Tax Day at Epcot: Flower and Garden Snacks, Guardians, and a Buffalo Pizza Surprise, Part 2

If you missed it, Part 1 covers our Barcelona Lounge Cortado and the first round of Flower and Garden snacking before the booths even opened. Here's where the real eating started.

We brought this back to Communicore Hall, where we also got a couple of the steak bowls, the tomato salad, and the peach cobbler.

Can I just say that was basically the best steak I've ever eaten? And to think they made it in bulk at a theme park is mystifying! I could not have cared less about the risotto, though it was good. It just paled in comparison to the steak, and I kind of wish they had served it with mashed potatoes.

The tomato salad was perfection. The tomatoes were fresh with a lovely flavor, topped with a delicious vinaigrette. It seemed like the tomatoes were marinated in it, but they weren't soggy or squishy, so I'm not sure. Either way, the flavor was balanced and the dish was refreshing.

Last but not least, we got the peach cobbler with cinnamon gelato. The peaches were massive slices, the cobbler was well seasoned, and the cinnamon gelato really topped off the flavor profile. Do not get this if you don't like cinnamon, because all of it had a strong cinnamon flavor, which, naturally, I loved. It was perfection with a piece of the cobbler, the ice cream, and the peach.

It was around 1:00 or so when we finished. In the breezeway of Connections, there were a bunch of pin traders set up at some picnic tables, so we sat there for a while and let the girls try to trade pins. There were some very serious pin traders and some hobby traders, and everyone was super nice to the girls.

Guardians, Test Track, and Soarin'

We had a Lightning Lane for Guardians, so we headed over there as soon as our food settled. The nice thing about these festivals is that the portions are small and we shared everything, so we stayed pleasantly full instead of overstuffed. Our Lightning Lane moved fast, and we got the song "I Ran." I love that ride with that song, it's so fun! I still haven't gotten "September." We are seriously thinking about going back on September 21st so we can be sure to get that song. It is such a fun ride, though it took me a while to get to this point. I've realized I do best in the front row, because when I get scared I can see where we're going, and that makes the ride so much more fun.

After Guardians we had a Lightning Lane for Test Track. DD hadn't ridden it yet with the new overlay, and I was so excited for her to try it out. I love Test Track, and I especially love the new overlay when you're driving through the forest. She loved it too.

Next up was Soarin', another favorite. It's such a fun and relaxing ride, but this time the smells were not working. We still enjoyed ourselves flying all over the world, but you could tell something was missing. I feel sorry for anyone who only rides it once and misses that, because the smells are such a fun part of the experience.

We stopped at Connections Cafe to grab a quick snack before heading to Hollywood Studios: the normal chicken tenders and fries, plus a watermelon mint aqua fresca. My friends did not like the drink, but my DD and I did. It wasn't as good as the cucumber watermelon slushy from earlier, but I like mint flavor, and I didn't find it too sweet. The mint wasn't all that strong to me, but I am a big mint and basil in your drinks fan, so maybe I'm just used to it.

Part 3 lands Thursday, September 10.