{"id":1883,"date":"2014-09-21T16:30:56","date_gmt":"2014-09-21T23:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=1883"},"modified":"2014-09-21T16:32:43","modified_gmt":"2014-09-21T23:32:43","slug":"travel-the-world-at-epcot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/1883\/travel-the-world-at-epcot","title":{"rendered":"Travel The World At Epcot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Epcot

Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival gives park guests taste of worldwide culture<\/p><\/div>\n

Rick Sylvain, a newspaper travel writer from Detroit, had already seen the rest of the world when, almost 20 years ago, he decided to settle down at Walt Disney World. \u201cI saw more of the world than I\u2019d ever dreamed of seeing, and it was a pleasure, but travel doesn\u2019t have to be far to be fun, and it was always a grin to write about Disney,\u201d says Sylvain. Working in public relations at the iconic Orlando resort still brings a smile to his face. \u201cIf I\u2019m in the park and I see a little girl in a princess dress, or a grandparent dancing, or a stockbroker wearing Mickey Mouse ears, those are the moments that resonate with me and make me glad to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given his background, it makes sense that Walt Disney World\u2019s Epcot Center is his favorite of the themed parks. \u201cEpcot is transporting and transforming. Among its\u2019 attractions are 11 countries around a lagoon and in typical Disney fashion we try to make those faraway places as realistic as possible in amazing detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

That amazing detail, through November 10, will include even more international authenticity during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, when countless other cuisines and cultures \u2013 from Patagonia to Puerto Rico \u2013 will be celebrated with tastings ranging from empanadas to escargot. Swill Limoncello in Venice or Riesling in Hamburg, for instance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to nosh and sip your way around the park and, in a sense, around the world,\u201d says Sylvain. There\u2019s no extra charge with no passport required, though you\u2019ll meet \u201ccast members\u201d presenting each international exhibit who are actually from France, Germany, Norway, China, etc. The festival will also offer after-hours street parties and premium dining experiences. \u201cThe elevation of the food and beverage product over the time I have been here is amazing. We\u2019re not just Mickey Bars and turkey legs anymore. Walt Disney World now has restaurants that can stand with any in the country. \u2018Victoria and Alberts,\u2019 in our Grand Floridian Hotel, is one only three five-diamond restaurants in the entire state of Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sylvain says savvy park-goers know the crowds are smallest \u2013 and therefore the attraction lines shortest – in the autumn when you can also make reservations at Disney\u2019s special, private Halloween parties (think black and orange fireworks) and Christmas receptions (think \u201cFrozen\u201d). And Disney\u2019s themed resort hotels are offering 30-percent off room nights now until just before Christmas. At busier times of year, or any time, Sylvain says Disney now offers \u201cMy Magic Plus,\u201d an innovative way to avoid long lines. \u201cYou go online at DisneyWorld.com, create an account, buy your park tickets, and at no extra charge you can then reserve the attractions and experiences you prefer ahead of time. You\u2019ll get a coded wristband in the mail which allows you to breeze your way around the park and not stand in lines.\u201d<\/p>\n

An on-property stay at Disney\u2019s Swan and Dolphin hotels provides quiet, sophisticated lodging walking distance or a short boat ride from Epoct\u2019s World Showcase gate. Celebrity Chef Todd English\u2019s bluezoo or Don Shula\u2019s Steakhouse are among the high end dining options, and the connected hotels present an additional Food and Wine Classic Oct. 31-Nov. 1.<\/p>\n

Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at\u00a0<\/em>InviteYourself@aol.com<\/a>\u00a0or via TravelTattler.com\u00a0His talk show can be heard weekday mornings in\u00a0Lansing\u00a0on 92.1 FM and Fox 47 TV.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rick Sylvain, a newspaper travel writer from Detroit, had already seen the rest of the world when, almost 20 years… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":1884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[606,597860,998678,3722,1044565,4617,2834],"class_list":["post-1883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel","tag-florida","tag-vacation","tag-epcot","tag-halloween","tag-travel","tag-disney","tag-michigan"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2014\/09\/EpcotJpeg-e1411342242455.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1883"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1886,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883\/revisions\/1886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}