2016 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival: September 14 - November 14, 2016

[Lesverts]

MrsScooby pointed out the chai at Ireland, and the buttered chicken at the Africa booth is also Indian. So there is some Indian food, we just can't call it that for some inexplicable reason. Baffling.

I think the butter chicken in the Africa is a subtle nod to the the over 1 million South Africans of Indian decent. Kinda like if there was an England/UK booth that served chicken tika masala.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

Too funny. Though speaking of American food, it would be nice if they had a BBQ marketplace. But we'd probably just got a bunch of kvetching that it isn't this style or that style, not cooked right yada yada yada.

Too bad Disney doesn't want to be edgy. They could have a Lebanon and Israel booth side-by-side. Falafel and more falafel.

I'd go to the Falafel & Wine Festival.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

This might seem like a not so great question, but I don't drink alcohol. Do some of the F&W booths have specialty non-alcoholic drinks? I have never been to this festival, but I know I could always get water if I need to. I mostly just want to go for the food since this will be my first F&W.

If you do any deminars make sure you tell them before they poor you don't drink. I have had them refuse to give me an alternate drink if they had already poured the wine.

 

[Tess]

Too funny. Though speaking of American food, it would be nice if they had a BBQ marketplace. But we'd probably just got a bunch of kvetching that it isn't this style or that style, not cooked right yada yada yada.

Too bad Disney doesn't want to be edgy. They could have a Lebanon and Israel booth side-by-side. Falafel and more falafel.

BBQ makes its presence known in the spring at Flower & Garden Festival. It is called The Smokehouse and is located in the American Pavilion in lieu of the Hops & Barley location at F&W. We find the BBQ quite nice.

I will say though--I somewhat agree with the whole beer discussion. For Brewer's Collection (which used to carry 8 different samples of beer) to have a mere few is extremely disappointing. These used to be Bavarian/German beers and not types that are readily available in the U.S. Likewise, the Craft Beer area in the former Odyssey Pavilion (and before that on the main causeway from FW to WS). Disney used to do a much better job with regard to variety and products that were unique.

The 3 sample flight is another major disappointment. We often shared a flight (4 small samples) between 2 and 4 people. Three is (no pun intended) just an odd number for sharing. I'm over the lack of full size beers at the kiosks--we will simply do less sampling from the kiosks when we want something a bit larger and at a better price.

What really grinds me is the loss of the margarita kiosk in Mexico--I will truly miss my Fiesta Margaritas.

 

[patster734]

Anyone else find it weird that there isn't a Spain, Thailand or India booth given the popularity of their food?

We're going to create our own little Spanish treat. Get an order of churros from a treats cart. Bring it with us to the Festival Center and order a cup of chocolate from the Ghirardelli area. And now we have Churros y Chocolate, which is popular in Spain.

Relevant comments I have heard over the years:

"Why does everything have to be spicy? I can't find chicken nuggets at all. I promised him chicken nuggets from America." (Not sure who "him" was. I'd assume DS but as you see daily on these boards, it's just as likely to be DH.)
"This would be better if it was America-only Food & Wine with different foods from different parts of the country. No more of this weird foreign crap."
"I don't know why they need Spain, Brazil AND Mexico. It's the same thing."

Those people should consider attending Epcot when the Food and Wine Festival isn't occurring.

 

[FLkid]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

We've done both, and honestly, it's just fine either way!! It's like when people say "do I need to make ADRs?" Depends: are there things you DESPERATELY want to make sure you try? Then plan more. If not, then less necessary. Also can depend on how many days you'll be there -- I'd probably plan more for a one or two day trip than if I'll be there a week.

 

[jessicag13]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

last year was my first WDW trip ever (after growing up with/having an annual pass at DL), so i definitely overprepared- had an excel sheet with every available item and their prices, then put the prices of ones i wanted in a separate column to tally up my estimated total.
my excuse for this year is that i already did all the hard work last year, so why let it go to waste
so i use my list to prep and know what i may want to go out of my way to try, but the day of, i really just go for whatever i'm in the mood for.

 

[FuzzyPants]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

I like the idea of the "obsessive planner approach" for I have to plan my Disney trip out ahead of time on Excel.

But with how much F&W has to offer, I have to go with the walk, observe and try...walk some more( gotta make extra room for the next snack..lol). I am still a rookie at F&W...so we will see how the "winging it" approach works...less than 14 days!!!

 

[woodynjessiesmomma]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

I've looked at the menus and pretty much know what I want, but mostly I'll wing it. One thing might sound good today, but when I'm there next month something else might be more appealing. Last year was my first experience at F&WF and we mostly took the wing it approach. But last year I had 3 days with just DH and I and this year will be only 1 day with 3 kids.

ETA: I will also say that a couple of booths were out of what I wanted, like the Hawaii booth was out of the wine and food I wanted so we came back another day. So a mixed approach of a flexible plan is probably best.

 

[Hikergirl]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

Dh and I are going to wing it. I've looked at menus and have a good idea of what I want to try, and there are some things that I've seen here that I know I'll try but we are pretty much going to each booth and decide when we get there. Some we may just skip all together.

