Kiele_Kai23
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2015
Hi! 
I'm new to the DIS and I absolutely love your trip report! I can't wait to read more! 
I'm new to the DIS and I absolutely love your trip report! I can't wait to read more! 
Former Cast Members Take Back the Parks! (A June WDW Vacation TR): Updated 2/12
- Thread starter AlliGirl
- Start date
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
Hey everyone! Sorry we haven’t written in a bit! As you may have read, Scott and I took a whirlwind trip to Disneyland over Labor Day Weekend. A trip that we planned from airfare to dog boarding in one hour and less than twelve hours before our plane departed. But that is a different story, for a different trip report.
In this trip, we had just finished our first day in the park, which was spent entirely at the Magic Kingdom. Our plan for day two follows:
Epcot day starting with EMH at 8am
Fastpass Reservations:
10:05-11:05 Mission Space
11:40-12:40 Spaceship Earth
1:15-2:15 Soarin’
We arrived at the park super early! We waited around for at least fifteen minutes or so behind a rope at Spaceship Earth, until it was 8am.
When they let us go, we were on a mission: Test Track!
This is one ride that we prefer to ride standby. Here’s why: I’m not sure if this has changed since we lived there, but if you rode single rider or Fastpass, you either had to choose from premade cars or didn’t get to choose a car at all. This tends to change with the seasons, but standby always gets the full period to design their car (as long as the technology is working). We have so much fun trying to either get a score that breaks our record or make the craziest car. It’s one of those things you appreciate even after you’ve ridden Test Track 25 times.
Our friend had actually never had the chance to design a car, so we knew that was where we wanted to go straight away! Scott designed his own car and I helped our friend design hers. I was trying not to just make her choose the highest value combinations and decide for herself with some advice. We used every last second of the time they give you to design. I love when you’re at the last computer screen for designing and you get to see the crazy things other people designed as you walk out! Even though Scott and I have designed probably 15+ cars, I still see things that I have no idea how people made!
So after we designed our car we moved through the queue and loaded in. I sat in the middle seat, which is always extra crazy on Test Track. You know how as you go through the ride, there are screens after each “test” and results for the cars people in your ride vehicle have designed? Well, the last screen bothers me! The last screen is just for the last test, speed, but because it’s right at the end of the ride, it seems like it’s the results for the whole ride. It’s not! You have to go scan your band in the room after the pictures to see your final score.
During the ride, either our friend and I’s car or Scott’s car kept winning every test. But at the last test, a couple we were riding with won. They started cheering about how their car was the best, which I understand the confusion there. Anyway, we just knew our cars beat them so we watched when they scanned their bands in comparison to ours. Our friend’s car beat everybody’s and it was her first time doing it!
That was so fun. It’s awesome how you can use your magic band now. When we were working there, you had to use these blank white cards on rubber bands to load your car onto. You could use RFID park tickets at some point too, but we weren’t able to since we were using our maingate passes. It’s convenient!
After Test Track we had a moment where we realized: we just did our highest priority attraction and we have a Fastpass for everything else we want to do. Isn’t Fastpass+ awesome? No racing for a Soarin’ Fastpass and then racing all the way back to Test Track to try and ride while a 30 minute line has already built up. We had that Soarin’ Fastpass walking in the gate. It just gives you a sense of ease about the whole day.
We walked to The Land pavilion and decided to ride Living With the Land.
Man, LWtL is just so relaxing, isn’t it? They had actually switched out a few setups in the greenhouses since we had been there, so that was neat to see.
Alli and Scott Disney Fun Fact Time: Take note of the number on the mailbox. 82: A reference to 1982, the year Epcot opened. But that's an obvious one to any Disney fan, so here's one that is a bit less obvious… When the Magic Kingdom first opened, there was an attraction in the area where Pirates is located called Western River Expedition. See, Pirates of the Caribbean was a fun idea for the people out west, but why would anyone in Florida want to sail the Caribbean when they were SO CLOSE to it. Walt and the Imagineers felt like the guests on the East coast would prefer to experience that focused on the opposite side of the country, so they created an attraction that focused on life in the West. However, one question was on everyone's minds when MK opened in 1971: "Where is the Pirate ride????". So Western River Expedition was scrapped and Pirates of the Caribbean was hastily constructed in its space. The buffalo/prairie dog animatronics in the prairie section of the LwtL ride are leftover from the Western River attraction. One thing Disney understands is recycling.
After that ride, we were able to just be leisurely and eat breakfast at Sunshine Seasons.
Again, I love Fastpass+! Sunshine Seasons is a great place to get breakfast at, in my opinion. There are multiple options and because you pick up your food at the stations and then go to the check out lines, it moves quite quickly. We got a breakfast Panini and the Croissant Berry Pudding. I also got a cup of the Golden Peak White Tea with Citrus (I think) from the fountain drink section. I was not a fan. There wasn’t much flavor and what flavor was there reminded me of medicine. But the breakfast Panini was good, it was made using a focaccia style bread that was COVERED in herbs. We knocked a lot of the herbs off the bread, but still ended up with it between all of our teeth.
