Got back yesterday after spending November 6-12 at Disney World and Universal Studios.
Part 1...
I took the Auto Train from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL. I LOVE the Auto Train. If you live in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, or eastern Midwest and don't mind spending a little extra time (and cash) getting to Florida, DO IT.
For the trip down, hubby and I booked a roomette - a small private compartment with two seats facing each other that convert into a bed. There's also an upper bunk. Toilet/bath facilities are shared and down the hall or downstairs. Since hubby had to stay home for work, I had the roomette all to myself. While it's a little cramped for two people, it provides more than enough space for just one. I booked the 5:00 dinner service (salmon with lobster sauce, mixed veggies, rice, something chocolate and cake-like for dessert) so I could get to bed early and be well rested for my first day at Disney World.
The train arrived in Sanford around 9:00. Of course, my car was one of the last off the train - it seems that the earlier you check in, the longer you have to wait for your car. Once I had it, I headed straight for Epcot, arriving before 11:00. The guidebooks all recommend saving Spaceship Earth for later, after the lines die down, but I couldn't resist doing it first. Then I hit the Test Track single rider line and didn't have to wait very long at all to get on the ride. After that, it was time to start circling the World Showcase and visiting the Food and Wine Festival booths.
I started at the end of the bridge, headed clockwise, and tried (in order) Australian shrimp on the barbie (good), Argentinian beef empanada (good), Caribbean jerk-spiced chicken drumstick with mango salsa (very good), Scandinavian Swedish meatballs with lingonberries (good), Chinese black pepper shrimp with Sichuan noodles (excellent!!!), Japanese spicy tuna roll (excellent!!!), Moroccan baklava (excellent!!!), Belgian steamed mussels with roasted garlic cream (very good), Canadian chicken chipotle sausage with sweet corn polenta (BEYOND excellent!!!), and Mexican shrimp taco (good).
It's too late now to influence anyone's selections, since the F&W Fest is over, but I cannot describe how awesome the chicken chipotle sausage was. Out of the 20 or so dishes I sampled over the course of two days, it was my favorite, and so good I got it twice. And of course, most folks lined up at the booth were ordering the cheese soup and completely missing out on something amazing.
While touring the food booths, I also visited the various World Showcase attractions. On Sunday that included the Mexican and Norwegian boat tours, the American Adventure and singers, Miyuki, the French movie, and the Canadian Celtic rock band (like the Tartan Terrors, but without the beer, dancing girls, or sheep jokes). I also bought a F&W Fest cookbook and was disappointed to discover that, unlike the cookbook I bought in 2005, it does not include recipes for all the dishes available at the booths. So no making that awesome chicken chipotle sausage with sweet corn polenta at home. 
I left Epcot early (stopping at Test Track for another ride) so I could be sure to be checked in at our timeshare resort before my sister and her family and friends flew in. Didn't need to bother; they didn't arrive till after midnight. But at least that gave me time to unpack my stuff and haul sister's groceries up from the trunk of my car.
Day 2 didn't start when the park opened, since I was exhausted from staying up late waiting for sister & crew to arrive. Still, Epcot wasn't crowded, so no problems. Started with Test Track (my favorite Epcot attraction), then visited Ellen's Energy Adventure. After that I hit a few F&W Fest booths for an early lunch. First off was Hawaiian tuna poke, which was beyond awesome. And once again, I was surrounded by people getting something else (the Kalua pork slider). I was the only person I saw getting the tuna poke, which was my second favorite dish out of everything I tried. After that I went back to the Canada booth and got the chicken chipotle sausage and the maple glazed salmon (excellent!!!) and hit the Greek booth for chicken souvlaki (good). Then back to Future World - took the Seas with Nemo tour and visited with Crush, then took the Living with the Land tour. Finished up Future World at the Imagination pavilion with Figment and Captain EO.
After that, I went back to the World Showcase. Saw O Canada and the new British band (very good show), caught a glimpse of Serveur Amusant (eh), saw Matsuriza, and finished up with the Chinese movie just in time to catch the acrobats. While touring I sampled the Moroccan harissa chicken roll (good), the New Zealand seared scallop (good), the Singapore shrimp cake with Singapore noodles (the shrimp cake was good, the Singapore noodles didn't taste like any Singapore noodles I've ever had), the South Korean lettuce wrap with roast pork and kimchi slaw (wished I'd gotten the bulgogi BBQ beef because it smelled better than the lettuce wrap tasted), and Mexican flan (very good).
In spite of being stuffed to the gills, I hit Test Track and Spaceship Earth again on my way out. But I was tired and skipped Illuminations a second time.
I didn't bring a camera and thus only have the photos I took with my phone. And they're mostly things hubby had never seen - food at the F&W Fest and attractions at Universal. So not much to see, although I will post a photo or three once I get them off my phone.
Oh, and I saw Marie the kitty cat twice, but didn't stop for a photo this year.
Day 3 - Universal Islands of Adventure, Day 4 - Magic Kingdom, Day 5 - Universal Studios, Day 6 - Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, Day 7 - Hollywood Studios and Epcot, and Day 8 - Downtown Disney and back to the train station will all come later.
It was quite good. Then back to Haunted Mansion for a second tour, then hit the Hall of Presidents on my way to Frontierland. I'm in the process of reading biographies of every American president, so this attraction is anything but boring to me, no matter what the Jungle Cruise operators like to say. When I see the animatronic figures, I know who they're supposed to be.
