Tag Archives: Epcot

At Disney? Go to Epcot’s Sunshine Seasons, Eat the Chocolate Croissant

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IMG_5064Today’s post – short, sweet, and to the point!  If you are going to Epcot, go to Sunshine Seasons (restaurant in The Land pavilion) and get a chocolate croissant.  There.  That’s it.  GO!  If you keep reading, you’ll just get the boring details on why I’m telling you this. 

One of the (many) odd things about me is that I don’t really have a sweet tooth…it’s more of a potato, rice or pasta tooth.  If I’m having a food craving, it’s rarely for something sweet.  If I’m eating in Epcot, it’s almost always in the World Showcase.  So how did I end up eating a chocolate croissant at Sunshine Seasons in the first place?  It’s all the fault of the internet and all the Disney blogs and Disney travel sites that talk about good eats at Disney World.  Those rave reviews fuel my curiosity.  Don’t tell me something is to-die-for-delicious if it’s really not.  I will come back and fuss at you – it’s not nice to make me spend money on sweets I’m not even craving if they’re not worth the price and the extra calories. 

So, I’d read about the croissant.  Raymond and I managed to ditch the kids encouraged the young people in our group to venture out on their own for a bit while we were at Epcot.  This left us a big open window to do whatever we wanted! – only at that moment in time we were starving and all we wanted to do was eat.  It was a weird time of the day – too late for breakfast, too early for lunch.  A snack was just the thing we needed.  Since we had just exited Soarin’, we were already in The Land when I remembered some website singing the praises of the chocolate croissant at Sunshine Seasons.  Why not just see what all the hullabaloo was about, hmmmm?

Off we went to the self-service bakery selection section and picked out our snack.  I was skeptical.  Too often when I want some baked good to actually taste as good as it looks, it lets me down.  I end up being disappointed by an attractive bit of dry, tasteless, stale garbage.  Whoa!  Hold on!  In the picture, you will notice there’s a bite missing from the croissant – I wasn’t going to take its picture if it didn’t taste absolutely delicious, but it DID!  It was great!  Fresh and buttery, not too sweet, flaky without being dry – genuine chocolaty goodness!  People, we had a winner!!! 

So, go getcha one next time you’re there.  If you don’t like it, come right back here and fuss at me about it…but I’ll bet you love it as much as I did.

What’s your favorite snack at Disney World? 

 

Epcot’s Canada – Le Cellier’s Cheddar Cheese Soup

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 O’ Canada!  What a great Epcot pavilion.  Not just because of the Canadian Beer kiosk out front (Molson or Moosehead, anyone?), or “Off Kilter” the kilt-sporting band that provides “Celtic rock” entertainment (who doesn’t love a bunch of guys in kilts?).  No, it doesn’t have a ride (like Mexico or Norway) or a cool department store (Japan), but it does have Le Cellier Steakhouse.  Scoring a reservation to this cozy (read:  small) table service restaurant takes luck, flexibility and serious planning!  Even at 180 days out, you’ve got to be willing to take what you can get and plan the day around it.

Le Cellier (The Cellar) is designed as a dine-in wine cellar.  Think exposed beams and stone arches.  It’s dark, it’s romantic, and lit by softly glowing candles and chandeliers, serves upIMG_3006 some delicious steaks.  What people really talk about though, is the soup.  The cheddar cheese (with beer) soup is wildly popular – Le Cellier’s signature dish!  We order it every time we go…it’s served with breadsticks and is practically a meal on its own.

As I mentioned last Saturday, the cooler weather has brought on serious soup cravings.  I want Le Cellier’s cheddar cheese soup!  Well….since I’m not going to Disney World, I’ll just have to bring a little Disney World to me and find the recipe!  I started at my premier choice for IMG_2089all Disney food info – The Disney Food Blog.  Eureka!  Sure enough, it was right here.  In the Chef BigFatPanda’s DIY Disney Column.  So, basically 11 ingredients (I’m not counting salt, pepper, or the chive garnish since I – gasp – changed the garnish). 

I like to cook and I cook a lot.  I don’t bake much (yes, there’s a difference between cooking and baking) because my sweet tooth is nearly non-existent and baking generallyIMG_2090 takes more precision with measurements (not my thing).  This recipe was fairly easy.  I served it with a spinach salad (dried cranberries, toasted pecans, feta, balsamic vinaigrette) and some French bread.  Raymond took me shopping and out to lunch today (for my birthday), so soup for supper was just the ticket.  Megan and Grant (her boyfriend of 3 years) joined us for dinner – Megan brought the birthday cake (Thanks, sweetie).  Only drawback was missing Joseph (Expand your mind, Sonny, I’ll see you on Thanksgiving break), but what a great meal (and good company) to end a wonderful day.

