NFL Super Bowl star running back James White starred in a milestone Disney moment Monday, Feb. 6, 2017 (Steven Diaz, photographer)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2017) – It was 1987 when the winning quarterback in Super Bowl XXI began a tradition of going to Walt Disney World Resort to celebrate. That would carve out a place synonymous with glory and achievement in sports and other human endeavor.
Thirty years later, that same honor fell to running back James White, a hero of Super Bowl LI in Houston. White caught one touchdown pass and rushed for two others – including the game-winner in overtime – to help rally his team to an epic, come-from-behind 34-28 victory over Atlanta to capture the NFL Championship.
For his on-field heroics, White was honored with a celebratory parade Monday down Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom Park. Park guests and NFL fans alike lined the iconic street as White smiled and waved from a float he shared with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and other Disney characters.
Afterwards, White posed for photos with Mickey and Minnie and enjoyed some fun time in the park, experiencing some of its most popular attractions such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
NFL Super Bowl star running back James White joins Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse after starring in a milestone Disney moment Monday, Feb. 6, 2017 (Matt Stroshane, photographer)
That continued a 30-year tradition of the Super Bowl hero celebrating his team’s victory at Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort.
Welcome to a food studio review for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, taking place in the park Friday-Monday from January 13th through February 20th, 2017. This review will cover “Cuisine Classique” kiosk, which is located near the Germany pavilion in World Showcase.
Cuisine Classique
Food:
Braised Short Rib with Parsnip Purée, Broccolini, Baby Tomatoes and Aged Balsamic – $7.50
Seared Red Snapper with braised Ratatouille and Lemon-Thyme Beurre Blanc (GF) – $7.50
Port Wine Poached Pear, Vanilla Panna Cotta and Pistachio Crumbs (GF) – $6.00
Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie – $5.50
Beverages:
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – $4.00
Bell’s Two Hearted American-style India Pale Ale – $4.00
Duck Rabbit Milk Stout – $4.00
Beer Braising Flight – $9.00
Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva Art Series – $5.50
Dasani Bottled Water – $3.00
Braised Short Rib with Parsnip Purée, Broccolini, Baby Tomatoes and Aged Balsamic – $7.50
This dish was pretty solid, offering a well-cooked short rib over a parsnip puree, which blended well. I don’t know why there is so much balsamic on everything at this festival, but this probably could have done without it. Not a great dish, not a bad dish, just kind of middle-of-the-road. Otherwise, it tasted home cooked and the vegetables were quite good.
Seared Red Snapper with braised Ratatouille and Lemon-Thyme Beurre Blanc (GF) – $7.50
There’s nothing too crazy about this Red Snapper dish, but it was really good and a nice-sized portion (a fairly thick piece of fish) for the price. I would probably order this again, but I’m often partial to the festival seafood dishes.
Port Wine Poached Pear, Vanilla Panna Cotta and Pistachio Crumbs (GF) – $6.00
The surprising winner here is this port wine poached pear. I honestly have maybe tried a pear once in my life, and I wasn’t crazy about it, but this pear was delicious. With the vanilla panna cotta and pistachio crumbs spread over it, you will be hard pressed to find a better non-chocolate treat at this event. You also get the entire pear with this dish, a rarity for an Epcot festival plate.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – $4.00, Bell’s Two Hearted American-style India Pale Ale – $4.00, Duck Rabbit Milk Stout – $4.00, Beer Braising Flight – $9.00
According to Josh of EasyWDW.com, this is the best beer flight you can get at the event, and I would have to agree. I LOVED the Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout and I will be ordering that in a single serving for sure the next time I visit this booth. The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and the Bell’s Two Hearted American-style Indian Pale Ale were also enjoyable if you like such drinks. If all three might be of interest to you, you absolutely can not go wrong by ordering this flight.
If you are like me and prefer a dark beer, the milk stout is the way to go.
Welcome to a food studio review for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, taking place in the park Friday-Monday from January 13th through February 20th, 2017. This review will cover the “E=AT^2” kiosk, which is located at the front of World Showcase, just off to the left side towards the Mexico pavilion.
