Florida 2015 – Rosemarys Travels

Florida 2015

7th August 2015 (Day 15)-Magic Kingdom and Going Home

Posted on September 23, 2016September 28, 2016 by Alun

Our last day in Orlando!

Our time at the Hampton Inn had been great. The staff there were absolutely fantastic and so very friendly.

I’ve copied below my TripAdvisor review:

We booked the Hampton Inn because it appeared to be highly rated on a number of different review sites although we were a little worried that due to it’s low price it might be a bit tatty. I’m glad to say that we had a great stay and will definitely highly consider staying there again.

The staff were extremely friendly which made it feel especially welcoming. And a big thank you to Patrick who checked us in and was always extremely welcoming when we returned from a long day at the parks.

-The room was very clean and well maintained, with daily cleaning to a very high standard.
-Breakfast could be busy but there was a good selection, although our daughter wanted the Mickey waffles every day anyway.
-The pool isn’t huge but was always quiet in the evenings and most times we had it virtually to ourselves.
-Location is very close to Downtown Disney and not far from any of the parks (Magic Kingdom is furthest away and is about 20 minutes drive time).
-There are restaurants close by (mainly in the Crossroads complex) as well as being relatively close to those on International Drive.

We had a room on the 5th floor at the end of the corridor so was extremely quiet and we didn’t get disturbed once, but I would imagine that the ground floor (especially in the rooms between reception and the lifts) could be noisy.

Highly recommend this Hampton Inn and thank you to all the staff there for making our stay so enjoyable.

So we were really quite sad to leave. Just took a few shots of the hotel on the way out.

We had decided to spend a little time at the Magic Kingdom this morning and after packing everything into the teeny tiny car we had, which was quite a task as we now had an extra suitcase to get in, we headed down to the parks for the last time this trip.

The weather was a bit suspect so we had fingers crossed that it would be OK.

We had FastPasses for Dumbo as our first thing and headed through the park to get there. It was straight through the line and onto the ride, which in some ways was a pity as there is lots of play stuff inside the big top. But we didn’t have lots of time in park today as we’d have to leave for the airport, so it meant we could spend time doing something else.

After the ride (I rode separately and ended up two behind as someone charged in front of me and grabbed the closest elephant). We had a look in the big top area and at the amazing cakes and candy apples.

Julia and Rosemary decided they wanted to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer, so I left them to it and took some pictures from the sidelines.

Our second FastPass was for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. And Rosemary drank lots of blue Powerade.

To be honest I had no idea what we were meant to be doing, but we had lots of fun on the ride and tried to shoot pretty much everything we could. Rosemary ended up in Zerg prison.

We got some lunch at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe and as we sat down the rain started. And it came down heavier than probably any other point during our stay. It kept going for quite some time as well and everyone was coming in to shelter. We had a third FastPass for the Enchanted Tales with Belle and were beginning to think we wouldn’t make it there without being soaked, but it did stop and we managed to get to our slot.

Rosemary played Belle’s father and had to pretend to be in prison.

And that was the end of what we could squeeze in for the day and for our stay. Just time to take a few last minute photos of a very wet Magic Kingdom on the way out.

We headed from the park to the airport and dropped off our car and headed into the airport. The security line and customs was all very painless and we flew out on time.

A great trip as ever!

Florida 2015

6th August 2015 (Day 14)-Animal Kingdom

Posted on September 16, 2016September 26, 2016 by Alun

Off to Animal Kingdom today and our last full day in Orlando, so looking forward to it. Our last trip to Animal Kingdom changed our mind on it a bit (previously we’d found it hot and crowded, with limited interest) and I’ll state now that the events of the day have turned this around completely as we had such a fab day and such a nice way of ending our trip.

On arriving we saw that Daisy Duck was out for a meet-and-greet, and as she is someone that Rosemary hadn’t met (we got close at Hollywood Studios but no prize) we joined the queue. Which was remarkably short.

After this we headed towards the Kilimanjaro Safari, which we had a FastPass for. It was a great ride and we saw loads of animals. There is a full video of the ride on YouTube:

We even saw a baby rhino with it’s mum.

