Photo Flashback! EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is just around the corner.  It is celebrating 20 years. 

This year the dates are September 25 - November 16, 2015.  The Growing Up Disney family will be there in October once again.   This year the theme is:

Taste Your Way Around The World
Embark on a culinary adventure celebrating 20 years of culture and cuisine with the finest wine and beverage offerings at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, presented by CHASE®.

This year they have, as described by Disney's website, over "30 unique market places.  I've looked over the list and there are some old favorites as well as some new marketplaces that will be favorites.

In 2007 the theme was "Tastefully Inspired" and featured Oklahoma.  This fit well as Amy and her husband of 2 years lived in Owasso, Oklahoma at the time.  

Mom and DisneyDad

Tastefully Inspired

Oklahoma's Marketplace

A little Seared Buffalo anyone?

Some of Oklahoma's Famous residents

Somehow Amy didn't get her picture taken with her husband, but she did make sure I took her picture with Toby Keith.

--DisneyDad

Thanks for stopping by Growing Up Disney

Photo Flashback! Really Good? -- no Great!

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival 

is always a good time to visit Walt Disney World.

EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival 2014

It's always good when you can get one good picture 

of the fireworks at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

 or two,

.

Or you capture a good photo after watching a show

for at least the 10th time

Or you get a photo made with Mickey

Or you have a great view from your room

to start your day

But know what is REALLY GREAT?

Spending time at Walt Disney World

with family.

Mom and Ridge

Mom and DisneyDad

These photos were taken during our October 2014 visit to

Walt Disney World.  Amy and her family

were not able to come on this trip, but 

Ridge was able to come along with us.

--DisneyDad

Thanks for stopping by Growing Up Disney

Photo Flashback! Family Favorites

This week's topic is "Family Favorites."  Here are a few things that came to mind (in no particular order other than how the photos loaded...)

Favorite Disney nerd thing to say

Favorite tropical frozen treat

Favorite hard ticket event

Favorite time of year to visit WDW

Favorite afternoon snack

Favorite ice cream ever

Favorite resort

Favorite way to travel

Favorite icon

Favorite bus

Favorite place to get hitched

Favorite breakfast

Favorite little girls to see smiling
Favorite character to meet

Favorite silly hat

Favorite kiddo attraction

Ok, now I really need a trip to the World.  Who's with me?!?  What are your favorites?  ~Amy

My Favorite WDW Trip -- The Next one

 Photos from EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival October 2012

What's your favorite trip to Walt Disney World?  Was it the first time you went, like my first visit in 1971?  Or was it a visit on your honeymoon, like when I took my wife to WDW on our honeymoon in 1973?  Or was it when you had some special event at WDW, like Amy’s wedding in 2005?  Or was it a trip where you were told your daughter is expecting your first grandchild, or maybe when she told you about the second one?  We heard about both of our granddaughters at WDW.  Or was it a trip when you just got to walk hand in hand with your granddaughter as she took her first steps on Main Street USA on her first birthday?  (Check out the Growing Up Disney logo.)

What was your favorite trip to Walt Disney World?  After 40+ years of visiting what is my favorite trip?  My next one.

I’ve enjoyed going to WDW over the years and look forward to going back over and over.  Our next planned trip is a family trip while the 2013 version of the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival will be going on.  This year the Food and Wine Festival will be September 27 to November 11.  Check out one of the posts on the official Disney Parks Blog by clicking here. 

Expect over 40 new dishes and 80 new beverages at this year’s Food and Wine Festival plus a new cookbook so you can take home your favorite recipes from the festival.

Of course the Festival is just the backdrop for a vacation spent with family.  It makes a fun time with family even better.  And it gives me another “excuse” to visit.

--DisneyDad

Magical Blogorail: Best Uses of Disney Dining Plan Snack Credits

Welcome to those of you joining me from A World View and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 4th stop on our Magical Blogorail.

Today my Magical Blogorail Red buddies and I are discussing our favorite uses for Disney Dining Plan Snack Credits.

1. Food & Wine Festival or Flower & Garden Festival Marketplaces

Many of the food items available at these Epcot special events can be purchased with snack credits.  Just check the menu boards for the ubiquitous purple DDP logo.  This can be a great way to make the most of your snack credits as some of the festival foods can get pricey.  Make sure to schedule your table service meals so that you have some stomach space available.  We don't normally make any dining reservations on the same day that we would like to 'eat around the world.'

2. Bakeries, ice cream shops

Don't assume that you must use your credits at the various carts around property.  You can also pop into a bakery for a morning "snack" of pastry, enjoy one of the freshly made ice cream cookie sandwiches, or the oh-so-magical carrot cake cookies.  That said, one can never go wrong with a Mickey ice cream bar.

