Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

This week kicks off EPCOT's International Food and Wine Festival, one of the largest and most popular events held every year at EPCOT.  A foodie's dream, this is your chance to experience the flavor of signature dishes from over 25 different kiosks and booths located all around the World Showcase.  From Africa to Australia, Hawaii to Ireland, there's something to excite everybody's palate  And running for a record 53 days, the longest span of the festival's 19 years, there's plenty of time to go back for seconds.

As somebody who's done the Food and Wine Festival for the last 4 years, and who's going back for more in November, I look forward to this event all year.  Not only EPCOT my favorite park, but Food and Wine is my favorite special event!  And after careful consideration, I've drawn up a quick list of my favorite parts of the Food and Wine Festival!

9.  The Food (and the Wine)

Ok, so this seems like the obvious choice, but really, it is kind of the cornerstone of the event.  Being able to sample a little bit of everything from various food-loving countries around the world is pretty awesome.  Not only are there kiosks from countries not normally featured in EPCOT, giving a breath of fresh life to what you come to expect from World Showcase, it's a safe way to try some food from the countries that are there.  For example, I'd heard the buzz on how great the food at the Moroccan restaurants are, but I couldn't bring myself to eat there...  I have so many favorite places to eat in Walt Disney World (especially EPCOT), the idea of wasting a dining credit on a new place that I may not like and sacrificing a meal somewhere I love...  Honestly, it stressed me out.  But after trying one of the sample-sized dishes (for a wallet-friendly price of less than $5) at the Morocco booths and falling in love with the flavors, I was inspired to try the Tangierine Cafe.  Now, Tangierine Cafe is one of my favorite quick service restaurants of all time.  Not that the visiting countries booths don't have incredible food too...  Two words: beef empanadas.  Those are worth the trip themselves.

Speaking of signature foods that are worth the trip:

8.  Limited Edition Dole Whips/Citrus Swirls (With Rum!)

Last year it was a Citrus Swirl with spiced rum.  This year, it's a Dole Whip with white creme de cacao.  The complete and total awesomeness of this sells itself.  What else is there even to say?

7.  The Ultimate Bang for Your Dining Plan Credit

The complaint I hear most often from people on the Dining Plan is their snack credits often get wasted or not used.  With so much great food available in the many quick service and table service locations around the parks and in Downtown Disney, people often just forget to cash in on the snack credits, or they think that the only thing they can get for them are

gummy bears and candy.  Wrong!  This is the best time of year to invest in a Dining Plan.  Why?  Because almost all the food offerings at the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival are only one snack credit!  Canada's famous Cheddar Cheese Soup, Belgian Waffles with Berry Compote, Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll, all of it is only one snack credit per item!  Any event that gets me Canada's soup for only a snack credit is a great event to me.  Yes, the portions are smaller than a full serving, but it's really not hard to make a mini-meal with only the small price of a snack credit or two.

Just be warned...  If it's an alcoholic drink, it's not covered.  And some of the countries are a better bang for your snack credit than others (don't ask me about the year I accidentally got 4 boxed chocolates on the snack credit that were available for .99 cents at the gift shop...  I'm still sore over that).  When in doubt, watch what people are walking away with or ask to see what you're getting before you commit.

6.  Special Events, Celebrity Sightings, and Character Surprises        

The EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival also brings with it several shows, seminars, and special events.  Some are included in your EPCOT ticket, some are separately ticketed events.  Guest speakers, even celebrity chefs, are often on hand for either demonstrations or as guests.  Many boards, blogs, and websites keep track of celebrities people have spotted in and around the festival.  Everybody from Guy Ferrari to "The Cake Boss," even Gordon Ramsay and his family have been spotted at various times in the festival.  Last year I spotted the lady who plays the Evil Queen in ABC's "Once Upon a Time" in the Magic Kingdom.  Of course, I can't guarantee that you'll see a particular celebrity just roaming the parks...  That's all luck.  But check out the speakers and special events schedule to see who's going to be around...  Getting a seat at their seminar or event is a surefire way to get a guaranteed celebrity sighting.  If doing a separate paid event isn't your thing (or they're all booked up), the easiest way to spot somebody famous is to keep your eye to the Eat to the Beat concert listings.  Sugar Ray, Smashmouth, even Hanson are all going to be playing during various days in a large, outdoor stage, and the concert is free with paid admission.  Some acts can be pretty popular, so check the showtimes and get there early.

It's also worth your while to keep an eye out for surprise character meet-and-greets.  I met Princess Aurora in a tucked-away place near The Land building.  The Country Bears were out in a space between Canada and England.  They randomly pop in and out and because they're unannounced and out-of-the-way, they're generally very short lines.

5.  The Crazy Weather

I always hear somebody make the mistake of saying "I bet Disney in the fall is so beautiful...  Nice and cool with lots of sun!". Well, Disney is a blast in the fall (it's a close second to the prettiest season at Walt Disney World, behind winter and the holiday decorations), but cool and predictable weather?  No way!  Heat can still be in the 90's, humidity could get high, and rain pops up from seemingly nowhere.  So why do I say I love the weather?  Because the milder evenings (which can still be hot) give you reasonable summer-like conditions in the beauty of fall.  And call me crazy, but I live for the thunderstorms that roll through Disney.  Usually they blow in, blow out, and make quite a show of it while they last.  Some of the most incredible weather events I've seen at Disney (hello rainbow over Spaceship Earth) happened during the surprisingly volatile fall days.  Added bonus?  The storms come in strong and furious and people tend to retreat back to their hotels or under shelter.  However, they tend to also pass pretty quickly meaning cooler temperatures and less people.  For the truly adventurous, there's a lot of fun to be had touring the park out in the rain!  Bring your ponchos!

