2018 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival: August 30 to November 12, 2018

[Dis_Yoda]

I have no idea what they were thinking getting enough beakers for 2 days of the festival lol. Pretty poor planning, but it seems like that is the trend whenever they introduce new merch like that. I'll watch and see if they change it to something new, but I most likely will end up skipping it.

Needed it for the bloggers!

 

[Haley R]

Needed it for the bloggers!

What if I secretly want to be a blogger and I didn't get my darn beaker? lol

 

[lilfaeriebrat]

I had 2 requests from the kids that are being left behind for our anniversary trip next month to make sure to bring each of them home one of the beakers.. hopefully they will forget about them.

 

[toonaspie]

Are there booklets that show all the menus for the kiosks? And if so where do we get them?

 

[OKW Lover]

Are there booklets that show all the menus for the kiosks? And if so where do we get them?

Yes, there are booklets at most of the booths and also at Guest Relations, The Festival Center, and each of the merchandise kiosks around the park.

 

[dachsie]

Are there booklets that show all the menus for the kiosks? And if so where do we get them?

There is also an app - WDW Food & Wine

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm shocked. It's complimentary! Hopefully those that get to go the Tailgate will post reviews of it.

 

[patster734]

Apparently the beaker is no longer available at Light Lab and new "experiment" is on the board.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2018/...ted-at-the-2018-epcot-food-and-wine-festival/

We did the “Phlight”. It is basically slushed sugar water. All three were very sweet (too sweet), but had different flavors. All three came in a hard plastic cup, and all three had a light up cube. We kept the plastic cups, and the glow cubes, because they appear to be good quality.

 

[randumb0]

Any Junior Chef Kitchen review?

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Any Junior Chef Kitchen review?

Not much to go on, but saw a post on Instagram that they made pancakes and poster’s son loved it.

Edited at add: here’s a whole blog post with more detail... it looks really cute!

http://www.momentswithkatie.com/2018/09/junior-chef-at-epcot.html

 

[Chisoxcollector]

Had a chance to visit again yesterday, prior to going to Halloween Horror Nights.

All items I had yesterday are noted with an asterisk. If there is more than one score listed for an item, that means we’ve had it more than once during this Festival.

Slightly more in depth reviews, along with pictures, can be found on my new website www.destinationdoug.com. I should hopefully be caught up here in the next day or two.

*Teriyaki-glazed Spam Hash - 9.5, 9.0 (Hawai’i) - First portion was huge, second less so. Both were piping hot, and tasted great!

Fritto Misto - 9.0 (Italy) - Biggest surprise of the Festival... something tasty from Italy! Not only tasty, but a huge serving!

*Banana Almond Soft-serve Sundae - 9.0, 9.0, 9.0, 9.0, 9.0 (Almond Orchard) - Refreshing and delicious, every time!

*Freshly Baked Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing - Delicious, and loaded with icing.

Ropa Vieja Empanada - 8.5, 8.5 (Islands of the Caribbean) - Best empanada they’ve ever done at this festival.

*“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon - 8.5 (Canada) - Tender, hot, flavorful.

*New England Lobster Roll - 8.5 (Hops & Barley) - Loaded with tender lobster. Roll was grilled nicely.

Short Rib Tostada - 9.0, 8.0 (Mexico) - First one was amazing, second needed more sauce.

Seared Scallops- 8.5 (Wine and Dine Studio) - Much better than the scallops at the Coastal Eats booth.

Xi’an Pancake with Beef - 8.5 (China) - This didn’t look like much but tasted really good.

Mango Bubble Tea - 8.5 (China) - Buy this at Joy of Tea next door, it’s a larger portion.

Maple Bourbon Boursin Cheesecake - 8.5 (Cheese Studio) - Sweet but not too sweet and really smooth. Could have been colder, but it was excellent.

Maple Bacon Funnel Cake - 8.0 (Funnel Cake) - The maple ice cream was really good.

*Grilled Lamb Chop - 8.0 (Australia) - Tender and tasty. Much better than last years t-bone.

Schinkennudeln - 8.0 (Germany) - Best Mac and cheese on Disney property. Would have scored even higher, but mine had no ham whatsoever.

Baked Shrimp Scampi Dip - 8.0 (Coastal Eats) - I wish the bread was toasted.

*Warm Chocolate Pudding - 7.5 (Ireland) - Tasty, but very rich. Probably should have saved for a cooler day.

Hummus Fries - 7.5 (Morocco) - Two of the fries were completely mushy due to the toppings. Third was topping-free, and as a result it was crispy and delicious.

Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak on a Smoked Corn Cake - 7.5 (Flavors From Fire) - Steak was great, corn cake was pasty and kind of gross.

