If you missed part 1 or 2, click on the corresponding number to catch up!

After a day at Hollywood Studios, we rope dropped Epcot with our friends. The Early Theme Park Entry offered to Disney Resort guests is beneficial no matter what but does work better at some parks than others. As a general rule, the earlier the hours are the less people will take advantage of them. With Epcot usually having a 9 AM opening, the extra half hour can be more crowded than Animal Kingdom, for example. That’s especially true because there are 3, maybe 4, rides that everyone goes to first since Cosmic Rewind is only accessible via the virtual queue.

We went to one of those attractions, starting the day at Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Staying at All Star Sports Resort, we came through Epcot’s main entrance and that cost us a better spot in line too. Those entering from the International Gateway will get there faster! In hindsight, Frozen Ever After might have been the move here. But everything worked out alright as we made it through the France Pavilion attraction in about 40 minutes. As I said in part one of this trip report, the ride is solid but far from our favorite.

The morning had really started earlier than that, with us trying to get a spot in Cosmic Rewind’s virtual queue. We were successful! I can’t really take the credit for that one though, I believe it was our friend Ty who had the fast thumbs and got our group of 6 in. Thanks Ty! After Ratatouille, we had a few minutes before our group would be called. I was in itinerary testing mode so Melissa and I sped off to go do Soarin’. Once there, the line had grown and our boarding group was only a few numbers away so we opted for Living with the Land. Virtual queues can have you adjusting on the fly sometimes!

Living with the Land remains one of my favorite Epcot attractions. There are parts of it that could use an update, of course. Once the boats enter the greenhouses though, there’s so much to see! If you haven’t done the Behind the Seeds Tour and love the attraction, we highly recommend it.

Our boarding group was called so we walked over to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. I’ve already reviewed the attraction at length so won’t rehash that. I did find the first ride through to be a little daunting in trying to catch everything going on. Newer Disney attractions don’t always reward repeat rides. There’s nothing like the very first time on Rise of the Resistance, for example. Cosmic Rewind ages really well though and there’s a few variables to make your 2nd, 3rd, 10th or 100th ride just as interesting as the first! All that said, we were excited after the first ride through and happy that Imagineering did as well as they possibly could have with this assignment.

Melissa set up to work for a while and I went off to fit some more rides in. In our Epcot itinerary, I recommend fitting in as many rides as you can in the morning. One of the best ways to do that is by using the single-rider line at Test Track. I was through that queue in 10 minutes! It does diminish the ride experience some but I think balances out with the lack of weight. The actual ride is pretty disappointing at this point in time but that’s moot thanks to the upcoming reimagining! I’m excited to see where they go with that project.

Until then, Test Track races toward the white light. Hopefully the attraction enjoys the reincarnation process.

I ended up getting pretty lucky, walking over to Spaceship Earth and getting on the ride within 15 minutes. Fitting in 5 of Epcot’s attractions, including 3 of the 5 biggest, before noon is a good goal to shoot for. After the Test Track project is over with (no more death jokes, I promise), I’m curious what they’ll work on next in the park. The Imagination Pavilion is the obvious choice but reigniting the Spaceship Earth plans is also an option. I still love the ride but it could use an update.

After the briskly paced morning, I was hungry! We settled in at Connections Eatery, where Melissa had been working from, and had lunch there. It was alright but not one of the better spots in Epcot or Walt Disney World. Here’s our full review of the restaurant! While better than the replaced Electric Umbrella, I can’t say it’s a spot we’re itching to go back to.

I helped Melissa move her work station to the DVC Lounge in the Imagination Pavilion and then continued on my attraction heavy day. We hadn’t tested our Epcot plan in a few years and I wanted to make sure it help up. I still need to update a few things on that post but came away mostly pleased!

Gran Fiesta Tour has a consistently low wait and is surprisingly fun. The screens in the ride are jarring but the rest of the attraction is a cute slow boat ride!

I had a few minutes to spare so I stopped to watch the Festival of the Arts show, Art Defying Gravity. This was a 15 minute cirque style performance with the artists twisting, lifting and climbing up one another! I believe it has been at the festival, in some form, for a few years and I highly recommend stopping in for a watch if it returns. In 2024, it was right at the front of World Showcase.

After feeling sore just from watching the acrobatics, I paid a visit to The Seas with a ride on Nemo and a walk around the aquarium. The latter is much better than the former. That ride drives me crazy but the rest of the pavilion feels undervalued at this point. Watching the dolphins play, the hammerhead roam and the manatees (uhhh) float is a nice way to spend some inside time during a hot Florida afternoon!

I have nicer things to say about The Seas than I do about the current Imagination Pavilion. That ride is pretty brutal! But the new meet & greet is well done and I think we’ll hear about the attraction getting redone as soon as this year’s D23 Expo. Here’s to hoping!

The fountain remains undefeated though! I took a break in the DVC Lounge with Melissa for a little while. More often than not, I move around a little too quickly when itinerary testing so I try to build in breaks to make sure I’m being realistic for a family to follow. You can call that noble or you can call me out that really I just wanted to sit in the very cool DVC Lounge.

Getting right back to the attractions, I was stalking the Soarin’ wait time until I saw it fall down to under half an hour. It was a real treat to have Soarin’ Over California back in Epcot. The Over the World theme fits the park but the original is a better ride. I’d love to see a new film added but that probably won’t happen anytime soon.

