Epcot has always appealed to a more adult crowd likely due to it's lack of thrill rides (before the addition of Test Track in 1998) and focus on world cultures which is hard to get a kid excited about when you're within a bus rides distance from Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road. Disney has seemed to capitalize on this and Epcot offers several special events throughout the year that cater to more refined tastes, specifically the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival every fall.
True story: when I went to the F&W festival for the very first time I was so hung over from my wedding the night before that when we walked by the France pavilion and saw that the menu included mimosa's prepared with Moet & Chandon champagne, I almost got sick. Right then and there. Seeing as how I drank almost two full bottles of the stuff the night before, I feel like I showed an incredible level of restraint by not upchucking the nuggets and mickey ice cream bars that I had previously wolfed down.
The IF&W Festival is a foodies paradise and totally awesome if you're feeling snackish and don't want to drop that dining plan snack credit on another sugar cookie. Aside from shrimp on the barbie (always wanted to incorporate that in to a sentence) with pepper berry citrus glaze, here are five other reasons to attend the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival:
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| You'll walk the calories off. So eat six of them. |
- Lime Strawberry Margarita on the rocks (Mexico): Do I really need to elaborate on this? While it may get you through your hundredth time on Journey Into Imagination with Figment, I would not recommend powering through one and hopping on Soarin' you guys. At least not the front row. Or Maelstrom. "Tilgi meg, men jeg spydde på troll din. Mange unnskyldninger."is Norwegian for "Please forgive me, I vomited on your troll. Many apologies." There, half the leg work is done for you. You're welcome.
- Apple Strudel with Werthers Karamel Sauce & Vanilla Sauce (Germany): OMG. YOU GUYS. First of all, eating a Werthers Original is like having a religious experience. The fact that someone has decided to liquify them and slather it on strudel is enough to make you believe in a higher power that loves us and wants us to be happy.
- Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup (Canada): Four of my favorite words exist in this sentence, which is enough to make me think I've reached the nexus of the universe. Canadian. Cheddar. Cheese. Soup. It contains cheese, bacon, and beer. Those are all good words too.
- Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey (Greece):
Honey and cheese never sounded like a great mix to me, but I tried it at a Christmas party once after several glasses of wine and I swear I saw a bright white light and a choir of angels sang. Sweet fruits, raisins, and honey mixed with cheese is frickin' amazing. Especially with a nice hard water cracker. It would be even better when mixed with the Moet & Chandon Ice Imperial, but same rule applies for the Lime Strawberry Margarita. No Test Track unless you want to be reliving the outcome of drunken college joyrides. - Cannoli al Cioccolato (Italy): a chocolate covered cannoli shell filled with sweet ricotta cheese, chocolate and candied fruit. I didn't think you could perfect cannoli any more than it already was but once again Disney has played God. Speaking of cannoli, Buddy Valastro aka The Cake Boss is going to be at WDW on October 8th at 3:00PM doing a pastry demonstration! So if you have an extra $13.00 and just can't get enough of Jersey accents and colloquialisms, head on over for this 45 minute demonstration!
The Disney Dining Plan allows you to use your snack credits on most of the items offered so take advantage! This is a great opportunity to try new things. My husband is notorious for not branching out culinary-wise and definitely refuses to eat anything that: a) looks "weird", b) he can't identify all the ingredients of, and c) isn't chicken. We get a dining plan that allows for four snacks a day between the two of us, so when we go to the booths we each get something different and share in order to maximize our tasting palette. He's much more willing to eat something new if he's not committed to eating the whole thing, and I find this is usually the case with smaller children. Another advantage if your child is on the dining plan is that once they've taken their one mandatory bite out of what they ordered, and they hate it, it's all yours.
Prices are reasonable too, a Belgian waffle with fruit compote and whipped cream is only $2.75 and steamed mussels in a garlic cream sauce with a baguette is only $3.75. I don't know that I've seen anything that costs much over that range unless you're looking at something with more unique ingredients like the Lobster and Scallop Fisherman's pie at the Ireland pavilion, which costs $5.75 but can be purchased with a snack credit. So your best bet might be to use your snack credits on tastings that are more expensive and save your credit cards and cash for the ones in the $2.75 range.If you have never had the pleasure of dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, I suggest heading over to the Scandinavian pavilion and giving the rice pudding with Driscoll's berries a try ($2.75, dining plan eligible). The rice cream at Akershus is absolutely amazing so I'm certain this will be the same.
One of the complaints that I see frequently about Epcot dining experiences is that the food looks strange and that they don't offer anything "kid friendly". I specifically remember reading a review on Akershus that mentioned something like this. The woman in question seemed highly offended that they did not serve burgers and french fries, and her precious little snowflake refused to eat anything else. I believe she said she was forced to go to the fresh meat and cheese buffet there and build her daughter a sandwich (I might add that the Akershus kids menu offers cheese pizza and hot dogs). Let me get started by saying I completely understand picky kids. I have a niece that won't eat anything if it even looks like it has cheese on it (if she wasn't a twin I would think she was switched at birth). But Epcot and especially the Food & Wine festival are about trying new things and branching out beyond your typical American fare so while the offerings may look bizarre, and don't get me wrong some of them look like regurgitated cat food, you need to take that plunge and try it. You never know, you may learn you love something you've never even heard of and can't even pronounce!
Like your grandma always said: "Try it, you'll like it!"
