In the original plans for our big trip, we had hoped to be able to spend our birthdays at Walt Disney World. We got to celebrate Mary Ellen’s birthday while we were there, but because of timing, we were back home a couple of days before my birthday. However, that didn’t stop us from treating one day like it was my special day! When asked how I wanted to celebrate my birthday on the trip (which park? which food? which attractions?), I knew exactly what I wanted to do: drink around the world at Epcot. To some this may seem crazy and maybe a little ambitious, but it was such a fun way to experience all the different foods and drinks of the 11 countries featured in the World Showcase.
Walt Disney’s original plans for Epcot didn’t look anything like the theme park we know and love today. His Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) was a futuristic utopia that Walt envisioned as part of his “Florida Project.” When Walt sadly passed away in 1966, the plans for his city were shelved. When it was time to build a second theme park, the Imagineers took the futuristic city part of Walt’s plan and combined it with a World’s Fair concept, creating Epcot Center. The city structures in what became Future World were scrapped in favor of educational experiences and attractions. Epcot used to be split into only two parts: Future World and World Showcase. While World Showcase is still as it was, Future World has recently been split into three sections: World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature. Epcot was undergoing a few major construction projects while we were visiting, including for the new Journey of Water walk-through attraction inspired by Moana and new fountain area (which will feature a new statue of Walt Disney). As such, there were quite a few construction walls in the World Nature and World Celebration areas that we had to navigate.
After getting a ton of rest the night before, we got up early to attempt to join the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the newest ride in Epcot. Since 2019, Disney has used virtual queues for new, high-demand rides in order to manage crowds and wait times. The window to snag a boarding group for Cosmic Rewind opened at 7 AM sharp. Most of the time, the boarding groups will be gone in seconds after the time slot opens, but Mary Ellen was quick in getting one for us. We were in one of the lower numbered boarding groups, so we knew that we would not have to wait too long to ride.
Pro tip: When trying to get a boarding group for any ride with a virtual queue, make sure that your entire party is linked to your My Disney Experience app (The Walt Disney World app) before the first window opens at 7 AM. This will save you valuable time! To be able to get a boarding group, the entire party must have valid park tickets and a park pass reservation for whichever park the ride is in (in this case, Epcot) for that day. After everyone is linked, select the members of your party who want to ride and keep refreshing the page until you’re able to click “Join Virtual Queue.” If you’re not able to snag a boarding group in the morning, you’ll have another opportunity to join at 1 PM (you must physically be in the park for this time slot). Good luck!
Just like the three previous mornings, we filled up our reusable resort mugs with Diet Coke before heading off to Epcot (don’t judge us, the caffeine was necessary!). Boarding group in hand, we arrived right after the park opened at 9 AM. We didn’t worry about getting in early with our Early Theme Park Entry perk or rope dropping any attractions. We still had to ride some of the attractions in the front area of the park before World Showcase opened at 11 AM.
While we had a game plan for drinking around the world (one of only meticulously planned parts of the entire trip), we didn’t have anything concrete planned for the morning, and ended up taking our tried and true “DFW” (down for whatever) approach. After entering the park, we checked the wait times on the Walt Disney World app and decided to try riding Test Track as single riders. This approach worked very well and allowed us to practically walk on to the ride. Since single riders are used to fill in ride vehicles containing uneven or smaller groups, we were not able to ride together, but still had a great time. I was seated with a lovely family whom I believe were from England. If you’re in a small group and you’re not set in stone about riding every ride together, I highly recommend utilizing the single rider line. It’s not guaranteed, but most of the time single riders end up waiting in a shorter line than the standby queue. I don’t remember too much from the ride when we were at Epcot when I was 8 years old. As it turns out, the attraction was updated in 2012, so it was a new experience for me! Unlike the old version of Test Track that centered around safety testing cars, this version was all about creating the best vehicle. In the regular queue, you even get to design your own car! You scan your ticket before getting on the ride and your car is then virtually tested against the creations of the other guests in your ride vehicle. I loved the speed of this attraction, but felt like the ride was way too short.
It just so happened that right when we finished at Test Track, Mary Ellen got a text saying that our boarding group was being called at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. We were super excited to ride this attraction because it was the newest ride at Walt Disney World, having just opened in May 2022, and because we’re big Chris Pratt fans (this was actually our second Christ Pratt ride of the trip, since he was also featured on VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure). One of the most exciting parts of this ride is that there are six song options that you could hear on your ride-through. The six song options are “Conga” by Miami Sound Machine featuring Gloria Estefan, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls, “Disco Inferno” by the Trammps, “One Way or Another” by Blondie, and “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire.” The music is completely randomized, so you don’t know which song you’re going to get until the ride launches. Oh, that’s the other exciting part of this ride: it launches backwards! Cosmic Rewind is Disney’s first-ever backwards launching coaster.
