Destination: Epcot, Walt Disney World
Summer has come to an end which means we are switching gears and turning up the fall vibes! This time of year brings all of the fun adventures that come with the change of season. Particularly, the events at Disney World! This includes Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party + much more.
As you all know, Florida is brutally hot during summer making park hopping pretty miserable. We love visiting Epcot in the late afternoon, when the sun is going down so we are able to enjoy ourselves. We did brave the heat today to check out the very much anticipated Food and Wine Festival! Although we were running to the car in soaked clothing by 3:00, we had so much fun trying new bites + drinks from this year’s festival.
Official Epcot Food and Wine Festival map provided by Disney Food Blog:
Something so small and simple that Epcot does each year for Food and Wine is the festival passports. It’s a fun way to document your way around the world showcase. This guide provides you with all of the food + drinks that you can try in each country making it easy to navigate and choose what you want to pick. Once you have tried an item, you can mark it off by placing the cute Epcot themed stickers in your book. I love keeping our passport book as a souvenir!
My biggest tip is to purchase a wristband gift card right when you enter the park. They are available at most kiosks. This thing is a game changer, it makes the check out process much smoother and hasel free. If you are planning on drinking/eating in multiple countries I would definitely recommend loading your card before hand this way you aren’t reaching to find your card and ID each time you are in line.
This year we didn’t have a specific plan or idea of what we wanted to try before we got there. We really just winged it and stopped at each country to see what caught our eye. There were some wins and some.. eh .. For the most part, we were loving our picks! We were hoping to try more beer + wine but we were both so hot. All we wanted was water, $3.50 for a Dasani bottle x 4 (tip for myself, bring a reusable cup).
Let’s Eat:
Pao de Queijo, aka Brazilian Cheese Bread
Rating: 10/10
Brazil
From first look I honestly was not expecting much but holy sh*t, this bread did not mess around. It was so hot that the cheese was completely melted in the center. Drooling just thinking about these and wanting more at the moment. Maybe I was starving since this was our first stop or it’s just that good.
The Italian Margarita
Rating: 10/10
Italy
This was the ultimate margarita! Not too sweet but not a traditional marg. Being a tequila girl, I was pretty impressed.
Ravioli Carbonara
Rating: 8/10
Italy
Delicious! It was creamy and cheesy perfection. That’s all.
Pollo and Marinara
Rating: 7/10
Italy
This was Stephen’s jam! He is super picky with food so when he saw crispy chicken with marinara, he was all over it! I did like it but it tasted like a classic ole chicken strip. We both agreed that the marinara made the dish.
Springtime Lemon Cheescake
Rating: 8.5/10
Norway
Okay, presentation is clearly a 10/10. I love the layers of color. I’m also a huge cheescake fan so I am a tough critic, taste wise. I’d say it had more of a mouse/spongy texture. It was very light. It lacked some flavor but I still was so in awe of how adorable it was so I gave it an 8.5.
Loaded Mac and Cheese
Rating: 5/10
Active Eats
(I only gave it a 5 because Stephen made me and said I was being too harsh. In all reality, I give this a 1/10. I almost spit it out)
This was my biggest disappointment of the day. I was so excited to try this because I love mac and cheese of all kinds. It really does look delicious but you guys... maybe it’s just an unpopular opinion.. I thought it was awful. It had the weirdest flavor, bbq (not the sweet kind either), chipotle and even some hints of curry. I have no idea, I just didn’t enjoy it. This being said, I have seen so many people rave about this and love it so do not let it stop you from trying! I could have been over eating at that point since it was our last stop.
Aulani Sunrise
Rating: 6.5/10
Hawaii
This was another one of Stephen’s picks! If he’s not drinking beer, he likes rum + vodka with fruity mixers like pineapple. We both tried it and it was definitely way too sweet for our liking. I could definitly see my 21 year old self loving this lol. If I’m being real, we were only in it for the tiki souvenir cup.
Sweet and Spicy Bushberry Shrimp
Rating: 10/10
Australia
I loved the flavor of mainly spicy with a hint of sweet. Also, really enjoyed the snap peas and salsa slaw!
Food and Wine Merchandise:
I love the Food and Wine Festival merch this year. They went super girly with it which I am all about. I love how they chose to display some of the items, on the bakers racks, so stinkin cute! My top picks were definitely the new spirit jersey, the chef Mickey/Minnie mug and of course the FAWF exclusive pins!
Limited Edition Food and Wine Festival Pins:
Limited Edition Food and Wine Festival Cinderella + Gus Gus Pin:
Limited Release Food and Wine Chef Mickey Pin:
Limited Release Passholder Food and Wine Pin:
We are so excited to be back in the fall when we can take our time walking around and enjoy drinking around the world showcase. I will be sure to keep updating this post with our new visits!