2024 Food & Wine Trip Report

Arrival Night:

My best friend and I arrived at the Beach Club around 10:30pm for the start of a food-centric long weekend. Sadly, it was after the nearby bar lounges (i.e. Abracadabar, Crew’s Cup) had stopped serving food. Otherwise, I would’ve dragged my friend over to one of them for a late night snack. But we did arrive in time for at least one treat and it was a Halloween one. I was so excited to grab the last Captain Hook Cookie at the Beach Club Marketplace! That night was actually Halloween and I wasn’t sure if any Halloween treats would be served the following day after the holiday had passed. Well, joke’s on me as there were actually about 20 of them for sale the following morning. :sweat_smile: But it was still tasty despite being the last of the batch.


Captain Hook Cookie: Vanilla sablé with strawberry jam, peanut butter ganache, buttercream, and chocolate décor

Onward to the first full day of gluttony!


I woke up bright and early, super excited to be at Disney. As became my morning routine over the next few days, I walked around Crescent Lake with a cappuccino in hand and traded pins with the staff at various Epcot resorts. My haul after industrious trading:

During this trip, I also got to try some treats at the newly opened Cake Bake Shop on the Boardwalk.

Breakfast. And yes, it literally glittered. They are NOT shy with the glitter in this bakery.


Magic Bar: Graham cracker European all butter crust topped with sweetened condensed milk, butterscotch chips, Callebaut Belgian chocolate, walnuts, and toasted coconut

This was a HEFTY treat. All the butter was evident in its weight. :laughing: Unsurprisingly, it was super sweet. I think the sweetened condensed milk pulled it over into “sickly sweet” territory. I liked this treat but not enough to splurge $14 on it again. While I could tell that high quality chocolate was used, I don’t think this Magic Bar was better than other Magic Bars I’ve had that were less than half the price. Instant regret that I hadn’t chosen to try the “cheaper” $9 Banana Orange Nut Bread.

We entered Epcot via the International Gateway a little after 10am and browsed some shops in the France area and started our leisurely Remy Scavenger hunt. We were also skulking around the France booth to see if it would open early. But we couldn’t pass up the delicious smelling crepes so we split one from Crêpes À Emporter by La Crêperie de Paris:


Bechamel, Cheese & Ham Galette
This was a great savory breakfast. Nice mix of saltiness from the ham and creaminess from the cheese and bechamel. The edges of the crepe were also slightly crispy, which I loved.

Shortly after we inhaled our crepe, the France booth opened early. We were second in line and basically filled my food tray. Yes, I have a food tray. I don’t play around at Food & Wine. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

  • Mango passion crème brûlée with fruit compote
  • Egg moelleux, goat cheese, and caramelized onions
  • Frozen French Cosmo: Vodka, Grey Goose Le Citron Vodka, Grand Marnier, and cranberry juice
  • Escargot brioche with garlic and parsley cream

As always, France was a solid booth. The drink was one of our favorite drinks of the entire trip as it gave a hint of alcohol and wasn’t overly sweet. Since it wasn’t swelteringly hot that day, we got to enjoy the frozen part of it before it eventually melted. The egg dish was yummy and went well with the brioche since I thought the latter was slightly dry. The crème brûlée was tasty but pretty much like all the crème brûlées I’ve ever tried.

As we proceeded counter clockwise around World Showcase, we got henna tattoos done in the Morocco Pavilion.

To keep ourselves from accidentally smearing our tattoos as they dried, we relaxed in the indoor Morocco exhibit for quite a bit before continuing our food/drink trek.


At the American Pavilion, we got the Tiramisù Funnel Cake with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate rum sauce and cream cheese whipped cream and dusted with cocoa and espresso powder. This was probably my favorite dessert of the entire trip. I love fried foods and I love ice cream. Easy win.


From the Joffrey’s in the America Pavilion, I picked up the Coconut Banana Cream Pie Latte (espresso, milk, coconut syrup, and banana syrup garnished with whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes) while my friend obtained a frozen Ice Tea Lemonade Slushy from the bar outside Regal Eagle Smokehouse. The espresso drink was average, not bad but not much to write home about. It convinced me to forego the specialty espresso drinks from the other Joffrey’s locations to save room for other treats instead. The frozen Ice Tea Lemonade Slushy was refreshing.


At the Spain booth, we shared the Paella Negra (Squid ink rice with shrimp, Bay scallops, and octopus served with garlic aïoli). This was quite good considering it’s counter service paella.

We then rode Gran Fiesta Tour for a seated AC break. Following Mexico, we ran around looking for the Photopass photographers who provided the Muppets Food & Wine Magic Shots. Following our success, we were hungry enough again to resume our food adventures.


