The Disney Exchange -Episode 006 - Epcot's World Showcase

by Nick


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-The Disney Exchange is Lisa Green, David Hodges, and me, Nicholas Maglio

-Main Topic- Epcot's World Showcase, country by country.

-Dave asks what direction we generally start in, as this is a personal preference for most, and I respond it doesn't really matter which way we go, but generally it's Mexico. Dave always goes towards Canada. Lisa once again agrees with me, stating that it changes for her and her family.

-We then start our tour in Mexico, since I am the one who made the list and not Dave, who would've started us off in Canada.

-Mexico : We all like the Gran Fiesta Tour, as well as the overall atmosphere of the pavilion.
I talk about my love of La Cava del Tequila and that my wife and I have eaten at all the restaurants, my favorite being La Hacienda de San Angel. 

Nick and Barbie

-Norway : Dave likes some of the offerings Kringla Bakeri og Kafe, particularly the School Bread, but is not a fan of the shop Puffin's Roost due to the overwhelming scent of the perfume, Laila. (Fans of Laila please direct all hate mail to David Hodges). I say how I enjoy the Bakeri, as well as walking through Puffin's Roost, and talk about the very good Princess Storybook Lunch we had at Akershus.

Lisa tells about her families Viking hat tradition.

Photo: courtesy of Lisa Green

-China : I confess I've never eaten at the restaurants here but like the Chinese BBQ Pork Buns from the Joy of Tea stand. Dave has eaten at The Lotus Blossom Cafe, and found it simply adequate. We all enjoy the acrobats. Lisa likes the shop.

-Germany : Lisa confesses she has never eaten at Biergarten, but has enjoyed Sommerfest, their quick service eatery, as well as the occasional adult beverage, particularly the Schofferhoffer Grapefruit beer. Dave has an even more shocking confession; he has only ever gone into Karamel Kuche, and isn't a German food fan. (German food fans address all hate mail to David Hodges).

I profess my love of Biergarten, and the entire pavilion in general.

-Italy : Dave doesn't want to pay $90 for a pizza, but does like to walk through. It should come as no surprise that I love all the restaurants in the pavilion. Lisa really enjoys it as she has visited Italy, and tells of a favorite New Years Eve memory at Tutto Italia, and how this pavilion will always have a special place in her heart.

-American Adventure : USA, what's not to love? The show gets me every time. Lisa loves Voices of Liberty and feels this is the best thing of the pavilion, and fears losing it in this era of changes in entertainment in World Showcase. Dave says that the burger at Liberty Inn was very good.

-Japan : One of Lisa's favorite places is the Mitsukoshi Department Store, and especially likes seeing her son in the snack area. I mention I have never eaten at Teppan Edo, but thought Tokyo Dining was just okay. (Fans of Tokyo Dining direct hate mail to Lisa Green). Dave talks of spending time in Japan in the military and how his wife has retained her knowledge of the language and he also spends considerable time in Mitsukoshi, and has a good warning pertaining to candy purchases. He also tells of eating at the Katsura Grill, their quick service. He also gives discount tips on the eateries and stores.

 Photo: Lisa Green

-Morocco : Dave and Lisa tell of the only things they have had in the pavilion. Dave gets the Sultan's Colada, while Lisa warns us to NOT order the Casa Blanca beer. Lisa's husband Raymond gets coffee each trip, while Lisa and the kids peruse the shops. I tell of eating at all the restaurants, and that I was not a fan of Spice Road Table. 

-France : I have gotten Dave hooked on 1664 Blanc, which I introduced him to when my wife and I met him last month.

 me and Dave

I proceed to thoroughly murder the French language, and walk through the places and foods I've enjoyed. Dave, wisely, doesn't even try to pronounce Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie, and describes his meal there. Lisa tells about her food and wine pairing at Monsieur Paul's and free flowing wine. We all agree it's a lovely pavilion, and that if you can score a seat it is a lovely place to relax. 

-The United Kingdom : Lisa shares her love of the Single Malt Scotch Flight at the Rose and Crown Pub, and Lisa and I agree we love the Fish and Chips at the Yorkshire County Fish and Chips shop. 

I tell why I've never eaten at Rose and Crown, and my love of Shandys from the Pub.

I also mention the great shops and wonderful Cast Members we've met there.
Dave stops in The Tea Caddy each visit and of a free tour which I had not heard of previously. He also brings up the British Revolutionm, which we all agree is a very good band, and that he had a very good meal at Rose and Crown.

-Canada : Dave talks about motion sickness issues with the film O Canada, as well as a certain Lumberjack show I'm not even going to mention, as well as the fact he has not ever eaten at Le Cellier! Lisa goes to Canada for the film, Le Cellier, the general surroundings, and their Food and Wine offerings. I mention I felt our last Le Cellier visit was mediocre. (Okay Le Cellier fans send all hate mail to me.)

