Disney, Day 5 (Epcot)

(Confused? See Disney, Day 1)

Josh and I love Epcot, so when we asked Noah which park he'd like to visit again (Aaron can't keep the different parks straight yet), we were only too happy to agree on Epcot. It was our one clear and sunny day in the parks, which was a rather nice change.

THE LAND
We went straight to Soarin' -- my favorite ride. It feels like you're hang-gliding through California.

These are the only pictures I could get of that ride, and they make it look dark and gray...

So I raided Google Images for something more representative of the IMAX-like experience:

They even blow the breezes and scents gently toward you as you "fly" -- it's lovely, and way too short. I could hang there all day.

 We continued exploring the land...on water... (?)

It seems ironic that you bob through "Living with the Land" in a boat, but it's a pleasant ride with some funny-looking glimpses into industrial greenhouses (such as 9lb lemons and tomato "trees").

 They also have the best cafe in Tomorrowland, though we had brought leftover pizza for lunch.

ENERGY
The boys had been waiting for this one... (dinosaurs!)

Ellen's Energy Adventure: I've got my own little universe of energy, top left corner.

And considering how old the video is, I was impressed that it's still funny and mostly relevant (to a 30-something at least). My one correction: In the show they said the one source of power that will never run out is brain power. Clearly they have not experienced mommy-brain, or they would know the answer is caffeine.

THE SEAS
The Finding Nemo characters are such a natural fit with this giant tank (housing sharks, dolphins, eels, rays, etc), that we spent a while "under water..."

Turtle Talk with Crush was amazing just like Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor in the MK. "Crush," an animated sea turtle, interacts with the audience, answering questions and cracking jokes. Seeing such technology breakthroughs definitely added to the magic for us grown-ups. I don't think Aaron understood why we were so impressed. Of course Crush talks!

IMAGINATION
Where the "waterfalls" up and you can play music with a wave of your hand (or foot).

We knew Aaron was catching on to Disney's merchandising strategy when the first time he saw Figment (the dragon character in the movie), he said he wanted to buy a stuffed Figment at the end.

THE WORLD

We didn't get very far around the world as we were running out of daylight, but I was happy to spend our last evening in this beautiful diorama. Starting with Donald Duck and a boat ride through Mexico...

The boys had just seen Frozen and Noah likes The Maelstrom, so Norway was a hit.

About the time we got to China, we realized the crowd was looking especially...international. That's when we remembered the Super Bowl was on. All the Americans had fled to their TVs. Instead we saw a movie on China whose only flaw was that we had to stand the whole time, and by day 5, you don't really want to keep standing. As we were walking in, Noah said, "Do you want to ask him if it's a Tennessee movie? Because I don't know Chinese..." It was not a TN movie, but you'll be glad to know it was also not in Chinese. Except for the greeting. Ni hao.

The boys love Chinese food, so we settled in for a very mediocre dinner at Nine Dragons, followed by an acrobatic/contortionist show on the grounds.

Judging by the crowds we saw afterward in Italy and France, next time we'll pay the extra for one of their restaurants.

In my compulsion to get to France's pastry case, I managed to keep us from every showing of The American Adventure, but I cheered Josh by telling him it would give us another reason to return someday. (lame, I know - Don't be sad, you can spend thousands of dollars to see it in 3 years!) But then I bought him off with said pastries, and all was well.

"Mom! They have chocolate hot dogs!" (eclairs)

After the fireworks show, it was time to say goodbye. I want to say the boys had been troopers--great attitudes during long days--but since they had been "troopers" *through Disney World,* it doesn't really count...except if they hadn't, then it would have counted. #momstandards #stillthankful #stillsadtoleave

We'll wrap this up with a few final thoughts... Disney, Day 6 (Wrap-up)