After the ride we took a walk around the Harambe Wildlife Reserve and saw some of the animals there. It’s a nice walk and the animals were relatively visible because it was early in the day.

As we came out of this we sat down for a bit in the Harambe Market area and got our timing just right as they were about to open and looking for someone to help open the market. They asked Rosemary if she would ring the bell and she got a great little experience and a certificate.

While sitting in the market we all had a snack and Rosemary had a stripey, Mickey rice cake.

After this we headed over to the Festival of the Lion King show. We were a little late getting there and I was parking up the buggy when we were approached by a cast member who offered to help seat us. She took us straight past the entry queue and in through a side door (this is a bit weird we’re thinking, we must be super late), and down to the bench at the very front of one of the blocks. So we’re sitting on the floor level at the very front… Well it turns out they had picked Rosemary out to take part in the show (I guess they must have spotters out). We think it was her bright elephant print dress that caught their eye.

So during the show Rosemary got to go up and walk around with the dancers and at the end of that she was the only child who got to go up and meet Timon at the stage. An absolutely amazing experience for her and she was very brave to do it.

I was videoing the show (it was daft not to as we were sat so close) and got Rosemary’s bit on the camera as well. A GoPro isn’t the best for low light, so it’s not an amazing recording but a very nice record of such a special occasion. The video is on YouTube:

Rosemary was treated to a cuddly Simba (she’d been eyeing him up the entire holiday each time we saw him) for being a brave girl.

Our next FastPass was coming up, which was for the Dinosaur ride. It is on the opposite side of the park so we headed over. We were the last ones in our group to be let through so snapped a quick picture inside the loading area with no else about.

It certainly was Fast, a Blast and in the Past. Really rough ride!

We stopped for ice creams and got Dirty Ice Creams. Basically ice cream with crushed Oreos and gummy worms.

This was just by the dinosaur ride so we spent a little time there and in the shop by the Din-O-Rama, which always has good stuff. After that it was the last FastPass at the Finding Nemo the Musical show. No need really for a FastPass here, but might as well use up the allocation.

And after that just a quick visit to It’s a Bug’s Life (as there was no queue and it was straight in).

And that was us, worn out.

Florida 2015

5th August 2015 (Day 13)-Blizzard Beach

Posted on September 13, 2016September 13, 2016 by Alun

Off to Blizzard Beach today, which we’ve never been to before so not sure quite what to expect. Time to unpack the GoPro and get it into the waterproof housing!

On arrival we found out where you get changed and headed into the main pool, which is called Melt-Away Bay. There are rubber rings in this area which you can grab and then ride the waves. These are way more gentle than the tidal waves you get at Typhoon Lagoon but very fun when you’re in the rings.

Rosemary used the gentle waves for a good bit of swimming practice and had loads of fun swimming around. She had a life jacket on the whole time so was enjoying the freedom to swim but in complete safety.

After spending quite a while in the pool we had a little go round the lazy river, which is called Cross Country Creek.

But we didn’t stay in long as we headed out to get something to eat as we came round to the main area. We had something in Lottawatta Lodge. One thing we did was to reactivate the mug we got at Typhoon Lagoon so we could use the filling stations around the park. Once again though there was very little in the way of still drinks (Rosemary doesn’t like fizzy drinks) and the only option was Powerade.

After lunch and a bit of a play in the kids area we went back into Cross Country Creek for a few more trips around the park.

We didn’t go on any of the rides, the queues were just too long and we didn’t want to waste time waiting around when we could be in the water.

And finally for the day we had a little extra time back in the wave pool.

After this we got changed and took some photos around the park.

Finally, Rosemary had an ice lolly, which melted so fast because of the heat that she couldn’t keep up.

Wasn’t surprising as the car was roasting when we got back to it.

There is a video I put together from the day which is on YouTube:

Great day out at a park we’d not been to before, which was great as well. Not sure which I prefer between Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, as each have their own merits. For us the wave pool at Blizzard Beach was probably better for Rosemary but I think the lazy river and the rides available at Typhoon Lagoon had the edge. So, easy really….just do both!

Florida 2015

4th August 2015 (Day 12)-SeaWorld

Posted on August 25, 2016September 12, 2016 by Alun

Off to SeaWorld today! Unusually this will be our only visit this trip as we were using our Disney tickets to the maximum usage we could. We normally come at least twice because you can usually get the second day for free if you visit the Guest Relations booth on your way out. But in any case we had been to Discovery Cove on the last 2 trips and that gives you access to SeaWorld in any case.

Rosemary wore a highly appropriate dress for the occasion.

Our first event for the day was the Blue Horizon show. We wanted to make sure we squeezed in all the shows we wanted to catch in the one day so were a bit careful about our times. Blue Horizon is a dolphin show, but there is a lot of acrobatics as well and the dolphin element is actually relatively small.

There is a video of the whole show which I shot on YouTube:

We briefly went to the Pacific Point Reserve to see the Sealions. They were remarkably quiet that day.

Next on our list of “must do” things was the One Ocean show, the killer whale show. This is going to be discontinued now, which is probably a good thing.

We stopped to get an ice cream and bite to eat and Rosemary had a weird thing which was little frozen balls called Dippin’ Dots. Kind of OK, tasted a bit weird though.

We then wanted to get in the last of the 3 shows so we could have the rest of the day free to see a few of the other things around the park. This was the new Seamore and Clyde show, Sealion High. We’d not seen this before so looking forward to it. The premise is quite fun but the animals were not really behaving that well on the day, with one of the sealions being sent for a time out during the show…

There is a video of the whole show which I shot on YouTube:

After this we could take our time a little more. And went to have a look around some of the shops and then to see the manatees. It’s always a bit quieter around them, not sure if it’s their relaxed movements which calm everyone down, but certainly less activity there.

Managed to get this amazing shot of Rosemary interacting with one of the manatees. We hung back when everyone went through into the Turtle Trek show and were the only people in the exhibit at the time. They had their nose pressed right up against the glass. Maybe it was the bright dress which was attractive.

In the next tank are some rescued turtles and with no one about managed to get some better shots of one of them.

We had hot dogs for tea from Captain Pete’s Hot Dogs. Rosemary had a plain dog and I had a chilli dog, and Julia had a veggie one.

Still plenty to do as it was right by the hot dog place we went to the stingray pool. I think this was the first time Rosemary had plucked up the courage to touch the stingrays and was surprised at how soft they are.

We also went to the aquarium which is slightly hidden away underneath the Manta ride. It’s an amazing one and well worth spending time in, with a large tank with rays and fish, as well as smaller display tanks.

We carried on with our (second) journey around the park, going through Antartica. The queues were crazy for the ride there and although we would have liked to have seen the penguins it wasn’t worth the +45 minute wait time.

We then went into the Shark Encounter and the great aquarium there. We once again repeated a picture we’ve done each time we’ve been. Here is the latest version:

And from December 2013:

And March 2012:

Quite fun to do the same one each time to see the changes.

We stopped by to say “Hi” to Shamu as we went past the Shamu Stadium (didn’t get to do this last time as it was all closed off).

And then obviously had to have a Shamu ice cream.

And finally for the day got to ride on Shamu himself.

That was pretty much us exhausted for the day by then. Just took this one on the way out of the park as it was the 50th anniversary of SeaWorld.

Finally I put together a video of our day at Seaworld which you can see on YouTube:

Florida 2015

3rd August 2015 (Day 11)-M&M World and Downtown Disney

Posted on July 15, 2016July 15, 2016 by Alun

We had plans to go to a water park today but we were a bit uncertain because of the weather and decided to give it a miss and instead do a few quiet things and have a relaxing day. So we started off by heading to the Florida Mall. The route our sat-nav took us was quite convoluted and we saw some of the grottier bits of Orlando on the way.

When we finally arrived we headed to the M&M Store.

It’s easy to find from the car park with a giant M&M outside. Got a few bits and pieces, including some things for future Christmas presents at prices which were much lower than the UK.

They also do a meet-and-greet in the store.

