Thursday 8th April 2010

We hadn't intended to do Epcot. With seven Disney days on our ticket, and six parks to do, Epcot and Hollywood Studios were the ones we dismissed as being of the least interest. But with Magic Kingdom so manic during the day we decided to return in the evening instead when it would be cooler, quieter, and we could see the famous fireworks. We had a park-hopper ticket, and the parking fee covered the whole day, so it was sensible to do a different park in the morning and we chose Epcot.

I'm so glad we did, because it was great. Calmer, quieter, and with the focus on technology, science and the wider world, thus fewer over-excited children. The weather was a little overcast too which might have contributed to keeping the crowds away. There was a flower festival taking place, so Epcot was ablaze with blooms and hedges trimmed in the shape of Disney characters, and we were entertained by a singing choir and a group of gardners playing rap and Disney tunes on watering cans and buckets - using spades and towels.

We went on several rides - the queues were very short - including for the iconic Spaceship Earth, inside the "giant golf ball". We stayed only four hours, which was the original plan but was, in the event, quite a pity because there was plenty more we could have done.

We went to Golden Corral for lunch. For $6.49 we had an amazing "all you can eat" buffet and were quite impossibly full by the end of it.

In the evening we returned to Magic Kingdom for our final Goodbye to Disney. This time it really was magic. We went on the steam train round the park, and several other rides. Although the park was quite busy, the queues were shorter than they had been on our previous visit. When the fireworks started at 10, the children and I were riding the flying Dumbo ride, so it really was a magical and memorable moment.

The fireworks were amazing, but Roderic had a headache, so at 10.15 when they finished we started to head back to the car. Unfortunately, despite the final parade due to start at 11, so did most of the other visitors to the park, and it took us over an hour to finally reach our car. It was almost 1 a.m. before we arrived back at our timeshare. But left us with an overall great Disney experience. I'd love to return someday, but for our next Florida holiday (probably in 2012) we're aiming to do Discovery Cove and Aquatica, so it may be a while.