3. Treats to go

If you get to the end of your vacation and still have snack credits on the table, pick up a few of the prepackaged treats at your resort's gift shop to take home.  Extending the magic with some character shape cookies will bring smiles to both the kids and the vacation planner in your family.  Just check the tags in the store for the DDP logo.  (This same tip works for quick service credits.  If you have a credit left on your departure day, consider getting lunch to go.  Prepackaged, refrigerated sandwiches from resort food courts make a good lunch while you are killing time at the airport.)

Our travel party from Fall 2006

As Disney Vacation Club members, we don't get "free dining" however we did purchase the plan twice, once each in 2006 and 2007.  It was new at the time and really a bargain.  We got one table service meal per day with appetizer, entree, dessert and beverage with gratuity included.  The daily quick service meal was entree/combo, dessert and beverage.  One snack credit per day was a part of the plan. It was a convenient plan since there were extra friends or family traveling with us.  There was no squabbling over the check at dinner; my dad would give the server his Key to the World card and all was well.  Of course, Ridge and my husband tried to see how much they could "spend" at every meal.  I'd blame them that the dining plan is no longer a great deal.  While it was fun, the Disney Dining Plan does not match how we would eat if paying directly out of pocket and is no longer a good idea for us.  We prefer Tables in Wonderland.

Do you prefer to use one of the Disney Dining Plans or pay as you go? What is your favorite DDP snack option?  Please leave a comment below.

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is My Dreams of Disney.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ Disney Donna Kay

2nd Stop ~ Colorado Mountain Mom

3rd Stop ~ A World View

4th Stop ~ Growing Up Disney

Final Stop ~ My Dreams Of Disney

Guest Post: My less-than-24-hour adults-only stay at WDW

We checked in around 6:00 pm on Monday night, and the Magical Express (ME) picked us up at 4:05pm on Tuesday. It would seem like it was a very short stay, and it technically was, but we got so much done in those few precious hours! It was our first time at the World with no kids, and we were going to take advantage of it!

The WDW stay came at the tail-end of an adults only weekend in New Smyrna Beach (NSB), Florida. When my sister told me that she and my brother-in-law were going to have to leave a day earlier than us, it was a no brainer to us to ditch NSB and spend the extra night in WDW!

We were originally booked at Boardwalk Villas (we are DVC members), but went on the wait-list for Beach Club (BC). We had never stayed at BC, so what better time to try it than on a one-night trip. If we didn't like it, or were too home-sick for our beloved Animal Kingdom Villas, we could deal with it for one short night. We also knew we wanted to do the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, so BC provided the perfect location! A few days out from our trip, our wait-list came true. Everything was falling into place.

Once we dropped my sister and brother -in-law off at the airport, we headed to the World. We checked in, dropped our bags off in the room, and walked into Epcot (yes, I said walked - we LOVED the proximity of BC to Epcot). We immediately hit the food and wine marketplaces. I am not a huge foodie or wino, but I did enjoy the novelty of experiencing one of WDW's special events, especially since this is one that we couldn't experience with our kids at their ages. Their patience level is usually at 0, and I'm sure they would not enjoy stopping every few minutes for mommy and daddy to have a bite to eat. I really enjoyed the leisurely pace of the festival. Being a Monday night, there were no lines and we could just eat and sit as we pleased. My favourites were the margarita in Mexico, and the Greek salad in Greece (I know, I'm boring!). 

Hubby, on the other hand, LOVED all the food samplings! He loves experiencing different foods from all over, so this was right up his alley. His favourites were: Taco de Filete in Mexico, Mongolian Beef in China, and the Rendang in Singapore.

The highlight of my night, though, was seeing one of my favourite music groups from high school: Boyz II Men, in the Eat To The Beat Concert Series. Boy, did that take me back to my youth!  The best part was that it was completely unexpected! I had no idea they would be performing. I loved singing along to all their hit songs. I couldn't believe I still remembered all the words to "On Bended Knee". They put on a great show.

Once we hit all the marketplaces, we had to hit Mouse Gear before it closed! Then it was off to bed for us, as we were determined to make rope drop at Disney's Hollywood Studios (DHS) the following morning. And... We did. DHS has the most adult-friendly rides, in our opinion, so we were going to make sure we took advantage of this park while we were kid-less.

The important reason to make rope drop at DHS is to ensure a stand-by ride on Toy Story Mania (TSM), plus get an early FASTPASS return time. We did just that. Once we rode TSM, we went over to my all-time favourite attraction, The Tower of Terror (ToT). Unfortunately, Rock 'N Rollercoaster was down, but we did get in another ride on TSM and ToT, plus a ride on Star Tours and The Great Movie Ride. This was all accomplished by 11:30am, and then we decided to head back to BC to enjoy the wonderful Stormalong Bay.

Before pool time, though, we walked over to Epcot to get our beloved fish and chips from Yorkshire Fish & Chips in the England Pavilion. Ok, truth be told, hubby likes the fish, and I like the 'chips'!

