 Hey friends today, we are hanging out at Epcot and a lot of character meet-and-greets are actually returning today So I wanted to come out and show you guys and also I wanted to come hang out at Epcot and have a wonderful day Anywho's let's go do this Since the shutdown character meet-and-greets got changed to character sightings where you would just randomly stumble upon a character and Get the chance to take a social distance selfie But today some of those characters are returning to where they would always meet in Greek guest And you can actually just stand in line and get to meet them and that makes me so happy. I Know that joy is actually going back into the imagination pavilion where she used to actually just come out and walk around on that grassy Knoll over there now She's back indoors and you know exactly where to go and meet her and that is like something that I've been missing a lot Now not every character is coming back to their normal meet-and-greets spots But it's nice to see some of them return and it's a good step forward And I'm really happy like Mickey is back at Magic Kingdom Minnie is over in Hollywood Studios and Donald Duck's gonna be returning here to the Mexico pavilion So I'm hoping we're gonna be able to see him today as well As you could just see right there goofy and Pluto are actually out in front of spaceship Earth Doing a character sighting that's what they switched to but I noticed Pluto has a little something special around his neck That I want to point out and I think it's really really cool Look at Pluto's festival of the arts collar right there. That is so awesome Gracie wants a little festival of the arts collar. I love your collar. It is beautiful very very artsy Oh, yeah, and I love your whiskers too. Those are the best. Yeah, they're very springy Thank you, Pluto. I hope you have a great day. I Still get excited to see characters in the parks I think it's one of my favorite things to do and you remember here at Epcot when they used to have like a Baymax meet-and-greet And he used to go up and be able to hug them And he was so soft and amazing and then they also had a joy and sadness meeting great together So like there was some great Character meet-and-greets in the park, but everything changed now especially since they got rid of future world so Epcot itself is kind of lacking in the meet-and-greet like kind of area and Hopefully once future world or what is used to be future world is finished Maybe they'll add some more of those cool experiences back in there We're gonna head right on over to the imagination pavilion and we're gonna see if Penelope and Joy are out Those are two of the characters. I heard rumor to actually return I don't know about Wreck-It Ralph or not But even if Penelope's there that's still a really good start. I Hope you guys don't mind the abundance of Epcot vlogs for the past couple of weeks I just feel like there's always something new happening and I always try to show you guys Everything up-to-date, you know I mean so characters are back. I try to show you like as soon as they come back and Today's like I think my fifth Epcot vlog for the month of January already because I spent New Year's Eve here I came and hung out with some friends and then festival of the arts, but I mean I love Epcot So I guess it's all good and fun It is definitely a cold rainy day here at Epcot So I want to show off the wait times test track was only 45 minutes Spaceship Earth is 10 minutes the seas is 10 minutes soaring is 40 minutes Remy's Ratatouille is 95 minutes and all frozen ever after 70 I haven't rode soaring in a while. So maybe we might do soaring today Right now it is festival of the arts So there's a lot of paint and chalk work happening so a rainy day is not the best for any of those activities and The paint by number mural looks like it took a hard hit today with the rain and it's kind of sad It's really sad actually Looks like they weren't able to cover it up in time and a lot of the paint actually started running away And it's a brand new mural they started but look at oh, it's such a sad thing But I guess you can just paint over it though right because you're gonna be painting in the other numbers there And it looks like it's just freshly started. Maybe less than a hundred people actually painted it It looks like Winnie the Pooh is still meeting on the grassy knoll here And this is where Joy used to meet in great with Winnie the Pooh They used to alternate so I wonder if there's gonna be another character that comes out Or if Winnie's just gonna be holding down the grassy knoll for himself Now we're gonna head right on into the imagination pavilion and a lot of people don't know like you don't have to ride Journey into imagination with figments actually get over there. You can just go around the building I know some people like maybe think that the only way to actually go in is actually to ride the ride and then get off Because that's where the character mean greets are they're at the exit of the journey into imagination ride And no you can just kind of cut to the side there You can just go in right here to the what-if labs and also Mickey Mouse is meeting and greeting up there by the Disney Pixar short film festival that's always been his meet and greet for a while now and He returned there just a couple weeks ago, but today's the first day to see the characters back in here. I Was kind of thinking