Sunday would be our last day at Epcot. We wanted to make it there by rope drop but we just missed it by a few minutes. We were going to rush over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends but we had to make an unscheduled stop along the way.
At this point in the trip I seriously doubted we were ever going to find Daisy Duck. On the bus Abi had mentioned that she thought we would see her today. I didn't think she hung out at Epcot so I said, "Maybe. I don't think so though."
Well, as soon as we walked in the park.... we saw her!!!
Abi was beyond thrilled and we hurried over to get in line.
The Photo pass photographer got a few shots...
I got some with our camera as well...
We were relieved to have finally found her and Abi was so happy. Now we decided to split up. Doug ran to the Land Pavilion to get fast passes for Soarin' because we had all decided we would like to ride it again. While he did that, the rest of us headed over to the Seas. He met up with us there.
This ride is quite fun. You ride in these clam mobiles through an aquarium area and the Finding Nemo characters are projected into the water so it seems as if they are swimming around in there with the real fish and dolphins. The kids loved it... and so did we.
Afterward, there is an entire play area with things to climb in and mess around with for the kids. Everyone has to get this Bruce shot...
The girls really enjoyed this area...
I was excited to see the show Turtle Talk with Crush so we got in line for that. The girls didn't mind the few minutes we had to wait because they got to look at the aquariums.
In Turtle Talk you go into a room with some benches. The adults sit on the benches and the kids gather on the floor. When it begins Crush (the Sea Turtle from Finding Nemo) is projected on the aquarium in front of the kids. He talks to them. It is very interactive and he describes them and asks them questions responding to what they say. It is pretty cool.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the whole show because Abi got up part way into it and came back by me saying she wanted to go. I didn't want her to interrupt the show so I quickly exited out the back with both girls. I was kind of annoyed wondering why she had done that. She said it was because he said, "Dude" too much. I think she was actually a little afraid of it but didn't want to admit it. So, while my parents and Doug finished watching the show, the girls and I hung out in the main area again.
After that we went over to the Land and rode Soarin' again. While my parents were on, we went over to Sunshine Seasons to stake out a spot to eat lunch. Sunshine Seasons is in the same building right next to Soarin'. While we waited for them Abi colored.
They have a huge selection here and I got Abi the sweet and sour chicken with rice which she really liked.
Doug got sweet and sour chicken, some chow mien noodles with vegetables, and rice.
I got a turkey panini with potato salad and a brownie. It was all very good.
We also played a little game in which Abi walked around with her eyes closed trying to find Doug...
After lunch we went straight for Mission Space. It was raining a little so we put Abi in a poncho and broke out the stroller poncho that I was so glad I bought on Amazon before we went. It was really great and covered the entire thing so Maddy was able to fall asleep inside and all of our stuff stayed dry.
They have two different versions of this ride. There is the more advanced experience with G forces but they also have a tamer one now because someone died once after the other one. Doug wanted to go on the more realistic one so he went ahead while I waited with the girls. Abi decided she wanted to go on this so she and I waited with Maddy while my mom and dad went on the 'green' one. As soon as Doug was back Abi and I went in to go on the 'green' one as well.
I thought this was really fun. You are in a little pod thing. There are four people to a pod and each person has a job... commander, navigator, etc. It moves around so you feel like you are really moving as you watch the screen and feel like you are blasting off to Mars.
Abi was a little unsure but did great.
She was just a little sad because once her harness was on she couldn't reach the buttons to do her job.
We decided to go into the Innoventions buildings to play around but ended up only doing a few things because it was packed.
Abi did this game about preparedness...
I know we missed out on some cool things in both buildings but it was just too crowded to enjoy any of it.
Abi really wanted to ride Spaceship Earth again and we were right next to it so we did that next.
After that my mom wanted to go into a big gift shop so Doug and I took the girls over to Club Cool. It has different sodas from around the world to test. There really weren't many flavors but it was fun to test some of them.
I had heard that the 'Beverly' was the worst and so I wanted to get Doug to try it. He didn't make a very good face though! If he had got a picture of me when I tasted it you would have been much more entertained.
My mom and Doug wanted to ride Test Track ( a race car ride) and I just wanted to find some milk for Maddy who was now awake and getting cranky. So, my dad and I told them we would head into the World Showcase and find some milk and they could meet us there.
