Welcome to a marketplace review for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival 2017, taking place in the park from August 31st through November 13th, 2017. This review will cover the brand new booth “The Almond Orchard”, which is located in World Showcase Plaza, at the front of World Showcase.
The Almond Orchard
Food:
Cauliflower Risotto with Pulled Chicken, Artichokes, Spinach and Parmesan Cheese and Aged Balsamic – $4.75
Fire-roasted Tomato Hummus topped with Blue Diamond Salt & Vinegar Almonds and served with Blue Diamond Nut Thins – $5.25
Banana Almond Soft-serve Sundae with Fresh Berries and Crunchy Chocolate Oats – $4.50
Strawberry Smoothie made with Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk (non-alcoholic) – $4.50
Cauliflower Risotto with Pulled Chicken, Artichokes, Spinach and Parmesan Cheese and Aged Balsamic – $4.75
The risotto was a little vinegar heavy, but otherwise fine. I sometimes feel that booths themed to a single item are silly, mostly because you should probably come back around to it a few times so you don’t ingest 4-almond-based items at once and are tired of the flavor before you even get through everything you ordered.
Fire-roasted Tomato Hummus topped with Blue Diamond Salt & Vinegar Almonds and served with Blue Diamond Nut Thins – $5.25
The hummus was just fine as well, with almost nothing standing out about it. Sure, it’s nice if you like hummus, but there are hundreds of items you could have at the Festival, so why settle for this?
Banana Almond Soft-serve Sundae with Fresh Berries and Crunchy Chocolate Oats – $4.50
Note: This item has since become much smaller, so your results may vary. Otherwise, it was a pretty delicious sundae filled with fresh berries and crunchy oats. I could do without the fruit overload myself, but the banana almond soft serve is pretty amazing and should become something they serve at Epcot on a regular basis. It could be the new Dole Whip.
~$55/bottle at home, $11 a glass at festival – Balanced, fruity, and slightly toasty making for a very drinkable champagne.
Dom Pérignon Brut – $32.00
~$150/bottle at home, $32 a glass at festival – The legendary champagne returns to Food & Wine, and while $32 sounds a little rough, take into consideration the high price of a full bottle. If you’ve never had Dom before, now is your proper chance to try a glass. Take note your Tasting Sampler tabs do *not* work on Dom, but it works on the other two champagnes here.
Moët & Chandon Brut Rosé Imperial – $16.00
~$65/bottle at home, $16 a glass at festival. Expect one of the best champagnes you’re going to find at Epcot, very fruity with good hints of raspberry and strawberry on the nose. Use your Tasting Sampler tabs on this if you have them, or pay out of pocket if not. It’s one of our festival favorites…. since the Moet & Chandon Imperial Nectar disappeared a few years ago at least.
Strawberry Smoothie made with Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk (non-alcoholic) – $4.50
For those who don’t like alcohol or for the kids, the Strawberry Smoothie is one of the best the festival has to offer. The mix of strawberry and almond milk flavors works well here, well, at least if you’re OK with almond milk.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Disney is releasing several limited edition pins to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Epcot.
On September 14th, 2017, a Kitchen Kabaret pin will be released, followed by a larger assortment on September 29th. Of course, a few pins will also be released on October 1st, 2017, the actual anniversary date. All of the pins will certainly be released at Epcot, but it is unclear if any will be available outside of the park.
Welcome to a marketplace review for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival 2017, taking place in the park from August 31st through November 13th, 2017. This review will cover “The Chocolate Studio”, which is located in Future World West in the pathway to World Showcase near the Imagination pavilion.
The Chocolate Studio
Food:
Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey Caramel – $4.75
Sweet Dark Chocolate Raspberry Torte with Whipped Cream and Raspberry Dust – $4.25
Beverages:
Justin Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles – $7.00
Banfi Rosa Regale, Piedmont – $9.00
Lenotti Recioto della Valpolicella, Veneto – $10.00
RL Buller Fine Muscat, Rutherglen – $6.00
Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey Caramel – $4.75
The Liquid Nitro Truffle is still a delight and still on our absolute must list for the event for all the reasons we have been saying for years now.
