The 1990s: The birth of the Food & Wine Festival

Image: Josh Hallett, Flickr (license)

The parks’ next big innovation arose out of little more than sheer desperation. Fans were still flocking to Disneyland and Walt Disney World for their fill of Dole Whips and churros, but they tended to flock in the summer months and migrate away from the parks in the autumn and winter. In order to keep their numbers up, Disney needed to devise a way to counter the lulls in attendance by motivating guests to return to the parks year-round.

In the 1990s, a solution presented itself at long last. Walt Disney World President, George Kalogridis, was inspired to replicate the Food & Wine Classic hosted in Aspen, Colorado each year. He began developing a food festival that would take parkgoers around the World Showcase in Epcot and, in the fall of 1995, Disney’s inaugural International Food & Wine Festival made its formal debut. Celebrity chefs hosted seminars and amateur musicians turned out to serenade diners as they moved from marketplace to marketplace.

The festival proved all too popular among guests, who were taken with the variety of cuisines and the novelty of getting to drink freely within the parks. Not only did it solve Disney’s immediate issue (getting more people to the parks during the offseason), but it continued to grow in size and prominence with every year that followed. By 2017, the modest 30-day event had swelled to 75 days, with booths from 20+ different countries, musical performances, a themed runDisney half-marathon weekend, and gourmet bites that included Beijing roasted duck bao buns, pistachio cardamom Bundt cake, and warm goat cheese pudding, among hundreds of other dishes.

The 2000s & 2010s: Marrying film and food

Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)

There’s no question that dining at the Disney Parks is nearly as popular an activity as checking out the latest Space Mountain overlay or meeting a new face character. If guests aren’t enjoying one of Disney’s classic dining experiences, whether a fancy dinner at Blue Bayou or character dining at Cinderella’s Castle, they’re Instagramming millennial pink macarons and neon green glasses of Infinity Fizz. Even trying to keep up with every new dish and cocktail can be an event all on its own.

Disney isn’t just in the business of making delicious and picture-worthy food for its own sake, though. Rather than giving more restaurants over to sponsors, as Walt was forced to do in Disneyland’s formative years, the company steered their theme park cuisine down a different path. With heavily-themed dining areas like Be Our Guest Restaurant, Red Rose Taverne, Flo’s V-8 Café and the Cozy Cone Motel snack stands, today’s parkgoers are treated to more than a good meal: They’re able to step within the vast, colorful and delicious world of Disney’s own films. Disney married the appeal of Blue Bayou’s immersive dining experience with iconic locations (the Beast’s castle, Flo’s diner) and dishes (cupcakes topped with “the grey stuff,” perfectly-plated ratatouille) from their own stories.

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Of course, just because Disney Parks cuisine has continued to evolve over the years doesn’t mean that Walt’s spirit—or his culinary preferences—has been forgotten. Those feeling particularly nostalgic (yet unable to crack the exclusive guest list at Club 33) might sample Walt’s favorite chili at Carnation Café or swing by the Plaza Inn, which now offers character dining in addition to its delicious fried chicken. What dining experiences do you find yourself most drawn to at the Disney Parks?