However, the real star here was the Croissant Berry Pudding! From the name, you can probably guess that it is a bread pudding dish made with an assortment of berries.
It’s pretty dessert like, but a lot of breakfast dishes are I guess! Guys, this bread pudding only costs $3.19! LESS THAN FOUR DOLLARS! It is warm and delicious, and a very sizable portion! It could easily be your whole breakfast (as long as you aren’t a stickler for including protein). I truly think this little dish is one of, if not the best, counter service breakfast in WDW!
After our breakfast, we strolled on over to The Seas. I truly love this side of Future World, and I much prefer it to the Future World East side. Take some time to appreciate the flow and curves of the area. While Future World East, the side that focuses on space exploration and technology, is very jagged and structured, Future World West, which focuses more on the "natural" side of technology (Land, Sea, and Imagination) is very flowing and curvy with plenty of trees and waterways.
You have to be ready for exercise if you plan on riding Nemo, because that queue is no joke! Be ready for about three and a half minutes of briskly paced walking!
Notice in the picture above who is providing "Daily Diving Departures". They are provided by Nautical Exploration and Marine Observation. Aka N.E.M.O.!
The "5A" on the lifeguard stand is an obscure reference to "S.A." which stands for Seabase Alpha, the original setting for the attraction before Nemo and his friends moved in.
The Seas with Nemo and Friends is such a cute ride. Plus, there’s a lot to see. I just always have to close my eyes at the part with the turtles going through the EAC! I don’t know why, it’s just really disorienting!
After getting off the ride, we wandered around the Seas for awhile. I love going in the room downstairs with the smaller cylindrical tanks. We have watched several interesting demonstrations in this room about how they feed the various inhabitants. If you ever get a chance to see someone feeding the eels, I thought it was really cool!
We were also walking around upstairs for awhile, where we witnessed something strange. We were in the round room with tanks all around and on the walkway in the tank (below where you’re standing) there was a massive stingray. It was sitting very, very still on top of one of the windows in the walkway for a long time!
Scott and I just kept watching it and we were convinced something might be wrong. But after a few quiet minutes, the stingray quickly launched off the window! It was so sudden that it scared us. I want to say that we saw it later and it was back in the same spot, I wonder why!
Okay I know that was a short little burst of update, I’m sorry! I will try to write more this weekend! Thank you so much for reading we’ll see ya real soon!
In this trip, we had just finished our first day in the park, which was spent entirely at the Magic Kingdom. Our plan for day two follows:
Epcot day starting with EMH at 8am
Fastpass Reservations:
10:05-11:05 Mission Space
11:40-12:40 Spaceship Earth
1:15-2:15 Soarin’
We arrived at the park super early! We waited around for at least fifteen minutes or so behind a rope at Spaceship Earth, until it was 8am.
When they let us go, we were on a mission: Test Track!
This is one ride that we prefer to ride standby. Here’s why: I’m not sure if this has changed since we lived there, but if you rode single rider or Fastpass, you either had to choose from premade cars or didn’t get to choose a car at all. This tends to change with the seasons, but standby always gets the full period to design their car (as long as the technology is working). We have so much fun trying to either get a score that breaks our record or make the craziest car. It’s one of those things you appreciate even after you’ve ridden Test Track 25 times.
Our friend had actually never had the chance to design a car, so we knew that was where we wanted to go straight away! Scott designed his own car and I helped our friend design hers. I was trying not to just make her choose the highest value combinations and decide for herself with some advice. We used every last second of the time they give you to design. I love when you’re at the last computer screen for designing and you get to see the crazy things other people designed as you walk out! Even though Scott and I have designed probably 15+ cars, I still see things that I have no idea how people made!
So after we designed our car we moved through the queue and loaded in. I sat in the middle seat, which is always extra crazy on Test Track. You know how as you go through the ride, there are screens after each “test” and results for the cars people in your ride vehicle have designed? Well, the last screen bothers me! The last screen is just for the last test, speed, but because it’s right at the end of the ride, it seems like it’s the results for the whole ride. It’s not! You have to go scan your band in the room after the pictures to see your final score.
During the ride, either our friend and I’s car or Scott’s car kept winning every test. But at the last test, a couple we were riding with won. They started cheering about how their car was the best, which I understand the confusion there. Anyway, we just knew our cars beat them so we watched when they scanned their bands in comparison to ours. Our friend’s car beat everybody’s and it was her first time doing it!
That was so fun. It’s awesome how you can use your magic band now. When we were working there, you had to use these blank white cards on rubber bands to load your car onto. You could use RFID park tickets at some point too, but we weren’t able to since we were using our maingate passes. It’s convenient!
After Test Track we had a moment where we realized: we just did our highest priority attraction and we have a Fastpass for everything else we want to do. Isn’t Fastpass+ awesome? No racing for a Soarin’ Fastpass and then racing all the way back to Test Track to try and ride while a 30 minute line has already built up. We had that Soarin’ Fastpass walking in the gate. It just gives you a sense of ease about the whole day.