With lunch over, we secured our pool chairs with a wonderful view of the Boardwalk, the lighthouse, and the water. Stormalong Bay was huge and was a lot of fun to swim in! Hubby went down the slide, while I enjoyed the whirlpool. If I had to find something to complain about, I guess it would be that a lot of the pool area is very deep. However, they have a great sand-bottom shallow area for young children, complete with sand banks and sand toys. It made us really excited to take our young kids there when we stay at the Yacht Club in May. They will love it!

After a few hours, lounging, it was time to head to the ME pick-up spot. While we were sad to go, as we always are, we were happy with all that we had accomplished on our adults-only stay at WDW. Until we meet again, Mickey!

Contributed by Danielle from Ontario, Canada.  She and her husband are Disney Vacation Club Members and visit Walt Disney World several times a year with their two children.  She writes The Fairytale Family and has her own blog, Life As A Disney Mommy.  She is a Minnie Mom here at Growing Up Disney.

2012 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival Opening Weekend

2012 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival 

Taste Your Way Around the World



EPCOT 2012 - Spaceship Earth



I’ve been to many of the annual EPCOT International Food and Wine Festivals but this is the first time I will make it to the opening weekend and the closing weekends.  Ridge and I went to Walt Disney World October 1, 2012 for the EPCOT 30^th Anniversary Celebration.  Part of the fun was it was also the opening days of the 2012 Food and Wine Festival.  We were at EPCOT early and so Ridge was hungry by the time the International Marketplaces opened at 11.  We were sitting near Argentina waiting for the opening.



Welcome to EPCOT Internation Food & Wine Festival 2012



As you enter EPCOT be sure to pick up your Food and Wine Festival brochure along with your EPCOT Park map.  It contains the schedule of the special Festival activities for each day of the week.  It also has descriptions of each Marketplace and a map showing where they are all located if you need to map out which ones you can stop.



Don't Forget to get your map




Marketplace Discovery Passport
Pick this up at a DVC Booth



If you are coming down for the Food and Wine Festival this year, don’t forget to stop at the Festival Center located in the old Wonders of Life Pavilion in Future World East.  Most all of the daily events are held here as well as merchandise and wine stores are located here.  Chase, who is sponsoring the Festival, also has their VIP lounge here.  If you have a Chase credit or debit card, like a Disney Visa, you are a VIP.  They issue armbands for VIP seating at the Eat to the Beat Concert as well as a VIP viewing area for Illuminations if you stop by early. 

Also don' forget to stop by a Disney Vacation Club booth and pick up a Marketplace Discovery Passport that you can have stamped at each Marketplace you visit and keep up with what wonders you have tasted.

At Argentina, Ridge got a Beef Empanada, which is a returning favorite, to begin his trip “Around the World”.  I waited until I reached South Africa where I got the Seared Filet of Beef with Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Braai Sauce.  The beef was tender and not overdone and the sweet potatoes were a flavorful accompaniment.   At Germany Ridge and I got Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll.  The roll was a wonderful soft pretzel with a flavorful bratwurst that stuck way out each end of the roll.  Yellow mustard completed the roll.



Growing Up Disney Contributor and Minnie Mom Janine and her daughter Tink



As we approached the American Pavilion we finally ran into Janine, who writes for GrowingUpDisney from Swindon, England, her husband Steve and daughter Felicity, aka TINK.  It was good to finally meet as she has been writing for Growing Up Disney for a while.  You will be getting a full report on her trip and you can catch up on her other posts here.

In front of the American Pavilion is the Hops and Barley Marketplace.  Here we got Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll and Angry Orchard Cider – Crisp Apple.  The Lobster Roll is a favorite and did not disappoint and the Apple Cider was something I had never tried.  Both will be something I will not miss on our next trip.


The Hops and Barley Market



Later in the day after attending some of the 30^th Anniversary events, I made it around to the United Kingdom Pavilion and found Ireland.  Here I had to try the Lobster and Seafood Fisherman’s Pie and another of my favorites: Kerygold Cheese Selection.  The cheese selection consists of Kerygold Irish Aged Chedder, Dubliner, and Cashel Blue Cheese with Apple Chutney and Brown Bread.  After getting these two dishes, I sat down on a bench near a lady.  She took one look and wanted to know what I had.  Once I told her she went to visit Ireland.

The last Marketplace I stopped on this trip was Canada.  A soup course usually is at the start of a meal, but here I finished with the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup.  The soup is another favorite.  So much that I found the recipe on the Festival web site last year and we have made it at home several times.   Dessert was a little glass of Neige Premiere Apple Ice Wine.  I have never had ice wine made from apples so this was a new treat.

I only made it to a few of the 29 Marketplaces listed in the guide, but I knew I would be coming back to catch the end of the Festival to try a few more “tastes” from Around the World.

--DisneyDad