The beauty of this trip was that Kemper didn't have any idea what the various parks were so we didn't have to go to Magic Kingdom (or listen to him complain about why we weren't going there) on our first, or even second, day of vacation. Thanks to my sister-in-law, we had access to a great crowd predictor and my research had told me that Mondays were usually crazy at Magic Kingdom since most people arrive on Sunday to start their vacation and want to immediately go to Magic Kingdom on Monday. With that information, we decided to visit Epcot on our second day and avoid the craziness of the Magic Kingdom.
Kemper waiting in line for Test Track.
I had been warned that some of the rides at Epcot would have long lines pretty early in the day so after grabbing a Fast Pass for Soarin', we headed over to give Test Track a shot before the lines got too long. Since Hudson was too little for Test Track, we took advantage of the Baby Swap that Disney offers. This allowed MeMe, Kemper and myself to ride once while Pops waited with a sleeping Hudson. Once we finished, one of us could switch out with Pops and we could use the Fast Pass line to go ride again!
The car Kemper designed.
Kemper thought it was pretty cool that you got to design your car. He also thought it was cool that he was going to get to ride in a car without his car seat. All of his excitement went out the window as soon as the ride started. It was a bit jerky and quite dark. He did not enjoy the inside portion of this ride but seemed to enjoy the part when the car tests it's speed on the outside track. It took some prodding but he did go on it again with Pops and myself but he didn't enjoy it at all this time.
Kemper and Hudson after a delicious lunch
After Test Track, we booked it over to use our Fast Passes for Soarin'. This ride got the stamp of approval from Kemper! We used the Baby Swap option again so Hudson and I hung out while MeMe, Pops and Kemper took a ride over California. Apparently, on their first trip there was a bit of fog (ok, so, computer problems) and they had to land and wait a few minutes to try again. Kemper thought that was awesome! When it was my turn to ride, there was no element of surprise because he told me everything that was going to happen. He said he loved Soarin'!
Kemper wanted to get some autographs after lunch so we hit the Character Spot to meet Mickey, Minnie and Pluto! Up first was Mickey. As soon as we finished up with Mickey, Pluto got thirsty so they all took a quick break. Kemper thought it was hilarious but asked why they couldn't just bring a water bowl out for Pluto so they wouldn't have to take breaks. :)
Mickey had walked Minnie back to her spot and ended up photo bombing our time with Pluto! Kemper also thought it was hilarious how Pluto held the book on his nose.
Minnie kept giving Kemper kisses!
At this point, we hadn't even gotten to the World Showcase and both boys were being total beasts. I headed off to the Baby Care Center with Hudson in hopes of nursing him and getting him to take a nap but he wasn't having it. We started walking around the World Showcase but Kemper was complaining that his legs hurt and he just couldn't bear to walk another step and Hudson was protesting the stroller. Everyone was hot and flustered (ok, maybe I was the only one who was flustered) so we decided to head back to our resort for naps. It was already 1:30pm and we had barely seen anything! We got to the park before it opened and still had barely seen a third of it?!
Hudson fell asleep on the bus ride back to the resort and woke up as we were getting off the bus. I couldn't coax him back asleep so he spent nap fussing and whining. Kemper somehow managed to fall asleep on my bed with Hudson making all of that noise. We had to wake Kemper up in order to make our dinner reservations!
Our reservations were for Whispering Canyon at Fort Wilderness Lodge. What a fun experience! The servers were very fun and in character. It was a family style meal and you could ask for "refills" of anything you ran out of. Everything we tried was delicious! Kemper thought it was hilarious that anytime someone asked for ketchup, the server would yell "WE NEED KETCHUP!!!" and then everyone would take ALL of the ketchup to that one table.
After dinner, we headed back to our resort and put Mr. Grumpy Pants to bed. Kemper wanted to check out the pool so MeMe and I went down with him while Pops stayed with Hudson. It had been a very nice day with temperatures up to about 80. It was COLD at the pool that night though but that wasn't deterring Kemper! MeMe and I couldn't bring ourselves to get in but we told Kemper he could get in without us if he stayed in the shallow end. Luckily, he met a little friend (Enzo) and his dad and sister who told us about the life jackets they provided. Kemper was even more excited now because he could play with Enzo while MeMe and I watched. He played for about 30 minutes and then we took him back up for bed.
Overall, Epcot was our least favorite park. We admit that we barely saw anything but none of us enjoyed Epcot all that much. I think it's a park that I would enjoy if it was just James and I and we got to actually just stroll without kids. Maybe it was the Baby Swap that slowed us down but it took a good 2 hours for us to do Test Track and Soarin' alone. Add in lunch which isn't quick when Hudson is involved and lack of naps and this seemed to just be a recipe for disaster. Either way, this was our only day at Epcot and we all agreed we'd rather not come back this trip. We did have dinner reservations in Japan one night but we entered the park and went straight to dinner then left to make it to the Magic Kingdom for the parade and fireworks.
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