I just returned from another whirlwind weekend at WDW and I could not believe how much was going on! The Princess Half Marathon was the big “on property” happening, not to mention the Daytona 500 to the north and the huge Downtown Food and Wine Festival at Lake Eola. Had I known about the festival, I may have made plans to attend but my agenda was pretty full with my birthday celebrations and other commitments I had made around that with friends. I did catch the highlights thanks to the local news coverage and will keep it in mind for next year.
But on the topic of food, this brings me to the subject of my article today. I usually spend the bulk of my time at Epcot and World Showcase when I am in town. They are both large in area and can accommodate crowds better. And with me being a major “foodie” anyway, it’s just a natural fit for me to be there.
Monday morning I decided to spend the few hours I had before heading back to the airport at World Showcase. I planned to have lunch, see some of the country specific entertainment and basically kill some time.
As I make my way around, I like to check out the menus from each restaurant and kiosk to see if there are new offerings, price changes, etc. I stopped in Japan for a beverage and as I sat along the promenade I could smell the funnel cake stand from the American Adventure pavilion. Not that I wanted one, but I thought I would make my way over there to see the preparations for the upcoming Flower and Garden Festival.
Toy Story’s Woody is back and situated outside the BBQ stand. The craft beer location was stocking up for a busy day and the steam was billowing out of the funnel cake kiosk. I made my way across the plaza and took a look at the Liberty Dining Hall menu. It was at that moment I got the inspiration for this article.
The American Pavilion dictated the very landscape of World Showcase. The elevation rises as you walk around the promenade on either side as you approach the show building just to accommodate the underground rail system for the American Adventure sets and props. The pavilion itself is the largest and houses one of the most technical and complex mechanical shows on Disney property.
Originally it was to be at the “entrance” to World Showcase in an elevated state that you walked under to gain access to the rest of the countries. Fortunately it was moved to the opposite side of the lagoon to welcome all from across the water. It really is a magnificent building with a ton of trivia attached to it but that’s for another article.
My reflection is this: The host country, largest in scale and complexity, the American example, if you will and the menu is to say the least sad. All of these other countries have these wonderful culinary offerings and we have hot dogs and hamburgers. Sure, those are quintessential American offerings, but is that the message we want our millions of foreign visitors to take home with them? Even if they were to repeat the menu at the Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom it would be a better example of some good old fashioned American fare. How about some chicken rotisseries? A show kitchen doing steaks and ribs might be nice. But chicken fingers and fries? Been there, done that!
I’m sure with the installation and maintenance of a very expensive production, food services were an afterthought back in the early 80’s. But considering the other many, many, many construction walls and changes across property, I would love to see a new, great restaurant be offered, a true, American Culinary Adventure. Come on Coke, where’s that smile?
