We visited the 20th annual Food & Wine Festival this past week. Going toward the end seemed to be a great time to go; the weather was perfect and the crowds appeared to be down with the exception of 1 night. It has been several years since we last visited and we were very impressed this year with the quality of food. While some of the food was not to everyone’s taste, it all was very good and a nice helping so it could be split 4-ways.
There were two things I was disappointed in this year. First, because of the festival having their 20th year, a special edition pin was available, but was sold out by the time we were able to go in the final 2 weeks. In addition, there didn’t seem to be very many red wine options on the menus. There were plenty of whites, beer and even mixed drinks.
With that said, the things I really enjoyed this year was having a lighter crowd since the festival had been going on for 30 days by the time we got there. We visited several afternoons and had very few waits other than a few people in front of us. Saturday night was very crowded since the Jolly Jungle Marathon had run that morning and the Food and Wine Marathon was running that evening.
We enjoyed this year’s festival with my son and his now fiancé! We all seemed to have similar taste in food, so at each kiosk we purchased 2 items and each was split into 4 samples to go around. I had purchased two of the heavy plastic plate/cup holders at the Festival Center, which worked great so the food had a solid carrier and also a place for each couple to place their drinks.
Some notes worthy items we tried this year were:
- Farm Fresh – Loaded Mac n’ Cheese with Neuske’s Pepper Bacon, cheddar cheese, peppers and green onions. On a scale of 1-5 – it was a 10!!!
- Africa – Buttered Chicken with Micro Cilantro and Naan bread
- France – Boeuf Bourguignon; Braised short ribs with Cabernet Sauvignon with Mashed Potatoes
- Canada – Le Cellier Wild Mushroom beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce
- Scotland – Seared Sea Scallops with Spinach-Cheddar Gratin and Crispy Bacon
Over-all, I highly recommend the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. There are things for everyone, from the pickiest eaters to the gourmets! I cannot wait for next year’s festival!
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Debbie and her husband live in Collegedale, TN where her youngest son is going to college. She is a huge Disney fan who dreams of someday retiring and working as a tour guide at Walt Disney World. She has enjoyed many trips to WDW with children, grandchildren and sometimes adults only. It is her ultimate goal to make sure everyone who visits WDW has the same magical time that she enjoys every time she visits.
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