Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

Continuing our week of Disney adventures, I want to talk about my second favorite Disney World park. Trying to decide between my first and second pink was like trying to find the real winner of the 2000 presidential election. And while nothing can beat the iconic nature of Magic Kingdom, my second pick sure does try very hard.

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Epcot, Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (try to say that ten times fast), was built in 1982 to showcase Walt Disney’s fascination with up and coming technologies of the future. Having spent a portion of his career designing shows for World Fairs, Walt was always inspired by the ways that technology impacts our lives (if you’ve ever suffered through the Carousel of Progress you know what I’m talking about). This aspect of Epcot is captured in the first of its two parts, Future World. In Future World, you can find attractions, entertainment and dining options that revolve around the energy, the environment, technology, the land and the seas.

A view of Future World

But the coolest part of Epcot lies in its second part, the World Showcase, which was created as a way for visitors to experience the culture and foods of countries from all around the world. Pavilions representing Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada sit around the World Showcase Lagoon. Each country has appropriately themed entertainment, rides, shopping and dining and is staffed with employees on exchange from the respective country. In addition to having authentic food and staff, each country is decorated as it would be in its native land. Just take a look at some of my favorite countries.

So when I said there’s a lot to do in Magic Kingdom, I was lying; there’s a lot to do in Epcot. The park itself is twice the size of Magic Kingdom. And if you factor in all the dining, shopping and entertainment, Epcot probably has twice as much to do as Magic Kingdom. So if you want to maximize your time here, what should you focus on?

soarin1 Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

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Soarin
In Disney’s newest ride, Soarin, guests simulate a flight over some of California’s most picturesque locations, ranging from mountains to canyons to desserts to beaches and even downtown LA. But don’t be fooled about the simulation aspect though, this is not just a lame 3-D movie. It literally evokes the use of all of your senses. Guests enter a stadium size theater decorated to look like a small hanger. Inside the theater, guests strap into their hang glider seats. Once the ride begins, the seats move forward into the air, with each row of seats stacking vertically atop on another, positioning guests in front of a huge movie theater screen.

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Inside Soarin

The hang gliders then dive and swoop their way through California’s landscape, with the chairs moving left, right, up and down in perfect synchronization with the movement of the film. Riders feel the breeze in their face as they pass through the scenery and even get to smell the locations. As you dive through pine forests, pine is piped through the theater, then as you move to orange groves you begin smelling citrus and finally you smell the fresh ocean saltwater as you cruise over California’s coast. The ride ends as you soar over Disneyland and Sleeping Beauty’s castle during a fireworks show. It’s a one-of-a-kind full sensory ride that you absolutely can’t miss. This ride is always packed, with waits hardly ever less than 60 minutes. I highly recommend hightailing it to this ride as soon as the park opens. It will be your best chance to catch the ride with a manageable wait.

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Food and Wine Festival
The best part of Epcot is wandering through the countries and experiencing the amazing food and drinks that each place has to offer. Since it’s difficult to visit every single country’s restaurant in one stay, I would highly recommend attending Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, if you want to taste a bit of what every country has to offer. Every fall, usually from October to November, Epcot hosts the Food and Wine Festival in which over 23 countries produce tapas and drinks which represent their countries cultural and regional specialities. The tapas range anywhere from $3-$10 and feature amazingly unique items like Seared Barramundi from Australia and Escargots Persillade en Brioche from France. The portions are small enough that you can eat and drink your way around the world all day. It actually took us two days to taste food and wine from all 23 countries (and by us I mean Mr. A ate all the food…the rest of us were way too full to finish). The food was spectacular and really different and unique. Even though I have eat at a lot of the restaurants in the World Showcase, I still was exposed to tons of food that I had never tried before without totally busting the bank. Want to see the food? I hope you just ate. If not, you better have some food on stand by. This stuff is crazy mouth watering.

Up first, a Grilled Beef Skewer with Cimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree from Argentina. This dish had a beautiful array of spices and herbs with a dash of lemon and oil. The puree was my favorite part, think fancy mashed potatoes, yum.

Puerto Rico then provided us some energy in the form of it’s alcohol laced Frozen Torched Cherry Colada, which perfectly chilled Mexico’s Tamal de Pollo. The Cherry Colada was like a lush cherry smoothie, the perfect treat for a hot Florida day.

Kimchi and Lettuce Wraps with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw, respectively, I was wishing we still had that Colada because man was my mouth on fire.

After our trysts in Eastern cuisine, we returned to the comfort of America, where we proceeded to purchase every American item (pretty stereotypical I know). We moved from the Pecan Bread Pudding to the New England Lobster Roll then to the Tomato Heirloom Salad and finished with the Bison Chili. The Pecan Bread Pudding was to die for. As I was eating it, a stranger came up to tell me it was the best bread pudding she ever had (she was not kidding). Having sufficiently ruined our appetite for dinner, we decided to hold out on the rest of the world for another day (I mean the world wasn’t made in one day so you can’t possibly eat through it in one day).

After a few days rest, we decided to finish out our Disney vacation by spending our last day eating the rest of the Food and Wine Festival that we missed.

We started the day off with some of my favorite tapas of the whole Food and Wine Festival, a New Zealand Seared Sea Scallop with Vegetable Slaw and Lemon Oil and a Lamb Slider with Tomato Chutney. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones that thought the food was great.

This duck kept trying to eat our food. He would flap his wings and try to get in Mr. A’s lap every time he took a bite. The more hilarious part though was that my Dad was having full blown conversations with the duck, who seemed to be quiet amenable considering he’s mute and all.

Canada then provided us with Maple Glazed Salmon with Lentil Salad and a Cheddar Cheese Soup. The soup was my favorite thing of the whole festival. It was velvety with crunchy pieces of onion and potato. You can get this soup all year round in Canada’s restaurant Le Cellier and I highly recommend it.

We then explored some very new (read: gross) territory in France, where we experimented with Creme Brulee au Chocolat au Lait, Braised Short Ribs in Cabernet with Mashed Potatoes and (the kicker) Escargots Persillade en Brioche. I didn’t try the snails…no thank you.

We finally finished our food excursion with Australia, where I indulged my sweet tooth with the Lamington (Chocolate-Covered Butter Cake) and Mr. A saturated his savory side with Grilled Lamb Chop with Roasted Potato Salad and Red Wine Reduction. The Lamington was my favorite dessert of all the ones I tried at the festival. I loved the sweet crunch of the coconut flakes.

So as you can tell, don’t expect to walk away from the Food and Wine Festival hungry or skinny. But if you have the opportunity to visit Disney in the fall, you absolutely must do the Food and Wine Festival. It’s a great way to experience food from tons of different cultures in a wallet conscious way. And forget about your lunch reservations. These tapas are the perfect lunch substitute.

Have you ever visited Epcot? What about the Food and Wine Festival?