Sweet Dark Chocolate Raspberry Torte with Whipped Cream and Raspberry Dust – $4.25
For those who prefer a dark chocolate flavor, the raspberry torte is absolutely sublime. A nice alternative to the truffle… or you could just get both…
Justin Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles – $7.00
This comes in around $30 a bottle outside of the festival, so $7 for a glass isn’t a terrible deal considering the majority of the festival prices. Pairs well with either chocolate dessert and it’s perfectly enjoyable.
Banfi Rosa Regale, Piedmont – $9.00
This is that bright red translucent wine that comes up whenever chocolate is advertised somewhere. It’s not bad, but $9 a glass is hard to swallow considering how readily available and inexpensive the wine is elsewhere.
Lenotti Recioto della Valpolicella, Veneto – $10.00
Fairly unique and difficult to find outside of the festival, we recommend this purchase which pairs well with the chocolates.
RL Buller Fine Muscat, Rutherglen – $6.00
Another fairly interesting wine for the festival, high ratings across the board on many wine enthusiast websites, and at $6 a glass it feels validated.
Yesterday, we took a trip to Epcot to enjoy a lightly-attended day at the Food and Wine Festival 2017, and while we were there, we found that the park was already well-underway into preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irma. The following video shows all the changes the park had made up until yesterday to get ready for the storm. Enjoy:
While at Epcot today, we stopped by for a quick ride on Test Track, and upon existing we noticed some changes in the After Market Shop.
New “Stat Stations” have been added right as you’re existing Test Track in the gift shop area. Currently, we don’t know What exactly these kiosks will do. The only hint is the tag line below the name “Custom Car[d] Design” which could allow guests to customize RFID cards to use in the attraction’s car creator process.
Other elements have been added to the store including the four test logos from the ride.
To reflect the changes, the store will change names to the Test Track SIMporium at some point.
This is just a reminder to those contemplating attending the WDWCelebrations Celebration 35 event, taking place Thursday – Sunday, September 28 – October 1, 2017.
Although registration for the event will remain open until September 27, the popular IllumiNations Dessert Party on October 1 has a limited capacity and is currently 75% sold out. Because the event capacity is dictated by Disney Park Operations based on the size of the venue, we cannot sell more tickets after we have reached full capacity.
In case you missed our previous post detailing what WDWCelebrations is all about, we’ve reprinted it below.
In just a few weeks, WDWCelebrations will gather like-minded fans at the Walt Disney World® Resort to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the opening of EPCOT Center®, the theme park that broke the mold upon its debut in 1982. Exactly ten years after the historic Celebration 25 event that gathered over twelve hundred guests to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Epcot® in October 2007, WDWCelebrations aims to celebrate the past, present and future of the world’s most unique theme park once again! The WDWCelebrations organization was born from the response to Celebration 25, and since that time has hosted an additional eleven unique events, each celebrating the magic of the Disney Parks while raising money for charity.
Celebration 35, a WDWCelebrations Commemorative Event
It has been the privilege of WDWCelebrations to host guests from around the world for the past nine years, and it is a special honor to celebrate the organization’s 10th anniversary this October with Celebration 35, a WDWCelebrations Commemorative Event. This new event at the Walt Disney World® Resort will encompass four days of fun, friends, and surprises. As with previous events, this celebration will include WDWCelebrations’ signature offerings to complement the official activities offered by The Walt Disney Company.
The four-day event, set for Thursday – Sunday, September 28 – October 1, 2017, will celebrate the anniversary in a grand way. Planned activities will complement the popular Epcot® International Food and Wine Festival and guests will be able to share in a visit to Pandora, the World of Avatar, the newest offering at Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park. Guests will enjoy their favorite WDWCelebrations signature offerings such as scavenger hunts, group rides, group meals, and, of course, a few very special surprises. Check out the WDWCelebrations web site for more details and a tentative schedule.
Celebration 35’s IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth Dessert Party on October 1
WDWCelebrations is pleased to announce the return of the Illuminations: Reflections of Earth Dessert Party, a significant piece of WDWCelebrations’ history and a fan favorite for many years. As was experienced during Celebration 25 and Celebration 30 five years later, guests will once again have the chance to enjoy delectable dessert options on the water’s edge of World Showcase Lagoon with a premium view of the classic nighttime spectacular as it lights up the night sky. On previous park anniversaries, Epcot has added a special anniversary tag to IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth that rivals, if not surpasses, the popular July 4th and New Years Eve tags.
