Sailing the Skyliner: Life is the Bubbles on Spring Break - A March 2024 Trip Report

[SimplyGoofy]

Journey of Water looks SO fun and I’m really looking forward to experiencing it. I know my older daughter will love it, too!

You were having a great morning! I love the Seas with Nemo and exploring the SeaBase. I’m also a fan of Turtle Talk as Crush is awesome. I hope my daughter can be as brave as yours and sit up front - how fantastic that she got to interact with Crush!

 

[suse66]

We were heading toward Norway by 8:43am. We walked quickly, but also stopped for a few pictures along the way. The topiaries and international gardens for Flower & Garden Festival were beautiful! It might have been quicker to have walked "underneath" the World Showcase, but we had a quiet walk right through it without many people on the path.

I loved walking through an almost empty World Showcase.

We agreed the Japanese garden was our favorite, and noted we wanted to come back to it later. But it was really peaceful without many other people around this time of day! There was water flowing through the sticks, and they were lightly banging surfaces like the water pail to make very soothing noises.

Lovely!

We all needed coffee, so we stopped at Kringla Bakeri. The girls had already eaten pop tarts for breakfast, and we had brought our first coffees from the hotel room while we waited in the morning, so I ordered 1 lefse, 1 bottle of juice for the girls and 1 coffee for me and Pat to share ($12.32 total).

Lefse is yummy.

I liked how this photographer took pictures with the Epcot ball centered behind us and also featured the Mickey & friends topiaries in some of the pictures. I loved Minnie’s dress on this one!

This is a beautiful shot!

We tried to switch up ride partners for each ride. The girls were really excited for the last part of SE where you make decisions about the world you want to live in.

So nice all the grands got time with the girls.

The girls hung out to play one of the games at the end of the ride while the grandparents found a restroom.

I just noticed that the girls dresses are World Showcase themed. So cute!

The exhibit was gorgeous! So much greenery and the water made it feel peaceful, despite the crowds.

It really does.

At this station, you put your hand over the water, and the higher you raised your hand, the higher the water would raise.

I loved that!

The Moana walk through is a great addition to Epcot, we will be sure to stop by on future trips. The water features are probably geared toward kids, but I also enjoyed playing with them.

Adults need to play too.

We had to get our picture with Te Fiti. She is so beautiful, and they positioned her perfectly with Spaceship Earth.

This is stunning!

We also got this neat magic shot.

Love that!

Crush asked, “When you swim, do you like swimming slow or fast?” She answered fast. He said, “Fast, dude, you got thrill issues. Just like me! I’ll tell you what, just for you, we’re going to see how fast I can push it,” and he did his Rip It swim! She was really excited she got to talk to him.

So sweet!

 

[jrmint427]

We did Journey of Water at a Cast Member preview last September. It was crowded so I didn't get a chance to really look. I missed this detail and you got a great photo of it.

It's so cool you get to the do the cast member previews! There are so many details in that exhibit, I'm sure I'll notice more each time we go back.

I want to go back at night. I've seen some photos and it's just beautiful.

Me too! I was wishing we had gone back at a night, but it's also a bit of a walk when we're usually wrapping up the evening in the World Showcase. We'll need to make a point to see it at night on a future trip.

Beautiful Family Photo!

Thank you!

You were having a great morning! I love the Seas with Nemo and exploring the SeaBase. I’m also a fan of Turtle Talk as Crush is awesome. I hope my daughter can be as brave as yours and sit up front - how fantastic that she got to interact with Crush!

Yes! We got a lot done despite the crowds. I wished we could have taken more time to hang out at the aquariums, they are really neat. We had to convince our oldest to sit up front with her sister, but I was not surprised our youngest raised her hand to talk to Crush!

I loved walking through an almost empty World Showcase.

It is the best! It doesn't happen often but is such a different experience from the wall to wall crowds we saw later in the day.

So nice all the grands got time with the girls.

It was really special time with the grandparents!

I just noticed that the girls dresses are World Showcase themed. So cute!

