Today was our Epcot day, and Epcot is my favorite DisneyWorld park. Only it wasn’t today. The park was scheduled to open at 9 am, so we slept in a little and then walked to a nearby resort where Ellie could get Mickey waffles for her birthday. (I’m trying not to think about how she got to be 16 years old.). It was basically on the way to Epcot, and we arrived at the park about 8:45. I couldn’t believe how quiet the park was, even at 9:30. By then, we’d ridden Spaceship Earth and the girls had ridden Mission: Space.

And then every living person arrived at the park. It was insanity. People everywhere, large groups, double strollers, and no one paying attention to anything around them. Fortunately, we had FastPasses for Soarin’ (my favorite DisneyWorld ride), The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Turtle Talk with Crush.

I know that Disney is doing amazing things, but I really can’t imagine anything that will please me more than an animated green sea turtle interacting with real kids in the audience. The voice behind Crush must have been a master improvisationalist, because one kid asked something like, “On a human body, what organs is a jellyfish missing?” There was a short pause before Crush answered, “Most of them,” with a wise nod of his head. Then he said something about the blobby part and the dangly part, and everyone was laughing.

After we finished our last FastPass, we headed toward World Showcase, but I truly wish we hadn’t. At no point around the entire lagoon did we see clear sidewalk. It was so crowded, I didn’t even take pictures. We walked through most of the countries, saw some singers in Canada entering the stage, heard female drummers in China, and watched part of a mime’s act in France. Ellie wanted Schnitzel and Spätzle, so we ate lunch at the Oktoberfest buffet in Germany. The people we were sitting by were not at all friendly, and the food was pretty dry and tough. I had a good dunkel, at least. (Also, they had pink grapefruit Hefeweizen on the menu, which is about the least German thing I could ever imagine.)

All in all, not a good day at Epcot.

Maybe the rain that started on my walk back to the resort will drive people away, and we can go back tonight and have some fun.