It is time for another Disney Friends Blog Hop! The theme for this hop is “Fall”. Once you read our article you can continue on to check out more Disney blogs with more great seasonal articles. (See bottom of article for more details.)
One big event that draws crowd every fall is the Food and Wine Festival. This year marks the 25th year of this special event, but with 2020 being the year of change we knew this year’s festival may look a little different. While there is still a festival planned this year it is scaled back from previous versions and being called Taste of Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. So come along as we explore what a “mini festival” at Epcot is like…
About the Festival
When: The Food and Wine Festival is in the Fall season. This year it got a jump start when the parks opened on July 15th and will be running until a TBD date. (We assume at least through October, maybe into November like usual?)
Where: the festival mainly takes place around the World Showcase at Epcot
Who: we find foodies love it as well as anyone looking to enjoy some drinks. With lack of entertainment this year it may not be a huge draw for non foodies.
How much: admission to the festival is included with a normal park entry to Epcot. Things like food, drinks, and merchandise offerings will of course be extra.
NOTE: even thought you only need a park ticket to attend, due to current park capacity restrictions you must ALSO make an advanced reservation using the Disney Park Pass System.
2020 Global Marketplaces
With any Epcot festival marks the return of those fun little food booths. Since things are scaled back there are only about 20 booths this year. We noticed some countries missing from previous years but also found several favorites. The large building between Canada and the UK, usually utilized for ticketed offerings, was set up this year with several booths inside. We loved how it looked and that there was a nice A/C break too!
The outside of the World Showplace building.
The Citrus Blossom booth was also used in the Spring.
Brazil is always a festival favorite.
We loved this new interior space in the air conditioning.
Good Food Finds
It was neat to see some Flower and Garden options mixed in to the offerings that people may have missed out on in the Spring. There were also plenty of festival favorites that made a return as well. Here are a few things that we tried and enjoyed…
Crispy Citrus Chicken with Orange Aïoli and Baby Greens
$5.75 at the Citrus Blossom (Showcase Plaza)
Guinness Baileys Milkshake
$11.00 at Festival Favorites (World Showplace between Canada and UK)
Canadian Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup served with a Pretzel Roll
$5.25 at Canada
Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce
$8.25 at Canada
Tarte aux Oignons Caramelises et Chévre: Goat Cheese Tart with Caramelized Onions on a Flaky Pastry Crust
$5.50 at France
Cripsy Citrus Chicken
Andrew’s fave shake!
The perfect duo in Canada.
Goat Cheese tart. (Check out the Remy topiary in France while there too!)
Pão de Queijo: Brazilian Cheese Bread
$4.50 at Brazil
Liquid Nitro Chocolate Cake Pops with Crumbled Twix® Chocolate Bars
$4.00 at the Desserts and Champagne (World Showplace between Canada and UK)
Lobster Macaroni and Cheese with Herbed Panko
$6.50 T Mac & Cheese Hosted by Boursin Cheese (World Showplace between Canada and UK)
New England Lobster Roll: Warm Lobster with Fresh Herb Mayonnaise and Griddled Roll
$8.25 at Hops & Barley
This gluten free buns are always a go to.
The nitro cake pop had a cool steam!
Lobster Mac ‘n’ cheese is delicious!
Lobster Roll.
Make sure to do the Maple Syrup tasting in World Showplace!
TIP: One thing that is missing from this year’s festival is a cute little paper passport. There is an app that goes with the festival but it honestly isn’t too robust. It does list menus though if you are trying to plan what to eat. Here are some peeks at the app:
You can access the app with a QR code.
The main screen of the app.
A sample menu page.
Mixed-Up Merch
Scattered throughout the park you will also find some merchandise booths. This year is a little different though as they are trying to clear out Flower & Garden merchandise first. The festival has started with only this theme of product available. Other more traditional Fall themed items will come out over time.
Entertainment & Activities
Other than eating there isn’t a ton to do at this year’s festival:
There are no “Eat to the Beat” concerts, instead there is some minimal entertainment such as a Mariachi band on the stage in America, and a piano player in the World Showplace building.
It was advertised that there would still be some Flower & Garden topiaries. The only ones we found were the Remy one in France (which makes perfect sense) and this random Bambi one near Mousegears.
For kids there is a Remy scavenger hunt again this year but we did notice the playgrounds are closed down.
There are also no additional experiences like paid tastings, cooking demonstrations, etc.
The Mariachi band.
A leftover topiary from Flower & Garden.
The piano in the World Showplace.
A Remy scavenger hunt.
Low Crowds
One thing that was vastly different from previous years are the amount of people. Normally a weekend at Food & Wine is crazy, so much so that we tend to avoid them all together. When Epcot opened this year it felt more like a ghost town. So that is one positive, not having to wait in what Andrew has coined “The Food & Line Festival.”
Epcot can be eerily quiet these days.
Our first visit to Food & Wine this year.
Final Thoughts
We both have to agree this is certainly not the Food & Wine Festival we are used to. But with that being said it was still nice to experience a seasonal event during such a weird year. We love exploring new food & drink and meeting up with friends. Without true seasons in Florida we also feel that certain events really mark the year for us. Now that Food & Wine has begun we feel we can start getting into “Fall Mode.” While we don’t think we would necessarily plan a trip just to experience it this year, we think it is still worth checking out if you are in town, and many will certainly enjoy the shorter lines this year. We plan to go back, and hope to see some more Disney friends while wandering around the world showcase.
We ran into some of our friends: The Orlando Duo!
Thanks for visiting!
We hope you enjoyed our Fall themed article. Want to read more seasonal content? Click the arrow to read the next article in this Disney Friends blog hop. Or check out all participating sites below:
If we had to choose our favorite Epcot festival, it would be the International Festival of the Arts (presented by AT&T). While all of the festivals have food, this one has food that looks beautiful. There are so many opportunities to interactive with art and it is the best way to buy a memorable piece for your home. This week we were invited by Disney Parks to a Media Event to get a sneak peek at new additions to this year’s event. Let’s dive in and explore all the fun new artful offerings…