98 Degrees - Eat The Beat Concert
Concert Dates: August 28th, 2022 - August 29th, 2022
Location: American Garden Theater, Epcot, Disney World,
The Eat The Beat Concert Series is a multi-day star-studded concert at Disney World with three shows each night. Eat The Beat invited various artists of different genres to perform on 1-2 days so there is something for everyone. The first show starts at 5 pm, second show at 6:30 pm and the third show is at 8 pm. This concert series is part of Epcot’s annual International Food and Wine Festival.
I jumped on the chance for the following reasons:
Disney World resorts were offering 25% off on hotel rooms for Disney+ subscribers
I had not been to Disney World since I was 11 years old
98 Degrees announced as part of the Eat The Beat Line Up
All the signs screamed Iyleen needs to go!
The Package Deal
With the Disney+ discount,I scored an amazing deal that included:
Four Night Stay at Disney World Resort - Coronado Springs
Free Transportation between the Disney Parks and Resorts
Two Day Park Hopper
Early Entrance to the Parks
Coronado Springs
Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort, about a 10-15 minute bus ride to the parks. The hotel’s decor is inspired by Spanish and Mexican influences. The outside landscape itself is a paradise with a lakeside oasis and its own beach with hammocks. The hotel also has different restaurants and shopping area.Guests had the option to stay in either the main hotel or one of the villa rooms. Perfect for Disney Adults like myself.
I decided to spend Saturday relaxing at Coronado Springs knowing the Disney Parks would be busy and crowded with families. The resort has a large pool set in front of an Incan-Inspired Pyramid with a waterfall. And a waterslide! An opportunity to chill and get some sun. I also may have gone down the slide multiple times in addition to dipping in the pool.
The resort also hosted various activities including showing an outdoor movie every night. We watched Encanto one night. They also organized a campfire by the pool where kids could roast smores and adults can enjoy sangria.
Disney Adult Solo Travel
Disney World was my first full solo vacation trip. Mind you, I was hesitant at first to travel on my own. However, after much thinking and reading travel blogs, this trip became a much needed self care treatment and escape from everyday reality.Disney World is also one of the safest places on Earth.
Once I was at the parks, I didn’t feel lonely at all considering there were always people on the rides with me. And I met fellow Disney solo guests. It was also fun just to people-watch, especially little girls all dressed up and running up to the Disney Princesses with so much excitement in their eyes.
Going to Disney World alone further gave me more flexibility than I did if I went with my family. Experience the park at my own pace. I could decide what rides I wanted to go on. And choose to go and interact with Disney characters.
Day 1 - Epcot
I decided to spend the whole day Sunday at Epcot as that was the first night of the 98 Degrees concert at the park’s American Garden Theater.
Prior to the trip, my friend suggested purchasing Genie+ (Disney’s fast pass replacement) so I can avoid wasting time waiting in long lines. And that was the best decision I ever made! With Genie+, I skipped the lines and went on more popular rides .
The most popular ride was the new Guardians of the Galaxy Ride, which is the better adult version of Space Mountain. I also rode the Ratatouille Ride which is also fun even though the whole ride is in French as well as the Finding Nemo submarine ride.
Genie+, however, only limits guests to skip the long lines on 2-3 rides a day. My day still worked out fine. The only long line I had to wait on was the Frozen ride. But it was only 30 minutes!
Day 2 - Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom
On the second day, I spent the morning at Pandora in Animal Kingdom. The theme park is inspired by the Avatar movies. The two main rides are Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.
The Avatar Flight of Passage is a super 3D fun thrilling simulation where you get to fly on a banshee over the pandora landscape. Lots of drops and loops. I advise not to eat a full meal prior. Definitely one of my favorite new rides.
In contrast, the Na’vi River Journey is a slow river cruise ride (similar to Jungle Cruise and Small World at Magic Kingdom) through the glowing Pandora rainforest. Still magical and amazing! A nice breather from Flight of Passage.
