WDW Daily News

Walt Disney World Resort guests will join the 20-year celebration of Epcot International Food & Wine Festival presented by Chase from Sept. 25-Nov. 16, 2015, as they taste global and specialty cuisine, sip new beverages and eat to the beat of live entertainment.

The 53-day festival at Disney’s Epcot theme park will expand with new Future World marketplaces featuring fresh culinary concepts to pair with select wines, beers, cocktails and other beverages. ABC’s Emmy Award-winning lifestyle series, “The Chew,” will broadcast from the festival for the first time and will participate in two of the new Future World festival marketplaces: Sustainable Chew and Chew Lab. The festival is believed to be the largest food and wine event of its kind in the world.

Here are 20 fun facts about the 20^th festival celebration.

• Now 53 days long, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival began in 1996 with a first run of 30 days

• At the 2015 festival, a record 30 global marketplaces will include the new Sustainable Chew, Chew Lab and Artistry of Wine & Cheese marketplaces

• Producers of ABC’s “The Chew” will tape 5 episodes of the show before 5 festival guest audiences numbering in the hundreds for each show

• The 20^th festival will feature 32 new marketplace dishes and 75 new cocktails, beers, wines and ciders

• In 1998, 200 domestic and international wines were poured at the festival. This year, at marketplaces and premium events, more than 300 domestic and international wines will be offered

• More than 60 wineries and more than 40 breweries from around the world, including local craft beer operations, will be represented at festival marketplaces
• The 20^th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Cookbook by Pam Brandon and the Disney Chefs features 75 recipes from the global marketplaces that span the entire 20 years of the festival.

• 3 Rockin’ Burger Block Parties and 5 Party for the Senses grand tastings will take place at World Showplace during the festival run. In all, the festival will feature 193 premium events ranging from Signature Dinners and Food & Wine Pairings to Beverage Boot Camps and Festival Events in World Showcase pavilions

• Guest chefs and Disney chefs numbering 250 will present culinary demonstrations and will cook for festival events

• Celebrity chefs and visiting culinarians from 6 countries and 26 U.S. states will participate in the festival at culinary demos, book signings, and special tasting events and dinners

• Nearly 400 culinary demos, beverage and mixology seminars will take place during the 53-day festival

• During the new Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak festival scavenger hunt, guests can help Remy scour the park for the ingredients to make his signature dish, ratatouille. Along the way, they’ll find 12 Remy statuettes hidden in each of 11 countries of the World Showcase and at the African Outpost location. Guests can redeem the 12 stickers they’ve collected for one of 6 special pins at Port of Entry

• 159 Eat to the Beat concerts will be performed; 4 musical acts will appear for the first time at this year’s festival featuring entertainment ranging from rock and soul to funk and blues

• The Marketplace Discovery Passport was introduced in 2010 for the 15^th annual festival; today, the free passport will feature pages with all 30 festival marketplaces that guests can have stamped during their dine-around-the-world culinary adventure

• More than 1,200 fireworks will explode each night over World Showcase Lagoon in IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth nightime spectacular

• Chase is the festival’s presenting sponsor for the 4^th year; its Chase Lounge at American Adventure Parlor features guest amenities that include complimentary beverages and comfy furniture where guests can chill out and recharge

• The Ocean Spray Cranberry Bog, back for a fourth year, is filled with 900 pounds of the tart red fruit and is accessible to cast members who wear waterproof waders

• 100,000-plus desserts, including the Chocolate Cherry Explosion and Strawberry Basil Champagne “Toast” at Desserts & Champagne Marketplace, are expected to be served

• In 1997, during the festival’s second year, festival planners introduced the first Grand Tasting culinary extravaganza; in 2002, the event was renamed and moved to World Showplace as Party for the Senses, now featuring up to 50 food and beverage stations and breathtaking entertainment by Cirque du Soleil’s “La Nouba” performers

• At the new Artistry of Wine & Cheese, each keg of premium wine on tap will hold the equivalent of 26 wine bottles, eliminating bottle, cork, cardboard and paper waste from labels. Recycling and repurposing of glass bottles and corks from other marketplace locations will be part of the 20^th-year festival story

The 20^th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival promises a tasting celebration of epic proportion Sept. 25-Nov. 16, 2015, with more global marketplaces than ever and a first-time culinary collaboration with ABC’s Emmy-Award winning lifestyle series “The Chew.”

