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Old 22 May 17, 05:18 PM  
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#31
Mrs Pumpkin
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The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace » Magic Kingdom


With the Festival of Fantasy parade now past us, we went back through Adventureland to Main Street USA for lunch at The Crystal Palace. This was my birthday meal choice – we have always had such a great time at this character buffet – the food is good, and I love Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet who are the characters you can meet here.

The food here is served as an all-you-care-to-enjoy buffet, a non-alcoholic beverage is included in the price, which varies depending on the season (high/low) and day of the week (weekday/weekend). This restaurant does not serve alcohol.

The restaurant is in two sections with the buffet stations in the middle. There are lower stations for children to reach, and they generally have foods like Mac ‘n’ Cheese, and Chicken Nuggets, Pasta and Meatballs, and Kid Friendly Veggies – but they can also take from the full buffet too (and vice versa for adults!)

The food varies, but generally you’ll find an array of Salads, Soup, Pasta, Breads, Fish, Peel-n-Eat Shrimp, Chicken, and Vegetables. There is also a carving station with Roasted Meats.

The dessert station has Soft-Serve Ice Cream machine with toppings, puddings like Cobbler or Bread Pudding, and smaller individual desserts like Mini Cupcakes and Cookies.




The characters work the room, table by table – two characters each side of the restaurant usually. During your meal you should get to see all of the characters. I don’t think we’ve ever not met all the characters at any character dining location.

Character Dining Tip – Seat your children on the outside of the table so that they can get up and hug the characters easily. Make sure you have your autograph books out on the page you want signed, and your pen opened for the character to use. Also make sure you have your camera ready! And I know kids get excited when they see the characters, but let them know that they will be seeing them soon – I’ve seen children run up to other tables, and it’s just not fair on the family whose turn it is.

And as for wondering if it’s okay for an adults only party to dine year – of course it is! We have just as much fun as the kids do! These days, the characters are great at taking selfies with you which I often do. I am in love with the one of me and Tigger this year! And my brother and Meg loved meeting Pooh and his pals.














Steve had arranged a birthday cake for me, and I also received a card from Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. There was Mickey shaped confetti sprinkled on the table too, and I couldn’t have asked for a more fun birthday lunch!







***********************************************

The Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom

Bill: $223 + Tax: $11.60 + Tip: $40.14 = $274.74
TiW Discount: $44.60
_______________________________________________

Total paid: $230.14

***********************************************
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Edited at 02:07 PM.
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Old 22 May 17, 07:15 PM  
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Loving your report so far and can't wait to read more! Thanks for sharing!
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Old 4 Jun 17, 01:04 PM  
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Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Farm Fresh

Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Farm Fresh

We made our way around to Epcot World Showcase where the majority of the Festival booths are. It wasn’t too busy, which was a good thing! Because we knew we’d be grazing all day, we didn’t bother with breakfast, and we didn’t bother with dinner in the evening either!

On our previous visit, we made use of Disney Dining Plan credits, but this year we were paying in cash. We found it easiest to budget for the day by putting money on a Festival Gift Card, which you can wear on your wrist. Of course, you can also just charge to your Magic Band if staying at a Disney Resort, or pay by cash or card.

We didn’t record our views on each dish this year, so I’m going to have to do this from memory! The reviews of the food are probably going to be either a yay or nay, as we sampled quite a lot during our day at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival!

We started at Farm Fresh, as it’s one of the first booths you come to when you hit World Showcase. You place the order and pay at the tills that are located next to the booth itself – and then walk around to pick up your plate(s) of food and cutlery/napkins.


Farm Fresh
  • Loaded Mac ‘n’ Cheese - Served with Nueske’s Pepper Bacon, Cheddar, Peppers, and Green Onions ($4.50)
  • Chicken & Dumplings - Stewed Chicken with Mushrooms and Spinach ($4.75)
  • Total - ($9.25)



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Old 4 Jun 17, 01:57 PM  
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Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Mexico

Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Mexico


Mexico
  • Barbacoa Enchilada - Corn Tortilla filled with Beef Barbacoa and covered with Oaxaca Mole ($5.50
  • Taco de Camarón - Battered Shrimp served over a Flour Tortilla with Crispy Purple Cabbage and Chipotle Mayonnaise ($5.75)
  • Total - $11.25

I don’t think we ate from the Mexico Booth last year, so this was a first time sampling for us, and it didn’t disappoint. We love Mexican food, so this was likely to have been a winner anyway. Barbacoa just means that it has been barbecued, and Mole is a generic word for sauce. Oaxaca (pronounced wa-HAH-ka) is one of the States in Mexico. The more you know! The shrimp (camarón) taco was awesome – definitely the favourite of the two for me. There was a third dish – Flan de Chocolate Abuelita – a Mexican Chocolate Custard, but we passed on this as it was too early for desserts.



