Our first full day in Disney World arrived and we couldn't have been more excited! We started off the morning going to breakfast at the hotel with, of course, Mickey pancakes and waffles! They had so much food to offer including eggs any way you want them, fruit, overnight oats, juices, and pastries.
I had Mickey pancakes, overnight oats, a quiche, and a chocolate chip muffin!
My dad booked our parks to line-up with the Early Magic Hours. If you don't know what that is, when you stay at a Disney Resort, you get to enter a park at 8 AM instead of the regular 9 AM. But not every park is offered every day. On this day, Epcot was open for Early Magic Hours, Friday was Magic Kingdom, and so on and so forth. With that being said, this was a pretty early day. We were outside waiting for the boat by 7:15.
The boat from the Dolphin to Epcot is about 15 minutes. It makes a stop at the BoardWalk, as well as one stop for the Yacht Club and Beach Club, before heading over to Epcot. The boat does not drop you off at the front of the park, instead it drops you off in the back in the World Showcase between England and France.
The boat ride to Epcot
The boat ride to Epcot
With the fast passes, when you fast pass a "premium" ride, you are only allowed that one fast pass. Because I wanted to go on Frozen Ever After, he was able to get that fast pass for 6 PM that night, so the rest of the day we had to wait for rides, which wasn't terrible. When you go in for the Early Magic Hours, fast pass is not available, so when we arrived the first ride we jumped on line for was Test Track. In total, I would say we waited maybe a half hour, which is way better than the two-hour wait it became later in the day.
Right after Test Track, we went over to Soarin', which is definitely not as popular as it used to be. We waited only about ten minutes, which in all fairness could have been because it was still Early Magic Hours.
Soarin' changed a lot since I last went on it five years ago. It used to be "Soarin' Over California," but now you travel across the world through Paris, Egypt, and the Arctic. My brother was disappointed that it wasn't California anymore, but I really loved it.
Inside of The Land in Future World East
Spaceship Earth
Spaceship Earth
Hanging with Nemo and friends
You're probably waiting for me to talk about the World Showcase, but since we eat in a country for dinner the night we are in Epcot, we save the countries for the night, which I love so much because nothing is better than walking around at night with all of the beautiful lights each country has to offer.
We ended up being able to go on everything, and even got to meet some characters. We waited on line for Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, and before leaving to get ready for dinner, we got to meet Princess Aurora in France and Mary Poppins in England. If time permits, I highly suggest meeting at least a few characters. Through the My Disney Experience app, you can search for character spots and the times in which the characters make appearances. The indoor locations usually run all day, but the outdoor spots are on rotations, since it gets so hot out!
Mickey in the Epcot Character Spot
Minnie in the Epcot Character Spot
Goofy in the Epcot Character Spot
Mary Poppins in England
Princess Aurora in France
One of my favorite parts of meeting characters is getting to have a different conversation with each of them. Mary Poppins is very prim and proper, and made conversation with me about my family. Princess Aurora loved my pins and told me about how she had been asking the fairies to make some for her. Every little detail in Disney World adds so much more to the magic and happiness that it brings.
Before going on this trip, I promised myself that I would try a different snack each day. This first day, I had the famous Mickey ice cream bar! The ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches can be purchased at pretty much every stand in all of the Disney parks, so this treat was extremely easy to find.
Mickey ice cream bar
That night, after going back to the hotel to get changed and ready for dinner, we headed back to Epcot for dinner and to walk around the different countries. First, we went over to Norway to meet Elsa and Anna at Royal Sommerhus, and only waited about 10 minutes at around 5:30. The queue is beautiful--you walk through a Norwegian cottage, passing paintings of the young Princess and Queen. The setting for the pictures is amazing, as well, with windows overlooking scenic landscapes.
Meet Elsa and Anna at Royal Sommerhus
Meet Elsa and Anna at Royal Sommerhus
Meet Elsa and Anna at Royal Sommerhus
Elsa and me at Meet Elsa and Anna at Royal Sommerhus
Anna and me at Meet Elsa and Anna at Royal Sommerhus
Our fast passes for Frozen Ever After were at 6:00 PM, so we scanned in at 5:55 (since you have a five-minute buffer before your time starts) and got on line. About five minutes into us waiting, there was an announcement over the speaker that "Frozen Ever After has temporarily stopped service." Okay.
Our dinner reservations weren't until 7, so we had time to wait, but were we going to waste time that could be spent walking around Mexico before dinner? After hearing the same message about seven times, and after waiting 15 minutes, we decided to get off line. So, no, I did NOT make it onto Frozen Ever After. And to answer this question if you have it: my dad checked after our fast pass window was over, and the ride wasn't running again.
Little picture of Norway!
After our Frozen fiasco, we went over to Mexico to walk around before our reservations at San Angel Inn Restaurante. One of my favorite places in all of Epcot is inside of the Mexican pyramid. There are so many little shops that feature some of the most beautiful pieces. For myself I bought a little skull, and for my boyfriend I bought a maraca. The items are always authentic and individually crafted to perfection. We also had to go on Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros, a calming boat ride through Mexico and through the restaurant we were eating at.
Mexico, World Showcase, Epcot
Mexico, World Showcase, Epcot
Mexico, World Showcase, Epcot
The cute shops inside of the temple!
The skull I got from one of the stands! Everything in Mexico is this beautiful! If I could've afforded it I think I would've bought everything!!
What I love about the San Angel Inn Restaurante is the amazing VIEW!! You feel as though you are in the middle of a village, as you overlook the indoor pyramid. There's the music of a mariachi band playing, and authentic Mexican food, making you feel like you're in the restaurant it is modeled after, dating back to the 1600s.
The view while you're eating!
