Trip Report "You have to book a time to buy a popcorn bucket?!" A one-day Epcot Festival of the Arts adventure - Completed

Talk about a last-minute trip...

These guys, dressed in their best winter gear, because it was cold:

About a week before we decided we wanted to get away for MLK since we have a long weekend. Sean starts to look for DVC availability for 2 nights. It's a long shot, right. All DVCers know you have to book super early, especially during festival season and especially if you want an Epcot resort.

However, about a week before we leave, a standard view studio pops up for 2 nights at Boardwalk. Yes, an Epcot resort during a festival opening weekend! We grabbed it started making plans. I purchased 1-day Epcot tickets (prices were insane) and photopass. Our plan was to hit up the festival on that Sunday.

I book a hotel for our drive down on Friday at our new halfway point, Valdosta. It's just easier than stopping at Tifton. With those plans made, I kept looking at Disney resort reservations. Found a room at one of the All Star resorts for $200ish for one night. I couldn't do it. That's just too expensive for what you get. Lo and behold a 1-night DVC popped up for Friday night at Wilderness Lodge. We jumped on it. Persistence was key.

I made a list of everything I wanted to try and on Friday at 11 am, we headed to Florida. Traffic in Georgia was a breeze. We were routed through 285 (Atlanta bypass) and amazingly, it was speed-limit traffic. This is practically unheard of on 285. Then we got to Henry county where it's always slow even if there is no accident or anything. Luckily the express lane was open and we shaved about 10 minutes off of our time.

It was easy going until we hit Florida...

 

[sheriffwoody]

This sounds like such a dream so far! Minus the traffic. I hope we'll be able to do these last minute trips one of these days. Little harder when you have to fly, but I guess a 12 hr drive is doable for some disney magic

 

[Bullseye1967]

Eddie at Crew’s Cup made a solid recommendation for wine at dinner. If you have the opportunity, give it a go.
View attachment 693541

As for Persimmon Hallow, I will be back! They have a solid offering, cool vibe, and great prices. All pints(US) were in the$6.5-$7 range and all 6-packs were just $9! For decent craft beer thats a win.
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That coffee porter is one of my favorites!

 

[lostpro9het]

That coffee porter is one of my favorites!

AGREED! I was very happy that I picked up a sixer of it.

 

[lindawdw]

It's incredible that you were able to score those last-minute DVC reservations to make this trip happen!!! The Boardwalk DVC rooms are getting a refurbishment this year which is needed for sure but it is one of my favorite resorts to stay! I love these last minute getaways when it's all about food and drinks!

 

[Twinglemom]

How close is Persimmons to WDW?? Is the food good? Never tried it before. Thanks you learn something new from this board all the time.

 

[lostpro9het]

How close is Persimmons to WDW?? Is the food good? Never tried it before. Thanks you learn something new from this board all the time.

4 miles from Coronado Springs(less than 10 minutes), 6 miles from Beach Club(10ish minutes). We didn’t eat there but the portions others got looked big.

Flamingo Crossings Town Center — Persimmon Hollow

www.persimmonhollowbrewing.com

 

[Twinglemom]

4 miles from Coronado Springs(less than 10 minutes), 6 miles from Beach Club(10ish minutes). We didn’t eat there but the portions others got looked big.

Flamingo Crossings Town Center — Persimmon Hollow

www.persimmonhollowbrewing.com

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Thanks looks cool

 

[imahistorygeek]

Saturday night's dinner was Il Mulino. If you've read any of our past trip reports or asked an opinion about Italian on property, we've always raved about Il Mulino. It still is the best on property. If you're at Epcot, don't eat Italian there. Take a short walk or boat to Il Mulino.

Your complimentary appetizer is stewed eggplant (trust me, it's delicious) and cured meat. You also have a bread basket. Plus, there's olive oil on the table.

We decided to share cheese ravioli, beef carpaccio, and meatballs.

They took no time in coming out, so everything was pre-made, but it was all still really good. We were not rushed through dinner and I think we spent almost a couple of hours (or 1.5) enjoying our meal. We also ordered a bottle of Sasseo Primitivo Salento 2020 wine.

We were a bit nervous that limoncello was not a thing anymore because we didn't see any tables around us receiving this delicious drink. One of the servers told us not to worry. It's still a thing. Soon after, out came the bucket of limoncello.

You know how you can go to McDonalds and you know exactly how something is going to taste. You expect that taste. It's been the same for at least 40 years. That's how I feel about the limoncello. It's always the same and always great.

Afterwards, we headed back to our room to strategize our full day at Epcot.

 

[lostpro9het]

Saturday night's dinner was Il Mulino. If you've read any of our past trip reports or asked an opinion about Italian on property, we've always raved about Il Mulino. It still is the best on property. If you're at Epcot, don't eat Italian there. Take a short walk or boat to Il Mulino.

Your complimentary appetizer is stewed eggplant (trust me, it's delicious) and cured meat. You also have a bread basket. Plus, there's olive oil on the table.

View attachment 694473

We decided to share cheese ravioli, beef carpaccio, and meatballs.
View attachment 694474

They took no time in coming out, so everything was pre-made, but it was all still really good. We were not rushed through dinner and I think we spent almost a couple of hours (or 1.5) enjoying our meal. We also ordered a bottle of Sasseo Primitivo Salento 2020 wine.

We were a bit nervous that limoncello was not a thing anymore because we didn't see any tables around us receiving this delicious drink. One of the servers told us not to worry. It's still a thing. Soon after, out came the bucket of limoncello.
View attachment 694475

You know how you can go to McDonalds and you know exactly how something is going to taste. You expect that taste. It's been the same for at least 40 years. That's how I feel about the limoncello. It's always the same and always great.

View attachment 694476

Afterwards, we headed back to our room to strategize our full day at Epcot.

The vino

 

[LeighM]

I-64 in our part of VA is often times a bottleneck nightmare. Leaving Richmond, 2 lanes of I-64 and 2 lanes of I-295 merge onto only 2 lanes of I-64 on the east side of Richmond and it's a total cluster. And an accident always seems to happen because of issues merging. They've started expanding 64 to 3 or 4 lanes (can't remember now because I try to avoid is as much as possible) further down the interstate but there's about 10 miles that's a total nightmare. Then further down closer to Newport News, there's been road construction in the same general area for what feels like decades but I couldn't tell you what's actually been changed LOL.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Our Epcot day strategy:

1. Make sure our app is updated and know where to find the virtual queue. Go through the steps to reserve.
2. Set alarms to wake up before 7 am.
3. Decide what time to leave the room to walk over to the International Gateway.
4. Me deciding what to wear because it'll be chilly.

We get up around 6:30 that morning, so our alarms did their job. Around 6:55, we start getting our phones ready. We hop off the Disney wifi. We are on the correct screen at 6:59 am. Time to start refreshing the screen. I had already pre-selected guests, so I just kept following the steps. However, I wasn't sure if I actually got it because this was the final screen:

My eyes immediately went to the paid option and I had a bit of a freak out even though it said booked. Success! We made it!

About 7:45, we decided to walk to International Gateway to be there by 8am. There was a small crowd, but not too bad. Just a little bit after 8, they let us go through the turnstiles. We've not used Magic Bands in a while and have just been using our phones. It has been pretty successful. I do miss the MB because I don't have to use my phone as much.

So, we're in the park about 8:15, but the front of the park hasn't been released yet. We make our way to Ratatouille and walk right on. This is really a cute ride and IMO, the best in the World Showcase. We left (approx. 8:30) and were forced to turn left and walk towards England where it looked like the front of the park had just been released. Early Magic Hours started at 8:30, so it was nice to have already been able to ride.

People were running and one CM WAS NOT having it. She was tired of it and just starting yelling to not run.

We made our way to the front of the park walked on to Soarin, Living with the Land, and Test Track. We just had to be back to Guardians by 9:45 to ride. I think we got there around 9:30 or 9:45. There was no stopping until we hit the first holding room. The different holding rooms really get you excited to ride. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the last room letting everyone out and you having to merge into a side-by-side line, almost like Haunted Mansion. We didn't wait long in the line and soon were on the ride.

This is such A GREAT RIDE! I get the motion sickness people talk about on this ride. I'm not really prone to this, but if I felt it a little bit, those that do get motion sickness probably really feel it. We definitely wanted to ride again.

The photopass pics in front of the ride are hokey, but fun.

I feel like the "arms out" pose is a requirement at all photopass locations.

 

[cgersic]

I like the Passport photo - especially with Spaceship Earth in the background. Can't wait to ride this!

 

[imahistorygeek]

I don't really remember what was next, but we were probably out of the ride by at least 10:30. Our first stop was Figment's Inspiration Station at the Odyssey. Here you can find more beer than other festival locations.

We tried the Rainbow Cake made with freeze-dried skittles and the 81Bay Brew Green with Envy Blonde Ale and the Blue Butterfly Lager. They were the same color.

I had read mixed reviews of the cake. I loved it. One a rating scale of 1 to 5, this was a 5. It was sweet, but it tasted really good and wasn't dry. I don't eat a lot of cake, so this was a nice treat.

The beer - not sure which one because they looked exactly the same.

There was also some art and THE POPCORN bucket.

Next stop was El Artista Hambriento to try the Huarache De Champinones. This dish consisted of guajillio chile and corn masa huarache with pinto beans, oyster mushrooms, nopales, queso fresco and pea trendrils.

The corn was a little too done and the beans were refried beans. It was good, but not a repeat. Being cold outside, food became cold very quickly. I rated this 3 out of 5.

It was in this area that the title for this trip report came to be.
A family was walking by and they were talking about the figment popcorn bucket. A person in the party was talking to another person and said that she booked her return time for the figment bucket. The guy loudly exclaimed, "You have to book a time to buy a popcorn bucket?!"

I was like yup.

I don't get it either dude.

Up next - The Deconstructed Dish and Pop Eats!

 

[imahistorygeek]

The Deconstructed Dish is right next to the previous booth heading towards Canada. Here, I had wanted to try the Deconstructed French Onion Soup with beef broth ravioli, gruyere cream, onion bread pudding, and onion textures.

I believe that's fried cheese on the top, which isn't mentioned in the description. I'll take it!

There was a wait on this and they were backed up. The ingredients a room temp at best, but once you open the ravioli, the broth was very warm.

As you can see the broth looks more like brown gravy. The onion bread pudding tasted like dressing, which wasn't bad. Overall, this really didn't have the flavor of french onion soup and it turned cold quickly. Best part was the fried cheese. I'd rate it a 3 out of 5 and not repeatable.

Across from the old Starbucks (or coffee place) is Pop Eats! Here we ordered the tomato soup with pimiento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato grilled cheese.

This was good and a terrific value. The bread tasted like sour dough. I love fried green tomatoes and bacon, so this was all a huge win. The cute little cup with the tomato soup did a great job insulating the soup and it stayed hot the entire time. This was actually enough to be a lunch meal. A 5 out of 5 for sure. I would get this every single time.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Our Epcot day strategy:

1. Make sure our app is updated and know where to find the virtual queue. Go through the steps to reserve.
2. Set alarms to wake up before 7 am.
3. Decide what time to leave the room to walk over to the International Gateway.
4. Me deciding what to wear because it'll be chilly.

We get up around 6:30 that morning, so our alarms did their job. Around 6:55, we start getting our phones ready. We hop off the Disney wifi. We are on the correct screen at 6:59 am. Time to start refreshing the screen. I had already pre-selected guests, so I just kept following the steps. However, I wasn't sure if I actually got it because this was the final screen:

View attachment 695121

My eyes immediately went to the paid option and I had a bit of a freak out even though it said booked. Success! We made it!

About 7:45, we decided to walk to International Gateway to be there by 8am. There was a small crowd, but not too bad. Just a little bit after 8, they let us go through the turnstiles. We've not used Magic Bands in a while and have just been using our phones. It has been pretty successful. I do miss the MB because I don't have to use my phone as much.

So, we're in the park about 8:15, but the front of the park hasn't been released yet. We make our way to Ratatouille and walk right on. This is really a cute ride and IMO, the best in the World Showcase. We left (approx. 8:30) and were forced to turn left and walk towards England where it looked like the front of the park had just been released. Early Magic Hours started at 8:30, so it was nice to have already been able to ride.

People were running and one CM WAS NOT having it. She was tired of it and just starting yelling to not run.

We made our way to the front of the park walked on to Soarin, Living with the Land, and Test Track. We just had to be back to Guardians by 9:45 to ride. I think we got there around 9:30 or 9:45. There was no stopping until we hit the first holding room. The different holding rooms really get you excited to ride. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the last room letting everyone out and you having to merge into a side-by-side line, almost like Haunted Mansion. We didn't wait long in the line and soon were on the ride.

This is such A GREAT RIDE! I get the motion sickness people talk about on this ride. I'm not really prone to this, but if I felt it a little bit, those that do get motion sickness probably really feel it. We definitely wanted to ride again.

The photopass pics in front of the ride are hokey, but fun.

View attachment 695122View attachment 695123View attachment 695124
I feel like the "arms out" pose is a requirement at all photopass locations.