From Mexico:

  • Flauta de Barbacoa: Fried tortillas filled with barbacoa beef topped with salsa verde, crema Mexicana, and queso fresco
  • Mango Sunrise Margarita: Dos Hombres Mezcal, Centinela Tequila, mango purée, and black currant liquor with a chile-lime salt rim
  • Tostada de Camarones: Tempura battered shrimp atop a fried corn tortilla with guacamole, cabbage, chipotle aïoli, diced mango, and chile-lime powder

We really enjoyed both of the food options but the drink fell flat for both of us. It just didn’t leave any kind of impression aside from disappointing.


First up from Flavors From Fire:
Steakhouse Blended Burger: Beef and wild mushroom slider with truffle brie cheese fondue, arugula, and truffle potato chips on a sesame seed bun. This was tasty but needed slightly more filling.

Smoked Corned Beef with house-made potato chips, cheese curds, pickled onions, and beer-cheese fondue. Always a banger and must get from Food & Wine.

From Connections Eatery, we finally tried the curiously constructed Baumkuchen. It’s currently Chocolate Matcha flavored, which was fine with us as we like both flavors. I don’t know why but I expected the layers to be crispy. Maybe because they faintly resembled wafer cookies? Regardless, it’s not crispy. It’s just multiple thin cake layers. This was fine but not that memorable.

We also got the Blackberry Lemonade (Lemonade, Lime Juice, Blackberry Syrup, and Frosted Mint Syrup). This was yummy. I didn’t get much mint flavor but that’s ok as I wasn’t sure it would play well with the other flavors.

Following more browsing in the Creations shop and Remy hunting, we rode the Seas with Nemo before leisurely exploring SeaBase. We then rode Living with the Land and Soarin’ before walking back towards World Showcase to eat just a bit more.


From Bramblewood Bites:

  • Grilled Cider-brined Pork Tenderloin with fennel apple slaw and apple cider gastrique
  • Grilled Bison with butternut squash purée, roasted mushrooms, and huckleberry gastrique

Both dishes were very good but we preferred the pork tenderloin. Probably because we’re not huge fans of game meat. Plus, the accoutrements for the pork were a solid match for it as the slaw provided some nice texture and flavor contrast.


At the Forest and Field booth, we selected the Autumn Chili with bison, lamb, pork belly, root vegetables, jalapeño cornbread, smoked cheddar, and Crème Fraîche. This was very good and the mix of flavors hid the gaminess of the bison.

The last dish of the night was unfortunately a fail.


Maybe it was a hint of things to come that I could NOT get a flattering picture of it no matter where I went. This was Refreshment Port’s Braised Beef Poutine (French fries with braised beef, Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs cheese sauce, cheese curds, and gherkin relish). First fail: the fries weren’t crispy! Second, I felt that the beef/sauce was way too salty.

The poutine was not an ideal way to end the first day but I was still happy from all the good food/drinks we had throughout the day. And nothing beats ending a Disney day snuggling into bed while watching Happily Ever After on the TV.

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You tried a lot of interesting dishes! Thanks for the write up. I love F&W. My favorites I’ve had are the braised beef from France and a piña colada funnel cake a couple years ago.

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Second Day of Gluttony:
We arrived at Epcot a little after 10am and decided to proceed clockwise this time around. We started off with the one dish from France we had previously skipped:


Braised short ribs in cabernet with roasted potatoes

We also tried out another cocktail from France: Cocktail au Gin et Aux Fraises (Rose d’Argent Strawberry Gin, cranberry juice, and DOLE Pineapple Juice). We were pleasantly surprised that this drink was just as tasty as the Frozen French Cosmo. The above Boeuf Bourguignon was also quite good. Again, a solid start to the day.

Next up was the UK Beer Cart. But instead of a beer, we tried the festival specialty, Strawberry Basil Cocktail (Beefeater Pink Strawberry Gin, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Seagram’s Ginger Ale, with strawberry and basil syrups).


Another tasty win! We were definitely starting out strong.

Canada was up next.

  • Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup served with a pretzel roll
  • Filet Mignon with mushrooms, Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs mashed potatoes, and Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs butter

Oldies but goodies. We were lucky and scored decent cuts of the filet mignon but your mileage may vary.


Hawaii’s Slow-roasted Pork Slider with sweet-and-sour DOLE Pineapple chutney and spicy mayonnaise. Tasty small bite.

We were thirsty by then so we swung by the Brew-Wing Lab for the Frozen Pomegranate & Raspberry Tea (Twinings Pomegranate & Raspberry Herbal Tea infused with orange ice cream molecules)

We then returned to Forest and Field to try the Burrata with seasonal fall fruit, spiced pecans, apple purée, and fig vinaigrette.


