Today we decided to split our time between Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios. We wanted to end our day at Studios (to see the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights) so we parked at Studios and took the walkway to the World Showcase entrance of Epcot.
The walk along the water between Studios and Epcot takes about 20 minutes at a leisurely pace (and believe it or not can actually be quicker than taking the water taxi certain times of year:
Epcot - U.K.
Rose and Crown Pub
We heard many good things about the English Bulldog (even though it sounds a bit odd) that we decided to finally share one. We also added a Pimm's Cup and an order of house made crisps.
The English Bulldog is a split banger with mashed potatoes, cheese and bacon topped with mustard. I guess you could say it is a sandwich version of "bangers and mash". The sausage was tasty and overall we liked the sandwich but wouldn't rush out to get it again. It came with chips (french fries) which were hot a delicious. We've had the fries from the fish and chips cart outside the Pub and always agree they are the best fries at Disney. We added a side order of crisps (potato chips) which were equally yummy!
The Pimm's Cup was interesting and while we enjoyed it, wouldn't rush to get this again either. It was worth it to try something different. Pimm's is a citrus and spiced flavored gin. This drink mixes the Pimm's with Sprite and sliced fruit.
On our way back, we stopped by the Beach Club where Disney pastry chef's were assembling a giant gingerbread house. We even got a sample of gingerbread. We always thought they just pulled these out of storage every year. Didn't realize they make these giant gingerbread house displays fresh:
We ended our day by visiting Disney Hollywood Studios for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights:
More on this amazing display of Christmas lights in a future blog entry. This is by far one of our favorite holiday experiences at Walt Disney World. We last saw it during Week 1 of this blog and will see it many times more before the holidays come to a close.
I kind of missed week 46 by a day, but I'm still counting November 13 as squeaking in. I was off celebrating a birthday. Normally, I'd celebrate my birthday at Disney World but lately I've been a bit disappointed. But, that's another story...
Today we made sure we got over to Epcot because it was the last day for the 2011 Epcot Food & Wine Festival. Today was all about desserts:
Desserts and Champagne
We should have ordered the champagne to go with our dessert trio because it would have been a perfect pairing. These desserts were awesome and a bargain at just $1.50 each or $3.75 for all 3. My favorite was the white chocolate mousse (right) and my husband loved the lemon meringue (left). The tre leche (back) was good too... kind of a sponge cake, but it had coconut sprinkles that I didn't really care for.
My husband also enjoyed the flan from Mexico. A very nice portion for $3. Overall it was good, but it was a bit bland (I think that makes it authentic flan)! The servers were all smiles and very friendly.
Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy
Our photos did not turn out at the concert, but we both loved Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy. They put on a fantastic performance... even did a song from Disney's Jungle Book. Too cool! Loved it.
I just heard Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy be performing a Universal Orlando for New Year's Eve. We're about to pick up a pair of annual passes for Universal Studios. Hmmm...I think I'll start a new blog for A Year at Universal Orlando.
We went to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival for tonight's performance at the Eat to the Beat Concert series - The Pointer Sisters.
It was a sold out show. More than 45 minutes ahead of show time, nearly the entire theater was already filled. We knew there was no chance of getting a seat. Plus, we were very hungry. So instead of trying to get a seat, we dropped inside the American Pavilion's Liberty Inn counter service restaurant. We knew that you can hear just as fine (if not better) by standing near the rear of the theater.
Once again, Liberty Tree disappoints us. We walked in and it was surprisingly empty. Only 2 registers open (one on each end). A family of 5 on the right and a woman with her daughter on the left. We chose left. Big mistake.
The mother and daughter could not decide and asked questions about nearly every menu item. We watched 3 other families go through the right side before they finally decided on a salad and some chicken nuggets.
Just as we thought that it was our turn, the cashier asked us to wait as she waved over another woman who had been studying a big food binder with a cast member to determine her order based on food allergies. Again, we watched several families go through the line on the right side as the food allergy order was placed. (Several families got on and off our line during this process). We somehow felt that if we jumped ship to the other line, we would somehow be worse off. We should have known better.
Seriously... couldn't the cashier have said to us that she had a special order ahead of us and that we'd get faster service at the other register. We shared an 8-piece order of chicken nuggets. They were not good. Honestly, an order of nuggets I had from McDonad's a few weeks ago was better. Disney changed their chicken nuggets. We knew this, but hoped for the best. Cold, more coating than meat, chewy...
At least the icky Heinz honey mustard was gone (the BBQ sause was still Heinz). The newest honey mustard is pump-your-own. It is still not Ken's, but it is at least creamier and sweeter than the Heinz. This meal along with a bottle of water cost $11.
Well, back to The Pointer Sisters. We stood at the back of the theater (behind the roped off area). The theater was closed to new entry. If you left (for a snack or restroom) you needed to grab a card from a cast member for re-entry. Great show. There was only 1 original sister on stage, but they all gave an entertaining performance. Not surprisingly, we watched several folks leave complaining that the sound was too loud. I'm not sure why this continues to be a problem.
Finally, some good news. At least I thought. The chocolate truffles were back at Belgium.
During our visit on October 28, the Belgium chocolates were sold out. I was very (pleasantly) surprised that they were packaged in a box. I did not eat the chocolates until the next day. The outer chocolate shell was a swirled mixture of milk, white, and dark chocolate and was a bit waxy. The inside had a nice texture, but tasted mostly like sugar. Overall, super sweet tasting and not a lot of chocolate flavor.
