We started the day around 7 am as we swung by Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. My brother and his girlfriend get all of the credit for this whole trip because they did the bulk of the research. They controlled the Disney Experience app and ordered our food and got us into lightning lanes. I am deeply grateful. My mom also gets a lot of credit for riding rides next to me and listening to me rattling off Disney trivia like a madman.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Almost immediately after the gates opened, we walked along the right-side path where we spotted this attraction. There was virtually no line and all of us had seen and enjoyed the original movie. We jumped on the chance and practically jogged down the empty line. I jumped into a clamshell with my mother. The ride is a dark ride mostly made up of screens. We see Marlin and Dory once again looking for Nemo They are soon joined by other characters from the movies who try to help look for Nemo as well. However, this time Nemo is hiding on purpose as a prank and can constantly be spotted during the ride. Everybody is reunited as the ride ends. The last little bit was a pleasant surprise as the characters are projected to look like they are in an actual aquarium with real fish and dolphins. This was such a neat idea and allowed for a transition into the next part.

SeaBase
This is an educational aquarium where people can observe a lot of sea creatures from the movies and beyond. There were tanks with dolphins, manatees, manta rays, sharks, and other smaller creatures. We lucked out and we were there during feeding time. Back in Baltimore, we have an excellent aquarium but this was a really nice one with the Disney touch. It also had a little corner devoted to Bruce the shark and his friends. The aquarium was a peaceful and colorful way to start the day.

Turtle Talk with Crush
My brother was hyped about this and I was definitely interested. We were led into a theater where the sea turtle Crush from the Finding Nemo movie appeared and talked to the audience via an undersea communicator. The cast member who played Crush was quick on his feet and the technology (which I assume is similar to VTuber technology. It was a fun little question-and-answer session that was interrupted by little skits including other characters. The technology made it feel very real.

Winnie the Pooh
After emerging back outside, we randomly spotted Winnie the Pooh cavorting on the grass. We watched as he struggled to open a present. It was a fun bit of pantomime. Like a lot of characters, he was still dressed in his holiday best.

Mexico: The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
From there it was on to the countries, the shining jewels of EPCOT. We went left into Mexico and I was immediately taken aback by the Aztec pyramid in my view. It dominated the Mexico pavilion. The line in front of it looked long but we checked on the app and it was not actually that long. We thought about getting some tacos as a snack but we hopped into the line instead. The line wound around and into the pyramid. In the queue were a lot of displays of Day of the Dead artwork which I love. When we got all the way in, my immediate first thought was “this is like Casa Bonita” from South Park. The inside is a restaurant, a gift shop, and a ride. We headed for the ride which was a musical journey through Mexican culture with The Three Caballeros (Donald, Panchito, and Jose). It was a really pleasant boat ride with some great music and artwork. It was also really cool temperature-wise in there.

Norway: Gods of the Vikings
What’s next to Mexico? Norway. That makes sense, right? We had thought about trying to get on the Frozen Ever After ride but it was temporarily out of order and we could not get a spot in line on the app. Still, my brother’s girlfriend’s family is from Norway so we definitely needed to check this land out anyway. It was a cute and quaint-looking little village. We stepped into this exhibit and I was not disappointed. It was small but it had some great wood carvings, artifacts, and paintings covering Norse mythology. It had nothing to do with Marvel (although I’m sure people could find connections) but everything to do with an accurate portrayal of the mythology.

Norway: Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe
We sat on a bench and ate sweet treats from the cafe. They were traditional treats from Norway so I was interested to try something new. I had lefse which is very good. Lefse is a potato-based flatbread wrapped coated with butter and cinnamon and wrapped into a tube kind of like a tortilla. The cinnamon was just sweet enough and there was plenty to eat without being too much.
Germany: Germany Model Train Display
While my brother and his girlfriend were checking out the glass art, my mom and I walked over to check out this little display. It includes a whole little town of lovingly-crafted buildings and four model trains rolling around. It is an out-of-the-way place to relax and enjoy the craftsmanship of something simple but not easy to make.

United States: American Heritage Gallery
The United States pavilion was not very attractive to me since it is the country that I live in but we were waiting for our food (see below) so we explored. We stepped into what looked like a colonial building and we went to the back of the building. There was a show but it wasn’t time for that to start. We ducked into this little museum and I was glad for it. Inside were exhibits on the various regions of the country and artwork (both old and new) from Native American tribes. It was beautiful and nice to see.