E=AT^2
Food:
BLT with Crispy Pork Belly, Tomato Jam and Soft Poached Egg – $6.50
Classic Reuben with Shredded Corned Beef, Thousand Island Dressing, Pickled Red Cabbage and a Rye Curl – $6.00
Cobb Salad with Smoked Duck Breast, Avocado Mousse, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon and Blue Cheese (GF) – $7.50
Figment White Chocolate Art Painting with Chocolate Easel (GF) (V) – $7.00
White Chocolate Mickey Puzzle with Artist Palette (GF) (V) – $6.50
Beverages:
Deconstructed Breakfast: Twinings® Spiced Apple Chai Tea Shake with Maple Bourbon Cream, a Waffle Crisp and Candied Bacon – $10.50
Deconstructed Breakfast: Twinings® Spiced Apple Chai Tea Shake with Maple Syrup, a Waffle Crisp and Candied Bacon (non-alcoholic) – $4.50
Pop-Artsicle: Red, White and Blue Frozen Slushy (non-alcoholic) – $3.75
Dasani Bottled Water – $3.00
Since we had eaten the very similar Mary Blair white chocolate art, there was no really good reason to order the Figment, but it is pretty cute.
BLT with Crispy Pork Belly, Tomato Jam and Soft Poached Egg – $6.50
This was my absolute favorite dish at entire Epcot International Festival of the Arts! Crack open the poached egg, dip the tender and juicy pork belly in it, and then nearly fall over from how good this is. There is very little bacon and lettuce here, and neither of them really add to the dish. I suggest you just push them aside and enjoy the pork and the egg together without any of the fluff of the dish.
I think I will be ordering this on every subsequent trip to Epcot over the next 5 weekends…
Cobb Salad with Smoked Duck Breast, Avocado Mousse, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon and Blue Cheese (GF) – $7.50
I am not a big Cobb Salad fan, but this was really good. The duck was flavorful and it went really nicely with the egg, blue cheese, and avocado mousse. I would order this again as well.
Classic Reuben with Shredded Corned Beef, Thousand Island Dressing, Pickled Red Cabbage and a Rye Curl – $6.00
If you haven’t gotten it already, this is the best booth at the festival. I hate reuben sandwiches. Hell, I even hate Reuben Stoddard (kids, look it up). Regardless, this was fantastic. Everything in the plate was delicious, which shocked me. I couldn’t believe that I was having quality corned beef at Disney World, but I was and I did.
If I had to rank the three dishes here, I would put the “BLT’ as my number one, followed by the reuben, and then the cobb salad, but they are all good.
Deconstructed Breakfast: Twinings® Spiced Apple Chai Tea Shake with Maple Bourbon Cream, a Waffle Crisp and Candied Bacon – $10.50
As much as we loved the food, we wanted so much more out of this drink. It sounded amazing. It wasn’t bad, the flavoring was just far more subdued that we had hoped for (and they went a little light on the bourbon).
Deconstructed Breakfast: Twinings® Spiced Apple Chai Tea Shake with Maple Syrup, a Waffle Crisp and Candied Bacon (non-alcoholic) – $4.50
Honestly, if you want just the breakfast flavors, save yourself some money and order this non-alcoholic version of the drink. It’s larger and cheaper, albeit without bourbon, but there wasn’t much alcohol in the other one anyway.
Pop-Artsicle: Red, White and Blue Frozen Slushy (non-alcoholic) – $3.75
This is realistically just a slushy, but the kids should enjoy it. Personally, I would go get The American Dream at the Fife & Drum in the American Adventure (which mixes slushy with ice cream), but that’s me.
Casey’s Corner Hash Brown Hotdog, The Magic Kingdom
Casey’s Corner will be serving muffins, bagels and a croissant donut. Those searching for a more savory, brunch-like option can enjoy corn dog nuggets and the hash brown dog (pictured above).
Plaza Ice Cream Donut Sundae, The Magic Kingdom
Also on Main Street U.S.A., Plaza Ice Cream Parlor will serve Mickey waffles, Kelloggs cereal and donuts. For a sweet twist on breakfast, there is even a donut sundae: a donut topped with your favorite flavor of hand-scooped Edy’s ice cream, hot fudge, apple, whipped cream, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips and of course, a cherry.
Sleepy Hollow breakfast sandwich, The Magic Kingdom
Sleepy Hollow has a new egg, ham and tomato waffle sandwich which will arrive later this month. The fruit and chocolate-hazelnut waffle sandwich is also available, in case you prefer a sweet breakfast to a savory one.
