Florida 2020: Diary – Day 12

Today was the big day when all four of us would be going to EPCOT. The park opened at 10 so the plan was to be at the toll plaza by 9:00. This left plenty of time to get breakfast at the restaurant and get our stuff organized before departing.

A Day in EPCOT

My wife isn’t in to thrill rides but she can handle almost all the rides in EPCOT with the exception of the Mission SPACE ride. The boys wanted to make sure she got to go on Test Track, Soarin’, and Spaceship Earth. Those would be the primary rides we’d target during the morning and spend the afternoon walking around the world showcase. We also had made early dinner reservations for her and Tomatico in Mexico and for our youngest and myself in Italy.

We managed to make it to the EPCOT parking toll plaza on time, just before they started letting cars in. We ended up with a parking spot at the very end of the first row. The next car got to go at the beginning of the second row. We weren’t going to let a longer walk dampen the day.

The boys helped my wife navigate the health and security screenings since they were now experts. We got through the ticket gate and walked towards our first ride, Test Track. There was a lot of construction going on in the park so we had to navigate a maze of walkways to get to our destination. That mostly meant following the crowd as most people were going to the same place.

When we arrived at Test Track the line was already outside the ride but it compressed and we were soon inside the building. The ride had not opened yet, though we could hear the empty cars going by on the track outside. Around 9:45 the line started moving and we had finished by 10 past 10:00 with smiles on our faces. It’s quite a rush to start the day.

Next we were off to The Land pavilion to go on Soarin’. My wife hadn’t been to the park for years and hadn’t experienced this one yet. The boys both told her all about it. They made it sound much more thrilling than it really is so she was a bit nervous going on it. It was only a 10 minute wait and she really enjoyed the ride. She said she wanted to jump off at the part with the island in the Pacific because she wanted to stay on the beach! The kids had to explain to her we weren’t really in the places on the screen. It was cute.

Next up was Spaceship Earth. The line looked long, but the ride is continuous and moved quickly. Tomatico really likes this ride, though our youngest is mostly indifferent. They both enjoy the interactive part at the end where you get to “choose your future”.

It was getting towards lunch time and we wanted to eat early to avoid the crowds. Plus, we had early dinner reservations in the afternoon. We decided to use the app to order at the food court at The Land pavilion since there weren’t may other nearby options due to the construction.

After eating we walked towards Canada in the World Showcase. We walked past the UK and then to France where my wife saw a Crepe stand. She and Tomatico waited in line while my youngest and I backtracked to get strawberry smoothies at a Joffrey’s in Canada.

My wife was most interested in doing some shopping around the world. Tomatico waned to join her, but my youngest and I decided to exit the park and take a ride on the Skyway gondolas. They weren’t open when we had last been in the park and we decided to try them.

We exited the park and jumped into one of the gondolas as there was no line mid-day. They were pretty neat and a unique mode of transportation, especially in Florida! We got off at the first hotel stop and hopped on the return leg back to EPCOT to see how Tomatico was managing with the shopping.

Back in the park we found them in Japan. My wife was excited to do even more shopping but the boys needed a distraction. Good thing we were in a theme park! I took them to Mission SPACE while my wife shopped some more. During our trips we can done the Green version which is less intense. They both wanted to do the more intense Orange version. I went through the line with them but opted out before they got onto the ride. I would not have survived that ride very well.

I waited in the lobby for them to come out. They said it was pretty intense and that they probably wouldn’t do it again. That just confirmed that it was the right decision to not do it myself!

The munchies were attacking so we stopped to get some snacks and something to drink to stay hydrated. It wasn’t hot, but it had turned into a decent day. Not shorts weather, but the Florida sun is still intense during the winter.

We then wandered over to the Pixar Short Film Festival pavilion. They show three short 3D movies that the boys enjoyed during the previous trips. It would allow us to get off our feet and out of the sun for a few minutes. It was rarely ever busy and even with reduced capacity we got in the first show.

Next we headed over towards Mexico to meet up with my wife. It was a little early for our dinner reservations but we decided to try to get in to them early if there was space. We split up and they went to Mexico while my youngest and I found our way to Italy.

Checking in for our reservations we were told to wait outside until our name was called. Ultimately we got in at about our reservation time. We split a pizza that was better than expected. He also ordered some garlic bread which I didn’t even know he liked. He ate it all, too!

After dinner my wife wanted to meet up at the theater in front of the US pavilion. When we arrived there was a Christmas Caroling show. The performers were amazing, of course. They were all physically distanced on stage and benches were blocked off in the audience to enforce proper distancing of spectators. There weren’t many people so it wasn’t hard to find a good seat.

We eventually caught up with Tomatico and my wife. They had enjoyed their meals as well, especially their dessert. My youngest and I were longing for some dessert ever since we had seen a gelato stand in Italy, so before the next show, we rushed back to get some. The gelato was okay, but we were jaded by the amazing gelato from our trip to Rome and it just didn’t compare.

The next show in the pavilion was a Mexican Mariachi Christmas show. It was excellent and it reminded my wife of some of her Christmas traditions growing up in Venezuela. The boys also enjoyed it more than expected and I’m always game for a good show no matter what the content!

Afterwards, we were all pretty tired from the day. We had essentially been in the park all day. We had been able to experience most of what we wanted to do. The COVID restrictions had canceled many of the shows. Of all the parks, I think EPCOT is most affected by these restrictions since the entertainment at the countries often includes these traditional shows.

Prepping for the Next Day

Since we were leaving before park closing time, we didn’t have any issues with traffic going back to the hotel. It was early evening and we were tired. We got everything ready to get up early the next morning to get to the Magic Kingdom first thing.

I set my alarms and got everyone off to bed as early as we could so we would be as rested as possible for our second and final day in the Magic Kingdom.