Day 2: Epcot

After a nice first day at the Magic Kingdom, we headed off to Epcot to check out the fun there.

 

 

 

Sorry the picture is a little foggy....did I mention it was HUMID?  And HOT?  (Keep in mind, when we left home it was about 62 and in Florida it was closer to 90)

And also, rather overcast.

 

 

 

 We rode a ride or two and then took a break inside to cool off a bit.  Here we are in a learning pavilion of some sort playing a fire safety game. We had to shine our special flashlights at various fire hazards in each room of the home.  I had to help Ethan because the flashlight was almost as big and heavy as he is. We were competing (with several other families) against another team of families.   Our team won, by the way.

 

 

And here is Ethan playing in a little play area outside of the Figment (of Imagination) ride.  The kids jump from square to square playing different musical instruments.  But Ethan preferred to spend most of his time rolling around on the ground.  I didn't get many great pictures of him because he never stops moving.

 



 

Here we are in yet another kids play area, this time outside of the Finding Nemo ride.  Looks like Bruce the Shark found Emily and Ethan (and a couple of other complete strangers who wouldn't get out of the way for our picture!)

 

Without really meaning to, we happened to stumble on a character meet and greet spot, so we jumped in the surprisingly short line and met some of the most famous residents of Disney, including Mickey Mouse!

 

 

And then Pluto....

 

 

And Minnie (sorry, there are better pictures coming, I think)

 

 

And on the way out of that building...we ran into Chip and Dale (but don't ask me which one is which!)

 

Next, we headed over to the "big" thrill ride at Epcot....Test Track, where you take a new car through it's safety checks and then take it on a 65 mph ride on a track around the outside of the building.  As we walked over to Test Track, it was just beginning to spit rain...

 

We got inside and waited in line...then designed our car on the computer and got pretty close (after about 15 minutes or so) to the front of the line....when a voice came over the loudspeaker and announced that the ride had been temporarily shut down due to weather...specifically rain.  We stayed in line (we were so close!) for another 15 minutes or so, but after consulting the area radar on Andrew's smart phone, it became apparent that the rain would be with us for a while.  So we donned our handy dandy (and oh so fashionable) neon orange ponchos and decided to head out....except it wasn't just a bit of rain...

 

 

It was POURING.  And it continued to pour.  We didn't even want to leave the building in our ponchos because we still would have been soaked.  So we sat at the exit and waited.  I don't think Emily was at all impressed.  Ethan just took it in stride.

 

Anyone who's ever been to Florida knows that it rains a lot....nearly every day...yet it is usually over within an hour or so.  In fact, that had been our experience the day before.  It was bright and sunny, then it poured, then is was sunny again.  Not so for day 2 of our trip.....