EPCOT: Food & Wine Festival 2015

   Many Disney fanatics refer to it as "The best time of the year".  I can't argue with that.  This year was the 20th annual Epcot Food & Wine Festival, and it was a smashing success.  Held from Sept. 25 - Nov. 16, this year's festival was the longest, running 52 days, and featuring over 30 different food booths, plus carts with special festival offerings, 22 different acts featured at the "Eat to the Beat" concert series, special festival merchandise, passholder festival merchandise, seminars featuring guest chefs, colorful displays and topiaries, and so much more.

   We did our first festival in 2012 and were hooked.  Having to wait 3 years for our next visit to the Epcot F & W fest, we planned for a stay that would include 5 days of visits to Epcot for the big event.  We read blogs and watched videos to prepare ourselves and make up a list of  "must taste" items.

The Festival Center 

Our first stop

   Our first stop was at the Festival Center which is located in the original Wonders of Life Pavilion.  The domed building that once housed the popular Body Wars simulator ride.  Here you can pick up your festival "Passport" which is a great little guide as well as a very informative tool with listings of what's available at the food booths and lots of other information about the goings on.  It makes for a nice little souvenir too.

A Handy little tool

Inside the booklet are listings of the food and drinks they offer and a place to get a stamp at each booth.  Just ask them when ordering and they will happily stamp your passport.  We had fun getting every booth and cart stamped in our booklets, and then going to the festival center for the "completion stamp".  It also has boxes by each item where you can check off what you tried during your visit(s).  We were very glad that we grabbed our passports early, because by the 3rd day of our tour, some of the guests we talked with asked us where we got ours, and said they could not find them anywhere.  They were becoming scarce towards the end of the festival's run.  The Festival Center itself is a nice place to just relax and take in the atmosphere.  There are lots of festival items available for purchase, and a little theater which was running a continuous film about the making of the festival.  One thing I think everyone should check out is Ghirardelli's display of beautiful sculptures made completely of chocolate!

The Avengers assemble  (in chocolate!)

 You can also get a free sample of Ghirardelli chocolate as you walk out of the exhibit.  There is also the Intermissions Cafe which features sandwiches, snacks and beverages if you're a little hungry or thirsty.  It's always fun just being inside the pavilion building and remembering back when this was one of Epcot's future world pavilions.

Carl's house from "UP" (in chocolate!)

The Festival Booths 

 

   Now we come to "The Main Event", the booths are located mostly around Epcot's World Showcase, but new this year were a couple of booths in the Future World area.  Our first booth of the trip was The Dominican Republic which featured one of our favorite items: "Pescado con Coco"  which was a pan seared grouper in a coconut sauce.

Pescado con Coco & Caramel Flan with Rum Roasted Pineapple

The Dominican Republic booth was a beautiful setting

   Crowds were not too heavy during weekdays, and even on the weekend they were very manageable for most of the afternoon.  We ate something light in the room, and then made the festival booths our lunch for the day.  We wandered around hitting booth after booth and enjoying treats from around the world.  

Here are a few of our favorites:

AUSTRALIA: Grilled Lamb Chop w/ Mint Pesto

BRAZIL: "Escondidinho de Carne" (Layered Meat Pie w/ mashed Yucca) and The Brazilian Cheese Bread

NEW ZEALAND: Seared Venison Loin & Lamb Meatball w/ Spicy Tomato Chutney

HAWAII: Pulled Pork Slider w/ Sweet & Sour Pineapple Chutney

ITALY: Filetto di Pollo w/ Marsala Sauce & Ciabatta Bread

FRANCE: Beef Bourguinon in Cabernet sauce w/ mashed potatoes

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Desserts 

   There were some great desserts this year too.  My personal favorite was at the Scotland booth - "The Tipsy Laird" which is a Whiskey soaked Lemon cake with Cream and Toasted Oats.  

Scotland's "Tipsy Laird"

   Some of the others were:

DESSERTS & CHAMPAGNE: "Chocolate Cherry Explosion"

CHEW LAB: Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle

IRELAND: Warm Chocolate Pudding w/ Kerrygold Irish Cream Custard

SOUTH KOREA: Soju Banana Milkshake w/ Ginger Soother

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The Favorite Booth of the Festival  

   There was not a single booth that we did not enjoy, but we agreed on our favorite booth of the festival and it was a bit of a surprise.  With all of the exotic foods offered, rich and tasty treats from different parts of the world, you would think that it would be something else, but I guess our simple palates just couldn't stray far from home.  The favored booth for both of us was the "Farm Fresh" booth!  The "Griddled Yard Bird" (Grilled Chicken Breast w/ Braised Greens & Habanero Sauce), and "Loaded Mac n' Cheese" (w/ Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers, & Green Onions) stole the show!

Who'd-a-thunk it?  Farm Fresh was our favorite booth for 2015

"Griddled Yard Bird"

"Loaded Mac 'n' Cheese"

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Favorite Pairing of the Festival 

Each booth features a "Pairing" in which Disney's food experts will match an entree with a beverage.  Our budget didn't allow us to try every pairing, but of those that we did try, my personal favorite was the Poland booth's pairing of a Sauerkraut Perogi w/ Pork Goulash, and the Donausonne Blaufaenkisch Hungarian Wine.

Disney Fountain of Youth's favorite pairing of 2015 - Poland

Eat to the Beat Concert Series 

   One of the great things about Epcot's Food & Wine Festival is the concert series.  22 great acts performed this year including (just to name a few): 

• CHRISTOPHER CROSS
• THE POINTER SISTERS
• .38 SPECIAL
• RICK SPRINGFIELD
• EVERCLEAR
• BOYS II MEN
• SISTER HAZEL
• CHAKA KHAN

   The concerts are included with your days admission to Epcot, and are performed 3 times each evening at the outdoor Americas Gardens Theater right on the water of World Showcase Lagoon.  A beautiful setting for a concert.
   
   Because of flight delays arriving, we missed SISTER HAZEL, but we were able to catch 2 of the concerts:

BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY 

BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY: This Southern Cal Swing Band tore it up, and made us instant fans!

What a night with "Big Bad Voodoo Daddy"!

and we ended the trip with...

HANSON 

HANSON: They don't "look like girls" anymore, and really rocked the house!

Check out this video from our evening:

Hanson's opening song 

I never dreamed, in a million years, that I'd attend a Hanson Concert... and LOVE IT!

The Wild Side of Disney 

   One thing that we learned from this year's Festival is that night time brings on a whole different atmosphere to the event.  If you are looking for a "wilder" atmosphere from a Disney park, just head on over to Epcot during the Food & Wine Festival after dark.  The crowds seemed to triple from the afternoons, and the loud talking set invaded World Showcase.

A Special time for Epcot 

   The sights around Epcot during the Festival are beautiful.  Special Topiaries and displays celebrating the event are all around the park, and they are both colorful and enjoyable.  Making for some great picture taking opportunities. 

The Cranberry Bog

   And other special things like The Cranberry Bog - right there in the middle of the walkway heading from Future World to World Showcase.  With a Cranberry farmer in waders there to answer questions about the fruit, and a stand off to the side where you can get all of the free craisins you want!

Craisins anyone?

   And the old Odyssey restaurant building transforms into the Craft Beer Pavilion during the festival.  You can sample different beers from local Florida small breweries. 

Beer Flights from around Florida

The old Odyssey Restaurant transforms into the Craft Beer Pavilion at Festival Time

 And for Annual Passholders, there are special merchandise available for purchase, as well as a free commemorative Glass from the Festival for AP holders that attend the event 3 days - getting their passports stamped 3 times (once each day) at the Innoventions West Pavilion

Overall, this really is the best time of the year for this old guy.  It's an event that involves all of your senses, and is something to look forward to each year.  There are new booths to try every year, and most of the old favorites return.

Great Annual Passholder merchandise available

Thanks for coming along on this tour of the 2015 Epcot Food & Wine Festival.  Hope to see you there one day!

WHEN "NEW FANTASYLAND" WAS NEW!

It can't be true, but it is!  The Magic Kingdom's "New Fantasyland" has been around for a couple of  years now.

   It seems like yesterday when we received an invitation to attend a soft opening event for the New Fantasyland.  We were excited and honored to get to preview the newest addition to Walt Disney World.

We almost blew it!
   We had visited the Magic Kingdom the day before the preview.  While we took a break to rest on a bench somewhere near "City Hall" in the Main Street USA area, I managed to leave my folder with all of our trip plans AND the printed invitation for the New Fantasyland preview!  I didn't realize what I had done until we got back to our room that evening (A Royal room at Port Orleans Riverside).

We didn't get lost, but the signs were helpful

   We went back the next day (preview day), and went straight to guest relations to explain what had happened.  The Cast Members were sympathetic and understanding, and were able to get us 2 wrist bands so that we could attend the event.  Ahh.... Disney Magic!

The wrist bands made us feel like "VIP's"!

Be Our Guest Restaurant 
 The first thing we wanted to see was The Beast's Castle and The Be Our Guest Restaurant.  They weren't serving lunch or dinners yet, but they were allowing guests to tour the place.  It was impressive, and we looked forward to eating there.

I like this place already

The Entry way was very regal

The main ballroom is very large, and quite stunning

This guy looks a little worried about the crowds Be Our Guest Restaurant will attract!

Under the Sea: The Journey of the Little Mermaid

The Journey of the little mermaid was open, and was another beautiful attraction.  We got in line and again, we were very impressed with it's design.

Prince Eric's Castle is cool!

Oh man, I LOVE Waterfalls!

It is a great ride.  A really well done addition to The Magic Kingdom's lineup.  There are lots of details to enjoy from the moment you get into the line, all the way through the winding queue, through the ride itself, and even the exit is really well done.


























Story Book Circus area
   The Story Book Circus area of New Fantasyland had already been open, and we got to enjoy the "Double Dumbo" ride, as well as the Casey Jr. Splash n' Soak, The Great Goofini, and the new Train Station.

The new "Double Dumbo" is a winner!

If you haven't been to BIG TOP SOUVENIRS - You're missing a fun place with some great snacks!

It is a great part of the New Fantasyland area, and adds a lot of color and fun to The Magic Kingdom.

Enchanted Tales with Belle

   I wasn't too sure about this attraction, but knew I HAD to scout it out for future trips with our Granddaughter, and at the time, we didn't know we'd soon have 2 Granddaughters to bring for future WDW trips.

We did the attraction and were just blown away by the whole experience!

Grandma & Grandpa were pretty amazed

It's not a ride, but it's more than a show!

An unexpected favorite
   My personal, and very unexpected, surprise of the whole tour was Gaston's Tavern.  The little eatery was great.  Serving a Pork Shank... A PORK SHANK!  A HUNK OF MEAT ON A BONE!  That's what Grandpa Dan's talkin' about!

"Grandpa Dan food"!

   The imagineers did a great job with this place.  I've never even seen the whole movie, but I enjoyed hanging out here.  A Pork Shank, a LeFou's Brew, and a giant Cinnamon Roll made me very, very happy! (Don't worry - I shared it with Grandma!)

It makes me want to see the movie!

All of the nice touches

The Beast's castle in the background

   I think what impressed me the most was just the way it all turned out.  It's not a land filled with attractions, but the design, the feel of this section of Fantasyland is enjoyable, almost comforting.

"Le Toilettes"

And there was more to come! 

   The main event was still being worked on as we toured.  The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was nothing but steel and concrete, partially hidden behind construction walls, but plenty of rails in sight to cause lots of excitement and anticipation.

We could only imagine what this ride would be like when it's finished!

It was an amazing day
   After making the rounds a few times, we were pleased with the way things turned out.  Knowing that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride would probably be ready for us when we returned to WDW's Magic Kingdom kept the anticipation going.  Now, a couple of years later, New Fantasyland isn't such a big deal to most WDW fans.

Happy "Sneak Previewers"

   It's not a mystery to anyone anymore.  But we will long remember how we felt like special invited guests to get that sneak preview!

A JOYOUS NIGHT AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM!

   I've had some great moments in my life.  Memorable events that will be recalled with pleasure often.  Of course most of them are family and spiritually oriented, but of all kinds of events, the Night of Joy 2014 will be high on my list of great  memories!  It actually combines "family" and "spiritual"!

   We bought tickets for the event in 2009, I was ready to see P.O.D. in concert, but when I came down with an illness (that didn't last long), we decided to skip it and stay in our room so that I could recover.  I missed seeing P.O.D. (at Disney Hollywood Studios that year), but looking back it did turn out to be for the best as I was able to recover, and go on to have a great vacation with my Wife.

   In 2011 we returned and attended the hard ticket event on one of the nights, enjoying a performance by Francesca Battistelli with 2 of our dearest friends.  It was a wonderful night, and left us saying that we wanted to do another WDW Night of Joy!

   When we saw the lineup for the 2014 event, we HAD to go, and we really wanted to attend both nights.  We purchased the tickets for Saturday night only, since Friday would be our travel and arrival day, we weren't sure if we'd have the energy to attend Friday's show.

