Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2017

Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is one of the most magical times in Epcot. It has become so magical that Disney seems to add extra days to the festival each year. This year’s event is running from August 31st until November 13th. 

Since my #CuteCajunHubby and I LOVE food we decided to check it out with our friend Brett on opening day. 

We have a system that we like to put into place during the festival. We like to load money onto a wristband gift card. It’s kind of nice to set a limit on your spending and it makes ordering and paying at the kiosk extremely easy. 

Okay… let’s face it… everyone reads these types of blog post to see the food and to find out what’s good. With that being said I’m just going to cut to the chase and show you the kiosk that we tried and our first round picks.

It was hotter than blue blazes yesterday and we decided to start at the Epcot Legacy Showplace located in the Odyssey Center. We tried the Western Florida Craft Beers Flight 

The guys really enjoyed their beers. I’m not much of a drinker but I did try a few sips of the JDub’s Passion Wheat from Sarasota, Florida and it was really refreshing.

Now it was time to try some food. Our first kiosk was Hawaii. I love that Epcot has a Hawaiian kiosk each year but I am extremely picky with my Hawaiian food after living in Hawaii for so many years. The Grilled Tuna Tataki with Seaweed Salad, Pickled Cucumbers, and Wasabi Cream is on point this year! Mahalo to the Hawaiian kiosk for getting it right!! 

We also grabbed a Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée from Patagonia. The beef is tender and delicious and the Purée was  surprisingly good

Before we left Showcase  Plaza we tried a couple of items from the Farm Fresh kiosk as well. First up was the Crispy Chicken with Griddled Cornbread and Red Eye Gravy

The crispy chicken was yummy but no one cared for the red eye gravy. It had a slight coffee taste that didn’t appeal to any of us. The stand out on this dish is the cornbread. It was yummy!

We also tried the Roasted Beet Salad with Green Beans, Feta Cheese, Minus 8 Vinaigrette, and Toasted Walnuts 

This was actually one of my favorite dishes from the festival so far. I absolutely love a beet salad and the combination of flavors was incredible. The walnuts even have a spiciness to them and pair so well with the sweetness of the vinaigrette.

We then moved onto the Australia kiosk. And tried their Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion, and Snap Peas 

And their Grilled Lamb T-bone with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies 

Both of these dishes from Down Under would make you say, “G’day Mate”

After that spicy shrimp we needed to quench our thirst so we made our way to Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Company near Canada and the United Kingdom. I’ve been hooked on Joffrey’s peach tea for a while now. It’s really refreshing! 

While we were enjoying our teas and taking a little bit of a break,  the gates in front of the World ShowPlace Events Pavilion magically opened and some fun characters arrived for a magical meet and greet.

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We were able to meet some very hard to find characters and snap a few pictures 

First up was Gideon from Pinocchio 

Then everyone’s favorite duck Donald

Chip and Dale were there

Along with Smee

And Captain Hook from Peter Pan 

I also had the opportunity to meet Pooh 

Because we were so close by and the Canada kiosk didn’t have a line … (I know…I can’t believe it either!) we decided to try their Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup and the famous ” Le Cellier” Wild Mushrooms Beef Filet with Truffle-Butter Sauce 

There isn’t much to say about either one of these dishes except all of the hype you hear about the Canadian kiosk is absolutely true. Just do yourself a favor and go there! I could go on about the tenderness of the filet, delicious mushrooms, and truffle butter sauce that melts in your mouth for days. Even though it was so hot we actually thought we were going to burst into flames I couldn’t resist the beer cheese soup. That fact alone should tell you how good it really is!

From there we made our way to France. I have to try their escargot dish every year. This year they offered Croissant aux Escargots with Garlic and Parsley. 

I enjoyed it but not as much as some of their past escargot creations. This tasted more like an escargot garlic butter crescent roll.… And it kind of looked like one too. 

We made our way to the Hops & Barley kiosk in The American Adventure Pavilion to sample the New England Lobster Roll and the Smoked Beef Brisket and Pimento Cheese with Griddled Garlic Toast 

These were two more of my very favorites. The American kiosk has been hitting it out of the park lately during the seasonal festivals. Some of my favorite foods are coming from this spot. This brisket was to die for! No one in my group was allowed to take a bite. #IDidn’tShare

The gluttony must continue so Spain was next on our list. There we tried the Charcuterie in a Cone. It consisted of imported Spanish meats, cheeses, and olives and a herb vinaigrette.

Sidenote: The vinaigrette leeks out of the bottom of the cone (check out my shirt) please be very careful. They also load that cone up with so much tasty goodness that it is like playing a game of Jenga while you eat it! 

Even though I was starting to fill up I had to visit Germany and try their Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll 

I love German food! So this kiosk is always a favorite for me. 

I could sit all day and to Margaret Almer & The Bavarian Band. 

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 We were able to cover 11 kiosk on opening day but there are so many more that we would like to try. I really like the festival lay out this year. They are adding extra Kiosk indoors and outdoors. They have over 35 kiosk in honor of Epcot’s 35th anniversary coming soon.

The Festival Passport is a fantastic resource on how to hit the ground running and have a great time. Inside you will find a description of everything that you can sample and where it is located.

The Festival Passport also includes “stamp” stickers. As you move from kiosk to kiosk you can fill your passport with these stamps. 

They even break down the kiosk options into four categories vegetarian, gluten-friendly, kid friendly, and The Chew favorite 

They also give you the upcoming Eat to The Beat Concert Schedule 

And A few color photos to help you choose your favorite dishes 

The Festival Map Will help you find all these tasty locations quickly 

One of my favorite places to visit is the Festival Welcome Center 

They offer some great seminars and tasting experiences.

They also have a Ghiradelli chocolate display. Some of your favorite Disney characters can be found made in chocolate and on display. 

The best part is they give you a free square of chocolate just for stopping in. 

Are you a Disney passholder?

 This is where you can pick up your special Figment passholder button. Each month of the festival they will be giving a way a new Figment button to collect while supplies last.

And speaking of Figment Epcot has rolled out some really cute Festival merchandise with this happy little guy. I tried to get a few pictures of the new merchandise but people loved it and it was so hard to snap pictures. I have borrowed these from the Disney parks blog post

I love the “School House Rock” retro vibe! 

We had a great day! But we still have so much left to try! Look for an updated food and wine blog post coming soon. I’m really interested to hear what some of your favorite items from the festival are this year. Here are a couple of extra snaps from our day of gluttonous fun! 

Aloha & Xoxo, 

Kate 

Current Song On Repeat:

“One Little Spark”

Artist:

The Sherman Brothers