We had a mooch around the shops and then went from the Mall to Downtown Disney. We managed to park in the actual car park this time rather than across the road and get the mini-bus. Again it was a mooch around the shops and built light sabres in one of the stores. Did get some candy apples though from the Candy Cauldron.

Florida 2015

2nd August 2015 (Day 10): Magic Kingdom

Posted on July 15, 2016July 15, 2016 by Alun

Back to the Magic Kingdom again today!

Our second visit having come a few days ago. Planning a relatively low key visit though as energy levels were a bit low and the weather was still not ideal, with quite a bit of rain. We had booked to have an early lunch at Be Our Guest so wanted to just get a couple of things in before that and then spend some time afterwards on some rides.

We went towards Fantasy Land first and went on the Mad Hatters Teacup ride, which Rosemary loves and just wants to spin faster and faster (in the video at the end so no photos of this).

Unfortunately the weather turned on us again after this after visiting a few shops we headed over to Be Our Guest for our 10:55am reservation. We booked this quite late so this was all that was available as would have preferred a little later.

The entrance was really impressive.

Ordering is a little confusing for a first timer. You queue up and choose and then pay at the till. We’re then told to go and find a table and our food will find us. We had read that you get a Rose to put on the table, but no such offer. So bit confused we found a good table in the main ballroom. And pretty quickly our food appears. Found out they find you from your Magic Band. Big Brother Mouse truly is watching!

Rosemary had chicken and Julia had the French Onion Soup, which was excellent. I had the beef sandwich.

And of course we had to have the Grey Stuff cupcake. We’d heard it’s delicious. It was!

The Ballroom is amazing and was Julia’s favourite of the 3 rooms. I preferred Beast’s room where there is a holographic rose.

We all thought it was an amazing place to have lunch and really glad we booked it. The level of detail is just so high, including the picture which changes when there is lightning in Beast’s room.

After lunch we went to Mickey’s Philharmagical show and then used our FastPasses to do another princess visit. This time Cinderella and Rapunzel in the Princess Fairytale Hall.

Both fantastic, as you would expect. Rapunzel saw Rosemary’s dress and declared that she wasn’t needed and sent Rosemary over to her meet-and-greet spot while she stayed back with us.

We then used our second FastPass for the Peter Pan ride. Only ever done this once before because the queue is crazy, but with the FastPass we were only in a few minutes.

We headed back through the park to Tomorrowland as we wanted to do an absolute classic attraction which we have never done, the Carousel of Progress. It’s sort of hidden away in the back and we thought it was about time we saw it. Well, we’ve done it now anyway. Kind of OK, quite dated and the music gets under your skin.

When we came out Buzz Lightyear was doing his meet and greet under a bit of shelter just to the side. He even came out and gestured for everyone to come under the shelter so they didn’t get wet.

After seeing Buzz it was emptying again so we went around on the Carousel of Progress for a second time. Took the opportunity to have a quick nap. But then it was improving again and we went to go on the River Boat as a nice little trip and, again, an opportunity to have a sit down.

As we came back we caught the very end of a parade, so stayed for a few minutes to watch.

And finally on the way out we used our final FastPass to see Tinker Bell. She had moved since our last visit and was now at the Town Hall. I thought the previous location was better and it’s now just Tink (last time you got another Fairy as well, which was Periwinkle when we went).

So, that was the end of the day at Magic Kingdom. Weather has been a bit bad for the last couple of days but we hadn’t let that spoil anything and just moved our plans around to suit.

Florida 2015

1st August 2015 (Day 9): Epcot

Posted on July 14, 2016July 15, 2016 by Alun

Off to the Epcot again today (second visit this trip, having been a few days ago) and an early start as we had breakfast reservations at Akershus for a Princess breakfast buffet. I think we had a table at 9:35am and Epcot opens at 9am. So we got there for the park opening time and went in a couple of minutes before 9am. There was only a small group waiting to get in (not like the big crowds at Magic Kingdom).

We weren’t in a huge rush so walked slowly upto the World Showcase entrance. This area doesn’t open until 11am but as we had reservations we were allowed through. It felt like we had the whole park to ourselves.

Just us and some squirrels.

We got to Akershus a bit before our reservation and were taken straight in.

