We just gave Disney about $2,500(!) to have annual passes again, and our first visit was to Epcot getting there at about 5:30pm already nearly dark – our first stop was the Chinese restaurant Nine Dragons, always a favorite of mine!
We did the Spaceship Earth ride, which is always better at night because our eyes aren’t swamped with sunlight before going in! My iPhone 18 Pro did a good job of taking photos (even without night mode which is useless on a moving ride):
We also got to ride Remy’s Ratatouille Ride which was “temporarily closed” but apparently opened just before we went to check it, and we got in with a less than 20 minute wait! The ride has changed since we last rode it – you don’t wear 3D glasses any more, and it makes photos better because there’s no longer the dual image blurring effect (compare with this photo from two years ago):
We finished our evening watching the fireworks, enhanced by being across the lake and getting reflections!
To finish, here’s some video of the fireworks:
M&I / GBMINI 