The Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic Is BACK in Disney World — Check It Out With Us!

One of the priciest Disney World food events is BACK, but is it worth the ticket cost?

We’ve seen posh experiences at Disney that help you “plus up” your vacation but this one might be one of our favorites. Since EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival is starting to wind down for the season where do you go to really get your foodie heart all that it desires? Your answer is found right next door.

It’s time once again for Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic! This annual event features food and beverage booths from dozens of vendors that include restaurants from the Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve hotels, local beverages, and non-stop live entertainment.

This year’s event is held on November 10th and 11th, 2023, and featured over 100 food and beverage booths with some offering multiple dishes and drink options. Tickets for the main event start at $185 per person with options to upgrade your experience with Educational Seminars, The Grand Tasting with a master sommelier-led experience and reception, and a VIP Champagne and Dessert Party. This event is held in the causeway between the Disney Swan and Dolphin Resorts and is a free-flowing, lively atmosphere allowing visitors to taste and sample from 5:30PM to 9PM.

Once you’ve arrived and checked in for the experience, you’ll be given a (plastic) glass for drinks, and samplings of food can be picked up as you make your rounds to visit the booths and talk with the chefs and vendors.

You’ll also be given a map that serves as a guide to tell you more about the lay of the land, and gives a brief introduction to the entertainers you’ll hear throughout the night…

…and talk about this year’s supported local charity — Friends of Fisher House Orlando which helps to serve veterans and their families that need assistance.

After you’ve grabbed your goodies it’s time to hit the food booths! Here’s a quick peek at a few offerings that really stood out to us!

The Seminole Pumpkin Fry Bread was one of our favorites from the For The Love of Florida booth.

This bread is locally sourced with a pumpkin spice flavoring to an almost beinget consistency. It was warm and chewy but airy and came with a creamy caramel sauce drizzled on top of it. We loved the nod to traditional Native American fry bread!

The next one we wanted to point out was a simple sushi roll. Kimonos brought out their namesake Kimono Roll to sample for their booth.

It’s made with ahi tuna, yellowtail, sustainable salmon, and dairy-free wasabi mayonnaise. This roll was delicious and left us wanting more… so we may have grabbed seconds. But in all seriousness, the chefs really knew which flavors to bring together for this roll so they could complement each other in a way that was impactful but not overbearing.

Il Mulino brought out their Gorgonzola Cheese Filled Agnolotti and we felt we were treated. It’s made with spiced pear, walnuts, nasturtium, ‘nduja vinaigrette.

This was a dish that made us wish we’d started the night with. The creamy cheese stuffed Inside the agnolotti burst out of the casing when it was cut into and the flavor crafted between the spices on the outside of it gave it a mild heat that reminded us of a chorizo spice.

One of the newest restaurants at the Dolphin Hotel brought their A-game out as well. We sampled the chips, salsa, and guac dip from Rosa Mexicana.

This was a great portion to try if you’ve been curious about the new restaurant and haven’t had a chance to stop by for a meal there yet. The chips were crisp and the salsa had a mild heat to it but the showstopper here was the guacamole! If we could have sat at this booth all night we probably would have. This booth also had tacos so if you stuck around to try everything you practically had a whole meal in front of you!

We eventually pulled ourselves away from the tacos and guac in search of other food offerings and found our way into Chinatown.

This section featured samplings from dumplings to bao buns and we could have easily spent the entire night here and been completely happy. We tried the Gua Bao which was made of sweet and spicy glazed pork belly, pickled cucumber, red chile, toasted sesame, and hot sauce.

We’re not sure we ever tasted more tender pork belly in our lives. The sweet glaze over the meat gave it just the right amount of extra flavor to really bring the pork belly to full effect and the soft heat from the red chile and hot sauce tapered the sweetness down just enough. The bao bun was thick and fluffy and almost melted as you bit into it like a marshmallow.

We couldn’t possibly wind down our night without a beverage so we stopped by Seltzer Beach for a lighter drink.

We chose to try out the Waterbird seltzer and we’re glad we stopped by.

We opted for the Tequila Pineapple flavor as was recommended to us by the vendor and it was light, fizzy drink with more of a pineapple soda feel to it. We didn’t get a strong tequila taste from it but the pineapple hit the spot for us so we didn’t miss it too much.

Over in the Beer Garten, we opted to try out some Hurricane Reef. 

This IPA was light but satisfying and didn’t leave a strong aftertaste in our mouths. It was smooth and had an almost oceanic taste that really intrigued us.

Since we’d tried so many booths out throughout the night we decided it was time to sit back a bit and take in the nightly atmosphere. The crowds were fairly steady throughout the night despite the pricer ticket cost.

The bands played non-stop so as one was leaving to take a break, another performer was setting up to take over in just minutes. There were actually different stages for different genres of music depending on your taste with a little bit of country…

… and a bit more lively Motown vibes closer to the fountain outside of the Dolphin.

It was almost like attending a real festival concert with so much going on all night to keep you well-fed, spirits high, and great music to keep the vibe going through the night.

Overall it was a great experience that might initially give you sticker shock. However, if you can get past the ticket price and allow yourself to really enjoy the atmosphere, entertainment, and the chance to sample multiple restaurants and drink options until your heart’s content, it can be a great experience to try out!

Be sure to stay tuned with us for more Disney news and updates at AllEars.net!

Swan vs. Dolphin Hotel In Disney World

What’s your favorite restaurant from Disney’s Swan or Dolphin Resort? Tell us in the comments below!

Disclosure: We were invited by Disney to attend this year’s Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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