Day 2: EPCOT

Another sunny wake up!  I have followed the weather for weeks and rain is in the forecast every.single.day!  I came prepared with a dozen disposable rain ponchos and always have two with me just in case.  Our FastPass+ are early today so we had to get up and moving which isn't always so easy when on vacation.  We rode Test Track . . .

. . . it was cool and fast!  I have never rode this so was exciting and the unknown was interesting too.  One thing you quickly learn is that if you arrive at any of the parks at opening the lines are short and a lot can be accomplished before the crowds.  We then headed to Mission: SPACE.  This ride has an orange (intense) and green (less intense) line.  We went with the green and it wasn't that bad so we jumped back in the orange line to see just how intense it really was.  OH.MY.GOODNESS.  Well, let's just say the g-force within the first 10 seconds was a total killer for me!  It was the longest 4 minutes of my day.  I was definitely feeling sick and could not wait for the ride to be o-v-e-r!  When it was over, I could not get off fast enough and outside for some fresh air.  Colin of course thought it was hilarious and was ready to get back in line again . . . ummm, NO thanks!  I will never be riding the orange line again . . . ever!  We headed over to Innovations so Colin could play a bit while I regrouped.  After about 20 minutes we headed over to my favorite part of EPCOT . . . The Land!  I just love this area.  We jumped in line to ride Living with the Land.  While it isn't that exciting, I always love to see the greenhouses and if I ever had a chance to work anywhere in Disney this is where it would be.  It was lunch time so we grabbed a tray and loaded up at Sunshine Seasons.  I swear it is the BEST food court area in all of  the parks.  I had a yummy Roast Beets with Goat Cheese Salad with Honey Sherry Dressing . . .

. . . I swear it was amazingly good!  Colin had half a roasted chicken; he's all about the meat.  We enjoyed hanging out and relaxing before we headed to the big white ball to ride Spaceship Earth.

At the beginning of the ride Colin prompted me to smile and at the end to get my camera ready . . .

. . . I had totally forgotten about this at the end of the ride.  How does he remember this stuff?  Again, another classic ride that never gets old!  Epcot is also having the Flower and Garden Festival while we are here this week.  There are a lot of special displays made out of you guessed it; flowers and plants!  On any given day the flowers and gardens are beautiful but this is over the top amazing!  I really enjoyed just walking around and looking at the amazing creations!

At this point the clouds are clearing and it is becoming hot outside so I propose the idea of heading to Typhoon Lagoon Water Park . . . I had packed our swimsuits in a backpack so we could go directly to the water park just in case.  Of course, Colin was like where is the bus?  Getting to Typhoon Lagoon was a bit of a challenge so I just hailed a cab because our time was limited.  We arrived and he was ready to hit the water . . .

. . . I don't blame him it is a great water park!  It was really hot outside (only mid 80) and hardly anyone at the water park so that was good for us.

I remember going to Typhoon Lagoon on my first trip to Disney World when I was 16.  One of my favorite parts was the Shark Reef.  Where you put on a snorkel mask and swim across a small area.  It seemed so much bigger as a kid.  There are sharks, rays, and fish . . .

We survived!

. . . and Colin was ready to go again . . . well actually ditch me and head back on his own!

In fact the photo above was the last time I would see him until 4:45pm when he showed up for sunscreen . . . well it had been over 2 hours since I had seen him so at this point he was sunburned.  I asked where he had been . . . we have a rule at water parks that I let him go on his own but he must check in with me every hour.  I was annoyed with him and had spent most of that time worried something had happened to him.  He literally spent the entire time in the Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool 'riding' all the huge waves.  I was glad I did not sit and wait for him to ride the Castaway Creek lazy river.  The park closed at 5:00pm but it took us over an hour to get back to our hotel.  The bus system is really good to go to the main parks but the water park you must go to Epcot and then transfer to the hotel bus.  We were both so hungry so went straight to Pepper Market for dinner.  Colin had ribs, and I had Chicken Tortilla Soup . . . nothing exciting but we did top off the night with dessert in the hammocks . . . Colin had gelato while I finished off that cupcake from yesterday!