That’s Amoré

Here we are again,  returning from another trip to Walt Disney World. If you’ve been paying attention, you may recall that I predicted that we would not be visiting the World again until the kiddos were graduated and out of college, but we (I) just couldn’t stay away.  This time, however, we had to leave the boy behind. The timing just wouldn’t allow for him to leave his studies for a week. This will probably be the last trip with Meghan, but who knows?

Every time we go, I like to add new experiences. I will try not to bore you with things that we’ve done before, I will only bore you with the new stuff.  This trip, we were testing out the brandy-new Magic Bands and the whole My Disney Experience planning app. I won’t keep you waiting, it worked out marvelously. First thing, we breezed through the airport and used our bands to board our Magical Express bus. No paper work to fuss with. Winner.

Our first leg of the trip we would be staying at Pop Century as usual. Nothing fancy, just a good location with a clean room and convenient, direct bus service. Many other “value resorts” share busses, which is a real drag at the end of a long day. We checked in at about 11:00pm. It may seem like a waste to arrive late and not get to go to right to the parks but, for me, I’d rather invest in a good night’s sleep and hit the first day rested and ready to go.

Today will be mostly about Food & Wine at Epcot. There will be plenty food photos, so stick with me, but first we are heading to Future World to hit a few attractions. This is where the Magic Bands really come into play.  The major attractions in any of the parks garner hour long-plus waits almost immediately after park opening. The previous solution to this was the traditional FastPass. This meant that you needed to arrive early and do a mad dash to collect your passes before they ran out. A lot of work, but a challenge most of us Disney geeks were up for. With the new system, FastPass+ (Disney, please try and be more creative with naming) I was able to make “reservations” for three attractions per day. Seems weird to pre-plan this, I know, but it made things so much more relaxing. Each day we got to sleep in and were still able walk onto the most popular rides. There was a good amount flexibility as well. Once in the system, I could move times and even change attractions. However, the choices got slimmer as the day went on.

One of the big players at Future World is the newly refurbished Test Track.

The former theme of this ride was more about durability crash tests and weathering the extreme elements etc. This one is all about energy efficiency. Yawn. I honestly liked the old theme better. The actual “ride” part is exactly the same. Still super fun, but I think Disney could have saved their One Hundred Million Dollars and just put a new coat of paint on the old one.

On to the Festival! Sort of.

While the Food & Wine Festival is the main event at Epcot this time of year, there are still so many restaurants and lounges around World Showcase that I really want to try. So, we’ll be making a stop in Italy to put down a base before sampling the wares of the festival.

The themeing of each pavilion begins all the way back to the lagoon. In Italy, you’ll see gondolas docked at the Isola.

The Italy pavilion doesn’t contain any rides or a circle vision movie to lure you in. Because of this, it can easily be over-looked. There are shops selling venetian glass, masks, wines and perfumes and all throughout there’s gorgeous statuary and replicas of landmarks from the different provinces of Italy. You can click Here for a much more comprehensive tour of this pavilion

 

I had been hearing great things about Via Napoli  ever since it’s grand opening in 2010, but it seemed crazy to get just PIZZA during the Food & Wine festival! However, the din of praise got too loud, so we had to go. We snagged an early 11:30 lunch reservation so we’d have plenty of time to gorge ourselves later.

 

The dining room is open and bright. The most eye catching feature is the comical ovens,  named after the three active volcanoes in Italy –- Mount Etna, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli.

In the center of the space is a huge communal dining table. Hmmm… not so sure I’d enjoy that. We were seated at a four top.

Jeff began with a wine flight. I got a sip of each, of course

 

 

Two things about Via Napoli: First, the pizza is very expensive. Second, after you try it you won’t mind one bit. It was highly recommended that we try the quattro formaggi or  four cheese pizza. No sauce, all cheese. Oh my word. 

This pizza did not disappoint. The crust was light and fluffy on the inside with just the right amount char on the outside. Florida has notoriously poor drinking water and I had heard that they imported water from Italy in order to achieve that authentic crust, but they actually found wells in North America that matched the quality and mineral content of that found in Naples. Along with the attention given to the water, Via Napoli imports Caputo flour, thought to be the best for creating the perfect crust. I concur. Despite all that cheese, there was absolutely nothing greasy about this pie. Just perfetto!

This relaxing and scrumptious lunch set the tone for the rest of the trip. No rushing around worrying about what we might be missing by taking a break and enjoying the details. We will continue making our way, eating and drinking around the world in the upcoming posts. At this rate, it should only be fifty or so installments. Just kidding. It won’t be more than forty-five. I promise.

For now I will leave you with a pro-tip. During very busy times of year, you may see a walk up pizza window right next to the Via Napoli Restaurant selling slices to-go. Don’t be fooled . THIS IS NOT Via Napoli pizza!!! It’s just plain old Walt Disney World counter service pizza. If you want the real deal, you need to make your way inside. It’s worth it!

 Until next time, Ciao!