-This weeks Wheel of Distany topic is our Favorite Places to Watch Illuminations. 
(Please note, I get insulted as I am a Diva, and throw down my headset and storm off, and my headset has issues after I eventually return. I apologize for the noises, but shall never apologize for being a Diva!) Lisa's favorite spot is from the FastPass viewing area. Dave sees it as he's leaving Epcot and that he is not a huge fan of Illuminations-hatemail to Dave, etc. etc. My favorite spot, if not from a room at the Boardwalk, is from La Hacienda de San Angel.

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Holiday Storytellers Around Epcot's World Showcase

by Nick

I love Santa Claus. Always have, I am, after all, named after the Saint himself.

I also enjoy hearing and reading about the various gift givers that different cultures have.
One of my very favorite things about the Holiday Around the World at Epcot is the storytellers that several of the countries have.

My wife, friends, and I caught as many of the offerings as possible on our recent trip, and I've shared a brief look in my trip reports, but I thought it appropriate to share a more in depth look at them on this Christmas Day.

Heading around to the right of World Showcase, we'll start with Father Christmas, who can be found in the United Kingdom.

Each pavilion's storyteller has a scroll describing customs and traditions from that country, and you can find appearance times in park guides.

Father Christmas shares a few of the traditions that started in the UK, such as the sending of Christmas Cards in 1843, and the hanging of mistletoe which dates back to the Druidic ceremonies of the Winter Solstice. 

Many storytellers also pose for photos with guests.

 

Left to right: Barbie, Nick, Father Christmas, Jill, Nicole, and Josh

Moving on to France, we find Père Noël, who delivers gifts to children on Christmas Eve.

He tells of the importance of the Creche, or Nativity Scene. Traditionally, candles are lit around the Creche, or a special Yule Log is burned on the fire.
He continues telling us of le reveillon, a feast after Midnight Mass, and how children set our shoes around the Christmas tree in anticipation of a visit from le Père Noël.

Continuing on to Japan, we learn about O-Shogatsu, the Japanese New Year. lasting from January 1st through the 3rd. An important symbol of the New Year is the Daruma Doll. There are no pupils in the Darumas eyes. The tradition is to make a wish, and paint a pupil in the left eye. If the wish comes true, you paint in the right pupil.

We'll come back to The American Adventure later. Our next stop for now will be Italy.
To me, the most heart wrenching tale of a gift bringer is that of the kind-hearted witch La Befana who arrives on the eve of the Epiphany, January 5th, to grant gifts to good children.

As her story goes, the Three Wise Men visited Befana at her home and asked if she knew where to find the baby Jesus. She did not, but offered them shelter for the night. The magi invited her to join them on the journey to find the baby Jesus, but she declined. Later, La Befana had a change of heart, and tried to search out the astrologers and Jesus. That night she was not able to find them, so to this day, La Befana is searching for the little baby. -sniff- This story gets me every time I hear it.

In Germany, we meet Helga, who teaches us how to say Merry Christmas in German. She explains how many Christmas traditions such as the advent calender and Christmas trees began in Germany. She also tells us of her first nutcracker.

Norway has, in my opinion, one of the most entertaining gift givers, Julenissen, the Christmas Gnome.

But before we meet him, we meet Sigrid, who cannot see Julenissen, only we, the audience can at first.

While we learn of the traditions of Christmas in farm communities in Norway, Julenissen gets up to mischief, and plays tricks on poor Sigrid, with the help of the audience, until, in the end, he reveals himself to her.

Back to The American Adventure, where Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are represented, both of which we never did get to see this trip.

Here, you won't hear a story from Santa, but instead, get to sit on his knee, and tell him what you'd like for Christmas. He is joined by Mrs. Claus.

Did we get our photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus? Of course!
In fact, Barbie made the dress she is wearing for just this occasion!

Regardless of how you celebrate, we wish you a happy and safe holiday, and Merry Christmas!

The Frozen Ride Coming to Epcot's Norway

By Nick

By now I am pretty sure that EVERYONE that is a Disney fan, as well as many people that are not, has heard that a ride based on the tremendous hit Frozen is replacing Maelstrom in Epcot's Norway Pavilion.

If you have avoided this news somehow, it was officially posted on the Disney Parks Blog last Friday:
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/09/frozen-attraction-coming-to-epcot/

Rumors of this and other changes to the Norway Pavilion have been swirling for months, and I honestly assumed they would come to fruition, so when the announcement was officially made, I really didn't have a visceral reaction.

