This year my friend and I decided to get annual passes to Walt Disney World; we go at least once a year and I wouldn't mind being able to go whenever I want so it seemed like a great idea. Now that I have purchased my pass and have experienced the park as an annual passholder I have to say it's a great experience. To be able to go to the park without trying to cram everything into a single day is in itself rewarding, if you live relatively close to Disney I would totally recommend getting an annual pass.
I have been to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot on two separate occasions and was pleased with the outcome both times so I was excited to learn of another festival at Epcot: the Flower and Garden Festival. Much like the Food and Wine Festival, the Flower and Garden Festival has different booths spread out among the countries at which you can purchase unique food items and beverages that you can't get the rest of the year. I approached this new found festival not having looked up any of the offerings, so I was full of hope as I was voyaging around the world showcase.
When we go to the festivals, my friend and I prefer to do two things: 1) we don't like to get dessert on the first round, that way we can have all the savory snacks we want without mixing our palate and 2) we always start in Mexico and work our way around. I'm going to address the booths in order of when we approached them, whether we got something there or not.
First up, La Isla Fresca- This booth has some more "tropical" offerings and before I read the title of it I said, "what is this? Florida?" because honestly the menu items are something you would find in a beach side restaurant here in the Sunshine State. You're offered Jamaican and Jerk flavorings on your food and light, tropical choices for your beverages. We didn't get anything here but next time we go I plan on trying both the Jerk-spice Grouper as well as the Frozen Tropical "juice drink" with mango rum.
Next we came to Jardin De Fiestas aka Mexico- On our first go around of savory food we didn't even give this booth a second glance. It's adorned with shrimp tacos and mushroom zucchini quesadillas, neither of which seemed too exciting nor appealing to our taste buds. On our second round, though, we both stopped here and grabbed a drink: I got the Elderflower Watermelon Sangria which was delicious and my friend got the Rose Margarita which was good but I think it paled in comparison to the margaritas you can get inside Mexico's pyramid. I doubt highly that I'll get anything new here if we do stop again.
After travelling through Mexico we came to China and the Lotus House. Here we didn't get anything to eat or drink but I will next time for sure. The candied strawberries were rumored to be delicious and they were gigantic so we could probably share them. There are a few seasonal drinks that intrigue me: the Oolong Peach Bubble Tea, Kung Fu Punch (basically sound like a Vodka margarita), and the Honey Mango Wine Cooler. I don't know if I'll get them all in a single visit but I sure hope to check them all off my list before May 30th!
In Germany they have a booth titled Bauernmarkt: Farmer's Market. I'm going to be real honest here and say nothing intrigued either of us. The food housed things such as Uncle Ben's rice and something called "curry ketchup," they also had french toast which didn't seem to appealing on a hot spring day. Beverage wise I'm not a huge beer drinker which was 80% of their offerings. Don't let my own personal preferences sway you away though- if sausage and beer is your thing by all means stop in Germany!
Yum, Italy! The Primavera Kitchen has so many good offerings. We shared the chicken parmesan as well as the raviolis, they were both really tasty and I would get them again. Being Italy, they also have a large selection of wine, quite more drink options than any of the other booths at the festival. I opted to get the Frozen Italian Primavera over any of the others because ordering a glass of wine at something like this just seemed silly (I can drink wine at home!). The Primavera was delish and perfect for the sunny afternoon.
'Merica offered us The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews. Doesn't get more American than that. I got the brisket which was served with a potato hash and cheese, it was pretty good. My friend got the pulled pork sandwich which was good as well. They provide guests with three different barbecue sauces too for you to put on your food, which I thought was nice. On the second trip around my friend got the chocolate cake which was good, but I'm not a huge fan of salted caramel so I don't think I could have ate the entire thing. I didn't get a drink here but next time I might just try the frozen lemonade.
As we continued walking we approached Hanami in Japan but like Germany before it, nothing appealed to us. With a fruit-salad type sushi and teriyaki udon, we didn't see anything worth buying. Maybe next time I'll grab the plum wine slushy as long as I didn't grab the lemonade in America.
Morocco provided us with a Taste of Marrakesh where my friend was uncomfortably hit on by a Moroccan cashier, nonetheless I ordered my alcohol. I skipped over their food items, not being too keen on baklava or falafel. I ordered the White Sangria and enjoyed it, although it tasted very similar to the sangria I had in Mexico.
Here is where I finally ran into Florida, Florida Fresh to be exact. Now why they need to have a Florida booth as well as an America booth is strange to me but whatever, more things for us to try! My friend got the Shrimp and Grits and she enjoyed it, I was too full to try it at that point. To drink, my friend got the Watermelon Cucumber slush with gin which was light and refreshing, as you should expect, and I got the Acai Berry Hefeweizen. The girl was concerned as to whether I had had this beer before because it's "different," but I assured her that it'd be fine and it was. I think people are probably not expecting a strong berry flavor from it, but the wheat beers usually bring the flavors through true. I am disappointed that they didn't have any key lime pie to offer although they do have a key lime wine which I didn't try.
Ah, Fleur De Lys, my favorite. I'm not sure if France is my favorite because it was the best or because we finally stopped here about three quarters of the way through our second round aka I was drunk. I didn't get any of the actual food but I would be happy to try them next time I'm there. My friend and I both got the Raspberry Macaron and La Vie en Rose Frozen Slush (pictured at the beginning of the post). Both of these items were really yummy, because that's an adult word to use. I was intrigued by the other frozen drinks I saw people with so I asked the cashier. She informed me that you can get the orange slush that's in the same glass at the stand where they serve wine year round, that's something to look forward to when the festival is over.
Next we went through the UK and found the Cider House. Here my friend got the Pear Cider which she liked, I did not. I got the Potato and Cheddar biscuit with Salmon Tartare having zero idea what salmon tartare was going to be. I was served a large biscuit with a heaping mound of salmon stuff, which was cold. The biscuit was good but salty and the tartare was okay, but I definitely couldn't have finished it all. The only other thing on this menu that's sort of intriguing is the Lemon Scone, maybe I'll get it next time, maybe.
We rounded back to the front to come to the last two booths. The first was Urban Farm Eats, we didn't get anything here either time, but that was simply because we were too full or too occupied. Next time I'm going to think about getting the Pork Tenderloin to eat and the Pear Sparkling Wine to drink.
Lastly was the Pineapple Promenade where my friend was eager to try the Spicy Hot Dog. This hot dog screams disappointment, which was not at all what we were hoping for. This is the only food item served here and it was served on a soggy bun and covered with a pineapple mixture, the hot dog was also pretty spicy (which wasn't expected despite the name). She didn't take more than two bites of it before tossing it into the garbage. I got the Pineapple Soft Serve with Coconut Rum (pictured at the end of the post) from here and it was great, no complaints here!
There are a few things I want to try that are unique to the festival but aren't at the booths, and those are the special drinks served at the Joffery's stands. three out of four are just some form of fruity slushy mixed with liquor but the one that intrigues me the most in in Canada: Spiked Chai Latte. I never thought about adding Bailey's to my chai tea and now it seems stupid that I never have. This drink is served iced, frozen, or hot and I will definitely be grabbing it next time I'm there!
Stay tuned for updates on the rest of the foods from this years Flower and Garden Festival!
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