Epcot Day 2

 

We headed to Epcot at 11 AM. We once again used Lyft to take us to the Boardwalk and we walked from there.   There were a few snacks we wanted to have today. First was escargot from France. I remember this from the very first time I went to the Food and Wine festival many, many years ago.  It's changed a bit since I last had it.  It used to be three smaller brioche buns, each with escargot in a garlicky sauce.  Now it is a single, somewhat larger brioche with multiple escargot and sauce.  We liked it but thought the prior version was better. Next was an Impossible slider with Montreal seasoning. This had some great flavor and was delicious.  

It was much warmer today than on Friday so we desperately needed some air conditioning.   Good thing WDW has some indoor rides!!   We headed over to The Land. There was a posted twenty five minute wait for Livin' With The Land so we got in line.  It ended up only being ten minutes!!  They've made some good changes to the rise, mostly in the greenhouses.   Next we got in line for one of Angie's favorites: Soarin!!  This had a posted sixty five minute wait.  But it was going to be an air conditioned wait!!   We got lucky as we got near to where they stage you for the attraction.  They were asking for single riders so we took them up on the opportunity!!  Saved us at least ten minutes. Great ride as usual and you could "smell the smells".  If you know you know. 

Next it was lunchtime at Space 220. As it sounds, this is a circus themed restaurant.  Just kidding.  It's of course space themed.  No spoilers.   The restaurant space and how you get there is very well done. And a great meal of burrata, tuna tartare, roasted brined chicken and shrimp pad Thai.

At 2:46, I got notification that it was time for my virtual queue on Cosmic Rewind!!   We finished lunch at 3:30 and I headed there.  It's an interesting pre-show. As with most rides of that nature, you're being brought in to see or test something.  And then something goes terribly wrong!!  How will we get back?  Who will help us?  I think you know. It's a well done inside coaster. Similar to Aerosmith's Rock and Roller coaster except there are no inversions.  Instead of inversions, your car spins many times to capture the action around you. So if you don't like spinning, this won't be the attraction for you.  It's a high speed version of Cobra's Curse at Busch Gardens Tampa.  We ended the night back at the resort with snacks and music. 

 

Epcot Food and Wine Fest

 We arrived at Epcot about 10:30 and got right into the snacking game with some pumpkin ravioli, Duck Bao Bun and Raclette!!  Then lunch at Spice Road Table, one of my favorites.  Hummus fries, spicy shrimp and fried cauliflower. Hard to pick a favorite but I'd have to go with the cauliflower. It perfectly fried and tossed in an orangy sauce similar to what they use on Genera Tsos Chicken.  Then we experienced the Remy ride. It's a tamer version of the Spiderman ride at Universal Islands of Adventure.  

After lunch, we headed to Brew-Wing which was at the Odyssey venue.  They had it set up a Muppet Labs, featuring frequent video segments from Beaker and Dr Benson Honeydew. 

The food and beverages were all "experiments".   We had a beverage flight of 3 Daughters Pickle Seltzer, Keel Farms Elderberry Serrano Cider and Coppertail Brewing Smoked Lager.  All really good.  The pickle seltzer was my favorite. Also tried some peanut butter and jelly wings which reminded me of the childhood classic sandwich. 

 After our snack and libations, it was time for some live music. We saw Bodh'aktan perform a short set of what I'd call Celtic and Canadian rock at the Canada pavilion.  Then we headed to the UK and saw an English rock tribute band.  Both entertaining.  We then boarded the Friendship boat to the Swan hotel for our dinner at Mediterranean restaurant Amare. 

We started with the most delicious octopus we had ever eaten.  And we have had it many times over our travels.  This has been sous vied and then slightly grilled. It was buttery tender like the best Maine lobster tail!!  For mains we had sea bass filets and a romesco chicken.  The sea bass had been wrapped in parchment paper with kale, olives, potato, garlic and other herbs and then roasted.  Served with an optional beurre Blanc sauce!!  Certainly one of the best pieces of fish I've ever had. The chicken was also tasty with both breast and thigh on top of the spicy romesco. What a great dinner. I highly recommend this place. It's located in the relatively new Disney Swan Reserve hotel. They have an interesting wine list as well as over fifty bourbons!!