For 2017, Epcot has introduced a brand new park event: The Epcot International Festival of the Arts. The event is the third such event for the park as the Flower & Garden and Food & Wine Festivals have existed since the mid-1990’s. In more recent years, food booths were expanded to both the Flower and Garden Festival and the seasonal Holidays Around the World event at Epcot, and with the debut of this Arts festival, food booths, or “food studios”, are also a part of the fun.
This event also differs in many ways, offering a Disney on Broadway concert series, free & paid seminars, interactive art opportunities for guests, photo-ops, and live art performances throughout the park. The event is also only taking place on weekends, Friday through Monday, January 13th until February 20th, 2017.
This guide and review will hopefully provide you with all of the information you will need to tackle the rather large event should you be attending it.
First tip: pick these up. There is a lot happening at this festival, so the times guide and passport are important for even the most seasoned park veterans.
As you can see, the times guide is pretty big, detailing all of the entertainment, seminars, art workshops, and artist appearances for the weekend.
Food Studios
A selection from one of the Food Studios
Similar to other Epcot festivals, this one offers several temporary “food studios” (otherwise known as booths or kiosks) with special food & drink menus. We have reviews of each of the food studios for you, including pictures and our thoughts on every single food item & most of the alcoholic beverages:
Paid art workshops are available on event days and range from drawing to ink and paint classes, as well as things such as floral arrangement, watermelon carving, and more. Free versions of these events called seminars are also available, so be sure to check out the times guide each weekend. The workshops are hands-on experiences where guests can take something home, while the seminars are passive learning experiences.
Paid art workshops are available by calling 407-WDW-TOUR or by stopping by the Odyssey Festival Showplace where they are held. Tickets for seminars are distributed one hour prior to the event and are given out on a first-come, first serve basis.
The Japan pavilion also offers its own seminars during the festival, including origami and calligraphy.
Art Exhibits
The Epcot International Festival of the Arts is home to two art exhibits that celebrate two of the most famous and influential Disney artists of all-time, Mary Blair and Herbert Ryman.
The festival certainly has a lot of offerings which I would consider to be pandering to Disney fans, and art exhibits featuring these two artists certainly fit that bill. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am overjoyed to see the work of Blair and Ryman on display, but it almost feels like a desperate attempt to draw in more annual passholders at the inaugural Festival of the Arts, especially after seeing just how small the two exhibits are.
For as small as they are, I appreciate the effort, but I hope (should the festival return in 2018) that these types of exhibits will be expanded into a larger space next year. For now, they are relegated to rather small areas of the Odyssey Festival Showplace, on the left and right sides of the seminar area.
The exhibits are open Friday-Monday now through February 20th, 2017 as part of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts.
The Future World of Herbert Ryman focuses on his concept art for EPCOT Center, mostly of now gone attractions and ideas for the park/city.
South of the Border with Mary Blair is a celebration of her work on Salads Amigos and The Three Caballeros.
Disney on Broadway Concert Series
Disney Theatrical Productions is bringing an exciting new showcase of music and Broadway talent to the America Gardens Theatre stage. Throughout the six weekends of the festival, different pairings of Broadway artists will perform songs from some of Disney on Broadway’s award winning shows.
Here is the lineup for this series:
Jan. 13-16 and 20-23: Ashley Brown and Josh Strickland performing songs from: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, Mary Poppins and The Little Mermaid
Jan. 27-30 and Feb. 3-6: Kerry Butler and Kevin Massey performing songs from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, Newsies and Aladdin
Feb. 10-13 and 17-20: Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White performing songs from Disney’s The Lion King, Aida, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid
Performances will be 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday through Monday of each festival weekend.
We attended the very first show with Ashley Brown and Josh Strickland, which you can watch below:
If you wish to see this, keep in mind you should get there a little early just in case the theater should fill. The show won’t fill easily, but it won’t hurt to arrive 20-30 minutes before showtime, especially on Saturdays and Sundays.
The sets are about 30 minutes in length and the performance we went to that you see above was spectacular. Any fan of broadway will surely enjoy these concerts, a nice change of pace from the once-famous bands offered during the Flower and Garden & Food and Wine Festivals at Epcot. There is also a lot more Disney music in these shows since they are performing songs from Disney on Broadway shows, something more likely to appeal to Disney fans, such as those who read this site.
