Epcot Garden Festival

April is a good month to visit Disney World. Other than April showers, mornings tend to be cool and daytimes in the eighties. This year at the Flower & Garden show was the first time Epcot had food booths around World Showcase. We merrily ate our way around, starting at Mexico where our kids got tacos. Next we came to my favorite site, Norway. The Maelstrom ride inspired my paranormal Drift Lords series based on Norse mythology. Don’t miss the little museum that displays costumed figures while you are there.

At the Chinese marketplace called Lotus House, I couldn’t resist the Spring Pancake with Grilled Chicken and Green Apples. It was a generous portion and very tasty! And next at Germany, I had to try the potato pancake. I’m already getting full.

I passed by a few of the booths, while my husband got a noodle dish that reminded me of worms like a Klingon might eat, and then he tried the smoked beef brisket at the American pavilion. We detoured at France to see the newly remodeled pastry shop then zipped past the UK and Canada. I had to get the pineapple soft serve ice cream at the Dole booth. We just couldn’t sample everything we might have liked.

Another day we took a brisk stroll around Downtown Disney to see what’s new. Pleasure Island is scheduled for renovation but nothing has been done yet. It’s always pleasant to walk through this area and people watch.

My main purpose in visiting Orlando this time wasn’t to sightsee, however. I attended the Florida Library Association convention where I spoke along with authors Sandra Balzo, Patrick Kendrick, Ron Farrington Sharp, and Elaine Viets. MWA sponsored the breakfast, where we introduced ourselves and answered questions about our publishing careers.

Later in the morning, we spoke on a panel about New Possibilities in Publishing, discussing how the digital revolution has affected each of us on a personal basis. Now we have more choices than ever before in terms of sales and distribution of our work. Members of the audience asked pertinent questions during the Q&A Session.

Epcot Food & Wine Festival

We ate our way around World Showcase at this year’s Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. This event runs from Sept. 28 – Nov. 12 so you have plenty of time to get there. You need a regular ticket to get into the theme park and then you buy the sample foods and drinks as you circle the lake and browse the marketplaces.

We turned left and hit the Terra stand first, sampling the Chicken Curry with Basmati Rice. While I like curry dishes, this one was a bit spicy. I wanted to try the Jerk Chicken Drumstick with Mango Chutney at the Caribbean booth, but the line was too long, so we moved on to Argentina. Here I had the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree (tastes like mashed potatoes with pesto sauce). This item cost $5.00. I believe prices went up this year because I don’t remember many dishes costing that much before.

I might have liked the Shrimp on the Barbie or the Grilled Lamb Chop at Australia but saved them for another visit. One of our kids got the Shrimp Taco at Mexico and I had a taste. Good!

On to Scandinavia, another favorite. Their Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries is the best—even better than Ikea’s meatballs. This cost $3.50 each and was well worth the price. My husband had the Taste of Scandinavia for $4.00. This was a plate with cured salmon and herring and shrimp salad.

China came next. I’ve had their Potstickers and Chicken Satay before so passed on it this time. Also walked past South Korea even though the Mung Bean Pancake with Shrimp looked interesting. South Africa is another favorite with Filet of Beef and Smashed Sweet Potatoes. It’s one of the most tender cuts of beef around and done just right for $5.00.

We moved on past vendors with plates of cheeses, a Brewer’s Collection for beer drinkers, and skipped the Apple Strudel at Germany. One dish sounded really interesting at Poland—Toasted Mushrooms, Carmelized Onions and Cheese Bread—but I’ll have to save it for next time. We breezed past Italy to the American pavilion where I zeroed in on my favorite dessert, the Pumpkin Mousse at the “Hops and Barley” counter. For $1.50, this is a bargain. It comes in a mini-dessert cup like you get in some restaurants these days. It’s so good, I had to buy the Festival cookbook for the recipe ($16.95 plus tax).

I wanted to get the Coq au Vin with Mac and Cheese at the France pavilion because it was so good last year, but I was too full already. I passed up the whole other side of World Showcase, unable even to taste the Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon at Canada or the Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey or the Chocolate Lava Cake at Ireland. I did go for the Mai Tai at Hawaii for the hefty price of $7.50. Save your money on this one. While I tasted some rum, it was a pleasant fruit drink in a plastic cup.

Now I’ve made myself hungry again. I need to go back to try all things I missed on this trip. Next time, we’ll start from the opposite direction.

China Pavilion New Wine Cellar Lounge at Italy

Orlando Revisited

We just returned from another weekend in Orlando, Florida. It was hot but not so bad early in the morning when we went for our daily stroll. It’s a peaceful scene at the lake by our condo.

