Drink Around the World at Epcot, Disney World

I mentioned yesterday that one of the things on our 25 things to do for our 25th Anniversary was to go to Epcot as adults. We had found this very funny, yet quite informative post titled A Guide to Drinking Around Epcot’s World Showcase at Walt Disney World. We had never heard of Drinking Around the World (DATW), which in case you’ve never heard of either, it’s a challenge where you aim to have a drink at each country in the World’s Showcase. Since we really enjoy challenges, we decided to tackled this project. Thankfully we had willing accomplices, our friends from college days: Ken and Kim Craig.I took careful notes from the above-mentioned article so we knew basically what we wanted to try where.   According to Ken, left is always right at Disney, so our first stop was Mexico (just like in the post).

We took Shaun’s recommendation, and since we were feeling adventurous and he said he wouldn’t judge, we headed to La Cava del Tequila where Jaime gave us a quick lesson in Mexico’s spirits other than tequila. We were fully prepared to just sip some nice tequila, but under his tutelage we ventured into mezcal and sotol. Under his guidance, we tried the Mezcal Zignum Anejo and the Por Siempre Sotol. Ken abstained from tequila but had a Dos Equis prior to entering la cava. Something about him and tequila not being on good terms and that they have an agreement.  Next stop was Norway and although they had Carlsberg beer, the boys decided they wanted to see if they were true Vikings and went for the Aquavit Glacier. They are. I had a taste. It wasn’t bad but certainly not my drink of choice. I am not a true Viking.  Fortified with those two stops, we certainly needed to get food into our bellies since it was now past noon. Unfortunately France was half a world away so we skipped the yummy baguette sandwiches and instead settled for China where I had my first plum wine (as well as a sesame chicken salad). As much as I like wine, I have discovered that I prefer the grape varietals. Plum is better in a crisp. Or a pie. But wine? No.  By now we needed to digest a bit before tackling another round so we skipped past the African outpost and proceeded to Germany. After killing some time in the shops we finally settled down and got on with the challenge. We skipped the Jaegermeister and had a pretzel and beer instead. Michael chose the Hefenweizen Grapefruit beer while Ken had the Oktoberfest. Kim and I “shared” the beers with the boys. (Took a few sips to wash down the pretzel.)

Now we really needed to buy time so we agreed to walk all the way to Canada, skipping past all the other countries. In Canada, we had a lovely beer – probably my favorite from the tour – called Le Fin du Monde. Shaun didn’t give it a good review in his post but we really liked it! We soaked up the sun overlooking a rocky waterfall whilst sipping our cold brews.     We retraced our steps and hit the UK next where we stopped at the Rose and Crown Pub. I was too full to get my own drink so I sipped on Michael’s Black Velvet (Guiness and Strongbow Cider). They had Pimm’s (which I didn’t know or I would have gotten that!).  Duly noted for next time! We sat outside in the public area and hung out enjoying the beautiful day and reminiscing about people we knew a long time ago.  After walking through the shops and the gardens (they have a maze!) we headed back over to France.   We took our picture by the (real) Eiffel tower for our 20th anniversary so we had to take one here for our 25th. We got a Kir Royale in France and then watched the chair guy perform. Wow was he good!  Next, we stopped in Morocco for a Moroccan beer and learned that they also make wine in Morocco! I asked if they made it with grapes or something else (dates?) but the young man assured me that they were made from grapes. (Forgot a picture! Oops!)

It was then time for our dinner reservations in Italy at Via Napoli where we ordered a pitcher of Birra Moretti and pizzas. I got my usual: Margherita senza mozzarella. (I don’t like mozzarella. What can I say.)   My parents’ house in Italy is on Via Napoli and if you’ve been reading Tuesdays with Tina then you know that Napoli is special to our family so this restaurant is aptly named!   I chatted with our server, Silvia, a young woman from Naples, about where she lived and where my mom was from. That was fun for me. 

After Italy we stopped in the USA for a craft beer flight. I saved the slip of paper with what the beers were but I’m too lazy to find it now.   Maybe you can zoom in and read it. There was a lager, and IPA, a red and a stout (maple bacon stout!).  Despite feeling so full, the BBQ smelled really good! Will have to try it next time!   Then it was on to Japan for warm sake. I had never had sake before and my companions assured me that this was not good sake. I’m glad because it tasted like what I image mineral spirits taste like. Eww. After walking through the Japanese gardens we went back to France for dessert.    Did I mention that we were getting full? Well, we were. However, when we realized that the only country missing was Africa (and yes, I realize that Africa is a continent and not a country) we decided that we were going to get a drink there regardless of how we were feeling! This was a marathon! We weren’t going to let a little wall keep us from finishing this challenge!   Michael got the pineapple hard cider and Ken got the mango something or other. (His was the better choice.)

SUCCESS! We completed the DATW challenge. It took about 10 hours but we made it. We celebrated by riding Test Track and watching the fireworks. 

Have you heard of DATW? Where’s your favorite place in Epcot? We are going back this year so I’d love to know! Tell me in the comments so I can start a new list!