Saturday, March 14, 2015 is our first full day in Walt Disney World for this trip. We have breakfast reservations at Akershus in the Norway pavilion of EPCOT. It is a princess character breakfast that has great food. 

So an additional benefit of having an early dining reservation before EPCOT opened was the ability to take pictures without being obstructed by other people. This was especially helpful since there were several high profile topiaries that are on the way to Akershus including Mickey & Minnie and Anna & Elsa.

When we got to Akershus we got a shock. We presented our Tables in Wonderland card and they said this date is now blacked out. I went on the website as I didn’t know this and it turns out this was added after I purchased Tables in Wonderland. I spoke to the manager and he gave me the discount which is only right. He told me I should speak to guest relations.

For the morning we walked around EPCOT taking in the Flower and Garden Festival. We went to the butterfly house which has the Tinker Bell topiary outside of it. Unfortunately this year they are not handing out seeds as they had done in previous years. Near the butterfly house is the Fantasia topiary with Sorcerer Mickey. The radiator springs team is represented by Mater & Lightning McQueen topiaries and Buzz Lightyear is outside of “Mission:  Space”.  Monsters Inc has Mike and Sully from Monsters University in a play area. 

In World Showcase Bambi, Thumper and Flower are outside the Canadian pavilion. Peter Pan is atop the United Kingdom pavilion building looking down on Captain Hook and the Crocodile. Just beyond the UK pavilion Winnie the Pooh is alone this year.

Cinderella and her Prince have been relocated and are outside of France pavilion. Belle and Beast are also outside of France with the Clock and Candlestick behind them. Absent is Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip as well as the tea set from Beauty and the Beast.

Woody from Toy Story is outside of the American pavilion while Snow White and all Seven Dwarfs, who are all very detailed with faces, are outside of Germany. Lady and the Tramp as well as Miss Piggy are outside of the Italy pavilion. Rafiki holding baby Simba is outside of China pavilion as is the Year of the Sheep topiary.

As we exited World Showcase we had to stop and see my favorite Disney Bear. We had our pictures taken with Duffy.

Shopping was our next big activity as we shopped in the Germany pavilion as well as in one of our favorite stores: Mouse Gears. I bought a new Mickey Mouse polo shirt as all of the Mickey polo shirts I currently own are now too big for me. 

Still being exhausted from the week and the long day yesterday we headed back to Animal Kingdom Lodge to rest.

After a short rest it was back to EPCOT where we had fast passes to Mission: Space. There were not a lot of people at Mission: Space and we really wouldn’t have needed a fast pass but since we had it, we used it. 

Briefly stopped into the Festival Center before heading to Innovations for the Chase Visa Character Meet and Greet. This area has been growing in popularity and almost every time I come here there is some line. The line wasn’t extremely long as I was about the fifth group in line. The mystery characters were Minnie Mouse and Pluto.

Next was a quick stop at Club Cool to get a drink. It was really packed in there and the floor was so sticky my feet got stuck for a second to the floor. I did find a Figment phone case for my iPhone 5S and I bought it as I don’t have a Figment case and hadn’t seen one before.

It was then on the the EPCOT Character Spot for which we had a fast pass. We did pictures with Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Minnie Mouse.

Journey Into Imagination with Figment was our next stop. To my surprise Figmenr had a stated wait time of 30 minutes. It didn’t take quite that long but this is an attraction you usually walk right on to. After Figment we saw the classic Captain EO. Much to my surprise I heard a woman coming out of Captaim EO saying she would never go back. I, personally, find the show nostalgic and visit every time.

We then used our fast passes for Soarin’ which is a must do every trip for us. I briefly talked to a cast member about the announced expansion to include another bay. He said something like they might be moving the cue back and adding on that way. Not sure exactly what he meant but time will tell.

Having used all of our fast passes and having seen all of the topiaries we decided to make it an early night and get some rest. This trip is meant to be a relaxing trip with the only real goal being to see the topiaries of the Flower and Garden Festival. With that goal achieved the next day and a half are going to be slower paced and more relaxed than most of our trips.