Vegetarian's POV Roundup Rodeo

 By: Robbie

My husband and I were the vegetarians with Nick's party on opening day of Rodeo Roundup, and I'm happy to say that the food did not disappoint! I had a few concerns about mixing it up with the meat eaters at the same table, but Disney understands that sometimes vegetarians hang out with their meat eating friends and that there needn't be any conflicts with that. ☺

Actually I felt that the menu choices catered more to the vegetarians (as in, there weren't any unwanted and surprising bits of bacon added to any of the dishes on the menu), although vegans would have more limited choices. Here's a breakdown:

Cheddar biscuits with pepper jelly. A big old plate of these delicious biscuits came soon after our drinks were served and they did not disappoint. Warm, flakey, buttery and cheesy. What's not to like? Pepper jelly accompanied the biscuits, but really, it wasn't needed. I thought it was a little too sweet, geared more to children, than the stuff my grandmother used to make, so after tasting a bit of the jelly, I basically ignored it. I didn't need butter with these biscuits, but others might like that. 

Salads. A trio of salads were shared among the table that included a tomato salad, kale/Caesar salad, and watermelon salad. I'm not really sure what makes the kale salad non-vegan. They called the dressing "green goddess" , but it wasn't like the bottled green goddess dressing I was used to. Otherwise, the rest of the salads were vegan and quite delicious. Tomatoes tasted like tomatoes are supposed to taste and the watermelon was cool, sweet and delicious. I could have had that for dessert!

Sides. I could have made a full meal from all the sides! The table got to choose four dishes from eight available side dishes, of which three are vegan. We chose a carb heavy set that included married potatoes (potato barrels with a cheesy gravy), mac and cheese, street corn (delish!), and baked beans (vegan). 

Round up chow (main dishes). Our choice for vegetarians included a platter of roasted cauliflower, plant based sausage, and riblets. Honestly, it wasn't the best. If you like plant based meats, you'll enjoy it, but I find plant based sausage to have way too much sodium, and this was the ordinary bratwurst you find in supermarkets. The "riblet" was seasoned impossible burger shaped on a stick. It was similar to the kofta meatballs you can find over at Docking Bay 7 in the Felucian Garden dish, but was really kinda dry and hard. Thank goodness for the trio of BBQ sauces available to help that one out. The cauliflower had an interesting flavor, however, the way it was cut was just weird, as it was like they quartered a huge cauliflower so there were two huge chunks of it in the platter. I did like the flavor of it, though. 

Dessert. Each person gets to choose one from five. There was only one vegan choice, which is peach strawberry pie, and the one I chose. Others include lemon blueberry cheesecake, chocolate silk pie, apple pie and a cupcake. These are all served in small mason jars, with the exception of the cupcake. Mine was just okay so I would choose something different next time.

All in all, we really enjoyed our meal and would definitely go back for more. 

Roundup Rodeo BBQ at Disney's Hollywood Studios

 By Nick:

Andy has built all of us toys a new sit down restaurant in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and he's having a barbecue to celebrate! 

Thanks to our friend Brian, Barbie, me, and a whole posse had the great pleasure to attend on opening day!

Andy did a bang up job with the construction, and he let his imagination run wild...

 

 

You may notice there is a day and night side, because I didn't put that together until looking at photos later that evening, because there is so much to look at! Or I'm not very attentive to detail! I found the darker area was very peaceful despite the background noise, because, as Barbie commented, it was very loud. 

 The night side is also not super conducive for getting great people pics.

There are also plenty of fun moments, but I'll leave that for you to discover, because now it's time for some food.

The menu is family style, $45 for adults, $25 for children 3-9.

We were brought The Prospector’s Homemade Cheddar Biscuits with Sweet Pepper Jelly first. The biscuits were very soft, but Barbie and I were not fans of the sweet pepper jelly. That is just a personal preference, as it was good, just not what we were in the mood for. Next visit, I'll request butter, because the rolls are very good. Or you can use them to make a sandwich with, lets say, brisket, like Barbie did once the meat arrived.

Immediately following the biscuits, we were served, Rootin’ Tootin Tomato Salad - Cucumbers, Pickled Red Onion, White Balsamic Vinaigrette (Plant-based), Rex’s Romaine and Kale Salad - Apples, Dried Cranberries, Pumpkin Seeds, Green Goddess Dressing, and Wheezy’s Watermelon Salad - Fresh-torn Mint (Plant-based), all of which were delicious, with the salad being my favorite because of the Green Goddess Dressing, which I need to find a recipe of.

We each picked a side which we shared, Mean Old Potato Salad - Homestyle Red-skinned Potatoes, The Married Spuds - Loaded Potato Barrels, Veggie Slaw (Plant-based), and Slinky Doooooooooog's Mac & Cheese. The Mac and Cheese was tasty, with goldfish crumbles, the slaw a vinegar based standard, the spuds are tater tots, which, while they say are loaded, are covered in a savory gravy, and the standout to me was the potato salad.

