Day Seven: Epcot (again)

Now that the week is pretty much over and before I start writing about what we did today, I just want to make it very clear that I am exhausted! My feet and legs are really sore and I feel like every time I walk outside I am drenched in sweat. My sweat! Every morning the window of our hotel room is covered with condensation because it is so humid here! It looks like it rained every night and who knows? Maybe it did. I wouldn't know because when it is bedtime, I just fall into bed and go right to sleep. I don't remember the last time I slept this well. One morning on our way to the car, we saw a rabbit sitting in the grass, eating. It wasn't afraid of us and we got very close before it hopped away. Now, when we go to the car, Kierra calls for the rabbit and is upset that he doesn't appear. At least it is a way for us to coax her out of the room and out to the car for another fun filled day!

Seemingly in an attempt to prove wrong all the skeptics that say you never get anything free from Disney, we have had Disney castmembers give us stickers almost nonstop. At times it has felt like we couldn't approach a castmember, even to ask the time, without being given stickers. Well as you see here, Janica had too many stickers and too much time on her hands and put both to very good use! In case you can't tell, they are on her arms, legs, hands and stomach. Yes, very good use.



So today, as I promised yesterday, we went to Epcot. We had lunch reservations at the Biergarten in the Germany pavillion, so we decided to work our way around the World Showcase until lunchtime, and then decide from there. It made more sense for us to walk clockwise, which meant we started in Mexico. Here are some pictures from around the "World."

Mexico


Norway

China


Outpost to take a break and play some drums

Finally we were at Germany and it was time for lunch! I was really excited to eat at the Biergarten because so many Romanian foods seem to be german, and I was hoping for some sausage stuffed cabbage. They didn't have any, but the food they did have was so delicious, I wasn't disappointed!
We all really enjoyed the band that played while we were there. They were fun and it was interesting to hear so much german music.
True to form, when it was time to dance a polka, Janica jumped right up and would have danced by herself if Jason hadn't decided to dance with her. What a cute couple! Thanks for the suggestion Luella that we eat here. I'm glad we didn't miss it.

Epcot has a program to make the World Showcase more interesting for children. The pavilion for each country has an area set aside where the children can color on masks and learn more information about that country. We bought a $10 passport for the whole family, and we got the passport stamped at each pavilion too. Tegan didn't dig it too much when we started out, but by the end, he was the most insistent that we find the coloring area. He colored his mask very creatively. I think it looks great. Janica colored her mask purple. What was so funny to me was that she used all the different purple markers. She would color with one for a while, and then put the lid on it and get started with the next purple marker. It was very cute.

After lunch, we started back up visiting the countries.


Germany


Italy

Coloring masks at Italy


The American Experience. See how quiet and respectful my children are? Actually, I don't blame them letting off steam. That and the American Experience presentation didn't work. At least it wasn't working then. We came back later to watch it.


At this point we were tired of walking and the kids wanted to ride some rides again, so we took the ferry back across the lagoon.

We went to the Imagination building and rode the imagination ride with Figment. We rode on the ride hours ago and Janica is still talking about it like it just happened! Remember when I said there is a window for taking kids to Disneyworld? Janica is proving to me over and over again that she is right smack dab in the middle of it, because she is enjoying our trip so much! And her enjoyment is helping my enjoyment.

After our Journey into Imagination, we went on Soarin' again. Janica didn't like it when she rode and Kierra is still too small, so while Jason and Tegan rode it, I took the girls on a boat ride to learn about the land. Twice. It was interesting the first time and cute the second time, because Janica kept pointing out the exact same things she pointed out the first time! Then it was time to swap and Jason learned about the land while I rode Soarin'. I really do love that ride! Someone in line told us about the hidden Mickey on the golf ball, which we then looked for. For any of you planning a trip to Disneyworld or Disneyland, do yourself a favor and ride Soarin'. It is the best!

Enough fun time. After Soarin' it was back to the World Showcase. This time we started on the opposite side and worked our way counter clockwise. That meant we started with Canada.


Where we found another rabbit! In case you can't see it, look just right of Tegan's hand.


Next came England where they had a Beatles lookalike band playing, we took some pictures,
and met up with Winnie the Pooh and friends again!



While waiting for the movie to start at the France pavilion, Janica decided to strike a few poses. What a cutie!


Then it was time for dinner at the Morocco pavillion. Out of the many places we have eaten this week, this restaurant was my least favorite. The service was very poor and the food wasn't that good. The best part was the belly dancer. When she asked for volunteers, you guessed it. Janica jumped right up and started to dance. The big surprise was Kierra wanting to dance too. Sadly, by the time we got her out of her highchair and up to the dance floor, the dance was over. I would say maybe next year, but I really don't know if we'll eat there next year. I really didn't like it.

Here is the family at the Morocco pavillion. See Tegan's mask? I love how he put together that patchwork of colors together. Very creative!

By the time dinner was over, it was late and the pavillions were starting to close. We hurried to Japan, which was the only one we hadn't seen, and then went back to the US pavillion to watch the American Experience, which was up and running by that time.

Then we went back to the hotel for bed. I'm surprised I spent as much time writing this as I have, since our flight tomorrow is at noon and we need to get checked out and to the airport. I will try to post some final thoughts tomorrow. Goodnight!