Party of 3 Travels...our adventures as a family of three: Traveling around the World...Epcot Style!

Where in the world can you travel to the future, soar off into space, test out a race car, then travel to everywhere from China, Germany, Mexico, Italy and France all in a days time?? Our favorite Disney park...EPCOT!!!

I remember as a child visiting Epcot and enjoying its technology driven rides and attractions. I vaguely recall walking around the world then finding a comfortable place to stop and watch the fireworks. I had high hopes that Epcot would still be that same place when returning in my adulthood, and it sure was and more!!

There is so much to do in Epcot; this is one of the parks we find ourselves returning to throughout the week when we have time. I highly recommend trying to go in October when the Food and Wine Festival is taking place at the World Showcase, because each of the countries have stands set up with their special food items and drinks and each is so unique and fabulous. Even better...you can use your snack credits from the dining plan to feast on these edible masterpieces!!!

We always start out first Epcot day by making reservations at Aksersus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway of the World Showcase. This is a character meal where all the princesses come to your table, and there is a photo op with Belle from Beauty and the Beast at the beginning! This is a perfect spot to try if you have trouble getting reservations at Cinderella's Royal Table because you get to see the Princesses here too! The breakfast includes both traditional fare and Norwegian items too for those who like to try foods from different countries! Just like in the Magic Kingdom, we always make our reservations before the park opens, so that after we are done eating we can hit our favorite rides right away, as well as grab Fast Passes for the most popular ones!!!

So after eating and chatting with the Princesses, we always head back to Future World and ride or grab Fast Passes for some our favorite rides in all of Disney World...Mission Space, Soarin, Test Track, and Spaceship Earth! Mission Space is one of the only rides around that actually includes a barf bag on the ride! Now, for those that fear tight spaces and spinning, they actually have a separate line where you ride a tamer version. Not us though...bring on the spinning!! It literally makes you feel like you are blasting off into space, causing your cheeks to go back and everything!! They recommend on this ride staring at the screen in front of you and not closing your eyes...unless you want to try out that barf bag!!!

On the very first time we started to get in line for Mission Space on our last trip, a cast member walked up to us, saw Paige's Birthday Celebration button, and asked us to come with her. She then took us backstage of the ride into this "control panel" room you can see through glass that is actually from the movie Mission to Mars!!! Paige got to sit and mess with all the controls, it was awesome! The cast member then took us right to the front of the line and on we went! True pixie dust that day!!!!

Paige playing at the "Mission to Mars" movie set!

The Cast Member who gave us the "Pixie Dust" on Mission Space!

After hitting up our favorite rides as many times as possible (thanks to utilizing the Fast Pass), we always do lunch at our favorite Seafood restaurant at Disney, Coral Reef! This beautiful eatery includes a full wall aquarium with fish, sharks and other sea creatures! Each table comes with a little key of the different fish to look for, and the food is amazing!!! We were lucky enough to be seated right against the glass of the aquarium, and could have sat there for hours!!!

Mid day we always end up over in the World Showcase to walk and explore the different countries. Countries in Epcot include Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States, Japan, Morocco, France and the United Kingdom. Each include shops, food and entertainment! A way for the kids to get involved is by doing the Phineas and Ferb: Agent P World Showcase. This used to be called Kim Possible but changed to Phineas recently. Basically your child gets a little hand held cell phone like device that plays video. It then gives you an "assignment" for a certain country. Once at that country you complete different tasks in various parts that causes something to happen at different spots until you finish your assignment and move on to the next. This is such a fun way to get your child involved with the different countries, and allow us adults to explore as well! I honestly think this was one of Paige's favorite parts of Disney World!!

Getting her next task!

Dinner at 1900 Park Fare!

Usually for dinner we try out one of the delicious restaurants in the World Showcase (we love the ones in Mexico) or go to one of the hotels for a character meal. This time we did 1900 Park Fare, located at The Grand Floridian Hotel, which at night was a buffet of anything you can imagine, and included numerous characters including Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the Ugly Stepsisters and Stepmother!! So fun!!!

Epcot is not a one day spot for us. Throughout the trip we would go there at night, sometimes just to wander through the worlds and be transported to that country for some time. Love it!!!