Frugal Day 2 at Disney -- Epcot

At the Mexico pavilion in Epcot at Disney World.

It's so easy to go way overboard with spending at Epcot. There is an abundance of food, and the souvenir possibilities are nearly endless! We

had a blast today, and kept our spending to just $22.30, aside from the cost of groceries that we already bought. Pictured here is our first "snack" purchase of the day -- 2 pieces of candy from the Italy pavilion. Cost us $1.39. The one in the red wrapper had hazel nuts inside -- very much like Ferrero Rocher.

Here is a picture of our second snack -- a pretzel and two cups of ice water from the Germany pavilion. It was pretty good. I liked the fact that they gave us big cups of ice water. This snack cost us $4.59.

Not pictured is the snack we had a Sunshine Seasons food court in the Land pavilion. We ordered a kid's meal of sweet and sour chicken. It was NOT fried chicken, which was nice. It came with rice and another side -- we chose jello -- as well as a drink. The total for this snack was $6.92.

Here is our last snack of the day. We ordered a quesadilla. It came with black beans with cheese on them and rice. The little container is fresh pico de gallo. This was AMAZING! It cost us $9.34.

We got so full from all our snacks, that I don't know if I am going to have to make dinner!

Here's what we did when we weren't eating!

• We arrived at the International Gateway to Epcot at 7:35 this morning.
• We redeemed a special voucher we had for a fast pass card that gave us 6 immediate fast passes each. There were some limitations on the fast passes, but they were very easy to use.
• The gate opened at about 7:45. We walked through the United Kingdom and Canada portion of the (empty) World Showcase, and into the open courtyard area near Innoventions in Future World for the countdown to Extra Magic Hour opening.
• We walked behind the cast member directly to Soarin' in the Land pavilion. There were about 15 people ahead of us in line. The stand-by time was 20 minutes (that must be the minimum). Our wait and ride time was 15 minutes.
• We got a fast pass for Soarin'.
• We rode Mission: Space, Green Team. Stand-by time was 5 minutes. Our wait and ride time was 17 minutes.
• We rode Mission: Space, Green Team. Stand-by time was 10 minutes. Our wait and ride time was 15 minutes.
• We used our special fast passes for Test Track. Stand-by wait time was 65 minutes. Our wait and ride time was 15 minutes.
• We rode Living with the Land with no wait. Ride time was 15 minutes.
• We got Fast passes for Soarin'.
• We used the fast passes we got earlier in the morning to ride Soarin'. Stand-by wait time was 40 minutes. Our wait and ride time was 25 minutes.
• We watched Captain Eo. Our wait and watch time was 29 minutes.
• We rode Journey into Imagination. Stand-by time was 5 minutes. Our wait, ride, and shop time was 15 minutes.
• We rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Stand-by time was 5 minutes. Our wait and ride time was 11 minutes.
• We saw Turtle Talk with Crush with no wait. Show time was about 17 minutes.
• We visited Club Cool for a FREE refreshing drink. I love the drinks from China and Japan.
• We returned to the hotel for lunch and nap.
• We were back in Epcot by 4:10.
• We saw the Voices of Liberty at 4:15. We also got a phone call through a cast member from Mickey and the gang to wish us a happy anniversary. The cast member gave us a keepsake card as well. Very neat. The Voices of Liberty were awesome as always. Some work was being done in the rotunda of the American Adventure pavilion.
• We visited Italy.
• We visted Germany.
• We visited China long enough to catch the end of the acrobat show. We want to catch the whole thing again soon.
• Used our special fast passes at Test Track. Stand-by wait was 40 minutes. Our wait and ride time was 20 minutes.
• We got 3 immediate fast passes each for Mission: Space as well as one regular fast pass for Mission: Space.
• We rode Green Team 2 times, then Orange Team 1 time, then Green Team 1 time. A total of wait and ride times was 1 hour, 6 minutes.
• Got fast passes for Test Track. (We never did use them. Even the fast pass line looked about 40 minutes long.)
• We rode Soarin' using fast passes obtained earlier in the day. Stand-by time was eighty minutes. Our wait and ride time was 24 minutes.
• We rode Gran Fiesta Tour at the Mexico pavilion.
• We watched Illuminations: Reflections of Earth as we made our way out of the park.
• To recap: We rode Test Track 2 times, Soarin' 3 times, and Mission: Space 6 times, plus a bit of this and that mixed in!

It was a wonderfully full day. We are planning to go to Hollywood Studios in the morning then back to Epcot in the afternoon.