around the world...and then some

we saved epcot for our last full day in florida.  and of course, somehow the weather shifted in the opposite direction, which i was not prepared for because this is what i had packed to wear that day:

yikes.  i knew that meant i was going to eventually head into a shop and pick up some head-to-toe disney world gear.  but you know me, and that really wasn't a burden.  heh.

the bean and i hopped aboard the water taxi that took us right from outside our hotel to the center of world showcase in epcot, which was perfect because that's where we wanted to be anyway.  we had a reservation to have crepes in "france."

it would be cool if there was a special passholder entrance for us at disneyland.  although i think there are so many of us that it wouldn't really be a perk anyway.

world showcase is our favorite part of epcot, so we were happy campers to be able to spend as much time there as we wanted.  can't you see the joy on her face?

ah, france.  this is about as close as we're going to get for...well, who knows.  and we were excited to get to ride the new ratatouille-themed ride that had just opened last fall.

but first - brunch at la creperie de paris.  the prix-fixe menu included everything i wanted - soup or salad, plus a savory galette and a dessert crepe, plus the option to upgrade to a mimosa.  mmmmm.

as soon as we were done we made a beeline to the queue for remy's ratatouille adventure.  

the line was really long, but it was the one thing we wanted to ride and so we were going to wait it out no matter what.  the bean had already hit up the WDW merchandise and was happily sporting new sweatpants and crocs.

disney's attention to detail is so good.  it really looked like a random street in paris.

and this, on the outside of the building that houses the attraction, is the pipe that remy used to get in and to of the restaurant in the movie.

it's just as cute inside, as one would expect.  and it was identical to the one i'd experienced at disneyland paris.  the bean loved it as much as i did.

we happened to be there during epcot's flower and garden festival, so there were lots of fun topiaries and things sprinkled throughout the park.

and then we just started wandering "around the world."  japan, italy, norway, mexico.

our other favorite ride here is the test track, which had been restored to all of its pre-covid glory with the pre-show activities and building your own vehicle.  fun as always.

we decided to head back to world showcase to hit up some of the festival food kiosks. in france we picked up a chantilly cream-filled beignet with a torched caramel topping, plus the croissant with an herbed goat cheese filling.  both were as delicious as we'd hoped.

by the mexican pavilion the bean was elated to try arepas, which she'd learned about from encanto.  these were topped with cheese, shrimp or chorizo.  we tried them all plus the coconut tres leches.

there was a celebration party going on for the cheerleaders over in magic kingdom, and so we made our way out of epcot and caught a free ride on the monorail.

the peoplemover is always a must-do.  it's a nice slow ride that offers some great views of tomorrowland and beyond.

and i dragged the bean over to the carousel of progress, which is another nostalgic requirement for me.  it's so corny and cheesy and i love it.

as we were exiting the theater, we caught a glimpse of the fireworks show overhead.

we decided to take another spin on the peoplemover...which kind of backfired because it ended up breaking down while we were on it.  we were stuck up there for a good half hour before they finally came over to let us out and walk us down.

here's the other thing we wanted to do in the magic kingdom - the seven dwarfs mine train.  it's such a cute ride and lots of fun.

we stopped for dinner in the only restaurant that was available to us at that hour, where the bean snagged a specialty burger with mac & cheese inside and topped with cheetos dust.

we rode space mountain before we finally decided that we'd had a long enough day and got outta there.

it was a pretty awesome day that we'd packed with as much fun as possible, and that night we passed out almost as soon as we got to our room.  one more day and then we were heading home.