Epcot Odds & Ends
September 20, 2012
In a couple of visits to Epcot last weekend I came upon a few interesting things, so let’s get started on this construction wall heavy version of Odds & Ends!
Let’s start in the front of the park…
about half (or maybe more) of the entrance turnstiles were closed off on this day.
Lovely view of construction wall from inside the park
A castmember confirmed that they were installing the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) readers for entry. With a lot of the resorts now using the RFID key entry to rooms, I’m guessing that those staying at same resorts will now be able to use the entry readers if their park tickets are tied to their Key to the World card, and Epcot looks to be the first real roll-out of this technology.
Yet another lovely view of the construction wall from inside the park
Let’s just hope they get these finished before the Food & Wine Festival starts, and the system works well, or it could be a huge nightmare when the weekend crowds want to get to their Food & Wine goodness in an expeditious manner!
Mexico Kiosk
As noted in “I get a little bit tingly…“, most of the Food & Wine booths are in place around the World Showcase.
Kimchi please… and some Soju…
But yes, Dear Dedicated Readers, there are more construction walls to try and peer over or through…
For a while there has been a wall up between the Refreshment Port and the Canada pavilion…
now we see that a Disney Vacation Club structure has popped up…
This is obviously larger and more elaborate than the typical DVC kiosk and the construction that you can see seems to make it fit in with the themeing around the Canada pavilion. I’m actually kinda looking forward to seeing the rest of it (and wondering if it’s a permanent addition or something we’ll see just during Food & Wine).
Around a bend or two and over the bridge France is also sporting some construction wall fun.
Construction area in French pavilion
Located on the waterway near the International Gateway, this has been reported by WDWMagic as a new character meet-and-greet area.
Inside the construction area in France
While there’s not much to see right now…
the space is good-sized, so it will be interesting to see if this area is only devoted to Princess Aurora (whose current meet-and-greet is right beside this space), or if any of the other French characters (Belle, Beast and currently Marie the cat) will make appearances there as well.
On the snack food front, the now ubiquitous Agent P again rears his popular beak…
Agent P Sugar Cookie Pop
to adorn a Sugar-Cookie-on-a-Stick.
Mariachi Cobre
In Mexico, Mariachi Cobre is now performing at the side of the gift shop beside the water.
The popular and long-running musical act seems to get moved around a lot – this site is mostly shaded (for the performers at least) and out of the big flow of traffic (which will get even more crowded and constricted during the Food & Wine Festival). It’s a good move from my view.
So that’s pretty much it for this quick look at some doings at Epcot… there will be lots more going on there soon!
I have some food goodness to try & get to you soon, so please stay tuned – now it’s time to get back to the kitchen!
Eating (and Drinking) around the World 
September 20, 2012 at 9:09 pm
After reading your blog for two years, you obviously are an expert when it comes to the Food and Wine Festival, which believe it or not, my husband and I have never been too. However, this year we are actually going to see what it is all about. We are planning on making the trip in October, and I would really appreciate it if you could give me advice in regards to planning. For example, are there packages including hotel and events? Is Epcot the only place where you can sample food? We are really into healthy eating, if that helps. My husband is diabetic, so sweets are out.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Nena
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September 22, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Nena – don’t know if I’m an expert, but here goes…
Disney does not do any packages of rooms with Food & Wine events. Most all the Disney food events are at Epcot (they do host a few special events at restaurants, etc, but all the tastings that don’t require a reservation are in the World Showcase). If there are available rooms and they fit your budget, the Boardwalk area resorts (Yacht/Beach Club and the Boardwalk) are the place to be… a short walk/stagger to the World Showcase.
A couple of non-Disney resorts do have events (and you can get packages for those, but they are not combined with the Epcot events) during Food & WIne.
Swan/Dolphin has their Food & WIne Classic the weekend of Oct 12-13. I love this event (read some about it on the blog) and the resort is walking distance to Epcot. I highly recommend you check this out if you’re going to be here that weekend. Their site is here: http://www.swandolphinfoodandwineclassic.com/
The Bonnet Creek Hilton is also having some weekend events during the time of Food & Wine. I haven’t experienced anything they have done like this, so I can’t comment – but it is a real nice resort and worth looking at (one downside is that their transportation doesn’t run as often as the ones at the Disney resorts). Their site is here: http://www.hiltonbonnetcreek.com/food-wine
Hope that helps!
Andy
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September 23, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Thanks a bunch Andy!!
Nena
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September 22, 2012 at 1:08 am
[…] at Eating (And Drinking) Around the World snapped a ton of shots of all the changes going on in Epcot at the moment. I most love the pictures of the mariachi […]
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September 23, 2012 at 4:31 am
[…] and Drinking Around the World finds a Perry the Platypus sugar cookie pop in […]
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October 28, 2012 at 9:43 pm
[…] but considering the amount of space that had been hidden during the construction (you can check out more during construction views in the September 20, 2012 Epcot Odds & Ends post), I was honestly expecting a little bit more than a bit of extra sidewalk and a […]
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