Our focus of this trip was Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival. Our pre-planning indicated we would eat/drink 60 different menu items (spoiler: we didn’t make it). During the Festival we would attend one paid food/wine seminar with a chef, join in candy sushi making (a reserved event), and attend one performance from Tiffany.
This year Disney had a few Festival gifts for Annual Passholders. The first was a magnet featuring Mickey in a chef hat. The other was a cutting board attained by going to Epcot 4 times during the festival. We had four park days planned but Epcot was not part of our last day’s plan. We decided to run (almost literally) into Epcot before checking in to our room and making our dinner ressie at Narcoossee’s (in the Grand Floridian). Our plane pulled up to the gate at 7pm. By 7:50 we were in our rental car, buying supplies at Speedway, and made it to Epcot’s gate - at a dead stop. Combine the holiday weekend with the 2nd night of Food and Wine and you have a lot of people heading to Epcot. We sat there for 15 minutes as cars paid their parking fees every so slowly. Then 8:00 hit and parking was free! Lanes opened up and we parked in the first spot we found. We race-walked to the entrance in the 100% humidity and high temps. Dave looked great. Once in the Festival Center we found a long line for the magnets. Might as well grab a beer while we wait. After getting the magnets we hustled out of there. Dave was crabby since his nice clothes for dinner were drenched with sweat. Fortunately we made it to the hotel in time to check in and quickly freshen up. Dinner at Narcoossee’s was nice. We watched the Hallowishes Fireworks from the porch - which was possibly the best place on property to view the 180 degree effects.
Overall the Food & Wine Festival was same stuff-different year, but that didn’t mean it still wasn’t fun. The booth lines were relatively low all weekend. We believe the heat and humidity kept the locals away. At times Epcot was very crowded but folks were not on food lines. There were plenty of Drinkin’ Around the World crews, tribes, and squads.
While at the Festival we used the Food & Wine Passport book to track our progress. We used a check-mark for good items, a dash so so-so, and an X for items we did not like.
Any food item pictures we have will follow the order of the marks in the Passport. Some beverages don’t have photos since they may have just been a beer or red wine.
No photos of the beers from the Festival Center. We each had a flight and had too much to manage while sharing our flights on line for the magnets. We did enjoy the Disney Family Wine flight.
No photos of the beers from the Festival Center. We each had a flight and had too much to manage while sharing our flights on line for the magnets. We did enjoy the Disney Family Wine flight.
Tip: if it is too hot too eat outside there are a few tables in Club Cool you can use. Added bonus is free soda.
Skipped this one
Both these items were among our favorites.
The black stuff with the scallops was nasty.
We enjoyed the next 5. At first we rated the jerk chicken high, but realized it didn’t have the flavor of Dave’s recipe.
We did have the shrimp quesadilla in Mexico. It was good but not worth the high price. China’s pancake was a top item.
The beef from Africa has been better in previous years. Holly thought it was spicy hot. This is the first year we skipped the Brewer’s Collection - the beers were too light for us and we’ve tried those same beers during another fest. Also disappointing - German pavilion replaced the Oktoberfest beer with everyday Beck’s.
No photo....this is a Fest staple item and it is always very good.
Stuck with beer here. Sometimes this booth is a hit-or-miss and we were never really hungry when near the pavilion.
Took a chance here with tuna and salmon (we don’t do raw fish). Everything was good. Brazil scallop stew was very good.
Stuck with beer here. Sometimes this booth is a hit-or-miss and we were never really hungry when near the pavilion.
Took a chance here with tuna and salmon (we don’t do raw fish). Everything was good. Brazil scallop stew was very good.
They never give you enough bread for any cheese dip.
Other fun:
We watched a performance by Tiffany at the American Gardens theater. She can sing and even mentioned how she had to prove it back in the 80’s with “Could Have Been”. Her vocals were a mix of Melissa Etheridge, Stevie Nicks, and Miley Cyrus. Tiffany knew her audience and played all her hits plus an 80’s medley.
We attended a seminar in the Festival Center. For $25 each we were served a glass of wine and a small portion of food similar to what the chef was preparing on stage. Our menu featured a wine from a Chappellet in Napa Valley and short rib bourguignon. The wine was a restaurant-size pour and the beef a decent few-bite portion. The time commitment was about 60 minutes.
On Friday and Saturday the park hosts a dance party near the Fountain of Nations. While there we saw a performance by IRL (In Real Life). We had no idea who they were, but the girls in the crowd were singing along. We found out later that they have some hits on Radio Disney and were part of a reality tv show. We took a selfie with them in the background to up our street creds.
This year a new free event started in Sunshine Seasons where you make candy sushi. It was sponsored by M&M Mars and Adventures by Disney to promote their Japan itinerary. We were given paper hats and materials to make several varieties of sushi. There were a few other kidless adults at the event and we did not feel out of place.
Even after attending this festival so many times it’s still a great event. Epcot is the perfect place to walk around and sample food and drink while taking in some fun entertainment. We even got a cutting board out of it.
Even after attending this festival so many times it’s still a great event. Epcot is the perfect place to walk around and sample food and drink while taking in some fun entertainment. We even got a cutting board out of it.
Our “free” smoker required an investment in charcoal, a cover, wood chips, and some firestarter things. For our first attempt we went with baby back ribs. We thought we followed the instructions right for telling when the coals were ready.... but maybe not. We could not maintain a temperature over 225 degrees and for the most part it stayed near 200 - we were supposed to be at 250. We toyed with the coals about every three minutes. The ribs were to cook for 3+ hours but two hours in we checked and they were charcoal and burnt. Apparently something went wrong. Getting beyond the burnt taste, we could taste the wood-smoked flavor of the hickory chips and the meatier end pieces were pretty good. This was enough to convince us to look at other options. 