Braised Beef Stroganoff - 7.5, 7.5 (Cheese Studio) - Good flavors, small portion.

Steakhouse Blended Burger - 7.5 (Earth Eats) - Good flavor, a bit dry.

Frozen Mimosa - 7.5 (Shimmering Sips) - Tasty and refreshing, but it tasted like a non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri.

Belgian Waffle w/ Berry Compote - 7.5 (Belgium) - Tasted Good as always, but the hot berries weren’t what I needed in a very hot day.

Pão de Queijo - 7.5 (Brazil) - Just your standard, tasty Brazilian cheese bread.

*Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip - 7.5 (Almond Orchard) - Dip was pretty good, had 2 giant hunks of chicken. The chips were awesome.

Quesito - 7.5 (Islands of the Caribbean) -

Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles - 7.0 (China) - Tasted Good, but wish it had more than 2 Shrimp.

Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle - 7.0 (Chocolate Studio) - Good, but basically tastes like chocolate ice cream.

Moqueca - 7.0 (Brazil) - A bit on the sweet side, but still pretty good.

Bougatsa - 7.0 (Greece) - Quite possibly the hottest thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. Was surprisingly bland.

Crispy Pork Belly - 7.0 (Brazil) - Lots of beans, but a small piece of pork belly. Tasted good, but it was a bit tough.

Spicy Roll - 7.0 (Japan) - This was almost warm, which was off putting.

Carbonade de Boeuf - 7.0 (France) - If this had a bit more (any?) sauce it would have been a lot better.

*Croissant aux Escargots - 7.0 (France)

Korma Chicken - 7.0 (India) - Tasted good, but the amount of chicken was sad. The naan was tasty.

*Kalua Pork Slider - 7.0 (Hawai’i) - Tasted good, but there was very little meat on our slider.

Crème Brûlée à Confiture de Framboises - 7.0 (France) - Would have been better without the raspberry jam.

Mango Lassi with Sōmrus Indian Cream Liqueur - 7.0 (India) - I’m not a big mango lassi fan, but the liqueur helped a bit. I wish I could it order the liqueur on its own.

Coconut Rice Pudding - 7.0 (Mexico) - Tasted Good, but the rice needed to be cooked longer.

Pancake Milkshake - 7.0 (Taste Track)

*Bunratty Meade Honey Wine - 6.5 (Ireland) - Was hoping it would be more Mead and less like wine.

Seared Scallops - 6.5 (Coastal Eats) - These were ridiculously small, almost the size of bay scallops.

Croissant Donut with Chocolate Hazelnut Cream - 6.5 (Taste Track) - Tasted good, but texture was very chewy.

Seared Shrimp and Scallop Cake - 6.5 (Thailand)

Shrimp Quesadilla- 6.5 (Mexico)

Guiness Baileys Shake - 6.0 (Ireland)

Phosphorescent Phreeze - 5.0 (Light Lab) - Way too syrupy and sweet for me... and I absolutely love ICEEs!

New Brunswick Slider - 5.0 (Hops & Barley) - Bland and ridiculously dry.

Beef Brisket Poutine - 4.0 (Refreshment Port) - The “meat” was almost all fat, and the Cheese was a gelatinous mess.

*Teriyaki Chicken Bun - 2.0, NA(Japan) - Yuck, the ginger flavor was way too strong. One bite and done! Wife liked it though, and got a second one on a later visit.

 

[AndreaDM]

We went yesterday, didn’t get there til 1 or so and I couldn’t believe how light the crowds seemed for a Saturday! Even when a line looked long, it moved quickly and all cast members seemed to be very efficient. It rained lightly for about 10-15 min and you’d have thought it was a monsoon the way some people scurried for cover lol. It did pick up later in the evening, saw a number of bachelorette and birthday party groups, but it was still very manageable. I wish I’d have stuck with beer and wine since everything else seemed so sweet with very little alcohol, looking at you Kung fu punch. We liked everything we tasted but thought the pasta gratin dish in Germany wasn’t as good as last time, needed salt or something. We loved the vodka rigatoni from Italy though! Really wish we could have spread it out over 2-3 days as there was a lot we didn’t get to try (had dinner at Coral Reef), but this was just a quick weekend trip.

 

[kayteekt]

Not much to go on, but saw a post on Instagram that they made pancakes and poster’s son loved it.

Edited at add: here’s a whole blog post with more detail... it looks really cute!

http://www.momentswithkatie.com/2018/09/junior-chef-at-epcot.html

Poking around on this board looking for info related to the Jr. Chef event(s). Looks cute, would like for my kids to do it, was planning on signing them up Sat evening for the Sunday. Seems like I should do it Saturday morning though? Not sure how that will pan out as I would hate to move our schedule all around to go to EP to sign them up. We are staying at the Dolphin, so I suppose maybe I could go over in the morning. We were planning to RD HS (for TS land) that morning though. You don't need the kids with you to sign up, like you do for Jedi Training, right?

