We’re back with another in depth look at a specific part of Walt Disney World, this time the Mexico pavilion at Epcot! This is one of our favorite areas of the World Showcase because of all the fantastic food, shopping, and attractions you can find in this beautiful snapshot of Mexico, and we can’t wait to share it with you!
Happy listening!
Join us this week as we take a closer look at the Mexico pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. We’ll take you through the entire pavilion and highlight the food, attractions, shopping and more you can find in this beautiful homage to our North American neighbors to the south!
Happy listening!
We love Epcot and there are lots of things to do there, especially for kids. Here are some things you probably didn’t know you were missing at Epcot!
1. Glowing pathways – At night, part of the sidewalk in Future World glows. You can look down and see it right there under your feet!
2. Lots of water fun – There are splash zones for kids in three places throughout Future World: outside Test Track, on the main drag from Future World to the World Showcase, and one on the way to Mission Space. Be sure to bring dry clothes! Also, you can check out the jumping water fountains.
3. Club Cool – We talk about this a lot but lots of people don’t think to stop there. It’s a great way to quench your thirst for free and soak up a bit of a/c. They have different flavors of Coca Cola sodas right there on tap from many countries around the world, and it’s all free! You can have as much as you like!
4. Gran Fiesta Tour – There is a boat ride with Donald Duck inside the Mexico pavilion and there’s hardly ever a wait for it. It’s one of our favorites. Try it out!
5. Refreshment Port – Boring name, awesome food! This is where you can find the Cronut, winner of our March Madness of Food challenge! We love the Cronut!
You know here at Dole Whipped we are serious about snacking, so on our most recent trip to Walt Disney World, we decided to snack our way around the World Showcase at Epcot. Listen in as we talk about all the food we tried and what we loved and what we didn’t. We had such a great time snacking we wanted to share it with you so you could do your own Snack Around The World adventure!
Happy listening!
And we’re back with the final installment of our Snacking Around the World series. In case you need to catch up, Jamie, Tara, and I did a little research trip to Disney in January 2016 and decided to sample all the snacks that the World Showcase had to offer. If you would like to read part 1 that includes United Kingdom, France and Morocco click HERE and to see what Japan and Germany have to offer (and why not US and Italy) you need to read part 2 and can get there by clicking HERE.
Mexico, Chips & Salsa at La Cava del Tequila
For this stop, our main goal was to have a margarita, but we also decided to grab a snack too. There’s no photo because, well, it’s chips and salsa. It’s not that exciting!
Jamie: I’ve had better chips and salsa for sure. But these did hit the spot for pairing with our margaritas. C+
Shannon: Salsa is meh here. The chipotle smoky flavor was a bit overwhelming. Chips were nice and crispy. C-
Tara: Tara: Clearly these were not great because I had to think a minute to remember having them! Well, first we were having a fun drink too but they need a few more options of snacks in La Cava so I can try more fun drinks. The salsa was not good and the chips did not taste fresh. But they were good in a pinch and helped offset the very strong drinks! C+
China, Egg rolls at Lotus Blossom Cafe
After the drinks and rather disappointing Mexico snack we were pretty hungry and we thought a nice fried snack might be just the thing.
Disney has so much to offer all year round and Christmas is no exception. In fact, all the extras around the holidays actually makes this time of the year more special for many families. Some are inclined only to come during the holidays to take advantage of the many different “extras”. Yes, I know it feels like the holidays JUST ended but it is time to start thinking about taking a Disney trip and deciding between Spring Break, Summer, Food and Wine (or Fall as it sometimes is called) and the Holidays.
If you are thinking about visiting Walt Disney World during the 2015 holiday season you will want to think about the Candlelight Processional and if you are considering the Candlelight Processional I highly recommend the dining package. Typically the Candlelight Processional (“CP”) runs from the end of November through the end of December. It runs only on certain nights and the schedule will start coming out around the beginning of July. Last year, the lunch and dinner packages went on sale July 9th. Now, the schedule of dates may be out then but the celebrity narrators at each date’s performance are not confirmed until closer to the actual dates. The CP is open to everyone (with park admission) and takes place in
Epcot at the American Gardens Theatre. There are three shows a day: the 
“lunch” show was at 5pm and the “dinner” shows were at 6:45pm and 8:15pm. What I mean by this is if you purchase the lunch CP dining package then you will get reserved seating at the 5pm show and if you purchase the dinner CP dining package then you receive reserved seating at either the 6:45pm or 8:15pm show, depending on your reservation time.
