So, I'm going to do things a little differently. I know it's important for Zach to be able to post the "amazing experience" first, and since it was his idea to start with, I'm going to let him! 
But...I also need to continue things on this TR to make sure I finish before we leave for Paris in exactly one month! So, I'm going to start posting Day 2, and once Zach is able to get to his posting, I'll go back and post the last bit of Day 1 (he had several days of touring before I even arrived, so had a lot more to post before the DAH night).
Day 2, Part 1 - Entering Flower and Garden!
My Plans for the day:
Spaceship Earth, FP 10-11
Mission Space, FP 11-12
Frozen Ever After, FP 12-1
See all the topiaries and gardens!
Food: Booths, Via Napoli 6:30
Oh and a heads up, I have at least 270 photos queued up for this day… so be prepared! 
I woke up on the later side this morning, understandably considering I didn’t get to bed until 2am! I think my alarm must have been set for 9-9:30, because I have timestamped breakfast photos at 9:40.
And what was for breakfast? Well…Zebra Domes! Hey, I’m on vacation! I ate 2 and saved the rest for another day (though I would never end up eating them). I liked them more than my previous time getting them in September (where they turned into a melted blob before I tried them), but I still want to try them actually fresh (I plan to do a Boma dinner in December, so that will be my chance).
I got to the bus stop around 10am, with an Epcot bus about to arrive. Overall, I didn’t have much of an issue getting a bus at AKL, it was the buses from parks to AKL that were an annoyance.
I arrived at Epcot a little before 10:30, where I was greeted with a security line on the longer side (well, compared to September, though these were not nearly as bad as it could have been). Thankfully, it didn’t take too much time, though I was picked to go thru the metal detectors… (I tried to look busy re-zipping my bag, but I accidentally made eye contact with the security person who directed me to the side.)
The entrance lines were also pretty long, so I actually utilized the AP entrance. While there were more people in the AP line, it went much faster than the regular lines! I did have to flash my AP card (I lost my slider shortly after I got it… I think Ollie (annoying cat who I love to death) knocked it under a piece of furniture)
And now, it was Flower and Garden! I was so excited since this was a driving factor in planning this whole trip!
One thing I was disappointed in was the lack of photopass photographers around. I definitely stopped whenever I saw them, but I was really hoping for many more, especially with the gorgeous topiaries. So, unfortunately a lot of my photos will be annoying selfies! (And I later realized there was some dust on the selfie camera, so until the afternoon, most of these aren’t too good)
I did find a group of PPP standing around past the topiaries, so I had to stop and ask them to take my photo, also sort of annoying! But I got my first Magic Shot of the festival, with the Orange Bird taking a break on my fingers!
First ride of the day, Spaceship Earth! I was well into my FP time, and there was a longer lineup for this one (at least longer than my last one, where it was a literal walk-on with plenty of empty cars (that’s what a hurricane will do to you!)
Though there was a kid behind me in the FP line complaining to his parents – does anyone every really want to go on this ride? I turned and just said, it’s a classic! His dad chuckled and the kid stared daggers at me!
I also attempted taking more low-light photos, most of which were too blurry however. Guess I need to figure out how/if I can take motion shots with an iPhone 8!
I ended up filming my future, though I think I picked the same choices as last time, so same result. Next time I will need to pick the opposite! I also made a silly face at the camera, which didn't turn out that well…
. 
Don't know if anyone read about that, but we had a 5-year drought until last winter when it rained constantly! Like serious rainstorms weekly, which was enough to officially end the drought. But of course, we yo-yo'd back this past summer/fall/winter with hot, dry conditions, and it looks like we're back in one. I don't know if we'll ever fully recover, and expect it's the new normal, rather than a temporary condition. Disneyland has been good though about trying to replace lush foliage with drought-friendly plants to reduce their water consumption, so the tram driveway from the parking structure to main entrance looks very similar to the 3rd photo.
I hope they put it out somewhere in the parks!
