Sunshine Seasons inside The Land pavilion at Epcot will no longer serve breakfast starting Sunday, July 31st, 2016.
The quick service restaurant will now operate from 11am until park close. There has been no word yet on if this is a seasonal change or a permanent one.
While the stage was constructed back in March, it has been a mystery to most why there was a stage built just outside of the Germany pavilion in World Showcase at Epcot. Well, with little to no fanfare, a show debuted on the small stage this week: Margret Almer & The Bavarian Band.
The show is performed six times a daily 5 days a week. They are performing on a 3-month trial basis and may be extended based on guest demand.
Video by Mike Gaspar
Let’s see what’s new and exciting around Epcot in our very latest photo report:
The banner in the Frozen Ever After queue was getting beaten up pretty bad, so they put a metal plate inside of it to make it sturdier…
Plenty of Soarin’ Around the World merchandise available in The Land
The Mills Stage in Canada is currently home to Les Parfaits Inconnus, which you can watch below if you haven’t sen it yet:
The bar inside the Canada pavilion was quietly removed recently
All gone
MouseGear is selling a number of “reversible” plush right now
The Mater one makes no sense…
Taste Track (when open) now sells ice cream
Extensive work is once again being done to the interior of MouseGear
A lot of items were moved around again as well
Elena of Avalor has her own section in the shop
Some new oped edition pins released recently
The foam Star Wars weaponry has finally made its way to the east coast
Some new magnets
This register is somehow open during the work above it…
Another reversible plush
Finding Dory merchandise has taken the spotlight away from Star Wars… for now…
Found this giant EPCOT Center log inside what’s left of Innoventions West
Figment’s footprints at the exit of Journey Into Imagination, leading to the ImageWorks, were erased recently
Turtle Talk has new signage to promote the additions to the show
After 9 years, the Epcot 25th anniversary timeline was removed from the hallway near Club Cool
 This awesome Crush souvenir cup is popping up at various locations around Walt Disney World, but here it was at the Beach Club.
Eight new acts join the Eat to the Beat concert series this fall during the 2016 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.
Festival newbie Wang Chung kicks off the first two nights. The other festival first-timers include BoDeans, Plain White T’s, Jeffrey Osborne, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Living Colour, Soul Asylum and Delta Rae.
Here’s the full lineup:
Performances are 5:30, 6:45 and 8:00 p.m. daily, and included in Epcot admission. (Lineup is subject to change; songs listed are for artist recognition only and may not be included in the concert play list.) The 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival runs September 14-November 14 at Walt Disney World Resort.
Chase today announced that as part of its multi-year agreement with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S., it continues as the presenting sponsor of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Running for a record 62 days from September 14 through November 14, 2016, Guests attending the Festival will be able to discover delicious global cuisines, wines and beers, as well as enjoy tastings from celebrity chefs and music from legendary artists. Chase debit and credit cardmembers, including Disney Visa Cardmembers, will receive exclusive access to the Chase Lounge at the Festival.
The Lounge, located on the third floor of the American Adventure Pavilion within Epcot World Showcase, will offer cardmembers an inviting place to relax, enjoy complimentary, non-alcoholic refreshments, and access charging stations, among other amenities. It will open daily during the Festival from 11 a.m. until Park close.
Disney Visa Credit Cardmembers also have the opportunity on July 19 and July 20 to book reservations for special events offered at this year’s Festival before sales open to the general public on July 21. Call 407-939-1870 to book reservations with your Disney Visa Credit Card.
“We are thrilled to continue as the presenting sponsor of this year’s Festival and provide all Chase cardmembers an exclusive retreat at the Chase Lounge,” said B.J. Mahoney, general manager, Chase Card Services. “Not only will Chase cardmembers taste their way around the world, but they will be able to relax, recharge and refuel at the Lounge.”
The sponsorship of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival extends Chase’s relationship with Disney as the issuer of the Disney Premier Visa Credit Card, Disney Rewards Visa Credit Card and Disney Visa Debit Card. Disney Visa Credit Cardmembers earn Disney Dream Reward Dollars on all card purchases. In addition, all Disney Visa Cardmembers have access to amazing perks 365 days-a-year, including a Disney Character Meet ‘N’ Greet at a private Cardmember location at Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort and special savings at Disney’s U.S. Theme Parks, Disney Store and DisneyStore.com. Cardmembers can also choose from various Disney card designs.
With the opening of Frozen Ever After approaching, the Mexico and Norway pavilion have been testing out their new 9AM opening time with some new breakfast options. Over in Mexico, La Cantina de San Angel now opens with the park and offers four breakfast plates (and no margaritas before 11am, before you even ask me):
The tamal verde con huevos was a good sized dish for the price. The tamale was a little dry, but not bad. The scrambled eggs (or huevos) served with each dish are pretty good, slightly better than the Disney-made counter service scrambled eggs elsewhere.
The chilaquiles was the best of all of the dishes in both presentation and taste. Similar in texture to the tamale, this did not have the same dry taste. This would be my recommendation if you are eating here.
The pambazo de chorizo is a weird dish, almost tasting like a hamburger covered in marinara sauce. It wasn’t bad, just strange, especially for breakfast.
The huevos revueltos kid’s meal is a good size dish and includes a beverage and fruit. The potatoes had a good flavor, and all of the fruit tasted very fresh.
Overall, La Cantina serves up a solid breakfast. I’m not sure if they are adding this out of necessity, but I don’t think this is where I would get breakfast at Epcot if given a choice. The bakeries in France and Norway have a really solid pastry lineup I would likely choose over this, and I might even be more likely to go for an adult breakfast platter from Sunshine Seasons over this location. The lack of indoor seating for breakfast doesn’t help the cause in the summer months either. Personally, I would skip this in favor of almost any other breakfast option at Epcot, even if it is on the way to Norway.
If you find yourself feeling like there is a deficiency in the number of vikings at Epcot with Maelstrom gone, don’t fear, because the park recently introduced a pair of comedic barbarians for guests to interact with.
The pair can be found roaming the pavilion and promenade during the day, entertaining nearby guests as they pass by. Here’s a video of the pair out and about on Friday:
The wait is finally over, Frozen Ever After has opened in the Norway pavilion of World Showcase at Epcot. The ride utilizes what was the space occupied by the Maelstrom attraction, reusing boats and some sections of track, but that is where the similarities end. In what may be their finest feat in modern dark rides, the attraction is a marvelous combination of audio animatronics, projection technology, and beautiful backdrops.
The queue was completely rebuilt, you won’t find anything resembling Maelstrom here.
The queue is gorgeous, taking place in a small courtyard and through Oaken’s Sauna.
First off, the attraction is hard to photograph, as are most Disney dark rides. Your best bet for a good look at the ride will be our video later in this post.
The attraction begins with a walking, talking Olaf that has to be seen to be believed.
The trolls then make an appearance before the lift hill.
Upstairs, guests will find Anna, Kristoff, and Sven singing.
Guests then enter Elsa’s ice palace and watch as she transforms the room around them.
Guests then travel backwards and encounter Marshmallow and the Snowgies before taking the classic plunge.
Guests splashdown in fron of the kingdom, as icy magic happens around it.
Also, there are puffins from Maelstrom!
Anna, Elsa, and Olaf appear in the final scene to say goodbye to guests (it wasn’t working when we went through, but supposedly has been fixed already).
And now, here’s a full video of the queue and on-ride experience of Frozen Ever After:
Frozen Ever After is a masterpiece of modern Disney Imagineering. They took a very confined space and built one of their very best dark rides ever. The animatronics are stunning, the scenes are perfectly crafted, and it is sure to please guests of all ages. While the capacity may be a little low with the usage of the old Maelstrom boats and the attraction may not be the best fit for Epcot, the attraction otherwise excels in all areas. Frozen Ever After is certainly a must see at Epcot and will be for a long, long time to come.
