Dapper Day and World Showcase Pub Crawl at EPCOT
Saturday December 5th brought us to the big Dapper Day at EPCOT. The park was due to open at 11am and we were up and around sometime after 9am. We onboarded coffee and such and got ourselves dappered up and out the door by 10:25am.
I was wearing my good kicks with some epic Christmas sweater socks as this accidental shot of the floorboard in the Lyft
Ten minutes later we were rolling thru the main gate. I wanted to get at least one shot of it.
I even took a little video of it
Our Lyft driver was nice and said that if he had known he would have driven slower but it was fine despite a bit of camera jiggle. Drop off went well and we were approaching everyone’s favorite giant golf ball by 10:45am!
Right off the bat we had to hit the PhotoPass queue to show off our slick threads, starting with our birthday boy Jinx and PumpkinGirl.
And then Roxy and I.
And then of course the whole fam!
We had decided early on that we were only going to hit the right side of Future World – if Test Track or Mission: Space were going to happen it would be at the end of the evening.
So we made a bee line to the Land Pavilion and Soarin’ and were in the queue by 11am sharp!
And 20 minutes later we were settled in for our flight as pictured by Roxy and PumpkinGirl.
With our “E Ticket” ride out of the way we needed a restroom stop. Do love the theming in this pavilion!
With pit stops complete we headed back outdoors …sorry Living with the Land, some other trip. Hi Kyra!
We had decided our next stop would be The Seas with Nemo & Friends.
On our way out I had to at least get a shot with the kiddos in front of Bruce. What a bummer that we couldn’t get closer – here are the callbacks from 2012
And all the way back to 2008!
Ahhh, the memories! Now back to the present we had decided to try for a little Figment time, but we strolled over to see that it had a 45 minute wait! So instead we moved on and I took a selfie with the next best thing.
And then it was on to the main event – World Showcace! We had decided to go counter-clockwise, the logic being that the cavalcades were going clockwise so we would have a better chance of seeing them. Spoiler alert – we didn’t see a single one the whole day!
So Canada was our first stop with these musical gents
We listened for a bit and then headed into the World Showcase Pavilion to get some goodies and drinks. We started by staying hi to this snowy big guy.
Quite the setup in here for sure.
Then we were greeted by some menu goodness.
I chose a lager and the duck
The beer was good, the duck was amazing! And we had some great piano serenading happening while we ate and drank.
When we finished eating and our first round of drinks I headed over to check out the one and only gingerbread creation we were going to get to experience this holiday season. It was an epic one covering the Capital Building, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. Get ready for multiple angles of star-spangled gingerbread architectural goodness!
As I finished up and met back up with the fam a musical group came out to entertain us.
When we left the WS Pavilion we did our first split-up of the day. Roxy and Jinx doubled back to Canada as Jinx hadn’t found anything he wanted to eat yet and was craving some poutine. Meanwhile PumpkinGirl and I moved ahead to England with a specific destination in mind. Ye Ole Rose and Crown!
I was ready to graduate from the lager I started with for a fine fresh-poured Guinness!
PumpkinGirl made the cardinal mistake of ordering a mixed drink in a pub. It was pretty but tasted like sugary kerosene 😮
We retired to the small square near the gazebo in case Mary or the Beatles were going to make an appearance. Cheers!
We waited a bit for characters to show but no dice so we finished our drinks and headed back thru the pavilion. No Big Ben or Parliament, but still some good sites.
Jinx and Roxy had camped out on the bridge between UK and Canada so we caught up with them. Jinx was enjoying his poutine and had a fan section that really wanted him to share.
Roxy meanwhile was enjoying a watermelon-flavored beverage
Beautiful views in this spot
Jinx and Roxy were still eating and drinking so PumpkinGirl and I took a chance and went back to the back of UK and grabbed a bench. And this time we were in luck, as who walked right by us? That’s right!
Oh it’s a jolly ‘oliday with Mary
Mary makes your ‘eart so light!
When the day is gray and ordianry
Mary makes the sun shine bright!
She surprised us by not going up to the gazebo, instead going behind the row of buildings to its left to the little garden there. We were one of the first ones in line once the CMs wrangled us and got us going the right way.
We had texted Roxy & Jinx so they came right over
We may not have seen cavalcades, but you can’t beat being able to see this wonderful lady!
