After a few days spent at Legoland we had an Epcot evening planned the night before we checked out and officially moved back over to the Disney Springs area for the remainder of our trip. We pulled into Epcot just before 4pm. We parked within STEPS of the park entrance. I was shocked. In under five minutes we had double checked our park bags for rain gear and redistributed bottles of water and Powerade and were about to scan our Magic Bands to enter.
We were in no rush for the evening. Our only plans were to ride Test Track and Soarin’, eat some snacks, and have dinner at Regal Eagle Smokehouse, which opened in February. The restaurant had been high on my list for our planned April trip. After waiting four extra months it was a must-do.
We walked onto Spaceship Earth since it was right there and had a five minute posted wait. Really, there was no wait at all. Then we very leisurely strolled through the front of the park. It it was actually rather strange because most of the time it felt like we were the only ones there.
We made our way over to Soarin’. It’s still one of the best rides every single time! Next, it was time for something new. We have never made time to ride Journey into Imagination with Figment. This seemed liked the perfect opportunity. Again, there was no one in the line. There was a brief pause for the cleaning of each ride vehicle and then we boarded the ride. The ride was really cute and the kids enjoyed it a lot. (hint: We’ve been on a few more times on subsequent trips now.)
As we exited the ride, Diva found Joy on the grass and I may have been way over excited. Joy is one of my favorites and it was so fun to see a character out interacting.
Time to start snacking! With the scaled back A Taste of Epcot: International Food & Wine Festival going on you would think we headed for special treats, but the first request was actually a Mickey pretzel!
Before the real snacks though, we headed to Test Track. Part of the fun on this ride has always been designing your own vehicle. Diva makes the craziest vehicles. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that the interactive portion of the ride would not be available. It was honestly a slight disappointment, but we all understood the reason. It made sense. There were “mock” vehicles during the ride that were ranked and zipping around the testing stations is still just as awesome.
World ShowPlace had the two snacks I was most interested in: nitro cake pops and mac n’ cheese. Inside we split up to get the two targets. I, of course, went for the chocolate! I also really wanted to see the cake pops being prepared. It was not overly exciting but was fun to watch. We had no issue finding a table to share our treats.
Verdict on our first snacks: Yum! I could actually eat the cake pops all night and be happy! But barbecue was still the menu for the evening too.
We continue through World Showcase stopping for a funnel cake and some music in the The American Adventure Pavilion, some pictures along the way, and a few more snacks.
Chicken Teriyaki Bun (Japan) 
Mongolian Beef Bun (China)
We walked completely around the World Showcase and back to Future World to take one more spin on Test Track before dinner. On the way back a slight detour took us to the Epcot Experience for a quick glance at upcoming attractions.
Finally, our evening was going to end with a closing time meal. I’ve always been a fan of mobile ordering food, but now it’s a requirement. It really makes things so much easier since the food is ready when we arrive. We ordered three regular (adult) meals to split– and sample. It was worth waiting all evening (and not eating a million cake pops) to enjoy. The barbecue is a great addition to the pavilion and beats my kids ordering chicken tenders or hamburgers!
By the time we finished eating the park was officially closed. We already felt like it was empty in the few hours we were visiting, but now it really was. We wandered through the park slowly making our way out. It was a short time, but it was a very good and very filling time. It may have been one of our best visits to Epcot!
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