2019 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival: August 29-November 23, 2019

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FYI: I saw a F&W magicband in the upgrade selection yesterday. It looks identical to the Dooney one (to me, anyway) but it is listed with a regular price of $29.99 and an upgrade price of $29.99. I don't know if it's a mistake like the Galaxy's Edge band, or if it actually is the Dooney band and you're getting $18 off instead of $15.
 
I can't wait!! DH and I taking a long weekend sans the kiddos! I need to make my list.
What is this app everyone is talking about? I'm out the loop.
 
I can't wait!! DH and I taking a long weekend sans the kiddos! I need to make my list.
What is this app everyone is talking about? I'm out the loop.

This is one I use (there could be others) - WDW Food&Wine. Note this is an unofficial app made by another fan - not affiliated with Walt Disney Co.

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Got a chance to attend our first culinary demo. We really enjoyed it. We saw Alicia Sherrill from Animal Kingdom Lodge. This is one of our favorites resorts and we always love the food there. She was really knowable and the dessert we got to try was delicious. There was a small question and answer period at the end and then she was also meeting outside after the event was over to answer any additional questions.

I know some don't think they are worth the price they now charge, but we were happy with our experience.
 
The wife and I stopped by this afternoon for round 4. This post will only have the new stuff I tried. We've tried 44 different items so far, and it won't let me post enough pictures to include everything I've tried. I'll figure something out, lol.

Spicy Hummus Fries (Morocco) - 8.0/10 - Very good as always. Deceptively spicy. I always get the cucumbers and whatnot on the side, as the hummus fries get very soggy otherwise.

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Golden Malted Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote (Belgium) - 8.0/10 - This is always a favorite of mine. The waffle was perfectly cooked today.

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Crispy Pork Belly (Brazil) - 7.5 - This ranking is based on a combination of flavor and value. The pork was very tender and flavorful. Unfortunately, the piece of pork was tiny. Two small bites worth. If there had been more pork, I'd have given this an 8.5.

crispy_pork_belly.jpg


Seared Scallops (Wine and Dine Studio) - 7.5/10 - Everybody raves about Disney scallops, and I'm not sure why. Don't get me wrong, these are perfectly decent. But they are not anything special. If you want a good theme park scallop, go to Sea World during their Seven Seas Food Festival. The scallops there mop the floor with anything I've ever gotten at a Disney festival.

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Butternut Squash Ravioli (Wine and Dine Studio) - 7.5/10 - These had a nice savory/sweet thing going on. Pumpkin seeds added a nice crunch.

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Black Pepper Boursin Souffle (The Cheese Studio) - 7.5/10 - The souffle was perfectly cooked, with a very soft fluffy center. It had a mild taste that paired well with the flavorful fig marmalade.

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Pao de Queijo (Brazil) - 7.5/10 - These taste like your typical cheese bread from Texas de Brazil or Fogo de Chao. And they were huge!

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Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak (Flavors From Fire) - 7.5/10 - The steak had a very nice char, giving it a great grill flavor. The corn cake was kind of mushie and mealie, and the slaw was your basic slaw. I didn't really notice the aoili.

charred_chimichurri_skirt_steak.jpg


Schinkennudeln (Germany) - 7.0/10 - Another dish that gets docked points because of portion size. Look at the photo. It's completely ridiculous!!! It's too bad, because this is probably the best "Mac and Cheese" I've ever had. A bigger portion would have gotten an 8.5.

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Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bushberry Shrimp (Australia) - 7.0/10 - These were okay, but they weren't particularly sweet or spicy. And the 3 shrimp were quite small. They were cooked perfectly, though.

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Citrus Sunrise (Joffrey's) - 6.0/10 - Waaay too sweet for me. Needed about 5 more shots of Grand Marnier, or even something stronger. The wife liked it well enough.

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Okay, the quoted post below includes a list of every single item we've tried this year, ranked in order from best to worst. Just click "Click to expand" to see the whole list. I removed the pictures from the new items we tried, as those pictures are in the post directly above this one. The new items are BOLD in this list, but have no pictures. Please let me know if there is a better way to do this, lol.

The number in parenthesis before the item's name is how many times we have tried that item. If there is no number, we've tried it once.

If there is a number before the name of the dish, that is how many times we've tried that dish.

(2) Taco de Puerco (Mexico) - 9.0/10 - First one was loaded with tender, juicy pork belly and tasty green sauce. Second one had about half as much on it, and was pretty dry. I'll leave this at the top, as the first one was so good. But YMMV.

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Mala Chicken and Shrimp Bao Bun (China) - 8.5/10 - The sauce on the chicken and shrimp was very tasty.

