Category Archives: Epcot

Ups and Downs of a Very Rainy Disney Vacation (Part 1)

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As expected, after months of planning, our Disney vacation went by in a flash!  It was mighty rainy, but hey!  We survived Hurricane Matthew at Disney World when they closed all the parks, so we poncho-ed on!  And had a fun time in spite of the showers.

Ups and Downs of a Very Rainy Disney Vacation (Part 1)

Bear in mind, we were expecting perpetual rain having obsessively watched the forecast for a 70% (or more) chance of rain everyday.  When we arrived early on Saturday, it wasn’t raining and we headed straight for Animal Kingdom and got busy!  By 3:00 pm, we’d found the Yeti, eaten lunch at Harambe Market, explored wildlife via Kilimanjaro Safari and Gorilla Falls, and took a little boat ride through Pandora.

By this time, that early morning wake-up (3:00 am!) caught up with us, so we headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge and relaxed by the Uzima Springs Pool Bar.  Refreshed by cocktails and lulled into a restorative nap, we were jolted awake by a band of children on a mission to catch lizards and pull their tails off!  I am not kidding!  Then they would take the squirming, disconnected tails and carry them around until they found a place to throw them near the flamingos.  Recovering from our horror (barely), we stopped them by yelling, “Hey!” all at once.  Stupid response, I realize, but we’d been sound asleep and it worked.

Demon children banished, we pulled ourselves together and headed inside.  Dinner at Boma was great and day one was almost over.  We needed to catch a bus from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Magic Kingdom so we could walk to Bay Lake Tower from there – the (seemingly) easiest and quickest way to get to our rooms.  Unfortunately, we had to wait for a long, long time for that bus – way more than 30 minutes.  We were so sleepy!  Eventually, the bus arrived and we called it a night.

On Sunday morning, I did two things I’d never attempted before at Disney World.  I went to the fitness center in The Contemporary with Raymond and Joseph and worked out for a solid hour.  Ran on the treadmill then did weight training and felt like I eliminated those Boma calories completely. Then, in a completely unprecedented move, I cooked breakfast for everyone with the groceries I’d ordered.  Scrambled eggs, toast, bagels, and a protein shake for me.  We took our time getting ready and headed for Epcot in the rain to catch the very end of the Flower and Garden Festival.

Ponchos on then off then on again, we made our way around World Showcase sampling the kiosks’ offerings.  The food and beverages were great!  So was the musical group at the Germany Pavilion – and they posed for a picture with us!

We rode Frozen, headed to Future World for Living With the Land, caught Turtle Talk and visited the aquariums and manatees in The Seas.  Finally, right before dinner, we rode Spaceship Earth.  We hadn’t been to Rose & Crown for many years and I was really looking forward to dinner there.  I’d forgotten that the menu is relatively limited, but the food was fantastic!  We had a great time.

So far, the taking-it-easy plan was working splendidly and the rain had been completely bearable.  We still had so many great plans ahead!

Please come back soon for the next installment of our Very Rainy Disney Vacation and watch for detailed restaurant reviews!

Disney Cocktails – La Cava del Tequila’s #LaCavaNegroni

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Well aware of Joseph’s distaste for tequila, I hesitated before asking him to try La Cava del Tequila’s limited edition #LaCavaNegroni.  He loves me enough to take one for the team, so to speak, but after that flatbread at Pizzafari, I thought I might be taking advantage of his good nature.  Limited time, though!  So I broached the subject and Joe was surprisingly game.  Off he went to Epcot’s Mexico Pavilion to give it a try…and they were sold out.  Tenacious is our boy, luckily, so the next time he had a chance to visit Epcot…success!

Disney Cocktails – La Cava del Tequila’s #LaCavaNegroni

“#LaCavaNegroni – Limited Edition (Batch No. 13) – 12 week aged negroni in Tequila Avion 44 Barrel.  For details search #LaCavaNegroni on Twitter and Instagram” – Menu, La Cava del Tequila

Let’s talk about what goes into a Negroni: Tequila, Campari, and Vermouth.  Aging in the Tequila Avion 44 barrel turns a few simple ingredients into a specialty cocktail that costs $17.  But how did it taste?

#LaCavaNegroni

-by Joseph Green

I absolutely loved it.  I didn’t think I would, but it was great!  It’s sweet and smoky.  Honestly, it tastes like the cannon fire and burning town smells on Pirates of the Caribbean.  It doesn’t burn, but has a little bit of a bite.  Big flavor.  Just enough to let you know it’s something special.  You can tell you’re having a well-crafted drink.  And it lingers just long enough to savor before you want another sip.