This ride has a pre-show similar to VelociCoaster and Flight of Passage, but didn’t seem nearly as long and drawn-out. Even for the two of us, who hadn’t seen any of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, we understood the plot of the ride and who the characters were. Cosmic Rewind features some of your favorite characters from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, including Nova Prime portrayed by Glenn Close, plus a new one character created specifically for the ride played by the hilarious Terry Crews. From the pre-show, we were moved into the launch bay where guests separate into two queue lines. We went to the right side and ended up sitting in the second row of the first car.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind was probably my favorite of the newer rides at Walt Disney World. We could not stop talking about it for the rest of our trip and even planned to ride it again on our last day at the parks. We had the perfect spot in the ride vehicle because right before the launch, the cars rotate 180 degrees, placing us at the front of the launch (the very back in the direction the cars were facing at the time). Since the ride vehicles rotate throughout the ride-through, every guest has a great view of the scenery. We also enjoyed jamming to the song we got. Our song for this ride was “Disco Inferno,” and while we were hoping for either “Conga” or “September”, we thought that “Disco Inferno” was such a fun pick for our first ride.
After we got off Cosmic Rewind, we decided to head over to Mission: Space. This ride has two difficulty levels, Green and Orange. The Green mission is a much less intense mission orbiting the Earth, while the Orange mission takes you on a very intense ride to Mars. Both sides had a very low wait time, but we decided to be challenging and go with Orange over Green. A word of warning: the Orange mission has apparently been deemed as a very accurate representation of what astronauts experience in preparation for space travel. We didn’t think it would be that bad. Spoiler alert: we were definitely wrong. The first sign that this was going to be a rough ride were the readily available barf bags in the ride vehicle. This made us and our ride companions, a nice couple from England, very nervous. Somehow, we all made it through. We had all been assigned roles before boarding (navigator, pilot, commander, and engineer), and I got super lucky that my job on the ride only required me to hit just one button. The only thing I was really focusing on for most of the experience was my breathing. In and out. I was afraid that once we landed on Mars, there would be a flight back to Earth. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to make it if there was a return trip. Thankfully the ride ended when it did, and we all made it out in one piece, albeit a little greener than before. I definitely made the right career choice in not becoming an astronaut!
When Mission: Space was finally over, we needed a break from rides. We went over to the new World Celebration eatery, Connections Café, to try to get a refreshing drink and a bite to eat. By the time we got over to the area, which we thought wasn’t that far, the line was almost out the door. We opted to walk over to the new Club Cool location instead and do a free taste test of the different Coca-Cola products from around the world. The countries featured are Italy, Madagascar, Dominican Republic, Korea, the Philippines, China, Russia and Moldova. We called this our pregame for what was to come for the rest of the day! Mary Ellen’s favorite drink was the Cucumber Sprite from Russia, which was very refreshing after Mission: Space. My favorites were the Cucumber Sprite from Russia, the Beverly from Italy, and the Royal Wattamelon from the Philippines.
After finishing our pregame at Club Cool, we got in line for Spaceship Earth, but not before stopping first to take the classic Epcot picture in front of the iconic geosphere. This is another ride I remember nothing about, but I loved this one. I would definitely go ride it again to take in all the intricate details of each scene. This is another omnimover ride where the track never stops, similar to the Haunted Mansion, and because of that we did get stopped at one point to allow a handicap guest onto the ride.
From Spaceship Earth we decided to take up the remaining time before World Showcase opened to try again to get a quick bite to eat before we started drinking. We went over to the Land Pavilion and grabbed a snack at the quick service restaurant, Sunshine Seasons. I purchased the mini chocolate bundt cake because of the pretty Earidescent shimmer sprinkles and 50th Anniversary chocolate garnish. Mary Ellen got a croissant. I thought my cake was okay but a little bit on the dryer side while also being super rich. While we were enjoying our food, a cast member came up to the table after seeing my water bottle that’s covered in fun stickers. He gifted me with a Mickey Mouse sticker to add to my collection. It was such a nice gesture and I didn’t hesitate to add it to my water bottle. After we finished our snacks, it was time to head to World Showcase and begin the main event of the day! On the way, we took a pit stop to see Winnie the Pooh catch some bugs by the Imagination Pavilion and the 50th Anniversary statues that were at the entrance of World Showcase. The golden statues at Epcot are Miguel and Dante from Coco, Olaf from Frozen, Rocket and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, Pua & Heihei from Moana, and Epcot’s own Figment.
