Epcot Food & Wine Festival Discounts and Early Booking Date Announced

8/11 UPDATE:

DVC Members have been added to the list of folks receiving the discount and early booking option.

We just heard the news that both Tables in Wonderland members, Disney Vacation Club members, and Disney World Annual Passholders will be able to book 2011 Epcot Food & Wine Festival low-cost seminars and demonstrations taking place Monday-Thursday during the festival for a discounted rate.

More big news? Those same groups will be able to book those events four days earlier than other guests! Tables in Wonderland members and Annual Passholders are able to book on August 12th at 9am ET for ALL low-cost seminars and demonstrations during the festival. All other guests must wait until the August 16th booking date, when all events open for booking.

Announcement for Tables in Wonderland Members -- click for larger image

From the Disney World Annual Passholder Website:

* Mixology Seminars: A mixologist demonstrates the art of preparing trendy and classic cocktails, then serves you the final product. Cheers! At 6:00 p.m. daily. $10 per Passholder, tax included.

* Culinary Demonstrations: Celebrated chefs and beverage professionals offer helpful tips and tasty samples at these 45-minute culinary demonstrations. At 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. daily. $9 for standard demonstrations and $11 for celebrity chef demonstrations. Cost is per Passholder, tax included.

* Wine/Beverage Seminars: Meet a featured winery principal or beverage expert, learn helpful tips and sample the selected wines/beverages. At 12:00 noon, 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. daily. $8 for standard wine/beverage seminars and $10 prestigious wine seminars. Price is per Passholder, tax included.

To book, call (407) WDW-FEST or (407) 939-3378. Remember, discounted prices listed above are only valid for pre-arrival bookings on Monday-Thursday events.

The only remaining info we need? What the seminars are. Here’s hoping we get that information soon!

For comprehensive information on the 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival, see our fully-updated index page!

2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Index

2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival World Showcase Booth Menus
Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend Events
2011 Eat to the Beat Concert Schedule
2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Special Events
2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Low-Cost and Free Seminars and Activities
Epcot Food and Wine Festival Fans Facebook Page

New World Showcase Mickey Ears Hats Featuring Foooood!

By Kim LaPaglia 10 Comments

I absolutely love that the Disney Store is carrying some theme park merchandise now. And these Ears Hats might be the perfect headgear for your upcoming trip to the 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

Highlighting Epcot’s World Showcase countries, these Ears Hats may not be all the rage just yet, but after a few brews I can see ya posing for a pic or two! And when you do, share it at the Disney Food Blog Photo Extravaganza. Please!

Germany Ears Hat

Guten Tag! Take a look at the Germany Ears Hat with a foodie favorite — the soft pretzel — on an ear!

If you’re heading to the Biergarten or stopping by the Germany booth at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, you need this topper. (This may look better after an Altenmunster at the Brewer’s Collection booth. Just sayin’ ;-)!)

Germany Ears Hat

Italy Ears Hat

Ciao! Before heading to the Italy pavilion or Italy Booth, don your gondolier outfit or… just get this Ears Hat.

With a giant pizza [Read more…]

Disney Food for Families: Condiments Make the World Go Round

By Erin 10 Comments

Disney Food for Families columnist Erin Foster knows what’s important for her family when it comes to Disney counter-service…

It’s a rare child that doesn’t feel passionate about condiments. Here are a few of the examples you might have heard from your kids… “I won’t let any type of sauce touch my food.” Or,“I’ll eat anything, as long as it’s covered in ketchup.” “Hot sauce is heavenly.” “Relish looks like alien slime.” “Plastic cheese makes everything better.” “Salsa, not ketchup.” “Mustard, not salsa.” “French fries are fine, but only if dipped in maple syrup.”

Yep, condiments are the weird and wonderful place where kiddie crazy food idiosyncrasies come out to play. Luckily, Disney has the condiment basics covered at most places.

You guys know AJ can't live without her plastic cheese

At any of the counter service restaurants where burger/dog/nugget staples are served, you’ll find traditional accompaniments like ketchup and mustard. And while they may not be out on the table, you can ask for these items at nearly all of the table service restaurants on property. But if you keep your eyes open, you’ll find many more options available.

So, if your child, or you, will ONLY eat food covered in soy sauce (hey, it happens), I’ll tell you where you’ll be able to get your fix.

Topping Bars

A few Disney counter service restaurants, such as Cosmic Ray’s and Tortuga Tavern in the Magic Kingdom, offer what Disney calls a “toppings bar.” This is code for a salad-bar-like spread of fresh fixin’ add-ons.

Tortuga Tavern toppings

Once you get your burger (at Cosmic Ray’s) or taco salad (at Tortuga Tavern), you can head over to the toppings bar to get unlimited embellishments to enhance your entree. The toppings typically include items like [Read more…]

2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Exclusive Pins

By AJ 4 Comments

Disney’s What’s HapPINing Blog gives us quick mini-look at some of this year’s 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival specialty pins today!

Here’s the exclusive Annual Passholder pin:

Annual Passholder Exclusive Pin

This pin is exclusive for Disney Vacation Club Members: [Read more…]

Ramping Up to the 2011 WDW Foodie Fest, October 2-8

By AJ Leave a Comment

We’re gearing up for the 2011 WDW Foodie Fest events, which begin the first week of October — check out our schedule of events here!