there might be long lines today, but really nothing really long about it. Oh here comes Penelope She's coming through the link Oh Joey's coming through the link Oh, that is so awesome. I guess we're gonna go see Joey first. We're gonna line up right over here in imagination land It's also really important to point out that at these character mean greets There's a photo pass photographer because all the other characters I eat There's not a photo pass photographer. You just have to take the selfie yourself So it's really awesome to see that because that means more photo pass photographer Open positions so more photo pass photographers more character mean greets everything is a plus The link is open up again. Here comes Penelope probably Oh That is so cool. I Love it and There she goes. She's going over on that side That is such an amazing entrance right there like you don't remember like watching the wrestlers entrance Like I feel like that's the same way. They're coming down and you got the Titan Tron But wow and I didn't know Joey came out of there, too And now you get to just go walk up and meet joy So happy to see you back inside joy. This is really awesome in imagination land. This is really great I know it's so pretty isn't it? Yeah, can we take a photo? Yeah, awesome. Let's do it Thank you so much joy. Have a great day Now since we're here we might as well hop on over to see Penelope But that is so awesome. Isn't it like it's really really great to see them back in doors and actually meeting and greeting guests with the Photographer this is like such exciting news Hi Penelope. I hope you're having a great day and if you see Ralph tell him I said hello Ralph rocket Ralph. I love him He's the best. He's just wrecking things so so cool, but let's take a photo That is so so awesome and since we're over here We might as well go up and say hi to the man himself because he's like right around the corner As soon as you walk out of the water flaps You can see a sign that says visit with Mickey Mouse the magic eye theater right up this way So of course we're gonna say hi to Mickey Mouse. How could we not? Also, I want to point out if you guys have never done the Disney Pixar short film festival Some of the movies that they show here is actually on Disney Plus So you can actually watch them at home and there are so so good not all of them I think feast is actually on there and maybe paper. I'm not too sure but feast is amazing Actually all three of them are on Disney Plus so you can watch all three of these Movies that are here at the Disney Pixar short film festival on Disney Plus at home Speaking of the man himself, I just wanted to stop in and say hello real quick You know, I just ran into some other friends and had a stop in and say hi to Mickey Mouse himself So, thank you pal. I hope you're having a wonderful day Nice. See ya. Bye Now it's time to head over to world showcase We're gonna go check on Donald, but can you believe this in just not like 20 minutes? We have met five Disney characters like 20 minutes five Disney characters I don't even know if that's ever happened before in the past unless you get to see them all in one like area But like that is so cool because we saw Pluto, Goofy, Mickey, Penelope and Joy Like that's that's mind-blowing. Oh No, we're coming up on the festival of the art chalk art and I hope they were able to cover these Up before the rain came because those are so beautiful and I hate to see them actually get ruined because it probably takes such a long time to Actually make one of those like art paintings with chalk. I mean, it's it's really detailed. Oh They must have covered them up because they look actually perfect like that is amazing. I really like this Nat Geo here Yeah, a little turkey. It looks like These are like so exquisite aren't they I mean, holy moly down here though Yeah, they couldn't do anything about these because there's actually a gigantic puddle right there So there's nothing left here. You can see a little remnants of them though Since we're talking about character meet and greets I thought it'd be fun to see what your favorite character meet and greet is So let me know who your favorite character meet and greet was I'll tell you mine is a close tie between two I loved meeting oogie boogie like actually meeting of my metal mat magic kingdom during moonlight magic And he like hugged me like he was just so Perfect the way that he was and also I think during that same moonlight magic I got to meet all of the hyenas from the Lion King and that was so cool because there were the hyenas like that came out for the parade and they were just like Bob in their heads and it was so amazing But those two are the first ones that come to my mind now There might be some other ones that I can't remember at the moment, but whenever I think meet and greets It's those two so let me know in the comments. Which one was your favorite? I'm making my way over to Mexico because I want to see if Donald's out But I think we're gonna stumble upon our Sixth character now because Minnie is meeting in this gazebo right here. Oh, no, she's leaving There she goes. Oh We missed her just by a second, but you can see her actually walking through the crowds And she was just like meeting and greeting right here and that's so cool This is another one of those spontaneous or character sightings They don't have photo pass photographers and you