At a time of year when Disney is just starting their normally “event-filled” fall months that so many families look forward to year after year….Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, the impending Christmas holiday events…..it seems that Disney is providing some extra excitement this year as well.  Gotta love Disney: they always give us something to talk about!

All these great events that folks look forward to attending every year are wonderful, and for many, these are special traditions that are the highlight of the season. For some families, it’s not Halloween without a night spent Trick or Treating with Mickey and friends. For others, Christmas isn’t nearly as special without hearing the Candlelight Processional. And of course, food and wine connoisseurs know THE place to be every fall!

In fact, Disney has a full year’s worth of incredible events, with something for just about everyone. In doing this, Walt Disney World becomes more than a just a vacation destination. Because once you attend a special event that you LOVE, you just want to go back again, right? So, we want to go back, year in and year out, because not only do we want to ride Soarin’ AGAIN, but we have events that tug at us at certain times of year…we just HAVE to go again. (Or at least we really WANT to go again…) Special events become family traditions!

Of course, Disney family traditions aren’t just restricted to events. For many, Disney traditions are far simpler: maybe starting each vacation at a certain park, always eating at a certain restaurant, making sure to take a family photo each time at a certain spot….these are also the things that help to create those warm memories that fill us every time we think about Disney World. We discussed Disney traditions on our Facebook page last week, and I was touched by reading about the many special moments that people incorporate into their trips each and every time! Do those traditions make us want to go back again? Of course they do! Which is why Disney created their “Let The Memories Begin” promotion this year….because they know we all love to celebrate those memories and want to create new ones!

So let’s talk about promotions, because this is one area where Disney is very good, in my opinion, at creating “new” things to draw us back too. Whether it’s a Free Dining offer (because who doesn’t want to save money!) or the celebration of the Millennium (Remember that one: “In the year 2000, I went to Disney World!”?)….or this week’s 40^th Birthday celebration for Walt Disney World, Disney knows that NEW things bring us back too!

We can’t overlook the new attractions, or refurbishments that bring us to the parks either. Take the New Fantasyland for example: every little piece of information that comes out about this new expansion is dissected, discussed, looked at, pondered, and greatly anticipated. To say the least. Will there be TONS of people flocking back to Disney World when this expansion is complete? You bet there will be.   Everyone wants to see something that is new.

Which brings me to the newest News announced last week: AvatarLand. Boy oh boy, did this get folks talking online!!!

Now I don’t really want this post to get into a “Should they/shouldn’t they” discussion. Lots of folks expressed their thoughts about this last week, and while it was evident from reading online that most people are not in favor of Avatar coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom….that’s not the real intent of my mentioning it. The fact remains that it IS something new, for lots of folks it WILL be something exciting to look forward to, and in all likelihood WILL bring folks to the parks to see it.

And that is, I believe, core to a big part of what makes people go back to Disney World over and over. There are lots of reasons…but the fact remains that Disney does a masterful job at creating a balance between old and new….traditions that matter to us, and surprises that excite us (or at least make us curious).   Sure, some surprises end up not appealing to a majority, and that’s ok, because eventually they go away in order to make room for…..more new things.

It’s the Circle of Disney Life you might say.

This post is part of the 31st Disney Blog Carnival. Be sure to visit the Carnival for more posts from many wonderful Disney bloggers!

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This event is one that my family adored, and while we’re not going this year, I am hoping VERY much that we can next year. We made our first visit to Epcot’s celebration of food and wine in 2009, and my goodness, did we had a blast! I will also say that, experienced Disney vacationers that we are, as Food and Wine newbies we found the Festival both awesome.….and just a little overwhelming. It definitely took some planning and research in advance to be prepared for this trip, so with that in mind, I thought I would share a few of our experiences for those of you who are doing your planning for the Food and Wine Festival this year.

We were on the Disney Dining Plan, and I did make our ADRs for each night so our plan was to experience the Food and Wine Festival primarily for lunch on a couple of days. Wanting to do this affordably, and not stuff ourselves silly in the process, we developed a strategy that worked really well for us.

