Once a year — usually without planning it, and always with some amount of caloric regret — we take the kids to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. This year, it had been a few years since our last visit. Life happened. Work, school, the general vortex of family schedules. But this past weekend, the stars aligned. Or rather, my wife had a “women’s night” planned, so I seized the moment and bought festival tickets for me and the kids.
As it turns out, her event was suddenly upgraded mid-commute to a “couples welcome” party. She called to say I should come back so we could attend together. But by then, the kids and I were already halfway to Epcot, stomachs growling, smiles forming. I looked back at them, and they looked at me — just long enough to make sure I wasn’t going to cancel. I wasn’t. We were all in.
The Food & Wine Festival at Epcot, if you’ve never been, is basically a marathon of small plates and big decisions. There are 30+ “countries” or booths representing global cuisines — too many to try in one day, but we give it a valiant effort every time. It’s also a tradition we’ve done since the kids were young, and there’s something charming (and mildly chaotic) about watching them light up at the idea of choosing a bite from each new place. It’s like trick-or-treating, but for foodies.
This year, I went hard.
Here’s just a taste:
- Adobo yuca fries with garlic-cilantro aioli
- A trio of international dumplings, gyros, lamb chops, and beef short rib
- Schinkennudeln (a creamy German noodle casserole I still can’t pronounce)
- Hawaiian rice bowl with Spam and spicy mayo
- Multiple types of mashed potatoes. Multiple.
Simran made this video!
Add to that a grapefruit mule cocktail and some dessert stops I’ve tried to forget, and I clocked in somewhere around 5,100 to 5,700 calories — in a single afternoon and evening.
This wasn’t mindless bingeing. This was joyful, intentional, communal gluttony. A once-a-year, no-guilt experience with my kids. They each got to pick what they wanted from the booths we visited — one bite here, one shared dish there. No pressure to finish, no rules beyond “try something new.”
We rarely go on rides during these trips. Epcot is beautiful to just walk through — we wander from country to country, pausing to eat, talk, and people-watch. Once we hit peak fullness (around country #14, I think), we took a break to walk it off. A few rides, some more wandering, and then — naturally — more food. I told myself I was burning some of the calories with all the walking. (And with hoisting my 10-year-old over my shoulder at the end of the night when his legs gave out. That alone felt like a 30-minute Peloton class.)
For my boys, it was their first time at the festival. Initially, they were not excited. But the moment they realized this was a passport-stamping, country-hopping, global food adventure, they were sold. Seeing that spark in them — the joy of discovering something new — reminded me why we do this.
We closed the night with the Luminosity show — music, fireworks, lights dancing on the water. We were sun-tired, food-stuffed, and just happy. And while I’ll be intermittent fasting and living off hard-boiled eggs and gym reps for the next few weeks, it was absolutely worth it.
I hope, one day, the kids remember these nights. Not just the food, or the park, but the way it felt — the freedom, the laughter, the pure fun of being together. That’s the real feast.
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