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Food and Wine Festival

Military Disney Tips Round-Up 2 October 2011

Military Disney Tips Round-Up, Woody (C) Disney

It's a Round-Up Partner

It’s been a while since the last Round-Up so I figured it was time…

Look for the new Disney World Crowd Forecast page. There I provide forecast attendance for Walt Disney World, kindly provided by touringplans.com. I’ll be posting 2 weeks at a time.

Shades of Green is now offering their Single Soldier Special (for E-1 to E-5) in January and February 2012. This 3 night-4 day package which includes room, theme park tickets, and breakfast will save you about $60.

I recently received a fantastic from a reader on how to Keep Kids Happy, Hydrated, and Occupied at Disney.

In other Disney News around the Web

Walt Disney World began celebrating their 40th birthday yesterday.

Disney World's 40th Birthday (c) Disney

This birthday celebration is much more low key compared to various Disney celebrations I the past. Disney is trying to counteract the Celebration Overload that they’d created in the past, so they’ll actually mean something in the future.

Jim Hill has a post on the topic.

Dave from yourfirstvisit.net has a report from the Magic Kingdom on the 40th Birthday.

Check out the 40th on allears.net.

A nice review of WDW history on Disney Travel Examiner.

A look at the original Park Guide Map on Unknown Magic Within Walt Disney World

Yesterday was also the start of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

(more…)

Military Disney Tips Round-Up 1 May 2011

Military Disney Tips Round-Up, Woody (C) Disney

It's a Round-Up Partner

Well, another week has flown by and we are into May, and the The Dark Disney Days of Spring are over. There is only one blockout date period left in the current Armed Forces Salute offer which is: 4 July 2011 at the Magic Kingdom at Disney World and 1-4 July at Disneyland.

No news yet from Shades of Green on their deals and discounts since Disney’s announcement. Their Fall Special ends 31 October, and they are offering the Escape Winter Package again this year. For all Shades of Green’s packages see here.

Did you see my Orlando Military Discounts Series? I’d posted it prior to the big announcement of the Armed Forces Salute extension. It covers all the major theme parks in the Orlando area.

Here are the posts in this series so far:

1. Disney Military Discount 2011 – Orlando Military Discounts Series
2. Sea World Busch Gardens Military Salute 2011 – Orlando Military Discounts Series
3. Universal Orlando Military Discount 2011 – Orlando Military Discounts Series
4. There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch – At Some Theme Parks

There is one more surprise installment coming, The Ultimate Post Deployment Orlando Vacation, look for it soon.

Here’s some other Disney & Military news from the web…

Military Movie Night is a nationwide program created to show appreciation to the military with a trip to the movie theater, starting with the film There Be Dragons. The program provides free tickets to service men and women and their families for select films across the country and is made possible through contributions from generous donors who want to support the military.

Dave at Your First Visit reports: “The second half of last week was abuzz with rumors of discussions between Disney and the Brazilian government regarding a Brazil Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase.” If you’ve read much of my site you know how much I love the Epcot Food and Wine Festival and Brazil has had wonderful foods and wines each year that I’ve been. I look forward to their full-time presence.

You may have seen some announcements about Free Disney Dining in August and September, like this one on the Disney Food Blog. Unfortunately Amy at Ears of Experience tells me that this offer can not be combined with the Armed Forces Salute MIlitary Discounted room discount. It applies only to rack rates (full price rooms).

If you are new to Military Disney Tips Start Here

Disney’s Armed Forces Salute FAQ

Information on Shades of Green – the Military Hotel on Disney World property

For up to the minute news follow us on facebook and twitter.

Free Disney Planning & Reservation Checklist

13 Best 2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Images

Military Disney Tips Coverage of the 2010 Epcot International Food & Wine FestivalThe Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is held at Epcot in Walt Disney World Florida each fall.

All the permanent countries of Epcot’s World Showcase plus many others set up booths around the World Showcase Lagoon. In these booths they sell tapas sized representations of their country’s food. To accompany the great food are small-sized servings of their country’s wines and other drinks.

I love to stroll around and try all the great offerings!

Here are some of my favorites from the 2010 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Argentina

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Argentina

Roasted Corn and Cheese Empanada $2.75
Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée $4.75

 

Belgium

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Belgium

Freshly Baked Waffles with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream $2.75
Godiva Chocolate Iced Coffee $7.25

 

Brazil

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Brazil
Shrimp Stew with Coconut and Lime $4.25

 

Canada

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Canada

Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup $3.75
Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta $3.75
Inniskillin Vidal Icewine $5.75
St. David’s Bench Vineyard Merlot $3.75

 

France

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - France Parisien Cosmo Slush $8.50

 

Greece

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Greece

Greek Salad with Pita Bread $3.00
Spanakopita $4.00
Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki $4.00
Atlantis White $3.50

 

Hops & Barley

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival Hops and Barley

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Hops and Barley

Boston-style Crab Cake with Cabbage Slaw and Rémoulade $4.50
New England Lobster Roll $7.25
Pecan Bread Pudding $3.25

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Hops and Barley

Boston-style Crab Cake with Cabbage Slaw and Rémoulade $4.50
Samuel Adams® Beer: Octoberfest $2.75 / $5.25 /$11.50
Ireland

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Ireland

Lobster and Scallop Fisherman’s Pie $5.50
Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Baileys Irish Cream Ganache $2.75

 

Japan

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Japan
California Sushi Roll $3.50

 

New Zealand

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - New Zealand

Seared Sea Scallop with Vegetable Slaw and Lemon Vinaigrette $4.25
Lamb Slider with Tomato Chutney $4.75
Villa Maria Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc $3.75

 

Puerto Rico

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Puerto Rico
Medianoche Sandwich $2.75
Bacardi Frozen Limón Mojito $7.25

 

United States

2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival - United States

Bison Chili with Wild Mushrooms, Cabernet, and Pepper Jack Cheese $3.50
Heirloom Tomatoes with Oregon Blue Cheese, Red Onions, and Basil $3.00
Red Stag Lemonade by Jim Beam $7.00

 

 

The EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival Starts Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the start of my favorite time of year at Disney World. It cooled off some in Florida this week, the crowds have thinned in the parks and, The EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival is getting ready to start. I’d planned to be there for the opening this year, but it didn’t work out. Family obligations came up and I just got home from a week away (in the awful land of dial-up). I’m definitely going before the F & W is over, probably in November. My wife and I have so much fun strolling around EPCOT’s World Showcase trying all the great food and wines or beers.

Here’s a few links on the Food and Wine for you to enjoy:
The Disney Food Blog
The Walt Disney World Instruction Manual
Allears.net
WDWinfo.com

EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival Starts Next Month

The EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival Starts next month (1 October 2010) and runs through the weekend after Veteran’s Day (14 November 2010).

My wife and I love to go to Walt Disney World during the Food and Wine Fest. It’s our favorite time of year for many reasons. The summer crowds are gone, it’s much cooler in Orlando, and the Food and Wine Fest is awesome. When we were stationed in Ohio we tried to go during the Food and Wine Fest every other year but now that we are in Florida we’re going to hit it every year.

During EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival all of the regular countries around EPCOT’s World Showcase plus quite a few additional countries set up booths on the walkway around EPCOT’s World Showcase Lagoon. At each of these booths they sell appetizer-sized portions of foods that represent their respective countries. They also sell small sized portions of wines and sometimes beers or liquors from their country. Prices range from $2 to $6 usually.

We just love to slowly walk around the lagoon trying whatever sounds good. We don’t go with a plan or the intention of trying to ride the rides. We just chill. It’s a very nice way to spend the day together, talking, looking at the sites of EPCOT, watching the street performances, and enjoying great food and wine.

We usually go near the Veteran’s Day weekend, it’s sure to be cooler then and it’s near our anniversary and birthdays. It can sometimes still be very hot in central Florida in early October. This year we were thinking that we’d use our Armed Forces Salute tickets the last four days of September and roll into the Food and Wine Fest but some things have come up and that’s not going to work. So the fallback plan will be to go at our usual time.

You should definitely consider giving the Food and Wine Fest a try. You’ll love it!

Here are our top ten foods from last year’s festival

Pictures from last year’s festival

Some of the nice things to see at the Festival

There’s lots of info online about the festival. Here’s a link to my the Food and Wine Festival on my new favorite site: the Disney Food Blog

Here’s Allears’ Food and Wine Page

And Disney’s official page