Southern Fried in Mickey's World Updated 12/31 About This Page:

[Tara O'Hara]

I am in complete agreement about 'Ohana. We have tried it several times, only to be disappointed and haven't been back in a while. We loved this restaurant many years ago and it holds great memories for our family but until I start reading more positive reviews, there are just too many other places to eat.

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by lindawdw

So sorry that 'Ohana didn't live up to the hype. Although the ambiance is a draw, the menu just doesn't do it for me.

I love the ambiance, too, but I should probably have know that there wouldn't be enough for me to eat to justify the high cost of the meal.

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by Tara O'Hara

I am in complete agreement about 'Ohana. We have tried it several times, only to be disappointed and haven't been back in a while. We loved this restaurant many years ago and it holds great memories for our family but until I start reading more positive reviews, there are just too many other places to eat.

There are so many places that we love to eat at WDW that it won't hurt htat we don't go back here.

[cubfancolleen]

How cool about Luke’s sunglasses opening up whole new experiences for him!
Sorry you didn’t enjoy the food at ‘Ohana. We do like it - but it’s normally too much. I do enjoy the bread pudding, but you need to work to achieve the perfect balance of pudding, ice cream, and sauce.

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

How cool about Luke’s sunglasses opening up whole new experiences for him!
Sorry you didn’t enjoy the food at ‘Ohana. We do like it - but it’s normally too much. I do enjoy the bread pudding, but you need to work to achieve the perfect balance of pudding, ice cream, and sauce.

Now I never knew about the perfect balance with the bread pudding. Oh well, we bungled that.

[Cam22]

Switching to Plan B

Monday, October 15, 2018 Part 1

We had really enjoyed getting up later yesterday, so we set the alarm for 8:15 again. We had reworked our FastPasses yesterday, moving Pixar Shorts from 10:00 to 3:00, so there would be no need to rush to the park. We arrived at the stop just as an Epcot bus was pulling in. Cool! We seemed to have great timing this trip with the park buses coming in promptly to whisk us off to the parks. Then I was shocked that the bag check at Epcot had very few folks waiting. A little miracle to start the day. Last night Luke had mentioned that he wanted a slightly different breakfast. The plan was to get a coffee at the Joffrey’s before the gate touchpoints. On the bus today, he told me he would head there once he made it through security and would be waiting for me when I finally got through. Instead I surprised him by joining him in the Joffrey’s queue. He even asked me if I was sure I had gone through properly. Epcot’s bag check always seems to be the most backed up. But not today! Wow!

Anyway, Luke ordered an Iced Mocha Latte at Joffrey’s and soon we were moving to the Annual Pass queue that was slightly backed up, but much shorter than the regular lines, and definitely moved much faster than those. We talked with two older ladies in front of us in the line as they had asked us how so many school-age kids could be in the parks at this time of year. They mused that surely schools were in session. I told them that as I knew as a retired teacher that a lot of southern schools now have fall breaks at various time in October. They have retired to Florida and travel several days in the fall to visit Epcot during the Food & Wine Festival. Like me, they were eager to get their four visits in to get the little Mickey cutting board. If I’m remember correctly, this was their fourth visit. I was a little jealous as this was only our third, but we had plans to make that fourth visit.

Once inside the park, we quickly noticed an available PhotoPass photographer before heading off to get some breakfast for me.






Today seemed like a day when plans were always going to be revised. We had already started later and changed our coffee shop. But the next switch was due to a failure to check times. I had told Luke last night that I wanted a croissant doughnut at Taste Track for my breakfast. I thought it would be open as it was in Future World, but like the rest of the F&WF booths, it would not open until 11:00. Bummer! I was really looking forward to that treat. Instead we walked over to our second Joffrey’s of the day. I selected a Coke and a cinnamon roll large enough to share with Luke. Poor cast member manning this kiosk was sort of an Eeyore, keeping her head down and mouth in a gloomy frown. Even her voice made me think of Eeyore. I do hope her day got better.

We now took our cinnamon roll and drinks into the Festival Center where we sat at stools at counter to enjoy them. When we had finished, we browsed the shop again to bide the time before our beverage seminar. Then I picked up our seminar tickets at the front ticket booth. We used the restrooms and then joined the line a little after 11:00.

NEXT: Wine with a Touch of Ireland, France, and South Africa

[SuperDave]

Nice start to the day with the coffee and cinnamon rolls! Too bad Taste Track wasn't open yet as I know you were a bit sad about this. Even though it's in FW, it's a F&W Festival booth so it wasn't open yet! Nice PP photos in Epcot!

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Nice start to the day with the coffee and cinnamon rolls! Too bad Taste Track wasn't open yet as I know you were a bit sad about this. Even though it's in FW, it's a F&W Festival booth so it wasn't open yet! Nice PP photos in Epcot!

Actually Taste Track is a seasonal kiosk, and we've found it open earlier. I had hoped, but I was wrong, that it would be open this time, too.

[chezp]

How nice to get to Epcot and not have that awful wait for bag check. That is such a pain there.

I think Disney did really well with the cutting board offer, as I know so many people who took advantage of that during the festival.

