Our 2019 Strategy – Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival

Posted on September 25, 2019 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

We’ve never had a bad visit to Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival. It sometimes gets a bad reputation for rowdy crowds and over-imbibing merrymakers, but our experiences have always been positive. Bear in mind that we are firm believers in that early to bed, early to rise adage – especially at Walt Disney World, so we may be inadvertently avoiding the worst festival guests. That being said, we’re well into the planning homestretch for this year’s Food & Wine visit and I’m getting pretty stoked!

Our 2019 Strategy – Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival

While I don’t do as much extensive pre-festival planning as some, I always make sure to start my research on the Disney Food Blog’s festival pages. I find I rarely have to look anywhere else for the scoop on all things delicious and entertaining. This year I’ve got two major considerations as I build my must-try list: Limited festival time and a big appetite.

Limited Festival Time

Because we’ll be at Walt Disney World for slightly less than four days, We’ll need to be strategic about making the most of our Epcot time. Fewer attractions and more World Showcase is the plan. The Eat to the Beat Concerts during our visit will feature Sheena Easton, Kris Allen, and Boyz II Men. Personally, of the three, I’d pick Sheena Easton if there’s enough time to watch a bit. In the 80’s I loved her music and for a time Sheena and I even sported the same hairstyle. (I’m humming the morning train song now as I type.)

Big Appetite

As you may already be aware, our favorite son, Joseph, and I are running the Wine & Dine Challenge for the first time this year. Nothing like running 19.3 miles in two days to make a body mighty hungry! Also, burning lots of calories makes me feel less guilty about the food booth indulgences. Some of this year’s choices are outstanding and my wish-list top five include (in no particular order):

Brazil – Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Tomato and Onions
The Alps – Venison Stew with Crushed Potatoes
Flavors from Fire – The Steakhouse Blended Burger: Blended Beef and Mushroom Slider with Brie Cheese Fondue, Arugula, and a Truffle and Blue Cheese Potato Chip on a Brioche Bun
Spain – Seafood Salad with Shrimp, Bay Scallops, Mussels, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, White Balsamic Vinegar and Smoked Paprika
Thailand – Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef with Steamed Rice

The only repeat is the Crispy Pork Belly – Raymond and I both love it so much that we once stopped in at Epcot and made our way to World Showcase just to split an order on a super-crowded Saturday night. We were on our way to dinner someplace like Yachtsman Steak House, but had to make time for that one dish. It was the only thing we did in Epcot that day. Even saying the words…crispy. pork. belly. Makes me happy.

While we may not get as much time at Food & Wine as we’d like this time, I plan on making the most of this limited opportunity. If I can manage to squeeze in an order of Morocco’s Spicy Hummus Fries or a bowl of Refreshment Port’s Duck Confit Poutine with Fig Demi Sauce and Brie Cheese Fondue, I’m going for it.

Are you a fan of Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival? What are your favorite dishes?

WDW Vacation – Getting Psyched for Food & Wine

Posted on July 15, 2016 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

My countdown calendar finally feels like it’s moving. The days are ticking by ahead of our long-awaited return to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. I couldn’t be more excited! This may only be my second visit during Food & Wine, but I feel like a seasoned veteran after our weeklong 25th Anniversary celebration at F&W in 2014. This year we’ll be a party of seven and our plans are really shaping up. With only two-and-a-half months to go, it feels right around the corner. It’s Friday today and that means a Friday Five is in order. Dear Readers, I give to you…

