EPCOT’s CommuniCore Hall has transformed into The Wedge, “celebrating cheese culture” with Mac & cheese, wine and cheese pairings, and a cannoli milkshake. This is one of the newest Global Marketplaces at Food & Wine Festival and one of the few indoor locations. Inside, you’ll find seating, select festival merchandise, and interactive displays with fun facts about cheese.
Three-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese – with smoked cheddar sauce and herbed panko – $5.49
A solid Mac & cheese, this would be a winner for both kids and adults. The smoky flavor is very subtle and the saucy is creamy. All of the Mac & cheese at The Wedge is ironically light on cheese sauce making it easier to digest as you walk around World Showcase on a warm day. The serving size is ample for $5.49 and is a great way to start a day of Food & Wine eating and drinking.
Cheesesteak Macaroni and Cheese – with smoked cheddar sauce, shaved beef, peppers, onions, and herbed panko – $6.49
Our group all agreed this was our least favorite of the Mac & cheese offerings at The Wedge. The beef was dry and somehow still fatty and the herbed panko was the dominating flavor. The Cheesesteak Macaroni and Cheese could benefit from better beef plus more cheese sauce like you would find on a typical Philly.
Crab and Corn Macaroni and Cheese – with smoked cheddar sauce, bacon, crab seasoning, roasted corn, herbed panko, and jalapeños – $7.19
The Crab and Corn Mac & Cheese is the absolutely star of the menu! Loaded with fresh crab, this is one of the better values at Food & Wine Festival. You could easily eat it as an entree. The flavor from the crab seasoning, smoky bacon, and spicy jalapeños provides a nice contrast to the rich crab. This is easily the best food item I’ve had at this year’s festival and will be a must-have every visit!
Selection of Cheeses – $7.29
The cheeses include –
- Glacier Point Blue Spruce Blue from Carr Valley Cheese – blue cheese
- Vat 17 World Cheddat from Deer Creek Cheese – white cheddar
- Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Uplands Cheese – similar to a parmesan mixed with a gruyere
The accompaniments include – raisins on the vine, apricots, strawberry preserves, and almond bark. The cheese plate could really benefit from a cracker instead of the almond bark and the cheeses weren’t memorable enough to get again. EPCOT Festivals have recently featured cheese plates and this might be our least favorite version.
Cannoli Milk Shake – topped with chocolate shavings, cannoli shell, and a maraschino cherry – $5.49
Our team was so excited for the Cannoli Milkshake and loved the presentation of the branded cup and cannoli shell topping. The milkshake is a thin consistnecy and mostly tasted like vanilla. We also wish the chocolate shavings had been mini chocolate chips so they could be sipped through the straw. Instead the chocolate sink to the bottom and we didn’t get any with the shake. The cannoli shell was fresh and crisp but with the lackluster shake, it would have been great to have an actually cannoli with the filling. While not bad, we won’t be going out of our way for the Cannoli Shake again.
At the merchandise check-out inside CommuniCore Hall you can pick up a free cheese hat. These fun paper hats were so silly to wear around EPCOT and we had so many people asking where to find them at the Festival.
The displays bring edutainment back to EPCOT with interactive elements showing how different types of cheese are made and fun facts we didn’t know about dairy in the U.S. While it may not look like much, take time to check out the infographics and enjoy some sweet A.C. while inside at The Wedge.
Even though The Wedge didn’t fulfill all of our hopes and dreams like we thought, it’s a nice spot and the Crab and Corn Macaroni and Cheese is 100% worth the visit!
There’s plenty of time left to enjoy EPCOT’s 30th Anniversary Food & Wine Festival happening now through November 21st! EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival includes over 200 unique menu items at nearly 30 Global Marketplaces and the Eat to the Beat concert series featuring artists like Fitz and the Tantrums, Boyz II Men, The Beach Boys. There’s still time to book your Food & Wine Festival Disney vacation with discounted packages available and seasonal offerings like Halloween and the holidays!
