Epcot, Thursday, November 16th, 2017 Part 1:
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Preparing for the trip:
Since we had been living in Florida for just under a year at this time, we both knew that we wanted to go to Disney World since now that we were living in Delray Beach, we were just under three hours away from the magic! With my Mom’s birthday coming up, we agreed that a day at Disney World would be an awesome way to celebrate her special day. While we never minded doing longer trips, the fact that we are within driving distance from Disney World and Mom not wanting to leave the dogs for too long, a day trip made perfect sense for us. Next was to choose the park we wanted to visit. While I love all of the parks and Mom is especially fond of the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, we decided on Epcot as we figured that on this trip, we could see a few more attractions in the amount of time we needed to. Also, she wanted to go to Disney Springs, as she was hoping to get take-out sushi from Morimoto as she loves sushi and they got the best reviews. Next, we needed to choose the day. Since my class schedule had me scheduled for classes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we decided that the Thursday before Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 16th, 2017, would be the best day for us.
With the date decided, since Mom did not know if we were definitely going, even though we were leaning toward yes, I did not buy tickets until the night before. Since we decided our trip was a go, I bought two Florida Resident tickets for the day as a Birthday present for her. With the tickets purchased, I then selected our Fastpass +s. Working together with Mom, I chose The Epcot Character Spot for 11:00AM-12:00PM, Spaceship Earth for 1:00PM-2:00PM, and Soarin’ for 3:00PM-4:00PM. Now that all our FP+s were chosen, all I had to do was pack. Since this would not be a long trip, I packed a drawstring bag with a couple of Mickey Mouse ponchos, tissues, my sunglasses, and my reading glasses for driving at night. While I like taking my digital camera, I decided not to take it because my iPhone 7 Plus takes amazing pictures and for this short of a trip, I could not justify having to worry about another item. I plugged in my phone to charge and went to sleep at a little before Midnight the night before our trip and I could not be more excited!
*Day of Trip:
I awakened at about 6:30AM, first unplugging my iPhone and then getting ready by brushing my teeth, washing my face, and taking a shower. My Mother then began to get ready as well. By about 7:30AM, I was already eating a breakfast of bread with melted cheese, orange juice, coffee with milk and two Splendas, and a banana. A little bit later, we continued to get ready and before we were about to leave, we fed our dogs and got the house ready for them. We were supposed to leave at about 8:15AM, but since getting ready took a bit longer than expected, we left closer to 8:45AM.
At about 8:45AM, we got in our 2016 Subaru Legacy 3.6R and began the roughly 180-mile drive from Delray Beach to Disney. Due to the long distance of the drive, we shared driving with Mom starting off. We left our development, first turning right onto Atlantic Avenue (FL-806) westbound. About half a mile after we turned onto Atlantic Avenue, we found ourselves at the entrance to the Florida’s Turnpike (FL-91) northbound towards Orlando. Traffic moved smoothly as we passed through the rest of Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and the southern portion of West Palm Beach. However, from Exit 97: US-98/FL-80 (Southern Blvd): Fairgrounds, Airport to a point slightly north of Exit 99: FL-704 (Okeechobee Blvd), traffic slowed from about 70 miles-per-hour to about 55 miles-per-hour. Nevertheless, we made good time and after passing through Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter in Northern Palm Beach County, we had already crossed into Martin County by 9:30AM! We continued driving northbound through Martin County and then St. Lucie County, where we then stopped at the Port St. Lucie/Fort Pierce Service Plaza as we wanted to get coffees from Dunkin' Donuts, use the restrooms, and switch drivers as I would do as much driving as I could in order to make good time! After doing what we needed to do at the Port St. Lucie/Fort Pierce Service Plaza, we started driving again, passing through vast swaths of uncharted and farmland in Indian River County, Okeechobee County, Indian River County again, and the southern portion of Osceola County. Mom even took this selfie as I was driving.
After reaching the more northern portion of Osceola County by about 11:20AM, we then found ourselves at Exit 249: Osceola Parkway (Osceola County Road 522): Walt Disney World. Once on the Osceola Parkway, we continued to drive westbound, passing through the myriad of shopping centers and residential developments that line the highway throughout this portion of Kissimmee. However, because I did not use the restroom at the last service plaza on the Turnpike before our exit, I had to go badly and as a result, after getting onto FL-535: US-192 Resort Area, Poinciana, Horse World Stables, Green Meadows Farm, Southport Park/Airboat Rides, we stopped at a nearby Publix to use the restroom and afterwards, I felt much better! With the time nearing 12:00PM, I continued the remainder of the drive north on FL-535 to FL-536 (World Center Drive) to FL-417 north/Interstate 4/International Drive-Disney World, Airport, Sea World, Convention Center.
