Yesterday may have been Christmas in July, but it's NOW the 2nd most wonderful time of the year .. also known as the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot! It kicks off tomorrow, July 27th, and I just got around to checking out the menus. Now, of course, I can't wait to try some of the new foods and returning favorites! Here's what I'm currently salivating over:
RETURNING FAVORITES: (in no particular order, I just numbered them for ~aesthetics~) 1.I have been heartbroken ever since they removed the hummus fries and liquid nitro treats (the truffle was the BEST, though the pops were still good!), so I think I squeaked with glee when I saw that they decided to bring back a MICKEY-SHAPED liquid nitro CAKE (hmm) to one of the new booths, Swirled Showcase! This one doesn't open until September 22nd, but I cannot wait to see that cake and the liquid-nitro smoking out of it! 2. Crispy Duck Bao Bun from China - okay so technically ... this is listed as new this year, BUT this was the first bao bun I ever had in 2017 and I FELL IN LOVE with them! The bun is light and airy and the duck was crispy and delicious. I don't think you can ever go wrong with a bao bun, but some fillings have been better than others and the duck has been my forever favorite. So excited this is back! 3. Frozen Apple Pie - another one that will be at the new Swirled Showcase starting in September and the only drink to make the list. This one is a perennial favorite because of the taste and all of the layers. It's true to it's description -- it's an apple-pie tasting slushy, with a delicious crumble "crust" on top and pieces of cinnamon-sugar apples on the bottom. Call me Snow White because I would die ... well, maybe enter a deep sleep ... for a bite of this one. 4. Smoked Corned Beef - Flavors From Fire is a great booth that was added in 2019. This dish has been on the menu since then, and I've gotten it at least twice every year. House-made chips, cheese curds, pickled onions and smothered beer-cheese .. I mean, it's nachos on steroids. Although, I do think they maxed out when they named it the Corned Beef Corner Route in 2020 but whose counting? 5. Filet Mignon from Canada - so I know I said this was in no particular order but I actually think I saved the best for last because this is absolutely my go-to favorite every year. I get quite a few of them every festival. I'm obsessed with truffles and filet is my favorite cut of meat so this is a match made in heaven to me. The filet is always cooked just-right with a little bit of red in the center and the warm truffle butter always shines. (Side note, does anyone else miss the Festival Center between Canada and the UK? I LOVED all the space and booths in there!) NEW things on to the top of my list to try: -Pickle fries from the Fry Basket -Beef Wa-Gyu Don (traditional Japanese rice bowl with American wagyu beef over steamed white rice) from Japan -Cavatelli (with sweet sausage ragout and crispy applewood-smoked bacon) from Italy -Schofferhofer Prickly Pear from Germany -Passionfruit Bubble Tea from China (the Mango is a favorite!) -EVERYHING from Mexico. Their entire booth is new this year but it always SLAPS. I will be getting the Tostada de Carnitas (braised pork on a fried corn tortilla with black beans, avocado mousse, queso fresco and chives), Taco de Costilla (slow-braised beef short rib on a corn tortilla and salsa de chile morita, avocado mousse and spring onions), and Trouble in Paradise Margarita (Ilegal mezcal, watermelon liqueur, rose wine, lime juice and agave with a chili-lime powder rim) fer sureeee. -Orange Cardamom Wings from Brew-Wing -Peach Party and Blackberry Hard Cider from Tangerine Cafe -aaand the Roasted Porchetta (with lemon-parsley salsa verde and shaved fennel salad) from Char and Chop There are plenty of other items on the menus that I enjoy and may very well end up getting, but these are the current stand-outs to me. One thing I know I will not be picking up is the Pickle Milkshake from Brew-Wing. Disney can market that one all they want but it's a no for me, Pluto. Enjoy the festival, everyone! I won't be there until November so I can't wait to see all the yummy things you all try in the meantime!
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Feel your heart beat faster ... because SHE'S BACK! And we can once again reach out and find our Happily Ever After each night at Disney World! (cue Maui whisper/screaming "you're so amazinggggg")
My Disney friends KNOW ... but I'm sure many others of you are thinking, "what in the world is she yammering on about?" Well, I'm talking about the Happily Ever After Fireworks Show (presented by Pandora Jewelry ... iykyk) returning to Magic Kingdom. It's been 18 months since the show was 'retired' from Walt Disney World. Enchantment, Disney's special 50th-anniversary fireworks show, took its place in October of 2021. At the time, Disney said that Happily Ever After wouldn't be coming back. Fans flocked to Magic Kingdom to say goodbye to the fan-favorite show. Jordan Fisher, who sings the original song used in the show, was there, tears in his wife's eyes, as the phenomenon came to an end. Let's take a look back. Happily Ever After first debuted at Magic Kingdom on May 12th, 2017. It featured all-new projection mapping on the castle. Disney describes it as, "a breathtaking fireworks spectacular that showcases classic and contemporary Disney stories." The website reads: Go on a dazzling journey of color, light and song that captures the heart, humor and heroism of favorite Disney stories. Watch in awe as Cinderella Castle is magically transformed through amazing state-of-the art projection technology you have to see to believe. This astounding fireworks extravaganza uses lights, lasers and special effects, plus a soaring score featuring contemporary versions of beloved Disney songs. Discover the magic of stories—and be inspired to find your own happily ever after. I remember being literally dumbfounded when I watched it for the first time. I had listened to the soundtrack, and been told how amazing it was, so my expectations were set pretty high, which usually means I'll be let down. I could not believe how much I loved it. I remember getting tears in my eyes during the Moana and Tangled parts. So many people love Happily Ever After because it takes you on a journey with emotional highs and lows and mesmerizes you as the castle transforms into Aladdin's tower blasting off, Tiana's balcony, Merida shooting an arrow into the sky with a perfectly-synchronized firework, Tinkerbell flying from the turrets through mid-air, and a stained-glass masterpiece of characters. Simply put, it's true Disney magic. Happily Ever After (HEA) ran nightly until the parks shut down for Covid in March of 2020. When the parks re-opened, it was without any nighttime fireworks shows. Happily Ever After didn't return until July 1st, 2021. It ran for 3 months before ending that September ahead of Enchantment's debut. Disney surprised us all when they said that, after just 3 years, Happily Ever After would not be returning, and instead was permanently retired. (HEA's predecessor, Wishes, ran for more than 13 years). While many of us were extremely shocked and disappointed, I think there was great anticipation for the next thing that would replace HEA. Enter, Enchantment. Usually, a fireworks show is met with raucous applause. Every night after HEA, people were singing, clapping, and dancing. There was silence in the park after Enchantment debuted. It was a stunned silence, but not in a good way. Many people felt let down by the show. While the new, crisper projections and the addition of Main Street were pretty cool, it seems most people did not enjoy that the show used covers instead of the original songs, didn't seem to have anything to do with celebrating 50 years, and didn't connect emotionally. Everyone immediately started clammoring for Disney to bring back Happily Ever After. Petitions were created, and social media was set ablaze. Now, here's the really cool thing: Disney heard us. They added a part to Enchantment featuring Walt and Mickey to honor the call for it to include more about the history of the parks. But the story came alive on September 11th, 2022, when Disney announced at D23 that HAPPILY EVER AFTER WOULD RETURN! They listened, and due to popular demand, they decided to bring it back -- out of retirement! Everyone thought we would never see it again, but we reached out, and literally unlocked the magic. Fast forward to last night (April 3, 2023) and Happily Ever After debuted once again at Magic Kingdom, this time including projections all the way down Main Street with new characters. My friend Holly was there and said right before the show started, "the energy is so different than the 50th [when Enchantment debuted]. There's so much excitement in everyone, you can just feel it in the air" and after, "I cannot believe that energy. It was just everyone together so happy." Y'all, it's truly been a journey like HEA itself - one with emotional highs and lows for fans of the show. It may seem silly, but once you experience the wonder take hold, you'll understand how special Happily Ever After really is. It's the best way to end a park day because I promise, you will be simply astounded by it and leave there dancing and clapping and singing HAPPILY EVER AFTER. We're so excited she's back. I can't wait to let the wonder take hold in less than 2 weeks when I'll be there for the Springtime Surprise 10-miler. I'll be sure to share it with you all then! Are you ready for me to rock your socks? ... literally? Because that's it -- my greatest advise to anyone visiting a Disney park is to ... WEAR PADDED SOCKS. Yes. They're the ultimate game-changer. Walk a half marathon or more on a park day? Padded socks will keep your feet from screaming like you just dropped from the top on Tower of Terror. These are my favorites (I'm wearing them in the picture!) -- https://a.co/d/409WpkI Seriously. Once I started wearing padded socks, I could walk around for multiple days in a row without any foot pain. Of course, well-fitting sneakers are a prerequisite to the socks, but so long as you have those -- you should be good to go! Hope this makes a big difference for you, too! Here are some fun, free things to try next time you're at Disney World! 1. Watch the Sunset at Banana Cabana While the sun setting on your day at Disney could be a sad thing, it's still magical! Hop on the Skyliner and get off at either the Riviera or Caribbean Beach Resort. Walk over to the deck next to the Banana Cabana bar at Caribbean Beach, and drink in the sunset while relaxing in the Adirondack chairs. The Skyliner silhouetted by the sun over the water and a beautiful lighthouse to your right will likely light up your soul, just like it did ours! 2. Resort Hop Speaking of resorts -- take the Skyliner, Monorail, bus or boat to one (or more!) of Disney's resorts and explore a new place! Our favorite loop: take the monorail to the Contemporary and check out Mary Blair's 5-legged goat in the mural in the Grand Canyon Concourse, or to the Polynesian and walk on the beach, or the Grand Floridian and check out Disney's Wedding Pavilion. You can't go wrong with anywhere you choose to go, and you'll likely end up finding a reason to visit again and again -- like for the beignets at Port Orleans - French Quarter! 3. Get Pixie Dusted Calling all dreamers! Stop by Sir Mickey's at Magic Kingdom and ask any cast member to sprinkle you with pixie dust. It's totally free and will make you feel like royalty! 4. Grab a Celebration Button Whether it's your first trip to Disney, or you're celebrating a special occasion - an anniversary, engagement, birthday or anything else, feel free to ask for a complimentary button at any Guest Relations location or indoor merchandise location. Cast members do an amazing job of spotting these buttons and celebrating you and your occasion! 5. Thank A Cast Member On that note -- we always highly suggest offering *your* compliments to the cast members! While you can give an official "Cast Compliment" using the MyDisneyExperience app, it's free to make someone's day by telling them just how much you appreciate them. Cast members truly make the magic! Let us know if you try any of these suggestions, and feel free to drop your own! "Welcome Back!" ...not to my blog. But, to Disney!! Y'all have no idea how good it was to hear those words from the cast members today! As glad as I am that Disney was shut down for part of the pandemic, I am also so excited to be able to go now with the extra precautions. Whether you're familiar with Disney or not, here's a little bit more about what I experienced as far as the changes and safety updates at the Passholder Preview today at Magic Kingdom! When you get to the parking lot (the Ticket and Transportation Center for MK) they park the cars in every other space. This, I felt, was a really good idea! It was definitely nice to be able to get out and already have some social distance between you and the other guests. Obviously, masks are REQUIRED. Most everyone put them on in their cars and had them on as they were walking to the TTC. If you somehow forget yours (I can't judge .. I literally have 10 and somehow none of them made it with me one day when I went to Disney Springs ..) they will give you one or you can get one from a vending machine. (PS - I promise I'm being very cautious -- I wasn't going to go in to the Springs unless I could buy one before entering. Fortunately, they had folks like me covered .. literally.) Just like at Disney Springs, you have to have your temperature taken before you can go any further. Once you get the all clear, there are lines on the ground to stand 6 feet apart while waiting for your security check. When you get inside the TTC, they have numbers on the ground for you to stand on while you wait for either the monorail or the ferry. Ferry is the far superior (typically less-crowded) choice, so if this really is survival of the fittest, I believe Darwin would be proud of my affinity for the Potter, Fowler and Irvine. Kidding. But not really. For the ferry, they have each party stand on a designated spot and then load the top deck and bottom deck separately. On the boat itself, they have dots that are socially distanced where you must stand while you are on the voyage. For the monorail -- only one party is allowed per car and there are now dividers between each one. Por favor, mantegase alejado de las everyone. When you get to the park, some might get wrapped up in the excitement BUT there are cast members who are like The actual Mask, zipping around super fast to make sure everyone stays 6 feet apart. They wear yellow and buzz around (in the best way possible) to let you know if you get too close to anyone else! (They should have brought Kuzco out for this! "No touchy!"). They also have cast members on mask patrol throughout the park. You cannot take your mask off except to eat or drink (must stay on for pictures). I'm not sure if it was just for the preview, but they had cast members with iPads checking you in with your magic band instead of the typical thing that lights up (what is that called!?) and NO fingerprints. As far as the in-park experiences: Rides -- there are no more fastpasses. Everyone uses the standby line and waits 6 feet apart. There is tape down on the ground all throughout the queue's to maintain the 6 feet. In every line I waited in, everyone completely respected this. There are also now plastic dividers up between any parts of a line where it winds side-by-side. So, nobody ends up being next to one another AT ALL. One party is allowed per ride vehicle, unless there is ample space (think Splash Mountain -- the boats are big enough to have 2 people up front and 2 people from another party in the back row). I'm sure this wasn't easy for the cast members to coordinate but they did an amazing job with it! Entertainment -- while the full parades and the fireworks are on hold, they had cavalcades and one-float parades throughout the day. I recorded several of them and they literally don't take more than a minute to go past you, so no one is standing in any one area watching for very long. And everyone was maintaining their social distance. While there were no traditional meet and greets, I did see the Country Bears on a balcony in Frontierland waving to everyone! My favorite new addition though -- Cinderella's step sisters hanging out on the back deck of the castle and (savagely) mocking everyone walking by. Food -- not all kiosks or restaurants are open. There is no more standing in line waiting to order at quick-service spots. Instead, it is all done through the app and then you pick up your food from a certain window when it is ready. They have new silverware dispensers so that nobody touches a utensil other than the person who will be using it. Relaxation stations -- there are spots located throughout the park where the tables/seats are 10 feet apart and you can take off your mask if you feel like you need a bit of a breather. Hand sanitizer -- it is EVERYWHERE. And the cast members are extremely diligent in checking these and making sure none run out. Speaking of -- A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THE CAST MEMBERS! They are working their ears and tails off to help keep all of us safe and I know I could not appreciate them more! One of the nice things on the slower days/nights like today with the limited number of guests (most rides were walk-on by midday) is that I feel like the cast members get to show their personalities a little more. I feel like they don't have to concentrate so hard on keeping the guests moving on the rides and can take more time to interact. They had me *exhaling all the CO2 in my mask* today from laughing so hard! *read in sarcasm font Overall, I thought it was a great experience! Everything was done with thought and care and all the guests were super respectful. I only saw/heard once someone being asked to put their mask up over their face/nose. "Baseball statistics, unlike the statistics in any other area, have acquired the powers of language." - Bill James
Yesterday was 12 years to the day since Moneyball was published, and the rookie-ball season begins in Helena tonight, so I decided this was as good a time to start up the blog as any with a quick little post. One of the many reasons why I love baseball is because, as a journalist, I am a linguist. I recently started reading Moneyball (don't ask why I haven't read it until now) and came across this quote from James. For many years, I've been saying that one of the things I love about baseball is the language of the game. A hit is a knock. A home run is dinger, a tater, 'going yard,' etc. A lefty is a southpaw. 3rd base is the hot corner. A short fly ball is a blooper. You get the picture. And only in baseball is a coach a manager. A locker room a clubhouse. Not to mention you have to be able to READ the language of baseball in order to keep/understand a scorebook. Sure, other sports have their own idioms ("Swish!," credited to 'Cuse alum Marty Glickman), but baseball is truly unique in terms of the language used to describe it. Let's play ball. |
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