have a pretty big distance away from you and the character So like I said, I'm very excited to see the actual meet and greets come back Well, you have the photo pass photographer and you're not 10 feet away I'm sure she's actually gonna be coming back out that way So we might walk back this way. Oh Actually, I think I want to go over and try something from the pop eat stand because now I can officially do it without having to wait in a six hour line to get the figment popcorn bucket And that's the only food stand. I think I haven't gotten anything from yet. I think that's the only one that's remaining I'm not too sure if we're gonna find Donald because like I said, it is raining out and his Meet and greet location is over here and it's completely outdoors. So there's nowhere For a coverage many when we were walking by she actually stands underneath the gazebo So it's not so bad, but I'm not too sure if Donald's gonna be out, but we'll find out when we get up here. Oh No, it's looking like he's not here, but there is a line So that means he might have just went back in and he might come back out So I think we're gonna hop in line and wait You see right here is where his meet and greet location is and there's kind of like a little overlap right there so he can stay a little bit dry and There's a kind of a way to people waiting to actually see if he comes out This is one of my favorite character meet and greets because I think it's the only one that was designated for Donald himself I can't think of anywhere else in the parks where you know where you can go to guarantee to see Donald Sometimes he's hanging off the rafters at Hollywood Studios But I've always associated Donald here at Epcot in the Mexico Pavilion And I spoke too soon because look at here comes Donald. I'm so excited. I came just at the right second Hi pal. I like that sombrero Yeah, thank you Look at that waddle So the really amazing thing about this character meet and greet is it's all outside You don't need to wear a mask and they have a photo pass photographer and I think that's the first of its kind I'm trying to think like in my head where they actually have a photo pass photographer on site The character is outside and you don't need to wear a mask I don't think there's any other ones in the parks Let me know if I'm wrong, but I think like always one of those is missing one of those so I don't know I'm excited Hello Donald I had to come over so we can get a photo so excited to see you nice I'm gonna get a sombrero to match you one day and come take a photo because that'd be really really awesome Yeah, right. I mean I have a nice adorable hat on but it's not as good as yours like that's the way that is the way All right, let's take a photo That is so amazing. Isn't it honestly like I had no idea that I was gonna be able to come here today and see as Many characters as I have in such a short time like I don't even think I've been here for an hour I came in and just made a walk a lap right around and six characters six characters and Probably just over 30 minutes like that is mind-blowing. No, it's seven it's seven characters Wow today's really turning into something else I'm really happy about it. I Could actually make it nine characters if I wanted to wait in the giant line here because it looks like Anna and Elsa are both out meeting and greeting and This is another character sighting so there's no photo pass photographer here You just walk up and take a social distance selfie, but look at that It's really awesome to see both of them at the same time Now let's actually head on over to pop eats so we can try some of the food there Like I said, I haven't been able to eat there yet because of the line for the pigment popcorn bucket But now it's officially sold out so shouldn't be that long of a week Just like I said before Mini's back underneath the gazebo here or hanging out by the gazebo and isn't that awesome I think I remember Duffy the bear used to actually do a meet and greet here So it's really cool to see mini actually utilizing the space and it's at it's like perfect for a meet and greet Disney character sighting now there is no photo pass with this one either And I'm just trying to show you guys what the difference between a meet and greet and a photo a Disney character sighting Obviously no photo pass or anything like that and a designated spot so mini won't always be here Now we're back over at pop eats and there's actually a longer line than I would have expected like I know It's a very popular stand and probably people who weren't able to actually get food the past couple times They've come now is the only time to come and get it so it kind of makes sense But there is a little bit of a wait Here is the menu and I know the tomato soup and grilled cheese is probably the most popular item But I always love coming to get the almond frangipan cake. It is so amazing But this pop art sounds a little bit interesting too. So maybe we'll buy them both and just kind of nibble on them I know I love the cake, but I never had the pop art before they also have a tomato soup can bloody Mary and a Brooklyn brewery pulp art hazy IPA So wow those are actually really questionable And here is the line like I said, it's nowhere near the six-hour line But it's still kind of a long line just for a food stand, you know I'm sure it's really popular here today because they have the tomato soup and it's 