We had visited Walt Disney World many times during the holidays and had considered going to the Candlelight Processional but every time we passed by the extremely long line for general seating it was always such a turn off we never made time for it. We kept getting recommendations to go but to purchase the dining package – and so in 2013 (a little over a year ago) we decided to bite the bullet and try it out. Basically, you purchase a reservation at one of the participating Epcot restaurants and with that package it is a ‘pre-set’ price in which you receive an appetizer, entree, dessert and a non alcoholic drink (or one full buffet depending on the restaurant type). Now, first I will admit it is a lot of food. It is more than the dining plan and it is more than most would order if on their own. But, remember this dining package could save you hours of time waiting in line. I am serious about hours, especially as you get closer to Christmas and more locals come out. I have seen and heard where people line up and wait up to two hours! I personally, would pay a few dollars just to not wait so to get a little extra food and try some different options for my money seemed like a good idea (and it was)! We decided to make our dining package reservation at San Angel Inn which is located inside of the Mexico Pavilion (it had been a few years since we had visited this restaurant so it was good that we got to try it out again). We made our reservations so we could see the 8:15 pm show (which meant our dinner was around 4:30pm, so early for us, but we had a light lunch and hey it is vacation we can always cap off our night later with some ice cream if needed). So, we purchased the package (for those wondering it was about $68 per person/adult and $18 per child) or if you are a smart cookie (or work with a great travel agent like one of us Dole Whipped agents then you may have a Disney Dining plan and for 2 Table Service credits you are all set and paid up – minus the tip!)
For those of you that have never been to San Angel Inn – go! Run! It was wonderful and you can not beat the ambiance (unless you are at Blue Bayou in Disneyland and it runs head to head). What could be better than eating in a restaurant that is right next to a boat ride and eating while watching the beautiful boat and happy families floating around with the Three Caballeros.
My meal started with a beautiful Ensalada Cesar (also know as a Caesar Salad). Other appetizers served at our table in the group include: Sopa Aztexa (Tortilla Soup) served with fried tortilla strips, avocado, cheese and pasilla pepper and the favorite Tlacoyos de Chilorio which are corn cakes topped with black refried beans, pork chilorio, queso fresco, sour cream and green tomatillo sauce.
For the main attraction I could not resist the carne asada which was so well done I 
believe it may have been my all time favorite carne asada and just thinking about it makes my mouth water! My carne asada came with a cheese enchilada,mexican rice, black refried beans, guacomole, onions and red bell peppers. We also had at our table Mole Poblano (because who does not need a little Mole sauce in your day?) and came out to be roasted chicken served with poblano rice and a wonderful mole sauce. Last I will mention the table favorite (as well as a chefs favorite) the Lomo de Puerco en Pipian which translates to pork tenderloin served over roasted vegetables and “pipian” ( a mix of pumpkin, chiles and almond sauce). Does it all not sound amazing? Well, if you think it sounds amazing then you will love it.
And yes, we should have all ordered and shared different desserts but we all wanted the Helado De Dulce De Leche (caramel ice cream). We had it before and were fighting over who got to order when we realized we could all order it and get it…no one needed to share. So, that is what we did and no one regretted it!
So basically – if you have not been to San Angel Inn then I hope you go and if you are planning on going around the holidays it is a great time to save some waiting time for CP and get a lot of great food.
Because this event review is for both the Candlelight Processional and the dinner package and San Angel Inn it is a two-part series. I know your anticipation to hear about CP might not be as heightened as it could be because now you are crazy hungry but I promise you there is a lot more to come – including funny stories, beautiful people and a potentially wonderful experience and future memory for you and your family. So keep reading Dolewhipped.com to find our exactly why you should (or should not) make CP a priority for your next holiday trip.
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