The Disney World Swan and Dolphin Meals & Wine Traditional Is Upon Us — Here is How you can Plan Your Go to

Fall at Walt Disney World brings lots of pleasure from Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Social gathering at Magic Kingdom to the EPCOT Worldwide Meals and Wine Pageant taking up World Showcase. However simply outdoors of the gates of EPCOT is one other meals and wine competition that many Disney followers don’t learn about: the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Meals & Wine Traditional.

The 2-day meals competition is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this 12 months and can happen on Friday, November 15, and Saturday, November 16. “It’s an honor and privilege for us to have efficiently hosted the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Meals & Wine Traditional for 15 years. This milestone 12 months is a testomony to our continued dedication to making sure culinary excellence stays a serious a part of the visitor expertise right here,” says Greg Sherman, director of meals and beverage at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin.

The 2024 occasion could have the longest hours within the occasion’s historical past, beginning at 5:30 p.m. and lasting till 9:30 p.m. In one other first, the Meals & Wine Traditional could have an occasion record-setting 45 dishes to attempt to greater than 170 drinks to style from 85 cubicles arrange alongside the causeway between the Swan and the Dolphin, reaching right down to the resort’s sprawling pool space. What we love about this secret meals competition is that your entire food and drinks are included within the ticket price — so there’s no whipping out your pockets every time you wish to attempt one thing and there will likely be no fidgeting with meals or drink tickets, both.

The meals samples and cubicles are all a tribute to the resort’s on-site eating places and cooks. As well as, there are additionally bigger themed areas that showcase regional and worldwide delicacies, like a miniature Chinatown and an space devoted to recent Florida delicacies. 

“Our most necessary objective is to leverage our experience and creativity to the delight of our company and we’re immensely grateful to those that come from close to and much to expertise what we now have to supply annually,” says Sherman.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Meals & Wine Traditional’s culinary highlights

With extra dishes than ever to attempt, you’re going to wish to attend each nights of the Meals & Wine Traditional. And it’s necessary to notice that the menus for every meals station are totally different on Friday versus Saturday. 

“The culinary expertise is a key factor of that [Disney] magic. We showcase our innovation in meals and beverage with continuously evolving choices which give us a possibility to current new flavors, types, and approaches,” explains Sherman. “We empower our culinary group to convey forth concepts and ideas which can be sure to shock and delight our company.” 

On Friday, company can attempt among the improvements in meals similar to hand-crafted smoked bacon with braised greens, carrot purée, artisanal bread purée, and shaved vinegar heirloom apple from Smokin’ D’s BBQ. One other spotlight of the Friday menu is a brand new dish of hand-made harissa spiced lamb sausage that’s served alongside bulgar wheat, smoked yogurt, and fennel onion salad. 

Saturday brings an all-new menu to attempt at some stands. From The Fountain, you’ll be able to attempt a Reuben sandwich with pickled mustard seed, Russian dressing, house-cured cabbage, and marble rye bread. An all-new dish to the competition lineup for Saturday is the Korean “No Mayo” Salad, with rice noodles, bean sprouts, cucumber, kimchi, and cashews.

A number of the extra standard eating places on the resort complicated will host the identical menu on each nights of the competition. That is the case for Shula’s Steak Home, the place Roasted Linz Heritage Black Angus Beef Tenderloin served with marble potatoes, caramelized onion purée, horseradish, and béarnaise sauce will likely be served on Friday and Saturday. Todd English’s Bluezoo will even function the identical menu of Roasted Sablefish with black garlic miso butter and a Shaved Asparagus Salad with cured yellowfin tuna as its two dishes. Rosa Mexicano rounds out the eating places serving the identical menu. At this sales space, there will likely be tempura-fried cauliflower tacos, fish tacos, and the restaurant’s signature guacamole. 

Meals & Wine Traditional could have 4 themed meals areas that may serve the identical menu on Friday and Saturday. The primary is an ode to recent Florida dishes at For The Love of Florida. Right here, you’ll discover dishes like Seminole Pumpkin Fry Bread and Grilled Florida Oysters with a facet of house-made kumquat scorching sauce. On the Beer Backyard, scorching buffalo wings are all the time successful — together with boiled peanuts and miso butter-tossed Brussels sprouts. Adults will immediately be introduced again to childhood at Carnival Nook, the place corn canine bites and chipotle macaroni and cheese are on the menu. An all-new dessert zone, known as Pastry, will function candy delights like Caramel Banana Creme Brûlée, Mandarin Cream Beignets, and Chocolate Blackberry Choux Puff. 

All-you-care-to-drink wine and extra

As a part of your ticket to the Meals & Wine Traditional, you’re aware of making an attempt 170 totally different drinks from world wide. Whereas the competition principally focuses on wine from locations like Argentina, California, France, and Spain, you may also attempt craft brews on the beer backyard. Eagle-eyed competition goers will even discover that the Japan drink sales space serves sake, which is an actual deal with. 

Every drink is included in your ticket worth, so attempt as a lot as you would like. Simply you’ll want to by no means drink and drive. When you plan on partaking in alcohol, contemplate reserving a room on the resort for the night time, getting a rideshare to and from the resort, or having a delegated driver in your group. 

Discover ways to create cocktails and pair wine at interactive seminars

Yearly the Meals & Wine Traditional options instructional seminars the place company can discover ways to do every thing from mix wine to create craft cocktails. Every of the $85 per individual seminars is led by a member of the resort’s meals and beverage group. This 12 months, the occasion has three seminars, two of that are new. The primary new choice is known as Beer Right here!, the place company study and style among the craft beer made in Florida. The second choice is Salud! A Journey By means of Spain, which showcases wine from Spain, instructing folks about wine areas, varieties of wine, and find out how to pair wine. The final seminar of the weekend is a fan-favorite, Craft Cocktails. With this class, you’ll discover ways to make an ideal cocktail irrespective of the place you’re at, from discovering the very best elements to studying if one thing ought to be shaken or stirred. All the seminars happen on Saturday earlier than the outside portion of the Meals & Wine Traditional begins.

The place to remain

To remain straight within the coronary heart of the competition space, attempt getting a room at Disney’s Swan, Dolphin, or Swan Reserve. The three sister accommodations are a part of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin complicated. They’re owned by Marriott, so you probably have any model loyalty you will get your Marriott Bonvoy member perks right here. After reserving your ticket to the Meals & Wine Traditional, you’ll be able to lock in your room by calling (888)-828-8850 and mentioning the Meals & Wine charge for a reduction. 

Alternatively, you would keep at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn or Disney’s Yacht and Seaside Membership Resorts for Disney-owned properties which can be inside strolling distance of the Swan and Dolphin. All three of those Disney accommodations are thought-about deluxe resorts and as such, are priced at a premium charge. If you wish to keep at a Disney resort for much less, contemplate one of many reasonable resorts like Disney’s Port Orleans — Riverside or Disney’s Coronado Springs. When you keep at one of many reasonable resorts listed, you’ll need to search out your personal strategy to the Swan and Dolphin.

How you can get tickets

Tickets for the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Meals & Wine Traditional are at present on the market on-line. Tickets for Friday or Saturday night time alone are $195. When you plan on going to each nights of the competition, it can save you 15% by bundling your tickets for each nights, making the overall price $331.50 earlier than taxes and costs.

Whether or not you determine to go for one or each nights, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Meals & Wine Traditional is an effective way to spend a night. We love that each chunk of meals and sip of wine is included in the fee, too.