Day 11: Epcot

Summary: Virtual Queue for Guardians which was the first and best ride of the day. A few other rides we missed last time and it was a more relaxed day, spending a little more time in the World Showcase. Enjoyed some coffee in Italy, Maple Popcorn in Canada and Mango Rum in Africa. It rained and it stopped and it rained and it stopped. Returned to Olive Garden again for dinner and wasnt disappointed. SeaWorld tomorrow for a full day of coasters and creatures of the sea.

Got this timing for this Virtual Malarky down, up at 06:58, Queued at 06:59, Boom DONE! I mean I set my alarm for 06:45 and must’ve snoozed it or slept right through only to wake up in a panic when Ann shouted at me that it was nearly 7, but still…

Grace if you’re reading this maybe skip to the next part. So I was greeted by a massive spiderino going in the shower this morning. He had green and cream stripes so I caught the wee tim spider in a cup and put him outside, where our resident squirrel Sammy who IIve been feeding nuts to will probably eat him. Also glad I googled the spider after I put him out, as he looks like he was one of the jumping ones… 😬

We. Are. Groot.

So we got a fairly early spot in the Virtual Queue this morning which didn’t afford me to go back to bed whatsoever, so woke the kids up with the Guardians Inferno theme tune. Good start to the day!

Rain didn’t amount to much last night, or at least we missed the majority of it while in the restaurant. Today it’s already 85 degrees before 9, but possibility of showers mid afternoon - the heat hasn’t really been an issue for me and Ann but Grace finds it unbearable at times so she’s wishing for rain - Scottish people are never happy with the weather, are they?

Guardians. it’s really is a Marvel if you excuse the expression. It’s full of sass and spirit, it’s the quintessential Guardians ride. The random song selection was Conga by Gloria Estefan, I preferred the previous song we heard which was I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock Of Seagulls, but this was still very good. If it wasn’t for Star Wars this would be at the top of my list. I need need need to do this one more time and we’re not scheduled to be back here officially, but will need to squeeze it in somehow.

Overall: 10

Soarin again and got front row this time which I think is the best position to see everything, Grace’s cold had cleared too so she could finally smell all the scents from the different scenes.

Overall: 8

Living with the Land had only a 10 minute wait so jumped on this after exiting Soarin’ I’ve always remembered this since I was little particularly the hydroponics. The one that really looked cool though was the Aquaponics - a mix of aquaculture and hydroponics - plants on top of the water keep it clean for the fish and the fish in turn provide fertilisation for the plants. It’s like a circle, a circle of life, if you will…

Overall: 7

Before heading to Remys and getting some delicious sounding maple popcorn from the Canada Pavilion on the way, we went into Finding Nemo - a little ride about actually trying to find Nemo. Mixing digital effects, animatronics and real life aquariums. It was an ok wee ride but nothing to write home about (except I am writing home about it so I suppose it is? 🤷🏻‍♂️)

Overall: 5

Around the world in 80 minutes

And then we entered the Word Showcase, first stop Canada! Souvenir bucket number two purchased because theres no way Im taking our Stormtrooper

helmet out to any other park. And the MaPls popcorn was good, not Minions Banana Popcorn good, but enough that well be heading back through Canada on our way out for more.

We got to Ratouille and it was delayed, all that way to ride a rat and it was closed! We did get a free return trip to use once its back up but it’s such a trek! And to compound matters Patrick wanted a shoulder Remy and they were out of stock! Poor form France, poor form.

Our next destination was Frozen ever after, which is on the opposite side of the World Showcase, but seen there was a Beauty and the Beast Sing-A-Long (oh joy), so we joined the line at the last minute. Not like its Frozen counterpart in Hollywood Studios, it was mostly scenes from the film with parts of the song that the audience could sing to. It’s one of Anns favourite Disney movies, so she loved it.