For the first time in the festival’s 20-year history, guests can sip and sample at marketplace experiences — now numbering more than 30 – in the park’s new Future World tasting areas. Festival guests also can see “The Chew” tape five shows before an Epcot audience Oct. 7-9 to air Oct. 12-16.

Disney chefs and festival programmers are whipping up a feast of surprises to celebrate the 20^th annual festival in style. New wine tastings, lively parties and other culinary experiences built around the 20-year milestone will unite loyal festival fans and first-timers.

During the 53-day festival, presented by Chase and recognized by the Travel Channel as one of America’s top food festivals, Epcot will brim with epicurean discoveries:

• The new Artistry of Wine & Cheese area will feature the Cheese Studio and Wine Studio marketplaces where premium wines will be available on tap and cheeses will be served on an “artist’s palette” as part of a wine-and-cheese pairing.

• At the new Next Eats area near the Epcot Character Spot, Sustainable Chew Marketplace will offer guests a taste of delicious dishes inspired by “The Chew” co-hosts. At Chew Lab, food science meets the hottest culinary tech trends with dishes like the Liquid Nitro Chocolate Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey Caramel.

• New marketplace dishes like the Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp (Australia), Pepper Bacon Mac ‘N Cheese (Farm Fresh) and Seared Venison Loin with Wild Mushroom Marsala Sauce (New Zealand) will tempt taste buds. The Dominican Republic Marketplace will return with fresh flair and an all-new menu with dishes that include Pescado con Coco – seared grouper, pigeon peas with rice and coconut sauce.

• With a 20^th-year nod to guests’ favorite dining traditions, Disney chefs will bring back popular marketplace dishes like the New England Lobster Roll (Hops & Barley) and classic favorites like the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup.

• Two 20^th-year celebratory wines were created just for this fall’s festival: a Napa Valley Festival Chardonnay and a Paso Robles Festival Cabernet Sauvignon. Guests can taste both wines at the Chew Lab marketplace or buy a bottle at the Festival Center Wine Shop.

• A Tasting Sampler package gives guests the chance to try a variety of marketplace sips and nibbles, enjoy priority seating at an Eat to the Beat concert and receive a limited-release 20^th-year festival pin. The Premium Package, available Monday-through-Thursday, includes a festival-themed Magic Band, access to exclusive marketplace areas, a culinary demo or beverage seminar, an IllumiNations Sparkling Dessert Party and other perks.

• New premium events, including the “Rockin’ Burger Block Party” will offer a variety of tasting opportunities. The iconic Party for the Senses grand tasting will sizzle with on-stage cooking and beverage stations plus live entertainment each Saturday in October culminating in the first-ever Oct. 31 “Yelloween Masquerade” party.

• Remy, the diminutive but determined star of Disney’s “Ratatouille,” will cook up family fun with Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak scavenger hunt.

• Nightly Eat to the Beat concerts kick off Sept. 25-27 with singer-songwriter David Cook. Four new acts in the concert series lineup – Tiffany, Everclear, Maxi Priest and Chaka Khan – will belt out chart-topping tunes. Other popular acts, including Wilson Phillips, Smash Mouth, The Pointer Sisters, Jo Dee Messina, Boyz II Men and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, will return to rock the America Gardens Theatre stage.

• More than 250 chefs, including Disney chefs, and culinary stars from across the country will help celebrate the festival’s 20^th Cat Cora, Robert Irvine, Jamie Deen, Rock Harper, Buddy Valastro and other top chefs will share their culinary know-how. Renowned chef and cookbook author John Ash, who participated in the inaugural festival in 1996, will return to celebrate the 20^th year.

• At the Chase Lounge at American Adventure, anyone with a Chase debit or credit card will find complimentary refreshments and interactive fun.

• In Future World, the Ocean Spray Cranberry Bog returns for a fourth year to celebrate the cranberry’s rich agricultural heritage.

Included with Epcot Admission:

Back to Basics series, special book signings, Eat to the Beat concerts, cultural adventures, Marketplace Discovery Passport and attractions and park entertainment are included with regular Epcot admission.

Special Programming by Reservation:

The Party for the Senses grand tasting events, and other special beverage and culinary programs require reservations and separate event admission. Guests can call 407/WDW-FEST (939-3378) and get details at EpcotFoodFestival.com.