Tag Archives: Epcot

So It’s Not the Food & Whine Festival

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View of World ShowcaseI had a moment of panic today when I thought we might have a problem with our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World for the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.  We might have erred, made a mistake, screwed up, taken a wrong turn.  We have certainly looked forward to this particular trip for years (and years!) – I realized today that our expectations could possibly be a tad too high – we might have set ourselves up to be disappointed.  Food & Wine rookie mistake?  Perhaps.

I’d been determined to use my existing knowledge of WDW vacation strategies along with some tips and suggestions from friends, websites, and podcasts to make sure we have a great time – regardless of the weather, the crowd levels, the price tags.  It is our 25th anniversary trip after all and we want it to be memorable – in a good way. Wine Wall in Epcot's Tutto Gusto

The source of my panic…

Do you know Safari Mike?  He and his buddy Dave McBride host the Radio Harambe Podcast – which is one of my absolute favorite, not-to-be-missed shows (no, it’s not your imagination, I do have a bunch of favorite Disney podcasts).  Anyway, on the latest episode of Radio Harambe, Mike said some rather negative things about the Food and Wine Festival – yes, the very event I’ve been waiting years and years to finally attend!  Imagine my horror – my lonely little self, driving along in the car on the way to work, happily enjoying the show and POW!  Waves of doubt came crashing over me!  What if the trip we’d used as a carrot to keep us going through our children’s teen years was not going to be the magical, epic, spectacular week (alone, at last!)  we were envisioning?

Epcot's World ShowcaseNever one to sit and brood, I went straight to the source and reached out to Safari Mike on Twitter.  I asked him for some details about the cause of his somewhat sour attitude toward the event at the heart of Raymond’s and my dream trip.  Mike cleared everything right up for me – it seems that if you go to Food & Wine several times, you become quite familiar with its pros and cons.  Mike offered some valuable tips I’ll share with you now.  I’ll be new to Food & Wine and don’t yet have any tricks and strategies of my own – but with Mike’s help, you and I can make sure that our first visit to Food & Wine doesn’t turn out to be food & whine.

Safari Mike’s Advice and Tips for Enjoying the Food & Wine Festival:  China Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase

1. Weekdays at lunchtime and early afternoon are great times to enjoy the festival – This is good news!  I’d prepared for this by planning to spend Monday afternoon and Wednesday morning/early afternoon at Epcot with no plans other than sampling good eats and drinks and soaking in the festival’s atmosphere.

2. Be prepared for crowds and pricey food – Not much we can do about the crowds except by trying to mostly follow tip #1, but we’re attempting to combat the prices by purchasing a bunch of discounted gift cards in advance.  We can buy $150-worth of cards at our local big box club for $143.  No, it’s not much, but if we set aside the money and stick with the cards for a budget, it’ll keep sticker shock at bay.

Germany Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase3. Expect a different World Showcase experience – the atmosphere of World Showcase is not as it usually is – don’t expect to enjoy it the same way as during other time of the year.  This is also good news for us since we had a wonderful time enjoying our favorite World Showcase pavilions, stores, and restaurants during our May visit.

4. Hit the most popular booths early – I’m pretty sure I know what these are, but a little extra research is in order.  I’ve read that there will be something like 66 different specialty food offerings available.  If I can narrow that list down to a dozen or so we’d really like to try, I think that’ll be doable.

5. The Food & Wine Festival and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party are two events every Walt Disney World fan should try.  That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.  Mike may have been the one to throw me into a bit of a panic, but he was also the one to calm me back down.  We are going to Food & Wine and Mickey’s Not So Scary and we are Walt Disney World fans.  I think we’ve got this.

Got any tips and tricks for Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival?  Please leave them in comments! 

Follow Safari Mike (@JamboEveryone) on Twitter.

Read Safari Mike’s blog.

Give Radio Harambe a listen!

Be sure to check out the Jambo Everyone blog, too.

53 Days in Autumn – Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival

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Epcot in SummerIn case you’re new here or have somehow missed the first 15 times I’ve made this announcement – I am going to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival for the first time this year!  I’m pretty stoked about it, too, as is my husband, Raymond.  See, we’ll be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary in September and this trip will be like a second honeymoon.  We’ve been dreaming, planning, and discussing visiting Walt Disney World during Food & Wine for a long time.  I love it when dreams come true, don’t you?