How to Register for Celebration 35, Including the IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth Dessert Party
WDWCelebrations charges a nominal fee to event attendees which covers organizational costs. Additionally, a significant portion of the registration fees are donated to the Give Kids The World Village, the WDWCelebrations Charity Initiative charity of choice for Celebration 35 and many previous events. Registration for Celebration 35 costs $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-15. Guests also have the option to donate additional funds to this event’s Charity Initiative when registering. The IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth Dessert Party is an additional cost of $69.99 per person, and tickets can be purchased during the event registration process. Registration closes on September 27, 2017.
About WDWCelebrations
As Epcot® prepared to celebrate its 25th anniversary in October 2007, the online Disney community was in an uproar over the apparent lack of official acknowledgement of this historic park’s milestone. In response to the Internet furor, a group of individuals decided to step up and create a fan-based event – dubbed Celebration 25 – to properly celebrate the silver anniversary. Over 1200 like-minded fans registered to attend the event. The Celebration 25 event was officially embraced by Disney management and was given the rare privilege of working closely with the management and staff of Epcot® to provide in-park event check-in, group history walks, a press conference, and a private dessert party. At the end of the day, the attendees knew they had been a part of something special – and something they didn’t want to end. Out of this demand, an idea was born: to celebrate the many anniversaries, milestones, and bonds between those who share a love for Walt Disney World. WDWCelebrations was born. And since that time, each of their unique events have offered guests the chance to celebrate the magic of the Disney Parks’ past, present and future, together.
While not much work has happened since The Universe of Energy closed at Epcot last week, the iconic water feature outside of the 1982 Future World Pavilion has now been drained.
The water feature may or may not return, with the marquee being replaced by a Nova Corps ship from the Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise.
The Guardians of the Galaxy ride will open before 2021 at Epcot.
In addition to the “Eat to the Beat” Concert Series, featuring 11 new artists, guests will also want to look for new and returning acts in World Showcase at Epcot during this year’s Food and Wine Festival.
Suroît – New to Epcot, this renowned band hails from Canada’s Magdalen Islands in eastern Quebec. For four decades, their infectious sound has embraced influences from Cajun, Celtic, bluegrass and rock music. Join Suroît on the Mill Stage at the Canada pavilion, August 31 – October 1.
Margret Almer & The Bavarian Band – World-famous yodeler Margret Almer makes an encore appearance at Epcot this fall. She’ll be performing with The Bavarian Band at the Germany pavilion, beginning August 31 and continuing through the holiday season.
Musique Aramenco – Another returning favorite takes the stage at the Morocco pavilion September 1 – December 30. Musique Aramenco presents a fusion of traditional and modern Moroccan music.
Bodh’aktan – Back by popular demand, Bodh’aktan mixes Quebecois, folk and polka to make fantastic rock and dance music. After rocking stages across Quebec, the United States and Europe, this incredibly popular, kilted band is returning for an Epcot encore at the Canada pavilion October 2 – 22.
Raffy – This musical quartet makes their Epcot debut October 23 – November 26 on the Mill Stage. Raffy’s infectious energy has been embraced across Canada through a live tour, appearances on television and radio airplay of their first hit single.
End your magical day with delectable desserts, VIP fireworks seating and some Frozen fun.
The celebration begins at World Showcase Plaza East, an exclusive setting for Guests of the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party. Here, you can enjoy sweet treats, specialty beverages and prime seating along World Showcase Lagoon—with clear views of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, the nighttime fireworks spectacular at Epcot.
