Good morning!
Well, sad to say, but this is the last full day of our trip, so we’re going all out. We’re going back to our two favorite parks today – EPCOT and Magic Kingdom.
We can take the Skyliner gondolas to EPCOT, but for today, we want to start at the front of the park, so we’re going to take the shuttle bus instead. That drops us off in the front, whereas the Skyliner drops us off in the back. Not a big deal, but it’ll save us like a mile of walking from the back to the front otherwise. Big tip there! Haha!
So, off we go to catch the bus!
While we ride, let’s take a look at an EPCOT map to orient ourselves. The front of the park is on the bottom left corner. The section on the lower-left half of the map is called Future World, and most of the rides are around the perimeters there. The half on the top-right of the map surrounding the lagoon is called World Showcase, and that’s where all of the countries are. The back entrance, the International Gateway, is by the river that comes in towards the top/middle right of the map, between France and the UK.
We’re here! The entrance flower bed is decorated with gorgeous topiaries for the Flower & Garden Festival. I love this view with the Spaceship Earth ball in the background. We have to take a group pic here! Cheese!
OK, let’s start off at Spaceship Earth, where we travel through the evolution of human communication! It’s our first FastPass.
Did you like your future? That is an iconic ride. They’re going to close it soon for a lengthy refurbishment where they’re changing the storyline inside, so I’m glad we could catch it one last time before it closed.
Next, let’s make our way over to Test Track for our next FastPass.
There’s a lot of construction going on in this front half of EPCOT currently, so we’ll just have to follow all of the detour signs. They’re overhauling most of this central section over the next few years, so pardon the construction walls. It should look awesome when they’re done. Most of the rides are still open, but you may have to take a few roundabout routes to get to them now.
We made it to Test Track. This is one of our favorites, where you can design and test drive your very own custom car! We like to make ours as crazy as possible! Haha!
How did your car do? That was pretty fun, huh?
There are some more activities to play with in this building after you get off the ride too.
Our next FastPass is just next door at Mission Space, where we can fly a space shuttle! When you enter, you’ll be asked if you want to be a part of the Green (mild) or Orange (intense) team. The orange one is reeeeally intense, you’ll feel those G-forces. If you tend to get motion sickness, even in the slightest, go with green instead. Our group usually splits up for this one. Let’s check out both here.
It’s pretty cool, right? Just make sure you join the right team if you want a successful mission!
OK, now that we did our first three FastPasses, let’s quickly check the MDE app to see what we can get next.
NOTE: This park has a tier system where all three top rides are in Tier 1, so you can only pick one of them for your first three. They are Test Track, Soarin’, and Frozen Ever After. Which one you choose will have to depend on your group’s preferences. This one is a tough call. They’re all good.
I’ve had instances where I got lucky and was able to get a day-of FastPass for Soarin’ from someone who must’ve canceled theirs right at the moment I was refreshing. It doesn’t often happen, though. However, it’s more likely that you’ll get Soarin’ than the other two if you’re in a gambling mood. The standby time for Soarin’ will probably be the shortest of the three, as well, but still in the 45+ minute range. So, just to help narrow things down a bit, that’s one thing to keep in mind, as long as Soarin’ is not a must-do for your group.
This is another park where you have to implement the same strategy as Hollywood Studios if you really want to ride all three. Get the FastPass for the must-do ride, then go right at rope-drop to try to do the other two really fast before their lines get longer.
For now, we got our next FastPass for The Seas with Nemo & Friends. There were no FastPasses left for any other major rides that we wanted. The ride doesn’t usually have a long line, but the queue itself is so long that using a FastPass will bypass some of the walking that you have to do through the queue. It’s a cute, slow (sitting awhile with air conditioning) ride where you go under the sea to find Nemo. We do it every time. Let’s head over there.
Wasn’t that cute? There’s also a massive aquarium in the building after the ride that’s cool to explore. Don’t forget to find the manatees in the back. Go upstairs too!
Well, while we’re on this side of the park, let’s go to The Land pavilion, which houses the Soarin’ and Living with the Land rides, the Garden Grill restaurant, and the Sunshine Seasons food court. There are many good options here if you want to grab lunch or just sit awhile. There’s actually a lot to do here. Let’s check it out.
We often like to grab a little something at Sunshine Seasons while we’re here and rest a bit. This is an excellent spot to soak in some air conditioning. However, there’s a new BBQ restaurant that just opened recently back in the America area of the World Showcase. We want to try that later, so we’re just getting drinks and small snacks for now.
There are so many great restaurants in EPCOT, though, especially back in the World Showcase section that we explored the other day. We have eaten at most of them over the years, so just ask me if you want to know about a certain one.
At this point, we’ve done all of the major rides in this front Future World section of EPCOT, so let’s head back to the World Showcase and try the new BBQ place. It’s just a counter service restaurant, so we didn’t need to make reservations.
That was good! We’ll definitely be back!
While you’re here, go inside the main America building and check out the exhibits in there. If your timing is right, you might be able to catch the Voices of Liberty choir performing inside too.
During festivals, they usually will have musical groups performing at the outdoor stage across from the America building as well. Check the sign board in front for performers and show times. Lines for the most popular performers will get pretty long, so line up early if you want to see them. There’s no additional fee for it.
OK, let’s make a quick loop around the rest of the World Showcase again and see what else catches our eye. There are many fun things all around. Keep an eye out for any characters out for photos too.
We also have to go into the Mitsukoshi store in the Japan area every time. Our kids are big fans of Pokemon and the other Japanese toys, knick-knacks, and snacks there. We went to real Japan last summer, and loved it there! This area brings back great memories.
