Here was is our game plan for Food and Wine Festival:
Rope drop!
Arrive in Epcot as soon as the park opens and ride rides from 9am-11am. We started with Test Track, then rode Mission Space several times (none of us struggle with motion sickness during that ride, but we did not want to push it for after we started eating and drinking). Baymax and Joy and Sadness are now in the character meet'n greet areas at Epcot, as well.
Perfect combo?
Buy a Tasting Sampler card and use it for drinks. Use snack credits for food. Yes, it is a perfect plan. The tasting sampler card is a lanyard-hanging credential that has 8 tabs on it. As you come up on the kiosks, you can use it for food or drinks (there are a few obvious exclusions such as tasting flights with multiple drinks and one or two pricey champagnes). The price was $59+tax in 2015, so in order to get your money's worth, don't use your tabs for anything that is less than $7. There were more than 150 menu options in 2015. The tabs can be used over multiple days and can be purchased at one of several locations while you are there. More information about the Tasting Sampler card. Or you can order it buy calling (939)WDW-FEST.
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| My friend Samantha with the cute ears she made and her tasting sampler card. |
Last year the Ratatouille Recipe Search was a TON of fun. It helped get my kids all the way around the World Showcase for the first time. At 4, 6, and 7, they were completely into finding the missing ingredient that was hidden in each country.
For older kids, Agent P's World Showcase Adventure is a great way for them to enjoy the countries. The $10 passport kits are also fun for older kiddos. They can have them autographed in each country and make a fun souvenir. You can buy the passports in the kiosks or gift shops as you enter the World Showcase, but the Agent P challenge is free.
Pace Yourself
Rather than trying to do all of our eating and drinking at once, we started with Mexico at eleven and toured Mexico, Norway, the outpost, Germany, and Italy. We shared most of our snacks and drinks so that we could try more things. One or two of us would stand in line and order the food and/or drinks that we wanted from a kiosk while the other parents helped the kids on find their clues, then we would all partake in the sampling. After we made it through that half of the World Showcase we headed back to Germany and rode the boat back to the Future World side of Epcot.
We headed to our 2pm fastpass for Soarin' and then watched the new Pixar Short Films (super adorable) and rode Figment. We had a 3pm fastpass for Nemo and then enjoyed Turtle Talk with Crush before heading to our 4pm fastpass for Spaceship Earth. This little break for rides was a nice
After a relaxing ride on Spaceship Earth, we headed back to the boats and rode over to Germany. We bypassed Italy since we had toured it earlier and started back up with the American Adventure and slowly toured our way through the rest of the World Showcase through Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada. We stopped to meet Belle in France and Mary Poppins in the UK and ended near the Epcot dessert party area. We stayed near that area and enjoyed Illuminations!
So what were a few of our favorite snacks?
The lobster roll in the American Adventure Pavilion
Belgian Waffle with chocolate ganache
Canadian cheese soup
Kalua Pork Slider from Hawaii
Chicken gyro from Greece
Beef bourguignon in France
Escargot in France
Beef skewers with chimichuri sauce from Argentina
Grilled swet and spicy shrimp from Australia (you can smell it before you even get to it)
Spicy Hand Roll from Japan
Korean BBQ Beef with steamed rice and kimchi
Feel free to chime in with some of your favorite foods and beverages from the Festival!
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