This Day In History...A Look Back at Epcot

It's one of those historical days...today, in 1982, Epcot was dedicated.

I have to say that Epcot is ties with MK as my favorite park at Disney World.  I'm reminded so much of Walt Disney and his vision for tomorrow.  Most of us Disneyphiles know that EPCOT is short for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow.  I wonder how many visitors even comprehend that?

I think certain sections of the community don't get that "amusement parks" and "theme parks" are distinctly different. In certain circles, Epcot is snubbed for not having enough "rides" to make it "worth it" to buy a ticket to go there. Sure, Soarin', Test Track and, to some extent, Mission:Space, have their fans, but the people who are only looking for "rides" are missing the point of Epcot.

We'd do better to follow Walt's example:  look for and pursue innovation of all types.

One of my favorite non-fiction books that sits in my office is titled, "The Quotable Walt Disney."  Here's a couple direct quotes that I feel really apply to Epcot, even though Walt died before he could see it opened:

"I believe in being an innovator."

"I can never stand still. I must explore and experiment. I am never satisfied with my work. I resent the limitations of my own imagination."

If you spend any time in Future World, especially Innoventions, you'll find that while some exhibits could be considered mainstays, there always seems to be a new kid on the block.

If you've always breezed by these buildings and never taken the time to "take it in" because you are in a rush to hit the "rides", take a step back and check out all that Future World has to offer.

You might be surprised at what you find.

Random Disney Musings

It's been one of those weeks where there have been a lot of little tidbits of information and I'm just now getting to posting here about it.

This time of year is when we tend to see a lot of announcements from Disney because Oct. 1 begins its year.

So here are a few random musings about what I've heard this week:

Destination D is coming to WDW Spring 2011

So. freaking. excited.  I really wanted to go to Destination D and its associated scavenger hunt at DL in August, but with two teens in high school sports, it just wasn't going to fly in August.  I watched the reports come in and I was just wishing I could be there.

THEN...D23 announces that they are bringing Destination D, the scavenger hunt AND an Ultimate Disney Trivia Contest to WDW in the Spring 2011!

I'm SO booking as soon as they announce the dates!

Ok...small caveat...I can go if it's not April 9 (my sister is getting married that day) or May 21 (I'm in Civil Air Patrol and we're ground-crewing for an air show).   Pixie dust that D23 stays away from those dates!

Karamel Kuche in Germany at Epcot

The new Caramel Kitchen is open at Epcot.  Get a paper towel and have it handy.  Then head over to the Disney Food Blog because they talked about it way better than I could and there are pictures.

I want the Apple Pie Apple.


Food and Wine Festival

It started yesterday and I'm already wishing I was there.  The food booths offering sound amazing.  I haven't been to a F&W Fest for a couple of years and withdrawal has definitely set in. If you ever have the opportunity to visit WDW during F&W Fest, do it.  You won't regret it.

Countdown to my next visit

We're sub-60 days.  I'm SO ready for a vacation. My DD asked if we could make a chain yet.  She's 13 and she still loves to make the paper chain. I told her when we hit 50, she can make the chain.  Otherwise, it's too long and hangs on the floor.

That's all for now.  It's a beautiful fall day today and I'm off to have some girl time with my DD.

Have a good one!

Mary

New Kids Menu at Garden Grill

It's the Picky Eaters vs. the Healthy Horde.

Well, maybe not that drastic.  But there are some interesting changes afoot at the Garden Grill in Epcot.

Disney has a pretty standard kids menu and chicken nuggets and fries take center stage in most places.  I mean, come on; chicken nuggets are something even the pickiest eater will chow down on, right?  That way, Mom and Dad can feast on the regular menu that Garden Grill offers (which rocks, by the way).

But now, the Garden Grill has changed things up a bit.  The standard kids menu is refreshed and includes the following:
* Oven Roasted Chicken Drumstick
* Sweet Potato Sticks
* Baked Macaroni & Cheese
* Broccoli
* Mickey "Mousse" Cookies and Cream

Now it seems that there are some elements that are upset that chicken nuggets have been swapped for a drumstick. 

Really?  My kids have always loved drumsticks!  Are we the odd ones? 

And while I can see where a kid would turn up his nose at orange French fries, seriously have you tasted sweet potato fries?  Yumatrocious!

Broccoli...I get this one.  A lot of adults don't like broccoli.  But the beauty of the Garden Grill is its all family-style so you don't have to take it if you don't want to.

And the Mickey Mousse...it's like good old fashioned worms-and-dirt, baby.  My teens would rather eat that then the fruit cobbler dessert any day of the week.

By the way, the kids can still eat off the adult offerings at the Garden Grill:
* Roasted Turkey Breast
*Sustainable Fresh Fish of the Day
*Beef Strip Loin
* Farmer's Market Salad - seriously, this is eat-the-whole-bowl yummy
* Bread and Maple Butter
* Vegies, potatoes, dressing, dessert!

