvenirs until the crowds thinned out. We hung out and looked at everything there was to see for about 20 minutes and then decided to try leaving again. MUCH BETTER!! The kids found the pavers with pixie dust in them and stopped to look at them. I was funny to watch them bend over and touch the lights that were in the cement.
Off to the bus stop we went, only waiting about 10 minutes for our bus to come and take us back to Coronado Springs. Hubby expressed his approval on me requesting building #4 with our reservation. It was right next to the first bus stop that in picked and dropped off for park buses. We got into the room, cleaned up a bit, and promptly passed out. I think we were ALL very glad that the next day was a "rest" day. We only had to be up and moving around for a 9:40am breakfast reservation.
next time we go.
We were done!
Hubby handled it very well and appreciated the thought, but I was just sooo, sooooooo disappointed that I didn't get to take him there for dinner. 
Way to go Olivio 