I hearkened back to our 2017 trip to DLR and being able to meet both her and Bert while wearing my Mary Poppins shirt from a local production Jinx and I worked backstage for.
Ahhh, pre-COVID character interactions, how I miss thee. And the stylish shorts were due to this being our water adventure morning, hitting Splash Mountain and Grizzly River Run multiple times before heading back to the hotel to change for PumpkinGirl’s Dapper Pub Crawl.
And now back to our regularly scheduled program. We said farewell to Mary and headed back across the bridge, seeing an odd bird basking in the sun.
Meanwhile the kiddos attempted to get a good shot of a crazy squirrel, which for some reason I couldn’t actually find a good pic of. Ah well, on to France!
PumpkinGirl really liked the poster marquee
We got in line for drinks at their festival booth, the view of the lagoon was very nice while we waited
I got a beer, PumpkinGirl grabbed a glass of champagne, and I think Jinx grabbed a frozen hot chocolate martini. PumpkinGirl wanted some pics in front of the restaurant.
I tried to get a shot of the Paris skyline and the Eiffel Tower but the sun’s location
We were getting pretty warm in our duds and with limited seating we started eyeing a bench where two ladies were finishing up their drinks. They noticed me hovering and it turned out to be a good thing. One of the ladies had been eyeing us and was loving our dapper attire. She asked if she could take a picture of us and post it on her Instagram.
We said “of course, but can we have that bench when you two are done?” They were done sitting so it was a total win-win, we got the bench and this great pic with no masks since we were all eating/drinking!
And now we were in the shade and comfortable – cheers again!
More good food and interesting drinks
We had cooled down and filled up and headed over to Morocco
We took some time for a bathroom break and then more food and drinks there. PumpkinGirl made a friend.
Goodies galore!
Roxy’s nails complimented this dish well
Then we were off to explore the land. It is still stunning to me to hear that Morocco is pulling out of EPCOT. Especially given the story about the king brining in all of his artisans to make the pavilion so authentic. Especially all of those gorgeous mosaics.
And on to more beautiful architecture and decoration
We looked around in the shops and they had some pretty amazing discounts as they worked on clearing out their inventory. I actually felt kind of bad that nothing jumped out at me.
We headed thru the archway and came across a PhotoPass photographer and got some pretty cool shots.
One more shot of the fountain on the way out – so hard to get a clear picture of it without people sitting on it!
We then moved on to a key stop in our adventure, the Japan Pavilion! We all love the beauty of the spot, especially the replica of the Itsukushima Shrine with the lagoon and Spaceship Earth in the background.
Interestingly they offer a balloon shot despite the incongruity of it with the background, but it works for our Birthday Boy and I liked that it covers the spectrum of a rainbow.
But the real fan of Japan is our PumpkinGirl, whose room is wall to wall anime art. She loves all things Japanese.
Roxy and my turn!
And of course the whole family!
Then off to the shops in Mitsukoshi!
Here are some of the things that jumped out to PumpkinGirl
And this of course worked up a thirst and an appetite for us.
Money shot with this one!
I was of course having another beer – and taking majestic beard shots
PumpkinGirl’s turn!
We split up to explore after we finished to explore some more …and so PumpkinGirl could shop! Love this statue.
And such a serene setting
And a different view of the pagoda.
And I took this excuse to have yet another beer – first one was a Kirin, this one Sapporo. Anyone keeping count?
A bit closer to the pagoda as I loop back down.
I made it back around front and started texting to locate the fam while I continued sipping on my beer.
I found Jinx and we sat on a bench for a bit and enjoyed some time off of our feet.
I finished my beer and Jinx had a Tokyo Sunset – I know this because we took a picture! As I remember it I think he liked it.
While we were taking it easy outside PumpkinGirl was going nuts back in the connected shops of Mitsukoshi. Brace yourself for all the Japanese merch you can handle!
Everything is just so colorful!
She bought one of the tea sets, which unfortunately had a piece break. But Roxy found a FB group that has people who go to the parks all the time and are willing to purchase and send items out, so she got it replaced!
And after all of that browsing, this was the result of her purchases!
