I was able to watch the JAMMitors at EPCOT as I was standing around CommuniCore Hall during the…read moreFlower & Garden Festival after grabbing lunch from a Food Booth. At first, I thought this was going to be a relaxing spot to enjoy my meal. Then, before I knew what was happening, the "JAMMitors" come rolling in with their instruments and all of a sudden we are watching a percussion group! The energy of the performance was incredible. The band members were incredibly engaging as well! They worked extremely well with the crowd, and you could tell that each of them had a lot of talent. The artists produced many of their own unique and rhythmic arrangements for the audience to clap along too. I loved the fact that I ate my festival food while watching this show! This added to a relaxed, carefree atmosphere, a break from the theme park rides at Epcot! I liked the laid back aspect of this experience. The best part about it is there's no long lines, waits, nor a Lightning Lane for anything! You can just go and enjoy yourself. The JAMMitors are definitely entertaining. While it is not something that would be worth planning an entire day around, they do offer some great entertainment opportunities if you happen to be in the area, especially if there is a festival with food options to enjoy as well! The JAMMitors were probably one my favorite shows to see while visiting Epcot.

Come for the A/C, stay because Ty Burrell just made climate change sound like a sitcom plot…read more Awesome Planet is EPCOT's way of saying, "We're still educational, dammit." Nestled inside The Land Pavilion, this 10-minute film opened on January 17, 2020, replacing the long-running Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable (1995-2018). You remember that one -- Timon and Pumbaa lecturing you about recycling while you tried not to fall asleep in the air conditioning. Disney retired it after two decades, deciding it was time to update the message and the visuals (and, let's be honest, cut the fart jokes). History check: before Circle of Life, the theater housed Symbiosis (1982-1994), which was pure 1980s EPCOT -- equal parts earnest science lesson and school field-trip snoozefest. Awesome Planet continues that tradition but with a 21st-century facelift: gorgeous IMAX-style cinematography, sweeping time-lapse shots, and narration by Ty Burrell (yes, Phil Dunphy from Modern Family, which somehow makes saving the planet sound both funny and slightly neurotic). The show is a mix of jaw-dropping aerial shots, underwater footage, and computer graphics that make you realize just how insane Earth really is. It hits the big notes: oceans, forests, deserts, storms, climate change. There's a section where you're basically watching Earth flex its muscles while you're sitting there with a churro wondering what you've done with your life. Is it a thrill ride? Nope. But it's pure EPCOT DNA -- infotainment with enough Disney polish to keep you from checking your phone. And the air conditioning? Let's be real, that's the real five-star feature in Florida summers. "It's a commercial for Planet Earth, but at least it's a good commercial."-- it's slick, beautiful, and makes you want to go recycle something immediately... or at least feel guilty about your plastic poncho. Bottom line: Awesome Planet is short, smart, and surprisingly moving. It's the quiet conscience of EPCOT -- reminding you that the most impressive attraction here isn't a ride, it's the rock we're all spinning on.

Awesome Planet is a show located in World Nature at the Land Pavilion. It's right next to the…read moreGarden Grill restaurant, and you'll see the show off to your right as soon as you enter the Land Pavilion. It's been a few years since I watched the show. It's a 10-minute film featuring the earth and the environment from across the globe! This show is for all ages. The film does use in-theater effects such as wind, scents, and water. It tells the story of life on our planet! If you're looking to take a break from the summer heat, this is a great spot to stop at. It's in a air conditioned building. The images are stunning! There usually aren't many people that queue up for this attraction. The theater is relatively large though with lots of seating! If you haven't watched this film yet, you should check it out while you're visiting Epcot!