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Old 4 Jun 17, 01:58 PM  
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Epcot Food & Wine Festival - China

Epcot Food & Wine Festival - China


China
  • Beijing Roasted Duck - Served in a Steamed Bun with Hoisin Sauce ($6.50)
  • Black Pepper Shrimp - Served with Garlic Noodles ($5.50)
  • Sichuan Spicy Chicken - ($5.75)
  • Chinese Pot Stickers - ($4)
  • Mango Bubble Tea - with Assam Black Tea and Milk ($6.75)
  • Total - $28.25

We decided to eat ALL the food from the China Booth, and buy a drink too! Duck is my number one favourite when we order Chinese food, so I can confirm that the Beijing Roasted Duck was delish. I love the texture of the steamed buns too. It looks like there is a stray noodle on the plate too 😖. Speaking of noodles, they came with the shrimp dish, which was absolutely yummy. One of our favourites from this year. I wasn’t a fan of the spicy chicken, so Steve ate most of that, and the pot stickers were okay, nothing too special. The bubble tea was awesome though! Tasted lovely, and the “bubbles” which are made from tapioca, were slimy, yet satisfying! 🦁







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Old 4 Jun 17, 01:59 PM  
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Epcot Food & Wine Festival - South Korea

Epcot Food & Wine Festival - South Korea

It was around this time that Chris and Meg finally found us, and proclaimed how hot it was. To combat the heat I am always armed with a hand fan, and luckily I had brought a spare one with me (in case one broke, it’s happened to me before – cheap fan!) so Meg was able to borrow that. Chris wanted to “eat food and drink wine” and strode off to the next booth along which was South Korea.


South Korea
  • Korean-Style BBQ Beef – Served with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi ($5.25)
  • Roasted Pork Lettuce Wrap – Served with Kimchi ($4)
  • Total $9.25

I don’t think we’ve ever tried Korean food before, so it was exciting to try something completely new. Kimchi is a staple Korean food, and is made from salted and fermented vegetables, which sounds a bit rank, but actually they tasted good, and went well with the meat. The other dish was Vegan Korean BBQ, which was the same as the beef, but using vegan ingredients.



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Old 4 Jun 17, 02:00 PM  
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Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Germany

Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Germany

As I write this up, it looks like we just ate at booth after booth after booth – which we did, but there were gaps in between of generally hanging out and having a laugh. An adults only trip to Walt Disney World is very different! Next up… Germany!


Germany
  • Roast Bratwurst – Served in a Hard Roll ($5)
  • Schinkennudeln – Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese ($3.75)
  • Apple Strudel – Served with Vanilla Sauce ($3.75)
  • Total - $12.50

The bratwurst to roll ratio was all wrong. The bratwurst was delicious, the roll was just boring – it was one of those rolls that you can buy 10 for a quid in Tesco! This would have been a lot nicer in a pretzel roll. The Schinkennudeln was my favourite. I got to eat this one all to myself as Steve isn’t a big fan of cheesy pasta dishes, where as I, love ’em. If I can find the recipe for this, which I’m sure I will be able to online, I will be making this again at home. The strudel was okay, nothing special, have eaten nicer strudels in our time.





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Old 4 Jun 17, 02:00 PM  
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Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Japan

Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Japan


Japan
  • Grilled Spicy Edamame – Tossed with Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce and Chili Powder ($4.75)
  • Garlic Shrimp – Marinated Shrimp sautéed with Garlic and Butter and served over Rice ($6.95)
  • Pineapple Breeze Sake Cocktail ($8)
  • Total - $19.70

We loved Japanese food, and eat it often. Edamame are immature soybeans that you eat by sucking the beans from the pod. They’re served in sushi bars sprinkled with salt and are delicious. The chili powder had a real kick, and wasn’t evenly spread, making some beans a bit more harsh than others; and honestly for nearly five dollars, the portion was tiny. The garlic shrimp on the other hand was nice, but a shame that there wasn’t more sushi on the menu. The other item, which we didn’t bother with was Spicy Sushi Roll, as we had that last year, and wasn’t that impressed. The cocktail was nice, but it did look like a glass of cleaning fluid! 🙈





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Old 4 Jun 17, 02:01 PM  
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Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Brazil

Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Brazil


By now the heat had gotten the better of us, so we decided to start making our way back to the front of the park. But not before a few final tastings! We picked up a dish from Brazil that we really enjoyed last year – Crispy Pork Belly. This is so good! The pork is so soft, yet has a crunchy outer texture, and it pairs perfectly with the black beans. The tomato and onion salsa add a nice freshness. Another favourite for us.

Brazil
  • Crispy Pork Belly – Served with Black Beans and Tomato ($5.50)
  • Total - $5.50

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Old 4 Jun 17, 02:02 PM  
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Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Greenhouse Guru

Epcot Food & Wine Festival - Greenhouse Guru


Greenhouse Guru
  • Heirloom Tomato Salad – Served with Goat Cheese, Aged Balsamic Vinegar, and Micro-Basil ($4)
  • Total - $4

Our final food stop was at the new Greenhouse Guru hosted by Village Farms, a greenhouse grower based in Florida. We kept it light and simple with a tomato salad, which was simply divine. I do love a good tomato salad, and this was it.

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