Epcot- Tuesday, February 18, 2025

    In spite of the fact that we come to Disney often, there are many new-ish "E-ticket" attractions that we've never done.  (We put "E-ticket" in quotes because, of course, that original ticketing system for the Magic Kingdom is long gone, but some of us old timers still use the phrase to describe the best and most in-demand attractions.)  Sometimes its because the thrill ride isn't the kind we normally ride, and sometimes its because we don't have an interest in it (like the Avatar attractions).  Sometimes it's not for lack of trying, like with the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance back in 2021.  Some of there is so much demand for these new rides that they have what's called "Virtual Queues" instead of stand-by lines at the attraction itself.  The new "Guardians of the Galaxy" ride at Epcot is one of these rides.  To get into a virtual queue, Scott had to be up before 7:00 am this morning and was sitting on the phone's app, clicking "refresh" as 7:00 hit.  He was warned by a teacher friend that the virtual queue filled up in literally 3 seconds just two weeks ago.  He was clicking away starting at 6:59, and was able to get into "Boarding Group 15" which was scheduled for a 9:11 time.

    We had a plan for breakfast that fell through.  In the past, we have ordered groceries to be delivered to the hotel, and we were expecting our breakfasts to mostly come from those.  For some unknown reason, though, Target cancelled our order as "undeliverable."  We thought about re-ordering or ordering from somewhere else, but we're not going to be here for that many days, so we're relying on Disney for breakfasts now too.

    The rest of the room got up and around so that we could leave here by 8:15 to ride the Skyliner to Epcot.  Because our boarding group for the Guardians of the Galaxy was so early, we didn't get breakfast at the hotel, but rushed to the Skyliner instead.  A long line had formed- probably the longest we would wait in all day.  Once the Skyliner opened up, the line moved pretty steadily, though it was formed in two directions-- one from our resort area and one from the Pop Century resort on the opposite side.   We transferred at the Caribbean Beach resort and came into Epcot at the International Gateway, between England and France in the World Showcase.  Daisy Duck was waiting there greeting people, and we stopped for a picture, autograph and hug.  We had gotten Abby an autograph book yesterday after her encounter with Goofy, but so far Daisy is the only one she has been willing to wait to see.  

    Scott and Emma went on ahead to get the Guardians of the Galaxy.  There was really no wait, and they circled through the empty queue area pretty fast, where Star Lord was dancing and waving to people.  The pre-show has most of the story about a stolen McGuffin that can take you back to the Big Bang or to anyplace in time or space.  The ride itself is a pretty crazy roller coaster.  It's something like Space Mountain in the sense that you are thrown around in the dark but there are a lot more stars and planets and even the Big Bang and the Moon to see.   The vehicles themselves also rotate to point you where you're supposed to be looking.  You definitely feel it when you get off and you're still dizzy. and wobbly-legged.  Because it's Guardians of the Galaxy, classic rock music plays an important role in the soundtrack.  There are several different songs that are chosen randomly to accompany the ride.  We got "Disco Inferno" by the Trammps.  The ride was was fun, but we ultimately agree with Tom Corless-- it doesn't fit into the overall feel of classic Epcot.  Maybe it tries, because this is supposed to be the pavilion for the planet Xandar, but that seems like a pretty slim excuse, especially since this replaced the Universe of Energy with its dinosaurs.

    Scott and Emma found Julie at the nearby Connections Cafe where we had arranged to meet.  Julie had looked into getting a scooter because of her knee bothering her but decided against it.  We would take a lot of sit-breaks instead.  We also learned that no place in Epcot really serves breakfast except for Starbucks and Joffrey's coffee.   Breakfast ended up being an expensive affair because of that.  Julie got herself and Emma their strawberry refreshers though and used the gift card that Scott had given her for Valentines Day to get herself a Starbucks Disney cup,  After breakfast we went to the Creations gift shop, the largest in Epcot.  Scott decided that this would be a good time to take Abby to the playground that they had seen nearby. This playground was not the new one we had seen reports of last week, but it is still relatively new and meant for kids 2-5 years old.  It ended up being Abby's favorite thing all day, and she teased to go back to it for the rest of our time here.  

    It is the last week or so of the "Festival of the Arts" and there are lots of booths and tents set up through out the park with artists selling their works.  We glanced at some very expensive looking coffee tables, including one that Julie liked with a Hundred Acre Woods scene underneath a glass top.  These really had to be seen to be believed.

    Our first ride together was Journey Into Imagination.  We thought Abby would like this one because she brought her stuffed Figment to Florida with us.  She hated it though, and got off of it in tears.  It's not that wild of a ride, but she hated the dark parts so much that she screamed.  She was sitting next to her sister Emma, but we learned that she would have to ride next to Mom for anything else that we would ride on.  Abby's fears on even the simplest rides would make this a long day.  At one point, Julie actually said that we should wait five years before coming to Disney again, but we didn't get it on camera, so we can't hold her to it.  Abby did like the interactive stuff that she could do things with after the ride, but she didn't have any interest in getting a picture and autograph with Figment when he came out.  Scott did buy Julie this year's Figment popcorn bucket.  They are quite in demand as collectibles and he is Julie's favorite.

    We made our way to the Living Seas with the Finding Nemo ride.  You ride on a clam shell (Abby was scared that it might close on her) and watch fish from the movie swimming and talking and singing through the use of projectors (Abby didn't like the dark).  The ride exists to the aquarium area,  We saw the new manatees that we had heard about,   They are here being rehabilitated after accidents.  Abby did like looking at the fish in the other tanks too, but we weren't here for long.

     Disney's new system for ride skipping is called "Lightning Lane."  It replaced the Genie Plus system that we used last time, which replaced FastPass before that.  We have to pay for Lighting Lane, but a week before your arrival, you can choose three attractions to skip the regular stand-by lines, but the skips are only good for about an hour window.  Once you use those during the day, you can try to find other attractions to add, so you can always have three.  We had Lightning Lanes for Nemo and Spaceship Earth.  Both were rather late in the morning, so by the time we used them, there wasn't a lot left.  Our third choice was the Frozen Ever After ride/  More on that below.

     So our second Lighting Lane was for Spaceship Earth, the iconic sphere at the main entrance of Epcot.  It is one of the few classic bits of Epcot that is still running, at least in the front section of the park.  It is a slow moving ride that tells the story of human history through advances in communication.  Abby hated it.  There are some dark sections of the ride that we hardly notice as adults, but she was acutely aware of them.  Her anxiety cascaded and she was crying next to Mom for much of the ride.   She collected herself pretty quickly afterwards.  Scott paid for the Memory Maker photos from Disney so any pictures that Disney photographers take of us, we get copies of, including on rides.  We probably didn't get our money's worth from that today because Abby didn't want to go to see many characters, but we did use a few opportunities to get some.  One of these was a family portrait in front of Spaceship Earth that is linked to a video that zooms out to show the whole sphere and back in again to us.

    It was after lunch time, so we made our way to the Land where we ate.  We are using the Disney Dining Plan for two meals each per day, and Julie likes eating here.  She wasn't happy with the wrap she got today, though and ended up eating part of the pepperoni roll that she bought for Scott.   Abby wolfed down her mac and cheese.

    After lunch, it was time for our third Lightning Lane-- Frozen Ever After.  Really, it's probably this ride that made us choose to come to Epcot today at all, because we hoped that Abby would be really into it.  She just had Elsa at her Frozen themed birthday party, after all.  This ride was also the reason that we paid for Lightning Lane today because it always had such tremendously long lines. It is in the Norway pavilion and used to be "Maelstrom," about Norway. Julie has ridden this, and Emma might have, but Scott hadn't ridden it since it stopped being Maelstrom in 2016.   It is a boat ride, but does include both a backwards and forwards waterfall. Abby hated this ride too because of those.   We had hoped that after the ride she would want to meet Anna and Elsa here, and we had even brought her Elsa dress and white hair for the photo, but she was not interested in it at all.  If we knew previously everything about how this day was going to go, we probably would have chosen to go to Hollywood Studios instead, where they have a Frozen sing-along show that would have been much more to her liking. 

    We waited in Noway for a little bit to let Abby calm down and let Julie's leg rest.  Emma went off on her own to explore the countries in World Showcase.  Abby did enjoy a Mickey-shaped ice cream, even though the chocolate was dropping off of it pretty fast as it melted.  

    We then went to a new attraction that sits near Spaceship Earth and the Living Seas.  It is called Moana: Journey of Water and it only opened last fall.  It is a walk through area that loosely tells the story of the water cycle.  In that sense, it fits into Epcot's original theme.  It is a water play area that give you various opportunities to interact with fountains and springs.  Abby loved this almost as much as she loved the playground.  In one of her favorite parts, streams of running water can be plucked like strings to make musical sounds.  She was very excited playing with those.

