We are just a few short weeks away from the beginning of this year’s Epcot International Food and Wine Festival! Disney recently hosted a Food and Wine Festival preview event and we now have new information that Disney has shared about this year’s 2018 festival! First of all, several brand-new dishes will be hitting the festival scene this year! A whole line up of new offerings and experience will be awaiting you at this year’s festival! One of these new experiences being that you can actually learn hands-on how to make Candy Sushi! Another new option this year is an addition to the Eat to the Beat Dining Packages. The new Eat to the Beat Concert Series Dining Package will include a Counter Service option. Also, new this year, we will see a lot more family-friendly offerings. These are just a few of the exciting things we now know about the festival so let’s dive into more!
Here are just a few highlights of dishes that a brand new for this year’s festival:
Brazil: Moqueca Brazilian Seafood Stew
This year Brazil will be serving Moqueca, a traditional Brazilian stew! This Seafood Stew will feature scallops, shrimp, and white fish with coconut-lime sauce and steamed rice.
Ireland: Guinness Baileys Shake
There is a lot of hype around this new Guinness Baileys Shake! The shake will make its debut this year at the Ireland Booth.
Taste Track: Pancake Milkshake
Looking for a non-alcoholic shake? Taste Track will be home to a non-alcoholic Pancake Milkshake! This fun creation is sure to be a favorite for kids! This milkshake is a mix of a little bit of pancake in a vanilla ice cream base with butter extract, maple syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles, and little bit of strawberry puree!
The Wine & Dine Studio: Butternut Squash Ravioli
This year at the Wine & Dine Studio you will find an item making it’s festival debut, the Butternut Squash Ravioli!
Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar
The Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar is a brand-new booth that will be premiering at the Festival this year! Personally, this is the new booth I am most looking forward to trying. From the menu the unique mimosa creations sound incredible! Shimmering Sips Mimosa Bar will be located inside of the Festival Center. Here you can try the Key Lime Mimosa, Tropical Mimosa, Blood Orange Mimosa, and the Madras Mimosa!
Hops & Barley: New Brunswick Slider
The Hops & Barley Booth is always a favorite, and it’s back again this year as home to a brand new item the Brunswick Slider!
Flavors from Fire: Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak and Chocolate Picante
Flavors from Fire will be returning to the festival for its second year! This year the booth will bring a new Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak on a Smoked Corn Cake. It will also debut the Chocolate Picante. The Chocolate Picante features a dark chocolate mousse with cayenne pepper, chili powder, and mango.
Light Lab: RGB Flight
This scientific themed drink lounge is coming back for it’s second year! The RGB Beer Flight will be a new offering being added to the Light Lab! The beers will actually be red, green and blue in color! The featured beers are, Playalinda Brewing Co.’s Red Cherry Tart, GrassLands Brewing Company’s Green Kiwi Blonde, and M.I.A. Beer Company’s Blue-berry Golden Ale.
The Cheese Studio: Maple Bourbon Boursin Cheesecake
The Maple Bourbon Boursin Cheesecake coming to The Cheese Studio will definitely deliver on being that something sweet!
Active Eats: Energy Bar Bites
Fuel up as you adventure through the festival with the Active Eats Energy Bar Bites! These Energy bars will be made up of Chocolate, nuts, dried fruits, and dates.
Earth Eats: The Steakhouse Blended Burger
This year look out for The Steakhouse Blended Burger at the Earth Eats booth! It’s a slider featuring blended beef with wild mushroom, and topped with brie cheese fondue, arugula, truffle, and a blue cheese potato chip, this great medley of flavor will sit atop a brioche bun!
Islands of the Caribbean: Jerk-spiced Chicken Lollipop
This savory meat with roasted sweet plantain salad and a mango chutney yogurt will be served at the Island of the Caribbean Booth.
Once again this is just a few of the highlights of some new offerings coming to this year’s event. There are so many things that await you at this year’s festival!
Now let’s look at some other new culinary experience you can have at the festival!
NEW! Candy Sushi Presented by Skittles
Brand new this year! You can join a Disney Chef and be taught how to make your own sweet Candy Sushi! Adventures by Disney and Skittles are partnering together to present this exciting session daily at 3:30 and 5:30 pm. The candy sushi presentations will take place inside Sunshine Seasons in The Land Pavilion. Space is limited for this experience so be sure to sign up ahead of time at TasteEpcot.com once registration has opened. The experience is completely free to guests but your signup will require a credit card guarantee, similar to making a Disney Advance Dining Reservation.
NEW! Counter Service Eat to the Beat Dining Package
The Eat to the Beat Dining Packages will be returning this year. This experience allows you to dine at a Disney restaurant and then receive priority seating for the Eat to the Beat concert that evening. This is a great package because it allows you to avoid the standby wait for the concerts that would involve you waiting up to 4 hours for a spot for the show. A brand-new option is coming for the Eat to the Beat Dining packages. The American Adventure Pavilion’s Liberty Inn will now be an option! This Counter Service spot will offer a limited amount of day-of, first-come first serve Eat to the Beat Dining Packages. The package cost for this location will be $29.99 (plus tax.) With the $29.99 price (plus tax) you will get a non-alcoholic beverage, entree, and dessert.
The 2018 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival runs from August 30th through November 12th! There is still time to plan an amazing vacation this fall to the Walt Disney World resort and experience all the great offerings this festival has in store! Contact your Kingdom Magic Vacations Travel Planner today to start planning!