In hindsight we should have waited because we were in the middle of the princess interactions rather than the beginning. Would recommend waiting for your seating time to get the most out of it, although we did get to meet all the princesses and Rosemary got to do the parade with them and totally enjoyed it.

First up you are greeted by Belle.

We then got some breakfast from the buffet and hot food arrived as well. Food was excellent.

The other princesses then started to come round to see us and sign autographs.

All the children then get to join a princess and parade around the restaurant with them to a Disney song. Rosemary joined Jasmine and got to carry the flower basket. I think this was the best of the interactions I saw (those with Cinderella were sat back down before Rosemary had finished dancing with Jasmine).

After finishing our breakfast (loads to eat and we asked for a coffee to take away with us) it was just before 11am, so the World Showcase still wasn’t open. But by the time we walked back to the entrance to it they were taking down the barriers. Our plan for the day was to spend time in the World Showcase, starting in Canada, which is where we headed to first. We watched the 360 degree show and visited the gift shop. Nice planting there but not a lot else to see.

Next round (we were heading anti-clockwise for some reason) was the United Kingdom. We met Alice there, who was frightfully posh.

And had a quick walk around the area. Unfortunately Mary Poppins wasn’t coming out on the day we were there.

We took a short break on leaving the UK and sat down for a moment where the boat launches leave and arrive from various resorts. We just missed seeing the Evil Queen, who was off to cast a spell on someone no doubt.

Next up was France. Just visited briefly really and had a quick look round. Didn’t stop to see princesses here (Belle and Aurora) as we’ve done that before and there were long queues.

As we headed out the skies started to darken and it looked like more rain was coming in. The view back to Spaceship Earth was pretty threatening.

By the time we reached Morocco it was pouring and we took shelter there. Are worse places to spend a little time though.

While we were waiting we went to visit Aladdin, who was very friendly, very chatty and made Rosemary laugh a lot.

She also got the chance to colour in a Duffy and had her name written on the back in Arabic.

After waiting a good while and it looking like it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon we headed out into the rain and the gift shop in Japan.

We stopped for something to eat in the American pavilion, eating at the Liberty Inn, before carrying on. Unfortunately still raining.

Through Italy

and into Germany.

Things were improving by the time we reached China and I joined the queue with Rosemary to see Mulan. One of her princesses she still hadn’t seen and this is (I think) the only place she does a meet-and-greet.

Once we had finished things were much better and it had stopped raining completely.

We were most of the way round the Showcase area by now, and stopped in Norway for some afternoon cakes and coffee. Rosemary had a Frozen Fever cupcake and we had school bread (as recommended on the Disney Food Blog). They were excellent. And the coffee was very strong (as it seems to be everywhere at Disney).

Just Mexico to go.

We went inside the zigarat and went on the Gran Fiesta starring Donald Duck ride. Lot of fun and nice sit down boat ride.

And we got to see Donald, who Rosemary absolutely loves.

And so, having walked all the way around the world it was time for us to head out of the park. Our last visit to Epcot for this trip.

For dinner we went to Red Lobster at the Crossroads of Lake Buena Vista for some excellent Lobster, Gruyere and Spinach dip.

Florida 2015

31st July 2015 (Day 8) – Hollywood Studios

Posted on June 9, 2016July 14, 2016 by Alun

Off to Hollywood Studios again today (our second but final visit there this trip). To read the previous blog entry you can find that here. Walking in from the parking area the sky was amazing and the row of palm trees looked fantastic.

We decided to watch the Frozen Royal Welcome again and I think I got some better pictures this time around. We were in almost the same spot again.

After the parade we used our first FastPass for the Little Mermaid show.

We didn’t really need the FastPass for this ride (and maybe should have used it to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride again) but we were straight in and seated for the live show.

After that we used our second FastPass for the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.

The first act was great but as the second act started they announced they were going to move quickly due to a storm coming in and reports of lightning in the vicinity.

Unfortunately the storm was heading right for us so the third act was called off and we didn’t get to see that. So the show ended at the end of the second act with the rain once again tipping down outside the arena.