Yes! I'm obsessed with these dresses, it's the Epcot ball pattern in the background with Mickey head flags. They were covered up in the morning because it was cooler but lost the cardigans later in the afternoon. This was our second trip wearing these dresses, getting as much use out of them as we can!

Adults need to play too.

Yes, they do! Disney is great at designing for the whole family. My girls got a kick out of seeing a lot of t-shirts that said things like, "I'm done adulting, I'm going to Disney" and I told them I was doing the same!

 

[jrmint427]

Living with the Land​

With our LL, we only waited about 2 minutes to get on Living with the Land and boarded at 11:09am. The standby wait was 20 minutes. As soon as we tapped in, I picked up a LL for Soarin’. I originally got a return time of 1:45pm but was hoping we could ride shortly after Living with the Land to avoid too much walking. I played the Genie slots for the first few minutes of the ride. I got our time moved up to 12:55pm in less than a minute, and then 12:35pm about 5 minutes later. I realized I was paying more attention to Genie+ than the ride, which is always my issue with the app, so I put it away as we were entering the tunnel to see the plants.



There was a fun overlay for the Flower & Garden Festival. The first set-up we saw was themed around The Little Mermaid




I’m not sure if this chest was The Little Mermaid continued? It was pretty with the pearls and the flowers.



I took a lot of videos on rides this trip but tried to get pictures of our family too.





I might have missed a sign, but I think this set-up was Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs themed, with the colorful gems.



The next was a Winnie the Pooh picnic, I loved the themed flower pots.



The Alice in Wonderland table looked so fun!



I love how this ride is different every time we go, whether it’s different theming & overlays or different plants they are growing. This is a ride we will never skip!

 

[awrites]

That's such a cool magic shot from JoW!

We really loved JoW too--the water features are so fun to play with, and like you, all the fellow families were really good about not staying too long so everyone got a turn! It was really one of my favorite things from our Epcot day.

 

[Araminta18]

We started our walk through Journey of Water at 10:04am. It was really crowded at that time. There was a nice introduction about the water cycle.

Bummer it was crowded - I'm hoping after it's been open for a while the crowds will even out. Glad you had a good experience regardless!

The pictures don’t do this exhibit justice, so I took a lot of videos. In this section, you lifted your arms in the air like you were asking the water to jump up, and it did!

100% agree the pictures don't do it justice - the interactive things are so much fun!

We had to get our picture with Te Fiti. She is so beautiful, and they positioned her perfectly with Spaceship Earth.

She is so gorgeous - and you guys got a great couple of family shots!

We also got this neat magic shot.

oooh cool! I've never seen that one before!

g. I played the Genie slots for the first few minutes of the ride. I got our time moved up to 12:55pm in less than a minute, and then 12:35pm about 5 minutes later. I realized I was paying more attention to Genie+ than the ride, which is always my issue with the app, so I put it away as we were entering the tunnel to see the plants.

This is the dilemma I always have too. If you keep playing with it you can usually move it up, but then you're 100% on your phone and not paying attention...it's hard!!

Also i love all your pictures of Living with the Land -i'm so excited to see all those decorations in person next month!

 

[vamassey1]

I realized I was paying more attention to Genie+ than the ride, which is always my issue with the app, so I put it away as we were entering the tunnel to see the plants.

This is the issue I have with Genie + too. It sucks so much of your time and phone battery.

I love how this ride is different every time we go, whether it’s different theming & overlays or different plants they are growing. This is a ride we will never skip!

I'm so looking forward to this. I think this is the most they have ever done for F&G. The y have been stepping up what they do at Christmas too.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love seeing your girls enjoy Moana JoW, it is such an immersive area and this is my all time favorite Disney movie! I also tear up and love the Moana part in HEA!
We love the filler rides at Epcot! The more we go to WDW the rides like LwtL, Nemo, and SE are awesome with so many memories for us!
I’m excited to see the displays in LWtL.
Andi would have been so mad if she would have gotten wet in JoW, I’m glad your daughter didn’t mind! Andi hates getting wet

 

[Noreen411]

Enjoying your review. Thank you for taking the time to do it.
I agree, Genie+ definitely makes you spend more time on your phone than enjoying what you are doing

 

[jrmint427]

We really loved JoW too--the water features are so fun to play with, and like you, all the fellow families were really good about not staying too long so everyone got a turn! It was really one of my favorite things from our Epcot day.