We walked to The Land pavilion and decided to ride Living With the Land.
Man, LWtL is just so relaxing, isn’t it? They had actually switched out a few setups in the greenhouses since we had been there, so that was neat to see.
Alli and Scott Disney Fun Fact Time: Take note of the number on the mailbox. 82: A reference to 1982, the year Epcot opened. But that's an obvious one to any Disney fan, so here's one that is a bit less obvious… When the Magic Kingdom first opened, there was an attraction in the area where Pirates is located called Western River Expedition. See, Pirates of the Caribbean was a fun idea for the people out west, but why would anyone in Florida want to sail the Caribbean when they were SO CLOSE to it. Walt and the Imagineers felt like the guests on the East coast would prefer to experience that focused on the opposite side of the country, so they created an attraction that focused on life in the West. However, one question was on everyone's minds when MK opened in 1971: "Where is the Pirate ride????". So Western River Expedition was scrapped and Pirates of the Caribbean was hastily constructed in its space. The buffalo/prairie dog animatronics in the prairie section of the LwtL ride are leftover from the Western River attraction. One thing Disney understands is recycling.
After that ride, we were able to just be leisurely and eat breakfast at Sunshine Seasons.
Again, I love Fastpass+! Sunshine Seasons is a great place to get breakfast at, in my opinion. There are multiple options and because you pick up your food at the stations and then go to the check out lines, it moves quite quickly. We got a breakfast Panini and the Croissant Berry Pudding. I also got a cup of the Golden Peak White Tea with Citrus (I think) from the fountain drink section. I was not a fan. There wasn’t much flavor and what flavor was there reminded me of medicine. But the breakfast Panini was good, it was made using a focaccia style bread that was COVERED in herbs. We knocked a lot of the herbs off the bread, but still ended up with it between all of our teeth.
However, the real star here was the Croissant Berry Pudding! From the name, you can probably guess that it is a bread pudding dish made with an assortment of berries.
It’s pretty dessert like, but a lot of breakfast dishes are I guess! Guys, this bread pudding only costs $3.19! LESS THAN FOUR DOLLARS! It is warm and delicious, and a very sizable portion! It could easily be your whole breakfast (as long as you aren’t a stickler for including protein). I truly think this little dish is one of, if not the best, counter service breakfast in WDW!
After our breakfast, we strolled on over to The Seas. I truly love this side of Future World, and I much prefer it to the Future World East side. Take some time to appreciate the flow and curves of the area. While Future World East, the side that focuses on space exploration and technology, is very jagged and structured, Future World West, which focuses more on the "natural" side of technology (Land, Sea, and Imagination) is very flowing and curvy with plenty of trees and waterways.
You have to be ready for exercise if you plan on riding Nemo, because that queue is no joke! Be ready for about three and a half minutes of briskly paced walking!
Notice in the picture above who is providing "Daily Diving Departures". They are provided by Nautical Exploration and Marine Observation. Aka N.E.M.O.!
The "5A" on the lifeguard stand is an obscure reference to "S.A." which stands for Seabase Alpha, the original setting for the attraction before Nemo and his friends moved in.
The Seas with Nemo and Friends is such a cute ride. Plus, there’s a lot to see. I just always have to close my eyes at the part with the turtles going through the EAC! I don’t know why, it’s just really disorienting!
After getting off the ride, we wandered around the Seas for awhile. I love going in the room downstairs with the smaller cylindrical tanks. We have watched several interesting demonstrations in this room about how they feed the various inhabitants. If you ever get a chance to see someone feeding the eels, I thought it was really cool!
We were also walking around upstairs for awhile, where we witnessed something strange. We were in the round room with tanks all around and on the walkway in the tank (below where you’re standing) there was a massive stingray. It was sitting very, very still on top of one of the windows in the walkway for a long time!
Scott and I just kept watching it and we were convinced something might be wrong. But after a few quiet minutes, the stingray quickly launched off the window! It was so sudden that it scared us. I want to say that we saw it later and it was back in the same spot, I wonder why!
Okay I know that was a short little burst of update, I’m sorry! I will try to write more this weekend! Thank you so much for reading we’ll see ya real soon!
Last edited:
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Love this latest update!
We too always ride standby on TT only, and we really enjoy creating our car! I also think that the speed ranking in the end is misleading. It's only testing on the speed but not overall. But our car usually wins speed anyways. I try to ensure that. LOL
Interesting piece of history with LWTL!
Sunshine Seasons is one of our favorite breakfast spots. And the croissant bread pudding...yum, I think we had that twice on our last trip in May. It's delicious!
I enjoy the Nemo ride and the Seas exhibits too. The part with the turtles is quite dizzying!
We too always ride standby on TT only, and we really enjoy creating our car! I also think that the speed ranking in the end is misleading. It's only testing on the speed but not overall. But our car usually wins speed anyways. I try to ensure that. LOL
Interesting piece of history with LWTL!
Sunshine Seasons is one of our favorite breakfast spots. And the croissant bread pudding...yum, I think we had that twice on our last trip in May. It's delicious!
I enjoy the Nemo ride and the Seas exhibits too. The part with the turtles is quite dizzying!
kristenlees
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2015
love your trip report so fun to read and you guys are so adorable. love the pictures. didn't know that about test track and the fastpass. i'll change mine
so fun to read and you guys are so adorable. love the pictures. didn't know that about test track and the fastpass. i'll change mine 
FreddyMercury
Former Cast Member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2014
I really love Living with the Land, and I honestly think it's because I despised it as a kid. It was so boring!! But as I got older, I gained an appreciation for it. There's never a long line and it's such a relaxing trip. But THAT BREAD PUDDING!! Alli had read about it, but it was the first time I'd ever heard of it and got it on a whim. 100% a must on every single WDW trip from now on.
Epcot is quite an experience. There aren't many big ticket attractions, but it's a beautiful park with a LOT to see and do. And Test Track was my favorite attraction for a long time. I miss the original version of the ride, but the new version makes 100 times more sense in Future World and designing your own car will never get old. Don't skip Epcot. DON'T DO IT.
love your trip report
Keep in mind that we worked there two years ago, so we haven't done single rider or FP for Test Track in… 2 years. I really hoped they changed it to where everyone gets a chance to design their own car. It really bums me out when booking a Fastpass causes you to miss out on great queue experiences. I'd check other sources before changing your FP, if you haven't already.
Dentam
Dreaming of Disney
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2015
I don't always get alerts for new posts and kept checking the title of your TR for an update until today when I just scrolled through it. The title says it was updated on 8/30 but I was happy to see a newer update with Test Track and Living with the Land! LwtL is one of my very favorite attractions and I love the bonus fun facts you provided about it!
We didn't get a chance to ride Test Track on this last trip so I still haven't experienced the updated version of it where you design your own vehicle. Next time!
Loving your trip report! Hope you had a great time in DL!
We didn't get a chance to ride Test Track on this last trip so I still haven't experienced the updated version of it where you design your own vehicle. Next time!
Loving your trip report! Hope you had a great time in DL!
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
Thank you for pointing that out so I could change it! Thanks for reading!
Hannahinwonderland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2014
I am absolutely loving your trip report! I just left the DCP, where I was a Skipper! It was one of the highlights of my life and I miss it so much everyday. I am doing a triumphant-return type trip in November, because I can't stay away. Your trip report is getting me so so excited to go back already! <3
disvisitorkim
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2014
Following along and LOVING your trip report! Also love the facts and stories we are getting from an insider, lol! Can't wait for more! Also, your pictures are BEAUTIFUL! Were they taken with your phones or a camera?
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
We will always miss those Disney days. At the end of the Disneyland Forever fireworks show they project Walt and Mickey walking hand in hand and say "Just think…all of this is yours, forever," and it couldn't be more true. Those words really resonated with me in that moment and it reassures me to think of them when I'm missing Disney. The memories are yours forever and the parks are yours forever. Every time we go back, it feels like my home just as much as it did during our year at Disney.
Following along and LOVING your trip report! Also love the facts and stories we are getting from an insider, lol! Can't wait for more! Also, your pictures are BEAUTIFUL! Were they taken with your phones or a camera?
Thanks for reading! Scott does an amazing job taking pictures! We use a Canon Rebel T3i and I love the quality of the photos. Occasionally, we'll use our iphones if it's more convenient in the moment (like getting a picture of our scores on TSMM!) Scott says all of the FoF parade pictures were taken on his phone because the camera was charging. Thanks for reading!
dizzy daisy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2015
Hi there 
I'm really enjoying your TR. I love all the little details you've been sharing, and the photos are lovely.
Looking forward to more!
I'm really enjoying your TR. I love all the little details you've been sharing, and the photos are lovely. Looking forward to more!
AlliGirl
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
Hey everyone! Time to pick up where we left off on our day at Epcot.
After leaving The Seas, we headed to the Imagination Pavilion and rode Journey into Imagination, which is…you know…what it is. An odd ride on a very small scale, but hey there’s a couple fun moments.
Keep an eye out for the "One Little Spark" sheet music in this scene. That oddly shaped silhouette on the right page is that of the Dreamfinder and his Dream Mobile, the host of the original Journey Into Imagination.
It was past 10:05am so we were able to go and use our Mission Space Fastpasses.
We debated between going down the green side or orange side for a bit. Scott is always down for the orange side, and I enjoy it, but I was scared of getting sick (as was our friend). Scott had actually never done the green side of Mission Space, and he’s on a never-ending quest to do every single thing at WDW, so he wanted to see what the difference was.
