2020 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival - Has Now Ended.

[hereforthechurros]

Can anyone report if the the Remy Scavenger Hunt card be purchased at World Traveler? Thanks!

 

[Chisoxcollector]

We spent a couple of days at Epcot over the last 2 weekends, and tried lots of the Festival food items. I don't have time to edit and post all of the pictures, but as is my custom I can post my rankings. I may not be adding to this list, as Epcot didn't feel safe at all with so many people not wearing masks, or not wearing them correctly. Especially on our second day. Anyway, on with the rankings!

Chirashi Sushi Flower Pot (Japan) - 10 - Salmon tasted fresh, lots of salmon roe, decent sized portion.

Impossible Burger Slider (Earth Eats) - 8.5 - Very good, hearty size too.

Freshly Baked Carrot Cake (Hops & Barley) - 8.5 - Delicious, especially the icing. But wasn't the best thing to eat on a crazy hot day.

Tempura Donburi (Japan) - 8.0 - Hearty portion, served very hot.

Spicy Hummus Fries (Morocco) - 8.0 - Delicous and tasted fresh. Quite spicy. Always get the cucumbers and whatnot on the side so the fries aren't soggy.

Seafood Fisherman's Pie (Wine & Dine Festival Favorites) - 8.0 - Much more seafood than previous years. Scallops were delicious and large, but other seafood was a weird texture. Served very hot.

Impossible Farmhouse Meatball (Earth Eats) - 8.0 - Very tasty, served on a pita or similar.

Coulis Framboise Brioche Cake (France) - 8.0 - Delicious but very tiny.

Ribeye Taco (Mexico) - 8.0 - Delicious but very tiny.

Schinkennudeln Pasta Gratin (Germany) - 8.0 - Bigger portion this year, very cheesy.

Ciderboys Banana Bliss Hard Cider (Apple Orchard) - 8.0 - Very sweet and almost tasted like a soda. My kind of cider!

Braised Duck Confit (France) - 7.5 - I didn't love the mashed sweet potatoes, but the duck was nice.

Pork Tostada (Mexico) - 7.5 - Pretty good, decent size compared to taco.

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Brazil) - 7.5 - Two sizable pieces, as good as what you'd get at Fogo de Chao.

Gourmet Mac and Cheese (Mac and Cheese) - 7.5 - Boursin worked surprisingly well with the mac and cheese, but made the dish cold.

Teriyaki Glazed SPAM Hash (Hawai'i) - 7.5 - Spam and potatoes were good, but there were way too many bell peppers.

Kalua Pork Slider (Hawai'i) - 7.5 - Pork and pineapple were nice, but bun was very soggy and kind of gross.

New England Lobster Roll (Hops & Barley) - 7.0 - Lots of lobster, but it tasted like it had been sitting out a while. Herb mayo didn't work very well either.

Crispy Citrus Chicken (Citrus Blossom) - 7.0 - Nothing I'd go out of my way to get, but it was decent. Not crispy at all, though.

Ropa Vieja Empanada (Islands of the Caribbean) - 7.0 - Filling didn't taste quite as good as previous years.

Liquid Nitro Chocolate Cake Pop w/ Twix (Desserts and Champagne) - 7.0 - Decent, but a bit too sweet. Cool presentation, though.

Crispy Pork Belly (Brazil) - 6.5 - Small piece of pork, and it was fairly chewy.

Jerk Spiced Chicken (Islands of the Caribbean) - 6.5 - The chicken was sooooo dry. Good flavor, though.

Frozen S'mores (Desserts and Champagne) - 6.0 - Thick, and sort of bland.

Street Corn Funnel Cake (Funnel Cake Stand) - 6.0 - Small funnel cake, not many toppings. Not terrible, but pretty bland and unimpressive.

Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon (Canada) - 2.0 - My wife and I each ordered one, and they were both like tire leather. We threw them away. I'm sure we just got unlucky.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Can anyone report if the the Remy Scavenger Hunt card be purchased at World Traveler? Thanks!

I didn't go inside but there was a sign outside so I assume it was available for purchase there. Again, I didn't check it out this time but I saw somewhere that the prize for now is from F&G and they'll be adding the F&W prize for completion later.