Eat to the Beat Concert Series at Epcot was amazing. I've gone to Epcot a lot of times, but during…read moremy visit for a conference in October, I had a chance to attend Eat to the Beat Concert series twice! The Eat to the Beat Concert Series is a lively music concert held during the park's annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. It's in the outdoor amphitheater at the America Gardens Theater, located near the American Adventure Pavilion in the World Showcase. Each evening during the festival, the stage has three shows. The three shows are usually at the following times - 5:30 P.M, 6:45 P.M, and 8:00 P.M. The concert series features a wide range of musical arts. This is free too! It's automatically included with your park admission. There are dining packages available though if you'd like a guaranteed seat for one of the performances. You can book at a participating restaurant for a meal and receive a badge that grants access to a reserved section of the theater for the night's show. I ended up seeing two different performances. The first evening I attended, I saw Hanson. They were incredible, and they played many of their biggest hits. I ended up standing in the stand by line about 20 minutes prior to the show. The location I got to sit at was in the middle of the theater area. It was a great spot. The second one I saw the M-80's. The M-80's recreate the songs of original artists using instruments, costumes, and creative arrangements. I never heard of them before until the Eat to the Beat Concert Series, but their live performance was incredible. My favorite song that they performed was Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N' Roses. I'm not sure if they tour around the US, but if you get a chance to hear the the band, I'd highly recommend it. It was so much fun! Depending on the concert, I'd recommend arriving early. Seats can fill up fast! If you're interested in seeing the year's full lineup, you can check out Disney World's website Eat to the Beat concert series schedule!

Eat to the Beat is one of the best concert series Disney puts on. It takes places during the Food…read moreand Wine Festival each year at EPCOT. It is located in American Gardens theatre in the America pavilion. This event brings music talent to the stage to perform their greatest hits. A lot of the singers are older and more popular years ago, but they still put on a great show. We absolutely love this show. We come every year, usually to see Billy Ocean. He is such a class from my childhood and my husbands. "When the going gets tough..." Such a classic! He kills it every year and really puts on a great show. The actual show is about 25-30 minutes, and they do 3 shows per night. We like the later shows, since the sun has set and the lights are just more illuminated on stage, it makes for a better experience, in our book. Disney will usually post way ahead of time the acts coming, this allows you to plan. More popular acts are going to be tougher to get into see. There are two options to view this show. You can stand in the regular line and hope that there are enough seats when they open the ropes. Again, more popular acts such as Boys 2 Men and Joey Fatone and friends are going to be busier, so you will need to get in line early and stay in line. You might not get into the show but if so, stay in line, since you hopefully can get into the next one. However, you can also do the dining package. This is what we always do especially when it is someone we really want to see. This allows you to pay for dinner at one of the EPCOT restaurants and then receive a guaranteed seat for the show. You line up on the opposite side, and they allow you to enter first. This allows us to usually get a front row for our favorite acts. This has to be booked in the "My Disney Experience" and not all restaurants are available. They also only offer a select number at east location. You will want to act fast, again especially for those bigger acts. The price is a little bit more that paying for item ala cart however, if you choose wisely, you can maximize your price and only end up paying a few dollars more for the seats. Your meal includes an entree, a dessert and a drink (including alcohol). The prices for these vary from $60 to over $100 per person. The more expensive locations will charge a higher price. Overall, this is a great experience. You are enjoying the food and wine festival and then you also get to experience a concert! All included in your ticket! We love it every year and always make a point to go at least once. It has become our tradition. It is about to end but I would highly recommend checking it out next year and adding it to your list of Disney must do's!

The dining room at Beauty and the Beast is stunning. The chandeliers, ceiling art, and overall…read morearchitecture are exactly what you expect from a Disney themed experience. It delivers spectacle and nostalgia at first glance and it sets the tone well. Visually it is impressive enough that you will take a moment just to look around before you think about the food. The food was better than expected. The blue cheese and walnut salad was fresh and well balanced with the right level of acidity. The entree portions were generous. The steak was cooked properly and came with a sauce that had depth. The chicken dish was flavorful and plated cleanly with roasted vegetables that had real color and brightness. Even the fries were elevated. The rose dessert is visually beautiful and clearly designed for photos. It tasted pleasant and light. Service was excellent. Our waitress was on point from the moment we sat down. Our glasses were never empty. She checked in often, smiled, and made the dinner feel warm and welcoming. We were lucky with our seating. When Beast came out for his performance, we were front and center which elevated the entire experience. I never did anything like this as a child, so experiencing it now as an adult with my boyfriend felt personal and special. It was money well spent to step into a childhood dream and enjoy it with someone I love. This is a fantastic experience that Disney offers to bring fantasy alive for children, and for adults who never had the chance to see it that way. I could not have been more pleased. In terms of value, the price matched the experience. It is not a restaurant I would visit solely for food, but that is not the point. The food supports the fantasy. The fantasy carries the experience. If you want immersion, nostalgia, beauty, and a well executed performance layered into dinner, then Beauty and the Beast delivers.

