Day 4: Epcot

Today started at 9:30...Epcot. We had a first row parking spot even though we arrive around 9:45 or so....we sent Corey straight for fast passes for Soarin while I bought a passport for the kids to stamp and we then headed over to the line. There was a 30 minute wait for Soarin so we got in line (while we were in line they announced that the wait at the end had increased to 50 min, we were about halfway through the line at that point.) Anyway...Katie loved it (6) and our son did NOT like it at all (age 4). We requested a seat that would be on the very bottom of the rows when they lift into the air, so I think that made it a little better, but he just didn't like the sensation of "flying" I guess. He didn't cry or totally hate it but when we got off he said he did NOT want to do it again.

After Soarin' we did Living with the Land, which is a boat ride through the Epcot greenhouses...actually kind of neat.... then it was time for Soarin' fastpasses. Mama, Daddy, Corey, and Katie did it again while Noah and I went to do the Circle of Life movie to kill time). It was "okay." Basically an Earth Day movie. :) After that we went to Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush.
We had never seen Turtle Talk with Crush...it was SO cute!!!! Just adorable! The kids loved it! Turtle Talk with Crush is a really cool show that has an animated sea turtle on a real aquarium window and he interacts live with the kids and their questions. I am assuming that a person is watching via a camera or something, but it is really good the way it all works, and funny! The Nemo ride had a 10 min wait, you ride in a clam shell through scenes looking for Nemo. Cute.

We then sat in the shade and had a snack while contemplating what to do next. It was almost time for the Disney Visa character greet, so we walked around Innovations for a while and then waited in line for that. There is a special line for a character greeing for Disney Visa cardholders. They wouldn't tell us who was back there in case it "changed" but we went ahead and waited about 15 minutes for it.
We were SO SURPRISED to see that it was MICKEY AND MINNIE AND GOOFY for the character greet! WOO HOO!!! JACKPOT! Photos with the whole gang and lots of fun! While we waited for our photos to be ready we did Spaceship Earth (no wait). I had not done this since I was little and Corey never had. It was neat but I got kind of nervous on the backwards descent down. It is inside the "big ball."
After that it was time to go view our photos from the greet to pick out one for free. We picked out a VERY cute photo of the kids and the gang for our freebie then went to Guest Relations to see what we could find for late lunch reservations. YES the rest of my family decided TODAY that it would be good to sit down and have a nice meal....yeah, I could have planned that MONTHS ago people! ha ha! We decided on Rose and Crown which had a 4:40 opening.

While we waited on that we went to use fast passes for Test Track we had picked up earlier. I chickened out and the rest went on. I waited at the exit to see a very teary eyed little girl get off the ride, but a VERY excited 4 year old boy running out saying "LETS DO IT AGAIN NOW!" Who knew? He disliked Soarin and she disliked Test Track. I guess she likes heights and he likes speed! So, we grab fastpasses for that again to do later.

We head to The Rose and Crown for our reservation and get seated immediately in an empty dining room. I have never eaten here before. Mama and Daddy each get fish n chips. Corey and I share the sausage and cheese platter and Steak and Fish plate. Kids get shepherd's pie and mac n cheese. DELICIOUS FOOD!!! AWESOME! We also got the apple crumble and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. Bill was $130 with tip. *ouch* for a group that has sandwich fixings at the townhouse and had intended to do lunch at "home" everyday! ha ha! This was way worth it though! So good! Oh...Katie loved the "hat lady" on the way to the bathroom! She sang "feed the birds" while we were in there and dd sang along and danced. We also saw the Brittish Invasion band in UK. It is a "Beatles" imitation group, but Corey was quick to point out a discrepancy: Paul was a lefty. They were pretty entertaining.

We then start making our way around to the countries and getting the passport stamped. The kids enjoyed this. Each country has a kidcot station where they can get their passports stamped and something written in their passports in the language of the country. They can also make a mask and add things to it in each country.
We took some photos around the lagoon but not many of them turned out well.
It started getting dark and cool. We wanted to get back to do our rides again before we leave so we stopped around Germany and skip the rest of the Kidstops. We did stop in Mexico though and do it there and ride the Fiesta tour. It is a slow boat ride with Donald Duck and the Three Cabelleros. KIDS LOVED IT! ( I really like this one too for some reason...love Mexico)

We then head out to do Soarin' and Test Track once more....me and dd doing Soarin together with the fastpasses from earlier that son and I didn't use and the rest to do Test Track. We met up afterwards and left just as the fireworks start going off.
Oh I forgot to say that while we were in England at the Kidcot stop we saw Tigger, Pooh, and Eeyore. It was GREAT! Tigger and Noah had a jumping contest that was just adorable! NO line for them!

I would say the crowds seemed very light today. Masses of people in certain areas, but at the end of the night when we went (8:30) there was a 30 min wait for Soarin. The fastpasses were still being given out into the late afternoon.

GREAT but LONG day. Beautiful weather!

Tomorrow AM: Hollywood Studios.

Exhausted and Ready for bed...