Awesome...Wow! A Disney and Universal Food Report April 2018 - COMPLETE!

[lam]

What a fantastic report.
Thank you so much for sharing.

I know what you mean re Fantasmic. The first time I saw it with my mum and ds, it made me cry! I was so overwhelmed by it and had never seen anything like it before.

We went 2 or 3 times that holiday and to this day,it still makes me cry and I try to see it more than once on each trip.

This year i'm also hoping to see the star wars fireworks although standing for a long time after spending all the day in the parks can be most uncomfortable for me especially as my legs swell!

Oh and re the cocktails, i haven't tried any at all. Can you believe that? 10 years going to disney and the most alcoholic drink i've had is 1 or 2 glasses of prossecco.
lots of catching up to do and as the new ddp also includes alcohol, guess i'll be doing that for the 1st time this holiday which kind of fits as ds is 21 the day we travel to the US.


Happy days!

[jandlsmum]

What a fantastic trippie I can not tell you how much I have loved reading it ,and I love your cocktail choices I have got a lot of tips for next time thank you for sharing x

[igoefamily]

Really enjoyed reading your report. You have given us lots of suggestions for places to eat that we havent visited before.

[GALE88]

Fab report, thanks for sharing. I can't wait to read the rest.

We've got three nights at HRH booked next year so I was glad to read about the different food options there. I like the look of the buffet breakfast in The Kitchen.

[slaleyhall]

Loving reading this so far. Thanks for posting

[LadyDebs86]

Day 9

Eeek, this is likely to be a long one! Definitely one of my favourite days of the trip, but also our last full day

We had no set plans for the morning so I woke up naturally and lay about in bed for a bit messing on my phone and looking back over all our lovely pictures Chris was still absolutely fast asleep bless him, I think all the excitement had caught up with him! Eventually I decided I fancied going to Stormalong Bay so I got myself ready and we agreed I'd leave him there to sleep for a bit longer.

I had the most lovely morning on a lounger in my preferred spot above Hurricane Hanna's, having a dip every so often. I love Chris and spending time with him on these trips but I'm also quite introverted and really like my own space so it was nice to just recharge for a bit in silence and take in the surroundings for a couple of hours.

Hotdogs or legs?

Eventually he came to join me and he even brought me food another Mickey brownie!

He had eaten at Beach Club Marketplace but I had him well trained by this point so he had taken a picture for me!

He does love a cinnamon bun.

We stuck around for a bit, had a couple of swims and even two goes on the pirateship slide! It was just so lovely. Every single day of this trip had just been so fantastic, so much time planned for just taking in our beautiful surroundings. I so wish I was back there now!

Eventually we dragged ourselves away from the pool and back to the room to get ready to go back to Epcot!

It was around lunchtime so we were peckish and couldn't resist starting on the Flower and Garden booths!

First stop was Cider House for the 'Pear Cider-brined Shredded Corned Beef with Braised Cabbage and Branston Dressing with Pears':

Chris loved this and said it was his favourite dish of the festival. It was pretty nice to be fair.

Then Northern Bloom! We got the 'Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-wood Smoked Bacon' and the 'Beef Tenderloin Tips, Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes with Garden Vegetables'. Chris got a beer but I can't remember which one...

Both of these were amazing! Loved the green beans with the scallops, and the sauce was so good.

Last food stop before a trip to Future World was Honey Bee-stro, a new booth for this year. We got 'Honey Tandoori Chicken Flatbread with White Cheddar Cheese, charred vegetables, Clover Honey Sour Cream and Micro Watercress' and Chris got the Honey Pilsner:

This was just so yummy, I let Chris choose and it wouldn't have been what I'd have picked but it was really good.

