Last weekend, I traveled to Walt Disney World with my husband for a reunion of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel and the Expedition Everest 5K.  Luckily for us, the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival was occurring at the same time, and we were able to attend Saturday morning, before the race.

This year, the food and wine festival is scheduled for September 25th - November 8th, and takes place in the World Showcase at Epcot.  While there are a variety of special events that require advance reservations, including wine and food pairing classes, tequila tastings, and cheese seminars, the festival can also be enjoyed by just walking around the World Showcase, sampling favorites from over 25 country-specific booths.

Because we were racing later in the day, we skipped the wine pairings, and instead just sampled food.  Each booth has its own selections, with individual registers and kitchens.  The samples average about $4 for food, but if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, it's a fabulous deal, because you can use your snack credits.

We spent about 2 - 3 hours walking around and sampling, which is probably about average.  If you do plan to attend, consider picking up a special themed gift card from one of the kiosks - you can wear it on your wrist, and it saves lots of time because you won't have to pay cash at each booth.

To learn more about the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, visit the website.

Although I generally post finance tips for vacation planning, I'm an avid Walt Disney World fan and am a member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel.  On occasion, I'll be posting articles about Walt Disney World, and may even write a personal finance/Disney article.