What an excellent annual event!! We've been to the event a few times and this year I went solo…read morecause the husband had to work. I parked in a nearby garage for a decent price. There was a line outside waiting to get in as I was about fifteen minutes early. Once the does opened the line moved super fast. They quickly scanned QR codes for the tickets and had two guards checking IDs for wrist bands. As soon as you walked in they had a step and repeat to take pictures with which was super fun! There was also a bar right there, which was handy! There were food and merch vendors in a variety of spots. Some were in the Orchid Room and others at Church Street Ballroom. The venue itself is gorgeous. I love all the glad window designs and the historic vibe of the buildings. The food vendors were all excellent. A few of my personal faves were Foxtail Coffee, La Femme de Frumage (I probably butchered that spelling??), and Dixie Dharma - that vegan taco was WHAT?? SO GOOD. Overall: A Great event with good execution. It grows each year so I'm looking forward to seeing what's to come!

Last year's I rated a marginal Four star. This year deserves four and a half easily. The issue I…read morementioned from last year regarding the bar situation was more than taken care of this year. There were more locations to get drinks, and some of them had low tables full of pre-made Mimosa's and Bloody Mary's that you could just walk by and grab. I was sad that Jimmy Hula's ran out of food before we got a chance to get over there, but the foods we did get to try were all outstanding, especially Kiki's Belgium Waffles. Those were definitely worth waiting in line for. Timber Creek was there handing out samples of many types of liquor all made right here in Florida. Their representative was full of information about each type, the Apple Pie flavored Rum was amazing!! Like last year, there was some great live entertainment. The group I was with had a blast dancing to Raspberry Pie. They're a groovy 70's themed band who played tons of familiar disco hits as well as original tunes. Great event this year, definitely worth the price paid. Looking forward to next year's. Thank you Orlando Weekly!!

The Festival of Fantasy Parade has the best floats ever! They're not only colorful, but there are…read moredancing performances by Disney characters on each float. It's the best opportunity to see your favorite Disney characters up close. Just take your seat along the curb in front of Cinderella Castle (the best view) along Main Street, or hang out further away on a bench in the shade on Main Street. It all depends on how close you want to get to the characters. This specific parade started in 2014. I originally thought it was the parade of my childhood. The one that I remember getting a nose kiss by one of the chipmunks as a teenager while standing by the curb. Was it Chip or Dale? I have no idea. It was cool how they all interacted with everyone on the street. I didn't see as much of that. It was mostly waving, blowing kisses, and singing. Yep, I was thinking of a totally different parade without the fancy floats. However, this one is way better. The floats actually perform. Peter Pan's galleon ship shoots cannons. Not real ones. Don't be silly. The Tangled boat was so cool with it's moving oars, and tools that swing up high with Flynn Rider onboard. But, the coolest float of all was the Maleficent dragon that's breathing fire throughout the route of the parade. Beauty and the Beast, as well as Mickey & Minnie provided some cute moments. Get to your parade location by 2:45 pm so that you get a good spot. The parade starts at 3 pm at Frontierland. It moves past Liberty Square, Cinderella Castle, and then on to Main Street. Everyone on Main Street will be the last to see it. It takes time for it to get there, but just be patient. Oh, and definitely be sure you have sunscreen because you'll be frying like an egg in a skillet (unless it's overcast). Most people aren't used to the intense afternoon sun in Florida. If you burn easily, you need to be protected. Other than that, enjoy the parade. It's absolutely magical!

WATCH THE FESTIVAL OF FANTASY PARADE FROM FRONTIERLAND…read more Instead of dealing with the crowds on Main Street, we watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade from Frontierland (where the parade begins). The light crowd day (it was a Mickey Christmas party day) coupled with watching the parade from the less popular Frontierland area may be why we easily found a curbside spot. We watched a young park guest experience a Disney Magical Moment during the parade - Alice walked up to the young girl, offered her an imaginary cup of tea and pretended to nibble on her gingerbread Minnie ears :o). Sometimes we see parade characters interact with park guests in the smaller Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade parade - it was an unexpected treat to see this happen during the Fantasy parade. Hopefully it was a tech malfunction that will be fixed - the steampunk Maleficent dragon was not spewing flames during the parade.

What a great time! This annual event, sponsored by Crisco, is reminiscent of a small town's fair…read more Friendly people abound here, and Pie Pride oozes from every single booth. There are markets, bakeries, and restaurants galore here, all keen to have you taste either their take on a traditional, or point you with special glee towards their own creations. The weather cooperated, the band was great, people struck up conversations with strangers, and everyone got a little sun. I'm awfully glad that Yelp made this a Yelp Event. I didn't see any other Yelpistas, but then again, my eyes were looking at all that deliciousness..... So, come tomorrow- or next year. And, keep you eyes on the pies!!!

One of the best events we have each year is the Great American Pie Festival over at Celebration! I…read morehave gone to this even for the past 4 years in a row and it always is worth the drive. This year, I was lucky enough to get free entry into the never ending pie buffet from our friends at Yelp! Thanks Colleen for the pie! Since parking can be a nightmare even without events at Celebration, we always park by a friends house over by the high school and walk over. It only takes about 10 min to walk over and besides, it is a nice walk back to the car to walk off some of the pie we just inhaled. We arrived on Saturday around 1 pm and found the crowds this year to be a bit lighter than in the past. After checking in with the info booth and getting our wrist bands, we enjoyed checking out all the vendors and seeing if their was any arts and crafts we might want. There is a large booth that sells t-shirts, cookbooks and of course pies! This year, there were also a larger amount of food vendors selling the normal fair type foods. We did not indulge since we were saving room for pie. They also had a zip line contraption that looked like fun. We made our way over to the pie buffet entry. You must have a wrist band or you cant get in! The pie police are watching you. Once inside, we armed ourselves with plastic forks ( I suggest bringing your own metal one if you like) and then started to check out all the booths. There seemed to be less vendors than in the past. Publix and Winn Dixie were there as well as Kroger's and the Village inn. All make great pies but the ones I enjoy most are from some of the more independent pie companies that make unusual combinations of flavors. Bakers Square, Bonerts, Legendary Baking, and Wicks pies are these types of vendors. Yet this year, they only seemed to have a few flavors to try while in the past, they might have 10 or more types. My favorite of all time was a chocolate coated frozen cheesecake on a stick.... but alas, it was not there this year. Sniff Sniff... All in all, it was still a great feast! I will say that most people can eat about 5 or 6 slices before they are done but one friend of mine ate 10 slices! Oink! Some people like to eat one slice at a time while others stop at each booth, grab the ones they want, and then find a place to spread them all out and eat them one by one. After our pig out, we continued to check out many of the other booths that circle the stage. Crisco is the main sponsor but there are also booths for Duncan Hines, Smuckers, and Dunkin Donuts. Duncan was having a bit of a scavenger hunt with their new stir in flavors of frosting. You had to collect all 12 of the flavors and then visit their booth to be in a drawing for prizes. I collected them all, got my ticket for the hourly drawing but never got back to see if I won... oh well... There was also the appearance of Poppin Fresh! and Pie man! Always popular and sometimes a line to get a photo with them. The main stage had an assortment of entertainment including comedian Kirk Marsh, singer Dean Daniels and guest chefs David Sloan and Brian Ehrenholm. If you want something fun to do and love pie, I do recommend checking out the pie festival. The normal entry for adults is $10 and if you eat enough pie, it pays for itself. Our best tip would be go in... eat pie... walk around and enjoy the booths and sights... then go back again for more pie! (Then take a really long walk back to your car!) Enjoy!

I know I signed up for the food truck event but instead ended up coming to the Festival of the…read moreMasters because a friend of a friend was competing in the sidewalk chalk art event. All of the entries were amazing and we were talking about how it's amazing to think that there are so many people out there who have true artistic talent. There were a couple that stood out for me such as: "Steam Punk" and "The Thai Mermaid" They were just really different and made you think about what drove them to do these artworks. I wish the artists had stuck around towards the end though. The weather was perfect and the smell of food coming from all directions combined to make it quite the enjoyable (and hungry) evening. If you enjoy art and photography, this is a fun little event to go to.

Another late review!…read more Festival of the Masters is an event that is held at Downtown Disney where art from various locations are displayed around the West Side and Marketplace. There are chalk artists drawing in front of World of Disney as well as along the marina at West Side. There are also art and crafts kiosks set up around West Side displaying different types of art. This passed year in 2013 there was also food trucks scattered around for the event which was a pretty festive touch! If you're into art I would highly suggest popping by for this event!

Anything and everything Hawaiian is my favorite so when I stumbled upon this event, I had to go. I…read morewish I was able to go the whole weekend. There's one more day tomorrow. I was able to see some of the Hawaiian hula performances. Tomorrow is going to be Polynesian and Tahitian Dance and Fire Dancers which they may have had tonight but maybe not because of the rain. If you want to find about about the culture of Hawaii, this is a great time to go. It was interesting to see the performances. Not only the dancers l, but the singers, and the back up music like the ukeleles. They had a good number of vendors as well there too. I had to leave because the hotel's a/c was lacking so the temperature wasn't the most comfortable. But when I was there I enjoyed it. It was a $10 fee to get in which I don't think is bad at all. It's a way for them to raise money for these events. I would definitely want to be back for future events.

Authentic Polynesian Adult and Children dance Competition. There's a luau on Saturday night as…read morewell. MUST SEE!!!

Great event! So much fun! Really enjoyed the salsa and the salsa music…read more I enjoyed the margaritas, they were very good. The only negative thing is that it was super hot. But that's can't be control. Everyone was having fun and dancing. There were some tents selling food also. I'm even considering competing if there is another event. Hahaha Hopefully, they will be able to delay this event with more space, more vendors, more salsa and last longer.