53 degrees So it's a rainy 53 degree day here at Epcot. So tomato soup and grilled cheese actually is probably a big head But I'm more about the frangipan cake And here they are so we've got first the almond frangipan cake This is layered with raspberry jam and Belgian chocolate and I love this. This is always my festival favorite I think this is an opening day festival item I think it's been here since the very first festival of the arts five years ago And I think I get it every single year and then we've got the pop art popped art popped art So like pop tart and this is a sugar cookie with chocolate hazelnut filling in it I mean, this is gonna be okay. I can tell already but that I love We're gonna cut into it and you know, this is actually something a lot of people don't like but I just love it I love the texture and it's not like a soft moist cake It is like very distinguished and it has a strong almond taste to it But yeah, so so good and it's so colorful That's a big ol slice of cake on a fork here. Look at that. But here we go So good The other day I was at Publix and I found Something just like this that they sell like in the grocery store and it's a little tiny Frangipan cakes, so I'm kind of thought I should try it one day Maybe I'll get them next time I go to Publix, but this is just unbelievable Now we're gonna try the popped art and this has a hazelnut filling inside sugar cookie and frosting So we're gonna actually break it right in half. Let's see. I don't know. Hopefully it doesn't crumble apart Ah, I think it looks a little dry already But I feel like pop-tarts can be a little bit dry even the ones that are over in Woody's lunchbox But I'm gonna try it. I'm gonna give it a go here Mm-hmm very very dry. Holy moly Hmm. I should have got a milk Even though it is super dry. I do have to say it is really actually good The only bad side to it is how dry it is but the combination between hazelnut and sugar cookie It's actually a really good mix and it's a little bit soft on the outside like inside here But I think once you get to these corner spots right here where the hazelnut isn't there. It is super cardboard-ish I Would definitely get the Frangipan cake again because I've gotten it for five years in a row But I probably pass on the pop tart the popped art I do have to say that popped art is better than any of the pop tarts at Woody's lunchbox I'd give you that a hundred percent because those I just feel like a complete cardboard like they are super super dry now I think we're gonna make our way back over to the land and Maybe check in on soaring or living with the land. I feel like it's been a while since I've been in there My last Epcot video. I kind of did all of the attractions over here in a future world Except for everything in the land. So it seems like a good spot to go today Also as we're walking back to the land our question whether or not Winnie the Pooh is holding down the grassy No, to himself has been answered and it looks like he is he's holding it down Why joy is back in her spot Winnie the Pooh actually used to meet in World Showcase in the UK pavilion They actually have they used to have Christopher Robbins room back there But they kind of use it just for storage now. I wish they would bring that back because that was really cool But look there he is Way over there. Did we even count him as a character in the beginning? Holy moly. I don't think we did so that means like I don't need I lost I lost count I lost count. I don't even know. I think the total is 10 now 10 characters. Wow. That is mind-blowing, but thanks, Pooh Just look over and I think we really lucked out today because the wait time is only a 25 minute wait 25 minutes for soren I will take that any day Actually, that wasn't too bad like 20 minutes were actually in there so pretty true to the time and I think we're in the third row. So we're gonna be having some feet in our view Normally I always try to focus on showing the attraction itself But today I kind of want to show you guys how the mechanics work as you're riding so on and being in the back row gives You a good point of view for that. So we'll see it actually take off in a second here Wow that was super cool that we were able to get on Soren in like under 25 minutes like I was not expecting that at all and it was great to ride it It's one of my all-time favorite attractions actually, you know, this is a unpopular opinion But I like it better than flight of passage I say that all the time only because I have such a connection to soren I've always wanted to travel the world and that's the closest I've ever come to actually travel in the world So I really do love it But now I think maybe we'll make our way over the test track because that was the only other ride that I Didn't do last time. I was here and I'm sure it might be open. I know it was raining earlier, but we'll find out when we get closer if we can hear it or not As we make our way over the test track, which I can Successfully hear it running right now. So I think it is open I wanted to stop and show some of the art here for the Festival of the Arts and look at these tables over here Aren't they just masterpieces? I mean, they're pretty expensive. I think they're like $20,000 They don't have prices on them, but take a look at Beauty and the Beast here and then the little mermaid one over here Like these are so like breathtaking. What is this one