food IS a theme park
Welcome to this week’s What’s New in Epcot! We’re checking out construction updates, the return of Guardians of the Galaxy – Awesome Mix Live! and of course, so much new merchandise!
Spaceship Earth
We have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get started!
“Guardians of the Galaxy — Awesome Mix Live!” returns to Epcot tomorrow! From June 14th through August 18th, Guardians Star-Lord and Gamora and their alien band will be performing hits from Awesome Mix Volumes 1 & 2 five times a day in the American Gardens Theatre.
Guardians of the Galaxy — Awesome Mix Live! ©Disney
And The American Adventure Pavilion will be serving up some eats to go along with it! [Read more…]
We had a case of wanderlust this week, and instead of getting out the passport and packing, we just hopped over to spend the day in Epcot. Our journey started with some time spent in Future World, followed by a trip around the World Showcase. And boy, did we find a lot new eats and buys for you on this “trip”!
Epcot
It’s a global Celebration of the Season at the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays!!
Epcot International Festival of the Holidays
This new Epcot Festival just kicked off today and runs through December 30, 2017. All of the elements of Holidays Around the World (the previous name for Epcot’s annual celebration) have returned, including International Holiday Storytellers and food booths around World Showcase.
Holiday Storytellers in Norway
The Candlelight Processional will begin nightly performances starting November 24th as will the expanded Peace on Earth holiday version of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.
Brand new this year is Chip & Dale’s Christmas Tree Spree — a festive Scavenger Hunt similar to Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak Scavenger Hunt from the Food and Wine Festival. Only this time, were helping Chip & Dale collect ornaments to decorate their Christmas Tree.
But BEST OF ALL… the HOLIDAY FOOD BOOTHS are back! Better yet, these yuletide Food Booths (similar to the Food and Wine Festival’s Marketplace Booths), which debuted in 2016, have expanded greatly from last year’s seven booths.
So we’ve got LOTS to see and TASTE as we check out the Best of the FESTat the Epcot Festival of the Holidays! And you might as well get your stretchy Thanksgiving pants out NOW, is all I’m sayin’…
Are you ready for another trip around the World? We’ve got lots of new eats, treats, and Gaston-themed Feasts coming at you for this round of What’s New (along with a peek at a lot — and I mean A LOT — of stuff to come!).
We’re kicking off our latest jaunt at the most Magical of All Kingdoms…
A recent visit to the Magic Kingdom revealed changes and additions — both big and small — to Counter Service spots all over the park.
Greetings from Magic Kingdom!
But the one that might just take the cake (CUPcake, that is!) is the new Donald Duck Vanilla Cupcake at the Main Street Bakery! [Read more…]
Time to dive into a new sweet snack at Epcot’s American Pavilion!
Fife And Drum
At the Fife & Drum, a counter service spot located at the front of the pavilion where we love to pick up our American Dream Slush and other assorted goodies, you can now indulge in a new snack item: Apple Pie a la Mode.
Fife & Drum Menu
Now, don’t get too excited. This is basically the same counter-service apple pie “pocket” that you have always been able to get over at Liberty Inn next door, and at Columbia Harbour House in Magic Kingdom. And that’s OK, since it IS pretty good. But with this option, they’ve added vanilla soft serve ice cream to make it “a la mode.” [Read more…]
Headed to the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World?
You’ll always want to add a stop at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments in Liberty Square to your snack itinerary! This hidden gem seems small and simple, but in fact, you’ll find some seriously unique eats here that you can’t find anywhere else in the “World!”
We love the waffle sandwiches, funnel cakes, soup, ice cream sandwiches, and more; but now you’ve got another treat to sample!
DFB friend Daniel Wanderman was wandering (I couldn’t help it!!!) around the Magic Kingdom and spotted this…
Presidential Sweet at Sleepy Hollow
Similar to the Liberty Swirl Slush, the new Presidential Sweet is made by swirling together raspberry and strawberry slushes (usually these are fanta slushes) and adding a topping of soft serve ice cream!
A toast to freedom
Fans of The American Dream at [Read more…]
We’re sending our courageous (and hopefully hungry) readers on another crawl.
Not surprisingly, this one is all about cheese! 😉 (You asked for it…and we thought it was an AWESOME idea!!) The best part? You’ll visit mostly counter-service and/or grab ‘n go locations on this cheese crawl, so no Advance Dining Reservations required! (Of course, if you want table-service cheese options, check out our Disney World Cheese Plates here!)
Some of you have attempted the 2011 Disney cupcake crawl and the 2012 Disney cupcake crawl and now it’s time to tackle another DFB favorite…
Gear up for tasting cheese selections on menus all over Walt Disney World. Your challenge is to sample these sweet and savory items, hopefully in a single Disney World vacation.
Follow the crawl step by step, or opt to select the items that you find most appetizing. You’ve reached the Cheese finish line when you’ve visited at least seven locations and sampled at least seven different cheese items.
Remember that Disney World menus have a way of changing, so if you need to substitute out new options for the ones below, we won’t deduct any points! Depending on your level of tolerance, you may want to split this crawl up over a couple of days. Either way, we won’t judge!
Tutto Gusto Cheese
Some of these items can be purchased for a Disney Dining Plan snack credit, so save up those snacks!
Depart your hotel for a morning in Epcot’s Future World. At 11am, make your way to World Showcase! Your first stop is the Rose & Crown pub in Canada.
Rose & Crown Pub
Rose & Crown pub in United Kingdom is an awesome spot to hang with friends over drinks and apps. Be sure to say hi to Carl for us!
One of our favorite under-the-radar Disney snacks, Sweet Cream Cheese Pretzels, were first seen at Disney World in the Magic Kingdom and offered only at The Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland.
Then, we were excited to find them at Fife & Drum Tavern in Epcot’s American Adventure pavilion.
Sweet Cream Cheese Pretzel
If you are a fan of these pretzels, you’ll now be able to munch on one while touring Disney’s Hollywood Studios. On a recent visit, we spotted cream cheese pretzels at the Pretzel Garden on the Streets of America!
Pretzel Garden at Streets of America
If you haven’t had one, these pretzels are filled with a sweet cream cheese (not really a “frosting,” but still sweet!), and covered in a dusting of [Read more…]
The American Adventure pavilion in Epcot is not a place one necessarily associates with great food, but you’d be surprised how many special little treats you can find here!
This is the only spot in Epcot where you can pick up a funnel cake (and the seasonal pumpkin spice funnel cake!), the shop here often sells interesting and classic American candy, and the Fife and Drum Tavern has become the epicenter of some of Disney World’s most beloved treats!
The Fife and Drum is basically a permanent kiosk at the “outskirts” of the American Adventure pavilion in Disney World’s Epcot.
Fife and Drum Tavern
There are two ordering windows, and guests are expected to take their eats and sit at the sea of tables that lies between the Liberty Inn counter-service restaurant and the Fife and Drum.
What I’ve realized in the past couple of months as Fife and Drum has added to their menu is that this spot seems to be a magnet for Disney food cult favorites as well as obscure, random items! Classics like turkey legs, popcorn, and cream cheese pretzels are coupled with rarities like the American Dream slushie and frozen Jim Beam Red Stag lemonade!
Fife and Drum Menu - click image for larger version
Let’s go through some of the fan favorites and random options on the menu to get a better feel for what you can order at this little hot spot of Disney food goodness…
Currently, this spot is one of the only spots in Disney World where you can get the American Dream slushie, a mixture of strawberry and raspberry slushies and soft serve vanilla [Read more…]
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