When Walt was alive, he did discuss his idea for EPCOT, an Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow, which was going to be a city in the middle and the outer skirts to be homes for the workers to live in. Sadly he passed before his vision was realized and it did not come to pass, however the name remained.
EPCOT is the 2nd theme park to have opened at Walt Disney World Resort. The park consists of 2 lands, Future World (located at front of park) and World Showcase (located at the rear of park and encompassing a lake). Future World is part rides and part educating guests about science and conservation. World Showcase contains several pavilions of different countries where you are educated about their culture and a few pavilions contain rides/shows. All the countries sell food and drinks local to their area with the cast-members (employees) working also from the area. EPCOT contains the most amount of table service restaurants in the resort and they are quite popular, so you will need to book 180 days out.
Allie was not feeling very hungry on our first EPCOT day and we did not have a lunch planned, so we just headed to Seasons, a quick-service style food court. Allie got a peanut butter and jelly cupcake, while Dave opted for a much healthier option, a chicken salad. Dave liked this meal and was disappointed all our other EPCOT meals were all table-services and already planned as he would have liked to go back here.
One of Allie's favourite restaurants at EPCOT is the Coral Reef, this opinion is based purely on the atmosphere alone. Coral Reef is located next to the Living Seas Aquarium so while dining you are able to look at the sea-life swimming by. This restaurant serves seafood, so try not to feel guilty eating fish as they swim by. We were lucky enough to be seated on the lower floor right next to the aquarium.
We started our meal off with a couple of cocktails (Allie enjoys partaking in special beverages when we are out to dinner). We then had our meals, Dave got an allergy friendly fish meal with an allergy friendly side, while Allie got what appears to be a risotto with a fish on top (sadly it looks like this is no longer on the menu). We then each got a dessert as Allie was eying off the Chocolate Wave and Dave got his first of many Sorbets on the trip.
On our 2nd day at EPCOT, we had lunch planned at Teppan Edo. This restaurant is located in the Japan pavilion and is a table service restaurant. This restaurant serves Japanese food Teppan-Yaki style. The tables here are communal so you will be seated with others while the chef cooks your order right at the table. Due to Dave's allergy, our chef cooked his food first so as not to get cross-contamination. It appears from photos that we had chicken and beef stir-fry with rice.
Dave is scuba-certified while Allie is a mediocre swimmer at best...if we are being generous. While Allie was researching this trip and doing something special for Dave to make memorable, she came across the Epcot Sea Adventures DiveQuest tour. To participate in this tour you must be scuba-certified so Allie did not join, but that meant she could stand by and take lots of photos and videos. She also wanted to surprise Dave with this, but due to needing to confirm your PADI license number when booking and having to bring with you on tour, she had to let him in on his special treat earlier. This tour involves scuba-diving in the 5.7 million gallon aquarium in the Living Seas Pavilion (the same aquarium we had dinner at, earlier in this post) with over 6000 sea creatures...including sharks. Dave was advised that the sharks are well fed and don't concern themselves with the divers, but to stay away from the giant turtles/tortoises as they are a protected species, that didn't stop them from wanting to come near Dave though.
Dave enjoyed his swim and at the end of the tour you are gifted with the keepsake of either a t-shirt or a hat. He chose the hat. There is also a videographer in the water with you who takes video inside the tank that can be purchased upon completing your dive. We decided to buy this prior to tour starting, just to get a different viewpoint than what Allie was getting outside the tank. While Dave was getting showered and dressed after his swim, Allie headed off to meet Mickey again...cause why not? It's Mickey Mouse!!
For a post-swim dinner, we opted for San Angel Inn, located in the Mexico pavilion.This restaurant is table-service so you will need to book. The best thing about this restaurant is the scenery and contains views from the Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros ride. First, we got some Margaritas, Allie didn't like hers so switched out with Dave. We don't appear to have photos of our main meals, but from what we recall we each got tacos (Dave's being allergy friendly of course). Allie found her main meal too spicy even though she asked for the less spicy thing on the menu and went by the waiters recommendations, so she still had room for dessert, she got the Flan which she wasn't a big fan of.
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| Mickey loves Allie''s Walt tattoo... |
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| Oh another Walt... |
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| and another Walt... |
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| and lastly another Walt. |
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| Dave exists too and got a hug |
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| Checking out the weird food at the Australia pop-up stand for the International Food and Wine Festival (usually held from September until November) |
Garden Grill is a restaurant located inside the Land pavilion. It is a table service restaurant which serves food family-style (big platter of food comes to table and everyone dishes up their share) and is also a character meal. The Garden Grill features views from the Living With The Land attraction (an informative boat ride that talks about farming and showcases different ways to grow fruit and vegetables) and the restaurant actually sources their fruit and vegetables from there. We opted for a lunch here with a couple of Allie's friends (now Dave's also) who are local to the area. Due to Dave's allergies, he got his own dishes. The food offered consisted of salads, meats, fries, mac 'n' cheese, and strawberry shortcake for dessert, however, Dave got some cookies and brownies due to allergies. Allie doesn't like strawberry so she was envious of his dessert. Towards the end of the meal, Dave went to the restroom and Chip sat down in his chair. Allie proclaimed that she just got an upgrade in the boyfriend department which Chip found funny.