You can choose to drink around the world with non-alcoholic drinks (they do have an extensive list of those that looked delicious), but we choose to go the alcohol route. I was so excited about this day at Epcot. When I told all my coworkers about our plans, they wanted to hear all about it, especially to see if I actually made it to all 11 countries. After our trip, Mary Ellen told her coworkers and friends about this day, and they all said if they were going to do Disney as adults, they would definitely include drinking around the world in their itineraries. Unlike most, we took a counter-clockwise path around the World Showcase lagoon. The countries we visited (in order) were Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, the American Adventure, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, and, last but not least, Mexico.
Pro Tip: We think that the best way to drink around the world is to start in Canada and end in Mexico. Most people go clockwise starting from Mexico, but when you start with a margarita, you will be feeling the drinks by the third country. You’re also going to be going with the sun around the lagoon, which is not ideal. We ran into a duo that was also drinking around the world but had started in Mexico. We met them in China, which was the third country for them. They were definitely feeling the drinks already! Starting with Canada not only paces you better, but you’re going against the sun for a less heat filled day.
I wouldn’t call this a pro tip, but it is something to consider if you’re wanting to be cautious drinking around the world: you might want to pre plan the drinks you want to order or plan to stick to just one or only a couple types of alcohol. I went all over the board with the type of alcohol and mixed them so much. I think I had almost every type of alcohol throughout the day.
Without any further ado, here is a breakdown of what we drank, what we ate, and what we did in each country along with our thoughts and reviews of everything.
Canada
In Canada, we split a 2 ounce pour of Apple Ice Wine for $14. For me, this was the most disappointing drink of the day because it was pretty pricey for what we got. The taste wasn’t anything to write home about either. The place where we found the wine was a shop directly to the left when you’re facing the Canada pavilion. Once we got our wine, we went and explored the area a little bit. I loved the waterfall feature that they had in the back. Unfortunately, the CircleVision movie, Canada Far and Wide, was closed while we were there.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was one of my favorite countries to hang out in. We definitely took our time in this pavilion. We stopped at the UK Beer Cart and each got a Magners Pear Cider ($9.75). In the England pavilion, they still had some of the topiaries from the Flower Festival which ended a few days before we got to Epcot. We really enjoyed seeing the Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh topiaries. We also got the chance to see Alice in Wonderland doing a meet-and-greet. Even better, when we were relaxing in the back area of the pavilion we got to see Mary Poppins! She was heading to do a meet-and-greet, but we were able to meet her and snap a picture with her before a crowd formed. We were pleasantly surprised to see both characters out and about because meet-and-greets were still working their way back from Covid protocols.
We wandered around the different shops in the United Kingdom, hoping to find an Eeyore watch to replace my mom’s old one. In the Crown & Crest store, you can see if your last name has any English, Irish, Scottish, or Welsh origins and if you have a coat of arms or a family color. We found both of our names in the system and got to learn a little about our family’s histories. I can’t remember what mine was and unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take a picture of all the information. We forewent any snacks or food in England because we would be back on the final night of the trip to have dinner (and watch the fireworks) at the Rose & Crown Pub.
France
After we finished in the United Kingdom, we made our way across the International Gateway to the France pavilion. This is Mary Ellen’s favorite pavilion, so we made sure to spend plenty of time there. We started with a trip to L’Artisan des Glaces to get macaron ice cream sandwiches ($7). I got a chocolate macaron with chocolate ice cream and Mary Ellen got the seasonal raspberry vanilla. They were both fantastic and very refreshing in the Florida heat. Unfortunately, Impressions de France (the movie about the history of France) was down while we were there, but we did get to go to a showing of the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along, which was so much fun. Beauty and the Beast was one of our favorite movies growing up. It was also nice to get a much-needed break in the air conditioning.
After the show, we headed over to Les Vins des Chefs de France for our drinks. I got a Citron Slush ($14.75), which was frozen Grey Goose Citron, vodka, and lemonade, and Mary Ellen got a Kir Royal ($20.95), which is champagne with blackcurrant liqueur. They were both delicious and mine was especially refreshing. As we were enjoying our drinks, we stood in line for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, the newest ride in Epcot’s World Showcase which opened on the first day of the 50th Anniversary Celebration (October 1, 2021).