I intentionally tried this dish with all components together in the first bite but I still wasn’t wowed. To be fair, I’m not a huge fan of apple sauce or pears so I was already predisposed to not think highly of this dish. But the mix sounded interesting so I wanted to try it.

Time for some comfort food from China:

  • Baijiu Punch (Baijiu spirit, lychee syrup, sparkling water, and piña colada mix)
  • Shanghai Scallion Noodles with shrimp

The lychee flavor was noticeable in the drink and the noodles were good. Nothing terribly unique but they had a good chew and flavor. Afterwards, we met Mulan before proceeding onto the Refreshment Outpost.


Curried Chicken and South African Boerewors Sausage Stew with chickpeas and potatoes served in a bread bowl.

This dish was really good. The curry flavor was prominent (which I love). We also got the highly anticipated Chocolate Amarula Mousse Dome with white chocolate (otherwise called the Giant Zebra Dome :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:)


This was DELICIOUS. Highly recommended. In fact, I liked it a bit better than a Zebra Dome.

As we entered Germany, we saw a loooong line spilling out the doors of Karamell-Küche. In fact, lines were long everywhere that Saturday. Mobile order to the rescue! At least for Karamell-Küche. We obtained the following souvenirs to bring home.


Caramel Gingerbread Cookie Sandwich

I’ve had this in previous years and loved it but this year, it was a little too sweet/the ginger taste too mild. It wasn’t bad by any means but not as special as I remember.


Caramel Apple Butter Bar

I liked this (and the strawberry version) better than the plain Butter Bar. More interesting and the apple/strawberry flavors break up the inherent heaviness of a Butter Bar.


From Flavors of America, we had the Southwest-style All Beef Hot Dog wrapped in bacon with warm pinto beans, tomatoes, jalapeños, avocado crema, and queso fresco in a French roll (but minus the jalapeños at our request). This was okay but I still prefer my boring staple of sauerkraut on a hot dog with snap.

I now bitterly regret not getting the chocolate pudding cake with bourbon caramel. I was getting quite full so I skipped it. #regret

After shopping quite a bit at the Mitsukoshi Dept store, we returned to the Beach Club to drop off our souvenirs before catching a bus to DS for a progressive dinner.

First stop: eet by Maneet Chauhan.


Behold, the innocent sounding “Signature Chai”. There wasn’t a description on the posted menu board but I sort of assumed Chai Tea. When it was presented to us, I quickly realized it wasn’t Chai Tea. We took a sip and thought, Chai soda? It was quite unique tasting- a bit spicy and carbonated. Sort of like a less sweet cream soda with spices. We liked it a lot and kept drinking but then started feeling the effects of alcohol. Confused, we finally looked up the ingredients on the eet website. Mystery solved: vodka, vanilla vodka, ginger beer, and chai concentrate. We both really enjoyed this and recommend it if you like Indian spices and ginger beer.


We also tried the D.I.Y. Pani Puri which was comprised of crispy semolina puffs, black garbanzo beans, potatoes, tamarind, date chutney, and mint cilantro water. It came out in different components and you had to put it together in each little puff. DELICIOUS. We are looking forward to returning on another trip to try more of the dishes. But we’re a little worried about its viability/longevity. The restaurant is tucked away in a very out of the way spot. You walk right past it when coming in through security at the Marketplace but otherwise, it wouldn’t get much foot traffic.

Next up, dessert from Marketplace Snacks!


Goofy Peanut Grand Waffle Sundae (Vanilla and Chocolate Swirl Soft-serve, Hot Fudge, Peanuts, Sliced Bananas, Sliced Strawberries, mini M&M’S, and a Cherry on top)

I found this a little disappointing. The soft serve wasn’t very good and the waffle was bland.


Morimoto baby Ribs with Hoisin chili sauce and cilantro from Morimoto Street Food

I looooove these ribs and they are a must get when I’m munching my way around DS.


Taco Cone from 4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck

We chose Brisket Barbacoa. The taco cone was also laden with shredded lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, queso, cilantro, and a lime wedge. Very tasty.


Sweet Tea Shine (Sweet tea, fresh-squeezed lemon and moonshine) from Homecomin’
Another go-to of mine when I’m noshing my way around DS.

Gideon’s Bakehouse’s virtual queue was 3 hours long that evening. I still hadn’t been called back by the time we finished our last snack so we headed to the Cookie Bar of Summer House on the Lake instead. I’m glad I did because I discovered the best apple oatmeal cookie I’ve ever tasted. Great chewy texture and chunks of apple.

The Lemon Cookie was okay but the glaze on it was too sweet and took away from the lemon flavor.

I added these cookies to my edible souvenir haul and we headed back to the hotel. Only 1 more day of gluttony. :sob:

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Oooh- I think I previously had the piña colada funnel cake, too. I agree that it was delicious! And I also agree that the braised beef from France is consistently yummy.

