Paul wanted to leave Amelia's pushchair behind today as she had become lazy and wanted to sit in it all the time. We had been waiting a few minutes when I suggested to him that we had better take it as we were going to be out until this evening, and would be doing a LOT of waking today. There were a few people waiting for the bus, so he quickly ran back to our villa, grabbed it and got back just as the next bus pulled up. I don't think we ever waited more than 10 minutes for a bus all holiday and the bus stop was right by our block on Old Turtle pond Road which was very convenient.
We arrived at Epcot, went through bag check and then up to the entrance where we scanned our magic bands and went in. I think Oliver's worked first time today!
We went straight to Fountain View (AKA Starbucks) which was very busy. We queued for absolutely ages. Artisan breakfast sandwiches were our breakfast of choice this morning - Bon Gouda (cheese and ham) all round with tea, coffee, milk and apple juice for Oliver and Amelia. They were delicious! I thought it was going to be too big for Amelia, but she ate every bit! It was 9:51am now (going by the date on my photos!) and we were all really hungry at this point, so they went down very well. We sat on a bench under Spaceship Earth and it was nice just chilling out, eating without rushing around to be anywhere. I'm afraid I can't remember how much this came to as the receipt just has zeros as the price, but we used 4 QS credits.
Excuse the bite mark! I couldn't wait!
Our first Fast pass was for Soarin' between 10:10 - 11:10am so we made our way over there after breakfast. I absolutely loved it! But the others didn't share my enthusiasm unfortunately. Amelia cried and kept saying she was falling, Oliver kept saying afterwards that he was petrified he was going to fall (it's not real kids!) And Paul said he didn't get it and was expecting it to be better. So I guess I'll be riding solo next time!
Next up was The Seas with Nemo which we all enjoyed, and we spent some time afterwards looking at the fish, turtles, dolphins, etc.
We left the fishes and made our way to the Character Spot and arrived outside at 11:50 just as Daniel, Sam and Sarah were going in! Talk about a small world! We all went in and met the gang together..
As we got to Minnie, Mickey came over holding a plush Mickey and Minnie wedding toy and gave it to Minnie and they shared a kiss and a cuddle. It was so sweet!
I seem to remember there being a lot more characters on our last trip in 2012, and the location had changed this time too. Now it's just Mickey, Goofy and Minnie at the Character Spot.
We all had ADR's this evening at different restaurants, so we arranged a time and place to meet up afterwards, then went our separate ways. Daniel and Sam went for their next fast pass and we made our way towards World showcase via Mouse Gear where Amelia spent her daily allowance on:
Duffy bandits for her magic band $6.96
A Princess Pin $9.95
and a postcard. $1.95
TOTAL $20.08 including tax.
I also bought:
A 2014 postcard $1.95
A polka dot converse shoe pin $9.95
A Tinkerbell 2014 pin for my Mum $9.95
Minnie Pow! Pin $7.95
TOTAL $31.74 INCL TAX.
Oliver hadn't bought anything so far. I think he wanted to save it.
The Food and Wine Festival was in full swing and it was SO busy.
The plan was to walk over to International Gateway, through to the Boardwalk and then on to Fantasia Gardens mini golf. But before we'd even got to Canada, Paul started moaning about where we were going to eat. I was happy to just eat wherever we happened to be around 1pm, but Paul needed a plan, so we decided we'd do a detour to France via Canada…
And the United Kingdom…
The kids started the Kidcot Funstop, but never did collect all the countries.
We had some lovely photopass photos taken here. I love the ones of the kids.
I never anticipated just how busy Epcot would be during the food and Wine Festival but boy were we in for a shock! It was heaving! It was horrible not being able to walk without brushing arms with strangers and it took forever to get over to France! I was relieved when we reached Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie a lot later than planned at 2pm. The queue was long, but went quite quickly and we all ordered baguettes - ham and cheese for the kids and I, and Paul had chicken salad.
Unfortunately there were no tables and chairs left, so we had to stand at one of those high tables which I detest. Who invented them? They're rubbish for families with small children. Amelia couldn't reach, so she had to sit in her pushchair (thank goodness we brought it!), but she seemed quite happy sitting there eating her way through a whole baguette! She certainly had an appetite today! My back was killing me, and I kept having to bend over to relieve it a bit. I would have killed for a chair! Paul finished his lunch and took Amelia to the toilet. I think he must have queued for about 30 minutes! It was so chaotic and busy that I didn't take any photos I'm afraid, but the baguettes were really nice. We will definitely go back again on future trips when it's not as busy.
Had to get a photo of Paul outside "his" restaurant!
This is how busy it was!
We made our way out of the chaos and went to get a boat to the Boardwalk but it was just pulling away. I spoke to a CM who told us that Fantasia Gardens wasn't that far so we walked … and walked….and walked. It was bit of a trek! It was a good job there were some nice views. And it was so quiet! So nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of Epcot. I love the Boardwalk..
