Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot

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This morning, Joanna and I were up early. We mobile ordered breakfast at our resort. I thought we'd pick it up and bring it to our room, but it's quite the hike from our room in the Little Mermaid section to the main building at Art of Animation. So, when we arrived, we opted to eat there rather than carry a tray of food all the way back. There are tables set up outside, so it's really a nice and safe place to eat. As we ate, a squirrel came right up to us. Joanna was thrilled, but I was trying to scare it away. It took a long time to be deterred! Later, a bird flew right up to us and landed on the back of my chair. I jumped in surprise, and a woman walking by started laughing. Glad I could make someone's day!

After breakfast, Joanna and I got ready for Epcot. Epcot currently opens at 11am. I'd heard, in order to reduce gatherings, Disney has start letting people in early, sometimes as early as 10am. I wanted to arrive early to be able to do some of the indoor attractions without spending too much time in line, so Joanna and I left at 9am. The Skyliner first takes us to Caribbean Beach Resort, which is the Skyliner hub. From there, we have to transfer to another Skyliner gondola to go to Epcot. The Epcot one wasn't running yet, and we were told it would start running at 10am. So, we strolled down and picked up some Joffrey's. I got a frozen coffee drink, and Joanna got a frozen lemonade. We meandered over to the Jamaica section of the resort and found a bench to sit on for a bit. Joanna called Andrew and talked to him about our trip so far. We then made our way back to the Skyliner. A smallish line had started to form, so we joined it. It was about 9:30, and, twenty minutes later, the line was quite long. I couldn't see the end of it. They started loading people into the Skyliner around 9:50-9:55. Joanna and I lucked out because we were between some large groups of people, so we got our own Skyliner gondola again!

We were able to check into Epcot, but they held everyone up at the World Showcase until 10:30. At that time, they opened the park, and Joanna and I went straight to Soarin'. Soarin' Around the World is my favorite ride at Disney World. It feels like you're gliding over some of the most scenic parts of the world, and, of course, Disney does an amazing job by piping in smells of where you're traveling. We got right up to the front with no wait, but we opted to wait for the next cycle to make sure we could ride top row, center (it makes a difference!). After that, we hopped on Living with the Land and only had to wait for one boat to fill before we were loaded on the ride. Afterwards, we went back outside and meandered through a butterfly house that was part of the flower & garden festival. We checked out some of the character topiaries. Those were really cool, but I was actually a bit surprised at how few flowers there were at the park. Epcot is full of construction right now, so that's probably the reason.

Because of construction, we struggled a bit to get to the other side of the World Showcase. We tried to go clockwise around the lake, but construction walls blocked us. We had to double back before we found a bridge that would take us there. I stopped by a vegan food cart called Trowel & Trellis and got to try some street corn and Impossible Korean short ribs. That food was phenomenal! I don't think theme park food is usually good, and that's to be expected. The food at Art of Animation has been lackluster (but it hasn't bothered me, because we're not here for the food). The food at this food booth was a completely different story!

Afterwards, we headed to the Norwegian Pavilion. We got to see Elsa there. She's the only princess we saw during our time at Epcot. I'd read that cars full of princesses drive through the World Showcase frequently, but we never saw one. After meeting Elsa (from a distance, which was OK with us!), we decided to try the ride Frozen Ever After. A 40 minute wait time was posted, but the line was half outside. It ended up being about a 30 minute wait, and Joanna loved the ride. So, it was worth it!

We were going to get her a fancy cotton candy from the China pavilion. It was one of the offerings we'd read about online for Food & Garden. Turns out, our source must have been old because they aren't offering it this year due to COVID-19. To make it, they would have to touch the cotton candy, so it's not offered this year. Joanna was disappointed. So, I asked a cast member what some of her favorite treats are, and she suggested we head back to the Norwegian pavilion to check out the bakery there. It was a good recommendation because Joanna was thrilled with their June pride offering that was a rainbow cake, and I got a delicious troll horn. Don't ask me what it was, but it was orangey and creamy and good! The only downside to the experience were two children about 10 years old waiting in the line without a mask. Their father had a mask that was folded up, only covering his upper lip. It's the only time we've seen this at Disney World, and I felt frustrated no cast member asked them to put one on. They were in front of us in line, so we gave them a lot of space. At one point, a cast member asked us to move up in line. I let him know we wouldn't be moving up because the people in front of us don't have masks on. The cast member didn't say anything to those people, but he allowed us to keep our distance. Thankfully, all you do is order your pastry and take it outside, so we weren't in there long.

After our treat, we walked back to the Skyliner to head back to our resort. We rested for a bit and swam. All Joanna needs in life is a pool or a beach to be happy, so she was thrilled.

At 5pm, we headed back to Epcot for our dinner reservations. We had reservations at Rose & Crown, a restaurant at the UK pavilion that has outside seating. The service there was outstanding. I had a vegan shepherd's pie, which was pretty good, and Joanna got some fish & chips that she loved. We split a trifle after our meal. I think I ate too much because I got an upset stomach afterwards. It hit me when we were near the front of the line to Test Track. They let us off the ride and told us we could come back through the FastPass line if we came back (currently, FastPass isn't offered at Disney World, but the lines are still available for people doing rider swap, those who have a DAS pass, etc.). After using the restroom, I felt better. I took some Imodium just in case. Then, we went back. The cast members were so great. Instead of having us walk through the whole FastPass line, they actually took us through a cast member door to take us straight back to the end of the line. It was so nice of them and really left me feeling wowed. I'm glad we went back because Test Track ended up being Joanna's favorite ride! This trip, she really is pushing to go on more thrill rides.

Before leaving for the night, we watched the Impressions de France film in the France pavilion. It was beautiful. After the 18 minute film, we were going to walk around "France" a bit, but the wind started kicking up like it would storm. The Skyliner doesn't operate when it's storming, so I told Joanna we had to go! The storm held out, thankfully. We got off the Skyliner and started walking to our room, and we were about halfway there when the clouds opened. I was just glad to be back at our resort and not stuck anywhere!

All in all, it was a very successful day at Epcot. I'd worried we'd hate it with all of the construction, but we didn't. The construction is definitely an inconvenience, but nothing more than that.

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Photos

Checking for a Hook Hand
We waited by this topiary for Epcot to officially open for the day. Some of the topiaries for the Flower & Garden Festival are really intricate!

Street Corn and Impossible Korean Short Ribs
From the vegan food booth at Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival