Our first day was at Epcot, my personal favorite for parks. We road classic rides such as Soarin’ and the Test Track, and walked the World Showcase for a small touch of culture from around the world. I found a bottled beer that I’d never had before, Tsing Tao Pure Draft (think of it as Chinese light beer), which quenched my thirst. For dinner we took the shuttle boat (look for the exit between England and Morocco) over to the Disney Boardwalk for the Big River Grill (http://www.bigrivergrille.com/index.php?pg=location&sub=loc&location_id=23). Big River had a nice Schwarzbier (a German dark lager) that washed down a huge burger. We watched the fireworks (almost at the gate) and called it an evening. Four new beers was a good start (about as good as could be expected).
Day 2 was at the Animal Kingdom. The advice we got was to see the animals early, so I rushed for our fast pass for the Safari trip and then we went on a stroll to see the gorillas. The animals were cool (although if you want to see wildlife I’d recommend the Bronx zoo), and I was able to ride the Kali River Rapids and the Mt. Everest roller coaster. The beer offerings weren’t so great. I had a Tusker lager from Kenya at the Tusker House, and I was able to try the Safari Amber (one of the previously mentioned 49 offerings from Anheuser-Busch) at the Yak & Yeti. We were beat at the end of the day and were ready for a day off (again, see previous entry).Our third park was the Magic Kingdom. We love the
Big Mountain Railway coaster and the Buzz Lightyear rides, as well as Mickey’s Philharmagic production. Jessica was also brave enough to try the Haunted Mansion. But the Magic Kingdom is a dry park, so we enjoyed the day, went back to the timeshare to watch the Olympics (and drink some of the beer that I had gotten from Tampa).Our last day was at Hollywood Studios, a smaller (and very crowded) park. The best ride of all the parks is here, Toy Story Mania (just like the version that is available for the Wii), and the fast passes are gone by 10:30 in the morning so get them early. We liked the shows (Indiana Jones, Extreme Stunts and Fantasmic) and got a real kick out of the Tower of Terror.
But there was no beer (they had Bud at the Sci-Fi Drive-In, but I went for the Vanilla Coke instead). But Tony from Oldsmar recommended that I try the House of Beer in the evening, so with the kids (and Jenn’s parents) worn out, we went out for the evening.The House of Beer (http://www.hobflorida.com/) has been opened for about seven months, and offered a great selection of beer on tap and in the bottle. They had live music (not typically my favorite for a beer bar), but Jenn and I sat at the bar where I could salivate over the choices and watch the Canada vs. Swiss Olympic Hockey match on a 60” HDTV. They had a beer book, and after I had ordered Jenn her standard Sea Dog Blueberry Ale I was able to get two sample trays to try eight different beers. My favorites were the Left Hand Oak Aged Widdershins, a high octane barleywine from Colorado, and the Highland Auld Ashville Vintage Ale, a fine example of an Old Ale.
I thought it was a date, but Jenn said she enjoyed just observing me in my element. The manager talked to us quite a bit, and Jenn enjoyed being schmoozed by someone from Sweden. I was also finally able to get some Florida beers, including several from Cigar City (Winter Warmer Christmas beer, Marshall Zhukove Imperial Stout, and their Improvisacion (an Oatmeal Rye India Brown Ale – huh?)). I was fortunate that my in-laws had driven down to FL since these were BIG bottles (that means I can share Brian) and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get them home on the plane.I didn’t make it to the Cricketeer Arms or Red Light, Red Light this trip (I really was tired), but maybe if I’m selected as a delegate for the 2011 ELCA National Assembly I’ll get another chance. - 5400
"There is more to life than beer alone, but beer makes those other things even better." – Stephen Morris
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