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Poking around on this board looking for info related to the Jr. Chef event(s). Looks cute, would like for my kids to do it, was planning on signing them up Sat evening for the Sunday. Seems like I should do it Saturday morning though? Not sure how that will pan out as I would hate to move our schedule all around to go to EP to sign them up. We are staying at the Dolphin, so I suppose maybe I could go over in the morning. We were planning to RD HS (for TS land) that morning though. You don't need the kids with you to sign up, like you do for Jedi Training, right?

I'm not sure ... I just stumbled across this blogger's post by following "#tasteepcot" on instagram. You could try messaging her there (her username is same as title of her blog) or on her blog to see if she has more info. The official wording seems to say "young chefs must register" but that could just be them trying to be cute. I hate that they're not more clear (in this and so many things). It sounds like if something they would really enjoy, it's probably wise to go in the morning vs. waiting until the evening -- based on this blogger saying she went right at opening and was already #26 of ~60. It's easy enough to walk over from Dolphin but that does mess with your Toy Story plans. Certainly if you're in Epcot earlier in the week, I'd stop into the Festival Center and ask about the process -- or depending on your trip date, maybe more experiences will get posted. I hope it's something your kids are able to do and that they love it!

 

[kayteekt]

Another question, just noticed we will be there when Hanson is there for the Eat to the Beat As a 90's tween, I sure would like to see Hanson . Although we've done several F&W, we've never done the concerts. I'm thinking it's not as serious as CP. We wouldn't do a Dining Package, we'll be with kids and MIL during the day. But DH and I might could take a date night for F&W/Hanson. How early do you need to be? I would prob prefer last show. Any thoughts/recommendations?

 

[karrit2000]

Another question, just noticed we will be there when Hanson is there for the Eat to the Beat As a 90's tween, I sure would like to see Hanson . Although we've done several F&W, we've never done the concerts. I'm thinking it's not as serious as CP. We wouldn't do a Dining Package, we'll be with kids and MIL during the day. But DH and I might could take a date night for F&W/Hanson. How early do you need to be? I would prob prefer last show. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Hanson is one of the acts that always has a long line hours before the first show. It's one of the few that if you want to be sure to have a seat in the theater you should definitely consider getting the dining package for. But you can definitely hear the show from anywhere around the American Adventure Pavilion. So you don't really need to be seated in the theater to enjoy any of the concerts.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Another question, just noticed we will be there when Hanson is there for the Eat to the Beat As a 90's tween, I sure would like to see Hanson . Although we've done several F&W, we've never done the concerts. I'm thinking it's not as serious as CP. We wouldn't do a Dining Package, we'll be with kids and MIL during the day. But DH and I might could take a date night for F&W/Hanson. How early do you need to be? I would prob prefer last show. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Hanson is one of the acts that always has a long line hours before the first show. It's one of the few that if you want to be sure to have a seat in the theater you should definitely consider getting the dining package for. But you can definitely hear the show from anywhere around the American Adventure Pavilion. So you don't really need to be seated in the theater to enjoy any of the concerts.

100% agree with Karrit. If you want a guaranteed seat for this one, I think you'd want to go for the dining package (either the regular or one of the more limited quick service packages) -- or be willing to queue up hours in advance (without a guarantee). Hanson is incredibly popular - in years past I've seen people starting to line up at noon for them, no joke. But as Karrit said above, you can hear the music from anywhere in the area. The American pavilion has plenty of planters and picnic tables for impromptu seating - as well as the whole outdoor seating area for its quick service -- and I almost think it's better to listen from "out there" - it's definitely loud enough. No, you can't see their faces, but you can't really from some of the seats in the theater either and you're free to stand up and/or dance without worrying you're blocking someone's view, dash off for a drink or snack at one of the nearby stands or visit the restroom if you don't care for a song etc. And once it's done, especially if last show, you're ready to go stake out your spot for Illuminations without the exiting crowds. I think it would make for a great date night if you're fans and I'd just plan to be in the area for one of the sets.

 

[woodleygrrl]

Any reviews of the Italian Regional Lunch, yet? I would love to hear about it!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I’m here now in the Festival Center and I was so disappointed that Ghiardelli’s didn’t offer any free samples! It was always such a tradition, so sad!

 

[OKW Lover]

I’m here now in the Festival Center and I was so disappointed that Ghiardelli’s didn’t offer any free samples! It was always such a tradition, so sad!

They were offering them on Thursday. Maybe the CM was just out refilling the basket?