United States: Regal Eagle Smokehouse
At this point, it was time to get a full meal to fuel the rest of the day. We first grabbed a table in the sun and then we pounced on a table in the shade which was way more comfortable. I sipped on a beer as we waited for our food. I am not usually one for beer (or drinking in general) but the beer was cold and soothing. I ate the Sliced Texas Beef Brisket Sandwich. Great bits of meat between garlic toast. I also had some really good baked beans. We got to relax and process the first part of the day.

Japan: Kawaii - Japan’s Cute Culture
We walked into the Japan pavilion which was full of architecture from the feudal era. It was beautiful but we went straight toward the rear of the pavilion for an exhibit on the Japanese culture that I know best. This was a little history of all of the cute merchandise from Japan’s history.

Japan: Matsuriza, Taiko drummers
This was the second unplanned surprise of the day and it was neat. We saw the group setting up but we had no plans to actually check them out. As we started to leave the pavilion, the trio of women started to play, so we stuck around. It was not a long show but the rhythm was excellent. To think about the practice that goes into the timing is mind-boggling. Some of it is without being able to see each other.
Morocco: Atlas Fusion
This one came from my brother’s research and once again it paid off. I really loved the architecture of this pavilion the best. The style (reminiscent of Marakesh and Casablanca) lends itself to a lot of shade and protection from the volume of the park. It did not hurt that the pavilion was more empty than others. I saw Princess Jasmine through a window and Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies (probably still second place). However, the real highlight was catching a performance of some awesome Moroccan music along with some belly dancing. The energy was impossible to ignore.

Canada: The Canadian Holiday Voyageurs
We walked through France and the United Kingdom (stopping at a few shops briefly) but we were once again ready to have a seat. We sat down on some empty benches in front of a stage and not even five minutes later we were treated to a surprise concert. I was kind of done with Christmas more or less but the music was awesome. It helped that the band was incredibly lively and played some deep cuts. Between the good tunes and the opportunity to rest my tired feet (and a strangely entertaining squirrel, I was feeling pretty good.

Canada Far and Wide
Again, we had some more time to kill so we stuck around in Canada for a bit. We saw a movie that was playing and jumped on it. The movie was basically a tourism video about Canada (complete with an invitation to visit at the end of it). The video was shown in Circle Vision, a technology that surrounds the audience with screens. The footage felt a bit like IMAX in that I felt like I was there sometimes. The really joyful surprise was that the movie was narrated by Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy who are so cute together no matter what they are doing. They really sold what could have been a boring movie.

United Kingdom: Yorkshire County Fish Shop
We backtracked to the United Kingdom for a little bit of dinner. We found a nice outdoor table and dove into some fish and chips. The outside of the fish was crisp and the inside was so good. It reminded me of having fish and chips with my mom in actual London.

France: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
This is the ride that we had booked that morning and I had heard so many good things. We went back to France to get to it. As we stood in line, I hurriedly tried to explain the plot of the movie to my mother. The theming of the ride was top notch with the ride announcements being done by Emil (Remy’s brother). The ride itself was absolutely amazing. By using screens, a well-designed ride layout, and 3D glasses, the ride provides an experience that absolutely feels real. It is the closest thing to true virtual reality that I have ever seen. It physically moved so little but I was still out of breath by the end of it.

Soarin’ Around the World
This is a ride that has been around in some form for decades. We climbed into seats and we were dangled in front of a huge screen in a suspended state. Like a supercharged IMAX, it felt like we were really flying amongst some of the most famous places in the world. Once again, we were not moving much but it felt exhilarating.

HarmonioUS
We gathered near the water for the fireworks show. Honestly, I was absolutely dog-tired at this point as my feet and back were hurting pretty badly. I was starting to lose my Disney spirit. At this point, my only real complaint about Disney is the lack of seating, especially during a big event like this. My feet felt like knives. Still, the show was absolutely amazing and made me forget about all of that for a little bit. The show has fireworks but it is more of a giant screen show. There are massive screens created by using mist from the lake water. There is a lot of great art inspired by Disney movies. The music is made up of a lot of tunes from movies set in countries included in EPCOT and sung in the native languages there. It was a really beautiful show and I am currently looking for full versions of those songs.
Finally, the day was over as we arrived back at the hotel by around 11 pm where I promptly collapsed. Negative points to the hotel for not having a bathtub for me to soak my feet in. The shower had great water pressure, though. After a little bit of web surfing, I fell into a deep sleep.
In General:
There are so many things I saw that were a blur. All of the merchandise was cool looking but (aside from a wolf stuffed animal I thought about in Canada) nothing really jumped out at me to buy. The sea of humanity was truly massive but everybody was super nice. Everybody there really wanted to be there and it showed. The day physically destroyed me but there are a lot of cool memories that I will carry forever.