After dinner we took a Lyft back to Port Orleans. If your budget allows, I suggest using ride shares at WDW. Especially if your hotel has multiple bus stops like Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach. While the buses can be convenient, the multiple stops delay your leaving the resort and returning. 

Disney World Adventure Part 1

 

We made it to Florida!!  First non-stop Southwest flight of the day from IND to MCO. Took off on time and surprisingly a smooth flight.  We made it over to Port Orleans Riverside by 11 and our room was ready!!

Delicious lunch at Wine Bar George of creamy chipotle hummus, meatballs over cheesy, creamy polenta and black mussels in an onion broth with crispy chipotle!! 

  And of course some wonderful wines from their list of 132!!  I went with a  Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  Angie had a Cabernet Franc Rose. We went to Jock Lindsey's for a cocktail, Boathouse for some oysters and Morimoto Asia for dinner. 

Morimoto has some delicious highballs.  Light and refreshing. We tried The Forbidden and The Forsaken.  Both very good with our starters of lemongrass chicken dumplings and BBQ ribs.  Great use of the lemongrass in the dumplings.  Not overpowering.  And those ribs.   I think they were first braised until tender and then flash fried to add some crunch.  Then tossed in a sticky sauce.   I think they are the best pork ribs I have ever had.  We each had a delicious ramen bowl for our main. Angie had the short rib and I went with duck.

 The weather is typical Florida humid.   Just a bit of a breeze.  Rained on the ride share from the airport but no rain at the moment. 

9.3.22 Disney Fantasy

 We couldn't resist a reduced rate sailing on the Disney Fantasy. We were both very curious that it would like as adults. The evening meals were much better than we remembered and we really enjoyed the experience at both specialty restaurants. 

4.29.16 - 5.2.16 A Disney World Dance Competition

We headed over to Disney World since our friend Beth's daughter was performing in a national dance competition.

Friday night we headed over the Hollywood Studios to grab a ride on Toy Story Mania - I got my best score yet. We had a nice dinner at Brown Derby.

We stayed at Old Key West for the first. The room was nice. The property is really spread out which made it difficult to manage without a car.

Saturday, we spent the first part of the day with the Bells at their resort. Then we headed over to Epcot early to have a late lunch at Garden Grill. We really enjoyed the experience.

Delaney did a great job at the dance competition, but her team didn't advance to the next day. We were so happy we got to see her perform.

Sunday we headed over the Magic Kingdom early. Glenn got to check something off his Disney World Bucket List: Riding the trolley down Main Street. If you get to the Parks before 10 am, they have this old time trollies that give free rides to the Castle.

We tried the new Skipper Canteen. The menu is exotic with Asian and African flavors. We really liked it.

Skipper Canteen

Steak Salad

I forget the name, but this was basically mac and cheese with meat.

The big highlight of the weekend came after lunch when I finally beat Glenn's score on the Buzz Lightyear ride. It was a big moment with an epic photo bomb.

On Wednesday, I got the change to meet the girls in Clearwater. It was pouring rain. The kids swam in the pool while we camped out in the hot tub. The weather cleared in time or sunset.

2.5.16 - 2.7.16 Disney World

This trip we tried a few things we haven't done in a while or before:

We stayed at Boardwalk Inn for the first time.

Country Bear Jamboree

Character dance party at Hollywood Studios followed by the Star Wars fireworks

Lunch at Nine Dragons in China at Epcot

Dinner at the Yachtman's Steakhouse

Brunch at California Grill

11.6.15 - 11.8.15 Universal Studios

November is such a fun time to head over to Universal Studios since the crowds are lower. On Friday night, we went to Hollywood Studios to meet up with Laurie and Kate and attend the Dessert Party for the last season of the Osburne Dancing Lights. It was a great way to send off this amazing light show. Then we headed over to Universal Studios. We stayed at the Royal Pacific and did our regular route of rides and attractions. We tried Emeril's Tchoup Chop and the food was fantastic. We also found our way up to the bridge over the entrance to Islands of Adventure - a little trick Glenn had read about online. Super fun!

 On

10.30.15 - 11.1.15 Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic

My parents met Glenn and I over at Disney World to enjoy the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic. We love this event. Disney has some great restaurants and we like the live band with all the different wine options.  We ate at Sanaa, Flying Fish, bluezoo, and Raglan Road. We also attended a great wine blending seminar. We even fit in a little mini-golf.

9.16.15 - 9.20.15 Disney World

Glenn and I decided to take a longer trip to Disney World to see the new attractions and enjoy some of the great restaurants. We had a blast.  We spent one night in the family suites at Art of Animation and then moved over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge is like staying in a zoo.

We spent the 5 days exploring new attractions and restaurants:

Character Meet and Greet at  Animal Kingdom

Eating at the Sushi Counter at California Grill

Cocktails at the new Boathouse

Character Meet and Greet at Epcot

Enjoying the new Moroccan Spice Table restaurant at Epcot

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Polynesian resort

Disney Junior Breakfast at Hollywood Studios

July 19th - July 20th: Tables in Wonderland Epcot Food and Wine Preview

Saturday we headed over to Pop Century to check in and enjoy the pool before we headed to Epcot for the Food and Wine Preview dinner. It was a hot! day. 

Then it was time to head over to the dinner. We checked in early and had about an hour to wait so we headed over to Canada to enjoy the air conditioning for about half an hour and then went to see the movie. It was perfect timing since we walked right in when we got back to the event location. 

The event was located in a secret pavilion you can access between Canada and United Kingdom. 

The event was beautiful! I loved all the chandeliers and decorations. 

Here was the menu:

 Buffet Reception

Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

South Africa Bobotie with Turkey and Mushrooms - I really enjoyed this spicy quiche-like treat 

Scotland Sea Scallop with Spinach Cheddar Gratin and Crispy Bacon - The line was 30 minutes long as we skipped it. 

Puerto Rico Sweet Corn Sorullitos with Mayo Ketchup - This was my favorite appetizer. I loved the presentation with the dropper of mayo ketchup. 

Terra “CraB’less CraB Cake”, Pepper Slaw and Cajun Remoulade featuring Gardein™ - This was the offering from the Vegan stand at Epcot food and wine. I thought the slaw and the sauce was good, but it really didn't taste much like crab. 

Farm Fresh Nueske’s Pepper Bacon Hash with Sweet Corn, Potatoes, Hollandaise and pickled Jalapeños - I really liked this hash. It had a fair amount of spice because of the pickled jalapenos. 

Cocktails 

Aulani Sunset featuring Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum - This cocktail had a little too much pineapple for my taste. 

Paperboy Red - This is an interesting red because the "bottle" is actually a plastic bag wrapped in heavy duty cardboard. The wine wasn't my favorite - but the packaging was cool. 

The Great American Wine Company, Chardonnay - I really enjoyed this wine! 

Domaine Chandon, Brut Sparkling Blanc de Noir - The sparkling wine was terrific! 

Duke’s Cold Nose Brown Ale, Bold City Brewery, Jacksonville, FL - One of my favorite brown ales! 

 Plated Dinner

We moved to the large room for the plated dinner. 

Greece Course

Vegetarian Moussaka - The clove on this was far too heavy. We could only eat it when we paired it with the surprise beer of the night: MMMM Hop. Yes, it is by those famous Hanson brothers. 

Patagonia Course

Roasted Verlasso Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimi Churri - This was my favorite course of hte night. Everything was delicious! 

Puerto Rico Course

“Carne Guisada con Arroz Blanco” Slow Braised Beef with Puerto Rican Grown Rice - I didn't get a photo of this dish. It was good, but could have used more sauce. 

Paired with Medalla Light Beer or Sangriiia Cocktail

Dessert Trio

Hops and Barley Fresh Baked Carrot Cake with Craisins® and Cream Cheese Icing

Refreshment Port Croissant Doughnut

Bean to the Bar Warm Drinking Chocolate

Paired with Rosa Regale

This course was fantastic! Everything was so good! Overall, we really enjoyed the dinner. The service could have been better and the pairings didn't always match up. We would definitely go again next year if they have it. 

On Sunday, we decided to stop by Two Henry's Brewing on way home. We really liked their beer at the Beer and Loathing event. 

I was impressed with all their beer. I think we'll definitely be going back there!