Well that plus a kimono I helped her pick out after going in to make sure she was still alive in there. Roxy had to stay away from that area of the store as they had multiple incense sticks going which would have really set off her allergies.
We all met up outside right at 5pm with the sun going down and shadows falling across the pavilion and lagoon beyond.
A couple more shots around before we moved on.
Spaceship Earth was still bathed in the last sunshine of the day.
We were ready for some more substantial food so it was on to the America Pavilion. Loved coming back to that feeling of Christmas after having been thru several pavilions whose traditions did not include all the trappings of the holidays.
Love that tree!
Roxy had seen a very cool dressed couple at Universal Studios in Seuss Landing the day before. And low and behold, she saw them here today. Yesterday we didn’t get a picture, but today we did!
We were figuring out what to eat and drink when I heard music coming from the America Gardens Theater. And what did I see, Voices of Liberty!
I even caught a little video of them.
They finished their set and I was able to move over to the exit and get some pictures and thank them for their wonderful performance.
I went back to our table and sat down only to find the singers who had gotten off on the other wing of the stage coming by us. I couldn’t help jumping up to get a picture of two of them.
…and this great shot Roxy caught with another dapper gent.
Now we had food, I swear we did! But what do we have a picture of? The drinks of course!
And at that point in the evening I was feeling thirsty and apparently invincible as both of those beers were mine …and they were both Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ales. That’s right, ale + bourbon. I believe the hard lemonade was Jinx’s. We did have the turkey dinner and a couple of other munchies ;D
The sun was fully down by this point but there was still a look of warmth in the evening air.
I doubled back enough to catch the shrine in the evening light.
Back at the table, one more drink shot, not sure whose this one was.
I finished my drinks and went back down into the Theater to catch some Christmas Mariachi goodness.
When I came back up they had turned on the lights on the tree.
By now I was a little bit unsteady behind the camera and the light was low, but I still managed a few decent shots. First the obligatory shot across the lagoon featuring Spaceship Earth.
I then headed down towards China to get a shot and short video as the last of the daylight left the sky.
The family then split up with Roxy wanting to ride Frozen and PumpkinGirl wanted to grab some postcards at some other pavilions. And Jinx stuck it out with me with Italy as our next stop in our pub crawl.
First off, Roxy got a selfie at the China Pavilion on her way to Norway.
And PumpkinGirl found the PP photographer in Morocco again and got some cool night shots.
And there are those balloons again!
Meanwhile in Italy!
It took us a bit to find our way thru Tutto Italia’s bar, but it was worth it for Jinx as it was just us and the bartender in there at the time. I let the bartender know that it was his birthday trip and made a custom drink for him.
When we came out I got one more lagoon shot with it fully dark.
We stopped to take in the villiage and train diorama and I tried to take a picture of it, but this was as good as it got.
I had really been looking forward to this pavilion, having spent 2 1/2 years in Germany in the Army.
They do love their clocks and coats of arms!
And what do you get in Germany, why beer and a BIG PRETZEL!
Here is me having finished my last beer of the night sitting by the fountain and eating some pretzel. So let’s take a moment to look back at the tally for me on the crawl:
- Canada/WS Pavilion = 1 Amber (12 oz)
- UK = 1 Guinness Stout (12 oz)
- France = 1 Ale (6oz)
- Morocco = 1 Ale (12oz)
- Japan = 2 Lagers (24oz)
- America = 2 Ambers spiked with bourbon (24oz)
- Italy = 1 Ale (12oz)
- Germany = 1 Lager (12oz)
So 8 1/2 beers (114oz) and 2 shots over the course of the day and not nearly enough food. Jinx would be the judge on this one, but somewhere around Germany he had to shift from Birthday Boy to “take care of dad” mode. Sorry about that son. Its funny as i even have a text to Roxy where I’m saying I’m watching over him for his pub crawl.
Meanwhile in Norway it was quickly approaching time for Roxy and PumpkinGirl’s ride to Arendelle. But they were having their own misadventures with Krya working to get to Roxy and was having trouble finding the entrance. Roxy had been in line for a while and was now getting close to the entrance. She had then realized that her MagicBand was in the big back of merch I was carrying. Luckily Kyra made it just in time and they got thru without the band as I was stuck in Germany with Jinx in the restroom.
So with that crisis averted we’ll move on to showcasing the tangled touch in the land.
