Our third day was spent Soarin through Epcot, what has become another of our favorites. We had a late morning and got there in time for lunch. As soon as we got in the gates, Chad and Claudia made a bee line for fast passes to Soarin. Cooper and I just hung out waiting for them. One thing I love about Epcot is we all tend to stay together. We had lunch at the Lotus Blossom Cafe' and it was yummy. We ran into some friends from a neighboring town. Always neat to run into someone you know so far from home. This day brought us a great surprise!
Going to Disney in the spring means Epcot Flower and Garden Show. There are beautiful character topiaries all over the park.
This year we discovered a ride we have not experienced before, Mission Space. I just loved it!
After one of our rides on Test Track, we stopped for a little rest and played with these cool things that carry your voice from one seat to another. While there, I discovered my phone was MIA. I ran back to Test Track and the wonderful Disney cast members had already found it and were holding it for me. Disney is just the best!
As part of our Disney Rewards package, we get to have a more intimate meet and greet at Epcot and we get a free 5x7 from the experience. This is the first year we have taken advantage of this offer but it will not be the last. There was no wait and there was no rush. We love the picture we ended up with. I love this first picture because Claudia and Minnie both look so thrilled to see each other! Like long-lost friends!
Cooper is really crazy about Goofy, Pluto, and Donald. We even bought him a big statue of Donald that is technically to go in your garden but we got it for his room. We had it secretively delivered to our room and we saved it for his birthday after we got home. Moving on...he was so happy it was Goofy who was there with Minnie. One thing about this meet/greet is you do not know who will be waiting on you until you go through the curtains. Goofy was hiding at first and surprised us.
Minnie tried hard to get a kiss from Cooper but he played shy and ran from her.
Claudia was not shy with her love that day...
Inside the same pavilion as the meet/greet is a fire safety presentation and interactive game. Cooper pretended to nap on the bed. We played the interactive game where you search for fire hazards in a house and compete with another team. It was fun and very educational for the kids.
While we played around with the fire stations, this is what Chad did...
As we were getting ready to go to dinner, Ryan started texting me asking what we were doing, where we were eating, etc. I was not the least bit suspicious, just figured he was wishing he was with us and wanted to know what was going on. While we were having dinner, he sent me a picture of Gracie sitting next to the Coral Reef sign. We were thrilled and surprised. They had driven over to spend the evening with us. The kids were ready to wrap up dinner when they found out she was waiting on them.
Claudia and Cooper both got make your own sundaes. Cooper had so much fun making his and didn't eat a bite.
Then we went outside and waited for them to head back our way.
And everyone was happy, especially these 3, when we were together again!
We had another set of FP to Soarin and since Ryan had never ridden it and I'd rather be with Amy & Gracie than riding any ride, I gave him my ticket and we went to get our picture from the meet/greet. I really loved these topiaries...
We ran upon these Toy Story undies out in the middle of the park. I figured, you gotta do what you gotta do, Disney or not...
This huge spot was open for pictures and two photo pass peeps were hanging out with no one to photograph. I called Chad and asked them to book it our way so we could get a group shot.
When they got to us, they had collected Pam, Tammy, and Abbie along the way!
A sweet family and although she isn't showing in this picture, Lily Grace was already on the way.
Not surprising that Cooper thought he needed to be part of their family as well...
Off we go...
Shortly after heading off, most of the group went to ride Test Track again. Ryan, Amy, Gracie, and I went to the Mexico pavilion and soaked in a little culture.
Ryan introduced me to Spaceship Earth, another ride I have not been on at Epcot. It was also something a pregnant Amy could ride. I thought it was great. I love history and seeing how things were in the past so this was just for me. This is one of the pics it shows you of you in the future. So cool...
Sweet Gracie with her daddy in the car in front of us...
The little mommy carrying Gracie to the bus. Ryan had kept his parking pass that I got for him on the first day and they had parked at All Star Sports and ridden the bus over to Epcot. I was thrilled to find out they would be with us all the way back to the hotel.
They even came in and gave Gracie her bath so she could go right to bed when they got home. Needless to say, Claudia and Cooper loved having her there and we were all sad when it was time for them to go home.
The final farewell in the parking lot was quite sad this time around because we knew we wouldn't see them again. Little did we know God would move them back here in August. I will always remember being surprised at Epcot and how much it added to our day.
No comments:
Post a Comment