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Boeuf Braisé à la Borderlaise (France) - 8.5/10 - Very tender beef, very tasty sauce. Potatoes were delicious, but kind of hard to eat. They kept falling apart.

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Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese (The Alps) - 8.5/10 - Getting a fresh one is critical. Ours was melty and quite tasty. There were 2 very small potatoes and 1 tiny pickle hiding under the cheese.

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Maple Bourbon Cheesecake (Cheese Studio) - 8.5/10 - One of favorites from last year, and it's just as good this year. I always ask for one fresh out of the fridge, as being cold improves it quite a bit.

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Spicy Hummus Fries (Morocco) - 8.0/10 - Very good as always. Deceptively spicy. I always get the cucumbers and whatnot on the side, as they get very soggy otherwise.


Banana Almond Soft Serve Sundae (Shimmering Sips) - 8.0/10 - Refreshing and quite tasty. Good size portion.

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Spanish-style Paella (Spain) - 8.0/10 - I didn't care for this last year, but quite enjoyed it this time. I think it's just the luck of draw, as it looks basically the same. The sausage is quite good.

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Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart (The Alps) - 8.0/10 - The crust on this is amazing.

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(4) Deconstructed Pavlova (Australia) - 8.0/10 - First time we got it it was room temperature, and scored a 7.0. We asked for one straight from the fridge the second time, and it was quite a bit better, earning it's current 8.0.

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Golden Malted Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote (Belgium) - 8.0/10 - This is always a favorite of mine. The waffle was perfectly cooked today.


(2) Impossible Cottage Pie (Earth Eats) - 8.0/10 - Shockingly good. Tastes like real meat. I expected the cauliflower mash to be a deal breaker, but even that was pretty good.

impossible_cottage_pie.jpg



Crispy Pork Belly (Brazil) - 7.5 - This ranking is based on a combination of flavor and value. The pork was very tender and flavorful. Unfortunately, the piece of pork was tiny. Two small bites worth. If there had been more pork, I'd have given this an 8.5.


Kenyan Coffee Barbecue Beef Tenderloin (Africa) - 7.5/10 - This was delicious, but my beef was full of gristle. If it had been tender this would be higher.

kenyan_coffee_barbecue_beef_tenderloin.jpg



Seared Scallops (Wine and Dine Studio) - 7.5/10 - Everybody raves about Disney scallops, and I'm not sure why. Don't get me wrong, these are decent. But they are not anything special. If you want a good theme park scallop, go to Sea World during their Seven Seas Food Festival. It mops the floor with anything I've ever gotten at a Disney festival.


NY Strip Steak Green Shermoula Flatbread (Morocco) - 7.5/10 - Basically a beef soft taco. Good though!

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Teriyaki-glazed SPAM Hash (Hawaii) - 7.5/10 - One of my favorite items last year, but not quite as good this year. Smaller portion, not as much sauce, and the potatoes are mushier. Still pretty good.

teriyaki_glazed_spam_hash.jpg



Butternut Squash Ravioli (Wine and Dine Studio) - 7.5/10 - These had a nice savory/sweet thing going on. Pumpkin seeds added a nice crunch.


Black Pepper Shrimp (China) - 7.5/10 - We always like this. Shrimp still had tails on this year.

black_pepper_shrimp.jpg



Black Pepper Boursin Souffle (The Cheese Studio) - 7.5/10 - The souffle was perfectly cooked, with a very soft fluffy center. It had a mild taste that paired well with the flavorful fig marmalade.


Ravioli Carbonara (Italy) - 7.5/10 - Strong parmesan flavor, which I like. Lots of fairly crispy bacon as well. Not bad, which means it's outstanding for the Italy booth!

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Charcuterie in a Cone (Spain) - 7/5/10 - Nothing earth shattering, just decent meats, cheeses, and olives. Mine was particularly salami heavy.

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Pacifico True Striped Bass Tostada (Coastal Eats) - 7.5/10 - Good, but could have used more of the delicous green sauce. Fish was a tad bit dry.

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Pao de Queijo (Brazil) - 7.5/10 - These taste like your typical cheese bread from Texas de Brazil or Fogo de Chao. And they were huge!


Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak (Flavors From Fire) - 7.5/10 - The steak had a very nice char, giving it a great grill flavor. The corn cake was kind of mushie and mealie, and the slaw was your basic slaw. I didn't really notice the aoili.



Jerk-spiced Chicken (Islands of the Caribbean) - 7.0/10 - Chicken was good, and spicy. I didn't care for anything else in the dish, though. It would have cooled down the spicy chicken, but it was just too sweet for a savory dish.

jerk_spiced_chicken.jpg



Schinkennudeln (Germany) - 7.0/10 - Another dish that gets docked points because of portion size. Look at the photo. It's completely ridiculous!!! It's too bad, because this is probably the best "Mac and Cheese" I've ever had. A bigger portion would have gotten an 8.5.