I'm surprised how great the state show was. I really got into it. Once again, it's a classic Disney…read moreshow coming back from the MGM days. Whenever I have family in town, we always make sure to stop in and watch this show. No matter your age, you will get into it.

Many thanks to Go Big Tees for hosting the event and passing out free tshirts. Their staff was…read morevery welcoming and fun!. Especially the guy supervising the tie die, he made me laugh so hard I forgot that I had not done this in 10 years. He was also extremely helpful and patient while passing out aprons so you did not get paint on what you were wearing. The merch inside the store was really good. While I was checking out the mural I found a a couple shirts and a hat that had to come home with me. They told me that if I found a design I liked they could replicate it on another size, style, color shirt. I may have to go back for that "Manatees are fat dolphins" shirt. For me the mural was touching and I was impressed with all the love people showed on the wall. Yelpers are creative in what they write but also in what they draw. As mentioned by another reviewer the food was top notch. Farm Haus had avocado toast, New Moon had great juices and Rogue Pub had this fantastic yogurt parfait bar with fresh fruit to top it off. Yelper Andi was there with her smiling face, free Yelp sunglasses, Yelp hand fans and rainbow flags.

This was a really well done event. Each vendor brought…read morebeautiful, quality offerings to the table in abundance. Plenty of t-shirts--such a simple, clean design I almost didn't tie-dye it but I ended up doing it just for the experience haha--kudos to the designer of such a beautiful shirt and thank you to the man manning the tie dye station for your guidance and assistance :) Yummy snacks--fresh fruit parfait bar, avocado toast, Krispy Kreme donuts, fresh pressed juice samples And additional swag to go around--rainbow flags, rainbow ribbon pins, Yelp fans, and classic Yelp wayfarer sunglasses galore! To top it all off there was a station to send a beautiful postcard to a first responder and add your touch on the beautiful mural inside the shop. I was thoroughly impressed! Yelp does it again.

CHRISTINA RICCI! The…read more34th Annual Florida Film Festival took place from April 11 through April 20, 2025. Over the course of the 10-day festival over 170 films were shown spanning the gamut from international, independent, to current movies. Among the many first-class events held was a special celebrity appearance by the multiple acting award nominee, Christina Ricci. Best known as Wednesday Addams from the Addams Family movie franchise, she's been in such noted films as "Buffalo 66", "The Opposite of Sex", "Black Snake Moan" and "Monster". She's currently starring in the "Yellowjackets" television series which can be seen on multiple streaming platforms. The evening started with the 30th anniversary showing of Ricci's 1995 film "Now and Then". If you haven't had the opportunity to watch this movie, please do. It's similar to "Stand by Me" but instead of a quartet of young boys "Now and Then" showcases the tumultuous summer of a group of young teen girls. Afterwards, Ms. Ricci herself engaged in an approximately one hour Q and A with both moderator and audience participation. The insight she provided her life and film career was certainly informative. And the definite icing on the cake was the opportunity to MEET and GREET Ms. Ricci personally. That being said, I greeted her with a hug and thanked her for the entirety of her film work. Having heard and met her in person just solidifies my opinion she takes the craft of acting quite seriously with a humanity that comes out vividly in the characters she plays. FILM IS ART!

