It's a Magical World Pt. 3

 Epcot 1/28/2021

To fit in the most glorious restaurant we found upon our arrival, we started with an early lunch at Raglan Road in Disney Springs! We arrived well before the even opened waiting at the doors. I had a pork chop in a glazed apple sauce with potatoes and it was three times the size of the pork chop from Be our Guest. I think my meal was even better than what Nathan and my mom had, but they were quite fond of their own dishes too. We were glad we decided to make Epcot a half day just to eat here, it was well worth it and if I ever come back, this is the first restaurant I'm reserving!

My amazing pork chop with an apple sauce.

When we shuttled over to Epcot to see what we missed we had a good half day to cover the rest. The other rides and attractions we saw that we missed the first time (or repeated) included:

• Reflections of China 
• Frozen Ever After
• Test Track
• Canada Far and Wide
• Mission: SPACE
• Grand Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
• Finding Nemo (Again)
  

Test Track - we look so calm with the masks and arms down. haha

I loved the China area and thought it was beautiful and watching China and Canada from 360 degrees was really cool.  The areas are particularly good for pictures too. The Mission Space ride was actually better than I thought it would be, and didn't make us sick like we feared. Mom was apprehensive but she did really great and didn't get claustrophobic or sick. It ended up being a really fascinating experience and gives you insight into what astronauts experience.

The Frozen ride is adorable and it's so perfect for little girls. I just wish the ride was a little longer! But even standing in the line was sometimes a fun experience with the rooms they've recreated from the movie. I also appreciated that each time we got in line for the ride the line was only 40 min long since it tends to get a long wait time. 

Dinner was at the San Angel Inn Restaurante in front of the Mexican temples! This may not go down as the best restaurant in Disney World, but who can say no to tacos?!? And it was really safe for  Mom and I to eat there, plus we like Mexican food. And after we ate, of course we had to go on the Three Caballeros ride again because it's so cute. Our last ride before leaving Epcot entirely was Finding Nemo again. I love that movie and I really enjoy the ride!

We also had to go buy more caramel at the Werther's store. Nathan didn't understand but the caramel is SO GOOD. If we'd had more time I may have repeated the Belle's sing a long. And the only ride we missed was the Ratatouille ride because it opens later in the year. Nathan was very sad about that since we don't know if we'll ever make it back.

To top the night off, I saw Mary Poppins and took a distanced picture with her! SQUEAL!!! All thanks to Nathan who noticed her and pointed her out to me. Too bad it was so dark that the picture with me didn't really come out, so here is one of just Mary when I was waiting to say hi to her.

Animal Kingdom 1/29/2021

This park was AMAZING! I can say it was my favorite park to visit. Part zoo, park safari, part theme park. I only wish I could have seen the live shows. Not to mention, the hours were way to short in this park from 9 AM to 5 PM. So I couldn't even see the Avatar land glow in the dark. The rides were pretty sweet though and they glowed in the dark. They were also the longest lines we faced for most of the parks. We waited an hour for the boat ride and about 35 minutes for the flying one. We loved the flying one most!

Also, being able to walk around the zoo part of the park was really making me happy. We saw some great animals, but then to end the day on the Safari ride where you feel like you're in Africa on the savanna was just an amazing experience! I know this is how Walt Disney originally imagined the Jungle Cruise, it just took some work and an entire park to achieve it. I happen to really enjoy visiting zoos and seeing wild animals in person, so both options of animal viewing really appealed to me. The zoo part I got better pictures, but the Safari ride is a better experience, albeit with all my photos being blurred from the motion of the truck. Watching giraffes with other animals was probably the most fun. And seeing a lion sunbathe up high on a rock. Oh and a baby gorilla!! He was so sweet!

The Mount Everest ride was also really fun, especially when we went backwards. It's the closest thing to the Matterhorn that they have in Florida, but it's also kind of like Big Thunder Railway. I would have ridden on it twice in a heartbeat but it was hard enough doing most of the park during their shortened hours. I also got to see the It's a Bug show which I haven't seen in years since they took it out in California. Still adorable and informative and under the cool Tree of Life. They also had a dinosaur ride and that was entertaining and feels just like Indiana Jones, except with time travel to the Jurassic world.

Nathan wasn't fond of the restaurant we ate in because he felt like the service was agonizingly too slow, which it was but COVID has caused havoc with staffing, particularly in restaurants so I didn't mind as much. It was the Yak & Yeti restaurant where I ordered a curry that was nearly so spicy I couldn't eat it. However, I found out they had a DESSERT that was egg free!!! I got to eat a slice of pie!! I was so happy. 

Since the park closed early we took the bus system to Disney Springs where we could do some last minute shopping and eating for dinner. It was mostly wandering around but it was our best food option since it was hard for me to eat outside the park, especially since our hotel was kind of lame and there was no food by it. Surprisingly, I didn't feel the need to buy gifts for my niece and nephew. Instead, I bought myself a spirit jersey (and had Nathan buy one too) since I'd always wanted one and decided to fork it out for what could be my only trip to Disney World! Too bad I didn't buy it a size smaller, but you couldn't try on anything so it was hard to tell.

 Home Again 

All things must come to an end, but at least I can say I've now been to Disney World!!! Who knows if I'll ever be able to afford another trip again.