We passed the swan and Dolphin too which looked lovely. It was even quieter there and we only saw one other person.
We passed a play park which Amelia wanted to go in, but we told her we'd go on the way back. It felt like we'd walked miles and my back was in agony by this point. As we reached the road I found a bench and just had to sit down. I was doubled over. I have a curved spine and usually suffer after prolonged walking/standing. Usually if I bend forward it stops the pain. But it didn't this time. We were so close and I could see Fantasia Gardens across the road. After 2 minutes we carried on. There was another family two in front of us who were taking forever. I don't know what they were talking about, but I think they were having some kind of problem. The lady behind them, and in front of us turned around and told us she couldn't wait any longer and gave us a family pass for a free game. We thanked her and about 10 more minutes later someone else came and served us - only to tell us there was a 55 minute wait! It was getting on a bit for time now and we had an ADR at Garden Grill booked for 5:15pm, so we gave it a miss. We were all so disappointed. We'd walked all that way for nothing. As we back walked out, we spotted the lady who gave us the pass, so I gave it back to her. We decided as we'd came so far, Paul would take Oliver in the arcade for a bit, and I said I'd take Amelia to the park we'd passed on the way. So that's what we did.
Amelia enjoyed the park. There were some great slides… all except this one which makes absolutely no sense! Her legs just butted each section on the way down! Obviously designed by the same person who invented tall tables with no chairs
The static on the slide on the end was great!
Paul and Oliver came back and Oliver took advantage of the empty hammock.
We headed back to Epcot - this time on a friendship boat from the Boardwalk. We couldn't walk anymore!
We went round to the right, past Morrocco and Japan and watched this for a while…
And then we fought our way through this lot until we reached Germany.
With so much further to go, we decided to catch the boat from Germany to Mexico. As we sailed across, they were opening the drawbridge ready to bring out the illuminations floats.
As we walked towards the Showcase Plaza we saw Duffy in his meet and greet area and just had to wait to see him as Amelia was wearing the Duffy dress that I made her
The queue wasn't too long, but we'd only waited a couple of minutes before he decided to go on his 'wonder break' and it was another 10 minutes before he came back. It was worth the wait though. Duffy was full of love. He stroked Amelia's dress and told her he loved her by drawing a big heart in the air with his paws. Here's a video Paul took on his phone. I don't know what Facebook does to iPhone videos but the quality is shocking. Paul says to ignore his voice at the end!
Our 5:15pm ADR at Garden Grill was fast approaching, so we hot-footed it over to The Land and checked in at the desk.
They gave us a pager and I took Amelia to the restrooms while Paul and Oliver waited with it. It was going off just as we came out. Not long to wait at all! We were shown to a table on the outside, facing the viewing windows. Our server, Barry, was lovely and explained how the restaurant revolves, and how it was all we could eat - he would bring out our food, but we could ask for more at any time if we wanted anything.
We had barely sat down before Mickey came round. It was a bit of a rush to get our autograph books out! Amelia was just getting hers ready when Mickey came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She got the surprise of her life when she turned around! I wish I had videoed it! Our server was at the table taking our drinks orders and Amelia couldn't decide what she wanted to drink so the server asked mickey to decide for her
Next up was Chip who also came up behind Amelia and flicked her pigtails! She loved him.
Then soon after Dale came over…
And then Pluto which was a nice surprise as I didn't realise he was at the Garden Grill.
I think pretty much all of the characters came over before our food was brought out which was good as we could eat without being interrupted half way through.
The food was delicious. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos, so you'll have to make do with a few stock ones I borrowed…
First up was a basket of warm bread with orange blossom honey butter. It was delicious! I could have eaten the whole basket. This came with a bowl of "Living with the Land" farmers salad.
Then came a long plate filed with char-grilled fillet of beef, roasted turkey breast, salmon, garden vegetables, buttermilk mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Amelia was given a plate of chicken tenders, with a bowl of macaroni cheese, fries and broccoli florets on the side. She didn't really like any of it, and just picked at ours. I think Oliver ate most of hers which our server found amusing and asked if he wanted him to bring him his own plate to which he declined.
Everything was cooked to perfection. It was soooo nice and made a nice change to the usual theme park menus. For dessert we had a skillet of berry cobbler with vanilla bean whipped cream which was amazing, but we couldn't eat much as we were so full.
Amelia was brought out some of these cupcake cones with crisp pearls and he gave us extras for Oliver. She didn't want these either though which was unlike her! She usually takes after me with her sweet tooth.
We got the bill which came to $155.45 including tax, but not including tip. But of course, we used 4 TS credits making it free On the bill it says 3 adult Harvest Feasts $125.97 and 1 KM combo platter $19.99 - I'm assuming that was Amelia's chicken tenders, fries and macaroni cheese. $20 is an awful lot for that and if I had paid out of pocket for it, I would have been most upset. Especially as she didn't touch it!
