Top ten new tastes at the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival

by Leigh Caldwell on


The 15th annual EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival kicks off today at Walt Disney World Resort.

The festival includes cooking demonstrations, concerts, cookbook signings, wine dinners and celebrity chef appearances, but the “main event” is what the Festival Marketplace around the World Showcase promenade, where 25 kiosks selling regional food and drink from around the world are set up.

The tapas-size portions sell for $3-$8. There are always some festival mainstays, like Canadian Beer Cheese Soup and Polish Kielbasa and Potato Pierogies, but this year 60 percent of the items are new to the festival.

I got a chance to preview the festival last night during a soft opening, and here’s my list of the top new tastes (and sips) at this year’s EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival:

  1. Freshly Baked Waffles with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream – This dish at the new Belgium kiosk was delicious, as expected. The waffles were perfectly crisp – not soggy at all, which is a great feat when they are being prepared outside in the Florida humidity.
  2. Cheese Fondue with Croutons and Roasted Potatoes – This was a classic fondue at a new Charcuterie and Cheese kiosk. Applewood smoked beef, duck and ham are also available at this booth.
  3. Coconut-braised, Beef Rendang with Jasmine Rice – Another new kiosk for 2010 is Singapore, and I loved this spicy dish there.
  4. Bohae Bokbunjajoo – South Korea is the fourth new kiosk for this year’s food and wine festival, and the first thing I tasted there was this black raspberry rice wine. I’m not a huge fan of sweet wines, but this one wasn’t overpowering, and I enjoyed it.
  5. Bison Chili with Wild Mushrooms, Cabernet and Pepper Jack Cheese – The USA kiosk rotates by region every few years. For the past couple of years, the culinary focus has been on Louisiana, but this year it has shifted to the Pacific Northwest. This chili was spicy, earthy and just plain good (though the portion felt a bit skimpy.)
  6. Godiva Chocolate Iced Coffee – This sip from the Belgium kiosk was a great way to end the evening on a sweet note, and, though it is starting to feel like autumn here in Central Florida, hot coffee just doesn’t work most of the year at Walt Disney World.
  7. Asopao de Pollo – Disney Chef Roberto Velez’s family recipe for this comforting chicken and rice soup won a competition to be included on the tasting menu at this year’s festival. It’s available at the Puerto Rico booth.
  8. Heirloom Tomato Salad with Domestic Blue Cheese, Red Onion and Fresh Basil – Another new addition from the USA booth, this salad was flavorful and gorgeous. The tomatoes tasted like they had just been picked.
  9. Lettuce Wraps with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw – I found this dish from the South Korea booth to be packed with flavor. The Jinro Chamisul Soju beverage sold at this booth is a great complement to the lettuce wraps.
  10. Pear Streusel Pudding Cake – While I’m sure the Desserts and Champagne kiosk at the festival is meant to be a last stop of the night, I’ll just admit right here that it’s often my first stop. This cake was new to the menu and caught my eye. It’s dense, moist, and sweet, and it goes great with a dry champagne.

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival continues through Nov. 14. While many of the events require reservations and extra fees, the Festival Marketplace booths can be accessed by anyone with regular Disney Parks admission.

Touring Disney World’s new ‘luxury pet resort’

by Leigh Caldwell on


Tongues (and tails) were definitely wagging as Walt Disney World Resort opened the doors to its newest addition: Best Friends Pet Care.

Billed as a “luxury pet resort,” this pet kennel facility is definitely more luxurious than any I’ve ever seen. I have used a couple of the five existing pet kennels at Walt Disney World, and I would describe them as clean and utilitarian, but certainly lacking in Disney magic.

The new digs for dogs range from a standard suite that is all indoors to a VIP (Very Important Pet) suite that has a 16×9 tiled bedroom, raised platform bed, flatscreen TV and a private, covered outdoor play area.

You can treat your dogs to add-ons such as a playgroup ($15), an ice cream break ($4) or a bedtime story ($6).

Although this pet resort is run by Best Friends and not by Disney, there are Disney touches everywhere. Pluto’s paw print graces the front lobby. Lady and the Tramp was being shown on the TVs in the dog suites during my visit, and I’m told that the bedtime stories read to dogs feature 101 Dalmations in heavy rotation.

A 25,000-square foot dog park includes grassy areas and water sprays for puppy play, as well as benches where owners can come to sit and visit with their pets.

%Gallery-101549%Cats can stay in their own 2-level condos in “Kitty City,” where they all have their own so-called “private relief area.”

You can treat your feline to cookies and milk ($3) or tuna on a Ritz cracker ($3).

And unless your small pet is venomous, exotic or a primate, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters and the like can even hang out in the pocket pets room during your Disney trip.

Best Friends Pet Care is offering daycare rates for pets, as well as overnight accommodations. That’s because even nearby residents often choose to use the Disney kennels during a long day at Walt Disney World, rather than leave their pets at home for 12 to 16 hours.

The new pet resort opened Sept. 1 at Walt Disney World, and the five existing kennels at the resort were closed over Labor Day weekend.

But all this new luxury does come with a price. Overnight rates for cats start at $23 and doggie lodging starts at $37. A VIP suite will run you $76 per night. For comparison’s sake, a night in a standard room at one of Disney’s value resorts (for humans) will run you $82 during slower weeks this fall.

Disney says the VIP suites are already booked up on weekends through the end of the year, so I guess that price is not a deter

There are small discounts on the pet lodging for guests staying at Disney resorts.

Best Friends Pet Care is on Bonnet Creek Parkway, directly across from Disney’s Port Orleans-Riverside Resort.

Walt Disney World changing plans for Fantasyland expansion

by Leigh Caldwell on

The construction walls have been up for months, but Walt Disney World says its plans for expanding Fantasyland are being redrawn in an attempt to broaden its appeal.

When the Fantasyland expansion plans were introduced last year, the first thing most Disney fans noticed was that the new area of the theme park was aimed squarely at one demographic: young girls. There was a Little Mermaid theme park ride, castles for Belle and Aurora, and three interactive princess meet-and-greet areas.

Sure, the marketing of the Disney Princesses has been one of the company’s biggest wins ever, but where was the boy stuff?

Apparently, it’s a question that Tom Staggs, the new chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts, was asking, too. He is the dad of three young sons, after all.

Orlando Sentinel writer Jason Garcia interviewed Staggs this week and confirmed the rumors that the Fantasyland plans are being redrawn. Staggs indicated that the new plans may involve more thrills, as planners are reviewing the mix of “aspirational rides” with thrills or tension and rides that are for everyone.

Staggs said that the changes to Fantasyland shouldn’t delay the 2012 and 2013 opening dates of the new attractions. Testing and research on new guest experiences that are to be incorporated in the new attractions, such as Disney’s new queue-less wait system, have also been going on at Walt Disney World for several months.

Nostalgia reigns: Main Street Electrical Parade to remain at Walt Disney World indefinitely

by Leigh Caldwell on


The Main Street Electrical Parade, which was slated to end its run at the Magic Kingdom on Aug. 14, will continue at Walt Disney World‘s Magic Kingdom indefinitely.

The Disney Parks blog says the Main Street Electrical Parade has gotten high ratings from guests since it returned in June. Disney executives call it “an overwhelming success.”

It has been a Disney classic since 1972, but it hasn’t been seen at the Magic Kingdom since 2001. I remember watching from atop my dad’s shoulders in the 1980s, waving at the Disney characters as they rolled by. So, I was excited to share the Main Street Electrical Parade with my daughter this year.

Nostalgia like mine is apparently driving a lot of the parade’s popularity. I have talked with numerous Walt Disney World guests this summer who traveled to Orlando to pass the parade tradition on to their children.

Even many Disney employees have been excited to share the parade with a new generation.

Disney Ambassador Clay Shoemaker remembers first watching the Main Street Electrical Parade when he was 6 years old.

“I can remember seeing the lights coming closer and closer, and then Cinderella waved at me,” Shoemaker said. “You would’ve thought I was the only child in the park.”This summer, Shoemaker waved at Cinderella with his 2-year-old daughter by his side.

The parade, with its 23 floats, 80 performers and more than 500,000 lights, is an undertaking “bigger than any rock concert,” according to Forrest Bahruth, show director.

But there’s a pervasive belief among the Disney employees I talked with that the parade is more than the production.

“Underneath it all, it’s steel and copper and computers. Cold and heartless. But it’s more than that. It’s emotion and character and life,” said Marc Hurst, the parade’s technical director.

Bahruth even describes that parade with that “M” word you hear so often at Walt Disney World: magic.

“When we’re out there in town square and that gate opens…music, magic, memories.”

The Main Street Electrical Parade is performed nightly in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

Disney goes luxe: Company plans pricey new vacation homes

by Melanie Nayer on

Taking a hint from other luxury hotels and condo complexes, Walt Disney Co. plans to unveil a pricey vacation-home development in Florida’s Walt Disney World.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting Disney will offer homes ranging in price from $1.5 million to $8 million. According to the report, the proposed 980-acre Golden Oak development in Orlando is expected to hold 450 homes and a 445-room Four Seasons hotel. The development will include two renovated golf courses, a clubhouse, parks and pedestrian walkways, with wetlands and other conservation areas. Lots will be offered in various sizes, up to three-quarters of an acre. The first homes are expected to be finished in 2011.

The WSJ says Disney estimates Golden Oak could take eight to 10 years to complete, but interested buyers can get in on the action now. Lots can be reserved with a deposit of $25,000.

Readers: What do you think? Is this a good move for Disney, or will a luxury development have an adverse effect on the theme park?