Epcot in a Day- The International Food & Wine Festival Edition, 2023
With Frontier Airlines flights for less than $50/per person round-trip and direct from Norfolk, we couldn’t resist a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando for our late November 3-day weekend. We booked two nights at the moderate level Coronado Resort followed by one night at the deluxe tier Animal Kingdom Lodge. On Saturday, October 30 we opened the day at Epcot, primarily to experience the International Food and Wine Festival and to see the Journey of Water inspired by Moana.
Because we booked a Disney World Resort, we were able to enter the park at 8:30am, 1/2 hour before the 9am opening. At 7am that morning, we had logged into the My Disney Experience App to purchase our Disney Genie+ for $18/per person and also to book a 1pm Lighting Lane for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. We also added Individual Lighting Lanes for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind for $15/per person. Note: in late 2024 Walt Disney World updated the Disney Genie+ System to the Multi-Pass System, and Disney resort guests can now book Lightning Lane options 7 days before the start of their trip.
Part 1- Morning & Early Afternoon
8:30am Test Track (no wait at rope drop)
While we were deciding between Test Track and Frozen Ever After as our rope drop ride (knowing that it would be hard to secure Lightning Lanes for these popular rides later in the day) we learned that Frozen Ever After was “temporarily” closed. We waited outside the Connections Restaurant until Cast Members walked us toward Test Track. We were the second group of the day to enter the Chevrolet Design Center before boarding the ride.9am- Figment of the Imagination Ride (no wait)
9:15am- Figment Meet & Greet (no wait)
9:30am Journey of Water Inspired by Moana.
This experience was the highlight of our trip, and is one of the most interactive experiences that engages every single age level. Small pockets along the trail invited guests to play a water harp, control small water geysers with their hands, and walk through a waterfall. The lush gardens culminate in a Tafiti topiary and a few additional water play areas before the exit. There were opportunities for young children to splash enough to get soaked, but spaces also allowed guests to avoid getting wet altogether.
10am- Shopping & Photos
After checking a few stores for toiletries, we finally asked a cast member and were directed to the baby care station. We learned that there is a “secret” store there with essential items that may have been left at home. Baby Care Centers are located near the First Aid Stations in the park, where you can usually get single doses of over the counter medications for no additional cost.
We purchased a 1-day Memory Maker for $79+tax, and we were happy to find a lot of options in the area between World Discovery & World Showcase.
10:45am- Spicy Githeri IF&WF dish from the Refreshment Outpost.
As a vegetarian, Epcot festival kiosk dining takes some planning. The website and booklet note all of the entirely plant-based options. We nearly always find a vegan option in this small African themed section of World Showcase, and the Githeri was one of our favorites of the IF&WF.
11am- Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese from The Alps IF&WF Kiosk
This year’s festival was heavy on cheese dishes with Emile’s Fromage Montage, and many of those were also vegetarian. At $5-$8 per plate, the portions were plenty to share and dine relatively economically through the day (by WDW budget standards).
Part 2- Late Afternoon & Evening
Because the International Food & Wine Festival is also very popular for local Floridians, we weren’t surprised to find the park get increasingly crowded after lunchtime. Most of the bottlenecks were in the World Showcase area, so we saved the bulk of our rides for the late afternoon, where we found World Celebration, World Discovery, World Nature less crowded even with the construction.
The lines for rides and Photopass opportunities were relatively short (less than 20 minutes) for most rides, with the exception of Soarin’ (50-60 minutes) and Test Track (60-90 minutes) and up to 2-hour waits for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Frozen Ever After was closed the entire day due to a maintenance issue.
We were easily able to do everything on our checklist, and the food and drinks from 10 of the IF&WF kiosks was enough to sustain us throughout the day without a dining reservation or sit-down quick service meal.
2pm- Pimento Cheese platter from Wine & Wedge IF&WF Kiosk
3:15pm- Spaceship Earth LL (Standby would have been 15 minutes)
\ 4pm- Mission Space: Green (No wait)
4:45pm- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind LL
Visitors who reserved a “free” time in the virtual line still found a 30-45 minute wait, so paying extra for the Lighting Lane was worth it.
5:30pm- 6pm- International Food & Wine Festival
The Fry Basket IF&WF Kiosk
By 4pm many of the lines for the kiosks were incredibly long, including this one for the very popular french fry flight.
The Brew-Wing Lab at the Odyssey IF&WF- The large indoor space added a bit more Disney theming to the Festival with the story that some of the Muppets had come up with odd culinary concoctions. We shared (and 1/3 of us enjoyed) a pickle milkshake. There were two plant-based options for the “wings”, and while I enjoyed the Impossible buffalo chicken tenders I wish they had offered the creative flavors of the chicken wings (peanut butter & jelly, orange cardamon and scotch-bonnet pepper curry) as vegetarian options.
6pm-7:45 PM World Showcase
Giant Bavarian Pretzel from Sommerfest
This small window was tucked in the back of the Germany Pavilion, and we were able to get food quickly and without waiting in line using the pre-order option on the MDE App.
6:15-7:00pm- Eat to the Beat Concert.
We Lined up with some VERY enthusiastic Hanson fans for the 6:30pm Eat to the Beat Concert. I’m sure some of them left disappointed because MMBop was not part of the 30 minute line-up, but would likely be at the later show.
7:30pm- Canada Pavilion
We listened briefly to the Bodh’aktan band in the Canada Pavilion where we learned that trad-Quebecois is a fantastic musical genre.
7:45-8:45pm World Nature
Journey of Water Inspired by Moana (at night)The Seas Pavilion
We rode The Seas with Nemo & Friends (no wait) followed by some time in the aquarium area. In past years, this section closed much earlier, so it was fun to visit one of our favorite sections of Epcot at the end of the day when it wasn’t crowded and we could linger longer at the tanks.
Part 3- World Showcase Nighttime SPecTacular
8:45pm- We found a spot near the Mexico Pavilion to watch the 9pm fireworks show. The view for Epcot Forever had ample spots all around World Showcase to see the pyrotechnics, even on a crowded night.
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