So what are your thoughts on the new kids offerings from the Garden Grill?

Hey, if they bring me some of that stuff, I know I'll be eating some of it.

Mary

Could It Be...Disney Finds A Way To Do Italian?

Disney and Italian food? 

I've never been a fan of Disney's attempts at Italian.

Tony's Town Square in Magic Kingdom: 
To me, the menu seems limited and uninspiring. Is it a cute environment?  Sure.  But why should I pay Disney prices for what is basic Italian that I could get at a chain restaurant?

Tutto Italia has some interesting items, but frankly, I'm not interested in spending $24 for what is essentially a vegetarian pasta.  Oh, and that's the lunch price.

But the new Via Napoli is raising eyebrows all over the place.  Today, the Disney Parks Blog released some details on the menu and to me, it just sounds like a breath of fresh air.

Here's a snippet:
Appetizers: Sicilian eggplant with olives and raisins; salad of lettuce, fagiolini (string beans), fennel and tomatoes; arancini (fried saffron risotto balls) with meat ragù, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce; corn-crusted fried calamari; and minestrone with basil pesto. Or share a plate of arancini, mozzarella, calamari, portobella mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini and carciofi (artichokes).
Main course salads: Manzo (filet of beef) with greens, red onion, gorgonzola, apple and cucumber with a red wine-mustard vinaigrette; chopped salad with lemon chicken, greens, cantaloupe, cucumber, red pepper, green beans, onions, almonds and pasta crisps with honey-citrus vinaigrette; calamari with arugula, carrots and fennel with orange vinaigrette.
Pastas: candele (long, tube-shaped pasta) with sausage ragù; linguine with seafood; malfadine (ribbon pasta) with guanciale (unsmoked Italian bacon) and pomodoro sauce; lasagna verde.
Piatti alla Parmigiana: (dishes topped with Parmesan and mozzarella gratinée): veal, chicken and eggplant.
Wood-fired pizzas: made with caputo flour imported from Southern Italy, San Marzano tomatoes, handmade mozzarella and water from a local spring just like in Italy’s Campania region – 10-inch, 20-inch or 1/2 meter to share: a dozen choices, from a simple pizza Margherita with tomato, mozzarella and basil to carciofi with artichoke, potato, pecorino cheese, prosciutto and cantaloupe.
Sweets: tiramisù, zeppole di ricotta (ricotta cheese-fried dough, whipped cream and chocolate sauce); apple cake with almond sorbetti; gelatie; and vanilla gelato with almond cookies and amarena cherries.
 *~*~*~*
Can I just say that I'm highly interested in how cantaloupe tastes on a pizza?  I never in a million years would have tried that!

And the risotto balls just sound divine ~ but I love rice, too.

I'm particularly interested in the chopped salad ~ minus the onions.  Follow me long enough and you'll soon find that onions don't exist is my world.  Ick on all fronts.

Here's the other news:  Via Napoli opens next month!  August 2010!  No firm date yet, but keep following and I'll share as soon as I know. 

I can't wait to try this place...

Celebrate The Magic - June 13, 2010 - Group Incentive Stuff and Epcot

Ahh...a new day at Disney World!

I got up early because I was able to pick up our group incentive packet starting at 7am.  While everyone else was snoozing, I got dressed and went out to El Centro.

I headed over to the conference center area:

I entered the ballroom and our group pretty much had it all to ourselves.  The check in area was to one side and there were some snacky-type buffets in the middle of the room.  Lemonade is one thing, but potato chips and pretzels at 7 am was just not what I was looking for.

I headed back to the room and thought I'd take a picture of this very clear day:

Here's my building as you walk from El Centro along the lake path:

I got back to the room with our cool red t-shirts (we have a special day for those) and people were getting around.  So we had some breakfast and headed to the car to drive to Epcot.

I wasn't sure what to expect.  Sunday was Morning Extra Magic Hours and we didn't arrive at the turnstiles of Epcot until 8:50am.

I was prepared with a second GADGAD voucher so we could get special Fastpasses for Epcot today as well.

(Aside:  I don't know what we would have done without those GADGAD Fastpasses.  We certainly would have been spending much more time in line or not seen what we wanted to see.  I'm very glad we had them.)

We entered the park and split up.  Stefan wanted to go on Spaceship:Earth, one of his fave attractions on property and Bryan wanted to do Sum of All Thrills.  I went with Stefan and Cate went with Bryan. 

Stefan and I finished first so we walked over to Innoventions to see how they were doing.  Bryan and Cate were in the simulators when we walked up.  There was a lot of upside-down going on so I think they had a lot of loops in their custom designed roller coaster.

When they got out, we decided to use our Fastpasses for Test Track.  We got the passes, entered the Fastpass line and in less than 10 minutes, were in a ride vehicle.

