Epcot–Around the World in 7 Hours

On day three of our convention trip, we woke up crazy early again.  After attending the convention all day–I won’t bore you with the details–we arrived at Epcot just in time for our ‘after 4pm’ park tickets.  We had two goals–ride ‘Soarin’ and eat and drink our way around the world.

We accomplished neither, but had a very good time.

I will first address Soarin’.  To be fair, we were spoiled by our Magic Kingdom experience.  We stood in line for nothing–ok, well maybe for 15 minutes or so at Dumbo, and ten minutes tops at It’s a Small World–so a 40 minute wait for Soarin’ was out.  I fully realize that forty minutes is a very short wait for said ride, but we had a different agenda–eating and drinking around the world.

We began our quest in Mexico.  I told my husband that I’d eat anything he brought me, so we ended up with a plate of chips and guacamole and a fabulous view of the sunset over the lake.  I could not complain.  We then practically ran through the Mexico pavilion, pausing only to take a picture with Donald Duck (there was no line, ok?  And I really wanted a character photo–ok?  Call me eight years old–that’s fine!)  We then made our way to Norway, where the husband took some photos for his Beowulf unit (yes, we are that nerdy) and we shared this doughnut-type thing called School Bread that was AMAZING.  We also rode the boat ride in Norway, which was pretty cool.

After Norway we explored China, though sadly we were still full from the chips and school bread so we did not partake in any food in China–though my husband got some sort of odd beer.  Germany was up next, which was lovely decorated for the holidays.  We split a sausage sandwich–with sauerkraut–and scored a great cafe table right in the center of the square, up against the fountain (ok, I may have stalked the family sitting there for a bit, but people also stalked us as we were leaving–it was a REALLY good table!) I had a glass of Riesling, and my husband had a beer…surprise surprise.

At this point, after two drinks, I was feeling a little irresponsible.  So when we arrived in Italy, I spent a bit of time in the wine shop and came out with (one of) the most expensive glass of wine I’ve ever had–$10 for a four ounce plastic cup.   We walked about, took photos of the fountain, shopped for glass jewelry we couldn’t afford, and generally had a great time.

America was kind of pointless–after all, we were IN America–but the husband insisted on using the restroom and buying a turkey leg, in that order.  I tried to share the turkey leg with him, but was quite full at this point.  So was the husband–I had to take said turkey leg from him and throw it in the garbage, as he seemed hell-bent on finishing it NO MATTER WHAT.

Japan had no alcohol my husband wanted (thank the GODS!) but lots of food we didn’t have the appetite for–though we took a lot of photos.  Japan was very picturesque.  Morocco was the food I was waiting for, but sadly was STILL full from Mexico, Norway and Germany.  Fortunately there was a lot of good shopping.  We purchased nothing but had a great time getting lost in the winding ‘streets’ of Morocco.  We then had exactly enough time to have a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau in France (which came out that very day–some people make movie premiers, we make wine premiers)  before we had to settle in for Illuminations.

Oh but wait–I forgot about the cup of cider the husband purchased in England before lining up for the fireworks.  Can’t forget that!

Illuminations was awesome.  We met this great couple who knew a lot about the show–the husband told us all about how it is actually three acts, and explained each one.  I cannot express how much better this made the whole experience, but let’s just say THANK YOU couple I didn’t even know.  I was so looking forward to Illuminations and somehow you made it even better than I’d hoped.

After the fireworks we tried to go back to Futureworld, but I was just so tired from the whole day.  If you will remember, I attended a convention all day (which required getting up early, walking a mile to a bus, running around a convention center all day–most of the time with a backpack full of free books on my back, learning things, writing things, organizing things, and doing all of that over again in the opposite order) so I barely made it through Captain EO–which my husband MADE me attend–and could not even imagine waiting in line for Soarin’.  I loved Epcot, but I can only imagine how much more I will love it when I don’t have to start doing it after an already full day.

Around 11 pm my husband–correction, my drunk husband–decided he absolutely HAD TO go on Mission Space.  I begged and pleaded with him not to make me–‘I just can’t blast off right now’, I claimed–but he went on alone and had a great time.  I sat outside of the ride, trying not to fall asleep.  It’s actually a much funnier, longer story that I’d like to tell at some point, but I’m having the same issue right now–if I don’t sleep soon, bad things will happen.

We left Epcot about a half of an hour before the park closed, but not before my husband visited the pub in England yet again.  He has this thing with cider on tap, and actually told me–I am not kidding–‘go ahead honey–go shopping–buy ANYTHING YOU WANT, and I’ll be in the pub’.  Fortunately I was responsible enough to not buy anything…but he was irresponsible enough to purchase TWO MORE pints of cider.  Imagine his shock when the lovely woman at the gate informed him that he had to dispose of them before leaving the park, nevermind the fact that we could see our hotel room fifty feet away (BLESS that girl!)

All in all I loved Epcot.  It was awesome.  And I cannot wait to return…on a day when I have the energy needed to enjoy it.  Maybe then I’ll eat and drink my husband under the table.  But probably not.

Wondering what we ate and drank?  Here you go…

Total food consumed (together):

Chips and Guac, School Bread, Sausage Sandwich, Turkey Leg

Total drinks consumed:

Me–Margarita (Mexico),Riesling (Germany), some kind of red wine (Italy), glass of Beaujolais (France)

Him–Mexican Beer (Mexico), Norwegian beer (Norway), Chinese beer (China),  German beer (Germany), some kind of red wine (Italy), Sam Adams (America), glass of Beaujolais (France), cup of cider (England), two more cups of cider (England)

So what do you think–who carried whom home?  Thank goodness our hotel room was fifty steps or so from the International Gateway exit!

Please note:  there is much more to be shared about our night in Epcot–for example, I’ve not even gone off on my ‘why The Seas with Nemo super sucks’, but like my day in Epcot, my days in regular life have been crazy busy.  I promise an interesting post in the near future–really, I do.  Or at least I’ll edit this one!