Frozen Mimosa (Shimmering Sips) - 7.0/10 - Refreshing, but maybe a bit too sweet. Almost no taste of alcohol.

frozen_mimosa.jpg



Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bushberry Shrimp (Australia) - 7.0/10 - These were okay, but they weren't particularly sweet or spicy. And the 3 shrimp were quite small. They were cooked perfectly, though.


Braised Beef Stroganoff (Cheese Studio) - 7.0/10 - Pretty good, but the noodles kind of got lost with all of the sauce. Decent sized portion.

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Frothy Ramen (Japan) - 7.0/10 - Expected this to be gross, as I don’t like cold noodles, but it was pretty good. Oddly sweet.

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New England Lobster Roll (Hops & Barley) - 7.0/10 - Not bad, but not as good as previous years. There were no lumps of meat here, just shreds. And it was a bit dry, and kind of warm.

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"La Cellier" Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon (Canada) - 7.0/10 - This is usually really good, but this time it was overcooked (borderline well done) and kind of tough. It was a large portion, with tons of mushrooms.

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Nigerian Meat Pie (Refreshment Outpost) - 7.0 - Tastes very similar to frozen Jamaican Beef Patties. Maybe with a bit more of an African spice profile. Could have been crispier.

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Charcuterie and Cheese Plate (Appleseed Orchard) - 7.0/10 - The maple syrup added an interesting flavor to the cheeses. The meats were fine, but uninteresting. The lump of apple stuff was kind of gross, though.

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Caramel Apple Popcorn (Appleseed Orchard) - 7.0/10 - Pretty good flavor. And the popcorn still tasted fresh, not stale like a lot of flavored popcorn. Plus, the container is adorable.

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Capirotada de Chocolate (Mexico) - 7.0/10 - Typical chocolate bread pudding.

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Tostada de Carne (Mexico) - 6.5/10 - Wasn’t a big fan of the mole on this. The meat was good, though.

tostada_de_carne.jpg


Frozen Apple Pie (Appleseed Orchard) - 6.0/10 - I didn't try this, but my wife gave it a 6, saying it was "too sweet". I forgot to take a picture of just the drink, so here it is with the popcorn!

appleseed_orchard.jpg



Citrus Sunrise (Joffrey's) - 6.0/10 - Waaay too sweet for me. Needed about 5 more shots of Grand Marnier. The wife liked it well enough.


Baked Shrimp and Scallop Scampi Dip (Coastal Eats) - 5.0/10 - The dip was runny and kind of gross, and the scallops were nothing special. On their own, I'd give the two scallops a 6.5, and the dip a 4.

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Venison Stew (The Alps) - 5.0/10 - I really didn't like the sauce. It was oddly sour. The meat was tender, but a bit gamey.

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Madras Red Curry (India) - 4.0/10 - Definitely not for me. Had a sour, bitter taste. Chickpeas were hard. I threw most of this away.

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Okay, the quoted post below includes a list of every single item we've tried this year, ranked in order from best to worst. Just click "Click to expand" to see the whole list. I removed the pictures from the new items we tried, as those pictures are in the post directly above this one. The new items are BOLD in this list, but have no pictures. Please let me know if there is a better way to do this, lol.

The number in parenthesis before the item's name is how many times we have tried that item. If there is no number, we've tried it once.
Thank you for your excellent analysis and comments on all the items you tried. Lots of interesting possibilities and your reports will help me prioritize since we only have one day at F&W. As always, I know YMMV applies but I think I’ve finally selected my “must try” items.
BTW - did you eat enough designated cheese-related items to try the “Exclusive Fromage Montage Complimentary Cheesecake” from Shimmering Sips? If so, did it taste good and how was the portion size?
 
Thank you for your excellent analysis and comments on all the items you tried. Lots of interesting possibilities and your reports will help me prioritize since we only have one day at F&W. As always, I know YMMV applies but I think I’ve finally selected my “must try” items.
BTW - did you eat enough designated cheese-related items to try the “Exclusive Fromage Montage Complimentary Cheesecake” from Shimmering Sips? If so, did it taste good and how was the portion size?

We did get all 5 cheese items required for the free cheesecake. However, my wife wasn’t feeling very well and we left before actually getting the cheesecake, lol. We will get it on our next visit.

I was also able to get my AP coasters during this visit.
 
Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak (Flavors From Fire) - 7.5/10 - The steak had a very nice char, giving it a great grill flavor. The corn cake was kind of mushie and mealie, and the slaw was your basic slaw. I didn't really notice the aoili.

