When a beautiful spring Sunday presents itself, you want to make the most of it by spending some time in the great outdoors. Because we live in Orlando, we often take these opportunities to head over to Epcot and take some time to be outside and enjoy the sights and sounds around the park. We had some breakfast at home and made our way to the park, arriving just before noon. It was the 2016 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, which we had visited briefly on a prior evening after work and school, but we were excited to spend a little more time exploring the offerings. We were also excited to try out some of the food offerings around the World Showcase, which in recent years for Flower and Garden has become a miniature version of the fall’s famed Epcot Food and Wine Festival. The last time we did a full day at Epcot was for Sawyer’s 4th birthday, a day in which we were much more focused on rides and characters rather than taking in the Epcot atmosphere. Flower and Garden is full of spectacular sights and sounds, so we decided to continue with the GoPro fun and put together a video of our day (below).
Having just returned from our exciting vacation to Disneyland, we wanted to partake in the Egg-Stravaganza at Epcot, similar to the one we completed at Disney’s California Adventure. We purchased our cards at the Pin Traders shop in the middle of Future World, and prepared ourselves for the realization that we would have to tour the entire World Showcase.
Before we set out to see the World, we were excited for our annual trip through Butterfly Garden on the path just behind the Club Cool location in Future World. Hunter loves to visit this spot every year, as it is a really unique spot to walk through. You get up close and personal with a ton of beautiful butterflies of all shapes, sizes, and colors, as well as a few hundred Guests in varying levels of odor. We took some photos of the beautiful flying creatures but after about 15 minutes, there are only so many butterflies that one needs to see.
Since we got a later start to the day, it was already time to fill the rumbling tummies of Hunter and Sawyer. Emily and I were interested in trying out some of the delicious flavors of the kiosks around World Showcase, so we decided to grab the boys something from Electric Umbrella, and eat it picnic style, in the grassy area just outside of the Universe of Energy. With chicken nuggets and chocolate milk in hand, we grabbed a spot on the lush lawn and enjoyed a fun picnic lunch complete with some really silly pictures. If you get a chance and want to relax, I would strongly encourage you to relax in this area as the Monorail literally runs right over your head. Especially at this time of year, and in the fall as well, it is a really terrific, no traffic spot to take fun family photos. If we were EVER smart enough to pack a picnic blanket, it would truly be perfect. #nexttime
Now that the boys were fed, and some energy burned, we made our way back to the World Showcase to find some fun food and hunt for Easter eggs. We made our way around the Showcase, taking our time to check out the sights, and trying to find a hidden egg in each of the countries. One great thing about the Easter EggStravaganza is that it sort of forces you off the beaten path in the countries that we tend to pass up, especially with kids in tow. We didn’t eat quite as much as we originally thought we would, but the boys made up for it in the pretzel and ice cream department. We had a lot of fun capturing images and video with the GoPro. Hunter was a really fun sport and even offered to wear the GoPro chest mount around the World Showcase for a while.
As many times as I have seen them in my life, I cannot get over how amazing the topiaries are throughout Epcot during the Flower and Garden festival. I know there is a ton of work that goes into them, but they are truly remarkable. Above is one of the newer ones from a movie I am not sure if you have heard of… it was called Frozen? 😉 The detail in the face is absolutely incredible. There are a bunch more photos of some of the other topiaries that we captured throughout the day in the video above, or the photo slideshow below.
We made our way around the entire showcase, arriving at Mexico to find our last hidden egg. Luckily we found it without too much effort as I think we were about at the end of our rope in terms of scavenger hunting. With our completed maps we headed to the Towers merchandise shops which is where you redeem the completed maps to get your prize. For those of you considering doing this on your next visit, they do offer to give you the prize at purchase if you are concerned that you might not complete the entire scavenger hunt. The prize was a character egg and the boys both decided that they were going to select Stitch. You can see the satisfaction on their faces in the photo above.
With a few thousand steps on our weary legs, we agreed that we would wrap up our time at Epcot with a few of our favorites attractions in Future World. Our first stop was an attraction that has quickly become a fan favorite for both Hunter and Sawyer (much to the confusion of their parents), the Universe of Energy. I think with the combination of Ellen, dinosaurs, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Jeopardy, there is not much to not love about this attraction. Every time Sawyer hears the Jeopardy music (which is a show that Emily and Hunter now watch before bed… nerds of a feather), he calls it the “Universe of Energy song.” Needless to say, we didn’t have trouble walking right onto the ride, as the Cast Members looked curiously at us wondering why we didn’t have better things to do. I also find it so humorous how they provide multiple warnings prior to boarding the attraction that it is 45 minutes and you can’t get off (under their breath… “because I promise you will want to”). We made it through yet another round of Universe of Energy, and I can safely report (spoiler alert) that Ellen beats Stupid Judy in final Jeopardy.
With just enough energy (see what I did there???) for one more attraction, we headed over to the other side of Future World and made our way into The Land pavilion to ride Living With the Land. Another one of our favorite slow rides, Living with the Land is a really cool ride through the green houses at Epcot where they have some pretty incredible ways that they are growing foods that are used throughout the park. It is a relaxing ride and you learn something new every time you ride. There are also baby alligators which have been a favorite of the boys for as long as I can remember. We admired all of the amazing fruits and vegetables checking out the watermelons which were as big as an elephants… toes (what did you think I was going to say?).
Although we were tired, and wanted to be off our feet, we didn’t want to head back home quite yet because it was such a fun day. Having remembered our friends the Rowes enjoyed pizza from Gardell Bros Brick Oven Pizza in Hunter’s Creek, we decided that we should give it a try. As we arrived it was getting a bit chilly (in April!), so pizza sounded like the perfect choice to warm us. We got some delicious garlic knots and a couple of small pizzas for everyone to share. Perfect ending to another amazing weekend day in Central Florida. I often remind myself how lucky I am to live in such an rewarding place!
Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Photo Slideshow
