Family Disney Trip 2017: Day 2 – Epcot

Family Disney Trip 2017: Day 2 – Epcot

Our 2nd day in Disney World was all about Epcot! I am always so taken with Spaceship Earth and how gorgeous it is and nothing beats being able to travel around the world all in one day. Experiencing so many different cultures, food, and people all while strolling hand-in-hand with my husband is what my dreams are made of.

We started off the day with me taking a zillion photos of Spaceship Earth because I just can’t help myself. We had a FastPass for Mission Space but, even though they’ve changed it since I last rode it, neither of us were really feeling it, so we decided to skip it. Our plan from the get-go was to have a leisurely day. We wandered around the Art of Disney store, grabbed an iced latte at Starbucks, hit up Club Cool for some international soda sampling, and browsed around Mouse Gear.

Our 2nd FastPass of the day was for Living with the Land, which we both really love. My husband always says he was a botanist in another life and loves all things plant-related. If you like to hunt for Hidden Mickeys, there are lots of fun ones on this ride! They even decorate some of the greenhouses for the holidays, which is so cute. (Side note: we did the Behind the Seeds tour on a previous trip together and I highly recommend it!)

Next up was a first for me and my husband – Disney Visa Character Experience. You get to meet either Mickey and Goofy or Minnie and Pluto. We reunited with my family for this so all 6 of us got to meet some of our favorites. Our niece was in her Belle dress and got to twirl around with Minnie and Pluto and had the biggest grin on her face! It was our first time getting to see her interact with characters and it was pretty fantastic.

You can get into this meet and greet (at 1:00 every day) if you are a Disney Visa cardholder. All you need to do is show your card at the door and all the photos taken are yours to download free, even if you didn’t buy the Memory Maker! The entrance is right over by the Disney Pixar Short Film Festival.

By the time we were done with Minnie and Pluto, we were starving so my husband and I headed back to the World Showcase. We had our sights set on fish & chips, so we went to Yorkshire County Fish & Chips for lunch and beers. I snagged us a table with an umbrella right by the water and it was the perfect relaxing break. I put my feet up and we just sat and sipped and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the gorgeous views

When I finally dragged myself off the chair, we just strolled. We wandered through the shops in the UK and France and got some yummy ice cream from L’Artisan des Glaces in the France pavilion. We wandered in and out of all the shops in each country, taking our time and just enjoying. We paused again for a bit in Germany to get some beers and sat by the fountain to enjoy them.

Since we wore our We Finish Each Other’s Sandwiches shirts from Once Upon Apparel, we had to go meet Anna and Elsa in Norway! Then we met back up with my family to use our final FastPass of the day for Frozen Ever After. I will admit I was pretty bummed out when Maelstrom was closed. It was never a super amazing ride in my eyes, but I enjoyed it and I preferred having a ride more geared towards the history of the country it’s in instead of a movie. That all being said, I absolutely loved Frozen Ever After. It was so cute and cheery and fun. Our niece, of course, had a blast and loved every second of it.

After Frozen, it was time for our dinner reservation at Akershus for the Princess Storybook Dinner. When you first walk in, you get to meet and have your photo taken with Belle, and our little Belle did not disappoint with her curtsey and matching dress.

Ariel, Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White walk around to each of the tables, and you know I had to get my picture taken with Ariel and Cinderella, too!

We had a few nighttime PhotoPass photos taken with the Epcot tree and an adorable little snowman with Spaceship Earth in the background as we were heading out of the park. On a whim, we checked the wait times in the Disney app and saw Soarin’ only had a 20 minute wait so we booked it on over to The Land. We got in the queue and walked and walked and walked and finally hit the end of the line only a few steps from the very front.

That little girl loved that ride SO much!!! Oh my gosh I cannot even begin to describe to you her face and her reactions but it was absolutely amazing to watch her enjoying it. When we got off the wait only said 10 minutes so we went right back on for round 2! It was the perfect end to a really fantastic day.