We woke up early on Friday morning, quickly showered, and packed up the car. Goodbye, All Star Movies! We headed over to the Contemporary Resort. As we were driving in, we realized just how BIG the Walt Disney World property really is….WOW! Our excitement built as we saw the monorail track and the A-frame of our hotel in the distance! We unloaded our car with the bellmen and headed through the sliding glass doors. The cool air rushed over our hot faces and the crisp cucumber/aloe scent intoxicated our senses. Lily immediately ran over to the couch area with television playing Disney cartoons. Check-in was a breeze, yet slightly comical, and I received the birthday pin, special event tickets, meal plan, maps and such. I headed to Chris and Lily who had decided to explore the stores on the 4th floor. We stopped to eat breakfast at the Contempo Cafe. We received our refillable mugs and just used some snack credits for our meal. I tried the chocolate croissant. It was rich and yummy with fresh coffee. I had heard rumor about poor coffee at Disney and we thought it was perfectly fine! You can even doctor it up with a splash of hot chocolate. 😉
One of my favorite parts of the Contemporary are the murals by Mary Blair. Love. Love. Love. My favorite ride as a child was It’s A Small World and I am drawn to her attention to detail and mid-century flair.
We headed to the monorail boarding area and our adventure began! We met a fun group of couples who were traveling from California. They had matching shirts that said, “Eating and Drinking Around the World.” We continued to see them around the park throughout the day. As we were waiting to board, we struck up a conversation with an engineer/mechanic from the Michigan area who loved German food and encouraged us that we would enjoy the Biergarten. Ironically, he had once worked at a bottling plant in our hometown during the 80s and recalled a restaurant with a great salad bar and outdoor waterwheel. Chris knew exactly what he was talking around. It was the first of our many interesting encounters. Lily loved the monorail ride! It was such a fun way to start our trip! We arrived at EPCOT and took the oblatory picture in front of the iconic Spaceship Earth.
We headed towards our first Fast Pass – Soarin’.
We begin to line up and followed the small crowd. The woman in front of was assigned to the ride in front us us. When she asked if she could go in the next line, I knew that this single-rider was up to something good. We were assigned to follow in beside her and it was then I realized that the front row of Soarin was a pretty nice place to be! She told us it was because you could not see the feet dangling in front of you. I am so exited that Lily will forever be able to say that the very first ride that she road at Disney was Soarin’ and that she sat in the front row. What an AMAZING ride! Lily was thrilled with every minute and I have to admit that I got a little woozy! I loved the citrus and evergreen scents! So cool! When we exited the ride, the wait was already up to 40 minutes!
The next ride that we rode was Living with the Land. It was educational and intriguing. I actually liked that is was a little dated! Below is Lily with some lily pads.
We loved the details in the building and it was nice to see the Sunshine Tree Terrace. I hear that they are a great counter service option. Plus, I love that little orange bird.
We headed to our next Fast Pass – Turtle Talk with Crush. We could have honestly done without the FP+ and I thought that the ride, while cute, was a little too Duuuuude! 🙂 We headed to the Nemo ride and continued to explore EPCOT. The was a short single rider line at Test Track so my husband road that alone. My daughter loved exploring the Innoventions buildings – she even enjoyed the VISION House. We caught an impromptu performance of the The Jammitors – who are rhythmic musicians dressed like janitors playing trash cans. She loved it all!
We headed towards the World Showcase for our 1:35pm reservation at Akershus. Up next…OUR TOUR OF THE WORLD SHOWCASE!
My First Disney Vacation 