   Even though Chris Tomlin, and "For King & Country" were performing on Friday, we were tired and decided to just use our fastpass+ for the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride before heading out of the park and resting up for the start of another WDW adventure.

   The way it works is you buy the separate tickets for the event, and can enter the park for the event a few hours before the scheduled start time, even though the event was "officially" scheduled for a 7:30pm start, those holding event tickets were allowed to enter at about 4:00pm.  They close the park to the general day guests, and you need the special wrist bands to remain in the park for the special events and rides.

The 2014 night of joy wristband for Sat. night

   After spending the day at Epcot, we went back to our room at Old Key West and rested a bit before getting ready for the big night.  As we were leaving Epcot, the clouds were rolling in, and the rain began.  It turned into a monster Thunderstorm, and it didn't look good for our chances.  We waited it out thinking that we may not leave the room that night, but as the storm started to let up, we grabbed our rain ponchos and headed out to the disney bus stop. It seems that we weren't the only ones who were determined to wait out the storm and head to the Magic Kingdom that night as the buses were pretty full!

Saturday's awesome lineup

   As we arrived there was a light rain falling, but it started to let up and eventually stopped just as we found a spot right behind the "Partners Statue" (you know, The bronze of Walt Disney holding Mickey Mouse's hand).  There are no seats for these events, yes, you have to stand for each performance, but honestly, once the music started, we forgot all about standing.

                    THE SETUP                 

   The setup is 3 different stages - The Castle stage, The Galaxy stage, and The Rocketeer Plaza stage.  3 or 4 different groups or performers play at different times for each stage.  Last time we saw Francesca Battistelli at the Galaxy stage in tomorrowland.  This time we saw MercyMe, Phil Perry, and Casting Crowns all at the Castle forecourt stage in the hub area between Main Street USA and Cinderella's castle.

Make sure you grab an event map when you enter the park!

   Since many of them are performing at the same time, you have to pick who you want to see and make plans to be at that stage at the right time. We had a hard time deciding between Colton Dixon (7:30 pm - Galaxy stage) or Mercy Me (7:40 pm - Castle stage), we decided to see MercyMe and then just stay put for Casting Crowns at 9:50 pm with Phil Perry doing a short set at 9:30 pm between bands.  That way we didn't have to leave the area and could see both of these awesome bands!

   Most of the rides, shops, and eateries are open so there is plenty for everyone to see and do all night long.  The park remained open until 1:00 am.

We were very happy with the viewing spot we found to start the evening

           THE MUSIC                        

   MercyMe took the stage and were great, playing many of their hits including "I can only imagine" & "Move".  There was a special moment when the lead singer announced that they had some special guest playing in their horn section, among them was Dan Michaels of Christian Rock group - The Choir.  The reason this was special for me is that the lead singer and guitarist of The Choir is Derri Daugherty who my Wife and I went to High School with, and I played bass guitar in a band with Derri in the late 1970's.  And now here we were at a concert, in front of the castle, at Walt Disney World with a very tiny but still special connection to the show!  It was cool as night fell and the day changed to night.  The atmosphere was fantastic with everyone around us really getting into the music and enjoying the short testimonies given between songs.

Clip of: MercyMe's performance at 2014 Night of Joy

Casting Crowns  Was just AWESOME!  What a performance, song after hit song.  We enjoyed singing along with just about every song.  We found a fence to lean against for their performance, and that really helped since we ended up standing for a few hours.

Casting Crowns just floored us!  What a night!

The skies remained dry for the entire performance.
I remember just standing there looking out at the entire scene with the music filling the air, just thinking, "Wow, I just can't believe this night!"

Looking back towards Main Street between sets

Waiting for Casting Crowns to start.

Video clip of Casting crown's performance

We enjoyed hearing Phil Perry who is a new talent on the Contemporary Christian Music scene, and he played solo on keyboard between MercyMe & Casting Crowns.  His gospel style was a nice touch to the evening!

              The EVENING OVERALL                               

We heard stories of rowdy teenagers running rampant during these events, but we've been to two of them now, and haven't encountered anything like that.  Maybe that's just happening at the rides, or maybe we've just been lucky, but we felt surrounded by fellow believers with lots of local church youth groups and such.  After Casting Crowns finished, we were just glowing.  We headed to the Tomorrowland Terrace where everyone was buzzing about the performance.  The younger set were getting amped up for Skillet to take the Castle stage.  We grabbed some Night of Joy 2014 T-Shirts, and a pin, and then grabbed some Mickey Premium ice cream bars and just sat back and looked out at the scene before boarding the bus back to Old Key West.  We were in contact with our Daughter back home, where she and her family watched some of the performances on a stream that Disney provided.  She said they really enjoyed it and would love to attend some day.