Epcot has my favorite gardens of any Disney Park. Even during non Flower & Garden Festival months, there’s so much green and color that the park boasts. Add in the wonderfully diverse architecture as a backdrop and it’s tough to beat. That’s one of those things that you don’t really realize while bouncing from ride to ride but it elevates the park.

Being in the area, I went for another walkthrough in Journey of Water. In fact, I was in Epcot 3 different days that trip and went each time I was there. It’s convenient, fun and such a wonderful addition to the park.

As the evening approached, I’d accomplished everything I’d wanted to in the day. Frozen Ever After and Mission: Space were left but knowing that there was plenty of time left in the day, we decided that the itinerary was fine as is and went on with what we actually wanted to do. I avoid Mission: Space at all costs, to be honest. We all have those rides, right? I moved toward World Showcase after spending a little bit of time in the redone central spine.

The sun was setting and color was starting to light up the sky as I reached the China Pavilion. Here are a few sunset photos around the area!

There are very few places in the world I’d rather be at sunset than World Showcase.

Melissa joined me after she finished work and we stopped to hear Julia Scheeser and her band perform in the Germany Pavilion. We hope that they’ll be back at some point in the future!

Blue hour set in and the night was just perfect. It had been a beautiful day and the cold wasn’t biting yet so we walked around for a few more photos before our hot dinner.

That hot meal came via Katsura Grill. The nights at Epcot where we feel like eating a hot soup or curry are few and far between so we took advantage of this cooler one and shared some Udon and Curry. They were delicious and this remains one of the best counter-service spots in Epcot!

We kind of repeated our Epcot night from part 1 of this trip report, heading to the Festival of the Arts Broadway performances after dinner. It just so happened to be the exact same performers as the previous viewing, which was alright because they were great. Seeing Ashley Brown and L Steven Taylor was a highlight of the trip.

Once the show ended, we grabbed a spot for Luminous just to the right of the Japan Pavilion’s torii gate. That’s still the easiest and best spot to get for the show if you don’t want to wait very long ahead of time. I like watching from there as it’s near the back of World Showcase and has a fairly straight on view of the fireworks and lights.

I’m curious to see Luminous again in the future. We watched it two times on the trip and I did not enjoy the show. Since then, I’ve read other reviews that put the show in a more favorable light than I did. I don’t think my opinion will change much, as I found the nighttime spectacular to use way too much exposition and the music didn’t hit home for me like it did for others. But some shows do grow on you over time. Either way, it’s still well worth seeing regardless of what I think!

The rest of the group went back to their hotels after the show to get some sleep, like normal humans. I stayed out for a while and took some photos around Epcot. With the front half of the park having fewer construction walls, there’s no shortage of different views. After stopping the in the UK Pavilion, I spent some time up there. Here’s a few photos from the rest of the night.

Compared to where the park was just a few years ago, Epcot has really improved. Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Journey of water have bolstered the attraction roster. The central spine isn’t perfect but looks better than it did. The park can still feel be caught in the juxtaposition of old Epcot versus new at times but as a whole it has improved!

I wasn’t the last one out of Epcot but when there’s hardly anyone on your bus back to a value resort then you know that you’ve stayed out pretty late. Once I was back to the hotel, I grabbed a few photos around the resort until my camera battery died.

That had been a long day and I was tired, so sleeping in the next day felt pretty good! Melissa worked in the morning and then we left All Star Sports in time for an early lunch at STK.

I’ve already raved about the lunch offering in our review but this really is the best value in Walt Disney World. The $9.99 Wagyu Beef Burger is phenomenal and this will become one of our trip staples for as long as the burger is offered!

With the previous day being busy and our friends opting for a resort day, I decided to have a relaxing afternoon. Some would say doing a loop around Animal Kingdom isn’t relaxing at all but I find that park really peaceful. I find it even more peaceful when it’s less than 70 degrees outside!

I had no agenda other than being back at Disney Springs in time for dinner. So I perused down little paths and ducked into a few shops. The lines weren’t too long but I was enjoying walking around and taking photos. If Epcot has the best gardens, Animal Kingdom is the park that feels most organic. The streams throughout and all of the greenery make it feel like an actual park. And the signage is photogenic!

After spending an hour or two meandering, I decided to take a less direct way to Disney Springs. A boat ride sounded pleasant so I caught a bus to Port Orleans Riverside before catching a boat to dinner. It was one of the more relaxing days I’ve had at Walt Disney World! I’ve been kicking around the idea of doing a non park Walt Disney World itinerary and that boat ride would definitely be on it. If you’re interested in that, leave a comment below!

I enjoyed walking around Port Orleans Riverside so much that we booked a few nights there for our next Walt Disney World stay. It has been years since we’ve stayed there and I’m excited to return!

The relaxing day was capped off with fun dinner at Raglan Road! If you haven’t read our review, the food and drinks are good and the atmosphere is really festive. This is a great spot for groups looking for some lively entertainment in a family setting.

After dinner and a little shopping, we caught our bus back to All Star Sports. We were checking out early the next morning so we packed up our things and went to bed not much after. This wasn’t the most exciting day to write about and I breezed through it because this post was already getting long. But it was a perfect halfway mark of the trip to catch up on some sleep and put in a few less steps. The next installment will pick up the following day at Animal Kingdom!

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