Then there is the meats. Evil Dr. Smoked Ribs, Buttercup's Beef Brisket, There’s a Sausage in my Boot - Fire-grilled Pork Sausage, BBQ Chicken - with Style. They were all great. I rank this barbecue above Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge, on par with Regal Eagle at Epcot, and just below The Polite Pig at Disney Springs. And I mean just. The sauces aren't as strong, however, but Barbie found mixing the Sweet, Classic, and Spicy a perfect blend. My favorites were the sausage and the chicken. Salmon was also available upon request, and it was perfectly grilled and flaky.

Vegetarians are not forgotten, and there is a plant based option that my friend Robbie was kind enough to review, so please check that out…

https://thedisneyexchange.blogspot.com/2023/03/vegetarians-pov-roundup-rodeo.html?m=1

More food is available upon request, and request we did. But we did (barely) get a round of the desserts, and they were all terrific, with one exception. Bo’s Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake, Billy’s Chocolate Silk Pie, Goat’s Apple Pie, Gruff’s Peach-Strawberry Pie (Plant-based), and Cupcake à la Forky For Lil’ Riders, Gooey Chocolate Cake, Graham Cracker, Buttercream, Sugar Cookie.  Barbie and my favorites were the chocolate silk pie, and the cheesecake. That one exception was the Forky cupcake, which was fine, but couldn't compare to the jars of love, as I am going to refer to them from here on out.

Over all, this was an excellent, fun, and imaginative experience, and we look forward to returning! 

 Yee-Haaaaaw!

EPCOT : Garden Rocks Regal Eagle Dining Package

By: Nick 

One of my favorite albums of all time is Blue Oyster Cult's "Agents of Fortune." Then there are incredible tunes like Godzilla, Burnin' For You, Career of Evil, to name a few, which are among my all time favorite songs. Yet I never saw them live. Cut to a few weeks ago, and I see that they're on the list of musical acts playing EPCOT's International Flower and Garden Festival's Garden Rocks Concert Series March 19th and 20th! To say I was excited is an understatement.

I planned on trying the Regal Eagle Dining Package, as I love their food, and thought $35 a reasonable price to pay to get good seating without waiting in line. 

Regal Eagle Smokehouse is located at The American Adventure Pavilion, across from America Gardens Theater. Their barbecue is fantastic, up there with The Polite Pig in Disney Springs, and I've never had a meal I didn't love.

At this point I will share that I've become completely lax in planning since moving here, because I never bothered to find out how the dining package worked. 

Here was my experience:

I walked into Regal Eagle about 4:25, as the sign out front said there was still limited availability for all 3 shows. I walked up to register and asked about the package. The Cast Member was unfamiliar with how to ring it up, so asked a manager that was nearby. She came back, took a ticket out, stamped the date, and tried to ring up my order. But it wasn't taking, so she asked another Cast Member nearby who asked what show I wanted to attend. I said 5:30, to which he explained that dining packages should be made 2 hours prior to show time. I was about to say that was fine, I'd take it for the 6:45 show, when he said he'd ask his manager. She gave the okay to make an exception, but I want to stress this was an exception.  After the first show, I walked by the sign again, and it was updated to all shows being sold out. I also noted that it doesn't specifically state that there is a 2 hour window.

The package includes entree, drink and dessert, so I ordered the Memphis Dry Rub Pork Ribs, a Coke, and the Tiana Banana Pudding.  

There is plenty of seating inside and out, and I took my dinner to a bench outside as it was a lovely cool day. As an unexpected and mind blowing bonus, I got to sit and eat while watching BOC doing sound check.

The ribs were tender and juicy, the sauces are always good, the coleslaw could use some salt, and the pudding was delicious.

When I walked over to enter at a little after 5 for the 5:30 show, I was brought to a section to the left of the stage, and there was plenty of space to sit in the front row! Oh, and the ticket is a sticker!

For $35 I got about $25 worth of food, and an awesome seat in the front row. It was a packed show in the rest of the theater, but the dining section wasn't crowded at all. 

 Relative to the sit down restaurant packages, which start at $60, I feel it's a good bargain.

All that being said, you may be able to get a better viewing spot waiting in line, or, as was the case for the 6:45 show, no line at all. I literally walked in at 6:30 and was able to get an aisle seat with a great view, and I could've gotten even closer if I didn't mind sitting mid row.

Then again, if I hadn't been in the front, I would not have gotten this awesome shot of rock icon and original founding BOC member, Eric Bloom! 

 

Will you be at Flower and Garden this year, and will you be seeing a show?