IMG_2091How do you bring Disney World to YOU? 

The Creatures of Disney World

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Joe's Animals 2

Squirrel at Home, Moth in Key West, Raccoon at Home.

Little Back Story:

Before I delve right on into today’s post topic.  I need to give you some background info on the youngest member of The Fam, Joseph. He was, like many a boy-child born here in the Sportsman’s Paradise, a big fan of catching and studying all manner of creepy-crawly things.  Almost from birth.  We implemented a catch-and-release rule at our house by the time he was five.  We did allow a few pets and over the years Joseph cared for dogs, cats, pet rats, a gecko, a hairless guinea pig named Rufus (oh, just imagine how cute! No.), and some mail-order larvae that, thankfully, did turn into butterflies.  The rest of Joseph’s animals just came for a visit and then moved on.  That list included many snakes, skinks, and lizards, one baby possum, a baby rabbit, a baby raccoon, a flying squirrel, and an enormous garden spider named Mildred that lived outside our dining room window (Joseph tossed bugs into her web and she lived there for five months).  Joseph!  If you are reading this, call your parents!  (Sorry, empty nesting is HARD!)  Back to my post.

Here’s the Disney part: 

Animals at WDW

Bunny: Epcot, Ducks: Magic Kingdom, Lizard: Studios

What Joe’s awesome animal finding skills mean for us when we’re on vacation at Disney World is that, if there’s a creature or critter around, Joseph’s going to spot it.  Duck and baby ducklings at Magic Kingdom?  Joseph will point them out.  Lizard on a tombstone at The Haunted Mansion?  Joseph will see it.  Bunny in Epcot?  You bet Joe will show it to you.  All that is, and was, just fine.  Until one day at the China pavilion in Epcot.  Our darling boy, with no advance warning whatsoever, reached into the carefully manicured landscaping and pulled out a snake.

SNAKE!

SNAKE! Epcot China Pavilion

Genuinely concerned about the snake’s well-being, Joseph began looking around for an Epcot Cast Member he could give the snake to-hoping it could be safely moved from such a high-traffic area.  I was freaking out – not about the snake itself, I was used to that (at least it wasn’t poisonous this time)- I just knew there was pretty much no chance at all that any Cast Member would be willing to take that snake off Joseph’s hands.  So I began quietly trying to talk him into putting the snake back where he found it.  I took a few pictures (and noticed a few random strangers doing the same), and continued to coax Joseph – I argued that the snake looked like it would be just fine if only Joseph would PUT IT BACK!  Took me a few minutes, but finally Joseph decided that it did indeed look healthy enough and he gently sent it on its way up the same tree below which the snake had been found.  Whew.  We resumed our vacation with no further reptile encounters. 

What’s your most unusual animal encounter at Disney World?

 

Saturday Salute – Beers of Epcot

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IMG_3008Let’s talk beer for a minute.  I follow the blog of a great guy, Nicholas (and his wife, Barbie), over at Disney Musings.  Nick likes beer – possibly even more than Raymond and I do (I know, right?).  Nick recently posted an article I really enjoyed at Tips from the Disney Divas and Devos about this year’s Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.  He also reviewed an app recently at Disney Musings called Beers and Ears:  The Beers of Walt Disney World.  What?  We LOVE the beers at Disney World – there’s an app for that?  Who knew?!?!  Thanks, Nick!  You’ve provided us with our Saturday Salute for this evening.  Beers and Ears is also a terrific blog – check it out here.

Ladies and Gentlemen.  Today’s Saturday Salute.  I bring you two beers that can be found at Disney World (and in the wilds of Louisiana and maybe at a liquor store near you)…

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale – per my brand new FREE Beers and Ears app:  “Torpedo is currently on the standard Walt Disney World bar menu and can be found at most table service and lounge locations.  It’s definitely one of the best beers on that menu, which makes it a good choice when you’re at a location with the shared menu and not much else.”

Kirin Ichiban – Currently found in the Japan Pavilion of Epcot’s World Showcase – also available at many other locations throughout Disney World.

So we’re going to go enjoy our adult beverages now while watching our newly purchased Monsters University DVD.  Together.  In our empty nest.  Our Disney Life is good!

Oh, BTW – my fist article writing as Darlin’ Diva for Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos ran today.  It’s on the importance of planning for your Disney World vacation  Please go check it out if you haven’t yet had the chance and let me know what you think.  Thanks!