This past weekend was the kick-off of SeaWorld San Antonio's FOURTH Annual Seven Seas Food Festival! We absolutely love this event, and we're so excited that we've gotten to attend every single year and to watch it grow and succeed so much. 

We're going to take you through a photo journey of our time at the opening weekend of this year's festival and share our thoughts on what you have to try, what you can skip, and everything in-between! 

First thing's first! Buying a lanyard! You can purchase a 10 Sampler package for $45, a 15 Sampler package for $60, or the VIP Chef's Tasting Package for $65. And YES, you can use Season Pass discounts on these! Cha-Ching!

And don't forget to pick up your Seven Seas Festival Passport! This free guide through the booths allows you to get a stamp at each location you purchase a food/beverage at. When you've gotten a stamp from every booth, you get a free dessert!

So. Many. Tempting. Options!

Mexico also offers Tequila Tasting for an additional charge. The experience offers 4 tastings of different tequilas for $14.95, or $19.95 with a souvenir shot glass. 

​Crepes on crepes on crepes on crepes!!!

France also added a new immediate favorite this year- Macarons!

A ranking of flavors:

Just like the Tequila experience in Mexico, SeaWorld also offers a Whiskey Tasting. This booth isn't really in a specific Seven Seas area, it's just in between France and Greece. There's also a Craft Beer stand right next to it, so I guess we can call this "Alcohol Area."

Neither of us are really Whiskey fans...but the employees were just so friendly and they really sold it! So we had no choice but to taste a bunch of whiskeys! 

Aaaaand that's it. We can't tell you anything about whiskey other than- still not a fan. 

In our very honest opinion, Greece really needs to step it up. The Lamb Burger used to be a favorite of ours in years past, but it's gone down hill. There also haven't been many changes to the booth other than those Greek Nachos (which are a direct rip off of EPCOT, by the way) and the new cocktail. 

The new cocktail, Santorini Sunrise, was also not our favorite. To be fair we didn't know what Ouzo was before ordering it, but now that we do, we won't order it again. If you are also unfamiliar with the liquor, it has a strong black licorice taste. Be cautious! 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Italy really stepped it up this year! We'll add a photo of the menu in an edit later but for now here's the full menu:
Italian Meatball Slider
Three Cheese Polenta with Braised Beef & Wild Mushroom Sauce
Grilled Artisan Flatbread Pizzas 
Spicy Italian 
Caprese 
Tuscan Style 
Dessert
Pistachio Cannoli
Cocktail
Limoncello

The limoncello, like previous years, takes the cake for STRONGEST drink of the festival. 

Such a pretty area.

The cutest little booth :)

Both of the cocktails, Caribbean Breeze and Jamaica Me Crazy, are really good! Try them both!

And SHOCKER- Parker loved the mac and cheese!
Jerk Pork White Cheddar - Mac
Pasta & white cheddar cheese mixed with spicy jerk pork topped with mixed cheddar cheese

Japan is one of our favorite booths of the festival. It's one of the few stops that includes entertainment, and the food is really good as well!

The ribs are my favorite!

The new Chicken Gyoza were also a new favorite!

Spain is a great booth, as well! The tapas are all pretty good, and you can never go wrong with Sangria!

The charcuterie plate is a good size! And it's tasty!

The flank steak is an old favorite of ours.
We also really liked the cocktail "Porron con Garrabato"

The highly anticipated NEW booth of 2018! Hawaii! We love that SeaWorld added a new booth to the mix this year, and did a great job with the offerings!
The only downside to this experience was SW's poor planning.
​I don't think they anticipated so much traffic to this booth on opening weekend because they ran out of a lot of stuff.
But, it just means we'll have to try some of the other options when we go back in the next few weeks.

SPAM fries with Red Chile-Garlic Dipping Sauce and Kalula Pork Slider with Grilled Pineapple Slaw

This was our first time trying SPAM and, honestly, it wasn't bad. Plus the dipping sauce was amazing! The pork slider was also very good. We'd get it again, for sure. 

Admittedly, Brazil is not our favorite booth for food at the festival. But, there's just something about the area, decor, and entertainment that we can't help but love. 

Choripan con Chimichurri- Basically Sausage on Bread with a side of sauce.
​It wasn't great, but it was better without the bread.

The cheese and guava pastry! This one was good, we definitely need to try all of the pastries!

A successful first trip to SeaWorld San Antonio's Seven Seas Food Festival!
​The event runs on weekends from April 20-May 28, so you still have plenty of time to check it out!
​Taste your way around the world and have a whale of a time!

HELLO EVERYBODY! It's felt like forever since we've written a blog post, and it feels SO good to be back! We took a pretty long hiatus there for a while, but now that theme park season is back in full swing we are more ready than ever to get RideorDine back up and operating. 

Since we were gone for so long, we figured we should come back with a bang and post a trip report about one of the most unique and exciting parks we've been to: Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park! Located in Glenwood Springs, CO, this mountain-top amusement park is truly a one-of-a-kind experience. The park features cavern and cave tours, numerous thrill rides, and (of course, our favorite) excellent food! We do have to warn you, though. If you're not a fan of heights or are prone to altitude sickness, you may need to skip this one. While we absolutely LOVED Glenwood Caverns and fully believe that everyone should experience it, we can also recognize that it is not for everyone. I mean, the park makes you sign a waiver before even entering,  so that should tell you something. BUT, please don't let any of that discourage you. If you're unsure or are on the fence about this one, lean toward the side of DOING IT! Because it is absolutely worth it! 

