Epcot Food & Wine Festival photos

The 13th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival started on Friday and will run through Nov. 9. This year’s theme is Cities in Wonderland. I’m not sure how this fits in other than the fact that they have music and displays from Alice In Wonderland at the front of the park, and the food and wine stands now have specific cities listed instead of just countries.

A closer look at the “table” in the front area of the park. I think it would be cooler if they had topiary Alice In Wonderland characters here.

The former Wonders of Life Pavillion is again housing the Festival Center.

Inside is a wine gift shop, another gift shop and demonstrations and wine tastings.

The San Juan, Puerto Rico stand. There are more than 25 international marketplaces serving tapas-sized portions of regional specialties at $2 to $5 each, and recommended wines and beers.

They have these new Food & Wine gift cards available. You can put any amount on them and when you pay, your receipt shows how much money you have left. It also includes a wrist band which makes it easier to carry and you don’t have to fumble with getting money out at each stand.

A look at some of the offerings at Marrakesh Morocco.

This really has nothing to do with the Festival, but here’s a daytime close-up look at the recently refurbished display lights on the Earth globe they use for the Illuminations fireworks show. You’ll see some pictures of it in use during the show further down.

I’m not sure how new this act is, but it’s the first time I’ve seen these World Showcase Players performing in Italy.

One of two expanded areas. This one features Australia and a wine tasting.

Sheena Easton performed as part of the Eat To The Beat series the day I was there.

The other expanded area was Louisiana and featured this display, a band stage and more.

The refurbished globe wasn’t working perfectly the first night I was there. Here you can see a computer screen across the lights instead of the scene that was supposed to show.

But after being dark for a short while, it started working and looked good. The picture doesn’t do it justice.

I’ll end the blog entry with one final photo of the globe and a video on how to make the very popular Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup available at the Montreal, Canada stand.

For more about the Food & Wine Festival, visit www.disneyworld.com/food.