A Life Filled With Love & Joy: Day 4 ~ Epcot & Pool

Ahhh Tuesday, our day of rest. Our "Resort" day where we hang out, swim, etc. Except, last minute we decided to make it a 1/2 day to Epcot because we were afraid that we wouldn't get what we wanted to get done in 2 days. While this day turned out to be a little rough, it did make Thursday at Epcot better.

So, we woke up later and went down and had our much anticipated breakfast. I have been hearing about the Polynesian's Tonga Toast since before our last trip and I couldn't wait. Alan and I split that and he got a little something else that I can't remember. George was also finally going to get his Mickey waffles and Caroline had French toast. After breakfast we went back to the room to grab a few things and then headed to the monorail to go to Epcot.

When we arrived we went on Spaceship Earth with a Fastpass. That's the big golf ball looking thing at Epcot ;) The kids had a lot of fun, even if it's a bit outdated. Then we walked around a bit to get our bearings and headed to Norway to ride Frozen Ever After, meet Anna and Elsa, and grab some school bread from Norway. We waited for a bit for the rest of the World Pavilion to open and then we headed to China. The reason we wanted to add this extra day. Caroline has been looking forward to visiting China for a long time. She wants to really go to China, but that isn't happening anytime soon :) We got in line to meet Mulan and Caroline couldn't contain her excitement. Mulan is her FAVORITE! Mulan spent so much time with her, accepting lots of hugs, chatting with George about her lucky jade and being a responsible little brother. We felt bad that she took so much time with us and she took a break leaving others in line afterwards, but only a little. ;) We waited for the Impressions of China film to start for a bit and then found out that it was a 14 minute film and you had to stand for the whole thing. Kids, and kind of the adults, weren't up for that so that was a bit of a waste, but oh well. We were learning. We checked out the shops in China and did a little souvenir shopping for Caroline's friend back home who was guinea pig sitting and loves pandas and Caroline bought a fan with her name personalized on it in Chinese. Then, she found the Kidcot table and she and George received their Duffy bears. It's a cute station at every country where the kids go and get a stamp and a little drawing that reflects the country. We weren't going to do it since it takes time and we wanted to do other things and I knew we wouldn't be able to have a half completed bear. Well, I was right, we got them and had to finish them, but it was fun and the kids had a blast.

Afterwards, we walked through Japan and checked out the drummers and made our way to the UK. That was the half way point and we figured we'd head back to the front of the park afterwards. We were hot and starving so we put our names in for the nearest restaurant, UK's Rose and Crown, and waited. While we waited, we figured we'd try and meet Alice in Wonderland but as luck would have it as we inched closer our table was ready. The meals were great and the a/c and seats were even better. It was a hot day, especially since the day before was so cool, and Epcot doesn't offer much shade. After our meal we went over to meet Mary Poppins but she was going on break but would be back in ten minutes so we checked out the shops there, got another Duffy stamp, and got back in line. Oh, Mary! What a pleasure! When we had gone on break she commented on how the kids looked like Jane and Michael. When we came back she said, "Oh, my Jane and Michael came back!" She chatted with the kids and then I asked Mary if she could tell George to close his mouth during pictures. Yes, I baited her with this ;) She told George he "was not a cod fish and to please close his mouth." Next, I got in for some pictures. We chatted about how she never explains herself to anyone, being kind, firm, but always fair with the children and then she gave some more wise words to the kids.

Afterwards, we back tracked to France and watched the juggler/mime and grabbed some Macaron ice cream sandwiches which I had my heart set on and looked everywhere to find. They were worth it and already much needed from the heat again.

We took the long walk back to Future World and headed to our last stops for the day, The Seas with Nemo and Turtle Talk wit Crush. It's in a great pavilion that has large tanks in the middle that you can watch manatees, dolphins and sharks swim around.Once we were finished in there we headed back to the monorail and to the hotel. By the time we got off the monorail I would say we actually dragged ourselves.

Once back at the hotel the kids wanted to go swimming. Which was the plan all along, but I just wanted to take a nap. The kids won. This was our first time swimming at the pool at the Poly and the kids had been patiently waiting. Alan did most of the swimming and playing with the kids because by the time we reached the pool, had everyone lathered up in sunscreen, etc. I was beat. I laid down on the lounger for a few minutes to re-coop. I'm not sure if that was a mistake, but after a bit of laying in the semi-shady area I was hotter and more tired then I began. I decided a cool beverage and some food would do the trick. Before heading out to grab some food I got everyone to come up to the lawn because they were doing the fire dancing and tiki torch lighting ceremony. This hotel has so many great activities that you could simply hang out here without ever needing to go to the parks! We ate our dinner poolside and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for bed. A long, full day at Magic Kingdom was planned for the following day and we had a lot to accomplish in our last day at Magic Kingdom!