Since this park is located on top of a mountain, the first step when arriving is to take the Iron Mountain Tramway all the way up. And yes, I mean ALL. THE. WAY. UP! The ride feels like it lasts a lifetime which can be a bit nerve-racking, but if you focus on the amazing views and take fun pictures along the way like we did, you'll be okay! 

Once you get to the top, you really get to begin the fun! The tramway is an attraction all its own, but it's nothing compared to some of the rides that this adventure park has to offer! The park offers wristband options which get you admission to the park via the tram, unlimited rides, and/or unlimited cave tours. We opted for the ride wristband since we were pressed for time when we were there, but we'd love to return and explore some of the caves eventually. 

The first thing we did upon entering the park was head straight for the Alpine Coaster. This was my first time ever trying a coaster like this. I'd seen videos online, so I had an idea about it, but I was a bit nervous. 

Of course, Parker was ready to go and excited, so I had no choice but to get ready! Although I was a bit scared at first, once I was out there, I had a blast! For anyone unfamiliar with an alpine coaster, you are strapped into a small car like the one above. You have controls on the side of your car that let you control your speed as you race down the track on the side of the mountain. I loved the fact that Parker and I got to ride in our own cars and control our own speed. (I didn't want to hold him back from going too fast, and I knew I definitely wanted to take it a bit slower). The views and scenery during this ride were so incredible, you almost forget that you're on a thrill ride at all. This was definitely one of our favorites!

Next we checked out the Soaring Eagle Zip Line. This one may look familiar to a lot of people since they feature it in many parks across the country. (Usually for an up-charge) Of course, once again, the views come into play here. Everything is prettier on top of a mountain!

One of the other extreme highlights of this park is the Giant Canyon Swing. If you can manage to keep from shutting your eyes on this ride, you'll get to enjoy absolutely breathtaking views. 1,300 feet up + 50 mph swing off the side of a mountain = BRAVERY. 

Of course the park also has to offer a classic roller coaster. The Alpine Coaster is fun and different, but if traditional coasters are more your style then you can check out Cliffhanger Roller Coaster. Although, at 7,100 ft in elevation, this is technically the highest coaster in North America, so I'm not sure how "traditional" that really is! But either way, it's a fun little coaster!

Now, the attraction we're most excited to tell you about! We definitely saved the best for last on this one! Not even a year old yet, is Glenwood Cavern's newest and most thrilling ride to date: The Haunted Mine Drop! A first-of-its-kind drop tower that instead of taking riders up and dropping them back down to ground level, STARTS at ground level and drops them DOWN- underground! This is hands down the most terrifying ride either of us has ever ridden. Although, I will say, a lot of that terror came from the unknown. Now that we've done it and know what to expect, it may be a little less scary!

The theming of the entire ride was very well done. Walking through the queue, you feel like you've entered an old abandoned mine with characters and screens along the way keeping you engaged. Once you get to your actual seats, you're strapped in and greeted via screen by ghostly miners that set up the true story of the ride. This is the perfect distraction from the fact that the floor just slid out from under your feet. Before you know it, you're plunging underground into a mountain! The drop was terrifying because it's dark, cold, and a total mystery. We had no idea how far we were dropping, or what would be waiting for us at the bottom. We won't give away any of the details of the actual ride (since that's half the fun), but just know that this is definitely one of the COOLEST rides you will EVER experience. 

After an adrenaline-pumping day of thrill rides, you're bound to work up quite an appetite. Luckily, in addition to a snack shack and popcorn wagon, Glenwood Caverns has a full-service restaurant that offers great meal options with a view. The Lookout Grille offers burgers, wraps, appetizers, and more. They also have a feature that they offer which changes depending on the day or week. When we were there they were offering a home-made green chili (which if they ever bring back, we highly recommend). 

The food itself was also pretty good. We can tell that the park is trying to make an effort to heighten the food and beverage experience. We spoke with Bob Stepniewski, the Food and Beverage Manager, while visiting and he shared some of the history and future plans of the park. Glenwood Caverns originally started as a lookout restaurant on top of the mountain, and eventually transitioned into the adventure park that it is today. Having that restaurant background, it only makes sense that the park offers more than the traditional "theme park food" experience. Having those changing features and home recipes as an option is a great example of how the park is trying to break the mold on the industry standard.
​We loved our meals, and we wished we had more time to try more. Hopefully we can get some desserts next time, because I was definitely eyeing up that menu!

And there you have it! Our full review of Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park! In case it wasn't obvious in our raving above, we LOVED this park! It was something totally different than any park we'd been to. It has exhilarating rides, an adorably friendly staff, and delicious food. And once again- THE VIEWS! If you find yourself in Colorado, definitely make a point to drive to Glenwood Springs for the day to enjoy this park. Just make sure to check their website ahead of time to make sure they're open and the attractions you're interested in are open as well. This is Colorado after all...on top of a mountain...weather definitely plays a huge role!