I read that in our report too! I loved that everyone was taking turns so nicely. It was one of our favorite things too!

Bummer it was crowded - I'm hoping after it's been open for a while the crowds will even out. Glad you had a good experience regardless!

I was bummed at first, but we were still able to move through it well even with the Spring Break crowds. They designed it really well to accommodate lots of people!

oooh cool! I've never seen that one before!

Magic shots are fun when they tell you to pose and you don't know what you're going to get - I had no idea they were going to add water to this one!

This is the dilemma I always have too. If you keep playing with it you can usually move it up, but then you're 100% on your phone and not paying attention...it's hard!!

It's such a dilemma. I was addicted to playing the slots and getting better times, but it did take me away from paying attention to other things when I was so focused on the times on my phone.

Also i love all your pictures of Living with the Land -i'm so excited to see all those decorations in person next month!

Thank you! I can't wait to see your pictures, I'm sure I missed a lot of details!

This is the issue I have with Genie + too. It sucks so much of your time and phone battery.

So much time and battery! My battery kept running out really quickly.

I'm so looking forward to this. I think this is the most they have ever done for F&G. The y have been stepping up what they do at Christmas too.

I didn't remember this overlay for the F&G festival in 2022! It was really impressive.

I love seeing your girls enjoy Moana JoW, it is such an immersive area and this is my all time favorite Disney movie! I also tear up and love the Moana part in HEA!

Aww, it really is a moving story and music!

We love the filler rides at Epcot! The more we go to WDW the rides like LwtL, Nemo, and SE are awesome with so many memories for us!

We love all those rides too! I could only see skipping some of them if we went much more often.

Andi would have been so mad if she would have gotten wet in JoW, I’m glad your daughter didn’t mind! Andi hates getting wet

She didn't seem too bothered! I would have been mad though haha, my hair was frizzy enough as it was in that weather!

Enjoying your review. Thank you for taking the time to do it.
I agree, Genie+ definitely makes you spend more time on your phone than enjoying what you are doing

Thank you for reading! It does pull you away quite a bit, I hope they come up with a better system in the future that doesn't require so much time on devices.

 

[jrmint427]

Flower & Garden Festival Food​

We were off Living with the Land at 11:26pm and had a little over an hour until our next LL for Soarin’ at 12:35pm. We were all getting hungry, so we decided to find some F&G festival food while we waited. After reading about the festival and listening to podcasts on our drive to the airport, I knew that the first place I wanted to stop was Brunchcot. We headed off in search of that booth, which I knew was going to be near Test Track, but I wasn’t exactly sure where to find it. I looked in the app for a map of the food festival booths but couldn't find one. We stopped for a picture with Donald Duck's nephews on the way.



We found Brunchcot at 11:44am and there was quite a line. No one else wanted food from this booth, but I had a couple of must-try items here, so I was up for the wait. My parents went off to the Refreshment Station nearby to get a watermelon slushy and they found a table in the shade there. They knew the drill and took a picture of the slushy before drinking it.



Pat and his mom went to find Farmer’s Feast. They got the Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-down cake ($4.75) and the Veal Tenderloin with Spring Pea Risotto ($8.50). They did not remember the drill (yet) and did not take any pictures. I grabbed a quick picture of the almost-finished Strawberry Rhubarb cake when I got to the table; they had left me a bite to try!



It was really good; I would get that again. They had already eaten the veal dish, so I didn’t get a picture of that. They said it was really good too. They had also ordered the Hibiscus Lemonade Cocktail ($12) and saved me a taste of that. I should have gone back for a second one!

