photo courtesy of cafetricot on flickr

Fans of Disney’s Tokyo DisneySea may be familiar with the very popular bear, Duffy, who graces the park as a character, plush toy and many, many other forms of merchandise. As the story goes, (you knew there was a story, right?) Mickey Mouse was about to leave on a long sea voyage. Minnie gave him a stuffed bear so he wouldn’t get lonely. Mickey kept the bear duffel bag, and the name “Duffy” was born. Aww.

Duffy has his very own Disney site in Japanese, an unofficial Facebook page, countless flickr photos and ebay auctions for bears, outfits and more. He was for sale, though not referred to as Duffy, simply “The Disney Bear” briefly at Walt Disney World, making character appearances during Teddy Bear Weekends here in Florida. I happened to have purchased one back when my 11 year old was first born. I think I loved him more than my son did. Since I have a a love for all things Japanese as well, I was pretty excited about Duffy coming here to Epcot, in the Japan pavilion – my favorite spot in World Showcase!

The good news for annual passholders is they will get a sneak preview and special hour-long presentation all about Duffy on September 18, 2010, at 11am, 2pm and 6pm at the Odyssey restaurant in Epcot. Reservations for this event open Tuesday, Aug. 31, at DisneyWorld.com/passholder to all current Disney World passholders. However, Weekday Select and Epcot After 4 p.m. passholders will need valid admission to Epcot. To read more about the details, check out Kristen Ford’s story on The Daily Disney. Duffy should begin making regular appearances in World Showcase’s Japan pavilion in October.

I can’t wait to sign up and be there for Duffy madness to arrive here in Florida. Hopefully he will receive as warm a welcome as he did in his Japanese home. Okaeri nasai, Duffy!

My own Duffy, getting ready to surf the internets.

The new kid on the block, Via Napoli has been getting quite a reception. Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to who’s been at Disney World has wanted to try it and loved it when they did. The pizza is a much needed high quality and consistently-good option for World Showcase and Epcot. What about the rest of the menu, though? What’s worth trying? I’ve now been to Via Napoli three times in total since its opening and it is quickly becoming a favorite. As with any restaurant, however, quality is sometimes dependent on the day of the week, and other conditions that you just cannot predict.

My second visit was with my husband. First, we ordered some drinks – the Lemon Drop for me and the Sangria for him. Mine was very strong and very good. The sangria was just as good as at the preview. We then ordered the Calamari Fritti appetizer, since it’s always a family favorite and was so delicious at the preview. The first thing we noticed is this is definitely not an appetizer for two people to share. It was huge! The calamari were cooked perfectly, but there was a little less salt than at the preview, which is part of what made them so good then I think. Still, they were great and we weren’t disappointed at all.

Next up, I tried the Piccante pizza, while my husband ventured into the pasta choices for the Candele, candle-stick shaped pasta with meatballs, a sausage sauce, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. The whole thing was baked and you are served a large square of it. It was, in a word, heavenly. My husband loved it and if I was ever not in the mood for pizza, I would definitely order it. It was just the perfect combination of cheesy, pasta and meaty goodness. The Piccante is a wonderful pizza full of spicy sausage and stalks of bitter broccoli rabe. I think it was a little too bitter for me to be enjoyable, but I’m glad I tried it.

Candele baked pasta

Piccante pizza

Then, as if we hadn’t gorged ourselves enough, we had to try some desserts. I decided to go with the full-sized version of the mini Gelato Frizzante we’d sampled at the opening. My husband tried the “Ugly But Good” sundae – Coppa Di Brutti Ma Buoni an Amarena cherry and vanilla gelato sundae with homemade cookies crumbled on top. My Gelato Frizzante was soooo goood. I can’t even begin to tell you. The perfect mix of the sweet vanilla gelato with the slightly sour orange Pellegrino. I have to advise again, that this is way more than one person can eat so sharing is a good idea here.

Gelato Frizzante - delizioso!

Good But Ugly sundae - Looks pretty to me!

I also tried a Cafe Freddo, simply because it’s almost impossible for me to turn down coffee of any kind when it’s available. This was a delicious, sweetened espresso drink over ice. I took it with me to go since I really had no room for it after I ordered it. Good to know there’s some great coffee options here though.