When Epcot first opened, each pavilion (Land, Sea, Imagination, World of Motion, etc.) had their own symbol. Sort of a logo to represent what each pavilion stood for. Before Mission: Space moved in, this space (get it?) was occupied by the Horizons pavilion. This pavilion was all about living in a future that was inspired by years of technological innovation, and the original Horizons logo can be seen at the center of the giant wheel in the M:S queue.
Since we were a party of three, we got our own little pod, which is always fun. I love Mission Space and flipping lots of switches and pushing buttons. However, some of the pre-videos they play are funny. For instance, when you’re standing on your number waiting to load, they play that video where it’s showing you loading your battery/cell/something like that. It just shows each of the ten cells charging up for a solid minute. It’s not that weird or goofy, it’s just like…couldn’t you think of ANYthing else for people to stare at?
After Mission Space, we were after a refreshment. Club Cool had just opened for the day, so we headed there.
Scott went in to Starbucks to get the Epcot You Are Here mug. Like many others, we’ve stared collecting the Starbucks You Are Here mugs from the Disney Parks and other trips and travels.
Anyways, I remember being really excited when it was announced that Club Cool was getting new sodas. That excitement wore off about five minutes after I tried them.
I guess I’m just not a fruity flavored soda drinker. The old flavors, with Mezzo Mix from Germany and the super powerful lemon lime soda etc were just way better, in my opinion.
After Club Cool, we decided to take a little break. A long break actually. A long sitting break in A/C. So yeah, we went to the Universe of Energy to ride Ellen’s Energy Adventure.
It’s long, but it’s not a bad attraction. However, Ellen was noticeably absent from the ride. Her usual animatronic was gone. I’m guessing it was just taken for a cleaning, but that scene felt very odd without it.
After our little nap, we headed to Spaceship Earth for our Fastpass at 11:40. I…love…Spaceship Earth. It’s educational, which I am all about, it’s relaxing, and it’s nice and long.
Here’s a tidbit for you: Have you ever closely looked at the faces of the animatronics throughout the ride? You might see a few familiar ones. Id say that at least 90% of the animatronics in Spaceship Earth are recycled from other attractions, and probably about 30% of those are ex-Presidents of the United States. That's right, everybody. The Hall of Presidents is slowly taking over Spaceship Earth. Seriously. They're everywhere. John Adams plays one of the monks, Teddy Roosevelt is the Roman senator, but our favorite has to be this one….
The gentleman on the left is none other than John Kerry. Although Kerry was never a part of the Hall of Presidents, his animatronic was still built in preparation for the 2004 election. When 'Dubya' took the win, the Kerry animatronic needed a different home, and Spaceship Earth is always accepting new tenants.
After leaving Spaceship Earth, we headed for the World Showcase. We needed a bit of a boost, so we picked up sodas from the Promenade Refreshments stand. We were surprised that this was still there, since it used to only be up for the festivals and it’s right next to Refreshment Port anyway. But we got our fountain sodas (the only good kind) and talked to the Cast Member because she was from our area.
Sodas in hand, we walked around Canada and through the shop and falls.
Then, crazily enough, we walked all the back to The Land for our Soarin’ Fastpass at 1:15. Soarin’s queue sucks (the sound effects from those interactive games are BRUTAL) but the breeze on the ride is unbeatable. Funny story, we once witnessed guests call out in terror to the Cast Members because they were scared that their feet were going to hit the railing when the seats moved up. Yup…thousands of people a day ride this but YOUR feet are the ones that are gonna be severed by the hand railing.
Have you ever looked closely at the face of the man who hits the golf ball? It’s Michael Eisner, past CEO of Disney. I’ll spare you all my feelings about that.
After Soarin’ we walked back to the World Showcase, this time on the Mexico side and rode Gran Fiesta Tour.
I don’t remember this ride at all before its reimagination, but it seems like they could’ve made sure the actors’ eyes were on the animations in the video clips. But hey, it’s a nice little ride and there’s never a line.
After we left Mexico, we headed to pick up a snack. We decided to try the Lucky Combo from Joy of Tea.
The Lucky Combo includes a pork bun, chicken pocket, an egg roll, ice cream, and a canned soft drink for $9.98. It seemed like a really good value so we wanted to try it out. You have two options on the ice cream and we went with the caramel ginger ice cream. The pork bun wasn’t my favorite. It was mostly bread and the sauce on the filling inside was very sweet in my opinion. I don’t like sweet sauces on meat so I wasn’t a fan. The egg roll was standard but delicious, the ice cream was nice and gingery, and the chicken pocket I don’t much remember. If you’re looking to try something new in the World Showcase, you get a lot for your ten bucks!
After passing through the shops in China, we headed to get one of our favorite things: a grapefruit beer from Germany. We first tried the grapefruit beer during the Flower and Garden Festival in 2013. Man, if you’re looking for something refreshing, this is the ticket. Even if you’re not a beer drinker (which we definitely are) I think you would still really enjoy this.
Favorite alcoholic beverage acquired, we headed on to Japan.
Japan is probably my favorite World Showcase destination. Probably partially because it’s the country I haven’t visited myself yet that I most want to (helloooo Tokyo Disneyland) but also because Mitsukoshi is just the best. There are simply endless things to ogle over. I love kitchenware and there are many small dishes to appreciate, as well as tons of other eye-catching merchandise.
Our friend picked up a Beef Udon bowl from the quick service in Japan, which she swears by and always has to get. We took advantage of the new seating area in Japan, which was very nice and…empty. I loved sitting there because we had a really nice view of the pavilion but you could also people watch.
After that, we headed into the food/treats/kitchen shop in Italy. My mother’s side of the family is Italian and I’m a big fan of torrone, which is a treat we always used to get around Christmas. I must say, I like the packaging of the gift sets of torrone my family finds around the holidays, but it’s really nice that they have it in the Italy shop. The difference is that it’s served in one very long piece, so you have to slice it to eat. If you haven’t tried torrone before, it is a chewy nougat candy with almonds. I picked up a package for us and a package for my parents, which I stowed away in my backpack.
We were interested in getting a treat to enjoy right then, so we went back to Germany to Karamel Kuche. Our friend picked a chocolate covered s'more and we got a chewy caramel bar.
I had seen several complimentary posts about this treat so I was interested. It was a sizable snack for the price, but the flavor wasn’t on point for me. It wasn’t decidedly sweet, or salty. It’s thick caramel layered on top of a shortbread like cookie that crumbles easily, so we found it a little hard to eat as well. We ended up at the standing table in the wine shop in Germany. If you’re someone who does not like treats that are very sweet, this might be more of a winner for you. I probably would’ve dipped it in chocolate or added another component to me, but maybe I’m just expecting something decadent.
After Germany, we went to adventure around Morocco. I love how far back the little streets of shops go. We ended up sitting at a table all the way in the back of the pavilion and just talking and taking a rest.
The skies were looking dangerous, so we had to make one last important stop before heading back to the hotel. Our ultimate favorite World Showcase meal of all time! Wait…our ultimate favorite World Showcase meal of all time that isn’t the filet mignon at Le Cellier (though they changed the recipe since we last ate there, so we’re not positive that it’s still as amazing). We had to stop into Les Halles in France.
It’s a popular spot, so the seating is tight, but we’ve found the most scrumptious combination: the Roule Lard and Fromage and Bisque de Homard aka cheese roll with bacon and lobster bisque.
Rip pieces off the roll and dip it in the soup and you can thank me later! Ask to have the roll heated up. We have probably eaten this combination 10 times or more. We can hardly enter the World Showcase without it, so we HAD to have it on this trip!
After our classic meal, we left Epcot to take a break at Pop Century. We had done and seen everything we wanted to, and just about everything there is to do!
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see ya real soon!
After leaving The Seas, we headed to the Imagination Pavilion and rode Journey into Imagination, which is…you know…what it is. An odd ride on a very small scale, but hey there’s a couple fun moments.
Keep an eye out for the "One Little Spark" sheet music in this scene. That oddly shaped silhouette on the right page is that of the Dreamfinder and his Dream Mobile, the host of the original Journey Into Imagination.
It was past 10:05am so we were able to go and use our Mission Space Fastpasses.
We debated between going down the green side or orange side for a bit. Scott is always down for the orange side, and I enjoy it, but I was scared of getting sick (as was our friend). Scott had actually never done the green side of Mission Space, and he’s on a never-ending quest to do every single thing at WDW, so he wanted to see what the difference was.
When Epcot first opened, each pavilion (Land, Sea, Imagination, World of Motion, etc.) had their own symbol. Sort of a logo to represent what each pavilion stood for. Before Mission: Space moved in, this space (get it?) was occupied by the Horizons pavilion. This pavilion was all about living in a future that was inspired by years of technological innovation, and the original Horizons logo can be seen at the center of the giant wheel in the M:S queue.
Since we were a party of three, we got our own little pod, which is always fun. I love Mission Space and flipping lots of switches and pushing buttons. However, some of the pre-videos they play are funny. For instance, when you’re standing on your number waiting to load, they play that video where it’s showing you loading your battery/cell/something like that. It just shows each of the ten cells charging up for a solid minute. It’s not that weird or goofy, it’s just like…couldn’t you think of ANYthing else for people to stare at?
After Mission Space, we were after a refreshment. Club Cool had just opened for the day, so we headed there.
Scott went in to Starbucks to get the Epcot You Are Here mug. Like many others, we’ve stared collecting the Starbucks You Are Here mugs from the Disney Parks and other trips and travels.
Anyways, I remember being really excited when it was announced that Club Cool was getting new sodas. That excitement wore off about five minutes after I tried them.
I guess I’m just not a fruity flavored soda drinker. The old flavors, with Mezzo Mix from Germany and the super powerful lemon lime soda etc were just way better, in my opinion.
After Club Cool, we decided to take a little break. A long break actually. A long sitting break in A/C. So yeah, we went to the Universe of Energy to ride Ellen’s Energy Adventure.