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a trackless dark ride. The version in Epcot’s France pavilion is an exact copy of the original attraction from Disneyland Paris. The queue line made you feel like you were strolling through Paris and set the tone for the ride. We waited around 50 minutes to get on. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a very cute ride and I can see children and even adults who are fans of Ratatouille enjoying it a lot. This was my first (but not last) time riding an attraction with a trackless ride system. I enjoyed the ride, but was definitely thrown off by the free range of motion that the car has. I thought it was cool how they made you feel like you were the size of a rat with the visuals, especially with the props they had throughout the ride.
When we were leaving the France pavilion, we did get a chance to see Aurora make her way over to her meet-and-greet area, but we missed out on seeing Belle. Overall, we found that the times listed for meet-and-greets in the app were inaccurate to the time the characters actually made their appearance.
Morocco
Morocco was up next! This pavilion is one of the smaller ones where there isn’t as much to do as far as rides and characters go, but there was an interesting museum called the Gallery of Arts and History. We strolled through there and looked at the exhibits while I was drinking my drink. The Moroccan pavilion is so beautiful, and that is thanks to the former king of Morocco, Hassan II. He sent Moroccan artists to help design and create the intricate mosaics that you find throughout the area. Normally, a big draw to this country for kids and families is the opportunity to meet Aladdin and Jasmine, but they weren’t appearing in the area at the time because of Covid restrictions.
I purchased a Frozen Mint Tea ($15.50) from Oasis Sweets & Sips. I felt like I had to get it, because iced mint tea is our specialty tea at the restaurant I manage. This drink is available as it is, but I got it with Bombay Sapphire gin. To my disappointment, this was definitely my least favorite of all the drinks I had that day. It was also this drink that helped me realize that gin may not be my liquor of choice. I also snagged a slice of pistachio baklava ($2.75) because it’s one of my favorite pastries. Mary Ellen forwent a drink in this country, seeing as nothing grabbed her interest, but she did do the pick 3 pastry assortment ($6.50) with a piece of pistachio baklava, a moroccan tile cookie, and a walnut saragli. Her favorite of the three was definitely the walnut saragli. It was so buttery and flaky!
Fun fact about the Moroccan pavilion: if you’re looking at the Morocco pavilion from across the World Showcase lagoon, you can actually see the back of the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. The Imagineers who were building the Tower of Terror over at the Studios realized this while the thrill ride was under construction and came up with a brilliant solution. They painted the backside of Tower of Terror the same terra cotta-like color as the Moroccan pavilion to make it seem like it was a distant building that is part of the skyline. They wanted to make sure that no one looking at the Morocco pavilion was taken out of the magic!
Japan
The next country on our journey around World Showcase was Japan where I purchased a Plum Wine ($7) from the Garden House. Mary Ellen ordered the Sparkling Dragon ($8.50) which had sake, Peach Schnapps, sour mix, and dragon fruit syrup . While we were enjoying our drinks, we browsed Mitsukoshi, which is a huge department store similar to ones you would see in Japan. There are tons of options to choose from that are not just Disney themed, but also items popular in Japanese culture. There is also the Bijutsu-kan Gallery, where you get to learn the history of kawaii (Japan’s cute culture). We only briefly looked around the exhibit because we were trying to catch the next Voices of Liberty performance in our next country.
The American Adventure
Oh, we’re halfway there! Woah, livin’ on a prayer! All Bon Jovi jokes aside, we’re now at the halfway point of World Showcase. We ended up spending a lot of time in the American Adventure pavilion. I loved the colonial feel of the pavilion takes you back to the beginnings of our nation. The atmosphere was completed by a ship in the “harbor” and a replica of Independence Hall. We had such a blast in this pavilion! We even spotted a leftover Pluto topiary from Flower & Garden. After snapping a photo with the fountains outside of the Hall, we went inside to listen to the Voices of Liberty perform. We got to listen to them sing “America, the Beautiful” (which seemed fitting since we were a few days past the Fourth of July), “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes”, and a few other songs.