[lindawdw]

How nice that the buses were in sync with your schedule this trip! So rare that the Epcot security line moves that fast which is such a great start to your day. Too bad you couldn't get your croissant doughnut which is one of my favorite treats at Epcot although a cinnamon roll sounds like a good substitute. The Festival Center is such a nice place to sit down and have a nice little break.

[Cam22]

Originally Posted by chezp

How nice to get to Epcot and not have that awful wait for bag check. That is such a pain there.

I think Disney did really well with the cutting board offer, as I know so many people who took advantage of that during the festival.

Luke peeled off from me way before the bag check so he was totally surprised. I think I had a big smile plastered across my face as I kept moving quickly forward.

Originally Posted by lindawdw

How nice that the buses were in sync with your schedule this trip! So rare that the Epcot security line moves that fast which is such a great start to your day. Too bad you couldn't get your croissant doughnut which is one of my favorite treats at Epcot although a cinnamon roll sounds like a good substitute. The Festival Center is such a nice place to sit down and have a nice little break.

I felt pixie dusted as I made my way so quickly through Epcot's bag check. Nice little bonus to this day's start.

[Cam22]

Wine with a Touch of Ireland, France, and South Africa

Monday, October 15, 2018 Part 2

Our beverage seminar was set to begin at 11:00, and according to the sign we had seen on our way back from the restrooms, it was not sold out. As we began to file in with the other participants, it was obvious that there would be quite a few empty seats. In fact, the cast members here quickly began removing the prefilled wine glasses at every empty seat before the seminar could begin. That included three at our table that a gentleman was holding for his friends who unfortunately never showed up. Having almost missed one of our seminars last November because I was confused about the time, I wondered if they might not appear a wee bit late. The cast member assured the gentleman that if they made it, their wine would be brought back out.






Our presenter for this seminar was Luke O’Cuinnegain, the Irish winemaker of Glenelly Estate. By the way when Luke was introduced, we were given instructions and practice in pronouncing his name, none of which I remember now. From now on he will be referred to as Luke O’ to distinguish him from my Luke. Glenelly Estate is in Stellenbosch not far from Cape Town, South Africa. The owner is May de Lencquesaing, who discovered the estate in 2003 and knew this was where she wanted to continue the three centuries of French heritage of her family in wine making. Currently at 93 years old, May still oversees the operations of the winery.




Before we began sampling wines, Luke O’ took us through some of the history, philosophy, and practice of Glenelly Estates. The winery is based in the soils of the Western Cape, the oldest viticulture in the world. The vineyard is located in the granite-based mountain ranges that are 200 million years older than the Alps and the Himalayas. The complex soil diversity of plant life here comes through in their wines. The slopes here are more east facing, meaning the vineyard depends on the morning sun. The aspect the winemakers want to achieve here is elegance with a natural holistic approach. The Cellar Philosophy here as four elements: one, wild fermentations which are risky; two, minimal intervention; three, natural balance; and four, natural expression in a sense of place and uniqueness. The winery also includes a glass museum as tribute to the quartz content of the soil that adds to the wines. Yes, I’m a nerd and I took notes. I am fascinated by how the different wineries represent themselves to their customers both new and old.

The first wine we sampled was an unoaked Chardonnay with a touch of citrus. Luke O’ talked as we sipped this Chardonnay, telling us this wine is elegant with casual meals. We both found it be light and fresh. Two thumbs up.




Our second wine was the Reserve 2011, a red wine. I wrote down that it was a blend of varietals and then scribbled something about those that I cannot make out. Oops! We did note several aspects of the wine as we again sipped and Luke O’ talked, including tobacco smoke and fennel. He informed us that this is an excellent dinner wine going well with almost any meal. Normally, neither Luke nor I enjoy red wines, but this one was an exception.




The last of the three wines was the Lady May 2012, designed for age ability. It is cabernet dominated and a petite Bordeaux. It was the most aromatic of the three wines, and I like the cranberry flavor on the palette. We both commented that this might be the first time ever that we both enjoyed all three pours at one of these little seminars. Even though I knew nothing about this winery or its wines before booking it back in July, this turned how quite successfully for us.





One note about this seminar, we were seated at long tables and since so many seats were left unfilled, we didn’t really interact with any other folks. I said something to both the gentleman across from us awaiting his friends, and the gentleman to my right, but the exchange of friendly greetings was the sum total of our interactions rather serious tablemates. These seminars are much more fun with a bit of conversation at least at the start and finish.

We now headed back out into a sunny, hot Florida day on our way to our first FastPass. But as we entered the area around the Fountain of Nations, the water was dancing. That meant a short stop for me to get some photos. Truthfully, even if I didn’t take a photo, I would stop for this musical water show that never ceases to amaze me.








NEXT: World Travels

[DMA]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the wine seminar!
I love your photos of the fountain show!

[SuperDave]

That was a great wine seminar as you enjoyed all of them. You supplied some great info on all of these wines as you enjoyed them so much. I love SA wines and you can't beat Jiko for this as they have the largest SA wine offering in any USA eatery. I'm pretty sure about this.


Too bad the seminar was a bit empty as fuller makes it better. I've never done a wine seminar and have done four food oriented ones including the Italian lunch. I need to do a wine one on my next trip as not expensive. Nice with the fountains as one of my favorite things in all of Epcot! Especially at night when lit up for sure!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start to your day at Epcot! Great pictures. Glad you enjoyed the wine seminar!