We spent our first day entirely at Epcot. We got there early and took the time to get on some of our favorite rides. Soarin', Living With The Land, The Seas With Nemo & Friends. We had a great time wandering around being big kids and spending time with each other. This is our twelfth year of marriage and it's been a long hard road.
Living With The Land was decorated for the autumn season. I love the little changes they do every so often.
Spaceship Earth photos. I'm calling these The Life of Party Boy and Mrs. Sassy Pants.
This was a beautiful shot Jesse caught on our way to the Craft Beers Marketplace.
Beer Flight #1. Contains:
1. Sierra Nevade, Kellerweis
2. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Punkin' Ale (I LOVE THIS ONE)
3. Spoetzl Brewery, Wild Hare Pale Ale
4. Abita Brewing Company, Purple Haze
House-made Country Pate with Pickled Carrots and Farmhouse Bread. This was pretty good. The carrots really surprised me in a good way.
We then checked out the Patagonia Marketplace. We got the Beef Empanada (pictured above) and the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree. The empanada was flavored differently than last years, or it was cooked better. Either way it was a nice improvement over the one we had last year. The beef skewer is always a win for me. The chimichurri is delicious with a hint of spice.
I then went to New Zealand to get the Venison Sausage with Pickled Mushrooms, Baby Arugula and Black Currant Reduction and Jesse split to Australia to get the Garlic Shrimp with Roasted Tomatoes, Lemon Myrtle and Rapini. The sausage was REALLY delightful with the Black Currant Reduction. I'm not a fan of mushrooms so I gave them to Jesse and he didn't like them at all.
After a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour starring The Three Caballeros in the Mexico Pavillion we made our way to the Farm Fresh Marketplace to get the Beer Flight which features the following beers:
1. Orlando Brewing Company, I-4 IPA
2. BaBa Black Lager Uinta Brewing Co.
3. Duke's Cold Nose Brown Ale, Bold City Brewery
4. Florida Cracker, Belgian-Style White Ale, Cigar City Brewery
After hearing Amara rave about the Roasted Pork Lettuce Wrap with Kimchi Slaw Jesse decided to give it a try. As a surprise to himself, he loved it. I'm not a fan of mayonnaise so I personally skipped this one. I still however vouch for the Kimchi Dog here.
While Jesse enjoyed his wrap I stopped by The Refreshment Cool Post for the Mango Starr featuring African Starr Rum. This was very sweet and fruity. They held back on alcohol however which was disappointing, but nonetheless, it was quite refreshing!
After a break in the Chase Lounge we headed back out and I picked up a Mmmhops Pale Ale. this one is brewed by the Hanson brothers. It was a very hoppy beer, but I loved it.
Jesse grabbed a Kirin Draft Beer from the Japan Marketplace.
We then made a stop at the Morocco Marketplace for a few things. Pictured above is the Spicy Shrimp Roll with Cilantro & Mint Sauce and a Casa Beer. I chose the Baklava and a Mimosa Royale - Sparkling Wine and Orange Juice topped with Orange Liqueur.
Making a pass through France Jesse spotted my favorite Villlainess as a charicature.
We made our way down through the Canada Pavilion to the Ireland Marketplace where Jesse got himself a Guiness Draught and we shared a Kerryold Cheese Selection which included: Reserve Cheddar, Dubliner with irish Stout, and Skellig. it was served with a piece of bread and an apple chutney. This is always one of guilty pleasures because it's cheese. We LOVE our cheeses!
Feeling thirsty I grabbed a Chai Latte with Bailey's with Cinnamon Whipped Cream, served cold. This was such a nice and refreshing energy boost. The size they give you for the price was appropriate and worth it.
Before taking a mid-day break we stopped at the Puerto Rico Marketplace. We got a Medalla Light Beer and an order of Carne Guisada.
Over at the Festival Center you can find the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience. Each year they have new sculptures made from nothing but chocolate. Below are the sculptures on display this year.
After our break we started round two around World Showcase. This time we stopped at the China Marketplace first. Jesse ordered himself a TSINGTAO Beer and we shared an order of Chicken Potstickers and Beijing Roasted Duck in a Steamed Bun with Hoisin Sauce. Both dishes were really good. I would love to make these at home sometime as they were bursting with lots of bold flavors, respectively from the sauces that came with each dish.
Walking through Africa, Jesse just had to stop to get himself another helping of the Beef Tenderloin Tips Berbere-style with Okra, Jalapenos, Tomato and Pap. This is by far one of his favorite dishes between last year and this year.
We were now ready for a flight of beer so Jesse went to the Brewer's Collection and I moseyed on over to the Germany Marketplace for the Schinkennudeln Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese (and onions). Jesse ordered Beer Flight #2 which included:
1. Altenmunster Oktoberfest
2. BraufactuM Roog
3. BraufactuM Darkon
4. BraufactuM Progusta IPA
We sat for a bit and relaxed before heading our way down to the Poland Marketplace so I could grab a Frozen Szarlotka - Apple Pie featuring Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka. While it says "Pie" in the description, it tasted more like icy apple sauce. It was still good, but there is a difference in both to me. We then grabbed a seat for the Eat To The Beat Concert which Smash Mouth was performing. We didn't have very good seats for pictures, but we enjoyed the music. Their sound was a little distorted, but the show was still enjoyable.
After the show we were pretty beat and quite stuffed. We decided to call it an early day and go check in at the hotel. We had reservations for 7:30 a.m. at Boma over at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We called it an early night so that we could get an early start and make it to breakfast on time.
Thursday morning quickly arrived and I couldn't have been more excited. If there is anything I love more than Disney food, it's all-you-care-to-eat Disney food! We arrived around 7 a.m. so that we could get checked into our reservation early and have a look around. The place was beautiful and the food smelled delicious. We got greeted and seated and couldn't wait to dive in. Here are two of my plates of food. Jesse did not take any photos of his plates to share.
As you can see they had some pretty unique menu items and all of it was so good. For our drinks we got Jungle Juice. It's a sweet orange based juice with I believe they said guava juice and papaya? I don't quite remember, but this stuff was addicting and I wish they sold it by the carton! I would buy my weight in this juice...and that's quite a bit!
Since we were celebrating our anniversary, after we finished our meal our waitress brought us out complimentary chocolate dipped Oreos shaped like Mickey Mouse. Even Oreos taste more delicious at Disney. I kid you not! We then made our way to Magic Kingdom for a few hours.
I had a fun-filled day planned for the two of us. Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and Mad Tea Cups...and much much more.
Jesse actually beat me.
By 12:30 p.m. we were feeling a bit tired and still very full from breakfast so we decided to get on the road and head home and enjoy some alone time at the house. The next day we would be getting Amara and going on a backroads adventure back down to Disney. That story will be told in Part II of this story.
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