Episode 15: First Time at Food & Wine Festival and MEXICO!!! – Walt Disney World – September 2016

It’s not a trip to Epcot, without a ride in Spaceship Earth (or the big ball as the kids call it).  Luckily we had chosen this ride for a Fast Pass and we were so glad we did!  It had one of the longest lines I had ever seen for this ride and posted a 30 minute wait… but we were able to board in just about 5 minutes! 

 

This is such a classic ride.  I love watching the progression of communication over time and of course hearing Dame Judy explain it all.  The backwards “This is your future” is always fun but the photos weren’t working so we had the generic cartoon characters on the screen… boo… it is way better when you can make funny faces to the camera and see your own ‘character’ in your story. 

 

We usually run through Innoventions on our way to the next ride but we decided to hang out for a bit an play with the educational games.  I have pictures of the twins ‘moving energy’ when they were four and it was fun to have them to do this again at twelve… my how they have grown!!!

We decided to leave Future World behind and enter into Food & Wine Festival for the first time… EVER!  Jason and I had to take our picture with the Mickey topiary holding a shish kabob!  Since we had never been before, we really didn’t know what to expect.  As soon as you get near World Showcase Lagoon, you encounter the first food booth.  We had grabbed a couple of F&W passports on the way into the park that morning, so we whipped them out ready to apply stickers from our first snacks.  The one item we were most excited to try was the pork slider from Hawaii… and guess which was the first food booth we encountered???  Well Hawaii of course!  If you have the dining plan, it is very helpful in not spending a small fortune at the many booths.  Jason, Alisa & Ethan all wanted to try the pork slider so we ordered three and used one quick service meal credit!  At $4.25 each, this was  good deal.  Ethan didn’t like the sauce, but Jason and Alisa sure did.  Overall, the (official description here:) Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet-and-Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayo was a huge hit and we would definitely eat again. 

Next booth was right next door… Patagonia.  Jason tried the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce & Boniato Puree ($5.50).  The meat was very flavorful and the ‘potatoes’ were also good.  Ethan had the Beef Empanada ($4.75) and deemed it to be good too.  Two more stickers in our passports!!! Well at this point neither Cameron nor Colby had had anything but a bite or two.  So we asked what they wanted and we moved on to the next food booth ‘Farm Fresh’ where Cameron decided on the Chicken & Dumplings ($4.75).  It was so good we all had to get a bite to try it. 

 

Colby decided he wanted to wait and eat in Mexico… so instead of hitting the food booth for another snack size option, we headed over to La Cantina de San Angel for an order of fish tacos for the adults and beef nachos for the kids.  Oh and did I mention the two orders of churros with caramel dipping sauce???  YUM!  This is our go-to lunch spot at Epcot and we normally grab a spot under the covered pavilion, but this year we sat inside… INSIDE! I had no idea that there was an inside until Ethan led the way.  Huh, what you can learn from teenagers in search of air conditioning! And the air conditioning was to die for!!! This has been an exceptionally hot September… we have made several September trips before, but this was one for the record books.  And the view inside is just as good as the view from the pavilion as it also sits right along side of the lagoon.

So now that we are full and slightly cooled off, we head into the main building for a relaxing boat ride… Grand Fiesta Tour with the Three Caballeros.  We discovered that if you get the front row in the boat you can prop your feet up which make for a very pleasant ride when your belly is very full!  Inside the Mexican pavilion has the best atmosphere.  We love that it feels like an outdoor market even in the middle of the day.  The boys found many items they would love to bring home with them (but there limited gift card budget stopped them) and of course we had to have our ‘Hats Around the World’ photo with all of the boys in a giant sombrero!  Good Times!  We emerged back into the sunlight… and the heat, just in time for the amazing mariachi band.