Day 1474: Festival of the Arts

Having attended both the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival and the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival in the last year, it can almost go without saying that I was intrigued when the Epcot International Festival of the Arts was first announced. At a time where funding and support for the disciplines highlighted by the festival are severely lacking, it's exciting to see Disney putting the spotlight on something so close to the heart of the company. 

After exploring everything the festival had to offer during the inaugural weekend of the festival, it's easy to see how the Epcot International Festival of the Arts fits right in with its counterparts. By utilizing many of the stalls created for Food & Wine and Flower & Garden, Disney is obviously getting the maximum use out of the currently temporary buildings (although something tells me that if things continue as they have been, some may become permanent in the coming years). Of course, each of the stalls was given a makeover to reflect the theme of the festival, differing it from the other events as well. 

To give you a basic rundown of what the festival offers, the Festival of the Arts includes workshops and seminars similar to those you find at the other festivals, as well as food kiosks throughout [mainly] World Showcase. Additionally, there are festival-specific activities and experiences such as Broadway performances by Disney on Broadway performers (I was lucky enough to see Ashley Brown and Josh Strickland!), living statues, live music performances, a giant paint-by-number experience, art displays, and photo ops. I'll go into the specifics of these opportunities in later posts. 

At first I felt as though things were off to a slow start, likely due to the fact that I was there on the first day when things were still getting settled and January is a slow season to begin with, although this is obviously part of Disney's plan to even out attendance throughout the year, encouraging visitors to come during the non-peak season. Of course, because it's the inaugural year as well, visitors didn't seem to know the festival was even happening until the end of the weekend, which meant shorter lines for me (and also more than a few confused guests). It did get better though, and by the end of the weekend, the festival was humming with life, a good sign that this event will continue for years to come. 

I will also say, however, that like the Food and Wine and Flower and Garden festivals, it's nearly impossible to see everything the Festival of the Arts has to offer. I picked up a guide book on my first day and highlighted some of the foods I definitely wanted to try, and between my mom and I, pre-registered for all four of the workshops and the Broadway performance that weekend, but I still missed out on all of the seminars, most of the photo-ops, only saw a glimpse of the living statues, and barely looked at the art exhibits at all. That being said, there's just as much going on at this festival as there are at the others, and if that doesn't say something about the versatility of the arts and the creativity put into this festival, I don't know what does. 

Keep an eye out for in-depth posts on the Workshops, Food, Broadway Performance, and Art and Other Opportunities at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, because there's a lot to cover! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1378: Food & Wine - Part 3

If I didn't express it enough in my previous posts about the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, this is probably my favorite event at Epcot. No, it is my favorite event at Epcot. There's just something extra spectacular about being able to try foods from all over the world - and have them all be delicious. Of course, since it was one of our top reasons for heading to Florida in October, we made sure to add in an extra afternoon for trying the various cuisines, even with the hurricane! 

Our first stop on Day 2 of our Food and Wine Festival Tour was Greece, where we shared the Loaded Greek "Nachos," Chicken Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce (and Oikos Greek Yogurt) and the Oikos Greek Yogurt Vanilla Cake Soaked in Ouzo with Yogurt Whipped Cream and Pistachios. While all three dishes were absolutely delicious, I do believe it was my least favorite of the booths we were able to stop with, proving that even at Disney there has to be a least favorite. Greek just isn't my thing really, but that didn't stop me from loving the Nachos especially! 

Then it was onto the ever popular Canada, the home of the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup that I kept hearing about for years prior to actually attending the festival. I'm happy to say that the soup was indeed one of my favorite dishes I had, and I also really enjoyed the "Le Cellier" Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce. It wasn't quite as good as the Lamp Chop from Australia, but I still really liked it! I also must say that it was a bit odd to be eating filet mignon from a cardboard plate while sitting with a duck in World Showcase...but when at Disney, right? 

Since we had gone the other direction around World Showcase the day before, we headed off towards England, which brought us to Scotland and some more wonderful food. I wasn't able to fully test out the Fresh Potato Pancake with Scottish Smoked Salmon and Herbed Sour Cream because I'm allergic to salmon, but my parents liked it, and the part of the pancake I had was great! The Traditional Scottish Lamb Stew with Neeps & Tatties was great as well - and I learned what Neeps & Tatties were. Finally, we had the Tipsy Laird: Whiskey-soaked Cake with Lemon Cream and Toasted Oats, which was, surprise surprise, also delicious! 