Then I read a couple of terrific articles posted earlier this week by my friend Lisa on her wonderful Living a Disney Life: Empty Nesting with Pixie Dust blog concerning this very topic, and the changes and ramifications it could have for Epcot's World Showcase, and it got me thinking.

My favorite thing about Epcot is World Showcase. I enjoy just eating and drinking as I walk around taking in the ambience of the countries, strolling in and out of the shops.

And, as I've written about in the past, one of my favorite things to do on a Disney Vacation is to take a break in La Cava del Tequila in the Mexico Pavilion and then ride Gran Fiesta Tour afterwards.

Bringing a ride like Frozen into the World Showcase sort of goes against what I believe was the original intent of what this section of the park is/was supposed to be about, showcasing international cultures and customs.

Saying this, I'm not really offended by what Disney is claiming they have planned for the Norway Pavilion.

 

I believe that Disney could appease purists as well as fans of the film by simply having the popular characters from the film take guests on a tour of Norway, which is what I believe the aforementioned Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico does wonderfully with the characters from the Three Caballaros.

Disney has already done an excellent job incorporating Norwegian culture and it's inspiration on Frozen with it's Norsk Kultur Display housed in the Stave Church, which we had the opportunity to see in January.

Strictly featuring the customs and cultures of Norway is clearly not what Disney has in mind however, according to the Disney Parks Blog article, which states the new attraction will take guests to Arendalle and immerse them in favorite moments from the film. There will also be a new greeting area where guests can meet Anna and Elsa.

As for the loss of Maelstrom, I am a bit sad, mostly from a nostalgia standpoint (I don't know how many times I've said "You are not the first to pass this way" and my wife's favorite hidden Mickey is in the queue) but regardless of which direction Disney goes with the ride, as with the impending Avatarland in Disney Animal Kingdom, I am optimistic that Imagineering will do a great job, and this will be a huge hit when all is said and done. 

What is your opinion of Frozen taking over the Norway Pavilion?

Frozen. Time for a Thaw?

By Beth Skarp

I recently returned from a trip to the World. Everywhere I turned, I was inundated with scenes or images from the ever popular movie Frozen. From the images of Olaf on t-shirts with friends being flakes, to little girls sporting the looks of Elsa or Anna, Frozen is everywhere. If you are at Disney, there is literally no way you could not be exposed to Frozen in one way or another. 

Having said this, I wanted to share my less than magical experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

I arrived at MCO fairly early after leaving Philadelphia. Once I checked in at my resort, my first stop was Magic Kingdom. I had a later afternoon dining reservation at Be Our Guest. I was early, so decided to ride the rides that had a fairly short stand-by line and put my Memory Maker to work by getting pictures. The first photographer I encountered had great “magical shots”....of Olaf on Summer vacation. OK, not a big deal, I would pose anyway and just keep going. 

After Magic Kingdom, I rode the monorail to Epcot. I meandered my way through World Showcase, with the intent of getting to the International Gateway. I stopped for pictures along the way, taking along my trusted stuffed Jiminy Cricket. When a photo opportunity presented itself, we stopped and took advantage of it. When we got to Norway, we were once again inundated with Frozen. But it didn't stop there.

Just outside the International Gateway entrance, Jiminy and I boarded the boats that took us to Hollywood Studios. It was a lovely boat ride. We left Epcot around 6PM, plenty of time to enjoy our trip to Hollywood Studios and make our 9PM dinner reservations at Mama Melrose. You know what they say when you make your reservations, to allow ample travel time to make your reservations. We got this.

Once we finally arrived at the boat dock for Hollywood Studios, our captain asked if we were here to enjoy the dance party. Dance party?! I had not a clue what she was referring to.

When we got to the main gates for Hollywood Studios—just before we entered—we came across a huge sand sculpture. What a great photo opportunity, the sculptures are well done and so artistic. What was the sculpture you ask...a larger than life Olaf on summer vacation. 20 minutes Jiminy and I waited in line for this.

A paper lithograph cutout of Olaf was shoved into my hands. On the backside were the signatures of the various characters of Frozen. While I really wasn't interested in this Olaf, I have to admit that it made an excellent hand fan on this hot and humid day. I used my Olaf several times over for just this very purpose.

Jiminy was getting into the swing of taking photographs, so we paused for a quick picture of the hours for Hollywood Studios for the day.

Finally, we made it through the main gates. 7PM...still plenty of time to make our dinner reservations at Mama Melrose. Oy Vey! The thousands of people! What in the World was going on?