A dining package with seating for the last show of the night is available, but honestly, it is completely unnecessary for this event and better dining options are available throughout the park, including at the Food Studios.
Other Entertainment
Living statues happen intermittently in front of the Fountain of Nations stage between 10:55am and 5:40pm daily.
Animation Academy, formerly a Disney’s Hollywood Studios attraction inside of The Magic of Disney Animation, is available inside of Innoventions East in the former Vision House location on event days. The shows take place between 9:15am and 6:15 pm and you can check outside of the attraction for exact show times.
There are also community performances and various performance art pieces on the Fountain of Nations stage throughout the day. Please refer to a times guide for showtimes.
Figment’s Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt
Guest may purchase maps and search for Figment hidden in artwork all around Epcot’s World Showcase in this family friendly scavenger hunt event. A full review of this offering can be found here.
Photo-Ops
The event offers a number of guest photo-ops where you can step into and become part of the artwork. The line for these can be lengthy, so if any of them are on your must-do list, I suggest you tackle them around 11am when World Showcase opens. The two photo-ops in Future World are best done at park open for the shortest wait.
Each of the World Showcase character meet and greets also has an added art easel with a piece inspired by the characters.
Interactive Painting Experience
Glidden invites guests to pick up a paint brush and help paint an incredible EPCOT Center mural at the very front of World Showcase towards the Canada pavilion. Guests get to paint a few squares of the paint-by-numbers mural after waiting in what is usually a short line.
Live Art
Guests may encounter a walking chalk art experience, or even Disney artists at work wheel they stroll around the World Showcase promenade on festival days.
A very 80’s EPCOT Center-stly mural is being painted in Future World over the course of the 6 weekends as well. You can watch the artists paint the mural live and in-person.
Event Exclusive Merchandise
Being the first event ever of this kind, the merchandise selection is not nearly as massive as it is for the established festivals, but there is a nice selection featuring Figment.
An annual pass holder t-shirt is available as select locations. Warning: it is available in extremely limited quantities and the shirt runs very big (at least one size larger than advertised, compared to other Disney shirts sold at the parks).
Figment is even on the sleeve of this one.
Visiting Artists & Art Shops
Be sure to check a times guide as there are literally dozens of Disney and independent artists in the various tents around the World Showcase promenade daily. They will be signing their art, but also may be creating some while they are there. The tents are open beyond these hours selling art if you can’t make it while the artist is visiting.
Separately, Tom’s Shoes offers custom painted shoes at their booth.
Enjoy the Festival!
Hopefully all of this information will help in enjoying the first annual Epcot International Festival of the Arts. Personally, I have been loving this eventthus far, enjoying the differences it offers from the other Epcot festivals, and the void it fills that was left by the Festival off the Masters once held at Downtown Disney. While it is the first year of the event and it isn’t quite perfect yet, it is a very strong foundation for the future.
MLB writer David O’ Brien is reporting that the Braves will relocate their Spring Training facilities to Sarasota in 2019, meaning either the 2017 or 2018 Spring Training will be the last for the Atlanta Braves at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Champion Stadium (formerly known as Cracker Jack Stadium) has been home to Braves Spring Training since the complex opened in 1997.
Celebrate the return of the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade to Disneyland park with an assortment of commemorative products. This encore performance of the parade will run nightly until June 18 – that’s 45 years after it first lit up Main Street, U.S.A., in 1972. Here’s a look at what products guests will find during this special, limited-time celebration.
Adults and kids can relive favorite moments with graphic apparel that includes iconic images from the parade.
Disney will also introduce an animated glow headband with images of Mickey Mouse in the light-up ears.
There will be two pins celebrating the parade – a limited release logo pin, and a limited edition pin created especially for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders. The latter pin will have an edition size of 2,000 (a valid Disneyland Resort Annual Passport must be presented purchase).
Finally, guests should look for a hand-painted Ink & Paint cel titled, “Mickey’s Dragon.” This new piece is limited to an edition size of 350 and will be available in a variety of formats including unframed, framed, framed with pin, and framed with postcard and pin. The specially designed limited edition pin (edition size 300) is only available with framed formats, while supplies last. You can see artwork for the pin in the upper left corner of the image shown above.