WDW Vacation – Getting Psyched for Food & Wine

Pick a week and book it! – This is the first phase of excitement. Thinking about going changes after you know exactly when you’ll be there and where you’ll be staying – makes it real and you can set your countdown calendar! Because I’m a planner I’m also, in this very early stage of vacation prep, starting to think about where we’d like to eat when we’re not enjoying the Food & Wine offerings. Which brings us to…
Make some ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) 180 days out – “Some” being the important key here. I think you can over-book dining reservations which may detract from the joy of strolling around World Showcase sampling all the excellent flavors that Food & Wine has to offer. I like to ensure plenty of festival time, so I book just few carefully chosen reservations that will leave us a plenty of free afternoons and evenings for hopping from country to country on an international culinary tour. Once those ADRs are booked, I feel more like I know what our touring plans will be each day and that makes me even more exited!
Wait impatiently for the booths and menus to be announced – I’ve searched everyday for weeks and finally the kiosk and menu info is available – This is a major factor in getting psyched for the trip! Sure, it’s fun to see what musical groups will be playing during our visit, but that’s not (for us) the primary draw. You can print out those menus and narrow down all the food and beverage choices to the all important Top-Ten-Must-Try list (yours could be whatever number you like). I’m not too picky, so I’m leaving room to be flexible and spontaneous in food selection. It’s not imperative to have a list, but it sure is fun to strategize a festival food plan. Yes, more excitement! Check out this year’s lineup here.
Book those FastPasses ASAP – If you’re staying on property, this means there are only 60 days left before your vacation! My strategy for Epcot is all about making sure we don’t have to come and go repeatedly from World Showcase once we start our feasting. On this trip, we’ve got one whole day reserved for Animal Kingdom and I’m excited about having breakfast at Tusker House and dinner at Tiffins…while maximizing attraction enjoyment in between. On most of the other days, we’ll be park-hopping to keep Epcot part of the action as often as possible.
Reminisce or surf the web (or both) – I like looking back at pictures and blog posts from our last trip to Food & Wine. I also like reading about other people’s trips as well as food reviews, booth rankings, and touring tips. This will keep me entertained and build excitement right up until the day we leave for vacation.

Are you headed to Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival this year? What are you doing to get psyched for the trip?

Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival Turns 21

Posted on June 15, 2016 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Ugh! I think my countdown calendar is broken. I’m so excited about our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World in October for Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival, the days are passing unbelievably slowly and vacation seems much too far away. We’ve been looking forward to this particular trip since we started planning it in 2014. Remember when Raymond and I went to Disney World during Food & Wine to celebrate our 25th anniversary? That was our first experience visiting during the festival and we not only had an amazing time, we knew it was something Joseph would absolutely love…once he turned 21. Well this is the year – Joseph and the Food & Wine Festival both celebrate the same milestone in 2016.

Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival Turns 21

62 days long this year, Food & Wine is a great place to sample new flavors and enjoy World Showcase in a different way. The fall weather in Orlando is incredible with less humidity and rain than during the summer months. We’ll be visiting for 7 days and as is my habit, I’ve been obsessed with planning just the right amount of activities, time in each park, free time, special meals…you get the idea. I may have gone overboard with the ADRs (advance dining reservations), but I have plenty of time to tweak the plan when we make our FastPass selections 60 days from our trip. I’m anxiously awaiting more festival details so I can better plan our time in Epcot. In 2014 Raymond and I found that scattering our Epcot visits liberally throughout our vacation allowed us to sample plenty of flavors and take in a couple of special events.

I’ll tell you what I’ve got planned now. I know you’re going to be shocked that we’re passing on Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, but four of the seven in our travel party have attended the party fairly recently and the other three are not all that excited about going. Best to use that time and money elsewhere on this visit, I think. Here are the plans – if you’d be so kind, please leave me a comment and let me know what you’d change (add, delete, move, etc.).

Saturday – Arrival Day at Epcot – All veteran Food & Wine visitors will tell you to keep away from the festival on the weekend, but I’m bucking common sense here because I want everyone to see what a crazy Saturday night looks like in Epcot during this most unusual time of the year. The only time that surpasses a Saturday night in Epcot during Food & Wine is World Showcase on New Year’s Eve (and we’ve seen that too!). So basically, we’ll hit Epcot by early afternoon with whatever FastPasses I can score 60 days out, make our way slowly through the masses in World Showcase and arrive at 8:00 pm for our Via Napoli ADR. I took suggestions from my friends on Twitter and Via Napoli was highly recommended as a crowd pleaser that won’t cost too much. We plan to share appetizers and pizzas and call it a day.

