Day 6 is our last full day of vacation, and we decided to spend the day touring Epcot!
In case you want to catch up, find day 1 here!
Day 2 available here!
Day 3 is here!
Day 4 is available here!
Last but not least, day 5 is available here!
Let’s jump on in!
A Couple Rides Before World Showcase
We entered Epcot around 9:15 with a FastPass+ for Spaceship Earth, one of my favorite attractions. As a history teacher, I appreciate attractions that nail the “edutainment” factor that Epcot is known for – and this one hits the nail on the head! In fact, I’ve shown clips of it on YouTube to my students! The ride broke down for a little bit, so we were sitting there for a good 15 minutes or so, relaxing… which is totally fine by me!
Next, we went over to use our FastPass+ on Mission: Space. My husband opted to do Orange training, which is more intense, while the rest of us did Green. I’m prone to motion sickness and am really hesitant about ever trying the orange side! Green is totally fine, though. At this point in the morning we probably didn’t need to use a FastPass+, but with so few FastPass+ attractions in Epcot (and Test Track being down for refurbishment) we decided to use it just in case we wanted to get a 4th FastPass+ elsewhere later on.
Pastries in France
At this point we decided to head over in the direction of World Showcase, swinging by Journey into Imagination with Figment to see how the line was. The line was out the door – which was quite surprising! – so we opted to head over to World Showcase.
World Showcase opens at 11am, with the exception of the France pavilion and the Norway pavilion, so we headed over to France. We were all a bit hungry, and we had a late lunch/early dinner planned (so we could snack around the world for brunch) so we decided to get pastries in France.
Let me tell you, if I could have ordered one of everything from here, I would have! I opted for a mimosa and some sort of chocolate raspberry treat (I don’t remember the name of it). It was decadent and rich, sweet and creamy… I’ll definitely be going back there to try some other sweets!
Pick a Pearl!
Our next stop was the Mitsukoshi store in Japan to Pick a Pearl! My friend Katie and I had been wanting to do this – another new experience for both of us – but we heard the line can get kind of long later in the day. We opted to do this right at 11am so we could be the first ones of the day!
We entered Mitsukoshi and were just about the only ones in the store! To be honest, the entire World Showcase experience at this hour of the day was so nice and relaxing that I might just “rope drop” World Showcase at 11am in the future!
Anyways, we headed to the Pick a Pearl counter and let the Cast Member know that we were interested in Pick a Pearl. I don’t remember the exact price, I want to say it was around $20, less than $30 for sure, and there are no discounts available.
We paid separately, but since the two of us were together we went through the process simultaneously. The previous night at dinner, we read up on strategies to pick the best pearl: we found that the general strategy is to pick the ugliest/hairiest oyster. That’s what I tried to do, but who knows if that’s really accurate!
I won’t give too much away, but the Cast Member picked our oysters, added some fun interactive elements, opened our oysters, and cleaned off our pearls. They took our pearl measurements and put them in little baggies for us. We had the option to buy settings and have them set for us in jewelry right in the store, but we opted to purchase something from Etsy or a local jewelry store when we arrived back home. I may do it again over the summer and create pearl earrings for myself!
Overall, this was a fun experience that doesn’t cost too much extra – I can see this becoming a tradition for me! I recommend getting there early in the day to avoid crowds.
World Showcase Travelers
Next up, we had a FastPass+ for Frozen Ever After. We hightailed it over to Norway, only to find that the attraction was closed! Bummer. We went right next door to the Mexico pavilion to experience the Gran Fiesta Tour, and afterwards I indulged in a margarita.
Next, we decided to watch the O Canada Circlevision show. The show has just recently been refurbished, and I enjoyed the older show better than the new one, but I still like the overall look and feel of this pavilion.
After the O Canada show, we wandered through the shops and pavilions of World Showcase until we arrived at the American Adventure! Perfect timing, the show was just about to start. This Audio-Animatronic show is my favorite show in Epcot, hands down. Again, it’s the history teacher side of me that loves the edutainment aspect of Epcot! My only complaint is that the ending seems a bit rushed – but hey, at least it mirrors American history classroom curriculum!
Tip: If you need a long break in an air-conditioned room, in comfortable chairs, in the dark… check out the American Adventure! Arrive early to catch the Voices of Liberty pre-show in the foyer.
Pizza Pizza!
Next up it was time for our late lunch/early dinner at Via Napoli, my husband’s favorite restaurant in Epcot. We love the pizza here – the flour and water to make the crust is imported from Italy, so it’s pretty authentic!
We were all pretty tired from walking laps around World Showcase, and it felt good to sit down. We enjoyed a 1/2 meter pizza, split between 3 of us. Katie ordered a pasta dish. I think it was the most pizza I’ve eaten in one sitting!
The pizzas here are definitely big enough to split with smaller families or larger families. I recommend making reservations, although I’ve seen them take walk-ups on less crowded days.
Frozen Ever After, & Goodbye to Epcot!
After dinner, we headed over to the Norway pavilion to use our FastPass+ on Frozen Ever After, since it was closed earlier in the day. Tip: If you have a FastPass+ and the attraction goes down during your return window, you’ll be issued a “Multiple Experiences” FastPass+ which will allow you to come back to that attraction later during the day, or use it on a different attraction. We walked right on and took a fun boat ride through Arendelle!
At that point we were all pretty exhausted from our multiple travels around World Showcase so we decided to call it a night and head back home! After all, the next day we had to hop on a flight back home, so we needed to pack up.
Highlights of the Day
- The pastries in France were fantastic!
- Pick a Pearl in Japan was really fun.
- The pizza at Via Napoli was delicious, and cost-effective to split with a larger party.
Letdowns of the Day
- I’m bummed the line for Journey into Imagination with Figment was so long, but we will be back over the summer and will go on it then!