My biggest concern with this is that there is literally no chimichurri sauce. I love chimicurri, but aoli is not it. They used to have a great chimichurri steak dish a few years ago, but what they've replaced it with seems lacking and like they should change the name to reflect what it really is. Thank you for your review. I would order this based on the menu, but not having seen this review!
 
My spreadsheet has been updated to include pricing! Looks like food & beer price increases are modest at around 25 cents on anything that did increase. Some of the cocktails shot up a dollar (or more) though.
Thanks for this! Would you be willing to make it available for download? I may be missing something but I'm not seeing the option. I downloaded the spreadsheet two years ago and used it to make our wish list :).
 
We attended the Mix-it, Make-it, Celebrate-it seminar today which was focused on Nolet's Gin. It was very disappointing, especially when compared with these seminars over the past several years. The seminars are now in the World Showcase Pavilion, and we had to wait outside (no fans, no AC drafts) until just before it started at 12:00. We were seated at tables of 8, with 2 seats left empty. The stage is not centered, so it was very difficult to see anything as we were on a table on the side -- the staff seats you and we arrived early but ended up in worse seats than those that arrived late. There is a tv screen behind the speaker where they can display slides, but the screen is so small it is unreadable. There are no mirrors or tv's above the speaker, so it is very difficult to see what they are doing. At each place were small plastic vials of ingredients, along with some plastic glasses with liquids in them. As part of the seminar, we were to make a custom cocktail, which turned out to be a gin and tonic. I think the name of the drink is the recipe, so this was pretty lame. Take a glass, dump in some ice, dump in stuff from 2 plastic glasses and voila - you have a gin and tonic. We also got to make a bloody mary - again, a very simplistic drink that I suspect most people know how to make. The seminar speakers talked about the Ketel One Botanicals, but they did not provide any for tasting. The seminar was supposed to 75 minutes; it was over in about 50. For $45 each, we made 2 simple cocktails with what appeared to be very light pours of alcohol. There were no crackers or any type of breads on the table, and there was a communal water pitcher (used to at least get your own bottle of water). And there were no "party gifts" from Nolets/KetelOne. I really feel like I was robbed.

Also, this is the same location where the cooking and beverage seminars are being held. We asked one of the staff about the cooking demos, since there are no ovens, sinks, etc in the stage area. She said that the chefs go through the preparation of the ingredients (cutting, chopping, etc) and then they hand out the food that is already prepared. You do not get to see them actually COOK anything. I understand that there are location issues this year with all the Epcot renovations being done, but expected Disney to at least try to make things work. We have one more Mix-It scheduled; I do not have high hopes.
 
I don't think we're sure. In years past, you went to the "desk" at the front of the Festival Center and had to pick up a paper ticket (could do anytime day-of) and then had to get in the queue before the event and then surrendered your paper ticket upon being let into the demo area. My GUESS for this year with no formal festival center is that you will queue at World ShowPlace prior to your event and be checked in by name as you are approved to enter with no paper tickets in the mix. I walked up to World ShowPlace on opening day with an event happening later in the day and there was not a Cast Member out front. I am attending an event week after next and can confirm then if no one else attends anything sooner.
Your guess is correct. There is a cast member in front of the entrance that handles check-in. We arrived 30 minutes early and they were already there. They highlight your name on a list but there are no paper tickets. There is a queue that you can stand in, or you can go off for a while and come back. They say that the event should open 15 minutes before it is scheduled to start; ours opened less than 10 minutes before. There is a desk set up near the main large gates to the World Showplace; the CMs there provide info or sell tickets to upcoming events but did not seem to be involved with the check-in process.
 
I thought the same thing... usually they go up 25 or 50 cents every year, and this time it seems like they went down... that’s ok with me!
I keep a spreadsheet from year to year and they did go up minimally this year...about the amount you quoted. The hummus fries in Morocco increased a few dollars however. I hope the increase is justified as I really enjoy these!
 
I keep a spreadsheet from year to year and they did go up minimally this year...about the amount you quoted. The hummus fries in Morocco increased a few dollars however. I hope the increase is justified as I really enjoy these!

I love those, too! Hopefully it’s a bigger portion for a bigger price.
 
Does anybody actually use or bring your own trays? I've seen this as a tip on blogs and videos, but it does seem a little strange to me to bring a tray to Epcot.
 
Does anybody actually use or bring your own trays? I've seen this as a tip on blogs and videos, but it does seem a little strange to me to bring a tray to Epcot.

We will bring ours that we got last year, but we have a backpack so it will just be in that.
 
Does anybody actually use or bring your own trays? I've seen this as a tip on blogs and videos, but it does seem a little strange to me to bring a tray to Epcot.
We’re bringing our own restaurant style one, but we have a stroller to store it under. My husband thinks I’m silly packing it, but I think he will be glad to have it when we are there.
 
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