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Disney Updates

Food and Wine Festival 2022 Review

October 11, 2022

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I'm Amanda — Your Disney-Specialized Travel Agent. I'm here to worry about the details so that you can maximize your memories and minimize your stress.

Meet Amanda

My husband is not a Disney Adult, and yet he’s married to an ultimate Disney Adult. We honeymooned at Disney World, and then two years later, we spent a couple of days at Disneyland around Christmas. And he was … not impressed.

He didn’t have a bad time, but because both trips were so short, we were trying to PACK way too much in too little time. Leading to his 5 year rule – he’s only come to Disney with me once every 5 years. 

This leaves me doing my own Disney trips a few times a year. Not that I mind, but Disney is always better with your best friend, right?

Lucky for me, 2022 was that 5 year mark. And when I was planning our trip together this year, I knew right away that I wanted to try and really gear this trip toward his wants and loves. A big one of those being … good food. So I knew right away that we were going to go during Food and Wine, and stay over on the Boardwalk so we could be as close to EPCOT as possible. A full trip report is coming soon, but for now, I wanted to go ahead and put up a Food and Wine review for what we tried.

Food and Wine Festival 2022 Overview

For the Food and Wine Festival 2022, there were 32 different “booths”. (While most of the stops in the passport were actual booths, there are a couple that aren’t actual booths but still included with Food and Wine foods, hence the quotation marks.) There were 89 food options to try, and 120 beverage options. We went back into EPCOT most days of our trip, and while we tried a LOT of the food, we definitely didn’t get to try it all. And we certainly didn’t try many of the beverage options, but I’ll let you in on what we did try and tell you how we thought about it – and what had us returning for seconds!

Booths We Didn’t Stop At

Earth Eats

Near Port of Entry, you’ll find some vegetarian-friendly options with a meatless burger and “meat”ball.

Shimmering Sips

Also near Port of Entry, this booth is mostly alcohol. If you’re looking for a mimosa, this one is a booth you won’t want to miss!

Refreshment Port 

You’ll find this one over by Canada, and not as a stand alone booth. It’s a permanent booth, if you will. If you want to try some Canadian poutine, you’ll want to fit this one into your rotation.

Appleseed Orchard

Also near Canada, this booth is your stop for cider tasting. It’s a bit tucked away, but cast members can happily direct you in the right direction if you’re struggling to find it. 

Funnel Cake

Over at the funnel cake booth in America, there’s a mini pina colada funnel cake for Food and Wine. And while we didn’t try it, and we did love the idea of being able to buy a mini funnel cake. Sometimes you just want to eat some, but you don’t want a massive funnel cake, you know? I’d definitely love to see the mini option become an option for every flavor!

Hops & Barley

Also in the America area, we just weren’t super into the idea of eating typical American foods with so many other great options around, so we didn’t stop at this booth.

Italy

Frankly, this was a booth we wanted to stop at – I really want to try the Gnocchi di Patate with bacon – but we just never got around to it. Maybe I’ll get to it later this month when I get back.

Spain

We were interested in trying the charcuterie, but after getting the raclette at the Alps booth, we never felt the need to make our way back to Spain for it. 

Refreshment Outpost

Honestly, this was one that just didn’t jump out at us when we were looking things over.

The Noodle Exchange

Not going to lie, I was very intrigued by some of the options here, but it was just too hot while we were there to get hot soup.

Brew-Wing at the Odyssey

We stopped in here, because last year I was able to get the 50th anniversary cronut there, but when we stopped in no one working there had any idea of what I was talking about. I guess Disney is seeing a lot of turnover right now. Sadly, we were not able to find that darn cronut anywhere. (If you know where it’s currently residing, PLEASE leave a comment!)

Coastal Eats

If you’re looking for some seafood options, you’ll want to head over towards Mission: Space. We avoided this one because I’d forgotten my shrimp-allergy epipen, but it all sounds incredible.

