The next morning, I got ready and headed to Epcot a little before 8 AM. Having read that some visitors to the B Resort were frustrated by the shuttle bus service to the parks (apparently the shuttles are shared by several Disney Spring hotels and travel time can be long), I decided I would take an Uber to Epcot. The Uber was quick and easy, and the driver dropped me off at the corner of the Journey parking lot – a very short walk to the Epcot entrance. I waited in line to enter the park (they didn’t begin letting people in until after 8:30) and then again for “rope drop” past the entrance to Spaceship Earth, checking out some of the holiday merchandise at Gateway Gifts as I waited.
Given the cool temperatures, I decided I was not interested in riding Test Track first thing as I had originally planned. Instead, I walked straight through Future World and over to the World Showcase, pausing for a moment to enjoy the Epcot holiday decorations and Christmas tree before heading over to Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie for coffee and breakfast.
It was amazing to me that the restaurant was not crowded and there were actually seats available. I am normally there at lunchtime when it is jam packed. I was tempted by many of delicious pastries, but decided to stick with a small bacon and cheese roll so I would not ruin my appetite for lunch at Ale & Compass.
At breakfast, I noticed that the Touring Plans app was reporting very short wait times for the Frozen ride: 10 to 20 minutes. I decided I’d try to ride Frozen before hitting my first FastPass at Soarin. As I was leaving France, I remembered that World Showcase doesn’t fully open until 11 AM (it is blocked off between France and Norway in the early morning). At this point, I didn’t want to abandon my plan, so I walked around the long way and over to Norway. This would be the first of many random walks from one end of Epcot to another. I believe I covered about 13 miles walking that day – even with about 3 hours of downtime waiting for and watching the Processional!
After riding Frozen, I walked over to the Land pavilion to ride Soarin and Living with the Land. Being a single rider got me perks on both rides – I enjoyed top row, middle seating on Soarin and got a front row seat on Living with the Land. In the greenhouse for Living with the Land, I noticed signs for the new “Merry & Bright Nights” feature, which promised twinkling holiday lights after dark – and I decided I’d return that evening to check it out.
For me, a trip to Epcot isn’t complete without a ride on Spaceship Earth. I used my last FastPass to ride it around noon. I know the time will come, very soon, when it will be closed for refurbishment, but I definitely try to enjoy this classic ride whenever I can.
After Spaceship Earth, I walked back through Canada and France and back out of the International Gateway toward the Beach and Yacht Club Resorts. With almost an hour to kill before lunch, I took my time enjoying the views at the beach and the nearly deserted Stormalong Bay (it was still very chilly) and walked through the Beach Club Resort lobby to check out the holiday decorations and drool at the menus outside of Yachtsman Steakhouse and the Crew’s Cup Lounge. I could easily spend a day resort hopping, especially at the holidays, to soak up the unique decor and dining/lounge options at each of the WDW resorts.
By the time 1:00 rolled around, I was ready to eat. At Ale and Compass, I had a fabulous waitress who walked me through the menu for the Candlelight Processional Dining Package: my meal included one appetizer, one entree, a dessert, and a non-alcoholic beverage. I ordered a Cigar City Jai Alai along with my Diet Coke (because vacation) and started with the Parker House rolls as an appetizer. The rolls were delicious and I especially enjoyed the bacon jam spread. I could hear the couple at the next table commenting on how delicious everything looked. I also enjoyed the fish and chips entree and I am still thinking about the trio of puddings I had for dessert. I ate it all.
After lunch, I walked back over to Epcot to stroll through World Showcase and enjoy the holiday decorations. I had originally planned to stop at some of the International Festival of the Holidays booths for snacks and beer, but since I was so full from lunch, I only tried a couple of small snacks and drinks that day.
Around 4:15-4:30, I walked by the America Gardens theater to check out the line for NPH’s 5:00 Candlelight Processional show. The standby line is to the right of the theater when you are facing it, winding over toward the Italy Pavilion. The preferred seating line (for people with priority seating due to the dining package) is to the left of the theater headed toward Japan. Both lines were extremely long. I asked the Cast Member at the head of the preferred seating line how long the people who were first in line had been waiting there. She told me that the people who were first in line had been there since around 1:00 PM — nearly 4 hours! At that point, I decided I should get serious about lining up for my show as I wanted a good seat.
As it happens, I was really in the right place at the right time. I walked toward the end of the line for the 5:00 show preferred seating queue and asked a Cast Member when they’d start lining up for the 6:45 show. She said the queue would start when guests started entering the theater for the 5:00 show. There were a couple of people already milling about in the area, waiting for the 6:45 show line to form, and we ended up forming the beginning of the line. Honestly, I could not have planned it any better – I only had to wait about an hour and a half in line, I had very nice and friendly people waiting with me in line, and I was standing where I could see NPH perform at 5:00. And the best part of all was that I ended up with one of the best seats in the house. I was about 8th in line to choose a seat and picked a spot on the end closest to the stage in the third row, left side of the America Gardens theater.
I had never watched the complete Candlelight Processional before, and it did not disappoint. I probably grinned and giggled like a schoolgirl every time NPH talked, and took quite a few pictures. The choir and orchestra were fabulous. Having played violin throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I really enjoyed watching the concertmaster (first seat of the first violins) – her passion for the music and talent were very apparent. One of my favorite parts of the show was when the conductor invited the audience to sing Silent Night along with the chorus – a very impactful and emotional moment, as it is such a beautiful song.
Once the show was over, I started to feel pretty tired. At that point, I had probably walked over 10 miles and I’d been up since early in the morning. I decided to use my FastPass for Living with the Land and then head back to the hotel. I took a few nighttime pics of the World Showcase holiday decorations on my way over to the Land pavilion, and stopped for a Kir Royale in France, but didn’t linger too long.
The holiday decorations and lights on Living with the Land did not disappoint. I believe the ride is normally closed after dark because of limited lighting, so it was pretty interesting to see it without the sun coming through the dome of the greenhouse. The pictures I took don’t fully capture the beautiful lights and decorations that were added in the sand, on the support structures for the plants, and mixed in with the normal plants throughout the ride. I was kind of surprised there were so few people riding (although it was getting close to fireworks time by that point).
After taking a few pictures of beautiful Spaceship Earth on my way out of the park, I bid a fond farewell to Epcot and headed back to the hotel. I will note my original plan was to take a WDW Transportation bus to Disney Springs and walk about 1.5 miles to my hotel – but I decided an Uber would be faster and less tiring.
I was back at my hotel and ready for bed by 10:30 PM, preparing for Extra Magic Hours at Animal Kingdom the next morning!