EPCOT'S Preparations for the 2023 International Flower and Garden Festival

 By Nick 

Even as the 2023 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts is wrapping up, (the last day is today, 2/20, actually), preparations are well underway for the Flower & Garden Festival, which begins on March 1st and runs through July 5, 2023. Many gardens, displays, and topiary's have been springing up recently.

 Elsa and Anna at EPCOT's World Showcase Norway Pavilion 

 Lady and the Tramp at EPCOT's World Showcase Italy Pavilion 

 Flower, Thumper, and Bambi can be found by the Canada Pavilion.

 Peter Pan, Hook, Tick-Tock, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, and Pooh

can all be found at the United Kingdom Pavilion

 Woody, Bo Peep, and this lovely butterfly are between The Seas with Nemo and Friends and The Land Pavilion in EPCOT's World Nature section.

 When you see these flower beds located in World Celebration, 

you know the Flower and Garden Festival and Spring are just around the corner.

Will you be attending this year's EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival?

Alternative Fireworks Viewing Spots: Gasparilla Island Grill at the Grand Floridian Resort

 By: Nick

If you want to enjoy fireworks, but don't want to deal with the crowds, there are many places from which to view them, and you may even be able to hear the music as well. As an added bonus, you can also avoid the hoard rushing to get out of the park. 

 The spot we're looking at here is a lovely seating area outside of Gasparilla Island Grill, the counter service restaurant at the Grand Floridian Resort.

As you can see,  it has a fabulous view of Cinderella Castle. I have, however, heard people expressing dissatisfaction that the fireworks aren't directly over the castle. 

 I actually love the dynamic of the in park pyrotechnics with the larger aerial fireworks, and the reflection off of Seven Seas Lagoon. 

Also, there is usually music pumped through speakers, but the evening we were there, music was not playing due to the lines feeding the speakers being cut by construction. If the wind is blowing right, you can still sometimes hear the soundtrack all the way from Magic Kingdom.

So, there are pros and cons, but if you aren't interested in dealing with a swirling mass of humanity at the end of the day and still want to experience the magic of a Disney Nighttime Spectacular, this is a great alternative. I'll be sharing more in the future, so please come back, and invite your friends!

Construction at Epcot Update

Video: Nick - Photos: courtesy of Brian Charles Kohn 

I'm excited for the new additions coming to EPCOT's... I still call it Future World. 

Yes, I know there are now "neighborhoods," which are World Discovery, World Showcase, World Celebration and World Nature, but I can barely remember what day it is, never mind all of THAT!

It's very fortunate that I have a friend who is on top of these things, and he put together these reference photos to share on the Facebook group he is a moderator on, Walt Disney World Tips and Tricks, which shows where the new additions will be located.

 Video I took 2/12/2023:

 

Completion of these various projects is tentatively scheduled for later in 2023.

The Many Moods of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

 By: Nick

 Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a complex attraction.

To begin with, as of the time I'm writing this, you either need to get a virtual queue spot, or buy an individual lightning lane just to experience it. 

There are 6 different songs you may get when riding:

• “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
• “Disco Inferno” by the Trammps.
• “Conga” by Miami Sound Machine.
• “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears.
• “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls.
• “One Way or Another” by Blondie. 

For the holiday season, there was a holiday remix including bits from several Christmas standards, which neither Barbie or I were fond of.

As locals, we have been on at least a dozen times, and each time is a different. 

The mood you're in can influence just how your ride goes.

Have I eaten enough? Not enough? I don't think you want to eat too much before, but DON'T go on an empty stomach.

Alcohol or maaaybeee CBD? If you get the timing right, this can be an almost religious experience, and I'm not even kidding. 

The first time I rode was a Disney Vacation Club preview and I was too excited/anxious to truly focus on specifics. We were in the front row, and the song was "I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls, but I honestly didn't even recall, Barbie had to tell me. 

We re-rode and got "Everybody Wants to Rule the World.'

Full disclosure... I was on CBD, and it was the most perfect timing to get this lovely melodic and harmonious song. Following the ride, the friends we had just ridden with looked at Barbie and I with an expression of awe, and we all agreed it was next level spectacular. I'm not going to lie... I was on the verge of tears. It was THAT amazing. 

Since that first day, we've gotten all of the songs.

The songs have a huge influence on the overall perception. 2 examples from recently, I was with friends, and in the front row, and we got Everybody Wants to Rule the World, in the front row, and I was at a very harmonious place on CBD. 

                                            

Then, just the other night, we got "September." Barbie and I had gotten it previously, and it became Barbie's favorite, while I thought it was just okay. 

But this particular night, "September" wound up hitting the mood PERFECTLY, and has moved up as a contender of favorite. 

What I'm trying to say, after all this, is Guardians is NOT just an attraction, it is AN EXPERIENCE that can be enjoyed on many repeat visits!

Enjoy the ride!