Epcot Photo Report

On Thursday, December 23rd, we visited EPCOT. Upon waking up, our first Genie+ pass would be used on Frozen Ever After, which had been downgraded from the Individual Lightning Lane Attraction pass for the Christmas break. We had a lunch planned at noon, so I refreshed the Tip Board page until I was able to select a 1:30 return time.

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First Time Planning? If you are planning your first ever Disney trip or first trip since the pandemic, check out my Disney trip planning tips for first time guests to see how to prepare for your visit to the Happiest Place on Earth! (Link opens in a new tab so you can continue reading the story below)

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At 7am, I also got a boarding group for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, but it was number 8. I ended up getting a message at 9am, 30 minutes before the official opening, that our number had been called. Also having reports that the boarding group wait was usually 40-45 minutes, I didn’t really want to wait in line. So at 9:30 when the park officially opened, I was able to select the paid lightning lane pass for a 6:30 return time.

We got a late start again, leaving the hotel around 11am. When we arrived at 11:30, I was able to select another pass. Spaceship Earth actually had an immediate return time, which I was going to get, but my wife was dealing with a phone call, so I didn’t want to rush her through that. By the time she was done, SSE was out to noon and our dining reservation for the Rose & Crown was at 12:10, so we went straight to lunch instead. I ended up selecting Soarin’ with a 3:45 return time

We walked to the Rose & Crown restaurant and were seated almost immediately. They had a lot of open tables along the lakeside where they say us. We were doing the Candlelight Processional dinner package, so our meal consisted of an appetizer, entree and dessert.

For my lunch, I chose the cheese and cracker platter for the appetizer. I’m not huge into cheese, and blue cheese was one of the options which is a huge no for me, so overall it was just ok. They also include some different accompaniments. The one I remember was the apple chutney which was really good.

For my main course, I went with the Fish and Chips. It’s always my go to when visiting an English restaurant. And it did not disappoint. The breading was crispy and the fish was cooked perfectly. The fries were crispy as well. Overall a delicious meal. Nothing over the top, but would definitely go back for more or to try something else.

And for dessert, I had the Sticky Toffee Pudding. This is served hot and is so good. Between the pudding cake and the custard and hot butter rum sauce, the dish is full of flavor.

After lunch, it was time for rides. First up was our Lightning Lane pass for Frozen Ever After. Using the LL, we waited less than 5 minutes to get on the boat. Last time we went on the ride, we got soaked, so this time, we still had rain ponchos with us, so we put them on for the ride. Of course we got no water. Oh well, always be prepared. I love the fun little ride through Arendelle. Always good to see Olaf.

Next, we headed for the Mexico pavilion for the Gran Fiesta Tour to see the Three Caballeros. They were all excited to see us, with all three singing and dancing.

Next was our Lightning Lane pass for Spaceship Earth. It’s kind of a Trek from World Showcase, especially with so much walled off right now. We arrived a couple minutes after our 1 hour return window expired, but still in the grace period.

Unfortunately, the ride went down just as we arrived. Since we were outside the return window, the pass did not automatically convert. We had a lot scheduled the rest of the night, so didn’t think we’d make it back to ride, but we could have gone to guest services to correct if we had wanted to.

Instead, we headed for the land pavilion area and grabbed a pretzel snack and got ready for the Soarin’ Lightning Lane pass.

I was the only one that wanted to ride this one. We had never done it before, so wasn’t sure what to expect. I ended up being in line for over 30 minutes with the LL pass. It was by far the longest Lightning Lane we experienced on the trip. However, I really loved the ride. Soarin’ over unique landmarks and special locations around the world was really cool.

I am going to end the first Epcot report here, but I’ll have another one soon with 360° pictures of different areas of the world showcase.

If you’re ready to start exploring a Walt Disney World or Disneyland family vacation, I recommend checking out Undercover Tourist for your ticket options. I’ve already used them twice, once at Disneyland and once at Disney World and will plan to continue comparing their prices with other sites, however I usually come back to UT because they have the best deals and their instructions make it easy to add your tickets to the Disney apps.