I was there!: WDW Epcot, 9-pound lemons

May 2014

Disney World, wow did we have a wonderful time.

I love planning trips to any Disney spot and this was quite a production. First off, The World is a marathon-there are 4 main parks, 2 water parks and a 4 story video arcade which can each take a day. In addition there is mini golf, regular golf, boats, canoes, fishing, bike rentals, horse riding and activities at all the resort pools. I think it would take a month to do everything. We cannot stay for a month :(

But we manage to do amazing things-First up for the whole group, Epcot. I picked the park based on the early opening Magic Hour since most of us are early birds.

Here we are on the last day when we chose to visit Epcot for a second day. Do you see the cute stuffy? That is Duffy the Disney Bear dressed as a garden gnome. I think he originated in Japan but is now popping up all over, like here in Epcot.

Not everyone in the group loves Duffy...

But everyone loves Mickey and Minnie

Epcot is a great place to meet other characters. Near England you just might see Mary Poppins, my personal favorite.

She is just so lovely!

Although there are some thrill rides in Epcot, most of them are tame, no seat belt needed. The favorite ride of the trip is Living With the Land. A view towards more sustainable agriculture practice, but from the 70s. The into show is forgettable but the tour of the working gardens are amazing.

winter melons

coconuts

banana trees

The tall purple and yellow near the back is Amaranth, something I aspire to grow in my own garden.

9-pound lemon tree! I am also wondering if I can have one of these

lettuces-we saw some being harvest the first day and on our return a few days later you can see them growing back. Apparently these are used in the nearby restaurant.

lettuces on spinning racks-though I'm still not sure what the spinning does

eggplant

brussel sprouts

Most of the parks have a sort of an organized scavenger hunt. Because of the recent movie, Epcot had a Muppets themed one that we did. You get the book and go to the indicated countries and hunt down the item. In Italy we had to go into a store to find the extremely rare 'Gonzo mask' hidden among the traditional Venetian masks and then type in the code you got from Germany to get your sticker. It was a big hit with our group.

The materials are super cute-nicely done!

Another favorite ride was Spaceship Earth inside the golf ball. You see the history of humankind and then answer questions about yourself to get a 'personalized' message about your future.

After the ride they have some interactive "educational" games.

Much of Epcot is about other countries and on this trip I saw more of their shows than ever before. The personality actually comes through-France is all about classical music and castles, China invokes an ancient poet to show you the scenic countryside and Canada's Martin Short gives a light-hearted look at the country and people. Many of the films haven't been updated in decades, but still.