I got some in Mexico and then I realized it was almost time for Mulan to appear in China and I didn't want to miss it so we quickly made our way back to China.
We only had about a ten minute wait and Abi was so happy to meet Mulan!
We left China and began heading back the way we came so we could find Doug and my mom. We ran into them close to Norway and decided to get in line for Maelstrom, a viking ship ride.
It was pretty fun.
I really liked the shops in Norway and got this picture of Abi in one of them next to the giant troll in the Viking hat I wish I would have bought!
We were all getting a little tired and I wanted to get a spot close to the stage in the USA pavilion so we could hear the Candlelight Processional. Every year at Christmas time they do the Candlelight Processional here. They have a celebrity narrator that tells the Christmas story while young choirs sing carols. It is outdoor but has limited seating. There were hundreds of people in line for his, some were standing in line for hours. I asked someone before we went if you could hear it from neighboring areas and was told you could so we just found some tables nearby and got two of them.
My mom and I left the girls with the guys and walked over to France to get some pastries.
We got a Cream Puff for Abi.
I also got an eclair and a croissant for Maddy. They were all so yummy.
The celebrity narrator was Steven Curtis Chapman. When I was around 18 I loved his music. He sings gospel music with a little of a pop/country flair to it. It was pretty cool to sit there and listen to him tell the story and listen to the beautiful music. We could barely see them if we stood up...
We only stayed for about half of it because it was getting close to our dinner reservations and Abi wanted to ride the Nemo ride again. Here are some pictures at the tables...
I took this picture of China as we walked past it again. The temple is where Mulan was hanging out...
As we made our way into Future World we saw this guy...
I had mentioned on our last Epcot day that Disney was really pushing Duffy Bear. This guy was all over the gift shops. Abi loved him. I have no idea why but they definitely know what they are doing. When she saw that he was out meeting kids she HAD to get in line.
Here are the Photopass shots...
Apparently, Mickey was going to be sailing on an adventure and Minnie made Duffy Bear for him so he wouldn't be lonely and they went on many adventures together. Abi saw this sign on the gift shop across from where she met Duffy and wanted a picture with it. She kept asking if she could please get a Duffy Bear but I didn't want to spend the money. We lucked out in this gift shop because they had little mini Duffy bears for only a couple of dollars.
Abi really enjoyed watching the colorful fountains along the way...
We got back to the Seas pavilion and rode the Nemo ride again. We took some more time to look at all of the big tanks in there before heading to the other side of the building for our reservations at
Coral Reef.
This restaurant is so much fun. The dining room is a little dark and the wall is a big aquarium so you can watch all the Sea life swimming around while you eat. It was really beautiful and so relaxing.
Maddy always wanted the job of holding the buzzer when we were waiting in restaurants...
We were soon seated. Abi set to coloring her menu while we decided what we wanted. It is really hard to see in the picture but I was trying to get a picture of the aquarium.
Our waiter was fantastic. He brought me a milk for Maddy with a cute little dolphin sticking out the top. He also brought a plate of bananas for her. It was so nice.
Abi had a little pizza with apple slices and a Sprite.
I don't like fish and I didn't want Steak again so I got the chicken with hominy . I have never liked hominy but this was so good it changed my mind.
Doug got steak with potatoes and asparagus... the same thing I had the night before but it must have been much better. He really enjoyed it.
My mom got some fish and my dad got the same as me.
We all really liked it here and it became another one of our favorite dining experiences.
The waiter was really funny and when Abi ordered the make your own sundae for dessert he brought her vegetables instead. It was so funny but Abi doesn't really get sarcasm (we don't really use it or much teasing in our home) so she didn't think it was. Then he gave her the real dessert and she was very happy.
I got the Creme Brulee and it was so good.
Doug got this ice cream thing. I can't remember what it was but it looked kind of fancy.
After dinner it was time to head back to our room. There was one part of the pathway that was all sparkly and lit up as were walking. Abi wanted to play here for a minute.
We got a group shot before leaving in front of Abi's favorite Epcot ride: Spaceship Earth.
Then we said our final goodbyes to Epcot!
Up next: Abi's fifth birthday
