April 2012: Epcot Center

After interrupted attempts to stream General Conference on our Saturday drive down, we were pleased that Adam and Papa were able to work out a system that allowed us to watch the Sunday sessions at the condos. Using iPhone hot spots and Roku, we accessed the Mormon Channel and enjoyed conference.


Monday, it was time to immerse ourselves in the Disney adventure. Using some iPhone apps, we took advantage of some forecasting tools and saw that Epcot was expected to have manageable crowds that day, so that is where we began. 


We had a GREAT system. Lots of iPhone users were frequently checking fast pass availability and length of lines, planning our next move. Spencer was tall enough for all the big rides, and Emma was tall enough for all but the most extreme. She is quite the thrill seeker, we have discovered. John was young enough that we could flash his cute presence and get a child swap card at all the big rides, which enabled 3 additional people to take an extra ride. We had runners collecting fast passes, capitalizing on all the perks of doing Disney in a big group.

Here is a group shot in front of the Epcot globe. 

L to R: Celeste, Joel, Sarah, Spencer (behind), Adam, John (stroller), Marie, Emma, Trina, Mom

*Not pictured are Dad and Dan. Dan was flying in that day from his home in Austin (joined up with us at Epcot), and Dad was taking the picture if I remember correctly. 

Here's a cute group of people waiting in line. It was humid and sunny, but we kept the water and the snacks coming so as to stay ahead of any crankiness. 

(L to R: Papa, Celeste, Sarah, Spencer, Joel, Adam)

List of Rides and Attractions we enjoyed: 

*Mission: Space - Spencer's favorite. Funny moment when Adam forgot to press the hyper sleep button and the computer had to override.

*Mission Control game - Dan, Spencer, Joel, and I had a great time playing this later in the day after riding Mission: Space for the...third time, maybe?

*Test Track - Emma LOVED this ride. She is not a fan of the heat test the car goes through, but LOVES the speedy parts.

*Spaceship Earth - A classic. The kids loved that at the end there is a short animated video about a topic of your choice. It's jib jab style and has the faces of the riders superimposed on the figures from the future.

*Maelstrom - We have strong ties to our Norwegian roots. Dad always manages to impress the workers in Norway with his mission Norwegian, which is good fun. This is an all-time favorite ride.

*Turtle Talk with Crush - Hilarious! What a fantastic show!

*The Land - Sort of random, but informative. 

*The Seas with Nemo and Friends - We thought we were getting in line to go see the aquarium and ended up on the Finding Nemo ride. Not worth the wait, but fun (and cool) nonetheless. The aquarium afterward was fantastic. Sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, and lots of "fsh!"  John was excited. 

*Singing group in the America building - This was a fun highlight. The dome in the building had great acoustics. Prior to the arrival of the singing group, John and Emma were keeping the crowd entertained by running and dancing around the room.

*Ellen's Energy Adventure - Funny at times. A tour through the land of the dinosaurs to see where fossil fuels originated. 

*Living with the Land - A total highlight. This was a slow-moving boat ride through hydroponic gardens and other environments. It was fun to see science at work and see what types of plants were able to grow in the most extreme and unusual of environments. 

*Illuminations: Reflections of Earth - We waited until the park was to close and had our spot staked out for the evening show. It was a little lack luster. There was a random globe that came out onto the water and projected images. Adam's takeaway is that Africa looked like it was on fire. 


**Insider's tip: we got some Mexican food and were having trouble finding seating together during the dinner hour rush until a member of dining staff told us about seating available on top of the Aztez pyramid. It was virtually empty, and we had a lovely family dinner up there. 

John loved looking at the sea life while we were waiting for "Turtle Talk with Crush." "Fsh! Fsh!" he kept pointing and saying. 

We held up the group in order to get this shot, but I'm sure glad we did. A little piece of Disney magic recorded for the ages. (Note that Emma is wearing her "Minnie" dress. You'll see it again...and again. Thankfully, the condo had a washer/dryer.)

Love my hubby for taking us to enjoy the magical world of Disney.