My first Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT was a true highlight of my entire Disney vacation. EPCOT is a bit of an odd park with some mismatching themes, but I really enjoyed my time here and since we didn't have much of a planned schedule to follow, it was a very relaxing park overall. Since we didn't opt for park hopper tickets, we went to one park per day. With five days to spend in the parks, this left us with the decision of which park to double up on. What was really nice about this was that we actually got to experience every park once before making the decision on which one to return to. We had to consider that our fifth day would be cut short by dinner reservations at Ohana, so we wanted it to be a park we could enjoy for only half a day. EPCOT simply won out here, because we were fairly burnt out and exhausted from going nonstop for four days already, and our previous day was the most chill. Though, honestly I just wanted more of the Food & Wine Festival goodies. Also just a disclaimer up-front, our entire group consisted of my mom, my sister, her boyfriend, and myself being the youngest at 25 years old. No Kiddos. *Disney has changed many policies due to the COVID situation, so I can't really comment on what to expect over the next few months, just assuming that they will get back to some level of normal eventually. Serena (Living By Disney) has always been my go-to for explaining legit Disney news so check out her recent posts and stories on Insta for better updates. Rides & AttractionsI think this is the category that is really lacking in EPCOT. There are very few rides in comparison to the other parks, and as they are geared towards being informative and educational, which is a theme that constantly needs to be updated with the times... well they just haven't done that. Come for me if you want, but Spaceship Earth just may have been the most dull attraction I've ever experienced on any Disney property, and the imagination thing is just... strange. Those two aside, the remaining rides each have their own place, and something unique to offer. I found Living with the Land, while not exciting, really peaked my interest, and I was more than happy to have learned something new about modern planting and growing methods. Then our first fast pass was for Soarin' which could be said is similar to Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom, but I would argue that it's is much more toned down and it's more for a gentle viewing style. It was impressive (especially if you look around you and see just how big the mechanism really is), but it didn't have that gut drop thrill factor to it like FOP did. Something I didn't realize about the rides in EPCOT, is that they are all indoors. All except for maybe 5-10 seconds of Test Track. This one had a lot of "Pre-Show" activity, which really contributes to its long wait times, but it was an unexpected ride with it's own quirky-ness. Our car design was horrible and I loved it. What I did not love was the unexpected sales showroom at the end. Nearly had to drag my mom out of there before a sales associate sucked her in. The Seas with Nemo & Friends was just freaking adorable, and I love Finding Nemo as well as Finding Dory, so I can truthfully say that I'm 100% biased. Aquariums are my jam, and I probably could have sat in there, watching dolphins and manatees for hours. The overall cute feel good vibes didn't stop there. No they carried all the way over into the Norway pavilion to the ride that everyone goes bonkers for. Frozen Ever After. Not to just jump on the bandwagon here, but this was easily the best ride in EPCOT, mostly because it was what most people would expect from a ride, there was even some fast movement, and a drop, which is kinda non-existent elsewhere in EPCOT. The design was on point, even throughout the queue, it was a really quaint setting with tons of little details here and there as you wind through Arendelle. The projections and animatronics were also done very well, nothing looked "flat" like they do along the Na'vi River Journey. All around a quality ride. Number one on what I would do differently for rides, would be to realize that we completely missed a ride that I think would have been great, Gran Fiesta Tour! We were right there and never even saw it, and everything about the Mexico Pavilion was so full of life and color, that I know it wouldn't have disappointed. I can't wait to see the new additions and updates that are currently planned for EPCOT's ride situation. I don't know anyone who isn't hyped for the coming Remy ride in the France Pavilion, and I've already made my thoughts on Spaceship Earth known, so update away Disney! I'll be back for it eventually. Restaurants & FoodWe planned our whole vacation to be during Food & Wine Festival. And. It. Did. Not. Disappoint. Though, with it being festival time, I literally ate at festival booths all day and one of the only year-round restaurants we stepped foot in was the first stop of the day. I'm not really sure what got into us as we ordered basically an entire table-full of goodies from Les Halles, and I have no shame at all about sipping on a frosé first thing in the morning. There were some definite winners here, though some were a bit too sweet for breakfast. The fraises tart and macaron, are easily some well known EPCOT staples, and well deserving the title. The bakery is a great spot for a savory breakfast, which I found to be rare on Disney property, with a great variety of breakfast sandwiches. The "croissant jambon fromage" or ham and cheese croissant, is a great deal for around $5 and even counts as a snack credit for dining plan users. In my opinion the yogurt parfait wasn't very exciting, but is one of the cheaper items on the menu, I guess it could be considered a "healthier option" but there's likely still loads of sugar in it. I think I managed to snap a quick shot of everything I personally ordered over the two days, and a few that the other members of the group got as well. A lot of money went towards food in EPCOT, considerably more than the other parks, but we had planned on this and put aside a separate chunk of change, just so we could enjoy anything that sounded tasty without just trying the lowest priced items each time. TIP AlertIf you want to try as many things or sample something from as many booths as you can during F&W then look for more sharable sized items, like the Schinkennudeln, beverage flights, and the Piri Piri Shrimp. Even if the portions are small between a couple or small group, the snacking throughout the day will actually be sufficiently filling. The gallery below will have the stall's name and title of the dish in the captions. Here's a link to the 2019 menu and prices (when we went) 👉 2019 F&W Menu, and here's the updated menu for 2020 👉 2020 F&W Menu. Both of these are from Disney Food Blog and they have a ton of details like prices, if it counts as a snack credit, and even guides for different food allergies. Make sure to pick up one of the FREE passport books! That was such a fun way to keep track of what dishes and drinks we got to experience, and makes for a very interactive way to make your journey through all the pavilions and differing booths. Some of the booths and dining areas for F&W have awesome decor, that may or may not be intended for photo ops, but they make freaking perfect backdrops for some memorable shots. Besides the festival decor, there are hundreds of little nooks and crannies around the pavilions that you could take your food and drinks (or you know, family and group members lol) to for more unique photos. I really liked the grape buckets at Wine and Dine, and a little tiled water fountain near the Mexico pavilion. Okay so the only other non-festival food stop we made, was to try out another EPCOT "must try" item: the school bread from Kringla Bakeri og Cafe in the Norway pavilion. I went into this thinking people way over hyped this item, and honestly thinking that I wouldn't like it since I'm not really a fan of coconut. But let me tell you... it was one of my favorite things I ate throughout the entire trip, and I made sure to get another one on the second day too. This thing was so simple and I think thats what made it really hit home. It wasn't overly sweet, it was big enough to share, it was creamy, and perfectly spiced. I'm already looking up recipes to make this at home, which I know will never be the same. EPCOT is by far has the best food on property, and while I say in reference to the F&W Festival, I think its likely representative of the year-round restaurants and food offerings as well. One of the main complaint's I had with the other parks, was a lack of savory and non-sweet options, and that was NOT the case in EPCOT. Sure there were tons of desserts and sweet treats, but there was an equal amount or even more that weren't cavity inducing. In addition, variety is at the core of EPCOT's theming and you can bet its fully realized in the food as well. There is something here for EVERYONE, and that even extends to the boozy drinks as well. It's not just four brands of beer, and a white and red wine thats standard at other restaurants. There's a reason "drinking around the world" is such a popular thing here, its not every day that you have the options between saké, margaritas, and unknown length of wine lists. Shows & EventsI can admit we didn't seek out any entertainment in EPCOT. It seemed like many of the performances took place within the pavilions, and we were so festival focused, that we most likely passed by various shows throughout the park. The few that we happened to be in the right place at the right time for, was the mariachi band in the Mexico pavilion, and the yo-yo performance in the China pavilion. I think personally preferred the mariachi band, as I could still listen and enjoy the music as I wove my way around the little market area inside the pavilion. The yo-yo performance had a bit of a crowd waiting for it and rather than sit on the ground we looped around on a garden path with no one to squish between. As we were still festival booth hopping well past dark, we also missed out on the opportunity to snag seats for EPCOT's nightly fireworks and light show. I'm not sure how the show looks from other areas, or if there really is a prime spot to watch the show, but from our perspective (and fairly uncomfortable leaning on a garden fence position) the light show aspect wasn't that clear. We could see the fireworks though, and they weren't bad, but just didn't stand out to me in comparison with the other parks' nightly shows. I will say though depending on the wind, I don't recommend sitting near the Morocco area on the far side of the park. The firework's smoke blew low and right into us as we made our way out of the park. Had it not been festival season, I think we would have put more effort into enjoying the shows and events EPCOT has to offer. But since we kinda half-heartedly stumbled upon only three events in the two days we were in the park, our experience with them overall wasn't entirely memorable. EPCOT OverallEPCOT's international pavilions are (in my opinion) the crowning jewel of the park, as they offered the best variety of food in all the parks, and rivaled Animal Kingdom's gorgeous theming and design. I think the only things lacking in this park are a stronger presence of rides, and overall cohesive theming with the front half of the park. There's going to be a large-scale overhaul of this area in the next year or so, and I'm excited to see where it takes the park as a whole. Now just keep in mind, my opinions are those of someone with no historical or nostalgic attraction to the parks. The last time I was here I was six, and had no appreciation for probably 90% of what makes the parks what they are. So some of the rides and attractions that people grew up loving year after year, just don't really click with me, and likely don't make sense to a newer Disney customer base. I think the changes planned for EPCOT have a chance for a new generation of patrons to be able to make a real connection to this park (even if Guardians of the Galaxy here does seem a bit off to me...) |