Top Tips for Visiting Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival

Chef Remy said "If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff." With that in mind, there is plenty of good stuff to be found at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival - an annual hit at the Walt Disney World Resort.  With so much to see and do, it's easy to get overwhelmed at an event of these delicious proportions.  After a recent visit, I've compiled a list of my "top tips" to make the most of your experience tasting around the world.

Visit on a Weekday - Unlike special ticketed events, the festival runs during Epcot's normal operating hours.  Friday nights and weekends tend to be more crowded since these are times locals will  most likely be able to visit.  You can also visit throughout the day and may find midday and early afternoon park times to be less popular.

Buy a Gift Card - It's easy to get carried away with food and beverage purchases as you bounce booth to booth.  Buying a gift card ahead of time with the budget you are comfortable spending will make sure you don't wake up to sticker shock on your room charges in the morning! Epcot has special gift cards on a bracelet that you can purchase on site, but I like buying my gift cards at home before traveling.  You can save 5% buying your gift cards at Target when you use your Red Card.  You know what that means - more money to taste the world!

Hydrate with Free Water - Yes, that's right - something is free in Disney!  You can get free cups of ice water at any quick service dining location.  It's a great way to stay hydrated and save money, both of which are important when you consider the array of drinks available during your international journey.  Cast members at these locations are happy to provide you with the cup of water and often asked me if I would like more than one with each visit.

Make a Plan - Before you begin your culinary cabaret, plan to visit the Festival Center first to get oriented to the festival and the booths.  There is too much to taste it all, so pick out your favorites.  Better yet, the Food & Wine Festival is my favorite time to recommend using a Park Hopper ticket.  Skip planning a meal and hop over to Epcot for lunch or dinner to check several items off of your festival passport, then visit again the next day to try even more!

Have Fun - The spirit of the Food & Wine Festival is to try new things, so dive in with both feet and enjoy!  Visiting with friends and family will allow you to taste even more goodies if you split the items you order.  Whether you are enjoying the flavors of Hawaii, New Zealand, Mexico, or Italy - just to name a few - your taste buds will enjoy their journey around the world just as much as you will!

So that's it, five quick tips to make the most of your visit to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.  I hope you have fun planning a delicious visit!  Bon Appetite!

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My Top 5 Posts of 2016

In what has now become an annual tradition on the blog (I think I can call it that if I've done it two years in a row, right?), here is a countdown of my top 5 posts from the past year.  Thanks to everyone who stops by to check out my posts and I can't wait to share more memories and magic in 2017!

5. Why We Won't Be Going to MNSSHP - Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has been on my Disney bucket list for a long time now and we were finally taking a Fall trip that would put us there not only during some of the party dates, but actually on Halloween.  So why did we decide not to go? Find out here!

4. runDisney Inaugural Wine & Dine 10K - The inaugural runDisney Wine & Dine 10K was an amazing race.  Hosted by Chef Remy, the race featured a familiar course through Epcot and around the Boardwalk with some great characters and all the runDisney fun that you expect from their events.

3.  A Beginner's Guide to Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival - One of the most popular events in Walt Disney World can be overwhelming when you don't know what to expect.  We attended for the first time in 2015 and I used my experiences to write some tips that I learned which might benefit other first timers.

2.  Best Bets for Preschoolers in Epcot - Traveling with the little guys to Walt Disney World has meant seeing the parks through the eyes of my kids.  Epcot gets a bad reputation sometimes as not being a kid-friendly park.  This post highlights some of our favorite things to do around Future World and World Showcase!

1.  Things that May Terrify Your Kids in Walt Disney World - My husband will probably laugh out loud that this is my top post of the year.  His biggest complaint about Disney is that our kids are scared of some of the things there.  It's a true statement.  I don't think that ruins a family vacation - just review some of these experiences that might terrify your kids.  Moral of the story, there is so much to see and do in Disney; do what makes your family happy rather than trying to push through things that scare them.

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What makes Walt Disney World Resort #WonderFALLDisney?

