It's a Magical World Pt. 2

Epcot 1/26/2021

I'm so jealous I drew the best mask ever for my mom. It was better than any I made for myself.

After first entering Epcot, I was afraid I was going to be bored. The entry leaves a lot to be desired.... a couple shops, a giant globe which has a cute but antiquated ride about riding through history. And I was worried about what the rest would be like! I was quickly proven wrong when the very next stop was the Finding Nemo ride, one of my favorite Pixar movies. The ride was the above ground version of the submarine ride at Disneyland - so obviously I loved it. After this we went on the ecosystem/gardening/farming ride which was actually really interesting to ride and learn about cultivating plants. It made me want to garden! We also had to go on Soarin' since it's one of my mom's  top favorite rides. And it was sooooo nice having short lines for everything.

I nearly died of happiness as we headed to the Britain area and Nathan pointed towards a shop window. There, perched on a display was the pair of Minnie Ears that I had long passed off as a fabrication since I could not find them for sale on ANY site, or even pictures of them on Google! With their blue and white flowers and UK themed bow, I tore around the building to search for the entrance! I laughed at myself later to find out I went the LONG way around the building because we had just passed the only allowed entrance (travel directions due to COVID.) I bought those ears so fast and wore them the rest of the day and took many, many selfies!

We ate at the Rose & Crown and we all had the shepherd's pie, with various allergen options. Nathan had the normal version, mom's was gluten free, and mine was egg free! Mom's and mine were impossible meat, and it was pretty good. I could not really tell it was vegan by taste, only the texture and greasy-ness was different, but both a plus for me. 

We continued our tour around the world taking photos with fine art pop-ups where you can insert yourself into a famous painting. 

The Scream and the Mona Lisa

We also went on the following rides:

• Spaceship Earth (the one in the giant globe/golf ball)
  
• Living with the Land
• The Seas with Nemo (mentioned before)
• Soarin' Around the World
• Journey into Imagination
• Frozen Ever After
• Grand Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
• Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along.
  

Living with the Land was fascinating and fun for adults. Journey into Imagination was adorable and I thought it got better the longer the ride went on. Mom and I LOVED the the Beauty and the Beast sing-along and we were definitely some of the loudest in the theater singing our hearts out. There were just a couple rides we missed the first day and decided to hit on Thursday when we came back.

I definitely feel like this park really appeals to adults and I could see my dad loving it here. mom and I were obsessed with the Werther's store and bought fresh caramels and other treats. So the German land was a big hit for us Germans, haha.

We loved the Three Caballeros ride so much we decided to book a reservation on Thursday for the Mexican restaurant inside as well! It's easy for us to eat with our dietary needs and the atmosphere was just amazing in front of the Aztec temples so we knew we had to come back.

Magic Kingdom 1/27/2021

Magic Kingdom is amazing but not better than Disneyland in my opinion. However, what they got better than Disneyland are the Winnie the Pooh ride, Little Mermaid ride, and the Be Our Guest restaurant. Other than these 2 rides, I felt like the ones in Disneyland were better - usually because they shortened them in Orlando or  removed a scene. The land of Magic Kingdom itself is pretty freaking magical though! That castle was amazing and I was so excited to take pictures in front of it and see the mosaics. 

I was equally excited for our lunchtime reservations at Be Our Guest restaurant. True to it's French form, all the portions were smaller but delectable. I even got a dessert!!! I'm always allergic so that alone was mind-blowing. It was also fun how the Beast came out every few minutes to waive to all of the guests at his castle. They have 2 eating rooms and we were in the ballroom not the west wing. I had the pork chop and it was so good I thought nothing would top it (until I ate the Raglan the next day.)

The new stuff I hadn't seen before included:

• Country Bear Jamboree
• Seven Dwarfs mine Train
• Haunted Mansion (similar but different)
• Swiss Family Treehouse (I didn't see it in Disneyland before it changed to Tarzan)

Nathan particularly wanted me to see the Country Bears since I'd only heard of it, but it did cause us to miss Splash Mountain when we ran out of time for the day. They've announced a new design for Splash Mountain, so Nathan has been worried about seeing it before it's closed to be changed - but I think we still have time to see it again, hopefully at Disneyland.

After everything, I think this park is my third favorite after Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, but still should not be missed. There is Disney magic aplenty - it's just nice having most of that magic closer to my home.