For our first luncheon excursion, DH, college-age DD, and yours truly decided to each visit a different kiosk. DD was to use the snack credits from our Dining Plan, while DH and I each used a Food and Wine card that we pre-loaded with $25 each. We figured that was plenty to start. We split up and hit 3 different food vendors, each of us choosing one item from the menu, and then we met up, sampled from each other, “rated” our favorites, and then moved on to do another 3. In about 30-40 minutes we were half way around World Showcase, full (but not too much), and pretty much done for that day, so went back to our resort to relax a bit before the evening.

On our second day of Festival lunches, we repeated the process going in the other direction, and within another 30 minutes we had succeeded in completing our circuit around the world, having truly sampled something from every food kiosk. It was so much fun, and we had a wonderful time sampling things we probably would have never tried otherwise.

Best of all, we completed day 2 with the remainder of our snack credits and 2 original Festival cards, without having added additional dollars to either card. So we did truly eat our way around the World and managed to not break the bank in the process.

What did we NOT do? We did not do any of the additional paid programs, and I have to say that it was just too overwhelming to have even considered anything beyond the basics for our first year. We did attend a great free program outside Italy, about making pasta and a simple Italian meal. It was fascinating, and we learned a lot.

We also truthfully did not do a lot of drinking. It was extremely hot for our visit (close to 100 each day…in October!!), and honestly, it was just too hot to even think about drinking during the day…we just wanted water! For the two evenings that we were there, the lines were very long, and we were frankly quite full from dinner, so again, not much drinking for us. I will say that the beer and wine tastings looked pretty awesome, and I would love to explore those more another time.

What would I do differently? Well our strategy actually worked well, and I am pleased that we did not eat ourselves sick, nor did we spend as much money as one probably could spend. I think the main thing I would do next time, would be to either not do the Dining Plan, or plan one evening where we did not have a table service dinner, and do some samplings in the evening as well. Oh, and definitely check out the beer and wine tastings.

So with that in mind, here is a run-down on additional Disney fun throughout the year. When you check them all out, you just might find that you will want to plan your next vacation to take advantage of one of them!

January:

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend: January 5 – 8, 2012. Registration opened on March 15, for the 2012 Walt Disney World Marathon, Disney Marathon Relay, and Walt Disney World Half Marathon featuring special medals.

February:

Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend, which will take place February 24-26, 2012 at Walt Disney World. To run in the Half Marathon, you must be 14 years of age or older. Other events that weekend include the all-ages Disney Royal Family 5K, Disney Royal Family Kids’ Races, and Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo

March:

ESPN the Weekend is a special event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park featuring all-star athletes, live ESPN telecasts, broadcast personalities and the chance to meet and greet your favorite sports stars. Next year’s event will be held from March 2-4, 2012.

March, April, May:

Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival, next year scheduled for March 7 – May 20, 2012. This Festival presented by HGTV celebrates spring and gardening as only Disney can do it, with whimsical topiaries, colorful flowers and gardens, presentations from gardening experts, and the Flower Power Concert Series.

May, June:

Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios celebrates all things Star Wars. During these special weekends, you can meet Star Wars celebrities and get the autographs of your favorites. Guests under 12 can enroll in the Jedi Training Academy or take the Padawan Mind Challenge. And each day ends with Hyperspace Hoopla, where guests, Wookies, Jedis, and stormtroopers sing, dance, and just have fun.

June, July:

Sounds Like Summer Concert Series of tribute bands at America Gardens Theatre in World Showcase at Epcot. You’ll hear bands playing tribute to classic music from U2, The Bee Gees, Janet Jackson, Bon Jovi and many more. It’s a summer fun dance party that is perfect for all ages.

July:

Fourth of July fireworks and patriotic festivities

September:

Night of Joy is an after-hour evenings of contemporary Christian music. While artists are performing at several stages, many popular Magic Kingdom attractions also are available for Night of Joy guests.

September, October:

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is a special event that takes place on certain nights in the Magic Kingdom. From 7 p.m. to midnight, guests can trick-or-treat, see Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade; and the special Happy HalloWishes fireworks.

September, October, November:

Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, this year being held from September 30 through November 13, 2011. This year’s theme is “Passport to a World of Flavors,” and will feature new offerings from Hawaii, the Caribbean islands and Portugal. Call 407-WDW-FEST (939-3378) or visit www.disneyworld.com/foodandwine for information. In addition, Epcot also offers the Eat to the Beat concert series, which runs during the Festival.