 

[loves to dive]

May I ask if you went to the Mediterranean food & wine pairing? We're doing that later this month, and I'd love to hear thoughts/review on it if that's what you attended.

I loved it, this is my second year doing it. The sommelier is a big fan of Spanish wines so 3 out of the 4 served were Spanish. Started off with a champagne before you are seated. I won't go into the menu so you will be surprised but it was all delicious and not little bites so pace yourself. There is a wine with each course, including dessert, not a full glass but a good pour. The chef comes out and explains the dishes then the sommelier guides you through why he picked what he did for each dish.

 

[loves to dive]

How was the empanada?

A little dry and not enough filling but it tasted pretty good. I'd say it was about 4 bites.

 

[backformore]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

I like having the info ahead of time, and I think the first day I will have an idea of what I want to try, but I will basically wing it, walk around and see what looks/smells good, and get the lay of the land. Then I'll look over the offerings and see what I missed to plan for days 2 and 3. It's hard to plan too much, because I don't eat or drink a lot (but the rest of my family does), and you can't predict when you're going to feel like a snack, a dessert, a drink, a rest. So many things sound good, and I appreciate having the list ahead of time - As much as I'd love to try all the cocktails and wines, I can rarely handle more than 2 drinks in a day.

We're only going to have three days at WDW - the first day is just EPCOT. The next two days we will go to DHS and MK in the morning, and then return to EPCOT later. No reservations for any dinners, we plan to try as much as we can at F&W, and maybe go to Big River Grille is we want something more substantial.

My frustration is that I'm travelling with a group (husband and adult sons) who all have the attitude "we'll decide when we get there." I swear, if it wasn't for me, we'd get off the plan and walk around looking for a hotel. I planned hotels, Universal and WDW, which parks which day, fastpasses, park passes, etc. If anyone doesn't like it, they BETTER not complain, as they weren't interested in the planning.

 

[lgcountry]

The only thing I obsess about is getting my passport stamped at every booth. Other than that we just wander hitting booths as we go.

 

[loves to dive]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

I'm winging it as far as the booths. I did have the meal at Spice Roads and I have one each wine seminar and food demo every day booked. I hope to get something from every booth but it doesn't look like that's going to happen because I get full after two booths. I'm not counting the permanent booths that are always there like Joffrey's Coffee, the Refreshment Port and The Refreshment Cool Port. I'm also not planning on doing the Hops and Barley or the Craft Beers just because I don't have enough time or stomach space. My one thing might be food, might be liquid. I just sort of walk around and whatever strikes my fancy I get and continue walking until something else strikes my fancy. I might be too hot at one point for the heavy German or Italian or Polish food but later in the evening it might sound good.

 

[loves to dive]

The only thing I obsess about is getting my passport stamped at every booth. Other than that we just wander hitting booths as we go.

They aren't doing the stamps this year, there are little stickers in the passport you put in the book yourself.

 

[patster734]

What's everyone's take on "winging it" vs planning each booth?

I'm taking the obsessive planner approach to F&W next week... I have every single item I want to try listed by booth on a digital note in my phone, Including some "Might" try items. I've even listed the prices as to make sure I know which ones I should use my vouchers for.. Oh if only I could get my hands on a spreadsheet or excel file

My GF however....

is taking the winging it approach. She has looked over menus and food photos with me and said "I want that..and that" but ultimately her plan is to just walk up to each booth and see if she wants anything.

I'm curious to see how other people approach F&W

We'll wing-it but I have the menus nearly memorized by looking at them constantly. We do have the Mexican Tequila Lunch scheduled for our first Epcot day at noon, so I haven't decided if we'll squeeze some booths in between 11am and noon. My impulse is to say yes, but I also don't want to be full during the tequila lunch.

 

[loves to dive]

No pictures today, I was too hot and in a hurry. I had a hard root beer float from Desserts and Champagne, I was on my way back to my room to rest and I was hot, it hit the spot. I had the loaded Mac and Cheese from Farm Fresh, I had a wine tasting at one and hadn't had anything to eat since a muffin at 8 this morning and knew I needed something on my stomach and that I could eat and walk. I enjoyed it last year and enjoyed it this year. I stopped at Ireland before that and had the Irish Cheese Selection, I love me some cheese and have never met one I didn't like. After my wine and food demos, I had stopped at New Zealand and had the Lamb Meatball, it is served on/in some bread bowl type thing. The meatball itself was good the bowl not so much. I plan on heading back over later this evening to eat supper, I have no clue what but I think I'll turn right at the bridge from the IG and decide then.

My wine seminar was o.k. I wasn't crazy about the wines, as a matter of fact I can't even tell you the brands. My food demo was a dessert made of yogurt frozen like ice cream on top of a cookie served with prosecco. The food was good, the chef was a WDW event chef and she was fun and engaging and the host (a new one) was great. He kept the chef engaged but didn't push and kept the audience engaged. I really enjoyed it.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Video posted by some of the Dis Unplugged team: