What to Look Forward to at This Year’s Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

Posted by Feb 26, 2017 Disney Dining, Disney Tips, Rides and Attractions , , , , , , , Leave a Comment
What to Look Forward to at This Year’s Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival
I think we all know that my favorite time of year is the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, but a very close second in my heart is the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. And there are some great things coming up this year!

First, in case you didn’t know, pineapples are my spirit fruit because they are sweet on the inside and wear crowns. Ha! Dole Whips are my favorite treat at Magic Kingdom, and I loved getting it with the coconut rum topper at the Food and Wine Festival. But what I’m really excited about is an entire area dedicated to pineapples at this year’s Flower and Garden Festival—the Pineapple Promenade. Champagne is usually my go-to drink, so I seriously can’t wait for the Florida Orange Groves Winery Sparkline Pineapple Wine. And it’s from my hometown of St. Petersburg, FL!

I love fruit. I love sushi. But have you ever heard of frushi? Yes, it’s sushi made out of fruit! How cute is that? You can find it at the Japan pavilion. It has pineapples, strawberries and melons rolled up with raspberry-coconut rice and sprinkled with toasted coconut. Plus, there’s whipped cream on the side.

My all-time favorite drink at Epcot is the Grand Marnier slushy at the France pavilion. But they have a twist for the Flower and Garden Festival this year—La Vie en Rose Frozen slushy with Grey Goose Orange, St. Germain Liqueur and cranberry juices. Yum!

Of all the places I’ve traveled in the world (the real world, not just Epcot’s world showcase—ha!), Morocco had some of the best food. I just adore all the spices, so I can’t wait to try the homemade falafel with pickled beets and turnips, tomato salad and tahini sauce at the Morocco pavilion. Now if only I can talk them into adding some harissa sauce on the side
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It’s no secret that I love spicy food, so when I saw the beef brisket burnt ends hash with white cheddar fondue and pickled jalapenos on the menu at The Smokehouse at this year’s Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, my mouth watered at the idea of it. Definitely a must!
What are you looking forward to the most? Let me know in the comments!

What to Look Forward to at 2016 Food and Wine Festival

Posted by Sep 12, 2016 Disney Dining, Disney Tips, Rides and Attractions , , , , , , , , , , , 11 Comments
What to Look Forward to at 2016 Food and Wine Festival

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, I’m not talking about Christmas. I’m talking about the Epcot Food and Wine Festival at Disney World. Leave the kids at home. This is when the adults get to have their own magical experiences. It’s time to eat and drink around the world! Disney announced this week the offerings for this year’s festival, and I’m stoked already. So what am I most looking forward to? Let’s break it down.

1. Pineapple Dole Whip Soft-Serve Ice Cream with Bacardi Coconut Rum

My all-time favorite snack at Disney World is the Dole Whip. Now they’re adding a coconut rum topper? I think this is what dreams are made of. Look for it at the Refreshment Port. Take a right when you enter World Showcase from Future World, and it will be one of the first kiosks on the right.

2. TwiningsÂź Pumpkin Chai Tea Frozen Cocktail with Caramel Vodka

One of the great things about the Epcot Food and Wine Festival is that they bring in extra countries with kiosks around World Showcase that they don’t usually have around the rest of the year, such as Ireland. Why a chai drink is at the Ireland kiosk instead of at an India kiosk, I may never know. What I do know is that chai tea is my go-to drink at coffee shops unless it’s fall, in which case I’m as basic of a girl as it gets because I love my pumpkin spice lattes. Putting those two together just might make my tastebuds explode. But then they also want to add caramel vodka? It’s like they tailored this drink just for me.

3. Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey Caramel

New to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival this year is the Chocolate Studio. If there’s one thing I love almost as much as Disney (other than my husband and family of course), it’s chocolate. I could totally relate in Frozen when Princess Anna sang, “I want to stuff some chocolate in my face!” This liquid nitro chocolate-almond truffle sounds like it will just melt in your mouth. AND it has warm whiskey caramel? Shut up and take my money!