Then (finally) it was onto Ireland, which I love and adore despite the fact that I've never been there. Lucky for me though, the Food & Wine Festival brings Ireland to me, so we tried everything we could! The Seafood Fisherman's Pie was great, although a bit weird. I've never had fish in a pie before...or a pie made half out of potatoes. Either way, I liked it! The Irish Cheese Selection Plate was a hit with us too, and the Warm Chocolate Pudding with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard was probably my favorite dessert we had! We also got a chance to try the Bunratty Meade Honey Wine, but I'll talk more about that later.

And that concludes the food we were able to try at the 2016 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. I'm all about going back for a second year in 2017 (and hopefully I'll be there on the college program anyway), where I hope to slowly make my way around World Showcase and try all the different dishes (and eat more than my share of lamb chops, sliders, and poke). As you can see, by our second day we got pretty good at how to make the festival work, including my Dad's silverware transportation system and my careful cutting of filet mignon. 

There's more than just delicious dishes at the festival though, and let me tell you, there's more to share about this amazing festival in blog posts ahead! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1373: Food & Wine - Part 1

If there's one thing I've wanted to do for years, it's attend the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. Seriously, I've been pleading to go for years, which meant that when we made the decision to add a trip in October, Food and Wine was at the top of our list for things to do (along with the Halloween Party and everything else fall at Walt Disney World has to offer). 

And if you think I can sum it all up in one post, you'd be wrong! 

In this first edition of Food and Wine, let's take a closer look at some of the food we tried on our first day at the festival, all of which was amazing. Prior to our trip, we went through the full list of food at Food and Wine to get an idea of what we each might want to try. Ultimately, we knew we wouldn't be able to try everything on our lists, but it gave us a place to start and was actually really helpful as we made our way part way around World Showcase. 

First up on our list: Australia! In the picture above, you'll see the three selections from the country, all of which we wanted to try. First, there's the Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion and Snap Peas, which I thought was pretty great aside from the peas (my least favorite food). The Lamington Yellow Cake Dipped in Chocolate and Shredded Coconut was good, although I also felt like it was something I'd had before, so I didn't find it particularly special. The Grilled Lamp Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies, on the other hand, was a favorite of ours from the entire festival! We actually got another one because we liked it so much! 

From New Zealand we got the Lamb Meatball with Spicy Tomato Chutney, which I definitely enjoyed. I was the one who wanted it, and let me tell you, the tomato chutney was delicious. We also went for the Seared Venison Loin with Wild Mushroom Marsala Sauce and Kumara Dumpling, which was also great! 

From the Islands of the Caribbean kiosk, we settled on everything except for dessert, starting with the Jamaican Beef Patty. That's those little yellow things, which took us forever to figure out. They tasted great, but were definitely one of the more interesting things we ate at Food and Wine. My dad really loved the Pescado con Coco, a Seared Grouper with Pigeon Peas and Rice with Coconut Sauce, which was good, although I preferred the Mojo Pork with Black Beans, Cilantro Rice, and Pickled Red Onions. There was just something about the combo of the pork, beans, and rice that I loved! 

From the Wine & Dine Studio (which got Hamilton stuck in my head more than a few times), we tried the Seared Scallop with Truffled Celery Root Puree, Brussels Sprouts, and Wild Mushrooms as well as the Trio of Artisan Cheese. The cheeses featured a goat cheese with dried cranberry bread, a Karst Cave-aged Cheddar Cheese with Fig Compote and a Blue Cheese served with Spiced Candied Walnuts. Both places were excellent! 

I may have forgotten to take a picture of our plates from the Chocolate Studio until after I started eating them, but pictured above are the Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel and the Ghiradelli Chocolate Raspberry Torte. As you can imagine, both were pretty sweet (literally and figuratively)! 

A Favorite of my mom and I from the Flower and Garden Festival in the Spring, we had to have the Taco de Camaron from Mexico again. It's Battered Shrimp served over a flour tortilla with Crispy Purple Cabbage and a Chipolte Mayonnaise. I don't know what it is about this taco, but it's absolutely one of the best things I've ever eaten. 

