Disney's Epcot

Epcot has always been one of my favorite Disney parks (although it is not a favorite of Joe's). Our hotel, The Beach Club, was literally a 5 minute walk to Epcot, so we went to this park more than the others. However, it seems that I took this for granted and forgot to take many key pictures around the park (including the "giant ball" as Ethan called it - how did I forget to take a picture of that???).

On our first trip to Epcot, we ate at Akershus for the Princess breakfast. Upon arrival, we were instantly greeted by Belle. The more "formal" picture with Belle was taken by the photo pass person (great service for taking pics of the entire family!). As always, Olivia had her autograph book ready!

The kids posing with Snow White. Each Snow White that we met would speak in the trademark high pitched voice from the movie. All characters were very impressive with their mannerisms and way of speaking. Ethan is completely convinced that each character he met was real, and while Olivia is not as certain about that, I think on some level she wants to believe it to be true.

Sleeping Beauty was always my favorite princess, so I had to pose in this picture, too.

Ariel was wonderful for this breakfast. She was amazed by all things human, and even used the "dingle hopper" (the fork for those of you who have not seen The Little Mermaid) as a comb. She was amazed when Olivia showed her the correct usage of the fork. Ariel was also quick on her feet...Olivia had been to Ariel's Grotto the day before and had met Ariel the mermaid. At this breakfast, Olivia said "I met you yesterday. Don't you remember my name is Olivia?" To which this Ariel replied "oh you humans are always changing clothes and confusing me! I remember you!" It was a really sweet exchange to listen to.

The kids posing with Jasmine, Olivia's favorite princess.

Olivia posing with her 3D glasses and giant purple sucker before entering the "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" show.

Ethan, with his 3D glasses but minus his giant orange sucker, before the show.

Posing in front of the entrance to "The Seas With Nemo and Friends" ride. Olivia and Ethan really like this movie, so they loved all of the Nemo attractions.

Posing with Alice in Wonderland in the England area of World Showcase. We just missed Mary Poppins.

Olivia playing in the fountain in the French courtyard, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Olivia imitating Marie from The Aristocats.

Olivia meeting Belle and the Beast (Ethan was not in the mood to pose with the Beast). Belle had a lengthy conversation with Olivia about her shoes (Olivia's shoes had jewels all over them and are fancy looking). Belle stooped down for a closer look at them, and then requested that the Beast buy her 2 pairs just like them. Olivia thought that was the best.

Two very unhappy kids not wanting to pose in front of Neptune's Fountain in the Italian Pavilion.

Joe and I posing under Germany's "The Romantic Road" street sign.

I put this picture of The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in China's Pavilion in here because 1) it was a beautiful building, inside and out, and none of the family had ever gone inside of it before; and 2) it is the site where we completely lost Olivia for several minutes. We were in a complete panic running around the outside of the building looking for her, shouting her name, etc. The greeter at the entrance of the building was wonderful in assisting us and when grandma found Olivia inside the hall with another family, this greeter made sure that she was returned to me (I guess he didn't trust that Olivia knew grandma!). This wonderful family in the hall was sitting with her and keeping her calm until we "claimed" her. Whew. It had been an awful 5 minutes.

As per my family's tradition, we ate at the San Angel Inn in Epcot's Mexico. Not a single trip to Disney has gone by that we have not eaten here. The food is wonderful, and as you can see the atmosphere is equally wonderful. Plus, we had a table right next to the river in front of the pyramid. For the dinner, Ethan was so exhausted from not napping that he curled up into a ball on his chair and slept through the entire meal. Olivia, however, spent the entire meal waving to every boat of passengers that passed by on the river. This is also the location of Olivia and Ethan's second favorite ride of the entire trip, the "Gran Fiesta Tour" with the Three Caballeros (Donald Duck, Jose Carioca, and Panchito). We literally rode this ride 4 times in a row, which is not difficult to do since there is never a line.

On a different day, we ate at Marakesh in Morocco. The food was wonderful, and there was a dinner show with a belly dancer and Moroccan musicians. The dancer brought the children onto the floor to teach them some belly dancing moves. Thank goodness she did not pull the adults onto the floor too!

After Marakesh, the kids were able to meet Jasmine and Aladdin. These two characters hold special significance to Joe and I, since our first official date was to see the movie Aladdin. Olivia even showed Aladdin her new belly dancing moves, and he gave her a special sticker in her autograph book for the dancing.

Ethan and Olivia showing off their passport masks in the Mexico Pavilion (under the "amigos" sign).