Epcot aka Soarin or Test Track?
Every good and efficient touring plan starts with getting to your destination park early. As much as I know we should, we have never made it to Epcot when it opens. Since the 2 biggest attractions there are Soarin and Test Track, and you can’t get a Fast Pass to both (they’re in the same tier), we always have to choose between them. For us the choice is easy. Soarin is highly overrated and a bit on the boring side, while Test Track is so much fun! We are used to the fast rides over at Universal, so that may have something to do with it.
Spaceship Earth being down for a while put a spin on our touring plan, but we were able to do most everything in Future World before heading over to the countries for some lunch and libations.
Our youngest is obsessed with Paris. She takes French in school, her room is France themed, and she has a dozen Paris shirts and other accessories. So of course we headed to France to eat lunch. It was our first visit to Boulangerie Paitisserie les Halles, and the reviews I read said if you get a sandwich be sure to say “yes” when they ask if you want something, even if you don’t understand through the thick accent, because it is most likely “Do you want it toasted/heated?”. Glad we did because they were absolutely delicious. I got the Croissant Jambon Fromage which was ham, cheese, and bechamel on a light and buttery croissant. She got the Croque Monsieur, which was very similar but with different bread and melted cheese on top. I couldn’t imagine eating those cold, yuck! For dessert I had the Parfait aux Fruits which was creamy and fresh tasting, and she had the Creme Brulee which was a bit on the runny side but the caramelized top made it so good. To drink, what else but the Gran Marnier slushy! Mr. Roamer decided to try the Grey Goose Lemon Slushy, it too was super good. Ohhh heaven in Epcot.
As we made our way around the world, the comfortableness of Epcot sunk in as we got our favorite drinks and snacks we all know and love. Mr. Roamer opted for his bratwurst and Shoeffehofer grapefruit beer in Germany, which they sell inside now (score!) allowing us to skip the long line of people in the hot sun at the outside cart. My oldest loves the UK fish n chips, which she ate while walking to France.
In Germany we stopped at the train village, which was being overrun by Godzilla! It was funny to see everyone stop and laugh at the poor demise of the tiny village people as their town was destroyed by the giant lizard.
On the way past America, we heard some popular songs over the speakers in what sounded like a live performance, so we went over to check it out. There was a group called the American Music Machine doing A Capella songs popular today (Taylor Swift, etc.). It was a pretty good show and a great way to kill 15 or so minutes while sipping our Saki from Japan.
We got rained on a few times on our way around the world, so we stopped in to the China theater to see the 360 movie for the first time. Please note you can NOT take drinks inside the theater. Bummer. We stood outside under the shade while we finished our Germany beer. The show was good but standing for the entire 20 minutes after a long few days at the parks left our feet a bit achy.
We really wanted to check out Norway after the whole Maelstrom-Frozen fiasco we heard so much about. It was super depressing in Norway. The gift shop was taken over by Frozen all the way back to the troll section. The Norway house was also now Frozen-themed, showing the Norwegian items of lore as inspiration for the movie.
A trip around Epcot is not complete without stopping into La Cava de Tequila, which of course we did while the girls roamed around looking at something to buy. We each tried a new margarita today, but neither were impressive. Mr. Roamer got the “Maelstrom” in an ode to his favorite ride being lost, and I got the “Horchata” which sounded good. His was really spicy. Almost as bad as the jalapeno mishap from Maya Grill the night before. He had to convince one of the girls to get some Sprite, so he could pour it in and make it drinkable. Mine was creamy and pretty good, though not as good as my normal cucumber margarita.
For dinner we had reservations at Via Napoli, which is one of the restaurants we haven’t tried yet. We heard their pizza was amazing, and the rumors are true! Though a bit loud and boisterous, the atmosphere reminded me of a big Italian family dinner. For an appetizer we got the calamari. It was simply out of this world. Really the best calamari I think we’ve ever had. Very light and tasty, not chewy at all, and the sauce was delicious with a hint of spice. For dinner we got 2 pizzas; the Quattro Formaggi 4 cheese, and the Piccante spicy sausage, both Mezzo size (serves 2-3), which ended up being too much food. We did, however, manage to take the leftovers with us in a box which made it all the way back to the hotel fridge, then to another hotel fridge, to concierge bag check, and then home to our fridge for lunch the day after we got back. The pizza was still delicious 3 days later!
We decided to head out without watching Illuminations just so we didn’t have to wait a long time for a bus. On the way out we did Spaceship Earth, which had been down most of the day. A great ending to an Epcot day!
Tomorrow we check in at Yacht Club and visit Hollywood Studios
