095 The Disney Exchange - Drinking Around World Showcase

The Disney Exchange is Lisa, Dave and me, Nick. 

A note about this week's show, which was recorded well before Hurricane Matthew was forming. We had planned a meet up with the 3 of us at Epcot for Friday October 7th, and we make reference to it in the show. We had to cancel due to the fact that Walt Disney World closed the parks for only the 4th time since it opened 45 years ago. Lisa and I did meet up on the 6th.

I also had the opportunity to meet Listener #12, Jennifer on the 6th!

We will be talking about the entire experience on a future show.
Now, on to our regularly scheduled program: 

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We have a few shout outs, notably to areas of the World who are really finding and apparently enjoying our show. Welcome and thank you!

Thank you Liv L., listener #63 for suggesting this week's show topic, drinking around World Showcase at Epcot.

What, you may ask, does this whole "listener #63" thing mean? Well, way back when we first started, we would make jokes about having almost a dozen listeners. Fans of the show started asking to have listener numbers assigned, or would just claim a spot! This quickly outgrew the initial dozen, and, well, became a bit of an administrative mess, if I'm being honest. So we put up an official list pinned to the top of our Facebook page.

There is an extra special benefit to getting a Listener Number. You'll be entered in our 100th Episode Giveaway! Seriously, all you need do is hit us up on Facebook or Twitter, ask for a Listener Number, and you are entered!

Oh, yea, the show!
We wanted to do something different to distinguish ourselves from other shows, so we approached drinking around Epcot's World Showcase in the spirit of friendship and sharing. We alternated pavilions, starting with Epcot, and chose which drinks and snacks we would buy each other as well as ourselves. For America we all chose our own items. Canada we left up to friends and listeners, sharing feedback from Twitter and Facebook.

The Wheel of Distiny topic: Favorite Scene from The Haunted Mansion

Want to be part of the show? Have your name heard round the world in, like, 3-4 different countries and every state except Alaska apparently? Submit your show suggestions or Wheel of Distiny topics to us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedisneyexchange, Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneyexchange  or email us at: info@thedisneyexchange  
Thanks for listening to The Disney Exchange Podcast!

Biergarten Restaurant at Epcot in Walt Disney World

By Nick

If there are 3 things I love, it's food, beer and fun, and these 3 things can be found in abundance at the Biergarten Restaurant located in the Germany Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase.

We've eaten there several times throughout the years, most recently last December. Christmas is a wonderful time to visit, as the normally lovely hall is even more picturesque decked out in holiday finery, and the band plays Carols.

Then of course there is the food! There are several stations featuring a wide variety of options.

Cold items include several salads potato, cucumber, tomato, cabbage, bean, sausage, pasta and mixed greens. Cold cuts and rolls can also be found here.

On to entrees, where you'll find several sausage styles, oven roasted potatoes, a soup of the day, schnitzel, roasted chicken, fish, red cabbage, mac and cheese, meatballs, meat loaf, Spatzle, and ham.

 

Desserts include apple strudel, Black Forest cake, cheesecake, chocolate roll, and peach-almond cake, fruit, plus much more!

Beer selections include Schofferhofer, Schofferhofer Pink Grapefruit Hefeweizen, Altenmunster Octoberfest, and Warsteiner Dunkel. You can also get a flight with all 4.

 

 

Prost!

Disney Food Favorites of 2014

By Nick

We ate a lot of great food in 2014, so I thought I'd take a look at some of our favorites.

My new favorite Snack, well, it's new to me anyway, is the Dole Whip Swirl. Pineapple and Vanilla. As a purist, I'd been avoiding it for the longest time, but Barbie thinks plain Pineapple is too sweet, so I gave this a shot. And, she was right, swirl is better!

Snack runner up and Barbie's fav, the Croissant Donut.

Favorite Breakfast: The All You Care to Enjoy Breakfast Platter (and then some, in our case) at Whispering Canyon in the Wilderness Lodge, which consists of Scrambled Eggs, Western Home Fries, Bacon, Sausage, Waffles, Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy. Not only was the food delicious, but our server, Jeffro, was excellent.

Our friend Jill with Jeffro

  
Favorite Cheeseburger: Cheeseburgers are my favorite food. Surprisingly, the best Disney burger I had all last year was on the Disney Dream, from Tow Mater's Grill! So good, I forgot to get a photo of it!

Favorite Lunch: Afternoon Tea in the Garden View Lounge at the Grand Floridian. Delicious tea, alcoholic beverages, tiny sandwiches, and pastries. Plus we met and made friends with a wonderful couple. A great afternoon!

Favorite Epcot Internationl Food and Wine Festival offering: the Seared Sea Scallop at Scotland, moist and tender and the spinach-Cheddar Gratin and Crispy Bacon was amazing. So good, I had 2.

Favorite new beer: Einstok, Icelandic White Ale, light and refreshing on a hot day.

 
If I'm honest, no dinner entree stood out as being better than my perennial favorite, the Pork Chop at the Hollywood Brown Derby. 

I'd be completely wrong in not giving an honorable mention to The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios, which offers traditional British fair. We ate 2 excellent dinners there, and I look forward to returning in the future.

 The Bangers and Mash

Also, at Universal, they now serve warm Butterbeer, which is better than the cold, and that is saying something indeed!

Please stop back Monday for a variety of favorite attractions and experiences from 2014. 