Special thank to our sponsor Theme Park Connection for their help in covering this story today! Be sure to shop with them for Disney items featuring Frozen, Finding Dory, and more!
With the opening of the Royal Sommerhus and Frozen Ever After at 9am, guests will now find the nearby Kringla Bakery og Cafe in the Norway pavilion open early in the morning as well. With the new extended hours and the extra attention, the classic Epcot bakery has received a number of new menu items, so we decided to try a few over the last few days:
The chefs even made a small version of the Royal Sommerhus to put in the display case.
A look at the options.
We decided to try the egg and leek pastry. It was very light and had a good flavor to it. The leek flavor is a bit strong and it would probably be fine with just the egg, but overall not a bad option.
We then came back to try the Frozen mini cupcakes, the Snowglobe, and the Fisherman’s Tasting Box.
The Fisherman’s Tasting Box is an odd addition, and even though we didn’t order it until around 1PM, it was clear we were the first people to ever order it. For $10.00, it isn’t very large, but at least it was fresh. Everything in it was good, and I’m a pretty big fan of Melba toast, so it won me over a bit (not enough to order it again, but at least enough to be OK with the existence of a strange $10.00 fish box).
The mini-cupcakes were pretty cute, even if they are just held in place by an upside down sauce cup.
All 4 cupcakes were a different flavor: vanilla, chocolate, carrot, and cookies & cream. The troll was my favorite as it was fun to look at and the cookies & cream frosting on chocolate cake made for the most interesting of the 4 cupcake flavors. None of them were bad and I think it’s a fun option for the Frozen fans in your group. It certainly will make a fun social media post for your trip.
The Snowglobe was pretty crazy looking, but ended up being delightful. It tasted like a cheesecake over a chocolate cake layer which made for a pleasant flavor. The blue clear portion ended up just being gelatin, a fairly flavorless variety that at least made the dessert look interesting.
There aren’t many desserts outside of the France bakery at Epcot that I really enjoy enough to weant to order again, but this would be one of them.
Of course the Kringla Bakery staples you’ve come to know and love are all here as well, and certainly being open next door to the immensely popular Frozen attraction will see a pleasant boost in traffic at the cafe. I would still choose the France bakery over this one time and time again, but there’s nothing wrong with occasionally ordering some school bread, rice cream, or a snowglobe. You really can’t go wrong with any of those options.
This rumor is pretty far out there, but it seems to be gaining some traction, so it might be worth talking about…
The latest rumor making the rounds says that the Mission: SPACE attraction at Epcot may be getting a Guardians of the Galaxy overlay. This does make some sense since it sounds like the Tower of Terror in Florida will be spared the Guardians of the Galaxy overlay coming to California, but probably makes little sense in the Epcot of today.The Epcot of tomorrow, well that’s a different story…
TRON Lightcycle Power Run at Shanghai Disneyland on June 13, 2016 – three days before the scheduled grand opening. PHOTO BY JEFF GRITCHEN, ORANGE OOUNTY REGISTER
There has certainly been rumors of the TRON Lightcycle Power Run attraction coming to Walt Disney World, even before it was announced for Shanghai Disneyland. Current rumblings place the TRON ride somewhere in Future World, while inside sources seem confident that the Ratatouille attraction from Paris will land in the France pavilion before the end of the decade.
Is an Epcot riddled with IPs on the way? The addition and success of Frozen Ever After in Norway leads me to believe it is. What will this mean for the future of the park? Is there any life left in the original vision for the park? Not under the Iger administration which seems hellbent on installing all of the company’s most current Intellectual Properties at the Disney Parks around the world.
None of this is confirmed at this time, and some of it I haven’t really been able to even feel out with any inside sources at the company yet. Regardless, stay tuned for any further information on these rumors should more information become available.
