We Love the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival!
Alex Discovers His Nirvana
This Walt Disney World day was completely alien to Sarah and me. We actually got to sleep in! And by that, I mean that Epcot opened at 9am and did not have Extra Magic Hours. Clearly, we had to celebrate! I did so in the only way I could imagine: by waking up extra early to wander around Pop Century and take photos.
It was the perfect morning for this task. The sky was absolutely beautiful and the resort was completely empty. I was really happy as each photo I took was better than the one before it. I really enjoyed seeing the sky change as people stumbled out of their rooms. There is also something insanely peaceful about walking around an empty resort taking photos. That is my Nirvana! This was also another chance to use my shiny new fish-eye lens!
When I got back I decided to leave my camera equipment outside so I did not need to take the next 30 minutes attempting to defog my lenses. It was really humid during this trip so leaving it outside was a necessary evil. I got ready quickly, considering I was constantly stepping outside to make sure I still had a camera. Once we were ready, we walked to the main building to fill up on coffee and water. I also got to take some more photos with the fish-eye!
We Love Early Mornings at Epcot
After my photo shenanigans were complete, we boarded the first bus to Epcot so I could take more pictures with the fish-eye. I must be honest, I went a little bit crazy with that lens on this trip. It was new and different and I happen to LOVE new and different things!
I think I may love this lens. There were several reviews saying that uses did not care for the lens and that it was not very sharp. I found that adjusting the focal length to 3’ takes care of any issues with sharpness. I also was astounded with how wide the lens is. Even though it was an adjustment, I kept getting my feet in the shots I was taking off-tripod. If anyone wants a great, and inexpensive, fisheye lens, this is a great option.
After I got done taking even more photos in front of Spaceship Earth while Sarah patiently waited for rope drop, we watched the Jammin’ Chefs perform. Formerly the Jamminators, this is a fun show that I think has a great place at pre-rope drop at Epcot. It certainly isn’t comparable to Let the Magic Begin at Magic Kingdom, but is better than nothing. They are fun and interactive and make me laugh. Checks all the boxes for me!
We were early enough to be in the front for rope drop so our run (I mean walk
) to Soarin’ was pain free. We waited roughly 14 seconds to be placed in a row and entered the concourse. Sarah decided that she wanted to use our camera to take pictures that made it appear like she was actually flying. What a goofball.
We exited and walked up the stairs to exit the Land pavilion. I always hate this area. The flow of traffic makes no sense. I know that it would be difficult to add a stairway in the middle of Sunshine Seasons, but it is annoying to be funneled into a small stairwell on your way into and out of one of the most popular attractions at Epcot.
After we braved the climb up and out of the exit area, we quickly walked over to Test Track. Again, I used my fish-eye to take a picture in front of the sign to the attraction.
The stand-by wait for the attraction was already 45 minutes so we decided to do single-rider. That line was considerably shorter. We waited about 5 minutes and both got in the same car. Even though we were in different rows, the only downside is we could not create a boss car. (Yes, I just used the word boss) The single-rider line on this attraction is much more efficient than other attractions at WDW (I’m looking at you Rockin’ Roller Coaster!). Having three seats per row lends to lots of open single seats!
After we were done and I took a photo of the newly opened Mission: SPACE, we headed off to Spaceship Earth to use our Fastpass+. We continue to choose this attraction, partially because the Fastpass+ tiers are so restrictive at Epcot and partially because Dame Judi Dench is the best human ever. We unwound as we took our journey into the past and our future.
World Showcase was about to open when we left Spaceship Earth so we slowly moved in that direction. Sarah got a fabulous picture of Pigment in all his Epcot International Food & Wine Festival glory on our way over.
I focused on getting photos of his pavilion.
So... many... snacks
Our first destination was for a Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce. Our steak was cook excellently. Perfectly medium-rare and tender as can be. Sarah also loved that they overloaded it with mushrooms. This was the genesis of many food-related adventures during the day.
As we walked, we took pictures together, which is one of Sarah’s favorite Epcot pastimes.
Along the way, I got a Schoferhoffer Grapefruit beer, one of my favorite Epcot pastimes.
We completed our loop in the Mexico pavilion with a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros. We always visit this attraction when we are touring Epcot. There is rarely a line and it is a great way to escape the heat.
The Gran Fiesta Tour made us even hungrier. Sarah stopped at the Mexico booth and got Tequila Chipotle Shrimp Taco. I walked across the way and got Red Hot Spicy Curry Beef. I liked both of these snacks, but probably Sarah’s more (this was a theme of this weekend’s dining). The taco had great texture and I didn’t even mind the cabbage on top.
The curry beef lived up to its billing and was very spicy. I thought there was not a lot of depth of flavor. Similarly to other WDW spicy dishes, it seemed like it was bland until the spice kicked me in the mouth. I was left with a mouth of spice, but nothing else.