Select items will be released in Emporium and Disney Showcase on Main Street, U.S.A., inside Disneyland park on Jan. 19 during the special, after-hours premiere ticketed event.
The Ink & Paint cel will be released at Disneyana shop also on Jan. 19. If you are unable to visit Disneyland Resort, a limited number of cels are available for purchase online here, while supplies last. Applicable tax and shipping fees apply; discounts are available on the framing only.
On Jan. 20, additional locations, such as World of Disney in Downtown Disney District, will carry select Main Street Electrical Parade products.
Tokyo Disneyland move over, because Walt Disney World is getting into the freshly-popped flavored popcorn game.
Maple Popcorn is now available at the cart adjacent to Westward Ho in Frontierland. You can buy a single serving, acquire it in a souvenir bucket, and even refill any refillable Walt Disney World popcorn bucket for just $1.50.
Of course I had to have some! So how was it? I LOVED IT!
It may look like caramel corn, but I enjoyed it much more than I do that. The coating is thinner, so it lacks the often plastic-like chewiness of caramel corn. The maple popcorn has a light maple syrup flavor which is just perfect (in my opinion). Yes sure to try it the next time you are at the park!
Hopefully more will be on the way (Epcot offers 3 flavors at the cart near Imagination), but this is a great start.
Welcome to a food studio review for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, taking place in the park Friday-Monday from January 13th through February 20th, 2017. This review will cover the “The Masterpiece Kitchen” kiosk, which is located just outside of the Canada pavilion in World Showcase.
The Masterpiece Kitchen
Food:
Charcuterie Palette with Artisan Cured Meats, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Duck Breast and Cheese – $14.00
Smoked Salmon Tartare, Caviar, Crisp Lavash and Traditional Accompaniments – $12.00
Triple Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Crunch, Dark Chocolate Sauce and Gold Leaf from our Master Pastry Chef – $9.25
White Chocolate Puzzle on an Artist Palette (GF) (V) – $6.50
Mickey and Pluto White Chocolate Painting with Chocolate Easel (GF) (V) – $7.00
Beverages:
Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque Brut Champagne – $12.00
Classic Sidecar with a Chocolate Twist – $9.25
The Meeker Vineyard Winemakers’ Handprint Merlot – $9.50
Dasani Bottled Water – $3.00
The first day of the festival was a little rainy, but there was work to be done. If you are interested in the white chocolate puzzles and white chocolate puzzles, you will find them reviewed here.
Charcuterie Palette with Artisan Cured Meats, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Duck Breast and Cheese – $14.00
While a nice and delicious spread, I feel skipping the Charcuterie Palette is probably a good idea, as you can get at least two other festival entrees for this price. There’s nothing terribly exotic about this spread, but it was good if you feel the need to order it.
Smoked Salmon Tartare, Caviar, Crisp Lavash and Traditional Accompaniments – $12.00
The smoked salmon tartare is a solid dish and will certainly appease anyone who enjoys such things. It really has a really amazing flavor palatte and if you have never had caviar or salmon tartare, this is a rather nice dish to try them on.
This is my second favorite dish of the entire Epcot International Festival of the Arts, so much so that I wish I could order a full-sized entree featuring it. The cheese and risotto blend together perfectly, and the mushrooms were very flavorful, proving especially tasty when soaked into the risotto.
Triple Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Crunch, Dark Chocolate Sauce and Gold Leaf from the Master Pastry Chef – $9.25
One of the better desserts of the event, the triple chocolate mousse features distinct flavors stacked on top of each other for a delicious combination. It is also particularly photogenic, if you are into that sort of thing…
Classic Sidecar with a Chocolate Twist – $9.25
If you enjoy a good Sidecar, this won’t disappoint. For those unaware of the ingredients:
The sidecar is a cocktail traditionally made with cognac, orange liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Grand Gala or another triple sec), and lemon juice. In its ingredients, the drink is perhaps most closely related to the older brandy crusta, which differs both in presentation and in proportions of its components.
About half of our group liked this and half did not, so your results with it may vary. The chocolate twist is a nice touch.
The permits show the large, multi-story building that will likely be part of the Disney Vacation Club wing, as well as 6 other new structures, some replacing the existing Barbados Village. There is also a series of roadway and waterway improvements planned as well.
The project is set to begin construction this year and be completed by 2019.
