It is almost time for your Epcot International Food & Wine Festival vacation! Have you planned your visit? Are you ready to take advantage of this great Disney World Event? Fortunately Only WDWorld can help you with advice and helpful hints to make this vacation one of your most enjoyable!
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
2014 marks the 19th annual celebration of one of the most popular events at the Walt Disney World Resort. This year will also be the longest Epcot Food & Wine Festival ever spanning from September 19 to November 10, 2014.
Start With The Planning
A little bit of planning goes a long way as far as the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival goes. There are so many different events, foods, wines, beers, famous music acts, and celebrity chefs that visit Epcot during the Festival that it pays to do your homework and plan ahead.We'll break down the Festival into 5 categories for planning purposes:
- Tasting Your Way Around The World
- Eat To The Beat Concert Series
- Culinary Demonstrations
- Beverage Demonstrations
- Special Tasting Meals and Events
Having plans around some or all of these categories will help you have a successful Festival for 2014.
1. Tasting Your Way Around The World
The first thing that comes to mind for most Food & Wine Festival veterans are all of the wonderful international kiosks that are set up around Epcot's World Showcase representing over 25 different regions and cuisines.
Access to all of these special food and drink marketplaces is FREE with your admission to Epcot. The food and drink is served in tasting portions and typically runs $3-$7 each.
Here is a list of the 2014 Food, Beer, and Wine choices for all 28 Marketplaces:
You can easily spend two full afternoons and/or evenings working your way around the 1.3 mile World Showcase walkway visiting the different International Marketplaces and sampling the Food & Drink.
Disney World Tip: Avoid Friday and Saturday afternoons and evening if possible as they will become VERY crowded as the locals like to join the fun.
2. Eat To The Beat Concert Series
The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is home to the best FREE concert series at Disney World each year. Each night there are three separate shows at the America Gardens Theatre at 5:30, 6:45, & 8:00pm.
The 2014 Concerts include famous acts like:
- The Pointer Sisters
- Christopher Cross
- Air Supply
- Starship
- Sugar Ray
- Richard Marx
- Billy Ocean
- Night Ranger
- Smash Mouth
- 38 Special
- Boyz II Men
and others
Here is the entire schedule: 2014 Eat To The Beat Concert Schedule
These FREE concerts are a great way to enjoy an evening at Epcot prior to Illuminations: Reflections of Earth which occurs nightly at 9:00pm.
3. Culinary Demonstrations
Celebrity Chefs as well as Disney World's own remarkable chefs participate in a number of Culinary Demonstrations each day of the Festival. You need to go to www.EpcotFoodFestival.com to see a full list of Culinary Demonstrations throughout the Festival. Famous chefs like: Buddy Velasko, Robert Irvine, Gale Gand, Carla Hall, Cat Cora, and Kevin Dundon are participating, but you need to reserve your spot ahead of time. There are 3 different Culinary Demonstrations per day.
Each demonstration is approximately 45 minutes in length and costs only $15 per person.
4. Beverage Demonstrations
Like the Culinary Demonstrations, there are also beverage demonstrations. In what started out as only Wine based demonstrations in the earlier Festivals, you can now find Wine Tastings, Beer Tastings, Whiskey Tastings, Tequilla Tastings, and more. There are even a series of Mixology related seminars.
Here is the location to find the schedule: Beverage Seminars and Mixology Seminars
These also occur each day as cost $15 per person with reservations highly recommended.
5. Special Tasting Meals and Events
The sky and your imagination is the limit when it comes to the variety of special tasting meal, dining events, and celebrity chef tastings at the 2014 Food & Wine Festival.
There are so many different choices to choose from like:
- Parisian Breakfast (Saturdays) $39 pp
- “3D” Disney’s Dessert Discovery (October 3, 10 and 17) $59 or $99 pp – this also can be booked at epcotfoodfestival.com
- Culinary Adventures in Signature Dining (more than 20 dinners throughout the festival; prices vary)
- Shake and Indulge Like the French Featuring Grand Marnier (Saturdays beginning September 27) $55 pp
- Cheese Seminars (Saturdays) $79 pp
- Party for the Senses (October 4, 11, 18 and November 1) $149, $189 or $299 pp – this also can be booked at epcotfoodfestival.com
- Party for the Senses Featuring Disney Chefs from Around the World (October 25) $149, $189 or $299 pp
- Food & Wine Pairings (Tuesdays and Thursdays) $55 pp
These only represent a small sampling of the choices that await you.
Here is a link to a broader list of choices: 2014 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Special Events
F&W Festival Planning Summary
If you plan to enjoy the 2014 International Food and Wine Festival make sure that you take the time to do some planning before your visit. There is a wide variety of FREE activities and there are plenty of premium events for those that want to experience even more spectacular food and beverages during the Festival.
This is absolutely one of the favorite times for adults to visit the Walt Disney World Resort!
0 comments to "Planning Your Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Vacation"
Post a Comment