It looks like I waited in line for only 12 minutes, so the line moved quickly. I packed scratch-off art books for the girls for times we were waiting and pulled those out while we were in line.



They worked on their books until we saw my parents had a table nearby, and then they ran off to sit with their grandparents. I ordered 2 Froot Loop Shakes ($5 each) which I paid for out of pocket because they were under $6 and that was my rule of thumb for the day.



These were good, but very sweet and tasted like froot-loop flavored milk. Both girls loved them!

I also ordered the Avocado Toast ($6, snack credit 2 of 32). I had to order the food on a separate transaction since I wanted to apply a snack credit for some items but not all.



This was one of my favorite items of the day! I shared with Pat, Grammas and DD9, and they all really liked it too. My parents don’t like avocado and DD7 was happy with her shake.

Finally, I ordered the Biscuit and Gravy with Impossible Chicken Fried Stake and Impossible Sausage Gravy ($6.75, snack credit 3 of 32).



It wasn’t very large, but it was very tasty. It’s rare for me to find “chick’n fried steak” that is vegetarian, so I had to try it. The gravy was the best part. I shared this with the table as well, and DD9 liked this dish too. Brunchcot was our favorite booth of the day!




We wrapped up our snacks at 12:15pm and were ready to get back to rides for a bit before finding more food booths. However, I had one more stop I wanted to make before Soarin’.

 

[Araminta18]

My parents went off to the Refreshment Station nearby to get a watermelon slushy and they found a table in the shade there. They knew the drill and took a picture of the slushy before drinking it.

LOL I love that they knew the drill!!

Pat and his mom went to find Farmer’s Feast. They got the Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-down cake ($4.75) and the Veal Tenderloin with Spring Pea Risotto ($8.50). They did not remember the drill (yet) and did not take any pictures. I grabbed a quick picture of the almost-finished Strawberry Rhubarb cake when I got to the table; they had left me a bite to try!

Especially compared to Pat and his mom who did not. Though even that one bite left looks good!

It looks like I waited in line for only 12 minutes, so the line moved quickly. I packed scratch-off art books for the girls for times we were waiting and pulled those out while we were in line.

Oooh, I'll have this too - I remember the wait being long but then I look at the timestamps and it's like 8 minutes.

This was one of my favorite items of the day! I shared with Pat, Grammas and DD9, and they all really liked it too. My parents don’t like avocado and DD7 was happy with her shake.

It looks sooo good!!

It wasn’t very large, but it was very tasty. It’s rare for me to find “chick’n fried steak” that is vegetarian, so I had to try it. The gravy was the best part. I shared this with the table as well, and DD9 liked this dish too. Brunchcot was our favorite booth of the day!

that's awesome! glad you got a good vegetarian version. Now I have to try Brunchcot!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Your food looks so good! The Froot Loop shake looks so fun - it’s too bad I’m the only person in my family who would drink it. (Give my DD1 a year or two, and I bet she will!) The avocado toast also looks delicious. Considering the lines were already long it was a good idea to start eating before they got even longer.

I love that your parents knew to take a picture! You have them well-trained.

 

[jrmint427]

LOL I love that they knew the drill!!

Me too! I loved that my mom not only took a picture but texted it to me too

Oooh, I'll have this too - I remember the wait being long but then I look at the timestamps and it's like 8 minutes.

Yes! The line looked really long, I remember thinking it was going to take 15-20 minutes. It didn't help we were standing in the sun waiting too. But 12 minutes isn't bad!

that's awesome! glad you got a good vegetarian version. Now I have to try Brunchcot!

Yes you will! Can't wait to hear what you think.

Your food looks so good! The Froot Loop shake looks so fun - it’s too bad I’m the only person in my family who would drink it. (Give my DD1 a year or two, and I bet she will!) The avocado toast also looks delicious. Considering the lines were already long it was a good idea to start eating before they got even longer.

The shake would definitely be good to share! The girls insisted they each needed their own. It was definitely good we got in line early!

