The line for Soarin' was so short that we decided to go on right away, and we practically walked on (yesss). Then we walked downstairs to ride Living With the Land. Some people overlook The Land attraction, but it is honestly one of my favorite attractions. It may not rank among my top 10 but it is a must-do for us each trip. I love that there is so much so see, it is educational, relaxing and the things that scientists are coming up with is really neat. Where else can you see how aquaculture works, water lillies you can eat and pumpkins shaped like Mickey heads?
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| Living With the Land |
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| Living With the Land |
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| Living With the Land |
We were very excited to try a restaurant that we had never been to before for lunch....Via Napoli, which features various pastas and pizzas baked in a wood fire oven. I am happy to report that we had such a great experience that it is going in the "favorites" list. Possibly straight up to #1 above Le Cellier. The thing about Le Cellier, is that they just recently made it a Signature dining experience. That sounds as if it would be a good thing, but it means that it would take 2 of your table service credits (each) to eat there. Considering that, Via Napoli has now won the #1 spot on our list. Money aside, we would say Le Cellier.
Why is Via Napoli so amazing and #1 on our list? If having an Italian waiter is not enough, Disney flies the flour, tomatoes and even the water in from Italy to make the taste as authentic as possible. Yes, even the water. And boy, are we glad that they did! That is one of the best meals that I have had in my life. Mmm! The crust is what really makes this pie so perfect, and you can tell that the mozzarella and tomatoes are fresh. I had the margherita pizza and Kenny had the pepperoni. I seriously cannot wait to plan our next trip and place that delicious little restaurant on our itinerary. Don't miss it on your next trip.
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| Outside of Via Napoli |
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| Inside of Via Napoli |
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| Margherita Pizza |
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| Pepperoni Pizza |
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| Cherry Dessert at Via Napoli |
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| Tiramisu at Via Napoli |
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| Kenny enjoying his tiramisu |
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| Enjoying my birthday dessert |
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| Wood fire ovens at Via Napoli |
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| Putting the next pie in |
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| Love those ovens |
It's a good thing that when you visit Epcot - you probably walk miles! I would love to wear a pedometer around Disney and see how many miles a person averages during their Disney vacation. After stuffing ourselves with delicious pizza we walked all the way around the world to Test Track. We rode all of our favorites that day including Soarin', Ellen's Universe of Energy, The Seas with Nemo and Friends and more.
Since we knew we would be back later in the trip we saved some attractions for later. We did try something new: the Captain EO attraction. It is a good thing that we practically walked onto that attraction because honestly, it was a waste of our time. This short 3D movie created by George Lucas features Michael Jackson. It was created in 1986...and we both think that they should have left it in 1986. Sure, we appreciate the work of MJ...but that was just awful. And it replaced an attraction that we liked: Honey I Shrunk the Audience. You know when you see something and you look over to the person you are with; no words need to be said, both of your eyes are saying, "Really???".
After walking what felt like a mini marathon around Epcot and taking in the various attractions we made our way back to the World Showcase for dinner. We usually always eat at Sommerfest, the Quick Service restaurant with delicious German bratwursts, pretzels and beer if you choose. Since we received good feedback about the Table Service restaurant in Germany we decided to give it a try during this trip. We checked in at the hostess station at The Biergarten and we were informed that we would be seated with another family (we weren't sure what to think about that at first). As we walked to our table I looked over at the buffet and it looked like it featured a good amount of options.
There were a lot of different options. It did not take long to fill up my plate. I had some sausages, chicken schnitzel, various types of beef and pork, potato salad, sauerkraut, green beans, and various other sides as well. And as you eat you get to enjoy music by a German band on stage. The family that we were seated with was very nice. We were a little concerned when they seated us with a couple with 4 little girls (including a baby), but it was nice to meet some new people and to hear their story.
We stuffed ourselves with buffet food and then dessert. Kenny mentioned that he really liked the options on the buffet and that he would like to go back. I thought that the food was good, but it honestly left me wishing that I had my usual brat and pretzel. I am sure we will go back on one of our future trips and we suggest that you try it, but it won't be going onto our favorites list. The good thing is, we tried something that we had not before and we enjoyed a new experience.
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| Various items from The Biergarten buffet |
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| Dessert items from The Biergarten |
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| Entertainment at The Biergarten |
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| Inside look of The Biergarten |
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| Kenny and a random family :) |
We were so stuffed and tired after finishing dinner that we decided to give our Soarin' Fastpasses to the couple we sat with and we called it a night. You may have noticed that I have been using my new camera to take lots of photos for my posts. I love my new camera - but I am still learning! Epcot is a great place to capture some nice shots. Below are just a few photos from our day that I thought you may enjoy. More to come, my friends.
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| Increase of crowds (thanks Brazil) |
I love Living With the Land. I remember being so in awe at what they can grow. It's the #1 ride I wanted to share with dad.
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