It‘s almost time for one of EPCOT’s most exciting times of the year!  The 2016 International Food and Wine Festival is set to start on September 14 and run through November 14.  This event brings
incredible food and delicious wine to the park that excites the senses.

If you’ve never been to EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival, you are in for a real treat!  You can, literally, eat your way around the world.  Spread throughout the World Showcase, vendors are set up in each country.  You can purchase a small portion to sample.  Along with the food, you can also purchase a paring wine.  Some of the booths this year will feature American, Bakery, British,
Chinese, Norwegian, Asian, African, Japanese, Polynesian, Greek, Italian, Moroccan, French, Seafood, German, Latin, Sushi and Irish Cuisine.  How will you choose??

You prefer a good drink, you say?  Great!  There are several opportunities to try your hand (or mouth) at new mixology techniques.  You can attend a beverage seminar that will give you tips from some of the top drink specialists.  There is a class that will teach you how to pair cuisine with special brews and spirits.  If you want to learn a new talent, you can go to the Mixology seminar and become the life of the party!

This year, Disney has an exciting line up of Celebrity Chefs.  Great Culinary notables Geoffrey Zakarian, Maneet Chauhan, Duff Golman and Masaharu Mormoto, to name a few, will be on hand for culinary
demonstrations.  Other icons like Robert Irvine, Cat Cora and Elizabeth Falkner will return to inspire foodies at premium events like the Party for the Senses.

For a second consecutive year, ABC’s Emmy-Award-winning lifestyle series, “The Chew” will arrive to produce a full week of programs on the show’s exclusive Epcot festival stage.

The big news for this year are the Disney World Resorts joining the festival experience.  Some of the new adventures include:

• “Brunch with a Twist at Disney’s
• Grand Floridian Resort & Spa” — a sumptuous 5-star, 5-course meal prepared by the resort’s award-winning chefs
• “The Secrets of Flavor at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort” — a three-course lunch that gives you a ‘sensory-food connection’ at Yachtsman Steakhouse
• “Culinary Adventures with a Master Chef” at Disney’s Contemporary Resort — a hands-on chef’s table experience in a professional working kitchen
• “Behind the Scenes at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto” at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort — an entertaining tour of the whimsical Trader Sam’s, followed by lunch and a special mixology session

One of my favorite parts of the festival is that you can use your Disney Dining Plans at most of the meals and some food booths will allow you to use snack and counter service portions of the plan.

As though all of this is not enough, you will be able to dance off some of those newly added calories at the “Dance to the Beat” concert series.  The series runs several weeks and consists of bands from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 00’s.  The concerts are held in the American Garden’s Theater and are free with your EPCOT admission.  You can see your favorite acts 5:30pm, 6:45pm and 8:00pm.

This is the current line up:

• Wang Chung — NEW! – September 14-15
• Starship —  September 16-18
• Air Supply –  September 19-20
• The Bo Deans — September 21-23
• Fuel – September 24-25
• Sugar Ray — September 26-28
• Los Lobos — September 29-30
• David Cook — October 1-2
• Wilson Phillips — October 3-4
• Blues Traveler — October 5-6
• Plain White T’s — NEW! – October 7-9
• 38 Special — October 10-11
• Jeffrey Osbourne — October 12-13
• Tiffany — October 14-16
• Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx — October 17-19
• Christopher Cross – October 20-21
• Toad the Wet Sprocket — NEW! — October 22-23
• Chakka Kahn — October 24-25
• Billy Ocean — October 26 – 27
• Living Color — October 28- 29
• Hanson – October 30- November 1
• Soul Asylum – October 2-3
• Delta Rae — NEW! — November 4-6
• Boyz to Men — November 7-9
• Sister Hazel — November 10-11
• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy — November 12-14 (Unconfirmed)

Now that I have you drooling and your belly growling, all you need to do is contact your friendly OLP Travel Pixies.  We will help you make the most of all of the Festival experiences and find you the best rates for your vacation!