This new ride is located in the replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre that had held the ‘Great Movie Ride.’ The old ride took you through the different movies and sets via tram like car ride right through the middle of the movie set.
*Spoiler Alert* The following is a description of this new ride. If you want to be surprised, stop here and go ride the ride. You won’t be disappointed!
Continue reading Disney – Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway Ride
Disney’s “Food and Wine Festival” at Epcot – with Covid Restrictions
We arrived at 5pm and the park closed at 7pm – Visited 9/11/2020
The center of the area behind the ball,, with the fountains is currently closed and under construction – you have to choose which way you want to walk around so quite a few extra steps.
As usual, we headed straight for Germany to get a beer and we loved how easy it was to move around with the small amount of people.
There are enough kiosks to have a nice walk around the world and the small amount of people make it easier to find a table or bench to sit and enjoy. I would not have missed the extra kiosks if they were not still in place and closed. There are fewer kiosks and the kiosks that were open had reduced offerings.
** Update 9/29 new kiosks have opened and are still opening **
All attractions were walk-on, including Soarin and Test Track. I imagine there are lines earlier in the day but nothing that late in the day.
Note: my neighbor heard that none of the restaurants around the world were open but later told me that this was not true. You must use the Disney Experience App to make reservations and you must already have your Disney Park Reservations.
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Lines
Traveled January 2021, August 2020
Yes, there are lines – but most of them move non-stop. The wait time listed is actually the amount of time it takes for you to walk through the line. In August ’20, only 2 rides had us actually standing and waiting – Slinky Dog and Rise of the Resistance. In January ’21, most of the lines had been moved outside and are very creative in their setup. Look for the person holding the sign that says “Line Starts Here”. For example: Toy Story Mania started near the Incredibles area but was only 30 minutes long.
Every area has markings on the ground showing where to stand – you have to pay attention because they are not always every 6 feet – sometimes they stretch an entire row of a line to make sure people are not standing close to each other. It is a self-policed line and almost everyone follows the signs but sometimes people are busy playing games in the app or small children are excited to be there and the separation gets a little short but it is self-corrected quickly. It is well thought out and most of the lines move very quickly. For example: In January ’21, the Toy Story Mania started near the Incredibles area but was only 30 minutes long and the Pirates line was about 30 minutes long and weaved around outside of the attraction and was only inside the building for a short time.
Some lines have plexiglass between the rows to keep you from having contact with lots of people.
Park Hopping: January: you can now change parks at 2pm – expect a line to form at the new park about 1:30pm but it wasn’t long and it went away quickly.
Bonus: If you utilize fast-pass like we do, you don’t get to see the line areas – since there are no fast passes, you will get to walk through the entire line area and see all of the detail the makes Disney spectacular.
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Disney with Covid Restrictions
We visited Disney to see what it is like with the Covid Restrictions in place. This is a quick overview that we will update each time we visit.
Updated for 01/21 Visit
Masks & Hand Sanitizer
Disney is very serious about wearing your mask all the time. It must be over your nose and chin and attach behind your ears. You can take it off to eat and drink but you must be stationary to do this – so although you can walk around with a drink, you have to stop and stand still to remove your mask and take a drink. Continue reading Disney with Covid Restrictions – Overview
Greece – 2018
We chose to experience the recommended pairing of Loaded Greek Nachos (Vegan) and Domaine Skouras Moscofilero.
We tasted the Moscofilero before the nachos and did not love it but once we began eating, we found the pairing of the wine and food to be perfect. Continue reading Disney Food and Wine Festival – Greece
Islands of the Caribbean 2018
You should stop here, YUM!!
Once again we chose the recommended pairing and wow was it good.
The Jerk Spiced Chicken Lollipop was a perfect blend of spicy & sweet plantain and mango. The flavors mixed together and delighted our taste buds.
I think it is called a lollipop because it is a drumstick – nice name.
Continue reading Disney Food and Wine Festival – Islands of the Caribbean
Festival Center 2018
Stop by the Festival Center to get information about the food and wine festival.
They have an information booth and a huge map. This is also where they have classes and seminars, both complementary and for an extra fee.
The Ghirardelli chocolate experience is a nice self-tour display with some amazing chocolate sculptures. You will also get a small sample.
If you are an annual pass holder, stop here to get your magnet and on your 4th visit, pickup your small cutting board.
At the Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar, the Tropical Mimosa ($6) was cold and sweet, we liked it but it would have been too sweet for more than one glass. The Blood Orange Mimosa ($6) was cold and tart but not sour. Both Mimosas had a nice taste but they were great when we mixed them together.
There are shops and a craft beer experience here as well.
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#FoodandWineFestival2018
The Light Lab
This is not our first visit to the Food and Wine Festival but it is our first visit in 2018. We usually start at Mexico and work our way around but this year we decided to be different.
Our first stop was the Light Lab where we began our Food & Wine experience with a cider flight ($9+). Yes, $13 for 3 small glasses of cider and a bottle of water. I wasn’t in a Disney Frame of mind just yet but I was working on it.
The Dry Rose was dry but had a nice taste because you could still taste the cider through the rose.
Surprisingly, the blueberry peppercorn cider was quite tasty, not too dry not too sweet and not overly spicy.
The third cider, 
Zen Berry, was less cider and more sweet.
It is a good sample of different ciders. This location is a temporary location so water is only available by the bottle, no free glass of water here.
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This new festival celebrates the Arts and has both paid and complementary workshops. I attended two complementary workshops – one on Henna and one on Photography.
Although the workshops are complementary, there are a limited number of tickets. We arrived about 45 minutes early to get our tickets and had no problems getting a ticket but it was a Monday and they had waiting areas for tickets setup so it could have been more crowded over the weekend.
Both workshops were run by Disney employees who had worked with Disney for quite awhile and were very knowledgeable about their areas. Both workshops were informative and entertaining and worth the time to attend.
Check out the remaining workshops for this festival here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/epcot-international-festival-of-the-arts-seminars-workshops/
Disney has a new Festival — Festival of the Arts. It seems like they are always trying something new to get us to spend our day (and money) at Epcot! This festival takes place Friday-Monday until February 20th.
This festival isn’t quite as large as the Food and Wine Festival but it is still fun.
Neopolitan — Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry — Beer that is. Cost $9. Just had to give this one a try.
The strawberry was very sweet and the chocolate had a hint of chocolate flavor. My daughter thought it tasted like coffee but I did not. Neither of us cared much for the vanilla.
We then walked around the World Showcase to see what the festival was all about. There are pavilions set up all around featuring different artists and foods. The art was varied and included the original piece and some less expensive prints. It was quite windy so none of the artists were able to demonstrate their work but they were all out talking to the people.
The food, of course, was good. We had some Mexican food with sangria.
The food was excellent (under $20 for both items ) but the sangria was very sweet. It took us so long to drink the sangria that we didn’t purchase any other food or drink until we had completed our walk of the entire showcase.
After a breezy walk where we teased each other about being from Florida and freezing in 45 degree weather, we found a coffee I could not pass without trying. Although the coffee was good ($10), it was small and not mixed well.
The food is delightful to the eye and I wish we could have sampled more. I will be going back and I will be trying some of their beautiful food.
Here is a link to look at the food options during the festival: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/epcot-international-festival-of-the-arts-culinary/
