We woke everyone at 7.30am, but as usual the sleepyheads needed several reminders to get up & have breakfast.
Today was planned as an Epcot day, with an
ADR for the ESPN Sports Bar at 3pm (5pm UK time so DS & DH could watch the Arsenal v Watford game).
We arrived at Epcot (car park) at 9.20am, but the queues for bag search/security were huge! Our 1st FP was for Journey into Imagination with Figment at 10.20am (which since showing my middle DD a YouTube video of before the holiday, she has been obsessed with!). As you can probably imagine, my eldest DS & DD we're not impressed! 😆 I think we made it onto the ride at 10.40am, then DD bought herself a Figment for $19.99 + tax. We persuaded her she didn’t need a Figment hoodie at $65 (namely because she doesn’t have that much left!). Here she is cuddling Figment.
Next FP we did was The Sea with Nemo & friends (for my youngest). This was a bit of a disappointment after the Ariel ride in MK which I feel is much better (although we did enjoy looking at the marine life in the Aquarium after). DH enquired about the Manatees & whether they have access to a larger area of water. A CM there said they do have another area & both were rescued (one has a fin injury & the other is an orphan). Apparently they tried to release them back to the ocean 3 times, but they don’t do well & don’t swim to the warm water they need to keep their heat. Apparently despite looking blubbery, they’re only 3% body fat & she had a replica manatee rib which is really heavy. So this part was interesting & educational, but the ride was a bit rubbish I thought. Again, eldest 2 kids were not impressed! Cue moaning from the about going on a ‘proper' ride. As we exited the aquarium section, we saw a sky-writer with a message! Middle DD got very excited as she thought it was her name being written “I love u Jess” (turned out to be “I love u Jesus!”), lol!
We had a bit of a gap after this, so decided to look at standby times for rides (our 3rd FP being Frozen Ever After at 1.35pm). My eldest chose Mission Space (orange lane). Now, I know they give you various warnings & options to back out, but I really didn't think it'd be that bad. I must admit, I don't like confined spaces & when the ride closed in, I felt ill before it began & started looking for a button to call for help/end ride. I also had the youngest 2 with me who didn't like it (though they both held it together until the doors open - I think we all reassured each other). I personally couldn't wait for it to end - and when it did even my eldest 2 had to sit down for a while. DS said he liked the ride, but not the confinement.
This will definitely be a ride I'll never opt for again. I know there's a less intense experience in green zone - is it still closed in though?
Anyway, after we'd recovered & had a drink, my eldest 2 were moaning about having to go on Frozen Ever After. The standby for Soarin' was 1hr, so we decided to let them go off & do this and then meet us by the lake.
DH, youngest 2 & myself enjoyed Frozen & the other 2 came back raving about Soarin'.
It was time for lunch by now, so we walked past the UK Pavillion & took the friendship boat to the Boardwalk & ESPN Sports Bar.
The Boardwalk is lovely and after being on the Dibb for so many years & reading all the other wonderful trip reports, it just seems surreal to be experiencing these places myself!
We found ESPN a lot better than the NBC Sports Bar at Universal. The volume of the games being shown was a sensible level (in that we could still hold a conversation), against the NBC where everything was full volume. Food was good at ESPN. A selection of pictures is below.
We'd finished lunch (starter & main) before the end of the game, so I took the 3 girls for a walk around Boardwalk while the boys finished watching the match. Hooray Arsenal won 1-0, so DS was happy.
I made a few purchases in the shop (namely a few little gifts to put away for my kids birthdays- and a Grape Soda keyring for my nephew who loves it. Eldest DD bought herself a Stitch plush for $28 + tax. Sorry, just realised I don’t have a photo of it, so here’s a Stitch topiary instead!
We caught the boat back after the game, and kids weren't really interested in World Showcase - they wanted more rides.
By this time, middle DD decided she didn't want to do any more rides, but eldest 2 wanted to do Test Track (70 min wait on standby- although they switched to single rider line & managed to get on quicker, even ending up together on ride). A big thumbs up from them.
I took youngest DD on Soarin' (50 min standby, although we actually got on in 38min as I timed it). DH sat out with middle DD. Youngest declared it her best ride of the day, and I have to agree - absolutely loved it!
We left Epcot about 8pm (DH was tired & just wanted to get back), so told kids we'd all have pool time when we got back (which we did - it was lovely to rest my tired feet & legs in the pool after a lot of walking).
Tomorrow is HS but as 1st FP isn't until 1.25pm, we've decided on more pool time & an early villa lunch.
Here's a selection of other photos from today: