Soraia Goes Solo (New Years 2017) Day 8 - Disney Springs & Epcot

[soraia]

Soraia Goes Solo (New Years 2017) - Day 8
Disney Springs & Epcot

I had a bit of a lie in this morning - my body needed a rest after lots of early starts and all the walking.

I had no real plan for this morning so when I got up I decided to go for a walk around POR. I know I've said it a lot in this trip report but POR really is an absolutely stunning resort with beautiful landscaping! The weather was a bit milder today (thank goodness!) although it was still scarf & gloves weather. The sun was shining though!

I was starting to feel hungry so walked to Riverside Mill and got a cheese danish (one of my WDW faves) and also some hot chocolate using my refillable mug. I grabbed a nice table by the window and watched the world go by for a little while.

One thing I noticed was that like magic, all Christmas decorations came down at POR overnight so I wondered if that was the case in the parks as well.

I decided to get the boat over to Disney Springs and go for a wander. It's a very relaxing ride over!

When I got to Disney Springs I spent A LOT of time at Art of Disney. I just love it in there!

Ah if only I had money and unlimited luggage space - I'd do some serious damage in there!

I went in and out of some other shops and noticed the Christmas decorations were still up in Disney Springs so I guess it must be a phased thing across WDW.

I was determined to finally have a Blaze pizza after such a great experience last year. When I got there I was faced with another long queue, but at least it wasn't as cold and wet as last time, so I decided to wait it out!

It ended up taking about 20 minutes which I suppose could have been worse. It was DEFINITELY worth the wait though - OMG these pizzas are amazing!

I built my own pizza and had a white cream sauce base, pretty much all the cheeses (I'm not kidding!) sauteed onions, garlic, spinach and tomatoes. It was perfection. Nice spot to enjoy lunch as well.

I wanted to spend the afternoon in Epcot but rather than go back to POR and get on a bus from there, I decided to get a bus to the Yacht Club and then walk over from there into the International gateway entrance.

This ended up being a great idea - the sun was out and the views were beautiful!

When I got into Epcot I spent a long while looking around the World Showcase. I love the atmosphere here! There were definitely a lot of groups "drinking around the world" but no one was loud/disruptive or rowdy.

I eventually found the last remaining Christmas decorations in Epcot just outside the USA pavillion. They had taken down all the other decorations in the park!

I had dinner at Katsura Grill and went for the chicken katsu curry which was nice. I ate outside as they had heaters which was really nice. I love the vybe here!

No visit to Epcot is complete without a visit to Karamell-Kuche so I popped in and chose something to take back to the room and eat later.

This was phenomenal!

After that I had one last ride on Soarin and decided to call it a day. Not before taking some PhotoPass pictures of course!

I bid a fond farewell to Dame Judi and did one last ride on Spaceship Earth on the way out!

When I got back to my room I noticed the "Privacy Please" sign was gone and there was a new "Room Occupied" sign.

I had read that Disney were phasing out all the "Do Not Disturb" type signs and it seems like this is now effective at POR.

My Magical Express letter had been delivered and my pickup time was 16:20 tomorrow. I couldn't believe today had been my last full day! Where does the time go?

[Goldia]

A nice chilled out day, such a shame your time at POR is coming to an end.

[stecee]

We loved our stay at POR and would love to return one day.
I'm sorry your trip is coming to an end, I've enjoyed the journey

[eleele]

My DH raved about the Danish's at POR as well, he only found out they were cheese ones after he'd eaten about five!

Blaze pizza looks amazing mmmmmm.

[Jockey]

Lovely day looking forward to trying Blaze

[unixgirl]

Loved Blaze pizza but the queues are insane. Nice idea of how to get to Epcot.

[Jaspercat10]

Great day food looks great 😁

[DisneyDreamer81]

POR looks so beautiful - definitely on my list for the future!

And having just had a salad for lunch I'm now starving and dying for a Blaze pizza! I had the white top on our last trip and it was insanely good

[Excitedx4]

I love the Krispy treats from karamell kuche we get the big slab and share it between all 4 of us for a snack credit!

[Cazzius]

How pretty is Port Orleans Riverside?! Love all the landscaping and the fact you can get a boat to Disney Springs is such a bonus.

Blaze pizza is definitely worth the wait - yours looks delicious.

I am so impressed that they tidied away almost all the decorations overnight - that is one big job!

Great photos with Spaceship Earth lit up behind you. I think the parks at night look so different from during the day.

I can't believe this was your last full day, the trip has flown by!