Now on to Frozen – cute theming right off the bat.
Don’t open the door to that sauna!
On to the ride itself!
Here is a video of most of the ride
Here is a video of the end of the ride
I wish I could say Roxy enjoyed the ride, but the whole situation leading up to the ride with her waiting and the rest of the family running around drinking (especially my overindulging) had put a dimmer on the experience.
We texted with her when they got off saying we were on our way to China. On the way I stopped so we could get some selfies with the lagoon and Spaceship Earth in the background.
Take a look at our eyes in that last one – me totally “hey, I’m still upright!” and Jinx “good gravy dad, what are you doing?”
Hello China!
Roxy met up with us to check in on me and Jinx.
Meanwhile PumpkinGirl had made her way to the World Showcase entrance area and the big tree.
And on to the Mexico Pavilion for a margarita and a churro – first focusing on the goodies, then focusing on the temple building.
Back around the bend we were heading into the China CircleVision theater.
The ceiling of the theater was pretty cool.
Jinx and I getting ready for the show.
I captured on shot of the great wall, but at that point my equilibrium was starting to misfire and I realized that this probably wasn’t the best idea so I only looked at bits and pieces of the movie after that.
We came out and I took a shot of the archway.
And here dear readers is where our story goes off the rails. I needed to use the restroom and Jinx asked if I wanted him to go with him. I said no, I’m fine and went into the very empty restrooms in the China pavilion.
I took care of business but then got turned around and apparently went out a different exit. So we have Roxy and Jinx waiting and Jinx finally going in, only to find that I’m not there! I had meanwhile gone into “walkabout mode”, if you’ve been there you know what I’m talking about.
I just started walking, weaving my way on around counter-clockwise past Norway and then past Mexico. By then I was feeling tired and looked around for a place to sit down. Finding none I noticed an alcove area which probably houses vendor booths at busier times. But right now it was and empty shell so I just plopped down on the ground and leaned against the wall.
Roxy called me to find out where I went and I had somehow managed to stop at the only spot in the entirety of World Showcase where you couldn’t see a landmark! I could see the lagoon in front of me, but no details across it to focus on thru the fence. And I was in an alcove so I couldn’t see any architecture to the left or the right.
Meanwhile Roxy knew I needed food (note the time says 6pm, but it was really 9pm eastern):
Roxy had purchased the hot dog and put the condiments on it and was so distracted that when she went to throw away the empty packets she accidentally threw the hot dog away too 😮
More hot dogs were purchased …and apparently a pretzel.
Food was consumed and then Roxy let the kiddos go ride the Three Caballeros while she soldiered on trying to communicate with me and find me. Sorry babe.
They had a cool Dia De Muertos display inside the temple.
On to the interior temple!
Time to ride!
Hey look, the Caballeros are actually there and working! We saw not long after this that first one failed and then all three were replaced with cutouts.
Another successful ride with the Caballeros! And since there were no fireworks happening while we were there I grabbed a couple of canned shots from our PhotoPass downloads.
Meanwhile I had been working on getting back on my feet. It took a couple of tries but I got myself up and moving again and headed for the big Christmas tree at the entrance to WS. Roxy met up with me in time for me to unceremoniously barf in some bushes. My last apologies to EPCOT groundskeepers.
The kiddos went ahead with their eyes set on this slightly fuzzy orb that I took such an amazing picture of.
On to an amazing journey on Spaceship Earth!
The camera does some weird things when you’re wearing a mask!
After the ride Kyra snapped a pic of Jinx.
Meanwhile Roxy and I were slowly approaching with her arm hooked in mine to guide me. I did manage to snap one decent shot of Spaceship Earth as we approached it!
At that same time Jinx and PumpkinGirl had run into a PhotoPass photographer. Awesome shots to end their evening!
Including a wee little Chip!
Roxy and I made it there and I managed to get our Lyft ordered. Kyra had put her phone down at some point and there was a bit of a kerfuffle while it was looked for. It was thankfully found by security and returned to her.
Our Lyft arrived at 10:40pm, putting us back at the resort around 11pm. It has been a 12hr day in the park – whew! And this one was not going to be such an easy turn-around as we had an early wake-up on Sunday for some wonderous animal interactions and otherworldly fun!