We are just a few short weeks away from the END of the 3-month-long festival drought in EPCOT with the start of EPCOT’s International Food and Wine Festival!

Menus have FINALLY been released for the festival, and words can’t express how excited we are. We’ve already been looking through it and making our festival plan, our eyes brightening as we saw more and more options coming back that we’ve enjoyed in years past, and then — wait, what is THAT?! 

*sigh* The truth is, friends, there are some offerings returning to this year’s festival that, for lack of a better term, BAFFLE us. We try ALL the new eats at the festival each and every year, and often try ones that we’ve had in years past too to see if they’re still worth (or not worth) your money.

Not every item at each booth is a winner, and that’s not surprising since everyone’s taste buds are different! However, sometimes there are items that are just REALLY not it, and we expect them to never return again. This alone is why you see entirely new menus at the Italy pavilion nearly every single festival (because, let’s be honest, it’s been a LONG TIME since Italy has had a winner — maybe this will be the year!). Disney doesn’t want to keep hated items on the menu, because then no one will buy them and they’ve wasted ingredients and time on food that won’t get eaten.

Which is why we were SO surprised to see that some…questionable options are coming back to the festival this year. Okay, that’s being kind — the internet HATED these items last year, and yet, here they are again! One of the biggest ones that our jaws dropped at seeing come back is the Pickle Milkshake from Brew Wing!

Some thought it tasted more like dill than pickles, and others (who are normally pickle lovers) absolutely hated it. At the end of the day, no one can argue that this wasn’t unique, and we thought it was a little TOO unique for it to come back — we’ve been proven wrong.

Also from Brew Wing, the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sticky Wings are making a return! Like the pickle milkshake, this is VERY unique, but we actually really enjoyed them! Yes, they do really taste like peanut butter and jelly, so if strange-flavored wings aren’t your thing, stay far, FAR away, but it wasn’t too unique that we disliked it. But will they do it well enough AGAIN this year?

But this last one, y’all, we’re truly at a loss for words. The Swine Brine is coming BACK at the Flavors From Fire booth, and we’re just shaking our heads.

Hear us out — we’ll try anything once. We’ll even try most things way MORE than that, but the whole team is sending good thoughts and vibes to whatever reporter gets assigned this booth because, well, this drink, made from Jim Beam Bourbon, apple cinnamon cider, bone broth, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard, was on our list of hated items last year. When we first tried it about 4 years ago, we didn’t despise it, surprisingly, but last year, the flavor of bone broth was SO strong we almost spit out the drink. Not only that, the pork inside the drink looked gray in color, which was very off-putting, and our official stance was to stay away.

Despite these…intriguing items, we’re really looking forward to the festival this year and can’t wait to bring all the latest news and reviews to you!

Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Food and Wine Festival news!

Check out ALL the booths and menus for this year’s Food and Wine Festival here!

What booth are you most looking forward to? Tell us in the comments!

The post The Internet HATED These EPCOT Food and Wine Festival Dishes, but They Are Returning in 2024 Anyway first appeared on the disney food blog.