This year was my 2nd Salsa Fest. I do enjoy trying the different salsas, but I do not enjoy having…read moreto purchase drink tickets and having to redeem them. They should have cash bars and/or beer tubs. When we went to the Corona booth to 'spin the wheel' for prizes, you had to have a corona in your hand to participate. Understandable. But when I have to go to one of two tents on opposite sides of the festival for tickets and a corona, not so accommodating. I do like the live music and the various bands and space for dancing if you choose to do so. They definitely need more standing tables or sitting space.

Love it, love it…read more The Asian fest is free event located at Bill Frederick Park Turkey Lake. The event is free to all. Normally the park requires $4 fees to enter but the expo was free and make the park entry is free also. The festival is located near the Turkey Lake because they have the Dragon Boat Race. Many team has show up on the race. Since this is fresh water Race, the boat take off is a bit tougher. Because the buoyancies drop the boat deeper in the water. The event included many cultural dance and show. They showcase multi Asian nation culture with great vibe. I was able to see the Tai Chi and the Taiko. It fun to watch the drumming and special traditional dress. There are some food truck and local restaurant. I wish there are more Asian food instead of regular food truck.

What a comfortable autumn weather for outdoor activities! This was our first time attending…read moreOrlando's Asia culture expo. It was a fun, free event. There were venders promoting their products. We got free flu shot from the Walgreen tent. Instant noodle company gave away free samples. Different Asia country groups set up booths and introduced their unique cultures and some art and craft activities. On the stage, there were 2 nice MC running the show- singing, dancing, drumming , Tai chi, Kung Fu show, etc . The live performances were wonderful and exciting. Food trucks were available there for people to grab a bite or drink. Dragon boat racing was such a interesting sport to speculate. Team members wore their beautiful uniforms and rowed with all their power trying to win the race. The best team came home with a big trophy and big smile on their faces. Thanks for Asia Trend magazine organized this event so we can enjoy the fun activities and learned different cultures.

We returned to SeaWorld for the Seven Seas Food Festival. We had bought sampler lanyards and still…read morehad punches left after our first visit this year. My favorite foods this visit were the Tuna Poke Bowl and the Bourbon Caramel Glazed Peach Cobbler. The poke bowl was flavorful and delicious. I had the cobbler later at home. I reheated the cobbler before taking a bite. It was so good. The cobbler was filled with a generous amount of sliced peaches and had a crumble on top. The lines and wait times were minimal. The staff was courteous. I hope to return to next year's SeaWorld Seven Seas Food Festival!

Apparently SeaWorld has been doing this food & drink festival for years now. 2024 marks their 7th…read moreyear doing the SeaWorld Seven Seas Food Festival. But how have I never known about this before? We've been to SeaWorld Orlando and San Diego locations several times over the years, but I never knew. Ha. They're smart to jump on the Epcot Food & Wine Festival bandwagon but making it their own. The SeaWorld Seven Seas Food Festival is LEGIT!!! Walking around the park, there are so many food booths or "markets" to choose from. They range from many different cuisines and drink booths. We hit up the Asian Market first and ordered the Tempura Battered Sushi, Deep Fried Dumplings and Elderflower Mule. Total came out to $41. Hubby scoped out the Food Festival pass where you pay $85 and get 15 samples at any of the food booths. That made way more sense since our 3 items cost $41. So we opted for the lanyard pass. This pass is good for any food or drink item at the food booths. SCORE!!!! So happy we did the lanyard pass, it was worth every penny. The food and drink items alone can range in pricing from $4.99 up to $15.99 each. It was common sense to get the $85 lanyard pass for 15 samples!!! So happy we did that and were able to get a sampling of so many different foods. You can also do a $70 lanyard for 10 samples. You can purchase the lanyards online, at the Seven Seas Festival Welcome Center or at any of the food market locations. All food items are the same portion size, via a la carte or via lanyard. Another bonus is that the lanyard gets you 15 samplers but if you're an annual SeaWorld Pass Holder, you get 3 bonus samples. The festival runs Feb 2nd to May 19th 2024. Lanyards don't have to be used on same day, you can return another day and continue to use the lanyard until all options are used but it has to be used during the same year. All food festival booths are only available on Thursdays-Sundays each week during festival dates. They open 11:00am until park closing time. How to use your lanyard pass, go to any of the food festival market booths, order the food or drink items you want, they will scan the back of the lanyard, punch the amount of items purchased, you get a receipt where you give that to the food pick up area and they give you your items. Done and done. Here's a quick list of everything we ate or drank: * Asian: Tempura Fried Sushi * Asian: Deep Fried Dumplings * Asian: Elderflower Mule * Indian: Chicken Tikki Masala * Indian: Garlic Naan with Chickpea Curry * Mediterranean: Moroccan Grilled Lamb Chops * Mediterranean: Walking Gyros * Irish: St. Patrick's Day Nachos * North Atlantic: Fish & Chips * Polynesian: Smoked Lamb Ribs * Polynesian: Ahi Tuna Poké Nachos * French: Duck Confit We will return and do the lanyard pass again so we can try all the food or drinks we didn't get to try the first time around. Love this concept!