.We soon caught sight of that iconic golf ball and had managed to arrive very shortly after rope drop. We decided to head straight for Soarin' in The Land as we'd heard good things about this ride. Due to the early hour, we pretty much walked straight on. I have to say we loved it. I got a kick out of seeing Patrick warburton hosting the pre flight video.
We got such a feeling of exhiliration, we got fastpass tickets straight away.
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We rode the Living With The Land Attraction next which was really interesting and then visited The Seas and enjoyed the Finding Nemo ride before I headed over to Mission Space, which was one of my must do rides, especially as were weren't going to Kennedy Space Centre on this trip. Carly and Maddie went in search of some characters while I chose the Orange, or more intense version, of the ride. I really enjoyed the build up and theming of this attraction, and loved seeing Gary Sinise as flight controller. The ride, if that's the right word, itself is intense and I have to say this one was the only attraction to make me feel slightly queasy but in a good way. The simulation of space flight is amazingly immersive and i'd have to recommend it highly.
We all met up again and rode the revamped Spaceship Earth. Nice job of bringing this attraction up to date and the walk-on, walk-off nature of this means that you never have to wait too long to ride. Stopped in a few shops and the innovention displays while in the area.
Next it was back to Soarin' again to use our fastpass tickets. Loved it even more as we sat in a different spot this time. We decided to have lunch in The Land at The Garden Before heading into World Showcase. The lunch here was basically counter service but pretty good. All we could talk about was how much we liked Soarin'.
Having eaten, we were ready to take on World Showcase, and folks, we'd forgotten what a big area there is to cover.
So we headed clockwise around the lagoon, staring at Mexico first. I admire the theming in this land and the interior of the pyramid is still very cool. We rode the boat trip as the line was pretty short but were keen to move onto Norway.
It's funny but this land had taken on a semi-mythic proportion worthy of the Norse legends themselves over the years. Everyone we'd discussed our first trip with had been regaled with tales of how cool the Maelstrom ride was and how they should try it, even though it doesn't seem that exciting. Well, we rode it, and, truth be told, were a bit underwhelmed. I can only put it down to youth and inexperience talking.
Not to say you shouldn't ride it, but try not to get too excited
.Nice bit of Thor merchandise to be had in the store, though, due to the recently released movie. Carly talked me out of a kid's Mjolnir hammer toy.
We had a quick look at China but moved on as we had dinner reservations at The Nine Dragons restaurant for later in the day so we would come back later.
On to Germany next and waited for a few minutes on the way as Snow White was about to appear. We queued with some other families and waited. Snow White was lovely with the kids, although we were a bit bemused by the Japanese man who monopolised her for a few minutes with no child in sight, and who burned through photos like they were going out of fashion. Maddie was very pleased with this autograph, though.
After Germany, we reached Italy and watched a very entertaining street mime/comedian who kept a large crowd thoroughly entertained.
Carried on through the America and then onto japan. Great shop here with a really nice variety of clothing and ornaments. I was particularly impressed with the Godzilla t-shirts. Carly and Maddie decided to pick an oyster from which to harvest a pearl in the in-store tank. Have to say this was made very entertaining by the cast members who really sold the experience.
Passed through France after having taken some nice photos in Morocco and then arrived in the UK to have Maddie's picture taken with Mary Poppins. Mary was excellent, I have to say, complimenting us on Maddie's manners and enquiring whether she had a nanny. Best meet and greet of the holiday if Maddie's excited recounting of this since our return is anything to go by.
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By now, we had reached late afternoon and we suddenly realised our booking in Nine Dragons was about fifteen minutes away. We walked swiftly round the lagoon, having completed a full circuit, and reached the restaurant with a minute to spare. We were shown to a table very quickly, and swiftly demolished a couple of large soft drinks while waiting for dinner. The food here was actually very good, and nicely filling, and the rest was much appreciated. Another victory for the dining plan experience as we wouldn't have eaten here otherwise.
Following our forced march around the showcase, we took things until Illuminations, finding a nice bench with an hour to spare and watched as the sun went down.
The Illuminations show is frankly spectacular and is a must see if you are visiting Epcot. Although much the same as those twenty two years ago, the show still delivers. Meanwhile Maddie had made friends with a little girl sitting next to us which helped keep her entertained as we made the long walk out of the park and back to our bus.
This was our single longest day, but Epcot still impresses me in different ways. We all collapsed into bed when we returned to the hotel and were again grateful for the hum of the air conditioner.