Mac & Eats

We were so busy eating at the Flavors from Fire booth multiple times that we didn’t even think to stop over at Mac & Eats while we were in that area. 

Rating the Booths We Stopped At

When it comes to the booths that we did stop at, our rating system is pretty simple: regret, glad we tried but probably wouldn’t buy a second time, and we’d eat it over and over again. 

Hawai’i

We made two different trips to this booth – one for the Passion Fruit Cheesecake, and another for the SPAM Musubi Nigiri. My husband devoured the cheesecake, and said he’d eat it again. The Nigiri on the other hand fell into our “glad we tried it” category. It was good, but probably wouldn’t be something we’d go back for a second round of. 

Australia

Our stop in Australia included trying the Lamington – a yellow cake with raspberry filling dipped in chocolate and coconut. Russell absolutely loved it, and while I’m not a fan of coconut, I tried the cake itself and it was pretty good. I think he would put it in the “glad I tried it” category as well. 

Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

Canada

Somehow I’m just now realizing how many booths Canada had … we tried both food options from this main booth. Canadian Cheddar and Bacon Soup (thank goodness for the rain storm that came in and cooled things down enough to make soup a reasonable option), and “Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon. The soup itself was so good, but the pretzel roll that came with it was a bit stale. Overall, I’d rate it as a “glad I tried it” category, BUT if the weather conditions are right when I go back later this month … I could definitely see myself grabbing another. The Filet Mignon itself was overdone, but the truffle-butter sauce that came with it was one of the greatest things I’ve EVER tasted. Would buy again just for that sauce.

Ireland 

Here we tried the Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake, and also the Guinness Baileys Coffee Shake. The Coffee Shake was a bit strong for me, but I’m not much of a drinker. My husband loved it. And the chocolate pudding was so good. Would for sure buy again. And I’m not much of a sweets person. It was warm, and gooey, and delicious!

Crème Brulee from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

France

Honestly, this was one of my favorite booths out of all of them. We tried all three food options – Beignet aux Trois Fromages, Brioche aux Escargots Sauce Creme a l’ail et Persil, and the Creme Brulee. (The festival passport also lists a fourth food option – a braised short rib with mashed potatoes, but that wasn’t listed as an option at the actual booth when we went.)

The Beignet was a major disappointment. Immense regret. We didn’t even finish it. However, the escargot and the crème brulee? Masterpieces. We didn’t have a chance for a second round, but I 100% would for both of those. The escargot brioche had an amazingly crispy pastry, and the sauce was incredible. So good. The crème brulee was a vanilla crème brulee with raspberry jam and I scrapped that thing clean. Russell wasn’t as impressed with that one as I was, but he’s more of a sweets guy. Like I mentioned before, I’m not, so this was the perfect amount of sweet and tart for me. 

Brazilian Cheese Bread from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

Brazil

Not only would we go back for seconds of the Brazilian cheese bread, we DID. And I will without a doubt be getting more later this month. This was one of my top foods from the entire trip. If you like carbs, get it and thank me later.

Berry Compote Belgian Waffle from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

Belgium

The only booth open before 11:00, we tried the Belgian waffle with berry compote and whipped cream for breakfast one morning. It was pretty good, but definitely fell into the category of “glad we tried it”. We probably wouldn’t buy another one, but it was good. 

Tangierine Cafe

Russell tried the grilled lamb kebabs, the falafel, the pistachio cake, and had the Bold Rock Ginger Turmeric Hard Cider, and it was all among his favorite foods of the entire trip. He was over the moon the entire time he was eating. He said the falafel would be in the “glad he tried it” category, but everything else definitely would be something he’d eat again. 

Greece

Russell and I were most definitely not on the same page when it came to the food at the Greece booth. I loved the Spanakopita, but thought the griddled cheese was just okay. Russell, on the other hand, loved the griddled cheese and thought the spanakopita was just okay. I’d say both are worth at least trying if you’re heading to the Food and Wine festival this year.