The view while you're eating!
The view while you're eating!
The restaurant is pretty dark, so I don't have many pictures of the food, but I have a few that I'll post below. Instead of bread like other places, they give each table a basket of the best tortilla chips, alongside their famous salsas. If you fancy appetizers, to name a few they have queso, shrimp cocktail, guacamole (to go with the chips), and a caesar salad. An interesting fact about the salad, is apparently the real San Angel Inn is where the caesar salad was first created. Pretty crazy!
I had the caesar, and it was delicious! It was perfectly dressed and the anchovies gave such a nice flavor to it. Anyone else think most places should put anchovies on their caesars like they're supposed to?!
The caesar salad!
They have a lot of different choices for dinner, including tacos, salads, salmon, chicken, pork--you name it! I had the Pollo a Las Rajas, which was chicken serves over garlic potatoes, onions, red peppers, corn, and a poblano cream sauce and queso fresco. It was so comforting!! If you're looking for something not as filling, the entree salads are pretty light, and so are the tacos, because you don't have to eat all of the sides that they come with!
The pollo a las rajas!
They have so many desserts to choose from, including flan, dulce de leche, nieves, mousse de chocolate, and pastel de queso con cajeta. While all of it sounded amazing, I was saving my dessert for a treat in another country while walking around. I saw a lot of people order the flan and boy did it tempt me.
Overall, I'd give this restaurant an 8/10. The ambience, the staff, and the food were all amazing. The reason why I'm giving it an 8 is because it wasn't the best meal I have ever had, but it is definitely worth the visit the next time you're in Epcot!
Since we already visited Norway, we went right over to China, but only to take some great pictures. One of my favorite parts of all of the countries is the accurate architecture. China, being no exception, was colorful and architecturally perfect.
China
China
China
Next up was Germany. When we walked up, we immediately saw Snow White meeting guests at her wishing well. Germany was another beautiful part. Flowers were blooming, music was playing, and it looked even more pretty during that time of day. I went into one of the shops and ended up buying my boyfriend brandy-filled chocolates. The packaging was adorable, and he said he wasn't going to open it for that reason, but he loves food so he couldn't resist and had to try one. I'll just say that he says it's one of the best liquor-filled items he has ever had.
Snow White at her wishing well in Germany!
Isn't Germany beautiful?!
I snapped this next picture while walking from Germany to Italy because it was too perfect to not capture it!
View of Epcot!
So, you guessed it, Italy was next. At a little stand, they had gelato and cocktails, so I opted for a Peach Bellini. I know, you're probably wondering why I didn't go for the gelato, but earlier that day when I was waiting to meet Princess Aurora, my dad found this little French ice cream parlor that he thought looked incredible, so that was our plan for dessert.
Back to the Peach Bellini, the ratio between the ingredients was perfetto! It was a shame I loved it so much that I chugged it!
Peach Bellini was delizioso!
My boyfriend's family is Italian. His mom is half, and his dad was born in Sicily. In the shop, I picked his parents up some packed espresso, because between all of them I think they must drink five (or even more!) espressos a day!
All of the countries had gorgeous handmade goods to take home and I wanted everything everywhere. However, in Italy, there was something about those items that really caught my eye. They sold the most beautiful ceramic olive oil bottles, but they were a little more on the pricier side. They also had little plates and wall hangings, but I fell in love with the creamer!! So many different colors to choose from, and I always stick with green since it's my favorite! For the wondering the price, it was $30!
Italy!
Fontana di Nettuno (Fountain of Neptune) in Italy
More Italy!
The creamer from Italy!
Japan was next! For those who know me, you know that it is a big dream of mine to go to Japan. Studio Ghibli movies are some of my favorites, and I still play Pokemon Go with my friends on a weekly basis. The store in Japan had those things and way more available. Since I can get a lot of the themed things at home, I decided to buy myself chopsticks and a maneki-neko, or "beckoning cat."
This was also where I decided to get my boyfriend's brother and sister a little something! I got his brother a bag of Hi-Chew-type candies (they sold Hi-Chew there but I opted for one I have never seen at home), and I got his sister Koala's March (which you actually can buy at home.... oops!). They both loved them!
It was pretty late by the time we got to Japan, so my pictures are a little dark!
Japan!
Japan!
Japan!
Even more Japan!
From there we went straight to France because it was getting late and we wanted ice cream. France is another beautiful spot in Epcot! Very quaint and somewhat private, it's a beautiful spot to slip away to when the World Showcase is bustling.
France!
France!
The ice cream parlor we went to was L'Artisan des Glaces and my, oh, my. May have been the best ice cream I have ever had. I got a double scoop in a waffle cone with coffee ice cream and a flavor I can't remember and it's not on the Disney website, but I'm pretty sure it had fudge and caramelized peanuts? I wish I could remember because it was out of this world! So creamy, so flavorful, and scooped perfectly.
My ice cream is making my mouth water as I'm writing this!
Pardon the blur, but I still love this picture!!
Since we went to England earlier that day, I only walked back to take some pictures, but since it's dark, the pictures don't really do it justice with how beautiful it really is.
United Kingdom!
United Kingdom!
United Kingdom!
Since it was 9 o'clock already, we had to stay for the fireworks! "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" is a pyrotechnic show on the World Showcase Lagoon. To get the best view of the show, I recommend standing between France and England on that bridge. You get the perfect view of most of the countries and the performance itself.
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
As you can probably tell, we had a pretty busy first full day in Disney, but it was so worth it! With how well this day went, we knew the rest of the trip was going to be just as incredible.
Check back soon for our second full day and to find out which park came next!
Until next time!
CLINK!!
Jordan xx
CLINK!!
Jordan xx
