EPCOT Food & Wine Festival 2024: Pickle Milkshakes, Aloe Blacc, and Fireworks

It’s that time of year again!

My husband David and I love the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival, which runs this year from August 29 to November 23. The festival highlights delicious bites inspired by the many countries and other destinations celebrated at EPCOT, including India, Germany, Morocco, France, and many more. There are tons of incredible food and drink options all over the park, and far beyond the 11-country World Showcase.

As you might know from our previous EPCOT excursions, we love challenging ourselves with Emile’s Fromage Montage in particular—this is a sampling of cheese dishes from 10 different marketplaces. For each one you pick up, you get a stamp in your Food and Wine Festival Passport. Once you collect five stamps, you can take your passport to the Shimmering Sips outpost to claim a prize.

If you’ve been to EPCOT or would love to go one day, you may have preferences about which country should start your ’round-the-world tour: Mexico or Canada. Dave and I used to start in Mexico and work our way clockwise, indulging in our favorite EPCOT pastime of Drinking Around the World. But as a confirmed lover of poutine—and as a person with no self-control when I know it’s close by—we changed the order up in the past couple of years and started visiting Canada first, then going counter-clockwise.

And then we got bored with that!

So, we’ve been getting more creative and finding ways to burn more calories while eating and drinking our weight in treats. During an earlier trip this summer for the Flower and Garden Festival, we went in order of the Olympics Parade of Nations, which I had written a comprehensive guide to a couple weeks before.

We changed up the order this time in a way that had us criss-crossing the park in a fun order of countries’ current celebrations of independence or identity. So for example, we went to the United States pavilion before the Mexican one, as the US celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence from 1776, while Mexico celebrates independence from Spain as of 1810. Obviously defining each country’s formation or identity is not something either of us is equipped to do—we know it’s a complicated subject for many, many reasons—so I just want to emphasize that this was planned for a fun day at EPCOT, and not for a textbook!

Plus we bounced around a lot.

And now, here are just a few highlights from our fabulous 2024 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival experience—enjoy!

Macatizers

Did I say we bounced around a lot? Our first stop wasn’t even at one of EPCOT’s countries because we were so excited by the different types of mac and cheese at Macatizers!

I got the Truffle Macaroni and Cheese, while Dave got the Cheesesteak Macaroni and Cheese, which included shaved beef, peppers, onions, and bread crumbs. And we got our first stamps in the Festival Passport! This is the first time in a while that I skipped the poutine and went for something else first thing in the morning.

Brew-Wing Lab at The Odyssey

Another stop that wasn’t a country destination! We were both super excited by two items in particular on this menu: the Pickle Milkshake and the Unnecessarily Spicy Yet Extremely Tasty Carolina Reaper Pepper Curry Wings (with creamy cucumber raita).

And both were amazing! I had no idea what to expect of the milkshake—I love, love, love pickles and yes, I do drink pickle juice because I’m disgusting, but I couldn’t picture what that would look like as a milkshake. It actually ended up being like a nice vanilla or buttercream base with a little dill flavoring that was delightful and not overpowering in the slightest. If you’re put off by the idea of a pickle milkshake because you’re picturing something briny, don’t worry and just go for it!

The hot wings were slathered in sauce, and Dave said he’d put the spice level at about 7.5 if we’re going by Hot Ones ratings: manageable if you like hot sauce in general, and absolutely delicious if you’re a collector of hot sauce like we are!

We also shared a Palm Paradise Hefeweizen by 3 Daughters Brewing—always a solid choice, and I love celebrating breweries from my hometown of St. Petersburg.

Japan

Finally, our first country stop of the day! Japan is the most “dangerous” spot for me in EPCOT simply because I unashamedly love manga, anime, and kawaii stuff, and tend to go a little overboard in the gift store there. So we decided to do a quick pass-through before coming back again later to watch the drummers and buy some goodies.

We each got sake—Dave went for junmai and I went for nigori—and sat for a little while in the garden.

Spain

We moved along to the Spain outpost (located between Germany and Italy in the World Showcase) and picked up the Charcuterie, which included jamón, manchego, and pan con tomate. And that earned us our next stamp in the passport!

United Kingdom

Next up: a quick stop at the Rose and Crown in the United Kingdom section of the World Showcase for a Smithwicks!

United States

We were pretty full and had to slow our pace a bit by the time we got to the American Adventure section. So we looked around at the art, gardens, and gifts, and I picked up a book I’m very excited about: Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History.

You can see a few beautiful little planters in this spot in honor of Disney’s Heroes Work Here program, which is a company-wide initiative to hire, train, and support returning veterans.

Australia

I wasn’t hungry again yet, so Dave was the only one who ate at the Australia spot: he got the Grilled Bushberry Spiced Shrimp Skewer with sweet and sour vegetables and coconut chili sauce.

We shared a Bulletin Place Sauvignon Blanc, and then popped over to the miniature town and trains at the Germany World Showcase section. You can see little Food and Wine Festival banners set up in the town center!

France

Now to France! We usually get the champagne flight here because it’s light and fun, and a good complement to all the cheese we eat throughout the day. While in line, I noticed a Hidden Mickey in the pots and pans hanging in the shop, which totally made my day! I also picked up a notebook that I thought was a cookbook at first (it does include a few recipes in the first pages), and then decided it would be a fabulous spot to write out recipes of my own or that I’ve stumbled upon and loved.

