The Festival Center is a great first stop when visiting Food and Wine. It gets you into the spirit of the festival. Inside the Festival Center you will find special culinary and drink seminars, a store to get your Food and Wine merchandise, as well as a Ghirardelli Chocolate section featuring chocolate displays and free chocolate! Derek loves visiting the Festival Center as he loves to remember what was once there. The Festival Center used to be known as the Wonders of Life Pavilion featuring classic attractions including Body Wars and Cranium Command. It's fun to reminisce about what used to be there. We always make sure to grab our Food and Wine wrist gift card while we are there too!
After our stop at the Festival Center, it was time to hit the Food Marketplaces! On the way we made a stop at the cranberry bog and picked up some free Craisins! Another Food and Wine tradition. Our first big decision of the day was to go right or left. We decided to go right towards Canada making our first stop at Hawaii!
I always make sure to stop in Hawaii for a Kalua Pork Slider! This delicious little sandwich became a fast favorite of mine when the Hawaii Marketplace debuted a couple years ago. After this tasty treat we made our way to France for our next stop.
In France we were excited to see an old favorite come back in a different form, Boeuf Bourguignon (Braised Short Ribs in Cabernet with Mashed Potatoes). This was a hearty dish with an amazing sauce! It was then a quick walk to Belgium for some waffles!
We were excited to try a new offering at the festival this year, the Potato and Leek Waffle with Braised Beef. It might not look appetizing, but it quickly became a new favorite. And of course we had to get the Belgium Waffle with Berries!
Derek always loves to make a stop in Morocco for some Baklava, one of his favorites of the festival! After our quick stop in Morocco we were ready for a break. This year, Chase has it's lounge over in the American Adventure Pavilion. It ended up being the perfect location for us to take a break from our trip around the world. The lounge is really nice with comfy seating and free drinks!
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| Our view from the lounge! |
After a bit of relaxing in the cool AC we headed back out to conquer the rest of the world showcase marketplaces. However as you'll notice we were filling up by this point, so we made less stops but made sure to take note of places we might want to stop by during another visit!
We watched this duck try to get on the boat.
And stopped for some Chicken Potstickers in China!
We continued to make our way around the world, enjoying the atmosphere and making a pit stop to ride Maelstrom and grab some Worms and Dirt in Norway. Then it was time for one last stop...
Desserts and Champagne, of course, for a Frozen S'more! It's a new addition to this year's festival and is very delicious if you love chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers, that is. This stop marked the end of our visit to Food and Wine but we will be sure to come back as there are many more treats for us to try!
If you will be visiting the Festival this year we have a few tips for you. Make sure to pick up a Marketplace Passport. It's fun to make your way around the world and try to collect all the stamps. One year we will get a stamp from every marketplace! Also, split dishes. It allows you to try more and not fill up as quickly. Finally, the best time to visit the festival is during the week, during the day if possible. The weekends during Food and Wine can be unbearably crowded. It is often when locals make there way there and at times can get kind of rowdy, especially at night.
Above all though, have fun! Food and Wine is a great time to visit Epcot and explore what the different countries have to offer. We will definitely be back again this year. Maybe we will see you there!
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