It is beautiful today! There are blue skies on this nice 70-degree, breezy day! We are going to Epcot and see the new Flag Throwing Show, Sbandieratori Di Sansepolcro, in Italy. I love the Italy Pavilion with all of its beautiful buildings and detailed architecture. There are even a few statues and a fountain. It is so pretty.

Here we go! We get to the parking area and park way down on the end. So, we decide to walk to the entrance. Some other families are heading for the tram, but it is about the same distance to the tram as it is to the entrance today. We arrive at the front gates, get our bags checked, and scan our MagicBands. We find that it is not very crowded for a holiday week. It is very busy, but there is still plenty of room to walk.

We go to the right and walk beside Spaceship Earth! It is crowded and we have to stop a couple of times really quickly as little ones suddenly stop in the walkway. I laugh, we tease that you should be quick on your feet, ready to dodge and jump aside for those moments since people will sometimes stop without warning. It is good to be kind, it seems that the visitors who are aware and nice to everyone have so much more fun!

We stopped at Starbucks, the kids got to talking to the cashier. Seems she was from Texas too! It was nice to meet a fellow Texan!

The Christmas tree at Epcot is beautiful; we head for it on our way around the World Showcase Lagoon. Now, we go to the left and make our way around through Mexico, China, The Outpost, Germany, and now we are almost to Italy. As we are getting closer, we hear the whistle! Sergio the mime is there and it performing a really a good skit! He is so interactive with the crowd, and kids love this! Even the adults are clapping and laughing, it is so fun! We watch behind the line of people.

In just a few minutes we hear the new Flag Throwing Show, Sbandieratori Di Sansepolcro, starting. They march in with a drummer and two trumpeters on their way to the stage in Italy. The show is absolutely incredible! They twirl, throw, and battle with the flags. Wow! This is truly a must see!

Tooti lets me know that we have already walked 2.3 miles to Italy in that short time. After she show, we are off to France. We leave Italy and pass through The American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, and arrive in France. Our friend we’ve made at Guerlain is there today, so we stop for a moment to say, “Hello!” She is one of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet.

Now, back to making our way around the World Showcase Lagoon. We cross the bridge into the United Kingdom when we see HIM!! It is a penguin from Mary Poppins! I have never seen him, ever! We start toward the line and find that he is supposed to leave soon. We totally understand, and are disappointed, but find that he will be back out in 45 minutes. We walk around the United Kingdom Pavilion for a few minutes and decide that we will stay and wait because the penguin is rarely ever here! I am so glad we got to wait!

As we saw the penguin coming over the hill, the attendant smiled since we waited and soon we met the penguin! It is so fun to get penguin hugs, and he is adorable! After our hugs and pictures, we thank the penguin and all wave bye!

We go back through the United Kingdom on the way to Canada, and then walk through the Showcase Plaza, by the Christmas tree. It is really cold and breezy. Now, back to the entrance and out to our car.

We had a blast today, and we took so many pictures for so many people! Sometimes one right after the other! But, with all of the fun, we walked 3.8 miles today (and that was a really short afternoon)! I love days like today, and am so happy we got to meet the penguin!