November:

Special Olympics Florida Fall Classic at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. This is the second largest Special Olympics event held in Florida each year and is the state championships in the sports of softball, bowling, power lifting, roller skating, target bowling and gymnastics for more than 1,300 Special Olympics athletes from throughout Florida.

Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney: Nearly 150 award-winning artists exhibit their paintings, jewelry, sculptures and photographs, this year to be held from November 11-13. The Festival also features live entertainment and family-friendly activities each day.

November, December:

Holidays Around the World in Epcot – The Candlelight Processional, is a moving presentation of the Christmas story in readings by a celebrity narrator and music by a Mass choir and 50-piece orchestra. This event takes place in the America Gardens Theatre in World Showcase in Epcot. This year, the Candlelight Processional begins November 25, 2011, and runs every evening until December 30.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom- These special parties, which run from 7 p.m. to midnight, allow guests to enjoy special holiday festivities including the nightly lighting of the Castle Dream Lights; Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade featuring Santa Claus; special Holiday Wishes Fireworks; Celebrate the Season Castle Stage Show; snow on Main Street, U.S.A.; and free hot cocoa and cookies.

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this year to be held from November 10, 2011 through January 3, 2012. With 5 million individual lights, more than 40 hidden Mickeys, a 70-ft tall Christmas tree displaying 58,000 shimmering lights and a 30-ft tall tree with 27,300 lights, this free display will truly take your breath away.

Mickey’s Jingle Jungle Parade at Animal Kingdom celebrates the holidays like the animals do, this year from November thru January 2, 2012.

The Festival of the Seasons in Downtown Disney begins in mid November and runs through December 24. Here Santa Claus will meet with children and pose for pictures daily at the Marketplace.

So, what’s happening during your next Disney World vacation?

For more information about any of these events, visit DisneyWorld.com/Special Events. Special thanks to AllEars.net for additional information and details.

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Yes, an explanation of “What IS it” for each country’s food.

As Bob himself describes the series:

Here is an excerpt for his entry on Mexico:

Mexico made its first appearance at the Food & Wine Festival in 1996, the same year that the Festival itself began. This year, the Mexican booth is in front of the Mexico Pavilion, where it belongs.

Let’s look at our menu:

Tamal de Pollo

Mexico is serving simple dishes with exotic names. A tamal de pollo is a chicken tamale. To make a tamale, meat- or vegetable-filled masa is wrapped in corn husks and then boiled or steamed. You unwrap it from the husk to eat it. Unlike a taco or a burrito, which you can eat by hand, a tamale is typically a plated dish that you eat with a fork.

Masa (Spanish for ‘dough’) is made from whole corn, not wheat. At the Festival, the masa will be filled with seasoned chicken, probably not too spicy, and not slathered with sauce, either. Tamales lack the universal appeal of easily eaten tacos and aren’t available at chains like Taco Bell. They’re also time-consuming to cook at home and require special ingredients like corn husks. That’s your cue to eat lots of them here!

You can read the rest of this post here: Country Cuisine Confidential 2010, Part 14: Mexico

And find a link to descriptions to all of the countries right here: Country Cuisine Confidential 2010: All You Need to Know About All There Is to Eat and Drink at the Food & Wine Festival

Bon Apetit!

In less than a week, this year’s International Food and Wine Festival will begin at Epcot. We had the pleasure….and I do mean pleasure….of attending last year, and it was a fantastic 4 days of eating and drinking around the World! To those of you who are going this year….enjoy! Bon apetite!

With only 4 days, we had to plan our strategy carefully…or rather I did, lol! My main thing, before we got to Disney World, was to be able to take advantage, as much as possible, of the many offerings of the Festival…and still have time to visit our favorite attractions too. We were successful for the most part, despite having a little monkey-wrench thrown into things….the monkey-wrench being central Florida experiencing record heat (think mid-August).

Once I realized that we were going to be doing the parks in “summer mode”…well it did kind of put a different spin on things.

“Summer mode” at Disney World, for us, means being at the parks first thing, eat an early (11-11:30) lunch, hit maybe a couple of the cooler attractions after lunch…when the heat really starts to build…and be on our way back to the resort for an afternoon at the pool. Back to the parks then in the evening.

