The 2018 Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic will take place on Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27, 2018.

And this event — which will mark its 9th anniversary this year — is one of my absolute annual favorites!

This two-night fall event coincides with the 2018 Epcot Food and Wine Festival and includes The Causeway (which features more than 90 food and beverage stations with dishes from the resort’s 17 restaurants and lounges as well as more than 30 wineries) and four special food areas — Carnival Corner, Beer Garden, Chinatown, and NEW for 2018, The Pig & Poke — along with Educational Seminars.

And this week, we attended a Preview Event to see what’s in store, and let you know what you’ve just GOT to eat on the Causeway this year at the Classic!

Causeway Preview

First up, from Cib’s Smokehouse is roasted and smoked Iberico pork, fennel puree, honey caramelized apple, and buttered turnip.

This is a terrific, hearty — but still beautiful! — dish!

From celebrity chef Todd English’s bluezoo comes a lobster roll — done in his customarily modern way!

It showcases butter poached Maine lobster, lemon aioli, and frisee on a toasted brioche bun. Super rich.

The event’s Chinatown area once again offers crispy duck bao with a steamed bun, cucumber, and hoisin.

This has been a favorite for the past two festivals.

Over in Carnival Corner, things are getting real — real fried, that is!

The Funfetti Fried Oreo is colorful and fun! Basically it’s a funfetti batter-dipped Oreo, and it’s awesome.

This is exactly as you’d expect from a station with carnival in its name and definitely worth a bite (or two or three…).

Also in Carnival Corner: carnival games! Donate to play, with proceeds going to the Children’s Miracle Network!

The Pig & The Poke is new this year and bringing the flavors of Hawai’i and Polynesia!

The traditional earth baked Kalua pork is served with steamed white rice, barrel-aged tamari, and Napa cabbage. It’s an interesting play of textures with rich umami from the tamari.

Also from The Pig & The Poke — Tuna Poke! This is Hawaiian yellowfin tuna, Koho sushi rice, avocado relish, and fried wontons. It’s another great play on textures, and the fresh fish and avocado relish were really light and flavorful.

We also got a peek at Il Mulino’s Sunday Bubbles Brunch, including charcuterie.

There’s a lot going here — we loved the colorful veggie platter.

We also got a look at some of the wine stations and displays. There’s a lot to learn (and taste) here, so if you’re new to wine or want to learn more, this is way to gain lots of knowledge in a fun way!

With 26 breweries represented at the Food & Wine Classic, there’s something for just about everyone. DJ’s Brew Hub has this set-up for tastings.

Phins and Feathers Pale Ale is on tap.

If cocktails are more your speed, head to the Craft Cocktails!

Here you’ll get to learn more about some classic cocktails, including what makes them perennial favorites!

For fruit and vegetable juices that are free of spirits, Fresh Mediterranean Market has several combinations including options that Detox, provide Antioxidants, and help you Energize! These will help you forge through the 90 food and beverage stations at the Food & Wine Classic!

Click here for the full menus for the 2018 WDW Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic!

Educational Seminars

Looking to expand your foodie knowledge? Don’t forget that the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic offers educational seminars once again for 2018. Some of the seminars feature beverages, while others focus on food and wine pairing.

Click here for Full Seminar Details!

Seminars take place on Friday and Saturday during the Food and Wine Classic. Beverage Seminars are $50 per person while Pairing Seminars are $85 per person. (The Grand Tasting is sold out for this year.)

Ticket Information

Tickets

for one night of the Causeway only are $127 per person. One night of the Causeway plus Beer Garden is $155 per person.

A La Carte ticket booklets containing 25 tickets will be available for purchase at the event for $50. These tickets are perfect for those with a lighter appetite or for underage guests. Offerings range from two to six tickets per item.

To book Seminar tickets or purchase Causeway Tickets, visit the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic website. To book a package, including hotel stay and tickets to Food and Wine Classic offerings, contact the Swan and Dolphin at 888-828-8850.

2018 Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic By the Numbers

Here are some jaw-dropping numbers straight from the Food & Wine Classic! This event serves up:

• 6,400 pieces of sushi
• 3,000 handmade pork dumplings
• 125 Peking ducks
• 625 pounds of mac and cheese
• wine from 60+ represented wineries
• brews from 26 beer venders

Are you as excited as we are for the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic? Let us hear you in the comments! Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by the Swan and Dolphin to attend their media preview of this year’s Food and Wine Classic. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. (But, just between you and me, the Food and Wine Classic at the Swan and Dolphin is freaking amazing and you need to go. That’s my personal opinion.) You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