Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival
Happy #NationalWineDay! This post about my experience at Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival at Disney World is long overdue, but better late than never! I attended this past year in 2018 and had a blast. It was truly a unique, fun experience for foodies and Disney lovers around the world. Thinking about going to the next event? Read below for what to expect at Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival!
Planning Your Stay
Pick a Disney Hotel
First thing’s first: you need lodging for the International Food and Wine Festival. While you don’t have to stay at a Disney World hotel, it does make your stay easier. Disney hotels have transportation shuttles going to and from the parks every 30 minutes, all day long, for you to hop on. This will save you the trouble, and cost, of ordering an Uber. We used this mode of transportation to get to and from Epcot, where the food and wine festival is held.
Getting Into The Festival
Tickets
There are no official tickets for general admission into the International Food and Wine Festival, you simply need a park ticket to Epcot. These are $109 for a 1-day Epcot park ticket, $169 for a 1-day Park Hopper ticket. Park Hopper tickets allow you to go to more than one Disney World park (there are four total) within the same day. This choice is up to you!
Tracking Your Way Around the World
Food and Wine Festival Passport
Festival Passport booklets can be found at any of the 40 food and wine festival destinations around Epcot. They are usually at the cashier checkout, but you can also ask a worker. The passports let you track the different destinations you try ‘around the world’ with designated stickers. This is a really fun perk of the festival and I highly recommend using it!
Festival Passport Stickers
The food and wine passport comes with designated stickers to mark what food destinations you tried at the event. Sounds a little cheesy, but I am so glad I did it to remember later on! The stickers designed are based on the food destination stops. I tried 7 out of the total 40. We got full quicker than we thought!
Trying the Food
This is a food and wine festival with destinations from around the world, so the food is PRIME. I wish we could have tried all of the destination stops, but our stomachs, and wallets, wouldn’t allow it. Each destination offers around three to five main items along with drinks for pairing. The portion sizes are bigger than bites and smaller than a full size. So not too bad! We actually ended up getting full through out the day and had to take breaks. Read below for which food destinations I tried, and tracked, in my festival passport!
Stop 1: Spain
Our first, and my second favorite, stop was Spain (located between Germany and Italy). I chose to try their Charcuterie in a Cone paired with their Wine Flight to start out the day. The cone consisted of imported Spanish meats, cheese, and olives with an herb vinaigrette. The Wine Flight had two reds and one white. It was simple, but SO GOOD!
Stop 2: Morocco
Our second stop was Morocco (at the World Showcase). Here we ordered the Kefta Pocket and Chocolate Baklava to share while watching a live performance of Moroccan singers and dancers! The Kefta Pocket contained seasoned ground beef, which was alright in my opinion. I may have been biased, though, with my sweet tooth love for the baklava!
Stop 3: The Almond Orchard
The Almond Orchard destination, hosted by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze and near the Port of Entry, was my favorite destination of the festival. This was due to yumminess and fullness of the items. You got your money’s worth and they were SO good! I tried the Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip and Banana Almond Soft-serve Sundae. DEAD.
Stop 4: Islands of the Caribbean
The Puerto Rican in me had to find something Latin within the festival to try. I chose the Ropa Vieja Empanada from Islands of the Caribbean (near Disney Traders). I may have been partial to having real Ropa Vieja (“Old Clothes” aka shredded beef) on the regular, but this was NOT it. Therefore I did not really like it. It tasted more like ground beef!
Stop 5: The Wine & Dine Studio
The Wine & Dine Studio was as delicious as it sounds. I tried the Butternut Squash Ravioli along with the Artist Palette of Wine and Cheese. I repeat: a palette of wine and cheese :). The ravioli was really good and was perfect for a “dinner” & I love cheese, so three different types of cheese paired with a crostini was amazing.
Stop 6: The Cheese Studio
You know I love my cheese! The Cheese Studio, hosted by Boursin Cheese, was so good. I tried the Cheese Trio and the Maple Bourbon Boursin Cheesecake. The Cheese Trio consisted of Profiterole topped with Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs Cheese with Orange-Apricot Jam (my favorite out of the three), Smoked Salmon Pinwheel with Boursin Shallot and Chive Cheese and Everything Seasoning (I did not have this one as I do not like salmon), and a Strawberry Macaron with Boursin Pepper Cheese. The cheesecake was delish!
Stop 7: The Chocolate Studio
Our last and final food stop was The Chocolate Studio (in Future World West). I had the Sweet Dark Chocolate Raspberry Torte and it was divine. I really like raspberry and chocolate together so this was the perfect desert for me. It was rich, but in a good way!
Things I Would Add for Next Time
Try More Destinations
While we came with full appetites, I only tried 7 out of the 40 total food and wine destinations. Next time I would like to start earlier to be able to spread out more stops. I would also add a second day to be able to try more.
Buy a Festival-Themed Gift Card Wristlet
Festival-themed gift card wristlets can be purchased when you are at Epcot’s entrance buying your park admission. These are cute, round keychain wristlets that let you put money on it to then scan at the food and wine destinations later. This allows you to pay without having to take out your card at each stop. It is a fun and convenient keepsake that I wish I bought when I was there!
