Ever since getting my Disney annual pass, the
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival has been one of my favorite events to attend. Great food, great music, great drinks....definitely an event that should not be missed! This year's festival started October 1st and will end on November 14th. The festival features various seminars and demonstrations, a variety of international food and wine tastings, a special concert series, and more. But on this particular day, I was there to see
Boyz II Men!
I started with a quick stop at Mouse Gear, the huge gift shop near Epcot's main entrance. Looks like the Christmas season is quickly upon us! From there, I went on to the World Showcase to grab a quick snack before heading over to the America Gardens Theater for the concert. Oh, and be sure to wave hello to Duffy as you pass by!
The Food & Wine Festival has booths set up all around the World Showcase lagoon, offering food and drinks from
28 different international locations. There is a free passport you can pick up at the Festival Welcome Center that lists all the items available at each booth. You can get your passport stamped along the way to keep track of your delicious journey.
Today I stopped at the South Korea booth for a lettuce wrap with roast pork and kimchi slaw, and Jinro Chamisul Soju (white rice wine). Both were delicious! I hope to come back to the Food & Wine Festival before it ends to try out some of the other tasty selections.
The Boyz II Men concert started at 6:30pm. I arrived around 6:10 and was able to find a seat in the middle section. I was surprised to see that there were already people waiting in line for the 7:45 show. I guess they really wanted to sit in the front! The concert was AMAZING! It lasted about 30 minutes, and the group played some of their biggest hits like "On Bended Knee", "End of the Road", and "Motownphilly". They had a lot of energy and really interacted with the audience, including giving out roses during their performance of "I'll Make Love to You". I had a great time, and am already looking forward to seeing them again next year!
After the concert, I strolled around the World Showcase for a little bit and checked out some of the other Food & Wine booths. For dinner, I decided to eat at the Yakitori House in the Japan pavilion. Beef sukiyaki and teriyaki chicken with white rice...yum! I was also able to catch the end of Boyz II Men's 7:45 concert, and noticed that this performance was a little bit different (this time they sang "A Song for Mama"). All in all, it was a pretty fabulous way to spend a Wednesday evening.
I must admit, I was actually a bit disappointed by the store's size. It wasn't as big as I was expecting, especially for being the "largest" in America. Maybe I was mentally comparing it to World of Disney at Downtown Disney, so I really wasn't that impressed. The 2nd floor is more spacious, and they do have a large variety of different items. From princess gowns to Ridemakerz cars, Tron to Toy Story, and everything in between. I really liked the NYC merchandise on the first floor. It was a bit weird, though, seeing Mickey splashed all over the New York souvenirs. Maybe it's strange, but I found myself thinking, "Mickey doesn't belong here....he belongs to us in Orlando!". Despite this possessive mindset, I still bought myself an exclusive Minnie Mouse Statue of Liberty Vinylmation. :) All in all, I enjoyed visiting the Disney Store in NYC and am happy to see another family-friendly spot in Times Square. 
