Review: Epcot vs. SeaWorld food and drink festivals

Experience is really what you make of it and that can have a good influence or a bad one.

Going to a food and wine/beer festival as a work opportunity takes away some of the joy of being there. You tend to be a little more critical in some areas and forgiving in others. As you move along it is easy to forget the reason you are there in the first place, the experience of the festival itself.

Epcot

There is no question that Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival is a really fun time. Wine sampling while you sit on a bench and watch others walk by is enjoyable and relaxing. The atmosphere of Epcot itself makes for a great experience as well. You don’t feel as though you are being rushed or trying to get to the next kiosk to check off a box. You simply walk around at your pace and enjoy the different flavors which are clearly from around the world even with this year’s scaled-back version.

SeaWorld

SeaWorld’s Craft Beer and Food Festival was fun and I enjoyed it but I didn’t feel as relaxed as I did at Epcot. It may have had something to do with the numbered kiosks that made me think about what was next instead of enjoying what was in front of me. At Epcot, there are no numbered venues so it feels as though you are not counting down and at SeaWorld, you get that feeling like your time is always almost up even though there are no time constraints.

I enjoyed SeaWorld a lot more than I thought I would but a lot less than I should have. I went in knowing this was a scaled version and even the SeaWorld International Food Festival in San Diego looks to be a far better option and maybe better than both Epcot and SeaWorld Orlando.

Advantage: This was a push honestly. While I felt more constricted and in some way pushed around SeaWorld I also have assumed that part of that was my own obsession with the kiosk numbers but I had a good time and enjoyed both and would do both again next year if only to see what changes have been made.