4. Artist Palette of Wine and Cheese

Also new this year is the Wine & Dine Studio. The Artist Palette of Wine and Cheese includes a trio of cheeses (La Bonne Vie goat cheese served with toasted Craisin bread, Karst cave-aged cheddar cheese served with fig compote, and Statesboro blue cheese served with spiced candied walnuts), each paired with a wine (Conundrum White Blend 25th Anniversary, Kurt Russell’s GoGi “Goldie” Chardonnay and Robert Mondavi Maestro Red Blend). Is there anything in life that goes better than wine and cheese? Well, maybe magic and Disney. But really, this is a way to get all four at once.

5. Grilled Beef Skewer with Romaine, Apricots and Feta Cheese

Disney is more than just theme parks and movies. In fact, you might be shocked to find out what’s included in the vast Disney empire. One of the many things that Disney owns is the television channel ABC, which of course includes the TV show The Chew. And what promotes better synergy than exploiting the fact they own both a cooking show and a food-themed event than having a The Chew kiosk at the 2016 Epcot Food and Wine Festival? However, this grilled beef skewer with romaine, apricots and feta will likely make me forget that I’m giving into “the man” (or I guess in this case, it would be giving into “the mouse”).

What are you most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!

Food and Wine Fest

The Best Places to Meet Mickey Mouse

Posted by Jun 21, 2016 Characters, Disney Tips, Rides and Attractions, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , 102 Comments
The Best Places to Meet Mickey Mouse

If you’re only going to meet one character during your trip to Walt Disney World, it obviously has to be Mickey Mouse. He’s available for meet-and-greets at all four theme parks; however, not all meet-and-greets are created equally. Here’s a breakdown of the best places to meet everyone’s favorite mouse.

1. Magic Kingdom

So why is Magic Kingdom at the top of this list? It’s not just because you’re meeting Mickey in the happiest place on earth. It’s because
he talks. Yes, you read that correctly. Mickey Mouse talks when you visit him in Magic Kingdom. I honestly have no clue how this works, but it really freaked me out the first time, so I want you to be prepared. One time, the family in front of me told him they were from Mexico. “Oh, you’re from Mexico? ¡Hola!” And then when they were taking a photo, he said, “Say, ‘queso’!” And when I brought a friend’s two-year-old niece who was a little scared, he suggested that they act like choo-choo trains and marched along all over the room, yelling, “Chugga, chugga, choo choo!” Everything he says is in the Mickey Mouse voice, and his mouth moves in sync, and he blinks. It’s really wild to see. A very interactive experience!

MK_TSTHEATERBCHAR_7541894644

2. Animal Kingdom

I actually flirted with the idea of making Animal Kingdom the best place to meet Mickey only because this is the only place where you can actually meet Mickey and Minnie at the same time and see them interact together with you. Being able to see Mickey and Minnie together and get a photo with both of them at once is almost unheard of at the other parks, which is why Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite places to meet Mickey. Also, the line seems to move the fastest, and you’re in air conditioning the whole time. All plusses in my book.

Mickey and Minnie at Animal Kingdom

3. Epcot

There’s nothing wrong with meeting Mickey at Epcot; it’s just not at the top of my list because Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom’s meet and greets are just that awesome. There’s nothing that really stands out about meeting Mickey at Epcot other than the fact you can knock out seeing several characters at once (i.e., you’ll see Minnie and Goofy there too). However, unlike Animal Kingdom, you can’t get your photo with all of these characters at the same time. While they are in the same room, you can only have your photo taken with one at a time. There is a tiny chance you might see the characters interact with each other though. This is also the only place you’ll see Mickey and the gang in their “normal” clothes (e.g., Minnie is in her red dress with white polka dots).

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_7513829015

4. Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios is my least favorite place to meet Mickey. The biggest reason is because the line to meet him is outside. While it’s covered so you’re at least in the shade, there’s really no getting away from the Florida heat and humidity. While you can meet Minnie at the same time, she’s in the first room, and then you have to walk to another room to meet Mickey. That makes for a nearly impossible chance to see them interact with each other. This also seems to be the slowest moving line. However, I really do love Mickey’s outfit and his room setup at Hollywood Studios.