4.  The Wine and Dine Half Marathon - 13.1 Miles of Fun!

For the last several years, the festivities at the EPCOT International Food and Wine are capped off with an event that draws between 12,000 and 15,000 runners from across the nation for the night race to end all night races...  The Wine and Dine Half Marathon!
 Entering it's commemorative 5th year this year, runners start at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, run through Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and finish at EPCOT for 13.1 miles punctuated with special character appearances, live music, and of course, a Disco Tunnel.  After the race, runners stream into EPCOT for an after-hours VIP party featuring, what else?  The Food and Wine Festival!  The party lasts until 3am where exhausted but celebratory runners take a free glass of wine or beer and a $10 gift card (part of the free commemorative items awarded for finishing the race) can indulge in all the best EPCOT has to offer.  Last year I even heard a rumor that a group of runners walked onto Soarin and rode-through (that means they rode multiple times without having to get up) 4 times while catching a quick snooze!  The party continues the next day with special events in Downtown Disney and the influx of tired and sore runners coming back for more on the final official day of the Festival.  See somebody wearing a medal in the park?  Yell congrats to them!  They sure earned it!

While the half marathon is already long sold out by the time the Food and Wine Festival starts, the race for 2015 (which falls during the 20th anniversary of the Food and Wine Festival) will open for registration sometime in March of 2015.  This sells out in a matter of hours, so it's never too early to start planning for next year!  Want to get your feet wet with another run that also occurs during the International Food and Wine Festival that has slightly shorter distance and slightly lower demand than the Wine and Dine Half?  Try the Tower of Terror 10 Miler.  It's hotter and it doesn't take you through as many parks, but you're still doing an event during the Food and Wine Festival.

3.  Doing ___________ Around the World

Every year various families, friends, tour groups, frat boys, bloggers, and foodies throw down a gauntlet.  Sample one of every type of a particular food around the World

Showcase.  A lot of the times it's drinking-related (a beer at every kiosk around the world?  Yikes.), but I've seen everything from cupcake crawls to creme brulee challenges.  A challenge that has me sampling desserts from every country around the World Showcase?  Now that's something I can get behind!  I promise you, your stomach will give up before your mouth does.  To help you complete your challenge, make sure you grab one of the (free) Food and Wine Festival Passports.  It has each and every offering from every booth laid out clearly, along for a little space to check off each food you've tried.  If you want to go hardcore, go online and pull up this year's menu and have it printed on the back of a shirt and have your buddies check it off for you as you eat.  Hurrah for cheap souvenirs!

2.  Decorations Galore!

I love seeing Walt Disney World dressed up for the various holidays and I think everybody would agree the two best seasons for Disney decorations are Fall and Winter.  With Fall, you get this amazing layout of Halloween decorations, fall garlands, scarecrows, and
colorful, bright banners.  With Winter, you get the Christmas lights, garland, and Christmas music.  With the Food and Wine Festival starting at the beginning of the Fall decorations and ending after the parks have transitioned to Christmas, you are guaranteed to be able to enjoy Walt Disney World in some sort of spirited decoration.  And, if you time it right, you can actually start your trip with one holiday and end with the next!  Guests lucky enough to go from just before Halloween and staying into early November get the best of both worlds.  For example, if you go in 2014 and arrive the day before Halloween and depart November 6th, you can enjoy the end of the Halloween and the start of the Christmas celebrations.  If you stretch your trip out 10 days, you could, on the same trip, attend Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (my favorite separate-ticketed event at the Magic Kingdom) and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!  How crazy is that?

1.  The People-Watching

The International Food & Wine Festival brings an eclectic group of people.  Families with kids, adults flying solo, honeymooners, couples without their kids, and plenty of locals.  So many people makes the sport of people-watching one of the most fun parts of touring the parks.  You see some people (sometimes with the help of that second mentioned item of the festival) do some amazing, crazy things.  We've seen proposals, break-ups, flash mobs, and everything in between.  Be prepared for spontaneous cheers (not always from visiting cheerleaders), random outbursts of singing, and people from across the world expressing joy and excitement to simply be at Disney.  Halloween Parties at Disney and other area parks mean you may catch people in their costumed-finest on the way to various events.  There are some insanely creative people out there!

There's so much to enjoy around the Walt Disney World Parks during EPCOT's International Food and Wine Festival, it's hard to come up with only eight and I know I missed something in my countdown...  So what's your favorite part of this special event?  Share below!

Regret you haven't made plans to travel down here for the festival?  It's not too late, and with all the deals and promotions running right now, it's surprisingly affordable!  And did you know that The Disney Chef will act as your own personal concierge for the trip, saving you time, money and stress?  As an experienced Disney explorer and foodie, I know just how to help families get the most out of their trip.  For more information on how to enjoy the vacation of your dreams, for either your whole family or just the adults looking to get away, email me at jerusha@thewdwguru.com or submit a request for a vacation quote here.

Can't make it this year?  Don't worry, I have you covered there as well!  Here are some of my favorite dishes featured in past year's International Food and Wine Festival:

Beef Bourguignon (France)
Nudel Gratin (Germany)
Spicy Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta (Canada)
Dan Dan Noodles (China)