We spent a couple of days at Epcot over the last 2 weekends, and tried lots of the Festival food items. I don't have time to edit and post all of the pictures, but as is my custom I can post my rankings. I may not be adding to this list, as Epcot didn't feel safe at all with all of the people not wearing masks, or not wearing them correctly. Especially on our second day. Anyway, on with the rankings!

Always appreciate your ratings! I'm sorry to hear that EPCOT didn't feel safe. I went briefly for a few hours mid-day on Friday and had the opposite experience. Very few guests and ~95% mask compliance with lots of CMs walking around and enforcing it. It seems to be a recurring theme in other reports I'm following that the weekends bring increased crowds and reduced compliance. The heat was a bigger issue for me. And with a lot of the shops closed and few international CMs, the overall "vibe" just seemed off to me. I did really enjoy the pop-up character cavalcades. Back to the food, I tried the crispy chicken (mine was very crispy!) and salmon pot and liked both but wasn't wowed. The crowds were so light it had me wondering just how fresh they were. Good tip on avoiding soggy hummus fries... will keep that in mind! Adding the rib eye taco to my wish list as well. I do plan to visit again but probably not for a while.

 

[Chisoxcollector]

I didn't go inside but there was a sign outside so I assume it was available for purchase there. Again, I didn't check it out this time but I saw somewhere that the prize for now is from F&G and they'll be adding the F&W prize for completion later.



Always appreciate your ratings! I'm sorry to hear that EPCOT didn't feel safe. I went briefly for a few hours mid-day on Friday and had the opposite experience. Very few guests and ~95% mask compliance with lots of CMs walking around and enforcing it. It seems to be a recurring theme in other reports I'm following that the weekends bring increased crowds and reduced compliance. The heat was a bigger issue for me. And with a lot of the shops closed and few international CMs, the overall "vibe" just seemed off to me. I did really enjoy the pop-up character cavalcades. Back to the food, I tried the crispy chicken (mine was very crispy!) and salmon pot and liked both but wasn't wowed. The crowds were so light it had me wondering just how fresh they were. Good tip on avoiding soggy hummus fries... will keep that in mind! Adding the rib eye taco to my wish list as well. I do plan to visit again but probably not for a while.

I knew going in that there were going to be some inconsiderate people disregarding the mask rules. We've gone 5 days since they reopened. Twice to Epcot, once to each of the other parks. Four of the five days roughly met my expectations as far as people not following the rules. You mentioned 95% mask compliance, and that feels about right for those days. It was only the second Epcot day that scared me. There were large groups of people walking around with all of their masks below their chins, or just hanging out next to a food both with their masks completely down/off. None were eating/drinking. Maybe one or two were holding water/soda bottles. We did two full laps of the World Showcase, and probably saw 50 entirely exposed faces and another 50+ exposed noses. And in those two laps, we saw no enforcement.

We would like to come back when they expand the festival offerings this fall, so I hope things improve one way or another. I'm an Epcot festival fiend, and will be extremely sad if I miss out because of these people.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I knew going in that there were going to be some inconsiderate people disregarding the mask rules. We've gone 5 days since they reopened. Twice to Epcot, once to each of the other parks. Four of the five days roughly met my expectations as far as people not following the rules. You mentioned 95% mask compliance, and that feels about right for those days. It was only the second Epcot day that scared me. There were large groups of people walking around with all of their masks below their chins, or just hanging out next to a food both with their masks completely down/off. None were eating/drinking. Maybe one or two were holding water/soda bottles. We did two full laps of the World Showcase, and probably saw 50 entirely exposed faces and another 50+ exposed noses. And in those two laps, we saw no enforcement.

We would like to come back when they expand the festival offerings this fall, so I hope things improve one way or another. I'm an Epcot festival fiend, and will be extremely sad if I miss out because of these people.

That sounds awful. I think I would have had an anxiety attack. I don't envy the CMs who have to do the enforcing and deal with jerks, but it is unfortunately necessary. I'm encouraged that they updated the requirements to say that the mesh masks and masks with valves are unacceptable. Fellow festival fiend here and I have plans to go back and stay on property in late Aug/early Sept and then again in mid-October but I'm going to be watching reports carefully. Mask compliance and enforcement is a deal-breaker for me, as sad as I'd be to cancel.

 

[Lilsia]

Epcot has plenty of space for people to distance from others to go and eat. There should not be any issues, especially with the low crowds, with keeping away from those that are without their masks. People just need to be more considerate and find an out of way place to go and they should definitely not be hanging around the food booths without their masks on.

 

[ChrisNY2]

...We would like to come back when they expand the festival offerings this fall, so I hope things improve one way or another. I'm an Epcot festival fiend, and will be extremely sad if I miss out because of these people.

Have they announced that they are doing more this fall (other than merchandise)?

 

[jerseygal]

That sounds awful. I think I would have had an anxiety attack. I don't envy the CMs who have to do the enforcing and deal with jerks, but it is unfortunately necessary. I'm encouraged that they updated the requirements to say that the mesh masks and masks with valves are unacceptable. Fellow festival fiend here and I have plans to go back and stay on property in late Aug/early Sept and then again in mid-October but I'm going to be watching reports carefully. Mask compliance and enforcement is a deal-breaker for me, as sad as I'd be to cancel.

We have enjoyed F&W the last couple of years, BUT last yr became disenchanted with prices and portion size. Sure enough, was talking with someone yesterday who said his impression was that prices are higher and portions much smaller. We did not plan on going anyway due to Covid, but his comments on portion size plus lack of strict wearing of masks Is affirmation of our decision.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Have they announced that they are doing more this fall (other than merchandise)?

Some of the booths do not open until the fall

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Have they announced that they are doing more this fall (other than merchandise)?

Some of the booths do not open until the fall

Spain and The Alps are coming back this fall. There’s also an unnamed booth on the walkway between Journey to Imagination and Future World - by Starbucks and opposite Hawaii.

 

[armerida]

Spain and The Alps are coming back this fall. There’s also an unnamed booth on the walkway between Journey to Imagination and Future World - by Starbucks and opposite Hawaii.

Ooh, I hope it’s the cheese studio with the maple bourbon cheesecake! Or the chocolate studio...they were both over there last year!

 

[crazy4wdw]

https://touringplans.com/blog/2020/...f-epcot-international-food-and-wine-festival/

 

[hereforthechurros]

World Showplace has a VQ system but how often is it at capacity, and how long is the wait? Whenever I see pictures from inside it looks empty but that could be by design. Just trying to plan for a wait if needed.

 

[Geomom]

World Showplace has a VQ system but how often is it at capacity, and how long is the wait? Whenever I see pictures from inside it looks empty but that could be by design. Just trying to plan for a wait if needed.

I'd assume there would be waits when it's raining and maybe on Saturdays when it's busier. We went yesterday around 6pm, walked right in, lots of free tables.

 

[osufeth24]

World Showplace has a VQ system but how often is it at capacity, and how long is the wait? Whenever I see pictures from inside it looks empty but that could be by design. Just trying to plan for a wait if needed.

Everytime I've gone there it's basically been empty.

They probably have it as just in case measure since it's indoors and have to have a capacity

 

[shoegal9]

Spain and The Alps are coming back this fall. There’s also an unnamed booth on the walkway between Journey to Imagination and Future World - by Starbucks and opposite Hawaii.

I wonder what they mean by "fall." A CM in the World Traveler store told me on Saturday that they should have Food & Wine merchandise by time we return Labor Day weekend. I wonder if the booths will open up around the same time.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I wonder what they mean by "fall." A CM in the World Traveler store told me on Saturday that they should have Food & Wine merchandise by time we return Labor Day weekend. I wonder if the booths will open up around the same time.

Good question. I think it's all fluid. But I'm all for seeing it sooner than later. And by Labor Day would certainly match with timelines from prior years.

 

[ksromack]

I'm so happy to be able to return to F&W this year, even if it's just a taste We enjoyed both F&G and F&W last year and just booked a 3 day trip less than a month ago for mid September. I'm pretty excited if the remaining booths open up but I'll be satisfied with the ones listed as of now. We only have 1 day at Epcot and F&W booths will be both our lunch and dinner. Also happy I kept the wristlet from a couple years ago. It's quite handy for paying for food at the booths. Mine has always been scanned and I've just held my arm over the register in years past for the CM to scan it but maybe now with the partitions I will have to remove it? I have my list made and am ready!

 

[AWalker23]

We had a May trip planned and rebooked to end of September. It's been about 10 years since we've been but never did a festival so looking forward to this and the yummy food.

 

[cristen72]

Has anyone done the Remy’s Hide and Squeak this year? Wondering what the prize is, and if anyone has a photo of it.