Disney - Day 4 (Epcot)

Our next day at Disney was Tuesday, February 25th.  After our long day at Magic Kingdom, we were looking forward to a slower day at Epcot.  Rylan was still up nice and early (at 5:30 am - which felt like 4:30) but Carter and Brian "slept in" to 7:15 am.  I somehow kept Rylan quiet enough with the iPad and even got stuff packed up for the day while the other guys slept.

Epcot had Magic Hours on Tuesday so the park opened for resort guests at 8 am.  We arrived around 8:30 and it was still pretty empty.  We decided to go do Soarin' first since it always has the longest line at Epcot (it was still a 20 minute wait this early).  Soarin' is another ride that Rylan now made the 40" height requirement.

On Soarin', you sit in a hang-glider (with your feet danging) in front of a huge IMAX screen showing scenes filmed in California.  The hang-glider moves around some to create the feeling of slight drops and moving side-to-side.  There is also wind and scents like oranges and fir trees.

Yosemite Falls!  We hiked to the upper falls in 2007!

Both boys thought this was the coolest ride of the day.  As we were getting off, Rylan was already saying he wanted to ride it again.

Our next stop was the Epcot Character Spot.  We got to meet Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie.

When Rylan saw that the last character was Minnie, he decided he had no interest in meeting her and went to sit in his stroller.

Next we had a Fast Pass for Test Track.  I had never been on the ride and it had been redone since the last time we were at Disney and Brian rode it.

Before the ride, you get about 4 minutes to design a car.  While on the ride, your car is compared to the other people's cars on the ride for speed, handling, etc.

Carter and I designed this car:

Rylan and Brian designed this one:

Carter liked the ride but Rylan was not a fan of the speed section (you are outside then and approach 70 mph - it's REALLY windy).

After Test Track we did the Living with the Land boat ride through the Epcot greenhouses.  The kids thought it was pretty cool seeing foods they like (and don't like) still growing.  Next we had a Fast Pass for Soarin'.  The boys liked it just as much the second time.

By now we were getting hungry so we headed to the World Showcase section to find lunch.  We ended up in Morocco at the Tangierine Cafe - it was really good.  On the walk there, Rylan finally took is first nap of the week.  He slept through lunch and for a little while after.

While Rylan was still asleep, we set Carter up to do the Agent P's World Showcase Adventure.  Agent P. replaced Kim Possible that we had done before.  It's pretty much the same thing, but updated with new characters.

Basically it’s a series of scavenger hunts at pavilions in the World Showcase.  The hunts use an adapted cell phone to develop a story, give you clues, and activate various objects that you find.

Carter's pavilion was France.

Rylan woke eventually and helped out.

There goes Agent P. ziplining between buildings!

When you are done, there are hidden places to deposit your phone.

Since Carter basically got to do France, we let Rylan start over with his own phone and do Japan.

We Japan 2 years ago and a lot of things were the same, but Agent P. in a boat was new.

Next we did Germany together making the boys switch the phone back and forth between them.  Here are the beer steins that we activated.

This time Rylan got to deposit the phone when we were done.

After all the Agent P. fun, we did the couple of rides in the World Showcase.  First was the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico.  Then we did Maelstrom in Norway (we had a fast pass for that one).  Rylan didn't love the ride but did fine.  He really doesn't like the drops.  I can't blame him - I generally don't either.  I prefer loops and crazy movements over basic drops.

Next we did Ellen's Energy Adventure.  Rylan was so excited when we told him that there were dinosaurs on the ride but then got a little scared when he actually saw them (we were just preparing him for DINOSAUR at Animal Kingdom the next day - that one's really scary!!!).

The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival was coming up so there were some new cool topiaries that were being constructed ...

Our last ride of the day was The Seas with Nemo and Friends.  After we rode it we walked through the aquarium for a bit (we got to see manatees eating lettuce) and played in the kids area for awhile.

On our way out (about 5:30 pm) we attempted a family photo (not sure why Rylan was so grumpy!).

We picked up dinner at Moe's and took it back to our hotel to eat.  After dinner we walked around the hotel grounds and made it to the Cars section this time.  The boys had to have their picture taken with EVERY SINGLE CAR.

Lightning McQueen had a box around him with a picture on it - he apparently needed a repair).

After dinner it was time for baths and showers and we were all in bed by 9 pm.