Food and Wine Festival

Inside the Chase Visa Lounge at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival

4 November 2012 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

Chase is one of the main sponsors of Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival, and this year they are offering something special for Chase cardholders. Located behind the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience, the lounge is reserved exclusively for Chase debit and credit Cardmembers. Simply show your card to a Cast Member for access. Inside, cardholders can enjoy a refreshment or just relax between trips around the World Showcase for the 17th annual Food and Wine Festival.

Chase Visa Lounge Epcot — The Chase Visa Lounge

The stripes giveaway that this was once part of the whole circus theme enjoyed by the VIP lounges within the former Wonders of Life pavilion. The circus colors may have been toned down here and in the Wonders VIP lounge and Carousel Room upstairs, but they stand as a reminder of what once was at EPCOT Center.

This is a wonderful addition to the Festival and, I hope, one that returns each year. It’s the perfect combination of what every guest wants, a free drink, a place to charge your phone, and a comfy chair in the air conditioning. The interactive map was really fun to play with too. A+ to Chase and Disney!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience – A Chocoholic’s Dream

4 November 2012 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

In addition to the new Terra vegan booth and the Chase Visa Lounge, also new at the 2012 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is the Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience. When I heard the title of this exhibit, I was thrilled. Chocolate. Experience? Sign me up!

Located inside the Festival Center in the former Wonders of Life pavilion, you can smell the sweet aroma of chocolate as you approach the Ghirardelli area. At the entrance, Cast Members offer you a Ghirardelli sample, just as they do at the Downtown Disney location. Yum. Inside you can learn about the process of making chocolate, from the “bean to the bar” and also purchase a small cup of Drinking Chocolate. It is basically like drinking melted chocolate chips, and heavenly. Wine is also available for purchase.

In the back of the Ghirardelli area is a fun display of amazing artistic creations by Disney chefs, made entirely of chocolate. Be sure to check them out! The Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience is open daily from 9:00 a.m. through park close.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience — Wine and drinking chocolate at the Ghirardelli exhibit

Ghirardelli Chocolate Experience chocolate displays — Amazing chocolate art from Disney chefs – image ©AttractionsMagazine

Be sure to check it out before the Food and Wine Festival ends on November 12!

The Greatest Bathroom and Lounge On Earth!

9 July 2010 by Suzannah Otis 24 Comments

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.

Wonders of Life pavilion — The Wonders of Life today…

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: