Last Monday my wife and I intended to visit Epcot but as we had time in the morning we decided to have a look at Disney-MGM Studios as well.

You enter on Hollywood Boulevard and in front of you there is Mickey's hat in blue with gold stars and moons. It is so big you can't miss it. If you take a right at the hat you are on Sunset Boulevard in California with shops, stalls and restaurants. In front of you is The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror where you can drop thirteen stories at random, into a different dimension. We didn't do the ride, maybe next time!!

We walked back on our selves through Animation Courtyard and took in Walt Disney:One Mans Dream which is a walking tour of Walt's life. It is self guided and there are some interesting exhibits to do with his life and of course Mickey including some porcelain and soft toys from years gone by. At the end there is a fifteen minute  film of his life and it is amazing how he got started from lowly beginnings to build such an empire. It all started with cartoons but after a set back he drew Mickey and things really got going from then on.

After that it was The Great Movie Ride where you travel through classic film scenes and Hollywood moments. As you wait for the ride you can watch a cinema screen showing excerpts of great films like The Searchers with John Wayne, Busby Barclay, Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca and Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones series. Then it was on to the ride and through the animations of famous scenes The Searchers, Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz all with a bit of participation from the tour leader!!

The Streets of America area is film sets of the streets of New York and San Francisco. Check out the photo's.

There was obviously far more to see and do but I do not wish to spoil your visit by describing everything. Make your reservation now at Bahama Bay Resort only minutes from Disney-MGM and a whole lot more.

It was then time to leave the world of film and enter the world of food at Epcot. Check out the photos and write up.

The Wine and Food Festival runs from September 28th to November 11th and my wife and I visited it last Monday.

The are a whole series of things going on surrounding food and drink such as tastings and cooking demonstrations but our interest was in the park itself where you could sample foods from around the world.

We arrived in time for lunch and we visited a number of stalls which were selling foods from various countries. Basically you just go to the ones that interest you and purchase the food you want. The portions are not large so you can visit as many stalls as you want. If you wish you can also purchase local wines and beers to accompany your food.

Of great interest to us was that the China Exhibit had at last been completed and very interesting it was too. There is a model of the Terracotta Army in the Pavilion and a new shop selling all things Chinese.From time to time also there were dancing and gymnastic displays in the courtyard.

Another thing of interest was that Mickeys Wand and Hand had been removed from the golf ball at the entrance to the park. This was to do with the 25th Birthday Celebrations and also had the effect of bringing things more in line with the way that Walt Disney envisioned the Park when he was building it. 

We stayed on to see The Four Tops who were performing on stage for the Eat to the Beat Concert Series. They produced a great sound which took me back to the Tamla Motown days and performed such titles as Reach Out, Bernadette and Baby I Need your Loving. Unfortunately they were on stage for only half an hour and I think the audience would never have let them go they were so good. Performing in the future are The Outlaws, Jon Secada who was great last year, Chubby Checker, The Contours and David Sanborn.

We finished the day off by eating at Tutto Italia the up market restaurant in the Italy section of the park. As previously we had arranged priority seating so there was no waiting around. The meal was excellent from the mainly pasta based menu although there were fish and chicken dishes also. The waiter was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the menu and we took his advice regarding the wine to accompany our meal. He was spot on with his recommendations.

There is obviously so much more to do and see at Epcot than I could adequately describe here. Not only for adults but also for the kid's so make your reservation now at Bahama Bay Resort which is only minutes from Epcot and so much more.

All in all it was a great day and we enjoyed every minute. Check out the Photo's.