Walt Disney World Resort Non-Park Discussion Thread

[TBpony414Challenge me at Donkey Kong...I dare ya!]

That food looks delicious!! I will take one of everything, please!

[tinaalsgirlMacaroni and Donkey]

I watched a video today that reviewed The Edison, but the person also showed the interior of Maria & Enzo's, and my immediate thought upon seeing the interior was, "OMG, it's Rapture!" Someday I will absolutely make it back to Florida and check out all these new places at Disney Springs; the food looks amazing!

[ytterbiumanalystWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

Everything looks wonderful. I will admit I got sticker shock on the menu prices, but I live in the Ozarks, so that happens pretty much everywhere. We have just about the lowest cost of living anywhere in the country. It does look like you get your money's worth on the quality.

Oh, and Rocky Horror references make everything better.

Put me down for this joint the next time I'm in Orlando--looks great!

[thrillriderWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

Everything looks amazing!

Looks like we are going to have to check this place out when we visit this spring. Question....is the pizza comparable to Via Napoli(sp) at epcot?

[NrthwndBAYSIDE STATION!!!]

the meatballs...



the meatballs...

[bert425Why do I still have a donkey title???]

This is an interesting story I saw this morning.

and unfortunately, as sign of the times we live in, sadly

no more "do not disturb" signs. . . not that they always worked anyway, LOL, as often I'll have that up and Housekeeping knocks anyways. (not at Disney, I mean just in general when I'm traveling)

I DO like how Disney is handling it, but sad that it's come to this.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/03/news/companies/disney-do-not-disturb/index.html

[robbalveySite Admin]

Today was a very special kind of media event at Walt Disney World which actually wasn't about Walt Disney World at all! Disney invited us out to The Living Seas special events area at Epcot so we could sample some food offerings from Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney, and Disney's Aulani resort in Hawaii, and they talked about some new additions coming soon to those destinations.

Let's jump right into some of the amazing food and awesome news we heard today...

Check out the replay of the live stream we did from today's event...

As if Epcot wasn't already amazing with the Festival of the Arts going on, adding some delicious food from three amazing higher-end Disney offerings was icing on the cake!

We entered The Living Seas lounge, which is a super cool venue if you ever wanted to throw an awesome party, have your wedding, etc...

The event started off with some dancing from Aulani's Luau, which is rated one of the best in the world!

This resort is still on my bucket list (and I'm sure it will be crossed off soon enough!)

The dancers were fantastic!

Let's start with the Tuna Poke, which is all the rage right now in big cities and it was awesome to see this delicious item being offered as one of Aulani's signature dishes.

We also had the tomato soup, again, fantastic!

The resort is located on 21 oceanfront acres on the western side of O‘ahu. Guests can hang out in their lazy river, explore adventure trails, enjoy fire pit story telling, full service spa & fitness center, movie nights, live Hawaiian entertainment, high-end dining, bars, lounges, and so much more!

Let's move on to Disney Cruise lines. Here are two awesome dishes I sampled...

This gnocchi was one of my favorite items of the day! Delicious!

Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, is consistently a top-rated destination. In 2018, the Disney Dream will sail a series of cruises that include two stops at Castaway Cay so guests can have twice the fun in the sun and enjoy even more of the pristine island paradise.

Guess who is getting her own restaurant on the Disney Magic? At Rapunzel’s Royal Table, families will delight in an all-new dining experience inspired by the beloved story of Disney’s “Tangled.” The first table service restaurant themed to “Tangled” that features characters and live entertainment will transport Disney Magic guests to the kingdom of Corona for an evening of music and interactive fun featuring Rapunzel and the mischievous Snuggly Duckling Thugs.

Disney Cruise Line guests can celebrate Marvel Day at Sea on the Disney Magic during eight special voyages from Miami departing January through April 2018.

In 2018, the epic day at sea returns to Disney Cruise Line with 15 special Disney Fantasy sailings to the Caribbean from January through April. Star Wars Day at Sea transports guests to a galaxy far, far away to celebrate the legendary adventures and iconic characters from the Star Wars saga with Jedi, Wookiees, droids, Stormtroopers and others during the special day-long celebration.

And yes, there are Star Wars Day at Sea special food offerings as well!

I absolutely love this picture! lol! Marvel at Sea features all-day entertainment including interactions with some of the mightiest Marvel Super Heroes and the menacing foes who oppose them, an extraordinary deck show spectacular, Marvel-themed youth activities, special merchandise and unique food and beverage offerings.

And we will end this Disney Cruise Lines segment with one more amazing dish!

And now for Adventures by Disney, which after our Danube River Cruise with them last summer, we cannot say enough good things about! A new 10-day, 9-night Seine river cruise vacation combines two days exploring Paris on land, followed by eight days of cruising to picturesque French destinations such as Conflans, Vernon and more.

Did someone say macarons? You'll be able to get plenty of them when you travel to Paris with Adventures by Disney!

I love that AbD journeys are experiences beyond the parks, but with that Disney class-act service that you know and love from the parks!

The French Onion soup was absolutely FANTASTIC!!!

Highlights of this new Seine River vacation include:
• Interactive culinary experiences, including a gourmet food tasting tour, regional wine and cheese sampling and hands-on macaron making demonstration.
• Guided tours of Paris icons, including Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
• Active excursion options for the whole family, including biking, canoeing, horseback riding, a ropes course and hiking on the stunning cliffs of Etretat.

This Beef Goulash from the Danube River Cruise is by far my favorite thing I had today at the tasting! It was just delicious...

...and not just because we got to actually MAKE this very dish during our Adventures by Disney river cruise last summer! I simply cannot say enough things about Adventures by Disney. We absolutely love their excursions and highly recommend them!

Ken Potrock, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Disney Vacation Club spoke to us about the new Copper Creek DVC offerings at Wilderness Lodge.

We actually rented out one of the cabins for ours and another family this past summer and again, the total package blew us away!

Not only was the cabin a wonderful place for us to hang out at for three nights, but the new additions to the resort like the new pool area, Geyser Point Bar & Grill, and of course the long time favorite Artist Point were all highlights of our stay.

Hey! Look who came to join us today! Captain Mickey!

To close out the event, more entertainment from Aulani made us even more want to book a trip out to Hawaii!

I am ready to use these luggage tags for one of each different Disney adventures!

And as we head out of Epcot, we of course have to give a nod to Festival of the Arts! So happy this has returned for it's second year. It's certainly in my top five Epcot "festivals" as I absolutely LOVE it!

Thanks for reading everyone! Now... POST YOUR COMMENTS!!!

I remember your TR from that Disney River Cruise--the goulash looks good to me (as does everything else).

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

These experiences all get a premium price, but they're all worth it. KT and I still bring up that Adventures by Disney River Cruise on an almost daily basis!