This event was quite a treat; if I could give it a 10 star, I would. Enzian is a nice little…read morehideaway that you would miss if driving by. It's tucked away behind a beautiful and gigantic tree with beautiful shrubs. I almost felt like the girl from The Secret Garden walking into beauty for the 1st time. Attached to Enzian is an outdoor absolutely lovely restaurant called Eden Bar. The front of Enzian is a little blast from the past; it looks like an old original Box office with a riveting old style theater marquis. The lobby has all kinds of old movie posters. To your left, they have a Florida film festival selfie stand. Once checked in, you take a seat anywhere inside the movie theater. The seating is not traditional seating. There's a high top seating, 2-person table seating, and 4-person table seating. There are also 3 levels: lower middle and top. I sat in the middle. Each table had a popcorn and a list of complimentary drinks. The drinks are Ivanhoe joyland IPA, merlo, Pinot, daquiri, water, and soda. Once you figure out what you want to drink, a server will come over and take your order. I ordered a merlo. The merlo was a dry medium to full body wine with moderate acidity with a soft but present tannins. As the previews were showing, the wait staff came around with appetizer plates. The 1st was a fresh mixed greens, small portion salad top with grape size tomatoes and vinegerette salad dressing. The salad was delicious, and the salad dressing was delicious as well but a little punchy to my taste buds. Then then we was served a miniature egg roll, which was flavourful and crunchy also a shrimp tempora, which is my favorite and some mix between a spinach and egg quiche tart. They were also very delicious. So, the previews began. I was giving a sheet with every name of every preview I would be watching. I have to say all the previews were absolutely amazing, and the work by the people who put this Together is riveting. The preview that stuck out the most was Jack has a plan; it's a documentary. It's about a man who has terminal brain cancer for 25 years and then decides to end his own life on his own terms, and his family and friends struggle with his decision. Another one was sirens this one I particularly liked because it talks about females and female rock bands and Lebanon. I'm Lebanese, so I can fully understand some of their pain struggles. There are over 200 previews to list those are just 2 that come run off my head. All in all this rocks! I will come April 8th through the 13th to watch some of the previews I liked. And I 100% will make sure I come to next year's preview. So many talented humans In this! It's absolutely amazing and riveting!!!!

Still one of my favorite festivals at Epcot. We came on the first day of the festival again this…read moreyear, but it's gotten so much busier. The first day is crammed with bloggers and vloggers, and they are still working out the kinks in the kitchens so the food lines were long and we did not end up getting to try as much as we wanted, so we made plans to come again before the festival ended. That was a great decision, as the food, especially the desserts have gotten even better over the years. We love the Animation Academy and make plans to attend both sessions. And enjoy looking at the art and occasionally bring home a piece. This year we got a piece called Cheeky Tiki with the Orange Bird. The only disappointment was this year's Festival Treat. The Figment Rice Crispy was way too sweet and not worth the effort.

A couple of years ago Max and I planned a trip and did not know it was the Food and Wine Festival…read more Imagine my surprise when I saw the signs for an Art Festival. Max and I stopped at a few booths to get some food. Lots of talented artists displaying their art.

My family and I visited Disney World over the Holidays in December. We ended up booking a dining…read morepackage at the Garden Grill for the Candlelight Processional showing around 6:45 P.M in Epcot. The Candlelight Processional is hosted in the American Gardens Theater in the World Showcase at Epcot. Since we had a dining package reservation, when we showed up for the processional around 6:30, there was seating reserved in the middle area! We had a amazing view even though it was a little further back! This year, the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays was presented by AdventHealth. Gloria Estefan was our speaker and she was phenomenal! She was singing along with the choir too and dancing! It was such an awesome experience! The time went by so fast! The Candlelight processional was a retelling of the Christmas story, with a 50-Piece orchestra and a choir! This was one of the best experiences I've had at Disney World and I am so glad my family had booked the dining package for the Candlelight Processional. There was a standby line for the Candlelight Processional, but it was long! There are three shows each evening though when the Candlelight Processional is showing over the holidays. You'll want to check online to see who the speaker is for each evening! There are so many different celebrities that come and narrator the Candlelight Processional! This is a must go see if you're visiting Epcot over the Holidays.

Beautiful. Stunning. An absolutely "must-do" if you're at Disney during the holidays…read more I'm a local and annual passholder. Hubby and I see this every year. We've been married 20 years. This should definitely sell you on seeing it: I am a pagan and look forward to it every year. Granted, I see it as fiction, but the choir - Oh my! The choir will send shivers up your spine! So, if you are like me and do not have a Christian bone in your body, I'm telling you, this is still totally worth your time (just try not to giggle at the narration). Ahhhh... almost forgot. Speaking of the narration, we have seen some of the most amazing narrators over the years. So many famous people! Neil Patrick Harris is always my favourite! Tip: Check the schedule each year for a list of narrators and the specific dates.