On Monday, we decided to go to Epcot--primarily because Elsa and Anna from Frozen were doing meet & greet times in Norway, and Em really wanted to see them.
We took the monorail and got to Epcot right as it was opening.
We lucked out by walking up to a character meeting spot and finding Mickey,
Goofy,
and Minnie Mouse! We rode some rides, including Spaceship Earth in the Epcot ball and a few other fun ones before heading over to the World Showcase when it opened at 11:00.
I thought I had done my research and prepared for everything on this trip, but we were NOT prepared to get to Norway and find a four hour wait to see Anna and Elsa! People had apparently been waiting since the park opened that morning, and when we got there, we were told that the end of the line was for the 3pm meeting! It was the moment of truth, and we had to make a decision, so we decided to wait. Elsa and Anna were really the primary reason we went to Epcot, and we knew we'd always regret it if we didn't wait.
The line was wrapped around several buildings and ended in a gift shop (of course!)--we snuck around so Em could have a peek!
We had plenty of time to kill, so Mick and I took turns walking around with Em--she found a fountain to throw some coins in,
met a duck friend who she named Quack Quack,
and had some ice cream!
It got pretty warm in the sun, so Em and I checked out the gift shop to cool off. Mick even went and got lunch and we ate while standing in line. We packed a cooler every morning with tons of snacks and drinks, and Em did more snacking than really eating--but that saved us, since at least she had things like apples, peanut butter, and plenty of water.
After only THREE hours, we were almost there!
When we finally made it in, nothing could have been better than the look on Em's face when she saw Elsa and Anna!
She went straight for Elsa and hugged and hugged her. Mick and I both had tears in our eyes, and the photographer looked at us and said "so I guess it was worth the wait?" Absolutely :).
The characters everywhere were unbelievable. I think they know that you've waited your turn in line, and they're not going to rush you at all. They're so patient and let Em talk as long as she wanted.
She even gave them a very shy (and very unlike Em) version of "Let it Go" from the movie.
We knew we weren't planning to do the entire World Showcase, but China was right next to Norway, so we decided to go meet Mulan. Em, as you can see, brought a couple of wardrobe changes for each day. It was so cute how she told all of the princesses how very beautiful they looked. She's never even seen the movie Mulan, but found plenty to talk about with her.
She loved all of the flowers at Epcot, and kept wanting to smell them (and pick them!).
It really felt like spring--temperatures in the 80s and sunny.
We went back to the park side and Em loved the Nemo ride!
She and Mick even posed with Bruce the Shark!
I think this picture is so cute for some reason.
More flowers!
We went on a new ride called Soarin', which was a hang gliding simulation that was extremely realistic! We weren't exactly sure what to expect, and Em was pretty scared once we got in, but it was too late to change our minds. We let her pick out this little Simba lion cub toy for being so brave when we got off the ride. Now that we know what to expect, I'd definitely ride it again (but probably not with Em).
Ready to head home from Epcot after a long, fun day (and no nap!).
We ate dinner back at our hotel and watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks from our balcony! We had a big day planned for Tuesday, so Em needed to get to bed early!
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