An Epcot Day

We were going to go to Epcot last week but the weather that day was cloudy, windy, and only in the 50s. We decided Epcot would wait for another day. We had time on Monday so went. Although the day remained cloudy, it did get into the lower 70s and by time mid day rolled around, we could ditch the sweatshirts we had worn to start the day.

We parked in the Epcot lot just after the official opening time of 9 am. The parking spot we were pointed to was just a few rows behind the closest of the two bus stop areas so no further away from the entrance than if we had bused from one of the resorts. We skipped the shuttle and walked to the entrance. It took about 10 minutes to get through the bag check area and then we were both directed to the metal detector as well. Entering the park through the annual passholder turnstile wtias quick and easy.

Our first stop of the day was The Land for some breakfast and coffee and Sunshine Seasons. We did not have fast passes for Soarin on this day. When breakfast was finished, the Soarin' standby line showed a wait time of 20 minutes so we got on line. Once there, the listed wait time was updated to 60 minutes. I think it took us around 30 to be seated on the ride. By time we completed our World tour, it was time for our Livin with the Land fastpass - a ride we always enjoy.

From there, we went to the The Seas with Nemo which had a short wait time. Turtle Talk with Crush made us wait around 10 minutes. Although this has changed slightly from the last time we saw it, it was still cute but not a must do for the adult party of two.

It was time for our Test Track fast pass so we headed over there, created our car and rode our convertible around the track. It had been quite a while since we had done this ride so it was pleasant to do it again. When we entered the fastpass line, the standby line had a wait of close to an hour and the single rider line wasn't much better with a listed wait time of 45 minutes.

We had not done our early morning fastpass was for the Pixar Film festival. The time had elapsed but the system still allowed me to change my fastpass time for this ride to a fastpass time for Journey Into Imagination. By time we got off Test Track, it was time to go to Journey. Strangely, the fastpass was needed as the standby line was around 25 minutes or so. When we exited, we went to the Disney Vacation Club member lounge where we enjoyed the atmosphere and had a soft drink.

It was now getting warmer out so we removed our sweatshirts and stowed them in a locker before heading into World Showcase. I had been able to reserve a luncheon reservation at San Angel Inn. It wasn't quite time for that, so we took the Gran Fiesta Tour and wandered around the shopping area. With still some time to spare, we headed over to Norway and wandered around the shops there.

After returning to Mexico to check in for our lunch reservation, we were seated immediately at a table that was practically on the water way. We had a pleasant lunch. I had the Tacos Al Pastor while my spouse had the Tacos de Carne. I thought I remembered the food being a bit spicier here in the past.

Following lunch, we wandered around World Showcase. With more than 5 miles already listed on my pedometer, I was ready for some sit-down time so we headed back to our car and pointed it to home.

It was clear that Disney is gearing up for the upcoming Festival of the Arts with many booths already in place and coming soon signs posted outside. Additionally, work was being done on the stage outside the American Pavilion - probably removing the framework that was in place for the Candlelight Processional and getting ready for the Festival of Arts performances. The big Christmas tree was gone but the one in the American pavilion was still in place as were many of the holiday garlands throughout the park.