Disney foodies rejoice! We have vegan food and beverage options at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic.
Now in its 10th year, the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic has been delighting food and wine enthusiasts during one epic weekend coinciding with the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival at the Walt Disney World Resort.
This year is the first year that the menu has dedicated vegan food options and we’re here for it!
Vegan at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic
You can find the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts along the shores of Crescent Lake. The hotel properties are set within eyeshot of the Walt Disney World Boardwalk Inn and the Walt Disney World Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.
You can easily access the Swan and Dolphin from Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot via walkway or ferry service and now it’s even more convenient for guests of Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to reach the Swan and Dolphin via the Disney Skyliner.
Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic Basics
The Classic is held over the course of one weekend on a Friday and Saturday night and features interactive seminars, live entertainment and more than 90 unlimited food and beverage stations for guests to enjoy during a three and a half hour window each evening.
Causeway tickets, which get you unlimited access to all of the food and beverage stations are $145 per person. $65 “a la Carte” ticket books containing 25 tickets are also available for purchase at the event. Offerings at The Classic range from two to six tickets per item. The resorts also offers “Stay and Play” packages which include accommodations as well as causeway tickets. These sell out every year and almost always need to be booked in advance, so keep that in mind when planning for 2020.
For a $55 supplemental fee, guests can also opt to attend a beer, wine or spirit seminar as an add-on to their Food and Wine Classic experience.
It’s Better to “Wine” in Italian Seminar
My husband and I attended the It’s Better to “Wine” in Italian Seminar. Seminars take place from 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. with The Classic running 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
I was curious to see how many of the wines offered would be vegan friendly.
When sat, we were presented with seven varietals of wine and an array of small bites to complement them. Many of the food tasting portions weren’t vegan friendly and after inquiring, an attendant quickly emerged from the back of the house with fresh tomato slices, vegan Ener-G Rolls and truffle oil for dipping. They even offered to clear away the non-vegan items from the table for me.
As our host began the presentation, I got to work on Barnivore.com attempting to find out if the wines were vegan. This task was simplified as each pour was clearly marked.
Four of the wines were confirmed vegan as per Barnivore. Two of offerings had nothing listed on Barnivore and the seventh pour was a surprise gifted to attendees.
I’m sure if I had asked to swap the questionable pours out with the verified vegan wines my request would have been accommodated, but after so many generous pours and another three and a half hours of food and beverages to come I opted not to do that.
I have attended many of these seminars in the past. These classes are always entertaining and the wine educators are exceptional at keeping guests engaged while teaching at the same time.
Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic Vegan Options
After wrapping up our Italian wine seminar we headed out from inside the Dolphin Resort onto the causeway for more sips and vegan bites.
Our first stop on the Main Causeway was at the “FRESH” kiosk where chefs were dolling out bowls of Vegan Pho.
The Pho was composed of rice noodles, bok choy, carrots, bamboo shoots, edamame and seitan in a savory vegetable broth garnished with greens and fresh lime wedges. Guests could add vegan hoisin sauce and sriracha after plating.
There was so much flavor going on in this dish. I hope that it returns next year!
My next mission was to sample the vegan offering from the “Hang Ten” area of the festival located on the powder white sand beach of the Swan Resort.
This is the Hearts of Palm Ceviche. The dish was simple and straightforward with thinly sliced hearts of palm marinated in lime juice with bermuda onion, red bell pepper and micro greens.
For something so basic in ingredients it definitely was a fresh flavor bomb.
After a few adult beverages I was delighted to discover that I could veganize the Fry Basket, also in the Hang Ten area, by omitting the seafood it was served with.
Nothing goes better with fresh hot french fries than an ice cold craft beer and there was no shortage of that. We found kiosks pouring craft beer samples all over the causeway. There’s even a dedicated “Beer Garden” area at the event.
We happened upon a kiosk serving hyper local Orlando craft beer which I hadn’t heard of and had to try.
This is what’s great about the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic. For one set price you can try multiple offerings. If you like it, get another sampling at no additional charge. If you don’t like it, no problem. Just pour and rinse.
Not big on beer or wine? There are also spirits being offered throughout the event space.
Here’s a look at the Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit Rose Paloma being served.
I hope that next year we see a vegan dessert grace The Classic menu as well as a vegan sushi roll at the Kimonos kiosk.
For more information on the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Food and Wine Classic visit SwanDolphinFoodandWineClassic.com
Special thanks to the PR team at the Swan and Dolphin for hosting us at the event for the purpose of this review.