Just as we got up to leave, Pluto was doing the rounds again and he waved goodbye and gave Oliver a high five.
Sam, Daniel and Sarah were eating at Coral Reef tonight so we arranged to meet them at The Land sign after dinner. Sam text me to say they were almost finished just as the heavens opened and it started pouring down. We ran down the path a bit and stood under the monorail track and waited for them. They arrived shortly after and w decided we'd take a drive up to Premium Outlets.
Oliver bought two Vinylmations from the character warehouse ($3.99 and $7.98) and donated $1 and received a Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund Button as a thank you, I bought a wooden photo frame ($7.99). And Amelia bought a goofy and a splash mountain pin for $3.99 each.
The girls were getting tired so we headed back to OKW via Walgreens. Sam had a really nasty cold sore so needed something for it. We also bought some bread, orange juice, water, milk, some yellow note pads for my dad (he bought loads in 2012 and uses them for work. You can't get them in the UK and he had just run out before we came on holiday), some after bite for all the mosquito bites we were getting and some S'mores goldfish! (my favourite! )
We went back and got the kids to bed and had a look at all of our purchases, and had tea and goldfish on the balcony and went to bed around 11pm.
They gave us a pager and I took Amelia to the restrooms while Paul and Oliver waited with it. It was going off just as we came out. Not long to wait at all! We were shown to a table on the outside, facing the viewing windows. Our server, Barry, was lovely and explained how the restaurant revolves, and how it was all we could eat - he would bring out our food, but we could ask for more at any time if we wanted anything.
We had barely sat down before Mickey came round. It was a bit of a rush to get our autograph books out! Amelia was just getting hers ready when Mickey came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She got the surprise of her life when she turned around! I wish I had videoed it! Our server was at the table taking our drinks orders and Amelia couldn't decide what she wanted to drink so the server asked mickey to decide for her
Next up was Chip who also came up behind Amelia and flicked her pigtails! She loved him.
Then soon after Dale came over…
And then Pluto which was a nice surprise as I didn't realise he was at the Garden Grill.
I think pretty much all of the characters came over before our food was brought out which was good as we could eat without being interrupted half way through.
The food was delicious. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos, so you'll have to make do with a few stock ones I borrowed…
First up was a basket of warm bread with orange blossom honey butter. It was delicious! I could have eaten the whole basket
. This came with a bowl of "Living with the Land" farmers salad. Then came a long plate filed with char-grilled fillet of beef, roasted turkey breast, salmon, garden vegetables, buttermilk mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Amelia was given a plate of chicken tenders, with a bowl of macaroni cheese, fries and broccoli florets on the side. She didn't really like any of it, and just picked at ours. I think Oliver ate most of hers which our server found amusing and asked if he wanted him to bring him his own plate to which he declined.
Everything was cooked to perfection. It was soooo nice and made a nice change to the usual theme park menus. For dessert we had a skillet of berry cobbler with vanilla bean whipped cream which was amazing, but we couldn't eat much as we were so full.
Amelia was brought out some of these cupcake cones with crisp pearls and he gave us extras for Oliver. She didn't want these either though which was unlike her! She usually takes after me with her sweet tooth.
We got the bill which came to $155.45 including tax, but not including tip. But of course, we used 4 TS credits making it free
On the bill it says 3 adult Harvest Feasts $125.97 and 1 KM combo platter $19.99 - I'm assuming that was Amelia's chicken tenders, fries and macaroni cheese. $20 is an awful lot for that and if I had paid out of pocket for it, I would have been most upset. Especially as she didn't touch it! Just as we got up to leave, Pluto was doing the rounds again and he waved goodbye and gave Oliver a high five.
Sam, Daniel and Sarah were eating at Coral Reef tonight so we arranged to meet them at The Land sign after dinner. Sam text me to say they were almost finished just as the heavens opened and it started pouring down. We ran down the path a bit and stood under the monorail track and waited for them. They arrived shortly after and w decided we'd take a drive up to Premium Outlets.
Oliver bought two Vinylmations from the character warehouse ($3.99 and $7.98) and donated $1 and received a Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund Button as a thank you, I bought a wooden photo frame ($7.99). And Amelia bought a goofy and a splash mountain pin for $3.99 each.
The girls were getting tired so we headed back to OKW via Walgreens. Sam had a really nasty cold sore so needed something for it. We also bought some bread, orange juice, water, milk, some yellow note pads for my dad (he bought loads in 2012 and uses them for work. You can't get them in the UK and he had just run out before we came on holiday), some after bite for all the mosquito bites we were getting and some S'mores goldfish! (my favourite! )
We went back and got the kids to bed and had a look at all of our purchases, and had tea and goldfish on the balcony and went to bed around 11pm.
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