More Splitsville than Nashville - April 2017 - Day 9 - Epcot and a failed evening out

[Redrach1903]

Day 8 is here

Friday 21st April

So here we are, over half way through the holiday already. I hate this feeling. I always try to make myself feel better by counting on my fingers how many full days we have left and tell myself “its ok, we still have all of today, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday”. It always starts to speed up at this point though and there’s nothing you can do to stop it

Anyway, on with today. I was up at 6.45am and left Chris sleeping. I went to go and make myself tea and Chris’s coffee. I realised that he had made his coffee yesterday without using a filter. DOH! So I had the fun job of cleaning the basket out. Rascal that he is!

I sat outside with my tea and video called my sister and spoke to her & Abi for ages She was playing with her new bubble machine and loving life haha! I really missed her!



Chris got up at 7.45 and we both got ready for the day ahead. I chucked on a load of laundry before we left too. At 9.05 we were on our way to Epcot and it was another beautiful morning and already hot hot hot. We saw a woman crossing the 192 in a leather jacket On our way Chris recited what Epcot stands for. So proud We arrived at 9.20.



We parked in Discovery 12 and walked to the entrance. You know, cos it was right there! We couldn’t believe the amount of people waiting for a tram. Lazy toads! Haha!





Nope, wont be needing you!





Who doesn’t love a Monorail snap at Epcot?







The security area looked pretty busy, but it moved quickly and we were soon through!



I took yet another #usanumberone photo for Helen!





We got some Photo Passes done!









And then took some of our own photos. Cos one can never have too many Spaceship Earth photos. Am I right?











Our first FP was for Spaceship itself, so off we went! I do have a lot of love for this ride, it’s so nostalgic for me!





Spaceship Earth selfie



We were happy to see the screens working again this year, so we do have a future after all! Although Chris seems to have grown a horn out the side of his head









We were in need of some breakfast now and I suggested we tried Sunshine Seasons in The Land. I have read many a good review, so off we went through a particularly beautiful looking Epcot. Just look at that blue sky!





FIGMENT! I heart Figment





I peeked in at the queues for Baymax and Joy/Sadness, but it looked uber busy. Bah!





Blurry Land photo!





We surveyed the options….



Chris asked for the adult platter, but he didn’t want French toast or potatoes. The CM seemed confused by this and decided to just dish him out 3 individual plates (1 for bacon, 1 for sausage and 1 for scrambled eggs) I ordered the bacon cinnamon French toast with bacon. Look at alllllll the food!



To drink I had a Minute Maid and Chris had a coffee. I like the new cups!



It was all very very tasty! The total was $23.26. A big thumbs up for Sunshine Seasons for us!

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[Redrach1903]

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Next up we had a Fast Pass for Nemo. Cos what else are you meant to use your third FP on in Epcot? Damn that tier system! On the way we saw this funky little motor!



WE’RE POLLINATORS! You must sing that in It’s Tough to be a Bug style





He’s gonna touch the butt!



The ride was cute as ever, I much prefer it to The Little Mermaid one! Here’s a wee video. You’re welcome! I like Peach at the end



After that we did our usual Turtle Talk with Crush. We never miss this as its always different depending on the questions the kids come up with! As we were waiting to enter we had a look at the jelly fish. This one looked smiley Tee hee!





Soon enough we were allowed into the theatre. We were sat next to a Dad with a kid who was probably around 2? Said kid clearly didn’t want to be there and cried/whinged through the whole thing. Why the Dad didn’t leave is beyond me. Talk about selfish parenting! Anyway, whiny kids aside, it was funny as ever When we have kids they are going to be well prepped for this attraction haha!



After our sea filled adventures we headed over to Mouse Gears for a nosey. This is one of our favourite stores on property! But first I had to stop and wait for the Monorail to pass









This is what I would look like in a tutu if I lived in America





Ah yes! Mouse Gear! That’s where we were going! I am so easily distracted! Haha!



We had a good nosey around and I bought myself a Spaceship Earth/Monorail Pandora Charm ($63.90 inc tax) and a hooded zip up top which I adore ($58.57 incl tax). It has Minnie bows on the elbows! Chris bought himself a cute Stitch t-shirt which you will see a bit later.







