Trip Report COMPLETE - It's an After-Hours Event Extravaganza at Epcot!

Hello!

It's these guys again!
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We don't often go to the parks anymore because we've hit that point in our lives where waiting in lines and massive crowds aren't our jam, plus we don't have APs that give us the ability to pop in and out of parks. With that said, we've done some side quests in the past few months. Our latest was the monorail crawl in which we learned that if you drink massive amounts of water (plus Liquid IV), you can have 7 drinks between late afternoon and late evening and still function the next day. We primarily hang out at a resort and/or Disney Springs. So, if you see us in the wild, say hi!

We will be in Florida for the first week of April and decided to buy After Hours tickets for Epcot on April 4. They were $75 less (with DVC discount) than an Epcot, one-day ticket on the same day. I know what you're thinking. You get fewer hours in the parks. Yes, that's true, BUT let's be honest, we're no longer park commandos. Regular hours at Epcot on that date are 9 am - 9 pm. After Hours is 9 pm - 1 am, but you can show up at 7 pm. For us, it's a win-win. It should be a bit cooler and if there are any afternoon showers, they should have moved out.

I've purchased the tickets and they are in the app. We don't wear magic bands anymore and just use our phones. We're pretty chill and go with the flow. This sums it up perfectly as a Gen-Xer:

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Let's get down to brass tacks.

We will drive from our digs in central Florida and potentially hang out at Disney Springs for a bit to wait for our resort room to be ready. It's all a big TBD.

What is a known factor is our 1-night accommodations. For our past few stays (which have all been one night), we've been playing the lotto on DVC room availability. Sean stalks the DVC availability and we've had pretty good luck in finding a room at a resort we like within 30 days of the trip. It's usually a run-of-the-house room. Sometimes we're upgraded, but most of the time, it's an accessible room. This time, we wanted a room walkable from Epcot or on the Skyliner, even though riding it scares me. It's the same type of scary as Mickey's Wheel of Death (aka Pixar Pal-o-round) at California Adventure. That left us with Boardwalk, Beach Club, and Riviera for DVC.

Sean did the usual stalking of reservations and someone dropped a whole week in a tower studio at Riviera. We picked up the one day we needed. The only downside is that we have to Uber to Epcot because the entrance for the event is at the main entrance.

Up next, potential Flower & Garden food/drink stops.
 

imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
From what I've read, F&G booths will not be open during the After Hours event, so we have to get all our eating and drinking in by 9 pm. If you were paying attention, that's only 2 hours after entering the park.

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This is the list of food and drink that looks interesting. I like food, so it may be possible to get all these things.
  • Bauernmarket - Farmer's Market
    • Toasted pretzel bread with black forest ham and melted cheese - I like all of these things so this should be a good combo
    • I'm adding this as a lol because I put it on my list and wondered why it sounded familiar. That's because it's Kroger's finest pilsner beer. - Bitburger Premium Pils
  • The Citrus Blossom
    • Orange sesame tempura shrimp with orange-chili sauce - I'm a fan of deep-fried food.
  • Fleur de Lys
    • Croissant with goat cheese, herbs, and roasted garlic.
  • Hanami
    • Orange Blossom Brewing Co - Cherry Blossom Green Tea Pilsner
    • Ichigo Breeze Cocktail - Sake with strawberry and watermelon - I love anything with watermelon
  • Jardin de Fiestas
    • Sope de Chilorio - Guajillo pepper-braised port on fried corn shells with black beans, shredded cabbage, crema Mexicana, queso fresco, and chives
    • Lychee margarita - I'm not a fan of margaritas, but I do like lychee
    • Brew Hub Honey Jasmine Lager
  • Northern Bloom
    • Collective Arts Brewing Beyond Reason Micro Pale Ale
  • Primavera Kitchen
    • Bocconcini - Mozzarella bocconcini, grape tomatoes, and pesto sauce
  • Tangierine Cafe - Flavors of the Medina (RIP to the greatest Epcot QS)
    • Orange Blossom Saffron Cake
  • Refreshment Outpost
    • Lavender Martini - Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka with lavender and lemon
  • UK Beer Cart
    • Scottish Thistle: Fords Gin with lemon and blackcurrant-cucumber syrup
I have 6 food items and 6 drinks (not including the Kroger pilsner). I think I can make it through the food, but probably not all of the drinks. The three I want to try are the green tea pilsner, lychee marg, and Scottish thistle.
 

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
Honestly, it's just too much mixer. I like martinis more than anything.

Lychee martini =
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😁 I do agree with you a bit. If I order a margarita it is almost always lime on the rocks with salt. The fruity flavors get too sweet and syrupy.

We have 68 days until our Alaska cruise. I’m excited to try out the martini bar everyone talks about.
 
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imahistorygeek

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This is a staple of the Germany booth for F&G. If it’s warm (or warmer than warm), it’s good. If it’s not, very meh imo. Hopefully you’ll have a good experience with it.
I'm pretty sure I've had it in the past and liked it. It sounded familiar. With that said, there's a good chance I won't have the time to get this because of our 2-hour limit and there are other newer items I'd like to try. I always go to these events with such big plans and I usually change them all up when I get there.😃
😁 I do agree with you a bit. If I order a margarita it is almost always lime on the rocks with salt. The fruity flavors get too sweet and syrupy.

We have 68 days until our Alaska cruise. I’m exciting to try out the martini bar everyone talks about.

That's exciting! We LOVE the martini bar. Also, make sure you try to stay for the show at the martini bar. It's a lot of fun AND you may get a free mini martini.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
It's old age slapping us in the face.
Damn right!

I now have to take Tylenol in the morning if I slept funny that night LOL. Never had that problem in my 20s - I turn 40 and BAM - old age slapping me in the face 🤣 I had the epiphany the other day that I've finished the process of turning into my mother. But I'm not quite sure on how and when it started.....
 

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