Let The Memories Continue! – Day 2

Today is our Epcot day. Surprisingly, this has become our favourite park.

We arrived at the carpark and parked near the entrance. This has never happened before and we always needed to ride the tram which would take us to the front gate. This is a good indication that it is going to be a low crowd day.

Our first stop was Sunshine Seasons for breakfast. We ordered 2 Breakfast Platter, a Strawberry Shortcake and a Iced Latte for sharing and tucked in happily. We have always enjoyed the food here. We headed over to Test Track where we had a FP+. Ashley was so excited to do this with Jarod as she fondly remembered how her brother created the winning car last year. Test Track is a giant slot car attraction where guests first virtually design and then “digitally” road-test their SimCars. The futuristic journey takes guests through dark sets illuminated with neon lights that seem to come straight out of the world of “Tron.” Ashley squealed in delight as the car reached 65 miles per hour. Jarod did not disappoint and his car design topped the category again. Inevitably, this is our favourite ride in Epcot, with Soarin’ being a close second. We also noted an improvement in the Photopass this year. We no longer needed to stop at the ride counter to have our ride photos added to our Memory Maker account. This is done magically via our Magic Bands. (ZA : like Magic)

  

 

 

 

Our next ride was Spaceship Earth.  This ride spirals through the 18-story interior of Epcot’s premier landmark, taking visitors past audio animatronic scenes depicting mankind’s developments in communications, from cave painting to printing to television to space communications and computer networks. The ride shows an amazing use of the geodesic sphere’s interior. The one thing that never fail to impress me is the clever use of scent by Disney to emulate the scene.

 

We headed to a FP+ kiosk to get an additional FP+ after we have utilised our 3 experiences. To our delight, we scored Soarin’. We headed over to the World Showcase where we have a lunch reservation at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway. Even though we did this last year, we were still excited to try it, especially Ashley. After checking in, we had a photo opportunity with Belle – Ashley’s favourite princess.

This is a semi buffet where the royal feast begins with a “Taste of Norway”—featuring the finest Scandinavian seafood, imported cheeses, cured and sliced meats, and a vast selection of salads and fruits. For our entree, we picked the highly recommended Norwegian meatball dish called Kjøttkake. Not long after we were seated, Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora and Ariel visited our table where Ashley had a photo opportunity with the princesses. There was also a Princess Processional which is a little parade where kids in the restaurant are invited to join in the processional led by the Disney princesses. Ashley joined the procession led by Aurora and we enjoyed watching her waving and curtsying to the diners.

We were then served the Royal Chef’s Dessert Plate which consisted of Chocolate Mousse, Apple Cake and Traditional Rice Cream. We did not particularly enjoy the dessert here.

After lunch, we headed over to China for a meet and greet with Mulan. Ashley had chosen the Mulan costume today for this purpose. Mulan was really happy to meet ‘Mulan Junior’. It seems like she rarely meets girls dressed up as Mulan. They hugged for a long time and chatted about Mushu – Mulan’s closest companion.

  

Our next priority was the meet and greet with Mary Poppins over at United Kingdom. We did not manage to do this last year, as the timing was not right or the queue was closed upon our arrival.

Hence, we did not stop at most countries except France to ogle at the mouth-watering desserts at Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie. I made a promise to save some space for these desserts the next time we arre here. With this, Ashley has only Merida left to complete our autograph collection. While waiting for Mary Poppins, Ashley was really hungry as she barely touched her lunch. We grabbed a Fish and Chips for her to eat in the queue.

We watch Captain EO next. This is an interactive intergalactic adventure featuring Michael Jackson. We followed Captain EO and crew as they crash-land on the surface of an alien planet to present the Supreme Leader of the Dark Side an important gift. Though well intentioned, the gift is not well received, and Captain EO will have to use some slick moves—and slick tunes, including “We Are Here to Change the World” and “Another Part of Me”—to triumph over the evil forces of darkness.

As we walked around we took some pictures of around the world showcase.

 

As we had some time to spare before Soarin’, we rode Living With The Land. This is a slow-moving boat ride, which is part dark ride and part greenhouse tour.

Our FP+ return window for Soarin’ finally opened and we were surprised that the wait was rather long even with FP+ (ZA : 15 minutes wait is ok as compared to the stand by time). The stand by line has a wait time of 75 minutes. Soarin‘ is a flight simulator attraction at Epcot that lifts Guests on multi-passenger hang gliders for a scenic aerial tour of California. The funny thing was we were akways assigned row 2 for our our rides and really wished we could have row 1.

As we stepped out of the ride, the sky has turned dark and we headed back to World Showcase where we have a dining reservation at Tutto Italia Ristorante in Italy. Jarod has always felt that the Italian pavillion appeared to be more romantic than that of French. Tutto Italia is situated in the back left corner of the Italy Pavilion. once we entered the restaurant, we found ourselves in a grand setting with gorgeous murals. The crystal chandeliers continue to add elegance to this restaurant. We were seated at the booth and our server was an attentive Italian. Jarod ordered the Lasagna alla Bolognese, Ashley the Spaghetti while ZA and I ordered Bistecca del Macellaio which is a Grilled Butcher’s Steak. The food were indeed authentic Italian but the highlight of our dinner was our dessert. Jarod had the Cannoli  and ZA and I had Mocha Tiramisu. We were so impressed by the Tiramisu that we are contemplating repeating dinner there again later in our trip.
(ZA : Waiters, busboys are all Italian)

As we stepped out of Tutto Italia, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth was about to begin. They were still choice locations around the lagoon to watch so we decided to stay for the show. This show integrates fireworks, laser lights, neon, and music in a stirring tribute to the nations of the world. It’s the climax of every Epcot day. The fireworks were truly magnificent. We concluded our Epcot day with this grand finale.