But since we were on the Disney Dining Plan, we had already made dinner reservations for each night, and so our plan was to experience the Food and Wine Festival primarily for lunch on a couple of days. Now, being in “summer mode”, the challenge was how to do this and actually enjoy ourselves.

The solution meant that at 11 a.m. on the dot, we were at World Showcase, waiting for our chosen food kiosks to open. Why? Well, do you know how HOT World Showcase can get when the heat index is close to 100? Yeah. That’s why. =)

So our Food and Wine strategy then became: how to sample from each kiosk, while staying as cool as possible. And…how to also do it somewhat affordably, and not completely stuff ourselves in the process.

Here is how we did it.

For our first luncheon excursion, DH, college-age DD, and yours truly decided to each visit a different kiosk. DD was to use the snack credits from our Dining Plan, while I and DH each used a Food and Wine card that we pre-loaded with $25 each. We figured that was plenty to start. We split up and hit 3 different food vendors, each of us choosing one item from the menu, and then we met (in the nearest shady spot), sampled from each other, “rated” our favorites, and then moved on to do another 3. In about 30-40 minutes we were half way around World Showcase, full (but not too much), and pretty much done for that day. We hopped on the boat to go across World Showcase lagoon (seriously NOT walking the rest of the way around at this point), and headed back to the resort.

On our second day of Festival lunches, we repeated the process going in the other direction, and within another 30 minutes we had succeeded in completing our circuit around the world, having truly sampled something from every food kiosk. It was so much fun, and we had a wonderful time sampling things we probably would have never tried otherwise.

Best of all, we completed day 2 with the remainder of our snack credits and 2 original Festival cards, without having added additional dollars to either card. So we did truly eat our way around the World and managed to not break the bank in the process.

What did we NOT do? We did not do any of the additional paid programs, and I have to say that it was just too overwhelming to have even considered anything beyond the basics this year. We did attend a great free program outside Italy, about making pasta and a simple Italian meal. It was fascinating, and we learned alot.

We also truthfully did not do alot of drinking. It was just too hot to even think about it during the day…we just wanted water…and the two evenings that we were there, the lines were very long, and we were frankly quite full from dinner. I will say that the beer and wine tastings looked pretty awesome, and I would love to explore those more another time.

What would I do differently? Well our strategy actually worked well, and I am pleased that we did not eat ourselves sick, nor did we spend as much money as one probably could spend. I think the main thing I would do next time, would be to either not do the Dining Plan, or plan one evening where we did not have a table service dinner, and do some samplings in the evening as well.

And of course, hope for cooler weather.

With that in mind, I am, of course, already dreaming of our next visit!

Have a magical day!

One of the things I will be looking carefully at on this trip, will be additional ways to save money, and will of course be passing on any new ideas or strategies to you. As I have studied the Food and Wine Festival offerings, I can see that this is potentially a budget-buster if one is not careful: each of the food samplings comes with a corresponding cost, so it is definitely possible to spend many American dollars on this!

Here is the strategy we plan to use going into it, and I will let you know how well it works. We are on the Disney Dining Plan, so have dinner ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations) already planned for our 3 nights there. We love having table service meals at Disney so were unwilling to give up on this, despite the many food offerings at Food and Wine Fest. Instead, we plan to “lunch” our way around World Showcase a couple of days, and will be using snack credits to do so….at least at the start. We will use our counter service credits on these days for a more substantial breakfast.

It is evident that our snack credits will only be a start, so we plan to get one of the Food and Wine reloadable cards, and use it to swipe at the various kiosks where we eat. Gonna try really hard not to reload it though, for the sake of my wallet as well as my jean size lol.

One thing I also suspect will play a role, is the fact that central Florida is currently experiencing record-setting heat, so we will definitely be heading to the parks early, having an early lunch, and returning to the hotel for a pool break. When we get too hot, we will stop eating…and that is probably a good thing!

In any event, I will share our experiences, and hopefully some new ways to plan affordable Disney family vacations when we return. =)

Have a magical day!

DVC, Passholders, Tables in Wonderland guests save on Epcot Food and Wine seminars 

I always have my eye out for additional ways to save money on your next Disney vacation, so stay tuned for more ways to plan an affordable Disney family vacation!

Have a magical day!