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

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I know we are late in the festival, but I was there on Thursday and thought I’d throw some opinions out there...

Husband had:
Crab cake @ Coastal Eats - thought it was good
Beef brisket poutine @ Refreshment Port - thought it was excellent
Lamb meatball @ New Zealand - thought it was good
Pasta gratin @ Germany - thought it was good
Crispy pork belly @ Brazil - liked it but thought the portion size was too small
Croissant aux escargot @ France - liked it but thought there was too much bread
Guinness Baileys Shake @ Ireland - thought it was excellent
He also had the following beers:
Flight @ Craft Drafts
Barbossa Ale @ Flavors from Fire
Coopers Brewery Original Pale Ale @ Australia
Flight @ Brewer’s Collection
Mmmhops @ Fife & Drum
Flight @ Belgium
He enjoyed all of them.

I had:
Croissant Doughnut w/chocolate hazelnut cream @ Taste Track - this sounds silly, but it may be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I love chocolate hazelnut and this thing had a lot of it!
Loaded Mac & cheese @ Active Eats - a little spicy, good but nothing special
Liquid Nitro Chocolate Almond Truffle @ Chocolate Studio - excellent
Maple Bourbin Cheesecake @ Cheese Studio - split with husband - we both liked it
Butternut Squash Ravioli @ Wine & Dine Studio - good
Marinated Chicken @ Thailand - very good
Apple Strudel @ Germany - good
Teriyaki Chicken Bun @ Japan - I liked it, but it wasn’t the most inspired dish
Belgian waffle w/berry compote @ Belgium - good, but nothing to write home about

We split several of these dishes with our son (almost 3) and he had a great time eating with us! I wish we’d had more time, but it was a fairly short trip and we only had 1 day at Epcot. It was our first time at the festival and we had a lot of fun trying the food!
 
Croissant Doughnut w/chocolate hazelnut cream @ Taste Track - this sounds silly, but it may be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I love chocolate hazelnut and this thing had a lot of it!

I feel like Taste Track was a sleeper hit booth--we had the chocolate marshmallow donut with chocolate gelato and it was *amazing*. Much better than I expected.
 
I feel like Taste Track was a sleeper hit booth--we had the chocolate marshmallow donut with chocolate gelato and it was *amazing*. Much better than I expected.

I was actually at Epcot by myself for awhile in the evening - my son goes to bed around 7:30 and my husband and I took turns going out at night. I rode Test Track and then really wanted something sweet, so I stopped and got the cronut. I sat on a bench by myself in the dark with my cronut. I’m sure I looked like a real winner but I was so happy. Lol.
 
I was actually at Epcot by myself for awhile in the evening - my son goes to bed around 7:30 and my husband and I took turns going out at night. I rode Test Track and then really wanted something sweet, so I stopped and got the cronut. I sat on a bench by myself in the dark with my cronut. I’m sure I looked like a real winner but I was so happy. Lol.

Right there with ya sister--I was sitting on the curb in front of the restrooms, eating my donut with gelato and getting it ALL over my face. Winners, both of us :D :rotfl2:
 


3 Things:

1. There are still cutting boards available. My wife picked up hers today.

2. I forgot all about the cronuts since I never ride Test Track. That stand is kind of hidden.

3. Kids are given a Krusteaz t shirt and Krusteaz wisk for attending the Jr Chef event
 
We’re here this weekend and it feels like Christmas crowds.
We usually come at the beginning of October. We won’t be coming the weekend before Halloween again. The crowds are crazy!

Our experience was the exact opposite. Last year we arrived on 10/29 and crowds were manageable. This year we went Columbus Day week and the crowds were terrible. I recommend if you go early October go the week after Columbus Day week. So mid-October. :)
 


Our experience was the exact opposite. Last year we arrived on 10/29 and crowds were manageable. This year we went Columbus Day week and the crowds were terrible. I recommend if you go early October go the week after Columbus Day week. So mid-October. :)

We were there for Columbus Day weekend and I have to agree the crowds were very high for the entire weekend and Monday.
 
We were there October 9 - 22. Epcot was crazy crowded. But strangely the lines for the booths were not bad. It was also about 1,000 degrees. The heat really cut down on our, let’s say, snacking. We actually came home with funds on our gift cards. Very tough finding a spot in the shade.

Spent way more time in the resort pool than we usually do. I’ll say it again. It was HOT.

We had a great time even with the weather. Enjoyed the three events we booked (Italian Regional Lunch, French Family meal, Mediterranean pairing) two fabulous dinners - Narcoossee’s & BOG and lots of champagne & snacks on our porch.
 
Our experience was the exact opposite. Last year we arrived on 10/29 and crowds were manageable. This year we went Columbus Day week and the crowds were terrible. I recommend if you go early October go the week after Columbus Day week. So mid-October. :)
We arrived the day before Columbus Day and had no problems all week long. And all we did was Food & Wine. To us, the crowds were just normal crowds, nothing big.
 
We were there October 9 - 22. Epcot was crazy crowded. But strangely the lines for the booths were not bad. It was also about 1,000 degrees. The heat really cut down on our, let’s say, snacking. We actually came home with funds on our gift cards. Very tough finding a spot in the shade.

Spent way more time in the resort pool than we usually do. I’ll say it again. It was HOT.

We had a great time even with the weather. Enjoyed the three events we booked (Italian Regional Lunch, French Family meal, Mediterranean pairing) two fabulous dinners - Narcoossee’s & BOG and lots of champagne & snacks on our porch.
I thought the same about the food booth lines. There were so many people but no one in line for food
 
Not having the sampler tickets this year really did change our booth visits. I refuse to spend $16 on the sparkling wine and without that we spent less time in Epcot and more time in our villa drinking our own champagne

We did very little drink sampling at the kiosks for this very reason! In fact, our alcohol consumption while at F&W was down considerably but when we did grab a cocktail, it was a full size one from one of the regular counter service places or bars.
 
We did very little drink sampling at the kiosks for this very reason! In fact, our alcohol consumption while at F&W was down considerably but when we did grab a cocktail, it was a full size one from one of the regular counter service places or bars.
Yes! We went to tutto gusto, spice road table, & bars on the boardwalk and in the swan & dolphin
 
Our experience was the exact opposite. Last year we arrived on 10/29 and crowds were manageable. This year we went Columbus Day week and the crowds were terrible. I recommend if you go early October go the week after Columbus Day week. So mid-October. :)


Oh we were there mid October this year and the crowds were insane even during the week as a lot of people we talked to said schools are doing “fall breaks” throughout October.

I was soooo looking forward to the Mac and cheese and pumpkin chai drinks....both left me disappointed and wanting the recipes from 2017 brought back. Didn’t care for the chocolate pumpkin drink mix with the vodka floating on top and thought the Mac and cheese was too spicy this year.
 
Past two days, Oct 31 & Nov 1, we were there about 11:30 AM for an hour and a half. No lines to any of the booths to speak of. We just graze a bit for lunch and then depart.
 
Is there a map of the available samplings, food & drinks? It appears there is one in the iphone app but I didn't see one here in the thread that I could download. We're going for the first time in 2019 and just planning ahead as much as possible. If there isn't one on this thread, is there anything that they hand out at Epcot to guide you thru the various offerings?
 
Is there a map of the available samplings, food & drinks? It appears there is one in the iphone app but I didn't see one here in the thread that I could download. We're going for the first time in 2019 and just planning ahead as much as possible. If there isn't one on this thread, is there anything that they hand out at Epcot to guide you thru the various offerings?
Disney food blog has a map and all the other info.
 
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