Dining and Event News

In 2016, guests were presented with a new opportunity at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival called the "Mix It, Make It, Celebrate It" demo series. The event took place in Epcot's Festival Center and had a somewhat small maximum occupancy of around 50 guests. In it's inaugural year, the cost was $49 per person. While Disney has only "officially" released a skosh of information about the 2017 festival, I talked to a couple chefs that have told me they were doing "interactive demos" at the upcoming ... ( read more ... )

Information about Epcot's 22nd International Food and Wine Festival is starting to trickle in. One of the first pieces of information that we tend to see (over last few years anyway) is the Eat to the Beat concert schedule, and this year is no exception. The full line up of artists has been posted. Just click on over to our "Epcot Food & Wine :: 2017 Eat To The Beat Concert Series Schedule" page to see all the bands and their dates. The list is fun for us, because it always seems to prompt the ... ( read more ... )

Show times are listed as being 5:30, 6:45, and 8:00pm, daily. The Eat to the Beat concert series features three nightly performances from popular bands at the American Garden Theater which is located in the American Pavilion at the back of Epcot. While the concerts are free with your admission to Epcot, there are also Eat to the Beat Concert Dinner Packages available, which guarantee a seat for one of the concerts. (Entertainment subject to change without notice.)Don't know who some of these band are? ... ( read more ... )

It's Real!!!! The long running Illuminations Sparkling Dessert Party has been replaced with a brand new Frozen Ever After Dessert Party at Epcot World Showcase! We've got all the important details posted below, but the basics are…Frozen themed dessert and fireworks in the same location as the previous dessert party. Close to the water's edge in a large open air setting (so you can see the fireworks). There will still be alcohol… yay!!! This time in the form of cocktails. The "Melted Snow" is ... ( read more ... )

In 2011 the James Beard Foundation awarded José Andres their "Outstanding Chef" award and in 2018, guests visiting Disney Springs will get to find out what an outstanding chef's menu tastes like for themselves. With five other locations already open in the US and Mexico, "Jaleo" offers an extensive menu that reflects the rich regional diversity of traditional and contemporary Spanish cuisine. Noted Spanish designer Juli Capella will be designing the multi-level space that (smartly) will also feature ... ( read more ... )

It's hard to believe there are just two more Seven Seas Food Festival Days left in 2017! I have a sneaking suspicion that SeaWorld's new Seven Seas Food Festival will be back in 2018, but why wait? The weather on Saturday and Sunday (May 13th & 14th, 2017) is going to be great and the Latin Dance Party atmosphere for the final weekend is going to be in high gear! Pick up a Sampling Lanyard (a really good value... honest), and get one more round of your favorite bites, or try some new foodie bites ... ( read more ... )

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, the park's "Festival Center" is open and filled with presentations, displays and festival merchandise. The large air-conditioned space also happens to be a great place to escape the Florida sun, if you are on that side of the park. While many of the presentations are flower and nature themed, I managed to find a weekend where everything was a bit more geared to gardens and food! I spent a couple of hours strolling around ... ( read more ... )

While it's true that two of SeaWorld Orlando's long-standing festivals (Bands, Brew, & BBQ and Viva Latina) have merged into a new, much larger "Seven Seas Food Festival", a few remnants of what once was, still remain. The immensely popular Viva Latina Festival at SeaWorld is (more or less) still going strong and is now attached to the tail end of the Seven Seas Festival. The "featured food theme" area that began as BBQ, has been swapped out with food favorites taking inspiration from Latin American ... ( read more ... )