Eat to the Beat Concert Series
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (120850)
Gainesville, Florida
July 6, 2024 10:44am CST
Epcot, one of the four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, offers festivals throughout the year that provide a little extra fanfare to guests visiting the theme park. The Flower and Garden Festival just ended, and the International Food and Wine Festival will be starting soon, and run through November.
For those who have never been to Epcot before, the front half of the theme park is where all the rides are, but the back half of the park--called the World Showcase--contains "lands" where different countries are represented. The "countries" surround a large lake, and at the back of the World Showcase is the American pavilion, and it is there that Disney has a small amphitheater for concerts. It has seating for about 2000 people. As part of the Food and Wine Festival, Disney offers free concerts called "Eat to the Beat." Popular bands from bygone eras are booked, and will usually perform either Friday/Saturday, or Sunday/Monday. Each night, three sets are offered, usually lasting about 30 minutes each. So if you go to all three sets (5:45pm, 6:30pm, 8:00pm), you can enjoy about an hour and a half of music.
We've never really taken advantage of this in the past, but this year we're excited to go see more concerts at the theme park. The seating is wonderful, the experience is intimate, and it's all included with theme park admission.
Here's the shows we are going to see this year: The Fray, Sugar Ray, Hoobastank, Mercy Me, Foreigner/Journey, Switchfoot, Parmelee, and Smash Mouth. My daughter also wants to go see 98 Degrees, but I'm not a fan of boy bands and probably won't go to that one.
Disney also offers a dining package with the concert series, where you can dine at one of their fancy restaurants in the World Showcase and have reserved seating in the amphitheater, for an extra cost of course. We'll probably do that for a few of the shows.
Do you like any of the bands we're planning on going to see? Or, if you can have your pick, which band from the past would you like to see at Disney (assuming you were there at the theme park)?
12 people like this
9 responses
@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jul
There were a couple that I didn’t know who they were, but realized I knew their songs when I looked them up and played them.
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Jul
@noni1959 That happens to me a lot. I’ll know the song but not the artist. Especially either the really older groups, or the ones who are just one-hit wonders.
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@noni1959 (10004)
• United States
25 Jul
@moffittjc Some oldies I like I'll know the songs but not remember who sang them.
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@LadyDuck (467179)
• Switzerland
8 Jul
@moffittjc I have always loved ABBA songs, I forgot the Beach Boys!
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Jul
I would love to see the Eagles in concert! I wouldn't mind seeing The Bee Gees as well. I was never a big fan of ABBA.
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
9 Jul
@LadyDuck I’ve seen The Beach Boys in concert twice in my life, although both times were many, many years ago.
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@snowy22315 (176745)
• United States
11 Jul
Busch GArdens here usually has a summer concert series. I saw the Oakridge Boys one year.
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@snowy22315 (176745)
• United States
13 Jul
@moffittjc I just heard The great fiddle tune The Devil went down to Georgia yesterday. That's kind of their signature.
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Jul
@snowy22315 Absolutely love that song! I will turn it up no matter where I am or what I am doing when it comes on the radio!
@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
13 Jul
Silver Springs State Park, which is about 30 minutes south of where I live, offers a pretty good summer concert series. I was reminded of it when you said Oakridge Boys, as I remember them playing there before. I only know a few Oakridge Boys songs, but I know my dad absolutely loved them.
I did see the Charlie Daniels Band a few years back at Silver Springs, it was such a great show.
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jul
Mercy Me is one of the ones I’m most interested in seeing!
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jul
@just4him For King and Country will be playing a concert in Tampa in the fall. I’m thinking about going to that show, if it’s not sold out by the time I decide to buy tickets!
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@just4him (317038)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
10 Jul
@moffittjc Enjoy the concert and the food.
We have Lifest this weekend in Oshkosh, an hour from here. One of these years I'm going. They always have a great lineup of Christian artists. This year, Newsboys, Matt Maher, and For King and Country are just a few of the great artists who will be here.
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jul
I love their music, but this would be my first time seeing them in concert.
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Jul
That's okay, there were a few that I didn't know by name (but knew some of their songs). Most of these are bands that were probably only popular in the US and UK.
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@FourWalls (65394)
• United States
6 Jul
Eat to the Beat? Thought that was a Blondie album.
No, none of those bands/acts appeal to me. If forced, I’d probably go to Smash Mouth because I do like “All Star” and “Walking on the Sun” enough. Foreigner was the headliner of my second-ever rock concert and I left before they took the stage, if that tells you anything about my feelings for them (and that was 1978!). But that’s okay, YOU have a GREAT time!!!!!
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Jul
I've seen both Foreigner and Journey in concert way back in the 80s, and I was unimpressed with both shows. The music they produce is great coming out of a studio, but not so great when trying to play it live. But I will still enjoy myself nonetheless, just for the nostalgic feeling alone.
I had never heard of Hoobastank before, but just a few nights ago started listening to their music, and I found that it's pretty decent and I kinda like it. Not really my favorite genre, but it's pretty good music.
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Jul
I saw Foreigner and Journey back in their heyday, and I was disappointed in both of the concerts. I thought their music sounded great in a studio, but was difficult to reproduce in a live setting. But I know technology has improved greatly since I saw them many, many years ago, so I imagine these days the live sound would be much closer to what was created in a studio.
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@moffittjc (120850)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Jul
Me too! I surely hope I will enjoy the concert. I expect that one will be one of the most popular ones, so I will probably pay extra for the dining package which guarantees us seats at the front of the amphitheater.
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