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! 

12.19.11 Disney Tables in Wonderland Holiday Party

Saturday morning we hit the road for Disney. We pulled into the Coronado Springs and I was very impressed. It really looks like Mexico! I loved the pools and the lakes.

Our room was very nice.

We had a quick snack and then headed out to Epcot. This trip to Epcot I wanted to try out the Kim Possible Adventure. You sign up to receive a cell phone that gives you clues you have to find in one of the countries. Once you find one clue, you get the next one. Each adventure takes about 30 minutes and is filled with fun surprises. We headed off to Japan for our mission. It was so much fun! I am looking forward to doing more of them as we visit in the future. We only had time for one because we needed to get to our Tables in Wonderland Dinner.

Tables in Wonderland is a program at Disney where you pay an annual fee and get a 20% discount at the sit down restaurants plus they offer special dinners and events throughout the year. The Holiday Party was the first dinner we had been able to attend. It was a five course dinner with wine in the Lounge at Norway. The group met outside Norway and was escorted through a secret door up to the Lounge. We had champagne and appetizers. The appetizers included Seared tuna app that was very good.

The First course was a salad inspired by New Zealand.

 I am not usually impressed by salads, but I thought this one was very very good.

Second course was a California inspired zucchini roll up.

 Third course was braised short ribs from Argentina with yucca and corn on the cob.

All the food was very good .The only thing that missed the mark was the dessert.

 It was meant to be a grapefruit crème brulee but the burnt sugar on the top didn’t really come together. I did really like how the dessert serving dish matched the appetizer dish. After our great meal, we were escorted to our seats at the Candlelight Processional. The Candlelight Processional is my favorite show that Disney does. It is amazing. Guest narrators read the Christmas story while a full orchestra and choir sing traditional holiday songs.

After the Processional, we were escorted to a special roped off area to watch the Epcot night show. I have never been able to see it from a good spot before and it was awesome. Because it was the holidays, the end included an extra special fireworks show that knocked our socks off.

  We headed back to Coronado Springs. This hotel is one of the few on Disney property that have a “nightclub” - Rix Lounge.

We wanted to have a nightcap. The club was pretty much empty, but the bartender was a jerk so we were one and done. It was a great night and we had a nice walk back to the room.

In the morning, we tried to go the buffet at the hotel for breakfast, but it was slammed so we just headed out and had our usual breakfast at Crackle Barrel. Overall – a fantastic experience . We are looking forward to future Tables in Wonderland Events.