Epcot’s Party for the Senses

Last Saturday my husband and I had the honor of attending both the International Food & Wine Festival and the Party for the Senses (scroll down to find the party information) at Epcot. This is the third time we have attended the Food & Wine Festival and our first Party for the Senses. I love the Food and Wine Festival for it’s educational value and the opportunity to try authentic food from countries that are not always represented throughout World Showcase. This year we didn’t eat as we strolled through the festival though. We didn’t eat for 2 reasons-first, we were warned to not eat before the Party for the Senses and second, I have never seen Epcot as crowded as it was on Saturday. I really wanted the cheddar cheese soup from Canada but the wait to get the soup was an hour long and I just wasn’t willing to wait.

We encountered a lot of long lines on Saturday. When we approached Test Track the stand-by wait time was 160 minutes!! We went single rider and that took an hour. Even fastpass holders were being warned that the wait was going to be 30-45 minutes. I’m happy for Disney that business was good on this first cool Saturday of the fall but for those of us spoiled Floridians that never wait for more than 30 minutes for any attraction, we had to practice patience or go without.

After a quick change into our party clothes we headed back to the party which is held in what was the Millennium Pavilion-located between Canada and the U.K. We waited in an ante-room area until the MC announced that the party was beginning and the curtains opened. The musical ensemble was playing wonderful music as people literally ran to get the best tables, not every table had chairs-there were also standing tables. It was a little crazy but @modernmami (Melanie) and her husband Justin successfully secured a table for themselves, Ron & I and @Shash (Shari) and her husband. We took turns holding the table and getting food so that we would have a home base for the evening. We also got to catch up with other #MagicalMoms @MommyMusings (Stefanie), @DrMommy (Daisy), @themeparkmom (Leigh), @Military_Mom (Shellie) and @LauraSpencerOne from Disney.

The pavilion was decorated beautifully and was well organized in stations marked by geometric shapes that matched the menu we were given when we checked in for the event. Some of my favorites were: Citrus BBQ Pork Ribs from Paradiso 37 in Downtown Disney, the Roasted Beef Tenderloin “Diane” from Le Bistro Restaurant in Lighthouse Point, FL, the Cane Braised Short Ribs with Horseradish Cream from Herbsaint Restaurant on New Orleans and the Hot and Hot Creamy Shrimp with Grits from Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, Alabama. I did try a few things that I did not enjoy but it was fun being able to taste test new items. Since Ron & I do not drink alcohol we downed 2 bottles of Evian Spring Water during the course of the party.

I haven’t mentioned dessert yet. My favorites were all chocolate! The Chocolate Bouchon from Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club were to die for! The assortment of chocolates in the mini-martini glasses from Culinary Source were delish also.

I always recommend that anyone who visits Walt Disney World in the fall check out the International Food and Wine Festival. I will now add that, if you can afford the additional ticket price-and you love good food-check out attending one of the Parties for the Senses.
I want to thank Leanne Jakubowski and Laura Spencer from Walt Disney World’s Social Media Dept. for inviting us to be their guests for these great events.