First Trip with Teens Day Three Epcot
Today was even hotter. Whew.
We got to Epcot about when it opened and headed to Test Track. There was already a long wait- 60 minutes. We decided to use single rider line and each were able to ride with one member of our party. It was much faster! A nice, exhilarating start to our day. Next FP to Soarin. First time with new video. Loved it. Youngest son was disappointed the California orange smell was gone. Then Living with the Land and Space Ship Earth before heading into the world in search of lunch.
Wandering around the world in search of lunch in the heat was not he most enjoyable. Everyone wanted something different the further confusion of the outdoor kitchens made lunch inefficient. On a nice cool day it would have been fine, but we did a lot of walking and backtracking so that two of us could have Smokehouse outdoor kitchen barbecue, two had Japanese, one had nachos, then there was scallop tasting in Canada's outdoor kitchen (fabulous!) a fruit sushi and ahi tuna in another stand...and probably more. By then we were all very hot and exhausted. We tried to enjoy exploring the world after that but found ourselves standing under AC vents in shops and wondering how we could last until dinner. We did the Gran Fiesta with three cabelleros and remembered why we never do this. It is SO awful. Really? Why is this still here? Then we did Impressions of France (a bit of napping occurred) and the Canada in the round film with Martin Short. All I can say is it was out of the sun. Dinner in Les Chefs de France was excellent. It really feels like a French bistro. The food was all very good if not authentic, gourmet French. We shared the cheese plate and charcuterie plate. I tasted everyone's food. Salmon was good, mac and cheese was okay, but the beef tenderloin was excellent. French onion soup was huge, but delicious. The salad was also huge. Lobster bisque was very good. We were too full for dessert, but of course that didn't stop us from ordering creme brullee, some kind of mouse in a cream puff, chocolate cake with mint ice cream and assorted sorbets. They were all good, but not outstanding. Maybe because we were so full! All in all a very enjoyable meal. We decided we were too wiped out to stay for illuminations. By the time we got to the car the fireworks were beginning.
We were happy to get 30 minutes in the resort pool before they kicked us out at 10:00. It was nice to be cool and comfortable finally. I am a little worried that we have another long day in Animal Kingdom tomorrow. We may leave before Rivers of Light, even though I am eager to see it. It is just so hot. I am trying to see if we can bring a change of clothes and ride Kali, but the lines have been so long I don't even know if that will happen.
Thoughts for today: The Flower and Garden show is so beautiful. I love Epcot. Not sure i would return at this time of the year. The heat and lines are extreme. I don't like the new policy of charging 10.00 for meal cancellations. Sometimes you need to go back to the hotel and rest and a 60.00 penalty is ridiculous. I don't think I like the new fast pass system. It amounts to: two decent fast passes and one undesirable or unnecessary one and no more for the rest of the day. In the past we used multiple passes through out the day. It is nice not to have to run around to get passes, but I feel like we have no ability to choose our activities or meals anymore. I am kind of looking forward to Universal.
