Murphy’s Law Takes Vacation — The World’s Longest Dream Review (Part Five)featured

Well, we’re back from another cruise on the Dream. That’ll get documented here…at some point…when I’m not a slave to my job. My dwindling free time is a hard pill to swallow still…but at least I love my job! In any case, I do plan on continuing to document our travels here! It might be slow, but it’ll get done 🙂

So our first Epcot day.

I love Epcot. We all do. And we were up bright and early, eager to experience the Food and Wine Festival for the first time! We grabbed a quick breakfast at Sassagoula before hopping in the car and driving over to the park.

The (quick) breakfast of champions!

The park was crowded, but completely manageable (even if I was bumped from behind from someone who clearly didn’t know how to push one. In the three and a half years grandma was in a wheelchair, the only people we bumped were each other!). The plan was a morning in Future World followed by an afternoon in World Showcase exploring Food and Wine Festival and the plan worked well for us — by 12:30, we’d done Soarin’ twice, Spaceship Earth, Test Track *and* two go-rounds on Living with the Land. A satisfying pat on the back for us!

A quick snack at Sunshine Seasons split four ways to hold us over until our F&W lunch!

The afternoon plan was this: we’d head into World Showcase and have a lunch of whatever bites appealed to us. We had two days in Epcot so we’d do Mexico through Poland today and the rest tomorrow. We’d explore the pavilions as we went (grandma loved the World Showcase pavilions just as much as I do!). In preparation for F&W festival, Stephanie and I had bought Disney gift cards at our local Disney Store and every time we were paid, we’d add a bit more onto our cards. We ended up with around $100 on each of our gift cards by the time we got to Disney plus snack credits from our free dining, so we were in good shape to be able to try whatever we wanted.

Here’s what they don’t tell you– while these portions look tiny, they are filling. I was intent on trying something from every booth, and by the time we hit our last one for the day, I felt like I was oozing international cuisine out of my pores from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. Share your portions if you’re intent on trying a lot, or spread it out over three or four days. Do not act a glutton in the Florida heat. The stomach ache is never worth it (unless, of course, said stomach ache is the result of a Dole Whip Float or a Karamell Kuche cupcake. Those are always worth it).

Oh, and I posted a pic of it above, but you can pick up a Passport to the F&W festival at the information center and get it stamped at the booths. It’s a fun little souvenir. And free!

Australia

Shrimp on the Barbie with Pepper Berry Citrus Glaze

Lindeman’s “Bin 90” Moscato

Argentina

Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree

Beef Empanada

Caribbean
Ropa Vieja (slowly braised beef) with White Rice

Mexico
Rib Eye Taco

Shrimp Taco

Flan

The Mexico Pavilion

Scandinavia
Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries

Cheese
Cheese Fondue with Sourdough Bread

Artisan Cheese Selection with Sweet Gras Dairy Thomasville Tome, Delice de Bourgogne, PC Wyngaard Chevre Affineurs Goat Gouda

Germany
Nuernberger Sausage in a Pretzel Roll

A quick stop into Karamell Kuche for some to-be-enjoyed-later cupcakes (best cupcakes in the World!) — $3.95 or one snack credit

Poland
Kielbasa and Potato Pierogie with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream

We stopped it there (I didn’t even try everything I had wanted to) because it was hot and we were so full that we were in some sort of suspended animation. The food was good. Too good. So good that we kept going far past a comfortable level of full. The only thing we all agreed we didn’t like was the Cheese Fondue. I expected something like you get from the Melting Pot —  a creamy, smooth and complex concoction with strong flavors. Instead, it was salty and granular. Gross. Standouts? Mom loved the Shrimp on the Barbie, I thought the boniato puree that came with the Grilled Beef Skewer was fantastic and the flan was just out of this world, grandma really enjoyed the pierogie and Stephanie really liked the chimichurri with the beef skewer.

We walked it off for a bit, walking back to Future World instead of taking the boat. Stephanie and I took a ride on Spaceship Earth while Mom and grandma perused Mouse Gears and then we decided to go back to the hotel to rest for a bit before our dinner reservation.

Mom, grandma and Stephanie went right back to the room. I took a little time and wandered around the grounds a bit. I couldn’t help it — they were so pretty and peaceful!

Grandma was exhausted and beyond full, so she decided to stay back at the hotel and relax. Mom, Stephanie and I rested for about an hour and then headed back to Epcot for our dinner reservation at San Angel Inn.

Stephanie and I had lunch at San Angel Inn a few years ago and counted it amongst the culinary highlights of our trip (surprisingly so), so we were eager to try it again and have Mom try it, too, because she loves Mexican food. They ran a bit late for our reservation, but we were okay waiting — the Mexico pavilion is one of my favorites in World Showcase just because it’s so lovely (and cold!). We were seated within 20 minutes of our reservation.

Complimentary chips and salsa

Much to our disappointment, San Angel Inn fell into a sort of sophomore slump, and our second visit paled in comparison to our first. Firstly, our server was incredibly slow. The service was awful. It took forever for her to take our orders, forever to get our food and I think our drinks were only refilled once (unacceptable given that the food was abnormally spicy on this visit). And the food? It was just okay. Stephanie and I both ordered what we had on our first visit — the Pollo a las Rajas for her, the Carne Asada for me (and Mom) and they were both okay, but not as good as we remembered. Stephanie and Mom both had desserts that were quite enjoyable (the Crema Bavaria for Stephanie, the Crepas de Cajeta for Mom), but my dessert (the Isla Flotante) was probably the worst dessert I’ve ever had in Disney World. Would we dine here again? Probably. The ambiance is amongst the best in Epcot and while the food was hit-or-miss, there’s enough desirable menu choices to taste around. And it helps that this meal, like our others, was completely free (save for gratuity). Thanks again, free dining!

Pollo a las Rajas (grilled chicken breast served with red peppers and onion cream sauce, poblano rice and queso fresco) — $23

Carne Asada a la Tampiquena (grilled beef tenderloin served with cheese enchilada, black refried beans, red bell pepper, onion, mexican rice and guacamole) — $28

Crema Bavaria (creamy bavarian mousse served with mixed berries, cinnamon and orange liqueur) — $8

Crepas de Cajeta (warm crepes with “cajeta” carmel sauce and topped with toasted almonds) — $11

Isla Flotante (caramelized lime meringue served over vanilla sauce and mixed berries) — $8

After dinner, we went seeking a good spot to watch Illuminations (which we hadn’t seen since 2001! We just never have the energy to stay for it, I guess). We found a nice spot outside of the dessert booth, and since I left most of my dessert at SAI, I picked up some dessert here.

Dessert and Champagne
Lemon Chiffon, White Chocolate Macadamia Mousse with Dark Chocolate Pearls and Tres Leches Verrine

I don’t know what it is, but it seems fireworks brings out the worst in everyone at Disney World. You have people who, no matter how little space there is, will insist on shoving in front of you, people who will go to the back of the crowd but send their children to stand on top of you, people who will scream at each other, people who pick fights. It’s the most unmagical magical moment. RELAX! IT’S JUST FIREWORKS!!!

They had Extra Magic Hours, but we were exhausted. We took our time making our way back to the front of the park, took a go-round on Spaceship Earth and went back to the hotel. One of these days, I’ll muster the energy for an Epcot EMH. One day.

Stephanie bought disguises at the dollar store. One ended up in my backpack. I have no regrets

Mom took grandma over to Sassagoula for dinner when we got back to the hotel and I took a shower and crashed. Long day. Hot day. Too much food. And tomorrow? We had another half of Food and Wine to conquer.