Cody Smith, who reports for The Disney Pincast and The Vinylmation Station, visited the Walt Disney World Resort this weekend and has a few newsworthy pictures to share with us:
The water seems to be staining Everest…
Like a fine wine that improves with age, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival celebrates 15 years Oct. 1-Nov. 14 with an unrivaled global tasting experience.
Where on the planet can foodies sample the cuisine, culture and entertainment of more than two dozen countries during a 1.3-mile stroll around a picturesque 40-acre lagoon? Only at Walt Disney World Resort, where more than 25 international marketplaces around the World Showcase promenade at Epcot invite guests to taste tapas-sized portions and sip wines, beers and spirits from six continents.
This year, Disney and celebrity chefs are teaming with winemakers and brew masters from around the world to commemorate 15 years of Delicious Discoveries. During the six-week festival, guests will discover:
New Sips, Fresh Bites
Whether sampling steamed mussels with roasted garlic cream at the new Belgium marketplace or sipping the trendiest wines from South Africa and Chile, festival guests can make a day of grazing their way around the World Showcase promenade. Tapas-sized portions of regional specialties run
$3-to-$8 each, and recommended wines and beers make perfect pairings at each marketplace. To make grazing simpler and more fun, guests can purchase a festival-themed mini-Disney Gift Card that can be loaded and reloaded at several park locations. The card comes attached to a band that can be worn conveniently on the wrist and used for purchases at park marketplaces, restaurants and shops.
Live regional entertainment includes music, acrobatics and improv performances along the promenade. Evening Eat to the Beat! concerts at America Gardens Theatre feature acts from many musical genres. Appearing for the first time on the Eat to the Beat! stage are: Sugar Ray, Air Supply, Howard Jones, 38 Special, Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp,) Hanson and Rick Springfield. Kicking off the festival Oct. 1-3 is fan-favorite Taylor Dayne, and wrapping the event Nov. 12-14 is crowd-pleaser Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
Each fall, the festival attracts a diverse audience of more than 1 million guests ranging from wine connoisseurs and epicures to novices wishing to boost their culinary IQs. Special culinary programs showcase a lineup of renowned winemakers, guest chefs and speakers participating in elegant dinners, luncheons, seminars and wine schools.
Festival highlights include:
Festival guests can enjoy fresh Epcot experiences including the latest Future World high-tech fun at Innoventions. They also can go “under the sea” at The Seas with Nemo & Friends, “up in the air” at Soarin’ in The Land pavilion or “out of this world” at Mission: SPACE. In World Showcase, new and updated restaurants welcome guests at the Italy, Japan, Mexico and China pavilions.
Included with Epcot Admission
Authentic Taste seminars and Authors Without Borders programs with special book signings at the Festival Center, Eat to the Beat! concerts, cultural adventures, Marketplace Discovery Passport and all attractions and park entertainment are included with regular Epcot admission.
Special Programming by Reservation
The Party for the Senses grand tasting events and other special wine and culinary programs require reservations and separate event admission. Guests can call 407/WDW-FEST (939-3378) for information and to make reservations for special events and programs. Festival details should be available at www.disneyworld.com/foodandwine by mid-July.
From the Disney Parks Blog:
Burgers are out, meatballs are the hot new dining trend, and Portobello at Downtown Disney takes the idea a step further, pairing affordable meatball sliders with seven microbrews from Orlando Brewing – a satisfying summer combo.
Levy Restaurant Chefs Steven Richard (executive chef at Portobello) and Tony Mantuano (Portobello consulting chef) dreamed up the meatball-beer bar. “The meatballs are fun to eat,” Mantuano said. “And what’s better with a meatball than beer?”
Belly up and take your pick: beef and veal with parsley, spicy pork, chicken with sage or salmon with tarragon. Each is served on a soft mini roll and topped with tomato-basil sauce and freshly grated Parmesan. Affordable too: just $1.95 for a sizeable meatball slider (the salmon is $2.95). Our hands-down fave was the spicy pork. Least favorite was the salmon. Pair with locally brewed and organic beers including ales, European Pilz, Olde Pelican E.P.A. and Blackwater Porter, each $5.95.