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This is a great report. Thank you.

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On my third and final day of food adventure, I decided to catch a quick Skyliner ride over to the Riviera for some treats before Epcot. Especially as Epcot had a late opening that Sunday. Sadly, the holiday offerings at Le Petit Cafe weren’t available yet (although they were listed as starting on November 1st). I was however able to obtain the Apple Frangipane Tart (Puff Pastry, Fall Spice Frangipane, Apples, Whipped Mascarpone-Panna Cotta) from Primo Piatto.


This tart was one of the best desserts of the trip! The puff pastry was airy, the apples still had a bit of crunch, and the mascarpone-panna cotta was creamy and went well with the rest of the ingredients. It was just sweet enough without being overly so. Chef’s kiss indeed.

Our first stop in Epcot was the Japan booth.


Eel Temaki Sushi: Hand-held sushi with grilled eel, egg crumbles, cucumber, and pickled daikon radish served with eel sauce


Wagyu Temaki Sushi: Hand-held sushi with sweet and savory American Wagyu beef topped with Takana Japanese pickles and spicy mayo sauce

Both sushi rolls were yummy bites to start the day. Just the right amount of rice to eel/beef ratio and the toppings were good. However, I’m sort of confused why they didn’t form traditional handrolls with them (basically a cone). It would’ve made eating less messy.

Next stop: Greece

  • Lamb Gyro with shaved lettuce, tomato-cumber relish, and tzatziki on warm flatbread
  • Greek Melon Limenade with Kleos Mastiha Spirit, Aelred Melon Apéritif de Provence, Pearl Vodka, and lime sour mix

The lamb gyro was decent but not amazingly flavorful. The drink however packed a PUNCH. Very tasty and curiously strong.

Tangierine Cafe: Flavor of Medina

  • Grilled Kebabs with carrot-chickpea salad and garlic aïoli
  • Stone-baked Moroccan Bread with assorted dips
  • Sparkling Fig Cocktail: Kleiner Feigling Fig Liqueur, sparkling wine, and cranberry juice

Tangierine Cafe delivered some solid hits. I liked the carrot-chickpea salad despite the golden raisins (not listed on the official menu for some reason even though they were abundant in the salad). The salad as a whole went well with the kebab. We liked the 2 green dips more than the hummus (which was sort of bland). The fig cocktail was fine but I preferred the previous drink from Greece.

We then went back to Brew-Wing Lab because I decided to try the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sticky Wings.


The peanut butter taste was extremely light. In fact, the wings were missing the slather of PB sauce I had seen in other photos that was akin to a peanut satay sauce (usually served with Thai chicken skewers). I’m not sure if it was a good or bad thing that the thick PB sauce was missing. These wings were okay but not that memorable.

Earth Eats’ Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib with goat cheese polenta, puttanesca sauce, shaved pecorino, and petit herbs


These were good but I was getting quite full by then so I couldn’t stomach more than a bite or 2.

Last stop of the Epcot food crawl was at Festival Favorites:


Irish Milk Shake: Guiness Stout, Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur, and Vanilla Ice Cream

Even though I don’t like the taste of beer, I always like this milkshake. I guess all the other ingredients mute the beer taste? Or maybe ice cream just makes everything better. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I savored this last Food & Wine treat as we strolled back to the Boardwalk area. Before heading
to the airport, we made one more treat stop to bring home yet some more edible souvenirs.

The Cake Bake Shop’s Millionaire Cake (Three layers of Valrhona French chocolate cake filled with Callebaut Belgian chocolate ganache, homemade salted caramel sauce, vanilla buttercream, and homemade butter shortbread cookies)


This slice of cake, while big, was a whopping $23. The chocolate cake was moist and tasted like high quality chocolate. I liked that the shortbread cookies and caramel sauce made the chocolate cake more interesting by changing up the texture somewhat. But the buttercream was pretty nondescript/bland. In all, I do not think this was worth what I paid. The similarly large cake slices from Gideon’s Bakehouse were tastier and are only $9.


My friend opted to try the Raspberry Champagne Cake (Three layers of fluffy vanilla cake brushed with a French champagne simple syrup, filled with Raspberry Pixie Jam™ and fresh raspberries, frosted with champagne vanilla buttercream and topped with fresh raspberries).

My friend and her spouse also thought that their cake slice wasn’t bad but not worth the price. They reported that if you weren’t eating the raspberries, it tasted like plain vanilla cake and cream without any flavor.

Even though these cake slices weren’t winners, I still appreciated having them (and the treats from Karamell-Küche and the Cookie Bar at Summer House on the Lake) to bring home to savor my trip a little longer. I can’t wait to go back to Disney!

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Great trip report! You ate so many things! I am impressed. :blush:

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