Every time we come to Hollywood Studios it seems to absolutely pour with rain!

It was heading for lunchtime anyway so we took shelter at the Studio Catering Company for some food. Rosemary tried the Smuckers Crustless PB&J Sandwich which went down well. The humidity level at this point was horrendous, probably the highest during the whole trip.

Spotted a ton of bricks dangling precariously nearby.

We had a mooch around some of the shops in the area including some of the shops down the Streets of America.

There is the fantastically named “Youse Guys Moychindice”.

Weather was really improving by this point and we stopped for ice creams at Gertie’s Ices.

Olaf’s Summer Cool Down show was going to be starting so we headed to the stage area (now without the Mickey Sorcerer Hat which was the icon for the park) for the show. Lots of singing and dancing.

Afterwards we went and had a rest for a little bit and then we could hear music, so went to find out what was going on. Which was a street party with the characters dancing about. We joined in (a bit anyway) with Daisy Duck.

I can’t honestly recall where we eat dinner that day, but after that we went to the Beauty and the Beast show. We were a bit late getting there so we were a long way back, so didn’t get the best pictures.

Unfortunately around this time Julia managed to get stung by a bee and was in some really nasty discomfort from it. So we headed to the first aid by the park entrance. They got the sting out, patched her up and gave her an ice pack to reduce the swelling. Poor Rosemary was so worried!

Our final event of the day that we had planned was for Fantasmic, which we had never seen before, so really looking forward to. The arena it takes place in is huge (I had no idea how big it was until we got in there) and was pretty much full. Being a way back and having to zoom to get anything worth capturing meant the photos were really poor though, so rather than worry I just watched the show and just got a few when things were a bit brighter.

So that was the end of the day and we headed towards the exit of the park via the back way out of the arena. But as we were leaving the Frozen fireworks show was underway, so we stopped at the park entrance to watch it.

A nice way to end the day and our visits to Hollywood Studios.

I didn’t shoot much variety of video this day (few pieces which are quite long of the parade, stunt show and Olaf’s Summer Cool Down) but what I did is on YouTube and can be found through the link below.

Florida 2015

30th July 2015 (Day 7) – Day Off the Parks

Posted on April 25, 2016July 7, 2016 by Alun

After a late night watching the fireworks at Epcot we had a late start and a “doing very little” day. We’d also had 4 days in a row at the parks so needed to have a day off really.

We started with breakfast at Perkins on International Drive before going on to the outlets at the very top of I-Drive.

Had a look around the various shops and got some things, although nothing very much. Just chilled out and took it easy. Maybe a bit too easy, or maybe just bored.

For the evening we went to Disney Springs and had dinner at T-Rex. The queues (even though it was early) were already big with 30-40 minute waits for tables. We were offered to eat at the bar though and decided to take this option. Was actually quite a nice spot to eat and Rosemary liked it because she felt grown up on the big barstools.

Rosemary had a pizza, which was really cheesy and very tasty.

Afterwards we went to the Build-A-Dino store which is at the back of T-Rex Cafe. It’s basically Build-A-Bear where you choose an unstuffed teddy bear, have it stuffed and then choose clothes for it. The twist here is they are all dinosaurs. As this is (almost) unique to Disney Springs we thought we’d give it a go. Rosemary chose a pink dino who was named Orlando.

Afterwards she was introduced to the other dinosaurs.

There is a video for the evening at T-Rex and Build-A-Dino which you can find here:

Florida 2015

29th July 2015 (Day 6): Epcot

Posted on April 25, 2016July 14, 2016 by Alun

Off to the park again today (we’ve never attempted so many days in a row at a park although Typhoon Lagoon did feel a bit more relaxed). So we’ll see how the day goes. Epcot is a big park so, as we’re going twice this visit, we decided to split it into 2. So today we’re just staying round the bottom end of the park, in Future World, and not going anywhere near the World Showcase.

As we arrived Pluto was doing his meet and greet. We’d never met him before so joined the short queue to see him.

Rosemary got a huge hug from him and he tried to eat her head (see the video at the end as I didn’t catch it on the stills camera).

We had the morning free of FastPasses etc and just wanted to look round and see what happened. The Character Meet and Greet at the Epcot Character Spot was quiet, relatively short queue anyway and it had air-con and it was a blisteringly hot and humid day. So we joined what turned out to be a slow moving queue but did get through to see the characters.

First off the Mouse himself.

And we got a family photo all together. We get so few of these and we really didn’t make the most of the opportunity with PhotoPass. Should have got more taken throughout the parks, but we learnt that lesson and will do better next time.

Next up is Goofy. We were just behind someone in the queue who were there because their son was playing Goofy that day and they wanted to see him and get photos with him.

And finally Minnie, who seemed very impressed with Rosemary’s outfit for the day.

Afterwards we had a mooch around the shops and visited Club Cool where you can taste a range of international drinks.

There were some which were absolutely revolting but some others were really nice and wish we had them in the UK. Rosemary liked Kuat (at least I think that was the one she liked), which is a Brazilian drink. I quite liked the berry one from Zimbabwe.

We then headed off for our first FastPass, which was to Spaceship Earth. Bit unnecessary to be honest as the queues weren’t exactly huge but we were only doing 1 big ride today and just used the others to save a little time here and there.

We’ve never done this iconic ride before so we were looking forward to it. No photos inside as it’s too dark but was very enjoyable if a bit dated. At the start you get your photo taken and asked questions and at the end they show some things about your future. Julia apparently had set up home with someone else (she was in a separate car to me and Rosemary though).

And I was still having breakfast with Rosemary.

Good ride and a vision of what they thought the future would be in 1970.

Couldn’t leave the area without some shots with Spaceship Earth though.

We got some lunch at the Electric Umbrella restaurant (burgers again I’m afraid…really must eat a little better). And then went to use up our second FastPass in the Seas area.

The gulls are great there. One of my favourite bits from Finding Nemo.

Again the queues weren’t huge for “The Seas with Nemo and Friends” but saved a little time. Quite selfie in the car (don’t think Rosemary realised what I was doing and was more concerned with the ride).

Towards the end of the ride they project the Finding Nemo characters into the actual tanks and Crush appeared.

At the end of the ride you come out into the tanks, which are very impressive. The first ones we visited were the manatees, which Rosemary loves.

There are some huge marine tanks with schools of fish and a sea turtle.

There are also quite a few smaller tanks with tropical fish and the like.

We even found Nemo, or at least some really small clownfish.

And assume this is Marlin.

And Dory as well. She looked lost though.

Unfortunately Rosemary was eaten by Bruce during our visit. Managed to pull her free though.

But Bruce’s mate, Chum, had a go as well.

After finishing on The Seas area we went opposite to The Lands.

Our first stop was Soarin’, which we’d reserved with FastPasses. I didn’t know quite what to expect and as I’m not a fan of rollcoaster rides etc was a bit nervous. No need to be as this is a gentle ride and it was just the unknown that got me nervous. Rosemary thought it was fab.

Afterwards we went on the boat ride for Living with the Land. This was very quiet and we were straight on. It was actually a good ride, bit educational but very interesting and highlights some of the work going on at Epcot to develop new farming techniques.

After this we had dinner at Sunshine Season’s restaurant and got some vegetables and salmon for Rosemary which was very good and we had some very spicy noodles. Recommended place to get away from the burgers. Was also extremely quiet and plenty of seating was available.

We got desert at Starbuck’s with a coffee for us and a cupcake for Rosemary.

We were waiting at the park for the fireworks show, IllumiNations, so did a bit of shopping and sat down for a bit before walking upto the lake. We found a nice spot just in front of the Canada pavilion and sat down for the show. Very good show and well worth waiting in the park for.

At the end we waited back for a moment to let the surge in the crowd go, as virtually everyone is leaving the park at this point, and then headed to the exit. Of course, stopping to take a picture of Spaceship Earth lit up.

We walked back to the car (it’s much quicker and easier if you can) and Epcot is one of the easiest ones to do this at, headed back to the hotel and bed.

There are videos of the day on Youtube, which have the daytime and fireworks parts separately.

Daytime:

Fireworks: