Walt Disney World Epcot Discussion Thread

[johnychen]

I had a feeling that was the reason. It is pretty hard to get the ride to yourself on those two attractions. Plus on the great movie ride you may get weird looks from the cast members. I guess you you can always film a POV and do it mystery science theater style.

[robbalvey]

The other reality is this - Maelstrom was a quick 4:30 minute ride so doing something silly for 4 minutes while you're on an empty boat makes sense. Both Energy and GMR are MUCH longer rides filled with tons of people. Energy being a 27 minute attraction and there is no way in hell I'm going to cover that entire length of time! GMR you also have the cast member spieling through the show so it would be obnoxious to be talking over that.

 

Really, what it comes down to, if it would make sense and actually "be funny" to do something like what I did from Maelstrom, I would do it, but it doesn't, so sadly I won't.

 

And just because I personally find it funny...

[cfc]

^That video is RiffTrax/Mystery Science Theater 3000 for a theme-park ride.

[robbalvey]

[TheCoasterKid211]

So according to friends on Snapchat that got the last dispatch of the night on Ellen, the ride broke down on the dinosaur scene. Perfect way to end things.

[coasterbill]

I haven't ridden Universe of Energy since I was a kid but I remember absolutely loving it back then. Then again, I liked a lot of dumb sh*t when I was a kid.

[cfc]

So according to friends on Snapchat that got the last dispatch of the night on Ellen, the ride broke down on the dinosaur scene. Perfect way to end things.

 

This is the only ride from which I've ever been evacuated. Unfortunately, it was after the dinosaur part, so no cool photos for me. At least I was spared the last bit.

[Hilltopper39]

I wonder if any of those dino animatronics will find their way over to Animal Kingdom to be used somehow?

[TheCoasterKid211]

I wonder if any of those dino animatronics will find their way over to Animal Kingdom to be used somehow?

I was thinking about a Primeval diorama sort of deal on the MK railroad, similar to the one at Disneyland. But hey, new stuff for Dinoland is always welcome.

[thrillrider]

I wonder if any of those dino animatronics will find their way over to Animal Kingdom to be used somehow?

I was thinking about a Primeval diorama sort of deal on the MK railroad, similar to the one at Disneyland. But hey, new stuff for Dinoland is always welcome.

 

It's still a rumor at this point, but I hear that dinorama may be going by by. It's rumored to be replaced with an indiana Jones section. Dinosaur is also going to be turned into an indiana Jones ride like the one at Disneyland.

[TheCoasterKid211]

I wonder if any of those dino animatronics will find their way over to Animal Kingdom to be used somehow?

I was thinking about a Primeval diorama sort of deal on the MK railroad, similar to the one at Disneyland. But hey, new stuff for Dinoland is always welcome.

 

It's still a rumor at this point, but I hear that dinorama may be going by by. It's rumored to be replaced with an indiana Jones section. Dinosaur is also going to be turned into an indiana Jones ride like the one at Disneyland.

Oh Lord, I hope not. Chester and Hester's is way too horrible to tear down.

[JacquesB]

This was a great ride. Sad to see it go, but also excited about whatever will replace it.

[cfc]

I wonder if any of those dino animatronics will find their way over to Animal Kingdom to be used somehow?

 

Old animatronics rarely go completely to waste--but they could be re-purposed somehow.

[CoasterLover]

Old animatronics rarely go completely to waste--but they could be re-purposed somehow.

 

You mean like giving all of the dinos top hats and canes and putting them in a musical animatronics show all about extinction? (sigh... one can only hope)

[robbalvey]

So today was the first day of Epcot's Food & Wine Festival!

 

And for the first day of Food & Wine we are going to do a tour of Italy with some of their new offerings!

 

First off, the booth has been totally re-done and it looks GREAT!!!

 

The menu items have been given a refresh as well.

 

For those of you who love calamari, this is highly recommended!

 

The shrimp with penne & vodka sauce was also very good!

 

That would be the beef stew with polenta. WOW!

 

The Donkey Cart inside the Italy pavilion always has some delicious treats.

 

Orangecello anyone? Yes, please! This is VERY good!

 

The pizza window has returned at Via Napoli and this is a HUGE favorite of mine! That's the new Pizza Bianca slice and you can still get traditional cheese pizzaand other offerings as well!

 

Careful not to drink too much or you might end up like this guy...oh wait, that's just how Jeremiah normally is...

 

Here's a look at the menu for the pizza window.

 

The meatballs were wonderful! My new favorite from the Food & Wine offerings that Italy has!

 

No need for words, I just want your pizza!

 

Oh man...that right there! Soooo good!

 

COMMENT BELOW if you want this slice!

 

Italian food is best enjoyed with adult beverages!

 

A fancy slice of pizza and a beer sounds pretty good to be! What about you?

 

We are going to end our tour of Italy on a proper Italian dessert note... a Cannoli! YUM!!!

 

Thank you Italy! You have succeeded in filling me up with yummy treats! We will be back for more Epcot Food & Wine VERY soon!!!

 

Ok, now please POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!

After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you could do is say something nice about it!

[Nrthwnd]

^ Yaaay, it's open! Mmmm Italy. Lots of good stuff to eat and drink, there.

Thanks for the Opening Day shots, Robb! So much to take in, and it's just begun!

 

 

P.S. GIVE ME THAT SLICE! (yum)

[Philrad71]

OMG!

 

Limoncello Mule sounds interesting. I have some orangecello in my fridge but my fave is the meloncello (think creamy cantaloupe flavor) - but unfortunately I have never seen it for sale in the US.

 

Looking forward to the rest...I always love your Epcot Food & Wine TR's!

[cfc]

For those of you who love calamari, this is highly recommended!

 

And that would be me. Oh yeah . . .

[djmadmanray]

Looks great! Thanks for the post, we'll be down there next week for sure. Looking forward to it!

[blk_mamba]

The food looks amazing!

 

Note to self: don't look at food & wine post on an empty stomach. lol

[ytterbiumanalyst]

YES! Food and wine time! Everything looks so good, especially the pizza and the chocolate cannolli.

[viking86]

After all, we took the time to write this report, the least you could do is say something nice about it!

 

Nice report!

 

But seriously, that food looks delicious! Big mistake looking at these pictures while being hungry lol!

[Zero One]

I spent today at the first F&W Saturday. Probably in combination with the first weekend of college football and some poor weather made the crowds quite reasonable (for a F&W Saturday).

 

Welcome to EPCOT!

Gutenberg is reading the Food and Wine Menu

First stop is the Festival Center

It was pretty busy

The chocolate dioramas are back. Here is Moana.

Pandora

Beauty and the Best

Wreck it Ralph

ANOTHER Moana

If you want to attend one of these seminars make sure to get a reservation ahead of time

Next over to Mission Space to try the new Earth Mission

Why didn't they make it a Moon mission?

Green and Orange trim on the spaceship

It's still not busy, even with an HD upgrade

The new Earth Mission is Ok. I'm still not a big fan of this ride and while I may find some time to try the new HD Mars Mission at some point this still isn't a must do attraction for me. Quick Space Nerd Complaint: Your flight path for the Earth orbit is INCREDIBLY unrealistic.

UoE is closed but there are no walls up yet. Only this sign.

Here is one of the new marketplaces. It features spicy dishes.

On to the Food!

Like this Spicy Chicken Pancake. It was good!

Next door, NextEats in Future World is now three marketplaces. Sustainable seafood is one of them.

Another Remy sighting

Test Track broke right as my Fastpass came up and did not reopen

Inside Odyssey they have craft beer and an Epcot 35 tribute area.

The artwork displays and merchandise are not much. Maybe it will improve after October 1?

They have a film loop featuring historic photos of Epcot construction and it's early years.

Another new marketplace

A classic

A classical

The repainting of Mexico is finished and it looks great

Really nice

Storms start to roll in

Norway

China

The new Indian marketplace was quite busy. The line appeared to be filled with UK tourists looking for a good curry. I had the chicken and it was tasty.

Africa got a new look

An idea of the crowds near Germany. Surprisingly this isn't that bad for a Saturday. They were not even using the extended queues for the beer pavilion.

Spain returns this year too. Lots of seafood.

Italy is redesigned too.

Japan

Morocco

Bonjour!

Behind Germany you can see the construction cranes for the new Disney Riviera Resort

Canada

Finally I want to highlight the most unique new marketplace: Light Lab. It is inside the Innoventions space between Starbucks and Club Cool. It is limited capacity so there was a line to get in but inside the whole place is in blacklight and there is color changing effects everywhere.

They have several different color-effect drinks including a Cotton Candy Tonic, Apple Slushy, and a Champagne with glowing boba balls. Don't miss this room!

[indyjones]

Am I the only one who doesn't really like this whole Food & Wine thing? My friends and I have been to WDW during Food & Wine 4 or 5 times (for a completely unrelated event that happens to fall in that time period) and after wandering around EPCOT for a little while and deciding it would cost us $60 to get enough bites of mediocre food to make it worthwhile, we end up leaving and going someplace else. About the only thing we DO get is a beer, but even then we'll usually just go to Rose & Crown.

[cfc]

Am I the only one who doesn't really like this whole Food & Wine thing?

 

Probably.

 

I love it, and I go nearly every year.