But my all time favorite dishes from the entirety of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival have to be the ones from Hawaii. The Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise was my all time favorite dish we had, and I'm looking forward to trying to make it for myself at home just because I would eat it every day for the rest of my life. And the Spicy Tuna Poke with Seaweed Salad and Nori Rice was brilliant as well - definitely something I would love to have for lunch back home! 

And that's what we ate on our first day. We learned very quickly how fast you fill up at this festival, even sharing dishes like we did. Honestly, I feel like it would take weeks to do the whole thing right, since even after a few days like this one, we still only got maybe a third of the way around World Showcase, and we didn't even try every dish from the kiosks we visited! 

Stay tuned for more Food and Wine though, because there's so much more yet to come! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1363: World Market

When one of my friends suggested that we go to World Market on our Saturday off, I agreed right away, despite the fact that 1. I'd never been to World Market before and 2. I really had no idea what World Market even was. She was in Italy last semester though, and from the sounds of a store called "World Market," I figured she knew what she was talking about and that whatever was in the walls of the store, it would be great. 

And it was. 

Basically, the idea of World Market is exactly what it sounds like. It's a store filled with items that are found internationally, and according to my friends recently back from Italy, there are definitely some things you can't find elsewhere. 

Of course, me being me, I took it upon myself to photograph anything that I typically have found at Disney, since that would be the obvious comparison with never having been to Europe (or anywhere else really) before. You can find so many wonderful foods all around World Showcase, and it seems that I can find several of them right in my own backyard! 

The Marzipan is what I found first, and I soon after picked up some to bring home. They actually sell this same brand in the Germany Pavilion at Epcot, and it's been one of my favorite treats to bring home! 

It's not really hard to find Pocky, but I still took a picture of it, and the Green Tea Kit Kats were also something I found in the Japan Pavilion to bring home for my World Showcase Chocolate challenge! 

Those that have been to the Germany Pavilion know that it's riddled with chocolate though. The Milka bars are famous for being simply amazing, and I've brought home chocolates like these for people more than once in the past! 

Even though Germany has a ton of chocolate, some of my favorite treats come from the Tea Store in the United Kingdom Pavilion, including the Aero chocolate, and of course, Twinnings Tea! 

Finally, there was a display of various Japanese items that simply reminded me of the wonderful store in the Japan Pavilion. There were plenty of items like this, that weren't food at all, throughout the store, but it was this one that brought me right back to World Showcase. There were even various different sets of chopsticks! 

So now I've been introduced to World Market, and while I certainly won't be going there all the time, it'll be nice for when I need a pick-me-up in between Disney trips. Whether or not that's the intention of a store like World Market - to provide things I can find at Disney World - I'm not entirely sure, but I'm definitely excited about the prospect! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1308: Frozen Ever After

I don't know about you, but I definitely remember the day all hell broke loose when Disney announced that our beloved Maelstrom would be replaced with "Frozen Ever After," yet another piece of the hit film Frozen in a world where many could do without it. At the time, I was just as angry as the next person. Why in the world would they think this would be a good idea? It's not as though Maelstrom was a popular ride, because in every aspect, it wasn't, but replacing it with Anna and Elsa to bring in yet more money seemed like a sellout. And to make matters worse, we've all complained about how franchise films don't belong in Epcot. That, however, is a different discussion. 

After months and months of construction walls and wondering about what was really happening behind them, Norway is open, and quite frankly, it's looking good. Norway, like Canada, needed a bit of work. A good portion of the guest population had no idea Maelstrom was there, and while it was great to never have a line for School Bread, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to see a pavilion come back to life...even if it took Frozen to get it there. 

Perhaps the best parts about the refurbishment are the addition of the Anna and Elsa Meet and Greet and the adorable vikings that now call the pavilion home. The Meet and Greet actually fits in rather well, and the entire structure is stunningly beautiful. It's obvious they put a lot of time and thought into the creation of the area, and while it's certainly brighter than the rest of the pavilion, it fits. It didn't feel too much as though a franchise took everything over, and if we're talking about the characters themselves, I don't see a problem with them being there now that they have a proper area to meet guests. After all, Aladdin, Jasmine, Mulan, Belle, and Snow White, among others, also call Epcot home. 

