Although most theme parks worth their salt offer more restaurants than you could hope to experience in one day, or several, Epcot is unique. Here, dining is a major attraction, a reason to visit, an E-ticket unto itself.
Epcot features seemingly dozens upon dozens of table service restaurants. Disney's other top tier sit down establishments - DisneySea's Magellan's, California Adventure's Carthay Circle, Animal Kingdom's Tiffins - as fantastic as they are, they exist as breaks in between attractions. They aren't the main reason to visit. Epcot flips that equation.
With so many World Showcase restaurants enjoying similar reputations, I chose based on cuisine. I chose Japanese. I chose
Teppan Edo. (Anticipating months in advance what sort of food I'd be in the mood for, a common Disney World problem.) Teppan Edo sits out-of-the way above the Mitsukoshi Department Store. The check-in lobby and surrounding balcony offer great World Showcase views.
It turns out that Teppan Edo is a hibachi grill restaurant. This means that 6-8 people sit together at a single grill station, where your own assigned chef prepares personalized meals before your very eyes. It's a classic dinner-and-a-show! Like at a Benihana, which Teppan Edo largely resembles, the chef performs crowd-pleasing tricks throughout the meal - forming a steaming volcano from onions, flipping huge servings of airborne fried rice into bowls, creating gigantic fireballs. This is no Six Flags corndog cart.
Though sushi and other treats were on the menu, I went with Teppan Edo's specialty...I went with the hibachi. I selected the Asakusa - a combo of grilled steak and shrimp, served with rice, garden salad, and udon. To accompany this, I also got a 20 oz Sapporo (would've preferred an Asahi
) and a side of edamame. Alone among the 7 seated at out station, I used chopsticks.
Dining alongside me were a young couple, and a family. Early on, our chef Kento (an Anaheim native!) asked where we were all from. The couple were locals, the family were Ohioans. (Home of Cedar Point!
) Asked for my hometown, I went with "Disneyland." Figured that'd be a conversation starter.
Oh my, it was! The Ohioans immediately blurted out "I can't see why anyone would visit that place." Well okay then, thanks for instantly insulting my home & Kento’s home, guys!
Not that they'd ever bothered visiting Disneyland, mind you, no, this was their 20th or so time to Disney World, the only place in the world apparently worth visiting. World Showcase’s message was completely lost on them.
Looking to correct the conversation, I explained that I was on a mission to see all 12 Disney theme parks worldwide. I said that tomorrow I'd be visiting Magic Kingdom, and then I'd be 12 for 12. Well then, they asked, what was my favorite Disney theme park...They were obviously seeking validation (they clearly wanted me to say "Epcot.") I decided to go with Tokyo DisneySea - an honest and neutral and Japanese answer - and the family looked flabbergasted. Personally insulted. Why how could I, they'd never even heard of such a dinky place, so obviously it was lame and I was wrong! Snort!
I spent the rest of the meal chatting with the young couple about baseball.
Nine o'clock struck, and the sound of explosions erupted from World Showcase Lagoon. What, so soon?!
I'd noticed on previous nights that IllumiNations (that's what it still was, right?) happened at 11. Could hear it from the Swan. Foolishly, I figured that'd be the same tonight...figured that Epcot would stay open until 11, like before. Nope, on Mondays, Epcot closes at 9!
Of course I wanted to rush out onto the restaurant balcony and catch this endangered show! And of course I couldn't! That would be a dine-and-dash. I had to pay my bill first, and by the time that got settled, IllumiNations was over. Weep! Weep!
I sulked back inside Teppan Edo to polish off my remaining Asakusa...I ate the slowest among our company, savoring the meal.
Then I roamed off into the night, with Epcot technically closed for the day. That put to rest any plans of completing a clockwise World Showcase loop, so instead I headed left on a slow, casual walk towards International Gateway.
Three days from now, I would return to Epcot to more fully appreciate its food (and drink).
For now, though, how did I find Teppan Edo?
Perfectly serviceable. It was a middle-of-the-road hibachi restaurant, not too different from the Benihana in the local shopping center. The food was tasty, it was Japanese, but it was also undeniably safe...definitely designed for a Western palette. Which is what Epcot ought to do, since it aims to introduce Americans to the world's cultures and cuisines. Good for theme park food, average on a global scale. I would be a fool to come in expecting dishes on par with the best of Osaka or Kyoto, for example. For vacationing families who don't have many international dining options available at home, World Showcase seems to be a grand gustatory extravaganza.
In short, Epcot's food wasn't for me, but it does exactly what it needs to do.
I covered the distance between the International Gateway and the Swan on foot. With the night's lower temperatures, and after a lengthy sit down at Teppan Edo, I didn't mind the brisk stroll. Plus, with Epcot ending earlier than anticipated, I wanted to burn off my excess adrenaline at the Boardwalk.
Stop #1 was the
Boardwalk Bakery. I grabbed a great big ol' hunk o' cinnamon bread. That would be breakfast tomorrow.
Stop #2 was the
Abracadabar, for a nightcap. All I had was an Old Fashioned...comfort food in booze form. Sleep would come easily this night. Mmm...
Which was perfect, since tomorrow was a HUGE day.
Tomorrow was Magic Kingdom! Shortly, I would be entering my 12th and final Disney park. My Walt Disney World journey was building to this climactic moment. I'm very happy to say that Magic Kingdom lived up to its hype! I loved every moment of it!
I will be visiting your ‘home’ next July for the first time ever.