October 22 - Monday - Day 3

Today's plan was to NOT go to the hospital....no, seriously...today's plan called for breakfast and then Epcot.  I woke up at 5:55 and felt completely rested and rarin to go! I jumped in the shower...love those rainfall showerheads.  I came out in to the kitchen and  had my tea.  It seemed a little chilly to have breakfast on the porch but the sun was rising and it got warmer by the minute. I went online for a little bit and everyone else was getting up by now.  Darla started on the bacon and Joe made a couple eggs, sunny-side up. Darla likes hers over easy so she made them that way.  I made myself an english muffin with marmelade jelly and had one egg and two pieces of bacon. It smelled VERY good in here!

Joe making eggs on the left...darla's bacon on the right

Joe having breakfast on the porch

When we loaded the dishwasher this morning, we noticed the cover where you put the powder did not snap shut.  Deb called engineering and let them know...we hoped they knew enough to start up the dishwasher once they fixed it.

Around 9 or so, we were all ready to go to Epcot. We headed out to the bus stop and saw bus after bus coming for each park....two for each park and 3 for Downtown Disney!  I finally went ahead and asked the one driver when we could maybe expect an Epcot bus and let her know how many other buses were pulling out empty cause they were duplicates.  She said an Epcot bus was one stop behind her and sure enough it was however, it was FULL!  We piled in and were standing at first and some nice people stood so a few of us could sit. So who is sitting there already on the bus but Barbara and Roy!

Finally, we arrived at Epcot. I found a short security line and I really don't think I ever stopped walking...that is how little attention he paid to my bag!

Of course, we headed immediately to Soarin....well....I took everyone's passes and ran ahead to get the fast passes.  I told them to meet me by the escalator.  We headed down to the boat ride which said 20 mins. but was more like 10.  I like this ride and I noticed some new exhibits and plants.

I want to live here!

We then left this pavilion and we all wanted to check out the festival center and also the Chase VIP Lounge. They were handing out Ghirardelli chocolate caramel samples. There is also a great display of chocolate carvings from Disney movies.  We spent some time in the lounge which provides Ipads, white leather furniture and different beverages.  It was nice to sit and relax, talk about our plans for the day.  I bought two of the Food and Wine wristband gift cards for Joe and I.

At this point, we decided to eat around the world for our "lunch".  We started walking in that direction...Pat was going to take Sean on some rides.

Universe of Energy

Sean and Pat

Cranberry Bog

Watermelon Patch

We went left towards Mexico but not before stopping at the Argentina booth where I got some beef skewers that were OUT OF THIS WORLD! They were on a bed of potatoes...buttery goodness!

Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree'

I will definitely be getting this one again!  So on to Mexico to ride the boat...always a walk on!

Mexican Marketplace

As seen from the boat

We continued our walk around the world and everyone sampled some pork potstickers, then apple strudel and roast bratwurst in Germany.

Pork Potstickers

apple strudel with vanilla sauce

Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll

Joe was really enjoying all of his selections. I was the one that got the apple strudel with vanilla sauce. I noticed the portion is MUCH smaller this year!

As we walked along, I recognized some people from the Disney Parks Blog doing some filming in an episode of the blog that will be appearing in a few days. Watch for it!

Thought this was very pretty.

I wanted Joe to see the Karamell Kuche store in Germany. Unfortunately, they were not pouring hot caramel on to the popcorn when we were there, but we still saw LOTS of goodies and decided to get some bagged caramel corn.

Yummy caramel corn

At this point, Darla and Deb decided to head back. We continued on...I caught the Ziti Sisters in Italy  for a few minutes and they were having a great time with their show. I wanted to stop in America and get a cup of ice water but we noticed there was an American Adventure show in 10 minutes.  I wanted to see if Barbara and Roy were in there since that was where they were headed; sure enough, they were there! We sat down for a few minutes and then all decided to see the show together.

Ben Franklin and Mark Twain

Two Brothers - Barbara and my favorite part

Roosevelt and Muir

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As you can see, this is probably our favorite pavilion show at World Showcase. The movie at the end is just so moving.

We continued on around the world checking in at each booth to see the offerings. Joe was keeping track of them all in his Marketplace Discovery Passport. I was not contributing nearly as much to it as he was!  Along the way, we saw Jasmine and Aladdin.