The attraction itself, which I have very few pictures of since I was filming (so you'll see it in a future vlog), was much, much better than I expected. What they did with the original Maelstrom track is clever, and even if you've had enough of "Let It Go," that scene alone is sort of worth the entire attraction. The audio-anamatronics weren't as impressive to me in person, but I think it's because I'm just not a huge fan of the digitally animated faces. I prefer the real faces of those such as Lincoln in Hall of Presidents. That's my personal preference though, and I must say that otherwise, everything is amazing. Olaf seems completely real, as does Sven, and while the entire thing could be longer, you also really can't compare Maelstrom and Frozen Ever After at this point. They're completely different attractions and they're both great in their own unique way. 

So I guess what I'm saying is give Frozen Ever After a chance. It's one of the few attractions that didn't disappoint me in any way, and that's saying something. I literally couldn't find anything I disliked about this attraction, aside from my personal preferences about the anamatroncis and the fact that it replaced Maelstrom. And if for nothing else, it gave Epcot another much-needed E-Ticket attraction and brought life back to the Norway Pavilion. 

Now...if someone could just ship me some school bread? 

Have a magical day!

Day 1269: Macaroons

Since I'm lucky enough to not have an extra summer job this summer aside from working on Everyday Disney and making YouTube videos, I've definitely paid attention to the odd collection of goals I'd like to accomplish. I made what I call a "Very Doable Bucket List," which is going pretty well, but aside from that, there's a few projects that have gained my attention.

One of those projects was the crazy idea I had not long ago that I'd like to learn how to make macaroons. Up until this past January, I don't think I'd ever had a macaroon before, and then, of course, I ended up trying one at Epcot and my whole life seemed to change. Suddenly cupcakes seemed much easier than normal, and I felt like I wanted a new challenge. I wanted to learn how to make macaroons.

Honestly, these little cookies seem like they'd be a lot harder to make than they actually are. Over the past couple of weeks I gathered recipes on Pinterest, learning about the two ways to make Macaroons - French and Italian - and contemplated what kind I'd like to make. Of course, because I was inspired by Disney to make these in the first place, it only seemed fair that I took that inspiration one step further.

What you have here is are Strawberries and Cream Macaroons, as is inspired by the Strawberries and Cream Ice Cream Macaroon Sandwich from the France Pavilion. They're much smaller than the ones filled with Ice Cream, but they're definitely delicious and honestly remind me a lot of the ones they serve there. These actually came out pretty perfect for a first try, and I was really keeping my expectations low just in case they burned or completely fell apart or something. Obviously, they didn't, and even my fresh strawberry jam and vanilla bean buttercream came together quickly and easily.

I'd share my recipe, but really I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to figure out exactly what all went into it because I mixed a bunch of recipes and then also changed things to make it my own, meaning that I don't remember precisely what I did. I'm positive this isn't the last time I'll be making macaroons though, so I'll try to include a recipe next time! Now it's off to work on the next project, which I'm sure will appear on the blog soon!

Have a magical day!

Day 1250: Chocolate Challenge!

After an incredibly long semester and a couple weeks off, I'm back for the summer, and that means that it's time for a new video! For my last trip to Walt Disney World, I asked the internet a few questions to determine what kind of adventures I would have while in Florida, and one of the options was to give me a random challenge that I could accept and take on. I definitely listened, and while you'll hear LOTS more about these challenges, a few of them warranted extra time, and that led to the creation of extra videos over the next few weeks! 

There was one challenge that came in at the very end, however, and it really caught my eye. The challenge was to eat chocolate from around the world, which I really felt was a unique take on the "Eat Around the World" challenge that so many of us take on at least once or twice. But instead of taking on the challenge at Disney, where there's already so much food to eat, I figured that this challenge might be able to travel, and travel it did! I ended up with about a pound of chocolate and other assorted candy that made it all the way back to Wisconsin, which is extra great because I get to share with my family and friends! 

As you can imagine, chocolate was a pretty popular item throughout World Showcase, although there are a few countries that don't stock a lot of the confection. Instead, if I couldn't find chocolate, I tried to pick a candy that would be a representative of the country. So, in the case of Morocco, I couldn't find chocolate, but I did find Turkish Delight, and in China I picked up some Ginger Chews. Italy and Canada also gave me a few problems, but ultimately there was chocolate for all 11 countries around World Showcase. 

Now, if I had to pick a favorite, it would definitely be the Irish Whiskey Dark Chocolate I got from the United Kingdom, although the Milka Bar (which is made in Germany but stood in for Italy) is a close second. I wasn't terribly impressed with our own American chocolate, which I bought at my grocery store, because what's more American than Hershey's? All in all though, everything was excellent, because it turns out that other countries really know how to make their chocolate. 