WDW Foodie Fest

Isn’t Disney food even better when we share it with friends? We designed the WDW Foodie Fest as a party for Disney Food fans as we celebrate the opening days of the 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

Currently there are four events scheduled during WDW Foodie Fest!

Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011: WDW Foodie Fest Main Event
Let’s all meet at Ariel’s in Disney’s Beach Club Resort from 11am-1pm.

This FREE event is available to everyone, and is an [Read more…]

Dining Options at the 2011 D23 Expo

By AJ 9 Comments

The D23 Expo in Anaheim is right around the corner, and those of us who have never been are starting to think about what and where to eat while we’re there! Welcome Carrie Hayward, author of PassPorter’s Disney Weddings & Honeymoons, as she gives us a primer on dining options at the D23 Expo! Thanks, Carrie!

If you’re a reader of The Disney Food Blog and you’re headed to Anaheim for the D23 Expo, 2011, you are probably wondering what sort of dining options will be available at the convention.

The first thing to know is that all concessions are handled by Aramark, whose food you may recognize from arenas, convention centers, and stadiums across the country. Disney will augment these offerings with a few treats brought in from the parks, namely Mickey premium ice cream bars and Mickey pretzels.

Two other Disney park favorites—churros and fudge—will be made by Aramark. However, you’ll find that their churros taste familiar because Aramark also makes the ones sold in the parks. And you might even like their fudge better than Disney’s!

D23 Expo Fudge (Those are totally not teeth marks—honest!)

The D23 Expo Show Floor will occupy only two of the facility’s four ground-floor exhibit halls this time around, and most of the event’s food service has been consolidated within them. This leaves just two indoor counter-service spots, one outdoor spot, a lunch cart on the second floor, and a coffee stand in the lobby. Gone are the rooftop kabob stand and access to the Arena Grill, which had the most diverse offerings and the freshest food at the last Expo.

Let’s take a look at dining options in each area of the convention center so you’ll know what’s nearby as you wander the show floor or wait in line. I’ll also offer tips for making the most of your D23 Expo dining and snacking experience.

Anaheim Convention Center First Floor Plan -- Click for Larger Image

Grand Lobby

Eco-Grounds

This specialty coffee stand will offer packaged salads, sandwiches, and wraps, along with freshly made mini-doughnuts. Fresh funnel cakes will be available in the afternoon.

D23 Expo Show Floor

Located in Halls A and B, the D23 Expo Show Floor is where you’ll go to see Imagineering’s handiwork in the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Pavilion, track down rare items in the Collectors’ Forum, purchase official [Read more…]

Sneak Peek: 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Merchandise and Vinylmation

By AJ 4 Comments

The Disney Parks Blog gave us a quick mini-look at some of this year’s 2011 Epcot Food and Wine Festival merchandise today!

Sneak Peek at Food and Wine Festival Merchandise

And there’s also a dedicated Vinylmation that’s been created just for the Festival!

We love the box [Read more…]

Snack Series: Kabuki Cafe Green Tea Ice Cream

By Kim LaPaglia 9 Comments

Reader Venessa H. recently sampled some of the Green Tea Ice Cream at the brand new Kabuki Cafe in Epcot’s Japan pavilion and sent us a mini-review.

Green Tea Ice Cream

When I thought “green tea ice cream,” I thought it would be creamy and scooped out onto a little bowl — it’s texture would just melt in your mouth. Yet, it was packaged and hard and kind of like the Gelato you get over in the Italy stand (which isn’t even Gelato anymore).

Even when I let it melt a little, it just didn’t feel right. It was somewhat refreshing and it had that artificial green tea flavor. By all means people should [Read more…]

Review: Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge

By AJ 19 Comments

Learn About:Sanaa

Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney World Restaurants

Found at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Sanaa is a full-service restaurant offering fantastic meals with Indian and African influences.

From the floor-to-ceiling windows of the restaurant, guests have a fantastic view of the safari animals on the Sunset Savanna, meaning you’ll have a stellar show of zebra, giraffe, African birds, and several other breathtaking animals.

And while the animal viewing is a great draw for Sanaa’s guests, the interesting menu, food quality, and great service will surely bring them back time and time again. And the new test-phase of the Dine with an Animal Specialist program is surely going to bring plenty of folks to Sanaa!

Atmosphere

Sanaa is located in Kidani Village, which is the Disney Vacation Club Villas section of Animal Kingdom Lodge. It sits next door to Jambo House, the main and original part of the Lodge.

Outside of Sanaa

A major complaint about Sanaa is its distance from the parks and other resort hotels in Disney World — you will have to use a Disney Transport bus, your own car, or a taxi to get here — but with all of the great [Read more…]

Dining in Disneyland: New Belle Caramel Apples

By Heather 19 Comments

A brand new caramel apple has debuted in Disneyland, and our Dining in Disneyland columnist, Heather Sievers, has the details!

Went on a little dinner/movie outing to Downtown Disney last night and had to stop by Marceline’s for a quick inventory check and a caramel apple to go. We went for the standard “Minnie” apple, but upon check-out I noticed these adorable new “Belle” caramel apples.

$14.95 Each, Wow.

At $14.95 a pop, I was not willing to take one for the team. I did however ask the cast member to take an up close shot to share here on the blog. The cast member also told me that yesterday was the very first day they were being offered. So ladies and gentlemen, I give you the brand new [Read more…]

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