The Seas With Nemo and Friends at Epcot - December 2009

The Seas with Nemo and Friends at Epcot

The Seas with Nemo and Friends is located in Future World at Epcot.  It was formerly known as the Living Seas pavilion.  The ride features Nemo from Pixar's animated film Finding Nemo as he travels through the sea and encounters friends and foes.  A lot of the aquarium that was seen in the Living Seas ride is now covered in the present Seas with Nemo and Friends.  Back in December 2009, I took a short video clip of the ride.  Enjoy.

Epcot Fountain of Nations at Night - December 2009

Epcot Fountain of Nations at Night

In the center of Future World is an attraction that is often missed by people passing by it.  The Fountain of Nations transforms into a dancing water display synchronized to music several times during the night.  In my opinion, the best time to watch the Fountain of Nations is at night.  There are special colored lights that illuminate the water effects.  Below is a video of the Fountain of Nations at night.

Spaceship Earth in Future World at Epcot - March 3, 2014

Spaceship Earth

Whenever I think of Epcot, I always picture the golf-ball looking structure called Spaceship Earth.  This ride is special for me because it is the first ride I ever rode on my first visit to Walt Disney World.  On every visit to Epcot, I always make it a priority to ride Spaceship Earth.  Since this ride first opened, scenes have changed, ride features have been added, and narrators have changed.  I filmed the entire ride on March 3, 2014.  This featured Dame Judi Dench as the narrator.  Who is your favorite narrator on the Spaceship Earth ride? Lawrence Dobkin, Walter Cronkite, Jeremy Irons, or Dame Judi Dench?

Living with the Land in The Land Pavilion at Epcot - March 4, 2014

Living with the Land

Living with the Land is a boat ride that takes the rider through the history of the American landscape and tours through an innovative greenhouse growing plants, fruits and vegetable from every part of the world.  It has been in operation in The Land Pavilion at Epcot since the pavilion opened.  The ride has seen some changes throughout the years.  It used to have a cast member accompany the ride and narrate a script.  A couple of years ago, the cast member was replaced with an pre-recorded narration.  Many of the vegetation has changed throughout the years.  I recently rode the ride on March 4, 2014 and filmed a video.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot - March 7, 2014

This is my 100th blog post!

The Mexico Pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot has always had a dark boat ride since it opened in 1982.  It was first called El Río del Tiempo (The River of Time) and it featured a boat ride though various scenes in Mexico.  It had a lot of animatronic characters similar to those in the It's A Small World ride.  This version of the ride lasted from 1982 to 2007.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

In 2007, Disney changed the ride to the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros. The ride is now themed with The Three Caballeros: Donald Duck, Jose Carioca, and Panchito Pistoles.  There are now projections of short scenes showing each of the characters.  Half of the animatronics from the original ride have been removed.  Below is video that I took from the ride from March 7, 2014.

Ride Video of Journey Into Imagination with Figment from December 2009

I have visited the Imagination Pavilion at Epcot since it opened back in the 1980s, and have seen the rides and attractions changed throughout the years.  One ride that has been through lots of changes is the Journey into Imagination.  I rode it when it had the Dreamfinder and Figment.  I also rode the version of the ride that did not feature either the Dreamfinder or Figment.  Luckily, Disney decided to add Figment back to the ride.  Here is video that I took back in 2009 of the entire ride experience from start to finish. Enjoy!

This Week in Disney Foodies - January 18, 2014 to January 25, 2014

Here is the recap of this week's posts in the Disney Foodies facebook group

Saturday, January 18 2014

EatDrink Disney posted food pics from Animal Kingdom, Epcot.....

Mango Margarita and beer from one of the drink carts at Animal Kingdom. Margarita was good, as always. The beer was ok...had a strange aftertaste that wasn't noticed when having it in the past. - EatDrink Disney

Trying out Spice Road Table in Morroco. Pictures and thoughts coming later. For now, this is the view from our table. — at Epcot - Walt Disney World. - EatDrink Disney

Umm...We will have a kids corn dog nugget meal, a beer and a rum lemonade. Please and Thank You °o° — at Restaurantosarus. - EatDrink Disney

Candlelight Processional at Epcot - December 2009

Back in December 2009, my family had the opportunity to spend the Christmas holidays down at Disney World.  I really wanted to see the Candlelight Processional at the World Showcase in Epcot.  The day that my Mom and I tried to go was really crowded.  We got there too late to get a seat in the theater.  My mom and I were relegated to standing in front of the American Adventure Theater and trying to see the performance from a far distance.  Luckily I could overcome the distance issue since I had a really good zoom capability on my camcorder.  The challenge was still people getting in front of me an blocking my view.   Despite the distance issues, the choir sounded great and Epcot did a great job to spread the sound of the choir throughout the American Pavilion. I was still able to take some pictures and video of the event.

