Here is what the progression of bad ideas can sound like. “Should we stop and get something to eat before we get to Epcot?” “No, let’s just eat there to try some new stuff.” “Why don’t we just stop and get a little snack while we try to flush the sunscreen out of Jessica’s eyes.”

EPCOT

Those were discussion items on the way yesterday. Our first stop was at Living with the Land – one of nerdville’s favorite rides. We love seeing all the veggies growing and hydroponics and aquaponics in action. Jess loves the ride because it involves water and she can stay in her wheelchair for the ride.

Soarin’ Around the World was next. The wait was only 20 minutes. We got about half-way through the queue and Jessica’s eyes were burning so much from the sunscreen that we had to make our way backwards through the queue and go flush J’s eyes out again.

After that, Jess decided she was ready to try again. We made our way back through the line and when we got to the front, she chickened out. Luckily, Disney was Disney and they let us take turns so that one of us could hang out in the hall with J while the other rode. It was worth all the fuss, the Soarin’ experience is incredible.

FOOD ISSUES

Okay, so I was overly optimistic about trying EPCOT’s International Food and Wine Festival with Jess. We had our snack, but a snack is a snack and not a meal. So, Jess was hungry. The three of us ended up walking through Future World West and all the way around World Showcase reading menus and looking for something Jess would eat. We ended up at none other than American Adventure to get her… you guessed it… chicken nuggets and fries.

After that, we strolled all the way back around toward the front of the park to the Cheese Studio for some tasty treats. Campbell had the Cheese Trio: Profiterole topped with Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs Cheese, and Orange-Apricot, Smoked Salmon Pinwheel with Boursin Shallot and Chive Cheese and Everything Seasoning, Strawberry Macaron with Boursin Pepper Cheese.

I had the Maple Bourbon Boursin Cheesecake with Maple Bourbon Cream, Caramel, and Pecan Crunch. All delicious.

On our way out of the park, we stopped by Guest Relations to get signed up for Disability Access Service that will be used for the other parks during our trip.

JAMBO HOUSE

The true bonus of the day was when we made it to our room. We seemed to have gotten a room upgrade and instead of a studio, we have a 1 bedroom suite that is beautiful and spacious. Our views are amazing and immediately from our balcony we saw zebra, giraffe, gazelles, wildebeest, and other animals. We will definitely make ourselves at home here this week.

We headed over to Animal Kingdom’s Kidani Village for supper at Sanaa, a restaurant with African/Indian themed menu items and dining experience. Our table overlooked the Savannah. Jess had cheese pizza.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Afterwards, we took the bus over to Animal Kingdom and walked straight to Kali River Rapids. We rode it twice. The first time, it was only Jess, Campbell and me in the raft. Jess and I got a tad wet, but Campbell got it pretty good. When we got back to the dock to unload, Jess asked if we could stay in the boat and ride it again and they let us. We were joined by 4 others for that round, and again, Jess and I just got a little wet.

Kali River Rapids is on Jessica’s agenda again. Today, I’ll try to get video of it.

This was our first time to stroll through Animal Kingdom in the dark and it was beautiful and the temperature was refreshing. It was SOOOooo hot at Epcot.

That was the end of our day #1. Time to get ready for day #2.