After a very long day of meetings, we were treated to a night at Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival. We were hoping to arrive with about 150 minutes to explore- but it was closer to only 120 minutes… challenge accepted!
Being a bunch of Travel Planners, we headed straight for Soarin’- which just reopened in June with a new show that I had seen in Disneyland’s California Adventure in August, but was excited to compare.
Ok, I LOVE Soarin’. I loved the old version, fell in love with the new version 2 and a half months ago, and continued this love affair in Epcot. I have no idea why this ride evokes such a joy while I am on it- but it does. The sights, smells, feelings of freedom.. incredible. It is the only simulator ride I don’t feel sick on and I have no idea why- nor do I even question it because I love it so much.
Now we decided to work our way through the Festival… First stop…
First thing we tried was the Ricotta and Zucchini Ravioli with Rustic Tomato Sauce- not terrible, but not outstanding either. Rumor has it, we should have tried the Peanut Butter and White Chocolate Mousse with a Caramel Drizzle instead.
We decided to pass through the International Gateway and start to our left…
I have to admit, the loaded Mac & Cheese at Farm Fresh, smelled INCREDIBLE. We passed on it, planning to come back later in the night as we were hoping to ride Frozen Ever After…
Well… we decided to stop in Mexico…
We chose to stop in the Cantina for a bigger order of nachos and an amazing margarita…
After our snack we attempted to ride Frozen, but our Fast Pass wouldn’t show in the system. We could have advocated a bit more to ride, but we realized we had an hour now to get through the rest of the festival, so we soldiered on. Stopping in China…
We sampled the Sichuan Spicy Chicken and the Chicken Pot Stickers. Both were pretty good.
We decided to stop next in Italy- we had traveled on the Adventures by Disney trip there and it seemed like an obvious choice- however, we were disappointed with their Pennete alla Parmigiana: Baked Ziti and Chicken Parmigiana, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
On to The American Adventure where we were able to check out the Eat to the Beat Series, tonight Soul Asylum was performing
We then stopped in Japan for some Sushi- specifically a Spicy Sushi Roll- Tuna and Salmon with Kazan Volcano Sauce.
Next was Morocco…
We tried (a surprise hit) their Spicy Hummus Fries with Cucumber, tomato, Onions, and Tzatziki Sauce (which you can request NOT to add). It was really quite good!
Next up, we tried some bubbly beverages in France…
I tried the St-Germain Sparkling Kir: Sparkling Wine & St-Germain Elderflower liqueur, It was FABULOUS!
Now, we were super excited to arrive at Canada- so much buzz about their menu, we couldn’t wait to test the hype!
The Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup is served with a Pretzel Roll, and it was a highlight of the night.
That said, the “Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce was my absolute favorite of the night!
Now it was time for dessert!
We chose the Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel and the Ghirardelli Chocolate Raspberry Torte. In fairness- we loved our Canadian food so much- these desserts were just “okay”.
As Illuminations ended, we headed to the monorail back to the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Now, personally, I do not suggest racing through the festival as we did. You can absolutely take a night or two to enjoy it all- or leisurely make your way through throughout the day to really take your time to savor what you are eating and drinking.
