Recapping Disney: Part One

Hi there! I’m fresh off a week at Walt Disney World, and I’m excited to share the details of my trip with you. I did a lot over the course of my five days, so I’m going to use the whole week to recap here.

Today, I’m going to talk about the hotel I stayed in and my time at Epcot.

Before I dive in, I’ll first share a little background about why I went this time of year. I was already in Orlando for a sorority conference, and decided to stay for some time at Walt Disney World! Chelsea was supposed to join me, but she just started a new job, and was unable to come. Since we’d already paid for the trip, and it would’ve actually cost us money to cancel it and change my flight, we decided I should just stay and do Disney on my own. I viewed it as a scouting trip because my whole family is planning to head to Disney in a couple years, so I was doing research – time at Disney is my favorite kind of research! 🙂

This time of year was absolutely perfect. The crowds were low and the weather was mild which made it very enjoyable.

We booked a travel package through Costco, and that included a hotel room at B Resort and Spa, which was located in the Disney Springs area of Walt Disney World. The B Resort isn’t a Disney hotel, but since it’s on property, you get to enjoy some benefits, like extra magic hours (extra time at the parks on certain days) and bus transportation to/from the parks.

The resort was nice. It was very clean, my room was spacious, and included great amenities.

There was a great little quick service shop and restaurant on site for snacks/meals. The Costco package included a $30 credit per day, so I used that for bottled water and breakfast foods at the quick service spot each morning.

One morning, I slept in and took advantage of the hot tub which was really enjoyable. Surrounding the pool are some great seating areas to lounge and relax.

Even though I didn’t take advantage of these two amenities, I checked out the on-site spa and kid’s fun room. The spa offers standard treatments and the kid’s room was packed with a lot of fun options, including a foosball table, a Wii, board games, and more.

Buses to the parks came every half hour, and they were pretty close to schedule – I never had to wait more than 15 minutes for a bus! I also loved that the resort was about a half mile from Disney Springs, and the trail to there was very well lit for walking back at night.

I spent a little bit of time in Disney Springs, and it was a lot of fun. It has great shops, great restaurants, and the biggest Disney Store in the world. It’s definitely worth incorporating into a trip, even if just for an evening or two (that’s what I did).

So, now on to Epcot!

Epcot is my favorite of the four parks. I really love the World Showcase, and all the science and technology exhibits in Future World. I spent about a day and a half here this trip, which was the perfect amount of time. Epcot is definitely more geared toward older kids/adults because there aren’t a ton of little kid rides. The bonus for little kids here is that the lines to see characters are generally shorter because there aren’t as many people interested in meeting them. I was able to see Daisy Duck, Pluto, Goofy, Minnie Mouse, and Mickey Mouse with only about 20 minutes of waiting total for all 5.

Future World has a variety of buildings, each with a different theme. The Land focuses on humans interactions with the earth’s agriculture. The Land also features one of my favorite rides, Soarin’, which puts you in a hang-glider and makes you feel like you’re flying over various landmarks across the globe. My favorite thing about this ride is that there are scents pumped into the ride. For example, when you’re flying over the grasslands it smells like fresh grass. So cool!

The Seas with Nemo and Friends building is devoted to ocean studies. The Imagination building features the character Figment and encourages using your imagination. The Innoventions building explores science and technology. There are a few rides in each of these places, as well as a few rides outside them, including one of my favorites – Test Track! Test Track lets you create a vehicle then put it through a series of tests like hairpin turns, speed tests, and more.

And you can’t miss Spaceship Earth, the ride inside the main landmark of Epcot. It’s a journey through time and focuses on innovations.

Another favorite at Epcot is the Pixar Short Film Festival, where you have the opportunity to view a series of short films. The films were so cute! I loved this.

From Future World, you cross over a bridge and find yourself on showcase plaza having entered into the World Showcase. World Showcase features 11 pavilions that showcase a different country. Each pavilion has a variety of shops, restaurants, great architecture, as well as performers that transports you to that country. It is so well done, and definitely my favorite way to spend a few hours.

From top left: Canada, United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, America, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, Mexico.

While I was there, it was the Festival of the Arts, which meant that in addition to the pavilions, there were a variety of small kiosks throughout featuring even more delicious food, international artisans, and entertainment.

A day at Epcot ends with IllumiNations, a fireworks show on the World Showcase Lagoon which celebrates the spirit of humanity. The buildings around the World Showcase glow during the show which I love. I got to see this show twice during this trip, and it was just as great as I remembered.

For my second viewing, I bought tickets to the Frozen Dessert Party, which gave me access to some amazing Frozen-themed desserts, priority seating for the show, and the opportunity to ride the Frozen Ever After ride (a very popular ride with a typically long wait!) after the show. The desserts were delicious and the seats were great. The nice thing, though, about this show is that there really isn’t a bad view around the lagoon, so you can really find anywhere to enjoy the show and don’t necessarily need priority seating.

My best tip for the end of the night at Epcot is to leave through the International Gateway (between France and the United Kingdom in the World Showcase). This entrance takes you to the Epcot area hotels, and if you’re lucky enough to be staying there, you’re home. If not, it’s a quick walk to the Beach Club Villas where you can order an Uber/Lyft to take you to your hotel. Since IllumiNations happens later than most shows, I like to use an Uber/Lyft on these nights to get home quicker than the bus. This also avoids the crowds mass exiting through the main entrance by Spaceship Earth.

Check back tomorrow for more Disney magic!

Party on!
JW