November 24, 2011

Eat to the Beat: Epcot Food & Wine Festival 2011

10/31/11

If you consult Urban Dictionary, you'll find this entry about "bananas":

1. a slang word derived from the old saying "bananas" used to describe someone that was crazy. Used now to describe anything in style or cool.


Turns out it also means a half-price, one-size-fits-all costume acquired in mass quantities from K-Mart just hours before Halloween. All definitions seem to fit this situation.

We wanted to dress up for Halloween, but we didn't have the room to pack costumes or the time and money to stop and find new ones. Just as we were about to give up and resign ourselves to the predictable Mickey ears, opportunity presented itself in the form of a $12 polyester banana suit. I picked up one and joked that one of us should wear it. Then we saw the second one lying a few feet away, and the light bulbs went off. Bananas come in bunches.

I have to say I'm a little irked that our costumes were such a hit this year after we spent weeks planning and designing what turned out to be an epic fail last year. Turns out people appreciate the simplicity of a banana more than the complexity of a Hare Band, and that's all there is to it. So we got lots of smiles and cheesy banana jokes thrown our way, and more than a few pictures snapped from a distance. Then there were the people that enjoyed it so much that they asked for pictures with us (most of whom were also enjoying the wine aspect of the food & wine festival). I'd love to see their faces the next day as they looked back at their pictures and went "Wait...I met bananas?" or better yet "Wait...I saw Hanson?" I hope both were a pleasant surprise.

We had a blast dancing around and, well, going bananas (did you really think I'd let it go that easily?). Another highlight of the day? An impromptu M&G with the main event themselves, complete with a kiss on the cheek and a picture to prove it. That's right, I finally met Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Sorry, Hanson. You got trumped.


Hanson went as Storm Troopers:





11/1/11

We spent the second day trying to do everything we didn't get to on day one, which boils down to the Tower of Terror, the Rock 'n' Rollercoaster, and a whole lot of eating.

I ate my way around the world in about three hours.
Coq Au Vin in France

Goulash in Germany

California Rolls in Japan

Strawberry Tart in France

Gelato in Italy

Perogies in Poland (my personal favorite)

Ravioli in Italy

By the end of the night, there was certainly no empty space left deep down inside to mourn the loss of Hanson at the end of another tour.

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