After strolling through the American Heritage Gallery, we went to a showing of The American Adventure. The show is completely made up of audio animatronic figures, from the hosts Ben Franklin and Mark Twain to famous historical figures like Susan B. Anthony and George Washington. There was something so special about this show. I got goosebumps listening to the incredible and inspiring words about our nation from some of its most influential people. It is incredible to see how far our country has come, while still understanding that the United States is still such a young country in comparison with other nations worldwide. The American Adventure show concludes with a moving montage of some of the most inspiring Americans, like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy, as well as many of the great moments in American history, including the Apollo 11 moon landing, set to the original song, “Golden Dream.”
We then made our way over to the outdoor bar area of the Regal Eagle Smokehouse to get our drinks.. I got the Tennessee Lemonade ($14) made with whiskey, while Mary Ellen got the Moonshine Sour ($14), which ended up being her favorite note only of the day, but of the entire trip.
After enjoying our drinks, we walked over to Italy to get some pizza at the pizza window outside Via Napoli. We were so sad to see that it was closed! We then made the decision to backtrack to the Regal Eagle Smokehouse in the American Adventure pavilion since were close and had mobile order availability. I ordered the Sliced Texas Beef Brisket Sandwich ($13.79) with a side of coleslaw. The cast member at mobile order pickup, seeing my happy birthday button, gifted me with a dessert of my choice! I picked the banana pudding because who doesn’t love a dessert with vanilla wafers? Mary Ellen ordered the North Carolina Chopped Smoked Pork Butt Platter ($12.99). We both really enjoyed our food and would highly recommend the Regal Eagle Smokehouse.
Italy
After getting food in our stomachs and spending an unexpected two hours in the American Adventure, we were ready to continue with the second half of World Showcase. My coworkers thought that we had tapped out since I had stopped sending them updates during our detour. When I sent them the picture of the drinks in Italy, they were like “oh, we’re back in action!”
We walked around Italian pavilion before realizing there wasn’t a quick service spot in the area where we could get our drinks. We walked over to the lagoon area and took pictures on the bridge near the gondolas. The town square that they created in the pavilion is a replica of St. Mark’s Square in Venice. It made me feel like I was in the middle of Romeo and Juliet. It even had a balcony that could have been Juliet’s!
For our drinks, we found a little cart that was selling a limited selection of beverages across from Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar. I got the Rossini and Mary Ellen got the Bellini which were each $13. They both had Prosecco sparkling wine, but mine was combined with strawberry puree, while Mary Ellen’s was combined with peach puree. Both were very yummy!
Germany
If there was a country that was least exciting and least planned for us, it was definitely Germany. No hate on Germany, but they had the least variety as far as drinks go. I know it’s because they’re best known for the beer and Oktoberfest. When we were planning ahead for drinking around the world, we both kept Germany’s drink spot blank to decide when we got there.
I ended up going over to the Sommerfest store and purchasing a jumbo pretzel ($10.79) and the Schofferhofer Pink Grapefruit Hefeweizen ($10.75). I really enjoyed this beer and if we didn’t have three other countries to go, I would’ve stayed longer to enjoy the whole thing. Also PSA: beers and ciders were all full sized 20oz drinks, so you definitely get your money’s worth out of them. Mary Ellen went over to Weinkeller where they sell lots of German wines and ordered a Valckenberg Madonna Riesling Spätlese ($10).
The pretzel I snacked on was much-needed. It was super big and salted perfectly. I ate half of it while we were relaxing in Germany (which was actually us sitting on the curb by the lagoon) and saved the other half to snack on later. It was so big that I even had some of it left the next day. It was definitely well worth the stop for a mid-drinking around the world snack.
China
After a lengthy walk from Germany (which we decided was big enough to accommodate a new Peru pavilion filled with our favorite Emperor’s New Groove activities), we reached our next stop, China. At this point we were starting to get tired. It was about 6 PM and Mary Ellen’s Covid symptoms were really starting to take effect.
We walked over to The Joy of Tea, where we ran into the duo I mentioned earlier. They definitely looked like they were feeling the tequila from Mexico! At The Joy of Tea, we decided to split a Kung Fu Punch ($11), which had vodka, triple sec, mango, and orange juice. This drink was actually one of my favorites of the day!
If we weren’t verging on exhausted and rushing to get into the line at Frozen Ever After, we would have stopped to enjoy exploring China a bit more. They have a CircleVision movie called Reflections of China, which takes guests on a journey through the history of China and to the present day. They also have the House of the Whispering Willows that shows off what is happening over at Shanghai Disneyland.
