Review: Epcot vs. SeaWorld food and drink festivals

2020 Taste Your Way Around the World food and wine festival at Epcot.
2020 Taste Your Way Around the World food and wine festival at Epcot. /
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Executive Chef Peter Glander (CQ) presents a recipe from Ruby Tuesday’s new menu Monday, Aug. 23, 2010, at Ruby Tuesday’s Center of Culinary Excellence in Maryville. The salmon cakes, grilled asparagus, and mashed potato dish is part of the restaurant chain’s new “Fresh Taste, Fresh Place” concept.Rubytuesday03 13634 Pe
Executive Chef Peter Glander (CQ) presents a recipe from Ruby Tuesday’s new menu Monday, Aug. 23, 2010, at Ruby Tuesday’s Center of Culinary Excellence in Maryville. The salmon cakes, grilled asparagus, and mashed potato dish is part of the restaurant chain’s new “Fresh Taste, Fresh Place” concept.Rubytuesday03 13634 Pe /

If you are going to attend a festival that involves food and beer or wine, it helps to present your offerings to your guests in a simple way.

Epcot 

Traditionally there is a small booklet you can get that not only names each kiosk in order but also tells you what is on the menu. To be honest, I forgot to get one this time around which I could kick myself for. Typically, each kiosk has a menu in the front of the venue, and in addition to the menu items, there are images of what you are about to eat.

That is important because again, presentation is a lot more enticing than letters. This year there were no images on the menu boards and that really sucked. Leaving it up to someone to write about isn’t going to make you jump up and down and stand in line. While it was a miss for Epcot this year, they at least had everything labeled in the booklet and the menu boards.

SeaWorld

Honestly, I have no idea what the idea behind their menu was. In terms of descriptions. The food for every venue was listed and was clear but there were only a few generic images on the menu you were handed when you asked for it.

More than a few times I heard other guests complain about the fact there were no beer items listed and I literally heard one person at the lanyard station tell a customer there is not a list and that all the beer would be on the menus at each kiosk. His reply was “so I’m supposed to skip everything until I read them all and then decide on how I want to use my sample allotment?” She said yes.

The menu was very simple and some of that menu simply listed nothing more than a venue/kiosk number. We learned if they didn’t have food listed by name on the menu then that venue didn’t have any food to offer and was only going to drinks. There were quite a few of them.

Advantage: Epcot but they have done so much better in the past.