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| Chip after Allie said about an upgrade in the boyfriend department |
On our last day at Walt Disney World, we (and by we, we mean Allie) chose to have lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, located inside a replica castle in the Norway pavilion. This restaurant is a princess character meal and 
requires reservations (be sure to book 180 days out as this is an extremely popular restaurant). This restaurant has a prix-fixe menu and includes appetisers, main and dessert (alcohol and specialty drinks available for an extra cost). Upon entering, you are greeted by Belle for a photo opportunity, and then throughout your dining experience a variety of princesses will come to your table to stop by for a photo. This restaurant is a mixture of buffet, selecting from menu, and family-style. The appetisers are available from a small buffet, the main is chosen by you from a menu and served to you at your table, and dessert is served family-style. We purchased a couple of cocktails for our meal and enjoyed our lunch. Allie got fish, while Dave got steak. Due to Dave's allergies, he got his own dessert which was sorbet and Allie got the platter of desserts which is usually to share to herself which made her very happy as she loves dessert. The waiter advised her that they do not prepare in smaller sizes and the platter is designed for a table of 4 (eg. 1-3 people get 1 platter between them, 4-7 people get 2 platters between them and so on).
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/epcot/
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/epcot-divequest/
Allie was not feeling very hungry on our first EPCOT day and we did not have a lunch planned, so we just headed to Seasons, a quick-service style food court. Allie got a peanut butter and jelly cupcake, while Dave opted for a much healthier option, a chicken salad. Dave liked this meal and was disappointed all our other EPCOT meals were all table-services and already planned as he would have liked to go back here.
One of Allie's favourite restaurants at EPCOT is the Coral Reef, this opinion is based purely on the atmosphere alone. Coral Reef is located next to the Living Seas Aquarium so while dining you are able to look at the sea-life swimming by. This restaurant serves seafood, so try not to feel guilty eating fish as they swim by. We were lucky enough to be seated on the lower floor right next to the aquarium.
We started our meal off with a couple of cocktails (Allie enjoys partaking in special beverages when we are out to dinner). We then had our meals, Dave got an allergy friendly fish meal with an allergy friendly side, while Allie got what appears to be a risotto with a fish on top (sadly it looks like this is no longer on the menu). We then each got a dessert as Allie was eying off the Chocolate Wave and Dave got his first of many Sorbets on the trip.
Dave is scuba-certified while Allie is a mediocre swimmer at best...if we are being generous. While Allie was researching this trip and doing something special for Dave to make memorable, she came across the Epcot Sea Adventures DiveQuest tour. To participate in this tour you must be scuba-certified so Allie did not join, but that meant she could stand by and take lots of photos and videos. She also wanted to surprise Dave with this, but due to needing to confirm your PADI license number when booking and having to bring with you on tour, she had to let him in on his special treat earlier. This tour involves scuba-diving in the 5.7 million gallon aquarium in the Living Seas Pavilion (the same aquarium we had dinner at, earlier in this post) with over 6000 sea creatures...including sharks. Dave was advised that the sharks are well fed and don't concern themselves with the divers, but to stay away from the giant turtles/tortoises as they are a protected species, that didn't stop them from wanting to come near Dave though.
For a post-swim dinner, we opted for San Angel Inn, located in the Mexico pavilion.This restaurant is table-service so you will need to book. The best thing about this restaurant is the scenery and contains views from the Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros ride. First, we got some Margaritas, Allie didn't like hers so switched out with Dave. We don't appear to have photos of our main meals, but from what we recall we each got tacos (Dave's being allergy friendly of course). Allie found her main meal too spicy even though she asked for the less spicy thing on the menu and went by the waiters recommendations, so she still had room for dessert, she got the Flan which she wasn't a big fan of.
Garden Grill is a restaurant located inside the Land pavilion. It is a table service restaurant which serves food family-style (big platter of food comes to table and everyone dishes up their share) and is also a character meal. The Garden Grill features views from the Living With The Land attraction (an informative boat ride that talks about farming and showcases different ways to grow fruit and vegetables) and the restaurant actually sources their fruit and vegetables from there. We opted for a lunch here with a couple of Allie's friends (now Dave's also) who are local to the area. Due to Dave's allergies, he got his own dishes. The food offered consisted of salads, meats, fries, mac 'n' cheese, and strawberry shortcake for dessert, however, Dave got some cookies and brownies due to allergies. Allie doesn't like strawberry so she was envious of his dessert. Towards the end of the meal, Dave went to the restroom and Chip sat down in his chair. Allie proclaimed that she just got an upgrade in the boyfriend department which Chip found funny.
On our last day at Walt Disney World, we (and by we, we mean Allie) chose to have lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, located inside a replica castle in the Norway pavilion. This restaurant is a princess character meal and 
requires reservations (be sure to book 180 days out as this is an extremely popular restaurant). This restaurant has a prix-fixe menu and includes appetisers, main and dessert (alcohol and specialty drinks available for an extra cost). Upon entering, you are greeted by Belle for a photo opportunity, and then throughout your dining experience a variety of princesses will come to your table to stop by for a photo. This restaurant is a mixture of buffet, selecting from menu, and family-style. The appetisers are available from a small buffet, the main is chosen by you from a menu and served to you at your table, and dessert is served family-style. We purchased a couple of cocktails for our meal and enjoyed our lunch. Allie got fish, while Dave got steak. Due to Dave's allergies, he got his own dessert which was sorbet and Allie got the platter of desserts which is usually to share to herself which made her very happy as she loves dessert. The waiter advised her that they do not prepare in smaller sizes and the platter is designed for a table of 4 (eg. 1-3 people get 1 platter between them, 4-7 people get 2 platters between them and so on). 
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