The bar seats 30, with 10 more seats at adjacent cocktail tables. And you can order from the full menu at the bar (we love the eggplant fries for a decadent side). Portobello is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
From the Disney Parks Blog:
There’s a delicious new offering at the Downtown Disney District! I had my first taste of a crepe earlier this month at the new Café Renee located in front of World of Disney, and I have to say it was delish! Café Renee is the latest food location to join Downtown Disney – offering both sweet and savory crepes, as well as funnel cake sticks and drinks. I tried the Caprese and BBQ Pulled Pork crepes – and I couldn’t believe I’d been missing out for so long. I’m dying to go back and try one of their sweet sensations! Don’t take my word for it – check out the menu and give it a try.
From the Disney Parks Blog:
Pastas, wood-fired pizzas, scoops of sweet gelato – here’s a first look at the menu for the new Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria at the Epcot Italy Pavilion. Opening next month the 300-seat restaurant expands dining choices (our favorite Tutto Italia stays). Created by the Patina Restaurant Group’s CEO Nick Valenti, the menu is based on his travels in Southern Italy and his time developing and overseeing the successful Naples 45 Ristorante e Pizzeria in New York. Valenti spent time in Naples studying the art of dough, crust, sauce and oven temperatures at the famous pizzerias Da Michele and Trianon. A feature at Via Napoli is its wood-burning ovens, cleverly named after the three active volcanoes in Italy – Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli.
Appetizers: Sicilian eggplant with olives and raisins; salad of lettuce, fagiolini (string beans), fennel and tomatoes; arancini (fried saffron risotto balls) with meat ragù, mozzarella and pomodoro sauce; corn-crusted fried calamari; and minestrone with basil pesto. Or share a plate of arancini, mozzarella, calamari, portobella mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini and carciofi (artichokes).
Main course salads: Manzo (filet of beef) with greens, red onion, gorgonzola, apple and cucumber with a red wine-mustard vinaigrette; chopped salad with lemon chicken, greens, cantaloupe, cucumber, red pepper, green beans, onions, almonds and pasta crisps with honey-citrus vinaigrette; calamari with arugula, carrots and fennel with orange vinaigrette.
Pastas: candele (long, tube-shaped pasta) with sausage ragù; linguine with seafood; malfadine (ribbon pasta) with guanciale (unsmoked Italian bacon) and pomodoro sauce; lasagna verde.
Piatti alla Parmigiana: (dishes topped with Parmesan and mozzarella gratinée): veal, chicken and eggplant.
Wood-fired pizzas: made with caputo flour imported from Southern Italy, San Marzano tomatoes, handmade mozzarella and water from a local spring just like in Italy’s Campania region – 10-inch, 20-inch or 1/2 meter to share: a dozen choices, from a simple pizza Margherita with tomato, mozzarella and basil to carciofi with artichoke, potato, pecorino cheese, prosciutto and cantaloupe.
Sweets: tiramisù, zeppole di ricotta (ricotta cheese-fried dough, whipped cream and chocolate sauce); apple cake with almond sorbetti; gelatie; and vanilla gelato with almond cookies and amarena cherries.
WDWNT Reporter Josh Siegel traveled to Epcot to catch a preview of Captain EO yesterday and he has a few photos from his trip to share:
Tron-o-rail!!!
The OC Register reported on the new eateries located in DCA, that are available during Glow Fest.
Disney California Adventure is offering tourists a taste of gourmet street food as part of the theme park’s new Glow Fest celebration, which runs through Aug. 22.
For the first half of the event, Orange County’s own Louks Greek Gourmet truck and The Green Truck of Los Angeles are the featured food vans.
You can find the rest of the article HERE
Here are the menus to the Two new dining vans:
You can find the menu for the Louks Greek Truck HERE
WDWNT Reporter Jose Eber has provided us with a video update of construction projects all around the Walt Disney World Resort including Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, the Best Friends Pet Resort, the Four Seasons Resort, and Pollo Campero at Downtown Disney:
We are proud to welcome the newest addition to the WDWNT staff, Josh Siegel, with his first photo report from the Walt Disney World Resort:
Work continues on Pollo Campero at Downtown Disney
WDWNT Reporter Matt Paul visited the Walt Disney World Resort yesterday and has a plethora of newsworthy photos to share with us:
Getting ready for Star Wars Weekends at the Studios