I love that your parents knew to take a picture! You have them well-trained.

I was so proud! My family supports my trip report writing

 

[jrmint427]

Club Cool & Soarin’​

We passed Club Cool on our way to the F&G booths, and I wanted to stop there on our way back to Soarin’. We had never taken the girls before, and it was over a decade since the last time I sampled the sodas there. The girls were too young on our earlier trips, we hadn’t even introduced them to soda yet. They only drink Sprite now as a treat, so I was excited to see their reactions to the different sodas.



Here were our options:



I think I liked the Madagascar, Russia and Moldova options the best. I did not like the China soda, and obviously (I think?) I knew I was not going to like the Beverly. But since it had been a decade since I last tried it, I wanted to give it another chance.



I wish I hadn’t even tried Beverly again! It left a gross flavor in our mouths. It’s interesting how much taste can vary, since I know there are Beverly fans out there!

I took video of the girls sampling Beverly, it’s a rite of passage, right?



DD9 looked uncertain at first.



Then a little confused. Why did her mom give her this??



At first, I thought, maybe she didn’t think it was so bad. DD7 tried it next. She quickly let me know she did not like that one. But you can see in the background of her second picture that the Beverly was sinking in for DD9 and she clearly did not like it either!




The girls kept asking me why I made them try Beverly if I knew it tasted so bad. DD7 said her favorite was the Dominican Republic (Minute Maid) and DD9’s favorite was the Korea option.

As we were leaving, we saw the JAMMitors wrapping up a session. I think this was the first time I got to see them in person!



After this, we split up. My dad and DD7 did not want to ride Soarin’ so we asked DD7 which ride she wanted to go on again with Grandpa. I got them a LL for Spaceship Earth that overlapped with our Soarin’ LL. It looks like that saved them about 25 minutes of waiting in line.

More gorgeous flowers on our way back to Soarin:



We tapped into Soarin’ at 12:40pm. There was a 40-minute posted wait time and we waited 16 minutes. All of the LL line was being led to Concourse C. I knew B would have been a better viewing option but I didn’t want to ask to change, and we ended up on the far left-side of C, as close as we could get to B. The Eiffel Tower still had a strong curve going!

I get nervous with the heights on this one but it’s such a cool show. I was glad the global version was back while we were there. DD9 did really well and seemed to enjoy it this time but wanted me to tell her when the whale was going to jump, when they were about to throw sand, things like that. She didn't like those scenes when she was younger and still remembered them.

My dad and DD7 were waiting for us at the Land Pavilion exit when we got off the ride. We re-applied sunblock and then we split up again for our next rides.

 

[blabbermouth]

Your food choices look great! It seems like you've been making really good time this day. I almost forgot about Club Cool!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Your booth choices look great. I’ve always wanted to do a F&G trip and this is making me want to go even more!

 

[awrites]

The girls kept asking me why I made them try Beverly if I knew it tasted so bad.

I hope it's okay that I lol'd at this! Poor, betrayed children!

My daughter isn't quiitttte at the age where she'll have this sort of reaction, but I'm pretty sure it's coming. She's clearly becoming skeptical about my explanations of "Even if I don't like something, it's possible you will!" and "It's good to try new things!" when I make her try something she then doesn't like.

Club Cool looks fun! I knew about it before our trip but since my daughter's not drinking soda yet, we never made it a priority. Thanks for sharing! (Even if no one liked Beverly.)

 

[vamassey1]

Great photo!

. I packed scratch-off art books for the girls for times we were waiting and pulled those out while we were in line.

Where did you find these? I think this will be a good option for JP.

That's a beautiful food photo.

I took video of the girls sampling Beverly, it’s a rite of passage, right?

Totally! We did it to JP in December. I laugh every time I watch the video.

Beautiful!!!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Just joining in. Your issues with your flight are one of the reasons I opted to drive down this time. Just couldn't risk delays. But wow, you all have gotten a lot done in Epcot already.