There are many areas to explore in that pavilion, including a gorgeous Japanese garden with a koi pond and a Japanese exhibit hidden in the back building. There’s also a semi-hidden counter service ramen restaurant behind the garden and three other table service restaurants in the main building. All of them are delicious! Roam around this area for a while to find everything.
When we get to the back entrance next to France, let’s head out there for a bit. I want to show you the Boardwalk area. There are several resorts out there, with many cool shops, restaurants, and activities. This is a good area to check out if you want a change of pace from the parks and try different restaurants. Let’s take a look.
We didn’t go down the other path, but there are good restaurants in the Beach Club and Yacht Club resorts as well. We like the Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club. They have a character buffet for breakfast and a seafood buffet for dinner.
Well, let’s go back into EPCOT and make our way to the front. I think we’ve done everything that we wanted to here for this trip. It’s early evening now. Let’s take the monorail in front of EPCOT to the Magic Kingdom.
We’re here at the Magic Kingdom!
However, we’re not going inside the park just yet! For the last dinner of our trip, we have a reservation at another one of our favorite restaurants, Trails End. It’s over at the Fort Wilderness resort, so the easiest way to get there is to take the Fort Wilderness ferry in front of the Magic Kingdom. It’s a leisurely 15-minute ride across the lagoon. Just look for the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campgrounds ferry (don’t mix it up with the Wilderness Lodge one). Let’s head over now.
Once we dock, just follow the main path up to the resort area, and you’ll see the Trails End building. After checking in for our reservation, we can sit on the rocking chairs on the porch to wait. There’s also a playground next door if the kiddies want to play.
If you want to explore more later, there are several other outdoor activities at this resort, such as archery, horseback riding, smores campfires, etc. This resort has a rustic campground theme (you can actually camp here), so the activities correspond to it.
Oh, they just called us! Let’s go eat!
Yummm! Wasn’t that good?!? We’ve eaten at a lot of Disney restaurants, and this is definitely one of our favorites, especially for a buffet. The fried chicken is so crispy and flavorful! It’s one of the best we’ve had anywhere! The other meats are all tender and flavorful as well. We highly recommend this restaurant!
To get back to the Magic Kingdom, we’ll just go to the ferry dock and take it back over. You can take a shuttle bus back and forth too, but it takes longer and you have to transfer buses at the front of the resort. It’s so much easier and more fun to take the ferry from the front of the Magic Kingdom.
We like to cap off the last night of our trips at the Magic Kingdom. Let’s go and just soak it all in. It’s so beautiful lit up at night.
Most likely, the big rides will still have long lines right now, and FastPasses for them were long gone. We managed to get one for Buzz Lightyear before from EPCOT when we were done with the rides there, so we can do that one soon.
TIP: If you plan on park hopping, even if it’s later in the day, get a FastPass for something at the second park as soon as you’re done with rides at the first park. Don’t wait until you get to the second park to look for one. The longer you wait, the more likely that passes will be gone.
We’ll just do some rides that have low standby wait times. Typically, we can do The PeopleMover, Journey of the Little Mermaid, Philharmagic, It’s a Small World, and a few others. It’s also a good time to just walk around and soak in the ambiance one last time.
The Happily Ever After show is about to begin. Since we saw it from the front of the castle the other day, let’s go to the back this time. We like to see it from Fantasyland, behind Cinderella Castle. It’s way less crowded, and you get a more immersive feel of the fireworks.
Make sure that you’ve seen the show from the front of the castle at least once, though. That way, you know what the projections are supposed to be. From the back of the castle, you won’t see the projections.
Find a spot on the main path between the sign for the Be Our Guest restaurant and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train wall. You’ll see what I mean when you’re back there.
Make sure you have a good view of the back of the Cinderella Castle and the front of the Beast’s Castle on the hill. Most of the big fireworks actually go off behind Beast’s Castle, so from your spot in the middle, it’ll feel like the huge fireworks are going off right on top of you. Really cool! You’ll just have to look back n forth like you’re watching a tennis match when they go off over the Cinderella Castle.
Wasn’t that cool?
From here by Beast’s Castle, let’s walk to the front of the park through the Cinderella Castle! It really is magical! Our new friend here says exactly how I feel about it too.
This is exactly why we like to come back to the Magic Kingdom at night. It really does feel more magical.
Here’s a closer look at those mosaics. Amazing!
One of the lesser-known castle shows is called Once Upon a Time. It’s so cute! Try to catch it. It’s a projection show against the castle where Mrs Potts is telling Disney bedtime stories to Chip. You have to check the app for the show times. It’s usually towards the end of the night a little before or after the Happily Ever After fireworks. Let’s sit and watch.
If you linger long enough (about 30+ minutes) after the park officially closes (stores are still open), you can catch the Kiss Goodnight. The castle will start twinkling and cycling through the colors, and Mickey says a final goodbye. It kills me every time, but I like staying for it. The castle is kissing us goodnight! It’s the final cap to the night and the trip. *sniff*
Awww! Hugs!
Now, we can go home.
We had an awesome trip! Hopefully, you did too! Tomorrow, we have one last fun activity planned before our flight home.
Goodnight!
Join us on our virtual Spring Break trip!
Disclaimer: The videos and photos that I’ll use are all publicly posted online. Credit goes to the original creators. I am not affiliated with any of them. They are bloggers that have the content relevant for our trip. For this, we’ll pretend we’re going along with them as well.
Adventures By Anne 