What we did at Epcot Food & Wine Festival

 We had the opportunity to visit The Epcot Food and Wine Festival during the first week.  This was exciting for us because we rarely get to go to a Disney festival or party during the first week.

Here is how our day went and what all we got to experience.  I'll also share what we thought the "Best of the Fest" was so far.  ( I say so far, because we may end up visiting again before the festival ends).

We tried to do something in each of the 10 Countries in World Showcase. Throughout world showcase there are booths from different countries that are set up just for the festival.  We got to visit some of the booths, but not all of them. 

We started at the Canadian Pavilion and had the famous Canadian Cheddar and Bacon Soup with a Pretzel roll ($5.75).  This was so good and I thought we would only be getting a "sample" of it, but it was a good size.  My sister and I each ordered one but we could have easily shared it.

We were going to try to participate in the "Emile's Fromage Montage" which is to purchase 5 cheese dishes ( there are 10 available).  For each cheese dish you purchase, you get a stamp in your "Food and Wine Passport".  When you get 5 stamps, you take it to a particular stand to claim your prize treat!

The Canadian Cheddar and Bacon Soup was one of the dishes that counted towards the Montage, so we did get a stamp for that one.

Lacey also had the "Le Cellier" Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon ($9.25). This isn't normally something she would order but she got it by accident. She said it had a really good flavor and the beef was so tender.  It also had a tasty mushroom gravy on it.

Also in Canada,  we visited the Appleseed Orchard.  The stand is in the space that  "Canada Far and Wide in Circle Vision 360" use to be in. The show is temporarily on hold during the festival.  Here we got the Frozen Apple Pie ($4.50).  This was a non- alcoholic drink that was like an apple slushy with apple pie pieces in the bottom and crumbles on top.  This was delicious!  My sister and I each ordered one of these!

From Canada, we made our way to the U.K.  Here we tried the Warm Chocolate Pudding cake with liqueur custard ($4.75) at the Ireland booth. This was very rich. It reminded us of a molten chocolate lava cake.  It was very good but we are glad we shared it.

Also in the U.K we got to visit with Mary Poppins.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

                  

At this time there wasn't anything in the France Pavilion we wanted to get but we did have some character meets. We met Aurora in the gazebo in front of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure and Belle near World Showcase Lagoon.

At the Brazil booth Lacey got the Pao de Quejo ($4.75), which was Brazilian cheese bread. She said it tasted like a dinner roll but they were a little dry.                                                                 

The Brazilian cheese bread was also part of the Montage and counted towards the free treat.

In Morocco we got the Frozen Mint Tea ($5.50). This isn't on the Food and Wine menu but it was really tasty and refreshing. It tasted just like a mint tea but in a slushy form

At the Greece booth, we tried the Griddled Cheese with Pistachio and honey ($4.75). I didn't really care for this dish, but Lacey said it wasn't bad. It tasted like a fried mozzarella and Lacey said she felt like it should have been on a sandwich. I didn't understand what the pistachios added to the dish. I didn't feel like they went with it or added a flavor that was complimentary to the cheese.

In Italy, we had to get a "magic shot".

We didn't buy anything in the Japan Pavilion but had fun checking out the unique flavors of Kit Kat.. You can buy a bag of these unique flavors for $12.95.

In the American Adventure I got this drink called The American Dream ($5.75). This is another drink that was not on the Food and Wine menu, so you can get it all year long!  It was frozen wild cherry, vanilla ice cream, and frozen blue raspberry slushy.  I'm glad this is something that is on the menu all year long because it was so tasty and refreshing.

Our next stop was Germany.  As I was waiting in line for this dish, I could smell this awful aroma.  I didn't know if it was the people I was standing in line with ( it was an awfully hot day), or the food from the booth. I was hoping it wasn't going to be the food I was getting.

I ordered the Schinkennudeln ($5.00), which was pasta gratin with ham, onions, and cheese. This had no smell to it, which was a good thing. It was a very heavy dish, similar to a mac and cheese. The portion was large  and I was happy to share it with my sister.  It wasn't too flavorful and I'll admit it was just okay. not bad but not amazing.

This dish qualified for a stamp for the montage.

Next to the Germany booth was the Alps booth.  This is where the awful smell was coming from. 

It was specifically coming from the dish that Lacey ordered, it was the Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese with Riesling- poached pears, red wine braised figs, candied pecans, honey and cranberry toast ($5.50).  It sounds like it would be good, right?  This dish smelled so bad that I didn't even want to taste it after Lacey brought it back to the table.  Lacey did eat some of this but the awful cheese smell was so overwhelming that it overtook the taste of the rest of the dish. 

This is how Lacey felt about this dish. It ended up going in the trash.  

At least we got a stamp for this dish and we now have all the stamps we need to get our free treat at the end of the night.

Although the food from the Alps booth was not worth stopping for, the entertainment was. 

In the China Pavilion we met Mulan and had a refreshing Bubble Tea ($6.95), one of Lacey's favorites.  This was not on the Food and Wine menu, it is an item that is available all year long.

In Norway I stopped for a Kristoff Kaffe ( $5.99). This is a frozen coffee with coffee chocolate sauce and garnished with coffee chocolate crunch.  This was really tasty and the coffee crunch on top gave it a nice touch.  However, it was a small portion for the price and I would have rather had a Frappacino from Starbucks but I'm glad I tried it.  There is a version with alcohol called the Frozen Viking Coffee for $14.00.  I did not try that one.   These coffees are not on the Food and Wine menu and can be found all year long at Kringle Bakeri Og Kafe.

Our last stop  in World Showcase was Mexico and we couldn't leave there with out riding the boat ride and Lacey getting her favorite  La Cava Avocado Margarita ($17) at La Cava del Tequila.  

We took a break from eating and drinking so we could ride some rides.  We didn't think it would be a good idea to ride test track and Guardians of the Galaxy after just eating.

After rides, we stopped at the Fry Basket for the Fry Flight ($7.50).

The three flavors of fries were  Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar, Barbecued bacon fries with smoked aioli,  and sweet potato casserole fries with candied pecans, toasted marshmallow cream, and caramel whisky.  The sea salt and malt vinegar fries tasted like Wendy's fries and I thought they were great. The sweet potato fries were pretty unique. They actually tasted like sweet potato casserole, very sweet. It was almost like a dessert. Lacey's favorite were they Barbecue bacon fries but they were not mine, so it worked out that we shared the flight! 

At the end of the night we turned our passports into Shimmering Sips, near Port of Entry, and showed that we had all of our stamps for the free treat.  The treat was a Strawberry Cheesecake soft serve topped with a piece of cake.  It was served in a souvenir cup that we got to keep. ( FYI this is soft plastic and do not put it in the dishwasher).  This dessert was amazing and hands down we would both claim it as the best thing we ate all day! It was totally worth eating all those cheese dishes.

And with that, we rode Soarin ( our favorite) and then said good night to Epcot.  I love this picture I've captured at the end of the night. no filter needed.  It's beautiful and pretty much sums up the day we had at Epcot.