Wednesday was Epcot Day, and to say that Epcot Day was not all about the food would be lying.  I mean, there are some amazing things and rides there, but there is all the truly fantastic food, and we were there during the Flower and Garden Festival, and so there was extra amazing food.  It was awesome!

Luckily, our second day of our trip was a later start, since Epcot didn’t “open” until 11am (although we had learned that all the parks were unofficially opening about an hour early), and so we got to sleep in (6:30 – ha ha! We really do try to sleep in) and I even worked out, including a walk around our resort.  Then we got ready and out the door we went.  Also, the day before I had purchased a visor to wear, as wearing a mask and sunglasses was the worst, but needed something to shield my eyes.  It is so cute, and I love it. We also had to get a picture of Lily with Lightning McQueen (Derek’s two year old self would have just died with envy).

At Epcot, we did all the things. We started at Test Track, which was great, even if they closed part of the ride because of Covid restrictions. We knew it was calling for thunder storms that afternoon, and it was the only partly outdoor ride in the whole park, and wanted to get it in before it might possibly close due to weather. After that, and a ride on Mission Space, we started our tour of the different countries in the World Showcase and began our amazing food tour. Lily was seriously the best travel buddy – not only is she game for any ride, no matter how sedate or thrilling, but she loved getting to wander through the shops and displays at the countries.

Exploring the countries was so much fun, and although some of the shops were closed (something about decreased capacity of the parks, etc), there was still so much to see and do.

By the time we made our way to France, the expected rain finally hit. Thank goodness for actual raincoats, because it was a downpour.  It started raining while we were waiting in line for macarons and beignets, and so we did our best to sort of stay dry while we waited, and then tried to find shelter to actually eat our treats, which were delicious.

Speaking of food, everything we had was amazing, and Lily and I shared it all, so that we could eat/try twice as many things.  There were the deep fried cinnamon rolls with candied bacon on top, the afore mentioned chocolate macaron and cream filled creme carmelized beignet, the pretzel roll with ham and gruyere, and the cheese strudel with fresh berries. Lily’s favorite was the vampiro taco in Mexico, or maybe the poutine in Canada (she was blown away by the deliciousness) and the caramel popcorn shake. I think my favorite was the beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes and baby carrots from Canada – so good! And just because, I had to get the mini Dole Whip. Wow, we ate well!

Let’s not forget that it was the Flower and Garden Festival, and so the flowers were especially gorgeous, with amazing topiaries all over the place.

As the rain tapered off, we did more exploring. As we wandered through Canada, we found the most beautiful waterfall and grotto.  We also decided to watch the movie there, which was a nice break.

We came out of the movie only to discover that the earlier rainstorm was a precursor to something much bigger – a full on deluge complete with thunder and lightning. Luckily the movie exit was a covered area, and so we found a place to sit until the lightning finally stopped, about an hour later.  If it had only been rain, we could have braved it, but we decided it would be better to be protected from the lightning.

When the rain went away, everything was beautiful – and wet.  We actually had to either trudge through or find ways around gigantic twenty feet wide puddles, and our shoes were already soaked.  But hey, there was a gorgeous rainbow.

I also found some wildlife while I was waiting in a line for food.  There was the cutest bunny who tried so hard to be still so that I “wouldn’t see it.” And then, walking right by the bunny was a giant Great Blue Heron!! I loved it!

After the storm, we hit a few last rides that we hadn’t done yet, as well as go to The Seas to see all the sea life.  Both Lily and I love aquariums.

After we had done all the things we had wanted to, and our wet and tired feet could take no more, we stopped by the pastry shop in France for treats for the next night, because when you have access to a french pastry shop, you take full advantage, right? 

It was such a fun and delicious day at Epcot, and we were sore, tired and content when we finally arrived back at our room, knowing that we had made the most of our day.