Overall: 6.5

Cafe au nay

For the last week weve hit a little lull early afternoon (well me and Ann do) so thought we’d stop for a coffee break. And we had to go through France, Morocco, Japan, America before finally getting to Italy before finding a frickin’ coffee shop! What?!?!? C’mon people, coffee is life, and France, No coffee in FRANCE? That’s your third strike man, I may not have another Croissant again!


Frozen ever after. Again. Front row this time. Ann didnt want to get splashed so she ducked. In a boat. Yes, she ducked in a boat to escape the water. Bless.

Overall: 7.5

After existing the gift shop, we stumbled across a Viking exhibit which looked great but Ann and Grace had to go to the toilets so me and the boys jumped in. Really small display but covered some of the major players and lore of Norse Mythology, which I love. When we met back up with Ann she told me she took a photo for me, which mirrored the one I took before I went into the Viking display. Uncanny.

Bless the rains down in Africa

We seen that Ratatouille was back up, so retraced our steps. Grace wanted some Dole Whip as we passed through Africa, which we haven’t had yet and Ann pointed out that the kiosk also did a Frozen Mango Puree with Rum, so both were purchased. The Mango Run was very nice, even as it started raining…

Yes for the second time this trip, we got caught in the rain. This time however we had remembered our ponchos so quickly put them on, minus the two boys who didnt want to look stupid in a poncho (but being absolutely soaked is such a good look, right?). It’s stopped within 10 minutes though and we started baking with the extra layers we were sporting so quickly took them off again.

Ratatouille, finally. And it was as good as the first time but again we were in the front row.

Overall: 9

And then it was raining again, it’s just like Scotland. Heading out the way we came and through Canada, towards Spaceship Earth, they had closed the popcorn cart! Oh well, just regular popcorn from the regular popcorn stand would have to do. It turned out that our server was a Scottish girl from Greenock! It’s funny when people over here ask where you are from and you’re like ‘Scotland’ or ‘just outside Glasgow’, but when you meet someone from in or around Central Scotland you can tell them Coatbridge and they nod in acknowledgement.

We went on Journey into Imagination with Figment next. Umm no, just no. It’s bad, dated and annoying. I had such fond memories of Figment when I was younger, which was completely eradicated within 10 minutes of being on this ride. We are now threatening the kids with going back on Figment if they dont behave.

Overall: 3

We headed through Journey Of Water on our way to the last ride of the day, Spaceship Earth. A walkthrough on the importance of water and its role in the environment, all based around a Moana theme. It was a nice and pleasant walkthrough (and refreshing because water is refreshing), and you could get wet if you wanted to.

The future is what you make it

And finally rounding off the day with Spaceship Earth. My time travel buddy this time around was Ann. We both joked about getting a nap if the ride stopped at any point, which it did haha. And thats because we are all pretty shattered at this point, not because of the ride, which is pretty good. At the end of the ride you get to select your future, and we chose to live in the mountains, in a home made of recycled materials and utilising recycled water. When Patrick finally moves out at the age of 50 we may very well find out :P

On the way home Robert wanted to go to the Apple Store to trade in his phone for an upgrade to a new iPhone. And he did… now he has a better phone than me, lol. Seriously though Robert saved hard and debated over several things to use his money on, but he’s really happy with his new phone and is already showing me up on how good the camera is.

Not really sure where we wanted to go for dinner tonight so we thought we’d just do something light and opted for soup and salad (and breadsticks) at the Olive garden. However, by the time we finally got out to eat it was pretty late and we were all so hungry so that plan kinda fell through and we just ordered more pasta (for the most part). Oh dear. Great food though and wont be the last time we’re going to be in here.

We’ve now passed the half way point of our holiday and checked off our third marathon. It’s been absolutely jam packed and doesnt look like it’s going to be slowing down any time soon - its been tough at times but weve been absolutely loving it. SeaWorld tomorrow, which is one of Anns favs, though theres more rides now than anything, but will be good to try new things.

Todays Stats

- Step Count: 20.8k
- Starred Rides: Guardians
- Total steps: 202.2k
- Total miles: 86 miles