Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 8 years and 6 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.It’s the opening weekend of the 20th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival so we spent some time today eating and drinking our way around the world.
It was only the second day so the park was very crowded and there were very long lines at all of the food stations, as we expected. We worked our way clockwise (starting with Mexico) around the World Showcase, sampling the amazing food and drinks available at each country for lunch. Then we took a break in Future World, using our FastPass+ reservations and waiting in standby lines since we were in no rush.
We did have a surprise FP+ experience this time. When we went to check the My Disney Experience app, we found that one of our FastPass+ reservations had changed to a “Choice of Experience.” Apparently the attraction we had a FastPass for (Journey into Imagination with Figment) had an issue so we were able to use the FastPass+ at a selection of rides at any time until 10pm. Unfortunately none of the popular rides (Test Track, Soarin’, etc.) were listed, but it was a nice surprise.
Around dinnertime we took another pass around the World Showcase, counterclockwise this time, to sample more food for dinner. We don’t normally go to the festival on the first weekend, so it had been a while since we had seen it so crowded. I also had the uncomfortable experience of being in line for beer in front of a group of people who had had way too much to drink already and were determined to talk to me, get fist bumps, high fives, etc. (you know the type). That was unfortunately, but luckily I was by myself and not with the family so it didn’t really sully our day’s experience at the festival.
I suspect we’ll be back here at Epcot more over the next few weeks … the Food & Wine Festival is one of our favorite times here.
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- 1996 F&WF map
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- craft beers at the Odyssey
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- walking with my beer flight
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- FP+ e-mail
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- FP+ replacement
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- FP+ selection
We were back at Epcot this weekend partaking in more great food and adult beverages. We got rained out Friday night, but Saturday was beautiful.
“The Chew” will be recording there this week and although we couldn’t get tickets we did walk through the Festival Center to see Amanda Freitag start her cooking demo.
Rounding out the celebrity sightings we watched Starship (or what’s left of them anyway) perform at the Eat to the Beat concert stage, playing some of their hits like “White Rabbit,” “Somebody to Love,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” and (of course) “We Built This City.”
The food lines were really long, although it seemed strangely less crowded than last weekend. Before leaving, we picked up our Annual Passholder port wine glasses as souvenirs from the 20th Food & Wine Festival.