A Day At Epcot

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…I think Epcot is SO underrated. I freaking love Epcot, y’all! There is definitely an art to managing your day here though. We’ve learned the hard way that you need to have a game plan. RIP to our 2021 feet…they will never be the same. (I am not ashamed to admit I wore my slippers this time around.)

Outfit details: ears, shirt & passport - Etsy, shorts - Amazon

If you want to drink around the world (like we did), plan to spend a good chunk of time at the World Showcase. Once you start you’d be wise to make the giant half circle, taking each country in order…more on this to come in tomorrow’s drinking around the world post. For now, just note that we decided to spend our afternoon/evening drinking around the world, which meant we needed to knock out the majority of the rides in the morning.

I nerd out over Soarin’ Around the World, y’all! This ride is such a neat experience. We started our day there, followed by Living with the Land - located in the same building. Living with the Land is a pretty lengthy ride, probably not one I’d take young children on. But, for adults…it’s a great opportunity to relax and rest your feet for a bit.

For lunch we had a reservation at the San Angel Inn Restaurante in Mexico. I had always wanted to eat here, and it did NOT disappoint. In fact, I’d say this was my favorite meal of the entire trip. Definitely make a reservation well in advance if you want to enjoy this fabulous Mexican cuisine.

After lunch we rode the boat ride located directly beside the dining area. Megan and I love a good boat ride, and we never miss the boat ride in Mexico. Speaking of boat rides, our next stop was Norway, where we rode Frozen Ever After. This is such a cute ride! Definitely one of my favorites.

Up next we hit a few nearby countries since we had already started drinking around the world in Mexico. Now…this is where the game plan I mentioned earlier, you know…the one that is so necessary, went out the window.

Epcot has a new ride, Guardians of the Galaxy, and we knew we couldn’t leave the park without experiencing it. Because this is a very popular, new ride you had to sign up in one of two virtual queues. Megan woke up at 7 am to get a spot in the first queue of the day. While she was successful, our group’s time ended up being right in the middle of our lunch reservation. So, we had a choice to make. We could wait until the one o’clock queue opened up and pray we snagged a group. OR, we could pay $14 a piece and come back at a certain time and use the lightening lane. Ultimately, we decided it was worth $14 to guarantee we got to ride. This of course, threw off our drinking around the world plans, however.

We made it to Germany, before heading across the park to ride Guardians of the Galaxy. It was not ideal from a walking perspective. But, oh my goodness this ride is so amazing. It’s unlike any ride I’ve ever ridden, and is totally worth the hoops you have to jump through. If you don’t have any reservations or aren’t on any set schedule, the queues will probably work great for you. Otherwise, I highly suggest paying the $14 to guarantee your spot. We didn’t wait long at all using the lightening lane.

After Guardians of the Galaxy, we raced back over to Italy, where we picked back up with drinking around the world. It was tight, but we just barely finished in time. We did make a brief stop in France to ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure - absolutely adorable.

We finished drinking around the world in Canada, which is where we watched the fireworks show at 9 pm. It was really spectacular. I think Magic Kingdom’s show is better, just because the castle adds a little something extra. However, Epcot certainly didn’t disappoint. Also, I screamed with joy when they played a song from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” - one of my favorite Disney movies that is sorely overlooked in all of the Disney parks.

Epcot closes after the fireworks show. So, we headed home in MUCH better condition than last time. Thank you slippers! Even though we did have to make that one detour for Guardians of the Galaxy, we did a pretty good job of avoiding as much backtracking as possible. This is KEY!

Check back tomorrow for all the drinking around the world details and tips!

-D