Norway
The first thing we did here in the Norway pavilion was get in line for the Frozen Ever After boat ride (Kung Fu Punch from China still in hand). The wait was around 75 minutes and boy, did it feel like it. While we were in this line, Mary Ellen’s eyes started to get really dry and itchy. The line was also a little miserable to be in because it moved at a snail’s pace and similar to Big Thunder Mountain, there were lots of kids who were cranky from the heat and missing their naps.
We had a fun cast member interaction when we got to the front of the queue. The sweet cast member working the ride noticed my birthday button and gave me the choice of which row I wanted to ride in. Obviously, I picked the front! The ride itself was so cute. I loved the excitement of going backwards at one point! Now, I don’t remember the original ride that was there before they made it into Frozen Ever After, but Mary Ellen noticed a few changes they made to the ride track to accommodate the storyline. The only element that weirded me out a little was how they projected the faces onto the audio animatronics instead of them being mechanical like at other attractions. You could tell it was projected, at it looked a little strange.
After Frozen Ever After, Mary Ellen decided to run over to the first aid station at the Odyssey Building to see if they had any contact solution to help give her eye some moisture. While she was running that errand, I went ahead and walked over to Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, where I purchased the Einstöck White Ale ($11.25) that I was told is similar to a Blue Moon. I thought that the comparison was very accurate and the ale was delicious. I also purchased a School Bread ($4.49) for Mary Ellen to snack on since she’s not a fan of beer. Unfortunately, beer and Viking Coffee (which she’s also not a fan of) are only alcohol options offered in Norway. She thought the cardamom bread wasn’t as sweet as she expected it to be, but it was still enjoyable.
While I was waiting for Mary Ellen to get back, I decided to sit on the curb by the railing for the lagoon and enjoy my beer. I was also wanting a little rest and shade before moving on to our final country. I saw some ducks, also referred to by us as Disney ducks, wandering around in the area, but didn’t pay them much attention. A few minutes passed by and I started to feel a tapping on my lower back. One of the Disney ducks was trying to get my attention to get Mary Ellen’s school bread! We had a good laugh about it later, but I definitely thought I was going a little crazy at first.
Mexico
We made it to the final country! I was so excited to get to Mexico not only because did it meant that we made it all the way around the world, but also that we got to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros!
We entered the giant temple and made our way directly to the Gran Fiesta Tour, which was practically a walk on. The efficiency of getting on the ride was much appreciated after waiting so long in the queue for Frozen Ever After. It was much easier to enjoy the ride after a 5 minute wait rather than an hour! Unfortunately, Mary Ellen’s eyes were still irritating her. Funny story, though: while on the ride, her contact fell out into the water while she was rubbing her eye! We still joke to this day that her contact is just hanging out in the water on the Gran Fiesta Tour.
After getting off the boat ride, we made our way over to La Cava del Tequila where I could get my final drink of the day: a Mango Margarita. This was the most expensive drink of the day at $23, but you get it in a 16 ounce cup that’s filled almost to the brim. There was tajin on the rim, which is a spicy and salty seasoning that really packed a punch. They do have different flavors of margaritas, so you have your choice of your favorite flavor to sip on.
After taking our cheers picture and video, we decided to call it a night and start making our way to the exit of the park while I was finishing my drink. Thankfully, we had the reusable straws with us that made enjoying my drink on the go much easier. Since Mary Ellen was short one contact, her vision was not the best (she’s very nearsighted). She told me that I may need to help guide her out of the park. In my tipsy state I decided that in addition to leading the way I would also check her vision by asking her what color the lights on the Epcot ball were. Her response was, “I’m nearsighted, not colorblind!” That ended up being one of our biggest jokes from the trip. We still laugh about it to this day!
Another full day walking around the parks in the hot Florida sun mixed with a lot of drinking, we turned in early once we got back to Old Key West. We were definitely looking forward to sleeping in the next morning before going to Typhoon Lagoon. Would I drink around the world again? Absolutely! Epcot is always having festivals with loads of food booths that introduce new specialty drinks (and food items) that I would love to try. One of the festivals I would love to experience is the Food & Wine festival that happens every Fall. That’s the next drinking around the world challenge I would like to complete. Though, maybe next time I won’t mix so many different types of alcohol!
Our favorite unexpected moment of the day was how much we loved Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. I’ve told all my friends and family about the attraction and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves roller coasters. We decided after riding it that we had to ride it again before we went home. Be sure to read the next blog post in this series that covers our day at Typhoon Lagoon, trying out a new restaurant in a popular resort, and our take on the 50th Anniversary fireworks show at Magic Kingdom.
Here are some more pictures from our day:
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