Mexico

The Mexico pavilion of the World Showcase was the busiest I’ve ever seen it, with lines wrapped around themselves and snaking out of the entrance. We usually like to grab a tequila and hot sauce here, but we opted instead to go to the food stall outside of the main building and get the Pan de Elote, which is a traditional Mexican cornbread topped with chocolate sauce and queso fresco.

I could have eaten five of them, oh my gosh.

Norway

I adore the Norway section of the EPCOT World Showcase. It’s my favorite spot after Japan, and one of these days, I will eventually get to the actual country! In the meantime though, I can enjoy just a snippet in Orlando. We got a Norsk Jordbaerkrem Ale (strawberry cream), which was very light and refreshing.

Greece

I think this was one of Dave’s favorite stops! You can find the Greece section between Japan and Morocco in the World Showcase—and if you want a delicious stamp for your Festival Passport, you’ve got to get the Griddled Cheese with pistachios and honey. We ate it up quicker than anything else on our list, and enjoyed a nice little Zoe Rosé.

Brazil

Another favorite of ours: we love the Pão de Quiejo (Brazilian cheese bread) and always make sure to add this stop to our list. Plus it’s another stamp for the passport!

Belgium

We were pretty full again from all the cheese by the time we made our way to Belgium, but we weren’t so full we couldn’t get drinks! We opted for the Beer Flight, which included:

• Brouwerij St Bernardus Dragon Wit (I liked this one the best)
• Brouwerij Verhaeghe Vichte Duchesse Red—Sweet & Tart Cherry Ale
• Brouwerij Van Steenberge Golden Draak Tripel Ale (Dave liked this one in particular)

Canada

We made it to my beloved poutine! I know, I’ve mentioned it like three times already—but I lived in Montreal for a few months and developed a deep and abiding love of it, okay?

So of course I picked that up, and Dave opted for the Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup, served with a pretzel roll. So, so good.

Germany

We were once again too full to get food or drinks, but we did stop into the Christmas ornament store, where I got a little pickle jar ornament. And I got to spend some more time at the miniature train village!

Italy

Next stop: Italy! I just love this section of the World Showcase so much—every time we drop in here, I have to spend some time just enjoying the atmosphere and hanging out by the fountain.

We picked up a Disney-Exclusive Chianti (soft with notes of cherry, plum, and spice) as well as a San Angelo Pinot Grigio (dry with notes of pear, peach, and honey).

India

Oh, I was so bummed! Dave and I love Indian food and while I was incredibly full from all the other bites we’d had throughout the day, I was determined to try the Potato and Pea Samosa with coriander-lime cream, while Dave wanted the Chicken Tikka Masala with fennel-spiced yogurt and naan. Sadly, they ran out of food right as we got there, and had to temporarily close ordering until they could restock. Next time!

China

Almost to the end! At the China section of the EPCOT World Showcase, Dave got the Pan-fried Chicken Dumplings with house-made sweet-and-spicy sauce, and I picked up the Honey Jasmine Lager from Orange Blossom Brewing Company. I adore that drink—it’s one of my favorite ones in the whole park!

We also stopped into the gift store and picked up a few little goodies, including a capybara blind box figurine—this is a series of toys where you don’t know exactly which cute little capybara you’ll get until you unbox it. I got the one with the pelican unsuccessfully trying to fit the capybara in its beak!

Morocco

We were a little too late to get food and drinks by the time we arrived at the Morocco section, but the gift shop was still open, so I bought a little container of harissa sauce. Still counts! This part of the World Showcase is gorgeous lit up at night.

Eat to the Beat: Aloe Blacc!

We absolutely love the Eat to the Beat Concert Series at EPCOT—during previous trips, we’ve been able to see The Orchestra (former members of ELO), Hanson, The Pointer Sisters, and others. We picked this weekend to go to the International Food and Wine Festival because Aloe Blacc was playing!

It was a short set but absolutely the highlight of our day at EPCOT—he played I Need a Dollar, The Man, Wake Me Up, and others. He’s such a fantastic performer, and we love how positive and uplifting he is—and although he’d already played two sets earlier in the day in the insane Florida heat and humidity, he and his band had insane energy. You’ve got to see him if you can!

Fireworks and the Boardwalk

Of course you can’t end a fun-filled day at the Disney Parks without fireworks!

About 20 minutes before the show, we found a spot upstairs at the Teppan Edo restaurant in the Japan pavilion (where we already were for end-of-day shopping!), which gave us an incredible view while being away from the massive crowds.

Once the fireworks were over, we headed back to the Swan, which is our favorite place to stay while visiting EPCOT, and enjoyed the view of the Boardwalk lit up at night. It’s so dreamy—I wish we could live there!

Over to you, travelers and friends! Have you had the chance to go to any of EPCOT’s amazing festivals? Share your Disney Parks experiences and tips with the Frayed Passport community!

About the Author

As the editor-in-chief of Frayed Passport, my goal is to help you build a lifestyle that lets you travel the world whenever you want and however long you want, and not worry about where your next paycheck will come from. I've been to 20+ countries and five continents, lived for years as a full-time digital nomad, and have worked completely remotely since 2015. If you would like to share your story with our community, or partner with Frayed Passport, get in touch with me at sarah@frayedpassport.com!

All images and videos by Sarah Stone, Frayed Passport.