On Saturday, we visited Baldwin Park to view the lake there and the main street with its restaurants and boutiques. We had lunch in Chi Pan Asian and walked around. Baldwin Park is a quiet enclave with upscale residences in the middle of Orlando.

The next day, we drove to Disney’s Boardwalk Resort to have lunch in one of their numerous restaurant, a brewery/grill, and then we walked all the way around the lake by the Yacht and Beach Club resorts. We could see the Dolphin and Swan hotels, too. We got back to our car just before a torrential downpour.

We celebrated our son’s birthday at Christini’s. Our eyebrows nearly dropped off when we saw the wine prices. $65 for a bottle of a Napa Cabernet. My husband looked it up later, and it lists $22 online. Clearly, this is where they make their money. They need it, too, as no less than five waiters in tuxedoes hovered around, refilling our water glasses and whisking our plates away if we put down a fork. An accordion player serenaded us, his instrument gleaming with mother-of-pearl keys. Fresh flowers sat in a glass vase on each table, covered with black cloths. It’s a very romantic atmosphere, great for special occasions and romance. But really, is ravioli and veal marsala with a polenta cake worth over $35 each? The Caesar and Caprese salads were excellent, and the main dishes were quite tasty. So was the crusty bread with a creamy eggplant dip. Umm, I’m getting hungry thinking about it. While we enjoyed our evening there, the bill for over $200 is one we probably won’t want to repeat any time soon. Fortunately, the next birthdays in the family are in September, which in Orlando is Magical Dining Month. You can get 3 course meals at fancy restaurants for $30 each. That’s a much better deal.

Also, please check out my blog post today over at The Kill Zone where I offer 6 Tips for File Management.

Star Wars Weekends

I’m taking a well-deserved break from writing to play in Orlando, visit family, and participate later today in a multi-author booksigning at B&L Books in Altamonte Springs.

Meanwhile, we visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We took a stroll around, having been on most of the rides on previous stopovers, ate lunch (a really good pressed turkey and cheese and sweet red pepper sandwich on multi-grain bread), and rode on The Great Movie Ride. I wish they’d update this attraction. I know it’s supposed to show classic films but it could use some nods to modern times.

A surprise came with a daily parade. As this month is Star Wars Weekends (or is it Star Tours, as per the ride?), the parade consisted of characters from the films. I’m not a parade enthusiast, but these costumes were wonderfully like the movies.

Epcot Food & Wine

As per our annual family tradition, we attended the Epcot Food & Wine Festival last weekend. The weather was perfect, delightfully cool in the morning and warming into the 70’s in the afternoon. World Showcase opens at 11am so we arrived by lunchtime, turning left toward Mexico. For those of you not familiar with this event, each country has a little pavilion where they offer samples of food and drink for a fee.

Here are some photos from previous years. I didn’t bring a camera this time; too busy eating.

We passed on the entries at Chile, Brazil, and Puerto Rico but stopped at Argentina for the grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato puree ($4.75 per portion) and a glass of Kaiken cabernet ($5.50). Delicious. Next came Mexico. They have a whole new area across from the pyramid with a dine-in restaurant and counter service café with outdoor seating under cover. Our kids got the taco at their festival pavilion. We went past Poland, then came to China and just had to get their barbecue chicken stick. This was a generous portion and very tasty. We skipped South Korea, although the honey ginger tea sounded good.

At South Africa, the seared beef tenderloin with mango barbecue sauce and sweet potato puree is a good choice. I had to taste the shrimp cake with noodle salad at Singapore next ($3.50 each). Another tasty dish. Am I making your mouth water yet?

By now I was full, so I strode by Germany, Italy, the U.S., Japan, Australia and Morocco. I’d had some of these foods at previous forays anyway. Belgium was new and there was a long line. The baked Belgium waffle with berry compote and whipped cream was to die for. Very luscious and reasonably priced at $2.75. The Godiva chocolate liqueur iced coffee was expensive at $7.25, but I had to try it. Lip-smacking good.

Too full to eat more, we passed by Spain, resisted the chocolate crème brulee at France and the warm chocolate lava cake at Ireland, even the maple glazed salmon at Canada. Would have loved to try the items at Greece or the lamb slider at New Zealand, but we’ll save those for next year. My stomach always gets satiated halfway around World Showcase.

Tag: Disney

Epcot Garden Festival

Epcot Food & Wine Festival

Orlando Revisited

Star Wars Weekends

Epcot Food & Wine

Contests:

Where To Find My Books: