| We had a late start in the morning, arriving at Epcot at about ten a.m. We pulled a fast pass for Soaring as soon as we got there, then kind of split up.
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| Well, we thought we split up. We all met again at the pretzel place near Imagination. We all had some nice salted pretzels. Then, Debbie and I went on Journey Into Your Imagination. Of course, we all miss the original ride with Dreamfinder, but we have gotten used to this ride. It is fun and clever, if judged on its own. We enjoyed it.
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| Debbie and I stopped by Club Cool (really wanted to say Ice Station Cool just now). Nick and I had been through this once this trip, and had been in the previous incarnation on previous trips. But, this was Debbies first time. The old facade was much cooler. But, the sampling of drinks is still interesting. Its also fun to just stand around a little while, and wait for someone to taste Beverly for the first time.
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| Debbie did not care for Beverly. All of us think the Chinese (watermelon) drink is good, and I liked the honey and lemon drink from Israel. This is a fun little stop, and an interesting perspective.
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| We went on the walking tour of the gardens at the Land pavilion, which Debbie insisted on signing up for earlier in the week. It was honestly pretty interesting. We got to see a lot of things more up close (including the alligators), released lady bugs, saw the male banana (the fruit is actually the female), and learned a number of interesting tidbits. We heard more about their world record tomato ÒtreeÓ, which has produced several thousand tomatoes.
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| It was now about time for our FP, and the tour let out right near the queue area for Soaring. So, we sat and waited for the boys. They showed up with some candy they had bought at Epcot. The Japanese candy they had was kind of good. But, they had some kind of Chinese candy that was just awful! Is this like Beverly, there is something going on that we are mostly ignorant of?
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| Soaring is a great, great, great ride! We had done it at California Adventure the year before, but thoroughly enjoyed it again here. The ride is the same, but the theming of the queue area is completely different. Nick liked the queue at DCA better, as it had a bit of aviation history. I kind of had to agree. The ride itself is full of spectacular views, sensations, and even smells. Wow, what a ride! Hard as heck to get on though. This is the only thing that was packed every time we went by it on this trip.
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| We did not have any lunch plans, so Nick talked into trying Alfredos. Nick is a huge fan of Italian food, but we have only eaten in the Italian pavilion once long ago. We did not have a PS, but had no real trouble walking in (about a 15 minute wait for a table).
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| Dalton and I both had Fettucine Alfredo. This dish was allegedly invented at the restaurant in Italy for which this restaurant is modeled. This dish was amazing. Now I know what it is supposed to taste like. Debbie ahd a three pasta sampler, and really enjoyed the dumplings. Nick had Lasagna Bolognase, which he claims was fantastic. Debbie and I also each had a great bowl of Pasta Fagioli. This was different then we have had at other places, but was very special. It had a thick layer of beans on the top, and pasta near the bottom. It was much thicker, and less like a soup, then what we were used to. It was superb. Debbie, Nick, and I each had a desert. Debbie and Nick had the chocolate mousse, which was very good. I had a sampler, which was also very good. But, the canoli was great, and left me wishing that I had ordered just the canoli (so there would have been more of it!)
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| The decor here is just gorgeous, with a lovely Italian fresco surrounding you. Our server, who was wonderful, was from Naples (which happens to be the area my mothers family was from). This was the best meal of the trip up to this point, but Canada managed to beat it later on. Nick insists this was hands down the best meal of the trip. We caught the very end of the Romeo and Gertrude show (comedy troop) performing in the streets of Italy. It was extremely funny.
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| We also caught the tail end of the Voices of Liberty, performing in the American Pavilion. The acoustics here are phenomenal. The singing was wonderful, and the performance overall was quite moving. We then went into the American Adventures (animatronic) stage show. I really love this show. It is so impressive technically. And it tells a complex story very well. Nick loved the show this time. When we had seen it a few years ago (missed it on our last trip), he thought it was just OK. But, he has a very strong interest in American History now, and this was just his cup of tea.
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| The show does address our troubles, but also our triumphs. Overall, I find it a more uplifting show than the Hall Of Presidents. It is definitely a great show.
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| We split up after the American Adventure. Debbie and I had some snacks, too some pictures, and generally walked around the World Showcase. We just happened to catch the acrobats performing in China. It is a pretty darned impressive show.
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| We did the Norway ride (Maelstrom), and stayed for the movie, which we usually dont do. The wait for the ride was about 40 minutes, but it was a fun ride. The movie was actually good for a change of pace.
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| We headed for the locker at the front of the park to pick up our jackets, as the evening promised to be cool. We stopped to go on Spaceship Earth. This was lucky, as it was stalled 5 minutes after we got off. This was a walk on. Once again, it is a wonderful sweeping story, and I just love it.
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| We grabbed our coats, which we certainly needed this evening, and headed back towards the Rose and Crown. I love the Rose and Crown. About the only bad thing I ever have to say about it is that sometimes the wait is far too long, even with a PS. This was one of those nights. Later we discovered that a large group was sharing the patio with us. It was the CMs whose year was up in March, and they were having one last night before heading home. You cant fault them for that.
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| Even though we were seated about 20 minutes after our PS (and had arrived nearly 30 minutes before our PS), we had a great overall experience.
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| The menu moved around again. We had a nice mushroom medley appetizer, and ordered a couple of beers. I had the bangers an mash, and Debbie had a cottage pie. Nick actually ordered a steak, and Dalton had the fish and chips (which are famously good here). Nick finished his meal, Dalton did not!
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| I really enjoyed my meal, and the terrific view of Illuminations. I was still eating during the show, and would have preferred to finish before it started. But, it is a moving, well orchestrated show, which continues to be amazing after seeing it many times.
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| Would I sound like I was complaining if I mentioned the kid (and his mom) who came over to our table during the show, climbed up on the railing in front of us, and nearly stepped on Nick to do it? I guess some people have no sense of perspective when on vacation. I probably just wont mention it.
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| We had a very pleasant and uneventful walk back to the bus, and ride back to the room.
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