2017 Holiday - Day 3 - Disney Springs & EPCOT

Me and jet lag... Probably about 5am I was up and about. We didn't need to rush out today so had a lazy start to the day before heading to the lounge for a light breakfast. We were off to the re-modeled Disney Springs. Hadn't seen it since it's major overhaul. It's a shopping and eating complex not far from where we normally stay in Saratoga Springs, and we were keen to see the changes.

We caught a Disney us about 9.20 and headed off. It really has changed - loads more shops and places to eat mixed amongst some old favourites. I headed to Starbucks to get 'second breakfast'. I'd been looking forward to trying their gluten-free breakfast sandwich (bit like a McDonalds bacon and eff McMuffin) with a cup of coffee and a banana. And it didn't disappoint. Matthew had a warm chocolate chip cookie. Suitably refreshed we wandered round the giant Lego store and other shops they had their (very, very big Uniqlo!)

We decided to head for the new Coca Cola store as they had a rooftop cafe. In there you can buy a tray of 16 sample drinks from around the world. There were some weird and wonderful flavours, but after much sampling Matthew's favourite was the Bon Bon Anglais from Madagascar which did indeed taste like sweets; Clare liked Bonaqua Fruits Apple Pear from Germany and I liked the Inca Kola from Peru. Some were definitely better than others - we all hated the Sunfill Mint from Djibouti which tasted like mouthwash (or a liquid version of Life Saver mints!). Yuck!

We then had a stroll before stopping for lunch in Blaze Pizza. It's quite a place! You order then follow your pizza as the toppings are freshly added (allowing you to adjust things to your taste) before they are fired in wood ovens for 3 minutes. It's pretty chaotic in there, and it sort-of worked. But a few people lost pizzas before they got to the end. Luckily we managed to keep track of ours and they were pretty good pizzas. I don't think we'd rush back there, but the fact they had gluten-free bases was good, and if you are desperate for a pizza in Disney Springs it's well worth a look.

We then took the bus back to the hotel and had a lazy afternoon napping, reading and - for Matthew and me - playing video games and pinball in the arcade.

We then took an evening walk into EPCOT and headed for an old family favourite - the good old Spaceship Earth. Afterwards, we stayed in the Siemens (although no longer sponsored by them officially!) Project Tomorrow exhibition where Matthew had a go on all the simulators and brain training exhibits. No idea if they will change with any new sponsor, but as they have Siemens plastered all over them I've got to believe they will.

Matthew had a slushie from the Almond Orchard stall (which was just OK - nothing special). We then wandered round a couple of the shops before Clare and Matthew headed for Test Track and Mission: Space (Green) and I headed for the Canada Food & Wine festival stall to have their wonderful steak and mushroom sauce (GF thankfully and I do like it!). I went to the hotel lounge for a glass of red, and a lovely dessert panna cotta and some GF brownies. We all met up back in the room and hit the hay!