On our recent quick weekend trip to Disney World, Jason and I experienced EPCOT’s International Food & Wine Festival for (somewhat) the first time. Our first “true” time at Food & Wine was after the Inaugural Wine & Dine Half Marathon and EPCOT was a madhouse. We stayed long enough to use our food/drink coupons, then we left. I was hoping for a better experience this time around and I definitely got it – we had a BLAST!
(Please note: My issues with Wine & Dine’s post-race party happened during the race’s inaugural year. I haven’t run this race since, but I’ve heard reports that the post-race party has improved since it’s first year.)
As we entered World Showcase, we first stopped to pick up a Festival Passport.
If you are planning on attending the festival, a passport is a must-do! Its free of charge and serves as a menu of sorts (minus the prices) – we used it to determine our food/beverage selections at each country.
Stamps are also available at each booth. We enjoyed having our passport stamped each time we purchased an item. It was fun to see which countries we “visited” by the end of the night!
Our festival journey began in Scotland (Canada side) and continued all the way around World Showcase.
Here’s a glimpse at a few booths we visited during our time at the Food & Wine Festival.
Greece was our first stop.
I had the Spanakopita – a flaky outer shell filled with spinach and feta cheese…delicious!
We also really enjoyed the Pork Sliders from Hawaii.
Despite major crowds, the booth lines were quick – we never stood in line longer than 10 minutes.
In Belgium, we had….
…Belgium waffles! Get outta town…
Jason really enjoyed Sushi in Japan.
As we passed through Germany, this window display really caught my eye. I love caramel apples (this display is the reason I tried my hand at them last week…the disaster also known as caramel apple making…)
Speaking of Germany, I had Jason take this super dark picture of me in my usual spot at the fountain of the Germany Pavilion. This location is sort of a “tradition” for me…I have a photo at this very spot from almost every EPCOT trip I’ve been on since 1999. Any guess why? It goes all the way back to a favorite boy band of mine…yes, NSYNC once sat in this very spot while filming for their Disney Channel Christmas Concert. Yes, I’m a nerd. Thank you. :0)
What were we talking about? Oh yeah, Food & Wine Festival….
Our final stop was China where we enjoyed these pot stickers (they were VERY tasty)!
In all, we spent about 3 hours walking around the festival. Perfect timing, we reached the final booth past Mexico just as the Festival was closing for the night.
On our way out, I just HAD to stop by the Leave a Legacy wall to track down a few familiar faces…
After a small internet search, I found them! NSYNC is on EPCOT’s Leave a Legacy wall!
West 6 F 4.
When you enter the park, these guys are located on the first row of legacies, all the way to the right (at the very end of the row). They were super easy to find!
In all, we really enjoyed visiting the Food & Wine Festival and would go again in a heartbeat. I can’t wait for next time! :0)
If you are running the Wine & Dine Half Marathon this weekend, I hope you take time to visit the festival – it’s well worth your time!
Have you visited the Food & Wine Festival in the past? What’s your favorite menu item from the festival?
I have always wanted to spend some time at Epcot during the Food and Wine festival. I'm hoping that post race isn't too crazy and I get to enjoy a bit!
ReplyDeleteKaren @karenlovestorun
I've heard they made improvements over the first year...it can only be better! I'm crossing my fingers for you! :0) Have SO much fun!
DeleteThat looks like so much fun! I love that they give you a passport and sign it! Lol! Too funny about NSYNC! ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of fun! Thanks, Mindy!!
DeleteI really hope that I can make it to the Food and Wine festival next year (and maybe Wine and Dine too!) Looks like so much fun to eat your way around the world in one night :)
ReplyDeleteWine & Dine is on my "list" for next year! Crossing my fingers!! :0)
DeleteI want to do both the festival and the Half. It's the Disney race I want to run the most. (After the Marathon in January, hopefully)
ReplyDeleteAgreed, the half is so much run!!
DeleteThe belgian waffle is great! I wish we went this year so I could have tried the chocolate version!
ReplyDeleteLoved it...that was one of my favorite items from the evening!
DeleteI've been at F&W a couple times, but I wasn't adventurous with my food selections. I went to France and got Boeuf bourguignon, Greece and got Baklava, and Italy and got Gelato. If I were to go back, I'd want to check out many more booths.
ReplyDeleteThose all sound delicious! So many decisions, it's hard to choose!
DeleteI.LOVE.FOOD.AND.WINE. Love it! I'm going to have to find a way to get back, with the trip in Feb. I don't think I'll make it in 2014 either! Wah!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAww bummer! I really enjoyed my first time there...can't wait to do it all again!
DeleteI fly out Thursday morning to head down to run the Wine and Dine Half Marathon and spend a week at Disney!
ReplyDeleteI AM SOOOO EXCITED.
Have SO much fun, Sarah!! Excited for you!!
DeleteI have never been to food and wine, but would love to. Post marathon a friend and I ate our way around Epcot sharing things in a few locales. My favorite was a little cafe/bakery in France that had a crazy good cheese plate.
ReplyDeleteOoh that sounds delicious! I'll have to look for that next time! :0)
DeleteThose potstickers do look yum! Must stop there next year.
ReplyDelete