So we flew to Orlando out of the Buffalo airport at 5:30am! It was an early morning flight, but totally worth it so we could have a full day of fun in the sun. We spent our first day in Epcot, which was walking distance from the first resort we stayed at - the Boardwalk Villas. Our room was ready when we arrived, which we were really impressed with considering it was only 9 o'clock in the morning! So we dropped off our carry-ons to the room and got ready to hit the park!
We got to ride Soarin', caught a sneak preview of Tomorrowland, which they were showing in the Captain EO theater (Captain EO was "down" for the special sneak preview) and one of our favorite attractions, Spaceship Earth. We walked around quite a bit to look at all of the gardens and topiaries, since we were able to catch the last week of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. I even braved going into the Butterfly garden and no - I did not freak out when the butterflies landed on me (like I did last year - people probably thought I was nuts!). We got to see the new Anna & Elsa topiaries, which were quite exquisite. Mom and Dad's favorite topiary was the Lady & the Tramp one located outside of Italy. They said it reminded them of Marv and Jameson.
Speaking of Marv and Jameson, they "vacationed" with my parents, who decided not to join us on this trip. They had a great time and enjoyed chasing Buddy around.
A funny situation did happen while we were walking around World Showcase, Dad was taking a picture of Christopher and I in Japan and a Disney World security officer stopped Dad and gave him a ticket! No worries - it was a citation for him not being in the picture with us. We have never seen this in the parks before. The officer was very nice and funny, he even made Dad a Junior Officer to protect the magic, complete with a badge sticker! Dad was very proud and wore his sticker for the rest of the trip.
As we walked around World Showcase, we also sampled some of the food offerings for the flower & garden festival. We sampled the Crispin' Blackberry Pear cider, a cronut (Christopher's favorite", duck confit with parsley potatoes, smoked debreziner sausage and pineapple sparkling wine. All were yummy!
We had lunch at Via Napoli and split a huge pepperoni and sausage pizza. It was delicious and so fresh. Then we split tiramisu, which was so amazing and authentic. We really liked our experience at this restaurant and hope to return in future trips. For families, this was a very affordable option for dining.
We then took a little break in the afternoon and went back to the resort to unpack and freshen up. Christopher and I then took a little walk around Crescent Lake and he treated me to my pearl for the trip. I ended up picking an oyster with an 8mm pearl! I am one lucky girl!
Dinner was at Le Cellier in the Canadian pavilion. And it was of course fabulous. Our server was pleasant and from Ontario. Christopher and I split the famous beer cheddar soup and we all ordered the filet mignon with wild mushroom risotto (yes, even I ate the risotto - it was worth the headache). Mom and Dad split creamed spinach to pair with their steak and Christopher and I split the mac & cheese. We were too full for dessert (I know - the Maple Creme Brulee - next time!). Since our reservation was late (at 8:50 pm), when we left the restaurant, we were one of the last ones left in the park. Which is an experience in itself since the park is so empty and quiet.
It was such a wonderful first day at Walt Disney World. We all fell right asleep and got to sleep in on Thursday.
