The Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic Returns to Disney World This November

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic is coming back this November, and tickets for this absolute mouthful of an event are already on sale. It’s going down on Friday, Nov. 11, and Saturday, Nov. 12, and although the dates for the 2022 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival haven’t been announced yet, you can rest assured the two events will coincide. If you can’t get enough tasty vittles and drinks during Epcot’s enormously popular festival, you’ll be able to try a lot more at the Swan and Dolphin’s event—as well as take part in some educational seminars.

Tickets to the Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic will get you access to a two-night outdoor party featuring food from the conjoined hotels’ many restaurants, along with a variety of beer, wine, and other drinks. You can also expect live entertainment throughout both nights, along with a beer garden, a bubble lounge, and more.

I was fortunate enough to attend the 2019 Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic, which I believe was the last year the full event was held. The street party atmosphere in the walkway between the two hotels was a festive delight, with a steady stream of small bites from several different top-notch eateries and drinks from various regional breweries and wineries. (For example: I drove over six hours to Orlando for the event, and at one point wound up drinking a beer from a brewery that’s about 10 minutes from my house outside Atlanta.) It was, frankly, an overwhelming spread, but one I greatly enjoyed trying to eat my way through.

During our trip my friend and I were able to sit in on an afternoon seminar about craft cocktails, where one of the Swan and Dolphin’s beverage directors showed us how to mix up a few quality drinks. (I had never had a kombucha paloma before.) It was about an hour long event, with a handful of different cocktails, and although I had a great time there with my brother-in-law, based on every other party in the room it seemed like something that’d be even better with a romantic partner. Between that class and the nighttime festival, the Food & Wine Classic was a wonderful addition to Epcot’s festival.

If you’ve never stayed at either the Swan or Dolphin, the two hotels sort of offer the best of both worlds. Co-owned by Tishman Realty and MetLife, and managed by Marriott, the Swan and Dolphin are unusual for Disney hotels. They’re on property at Disney World, within easy walking distance of Epcot and Disney’s Boardwalk, a charming turn-of-the-century boardwalk that’s home to one of my favorite bars at Disney World, Abracadabar. The Swan and Dolphin does offer some of the family friendly stuff you expect from a Disney hotel, like character dining with classic Disney characters, but it won’t overwhelm you with cartoon characters and Disney nostalgia. They also take Marriott Bonvoy points, making them a popular choice for frequent travelers. They’re classy, upscale hotels with a taste of Disney, ideal for both family vacations and business travel. And there’s probably no better time to stay there than during the Food & Wine Classic, where you can try out all of the hotels’ restaurants, and more, while also swinging by Epcot’s biggest event of the year.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic returns on Nov. 11 and 12, and tickets are on sale here.