Takoyaki from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

Japan

In Japan, we tried the Teriyaki Chicken Bun, the Takoyaki, and the Yuzu Lemon Drop. I was very much not a fan of the lemon drop – it was strong – but Russell really enjoyed it. Neither of us was very impressed with the Teriyaki Chicken Bun. Most definitely regret. The chicken was fine, but the bun itself was not very good. The Takoyaki was something Russell really wanted to try and I was not interested in trying at all. Little fried balls of octopus, and I’m not really sure what else – it was not something I would have chosen. But he got it for himself, and convinced me to try and it and WOW. The Takoyaki was definitely a “would buy again” food. So incredible. 

Germany

We tried the Schinkennudeln, the apple strudel, and Russell got a beer flight here. He loved the Schinkennudeln, which is pasta gratin with ham, onions, and cheese, and we both enjoyed the apple strudel. I think they’d both fall under the “glad we tried it category” but if we were with a group that was stopping in Germany, we’d probably grab something again there, too. 

Raclette with Ham from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

The Alps

Another booth we not only would put in our “would try again” category, but did in fact stop at twice because it was just that good. We got the Raclette with ham and, oh man. Incredible. Beware, even though it’s a bite-sized portion, this option is very filling. Naps were required afterwards.

Coffee Barbecued Beef Tenderloin from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

Kenya

Russell grabbed the Kenyan Coffee Barbecued Beef Tenderloin, and the St. George Ethiopian Lager while we were here. He said both were of the “would try again” category.

Potato and Pea Samosas from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

India

Another booth that Russell was over the moon about. He got the crispy paneer, the chicken tikka masala, and the potato and pea samosa (twice!). The masala and the samosas were too spicy for me, but the paneer was interesting. I’m not usually a cottage cheese kind of person, but fried cheese is basically always good. 

China

We got the pan-fried chicken dumplings and the good fortune citrus drink. The dumplings were pretty good – I probably wouldn’t get them again, but I enjoyed them. The drink however .. it tasted great, but the boba was … hard? That’s not really the correct descriptive word, but they weren’t hollow like the typical boba I’ve had in the past. They didn’t burst when you bit into them. But outside of that, I’d definitely get that drink again. 

Mexico

It almost feels like cheating to say that we stopped here, because the only thing we got was the Mexican craft beer. It was the very first stop we made on our first day at Disney, right after we got there. Russell was ready for a drink after a long car trip, and before getting in a 60 minute line for Frozen (the only ride I’d wait more than 45 minutes for). So we grabbed a drink for him at the first place we had a chance to stop at. He said it was good, and would buy it again, but also wouldn’t be going out of his way to get it again.

The Swanky Saucy Swine

Here Russell tried the soy-glazed sticky ribs. He said they were good, but he probably wouldn’t get them again necessarily. 

The Fry Basket

This was hands-down the biggest disappointment of the trip. I love french fries. And as soon as I saw people talking about the fry flight, I was ready. But man, it was kind of terrible. The salt and vinegar fries weren’t very vinegar-y, the barbecued bacon fries were kind of wilty, and the sweet potato casserole ones were actually okay. All-in-all though, would not try again, and kind of regret trying them in the first place.

Smoked Corned Beef from the Food and Wine Festival 2022

Flavors From Fire

A surprising winner, the smoked corned beef was another that we went back for seconds on, and I’m already dreaming of getting another. The potato chips were crisp, the the corned beef and beer-cheese fondue combination was incredible. We did not try the rocky road chocolate cake, but I wish we had – it looks so good in the pictures. 

And that’s a wrap! We ate so much food during our week at Disney, and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Food and Wine options. There were some we regretted, but the vast majority we really enjoyed. And some we even went back and had more than once! If you’ve been to this year’s Food and Wine festival, what was your favorite bite? 

And if you’re hoping to make sure you make it to Food and Wine in 2023, go ahead and get yourself on my client roster for Fall 2023 by filling out this application!

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