I will also say upon entering the land of Pandora, Disney has done a great job with the scenery to make you feel like you are among the Navi.
Moreover, I couldn’t miss the African Safari Ride. The classic ride of Animal Kingdom. I did ride that one last time when I was a kid. It was still awesome seeing all the different animals. I also rode the Kali River Rapids ride. Missed that ride last time. Fortunately I did not get as wet. I decided not to do the Everest Ride because the lines were long and the Genie+ passes ran out.
Before going back to Epcot for the 2nd night of concerts, I briefly stopped at the Magic Kingdom. All I wanted was to take pictures with some Princesses, the iconic Cinderella castle and visit the Hall of Presidents. I have gone to the original park - Disneyland in California a bunch of times. I didn’t see the need to spend much time there.
Scoring Front Row Tickets
In order to get early access and front row tickets to the 98 Degrees concert, I had to make a reservation and dine at one of the restaurants. Prior to traveling to Orlando, all the reservations were booked. However, I did discover that the Spice Road Table in the Morocco section accepts walk-ins. So I decided to have an early lunch at around 11:30 before the rush. Gained a table, a delicious lunch of Mediterranean Tapas and most importantly, a 98 Degrees VIP ticket to their first show on Sunday night at 5 pm!
Two Nights of 98 Degrees
The American Garden Theater is a semi-open air theater located between the Germany and Morocco Pavilion at Epcot.
On both nights, 98 Degrees performed two shows. The first one was at 5 pm and the second show was at 8 pm. They were scheduled to perform another show at 6:30 pm but both concerts on Sunday and Monday got canceled because of a heavy rainstorm on both nights! Typical Florida weather. I had to spend 30-45 minutes standing in the rain waiting to re-enter for the 8 pm shows. It was still worth it!
On Sunday night, I made sure to give myself enough time to get to the venue and grabbed a front row seat to the first concert! I was within arms reach of the guys!
Note: I was only able to get 1 VIP ticket for 1 concert time slot on one day. I had to line up with the rest of the crowds for the other concerts for general admission.
Before the concert began, the crowd screamed when they spotted 98 Degrees entering the side of the stage. I even saw NSYNC’s Joey Fatone sitting in the audience with his daughter and Jeff’s family. He was so kind to take photos with me and multiple fans during the concert even when he was about to leave.
98 Degrees opened up the show with their biggest hit, Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche). The crowd immediately got excited at the sight of Nick, Jeff, Drew and Justin. During the performance, I got lucky to get my concert selfie photobombed by Drew!
Then the boys slowed the show down with their famous ballads, “Invisible Man” and “I Do (Cherish You)”. As usual, they poured their hearts and souls into the songs and performance. 98 Degrees continued the theme of love and romance with “Because of You”. Being situated in the front row, I got lucky again to get Nick to serenade me and hold my hand during the song like he did at the 2018 Christmas show.
Later in the show, 98 Degrees performed a medley of TRL top 10 songs to bring us back to the nostalgia of MTV in the late 1990s/early 2000s era. The setlist included Blink 182’s “All The Small Things”, NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” and BSB’s “I Want It That Way”. Nick’s vocals truly shine on the opening of “I Want It That Way”.
The best part of the medley though was Drew rocking out a Britney Spears T-Shirt while 98 Degrees sang “Baby One More Time”.
They closed every show with the “Hardest Thing”. The most appropriate finishing song because it was definitely heartbreaking to watch 98 Degrees to end their show.I wanted to go on for longer! Their voices sounded amazing.
Even though they performed the same songs twice each night, they dedicated a great deal of effort and spirit into each show. The boys clearly enjoyed themselves performing on stage. With a bit of Disney magic, their enthusiasm fed into the energy of the crowd.
Overall, I had an absolute blast at Disney World and the 98 Degrees concerts as my first solo trip as a Disney Adult. I am so glad I decided to take this trip for myself. It was such a fun adventure. And 98 Degrees being there was the icing on the cake!