We then walked through the Butterfly garden (FAR. TOO. HOT) back towards The Land as it was time for our Soarin' Around the World FP.





Looks like we stopped for a drink.



And we also saw these guys doing their thing, whoever they may be?





Disney ducklings!



I was very excited for the new Soarin’. We had just missed it reopening last year!







I was very happy to see Patrick still features! Wouldn’t be Soarin’ without him right?



We asked for row 1 which meant a wee bit of a longer wait, but it was worth it to not have dangly feet in front of us! So was it good? YES! We both thought it was fab. The transitions are SO much better now, they don't just bluntly cut to the next scene like the old version and I loved seeing all the famous landmarks around the world. It really was very enjoyable and I wanted to do it again! Unfortunately the SB queue had other ideas, so we left!

We went and grabbed some free water (doing it like pros now) and then had a nice gentle stroll round towards the World Showcase.



Damn Epcot, you are beautiful.



I wanted to get a frozen violet lemonade as I had really enjoyed it last year! The CM serving me said she loved my top While I was getting that, Chris was stood with the camera waiting for the Monorail to appear. Good lad!











Violet lemonade mission complete









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[Redrach1903]

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We then got some Photo Pass pics taken. These are some of my favourites from the entire holiday!







We then got some photos down by the lagoon. It was totally empty! So nice

















We continued walking around the WS. I spotted this complete and utter maniac in a HOODY! Christ on a bike man, it was roasting!







SMILE BABE! Hahaha!





Just noticed the couple on the bench in this photo. Looks like a “moment”. Maybe I captured the beginnings of a proposal?



Chris stopped to look at his beloved trains again!



I got some better photos of these topiaries since Snow White looked decidedly blue the other night!







Pretty Italy.





And then we were in America. Again. America in America?



I realised that we had never actually looked in the American Pavilion's gift shop (say what?!), so that had to be rectified! A #usanumber1 photo obviously had to be taken in here and sent off to Helen There was lots of merchandise relating to all of the Presidents of the USA. No prizes for guessing which one was nowhere to be seen!



Chris’s game continued as he took my #usanumberone pic!





I spotted a really cute top and had to have it. As I took it up to the counter the CM said "Now that is a fine piece of American apparel right there" haha! He was funny. Here’s the top. Excuse the creases….





There were loads of hidden easter eggs all over the WS. Must have been a game for kids. Cute!





In China I spotted Frushi on the menu at the F&G booth and was straight in about as I’d read about it on the Disney Food Blog. The CM complimented Chris's mini pin collection and he was chuffed!



My frushi was quite nice, but nothing spectacular.

We carried on walking a bit further, not really doing anything, just enjoying the walk and taking photos.







There were no other snacks jumping out at us, so we decided to try and get a drink in the Rose & Crown. Only because I wanted to see how it was themed! It was totally rammed though, so we bailed. I can confirm though, that it is nothing like the pubs back home cos you know, it didn't smell like stale beer and stuff...





At around 2.30pm we decided to head for the exit. We had a lovely morning and early afternoon at Epcot. I know not everyone likes it cos there aren’t that many rides compared to the other parks, but it’s just a lovely park to have a stroll around on a nice sunny day Having said that, there are parts of the park that need an overhaul. I hear Ellen’s Universe of Energy is being turned into a new Guardians of the Galaxy ride though, so that will be a welcome addition to the park.



Failed butterfly 3D photo thingy.



Bye bye Epcot!











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[Redrach1903]

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We debated going to Grand Floridian to rent a boat, but I said I’d prefer to head back for a dip in the pool as it was hot hot hot. 35 degrees that afternoon. I got Chris to take a photo of the temperature…..





We thought the temperature would come down as we drove home, but nope. It was up to 37 degrees by the time we got on to the 192! We were NOT expecting tempertures like that in April. In fact I don’t think we’ve ever seen it that hot in May!



Oh and of course he did this again. Such a cheeky monkey!



