Although we were still exhausted from our Philadelphia trip come Monday, we had plans to spend October 2 in Disney, because there was a lot going on that we just couldn't miss (also it'd been a minute since my last Disney trip, and you know how that gets to me. Our chosen park of the day was Epcot, and our first stop was to the brand new walkthru attraction: Journey of Water, for the passholder preview!
You didn't have to sign up or anything for this preview, just show up and walk through! So, a lot of people are saying they're disappointed with this new Moana inspired attraction, but I absolutely adore it. There's all kinds of interactive elements with water, and the water follows your movements, which is super fun. Some water makes noises, some water makes waves, some water comes up to meet your hands. And of course, there's a giant TiFiti in there too, which is just magical. There is a dry path if you're so inspired, but really even the wet path doesn't get you too much (YOu can even walk through a waterfall and it opens for you!!) All in all, this was my jam. Two thumbs up from this girl, who can appreciate the less flashy 'rides' at Disney. And, per the usual Disney, there are all kinds of hidden little Easter Eggs. My only complaint was that there isn't even a magnet for it yet! (Since it was just the passholder preview, Moana wasn't greeting guests yet, and the stores didn't have out their merch yet).
Another reason to swing by Epcot on this particular Monday: Soarin has reverted back to the old school 'Soarin over California' which we haven't been able to see in years. While the stand by line said 50 minutes, and I was totally willing to wait- but we only ended up waiting about 20 minutes, which was awesome.
Starting this month, Disney World is beginning it's 100th Anniversary stuff as well, a new mural on the construction walls had a fun game to spot the 100 characters.
We took the boat across the lagoon, and landed in Morocco which reminded us to say hi to Jenna! It's always great to stop by Spice Road Table and catch up with Asa's midnight pizza buddy.
And then we were off for a very special meal. You may have heard Asa got a very good year end review. I wanted to celebrate with a fun meal, somewhere he's wanted to eat for a very long time. It's the German Buffet complete with entertainment. And, I got to treat Asa thanks to my very successful market the Saturday beforehand. (Turns out at markets with any sort of foot traffic, I do pretty good at them). Anyway, we had a great time. Drinks. Music. Desserts. All amazing. And, we so happened to get ourselves the 'Eat to the Beat' add on, which meant we could go to the concert that evening in the American Pavillion without having to wait for a seat!
After our big meal, we were ready for some coffee. Joffrey's kiosks in Disney just so happened to have a special Amaretto drink just for passholders. So, we both got that and enjoyed our iced coffee on a very pleasant day!
The line for Ratatouille wasn't all that long either, so while we waited for the concert, we decided to head on over there and take a spin on one of the mice. It's always a good time.
Another 'special' thing going on in Disney right now: the totally free Florida Blue Lounge (you do have to sign up for a pass ahead of time), but once you get in there (in the back of Morocco) you are treated to a nice spot to rest your feet (which is good, ours were still tired), free drinks, and even, if you so choose, free Henna.
And then we were off to the Eat to the Beat Concert, another reason we wanted to come on this particular day: Boyz II Men were playing! If you don't know, during the festivals, Epcot has bands come in to play (free with admission) short little concerts that run about half hour long- that they play three times a night. It's a fun little add on, and brings back some bands that were popular awhile ago. You might remember we went to see Vertical Horizon during the Flower and Garden Festival. For them, we walked right in. But, Boyz II Men is always one of the most popular bands, so you need to get in line a long time before the show, unless of course you've purchased the dining option- then you get to cut the line. It was like $10 more for us to do that than just the normal Beirgarten price, and I'd say it was worth it. Plus, Boyz II Men!! There I was listening to 'Motown Philly' just days after being in Philly!
Such a fun little thing to do during the festivals, and soon they're going to remove the construction walls up by Spaceship Earth for another concert venue during festivals. But back to this trip, we also just so happened to be in Epcot when they were handing out the next Passholder magnets, so we had to swing by the new store to grab our Oswald ones.
We did one more ride on the way out: Nemo was basically walk on!! And, it gave us something else to send to Gwen and Garrett. If you missed it, every time we go, we send them pictures from random places in Disney and play a 'Where in the World is Aunt Corinne and Uncle Asa' game. It's an ongoing thing and whoever has more points next time they come get a special meal from us. Garrett nailed the jellyfish on Nemo, but Gwen got the arrows on the floor at Soarin.
And that was it for our very productive trip to Epcot. Such lovely weather this time of year. Get ready for me, Florida- I am going everywhere I can for the next six months to enjoy not sweating to death.
We did have one more stop on our way though. Our neighbor was also at Disney, staying with friends- but she had forgotten to pack her shirts. Asa and I picked them up the morning before we left and delivered them to her at Fort Wilderness, which we found super amusing. And it got us points for favorite neighbor contention.
Next up: A nice normal week at home