We spent a bit of time in World Showcase taking in Spaceship Earth and Test Track which was great I also had a leisurely look in Art of Disney and tried to convince Chris that these would look great in our house, but he was having none of it:

On our way back in to World Showcase we got a couple of drinks from the Pineapple Promenade booth, I had the frozen desert violet lemonade and Chris had the SweetWater Brewing Company Goin’ Coastal IPA with Pineapple. I tried taking some arty Instagram pictures but its not really my strong suit

Next food was at the Berry Basket - we picked 'Lamb chop with Quinoa Salad and Blackberry Gastrique', a 'JDub’s Brewing Company Blueberry IPA' for Chris and a 'Twinings® Green Tea Berry Mint Julep' for me.

Sometimes I forget how much I love lamb and then I eat it and gah. Delicious. The drink was AMAZING. Definitely my favourite drink of the fest. So refreshing and fruity and minty and gorgeous. Nom.

Next up was Jardin de Fiestas near Mexico for the 'Pork Taco: Slow-braised Pork Taco served with Apple Relish, Goat Cheese and Chile de Árbol Sauce':

I'm normally not a fan of Mexican food but I'm a sucker for anything with goats cheese so gave it a go. It was good, but could have done with more cheese we had another wander round the pyramid in Mexico, I love it in here so much, like being transported to another world. I could sit in there all day.

We had a lovely explore of the China pavilion and watched Reflections of China for the first time which I really enjoyed, the film is a bit dated but it made me really want to go to China! There was a Chinese guy in the theatre absolutely loving it! We had a look round the exhibit in there about Shanghai Disney, it looks amazing! We were also really enjoying the aircon as it was HOT today.

Leaving the beautiful temple we grabbed some vegetable spring rolls and a Tsingtao Lager from the Lotus House booth.

I loved that she did the sauce in a Mickey shape! These were yummy, your standard spring roll from the takeaway really, whats not to love?

I got a frozen coke from the African Outpost:

We drank this sat at a little table overlooking the lake, have you ever noticed there's a little boat on a tiny beach in this area? I hadn't, you always learn something here! Sadly I didn't get a picture so you'll just have to look out for it next time you're there.

We reflected on what an amazing trip we'd had, this was one of those mental photograph moments bliss.

Nicely cooled down, it was time for Chris' favourite pavilion, Germany! Our next snack was the 'Toasted Pretzel Bread topped with Black Forest Ham and Melted Gruyère Cheese' from the Bauernmarkt booth.

This was much nicer than it looked! I didn't get to it before Chris had a bite he also had a beer flight:

We had a nosy at the little model village with the toy train, I love this I watched a DFB video before we went which mentioned that there is a club responsible for the upkeep of this tiny town! They decorate for different holidays, and you can see the little Flower and Garden festival banners in the street:

So cute! Next up was a lovely wander round the Italy pavilion which is one of my favourites, its so beautiful! The mime was on doing silly tricks in the courtyard which we watched for a bit, that was fun. We didn't get any food from the F & G booth as nothing grabbed our attention - in fact it was the only booth we missed out! Gutted!

Next up was the American pavilion, not a booth but I was craving popcorn so we grabbed some of that from Fife and Drum, alongside a Red Stag Lemonade to share - 'Frozen Lemonade made with Red Stag Black Cherry Bourbon':

That drink is epic. Nothing more to say really!

We sat next to the fountain waiting for the next showing of American Adventure to start (we are obsessed with the cheesiness of this) but we were informed that the last showing was not going ahead so we had to leave

Not to be deterred, next stop was the Smokehouse booth for the pulled pork slider and another beer flight for Chris:

This was my least favourite dish. It wasn't awful, it was just...meh. The pork was really dry and I just didn't love it at all.

Moving on! Next up was Japan and one of my main priorities for the trip was to finally explore this pavilion as I've never really done that before. It really is a stunning spot.

So glad I finally did this!

Next up was Morocco where we spent a bit of time watching the band, who I LOVED! They were so much fun! Amazing musicians clearly having so much fun. All of their songs seemed to be about how they were from Morocco, or things people did in Morocco, which was very niche but ok! After this we shared a dish from the Taste of Marrakesh booth, the 'Harissa Chicken Kebab with Dried Fruit Couscous Salad'

This was another Chris choice and it was an absolute WINNER. The chicken was so moist and all the ingredients just worked together so well. There were little bits of satsuma in the cous cous and it was genuinely just delicious. My favourite dish.

