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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Epcot Food and Wine Revisited

Epcot Food and Wine Revisited

On our way to Orlando from the Necronomicon convention in St. Petersburg, we stopped at the Parkesdale Farm Market in Plant City. Alerted to this venue at the annual Strawberry Festival, we hoped to obtain some of the goodies for sale at that event. We were pleased to find the same delicious strawberry bread at the farm stand along with fresh fruits and veggies, jams and jellies and honey, and many other treats in their gift shop.

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From here, we moved on to Orlando and a revisit to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. We started at the opposite end from last time. The beef filet at Canada was exquisitely tender with sautéed mushrooms to die for. The coq au vin at France was just as good, tender chicken on a bed of mac and cheese in a generously large portion. Nearly full by now, I passed up many other treats or shared in a taste by family members.

Canada, Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon  with Truffle Butter, $6.50
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Ireland, Warm Chocolate Lava Cake and Lobster Seafood Fishermen’s Pie
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France, Coq Au Vin: $ 5.50; Chardonnay: $5.75
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Near the American pavilion, a concert was underway. Here’s a sample of the Maine lobster roll from the Hops & Barley stand.
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Moving on, we sampled the Shrimp on the Barbie from Australia.
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My final sweet taste was the Rice Pudding with Berries from Scandinavia for $2.75
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