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Ale and Compass Breakfast Review at Walt Disney World

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When I took a quick 48 hours trip to Walt Disney World late last year, I decided to eat breakfast at Ale and Compass at Yacht Club Resort. I’d heard many people online call it the best breakfast value on property. So, I thought I would check it out for myself.

Ale and Compass

Ale and Compass

Prior to this trip, I had seen several Youtubers eat at Ale and Compass. They all gushed over the value of the buffet here. So, it had been on my list of places to try for a little while. Then, I booked this trip to enjoy the holidays at Disney and it seemed like the perfect time to try it. I wanted to see the gingerbread carousel at Beach Club, which is directly beside Yacht Club.

I stayed at All Star Sports (review to come) on this trip. I could have taken a Lyft directly to this resort. However, I had extra time and didn’t want to spend the money. So, I rode a bus to Hollywood Studios. Then, I took the Skyliner over to Epcot. Finally, it was a short walk over to the Yacht Club.

Breakfast

At Ale and Compass during breakfast, you can order an entree or a “continental enhancement” buffet with an entree. Given the rave reviews on the buffet’s value, I opted to try it this time. For $28, you get an entree, the buffet, and a drink! Everything on the buffet looked good and fresh. I loved the fruit available. The pineapple was juicy. The grapes were fresh as were the strawberries. I really enjoyed the deviled egg. The biscuit and gravy was surprisingly good as well. Not the best I’ve ever had, but it was some of the best I’ve had in Orlando. The pastry I selected was pretty good too. Unfortunately, the cinnamon roll didn’t wow me. I found it to be dried out and lacking much flavor.

For my entree, I went with the Dark Chocolate Waffles. It comes with dried cherry compote, espresso-mascarpone cream, and chocolate shavings. My waitress highly recommended it and I’d seen several people online like it. Admittedly, I’m not usually a cherry fan. However, these waffles were delicious! The combination of all of the flavors went together really well! I figured I’d end up removing the compote, but I didn’t. I truly enjoyed this dish. In fact, I don’t think you need the provided syrup. I also selected turkey bacon for my meat. It doesn’t look all that appetizing, but it was good too.

Is the Ale and Compass Breakfast a good value?

At $28, this is easily the cheapest buffet on property. However, as with all buffets, it can be a lot of food. I think it’s an excellent value for hungry folks. If I return again, I’ll probably just get those tasty dark chocolate waffles since I didn’t have the stomach space to eat them all. Then again, the waffles alone are $16, so an extra $12 for a plethora more options seems worth it. The biggest “minus” of eating here is the location. It would make a great breakfast on a Hollywood Studios or Epcot day. Plus, it fueled my resort decor sightseeing day.

So, have you ever eaten here?

Disney World Epcot Festivals Guide

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Now that we have started a new year, I thought I would make a guide to the various Epcot festivals that happen during the year!

Epcot Festivals

Epcot Festivals

Are you planning or considering a trip to Walt Disney World this year? If so, you may be wondering if there is a seasonal event taking place at Epcot. Unless you are travelling during the summer or other lulls at the park, then chances are you will be able to experience a special event at Epcot! I’m going to look at each of the festivals that take place over the course of a year at Epcot, beginning in January and ending in December.

Festival of the Arts

The first seasonal event at Epcot typically begins in mid-January and ends sometime around mid/late February. It’s called Festival of the Arts. It’s the newest festival at Epcot and I have a whole Epcot Festival of the Arts review from a few years ago that goes more in-depth with the various activities and some of the food you can find. In 2025, the festival will take place from January 17th to February 24th. I recommend participating in the paint by numbers mural at the front of the park and the Japan booth is always good to me. Also, I know lots of people enjoy the Disney on Broadway Concert Series that takes place at night.

Flower and Garden Festival

Around springtime, there’s a beautiful Flower and Garden Festival. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like I’ve had good luck with timing this festival right. It’s always too hot or I’m too busy with other things during a trip to really get into this festival. While I love the topiaries around the park, the weather or timing always messes with me trying the food. Sadly, I’ve also never experienced the Garden Rocks Concert Series either. Disney recently announced the dates for this festival for 2025: March 5th to June 2nd.

Food and Wine Festival

The fall time at Epcot is all about the International Food and Wine Festival. Once again, the weather and timing often interrupt my plans for enjoying this festival. It’s typically held late August/early September (begins around Labor Day) and lasts until mid/late November (ends prior to Thanksgiving). So, that’s prime hurricane season, which means that it can be hot or stormy. The one time I really got to enjoy this festival, it was late October. So, my advice for enjoy this one is to aim for later in the season for it.

Festival of the Holidays

Lastly, there’s the Festival of the Holidays. I wrote a Festival of the Holidays guide last year, which takes a closer look at the various things to do here. Additionally, I posted a Candlelight Processional dinner package review for this festival. Again, since this one is held during a cooler time of the year, I find it much easier to enjoy this one. Plus, I love Christmas! The Storytellers around the park make it fun to learn different countries holiday traditions. It’s typically held from the Friday after Thanksgiving until near the end of the year.

Things to Know About Epcot Festivals

  • Food – Look out for the food booths located around the park for limited food offerings to match each festival. They typically release the menus a few weeks in advance of the festival. I suggest looking it over and getting an idea of things you may want to sample before you arrive.
  • Night time concerts – Each of the festivals will have some sort of night time concert/entertainment with special guest (sometimes celebrity) appearances. There’s also typically some sort of dining package that includes guaranteed (not reserved) seating at the show. Again, keep an eye out for the schedule of appearances a few months to weeks in advance.
  • Scavenger hunts – Each festival has its own scavenger hunt that you can purchase for around $10 to complete and turn in for a special prize.
  • Special entertainment – Each festival will also have its own decor and feature some fun day time activities to enjoy.
  • Unique merchandise – It wouldn’t be a theme park event without specialty merch. Sometimes, the festival merch is really cute though.

Which Epcot festival is the best?

I’ve probably attended the Festival of the Arts the most, so it probably is the best to me. However, that’s because it’s held in January/February when it’s actually cool enough to enjoy walking and eating around the world. I love the topiaries of the Flower and Garden Festival. The Food & Wine is an institution in its own right. Who doesn’t love a good holiday themed festival? I don’t think there’s a bad one. It really just depends on what fits your schedule, in my opinion. So, which festival is your favorite?

Candy Cane Inn Anaheim Review

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On my most recent visit to Disneyland, I elected to stay at the Candy Cane Inn! So, today I’m doing a review of that experience!

Candy Cane Inn

Candy Cane Inn

Given that this was a solo trip, I didn’t want to spend all of the money to stay at Disneyland Hotel again. However, I wanted something a little closer than the Sheraton Park Hotel I stayed at last May. So, I went with the much hyped online Candy Cane Inn!

Admittedly, I was a tad disappointed to discover that it’s not a Christmas themed hotel. However, it is located directly behind Cars Land at Disney’s California Adventure! Plus, it has some great perks!

Standard Room

I booked a standard double queen room. All of the rooms here have been recently refurbished! Everything in the rooms look nice and new! I love the addition of the Mickey rug placed in between the beds. The bed was very comfortable! My room was very close to the lobby building, which was very convenient for grabbing breakfast. However, the first night of my stay included listening to children playing in the outdoor pool loudly. Thankfully, the other two nights were pretty quiet.

Pros

  • Location – You can literally see the backside of Cars Land from the motel’s parking lot! It’s a quick 5 minute walk to the park gates from this motel.
  • Trolley – There’s a trolley that runs every so often to and back from the parks. So, it’s a quick walk but you don’t have to walk if you don’t want to.
  • Free breakfast – This hotel has one of the best free breakfasts I’ve ever had! They had an assortment of fresh donuts that tasted amazing! There were also some croissant sandwiches that were great for powering me until lunch. There was also a waffle maker by the pool as well as some fresh fruit. I was really impressed with the spread available here.
  • Recently refurbished – The rooms look great, so you don’t have to worry about anything falling apart.
  • Security guards – I mentioned in my Sheraton review that there are several unhoused folks on the streets here. Thankfully, this hotel has its own security guards that patrol the hotel and it felt really safe staying here.
  • Friendly – Everyone I encountered here was really friendly. In fact, the nice lady at the front desk switched me from an upstairs room to a room downstairs due to my luggage situation and there not being an elevator here.

Cons

  • No regular tv channels – I know you don’t travel to watch tv, however I enjoy watching tv when I get ready to go out or to bed. Unfortunately, they had only digital channels here.
  • Pool can be loud – The pool is open until 11 PM and sometimes people in it are noisy. They can interrupt light sleepers or be bad for napping.
  • No elevator – Make sure you request a lower room if you can’t handle stairs.
  • Limited trolley schedule – It’s wonderful they provide the free trolley, but it is run on a schedule. So, if you aren’t ready to leave at the right time, it’s a bit of a waste.
  • Limited theme – There’s not really a cohesive theme here. So, if you like staying somewhere with an immersive theme, maybe look elsewhere. If you want a relaxing place with clean touches, then this is the place for you.
  • A little pricey – This place used to be a good bit cheaper, prior to the refurbishment. It is also a little more expensive than some nearby hotels. It’s still much cheaper than staying on property though.

Is the Candy Cane Inn worth it?

I thought the rate of $279/night was acceptable given the location and various included amenities. I loved being so close to the parks and the free breakfast was awesome. I would definitely stay here again, but I will probably look somewhere else too.

Have you ever stayed at the Candy Cane Inn?

Epcot Festival of the Holidays Guide

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The Epcot Festival of the Holidays begins on Friday! So, here’s a little guide to help anyone planning a trip there!

Epcot Festival of the Holidays

Epcot Festival of the Holidays

This limited time event held at Walt Disney World usually begins on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and lasts until near the end of the year. In 2024, that’s November 29th to December 30th. During this time, you can expect to encounter special holiday entertainment and food booths scattered around World Showcase. Here’s a closer look at what you can expect.

Holiday Kitchens

Personally, one of the biggest draws of any festival held at Epcot is the addition of the food booths. This festival refers to them as Holiday Kitchens. The kitchens are mostly themed after specific countries and reflect their holiday food traditions. Last year, I enjoyed the Japan booth with the sushi tree and the potato latkes at the L’Chaim booth.

Additionally, there’s always a Cookie Stroll you can participate in. There are several cookies available for purchase at the booths. If you purchase select ones, you can complete the challenge and earn a free reward! The prize is typically a special cookie and maybe some milk!

Entertainment

During this festival, there’s lots of special entertainment to enjoy. Several of the countries have their own Holiday Storytellers or cast members from their respective countries telling the stories and traditions of the holidays in their home countries. It’s so neat to walk around the park and hear festive stories from different countries!

There’s also JOYFUL!, a show that celebrates Christmas and Kwanzaa. You can also meet and get your picture taken with Santa at the Odyssey Pavilion this year.

Lastly, there’s also the holiday scavenger hunt around the park. This year’s Olaf Holiday Tradition Expedition Scavenger Hunt involves purchasing a hunt map for $9.99, going around the park to identify the holiday traditions and placing the sticker in the corresponding spot on your map. Then, you return the completed map for a prize!

Candlelight Processional

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Candlelight Processional offering. It’s one of the most popular seasonal entertainment offerings at Epcot. I wrote a whole post last year on the Candlelight Processional Dining Package at Epcot Review. While it was an expensive evening, it was delightful to have a good meal at a restaurant at Epcot and guaranteed seating for the show with a celebrity narrator. My mom and I were lucky enough to see John Stamos on the night we went.

Festival of the Holidays Tips

  • Plan for at least one full day – We spent an entire day in Epcot last year and still didn’t see everything at the festival. I could see popping over to Epcot if you have a Park Hopper ticket to enjoy some evening entertainment or to grab some food.
  • Space out the meals – We ate breakfast for the dining package, skipped lunch, and ate dinner from the booths. That worked well for us.
  • Get a gift card – Personally, I always purchase a Disney gift card to use at the festivals so I don’t have to keep track of receipts after visiting the booths. Also, those gift cards are a good way to earn fuel points at Kroger. Alternatively, Epcot usually has a special themed gift card on a bracelet for each festival that’s especially handy.
  • Check the schedule – It’s good to go in with a rough idea of things you like to see and their times. However, I also recommend just leisurely strolling World Showcase for the holiday vibes.

