Our strategy for Disney parks is to be there right when they open. You can usually get to some of the bigger rides before the line-ups get too big. Things weren't looking good when we got to the bus stop though because even though we had left at 8:15, the first bus wasn't listed to show up until 8:51 based on the 'Next Bus' sign. Things improved as we waited and eventually the first bus ended up being at 8:35. This was good for Callie who had been a bit slow getting going, much to Kerry's dismay.
There are three big rides at Epcot that we wanted to do including Test Track, Frozen and Soarin Over the World, however the way the Fast Pass works, you can only do one from that group. We had chosen Soarin so to start the day we ran to the Test Track ride which is a very fast roller coaster type ride in a car. The line looked a little scary but only because they hadn't opened the ride. Carter and I had fun designing our vehicle which came in 2nd overall in our group for speed and performance. Creating your car is really just a trick to make waiting in line more fun.
After Soarin, we met up with the other family again for Mission Space. This ride is pretty smart as there is a green side for space wimps and an orange side for space experts. I of course am a space wimp and took the green side. Even then I still got a bit dizzy as it's another one that combines a simulator with a screen. Kerry did the orange side and it sounds like I made a good choice. The highlight of the day happened while we were waiting for our group to finish. Carter got the refillable popcorn bucket and tried to buy popcorn but they weren't open yet even though they had popcorn. They gave him his refill free!
We wandered around a bit as we waited for our next Fast Pass to come due and stopped in at a store that allows you to sample pop from around the world. I seem to remember more pop samples last time but this time all machines had the same options. I liked the Inca Cola from Peru and I choose my sampling order wisely. There is always one sample that no one seems to like and everyone had already tried it so I was able to avoid it. You can't buy any of the pop but it was still fun to sample.
After the soft drink store used our last scheduled Fast Pass to go on the Space Ship Earth ride. This is a very slow moving ride that takes you through key inventions in history, mostly from a European point of view. I think it is time for it to be updated as the last key event was Steve Jobs sitting in his garage creating Apple. I think it's safe to say that there have been a few key inventions since that time.
Once we were done with all the main rides at Epcot we walked over to the Epcot World Showcase which includes pavilions for 11 countries. It's pretty much what you would see if you went to a world fair with an area for each country. The difference being that I feel the representation for each country is a bit stereotypical. Canada included hockey, curling, lumberjacks and maple syrup. Mexico had tequila and skulls and of course Donald Duck wearing a sombrero initiating a light saber attack with Carter.
My favorite pavilion is Canada followed closely by England where they have quaint old streets and excellent fish and chips. My only knock on it is that all the staff have a very strong English accent. So strong I feel it's not quite real. The best part is that you can sample food the whole way round. Callie and Kerry had Chinese food, I had fish and chips and Carter, not surprisingly, stuck with America. I was amazed how many people seemed to end up eating at their own pavilion. French accents, English accents and American accents all at their corresponding country.
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