Disney 2009 - Day 3 - Epcot

Lauren was tall enough for Soarin' this year, and we were super-excited about our family getting to ride this one together. We fastpassed it and then rode it stand-by. Lauren was definitely nervous, but it turned out to be her favorite ride at Epcot. And her favorite part was not the flying thru the air, or seeing Tinkerbell in the fireworks, but the smell of the orange groves. She is super-sensitive to smells, and just loved that scents were incorporated into the ride.

For some reason, they opened Epcot in stages this morning, so while we had hoped to head over to test track & mission space, they were delayed another hour. I think we did spaceship earth next. And then we split up. The moms took the girls and ben to the living seas while the boys did mission space. We rode Nemo, saw Turtle Talk with Crush and then met up with the guys at the aquarium. Then we headed over to Innoventions and checked in for a Kim Possible mission.

At this point, the three families split up for lunch. We headed into the World Showcase. I picked up ham & cheese baguettes for Brian and I in France. Then we saw Belle. She called Andrew a handsome prince and showed him how to bow to a lady. He was smitten. Lauren asked for her autograph and Belle asked her a favor. She told Lauren that when she visits her friend Mulan to give her the message 'Tag- you're it!' The kids thought this was so funny. But unfortunately, we didn't make it over to China...

Next we headed over to the USA pavilion for lunch. Brian and I ate our french sandwiches while the kids ate hot dogs and chicken nuggets. We got to see the fife and drum core & learned that the colony of Georgia had a snake on it's flag originally. Andrew thought that was pretty cool.

After lunch, we began our KP missions. One took us to Germany, where we visited Volks Kunst for clues. The kids thought this was so cool. Brian and I were really impressed with how they incorporated clues into the countries - esp. the clocktower in Germany. Our next KP mission took us to the UK on the trail of Duff Killigan. There we took a few pics with Alice, and then headed back to Future World for one last ride: Test Track. Andrew & Brian had ridden this last year, but it was Lauren's first time. She was not a fan. To redeem the situation, we headed back to Soarin' and ended on a high note. She just loved the orange fragrance.

We remembered to get some family pictures on our way out. I love the ones of Andrew 'holding' the Epcot ball & Lauren holding Tinkerbell.