Food & Wine runs this year from September 19th to November 10th.  Raymond andView of World Showcase I will get to experience this special event for 7 days in October.  Mostly, we’ve always wanted to take advantage of all the limited-time food and beverage offerings – the ones everyone with an Epcot park ticket can enjoy at the special kiosks and booths set up for the event’s duration – all the food from different countries not normally represented in Epcot.  According to the Disney Food Blog, this year more than 25 marketplace booths will feature culinary samples from countries including Scotland, Brazil, Argentina and Chili (together in the Patagonia booth), Greece, Puerto Rico, and many more.  You’d think this would be enough, but I was thinking…

Epcot's France / Window DisplayA huge variety of special events within the main event are offered ranging from cooking demonstrations ($15 per person) to food and beverage pairings ($55) to cheese seminars ($79) to Parisian Breakfasts at Les Chefs de France ($39) and also a swanky sounding Italian White Truffle and Wine Pairing Dinner for a whopping $295 per person.  We’ve got only 4 ADRs (advance dining reservations) booked for the week and we’ve got tickets to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party one evening.  That leaves plenty of time to book a couple of really special (romantic even) Food & Wine extra events for the two of us, right?

I’ve narrowed down the choices to a few things I thought we would enjoy that (sort of) fit into our budget and sound a little romantic.  Feel free to weigh in with comments and/or suggestions…Remember, we’ve never been to WDW for Food & Wine before and would welcome any tips and pointers you could offer.

So here’s what I was considering…

French Regional Lunch at Monsieur Paul ($135) – either the “Tour De France” version or the “Bordeaux, Cedric Villars, Les Domaines de Rothschild” session.  Either one will fit in our Epcot's France Pavilion / Monsieur Paulschedule.  They both begin at noon and end at 3:30 pm.  The Disney Food Blog describes this as “Have a four course lunch and learn about paired wines throughout the meal from a winery principle.”  That sounds suitably romantic to me…what do you think?

Another option I think we would like is either the Italian Food & Wine Pairings ($83) or the Italian Food & Beer Pairings ($76).  Both are held at Via Napoli which we’ve heard so many great things about, but have yet to try.  Either option, again, fits into our schedule – can go either Tuesday (beer) or Thursday (wine) from 1:30 – 3:30 pm.  How can we go wrong with Italian food and libations?

Epcot's Morocco Pavilion / Spice Road TableFinally, there are Food & Wine Pairings available at three other restaurants for $55 per person.  Choices include Tokyo Dining, Spice Road Table and Restaurant Marrakesh.  It’s been years since we’ve eaten in the Japan Pavilion and we’ve never eaten in Morocco.  We like to try new things, but I’m just not sure.  These are offered in the afternoon on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Advice is welcome!

Okay – Please!  If you’ve been to Food & Wine or even if you just have an opinion and want to weigh in – help me decide what extra special add-ons we need to make our first Food & Wine Festival experience the best it can be.

Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion – Five Great Things

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Morocco in Epcot's World ShowcaseOne of the most amazing things about the World Showcase in Epcot is how each country’s pavilion embraces guests in a way that allows them to feel they are actually visiting that country.  I love that!  This magic – taking you away to an exotic place far away – is particularly well done in the Morocco Pavilion.

Located between the Japan and France Pavilions, Morocco is unique, extremely well-themed, and absolutely charming.  With warm colors, beautiful landscaping, and exotic architectural shapes – you genuinely feel transported.  Here’s a fun fact – If you look past the Morocco Pavilion, you can see the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror off in the distance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  The tower’s color was chosen specifically because it would be visible in such a way – it’s painted to blend in with the color of the buildings in the Morocco Pavilion.Mo'Rockin entertainment in Epcot's Morocco

Five Great Things about the Morocco Pavilion

1. Entertainment – Mo’Rockin!  This is my favorite part of visiting Morocco – live music and belly dancing!  Talented musicians play Middle-Eastern and African inspired music on an outdoor stage (on the side of the Morocco Pavilion closest to Japan).  The belly dancer performing with them is amazing.  The act appears several times throughout the afternoon and evening.

2Epcot's Morocco / Spice Road Table. Food – So many choices!  Restaurant Marrakesh:  Table Service dining offering flavors of Morocco and the Mediterranean for lunch or dinner. Tangerine Café:  Quick/Counter Service restaurant (Mediterranean wraps and Shawarma platters are the specialty) , and Spice Road Table:  Newest eatery in Morocco offering small plates; perfect for a light meal or evening snack.

3. Shopping – Morocco’s shops are a treasure trove of authentic merchandise.  You’ll feel like you’re in an exotic marketplace as you shop for jewelry, clothing and accessories, wood crafts, baskets, musical instruments, carpets, and textiles.  There’s a lot to choose from!

4. Characters – Jasmine and Aladdin are available in the Morocco Pavilion for meet-and-greets.  Jasmine and Aladdin in Epcot's World ShowcaseThese are two of our favorite characters because of the way they interact in perfect character for fun and great pictures.  Once we even ran into Jafar in Morocco and while he wasn’t a speaking character, he was exactly the way you’d expect – aloof and arrogant and very funny.

5. Henna Tattoos – Opportunities to learn about the Moroccan culture abound in this pavilion and include the opportunity to get an ornate, unique and completely temporary henna tattoo.  Both Megan and Joseph took the time for this experience several years ago.  Design books are available for help in selecting just the right image.

Is Morocco one of your favorite stops along the World Showcase?  What’s your favorite thing to do or see there?Tile Closeup / Morocco Pavilion / Epcot's World Showcase Tangerine Cafe / Morocco Pavilion / Epcot's World Showcase Morocco Pavilion's covered seating area

Free Fizzy Fun – Club Cool in Epcot

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Soft Drink Flavors in Epcot's Club CoolI’d heard about Epcot’s Club Cool – a LOT.  Blog posts, tweets, Face Book, YouTube – There’s quite the hubbub.  In Future World, near Innovations West, this Coca-Cola sponsored attraction offers guests the chance to sample Coke soft drink products from all over the world – free of charge.  I’d never felt the need to stop in there.  Free or not, I’m not a big soda (pop, coke, soda-pop, insert the preferred term of your choice) drinker and like to pretend I’m more of a trend setter than follower (let me have my dreams, okay?).  So – many trips to Walt Disney World were thoroughly enjoyed without making even a single visit to this unique little corner of Epcot.

Then came FastPass+  and, on our recent WDW vacation, we found were no longer running from attraction to attraction to check available FastPass return times.  We had our scheduled attraction times, the crowd levels were low, the weather was sunny and warm and we…hadSample Flavors in Club Cool extra time on our hands.  It felt foreign.  We did our usual Future World “must-do’s” and still had free time – not enough to walk all the way to World Showcase and back – but enough for some serious thumb-twiddling.  Why not make an inaugural visit to Club Cool and explore the flavors, escape the sun, and kill some time?  I was pretty sure Megan and Joseph would be caught by surprise with the exotic flavor of one of the available samples – an unusual soft drink known as Beverly.

Beverly was originally introduced in 1969 and marketed in Italy as an aperitif (a drink to be enjoyed before a meal to stimulate the appetite, usually alcoholic).  Aperitifs are typically dry in flavor, which would explain Beverly’s sour nature.  Many people find the taste surprisingly and unexpectedly bitter – therein lies the fun!  Reactions to the first taste of Beverly are really amusing to watch!  While there are many people who like Beverly, it’s certainly an unusual flavor.  Not into dry, bitter soft drinks?  Try some of the  many other flavors The Flavors in Epcot's Club Coolto choose from – most are sweet and delicious! A full list of available products is here.

Even though Beverly has been discontinued and no longer sold in Italy (due to product consolidations in 2009), you can still grab a sample in both Club Cool and at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.  Want to know more?  Catch the entire story of Beverly here.

Watch Megan’s and Joseph’s reactions to their first taste of Beverly here.

It’s your turn!  Have you tried Beverly?  Are you a fan?