here? I think this is a Fantasmic right here. Yeah, cuz you got Merlin over there. Oh, wow I would want to get this one out of all of them because you have all the sorcerer mickeys You have the mops and the water buckets These are really really impressive. Probably the best thing at the Festival of the Arts when it comes to art wise Oh, look at this statue of the witch Holy moly These are something else. I've seen this before at artist point at World in this Lodge They actually have this one on display there, but I'll take any of them any of them, please We made it over the test track and it says now it's a 55 minute wait, but it doesn't look that long at all I mean, oh, maybe it does a little bit 55 minutes and the line is just on the inside there at first. I didn't think it looked too bad So I still think we're just gonna go single rider. I mean what why wait in line? We're if we could just do single rider. You know what I mean? There is absolutely nobody in line look at this Wow That is so so awesome. It was a complete walkout like we walked right up the single rider line We can get off and just ride again if we wanted to Well, this is the first for me. I'm a single rider, but I'm gonna be in the middle Gonna be a little strange There we go Might need to be taking this off and holding it Right Well today just seems like a really really good day We've gotten so much accomplished in doing test track in the single rider line And we didn't even have to wait but it was funny because I was sitting in the middle And that's never happened to me before because usually as a single rider You are the person like behind like the two people or the party of three or the party of four But for some reason They ended up sending a bunch of single riders in and the people that were like with me were together it was like a mom and a daughter and They were separated like from the front to the back So I told the mom if she wanted to sit up with the daughter then I would hop in the back So I switched with them so they could ride together and they kind of just got the luck of the deal there And it was fun. It was nice and we didn't wait at all. We walked straight on Now I think I'm gonna take a quick pit stop into the creation shop to see if they have the spirit jersey I've been looking for and I think I had a big talk about my spirit jersey problems the other day at Disney Springs But we're on the lookout for a very particular one Looks like they brought out the new 50th anniversary luxe jacket This is the first time I'm seeing this actually here and it feels nice like good material I don't know what they got going around it, but I don't know the price looks like all the price tags are ripped off them Look, there's no price tags on there. Isn't that so strange? I wonder if they're hanging off somewhere There was no price tags at all on them and there's only two left in there in the small But I wonder how much that is. I might have to Google it, but I'm gonna guess $250 $250 for that jacket. I'm gonna guess I Was super close. Well, not really super close. I said 200, but I looked it up online It's a hundred and fifty dollars for that jacket Which isn't too bad because the spirit jersey like that 50th anniversary look spirit jersey That's a hundred and thirty dollars. I mean those are some expensive threads right there I mean you really got to be a baller to be walking around in them Can you imagine having the spirit jersey the pajama bottoms and the jacket it'd be almost six hundred dollars? I actually tucked over here to record that last part because of the lighting was good and I was sitting here talking and Kind of got a little freaked out by this mask. Look at kind of kind of a little bit scary there Don't you think? That is the most frightening mannequin. I think I've ever seen I've never encountered something like this before look at me Can't see where sure eyes are at Another cool shirt that I've never seen before actually shirts is these Hercules ones They got the muscle and then we got the muse. So that's really cool. We definitely need more Hercules apparel I love Hercules. It's one of my all-time favorite Disney movies. So I would love to get a Hercules spirit jersey I don't even know if that exists, but it should exist. You know what I mean? That should be a thing by now Okay, so a quick update on as the spirit jersey turns the spirit jersey that I'm looking for is the bulk collectible spirit jersey and I just found out that they Accidentally released some of them early like out all the places that I've seen it. Yeah, they actually recalled them They took them back off the shelves and they don't come out till this Monday So I'm gonna be looking for them Monday, and I'm so excited. I hope I can get it because it looks so so cool Look at how majestic this looks right here. Oh My lordy, you can see the reflection of spaceship Earth in the monorail That is so cool still to this day the best thing that's come from the 50th anniversary Now we made our way back out to the front of the park and I think I am calling it a night here It is so cold. I'm wearing shorts and my bun-up shirt, and it is 47 degrees out it is so so cold So I'm calling it a night and it's a little bit early too usually I'm here much later on But yeah, kind of just want to go home and get all warm and buzzed up, you know anyhoo I hope you enjoyed the video. I enjoyed making it. We'll see you next time. Bye