Now, this was a first for me.  I had never ridden Test Track before. The lines had always discouraged me.  Plus, part of me was, "What IS the big deal here?"  I don't stand in lines.  It's not part of the fun for me.  So I just haven't done it.

Well, I see what the big deal is now.  It was very enjoyable, snarled hair and all.  I don't know if the speed readout is the same for all cars, but ours read 65.8 MPH as we flew by.

I was just reading the Disney Parks Blog and the update on the Radiator Springs Racers that is being constructed at DL.  It's using the same ride tech as TT and looks super fun.

Anyhow, back to the story...After TT, since we were there, we decided to walk over to Mission:Space.  We all LOVE M:S.  It was a 10 minute wait for Orange so we just walked on.

If you aren't familiar with M:S, there are two ways to experience this attraction: Green and Orange.  Orange is the original setup with the centrifuge, feeling the G-forces, etc.  It's labeled as "more intense."  Green has none of that;  you just see the stuff on the screen.  At least as far as I know; I've never ridden on the Green side.

As usual, we all enjoyed it.  It's probably the closest I'll ever get to spaceflight in my lifetime.

And, of course, we stayed in the Advanced Training Lab to do the Mission Space Race.  As a family, we rock this game.  We've never lost whether we've been Team Triton or Team Orion.  It's just too much fun.  We stayed for the game after to be mission control support.

At that time, Stefan needed a Mickey Ice Cream Bar so we had a minor snack break before heading off to the Land pavilion for Soarin'. 

Again, thank goodness for those FastPasses.  Although I was surprised that the return times were before 4pm, it was great to be able to walk right through.  We still had to wait probably 15-20 minutes before getting on the ride itself.

While it's a nice experience, it just doesn't jazz me.  I know a lot of the online fans seem to think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  I agree that it's a great attraction, but the wait times for this thing really are not justified.

By the time we got done, people were seriously hungry.  We just headed to Sunshine Seasons Food Court.  Wow.  It was crazy busy.  But it was also noon.  Let's see:  Cate got the Salmon, Stefan got the quarter chicken and Bryan and I had some sort of Asian platter. 

Bryan wanted to take Stefan to Sum of All Thrills and Cate wanted to go to Living Seas.  So we split up again.

Did I mention it was freakin' hot?  Seriously, I know I sound like a broken record, but good grief, it was hot and humid.

Cate and I hooked up with the boys once they were done with Sum of All Thrills.  That attraction has a two-thumbs up from everyone in our family.  If you haven't had the chance to check it out, give it a try.

We headed over to World Showcase and it was dead.  I mean, there were very few people walking around.  Hello; it's 1pm on a Sunday in June.  All the smart people are staying out of the heat and humidity in the middle of the day and here we are, doing the opposite.

We took in Maelstrom and then Bryan decided he needed Rice Cream from the Kringla Bakery.  So did everyone else, it seemed.  Or they were in there pretending to order so they could get into the A/C.  By the time Bryan got out, I was ready to head out. 

Stefan wanted to hit Japan for some ridiculous YuGiOH something or another.  Ugh.  The boys raced ahead.  Cate and I stopped for A/C and water on the way.  Then she wanted a Funnel Cake.  Really?  In 100+ degrees, you want a Funnel Cake?

We got that, met the boys and walked around the rest of the World Showcase and back to the car.

Here's a picture of what World Showcase looked like:

Not very busy.

We got back about 2:30pm-ish.  The kids went to swim.  I jumped in long enough to get wet, but again, the pool was very warm and not refreshing at all.

I headed back to the room, took a shower and just reveled in my A/C and watched some TV.

Dinner time approached.  I didn't have a plan for dinner - or at least no reservations.  I suggested we head out to 192 and see what grabbed our fancy.

Big mistake on my part.  I was actually thinking a Ponderosa would be great.  In MN, we have this one Ponderosa that was fantastically clean, great service, above average food and that's what I was thinking about.

I'll admit that I never really got what the online Disney people were griping about when they said that they wouldn't be caught dead at a buffet, Disney or not.  I can honestly say that I've never been to a buffet that has been sub-par.

Well, I have now.

I have to give two-thumbs down to the Ponderosa on 192 that's closest to Animal Kingdom.  While the entrees that we ordered were passable, the buffet was just not good-looking.  And talk about over-priced. 

So I get what people are saying about icky buffets now.  But I have to say that I have never seen anything like that at a Disney buffet.  I will definitely continue to patronize my Disney favorites.

Now I know to just stay away from 192 unless I'm going to Olive Garden or something.

We ended up going home and feasting on our snacks.  Thank goodness for that grocery run.

We needed to head to bed early tonight because tomorrow was going to be very early.  We needed to get up at 5:30am because the buses were leaving at 6:30am to take us to Magic Kingdom for our exclusive early Extra Magic Hours.