The bountiful dessert buffet features sweet and savory options, which may include:
Olaf’s warm double-chocolate s’mores pudding cake
Elsa’s warm cottage pudding with salted caramel glaze
Hand-dipped vanilla bean ice cream
Wandering Oaken’s éclairons
Hans’ key lime tarts with red glitter glaze
Living Rock crispy bonbons
Anna’s blue velvet cupcakes
Kristoff’s no-sugar-added lemon curd with blueberry
Sven’s fresh fruits and berries
Grand Pabbie’s winter-spiced snack mix
Duke of Weselton’s cheese fondue served with country bread cubes, broccoli and grilled flatbread
You can raise a glass of your favorite beverage to toast your day of theme park adventures—and the enchantment to come. Drink selections may include:
“Melted snow” and other non-alcoholic beverages
Summertime cocktails, like margaritas and piña coladas
Beer and wine
After IllumiNations, you’ll be escorted to the Norway Pavilion, where Guests of the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party will experience the popular attraction Frozen Ever After—a musical boat-ride adventure through the wintry world of Arendelle.
The price for the party is up a bit from the former offering, with an adult ticket priced at $79 (ages 10 and up) and children $47 (ages 3-9), both including tax and gratuity.
We decided to go give the event a try as it seems to be quite popular, being sold out more often than not. Being the summer season, our venue for the drinks and desserts was moved indoors to the Norway lounge above the Frozen Ever After attraction. Typically, this portion is held outside where guests will also watch Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.
Regardless of weather, event check-in is held just outside of the attraction.
Just off to the left of the attraction entrance, you’ll find the check-in spot. If weather is bad, this is also where you will head to enter the Norway lounge where drinks and desserts will be. Otherwise, you’ll head over to the space towards the front of World Showcase.
Once upstairs, we checked in to receive our assigned seats and are then lead to our shared table.
The podium had menus for both food and drink.
Tables are broken up by number and are lightly themed with Frozen character lanterns. Guests receive special glasses to wear during the fireworks that turns bursts of light into snowflakes. This is especially fun for the kids, also any 3-something Disney bloggers that may be in your party.
I was pretty excited to attend inside of the lounge as it is a fairly pleasant atmosphere. Sure, as a fan of EPCOT Center, I love these musty old lounges, but I think it fits this party quite well.
The dessert spread is pretty adorable and everything is themed well enough.
The blue velvet cupcakes certainly worked better as snowflakes rather than being associated with gangsters, as they were at our Great Movie Ride event…
The prescreens of fruit wasn’t odd, but the fondue area left me scratching my head a bit.
While the Star Wars and Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam Dessert Parties both have warm, non-dessert food, it didn’t feel as out of place as the bread and broccoli here. I’m not really complaining because it was fine, but most guests are probably ready for dessert at the dessert parties.
I probably could have spent the night at this pudding station and been quite happy with what I had paid to attend this. Elsa’s warm cottage pudding with salted caramel glaze is very good, but Olaf’s warm double-chocolate s’mores pudding cake steals the show, especially with a scoop of ice cream.
The not-advertised frozen caramel corn seemed fun, but wasn’t all that exciting to eat. I was ready to write this off until we had a similar offering at our Great Movie Ride event and it was ten times better there. Perhaps we just had a bad batch at Norway, but on the off-chance it might be as good as it was on August 11th at GMR, give this a try.
A selection of non-alcoholic drinks are available as well.
Here’s a closer look at some of the desserts:
The bar is capable of making 3 specialty beverages, but they also have a large selection of beer and wine.
The non-alcoholic drink station has two specialty offerings as well. They were both pretty enjoyable.
The advertised “melted snow” was nowhere to be found, but we tried all of the other specialty drinks.
The Pina Colada was good, although I always find it weird when this isn’t a frozen drink.
The margarita was fine as well, nothing special though.
The Sangria was way too sweet.
The desserts were pretty fantastic overall. Here’s a breakdown:
Elsa’s warm cottage pudding with salted caramel glaze (with the hand-dipped vanilla bean ice cream)
Wandering Oaken’s éclairons
Anna’s blue velvet cupcakes
“It’s Fine”:
Hans’ key lime tarts with red glitter glaze
Living Rock crispy bonbons
Grand Pabbie’s winter-spiced snack mix
Sven’s fresh fruit and berries
Nitros frozen caramel corn
Don’t Bother:
Kristoff’s no-sugar-added lemon curd with blueberry
Duke of Weselton’s cheese fondue served with country bread cubes, broccoli and grilled flatbread
I would come back just for the chocolate s’mores pudding cake…
I’d still give the popcorn another shot…
Obviously, the entire event takes place outside if the weather is nice, but in this case, we were then whisked outside to our private viewing space for IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.