Cafe Freddo

My next visit was last week, meeting up with some of my fellow Walt Disney World Moms Panelists. I need to mention that two of these panelists are over 6 foot tall men, so we were prepared for a lot of food! Disney Dad Chris ordered us some Arancini – saffron risotto balls with a meat ragu and mozzarella inside – $10, as well as the Fritto Misto platter – an assortment of just-fried arancini, mozzarella, calamari, melanzane (eggplant), asparagus, zucchini and carciofi (artichokes), Agro-Dolce sauce; Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce $24. As I thought at the preview, the arancini are a little on the bland side. I know many people aren’t into spicy things though, so they might enjoy them. The Fritto Misto was, unfortunately, a little disappointing. The calamari were rubbery, while the eggplant probably could’ve been cooked a bit longer. I’m sure if we had said anything, they would’ve re-cooked the platter for us but we had so much, it wasn’t too big of an issue. Just important to note that in fried things, every second does count and can make or break a first impression of a dish.

Arancini

Fritto Misto platter

We then ordered the half-meter pizza to share, split between the Piccante and the Quattro Formaggi. Both kinds were wonderful as usual, and in fact this time, the Piccante had much less broccoli rabe on it, so perhaps my first pizza was an anomaly. Even with the four of us, we had about 5 pieces of pizza left. We had no room for dessert that time around either. Disney Mom Amanda A. and I shared a pitcher of Sangria, which I highly recommend if more than one person is ordering Sangria. At $8 a glass and $19 for a pitcher, we got quite a few glasses out of it and still had some left over. I think Disney Dad Bernie, Chris and Disney Mom Amanda A. shared my opinions, but you’ll have to ask them!

So overall, my impression of Via Napoli is that the pizza is up to par each and every time, but just be aware that things like fried items may vary in consistency depending on who’s in the kitchen that day. Don’t be afraid to let your server know it’s not as it should be though, everyone we’ve experienced there has been more than accommodating to every request we had. Don’t be afraid to try something new and figure out what items are your favorites! I know we’ll be making a lot more visits in the future (still haven’t brought my kids there yet!) and experiencing more of the wonderful menu Via Napoli has to offer.

While visiting Epcot’s World Showcase again last night, the weather was off and on rain showers all day. The temperature was only around 78º but the “feels like” was at 105º due to the humidity. As a result, when we strolled through Japan, we were treated to a special effect from the mist that puffs out of the bamboo area of the zen garden. The fog had started to hang in the air, lingering like a shroud and making us feel as if we were actually in the Japanese countryside for a moment. It was beautiful and serene. Now if only I’d seen Totoro…

Click to see full-sized.

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Ok, so Dean Martin said love was king, but he never tried the pizza at Via Napoli now did he? I was among those lucky enough to get a taste yesterday at the Via Napoli grand opening celebration and I can’t wait to return. Of course there has been a lot of buzz about Via Napoli online since it was first announced it would join the World Showcase family of restaurants. Fears swirled that adding a new element to an existing country pavilion would disrupt the look and flow of our beloved Italy, while others felt an expansion was necessary and eagerly awaited its arrival. Me? Well, I am used to Boston pizza, where Dominoes is a 4-letter word and places like Bertucci’s once took the pizza chain restaurant up to date and into the land of the brick oven. Knowing there would now finally be a place to get authentic Neapolitan pizza in Epcot, I was a fan before I even got there.

All images not watermarked are ©Disney

Now I know, everyone just wants to know how good the pizza is, but please indulge me as I discuss what makes Via Napoli such a satisfying experience…First of all, look at the picture above – how beautiful is that? So authentic-looking and inviting, isn’t it? Before we venture inside, lets take a look at the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Epcot Vice President Dan Cockerell, Patina Group CEO Nick Valenti, legendary chef and Patina Group and founder Joachim Splichal and of course, Mickey and Minnie, in their finest Italian couture!

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In keeping with the Japan theme…

I love this angle of Illuminations from Japan. Beautiful!

photo ©Benjamin Thompson used with permission

I’ve always loved surprises. Back in the 80′s when I collected stickers, I can’t tell you how many “goodie bags” my mom bought me in the local sticker shop just because not knowing what was in there made it that much more exciting and enticing for me. I can’t say I’ve changed much since then – I still love mysteries where you get a prize in the end. So of course I love special things like the Pick a Pearl station in Japan’s Mitsukoshi store in Epcot. I still have the first pearl I got at a similar set-up in Silver Springs with my sister. I finally decided my kids should get to experience the fun so a little while back they got to pick their own pearls and see what awaited them inside.

Here’s how it works:

First, you go to the register and pay for the pearls you want to pick.

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Disney certainly is no stranger to circus themes, what with the whole Dumbo/Casey Jr. connection. However you may be surprised to hear there is actually a circus-themed lounge and bathroom within a now long-extinct attraction inside Epcot. A little bit of “The Greatest Show on Earth without the scary clowns.

The Wonders of Life today...

The former home of the Wonder Cycles now waits for special festival events.

I know it’s no secret that Wonders of Life has been used for festival events both during the Epcot Flower and Garden and Food & Wine Festivals, but I actually had not been inside the building since around 2003. I recently attended a preview event held in the pavilion and as sad as it was to see no Cranium Command marquee, Wonder Cycles with video screens, or Body Wars, my sadness was quelled by a trip upstairs to the VIP lounge. I wish I’d taken pictures of the elevator because it really was beautiful; dark wood, mirrors on all sides, you could watch yourself watching yourself watching yourself riding the elevator.

Once upstairs, you are greeted with an instant circus theme. I know in the past for Food & Wine Festival dinners, the reception area had a full-on red and white striped tent treatment going on. I was able to find some pictures on a Disney fan message board of how the space is used for wedding receptions:

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I’ll be heading to Epcot later today for a secret mission, in uncharted space! Ok, not really, but I will be going there to get a special report for my friend and blogger extraordinary, AJ at the Disney Food Blog. Be sure to watch her site for my findings! In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful shot of the where I first fell in love with EPCOT. Also, don’t forget the ZannaLand Blogiversary Giveaway ends tomorrow night – have you entered?

One of my very favorite views of Epcot - the Imagination pavilion!

Photo ©Vanessa Guzan

After a short break, the Disney Photo of the Day is returning! I thought this was an appropriate start to the holiday weekend here in the U.S.

From The American Adventure in Epcot's World Showcase - one of my favorite attractions!

Photo ©Vanessa Guzan

Captain EO's original poster design

Captain EO was one of the first topics I covered  a year ago when I started blogging about Disney. I had just heard the sad news of Michael Jackson’s death, and felt the need to share some of my happy memories and give whatever tribute I could at that time. There was much chatter on twitter and elsewhere wondering if and hoping that Captain EO would return to the Disney Parks in memory of Michael Jackson. Disneyland was the first to experience the film again in February and Walt Disney World fans were happy to hear of its triumphant return this summer, with Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland rounding out the film’s engagement this summer.

Beginning July 2, fans of all ages will get to see the film for the first, or perhaps 100th time. I was invited to preview (or is that re-preview?) the film today to see the new enhancements promised with the movie’s return to its original home in the Magic Eye Theatre next to Journey into Imagination. As with most fans of the original EPCOT Center, there are so many memories tied to the time period that Captain EO was born into. As much as I loved the original 3D film Magic Journeys, Captain EO was a first rate replacement. I’m trying to think of a similar musical artist who could star in a film produced today and receive the acclaim that Captain EO did in its time…and coming up blank. There is a reason there was such a ground swell of support to bring this piece of musical, film and technological history back where it belonged. Can you tell I’m a fan?

The original Captain EO logo sign from 1986

I wasn’t alone in that sentiment today. Cast members previewing the show cheered as they entered the theatre and throughout the movie. Michael Jackson, and in turn Captain EO, are still King.

It was heartwarming to hear Dan Cockerell, Vice President of Epcot, trying to locate the original plans for the Captain EO triangle sign that used to hang at the entrance to the theatre. It turns out they didn’t need the plans at all, the sign was hanging on an office wall – untouched for 16 years since the film left Epcot. They simply applied a new coat of paint and returned the sign to its rightful home.

The new effects fit in seamlessly and definitely add to the enjoyment of the movie. I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say you’ll feel like you’re right in the movie now in addition to dancing out the aisles as you exit.

It was also amazing to see just how many people had not seen the original film at all – not surprising, given the average age of new cast members just joining the company, but amazing nonetheless (and definitely makes me feel ancient!). They certainly did not sound disappointed and the film, the story, and the music have stood the test of time. Even my two older children are excited to see Captain EO in person. My son in particular has become a huge Michael Jackson fan over the year since he passed away and it really makes me happy that he can see the musical genius and artistry he with which he was synonymous.

If nothing else, Captain EO is a gift to the fans of his music; fans of a different time when Epcot was EPCOT. I for one, am grateful for that gift. It truly is a work of art to be preserved and passed along and I am thankful to Disney for giving it back to the fans today. I cannot wait to bring my children back to see Captain EO again and again, as my parents did with me, 24 years ago.

Enjoy some more photos from today’s event:

Captain EO preshow area, showing the original behind-the-scenes footage. Imagineer fans, be sure to look for 1980's Joe Rohde!

Dan Cockerell introducing Captain EO and sharing a bit of history with the audience.

Fans exiting the preview of Captain EO (cameo by Deb Wills from Allears.net!)

Captain EO Merchandise!! I have it on good authority that Fuzzball will be here by the end of the summer!! Maybe my original Fuzzball needs a friend??