   It was one of the absolute highlights of our Disney trips and we will be back for another one some day.  It was "a joyous night" indeed!







  
  

GRAD NITE AT DISNEYLAND... 1977!

I was looking through some old photo albums, and I couldn't believe what I found.  It was the ticket from my 1977 visit to Disneyland and "Grad Nite"!

Disneyland Grad Nite 1977 Ticket

ABOUT 37 YEARS AGO!  I took my "Girlfriend" to that event.  Now we've been married nearly 36 years!

   I honestly don't remember too much about that night.  I know that we went with one of my best friends and his date.  We met up with some of our High School friends there at Disneyland and had a great time.  The one thing that I remember pretty clearly is riding Space Mountain!

   You see, I was TERRIFIED of roller coasters in those days, but with my cute girlfriend and all of our friends pushing me, I finally gave in and got in line.  Maybe THAT is why I don't remember much from that night?  Maybe everything was just a blur after surviving Space Mountain?  I don't know.  But I guess I picked the right girl (or she picked me), because here we are 37 years later and we are STILL Disney nuts!

   Did you notice the price on the ticket... 9 BUCKS!  I think the Grad Nite tickets are $75 these days.

 

The back of the ticket had the "rules" in 1977

   Check out the back of the ticket.  I wore a suit?  Anyone that knows me, knows that I only wear a suit to a wedding, funeral, or when I'm working a boxing event as an official, that's about it.  Ahhh... the things we do for love!

   They don't offer Grad Nite at Walt Disney World in Orlando any longer.  They still have it at Disneyland though.

Ed & Dan ready to head to Grad Nite 1977 at Disneyland

I do remember buying my "Girlfriend" a Winnie the Pooh Graduation plush bear.  And I do remember getting into line at Space Mountain with my heart pounding all the way through.  It was a great night!

OUR FIRST VISIT TO DISNEY'S WILDERNESS LODGE RESORT

   Guess where we just got back from.  Yup, another great WDW trip is in the books, and just like all of the others, it was fantastic!

It's not the "Fab 5" but they look ready for fun!

   As any good Disney nut knows, no matter how often you go, there is always something new to see and do in this vast world of exploration.

The Wilderness Lodge Villas:  We did a "Split Stay" which started with 2 nights at Pop Century, and then we moved over to the Wilderness Lodge Villas for 5 nights.  This was our first time staying at the Wilderness Lodge, and it was great. 

Welcome Home!

We always wanted to stay here!

   The room was comfortable, and the 4th floor view was so pleasant.  From our windows and balcony we could see the trees and lake - that's it.  It was like we were at a lake in the mountains or something, no sign of Walt Disney World in sight.  As if we were transported to another place just by entering our room.  Actually, there was 1 reminder of where we really were.  Each night at about 9:30 we would hear the music and look out to see the Electrical Water Pageant out on the lake.  We could see it with just a few trees in our view, but we would step out onto the balcony and take in the short spectacle.  The Water Pageant is one of those little WDW touches that we appreciate, both for the actual color and novelty of it, but also for the historical significance of it, since it is something that has remained from the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971.

Everything is better on a boat

Getting there was a big part of the fun!

   Something that we really enjoyed about staying at the Wilderness Lodge was the transportation via boat  between the resort and The Magic Kingdom.  I don't know if we hit it just right, or if it's always that way, but we never had to "crowd" onto the boat.  It was very relaxing to cruise the waters and glide past the other beautiful resorts with the Magic Kingdom in sight. 

   The pool was so much fun.  We spent an afternoon at the main pool and just like all of the pools at the Disney resorts, it was pure fun.  Grabbed a BBQ Pork & Slaw Sandwich with Chips and a Coke from the Roaring Fork with my Son-in-Law and kicked back at a poolside table before hitting the water.  Looking up at the Lodge itself, with the flags waving lightly in the breeze was just a beautiful moment in time, and writing about it here makes me want to experience that again soon.

The lobby of Disney's Wilderness Lodge is stunning

   Wilderness Lodge is everything I thought it would be, and like I was telling my Daughter - Which is my favorite DVC resort?  It seems like whichever one I stayed at last is my "new favorite".  They have all been awesome, and Wilderness Lodge is no exception.

For more on this awesome Disney resort, check out this website: wildernesslodgesite.com