epcot fun

although we spent plenty of time admiring the flowers -
we also spent a lot of time taking in all the other fun that epcot has to offer

 

for the first time this year we did the
agent p world showcase adventure

we picked up a special phone
and set out on our mission
to destroy dr doofenshmirtz's evil plan

 
we were given clues 

 
and different tasks

 
we were led around china
our assigned country
and eventually thwarted one of the evil plots
before rushing off to spend time riding our other epcot favorites
we left other special agents to deal with the rest of the countries

soarin' is our absolute favorite ride at epcot
and one of my top 'anywhere in disney' rides

it is a simulation of a hang gliding adventure -
one minute you feel as though you are flying inches above an orange grove
and the next minute you are soaring through downtown LA
it is CRAZY beautiful and feels SO real!

the wait is always horribly long
but using fastpasses we were able to get on 4 different times
with little to no wait
and even the little wait we had was completely worth it!

of course the only picture i took ended up blurry

:  :  :

from soarin we moved on to test track

 

a few things have changed since the last time we visited
the best of which is the interactive queue.
as you wait in line
you get the opportunity to create a car of your own.
it is connected to your room key
so you can use that car for many different things
while you ride the ride your creation is put up against all elements
and in the end you can see how it rated against the other cars created that day.

 

 

you even have the chance to race your car against others and see how it handles on the road

 

over the course of our 8 days
the boys created a number of cars
and of course i happened to snap pictures of a few of them ;)
you're welcome

  

 

what i love most as i look through these pictures is being reminded that

our trip started with stacey and drew taking alex on test track

 

BUT
after alex's first time riding
he helped us convince ben that he should try it too

ben ended up loving it

AND

once he realized he could handle test track

he ended up trying almost every other roller coaster as well!!

by the end of the trip -

we were ALL riding rides together

over and over  -

ALL FIVE OF US!!

thank God for fastpasses ;)

i'm glad you found your happy place, ben.

our final favorite at epcot

is spaceship earth 

or as our kids call it 'the ball ride'

because it's the ride inside the big ball

you ride slowly along

and it talks about how communication has changed throughout the years

and what the future might look like

i'm liking what my future might hold -

me and alex working from the beach

and me with a personal robot chef

we rode it many times

and by the end of our trip

the kids decided it would be MORE fun

if they selected dutch or french as our language of choice

 we'll just say that was a big step backwards in communication
i barely understand spanish and i studied that for 5 years!

epcot doesn't have a ton of rides ...
but we still kept plenty busy
* we laughed through turtle talk with crush
that show continues to intrigue me
* we visited the different countries
and i decided if i was going to get trapped anywhere on disney property
karamel kuche in germany is my 1st choice
* we played in innoventions
drew, ben, and i even tried our hand at roller coaster design in sum of all thrills

ben and i designed a roller coaster
and drew designed a fighter jet thrill ride
we added loops and twists and turns
and then put our design to the test in a 4-D simulator
VERY fun.
* we visited nemo and friends at the living seas
* we watched the amazing fountain
AND
* we tried out a few international flavors of soda at club cool
and for the record i don't think any came close to mountain dew 

we covered successfully covered epcot from one corner to the other

and i can't wait until we can go back again

baby chick pause

today's pause in disney blogging
is brought to you by 7 cute little chicks
and all their friends

my friend has chickens at her house
and last week she had 7 eggs that hatched
yesterday i got the chance to see the little guys



of course ...
after hearing where i went
the boys were wanting to see them also
so i took them back last night
and they got the chance to hold some chicks

 

 

watch all of the chickens

and harvest some eggs

 

 

they even brought 3 eggs home with them
so that they could try them.

eating them was the last thing on their minds
as they wanted to bring the eggs home
and grow chickens of our own
BUT
i'm thinking our homeowners association might not be too keen on the idea
so for now ...
fresh eggs for breakfast
compliments of gladys and her crew

flower & garden

this was our first time ever being at disney
during epcot's flower and garden show.

throughout the entire park
there were character topiaries and BEAUTIFUL landscaping
yet another example of disney perfection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the attention to detail throughout each of the parks amazes me on a normal day
but to see the details in each of these just astounds me.

if the snow ever melts
i'm thinking we can put stacey to work in our yard
it can't be that hard, right?!