We were both feeling a bit peckish, so we decided to try Wendy’s. I had heard good things about their burgers.





We both ordered Dave’s (who’s Dave by the way?) single burger combos with diet cokes. I of course asked for mine without cheese! The total was $15.03.



We were back at Sunset Lakes by 3 and we saw Ricky was out to play again







We sat down to eat our Wendy’s meal. I can confirm that they are indeed good burgers! Yum! We didn’t think much of the fries though.



After our food we gave Hanne a quick FaceTime to see how she was and were happy to see that she was doing really well I then called my Dad while Chris got set up for some more fishing! He finally caught a fish! Woohoo! It ripped the hook right off the line though, so the poor thing is now stuck with a hook in its mouth He soon caught another one and shouted me over to see it.



He set about getting the hook out so he could release it, but it was really stuck in there and he didn't have any tools to help get it out. It had a spiky back too, so he couldn’t hold on to it properly. I ran in to get a tea towel so he could use that. I was worried it was going to die!





He couldn’t get the hook out though and poor little fishy was running out of breath, so he just cut the line and threw it back in! So there are now 2 fish with hooks stuck in their mouths in Sunset Lakes!

We spent the next couple of hours playing in the pool and then got ready for the evening. We both wore our new Stitch tops. Losers



We left around 7pm and wanted to go and check out Old Town Kissimmee.



However, we were forgetting it was a Friday night, so it was absolutely rammed! We circled for a while trying to find a car parking space, but had no joy. Not gonna lie though, we were kind of relieved as it seemed a bit like Hicksville . There were loads of locals out and already totally smashed! I think it was a lucky escape. We would like to go check it out some other time though, during the week! Haha!

So with that plan foiled we decided to head further down the 192 and have a nosey around the Super Walmart. It was now 7.40pm and still 30 degrees



Chris bought some wee fishing pliers to avoid any further hook incidents and we grabbed some more bottles of water. Not a very exciting shopping trip haha!

I needed the loo before we left and came out to find Chris like this. He is such a sucker for these game machines! He didn’t win though. Shocker eh?



We left around 8.30pm and Chris was verging on hangry. We couldn’t agree on where to eat, so we decided to just stop at the next place we saw. It was a Longhorn. Yay. But not yay for long. It was chocca and there was a 50 minute wait time. Sake! We decided everywhere else would probably be the same, so we opted for grabbing a Dominoes and heading back to the villa!



We each ordered a medium build your own and were charged $12.89. Now I know that take away pizza is cheaper in the states, but this didn’t seem right. We even said “are you sure?” and he said yes. Ok then…..

We stood and waited and soon enough is became apparent that they guy had only put through one of the pizzas, hence the cheapness! We explained that we had ordered two and had to wait another 15 minutes for it. They didn’t charge us for it in the end, so happy days!

We got home about 9.30pm and tucked into the pizzas. Yum! I couldn’t finish mine though, as usual. Chris had no such trouble haha!

I thought this box was funny! IT’S A CULINARY CONUNDRUM!



Chris’s pizza:



My (blurry) pizza:



It was still very warm, so we sat outside with a drink and played some cards. We played Rummy and Trumphs and I won both At one point the sprinklers came on at the side of the house which was right behind Chris and he about hit the roof! It was so funny! I don’t know what he thought it was, but he got a fair old fright! Lols for days! Hehehe! We finished our drinks and headed off to bed about 11pm.

Steps today -13,833 (6.03 miles)

Tomorrow we go shopping and we finally get to experience California Grill

Thanks for reading x

Day 10 is here

[Excited6910]

Another fab day! Love the new tops thanks for sharing

[disneytrio]

A lovely day, I could happily stroll around Epcot and not go on any rides, just love it there.

[DISNEYLIZ]

Great photos, love the tops. Sounds like very hot weather

[Floridaagogo]

My son loves Wendy's and would eat there every day ! Fab report x

[Zomax25]

What a lovely day! I love wondering about Walmart. Last year my parents had the kids for the evening. We had a lovely steak and then spent an hour in Super Target :-P

[MrsSilverStar]

So many beautiful photos Sounds like a lovely chilled day.