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The ‘09 EPCOT Planting Is Nearly Complete

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

New Flowers Get Watered at EPCOT

The gardens and landscapes at EPCOT have always been amazing. But when this time of year rolls around Disney takes it up to a whole new level. The Flower & Garden Festival starts this week and runs till June. Nearly every large grassy area has been planted with awe inspiring fields of floral finery. Just a week ago this area around the lake was not planted. Toipiaries are in place, and demonstration gardens, outdoor areas and playscapes have sprung up all over. The many specialty kiosks are being stocked and it looks like there will be a lot of garden items available so we can go home and try to imitate what the Disney magicians do.

Of course the “Flower Power” concert series will be in full bloom too.

• Mar. 20 - 22: Davy Jones
• Mar. 27 - 29: Paul Revere and the Raiders
• Apr. 3 - 5: The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie
• Apr. 10 - 12: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
• Apr. 17 - 19: The Ventures
• Apr. 24 - 26: Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes NEW!
• May 1 - 3: Chubby Checker & The Wildcats
• May 8 - 10: Ricky Nelson Remembered featuring The Nelsons
• May 15 - 17: Jose Feliciano
• May 22 - 24: The 5th Dimension
• May 29 - 31: Tony Orlando

Tags: Flower & Garden Festival
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33,000 Bottles of Wine at EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

In our family we’ve always called it the “Food Festival”. No need to say where it was located, we all knew what we were talking about because for us there was no other. But of course there is more than just food and the full tile is the “EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival”. What’s amazing is that the event has grown since those days of the temporary looking food stands surrounded with lots of potted plants, to become the largest food and wine event of its kind in the world!

Here’s some of what it takes to make it happen:

• More than 160 chefs
• 33,000 bottles of wine and champagne
• 338,000 wine glasses
• 750,000 beer cups
• 600,000 forks
• 1.2 million plates
• 2.1 million Vanity Fair napkins

Many may have forgotten that there was a bit of controversy when EPCOT opened because they were going to be selling alcoholic beverages in the park for the first time. I guess we got over that.

Tags: Food & Wine Festival
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No Signs of Recession at The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

Monday, October 27th, 2008

We started another year as Disney Annual Passholders this past weekend with our benchmark event, The Food & Wine Festival. With all the news about gas tanks and the economy tanking I was wondering if it would impact attendance. It appears that Disney World is, in fact, the “Happiest Place on Earth” because the crowds seemed oblivious to any money problems and were larger than ever.

The food selection was good, though not much exotic fare. That would probably not be economically wise. Being able to graze a variety like this is an attraction though. Ordering was efficient and it was prepared well, served without much waiting. Line lengths varied and changed frequently.

Two things I’d like to see return are: a sample display so you didn’t have to try and catch a glimpse of what people carried away and a menu board above the kiosks so you didn’t have to wait for the area around the ground display to clear. Both of those were common in the early festivals.

Sure you don’t go for the bargains, it’s the experience of tastes, locales and people. But keeping the economy in mind here are some personal observations with taste and cost in mind.

Best values: The cheese plate from Ireland. Three large slabs of wonderful aged cheese, brown bread with Irish butter and a great spiced chutney to dip the cheese in. Durban spiced chicken with coconut milk infused root vegetables from South Africa. A nice skewer of tender moist chicken and a heap of tasty starches with a sweet/spicy kick. The lamb chop at Australia. A big (for lamb) tender chop and sweet jam that was like a meat lollipop worth the $5.

Worst value: Though it sounded great… the Praline (properly pronounced PRAW lean) bread pudding at the Louisiana exhibit. $2.75 for a scoop the size of a sample handed out at the grocery.

We enjoyed much more and I’ll have more to report when we return for seconds.

Tags: Food & Wine Festival
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