It’s long, but it’s not a bad attraction. However, Ellen was noticeably absent from the ride. Her usual animatronic was gone. I’m guessing it was just taken for a cleaning, but that scene felt very odd without it.
After our little nap, we headed to Spaceship Earth for our Fastpass at 11:40. I…love…Spaceship Earth. It’s educational, which I am all about, it’s relaxing, and it’s nice and long.
Here’s a tidbit for you: Have you ever closely looked at the faces of the animatronics throughout the ride? You might see a few familiar ones. Id say that at least 90% of the animatronics in Spaceship Earth are recycled from other attractions, and probably about 30% of those are ex-Presidents of the United States. That's right, everybody. The Hall of Presidents is slowly taking over Spaceship Earth. Seriously. They're everywhere. John Adams plays one of the monks, Teddy Roosevelt is the Roman senator, but our favorite has to be this one….
The gentleman on the left is none other than John Kerry. Although Kerry was never a part of the Hall of Presidents, his animatronic was still built in preparation for the 2004 election. When 'Dubya' took the win, the Kerry animatronic needed a different home, and Spaceship Earth is always accepting new tenants.
After leaving Spaceship Earth, we headed for the World Showcase. We needed a bit of a boost, so we picked up sodas from the Promenade Refreshments stand. We were surprised that this was still there, since it used to only be up for the festivals and it’s right next to Refreshment Port anyway. But we got our fountain sodas (the only good kind) and talked to the Cast Member because she was from our area.
Sodas in hand, we walked around Canada and through the shop and falls.
Then, crazily enough, we walked all the back to The Land for our Soarin’ Fastpass at 1:15. Soarin’s queue sucks (the sound effects from those interactive games are BRUTAL) but the breeze on the ride is unbeatable. Funny story, we once witnessed guests call out in terror to the Cast Members because they were scared that their feet were going to hit the railing when the seats moved up. Yup…thousands of people a day ride this but YOUR feet are the ones that are gonna be severed by the hand railing.
Have you ever looked closely at the face of the man who hits the golf ball? It’s Michael Eisner, past CEO of Disney. I’ll spare you all my feelings about that.
After Soarin’ we walked back to the World Showcase, this time on the Mexico side and rode Gran Fiesta Tour.
I don’t remember this ride at all before its reimagination, but it seems like they could’ve made sure the actors’ eyes were on the animations in the video clips. But hey, it’s a nice little ride and there’s never a line.
After we left Mexico, we headed to pick up a snack. We decided to try the Lucky Combo from Joy of Tea.
The Lucky Combo includes a pork bun, chicken pocket, an egg roll, ice cream, and a canned soft drink for $9.98. It seemed like a really good value so we wanted to try it out. You have two options on the ice cream and we went with the caramel ginger ice cream. The pork bun wasn’t my favorite. It was mostly bread and the sauce on the filling inside was very sweet in my opinion. I don’t like sweet sauces on meat so I wasn’t a fan. The egg roll was standard but delicious, the ice cream was nice and gingery, and the chicken pocket I don’t much remember. If you’re looking to try something new in the World Showcase, you get a lot for your ten bucks!
After passing through the shops in China, we headed to get one of our favorite things: a grapefruit beer from Germany. We first tried the grapefruit beer during the Flower and Garden Festival in 2013. Man, if you’re looking for something refreshing, this is the ticket. Even if you’re not a beer drinker (which we definitely are) I think you would still really enjoy this.
Favorite alcoholic beverage acquired, we headed on to Japan.
Japan is probably my favorite World Showcase destination. Probably partially because it’s the country I haven’t visited myself yet that I most want to (helloooo Tokyo Disneyland) but also because Mitsukoshi is just the best. There are simply endless things to ogle over. I love kitchenware and there are many small dishes to appreciate, as well as tons of other eye-catching merchandise.
Our friend picked up a Beef Udon bowl from the quick service in Japan, which she swears by and always has to get. We took advantage of the new seating area in Japan, which was very nice and…empty. I loved sitting there because we had a really nice view of the pavilion but you could also people watch.
After that, we headed into the food/treats/kitchen shop in Italy. My mother’s side of the family is Italian and I’m a big fan of torrone, which is a treat we always used to get around Christmas. I must say, I like the packaging of the gift sets of torrone my family finds around the holidays, but it’s really nice that they have it in the Italy shop. The difference is that it’s served in one very long piece, so you have to slice it to eat. If you haven’t tried torrone before, it is a chewy nougat candy with almonds. I picked up a package for us and a package for my parents, which I stowed away in my backpack.
We were interested in getting a treat to enjoy right then, so we went back to Germany to Karamel Kuche. Our friend picked a chocolate covered s'more and we got a chewy caramel bar.