We had about 1/2 an hour til our fast passes for Soarin at 2 so we started heading in that direction making note of some booths to try later. Well....I just could not resist stopping in Belgium for the Belgium Waffle.

Belgium Waffle with Berry Compote and whipped cream

This was REALLY good!  I may get this one again as well next time we are over this way. I walked while I ate this so that we would not be too late for Soarin.  I actually had 4 fast passes for Soarin since I had Darla and Deb's and they had left already. I figured I would find two people that would be glad to have them. As we walked up the hill to the pavilion, they were putting out the ALL FAST PASSES GONE sign.  We headed downstairs and sure enough, there was a couple standing near the covered fast pass machines. They were an elderly couple, probably in their 70s.  I tapped the man on the shoulder and said, we can't use these two fast passes, would you like them? The look on this man's face, you'd have thought it was a winning lottery ticket! Joe said "they are for right now"!  I thought he was going to cry! They both said OH YES, thank you so much...that is so nice of you, thank you so much!  I thought *I* was going to cry! They were so thankful and we all walked over to the fast pass return entrance and walked the queue together. The whole time, they are saying thanks again for this..over and over.   I looked over at them during the ride and they were smiling from ear to ear and holding hands.  Gosh, I just felt like a million bucks...they did WAY more for me than I did for them.

After Soarin, we headed over to the Seas with Nemo and literally walked right on the ride.  On our way in, a bunch of guests were saying MINE MINE MINE at the sea gulls thinking it was voice activated, lol.  These little guys are so cute.

MINE MINE MINE

This ride is always cute....love the technology of the cartoon characters swimming in the REAL aquarium.

Afterwards, we looked at a few tropical fish tanks....the live coral is amazing!

We decided to take a refreshment break in the Fountainview Ice Cream store and sat outside on the fountain side. Unfortunately, the wind shifted and we could not get out of the way in time and got a little wet but it felt so good on this warm day.  The fountain is so pretty and we got to see it dancing to the music.

We walked thru Mousegears and somehow got out the other end without buying anything! We decided to head back over to World Showcase....Joe had his sights set on Ireland.  We entered at Canada and I just had to take a few pictures of the gardens in Canada.

Lobster and Seafood Fisherman's Pie

I went and got us a bench in a very empty United Kingdom, towards the back. Joe was in the Ireland line for his Lobster and Seafood Fisherman's Pie.  It was a little more money at $6 each but he said it was well worth it.

Garden in United Kingdom

On the way out, we saw Mary Poppins greeting guests.

I knew that I wanted the chocolate creme brulee' in France so that was my first stop after crossing the bridge. This is creamy and delicious!

Chocolate Creme Brulee'

Thought was so scenic.

Joe spotted the New Zealand stand and wanted to get Seared Sea Scallop. We got a table outside in Morocco and took a break while he ate it.  He was very disappointed in the size of the portion...when they say scallop...they mean ONE...it was almost one bite.

Seared Sea Scallop

We were coming around to the American Gardens Theatre and could hear HANSON singing.  We had obtained wristbands at the Chase Lounge for this 5:30 show but when I heard the girls screaming..there was no way I was going to sit down for that show, even though it was just starting. We stood in the back for a few minutes.

You'd have thought it was Justin Bieber the way the girls were screaming! We continued on to Italy where I had my sights set on the Ravioli.  This was a good size portion for the price and was VERY good!

Baked Ravioli

We were both starting to drag a bit, having been up since 6 and going without any real break all day.  We decided to ride Spaceship Earth on the way out and ONLY if it was a walk on.  We headed towards the front and sure enough, it WAS a walk on.  Earlier in the day, the line was terrible...a newbie mistake!

Taken from the ramp going on

Our future...

Spaceship Earth is breathtaking at dusk.

We walked to our bus stop and the OKW bus was pulling up as we entered the queue. Great timing cause we are TIRED!  We got off at the Peninsular Road stop and walked across the street and thru the store...in other words, we took the scenic route, lol.

OKW at night

I noticed as we left the store....even the sand ashtrays are themed here. How cute is this....

Tomorrow is Disney Studios and maybe Halloween Party with Pat and Sean.  Hope you are enjoying the report!