This week, I’m going to focus on one of the best events that EPCOT puts on during the week….Food and Wine Festival.  In 2014, the Food and Wine Festival will be the longest in history at 53 days.  It will run from September 19th to November 10th.  The best part of this event is there is no “hard ticket” needed.  You attend this event with just your standard Disney ticket or annual pass.  This makes the event very popular as well.

Disney has not announced what booths will be added to the World Showcase Pavilion countries yet for 2014.  In 2014, there were 30 booths where a person could “eat their way around the world.”  22 booths joined 8 of the World Showcase Pavilion countries (America doesn’t officially have a booth and Norway and the United Kingdom did not sponsor booths).

Breaking it down by continent, the following countries joined the party and the World Showcase in 2013:

South America (2): Brazil and Argentina

Oceania (2): Australia and New Zealand

Africa (1): A general African food and wine booth

Europe (5): Poland, Belgium, Ireland, Greece, and Scotland

Asia (2): South Korea, Singapore

Regional United States booths (3): American Adventure Coffee Cart, Florida Local, and Hawai’i

Specialty Booths (7): Terra, Cheese, Brewer’s Collection, Hops & Barley, Refreshment Port, Desserts & Champagne, and Craft Beers

That’s a lot of booths, a lot of food, and a lot of drink.  We’ll focus more on what’s served at each booth and how best to navigate the festival later in the week.

What else is going on?

These extra events are not included in the park admission.  These are ticketed events and costs vary.

The least expensive of these events are the culinary, wine & beverage, and mixology seminars.  These events take place several times per day during the event and cost $15 in 2013.

Disney also runs a variety of special dining experiences during the events.  These events are not held everyday usually only three or four times during the entire festival.  These events widely vary in price.  In 2013, the price varied from the Parisian Breakfast for $37 to the Party for the Senses which cost as much as $285.

Lastly, there is one extra event that has already been announced for 2014.  The Eat to the Beat Concert Series.  This special concert comes at no extra cost and take place three times per evening (5:30 pm, 6:45 pm, and 8:00 pm.)  The announced schedule:

• September 19-21: Jo Dee Messina
• September 22-23: The Pointer Sister
• September 24-25: Rick Springfield
• September 26-27: Christopher Cross
• September 28-29: Hansno
• September 30-October 2: Air Supply
• October 3-5: STARSHIP with Mickey Thomas
• October 6-8: Sugar Ray
• October 9-10: Fuel
• October 11-12: Sister Hazel
• October 13-14: TBA
• October 15-16: Billy Ocean
• October 17-18: Night Ranger
• October 20-22: Smash Mouth
• October 23-24: Jim Brickman
• October 25-26: Los Lonely Boys
• October 27-28: Wilson Phillips
• October 29-31: Dennis DeYoung, original member of STYX
• November 1-2: .38 Special
• November 3-5: Boys II Men
• November 6-7: David Cook
• November 8-10: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

An event that is already sold out for 2014 is the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.  Information on that event can be found here: http://www.rundisney.com/wine-and-dine-half-marathon/

What’s in store for DadForDisney for the rest of the week.  Tomorrow and Wednesday, I’ll be going more in-depth about the booths and their meuns.  Thursday, I’ll talk more in-depth about the Special Events.  Friday, I’ll go over how to best navigate The Food and Wine Festival.

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