    We had new Lightning Lanes for both "Living With the Land" and "Soarin'" which are both in the Land Pavillion.  Emma rejoined us for those and we went on them as a family.  Living With the Land is similar to the old Listen to the Land, but without the catchy song and in-person narrator.  The slow boat ride takes you through landscapes and greenhouses and explains how scientists are experimenting with plant growth here.  Abby later said that she liked this boatride because she could relax.   Soarin' takes you slightly off the ground in what feels like a hang glider while showing a movie of flying over famous world landmarks.  It's one of our favorites, but not Abby's because she didn't like the clouds coming at her.

    After Soarin', Emma went back to World Showcase to explore on her own.  Dad and Mom made there way towards the International Gateway, while looking at the impressive chalk art on the sidewalks and other displays from the Festival of the Arts along the way.  Once they reached the Gateway, Julie and Abby left and took the Skyliner back to the hotel.  They got dinner there and Abby had a chance to rest a bit and have a bath before settling down to bed.

    Meanwhile, Scott caught up with Emma.  She had already had "Pithiviers de Canard et Volaille, Sauce Canard"in France, which is a puff pastry with duck, chicken, onions, mushrooms, cranberries, and duck sauce.  She said it was good, but it was a small serving because it was meant as a snack-sized portion for people sampling things at the Festival of the Arts.   When Scott texted her, she was waiting in the single rider line of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, so he waited by the fountain for her to come out.  Together, they strolled through the countries to Germany.  Scott got a König Ludwig Weissbier in a souvenir stein.  He already has a cup like it that John brought him, but it's very cool so now he has two.  The beer in it was our favorite of the night.  Emma got a frozen drink made with Bärenjäger Honey & Bourbon mixed frozen Coke.  Later, she got a piece of Black Forest cherry cake.  (It had a little too much mousse and not enough cake and no hint rum.)  They did a little shopping in the shops in Germany too, though Emma had been through it earlier.

    Emma and Dad continued through the countries, and completing the circle to Mexico, and came back across to Canada.  Scott stopped for a Moosehead Lager in Canada and drank a toast to the True North, Strong and Free.  We felt sorry for the poor Canadians who have to listen to ignorant Trumpers that come through there now with jokes about the 51st state.  Julie overheard one this morning.  It makes us ashamed to be American.  

     Earlier, Emma had listened to a band playing British rock in the UK pavilion and they were playing another set as Scott and Emma passed again, so they stopped to listen.   Scott was disappointed earlier that there was no Canadian band playing at that pavilion, but these guys were good too.  They were playing covers of the Rolling Stones and Led Zepplin.  Scott and Emma both said that it wasn't music that they'd normally listen to, but it was fun.  Scott had a Bombardier Ale from England as they listened.  They went through the shops there too, and Emma bought her mom some Jammie Dodgers.  Scott had made a bet with Emma that there would be some Doctor Who merchandise, and lost when there wasn't.  A cashier, obviously from Britain, said there was a TARDIS on display in one of the store windows, but we couldn't find it.  Scott owed Emma a drink because of this bet, so when they got to France, he got her one of the famous orange slushes, frozen drink made with Grand Marnier, rum, Grey Goose orange and orange juice.  They both agreed that it tasted just like a creamsicle and was delicious but melted fast and got you sticky.    Scott got a French Kronenbourg 1664 there for his last drink.

     Everything in the park closed at 9:00.  At that same time, the fireworks show called "Luminous" began.  Scott and Emma had found a convenient place to watch it in France, looking out over the water where the fireworks were launched from and close to the exit they would have to take.  The show is set to Disney music, of course, and is meant to describe how all of our lives pass through similar milestones, so there were a lot of songs that don't get as much attention but that mean something to us-- "You'll Be In My Heart" from Tarzan and "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2.   After the fireworks, they followed the crowd out the International Gateway.  Most of the people there were headed for the resorts nearby, and there are several large ones that are just walking distance away.  Some, like them, were headed to the Skyliner.  They took it back to the hotel, discussing whether they wanted to get a bite to eat if the restaurant was open.  It was, but they didn't.  It was after 10:00, closer to 11:00 and they decided to join Julie and Abby in the room and go to sleep.