EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

After a late night at EPCOT, we were all thankful to sleep-in this morning.  It was the perfect day to rest as the first item on our agenda was Fantasia mini-golf and they didn't open until 10 a.m..  When I booked our Disney package we were given free tickets to our favorite recreational activity which we really appreciated as it saved us over $50.  We were also glad that we knew from all of our stays at the Boardwalk that the easiest way to get to the miniature golf course was to take a bus to Hollywood Studios and then use the walking path between the Boardwalk and the Swan & Dolphin to get there.  

We arrived after the posted opening time and expected to wait to play mini-golf.  Fortunately, the course wasn't crowded and we were called to the first tee immediately.  Brett started off on fire and took the lead early.  Cameron rallied and went around him by hole nine.  It was a close match on the back nine, but thanks to a challenging 17th hole, I beat Cameron by 1.  Brett was right behind us, missing second place by two strokes.  Doug was uncharacteristically last this round.  No matter the score, we all had a lot of fun.

From Fantasia mini-golf we walked over to EPCOT.  A big part of the reason that we booked our fall break trip was to enjoy the delicious food of the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival which has quickly become Cameron and Doug's favorite time of the year in Disney World.  We traveled through each of the countries and booths focusing on food and drinks that we hadn't tried yesterday.  The Lobster Landing and Flavors by Fire were big hits today.  While we were walking through the countries, we were also able to find the rest of the Remy characters that we missed yesterday with Japan being the most challenging to find. Once we finished, Cameron was able to choose from three fun prizes for completing the Remy chart.  He really liked the Figment Food & Wine candy dish that he picked out.

Today in EPCOT wasn't all about eating and drinking.  We also had time to ride a few attractions as well.  Our favorite was the new Remy ride in France.  Even though I had gotten up early to get a boarding pass from the virtual queue, we still had to wait an hour in line.  It was worth it, however, as we all enjoyed the new adventure.  Doug, especially, was impressed with the animation interaction.  On our way out of the park we made sure to ride Meg's favorite, Gran Fiesta Tour, in Mexico.  We also had time for Figment, a priority since Cameron missed it on our last trip.  Soarin' had a short line as well and we rode it for a second time this trip.

We decided to spend our evening in Disney Springs.  Doug and Brett headed there straight from EPCOT to get us a place in line for Gideon's Bakery and to enjoy Raglan Road, an Irish bar.  Cameron and I took advantage of our refillable mugs back at Saratoga Springs before joining them.  Our method of transportation was the coldest bus that we had ever ridden on before, but it helped us arrive just as Doug and Brett made it to the front of the line at Gideon's.  Brett and Cameron really liked the bakery and we all picked cookies to take back to our hotel.   The food trucks were open for dinner and all of the the guys chose different types of macaroni and cheese while I stuck with my usual, a Texas chili dog.  We spent the rest of the night shopping with the majority of our time at the Coke Store.  Before Brett found new pajamas and Cameron and I bought shirts there, Doug and Cameron tried some new mixed flavors of Coca- Cola drinks.  Cameron's was a gingerbread shortcake Coke and Doug's was habanero lime Fresca.  They were definitely interesting and fun to try.  The boys were able to find something for each of their friends during the rest of our shopping trip and we were back at the hotel before 10 p.m.  Our feet were definitely ready for a break as we walked 28,500 steps on the day.