View attachment 695125

Asking for a friend..... I don't like to read too much about new rides until I experience them myself so I don't know a whole lot about GOTG. Does it have any sudden drops? Anything that makes your stomach drop or give people that have a fear of heights a reason not to ride it? I've heard about motion sickness but not anything about drops or heights.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Asking for a friend..... I don't like to read too much about new rides until I experience them myself so I don't know a whole lot about GOTG. Does it have any sudden drops? Anything that makes your stomach drop or give people that have a fear of heights a reason not to ride it? I've heard about motion sickness but not anything about drops or heights.

Definitely the stomach drop and as for heights, at one point you're looking down into the ride from high up, so maybe, but it's dark and you can't see the bottom. I really can't remember about the drops. I'm afraid of heights, but this didn't bother me.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Definitely the stomach drop and as for heights, at one point you're looking down into the ride from high up, so maybe, but it's dark and you can't see the bottom. I really can't remember about the drops. I'm afraid of heights, but this didn't bother me.

Thank you for your input. Hopefully he’ll ride but he even said slinky is a definite nope.

 

[imahistorygeek]

I can't quite remember the timeline of events, but at some point we made our way to the front of the park. There were photopass photographers in many places. Some good, some not so good.

This was a new experience. I think it works better as a group.

After taking a few pictures, we headed back towards the area of Test Track. I don't know what these areas are called now and to be honest, don't remember what they were called before.

Our next food stop was The Craftsman's Courtyard near the Creations Shop. We had the choice of beef wellington or mussels. I don't trust seafood from a booth.

Beef Wellington - mushroom duxelles, prosciutto, and puff pastry with red wine demi-glace and baby vegetables

It was pretty good and the meat was tender. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 with repeatability potential.

We made our way back to the World Showcase. BTW, final step count for that day was 24,662 (almost 11 miles).

We made our way to Germany to the Pastoral Palate for the red wine-braised beef shortrib.

It was served with parsnip puree, broccolini, baby tomatoes, and aged balsamic.

It was delicious minus the parsnip puree. It was cold by the time it was ready to eat. Plus, it's like a sweet mashed potato.
Overall, I'd give it a 5 out of 5 because of the short rib.

One of our next food stops was at L'Art de la Cuisine Fancaise for the creme de brie en petit pain.

This is described as warm creamy brie in a house-made bread bowl.

I like brie and I like bread. Surely this was 5 out of 5. Nope. It was a solid 1. Not worth the line or the price. This is lazy. You can buy these two things at your local supermarket. Look at the size of the fork and the bread bowl. Save your money.

 

[imahistorygeek]

We had a few more pictures taken and ate a few more things.

Our last round of eating was at a couple of places.

Up first, Gourmet Landscapes in Canada. We tried the wild mushroom risotto with aged parmesan, truffle shavings, and zinfandel reduction along with the gnocchi poutine and blood orange cosmo from the refreshment port.

The risotto was a 3 out of 5. The flavor was really good, but the rice was undercooked with a crunch. And those wild mushrooms...

They were white button mushrooms, quartered. Nothing wild about them.

Next up was the gnocchi poutine. It's served with red wine-briased beef, cheese curds, basil, and burrata. This was very good and I'd give it a 4 out 5. It's meant to be mixed together to heat up the cheese a bit. The cheese was thisclose to frozen. When mixed together, this meal really came together.

The cosmo was made with potato vodka, blood orange, cranberry and lime. It was also very good, but very sweet. I'd drink it again.

That's pretty much the end of our food journey. Honestly, I was tired of eating.

The last bit of food we picked up was this:

We saved it until we returned home. It holds up really well. This is one of the best snacks in Epcot. While, everyone else is eating school bread, they're missing out on this.

A few more pictures before we call it a night. She said the ball will be between our hands. Technically, she was right.

Such a beautiful pavilion, both in and out.

Final picture of the night.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Overall, we had a great time. I'd like to experience this festival again, but the price tag for these experiences is hard to justify, especially with no AP.

My Epcot festival ranking:
1. Holiday
2. Art
3. Food and Wine

We were able to ride everything except Frozen and Mission Space, which I'm still a little salty over the replacement of LT Dan. We did not purchase any LL and really didn't wait in any long lines.

We will be back at WDW for a resort stay over the President's Day holiday weekend. No park visit is planned, but we are planning a monorail bar crawl.

Our next Disney park visit is Disneyland in November, with some Celebrity cruising sprinkled in.

Until next time...