Sunday – Magic Kingdom all day. We’ll want to get an early start and fit in as many attractions as possible. We do have a late lunch reservation at the Skipper Canteen, but depending on FastPass availability, it’s probably the most likely ADR to be cancelled. Since the park closes early for Mickey’s Not So Scary, I thought this would be a great day to visit the Polynesian for drinks and dinner. Hopefully, Trader Sam’s won’t be too crowded. We have a dinner reservation for ‘Ohana and I’m looking forward to a relaxing evening where we can turn in early and get a jump start on Monday!

Monday – Disney’s Hollywood Studios through lunch, Epcot in the afternoon. Megan and Grant had a great experience at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater on their honeymoon last year, so we thought we’d give it whirl! I can’t believe we’ve never tried it before and am excited about the experience. After lunch, it’s on to Epcot with absolutely no other plans for the day. The rationale here is that Epcot will be uncrowded and we can take it easy and soak up all that the Food & Wine Festival has to offer.

Tuesday – Animal Kingdom all day. I’m disappointed that Animal Kingdom’s posted park hours show a closing time of 5:00 pm and sincerely hope this changes! We have an early breakfast at Tusker House (a first for us) and another reservation for very early dinner at the brand new Tiffins (4:30 pm). If the park hours change and evening activities are a go, I plan to try to call and change our breakfast to a dining package for whatever show (Jungle Book or Rivers of Light) might be showing. If you’ve heard anything about fall hours or evening events, please let me know.

Wednesday – Disney’s Hollywood Studios early and briefly then Epcot for lunch before Disney Springs for the late afternoon/evening. This sounds like a lot of hopping, but I’m thinking that if we rope-drop the Studios and hit four attractions (Tower of Terror, Rock’n’ Roller Coaster, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Star Tours), we’ll be finished in two hours or less. The food booths in Epcot will make a great lunch activity and we can take our time getting to Disney Springs by around 4:00 pm. We have a reservation at Raglan Road for 7:00 and would like to shop a little and visit Jock Lindsey’s before dinner. After dinner, we may even have time to hit Magic Kingdom for a couple of hours.

Thursday – Magic Kingdom until lunch then to Epcot for the afternoon. I’m excited about our lunch reservation at Whispering Canyon Café! That nice little boat ride from Magic Kingdom to Wilderness Lodge for some great food is a wonderful break from park touring. Dinner will be at Shula’s Steak House (at the Dolphin) that evening and we can easily walk there from Epcot.

Friday – Animal Kingdom in the morning before hopping to Epcot for more food booth action. If I can, I’ll book Epcot fastpasses for late afternoon. We can walk from Epcot to our farewell dinner at Il Mulino in the Swan. I’m exhausted already and all I’ve done is type these plans!

Okay – I need you! What would you change? Have I allowed enough time at Epcot? What about the other parks? If I need to cancel some ADRs, which should be the first to go?

On a side note: Today is actually Joseph’s 21st birthday. I’d like to say…Happy Birthday to my favorite son – I admire your thirst for knowledge and your love of puns. I am amazed every single day at the incredible man you’ve become and I adore the way you’re true to yourself always. I love your gentlemanly manners and your love of everything old…especially your parents. I love you, Sonny Boy. Don’t ever change.

Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival Merchandise – 2014 Edition

Posted on August 29, 2015 by greenlisa9989@yahoo.com

Yay for the weekend! The weather is slightly cooler, the promise of fall is in the air and the 2015 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival will soon begin (September 25th – November 16th)! One of the most anticipated aspects of the Festival is the specialty merchandise. If you’ve not yet visited Walt Disney World during this most excellent time of the year, Nick’s recap of last year’s Festival merch will give you a great idea about what visitors can expect to see. Happy Saturday, y’all!

Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival Merchandise – 2014 Edition

By Nick

There are several locations around Epcot selling a wide assortment of Epcot’s 2014 International Food and Wine Festival merchandise.
Let’s take a look at a few items offered for sale in the Festival Center, located inside the old Wonders of Life pavilion in Future World.

You can find some nice merchandise exclusive to this years festival. There is a green Annual Pass version of the tee pictured directly below, but unfortunately there were only large, medium and small sizes left, and I’m an XL. The white tee is $29.95.