After exiting onto FL-536 (World Center Drive), we then continued the drive west, passing I-4 and then crossing through the Walt Disney World Welcome sign, making us feel like we died and went to heaven. The road then became Epcot Center Drive and we then followed the signs for Epcot. A few minutes later, we were at the toll both. Since my Mother was wearing a Disney World Birthday pin from one of our previous trips, the very kind CM at the tollbooth directed us to the Premium Parking lot as Epcot was not crowded that day and as a nice touch of Disney magic, he did not charge us for parking, which was fantastic! We then parked our Subaru, gathered our belongings, and got onboard the tram. About a few minutes later, we arrived near the main entrance of Epcot, where we cleared security, which was smooth and then entered Epcot. The weather was gorgeous, with the high temperature being close to 80 degrees and the skies being mostly clear.
Due to our late start, we missed our FP+ at the Character Spot, so we went ahead and made our way to Spaceship Earth. We did not wait too long and while we were waiting, I had the pleasure of chatting with Maureen, a CM from Albany, NY and we chatted about New York, as I used to be from there and she even gave a Mickey Mouse sticker to this fellow ex-New Yorker. Anyway, we were on Spaceship Earth about ten minutes later and onboard, we passed through time all the way from cavemen at the beginning of time to the invention of the personal computer by Steve Jobs. We always enjoy this classic thanks to the excellent audio-animatronics, the narration by Dame Judy Dench, and the relaxing feel of the ride.
With our next FP+ at Soarin’ not until 3:00PM, there was plenty of time to enjoy other attractions and check out the World Showcase. Next, we went to Mission Space: Green, which is another attraction that we love thanks to its theming and exhilarating feel!
After riding Mission Space, we both felt hungry and since I had wanted to go to La Cantina de San Angel thanks to its good reviews, we began to make our way to World Showcase. Since Mom does not really eat out that much due to food allergies, restrictions, and keeping kosher somewhat, she brought her own lunch from home. We first passed the fountain near Innoventions and as we neared the World Showcase, we then saw this grand and gorgeous Christmas tree!
Next, we passed a booth for the Food & Wine Festival and took a couple of pictures in front of it. What can we say? We are fresh from Florida haha!
Across the lagoon, we got a killer view of the rest of World Showcase!
We then turned to the left to go clockwise around World Showcase Lagoon and we were approaching the Mexico Pavilion!
It was very crowded that day, with all of the seats at La Cantina de San Angel being taken. Thankfully, Mom found a very nice bench so we decided to sit there. With a seating place found, I then went to the counter, where friendly and efficient CMs assisted me. Since I was very hungry, I ordered Pollo Cascabel with no cheese, as since I keep somewhat kosher, I do not mix meat and milk together and while it was not listed on the menu as they are normally served with a few, one Taco de Pollo, and a Diet Coke. I received my order about ten minutes later and I was very pleased, as the food was excellent and there was a good amount of it. Even my Mom, who does not really eat Mexican food, said it looked and smelled good! Also, I must add that I forgot to take a picture of the food, so my apologies in advance. I first tucked into the Pollo Cascabel, which made for a delicious and hearty dish thanks to its tender and slightly spicy grilled chicken, fluffy and slightly salty rice, corn that was sweet, peppery and slightly Cascabel sauce, and pickled onions that added sweetness as well as a slight bite. I then enjoyed the Taco de Pollo, which while a little on the small side, was excellent thanks to its soft, earthy, and well cooked corn tortilla, juicy chicken, and peppery and spicy red salsa. Happily filled from my fantastic lunch, we continued to explore the Mexico Pavilion. We would have stopped in Norway to ride Frozen Ever After, but due to long wait times, we passed. However, we did stop in China. In China, we marveled at the architecture of the pavilion and the ancient architects. However, Mom had her eye on buying a souvenir, so we entered Good Fortune Gifts. We had not really been there before, but Mom was amazed and she loved looking at all of the items, especially the stuffed animals and parasols. The CMs were also awesome, as they were very welcoming and we enjoyed chatting
with them about life in China, America, and even our President Trump caps, which they complimented
. Anyway, after looking for quite sometime, we ended up buying a stuffed monkey, as well as a small plush of two pandas embracing each other. After China, our next stop was Germany, which is one of my favorite pavilions thanks to its theming that makes you feel like you are in Germany as opposed to Central Florida as well its shops and lovely CMs.
While in Germany, we visited all of the shops and while Mom loved seeing everything, there was nothing that caught her eye that day. What adventures will await for the rest of our day? Find out in my next installment!
I absolutely agree visiting during the Christmas season is amazing and it is so true, nobody decorates like Disney! 