Trip Report: October 11th-October 17th 2014 - Part 1

by Nick 

Saturday, October 11th

If you follow the blog or our Facebook page, you'll know I suffer from TETSS. Too Excited to Sleep Syndrome. Well, for once, I followed my own advise, and actually managed to get a good night's sleep, despite waking up at 3:00am to get showered and ready for our 4:00am airport shuttle pickup.

Our flight departed from the Philadelphia International Airport at 6:30am, and we were actually 20 minutes early. We fly Southwest Airlines almost exclusively.

We were loaded on our Magical Express bus very quickly, there was barely a line at 9:00am, but we did wait about 15 minutes for more people to load before we were on our way to the Beach Club Villas.

As soon as we checked in, we left our carry on luggage with bell services and headed for Epcot. First stop, the Refreshment Port located by the entryway to World Showcase, where Barbie had a Croissant Donut.

I only had a bite, as I was saving my appetite for the International Food and Wine booths.
We headed for the Festival Center, located at the old Wonders of Life Pavilion in Future World.

 

We browsed around, and made a couple of purchases. I decided that, as it was a very hot day, a nice cool beverage was in order, so I bought a beer at the Intermissions Cafe located conveniently right there next to the merchandise section! The Einstok Icelandic White Ale is a favorite new find.

We then headed back towards World Showcase as food kiosks were just opening. First stop was New Zealand, where I had the Lamb Meatball and the Green Lip Mussels. The Mussels were a little dry, and tough perhaps because of all the breadcrumbs; but the meatball was excellent! A really strong start, and one of my favorites from the festival. 

Next we visited the Farm Fresh stand, where we sampled both selections they had to offer, the Pepper Bacon Hash, and the "Yard Bird," which is chicken.

The Hash was pretty good, the yard bird, meh. I also had a couple of beers: Duke's Cold Nose Brown Ale and Orlando Brewing's I-4 IPA. Both...meh. I'm not a big brown ale fan, and this IPA was unimpressive. At least the Cast Members at this booth were high energy and fun.

Next stop, Germany, where Barbie picked up the Berliner-Yeast Doughnut filled with Apricot Jam. It was pretty good, but could not compare to the Croissant Donut. I had a beer from the Brewer's Collection, the Braufactum Palor, a pale ale. Not bad, nothing to write home about.

It was now well past noon, and HOT. So, yes, I was in need of another beer. I got the Snapshot from New Belgium Brewing at Hops & Barley. This was at least better than the previous 3 beers I'd had, but, not in the same league as that Einstok from earlier in the day.

We were lucky to have found a shady spot and enjoyed a slight breeze off of the beautiful World Showcase Lagoon. 

Our next kiosk was one I'd missed last year, Brazil, and I got the Crispy Pork Belly. It was very good, not as great as I'd hoped. I think I'd hyped it up in my own head to a level that nothing short of excellent could have truly satisfied me. Yes, I really like pork. I also had a Xingu Black Beer, which was actually very nice.

If you've been keeping track, I'd had many beers that day, and it was about 130 degrees, and I really needed a swim. Luckily, I was sent a text that our room was ready. A quick change into our bathing clothes, and we were off to my favorite pool in all of Walt Disney World, Storm-along Bay.

We spent a few hours here and at the resort before heading back to Epcot in the evening for more food. 

When we arrived, it being a lovely Saturday evening, Epcot was absolutely jam packed.

Barbie said she wanted fish and chips, so off to the United Kingdom we went. There was barely a line at the Yorkshire County Fish Shop, as everyone was sampling the F & W booths. We ate overlooking the Lagoon.

We then headed for France. The line for this kiosk looked to be about as long as the queue for Soarin', so we headed around World Showcase, and stopped at Italy. 

I had the Filetto di Pollo, or Chicken with Marsala Sauce. It sounds like a simple dish, but it was delicious, especially the mushrooms and sauce. I also had a Moretti La Rossa. I've had regular Moretti Lager, and was not impressed, but this Doppelbock was much better, highly recommended.

Our last stop of the evening was Singapore, where we had the Mahi Mahi and Jasmine Rice. The fish was very moist and the rice and "Singa" sauce was as good as it smelled. An excellent dish.

Walking back towards the International Gateway, we made a short side trip the the Chase Lounge located at the American Adventure Pavilion. Stop back tomorrow for more details on this very nice feature for Disney Visa card holders.

 

On our way out of the park for the evening, we decided to watch Impressions de France, and I'm really glad we did, because on the way out, we spotted our friends Marilyn and Peter in the shop! We met this lovely couple on our first Disney Cruise back in 2012. It was a really great surprise, and a wonderful end to a wonderful day.

Grumpy Stein at EPCOT's Germany Pavilion

By Barbie

Nick and I were moseying around Epcot wandering in and out of the different pavilions this January, trying to keep warm and take in all the wonderful smells that go along with each one of them. The German Pavilion lures in everyone around with the smell of caramel and sweets, and we were no exception!

As Nick and I were walking through the stores we unexpectedly ran into this absolutely amazing Grumpy stein! He is a limited edition of 2,500 pieces, made in Germany.

On his base it says "I know a little German, Ich kann ein bisschen Deutsch"

The price is steep, but I felt this stein was worth the money. It is a lovely, well crafted piece. A word to the wise though, if you decide to pick one up, please go over it very carefully! As you can see from the first photo, the stein we picked up had a large chip in Grumpy's beard, which we didn't notice at first! Go over your purchase carefully before you buy it. Don't let Grumpy's awesomeness blind you to potential cracks, chips or other problems you might encounter! It's a delicate piece!