A few weeks ago, I turned into the Disney Parks Live Stream from the Walt Disney World Resort to catch a glimpse of the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular Show that is part of Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  During the broadcast, Disney Parks commentators shared some of the reasons that Fall is one of the best seasons to visit.  I've had the pleasure of taking part of some of these events before, and others I'm excited to experience for the first time when our next trip begins in just about a month!

Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival - This classic festival that has been a part of Epcot for over 2 decades showcases food and drinks from around the world as well as some of the best celebrity chefs one can imagine.  Last year, we had a wonderful time eating our way around Epcot.  One of my best tips for beginners to the festival - don't bother making lunch and dinner reservations.  You'll be so full from snacking at the delicious kiosks, you won't need to stop and sit down for a full meal!  And don't forget to check out the Chase Lounge if you have a Chase Visa credit card.

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party - I have to confess that I am a little bummed were going to be missing this.  In case you missed my previous post, we opted out of attending this annual event due to the late night with young kids and ridiculous Halloween weekend pricing.  However, when I was watching the Live Stream from the party in September, I have to admit that the whole event looks fantastic.  I'm sure we'll end up going at some point when the kids are older.  Here's wishing all of you attending a spooktacular time!

runDisney - The first weekend in November means that runDisney has once again returned to the Walt Disney World Resort.  As the only fall race in Florida, this is a very popular ticket.  I ran Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5K and the Wine and Dine Half-Marathon in 2015 and can't wait to see the changes for 2016.  With a new Wine and Dine 10K and Lumiere's 2-Course Challenge added to the menu, as well as the time change for the half-marathon to a morning start, there is sure to be lots of excitement and opinions surrounding this event.

Good Weather, Lower Crowds, and Great Deals - Long gone are the high temperatures and paralyzing humidity of the summer.  Instead, you'll find pleasant temperatures and smaller crowds with school back in session.  Fall can also feature several great travel deals.  This year, free dining once again made a return to the Walt Disney World Resort as did percentage off offers for room only reservations.  While the booking window has passed for most of these great offers, deals are still available for the popular holiday season and Disney Visa cardholders have their preview this week of special offers for the beginning of 2017.

We're counting down the days to our #WonderFALLDisney vacation.  What are your favorite events of this season?

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3 Reasons to Visit the Chase Lounge at Epcot International Food & WineFestival

If you're planning to visit Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and have a Chase credit card, I'm here to let you in on one of the best kept secrets during the festival.  Touring the festival can be exhausting, but the Chase Lounge is the perfect place to relax while in Epcot.  The Chase Lounge is located inside the American Adventure.  To gain entry, you need to show your Chase Visa at the door and then you can proceed up the stairs to enjoy some great perks!  If you have a Disney Rewards Visa Card, you already have the connection you need with Chase to access the lounge.  Here are my top 3 reasons to check out the Chase Lounge.

Free Non-Alcholoic Beverages - That's right, something free!  Cardmembers can grab a free soda or drink of water while relaxing inside.  Wine and beer are also available for sale with reduced lines inside of the lounge.

An Air Conditioned Break - When spending a day enjoying all that Epcot has to offer, you are probably going to want to take a break at some point to escape the balmy temperatures that can still creep into Florida during the fall season.  The Chase Lounge offers comfy chairs, plenty of seating, and even some charging stations for all of your mobile devices!

Premium Seating for Epcot Favorites - This was one of the most surprising and best finds inside the Chase Lounge.  I happened to notice a cast member sitting off to the side with a box.  When I went over to check out what was inside, she had special wrist bands for reserved seats to that night's Illuminations: Reflections of Earth show and the Eat to the Beat Concerts that day.  The bands were only available for same day shows and were very limited quantities so if you want to try and score one, be sure to swing by early in the day!

The Chase Lounge is the perfect place to rest and relax during a busy day at Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.  Be sure to check it out this fall!

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A Beginner's Guide to Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival

When we decided to plan our first visit to Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival in 2015, I was at a rare loss of Disney knowledge.  This was probably one of the few things that I previously had zero experience with when it comes to Walt Disney World and I found myself scouring the Internet for answers.  In an effort to help those of you that might also be planning your first visit to the Food & Wine Festival, I've assembled some of my biggest "ah-ha" lessons learned.

1.  Be prepared to drop serious money in Epcot - The Food & Wine Festival is held within Epcot's World Showcase and houses over 20 kiosks of food and beverage bliss.  On top of your admission to Epcot, be prepared to pay between $3.50 and roughly $8.50 per taste of food or drink with flights being even more expensive.  Tasting your way around the world won't be cheap, so be prepared if you want to enjoy a wide variety of selections from the festival.  There is some good news though.  If you are on the Disney Dining Plan, most selections at the kiosks can be redeemed through snack credits and since Disney usually offers free dining during the fall months when the festival is going on, this is a great idea.

2.  Minimize dining reservations on festival days - The portion sizes of both food and drink are decent considering the money you pay.  By the time that you taste filling beverages and taste a variety of food, you probably won't be hungry for much of a meal.  Definitely avoid buffet dining which will carry a heavy price tag.  If you want to reserve a table service meal to experience a particular restaurant or secure good viewing for an evening show, make sure it is one that you can order off the menu so you can stick to lighter fare if you're not overly hungry.  You would also be fine to minimize your total overall Disney budget by skipping meals on these days.

3.  Grab a Festival Passport and make a plan - The first stop on the first day your at the festival should be the Festival Center where you can pick up a passport which will have all of the food and drink options listed at each kiosk.  If you go out into the festival chaos without a plan, it would be like trying to plan a road trip without GPS or a map.  With so many options, resign yourself to the fact that you won't be able to do it all (unless you live close by and make trips throughout the festival and have hit the Mega Millions jackpot - in either case, I'd be jealous!).  Pick your priorities to taste first and then you can always sample more if you get the chance.

4.  Buy a Park Hopper ticket - I'm not always a fan of the Park Hopper on my Disney vacations because we tend to be fine picking one park and staying there for a day which saves us money.  However, during the Food & Wine Festival, I think a Park Hopper ticket is a good option.  Spending a whole day at Epcot tasting is exhausting and filling.  The Food & Wine festival is the perfect venue to visit for half of a day and come back to several times during your trip.

5.  Bring your Chase card - Chase is (or at least has been) the official sponsor of the Food & Wine Festival and brings proud fanatics the Disney Rewards Credit Card.  If you have a Chase card, whether it is Disney themed or not, there is a Chase lounge located inside the American Adventure pavilion with free sodas and water, air conditioned seating, and some limited amounts of wrist bands for reserved seating for the Eat to the Beat Concerts and Illuminations viewing.  We visited the Food & Wine Festival twice.  Our Thursday afternoon visit found the Chase lounge to be relaxing and slow paced, but on our Sunday visit to Epcot, we didn't even attempt to enter the Chase lounge as a long line had gathered waiting to get in.  Since crowds vary day to day, this may or may not be a good place to "relax" during the festival, but it's worthwhile to carry your Chase card with you just in case!

Inside the Chase Lounge

6.  This isn't your typical Wine Fest - My husband is a true fan of wine who likes to learn about the wine that he tastes.  If you're like him, be prepared that when you taste at the kiosks, your wine is simply being poured by Disney cast members who really have no knowledge about the wine, grapes, region, winery, etc.  I'll admit - he was disappointed to be tasting some fabulous wines without being able to learn anything about them.  If you are looking for a more "educational" experience, similar to what you get a local or regional wine festivals where people can talk to you about the wine you are tasting, book a seminar.  They typically only run about $15 in cost and several are held each day.  However, they are very popular and almost always sell out well in advance of the festival itself.  Keep track of when the seminar schedule is released on Walt Disney World's website to book early.  And, if you have a Disney Rewards Credit Card from Chase, you get a few days advanced booking before it opens to the general public.

A picture perfect day at Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival

Hopefully, these tips will be helpful to those of you visiting Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival!  I hope to be back sometime again within the next few years and would love hearing some of your favorite tips as well.  Bon appetite! 

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