The viewing area was big enough and not overcrowded, and offered a pretty good view of the show. This area is located just to the left of the FastPass viewing area, in front of the small gift shop that flanks that side.
After the show, we were held for a few minutes while guests were leaving the park, and then it was on to Frozen Ever After.
We followed the guides past Mexico and into Norway, to the entrance of the attraction.
Once inside, we found that the standby queue had already been emptied for the night. I expected we would wait a few moments to board just because of the size of our group, but we literally never stopped moving once we entered the building and were on the ride in under a minute. I was very impressed.
I’d love to complain that this is another money grab event and that it is wildly overpriced and that no one should do it, but the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party doesn’t necessarily feel like a waste of time. The food lineup was very good, the drinks were solid, the view of IllumiNations was enjoyable, and the wait to ride Frozen Ever After was nonexistent, which in the end, is the entire point of this thing. If you can get a FastPass for Frozen Ever After, you really don’t need to do this, but if you want to enjoy bottomless desserts and drinks for a bit, watch IllumiNations without fighting a crowd, and don’t wait to wait to ride this, then the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party is a no-brainer. Families who are looking for more Frozen stuff to do should absolutely attend this, and if you really want the perks I listed above, you should as well, but otherwise, this isn’t something any other guest should go out of their way to do. That being said, there’s more than enough of the aforementioned families and guests to fill this event every night, and that’s why the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party is still pretty hard to find availability for.
The Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot is a solid upgrade over the Sparkling Dessert Party that opens the event up to more guests and makes seeing IllumiNations and Frozen Ever After a breeze. Oh, and did I mention the chocolate s’mores pudding cake?
Expanding for a longer-than-ever 75-day run, the 22nd Epcot International Food & Wine Festivalreturns to Walt Disney World Resort from August 31 to November 13, 2017. The Disney Parks Merchandise team has developed more than 75 items celebrating the many ways guests can sip and taste their way throughout Epcot.
“Each year we look forward to designing artwork for [Epcot International Food & Wine Festival],” explained Creative Manager Doug Strayer. “The art includes nods to Epcot’s 35th Anniversary on October 1, and beloved characters like Figment and Remy. As cast members, we love this event as much as our guests. It’s fun for us to see guests at Epcot wearing the artwork we created.”
Disney Creative Group artists Richard Terpstra, Susan Foy, Dave Holbrook, and Brian Blackmore contributed to this year’s assortment. Their artwork was compiled into a style guide which merchandise product developers referenced when creating apparel, pins, home décor, accessories and more.
Fans of Figment will be delighted to find several new items featuring the lovable purple dragon. Doug said the 1980s-looking Figment artwork was inspired by a classic Epcot attraction.
“During the design phase, we kept referencing the Kitchen Kabaret attraction once located in The Land Pavilion. That food-themed show included the song ‘Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit,’ which we couldn’t get out of our heads [laughs]. We liked the show’s art style, so we combined it with a stylized Chef Figment. It’s a fun way to salute the heritage of Epcot.”
Another nod to Epcot’s heritage is found within the Passport collection. Look carefully to see stamps containing World Showcase marketing artwork from 1982.
The Brews Around the World collection returns this year with new designs by Susan Foy. Look for the artwork on apparel and drinkware, including a new stainless steel growler and baseball cap with a bottle opener.
For the first time, Disney is introducing an “Eat to the Beat” concert T-shirt with a World Showcase-inspired guitar graphic.
Dooney & Bourke handbags with Figment and World Showcase graphics will also be released during the event. Annual Passholders will also find a specially designed Dooney & Bourke handbag along with several other Passholder Exclusive products such as pins, salt and pepper shakers, and accessories.
Finally, guests can help Remy as he ventures around Epcot to collect the ingredients for his signature dish with Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak scavenger hunt. This year, guests will have 15 spots to look for Remy in World Showcase and Future World.
Look for these items at the Festival Center located adjacent to Mission: SPACE, and at select merchandise locations throughout Epcot. Select items will also be offered on Shop Disney Parks app and the online store.
