When Disney decided to build Epcot, they should have listened to Lily and added the letter I.  Our day at the park was truly epic-ot.

As luck would have it, the bus arrived at our stop at the same time we did, so we hopped right on and went straight to the park.  After being reminded that there are nasty people in this world during the security checkpoint stop, we speed walked back to Norway to meet Anna and Elsa.  We had to wait about 35 minutes, so the kids got their first taste of waiting patiently.  The wait was worth it.  Anna and Elsa were great – totally in character. Anna told Lily that Olaf would love her because he loves flowers, especially lilies.   And Elsa wants Ty and Lily to be on her snowball fight team.  Epic.

From there we went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends and walked around the aquarium for a bit.  Lily found the sea turtle and sat down next to it.  Weird.  

We used a Fast Pass to go to the Character Spot and meet Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy.  You can’t help but smile – especially when Mickey gives you a kiss on the cheek.  Epic.

Then I was in the mood for a Mickey ice cream bar.

We had some time between Fast Passes so we decided to do the Journey into Imagination with Figment ride.  We got right in and went to the first segment of the ride, when it decided that it had had enough fun for one day and shut down.  It took around 10-15 minutes for the staff to empty all of the cars and exit the ride.  On our way out they gave us 6 fast pass tickets.  Sweet!  

Jay stayed with the kids in the play area at the end of that ride while Kirk, Sherry and I went over to Soarin’.  It was a 60-90 minute wait all day, but with the bonus fast pass, we got right in.  And it. Was. Incredible.  Every once in a while you have a moment.  A moment where everything that didn’t seem to make sense and seemed to be against you turns out to be pretty great.  Soarin’ was my moment.  Yes, I have had a pretty crappy few weeks.  Yes, I have felt like life isn’t fair.  Yes, I have had to make extremely difficult decisions.  But I was reminded that life has taken me on some pretty awesome adventures.  And in the whole story of my life, the present is just a short chapter.  And the rest of the book will be awesome no matter which path we decide (or are forced) to take.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.  Epic.

We tried to catch up with Jay and the kids, but they had already gone into Ellen’s Energy Adventure.  We caught the next show and found them after it finished.

Jay, Ty and Kirk used the bonus Fast Passed to have a go at the Test Track.  I was a little (ok a lot) worried about how Ty would do once I saw how fast the cars were going around the track.  Lily used the time wisely to take a much needed nap.  I thought for sure that Ty would come out of that ride crying or puking or both.  But he came running out, with the BIGGEST smile on his face.  “Mom!  It was awesome!! I want to do it again!”  Oh thank goodness.  In the photo below he is the one in the middle of the back seat with his head down.  Despite being terrified, he loved the adrenaline rush.  Epic.

Since Lily was still asleep and we had some time to kill, we decided to take a walk around the world.  Morocco, Japan, China, England, France, Germany, Mexico, Norway – and a few others that I can’t remember.  I love how you can really feel like you are transported to another country – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the food, the drink.  So I know this sounds really silly, but my German roots are quite strong.  Frau Geisler, as some say (OK, really only Andreas calls me that, but it is fun to say with a German accent).  I saved up my appetite for dinner in Germany.  Sauerkraut and potato salad please.  Danka!!  Mouth watering delicious.  Epic.

We went to Mexico for the nice and relaxing boat ride and a photo with Donald Duck, and then headed back to Mexico to wait for our final Fast Pass to the Frozen ride.  This ride hadn’t had less than an hour wait time all day.  And we soon found out why.  Wow.  For whatever reason, Ty had it in his mind that it was scary, and despite every attempt to convince him that if he could do Test Track he could certainly do Frozen, he was still a nervous wreck.  We get on the boat and were instantly swept away to another world.  The oohs and ahhhs and giggles and pointing and laughing and shouting didn’t stop.  He did get a bit worried when the boat went backwards for a bit, and then of course when we went over the waterfall (not much of a drop), but when the ride finished, it was like I was literally watching his brain thinking “I did it!  I was afraid but I did it and you know what?  It was awesome!!”  One of my favorite minutes of the vacation.  Epic.

We were all pretty exhausted so we decided to not wait another 2 hours for the fireworks show, and we caught the bus home.  Two tired kids.  Four tired adults.  Six happy people.  Epic.