EPCOT: THE PARK FOR FOODIES
Today we are traveling the world—well, more like the World Pavilion! Let’s head to Epcot and talk about why I call it The Park for Foodies!PS: Enjoy these photos--they're all from various trips of mine to Epcot, including this year's Flower and Garden Festival and the International Festival of the Holidays.
Tastes from Around The World
One of my favorite parts about Epcot is the World Pavilion! The pavilion is home to 11 countries:• Canada• United Kingdom• France• Morocco• Japan• The American Adventure• Italy• Germany• China• Norway• Mexico
Each country has it’s own restaurant and quick service location. These restaurants feature mostly-authentic food from it’s name sake country. One awesome feature of these pavilions are that the cast members in each one are actually from that country!
Some of the top rated restaurants in the World Pavilion include:• Beirgarten in the Germany Pavilion.• La Hacienda de San Angel in the Mexico Pavilion• Chefs de France in the French Pavilion• Spice Road Table in the Morocco Paviolion• Le Cellier in the Canada PaviolionNote, this is a signature level restaurant, and will be very pricey and cost 2 credits on the Disney Dining Plan. To learn more, visit https://disneyaddicts.com/table-service-restaurants-two-dining-credits-8836/
To see a full list of the restaurants in Epcot straight from the Disney World website, click here!
Food Festivals
Over the years, Epcot has become the place to be for food festivals in Walt Disney World. There seems to be a food event going during every season!
These events are:
- Epcot International Festival of the Arts (January 18 – February 25)
- Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival (March 6 – June 3)
- Epcot International Food and Wine Festival (August 30 – Nov 12)
- Epcot International Festival of the Holidays (Nov 22 – Dec 30)
For more information about these festivals, and other events in Disney World, check out this post by Undercover Tourist. They will go into detail about all the events and what to expect!Each of these festivals feature food booths throughout the World Pavilions. These booths feature snack-sized portions of food distinct to the region. The themes of the booths will change throughout the festivals.
For instance, in the American booth during Flower and Garden you can find barbecued meats, however, during Festival of the Holidays, you will find Thanksgiving-like tastes.
The biggest of these food festivals is the Food and Wine Festival that happens in late summer/early fall. This is the can’t-miss event for food lovers! There are typically more food booths and options to choose from, and there are also opportunities to learn new techniques from chefs at one of the many food classes they offer.Check out this video from Disney Food Blog going over everything you need to know about the Food and Wine Festival. (This video may have inspired me to start planning for next year's event).https://youtu.be/TfLlIkpmLAEAccording to Disney Food Blog, the special food tours and classes book very quickly, so expect to be on hold with Disney for a while once reservations open!
This past week, I got to check out the International Festival of the Holidays. This year featured some great options from around the world. But it's not just food--these booths also include specialty cocktails! We tried the Cocoa Candy Cane (hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps) at the American booth and the Rum Rudolph (a spiked eggnog) at Joffrey's Coffee near the Mexico pavilion.
If you love food, and you want to eat your way through your vacation, we highly recommend spending a day (or more!) in Epcot. You will likely come across one of their food festivals, or have the chance to eat at one of their many restaurants.
Be forewarned, it’s not cheap! But with so many unique choices, we recommend trying something new next time you’re there!
If you want more information on amazing places to eat, blogger Night Owl did a wonderful post about eating around Epcot. Check it out (https://www.anightowlblog.com/guide-to-eating-around-the-world-at-epcot/)