More details announced for the 2016 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival

May 13, 2016 in "Epcot International Food and Wine Festival"

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Posted: Friday May 13, 2016 2:03pm EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has today announced a few more details about this year's 2016 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival overview

Following the trend of recent years, the 2016 festival will once again be longer than ever, at 62 days. The festival will begin this year on September 14 through to November 14 2016.

The global marketplaces will once again extend into Future World, following the success of last year's CHEW kiosks in that area of the park.

Here is the full update from Disney:

New marketplace menus debut and festival favorites return – Hard soda float, anyone? Guests can choose a favorite hard soda to mix with vanilla ice cream for a sweet treat at Desserts & Champagne marketplace. A savory vegan dish will debut at the Greece marketplace, and the popular Farm Fresh marketplace will showcase Florida’s bounty with new savory dishes.

Multiple new Eat to the Beat concert acts debut; fan favorites return to play 186 festival concerts, in all –Wang Chung (Everybody Have Fun Tonight!) will open the Eat to the Beat concert series Sept. 14-15. More new acts in the concert series lineup, including Delta Rae and Toad The Wet Sprocket – will rock their chart-topping tunes. Other popular acts, including Wilson Phillips, Boyz II Men and Jeffrey Osbourne, will return to the America Gardens Theatre stage this fall.

Celebrity chefs, wine experts and mixologists join the fun – Celebrities ranging from Rock Harper to master sommelier Andrea Robinson will share their food and beverage know-how during demos and premium events. At the new “Mix It, Make It, Celebrate It!” workshops, guests will put expert advice to use whether mixing cocktails, decorating cakes or using herbs to kick up a dish’s flavor.

The popular Festival Private Label California Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are back and available by the bottle or by the glass.

Ratatouille returns — Chef Remy of “Ratatouille” returns with his fun-for-the-family culinary scavenger hunt.

Festival Center cooks on all burners –Festival Center highlights will include the complimentary Back to Basics weekend series featuring epicurean tips and tricks from the pros, book and bottle signings and The Chocolate Experience: From Bean to the Bar, hosted by Ghirardelli and offering guest samples.

Rest and recharge at the Chase Lounge – Chase debit and credit card members – including Disney Visa card members — will find complimentary non-alcoholic refreshments, a charging station and comfortable seating for a relaxing break at the Chase Lounge at American Adventure.

Plan for a premium adventure:

Rockin’ Burger Block Party and Party for the Senses grand tasting events will showcase creative bites and palate-pleasing sips from eminent chefs and beverage experts plus new live entertainment.
New resort premium events to book will include a Grand Floridian brunch with a twist and a new cooking school experience.

Included with Epcot Admission:

Back to Basics series, special book signings, Eat to the Beat concerts, cultural adventures, Marketplace Passport and all attractions and park entertainment are included with regular Epcot admission.

Discuss on the Forums

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tribbleorlflApr 04, 2017

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but yesterday I finally received our replacement AP gifts in the mail (5 months later!). While I was expecting the tasting trays or some other leftover bit of merch, I was actually surprised they went out of their way to actually make something. Sure, the tumblers would have had much more utility than these coins, but the fact they probably didn't make a ton of these might mean they have some long-term collectible value. Regardless, this is old-school Disney customer service, and I appreciate the follow through and nice note.

tribbleorlflNov 15, 2016

While something free is better than nothing, I'm pretty disappointed these are what thry ended up giving out. Outside of the festivals, they have very little utility. The slot for the wine glass is too small for any of our glasses and my 2 kids obviously don't drink wine. A generic WDW mug, one of the Ratatouille pins or even a FP of our choice would have been infinitely better.

Kate AlanNov 15, 2016

Our travel party bought them, but the reasoning was twofold for us - many of us are frequent visitors/AP holders and figure we'll use them at future F&W events, and we also have other regular entertaining events back home that we host where we figured they'd be useful to us. They did come in pretty handy. As a substitute to the tumbler though, it seems a pretty poor replacement. I can't imagine the average person getting much use out of the trays outside of using them for subsequent Food & Wine visits. Seems like it would have been better to go with some other F&W item. Heck, unbox the stemless wine glasses and start handing those out individually - at least it would be something that could be utilized daily at home.

tribbleorlflNov 15, 2016

The Guest Recovery form we filled out Fri wasn't to get a replacement tumbler, it was so they had our contact info (and AP #'s) so they could send us whatever substitute item they came up with. They made it pretty clear no additional tumblers would be made and that whatever it was they sent us would be regular merchandise. I'm not surprised they had something in place for Sat as the line to fill out the forms was very long.

FigmentForver96Nov 15, 2016

Lucky, I had someone ask if I buy them a drink but not the other way :(

JohnDNov 15, 2016

Only worthwhile if you plan to use it and bring it for future F&W festivals. I've used mine in multiple years. Stand up tables are few and far between. Convenient to have if you want to eat and drink while you walk to your next booth.

senor_jorgeNov 14, 2016

I didn't pay enough attention to notice if others had them. There is a price on the back of $6.99.

Horizons1Nov 14, 2016

Did people actually buy these things?

JohnDNov 14, 2016

Agree. You can purchase the tray. Not so the tumbler which is kind of the point.

senor_jorgeNov 14, 2016

I'd have preferred the tumbler. Once we find the right container to fit in the drink holder space we'll have something for chips and dip at home. It's not a big deal either way... unless my wife can't find a spot to store them and it leads to her wanting to get new cabinets!

OtterheadNov 14, 2016

Absolutely. You can convert one QS credit to 3 snack credits on the spot and get those three items, or three of the same item, etc. I did this many times at this years' F&W Fest. But ask first. Two or three booths don't allow it. I think Poland was one of them.

JohnDNov 14, 2016

I have one for 2013. I came to the F&W festival in 2014 with it and they sold out of those trays weeks before. I had a lot of envious people staring at me. Since then they've figured out to have a lot more in stock. Several weeks ago, I just brought my 2013 tray. I was good to go. I see what you mean though. You got a tasting tray instead of the tumbler. Yeah, I would want the tumbler.