Join us in welcoming back our friend @mealtrip with a review of Epcot’s new “After Hours Wind Down“. Earlier, we reviewed our after-hours experience at La Cava del Tequila. Today, @mealtrip takes us to the Rose & Crown Pub for a sampling of food and beverages!
Epcot’s After-Hours Wind-Down is an opportunity for guests to head to one of four Epcot bars/lounges to enjoy a relaxing evening after the IllumiNations fireworks are through and the rest of the guests have headed out of the park.
Rose and Crown is one of the more popular choices available!
The food items were quite good. It was a three part sampler with the Pork and Apple Sausage Roll with House-made Piccalilli (same as at the Flower and Garden booth, but a notch better — probably because it was fresher and the Piccalilli wasn’t over-vinegared; you could still see color in the vegetables), Cotswolds Cheddar with honey and onion jam, and a Scotch Egg with mustard.
Food Sampler
The beers were Bass, Harp, Guinness, and Strongbow.
I noticed that quite a few people said “I don’t want the Guinness,” and so the bartenders were okay with swapping out for something else. I would recommend voicing your preference upon arrival because they do start prepping all the little glasses as people are walking in. They ended up dumping glasses of Guinness.
Imperial Sampler
Overall, it seemed a bit too long to me, but that’s probably because I was alone. There were 13 people there, and the other “groups” seemed to be having a good time. The “cap” at Rose and Crown is 50 people, but I don’t think there’s been more than two dozen guests on any one night yet.
You can order more beer and whiskey, but the staff seemed shocked when I asked to order more food at 10pm.
Note one difference from the first night of the event: the piano lady is not part of the event. Apparently, they switched Extra Magic Hours that first Friday night, and no one updated Piano Lady’s schedule, so she was actually there for Extra Magic Hours until 10pm. So, her performance was an “opening night bonus”.
Have you attended an After Hours Wind Down event in Epcot? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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“They ended up dumping glasses of Guinness.” That just breaks my heart 😉
Sounds great! Thanks for the review. Who are these strange people who don’t want Guinness?
I agree, who are those strange people, but who are the stranger ones that just went and dumped what wasn’t going to be used???? They are from Guiness country!!
So it seems again that it was just a small sampler as you said and not a buffet type meal.
The drinks look like 4oz pours.
So a small sampler and a pint for $40 plus tax, I still am not feeling the value.
I don’t get the value either- especially at a place like Rose and Crown which is reasonably price compared to other Disney restaurants. I could make a reservation shortly before the park closes, get a full-sized entree and an alcoholic beverage (or two depending on what entree I choose) of my choice, and still be able to walk around afterward with no crowds for close to the same price.
At least with the event at La Cava you got a presentation to go along with everything else. Unfortunately I’m not a tequila fan, so that wouldn’t be my choice.
The more I see of this the less interest I have. The lack of value and lack of options just seems to make the entire thing pointless. To bad, I was thiking this was going to be a cool idea.
A Monorail “fast pass” option…to ride up front to exit EPCOT and by pass the queue.
Then a nightcap and appetizers at the California Grill.
We attended the wind down at Spice Road Table on 5/3 and really enjoyed it.
I think i need to go there any just wait for all the rejected guiness’s, ill be drunk as an irishman for no money at all 😉
So, were you successful in ordering more food?
One thing I like are the “in and out” privileges with the wristband. Our loose plan is to attend until around 10:00, then stroll around the empty World Showcase until making it back around to Morocco for a nightcap glass of wine. That should be do-able, don’t you think?
It always amuses us, when we visit the UK pavilion, that Guinness is on offer and the shop is full of Guinness merchandise. Guinness is Irish and the Rep of Ireland is not in the UK! Isn’t it a little like having American merch in the Canadian pavilion? Or Swiss things in the French pavilion?
That aside, I admit I’d swap out the Guinness too – I’ve always hated the stuff, despite living in the town where Arthur Guinness was born. 🙂
I recently attended the After Hours Wind Down at Tutto Gusto. It’s probably an event I will never do again, and I didn’t find it worth the price. I was there with a friend, and we were well on our way out the door by 10:15 pm. The place was packed, and if you’re going to go to Italy’s event, the desssert flight is the best one there. Very chaotic, the staff didn’t seem interested in answering any questions about the six different options available to the guests and I left disappointed in the whole event. The price is just to steep for what you get. The walk out of an empty park, I realized, is not really all that special either. Just my two cents. La Cava seems to have the best event of all of these locations at the moment.
For Bláthnaid Ryan, while Guinness started in and is brewed in Ireland, it is actually a British company.
Well technically the Guinness should be in the Canada pavilion. I believe thats where the drink is brewed now for the U.S. market. Does anyone have an update if kids are still being allowed here, or if anyone noticed them at these events?
What a shame out of all the great local ciders available in England they are putting on Strongbow. a sweet, overproduced, mass marketed cider 🙁
And the food is somewhat disappointing – really, scotch egg, a bit of cheese and a sausage roll? What is it, motorway service station food?!