Day 2: Partying with Mickey Mouse and Pals at Epcot
DAY 2: EPCOT CENTER
This was at that big Epcot ball that is the symbol of the resort. It’s a ride that takes you through the ages of technology.
JD was a little disappointed when he met Bay Max. He had it in his head that he was going to get to “put Baymax’s stuff on him.” Translation: JD wanted to dress Bay Max in his red armor, but they told him to please not touch anything. Ha!
For most people, Epcot is all about touring the different countries, but for us it was all about 2 things. #1. Hanging out with our friends and #2. Disney characters!!!!
The best way to meet Disney characters is to schedule a meal with them.
You can splurge while you’re there, or you can buy a meal plan in advance, and then it feels like these expensive meals are free because you’ve already paid for them. (It’s called the Disney Dining plan, and I am all about it.)
In case you’ve never been to Disney World, let me caution you here that if you want to do a “character meal” at one of the restaurants that have characters walking from table to table, you should make reservations. This is very easy to do. Simply download the *My Disney Experience* app. You can make reservations about 6 months prior all the way up until the day before. I made ours 1 or 2 weeks out, and many time slots were already booked up.
At Epcot, we met Pluto, Mickey Mouse, and Chip and Dale at the Garden Grill. This was the most fun!! Each of these four classic characters were talented entertainers, and they posed with us, played with us, and cracked us up. Characters are not always this awesome.
He gave me a kiss on the head. I felt special.
JD wasn’t so sure about Pluto, so he settled for a high-five.
I can’t remember if this was Chip or Dale. They were both a hoot. Daniel must’ve really thought this place was magic. They danced with him and goofed around. Dan just laughed and laughed. We all did.
Now you know we love us some shenanigans!
Pluto, getting a sip of Caleb’s drink. (Don’t worry. Not really.)
Daniel hammed it up.
Mickey!
These next pictures tell a heart-warming story.
See, JD was a touch scared of the characters. But when he saw Mickey Mouse, and this seemed to be the REAL Mickey, he started to feel brave. JD said, “I want to see him!!”
So Mickey gestured to JD for a hug.
And JD happily accepted.
So Mickey suggested that I take a photo of him with JD.
And so we did.
It rained everyday, but that was a BLESSING. This kept the temperatures down to a manageable level.
2 tough dudes, ready to get wet
I think I’d like to be Daniel. What a fun life he has.
JD’s favorite exhibit
Our other favorite thing about Epcot was all the Nemo stuff. Or at least, it was certainly JD’s favorite. While we were waiting our turn for “Turtle Talk with Crush,” he wanted his picture made in this shark mouth so badly that we waited in a slow line behind it, and then we had to drag him out of the thing after the photo was made.
After all the shows, Lightning McQueen, character meetings, swimming, and all that were finished, and we were driving back home, I asked JD, “JD, what was your favorite thing we did at Disney World?”
“Fish. Seeing fish tanks.”
Ha! Well, we could’ve done that at Pet Smart!
Amy said that I should get that poor boy a fish tank.
We hate to give up good fun to go back to the room for naps, so we just let JD take all of his naps in the stroller. Selfish? Maybe, but he seemed perfectly happy.
I wanted to meet Joy and Sadness from Inside Out. I thoroughly enjoyed that movie, but their line was always 40 minutes long, and very few things in life are worth that. This was as close as I got.
We loved it when our bus rides back to our room were practically empty.
And that’s all, folks! After Epcot, we had dinner with our friends at the Grand Floridian, which was beautiful. The boys LOVED the water slide at their pool, but my camera was dead, so I have no photos of that evening. It sure was fun, though.
What are you all doing for fun this summer? How much longer before your kiddos go back? We are only a week out now. I can’t believe it!
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What fun! I am so jealous. This summer we went nowhere. There just was no way to leave town, but come Fall break we are outta here!
I love your photos. The last few times we’ve been to Disney all my son wanted to do was ride the train (that circles the park) or ride the monorail. Too bad it rained, but it still looked fun. I need to get those ponchos.
Oh my goodness, your backpack looks like it weighs as much as you do! And Alan with his camel pack…lol, that’s a great idea! You got some awesome pictures of the boys with characters. Looks like they all had fun! And if JD naps in the stroller, then you’d be crazy NOT to take advantage of that… nothing selfish about that in my book!
We love the Disney dining plan and had a great time at the garden grill…. my husband came up with a cute way to remember the difference between chip and dale. Chip has a black nose and our family saying became “a chip off the old black.” They were the only two characters (other than Snow White) that our youngest was not afraid of on our first trip so we met chip and dale a few times!