This drink sits on the center top shelf in La Cava, in a round-bottomed flask without a label.  And it’s well-noted by the staff when your order it.  It’s spicy in the best way…not hot, but peppery.  Pricey, yes, but even for this unenthusiastic tequila drinker, this cocktail was worth every penny.

Verdict:  If you’re thinking about giving #LaCaveNegroni a try, grab your $17 and get there soon, before it’s all gone.

 

 

 

Disney Dining – Poutine from Epcot’s Refreshment Port

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Walt Disney World has offered guests the tasty Canadian dish, poutine, in various locations for quite some time now.  Recently, it was added to the Refreshment Port in Epcot’s World Showcase, so I sent Joseph on a taste-testing mission.  He was, of course, happy to oblige.  We’ve ordered the delicious Croissant Doughnut from this little snack stand before and this new offering sounded like a great addition.  If you’ve not heard of it before, poutine originated in Quebec in the 1950’s and consists of fries smothered in gravy and topped with cheese curds.Poutine from Epcot's Refreshment Port

What makes the Refreshment Port’s poutine unusual is that the traditional brown gravy is replaced with the very popular Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup, like the kind served at Le Cellier.  Here’s what Joseph said about it…

Disney Dining – Poutine from Epcot’s Refreshment Port

by Joseph GreenPoutine from Epcot's Refreshment Port

It was delicious.  Not too salty, very fresh, the fries were not soggy at all (and I expected them to be, at least a little).  The serving size was generous and this would make excellent use of a snack credit on a Disney Dining Plan.  The poutine is assembled to order, so the temperature is good and hot.  The use of the cheese soup is genius.  In fact, the combination of fries and soup alone would have been perfect.  The cheese curds actually detracted from this version of poutine for me, although I know they’re supposed to be there.  I don’t know if the curds were completely tasteless or just seemed that way because of the soup.  They were also really rubbery – kind of like an overcooked scallop would be.  I was expecting them to be more the consistency of feta cheese.Poutine from Epcot's Refreshment Port

For six bucks, this was a good value.  Grab your beer first, so the poutine is hot and fresh when you eat it.  I recommend the Innis & Gunn from the UK Beer Cart.  Pairs well with savory dishes.

I’m really enjoying trying new Disney foods and mom paying for it certainly helps my budget, so if there’s anything you’re interested in hearing about, leave it in the comments and I’ll add it to the list.  I even remembered to take all the “required” pictures this time.  Mom’s picky, but I’ll keep her.

Thanks for reading – Joe.

Disney Dining – Epcot’s Tangierine Café

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I’d heard for years about the great food in Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion.  Aside from that single, ill-fated attempt to eat at Spice Road Table, we’d never put dining in Morocco on our to-do list.  On the Quick Service Dining Plan for our June vacation, Megan and I decided to give Tangierine Café a try.  It was a good value on the plan and the food and service were both great!

Disney Dining – Epcot’s Tangierine Café

It’s not that we don’t like the Morocco Pavilion…We do!  It’s got a lot going for it.  The architectural details, tile work, shopping, and live music all work together to create an especially exotic oasis in World Showcase.  We’ve passed on the food simply because there are so many other choices in Epcot.  Also, a couple of us are picky-ish, so we tend to go places we know everyone will like.  Raymond loves the coffee served at the Morocco Pavilion and has stopped on many occasions to enjoy a cup while the rest of us look around in the gift shop.Tile Closeup / Morocco Pavilion / Epcot's World Showcase Morocco in Epcot's World Showcase

Hopping to Epcot from a busy morning at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Megan and I were hungry!  The weather was gorgeous and we headed straight for Morocco and the Tangierine Café for lunch.  Everything on the menu sounded good to us, but we both decided on the gigantic Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter “served with a side of Hummus, Tabouleh, and Tangierine Couscous Salad with fresh Moroccan Bread“.

Everything on our plates was delicious.  (Pictures don’t do it justice!)  We loved the consistency of the bread and how fresh all the flavors were.  Perfectly seasoned, each generous portion was flavorful and satisfying without being heavy.  As I mentioned, lunch was also a good value on the dining plan (out-of-pocket price for just the Shawarma Chicken and Lamb Platter is currently $14.99).

Megan and I were so happy we tried Tangierine Café!  If you’re looking for a filling lunch in Epcot and haven’t yet tried this quick service restaurant in Morocco, we highly recommend it.

What are your favorite go-to dining spots in Epcot for lunch?