Keep your eyes on Everyday Disney and YouTube for all new content coming your way this summer! There may be a few days to make up from the past few months (ok, more than a few), but there's a lot planned in the future, so hold on tight and keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the blog at all times! Now, I'm off to go find some of the leftover chocolate to help me power through a few more blog posts today!

Have a magical day!

Day 1236: Rare Gems

There's probably a good four or five autograph books from my childhood, at least, sitting on a shelf at home, and I can almost guarantee that the majority of the autographs in those books are from Mickey and Pluto. And then there was a period where I didn't really care much about characters or autographs at all, which lasted until I really became a part of the Disney community on Instagram and watched as so many others had memorable experiences with characters. Now, since bringing my friends to Walt Disney World for the first time, I've really been trying to meet more characters, and as with any trip, I found a few new ones.

Disney World and Disneyland are very different in regards to characters. In Florida, each character has an attendant nearby to help control the line and any unruly children that may be around. At Disneyland this isn't always the case, as usually face characters will roam more on their own, sometimes without even a photopass photographer. Second, the variety of characters is much wider at Disneyland, and it's where I managed to pick up a couple of characters that I'd never be able to meet in Florida, like Oswald!

There are opportunities to meet rare characters at Walt Disney World, but you just have to keep an eye out for them. This past January, my Mom attended the inaugural Club Villain event, and when there was an opportunity for her to bring me this May, we took the chance. At Club Villain, which I'll blog more about later, you have the opportunity to meet four distinct Disney villains, none of which you'll find anywhere else at Walt Disney World on a regular basis: Maleficent, The Queen of Hearts, The Evil Queen, and Cruella de Vil. Dr. Facilier is there as well, hosting, and while you can't necessarily meet him, he does stand near the back for a good portion of the show, where you can catch a picture with him if you wish (I didn't, unfortunately).

While you used to only be able to meet Olaf out at Disney California Adventure, he recently made the move to Florida again, and this time it seems like he'll be staying. Currently, or at least when I met him, he's in his own little private meet and greet near Star Tours in one of the old sound stages, and honestly you can't beat the adorableness that this snowman is all the time. 

Early in my trip, I happened to be walking around World Showcase and had stopped to listen to Alberta Bound in the Canada Pavilion when the gates to the old Millennium Celebration building opened, revealing a wealth of rare characters. I'm talking Baloo, Captain Hook, Smee, the Country Bears, and a few others. Since I wanted to round out the performance by Alberta Bound, I only had time to stand for one character, and despite my love for Captain Hook, I went with Baloo, who was just super sweet!

And finally, I was walking out of Animal Kingdom in the mid-afternoon one day when, suddenly, off to the side, a head popped out of the brush. Tarzan happened to be meeting on a side trail near the Tree of Life, and since he was out of the way and not directly visible, no one was there. Another family went in addition to ours, so we waited for a minute or two, but my conversation with Tarzan about cameras and bananas was well worth the stop! 

I must say that despite the fact that there are so many half-empty autograph books at home, I'm almost finished with the one I started a couple of years ago with my friends. We've met a lot of characters, and I'm always looking for new ones! I am saving one special page for Flynn Rider though, whom I met once. I didn't get his autograph then, and I'm definitely determined to get one next time! 

Who's your favorite rare character to find in the Disney Parks? 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1235: Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Flowers

I've only been to the Epcot International Flower and Garden festival twice. Once a couple of years ago during my freshman year of college, and then again this year, but I loved it both times. While Food and Wine is more my flavor (see what I did there?) the horticulture department does a beautiful job, and the various food kiosks around World Showcase add in something for us Food and Wine fans too. So let's take a look at some of the highlights of this year's festival! 

As I just mentioned, one of the best parts is definitely the food, available at special kiosks throughout World Showcase. I made an attempt to try a bunch of them, and honestly it's hard to pick an individual favorite. It's also great to know that a lot of the food you're eating is grown at Epcot, such as in one of the special gardens set up for the festival: the Edible Flower Garden in The Land!

And then, of course, you've got plenty of beautiful flowers outside too! Just take a look at some of these! 

Plus, what great luck that my mom happened to stop by the Cinderella topiary right at noon, right? 

Have a magical day!