It's A Small World, After All

Ack!  No.  Not the ride.  That is one ride I refuse to do as an adult.  I endured it 3 times in my life; that's more than enough for me, thanks.

I'm talking about the World(s) of Epcot.  And I guess after walking all day, it doesn't really feel so small.

After a quick breakfast at the resort, we hopped the bus over to Epcot on Monday morning.  (For those who are less familiar with Disney, that's the one that has the giant golf ball.)  Since the entrance takes you straight to Future World, that's where we began our day.  

When this day began, I had no idea how we were going to handle things.  Bestie (M) has a muscle disorder that makes stairs and inclines especially painful, and I knew that there was a possibility of getting her a wheelchair while we were at Disney (and, of course, also the possibility that she would be too stubborn to get one).  Little did I know the magic of the Guest Assistance Pass/Card.  I have been forever ruined.  The GAC lets people who have difficulty walking for long times, issues with stairs, etc still have a magical Disney experience.  It's sort of like a fast pass, only you don't have to come back at a certain time.  The best part of this pass is that you can take your whole party along so you don't end up getting separated!  

Test Track has always been one of my favorite rides, and since Hubby's a car guy, it's a pretty sure thing that you can find us there.  Bestie and her hubs like it, too, so off we went.  We sailed through the fast pass lane and got to hang around looking at car stuff.  Hubby, of course, was trying to explain certain functions of car parts, but I was too busy taking pictures and talking to Bestie to really take anything in.  

Hubby has a bit of a weak stomach when it comes to turns and jolting around, so as much as he enjoys Test Track, it's best that we only go one it once.  Things get fuzzy after that, but I know, in some order, we did:

Soarin' 

First, I love that Patrick Warbuton does the intro thing.  He makes the world a better place.  Also, this ride has me convinced that Disney is, in fact, run on magic.  I don't know how else they could make you feel like you're actually flying!

Club Cool
The Coke sponsored, air-conditioned building where you can try pop from around the world.  There are some tasty ones (I like the apple flavored one, Hubby enjoyed watermelon), but watch out for Beverly.  Also, you can buy regular coke OR coke slushies here.  Nom nom nom.

Living With The Land

Hubby's favorite ride.  You get to see all sorts of awesome plants (including a 9 pound lemon), some cool fish (tilapia, anyone?) and how Disney (and others) are using the two together to produce healthier fish AND plants for all of us!

Turtle Talk With Crush

This is an interactive thing that you would probably think is aimed at children.  I guess it technically is, but trust me, they know how to keep the adults entertained, too.  Hubby and I hadn't seen this one before, and it was pretty hilarious!

The Seas w/Nemo & Friends

So, you hop in a little clam-mobile and slowly travel through the seas, looking for Nemo (can't that damn fish stay in one spot?).  All your favorites from the movie are there: Dory, Marlin, Crush, Squirt, Mr. Ray and others appear while you search for the world's most famous clown fish.  You'd think he would have a harder time hiding with all that publicity...

Spaceship Earth

This is the ride that takes you inside the giant golf ball.  No, really.  It's true!  Spaceship Earth takes you on a journey through our past and into what could be our future.  It’s a very slow, but very cool ride that empties into an equally awesome building (Project Tomorrow) where you can test out video games and other “futuristic” technologies.

Electric Umbrella

A great restaurant for lunch.  If you’re on the dining plan, the best part (to me, anyway) is that you can use your “dessert” to get a fruit cup!  Don’t get me wrong.  I frickin’ LOVE desserts.  But I knew we were going to have some awesome desserts at dinner, so it was nice to have the option at lunch. 

The Seas

In the same building as Crush and the Nemo ride, there is a HUGE aquarium (and a bunch of smaller aquariums).  You can see fish, sharks, dolphins, manatees, and more in these aquariums!  Bestie’s favorite was probably the cuttlefish (which, btw, is pretty crazy and cool - we saw it change colors right in front of us!), but I think mine were the jellyfish.  Something about them is so surreal…

Eventually we decided it was time to make our way to World Showcase, so we took the ferry across (which was really convenient, actually).  We stopped outside Germany for a bit and walked through Italy.  We went into the “American Adventure” pavilion and got lucky enough to catch the Voices of Liberty doing their thing.  They have some amazing talent and a lot of fun, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise.

Dinner was at Les Chefs de France in, of course, the France pavilion.  We spent some time trying to teach Bestie some French (in particular, “I am a hippopotamus” and “Can I sharpen my pencil?”), but it wasn’t really working.  We totally made fools of ourselves in front of some native French speakers, but hey – it’s Disney!  I’m supposed to be a fool.  Anywhoozles, the food was excellent.  I had a wonderful French onion soup followed by half a chicken, which I ordered in French.  Of course, our waitress said, “Oh!  You speak French?”  I froze before saying, ”Un peu!” (“A little!”) so she didn’t try to bombard me with the language I gave up learning about 10 years ago.

My dessert, as predicted, was amazing.  It was a strawberry cream cake with raspberry sorbet on the side, and it was just Heaven.  The French definitely know how to do dessert, and for that, I thank them. 

The best part of this dinner was when C (Bestie’s husband) came back from the bathroom and told us there had been a little girl singing, “I love potatoes!” in a high-pitched voice.  The rest of the vacation, we would spontaneously burst out with, “I love potatoes!” and then try to get as high as we could.  It was most excellent.

After grabbing a Grand Marnier slushie to go, we headed toward the entrance and caught a bus back to our resort.  I think this is the evening that Bestie and I soaked away in the hot tub for awhile as our menfolk got drinks and talked amongst themselves.  If so, it also makes it the night that I beat both my hubby and Bestie’s hubby at air hockey.  That’s right.  I’m an air hockey champ, yo!

I walked Bestie back to our rooms and we each headed off for bed.  Our husbands came back shortly after we did, as I’m pretty sure they were exhausted, too.

Oof.  Well, I apologize for the length of this one, kids.  I’m sick and this was a nice break from reality.  :)