Epcot

We spent our first day in Epcot and I'm very happy to report that we had a great day!  Disney really knows how to do....what a great place for kids and families!!

We arrived at the park around 11:30 - we got a bit of a late start because Chad and I had to attend a timeshare session to get some updated info about out timeshare.  We parked near the front entrance, loaded up the stroller (and I do mean loaded!), and headed into Epcot!  Payton was really happy to see the big ball!

It was warm and we were all sweating within a few minutes!

Our first ride was the Nemo ride - NO WAIT!  It went so quickly that he wanted to go again with Meme and Pawpaw who had been waiting with Owen.  Owen was snoozing in the stroller in the shade.  Nemo was followed by the Land ride - which takes you through greenhouses, crops, etc.  Payton loved everything on the ride and it was cool.  Once again, no wait and little Owen got to go along for the ride.  This brought us to about 1:00 and we had a great lunch in The Land.  We had already spotted several characters - he seemed a little unsure of them but he did not seem scared.

After lunch, we headed over the walk through all the various countries - we were also hoping Payton may take a little nap - funny!  We walked around until about 2:30 and happened to stumble across a small show with two men juggling and doing acrobatics - Payton loved this and clapped along with the crowd.  We also made our way into an air conditioned theatre to watch a 30 min show about American History.  Unfortunately, the show was a bit boring...but, Payton fell asleep and stayed asleep once we left and continued sleeping in the stroller.

We headed back over to the other area of Epcot to search for the characters again.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a rather short line to see Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy.  We had to wake Payton up to see the characters - when he opened his eyes and realized that Mommy had "found Mickey Mouse" while he was napping, he smiled SO wide and was very excited.  He spent a few minutes with each character.  Although he looks scared and confused in most of the pictures, he did GREAT!  He hugged all of them and gave them all high fives!  He says his favorites was Mickey and Minnie and Pluto and Goofy - all I know is that Donald must not be the top of the list, but I'm not sure which one is really his favorite!  Owen slept through seeing Mickey and Donald but woke up in time to meet the others and we snapped a few family pics.

After meeting the characters, we rode the ride in the big ball (the name has escaped me!) and Payton loved that too.  When I asked which ride was his favorite, he said it was the one where he saw the Earth which was at the end of this ride.

Every ride we rode was very slow but Payton sat very quietly through each ride and observed all the details.  It was precious.

We headed back over to the countries and enjoyed the dinner buffet in Germany.  The food was great but the best part was the band.  Payton loved the band, the music and the Chicken dance!

After dinner, it was raining.  We had to walk all the way back to the car in the rain...but we survived and headed home for the night.

All in all, the day was a HUGE success!  Payton only had on very minor meltdown about not wanting to ride in the stroller - I fixed that by telling him we were going to ride a boat (we never made it to the boat...opps!).  Aside from smiling wide and willingly looking at the camera, he could not have reacted any better to the characters.  I know that most likely, this will not make is list of "lifetime memories" but it is definitely at the top of Mommy's list!  His reaction to seeing Mickey on the sign at the entrance was enough to bring tears to my eyes!  He was in awe all day and truly enjoyed each part of our day...as did Mommy!  Best of all, I don't remember feeling stressed at all today......with 2 kids, under 2 1/2 at Disney...now thats impressive!  Owen barely even cried!  I also saw one baby smaller than Owen - a 7 week old...now thats brave :)

Tomorrow we will be heading to the Magic Kingdom.  I am SUPER excited.  We gave Payton his surprise Toy Story T-Shirt.  He wanted to know if he could wear it to school!  I just hope we can find Buzz or Woody somewhere in that park.....talk about a wide smile!!  He will be so excited.

OK....lets see if Day 2 goes as well as Day 1 - that is asking a lot!  I'll let you know how it goes!