So, have you ever visited the Epcot Festival of the Holidays? What are your tips?

Walt Disney Studios Tour Review with D23

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During my trip to California in September, I was able to take the official Walt Disney Studios Tour presented by D23! Just in case anyone was considering taking this tour, I thought I would do a review.

Walt Disney Studios Tour

Walt Disney Studios Tour

Have you ever wanted to see where the magic is made at Walt Disney Studios? Thanks to the D23 fan club, you can! They are currently offering walking tours of the campus to members! I was very excited to do this tour and to walk around the campus where lots of things have been dreamed up and created!

Animation Building

The tour begins in front of the Hyperion Bungalow. Then, the guide goes over some general history of the Disney Company and the property. Gradually, you work your way over to the Animation Building. Once in the building, the tour guide walks you through the building and goes over several popular Disney films. There’s lots of artwork on the walls to correspond with this walk and talk about the company’s history. While it was interesting and nice to remember some childhood favorites, I think something interactive would have been nice here. In fact, a video showing how the films were created may have been nice. Nonetheless, it was neat to walk those storied halls.

Suite 3H: The Offices of Walt Disney

I think the real highlight of this tour is getting to see Walt Disney’s office. The company has painstakingly restored the office to reflect how it looked when Walt was alive. It was surreal to be in his office and imagine him dreaming up the theme parks that I love so much. It was also very odd to see so many ashtrays around the office. However, he (and many others at the time) were heavy smokers.

Legends Plaza

After touring Walt Disney’s office, we headed off to Disney Legends Plaza! It was so neat to look around and spot the handprints of many well-known folks.

The Archives

Next up, we visited the Walt Disney Archives in the Frank G Wells building. It was so cool to see historic pieces of the company. For instance, we got to see the desk where Walt worked on Snow White! The real cherry on top was getting to hold an Oscar! It was the real Oscar the company won for “White Wilderness”! Everyone got to hold and take a picture with the Oscar. So, that was awesome!

It Ends in the Gift Shop

Our tour wrapped up by walking around the lot a little more. We got to see the famous water tower and then came around the front of the lot again. Like a good theme park ride, we ended at the gift shop, aka Walt Disney Company Store. I will admit, it was neat to be able to purchase exclusive merchandise not available elsewhere. I may have bought a shirt to prove I was there.

A Word on Scheduling

There are three big filming studios in Burbank: Universal Studios, Warner Bros., and Walt Disney! So, it’s easy to visit the area and hit up all three in one trip. The tricky part though, is getting a ticket to Walt Disney’s tour. This tour is offered for D23 members on the events page. They add tours a few months at a time and only a few months in advance. I booked my September tour on July 19th. Also, the schedule for the tours appears almost random. I noticed previous months offered Wednesday tours on the third week of the month. So, I planned my whole trip around that and got lucky when the schedule came out with the third Wednesday being an option!

Also, my afternoon time slot had me sitting in rush hour LA traffic trying to get to Anaheim. So, if it’s an option, I’d recommend staying in Burbank (I liked the Hilton LA/Universal City Hotel) or pick a morning tour.

Is the Walt Disney Studios Tour worth it?

Currently, the site mentions that Walt Disney’s office is closed for refurbishment and the tour has a discounted price to reflect that. I paid $156 ($149 + $7 servicing fee) for this tour and thought it was expensive. However, as a once in a lifetime experience, it was worth it to me. It allowed me to geek out and fully embrace being a Disney adult. However, if you are having trouble getting a ticket or it’s out of your price range, I understand that too. It’s great for any Disney parks/animation fan, but the average person might not enjoy it enough to warrant the high price tag. I thought it was a lovely afternoon that I won’t soon forget.