We had an explore of the Morocco pavilion which is another one I love as it is just so beautiful and detailed, as well as being a bit of a labyrinth, very evocative of being lost in a souk!

I just love the story behind this pavilion. The King of Morocco was so delighted that his nation had been chosen to be represented in World Showcase that he sent his own craftsmen to help decorate the pavilion, and it is just SO beautiful. You could spend hours just poking around all the little corners here, it seems to go back forever.

Anyway. That's enough gushing about the Morocco pavilion! Our last F & G booth visit was Florida Fresh to get a beer flight for Chris:

I got myself a Grand Marnier slush from the permanent booth in France. Always a favourite of mine.

It had gone dark by this point but it was still boiling and my drink started melting almost immediately! It didn't disappoint, still fruity and refreshing with just the right amount of bite! We sat at a little table waiting for Illuminations and toasted a successful afternoon and an amazing trip!

We figured we hadn't had dessert yet (because we definitely hadn't eaten enough yet) so Chris went off to get us a crepe to eat before the fireworks...he came back with two because he couldn't choose between chocolate and raspberry topping

I'll be honest, these weren't great. The crepes are ready made and they just kind of heat them up for a couple of seconds. Can't come close to a fresh crepe unfortunately - I think we'd been ruined by the crepes Suzette at CG brunch! They were ok though. Just not great.

We watched Illuminations and I sobbed uncontrollably as I knew it was likely to be the last time I ever saw it. It is looking pretty tired if I'm being honest - I think Happily Ever After kind of made it really obvious which is a shame - and there's that whole bit with the spinny globe in the middle which gets a bit boring, but the music is just so beautiful and the bit where the narrator 'blows the torches out' - goosebumps. I'll miss it so much and I'm so glad I got to see it twice on this trip.

We walked back to the Beach Club and had a little sit on the swingy chair on the beach:

What a view. I felt very sad that it was all coming to an end but very happy and grateful for what an amazing trip it had been.

You'd think we'd be finished now, but no

We had brought our swimming stuff to have a late night swim in the Villas pool as I knew I'd regret it if we didn't. I'm so glad we did this!

Afterwards we went into BC Marketplace to fill my mug and for reasons unknown Chris decided he still needed food and he ordered another kids cheese pizza!

It came with chocolate milk and apple slices. We got chatting to the girl making the pizza and she was so cute! We were discussing the best dishes at the festival and stuff and as she handed the pizza over she said

'Can I ask you another question?'

We said 'Of course'

She replied 'Would you like a free cupcake?'



Obviously we said yes! She said it was our leaving gift from Mickey how sweet!

We took our haul and ate it in the beautiful Breezeway sitting area in the Beach Club Villas:

The cupcake was one of the special ones, they were worth about $7 so a good freebie! I'm guessing it was about to go out of date as it wasn't particularly fresh but I'm not complaining!

And that was the end of our epic, food filled trip around the world!

Thanks for reading! Home day tomorrow

[Goldia]

What a fab last day. I'm marvelling at all the lovely food and drinks you tried out. I must get round to trying the grand Marnier slushy this summer, it sounds delicious. Sad that this is the final full day, it's been a great food report.

[Guest]

Such a great food report .
I adore the red stag lemonade and we get one on every visit but I have to make sure I stir it well or it can be a shock to get a mouthful of bourbon on the first sip!
Also love Morocco at Epcot and think the tangerine cafe is very underrated , their platter is so good .

[coggie]

Personally I think it's pretty rude, no matter how they say no, to take a table of four and not allow two others to sit there and I would have sat down anyway, if they choose to leave then so be it ...and to think it's supposed to be the happiest place on earth!

[Carolynmf]

Great report, I cant believe how much you managed to eat at the F&G