Our Disney World Vacation – Day 4 – Epcot

Day 4 of our trip took us around the world at Epcot. Well, mostly around the world. We got on the Skyliner again, transferring twice before arriving at Epcot.

We decided to go for the rides first, so we hit Soarin’ right away which is a hang-gliding flight simulator around the world. Very cool! We rode Living with the Land next and took a boat tour through the greenhouses of Epcot. The last thing we rode was Spaceship Earth (it’s in the big Epcot ball). We headed to Test Track, but it was broken down when we got there. The whole center area between Spaceship Earth and the lake is blocked off. Major renovations going on. But at least they had the cute butterfly thingies for pictures!

We headed to Mexico, and the loop of countries around the lake. But, we ended up skipping Mexico, most of Norway, and China. Each country had a popular ride or attraction which made it a very congested area (thanks, Anna and Elsa). I did manage to get a photo of the gate to China.

We were also able to walk through the Gods of the Vikings exhibit because it’s out in the front of Norway. Tabitha represented Loki well.

Tabitha got to show her love for some of the princesses.

We still visited America, even though we’re literally here every damn day. But, we got to listen to some great live music from a mariachi band and an acapella group, so that was worth it. We also watched the animatronic show “The American Adventure.” Tabitha kept pointing out all the whitewashing. And there was one song in it where they would sing “America” all dramatic-like, so she decided to sing “Captain America” instead, but just as dramatic. I fricking love this kid.

We saw some bonsai trees and a dragon topiary in Japan.

Some cool stuff in Italy, including a weeping angel. (Don’t blink!)

Got to see the Eiffel Tower and some expensive artsy fartsy stuff in France. (I love artsy fartsy stuff!) We also found a Paris box with all the Marie stuff in a shop. Savannah has always loved Marie and Paris, and she actually owns this box! A photo of it was a must.

Side-note: The blue cloth Tabitha has on her head was a life saver from the heat! We got two of them. You just wet them, wring them out, then snap them a couple times. Snapping them does some sciency stuff, and they stay cool for a couple hours. These and her portable fan/mister made the heat a little more bearable.

Tabitha tried to make a call, but there was no bloody phone! The Pooh Bear, Rabbit, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore topiaries were so stinkin’ cute! And I really want to analyze the rhetorical significance of placing the Shakespeare Garden directly in front of the bathrooms. (Can’t escape rhetoric even on vacation – haha!)

And then there was Germany. I saved this for last because it’s where we ate lunch and dinner. Of course, Tim had to check out the model train.

Lunch was at Bauernmarkt. Tabitha and I had the toasted pretzel bread with black forest ham and melted gruyere cheese. It was so good! Tim only had a beer flight. He was saving room for dinner.

Dinner was at the Biergarten. This was easily the best meal we had all week! It used to be a buffet with all the tables together to represent an actual biergarten during Oktoberfest. Because of the pandemic, tables are now separated, and the food is served family-style right at your table. I actually preferred this because I’m not a fan of buffets (gross!). It’s still all you can eat though!

The first course is pretzel bread, potato salad, a tomato and cucumber salad, and macaroni salad. I wasn’t fast enough to get a pic of the tomato/cucumber salad because Tim and Tabitha inhaled it! The main course is bratwurst, roasted chicken, nudel gratin, sauerkraut, red cabbage, spatzle (noodles), warm potato salad, regensberger wurst, franks, schnitzel, frikadellen (meatballs), and green beans. And, of course, I didn’t take a picture of all of it, only my plate. I almost forgot to do that because I just wanted to eat!

I opted for the spatzle, chicken, schnitzel, and frikadellen. The noodles and chicken weren’t anything special. They were good, but just tasted like noodles and lemon-pepper chicken. The schnitzel was very tasty, especially with the sweet mustard. And the frikadellen? OMG! FRIKA-AMAZING!

Dessert was cheesecake with berry compote, black forest roll, chocolate chip cookies, and warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce. The cookies were cookies. I actually gave mine to Tabitha because compared to the other desserts, they just weren’t happening for me. The apple strudel was very good. But, I still can’t decide if I liked the cheesecake with berry compote or the black forest roll more. I mean, you’d think cheesecake is pretty generic, right? But let me tell you, this cheesecake was so amazing I wanted to cry!

And as if all the amazing food wasn’t enough, there’s live music! It was such a great dinner experience!

Interesting side-note: As we were walking in, we ran into Tabitha’s principal from her old school! How crazy is that?!

Rain and storms seemed to loom overhead all day. There was one rain burst during the day, and one was on its way after dinner. We tried hard to get back to the Skyliner before the storm hit because we knew they would stop running it. We didn’t make it, so we had to walk even further to the bus. And another evening storm meant no pool time. I wasn’t complaining though. I was ready for sleep!