My mom at the entrance of theater. We got there too late so we could not get a seat.

I had to zoom in to get this shot of the Candlelight Processional because I was all the way across at the American Adventure Theater.

I had to zoom in to get this shot of the Candlelight Processional because I was all the way across at the American Adventure Theater.

Illuminations Reflections of Earth Christmas Edition at Epcot - December 2009

A couple of days ago, I posted videos from the 2011 edition of Illuminations Reflections of Earth Christmas Edition.  I just found my videos from the 2009 edition.  Both shows look very similar.  I took this video from the entrance to World Showcase.  I shot these videos using my Canon HF200.

Illuminations Reflections of Earth Christmas Edition at Epcot - December 2011

Illuminations Reflections Earth is a spectacular fireworks show that is performed every evening to close out the day at Epcot.  During December, Epcot puts out a Christmas edition of the nighttime show.  Christmas songs are performed, as well as special fireworks to match the Christmas theme.  It's cool the Epcot changes this show during December.  I shot video with my Droid Bionic smartphone at my favorite spot to watch Illuminations, at the bridge connecting the African outpost with China.  I have to apologize ahead of time with the quality of video.  The Droid Bionic tended to go out of focus in the environment.  Bear with the focus issues and enjoy the videos!

Mo Rockin' and Bellydancing at the Moroccan Pavilion at Epcot - December 2011

I spent the first week of December 2011 down at Walt Disney World.  I made time to visit Moroccan Pavilion at the World Showcase area in Epcot to enjoy the performances of Mo Rockin' and see some bellydancing.  Mo Rockin' is a musical group that plays traditional music from Morocco out at the Moroccan Pavilion several times a day.  Watching them requires no additional admission.  The bellydancer is the same bellydancer that performs at Morocco's sit-down dining restaurant, Restaurant Marrakesh.  The music is entertaining, and the bellydancing is amazing.  This is definitely something that you do not want to miss while you are visiting all the areas at the World Showcase.  Below is a video that I took of Mo Rockin' and the bellydancer.

EPCOT Spaceship Earth Descend Video from May 19, 2010

I like riding Spaceship Earth at EPCOT.  The ride has changed scenes and narrators throughout the years.  The most noticeable change is on the decent portion of the ride.  During the current descent, an interactive video is shown in the ride vehicle to answer questions.  From the answers that you give, an entertaining video is created starring you!  The ride takes a picture of your face at the beginning of the ride, and puts the picture in the video.  Here is video of the descent back in May 19, 2010.

Croque Glace from L'Artisan des Glaces

When I was on my last trip to WDW during the first week of October 2013, I got asked by the Disney Foodies Facebook Group to try the Croque Glace from L'Artisan des Glaces in the France pavilion of the World Showcase in Epcot.  Luckily, when I got this request, I was on bus from Port Orleans French Quarter to Epcot.  L'Artisan des Glaces was the location of the old french bakery quick service that moved to an area near the exit of the movie theater.  I really like this new quick service place.  It serves ice cream.  One thing that they featured was the Croque Glace, which is ice cream with either chocolate or caramel sauce in a panini-pressed brioche roll.  I ordered it with pistachio ice cream with chocolate sauce.  I was wondering if the ice cream would remain frozen after being pressed in a sandwich iron.  As soon as I got the Croque Glace, I set it on a table, cut it in half and took a picture.

Croque Glace from L'Artisan des Glaces

I was surprised that the ice cream did not melt after being pressed into the brioche roll. I took a bite.  The taste was amazing!  The pistachio ice cream was cold and not too sweet.  The chocolate sauce blended well with the roll and the ice cream.  The roll was warm and tasty, and matched well with the pistachio ice cream.  Overall, I really liked this dessert and would definitely order it again.

Watching Epcot's Illuminations from the bridge connecting the African Outpost and China

Epcot's nighttime fireworks show, Illuminations Reflection of Earth, is a great show to end your visit to Epcot.  It's designed to be seen anywhere around Epcot's World Showcase.  However, most people see this show around the entrance to the World Showcase, around France, around the American Adventure, around Italy, around Germany.  Those places tend to be super crowded.  I tend to like watching this without the crowds.  One place that I favor watching this is at the bridge that connects the African Outpost to China.  The ends of the bridges make the perfect table for putting your food and drinks.  I took some pictures of the fireworks from that spot so that you can see my view of the fireworks.

Lychee Juice at the Japan Pavilion at Epcot's World Showcase

 at It was a hot day at Epcot when I visited on one of the days of the first week in October 2013.  The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival was going on, and there just seemed to be a lot of people at the World Showcase.  I was extremely thirsty and wanted something other than soda to drink. I happened to be at the Japan pavilion and saw a couple of mobile kiosks next to the stand that sells sake and beer.  These kiosks sold interesting snack foods Japan.  What caught my attention was the drinks that were buried underneath the pile of ice.  One drink in particular interested me, Lychee Juice.  Lychee is a type of tropical fruit that is found in southeast Asia that has a white fleshy texture and a really sweet taste.  The juice cost around $4.00.  As soon as I bought it, I took a picture of it.

Lychee Juice at the Japan Pavilion at Epcot's World Showcase

This was the most refreshing drink I ever had at Epcot.  That is saying a lot because I've tried a lot of the specialty non-alcoholic drinks at Epcot and did not find anything that I would like to buy again.  This one cooled me down and enabled me to chillax. The taste was sweet like the Lychee fruit. I felt re-hydrated and ready to walk around the World Showcase again.  If you ever are at the Japan pavilion, make sure that you give this a try.

Air Supply at Epcot Eat to the Beat

Air Supply at Eat to the Beat during the 2013 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival

On October 4, 2013, I went to the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival hoping to catch the Go-Go's.  To my surprise, I totally mixed up the days and ended up missing them.  Instead, the act performing at Epcot Eat to the Beat that day was the 80's duo Air Supply.  I got to the theater late so all the seats were taken.  However, I saw that the cast members allowed people to sit along the side ledges that were on the sides of the walkway to the seats.  The view was good from the ledges, so I decided to sit there.

I was able to catch the tail end of their first song that they performed, "Even The Nights Are Better".  I took a video of it using my Samsung Galaxy S3.

Eating and drinking around the 2013 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival

I was lucky enough to time my vacation to attend the first week of the 2013 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.   It was years since I've been to this festival.  A lot has changed since then.  I saw a lot of sites that had previews of the food and drinks being offered at this year's festival. That built up my excitement for the new things that I can try. As soon as I checked in to Port Orleans French Quarter, I boarded a bus to Epcot.  As I got to the World Showcase, I asked myself "what do I try first"?  The place was packed with people.  Most people were tipsy with all the drinks they were consuming.   The lines were long at most of the festival kiosks.  I decided to head to Canada to try the Seared Rainbow Trout.   I needed to get my fish fix, so I was hoping that this would satisfy it.  At the end of the long line, I finally got the trout.

Seared Rainbow Trout from the Canada Kiosk

Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas at Epcot's Eat to the Beat - September 23, 2013

Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas at Epcot's Eat to the Beat at the 2013 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival

I had the opportunity to be at Epcot in time for 2013's Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.  While I always enjoy the food and drinks (and lots of those) at F&W, I really like the musical acts that Disney invites to perform during the festival.  This year, I watched Starship featuring Mickey Thomas on September 23, 2013 at the 8:00pm show.  I waited in line so that I can get great front row seats.  It was worth the wait because my seats were towards the front at stage left.  I knew that Starship's lineup has changed over the years since their glory days in the 1980s.  The question that I had in my mind was if they still had it to perform live on stage.  As soon as Mickey Thomas hit the stage, the audience was cheering and chanting for him to perform "We Built This City".  Mickey did not disappoint and performed "We Built This City".  This was one of my favorite 80s songs, and I frequently listen to this over the radio and XM.  The audience was singing along with Mickey to this song.  I have to admit, I did too!  Below is a video that I shot (using my Samsung Galaxy S3) of Starship performing "We Built This City".