BUT MOSTLY DISNEY BLOG Episode 1
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Weekend of Aug. 28-30 Heading to Disney for Opening of Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. For this trip, our primary focus was to get a first hand glimpse of what deliciousness awaits fans at the 2026 Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. We always look forward to this event as we love all of the creativity that these talented Disney chefs assemble in the form of small specialty dishes from each of the 11 permanent World Showcase countries, as well as from several additional featured countries. For us, this trip also packs the added benefit of getting to see our kids as they often will rearrange their schedules at the drop of the hat to join us. On this trip, our daughter Charlotte, drove the 9 hour trip all the way from Radford University in the western part of Virginia, to meet up with her twin brother, Seamus at Jacksonville University. They both were to meet up with us at Disney’s Riverside Resort for the weekend. We are a family who enjoys a good road trip and never let a long drive get in the way of an adventure and a magical time together. Even Rory, our 2 year old Yellow Labrador, was in on the journey. Unfortunately, our oldest, August, was not able to come due to a work obligation in Richmond, but there will always be another opportunity to get a little magic. Leaving after work at 3 p.m. on Friday meant that we rolled into the resort pretty late, around 3 am, but without any snags or delays which is pretty miraculous when you consider the usual frustration of 95 on any given summer weekend. You might ask, how can you stand that 11 hour drive? We actually do not mind it too much. Sean mostly enjoys driving except for the occasional driver who fails to observe highway etiquette. We pass the time on the long drive with several podcasts, with WDW Radio podcast having a prominent place in the lineup. We also enjoy listening to books on Audible. I am a bit of a nervous passenger, so to distract myself, I often have my nose glued to my phone either previewing workouts, tracking calories, making to do lists, checking work email, learning new languages on Duolingo, or completing online professional development which recently includes a class to obtain my Real Estate license in the near future. Sean and also have lots of deep philosophical discussions and if our kids are along for the ride, we will all chime in with our own two cents, that is of course if any of us can find an opening when Sean is in between points. LOL! There is also typically a pretty broad range of song playlists that accompany us on any given roadtrip which span from Jimmy Buffett to the to the Fallout Video game Soundtrack and each time, our kids share some new songs to add to the cue. However, on every trip, once we hit the “Big I-4 Eyesore”, you know that building that looks like a huge stand up vacuum cleaner, Sean puts on “Disney Songs the Satchemo Way”, by Louis Armstrong, and that carries us until we are right under the “Welcome to Disney World” sign. It is a tradition that we have held for over a decade and it always makes every trip feel like something magical is about to begin, no matter the season or how long the stay. After a short night, we awoke somewhat refreshed the next morning at around 10 a.m. and began planning our strategy for the day at Epcot with our much anticipated Joffrey’s coffees in hand. I took Rory on a short walk on some of the shadiest pathways and walkways offered at Riverside. August is prime heat and humidity season so shade and brevity is a must for walking for 2 and 4 footed friends.This property is one of our favorites because it is so beautifully designed and well laid out. The Riverside buildings are modeled after the antebellum style with the bold signature columns and expansive stairway entrances and many face the winding Sassagoula River which is dotted with trees dripping with Spanish Moss. Many of the Riverside buildings are situated around secluded gardens which provide a shady quiet place to sit and enjoy water fountains and beautiful foliage all year round. The resort is dog friendly with several pet waste receptacles provided at convenient spots to paths and the resort buildings. Rory enjoyed checking out several of the bridges and paths that wind by the river and the quiet pool. Our room was a great deal at 30 percent off thanks to a limited time offer for annual pass holders. We were in a corner room located on the ground floor which happened to be a handicap accessible room. It was bright and situated conveniently close to the handicap parking spaces. Though we do not need this feature, we were grateful for the location as it made early morning and late night puppy dog potty runs much easier. The layout of the room is also ideal because it has all laminate floors which make spills a lot less stressful to clean up. We always bring Rory’s crate with us and there was plenty of space for it in the room with the two queen bed configuration. By the time Seamus and Charlotte arrived at 2pm from their two and half hour drive from Jacksonville, we were ready to head to Epcot with a list of priorities for which food exhibits to visit. We have been coming to this must attend festival for several years and each year different items are offered which feature a stellar variety of internal cuisine. This year is the 30th anniversary of the Food and Wine Festival and in celebration of this tradition, several popular dishes from over these 3 decades are being brought back. Last year, we were big fans of the dishes offered at the Hawaii pavilion. Their Hawaiian Rice Bowl was amazing and we were hoping for a repeat of that dish. Evidently, everyone else was hoping for the same, and this was apparent when we rolled up to that station first only to find the huge line. On a steamy hot August day in Orlando, tolerance for long line endurance so we decided to come back after the afternoon Florida showers which typically jpush folks out of the parks. Our gamble worked, because we were able to get back to the Hawaii counter at the end of the day after the predicted rain storm settled in around 4 o’clock. It is important to point out that when you are planning out the dishes that you want to sample, look at the Food and Wine Festival Passport, and pay attention to the dates that these exhibits open as not all are open. Some of the exhibits, like India, do not open until October. But that shouldn’t keep you from filling up from all of the other amazing items that are available. We were stuffed to the brim from all of the dishes that we sampled from China, Italy, The American Experience, Japan, Greece, Hawaii, and a visit to the Germany bakery for assorted cookies, and we were dividing these between 4 of us. Believe me, you will have plenty to choose from and more. Of course, no Disney trip would be complete without a proper visit to the Joffrey’s kiosk to sample some of the many seasonal concoctions that they have crafted especially for the Food and Wine Festival. We were very much in need of a caffeine level up after our late night drive. So we sampled the Affogato di Marshmallow Cold Brew, the Pumpkin Latte as well as our standby Shakin’ Jamaican cold brew. It was hard to imagine that fall is around the corner with temperatures in the 90’s, but the flavors of pumpkin spice, creme brule and all sorts of specialty syrups helped put a little more pep in our steps around the World Showcase. We were able to catch up with some of friends from the Disney podcast community. We met up with Kyle and his wife in the America pavillion and they shared some great recommendations including the amazing strawberry and matcha waffle ice cream sandwiches that we enjoyed at Japan, and the special Joffrey’s Apple latte at Germany, which we unfortunately missed this visit. Additionally, Chris Brown, joined us for the Soaring ride and shared many some insights from his tenure working part time for Disney as a monorail conductor. Chris is also a full time teacher like me, so I was very interested in learning about his journey and how Disney and education have worked together symbiotically. We finished up our day with a visit to Disney Springs to Salt and Straw, where we met up with our friends from the podcast, Mainstreet Magic, Jeremy and Rhonda Stein, who were in town to review the Food and Wine Festival as well as enjoy the Hanson concert at Epcot. We called it a night at around 10 p.m. and we were back snuggled back in our Riverside Princess Tiana bed with our Rory by 11 p.m. so that we would be ready for the 6:30 a.m. departure on Sunday. As my mom says, we “sure know how to pack a weekend”. but we like having fun. Thanks for reading and for being a part of our community. Hope you enjoyed a little slice of our crazy Disney life. |