When you use a walker to get around, walking can be a bit difficult. Add in several people lining the streets, each vying for the perfect spot to view what was in front of us. Well, it made getting around challenging but not impossible. I figured I would put to good use the trick of walking through the various stores in order to progress down Main Street. Bad idea. The first shop I went into, I came upon a literal wall of people. What was going on? Frozen merchandise had just been restocked on the shelves, so a shopping frenzy was happening. I had to giggle, as one guest, a man, asked me where I got my “shopping cart”. Shopping cart? It was my walker for crying out loud.

Backing out of the shop in order not to get run over, I finally made my way towards the Sorcerer’s hat. My intent was to bear right, heading towards Rockin' Roller Coaster. I had a FP+ for 7:05 to 8:05 that I wanted to use. I got to Rockin' around 7:35. Still plenty of time to get to Mama Melrose and not be late.

What is this Jiminy and I see...a 5 minute wait for Tower of Terror? Let me get this done so Jiminy and I can make dinner in plenty of time and knock this off our to-ride list. I mean really, how often do you see this and just literally walk on the rides?

After we got off Tower of Terror, it was around 8:25 or so. Again, plenty of time to get back to Mama Melrose. My mouth is watering for some Seafood Arrabbitta and a cold Italian Surfer, my favorite food and drink from there.

As I maneuver my walker down Main Street yet again, I made my way towards the Sorcerer’s hat with the intent of turning left and heading towards Mama Melrose. Instead, I found wooden barriers up and several cast members along with security preventing guests from going any further towards the back of the park.

When I asked about getting through to make my reservations at Mama Melrose, I was told it was impossible. I asked how I was supposed to get back and get to my reservation—one I made three weeks ago. I was told repeatedly "Well, you simply can't. The parade is coming, followed by the fireworks then a sing-along.”

Really....you allowed me to make a reservation three weeks ago and never bothered to tell me that I would not be able to make my reservation!? OK, calm down and don't let it get you bothered.

I asked what I was supposed to do. Cast members repeatedly told me "Well, we just assume you will be at the back of the park so you can make the reservation on time." I mean really, does everyone stay in the area for their reservations for hours on end?!   

As I told you earlier, I had a FP+ for Rockin' Roller Coasterthen went on Tower of Terror. I had plenty of time to make my reservation at Mama Melrose, even taking my time and maneuvering my walker through the throngs of people. I was just not allowed to get to the back portion of the park to make this reservation. I was more than annoyed, to say the least.

OK, so I can't get to Mama Melrose. I still need to eat. Let's do alternate Plan B. My plan was to eat at ABC Commissary. Well guess what—this is closed as well. A sandwich board is placed up around 6:30 PM or so to alert park guests that it will close at 8PM prior to the parade. Lot of good that did me—I wasn't in the Park then and no mention was made of the back portion of the Park being closed early on the hours posted at the front of the Park. Also, nothing was mentioned in the times guide or park map. 

Starring Rolls was also closed, which is actually what I expected. Starring Rolls closes around 3PM or so—when they run out of sandwiches and goodies, they close. No way did I feel like fighting any more crowds to get back to Backlot Express, the only other place that was open at this time.

My temper kicked in at this point, I am sorry to say. With a less than pleasant attitude I asked "Where in this Park am I supposed to eat?" The Cast Members never missed a beat, but simply replied, "Well, you could get a tub of popcorn and join the dance party and sing along."

Sorry, not my cup of tea. It has been 6 hours since I last ate and I needed a decent meal, not filler, thank you very much. Don't even get me started on missing out on my Italian Surfer.

After stopping at Guest Relations at the front of Hollywood Studios to let them know how displeased I was with missing my reservation AND to make sure that I would not incur a no-show fee for not making this reservation, I headed back to the bus stations and to our resort. Guest Relations did give me a $25 gift card for my trouble, but this still left a rather sour taste in my mouth.

What did I finally get for dinner? Chicken nuggets back at the resort around 9:45 PM. What were my choices for dessert to go with my dinner? Frozen Cupcakes and Frozen Rice Krispie Treats. You are freaking kidding me...right?! Grrrrrr.  

On Saturday, I met up with some good friends at Port Orleans Riverside at the River Roost Lounge. We were all meeting up to hear Yee Haw Bob. Guess what one of the songs was that the group sang. Yep...”Let It Go.” 

Even at Animal Kingdom, you can't seem to get away from Frozen, no matter what you try. From magical shots to offerings for drinks or desserts, Frozen is everywhere.

I know that many enjoy the movie, the song or songs and the various characters. But really, must Disney incorporate Frozen into EVERY THING is does? Each theme park, every venue of entertainment, every restaurant, the merchandise, the photographers, even the television shows have a bit of Frozen in it someplace.

I for one really and truly believe we need to take a bit of a thaw. It's time to well....LET IT GO!

Excuse me as I run for cover...