Venue: Disney World – Orlando, FL
Dates: Feb 9th-20th, 2021 (12 Days)
Note: Because the Disney World articles are a multi-post review, I suggest you start with the very first article in this series entitled “Disney World”, then read on from there….. Enjoy!
When I originally booked this trip, Disney was running a promotion which allows you to buy 5 park passes for the price of 3. Sounded like good deal, so I went for it. Because there are only four parks, we had to choose which one to double up on. According to friends and family whom had been to Disney World many times, Epcot was the hands-down favorite. Great, Epcot twice it is! Due to this decision, we purposely booked our resort within the same area for the sake of convenience.
Day 3: Yep, this day we had reservations to our first visit to the Epcot Center. Thankfully this park opened at 11am which allowed us to sleep in bit and enjoy a proper sit-down breakfast before arriving. We took a short walk to an Italian restaurant on the Boardwalk called “Trattoria al Forno”. Our breakfast was reasonably priced and tasty. It’s always good to start another long day on your feet with a full tank.
Once again, we decided to arrive prior to the posted opening time to take advantage of “early entry” if available. We took the 10 min walk from the eatery to the back entrance of Epcot. This is also where the Friendship Boat and the Skyliner will drop you off. Most enter through the more advertised main entrance at the front gate. The Northern part of the Epcot Center (front gate) is where most of the rides and attractions are located, aka “Future World”. The Southern end (back gate) is where 11 different countries and their cultures are represented.
As soon as we arrived at around 10am, the gates were opened! We went through security and ding-a-linged our way in. We bolted straight through England and Canada to hit the rides before lines got insanely long. Mission accomplished. We hit “Soarin’ Around the World”, “Mission: Space” and others within 45 mins. Later we visited “Spaceship Earth” mainly because it’s an iconic landmark, but my favorite by far was the speedy “”Test Track…. Bad Ass!
During this time of year, Epcot hosts the “Festival of the Arts”. As you walk around you can view paintings and prints mostly done by the Disney animators that created the classic films we all grew up with. These works of art are beautiful, detailed and nostalgic but waaay overpriced. The best part of the festival, in my opinion, is all the different types of food snacks available throughout. As tempting as it was, we decided to hold off until we returned for our second date with Epcot. We had bigger plans this evening. In a few hours, a glutenous dinner complimented by beer steins filled with ice cold brew awaited us. We didn’t want to spoil it. Next Stop…. Germany.
Biergarten Restaurant: As we were seated inside this German Village themed Beer Garden, we immediately ordered a round of beer samplers each. Now that the main priority has been accomplished, we could concentrate on the grub. First, they bring out 3 different salad choices and pretzel buns. So good, but do not fill yourself up. Save room for the main course which includes an array of Bavarian delights: 3 different types of bratwurst, roast chicken, schnitzel, regensberger, nudel gratin, and much more. The serving platter is…. Ginormous.
As we stuffed ourselves on this feast fit for a Prussian King, a German band clothed in lederhosen jammed traditional Bavarian music. By the time we were finished, more than half the food on the platter was still there. We asked if we could take it with us, but the answer was no. Hmmm?… what a waste. Next, they brought out a large dessert platter including: apple strudel, cheesecake, black forest roll and cookies. We of course had to sample each selection while washing it down with cold-suds-a-plenty. The entire 3-course meal including non-alcoholic beverages costs $46 per adult plus tip…. Worth it!
There are many fantastic places to dine while visiting Disney World. However, this place is #1 on my list. Visiting the Biergarten in Epcot is an absolute must. It is very popular, thus be sure to reserve a table ASAP before your vacation begins.
Now gorged and buzzed, we slowly walked around the World for a while and eventually made it back to our hotel via the Friendship Boat. Once there we had a final night-cap at the Yacht Club’s “Ale & Compass Lounge” and called it a day. Tomorrow we would be off to check out Disney Springs.
Day 4: We woke up lazily on this late Friday morning. We intentionally were taking a break from any of the amusement parks for the next few days in order to avoid the much busier week-end crowds. Our plan today was simple: Take an Uber to Disney Springs for lunch, bar-hop, and maybe browse through a few shops along the way.
The Boathouse: We grabbed a seat on the back patio of this seafood restaurant nestled on Lake Buena Vista. On a small pier across from us sits the Dockside Bar. We ordered a couple of brews and oysters from the raw bar to get the day started. Next, the lobster roll sandwich I had for lunch was incredible, highly recommended. Some items are expensive, some are not. Great place to chill and eat. If interested, you can also hire a “car-boat” for a ride across the basin and back.
WoooHooo!… Now it was time to bar-hop. The first place we hit was “Raglan Road”. This Irish Pub featured a live Celtic acoustic duo and a lovely Irish traditional dancer. Just as I was about to thank me lucky starz, we moved on to the underground “Enzo’s Hideaway”. In spirit of the speakeasies during the 1920s, this hard-to-find venue was a blast. We stayed for more than a few drinks inside this “secret” basement. Finally, we ended up at the “House Of Blues“. On the outside patio, it was great to see Rock-n-Roll bands performing live again…. oww!
Todd English’s Bluezoo: As much as we wanted to continue bar-hopping, we needed to get back to our hotel and prepare for a dinner reservation at the Bluezoo Restaurant. This place is located close to our resort at the Dolphin Hotel. The atmosphere here is high-end, with cool blue neon lights setting the mood. It reminded me of a dance club in some respects. The service and cuisine were good, but not great. Definitely not worth the high tariff in my opinion. On the bright side…. The beers were awesome!
Day 5: We left this day wide open. Ya see, I have a cousin who lives in the Orlando area and I was pumped to meet up with him and his family for a visit. He picked us up and treated us to lunch at a Cuban restaurant outside Disney property. The atmosphere and food were great but spending time with family of course trumps it all. Thank you, Jim…. Great times!
Because we ended up back at our hotel just before 3pm, we had plenty of time to roam around a bit and explore. We decided to go Resort-Hopping in the Epcot area via the Skyliner. Off we went! Our first stop was the “Riviera Resort“. The hotel décor and lobby are gorgeous. Ou-la-la. Next, we walked to the “Caribbean Beach Resort”. True to its tropical theme, we enjoyed a frozen cocktail at the “Banana Cabana” poolside bar. After strolling through the CBR hotel grounds we hopped the Skyliner to the “Art of Animation Resort”. The history of Disney animation is displayed throughout the lobby, pool and hotel. After a short 5 min walk, we arrived at the “Pop Century Resort”. As we sipped another beer at “Petal’s Pool Bar“, it was interesting to see different parts of the hotel decorated according to particular decades from the 1950s through the 1980s…. Groovy man!
That was it, we had enough for the day. We floated back to our resort suite at the Yacht Club and ordered room service. The food was good and somewhat reasonably priced. At my companion’s request, we watched Moana on Disney+ then magically fell asleep…. good night… to be continued….
ARTIST VIDEO SHOWCASE
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THE SWEET KILL / Explode
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TOM CIURCZAK / Faces In The Crowd
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