Wednesday October 19th 2016

This afternoon I went back to EPCOT for more of the International Food & Wine Festival. I was a little more prepared today. I had booked two Fastpass reservations for rides and I was prepared to be more original with my choice of food for supper.

EPCOT Spaceship Earth

There are two attractions at EPCOT that I want to see. Both the Frozen Ever After ride and the updated Soarin Around the World experience are new since my last visit in the early spring. I was successful in obtaining a Fastpass for Soarin. I will continue to check other days for a Frozen Ever After Fastpass. I know I can get one for my December stay at Fort Wilderness, but I want see it sooner.

Soarin Around the World is terrific. The original Soarin focused on California, this version goes to sights all over the world. The experience starts flying low over polar bears and ice flows only to be surprised by a whale breaching in front of you. As you fly through the splash from the whale returning to the sea the video transitions to flying above elephants only to transition to other areas. Some of the highlights include kites flying over the Great Wall of China, going around the pyramids of Egypt, flying with Hot Air balloons in Monument Valley and flying around the Eiffel Tower. This is really a fun experience.

Muppets entertaining the crowd

My other Fastpass was for the Journey into Imagination ride. I really like Figment the featured character on this ride. The ride is showing its age, but I enjoy it. The depiction of computers as flashing lights and magnetic tape reels is anachronistic. The current generation finds it hard to believe that computers were ever that big and clunky. If they knew how slow they were compared to today’s cell phones they’d be even more amazed.

This visit I came prepared to eat and drink at the Food and Wine Festival. The kiosks around the park sell different International foods and wines. The food is in small portions costing between four and eight dollars. The wine choices are similarly priced, but you get closer to a normal portion for the cost. To have enough to call it a meal, you need to purchase more than one mini entree.

For my dinner, I started with a spicy shrimp dish from Australia combined with a Chardonnay. It was tasty and not overly spicy. Since it only contained 3 medium sized shrimp another mini entree was in order. A little while later I chose a Beef Burgundy dish with a Merlot and Cabernet blend wine from France. The two pieces of beef on a three inch round by three quarters of an inch thick mashed potato glob was also very good. I was tempted by a few other choices but will leave them until another time.

I left the park about 7:30. Waiting around for the evening entertainment would mean walking around the world showcase another time or two to kill time then fighting the crowds to exit at the end of the night. I chose to come home early.