We left the Mexico area and started a reverse tour around World Showcase Lagoon. I claimed a rare Frozen Ever After Fastpass+ during our 60-day booking window, but when we arrived the attraction was closed. Apparently this ride was down for a while because I got an email from Disney explaining that we could use our Fastpass+ at any other Epcot attraction.
Sarah and I decided to drown our sorrows in Italian food. We went to the Italy booth and ordered the Absolute Penne. We both really liked this snack. There was a ton of pasta. The only complaints I would have would be that it had way too much sauce and not enough shrimp. There were two shrimp and a lake of sauce. Sarah will, and does, disagree. She loves sauce so the more the merrier!
She ate and I took a photo of the pavilion.
As we finished our loop, we decided we wanted to use our last budgeted snack credit on a Warm Chocolate Pudding from the Ireland booth. This dessert made even my chocolate cake from Yak & Yeti seem light. The chocolate cake was incredibly rich. I love rich dark chocolate so it didn’t bother me. Sarah loves warm chocolate lava cake, so it didn’t bother her either. Are there better desserts at EIF&WF? Maybe. Is this a good option? Definitely!
By this time, it was hot and crowded. We wanted to go on The Seas with Nemo & Friends and then leave the park. Unfortunately, our bad luck with Fastpass+ continued. We walked up to find out that this attraction had also been temporarily closed. We certainly did not feel like sitting out in the sun, so we went back to our hotel.
Public Pools are Icky
When we got back to Pop Century, we decided a dip in the pool would feel refreshing. We rarely swim at hotels. We felt even less enthused about staying at the Hippy Dippy Pool. This is a terribly boring pool that was full of screaming children. Who would have thought from a main Disney pool, right?! After being splashed a few too many times, we went back to our room to nap.
Awkward Meals and Awesome Shows
Amazingly, we woke up on time to leave even though we forgot to set an alarm. We arrived at Hollywood Studios just early enough to go ride The Twilight Zone Hollywood Tower of Terror before our dining reservation at Hollywood & Vine.
I went into Hollywood & Vine with a similar attitude to 1900 Park Fare. Unfortunately, my low expectations were not low enough with this buffet. The food was, frankly, terrible. The corn was cold and mushy, the mashed potatoes were chunky, the meats were mediocre, and the desserts were uninspired.
Unfortunately, this restaurant also featured character meet and greets with Minnie and Friends. I think these interactions are even more awkward than direct human character meet and greets. This was confirmed when Daisy came up and wanted to take a picture, but no one was around to take it.
Sarah was off hiding from this exact scenario and our server was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, we figured out that he would return after seeing a few other guests. Unfortunately, she remembered. (Ok Scrooge moment over)
There were two bright spots about Hollywood & Vine! First, our server was from the Chicago area so we had a nice interaction about how much we both hate winter and how nice it is to live in Central Florida. Second, they had pomegranate lemonade! I drank away my social anxiety with pomegranate-lemon goodness.
After dinner, we had a couple hours to kill before our Fastpass+ for Toy Story Mania. We swung by Muppet Vision 3D and did some snooping to see the construction progress. The attraction was nostalgic, I have also been watching this show since I was young at Disneyland. The progress was hard to see. We did get to see the progress in the Muppet Courtyard. I don’t think we had ventured back that way in the
June or
July trips.
As we were walking around running out of things to do at HS, it continued to be clear how little is open to draw crowds currently. We decided the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular was worth another visit. If Sarah and I were not willing to see all the entertainment multiple times, there would be very little to draw us to HS.
We crossed the park to Toy Story Mania and Sarah proceeded to beat me, again. This time was a legitimate win. My blaster worked fine, but she just beat me. I am destined to always lose and I just have to be ok with that L.
After I was done, we had just enough time for me to ride Rockin’ Roller Coaster as a single-rider. This is another attraction that Sarah refuses to ride. The corkscrews make her want to be sick. I moved quickly and got into the studio area within 3 minutes. Unfortunately, this attraction is not nearly as conducive to being a single-rider. It took me about 20 minutes to move from the exit of the studio to the ride vehicle. This meant I would need to sprint to get to our seats before Fantasmic!
Thanks to some crafty maneuvering, I could sneak into the dining reservations area to meet Sarah at our reward for surviving our Hollywood & Vine experience. We watched the excellent show and I used my Nikkor 70-300mm lens with my Nikon D7500. This was a much better pairing than our D3400. Our last trip most of our photos were completely useless because of the horrendous amount of high-ISO noise.
We exited the pavilion and I got a long-exposure shot of the Hollywood Tower Hotel.
When we finally got to the line for the Pop Century bus, it almost wrapped out of the parking area. I am pretty sure that, if it were possible to walk, it would have taken less time to walk back to our hotel. Much to Sarah’s annoyance, I made the executive decision to order an Uber. She bet me that it would take longer to Uber than to take the bus. Once again to her annoyance, it didn’t. Hey, I had to win something, right?!
We arrived back at our hotel and went right to bed.