Birthday dinner in EPCOT

We got to the Coral Reef just in time and had a brief wait before we were taken to our seats.  Although they won't guarantee a particular table; I did ask for a table in the first row closest to the aquarium.  Oh, I forgot to mention, the restaurant is centered around a very large aquarium that is part of an Exhibit above it.

Thanks to some Pixie Dust, we were seated in a curved booth directly in front of the aquarium window.  We were given a key that showed us pictures and names of all of the fish and other sea creatures in the aquarium.  We enjoyed trying to identify all of the animals that were swimming around us.

This is mainly a seafood restaurant and its on the nicer side.  Kids are definitely welcome, but there are no characters walking around and there is a wine list!  I had a nice glass of wine and Todd had what he said was one of the best amber beers he had ever tasted. I tried it and it and actually liked it.  Our server said this particular beer had been made exclusively for WDW by one of the major beer companies-we can't remember which one.  We were told this particular beer was called several different names depending on where you ordered it within WDW.

I had the salmon which was good, Todd had a steak that he said tasted good, but not better than any steak he could have made on the grill at home, and Mac had pizza that he ate with no complaints.

After dinner, it was time for cake!  I had ordered this when I made the initial reservations.  I was told that all of the restaurants have a basic cake you can request when you check in, but I wanted a personalized cake and the ordering couldn't have been easier.  I believe the cake was 35.00.  It was a round cake that could probably serve 10 people.  We took the cake back to our room and ate on it the rest of the week.  It was EXTREMELY tasty-I give it a big 10!!!

Tonight at EPCOT they were having "Extra Magic Hours."  EMH is a perk for those staying on Disney property.  Each night of the week, one of the parks opens early or stays open late.  You must have your resort ID to attend these special hours.  Tonight the park was closing at 12:00 a.m.

We took full advantage of these hours and had intentionally slept in a little that morning so we could hopefully last all night.  The park closed at 9:00 for the commoners.  Instead of watching the fireworks show again, we headed to the rides and that ended up being a great idea.  Here is a run down:

Nemo:  this is right outside of the Coral Reef restaurant. 

The aquarium building next to the Coral Reef:  lots of sea life and interactive areas.  We spent a good amount of time here-there was all sorts of things to see and do.

Soarin': super duper fun.  Its set up like you are boarding an airplane.  The ride itself does lift you up pretty high, but its only lifting you and doesn't move any other way until the ride is over when it takes you back down.  This is a simulator that makes you feel like you are flying over various areas of the country.  It is one of the most, if not the most, popular ride at EPCOT.  People apparently stand in line for hours to ride this or run to get fast passes as soon as the park opens.  We walked right up to the gate-those Extra Magic Hours are awesome!

Imagination with Figment:  WAY fun! Love that little Figment and its very good entertainment for the kids.  Its about using your imagination and Figment uses his throughout the ride.  *WARNING* this ride, like SO many others around WDW exits straight into a gift shop.  It's very hard to say no to a tired, cranky boy on his birthday...we didn't.

Spaceship Earth:  Inside the big EPCOT ball!  This is another very popular ride that we just walked right up to.  It was fun. 

Living the Land:  a slow boat ride around an area where EPCOT is doing alot of work with growing different kinds of foods hydroponically without the need for soil.  It was very interesting and Mac enjoyed the boat ride and seeing all of the different fruit and vegetable trees and other plants.

The World of Coca-Cola:  This was a little shop type place that had beverage stations where you could try different colas from around the world.  I really liked the Mexican and German colas.  Some of them tasted like spit....so weird how they taste so different in other countries!

Playing around EPCOT in general:  at night, there are lots of lights to see and watch-very entertaining-you will just have to go to understand b/c I can't explain it.

We called it a night and our sweet birthday boy fell asleep on the bus ride back.  We thoroughly enjoyed our day today!

See ya real soon!