Festival of the Arts aka Liquid Lunch
My mother woke up at 4:45AM as I told her we would need to be on our way to Hollywood Studios if we wanted a shot at riding Rise of the Resistance with a decent boarding group number. A little before 6AM, we were with the masses driving in!
Hollywood Studio Outer Gates
Through security, we waited with the crowds until 6:30AM when they let us in. We were going to go to Starbucks but the line was wrapped down Sunset Blvd so we decided to head towards Toy Story Land to wait for the 7AM boarding group opening. Not many were in this area yet so we weren’t too far from the front right near Wood.
Hollywood Studios Inner Gates
I was super quick when the groups as shown here:
Group 15!!!
I had to help some people around us as well as they were refreshing the join boarding group page rather than entering it from the home screen of the application. The crowds were also moving forwards towards the rides and we joined the masses and headed to Slinky Dog Dash. We were on the ride within 10 minutes! Score!
Slinky Dog
By the time we were off the ride and leaving the queue, our boarding group was being called. We did a quick ride at Star Tours first to show my mother the new scenes and then it was Rise of the Resistance time!!!
Rise of the Resistance
And we were out of the park by 8:20AM! We drove to the Villas at the Grand Floridian so that we could leave our vehicles there and take the monorail into EPCOT. On our way to EPCOT, I got us Spaceship Earth Fastpasses. The first worked out perfectly as the window was starting as we were entering the Park so we took a ride on Spaceship Earth. Then we did the new Amazing Planet at the Land. It was ok - full of dad jokes. Good to see once and then it was time to start enjoying the festival!
At our first booth, we both got a dish to try and I got a beer that glittered as how could I not? I really enjoyed the glitter beer as it was perfectly fruity and not hoppy. Plus glitter! My chicken was so good. The sauces really helped the dish as well and the beet chips gave the right amount of texture the dish needed! I didn’t get to try any of my mom’s ceviche but it was gone in no time flat!
Sous Vide Chicken Roulade with Apples and Sage served with Warm Brie Fondue, Blueberry and Beet Gel and garnished with Beet Chip Crumbles
Shrimp Ceviche with Lime Mint Foam
#RainbowSherbetGlitterDreamAle by Playalinda Brewing Company
As we continued our walk around the World Showcase, I needed another cocktail. I went with the very pretty vodka rum cocktail in China that was really refreshing. Not sure why the Boba Pearls were magic as they seemed normal to me but either way - I liked it!
Butterfly Pea Flower-infused Cocktail with Lychee Syrup, Vodka, Light Rum and Magic Boba Pearls
Near Germany, I saw that they had a Saint-Honore Tart at the booth there. I loved the Saint-Honors I had in France so of course I had to have it again. It was a nice tart with decent cream puffs - not as good as Cedric’s but still happy with it! My mother also was bad and got a second one for free when the lady got really confused due to the person in front me refusing their fish dish as they were allergic and handed us both stuff. Let's just call it Disney Magic?
Saint-Honore Tart: Caramel Cream Tart w/ Caramel Glaze topped with Cream Puffs
In America, I went with the beer and chocolate pairing. I liked all the beers and chocolates although the chocolates looked like rip-offs from Norman Love with the decorations (I asked if they were Norman Love’s and they weren’t) My mother was happy with her beef wellington and it filled her up!
Chocolate and Beer Pairing Flight
Beef Wellington with Mushroom Bordelaise, Fennel Cream and Roasted Baby Vegetables
Because I hadn’t drank enough, I got the frozen sake cocktail in Japan. It was refreshing and would have been perfect on a hot day but it was on the cooler side this day.
Nigori Sake Cocktail: Frozen Nigori Sake and Calpico accented with Strawberry and finished with Cotton Candy[/I]
We did the new Beauty & the Beast Sing-aLong along with the new Canada: Far & Wide Films which were nice but not most-dos. I could see the sing-a-long being a fun addition to a drink around the world though. We headed out & I picked up my cheddar cheese popcorn along the way. That popcorn was a good lunch on my drive home the next day (Qi’ra agreed!)