Our Disney Trip (Day Four): Epcot

Two days at Magic Kingdom, we had were looking forward to branching out. Time for Epcot. Epcot is the one park that Tony looked forward to the most, while I probably cared about this one the least. While there are certainly rides like the Test Track that I was looking forward to, the World Showcase bores me a little. Call me uncultured, but it reminds me of a well-done craft show displaying various cultures. But more on that later.

Tony and I hit our stride by Epcot. We knew that Test Track and Soarin were the two attractions that were a priority. We needed fast passes for both of them. Much to Tony's chagrin, we took the time to meet and greet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. While we had already seen Mickey and Minnie, the others had been oddly absent and we had the opportunity to greet them at one location.

Epcot is made up of a lot of attractions, rather than rides, so I was concerned that the kids would be bored. But once we started going to the various exhibits, I realized that maybe I like Epcot more than I initially remembered liking it in the past. Spaceship Earth, which is the "silver golf ball" according to Elise, still proved to be one of my favorites. Adam thought it was pretty amazing, too.  Mission Space was one of the few rides Elise wasn't tall enough to ride. Adam and I rode the less intense green version while Tony waited nearby with her. When it was Tony's turn to ride (Adam rode again), they opted for the red intense journey. For a few hours, Tony's equilibrium was off.  It is truly an amazing space simulator ride. When our fast passes were available we rode Soarin. Maybe I had heard too many "amazing" things about the ride, but I found it to be disappointing. You were supposed to feel like you are hang gliding but to me it felt like a glorified Chevy Show experience from the old Six Flags days.  Elise loved it and she would tell you that it was one of her favorite rides.

Tony really wanted to experience the Universe of Energy attraction "Ellen's Energy Adventure". I was rather surprised that he wanted to spend 45 minutes on this ride/movie since we had so much to do and only one day to do it. I remembered it being pretty lame. I was right, and I think Tony agreed with me that it was an hour we could have used elsewhere. One show I really wanted to see was Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, but again, we had to pick and choose and this was not going to work for us that day. How much I wish we had seen it instead of Ellen's adventure.

We made our way toward the The Seas with Nemo & Friends since we were having dinner at the Coral Reef  restaurant. We rode a 'clamobile' through a Nemo ride and then decided to attend the Turtle Talk with Crush show. All the children sat up front on the floor, while the adults hung back on the bleachers. Initially, I was indifferent about the show, not being a huge Crush fan. But now? I will tell you that it was one of my favorite shows of the week. It was interactive with the kids and it kept the adults in stitches. When the show ended, all the parents worked their way to the front to retrieve their kids. The dad sitting next to me tried to bully his way past me "Excuse me. I'm trying to reach my children. We are separated from them. They're down in front." Silently, I motioned him past me, but inwardly "Hey dumb ass...we ALL have to get our kids." I"m just saying...

Dinner was in at the Coral Reef, a restaurant surrounded by a giant aquarium. The food was limited--mainly seafood, ironically, but the ambiance was cool. There were plenty of seats not in sight of the aquarium, so Tony asked to be seated next to it if at all possible. Without adding to our wait, we were. A sting ray must have found us fascinating creatures because he parked himself at the bottom of the tank and hung out with us while we ate.

It was after dinner that we finally made our way to World Showcase, which I said earlier is certainly not my favorite area. And starting out as the temperatures are dropping and I'm already tired (and full from dinner) was excruciating. I was exhausted. Plain and simple. Take away my sleep disorder, I still would have been tired. Three solid days of walking, coupled with the late nights, I was crabby. Crabby, crabby, crabby. I was tired of walking, tired of shopping, and the exhibits didn't hold much interest for me. Get the picture? I don't remember if it was at Epcot but there was one moment where I was getting disproportionately upset about something and yelled at Tony. Even as my naggy, whiny voice was projecting, I was thinking "Man, I sound like a bitch." Definitely over stimulated and over exerted. I joked with my sisters and one friend that my kids literally could not have been better behaved, but I was the one having melt-downs. At one point I sat on a bench and told my family to come back to get me.  A self-imposed time out. This was one day I was ready to see end.