I had seen several complimentary posts about this treat so I was interested. It was a sizable snack for the price, but the flavor wasn’t on point for me. It wasn’t decidedly sweet, or salty. It’s thick caramel layered on top of a shortbread like cookie that crumbles easily, so we found it a little hard to eat as well. We ended up at the standing table in the wine shop in Germany. If you’re someone who does not like treats that are very sweet, this might be more of a winner for you. I probably would’ve dipped it in chocolate or added another component to me, but maybe I’m just expecting something decadent.
After Germany, we went to adventure around Morocco. I love how far back the little streets of shops go. We ended up sitting at a table all the way in the back of the pavilion and just talking and taking a rest.
The skies were looking dangerous, so we had to make one last important stop before heading back to the hotel. Our ultimate favorite World Showcase meal of all time! Wait…our ultimate favorite World Showcase meal of all time that isn’t the filet mignon at Le Cellier (though they changed the recipe since we last ate there, so we’re not positive that it’s still as amazing). We had to stop into Les Halles in France.
It’s a popular spot, so the seating is tight, but we’ve found the most scrumptious combination: the Roule Lard and Fromage and Bisque de Homard aka cheese roll with bacon and lobster bisque.
Rip pieces off the roll and dip it in the soup and you can thank me later! Ask to have the roll heated up. We have probably eaten this combination 10 times or more. We can hardly enter the World Showcase without it, so we HAD to have it on this trip!
After our classic meal, we left Epcot to take a break at Pop Century. We had done and seen everything we wanted to, and just about everything there is to do!
Thanks for reading, and we’ll see ya real soon!
AshClan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2001
Wow, that was a FULL Epcot day! Kudos for hitting all the highlights and then some. I love Les Halles, but have never tried either of those. Must add it to my list for next time! We just got back from a Food & Wine trip, so I didn't even go in there this time, but I was lamenting that fact once I got home. Going back a chapter, I also wanted to add my love to LwtL. That's one we try to hit as much as possible. I could never put my finger on exactly why we love it so much, but yes, RELAXING is one of the reasons it's so great! What did Scott think of the green side of MS? I have never done the orange (like you were, afraid of getting sick), but thought the green was rather ho-hum when I did it a few years ago. Oh, and O.M.G. on John Kerry! That is hysterical! I have to point that out to my (Boston area politician) husband next time we ride Spaceship Earth!!
Thanks for that great updates. I am very impressed that you managed to cover that much Epcot ground in one day!
Thanks for that great updates. I am very impressed that you managed to cover that much Epcot ground in one day!
FreddyMercury
Former Cast Member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2014
I'm all about soup. When Alli first met my mom, my mom told her that my favorite food was "soup".. No specific kind. Just soup. So I'm a big fan of the bisque. And when Alli told me about this bacon and cheese roll, I knew we were onto something big. And the combo is only about $10, so we'd highly recommend it.
The first time I did the orange, I was young and I was CONFOUNDED by that attraction. I had no idea how they simulated so much g-force. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that when the attraction first opened, they didn't tell you that it was a spinning attraction. Also, I don't think "green side" was an option. It was all or nothing. I usually don't do well with spinning, but Mission: Space doesn't bother me at all as long as you keep your head straight. One time I glanced to my right and my day was shot. So with that said, the green side…. meh. Neat attraction, but without those simulated g-forces, I was almost bored.
Also, the fact that it's so obviously John Kerry is hilarious. It looks exactly like him. If they put the George Bush animatronic anywhere in there, I wouldn't be able to pick him out, but that Kerry is spot on.
Food is what we're all about. We're always on a quest to find the best hidden food gems, so we're always trying different things.
ThemeQueen
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2015
Love your Epcot review. This was my first time there and I am so in awe of how beautiful the park is! It was the wine & food festival and we were on a mission with our food passport, as were so many other people, it was so crowded we did not get to really "see" anything in world showcase besides our food & drinks.
pd1138
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2014
My DH and I were *lucky* enough to experience Mission Space during a soft opening two weeks or so before the grand opening. We were told it was a spinning ride then and it was a lot worse! You didn't have a choice, you spun and it was fast! I thought it was cool. When we returned a few years later they had dialed it back some since many people were getting sick. Then they created the green and orange sides. My DH swears it never went as fast as that time before the official opening!! Great trip report! Love the little details!
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Yum your post made my hungry! I've tried the lucky combo from China too! It's not bad and it's a great deal for the price. I like the strawberry red bean ice cream but I recently discovered that the Kabuki Cafe at Japan makes a soft serve version of it that rocks even more.
I love Mitsukoshi! You will love Japan. I lived there when I was a kid and visited Tokyo Disneyland many times when it first opened. Japan is a playground for all things cute and the kitchen stuff is just to die for. Everything has a function and they are just so cute too!
OMG That meal at Les Halles...looks so good! I must be sure to try it on our next trip!
I love Mitsukoshi! You will love Japan. I lived there when I was a kid and visited Tokyo Disneyland many times when it first opened. Japan is a playground for all things cute and the kitchen stuff is just to die for. Everything has a function and they are just so cute too!
OMG That meal at Les Halles...looks so good! I must be sure to try it on our next trip!
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